CHAPTER 35: THE BLADE MASTER'S CUT
The gang's train rolled into the station where several troops stood waiting for them. They wore dull and dark gray combat armor and top of the line assault rifles. A human man stood in front of the rest of the troops. He wore similar armor, but he had a short cape that went down to his waist and long shoulder pads. He looked fairly young, with short blonde hair and a small scar on the side of his left eye.
The train came to a full stop and blew out the steam. The train was fully off and the gang stepped out through the banged up passenger cart with Alpha wearing his mask cloak. The man approached the gang and held out his hand to them as Z took it in return and they shook.
"Glad your all here, my name is Davis, I'm the leader of this section of the Grand Militant Army." The man Davis said to them.
"My name is Z, and these are my friends." Z said to him as he gestured to the others.
The others introduced themselves to the leader Davis, but Alpha simply said his name was, Al, since 'Alpha' isn't a normal name for a person to have.
"Well now that we have introduced ourselves, let's get the cargo unloaded." Davis said as he signaled his troops to begin unloading the cargo. They rolled in dollies and went to the two cargo boxcars and opened the sliding doors and the troops began to carry crates off one by one.
As the troops worked, Davis turned to the gang to discuss what has happened in the last few hours. "I can see you all had quite a hard time getting here. Were you attacked by someone?" Davis asked them as he pointed to the banged up train and boxcars.
"We were almost halfway here when raiders attacked us in buggies. It was a difficult fight, but we managed to take them all out." Explained Z. "By any chance could they be the rebel force that's been attacking this area?"
"It sounds like them, they wore strange armor and fight with random weapons. I don't know how they found you all, but you got here safe and sound, and that will damage their moral." Davis said to them with a smile.
"We can find out about that when we find the people in charge of the rebels." Said Ulrich.
"Speaking of which, we heard that there have been strange people in black armor helping the rebels. Is that true?" Aelita asked him.
"Yes, for some time the rebels have been getting weapons and vehicles from people in black armor. They bring the weapons, then the raiders attack whatever they want." Davis explained to them.
"There's not even any reason why they attack? They just attack for the hell of it?" Aracane asked with anger in his rough voice.
"I'm afraid so. But here is not the place to discuss it. Follow me back to our camp and I'll fill you warriors in on the rest." Davis said as he turned around and began to lead the gang.
As they left the train station, the gang saw more of the town that they stopped in. The town was nothing special in look or design. People walked around doing their business as Davis lead the gang to their camp which took about fifteen minutes. The camp was at the front of the town. It was walled off and fortified with a few troops standing at the front.
Davis waved to them, signaling to let them in. The guards opened the gate and they all walked in. The camp was alive with activity, troops ran around in formation as part of daily training. Some were tuning up the many vehicles while others were working on the weapon and ammo stocks. In some of the tents laid troops with bandages and gauze wrapped around various parts of their bodies as doctors attended to whoever needed attention on their wounds.
They came up to the main tent that was the command center of the Grand Militant and went inside. Troops were at various terminals and looking at satellite images of the rebel forces locations. Davis walked over to a table like terminal with a large touchscreen with images of the area they were in. He leaned over it and began to touch the screen and bring up folders of images and data while the gang stood around the terminal.
"Okay warriors, what do you need to know?" Asked Davis.
"We need to know as much of the black armored people as possible for starters." Z said as he looked over the terminal.
Davis clicked the files and opened up a number of recon photos that showed the black armored troops working with the raiders. The pictures varied from meeting places with the leaders of the rebels, to pictures of the black armored troops directing the raiders on unloading black trucks filled with weapons, and even a few pictures of the black armored troops demonstrating new weapons and how they work to the raiders.
"Those black armored troops sure have been busy with those raiders." Deotalus said.
"But the question is, why are they helping them? And what do they hope to gain?" Leadonus added.
"Well whatever their reason is, it hasn't been any good for the people and towns across the lands." Davis said as he pulled up files on his terminal. He began to show the gang more images of the raiders territory that they took over in the last few months.
Jeremie looked closer at the terminal screen. "These raiders have really gained a lot of land. What do they plan to do with it? And how much more are they going to take?" He asked as he looked over the amount of land the raiders have took on the digital map colored in red.
"Yeah, the raiders came from the Far Lands, deep in the areas where there is nothing but dust and desert for hundreds of miles. The place was a safe haven for the raiders, and they only attacked small caravans and anybody else foolish enough to enter their area." Davis explained to them as he pulled up more files on the touchscreen. "But like I said, in the last few months they've gotten very bold. They've attacked many towns, uprooted families, raided homes that we've had to evacuate before they hurt anyone." Davis continued.
"Then it's settled," Ulrich said. "We'll help out any way we can. We just need to find those troops in the black armor, we got some questions to ask them." He said as he crossed his arms.
"Damn right, my sword want's to fight." Knulgen said with a smile.
"If that is what you all wish, then I won't try to stop you, but we need to go over our plan for the attack tomorrow." Davis said as he began to pull up files on the plan of attack.
"Attack tomorrow?" Yumi asked. "You're planning to attack the raiders tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow at 8:00 sharp, we will mobilize our force out to an abandoned town, ten miles from here. The raiders will be making their way in full force. They have over three thousand of them, but we have over two thousand better trained troops. We will cut them off as they're passing through the abandoned town and attack the main force." Davis explained as he simulated the attack on the digital screen like a general would on a table with figures from long ago.
"So what would be our roll in this?" Jack asked him. "We would only be in the way of your army, how would we find the black armored troops?"
"Glad you asked that my boy," Davis said to him as he pulled up a different picture that had the black armored troops. "Whenever the raiders attack, the black armored troops are not to far away. They keep a distance from the raiders as if they're observing them, and on how they attack. We've tried capturing one of them, but they managed to escape before we got near them. So far, we've only seen three black armored troops." Davis explained to them.
"Observing them? What in the world would they be observing them for?" Aelita wondered.
"It is strange, but it can't be good. So while you're all looking for the black armored troops, we'll be fighting the raider forces. It will be a difficult battle, but I know you warriors can do it. The raiders mostly fight with melee weapons and their tactics and fighting skills are a horrible mess. Everyone fights their own way." Davis said, giving them the details of the raiders.
"Then I guess the only thing left for us to do is settle in for the day since it's past noon, and the counterattack isn't happening until the next morning." Said William.
"Until then, we'll go back into the town and find a place to sleep and come back here in the morning." Z said to Davis.
"No need, we got plenty of tents for you all, just go to the back of the camp where the troops sleep and dinner will be served in a little while." Davis said to them.
"Oh thank goodness, I could really eat." Said Odd as his stomach lightly growled.
"We appreciate this, but why are you helping us so much?" Z asked him. "Why would you let a bunch of teens charge into battle against almost impossible odds?"
Davis stood up straight from his terminal and paced around for a moment before answering them. "Well for starters, the cargo you all delivered will save many of our injured soldiers here today. And I can tell you have business with those black armored troops. Plus I was once like you all." He said to them, which caught their attention. "I lost my parents when I was young, and I had to fight to survive. So whatever you all need to do, I will let you find your answers."
"Once we get some answers out of those black armored troops, we'll go our way and let you all do what you need to do with the raider forces." Leadonus said to him.
"Then in that case, I'll show you all to your tent. Just follow me and we'll get you settled in for the night. Come along." Davis said to them with a wave.
As the gang walked down the large camp, the troops didn't really take much notice to them, or even waved to them in a friendly matter. Finally they reached their tent and went in. The tent was very long and large and bolted into the ground with many ties and stakes. The gang went inside the tent that had a padded floor, and twenty cots in a nice row with blankets and pillows folded at the edge of the cots. The gang put their backpacks down on the floor and took a cot.
"Well here we are. It's not a hotel suite, but it will do for now." Davis said as he gave them a quick tour. "I'll be back later, I just need to explain what's going on to some of the lieutenants. Take care." He said as he left the gang in the tent.
The gang was setting up their cots and settling in for the day. Ulrich and Yumi were side by side as they finished. Yumi was thinking to herself about what Ulrich was going to say before they were attacked by the raider bands.
"Hey Ulrich," She said to get his attention.
Ulrich turned to her as he just finished setting up his cot. "Yes Yumi? What is it?" He asked her.
Yumi froze up on what she was going to say, but needed to change the subject quick. She then noticed something different about him. "I couldn't help notice...that you've gotten taller. You're as tall as me now." She quickly said.
As Yumi said, Ulrich was now as tall as her, and even gained a lot more muscle on his body. All the fighting in the digital world of Lyoko didn't do the earth members of the gang much good as fighting in the real world would. Because all their strength and speed was simulated powers in the end.
"Your right Yumi," Sam called out too her. "Even Odd has gotten as tall as me. Now the boys wont look so small to our enemies." She joked.
"Ill have you know that in my family, we always start out a little short, then have amazing growth spurts." Odd said with his arms crossed in a pouting mood.
"They're just joking around Odd, we're all due for growth spurt anyway." Aelita said to him for comfort.
"Not me," Said Knulgen lying on his cot. "I'm taller then all of you."
"You're about as tall as the rest of us. And besides, I'm taller then you Knulgen." Aracane reminded him.
"Whatever." Knulgen replied.
The gang spent the rest of the day settling in. After awhile, they went to get dinner from the mess tent and went back to their own tent for the night as the sun began to set. Z grabbed some maps from one of the command tents and went over the plans with some of the others, and their method of attack and on finding the black armored troops that work for Xana, and getting answers out of them, one way or another.
()()()()()()()()()
Far away from the Grand Militants camp and a few miles outside the abandoned town that the battle will take place tomorrow morning, the raider forces had their own camp set up. The camp was surrounded by their dune buggies and heavy duty trucks with long beds to carry equipment and weapons. The raiders moved around the camp at their own pace with various weapons in hand. Some were at electronic grindstones sharpening their blades and axe and buzz saws. In one part was a pen filled with big wild dogs barking and growling at anybody who passed. Some raiders were fixing their buggies while some were fighting over food and gambling with whatever they had.
In the middle of the camp was a large and ragged tent where the leader of the raiders discussed the plans of attack with his generals tomorrow when they advance into the town the Grand Militant is set up. The inside of the tent had a long makeshift table set up with many charts, and at the end of the table was a large throne like chair where the very leader of raider forces sat.
The leader of the raiders was a fierce lizargian man with black hair and a large scar on his face. His armor was large and heavy with long shoulder pads and dark clothes. He commanded his raiders on the method of attack until he looked over and saw his 'associate' that has been suppling and aiding them in their raids.
The raider leader noticed he wanted to talk and dismissed his raiders as the troop in black armor walked over to where the raider leader sat. The raiders were out the tent, leaving only the raider leader and the black armored troop. The black armor covered the troops entire body. The armor was pitch black and resembled modern military armor with a helmet that had a black visor covering his entire face with a sidearm at his left hip. The black armored troops face couldn't be seen, but could still tell that this one is a human.
The raider leader was the first to speak. "What do you want now? We're going to push into the next town where the Grand Militant is camped up. We don't need anymore of your advice." The raider leader said to him with frustration.
The black armored troop simply stood there for a moment before speaking. "I couldn't help but notice the raiders you sent out earlier today haven't come back. And even worse, the cargo on the train made it to it's destination. I also heard that the raiders were killed by a group of warrior teens." The troop said to him.
"Impossible!" The raider leader shouted. "Those were some of my best men! There's no way they could have all been taken out by a bunch of warrior teens in a short amount of time."
"Well guess what, they were." The troop shot back. "They were all killed, and one of my other troops confirmed it by looking at the wreckage and dead bodies of your raiders."
"So what? A squad of my raiders gone wont be enough to damage our forces. And once we attack the next town over, our land will expand even more then what we already have." The raider leader boasted to him.
The black armored troop was not impressed by the raider leader and his ego. "Tell me, raider leader Talgo, do you wish to be part of the new world that my master Xana is making?" The troop asked.
"What...what do you mean?" The raider leader Talgo asked.
"I asked, do you want to be part of the new world that my master Xana is making?" The troop repeated.
"Yes, of course I do. I want to become a part of the new order that will come to this world, and earn my place at the one known as Xana wants to create." Talgo answered the troop.
"When I found you and your raiders, you were just a few dozen. Now your army has grown large and strong as you killed off many of the other raider clan leaders and engulfed their numbers into yours. But the Grand Militant has been fighting back, and interrupting your forces movements, and cutting down your numbers." The troop said as he went over the things that have happened in the last few months.
"We regained our numbers by accepting more raiders into our fold. We will overpower them and defeat the Grand Militant." Talgo defended against the black armored troop.
"I'm still not completely sure your raider warriors are ready to be apart of Xana's army if they could be defeated by a few teenagers. But then again, they are not ordinary teen warriors." He said as he put his finger to the bottom of his helmet.
"What do you mean by that?" Talgo asked with curiosity.
"These pack of teen warriors have been a thorn in lord Xana's side for a long time, and they managed to harm him. But Xana will return, and when he returns, those little punks will pay dearly." He said grimly through his helmet.
"And where are these teenagers now? How did they managed to hurt your master and get away?" Talgo questioned.
"That is of no importance right now. But I do know that they are with the Grand Militant now. And I know that they will probably come charging into battle to find me and the rest thanks to our informants. That is also why I've come up with a plan to eliminate them." The troop chuckled.
"And what plan is that." Talgo asked. Suddenly the tent flap opened and the other two black armored troops walked in. One was a lizargian woman, while the other was a molnuck man. They both wore the same black armor, and their body shape was the only way to tell what species they are.
Behind them was a human man that didn't belong to the raiders. He wore a long black coat with silver inlets all over it. His pants had the same design with knee-high boots made of the most expensive leather. His top seemed to resemble the kind of shirts with the ruffles from a centuries past with a few large and long golden necklaces around his neck. He had rings on all his fingers made of gold with a different gem on each ring. He was a young looking man, with black eyes and slicked back hair, and a small goatee, and wearing a bandana with two long strands. On his back was a long black sword. The blade was eight inches wide, and over six feet in length with only one sharp side and curved tip and heavy head. The guard had long points at the sides with a long handle for easy reach.
"Who is this man that you brought into my camp unannounced?" Talgo demanded.
The black armored troop stood in front of the new man to introduce him. "His name is, Vorro The Blademaster, he is a mercenary hired by us to attack tomorrow. He is an amazing swordsman with a lethal blade, and fighting skills that would rival almost any sword master in the world."
"I don't care what he is, we don't need him and his assistance in tomorrow's battle." Talgo said, unimpressed by the mercenary and his title.
"Then no worries, he's with us." The troop responded. "The young warriors will want to find us. So we will do just that by luring them to us, and when they come, they will meet our blademaster and fall at his sword." The troop chuckled.
The blademaster nodded turned to the table with the maps on it. The table had a few metal plates with bits of food and a few beer and whiskey bottles. He grabbed two bottles and a clean plate and threw them in the air. The items reached near the top of the tent where some of the strands of light were and fell to the ground as the Blademaster, Vorro reached for his sword and in one mighty swing, cut the two bottles and plate in half without any effort as the perfectly cut items clattered to the matted floor in halves that impressed Talgo and the black armored troops.
"They will fall at my blade like many have before. Tomorrow will be the last day you will have to deal with these young warriors." Vorro said to them in a calm and steady voice.
The black armored troops were smiling behind their visors, and couldn't wait to see the mercenary in action, and watch the Lyoko warriors die, and avenge their master Xana.
DAY 22
The Grand Militant camp was already abuzz with activity as troops began to scramble. They quickly put on their combat armor and gathered their weapons and gear. The gang was awoken by the sounds of the troops and knew they needed to get a move on except for Odd since he was still asleep.
"Unbelievable!" Yumi said while shaking her head. "Four tanks and a military truck rolled by our tent and he's still asleep."
"At least he doesn't snore anymore." Ulrich said to her. "In fact, he hasn't snored or had a very large appetite since we got sent to this planet."
"Maybe becoming a catashire was a good thing for him if he had these problems before." Sam suggested to them.
"Either way, he needs to get up. So get him." Z said as he was put his black coat on.
Ulrich shook Odd awake, and he slowly got up and dressed and the gang then headed out to where the troops were assembling and preparing for battle. The entire unit was standing in a large group as Davis, the man in charge went over the battle plans with his troops using a digital screen and projector to show the troops how they will attack while the gang stood in the back.
"All right troops listen up." He called out to them. "The rebel forces will be entering the abandoned town within the next few hours. Our forces will counter them when they make it to the town center. Our tanks and military trucks will attack first while we use our vehicles as cover. This will be a long battle, and we will be risking life and limb, but we need to do whatever it takes to make sure these raiders do not take another piece of land from anyone else, now move out troops!" Davis yelled as the other troops cheered too.
As the troops headed off to their trucks and tanks, the gang walked up to Davis as he dismissed his lieutenants and spotted the gang walking towards him. "Good morning young warriors, I see you are ready for battle." He said to them.
"We're always ready for a battle, we just need to get to the abandoned town and find those troops in black armor." Jack responded to Davis.
"No problem, our drone plane photos show that the black armored troops are very near the raider army with the leader Talgo right beside them. I have a transport truck waiting for you all just outside of our camp. We move out soon, so if you need anything, I suggest you get it." Davis said to them.
"I need some new guns and anything else I can use to fight with." Z said to him.
"Follow me and I'll show you our weapon reserves in the back." Davis said to Z as they both began to head away from the group.
"I guess that's our cue to head outside of camp while Z loads up again." Ulrich said to them as the rest of the gang nodded and left the briefing area of the camp and out into the area where the military vehicles were ready to go.
Z and Davis went into an armored tent where some of the reserve weapons were, and Z wasted no time getting loaded up. Z opened a case and took out a large assault rifle that fires over a hundred rounds with a double drum clip and a belt of ammo drums for the weapon. Z then took out a grenade launcher with six round fire and loaded up on a belt with twenty four grenades and six in the launcher.
As Z went over his new weapons, Davis couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I must say, you Zarcanions really know how to go to battle fully loaded."
"I prefer to be armed and dangerous to my enemies." Z replied as he loaded his assault rifle.
"Now that you're loaded up, I suggest we make our way to the transport trucks and move out." Davis said as the two left the weapons tent and headed to the transport area.
The military trucks were loaded up with troops while another had the whole gang loaded on. Alpha still wore his mask cloak, and when they were in the clear, he will upload Jeremie into his systems. Z hopped on the truck while Davis stood at the opening of the truck.
"Alright young warriors, we'll be the first to strike the raiders and keep them busy while this truck will circle around to where the troops in black armor were spotted. They will have a number of raiders with them for protection, but you all seem more then formidable, so I have no reason to worry." Davis said as he explained the gangs part in the battle.
"Just take us there, and we'll take care of them." Knulgen said as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back against his seat with his eyes closed.
"Thanks again Davis, good luck to you and your troops. I know you can defeat them." Yumi said to him as Davis nodded in return and left.
The many military trucks and tanks rode off from the town with the gang's truck not too far behind. They quietly waited as the truck slightly shook and rocked as they got closer to the abandoned town. Finally after half an hour of riding, the Grand Militant army rode up on the outside of the abandoned town. The old town had dusty roads, and mostly made of wood and brick with most of the buildings being around one to three stories tall, and looked like it's been abandoned for quite a few years. The tanks began to drive down the streets while the troops unloaded from their military trucks. Just like the tanks, the trucks slowly rode down the dirt streets with the troops in large groups. Davis hopped out of the lead truck with a larger assault rifle and a dull gray cape to show his rank as he put on his helmet with a clear visor protecting and showing his whole face.
The gangs truck slowly rode away from the main force while they looked out the windows to get a better view of the town as the truck turned corners and got further and further away from the army. On the other side of the town, the raiders were near the abandoned towns center while the Grand Militant was almost ready for the assault. They had their trucks and tanks behind the old building, ready to roll out onto the streets and serve as barriers for the troops.
The raiders were unaware of the coming attack as they walked down the streets. There was over three thousand of them, and they all had various weapons and guns in hand, and even a few dozen buggies slowly driving beside the raiders with the engines gently rumbling. Finally the raiders made it to the town center, still unaware of the coming attack.
Davis had his troops waiting for the command to attack as he peaked from his hiding spot with a rocket launcher in hands. When the raiders were finally where he wanted them to be, he ran out from his hiding spot with the rocket launcher ready to fire.
"Light them up!" Davis yelled out to his troops as he pulled the trigger on his weapon and sent the rocket flying and hitting a buggy with three raiders in it, and blowing it up in a flaming shower of twisted metal that killed a few raiders with the shrapnel.
The battle was on as the other troops sprang out from their hiding spots with the trucks and tanks rolling out for cover. They opened fire on the raiders as they too took cover behind their buggies and anything that provided cover and returned fire with their random assortment of guns.
While the Grand Militant and raider forces fought, the gang could hear the gunfire and cries of battle in their truck until it finally stopped and pulled over to the side of the street, and the gang knew it was their sign to get off. One by one they unloaded as the driver stuck his head out of the window.
"We just got a report that the black armored troops are in the area with the raider leader and a few dozen raiders patrolling around too. So be on your guard." The troop said to the gang.
"Thanks for the heads up, we'll take it from here." Aracane said as he waved them off.
The troop nodded and drove off, leaving the gang to finally search for the black armored troops in the area. Alpha took off his mask cloak and opened his chest panels to wrap his cables around Jeremie and upload him into his systems. With the gang ready for battle, they searched the streets with Alpha's sensors looking for life forms in the area.
After a few minutes of searching, the gang still turned up nothing. "Man, this is a waste of time. We're not going to find them at this rate." Knulgen said to the gang frustrated.
"Calm down Knulgen, it's only been a few damn minutes." Aracane said to him.
"Just keep your guard up guys, those raiders could be anywhere in town." Z said to them with his assault rifle held up and ready to fire.
Suddenly Alpha perked up and armed his laser guns and pointed in the direction his scans were picking up activity. "My sensors are picking up multiple hostile's heading our way." Alpha alerted them.
As Alpha said, a few dozen raiders came out from a street corner and thankfully haven't spotted the gang yet. They wore random armor parts, and had a wide variety of weapons like before. One of the raiders turned and spotted the gang, and right away, the raider began to scream while running towards them with a jagged machete that caught the other raiders attention and caused them to start running towards the gang. The raider with the machete almost reached the others as Z pulled out his magnum revolver and put a bullet in the raiders head and sent him rolling to the dirt ground at the gangs feet.
The other raiders saw Z killing one of their own, and sent them into a frenzy as they all charged. "Here we go guys, take them down!" Z shouted to the gang as he opened fire with his assault rifle with the double drum clip at the raiders armed with guns while Alpha did the same as the others fought the raiders with melee weapons.
()()()()()()()()
On a rooftop of a building between the Grand Militant and the raider armies fighting each other, and the gang battling the small group of raiders stood the troops in black armor, the raider leader Talgo, and the blademaster Vorro. The lead troop was looking through binoculars while still wearing the black visor over his face.
The leader troop looked over and saw the gang fighting the raider squad. "There they are!" The leader troop said with a wicked tone. "I knew using some raiders to lure them out would work."
"I still hate the idea of using my men to find those warriors you're looking for!" Talgo said to him. "In fact, I want you to send your Blademaster after them right now!"
"Patience Talgo, your men will not die in vain. When this battle is done, your armies will become a part in the new order, and our master Xana will be avenged." The lead troop said to Talgo.
"I will start heading to the battleground where those warriors are. I hope these warriors put up as much of a good fight as you all say." Vorro said as he began to head for the ladder to the ground.
"Don't worry, they will give you a great fight like no other." The black armored woman lizargian troop said to him.
"Then let's not waste anymore time before my entire army is killed." Talgo said as he climbed over the ladder and down to ground level.
The black armored troops were still standing on top of the roof as they waited for the raider leader to be out of range. "How much longer are we going to keep that raider leader and his army around?" The black armored male molnuck troop asked his leader.
"Hmm, as long as we need him I suppose." The leader of the three answered. "Whether these raiders fall at the hands of the Grand Militant, or defeat them today is of little importance. We will keep using raiders, terrorists, and dictators armies as cannon fodder for the main forces of the many united lands we will be facing in the future, as long as these overzealous thugs are out of the way in the end." The leader explained as they finally went down the ladder to join up with Vorro and Talgo.
()()()()()()()()
The gang was deep in the fight as more and more raiders poured into the fight. Leadonus leaped over three raiders with his scythe in tow and lopped off their heads in one pull. Jack charged with his sword the Excalion held to his side as he cut through raider after raider with powerful swings. Ralfaius held his sais downward as he ran after a few raiders as one spotted him and took a swing with his machete as the hothead brother slide under the blade and stabbed both his sais into the mans stomach and leaped up and pounced on two raiders as he drove his sais into their necks.
Knulgen was once again enjoying himself as raiders fell to his blade with Aracane right beside him with his axe lopping and decapitating the raiders. Deotalus swung the staff of his trident as the head cut and stabbed the raiders that surrounded him, but thankfully his weapons reach kept him at a safe distance. Miodelus wasn't far away as the hidden blades from his nunchakus cut down any raiders that got to close to the loopy brother of the four.
Odd fired several of his arrows at the raiders charging after him until he needed to fight head on as he unsheathed his claws and slashed deep and deadly gashes into any raiders attacking him. Bel'la attacked with powerful thrusts and stabs with her glaive while her brother Eli'ton with his gauntlet blades as the twins battled raiders. Sam had a blunt tonfa in one hand, and a bladed one in her other hand as she used the weapons in synch to block and counter raider after raider that got near her with deadly strikes to end their lives.
Williams butcher blade cut down any raiders that attacked him with ease as Yumi threw two fan-blades that cut into the throats of two raiders as she pulled out her tanto and stabbed a raider in the chest. Kairaree threw her chain weapon over a raiders shoulder, then pulled the weapon and made the blade cause a deadly gash before reaching for her main dagger and stabbed into the back of an attacking raider, then twirling around just in time to cut into the throat of another charging raider. Ulrich was surrounded by raiders, but that didn't shake his confidence as they attacked him all around. His sabers flew fast as he twirled and slashed down the raiders that tried to kill him with his blades leaving deep cut into their bodies.
While Z and Alpha fired at more incoming raiders while Aelita hid behind a corner near a building until she heard a rumbling and looked over to see a tank rolling their way. The tank was desert colored with many spikes and barbed wire welded to the body of it. "Guys! Look out! They have a tank!" she yelled out to them.
The gang noticed the tank heading their way just in time as it fired a shell and hit a building that some of them were near. The missile hit into a wooden building that caused the front of it to collapse with a thunderous boom that sent some of them falling to the ground. Z ran up with his assault rifle and open fire, but the bullets only bounced off the body of the tank as it began roll towards them while Z loaded another clip and attacked, but to no damage was still not done to the tank.
"That thing is going to kill us if we don't take it out!" Deotalus shouted to the gang as the tank fired off another shell that hit the ground and even hit some of their own raiders.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Alpha announced to the gang as he began to charge at the tank.
Inside the tank, four raiders were piloting it with wide grins as one of them spotted Alpha charging to them. "What the fuck is that thing coming at us?!" One of them shouted while looking through the view window.
"Who gives a shit? Run the damn thing over!" The missile operator shouted as they loaded another round. The raiders cheered in response as they speed the tank up.
The gang gasped as Alpha got right in front of the tank and slammed his massive hands into the tanks front and was pushed back a few feet while standing his ground as his feet dragged into the dirt road with the raiders laughing inside the tank. Suddenly Alpha got a footing in the dirt and stopped the tank from moving with the tracks digging into the ground as Alpha then grabbed the underside of the tank with one hand and picked the tank up from the ground and amazingly flipped it over on it's side with the muffled screams of the raiders inside the tank as the several ton war machine rolled on its top and incapacitating the tank for good.
"Alright, no tank can take out our more awesome war machine!" Odd cheered to Alpha.
"Thank you Odd...I think?" Alpha replied a little confused at Odd's comment.
Z glanced over to the side as he noticed another tank coming out from another corner. "Alpha! We got another one rolling our way here!"
Alpha turned and saw the tank coming and wasted no time charging after it. The tank cannon barrel was turning to the gang, the raider at the controls was just about to pull the trigger as Alpha jumped onto the tank and grabbed the middle of the barrel and crushed it like a soda can just in time as the raider was too late to stop himself from pulling the trigger. The missile in the tube launched, but was detonated by the crushed barrel and the explosion blew off the tube and ruptured the inside of the tank, killing the raiders inside.
Black smoke plumed from the tank and the wind gently blew it to the side with the gang hoping that was the last of the tanks. As Alpha rejoined with the rest of the gang with the raiders standing far away from them after finally looking at their loses against the young warriors. Suddenly they heard the sound of slow clapping and looked over to where the tank that Alpha destroyed from the inside out.
Out of the black smoke came the black armored troops with the leader clapping. "Impressive warriors..." The leader said to the gang. "Despite the fact you all committed a blasphemous offense against our master Xana, we're still impressed by your fighting skills." The leader said to them.
The gang huddled up with their weapons held firm. "So, you're the black armored troops supporting these raiders." William sneered to them.
"Really? What gave it away? Was it the black armor we wear?" The leader replied as they began to laugh through their visors.
"Okay, now that we've had our laugh, why are you helping these raiders? What are you trying to gain from this?!" Z demanded them.
"People have always had recruitment offices, and military scholarships to get people in armies, we prefer that potential recruits 'prove' their worth in the army of Xana." The leader explained to them.
"And destroying lives, and ruining peoples homes apart of that recruitment too?" Kairaree asked in disgust.
"Well you know what they say...you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs in the process." One of the other armored troops said to them.
"Not anymore!" Ulrich said, stepping forward. "We're putting an end to your 'recruitment' operation for good!" He said as he raised his swords.
"We thought you would say, so we brought an extra sword into the fight. Or should we say, a Blademaster?" The leader said as the man known as Vorro stepped out of the black smoke.
"Who the hell is this asshole?" Knulgen asked nonchalantly.
"This man is Vorro the Blademaster. A mercenary warrior with a blade as sharp as his fighting skills. He will quite the challenge before he kills all of you." The other troop said to them.
"That reminds me," The leader suddenly said. "Vorro, make sure you don't kill the pink-haired girl, our master would like to have a word with her." He chuckled.
"Understood." Vorro said as he dashed after the gang with amazing speed while reaching for his blade.
The gang was ready for his attack as they suddenly noticed the raiders began to attack again, which forced the gang to spilt up into small groups. Alpha began to blast away with his laser guns as he noticed four more tanks rolling down the street to where the Grand Militant was fighting.
"Alpha!" Leadonus called out to him. "Go destroy those tanks before they flank the militant." He said to Alpha as he took down two raiders in one swing.
"There are too many raiders for you all to fight on your own." Alpha responded as he casually blasted a charging raider in the chest with a laser blast from his laser guns.
"Go, we can handle them. You just stop those tanks before they attack the G.M from behind." Jack called out as he cut three raiders down in one swing of his sword.
Alpha nodded and ran down the street to attack the tanks while the gang fought the raiders. Z strapped his assault rifle and pulled out his main handguns and fired away with deadly precision. The others fought off raiders while Vorro the Blademaster attacked any of the gang that was in his blades path. Ulrich ducked from a raiders weapon then returned the attack by stabbing him in the chest as he then spun on his heel and delivered a killing blow to another raider.
The Surfane brothers fought together again like they always do as they fought a dozen raiders at once. Leadonus reaped his scythe around in wide swings with the side handles on the staff part of his weapon while Deotalus stabbed and countered with his trident. Ralfaius took out his butterfly short-swords and blocked the raiders strikes and disarmed them before delivering a killing blow. Miodelus took out his three-section-staff with the hidden blades sticking out the ends and twirled the weapon around at any raiders foolish enough to get in his range.
The twins, William, Odd, Sam, and Jack were grouped up and taking down any raiders that came after them. Williams butcher sword made the raiders attacks worthless while Sam battled the raiders like the brawler she is deep down as she ran her bladed tonfa into a raiders neck without noticing a raider coming right at her from behind, thankfully an arrow from Odd's quiver drove into the raiders back and ended him quick as she turned to see the raider on the ground with the arrow in his back, and Odd giving her a quick wave before bringing back out his claws. The twins took turns attacking the raiders, one would strike with a deep wound before the other finished the raider off, leaving them unable to fend off the twins attacking together.
Many minutes passed as the gang fought Vorro and the raiders with blood staining the dirt ground while the black armored troops stood near the destroyed tank with the smoke finally died down. The raider leader Talgo joined up with the troops, frustrated by his massive loses on both sides of the raiders battles.
"I am losing too many men! This battle is going to set us back for many months if we don't retreat!" Talgo yelled to them.
The troops stood there for a moment before the leader spoke. "You may actually have a point. We will retreat for now and leave Vorro to deal with the warriors, and he will return when the jobs done." The leader said as the three black armored troops seemed to slink away behind the destroyed tank. Talgo noticed the troops were gone, and he growled lightly before joining up with the black armored troops.
Yumi looked over and spotted the black armored troops and the raider leader Talgo running away from the battlefield. She then kicked the raider she was fighting and began to chase after them. "You're not getting away from us! I won't let you!" She yelled to them as she saw them going down the street.
A raider came running after her with a machete as Yumi spotted him and leaped back from his strike and blocked her off from the black armored troops and Talgo. She was just about to attack the raider before her senses alerted her as she ducked down just in time as a black blade swung at her back horizontal and cut off the raiders head as Yumi turned and dodged another swing from the Blademaster, Vorro.
"Sorry young warrior," He said as he slung the blade over his right shoulder. "But your fight is with me now." He said grimly.
()()()()()()()()()()
The streets were littered with bullet shells and clips as the Grand militant soldiers pushed back the raiders. The streets on the raiders side was covered with dead raiders and many burning piles of buggies from the missiles of the tanks, and massive bullet holes through the walls and hiding spots the raiders were from the heavy caliber guns from the military trucks. The Militant have cut more then half of the raiders numbers in half with only some injuries on their side with Davis in the lead, fighting away.
The raiders finally gave up and began to retreat with the G.M troops not far behind. As they chased the raiders down the streets, Davis signaled a transport truck like the one that the gang rode, and another truck with a long bed, six large wheels, and covered top that was a medic truck to carry injured troops away.
The truck pulled up to Davis and the driver poked his head out. "Yes sir, what do you need?" the driver asked him.
"The raider forces are being pushed back, and the other generals can handle chasing them away. We need to find those young warriors and see if they need any medical attention. I'll direct you to there last known location and begin our search from there." Davis said as he leaped onto the door step and held onto the handlebar near the door and Davis and the drivers began to search for the gang.
()()()()()()()()()
Alpha leaped onto one of the tanks and smashed the cockpit and ripped the top off and blasted a charge shot into the inside of the tank and destroyed it from the inside. He then ran grabbed another tank from behind and picked it up off the ground and incredibly flipped it onto the next tank that was several feet away as the two tanks were crushed and exploded. The final tank stopped and turned to Alpha as a raider opened the hatch and fired the minigun at Alpha. The bullets ricocheted off his body as Alpha charged after the tank with his hand up to block some of the bullets as the raider yelled and cussed at Alpha until finally he reached it and grabbed the tank barrel and with all his might as the dials on his shoulders, elbow joints, and the back of his hands began to spin as he ripped the top of the tank off with the raider screaming and slammed the top onto the tank with sparks flying from the ripped sections. With the tanks destroyed, Alpha and Jeremie began to head back to help the others in their fight.
()()()()()()()()()()
Yumi dodged another swing as Vorro's blade got closer and closer. She was away from her friends and the raiders as Vorro's attack became more vicious, and Yumi was unable to counter from the long and wide blades attack.
Ulrich struck down another raider as he glanced over to see Yumi fighting Vorro alone. "Yumi, hold on! I'm coming!" Ulrich called out to her as he began to push through the raiders and ran to help her.
Vorro swung his blade and caused Yumi to lose her footing and fall to the ground with Vorro standing over her. For the first time in a long time, she was very scared and worried for her life as she began to crawl away backwards as she reached in her back pocket and grabbed a fan-blade and threw it sloppy and Vorro simply tilted his head to the side as it flew pass him.
"Too bad it has to end like this for you." Vorro said as he gripped his swords handle. "But my instructions are clear, eliminate you and your friends, so make this easy on you and you wont feel a thing." He finished speaking as he held his blade up over his head, ready to strike her.
"Yumi no!" Ulrich called out as he ran towards them, finally in the clear.
Ulrich could hear his heartbeat in his head, time seemed to slow down for him as the mercenary Vorro's blade began to come down on Yumi. He couldn't think of anything to do, he couldn't think of a way to stop the man's black sword without getting them both killed. But that didn't matter to him and he instantly clicked to instincts and got between Vorro's sword, and Yumi while keeping his arms out stretched, and his sabers in both hands.
SLICE!
A few drops of blood hit the ground right between Ulrich's boots. He then dropped both his sabers as more blood began to fall to the ground. A straight line going from Ulrich's left shoulder and all the way down across his chest and stomach until it passed his belt and to the edge of his right hip as blood began to seep into the cut of his clothes as he fell to his knees and coughed up blood before falling onto his back.
"Ulrich!..." Yumi's scream froze everyone up as the gang fought of the last batch of raiders and noticed what has happened. Yumi leaped onto her knees as she crawled to Ulrich with tears welling up at her eyes. Ulrich's blood was pooling around him as Yumi crawled to his side.
"Ulrich please no! Please don't die! Please stay with me." She begged while taking off her small silk sash around her waist and pressed it hard against his open gash. The blood soaked into it quickly as her hands became stained with blood while Ulrich still coughed up blood. "I can't stop the bleeding, I can't stop the bleeding! Why wont it stop?!" She cried as tears freely began to flow down her cheeks and land on Ulrich's face.
"Yu...mi... I... I..." Was all Ulrich could struggle to say as his eyes closed and lost consciousness from blood loss, and even his face was almost as pale as her's.
"Ulrich no! No, no, no, no, please don't leave me, please, not like this." Yumi cried as she finally broke down crying across his chest while begging him to wake up.
Vorro stood there the whole time watching Yumi cry for her fallen friend. "That's the first time someone stood in front of my blade and survived, at least for a few minutes. But since you cling to him, he must mean a lot to you." Vorro said to her as he raised his blade above his head again. "No matter, if you care so much, then I will be happy to send you to him in the afterlife." He said as he readied his blade to strike.
Yumi couldn't think, her whole body was numb from being racked with guilt for Ulrich's horrid injury. She closed her eyes and waited for her end with Ulrich near and close to her.
A feral roar was heard that caught the three's attention as three arrows flew towards Vorro. The Blademaster's reaction was quick as he swung his sword and cut the arrows out of the air in one swing.
"You bastard! I'll kill you for that!" William roared as he blind sided Vorro and knocked his blade out of his hand with his butcher blade and tackled him to the ground. "I'm going to kill you slow for what you did you motherfucker!" he yelled and began to punch Vorro in the face with all his strength.
After a minute, Vorro got the upper hand and flipped William off him with ease and leaped back onto his feet and grabbed his blade. The rest of the gang stood in front of Ulrich with their weapons held firm and even Alpha ran up to them since he saw the whole thing with his long range optics and sensors.
Vorro knew his odds were against him, and he knew that now was not the time to kill them. "Another time warriors," He said to them as he reached under the back of his coat and pulled out a cylinder. "Another time." He said again as he threw it near his legs and it exploded into a cloud of black smoke. As the smoke dissipated, Vorro was long gone and out of site.
They turned around and went to Ulrich. Odd, Aelita, and Sam were already at Yumi's side with her gently crying. Alpha began to scan Ulrich and could already tell his vitals were dropping, and his odds of survival low.
"Goddamn it! We need to get him out of here now." Knulgen said with gritted teeth.
"No we can't! If we move him, his intestines could spill out if that cuts deep enough." Deotalus warned.
"We can't just leave him lying there, or he will die!" Aracane almost shouted.
"Don't you think he fucking knows that too?!" Leadonus defended.
The gang heard a truck horn blow as they turned to see Davis riding on the side of a medic truck with the transport truck behind it. The trucks stopped near them as they waved for it.
Davis leaped off the side and ran up to them. "Warriors, is everything all right? What happened he-" He stopped speaking as he spotted Ulrich lying in a pool of his own blood With Yumi, Odd, Sam, and Aelita still kneeling. "Oh my god... Medics!" He yelled to the medic truck while some of them stood back.
Four medic troops with a stretcher in hands and medic bag leaped out of the back of the truck. They ran to where Ulrich was lying and began to go to work as one began to check his pulse while the others around him backed away.
"He's still alive, but barely. We need to get him in the truck now, it's his only chance." A molnuck medic said as the four paramedics gently lifted Ulrich onto the stretcher with blood dripping right through it and onto the ground. Odd grabbed Ulrich's sabers as Aelita spotted Yumi's fan-blade and picked it up.
"We need to head back to the town. It's his only hope, they have a hospital that can help him." Davis said to the gang as the paramedics loaded Ulrich onto the long truck. Yumi, Odd, Z, and William leaped into the back with him while the others began to load into the transport truck.
"We'll go with Ulrich in case they our help, just get us to the hospital. Every minute counts." Z said to Davis as he closed the truck doors.
Davis nodded as he headed to the passenger seat. He saw Alpha loading up into the truck with his mask cloak in hand, and was amazed to see a robot, but only for the moment as he went back to focusing on what's important as he climbed into the passenger seat of the medic truck. "To the towns hospital driver. And step on it, and if you see any raider bastards in our way, run them over with extreme prejudice!" Davis commanded.
"With pleasure sir." The driver said as he started the truck back up and drove.
With the medic truck holding the injured Ulrich, and the transport truck holding the rest of the gang in it, they drove down the dirt road and back onto the main road heading back to the town.
The raiders were pushed back with their numbers greatly diminished, and their will to fight almost broke. But the victory was bittersweet as the gang failed to catch the black armored troops, and now a dangerous blademaster by the name of, Vorro, has cut Ulrich down with a near fatal blow, and his life slowly draining. His friends feared they were finally going to lose someone in this war against Xana. It was now up to Ulrich to find the strength to pull through and survive his wound, and if he does live, he will bare a scar that not only runs across his body, but deep into his mind as well.
END CHAPTER.