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Pt35 - Hopefully Dr. Walnut doesn't come across as too average in this chapter, though the mad scientist vibes are definitely what I'm going for.


Chapter 51: Dr. Nut


Timeline 18-2096
Citadel 972

"Yes...yes yes yes yes YES!" Dr. Walnut wildly exclaimed, a wide grin stretching from ear to ear. He was practically overflowing with giddiness at the sight of the cyborg dragon lying before him, his eyes radiating with excitement and malice.

"My child has come home, at last!" he continued, his voice trailing off in an overly dramatic serenade.

Hidden scrunched up his snout disgustedly. Is...this guy for real…?

"Oh, I knew you would, eventually. You couldn't possibly have gone too long without seeing your creator again," Walnut cooned, "Come, let us get you up off of the floor now! A beautiful thing such as yourself doesn't deserve to be lying in the dirt." A pair of impossibly long robotic arms twisted out of small holes in the slanted walls, swerving through the air and twisting around Darkstalker's torso, lifting his limp form up before the holographic display.

Hidden lifted the laser cannon toward the long twisting arms, his claw brushing the trigger ever so slightly, when Luna pushed it down once again. He growled irritably, turning to the SilkWing, whose eyes were fixed upon the holographic display, as if she had fallen into some sort of mortified trance.

"Walnut already has him, it's too late…." she quietly stated, her gaze unbroken.

"No, it's not." Hidden grumbled back, his voice barely above a whisper, "I can take out those arms pretty easily."

"And blow our cover in the process." Luna responded, turning to face him this time, her expression firm. "What do you value more, his life, or yours?"

Hidden didn't respond, gritting his teeth in irritation. He turned his attention back to the walkway below, cannon held at the ready, claws anxiously tapping against its white metal shell. He certainly wasn't planning on getting himself and Luna killed, but he couldn't watch Darkstalker get dragged off by this maniac either.

"Moons forbid, you've really done a number on yourself, haven't you?" Dr. Walnut mused, the robotic arms twisting Darkstalker about in the air as the crazed human carefully inspected the damages he'd sustained. "That's nothing to worry about, though, as I'll have you all fixed up right in a jiffy! Heh, yes, a jiffy! And who knows, maybe we could replace those dull, dreary scales of yours with some nice and shiny metal plating too!"

Darkstalker slowly lifted his head toward the holographic display, and defiantly spat a glob of blood out onto the walkway below. The human eyed the NightWing disdainfully for a moment, before a smile began to creep along his face, an amused chuckle escaping from his lips.

"Always the rebel, aren't you," he sighed, "But I can fix that too." A third robotic arm twisted out of one of the walls, a small, circular device held in its metal grip, a bed of sharp. stiff wires protruding from one side of the device. Hidden felt his stomach turn when he realized what the device was, and Luna looked almost ready to throw up.

"It's about time you learned to be a little more obedient, my beuti…."

A bright flash of light suddenly cut through the air, searing its way straight through the twisting robotic arm that held the mind-control device. Two more followed soon after, carving through the arms holding Darkstalker aloft, the NightWing plummeting to the hard metal pathway below.

Hidden froze, staring at the smoking barrel of the laser canon held within his talons. He glanced to his side, seeing Luna looking at him in complete shock.

"You...what did you….?" she sputtered.

"I-I don't know! Darkstalker was about to get one of those...those mind control things jacked into the back of his head, and I freaked out and…."

Hidden was abruptly cut off when two of the hounds grabbed the hiding dragons, sharp metal claws sinking into their scales as they were thrown out onto the walkway. Hidden skidded to a stop along the metal flooring, and quickly scrambled to his feet, grabbing his laser canon and clutching the base of his neck where the six-legged creature had grabbed him.

"What oh what oh WHAT do we have here?!" Dr. Walnut sneered, eyeing the two suspiciously. "What would a couple disgusting little lizards be doing crawling around in my walls?"

Hidden clenched his claws tighter around the laser cannon at the crazed human's remark, feeling a strong urge to fire it straight through his holographic face. He turned to Luna, hoping she would know what to do, but the SilkWing had completely froze, her body shivering wildly as she stared up at Dr. Walnut. Darkstalker wasn't much better, the cyborg NightWing still struggling to come to his senses.

He'd have to be the one to get them out of this, and he still wasn't sure how. His mind raced to find a way out of their dire situation in the mere seconds before he'd have to respond. They could try to run away, but they were surrounded by at least two dozen hounds, patiently awaiting orders from their master. They could fight back, but with Darkstalker injured, and Luna scared out of her wits, the two of them wouldn't stand a chance. He'd need more time to figure this out, and thankfully, stalling was one of his specialties.

All he could hope was that Dr. Walnut would take the bait.

"I dunno," Hidden replied, "Maybe you should go check if there's any more of us crawlin' around in there?"

"You take me for an idiot, lizard? I am the most intelligent man in the multiverse!"
"The 'most intelligent man in the multiverse' wouldn't go around bellowing that out to every stranger he met."

"And what would a lowly creature such as yourself possibly know of intelligence?"

Hidden smirked. This was too easy.

"Lowly creature? Didn't you just call our buddy here 'beautiful'?" Hidden rebuked, wrapping a foreleg around Darkstalker's neck. The battered NightWing let out a faint groan of protest, but was too weak to fight back.

"And furthermore! I'll have you know that I graduated Nightfall University, one of the highest rated technical colleges in my timeline, with a Master's Degree in mechanical engineering, which may not be a doctorate, but it's STILL PRETTY FRIGGIN' REMARKABLE!"
"HA! You call THAT a post-secondary education? I have FIFTEEN PHD's, and was a forerunner in the field of Anti-Dragon Sciences. Scum like you couldn't possibly live up to such prodigious achievements!"

"Well have you ascended to the apex of the TOWER OF DOOM?! Or outwitted an all powerful dragon wizard, TWICE?!"

"No, but I have conquered DOZENS of timelines, and fabricated an empire so vast, even the ALLIANCE hasn't broken it!"

"The same Alliance that's kept you languishing within your territory for a decade?"

"I AM NOT LANGUISHING!" Dr. Walnut roared, "I am merely augmenting my forces in preparation for a stupendous counterattack!"

Hidden glanced around at the hounds circling them, all standing stiff at attention, awaiting their next command. He could fairly confidently assume that they were currently being directly controlled by the mad doctor, which meant that if he could distract him for long enough….

"How do you know the Alliance won't proceed to eradicate the remainder of your empire, though. What defenses could a citadel like this possibly have against such a redoubtable foe?" he continued, briefly glancing at Luna standing beside him. The SilkWing's shivering had greatly lessened, and she even seemed to have a slight grin on her snout.

"My citadels are equipped with shields sturdy enough to withstand the complete force of an Alliance flagship. Their walls are adorned by monumental anti-aircraft cannons, and even if an attacker were to get past those, they would come face to face with my deleterious…."

Hidden quickly tuned out the human's rambling tirade, leaning down to whisper into Darkstalker's ear. "Can you still walk?" he asked. The NightWing shifted around, wincing as they hobbled up onto all fours. Hidden nodded to Luna, and the trio quietly began backing up away from the holographic display.

Hidden eyed the horde of six-legged robots nervously as they carefully stepped between them, the hounds showing no signs of reaction to the fleeing dragons. He let out a faint sigh of relief, his prediction having been proven true. Dr. Walnut was still busy rattling off about the might of his forces, having turned away from the camera to gesticulate wildly at the chamber behind him. Hopefully, by the time he finished, the three of them would be long gone.

"And even if they manage to get past the paladins, they'd have absolutely zero chance of...wait...WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"

Hidden let out a brief, startled yelp, turning to see the fuming face of Dr. Thaddeus Walnut glaring at them from afar. They'd already managed to make it to the end of the citadel, the sheer outward-slanting wall dropping down just before them. Hidden grinned, and cupped his foretalons to his snout, shouting "See ya later Dr. Nut!" before firing the laser cannon at the holographic display. The bright bolt of energy cleaved right through one of the four drones projecting the image of the crazed human, which fizzled away just before he could retort.

The instant the screen disappeared, the entire gathered horde of hounds turned in their direction, Hidden feeling himself freeze up at the sight of the dozens of faceless murder-bots staring at them. Their shrill cries echoes down the walkway as they surged toward the frightful dragons in a vicious frenzy, clawing over one another ravenously in order to reach the head of the pack.

"Heh, looks like they didn't like that," Hidden chuckled, pulling the communicator out of his dark blue polyester pouch, "Guess it's time to blow this…."

"Hidden! Watch out!"
Hidden could do little more than whip his head to the right in the moments after Luna's sudden warning, as a hound descended upon him from the top of the slanted wall beside him. It's razor sharp claws dug into his pale yellow scales as it latched onto his back, sending a searing pain through his body as he reeled backward, the laser cannon slipping from his grasp and dropping to the floor.

"YEAAAAGH!" he howled, struggling to reach the metal monstrosity latched to his back, his arms unable to bend back far enough to grab hold of it. Luna didn't waste a second in leaping over Darkstalker's back at Hidden, tonfa in talon, the injured NightWing stumbling back. The hound turned it's empty gaze toward the assailant, lashing it's spiked tail at her, but Luna deftly twisted out of the way, jabbing one of her tonfa between the machine and Hidden's back and launching it over the edge of the citadel.

The hound screeched as it was thrown off of the SandWing, one of it's six legs grasping the base of Hidden's right wing in a desperate attempt to cling on. Hidden heard a chilling POP as it slid off, an aching pain surging through his wing as it fell limp at his side. He didn't have any time to consider this, though, as he soon found himself tumbling over the edge, the world spinning around him as his rear talons slipped off of the smooth metal.

His heart stopped for a brief moment, fear pounding through Hidden's brain as his gaze was swung toward the craggly wasteland so far below, when he suddenly felt a pair of talons grab hold of his tail, just below the poisonous barb at its end. He swung back against the side of the citadel's wall, wincing, the weak spot on the end of his tail still not having healed completely.

Hidden felt a tiny drop of liquid hit his snout, and looked up to see the grimacing face of Darkstalker staring down at him, teeth clenched as he struggled to carry Hidden's weight, the dislodged cable dangling over the edge of the citadel.

"Guess this makes us even." the NightWing grumbled, Luna standing at his side, a relieved, and somewhat amused grin on her snout.

"For what, saving you in the Tower of Doom, or saving you no...WHA WAIT!"

Darkstalker briefly let up his grip on the SandWing, Hidden feeling his stomach drop into his throat as he was nearly sent plummeting to his demise.

"Alright! Alright! Just...pull me up already!"

Darkstalker swung the SandWing back up atop the wall, turning to face the horde of hounds alongside Luna. Hidden groaned, attempting to touch his injured wing, only to flinch back at the sharp burst of pain that followed.

"Ricky, Lin! We need a pickup, like, now!" Hidden shouted into the communicator, picking back up the laser canon and activating the energy shield strapped to his left foreleg. It still hurt to move both of his forelegs, but he'd just have to bear it if he hoped to get out of this alive.

Luna stood hunched over to his right, Darkstalker glowering at his left, as the horde of drones surrounded them, the six-legged monstrosities steadily creeping closer and closer, their prey backed against a sheer cliff. Two panthers loomed behind the pack, a familiar, wicked voice cackling out of one of them.

"Oh, oh ho ho...this is going to be fun."

One of the hounds leapt right at Hidden, the SandWing blocking it with his shield, and thrusting it over to Luna, who threw it to the ground and jabbed one of her tonfa straight through it's lithe body. Another made a move for Darkstalker, the NightWing grabbing it around the neck, and hurling it back into the horde. One of the panthers stepped forward, Hidden instinctively ducking just as a vertical beam of energy shot out of its non-face, passing right between the SandWing's dark yellowish-brown horns.

"He's just toying with us!" Luna shouted irritably, throwing two more hounds over the edge of the citadel, one of the machines' spiked tails lightly scraping her foreleg. Hidden quickly held up the laser cannon in his foretalons, letting loose upon any six-legged death machine that even considered breaking out of the group. All the while, Dr. Nut's disquieting laughter echoed across the walkway, Hidden blasting the panther's non-face to shut him up, only for him to start laughing out of the other.

Hidden felt his hind talons starting to reach the edge of the walkway, briefly glancing back at the sheer drop just behind him. They could try to fly away, but Luna likely couldn't carry Hidden alone, and he doubted Darkstalker would be willing to help. Even then, Dr. Nut could just blast them out of the sky; they'd need something a lot faster if they ever hoped to….

As if by cue, the faint sound of burning thrusters echoed across the scorched wasteland, a shining silver vessel streaking over the dull landscape toward the citadel. A furious gust of wind burst up behind the trio as the shuttle shot up vertically behind them, a dark brown dragon clinging to its roof, a steely glare in her emerald eyes. She lifted a large, oddly shaped canon toward the blockade of robots, and with a single twitch of a claw, sent a bright wave of rainbow plasma washing over the horde.

Dr. Nut's laughter was abruptly cut off as his small army was consumed by the vibrant blaze, booming EDM drowning out the screeches of the burning robots. A few managed to leap through the fire, but they were quickly picked off by Hidden with the laser canon.

"Get in!" Lin shouted sternly, as the shuttle leveled out next to the edge of the citadel, it's rear ramp hung wide open. The trio didn't waste a second in hopping in, the shuttle shooting off the instant Hidden touched down within its main chamber. One of the panthers fired off a final beam of energy at the escaping shuttle, cutting through one of the ramp's hydraulic arms, leaving it dangling open haphazardly.

Lin quickly swung herself down into the shuttle as it shot away from the citadel, eyeing the damaged ramp warily. What remained of the pack of hounds screeched furiously, the glowing lines on their non-faces gleaming brightly as they watched the intruders fly off into the distance.

"Something tells me this isn't the end." Lin grumbled, holding the dubstep cannon at the ready. Luna nodded in agreement, checking the various scrapes and bruises she'd received in the scuffle.

Hidden winced, letting out a pained groan as he stood up beside her, laser cannon held in his talons. Ricky turned back to Hidden, eyes lighting up with worry at the sight of Hidden's bleeding scrapes and limp wing.

"H-Hidden! What happened? Are you alright?" he sputtered, starting to pull himself up out of the cockpit.

Hidden held up a talon, giving him a reassuring, if somewhat strained, grin. "Fine, I'm fine…just some scrapes, and maybe also a dislocated wing," he explained, "We can worry about it later, when we're not in killer robot land."

"A-Alright…." Ricky solemnly responded, turning his focus back to the wasteland ahead. "Though, the slipdrive doesn't seem to be working for some reason."

"Wait...what?" Hidden asked, he and Lin both turning back into the cockpit. Luna sighed.

"Walnut's citadels are all equipped with long range disruptors that prevent any unauthorized slipstreams from being opened within their vicinity. We'll have to get far enough away before we can get out of here." she explained, turning to the wide open rear of the shuttle and pointing towards the citadel. Hidden and Lin both gazed back at the bright beacon of light amidst the dreary landscape, rapidly diminishing into the distance. Darkstalker sat behind them, staring at the floor of the shuttle in silence, the damage cable dripping residue at his side. For a moment, everyone was quiet, before Lin finally spoke up.

"I don't like this," she mused, lowering the Dubstep cannon and turning to Luna, "If this Dr. Walnut wanted to capture us, why hasn't he sent anything after us?"

"He did," Luna growled in response, slamming a fist against the side of the shuttle as she stared out at the citadel, her gaze hardening. Hidden squinted, noticing two dark shapes rising up from the center of the massive structure, with bulky, rectangular bodies held aloft by twin horizontal propulsion rings. Bright white lines of light ran horizontally around the sides of the machines' main bodies, nine smaller ones intersecting each of them perpendicularly across the front. They almost resembled giant versions of drones like Bippy, but far more menacing, and with what looked like giant laser cannons carved into the front of them.

"Scorchers," Luna growled, whipping her head back to Ricky, "Get us out of here, NOW!"

The shuttle lurched as Ricky pushed it to its maximum velocity, the cannons on the scorchers lighting up like miniature suns. In a bright flash of light, two massive, concentrated beams of plasma struck down upon the scorched earth just behind them, incinerating anything in their path as they rapidly approached the fleeing shuttle.

"Faster Ricky! Do you want us to get fried!" Luna snapped, Ricky flinching under her harsh tone.

"Th-This is as fast as it can go!"

Hidden could feel the blazing heat of the scorchers' fire blasting across his scales, the SandWing having to avert his eyes as to not go blind from the white-hot wall of fire that grew ever closer. Flames licked off of the outer walls of the shuttle, making Hidden feel like he'd stepped into a giant microwave, and was slowly being cooked from the inside out. He could hardly make out Lin and Luna at his side in the blinding light, Darkstalker maintaining his forlorn attitude despite their impending, fiery demise.

"HOLD ON!" Ricky shouted, as blue sparks of light streamed out in front of the shuttle, the silver vessel disappearing into a slipstream just as the blaze of the scorchers had begun to eat away at the edge of the open ramp.


The Salvation
Lower Level

Two Hours Later

Hidden gazed about the Salvation's halls skeptically as he made his way through the lower level, lightly running a claw along each storage unit he passed. It was hard to believe that they'd managed to escape the clutches of Dr. Nut, he could still feel the searing heat of the scorchers, hear the ear-piercing screeching of the hounds and panthers.

He glanced back at his right wing, held in a sling they'd found in the med-bay. Bloodstained bandages were wrapped around his torso and legs, making him look almost like a mummy from some cheesy horror movie. Lin had recommended that he refrain from flying for the next week or two, right after she had violently shoved his wing back into its socket.

The SandWing eventually came upon a unit that was wide open, a disgruntled NightWing covered in even more bandages than Hidden laying just inside. Darkstalker cast him a cold glance, his tail swishing back and forth impatiently. The NightWing was very obviously vexed with the idea of Hidden aiding in his repairs, despite the tired, disinterested expression he tried to keep up.

Hidden, of course, felt quite the opposite; now being presented with a prime chance to learn a little about how Darkstalker's cybernetic enhancements worked. He'd been eyeing the cables and nodes covering the NightWing's body for some time now, and Darkstalker had taken notice, insisting while they received their medical treatment that he could take care of his repairs on his own, and that he'd done so many times in the past.

In the end, Lin had pointed out that Darkstalker was far too injured to deal with his own repairs, and that while Hidden was injured too, he was also the best there when it came to hardware. Although, she had also strictly ordered the SandWing not to probe too far into Darkstalker's implants, and to have him repaired as soon as possible.

Neither of them were willing to disagree with her.

We really do need to figure out who's in charge here. Though, it might already be too late for that now. Hidden wondered. With Darkstalker rescued, they were no longer any detours ahead. Hidden, Ricky, Xavier and Reggie would be home soon, and then? Hidden wasn't quite sure, and he didn't exactly want to think about it at the moment.

He stepped into his makeshift workshop, glancing around as he tried to shake his mind off of the fast approaching end of their adventure. The once empty storage unit had been converted into a workspace for Hidden to experiment with the complex technologies of the multiverse, picking apart their inner workings and comparing them to their descriptions in the books he'd purchased back in Moss town. A large crate sat over in one corner, various bits and bobs scattered around the hodge-podge Bippy 2. A stack of books sat at its side, a fancy floor lamp Hidden had "borrowed" from the cafeteria standing beside it.

"So, this isn't the first time something like this has happened to you, huh?" Hidden asked, rummaging in his pouch and pulling out his PDA.

"No, it is not." Darkstalker replied tersely, staring out at the hallway as Hidden knelt down next to him. The SandWing held out his PDA toward the node that the cable had been ripped out of, using a combination of it's camera and flashlight to carefully inspect the damage.

"It's not the first time you've needed repairs, or it's not not the…."

"You know what I mean."

Hidden silently nodded, spotting a messy line of bubbly solder running along the edge of where the cable was meant to be inserted. He sat up on his haunches, setting his PDA aside as he turned to face the aloof NightWing.

"Well then," he began, "I can easily solder that cable back into place, but I'll first need to know what that liquid that sprayed out of the cable was."

"Salt water." Darkstalker replied, "Seawater works too."

"A conductor." Hidden quietly mumbled, his mind already racing to piece together how the node and cable system worked. If the fluid in the cables was just a conductor, then most of the complex machinery was likely consolidated within the nodes. Thankfully, none of those seemed to be damaged.

He pulled out the communicator from his pouch, holding it up to his mouth. "Yo, Ricky?" he asked, "You think you could get me some saltwater down here?" He paused, putting a talon to his jaw as he thought back to his high school chemistry class. "If you can, try to go for a salt concentration of about 3.5%, though a little more is fine too."

"A-Alright!" Ricky's voice faintly replied over the communicator's speakers.

"Thanks!" Hidden finished, stuffing the communicator back in his pouch. He turned to Darkstalker, remembering what Dr. Nut had said about him. The doctor had practically fallen head over heels for the NightWing, cooning about how he was his "beautiful child". Hidden squinted suspiciously at Darkstalker, wondering who, or what, he really was.

"What?" Darkstalker asked defensively, turning to Hidden, having noticed the SandWing's intense stares.

"Just thinking," Hidden explained, "Back at the citadel, Dr. Nut mentioned that you were his creation, which has got me wondering…." He paused, scratching his frills. "I mean, who or what are you? Are you even a Darkstalker at all?"

"Of course I am!" Darkstalker snapped back, but with a slight sense of doubt in his voice. He remained silent for a moment, before plainly responding with "That's none of your concern anyway." Hidden let out a displeased grunt, and continued to push.

"Listen pal, I just risked my scales to help save you. The least you could do is tell me why you ran off like that."

"I saved your life on the citadel. We're even."

"Not even close."

"You're not in charge of me."

"You sound like a dragonet."

"You wouldn't understand."

"But I'm willing to try."

"Got the saltwater!"

Ricky suddenly stepped into the workshop, setting down a large pot filled with salt water, and a small cup to scoop it with. He looked between the two arguing dragons, both of their gazes now turned toward him, and slowly began to back out of the unit.

"I'll just...leave you to it." he finished, before heading off back down the hallway. Hidden turned to Darkstalker, the NightWing letting out a long, defeated sigh.

"Fine," he began, taking a long, deep breath, "It all happened ten years ago…."


AN:

Wow this chapter was long. I'm actually pretty proud of it, and I think splitting off the previous two chapters from it really helped give me the proper time to flesh out this part of the story. There were still bits I feel were a little rushed, but I think it turned out decently enough. I'm pretty happy about this chapter, as it has bits for just about anyone in it. A little suspense, a little silliness, a little action, and a little intrigue too. Hopefully you've all enjoyed this episode so far, as it still has three or so chapters to go before the finale can begin.

Why did Darkstalker run off to confront Dr. Nut, and what happened in his past to make him who he is today? Find out in the next chapter of Wings of Fire: Salvation! Stay tuned!