Corson V: Nefarious City, The Present
The night sky was aglow with bright neon lights shining from below and the sounds of engines rumbling, due to the traffic of ships flying through the air. In the city itself, various brands of electronic advertisements decorated every steel structured building as crowds of synthroid bots hovered in the bustling streets. Hardly any organics in sight, a city that favours machines then those with flesh. Trickles of rain fell, wetting the cold hard steel surface, which slightly wavers from a couple of nefarious citizen bots hovering over it.
Nefarious City, otherwise known as Neon Hell.
Occasionally a pair of Nefarious Laser-Troopers would patrol through the streets, large white saucer shaped bots with large orange glass heads housing three robotic slit optics. They were fitted with spinning claws on both of their lengthy arms, capable of delivering deadly ion-flux lasers. Under them waved three wire-legs, resembling mechanical tentacles that allow them flexible movement. These were the standard models of Nefarious Laser-Trooper models, not the brightest of the bunch, but still lethal enforcers.
"Citizens, please be advised that any who do not partake in the monthly praising of our Emperor, will be faced with a nefarious punishment. And it will not be fun." One of the Nefarious Laser-Troopers announced for anyone passing by to hear. "And remember. All resistance members should report to the nearest intake facility. We promise it will be an *enjoyable* experience, hehe." They add, quietly chuckling ominously at the end.
A few blocks away, Crimson hides within one of the alleys, peeking out and watching the Nefarious bots hover away. He sneaks back into the depths of the alley and submerges himself into the shadows, remaining extra vigilant. Unlike the streets, which were kept sleek and clean, the alleyways are filled with trash the city hides under the rugs. He walks over scraps of metal and junk, avoiding any passersby as he makes his way through the dirty alley.
Back before, he'd be able to pass off as a normal robot in the city, but the big red wanted posters with his helmet plastered on them make it difficult. The posters decorated the whole alley wall, a couple of them being him, but the rest… a resistance member practically owned the whole wall. From what Crimson has heard about her, she's the most determined freedom fighter there is trying to dismantle the Emperor's ruling.
The Lombax.
From the picture of the poster, she shared a similar appearance to that of a feline cat. Two curvy triangular ears with hooped earrings and fur on the top of her forehead resembling a tuft of hair, along with a pair of goggles sitting on top. In the poster she proudly wore a confident smirk as if taunting Emperor Nefarious himself. He's never met the Lombax before and he doesn't plan to anytime soon.
He's got more important things to worry about right now. Reaching the exit of the alley, he peeks out, ensuring no one's littering around. Seeing that the coast is clear, he walks out and heads to a secluded spot, kneeling down next to the edge of an overpass. All the buildings within the area stretched down, past a fog that Crimson calls the abyss, which blocks anyone from peering further beyond down.
The light shower trickled down his helmet, dripping off the tip as he stared down into the abyss. "I'm here." Crimson radioed in.
"Good." His informer responded, her voice slightly distorted through the comms. "Now remember you'll have a nine second window when the train arrives. Get on, silence any guards you encounter and free the civilians."
"You know this won't go quiet." He tells her, keeping an eye on his surroundings. "Nefarious forces will be on me the second I'm spotted."
"That's why you need to get them off that train quickly." She instructed him.
"That's not much of a plan." He comments.
"This came up on *short* notice. I'm sure you can improvise, just make sure they make it to the evac safely." She told him sharply.
"...It's going to be alright." He reassures her.
Crimson heard her sigh on the other end of the comms. "Sorry, I'm just really stressed at the moment."
He knows that feeling all too well. "I understand."
"Still, I shouldn't be snapping at the *one* person who's helping me with this." She replies.
That reminds him. "Why I'm I the only one available?" Crimson asked.
"My other acquaintance has gone radio silent and I'm not sure where they currently are." She said, emphasising them with an annoyed tone.
"Any reason?"
"Wish I knew. This isn't the first time it's happened and I doubt it'll be the last. Just have to hope they don't leave too much of a mess to clean up." She told him.
They sounded like a hassle. He doesn't usually ask about her other acquaintances, mainly because it's none of his business. They've had a strict professional relationship that soon mellowed out over the years into… being familiar with one another. For as long as he's known her, she always had a calm and cool attitude regarding jobs, so it's unnatural to see her become this agitated.
"You seem serious about wanting to help these people." He questioned curiously.
"Some of them are... old friends of mine. They're good people and don't deserve what's happening to them. I don't want to lose them." She explained, feeling disheartened halfway through.
Crimson knows what it's like to lose others. "I'll get them out. I promise." He vowed.
He hears a silent breath of relief wash over the comms. "Thank you."
On cue, Crimson picked up the faint distant sound of energy humming. Roughly eighty feet down below near the abyss, he saw the train speeding its way in his direction. The whole convoy had nine carriages, each one squared and coloured black with an orange trim. Unlike the trains back home, these ones used hover stabilizer technology instead of wheels to keep themselves afloat in the air without the use of rails.
"It's here." He says, standing up straight with a determined posture.
"Keep me updated." She tells him.
Crimson doesn't say anything else back, instead he takes one step off the edge… and drops.
The air brushed over him as he was free falling, until he suddenly landed on top of the train with a heavy thud. If it wasn't for the in-built exo in his armour, he'd have a pair of shattered knees from a drop that high. Buildings soar past him as the train steadily keeps speeding along, probably going at a speed between 80 or 100 km/h if he had to guess. With his magneboots online, keeping him firmly stuck to the ground, he won't have to worry about slipping off.
Crimson glances over the rest of the train and notices he's managed to land on the second carriage at the far back. Summoning his Burst Pistol in his right hand, he starts making his way to the caboose of the train. He's got to be extra cautious, seeing he's practically going in blind and doesn't know what to expect. For now he'll start checking each carriage from the back to the front for the civilians, wanting to make sure they're safe first.
Reaching the edge of the carriage, Crimson jumps down onto a small platform of the first coach. The second the door detects his presence it automatically slides wide open, Crimson can't help but wonder if they never expect intruders or it's just a bad design flaw. Raising his pistol in preparation, he enters the room and scans his eyes over every square inch only to find it completely empty. Lowering his gun, he notices each side is fitted with a jail cell of steel bars, large enough to fit a whole crowd.
But if they weren't at the back. "They'll most likely be at the front then." He muttered, speculating to himself.
Turning around, he heads back outside onto the platform and carefully steps over the gap. Just like before, the door leading to the next carriage automatically opens, revealing empty cells and no guards. Crimson grip tightened on his gun, treading through the room cautiously. Something felt off… even if the civilians weren't here, he should've encountered a guard by now.
He carried on moving into the next carriage, approaching it armed and ready. But just like the last two coaches, the room was completely bare of nothing except an empty cell on either side of it. Crimson was beginning to worry, was there a possibility he jumped on the wrong one? No, the schedule he received about the convoy was on the dot.
It isn't until Crimson enters the fourth carriage, his doubts cease. Hushed whispers fell silent at his arrival, each cell packed with different coloured alien organic civilians. The door slides closed behind him as he steps closer to the cell on the left. They were frightened, clothes ragged and dirty, grouping together and holding their childrens closer. Children… they had kids on this train.
A blue skin and orange one eyed head elder amphibious alien, steps forward placing himself as a wall between Crimson and the rest. "What do you want from us?" He demands, his singular eye piercing at him.
Crimson lowers his pistol, trying to appear less intimidating. "I'm here to get you all off this train."
He receives a mixture of reactions from the news. Mainly relief breaking throughout the crowd, while some seemed suspicious and others kept staring at him in fear. Even some of the children stared at him curiously, while a few hid behind their parents' legs. But that didn't bother him, his main concern was how he was going to get them all off this train.
The Elder looks surprised at the news. "Really? Did the resistance send you?" He asks, hope rising within his words.
Crimson shakes his head. "No."
The crowd immediately grew wary at Crimsons response. "Then who sent you?" The Elder questioned, frowning slightly.
Before Crimson could answer, someone pushed their way to the front. "Something's off! Why's a bot trying to rescue us!?" A young man with similar coloured skin as the Elder, but with one yellow eye accuses, jabbing a finger at Crimson.
It didn't take long for others to follow suit.
"What if it's just a trap!?" One cried.
"He might kill us!" Someone shouted.
"Don't trust him!" Another bellowed.
One civilian grips the bars, staring right at Crimson. "You can't really expect us to-"
"QUIET!" The Elder shouts, silencing everyone, before turning back to Crimson. "Why are you rescuing us?"
All eyes were on him, waiting for what he'll say next. It's clear none of them trusted him, whether it's because he isn't a resistance member or assumingly a bot… or both. He needed to show them he was on their side, he needed their trust. Otherwise they might-
"I don't want to lose them."
He's not going to let that happen. "Because someone asked me to. Someone that considers you family." He spoke honestly. "And I don't want to let them down."
The Elder carefully studies Crimson, almost like he was judging his soul, before eventually nodding. "That's enough for me." He said satisfied.
The young man hastily grabs the Elder's shoulder, jerking him slightly. "You can't seriously trust this bot, can you?!"
The Elder gives the young man a hard stare and wipes their hand off. "I do Iven, and you and everyone else will too if you want out of here." He bluntly told him, along with the rest of the crowd.
Those who shouted before stayed quiet, while others shared the seeming hope as the Elder, set at ease with his words. The young man known as Iven wanted to say more, but held his tongue. It's clear whoever this Elder person is, takes a leadership role for these people. Crimson can't help wondering how they all ended up here, possibly accomplices to the resistance? The old man did seem rather hopeful that he'd be one, questions for another time. For now, he needs to get them out.
Crimson stares down the cells, noticing the lack of controls connected to the cells. "Is there any way I can unlock the cells?" He asks them.
"U-Um I might know." Someone piped up, raising a hesitant finger. "I u-used to be an engineer, until I ended up here. But from what I recall, they always had all the systems installed at the front of the train."
Seems logical enough, but it'll most likely be guarded for sure. "Does that include the cell controls?" Crimson questions.
"I'm n-not certain, but possibly?"
It's the best option he has for now. "Alright, all of you-"
Before Crimson could continue, he's interrupted by the sound of both doors on either side of the carriage sliding opening. Immediately the crowd shifts away from the bars, sound extinguished, replaced by metal clattering against metal. His muscles tense at the sight of two Nefarious Laser-Troopers strolling into the room, both narrowing their optics on him and blocking the exits.
It was a trap.
"You are trespassing the Emperor's property, surrender now or be destroyed-" The Nefarious Laser-Trooper says, until getting cut off by a spray of acid shots.
The Nefarious bot stumbles back with each shot as metal and circuits are eating away by the onslaught of acid. "I'M MELTING… MELTING! Oh w-what *ZRRT* w-world, what world…" It cries out, collapsing to the ground and shutting down.
The other one charges up it's lasers, hands spinning rapidly with an orange glow in the centre of it. Crimson barely rolls out of the way as a beam of energy burns towards him, sparks flying off the floor, colouring the room in an orange light. His Burst Pistol digitalises away, switching it out for his Enforcer and takes aim as he holds down the trigger. A devastating double blast shreds the Nefarious bot to parts, until it could barely twitch.
Crimson hefts the Enforcer up, smoke trailing out of the double barrels. Well, he knew things weren't going to be silent, but he wasn't expecting them to set an ambush for him. Were they even expecting him or someone else? He didn't see anything on the way here and no alarms went off, so where did they come from? It didn't matter now, either way they're coming and he needs to hurry.
Crimson shifts his head over to the cells, seeing the occupants staring at him in shock. "I'll be back."
With that, he reloads his Enforcer and walks out of the coach, pieces of the blasted Nefarious Laser-Trooper, crumbling under his steel boots. Seems like the Enforcer was a good investment after all, packing quite a punch, perhaps adding more barrels wouldn't hurt. He'll focus on upgrades at a later date, at the moment he's got four more carriages until he reaches the front. Unfortunately he's too slow to register a pair of metal tentacle-arms grabbing his shoulders.
Crimson feels the world flip around him as he's yanked on top of the carriage and slammed against the roof. Another Nefarious Laser-Trooper looms menacingly over him, pinning both his shoulders to the roof uncomfortably as the metal creaked beneath him. Stretching his left hand up, Crimson grasps one of it's tentacles and activates his electric glove. Instantly the robot let's go of him as electricity fries it's systems.
But Crimson doesn't let go, pulling up his Enforcer in his right hand and letting both barrels rip the bot apart. Their remains tumbling off the side of the train and dropping into the endless abyss below. Crimson rolls his shoulders around, relieving the pressure pressing into him earlier, but soon stops at the sight in front of him. More groups of Nefarious Laser-Troopers scale the side of the train, climbing their way onto the roofs of each coach.
It didn't take long for Crimson to realise the guards were never in the carriages, they were under them. Five near the end of the caboose and eight of them blocking him from the front, each side cornering Crimson in the middle. Did they intentionally set the prisoners in the middle just to box him? He's definitely outnumbered and the odds aren't in his favour… but when have they ever been.
"He didn't pay for a ticket. Annihilate him!" One of the Nefarious bots shouts, before they all begin charging.
Crimson quickly swaps his Enforcer for a fusion grenade, chucking it towards the front side. Two Nefarious Laser-Troopers get caught in the explosion, sending them off the train, while dazing the ones behind them. Crimson uses this opportunity to charge the rear side, immediately being met with an onslaught of lasers. Adrenaline pumps through his veins as he carefully avoids them, jumping out the way, while keeping his momentum and pushing forward.
He leaps over the gap, heading directly to the first Nefarious bot in his sight and sending his knee through its glass case head. He doesn't stop there, letting the bot's body collapse beneath him as he immediately sprints off to the next bot. He doesn't give the machine time to charge it's laser as he slides under it and punches a hole straight through the metal plating underneath the bot. He grabs a fistful of wires and yanks them out, permanently shutting it off.
The three remaining Nefarious Laser-Troopers finish charging their lasers and fire at him. Crimson slams the bot's body down in front of him and blocks the lasers, using it as cover as he summons another weapon. The brimming beams of hot energy eat away at the Laser-Troopers body, inching closer and closer to Crimson. Just before the lasers could reach him, he jumps over it's body and freezes them all into blocks of ice with his Cold Snap.
Switching his Cold Snap out for his Burst Pistol, Crimson shoots each Nefarious Laser-Trooper and lets them slide off the train. By the time he turns around, he's slammed hard in the stomach by a force that sends him flying over to the caboose of the train. Crashing onto the roof, Crimson nearly tumbles completely over the side, but his hand catches the edge of the roof just in time.
His stomach felt like folding in on itself, alongside the sensation of puking and his bones were exhausted, maybe he really should've got some rest. Crimson ignores the pain and swings his other hand onto the edge, pulling himself back on top of the carriage. First thing he sees is the bot responsible for slamming the equivalent of a sledgehammer into him. He really should've paid more attention behind him.
The rest of the Nefarious forces blocking his way were specialised Nefarious models known as Nefarious Sluggers. Pretty much sharing the same base structure as the Nefarious Laser-Troopers, except they all wore some type of boxer helmet protecting their glass heads. And on each of their hands was practically a wrecking ball, making them deadly up close. In short, these models were gonna be much more tougher.
"Prepare to get pummeled bot!" The lead Nefarious Slugger threatened, winding up another punch.
Crimson stood his ground and waited, until the Slugger threw it's wrecking ball at him. He leaned out of the way and firmly grabbed the Sluggers arm, throwing the bot off the train with it's own momentum. The other Sluggers start to move in on him, Crimson quickly summons his Enforcer and forces them back with waves of shotgun blasts. The instant his clip runs dry, he throws a tether out of his left gauntlet, a pure blue glowing rope around the closest Slugger's leg.
Giving a hard tug, the Slugger falls over and Crimson breaks into a sprint. Switching out his Enforcer back to his fusion grenades, steps on top of the downed Slugger and leaps over the others, dropping a grenade behind him. An explosion goes off, sending the Sluggers spiraling off the train as Crimson rolls to his feet and proudly stands tall.
He glances over his shoulder at the remains of the Nefarious forces. "That could've gone a bit better." He comments, rubbing a hand over his bruised stomach.
He doesn't feel anything broken, other than a slight discomfort. He'd rather not deal with a fractured rib on the job again, although it wouldn't be the worst pain he's experienced over the years in this galaxy. Nanobots may heal wounds to a certain extent, but it doesn't remove the scars. All he needs to know is that if he's still able to move, it means he can walk it off.
As Crimson starts jogging his way across the coaches, he pulls up his comms. "I've found the prisoners, heading to get them out now." He informs, jumping over a gap.
There's a slight delay until he receives a delighted response. "Masterful work! Was there any trouble?" She asks.
He jumps across another gap. "Just a couple of Nefarious bots." He tells her calmly.
"And the people?" She questions.
"They're safe." He reassures, hopping across to the fifth coach, while glancing off the edge of the train. "Not sure how I'll get them off, but I'll figure something out."
"You might want to put a stop to the train first." She suggests.
He jumps over to the next carriage, keeping his eyes peeled over the skies. "Any sign of reinforcement?"
She briefly checks. "Air traffic hasn't changed. Don't expect it to stay that way for long." She warns him.
"Hmm…" Something about all of this didn't feel right to Crimson.
Once they realise the train has been hijacked they'll either attempt to seize control of it or blow it up to smithereens. Emperor Nefarious was never one who liked sharing his stuff with others. The guy's whole smug personality was built upon the battles he's won throughout the galaxy, which makes him a sore loser when things don't seem to go his way. But that's just what he's heard about him from Phantom, he'd rather not meet the guy face-to-face.
Jumping down from the eighth coach, Crimson arrived at the door entrance leading to the front of the train. Luckily they automatically slide open just like the others, allowing him free access to the control room. Equipping his Burst Pistol, Crimson slowly enters the room, watching for the slightest movement. Except the room was utterly bare, no sight of any Nefarious forces with only the train control systems at the end of the room.
Crimson walks over to the controls, analysing the system. "I'm in the control room now."
He notices a series of switches, the first one labeled "C1CB1," running a continuous line to "C8CB2". Deducing that these are the controls linking to the cells, Crimson proceeds to run his finger over each one, flicking them as he goes. Once he's done with that, his eyes trail over to a lever with a speed thermometer next to it. He goes to reach for it, until a familiar sound of shifting metal creeps up behind.
He snaps around, seeing a Slugger preparing to hit him. "I've got you now!" It shouts, throwing it's wrecking ball at Crimson.
He quickly dodges to the right, before delivering a left hook straight through it's glass head, shattering it and wrapping his hand around one of it's optics. Crimson doesn't hesitate when ripping it right out, tossing it aside and watches as the bot twitches and contorts, until falling back onto the floor. He must be really tired if he's letting two Nefarious bots get the jump on him.
"What was that!?" Miss Informer blares over the comms.
Guess she must've heard all that. "I missed one."
"Miss what!?"
"A Slugger sneaked up behind me." He clarified, turning back to the console and seeing it all caved in. "And we have a problem."
"What kind of problem?" She questioned worriedly.
Crimson steps closer to the smashed console, seeing the lever completely destroyed. "The controls are broken, I can't stop the train."
"That's not good. You'll have to disconnect the engine from the rest of the train and let it de-accelerate on its own." She explained.
Crimson nods his head. "Got it." He starts heading out the room, exiting into the windy atmosphere.
Kneeling down at the edge of the platform, Crimson see's the coupling holding the engine and coach together. He's far from being a train expert to understand how to uncouple this the normal way, good thing he's very knowledgeable about breaking things. Bringing his Burst Pistol up, Crimson takes one of the cartridges out from the gun. He holds the vial of acid over the coupling and cracks it open, keeping his hands safely away as he lets the acid spill over the coupling.
The acid begins sizzling away as the coupling starts melting, hearing the metal straining under the newfound pressure. Crimson steps over the gap onto the other platform just as the coupling snaps away. The locomotive quickly speeds away, while the rest of the carriages start to slow down. He should start carrying vials of acid more often, definitely has its uses, and to think people around the galaxy believe the Burst Pistol is the worst weapon.
Crimson hears the doors slide open behind him, instantly he spins around and aims his Burst Pistol at the door. Except the barrel of his gun isn't leveled at some Nefarious bot, but instead the Elder whose singular eyes widens with his hands raised. "Sorry." He apologises, lowering his gun.
The Elder brushes his apology off. "It's quite alright, you must be on edge from all the fighting. Scared the kids from all the ruckus you made up there though." He mentions.
"...Sorry." Crimson awkwardly apologises again.
The Elder can't help but shake his head. "Nevermind. What happens now?" He asked, stepping up besides Crimson as others huddled close behind to hear his response.
Seems like everyone in the cells have gathered around in the coach behind the Elder. He would've preferred if they stayed back, until he confirmed that the entire train was truly safe from Nefarious forces. Especially when they have kids with them, he doesn't think his consciousness would hold together if… something happened to them. He drowns those thoughts out by focusing on what needs to get done.
"Now..." Crimson starts as the train's descent slows to a crawl. "I get you all off this train."
The crowd stares at Crimson full of hope, while some stared off the side of the edge with a nervous expression, but the Elder spares him a curious look. "And how do you plan to do that?"
Crimson doesn't answer him straight away, instead taking the time to survey his surroundings. The train must've made some distance, last he checked he was in a commercial area and now he's surrounded by factories, smoke and pipes trailing out of them all. Unfortunately they were nowhere near close enough to jump to, seeing how the whole train was left stuck floating in the air in the middle of the abyss. But when Crimson casted his gaze down, he spotted a large industrial steel pipe conveniently six feet below them, leading to the side near a platform.
"There." Crimson points, drawing everyone's attention towards the industrial pipe. "We'll use that."
The Elder gives the pipe a good look, before giving Crimson a wary stare. "Ain't that a bit dangerous?" He asked.
Crimson looks at him. "Only if you fall." He answered evenly.
"Don't let the children hear you say that." The Elder says, giving the armoured man an unamused look.
The Elder steps aside as Crimson faces everyone else. "Will do this one at a time. Walk slow, don't look down and keep your balance centred. If you don't feel comfortable walking across, crawl on your hands and knees. But we need to hurry." He carefully explains to the crowd, before gesturing his head towards Iven, the young man from earlier in the cell. "You, go first."
Ivens singular eye widens. "M-Me!? Why don't you go first!"
His whining was beginning to get on Crimsons nerves. "I need someone capable of pulling up others from the other side, while I make sure that no one's left behind." He further explained, a note of annoyance in his voice.
Ivens eye glances between the industrial pipe and Crimson hesitatingly. "B-But-"
The Elder smacks the young man on the back of the head, cutting off his whining. "Stop yammering and do what he says!"
Iven goes to say something else, but goes silent at the stare he receives from the Elder. "...Fine." He grumbles out.
He steps aside as Iven makes his way over to the edge of the platform, shooting him a glare as he walks past. Crimson doesn't know what he did to offend the guy, but he better hope his attitude doesn't jeopardise everyone else's safety. These people are relying on him, relying on Crimson to save them, he doesn't plan on letting anything stand in his way… he's still got a promise to keep.
Ivens cold look quickly fades away as he leans over the edge, nervously gulping as he peers down at the industrial pipe and the abyss waiting below. He's not the only one, other's share his same expression ever since he told them they'd be crossing it. Iven shakily shuffles down onto his rear, sitting on the very edge of the platform.
Crimson kneels down beside him. "You need help down?" He asks.
The instant Crimson spoke, he's immediately met with a dirty look. "I don't need your help!" Iven spat, scooting away from him.
Crimson stood back up and gave him some space. Iven shifted around on the edge, facing everyone else as he carefully lowered himself onto the pipe below. Crimson kept watching, preparing to move if needed, especially when the light shower drenched the pipe. Luckily the entire pipe was large enough to stand with your feet side by side, making walking across a somewhat easier task.
But it appears he won't have to interfere, Iven steadily made progress across the pipe with no accidents. Although there were moments he paused to take a breath, before eventually reaching the other end. Making sure he's perfectly balanced, Iven reaches up towards a nearby platform. Firmly gripping the edge, he pulls himself up and climbing over the safety railing, before collapsing onto the platform.
That's one.
The Elder breathes a sigh of relief. "About time he made it." He uttered mainly to himself.
Crimson faces the rest, catching everyone's attention. "Who's next?"
"That's it, steady now." The Elder said, reassuring those who're currently crossing the pipe.
It didn't take long to start getting people moving, some we're hesitant, while others were more than eager to get off. The old man insisted on staying behind with Crimson, stating he'd be more useful on this side. Crimson didn't mind, his presence helped set the civilians at ease, especially the children who were the most nervous of the bunch. While they were small enough to safely walk on the pipe, one adult was sent with them as a safety precaution.
But they all understood one thing, the longer they took getting across, the more dangerous it'll only get. Nefarious forces could show up at any second and Crimson doesn't want anyone to be left on the train when that happens. Fortunately the train appears to have stopped in a secluded spot, no nefarious civilians or patrols shown up so far. Yet that didn't make Crimson worry any less, he's always been told he's paranoid or tends to overthink things a lot, and for good reasons.
He continued assisting those that struggled to get down onto the industrial pipe, like this one civilian clinging to the edge of the platform. "You can do it. You can do it!" They quietly chanted to themselves, squeezing their eyes shut.
Crimson kneeled on one knee and offered them his hand. "Just remember to breathe." He advised them.
They flinched at Crimson sudden presences, intimidated by him, before shakily grabbing his hand. "Breathe, yeah I can do that. Been doing that since day one, hehe!" They chuckle nervously.
With Crimsons guidance, he gently lowers them down onto the pipe below, not letting they're hand go until their feet were firmly planted on the pipe. He's done this about fourteen times now, the rest either did it by themselves or took after Iven. If it wasn't for the old man being by his side, this most likely wouldn't have gone as fast. But it's nearly done and dusted, only about three people left to cross, including the Elder.
He straightens up and switches on his radio. "Evacuation is nearly done, shouldn't be long now until they're heading to you." Crimson informs, watching as the next person moves down onto the pipe by themselves.
"That's good to hear, I'm already in position-" She broke off abruptly as a small beep sound emitted through her end. "Hold on a second…"
"Rinya?"
Crimson attention is drawn towards a pink amphibious woman with blue eyes and gills on her head, frantically looking around by the carriage entrance. "Rinya! Where are you sweetie!" She cried out.
Her cries draw everyone else's attention, the Elder stops what he's doing and shuffles his way over to the distraught woman. "Tasha, what's wrong?"
She clings onto the Elder. "Rinya, sh-she was just behind me!" She breathed, both her words and body trembling.
While the Elder comforted the woman called Tasha, Crimson's radio crackled. "Crimson you've got incoming and it's moving fast. You need to start moving now." She said, slight panic bleeding into her voice.
Whatever was heading their way was enough to make her sound on edge. It doesn't help that there are still people that needed to cross over the pipe, and now a child's gone missing. The situation was becoming just what he feared… but so what? Crimson already knew what he had to do.
He walks over to the Elder and Tasha, making them look in his direction. "I need you to get everyone else off now." He orders, directing it to the Elder.
The distressed mother's eyes widened as she lets go of the Elder and threw herself at Crimson. "W-What about my daughter!?" She shouted, clinging onto his armoured chest piece.
"I'll find her." He promised, each word fueled with conviction.
She bows her head down, placing her forehead on his armour. "Please… please bring back my daughter." She pleaded, tears dripping from her eyes.
Crimson turns his head to the Elder. "Get her to safety."
The Elder nods and gently wedges Tasha off of him, guiding her to the edge with others, but stops and looks over his shoulder. "Just bring that kid back safe." He said, receiving a nod from Crimson.
That's what he plans to do.
As the Elder escorts the quaking mother and the rest of the civilians onto the pipe, Crimson takes off. He rushes through the carriages, his eyes dancing across the whole room for any sign of the girl. When he didn't see anything, he continued moving forward, doors sliding open as he sped right through them. He doesn't have the luxury to waste time, he needed to find the mother's daughter and get off this train.
But then… he heard it. A bone chilling metallic roar ruptured the sky, followed by a faint clicking sound and metal plates shifting. A beam of light shines across the train, trailing along each coach, until it finally landed on Crimson standing outside on the platform, clenching his fist as he gazed up towards it. It circled around him, like a predator stalking its next meal.
A Seekerpede. A large nefarious bio-synthetic search-and-destroy craft that resembles a centipede from his world. They're the heavy arsenal units dog Nefarious forces that patrol the skies of Nefarious City, blowing up any aircrafts that aren't registered to leave the planet or aren't licensed under Emperor Nefarious. It's what almost blasted him out of the sky the last time he was here.
So that's what had her worried… he needed to move now.
As if sensing his thoughts, the Seekerpede maneuvered around the train, blue energy began pulsing below its cockpit, until suddenly firing a light blue laser beam of energy. It tore apart the rear coaches, causing the entire train to violently shake and making Crimson stumble. He could hear the sound of metal croaking and from what Crimson could see, the stabilizers keeping the rear carriages afloat we're beyond salvation, making them tumble down into the abyss below.
But most of all…
"MMUUMMMMYY!"
He could hear the girl screaming.
Ignoring the Seekerpede, Crimson bolts towards the remaining coaches still hovering and rushes through each one. But he comes to a sudden halt as he exits the fourth carriage and finds the fifth one hanging by a thread. The rear stabilizers must've got damaged, resulting in the whole carriage to nearly fall into the depths of the abyss if it weren't for the coupling and front stabilizers holding it up. But most importantly, down inside the coach he sees a small pink amphibious little girl clutching onto the cell bars like a ladder.
Crimson kneels down by the edge of the entrance, peering down at her. "Rinya?" He gently called out.
Hearing her name, the little girl peels her eyelids open, similar eyes to her mother's that gaze up at him in fear. "Go away!" She shouts, wedging her eyes shut again and looking away.
Crimson grips the edge of the entrance and swings into the carriage, grabbing hold of the cell bars like Rinya. "I'm not here to hurt you." He says, attempting to reassure the frightened girl.
She shakes her head. "Liar! Y-You're a bad robot!" Rinya yelled, not believing Crimson the slightest.
"Trust me, I'm not a mean robot." He said.
Her whole body trembles as she lets out whimpering breaths. "I-I want my mummy!" She sobbed.
As Crimson stared down at the young crying girl, he could feel the faint wobbling of the carriage stirring. He wasn't sure how long the stabilizer would hold the coach for or when the Seekerpede would strike again. All he did know was that he had to get her out of this carriage immediately. Crimson started to slowly climb his way down to her, but Rinya began to do the opposite and edge away from him.
Her entire body trembled harder the closer he gets, making Crimson stop his advance down when he sees this. This is a problem if she can't trust him, no if she's afraid of him. He needs to think, show her he's friendly because if she keeps moving away from him then… the mechanical roar outside serves as a painful reminder of the potential possibilities of what could happen. A possibility he refuses to let happen.
"Hey… look at me." He softly says.
She looked up at him tentatively, trying to blink back the tears, her light blue eyes widening when she saw hazel eyes staring back at her. There gazing down from above wasn't the infamous Crimson Bot, the mean robot, but instead a young organic man. He had an unusual lightness of skin colour with a short scruffy stubble beard and long brown hair that reached underneath his jaw line. His expression appeared calm with a determined glint shining within his eyes, dark circles barely visible under them.
Crimson gave her a gentle smile. "See, I'm not a robot." He said, his voice sounding more clear without the helmet.
Rinya stared at him in awe, her trembling seemingly vanished. "Y-Your not a robot?"
"No, I'm not." He slowly began climbing down the cell bars again, relieved when she didn't move away this time. "Let's get you back to your mother, alright?"
She sniffles. "O-Ok."
Crimson carefully maneuvers his way down the cell bars, not wanting to stir the coach even further from one misstep. Rinya held onto the bars from the very bottom of the carriage with the endless cloudy abyss waiting beneath her. The Seekerpede must've blown the doors off when it struck the train, fortunately Rinya doesn't appear to have any visible injuries. It didn't take him long to scale down near Rinya, her eyes never leaving his own.
She then stares at the outstretched gloved armoured hand before her. "Here, grab my hand." Crimson told her.
Rinya delicately let's her fingers come unloose from the cell bars and reaches her hand up towards Crimson's waiting palm. Too frightened to fully lean away from what's supporting her, the tips of her fingers barely graze his own. But just as Crimson could almost grasp her hand…
An earth shattering mechanical roar vibrates throughout the carriage. Rinya immediately recoils her hand at the haunting sound, squeezing her eyes shut in hopes of drowning it out. But then another wave of the Seekerpedes laser beam strikes the train, causing the coach Crimson and Rinya are in to quiver under the assault. Suddenly, Rinya's pupils shrink in horror as she accidentally loses her grip on the cell bars and… begins falling into the abyss.
"I don't want to lose them."
He let's go.
"AAAAAAAAHH!"
Rinya let's out a frightened scream as she falls through the coach entrance and down into the jaws of the abyss, Crimson dives after her. Quickly catching up to Rinya, he wraps his arms around her and twists himself around in the air, aiming his arm back up at the carriage. He shoots out a tether from his left gauntlet, watching it sail through the air back up and latching itself onto the roof of the coach. Their fall comes to a sudden halt when the tether completely straightens out, sparks and bits of burnt metal dropping past them.
Crimson holds Rinya tightly in his arm who's currently clutching onto him for dear life. "I've got you." He assures.
Up above the Seekerpede continues to circle around the train, whether it's searching for him or merely destroying the train remains unknown to him. But both possibilities we're good enough for him, if it means that the Seekerpede is unaware of the civilians already off the train. He trusts the Elder managed to get the remaining civilians onto the platform and hidden away. All he had to do now was focus on getting Rinya back to her mother.
"I need you to hold on tight." Crimson tells her.
Still startled from the fall, Rinya can only respond with a rapid nod. Crimson let's his tether begin reeling them both up, his helmet materialising over his head on the way up. Just as he's about to hit the barely hanging carriage roof, Crimson activates his magneboots and lands solidly onto the roof. The whole carriage shakes from the sudden landing, the sound of metal straining to accustom under the newly added weight. It's not going to hold for long, which only prompts him to start moving.
Letting the tether slink back into his gauntlet, Crimson clutches Rinya in his arms and stands up straight, ignoring the fact he's standing sideways. It's not like Crimson can't feel gravity pushing down against him, more like his built-in exo is simply cancelling it out for him. Which just makes it an easier task for him to start climbing the roof of the coach. Each step Crimson takes immediately clamps itself onto the roof, allowing him to move at a jog's pace upwards.
When he finally made it back up to the top of the falling carriage, a beam of light immediately shone upon him. Crimson didn't hesitate to start running through the coaches, back towards the industrial pipe. But the instant he started running the Seekerpede went back to firing upon the train, it's laserbeam tearing apart the carriages and sending ripples of explosions trailing after him. Rinya's grip tightens on him, which only fuels him to move faster.
It felt like he was balancing on a stick from the amount of shaking the entire train convoy was enduring. Crimson kept hurling himself through each set of doors that continued to slide open, while the sounds of carriages falling into the abyss behind filled his ears. By the time he finally made it back to the platform with the pipe beneath it, he didn't bother with walking across it like the others. Instead he leaped off the platform, an explosion wrecking the train behind him as he seemingly drops into the abyss with Rinya.
Throwing his arm out to the side, Crimson shoots one last tether out of his gauntlet and lets it fly, hooking itself onto an industrial wall. With the Seekerpede right behind him, using the pipe wasn't going to happen, fortunately he hooked his tether right above the platform he directed the civilians to escape onto earlier. Zipping his way across, Crimson drops down onto the steel platform with Rinya safely secured in his arms.
Crimson looks down at her. "You ok?" He asks.
After landing, Rinya's shaking calms down slightly, but keeps her head buried within his chest. "Mmhum." She hums in response.
Perhaps he could've been more gentle with her, then again he was running away from a bunch of explosions mere moments ago. Glancing back over to the train, Crimson see's different sections of it all lit up in flames. The faint smell of smoke littered the air, along with the sound of metal croaking as each carriage tumbled down into the depths below. Circling above the destruction was the bloody Seekerpede, its spotlight flashing across the buildings around the area, searching for its prey.
"Over here!"
Crimson whips his head over to the direction of the hushed shout, spotting the Elder and a few others peeking out from a nearby alley. He quickly rushes over to them, seeing the shocked looks on their faces when they notice Rinya clutched within his arms. Making his way into the alleyway with them following behind, Crimson see's everyone else crowding the alley. Just like the Elder, everyone stares at him and Rinya with an awed expression.
Iven steps out from the crowd and looks at the pair in disbelief. "Y-You actually got her? After that explosion we thought-"
"RINYA!" Ivens cut off by Tasha bursting out from the crowd and running towards her daughter.
Rinya's eyes widened at the sound of her mother's voice, turning her head around to see her coming straight to her. "Mum? Mummy!" She cries out, desperately reaching her arms out to Tasha.
Crimson passes Rinya into her mother's arm, watching as they embrace one another with tears of joy leaking out Tasha's eyes. "My baby, my sweet sweet baby." She happily weeps, clinging to her daughter like a lifeline.
Crimson quietly watches, feeling a sense of pride… along with a deep longing attached to old memories that threaten to emerge. He's pulled out of it when he feels someone patting him on the shoulder. Turning his head, he sees the hand belonging to the Elder who gives Crimson a thankful nod. Tasha hugs her daughter with everything, before looking back at Rinya's saviour. "Thank you, thank you so much for saving her."
Crimson silently nods to her.
He then reaches down into his pouch, rummaging through it and pulling out a small tablet device. "Here." Crimson hands it over to the Elder, who stares at it confused.
"It's a map-o-matic, I've highlighted the route you'll take to the evacuation spot." He explains, before walking through the crowd that moves aside for him as he stands next to a sewer lid on the floor.
Placing his foot on it, Crimson switches his magneboots on and lifts the sewer lid up, kicking it away further down the alley. "Take the sewers, it'll be safer and quicker." He tells everyone, making his way back through the crowd and heads to the exit of the alley.
Noticing that he's about to leave, Tasha steps forward. "Your… your not coming with us?" She asks him with a hint of worry.
Crimson stops, pausing for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I'll draw away the Nefarious forces, it'll give you all enough time to get out of here." He states.
"What's your name?" She asks.
"...Crimson." He tells Tasha, before finally making his way back out of the alley.
"Hurry now, into the sewers like he said." The Elder orders, guiding everyone towards the opened sewer.
It's the last thing Crimson hears from the group, before he's on the move. Making some distance away from the alley, Crimson steps towards the edge of the platform overlooking the carnage he escaped earlier. Seeing the Seekerpede still flying around in the air, searching for any sight of him or the escapees. Holding his hands out, he materialises another gun that shares a similar appearance to a hunting rifle with a futuristic style to it.
He holds the rifle up and aims down the sights, lining the shot up to the cockpit of the Seekerpede. Crimson knew he wouldn't be able to take the pilot out in one shot, the cockpit was fitted with a bulletproof window, practically built to take a lot of punishment. Taking a deep breath, he squeezes the trigger slightly and exhales, before pulling it. The shot soars with a crack, impacting the windshield of the Seekerpede cockpit and leaving a slightly fractured spot.
He just needed to draw it's attention.
Instantly the Seekerpede spun itself around, landing its spotlight directly on him almost as if glaring at him. Putting his rifle away, Crimson bathes underneath the light and gives the Seekerpede a mocking wave. He couldn't let it do a thorough search in the area, not without risking it following the escapees. Letting out a vicious mechanical roar, it began to hastily fly over to his direction as Crimson took that as his cue to start running.
Dashing away with the Seekerpede trailing after him, Crimson runs along the platform and spots a footbridge leading to the other side just up ahead. Pumping his legs harder, he takes a sharp left onto it and begins sprinting across, while the Seekerpede charges up. Firing its laser-beam, it decimates the end of the bridge, leaving nothing but seared metal and a gap separating him and the other side. Even when he noticed it aiming at the other end of the footbridge, Crimson kept running.
Reaching the edge of the gap, Crimson pushes his legs further and leaps, landing on the other side. It should've just aimed at him, but it didn't matter anymore, he continued running straight ahead and rushed down a narrowed alley. A few bots we're lurking around, scrounging through the trash on the floor, before jumping up in fright when they see him rushing by. Crimson could hear the faint sound of the Seekerpede moving about in the sky behind him, making him take more rabid turns down some alleys.
While running he pulled up his comms. "That's them heading your way now." Crimson told his informer.
"Excellent!" She cheers on the other end, before asking. "Where are you now?"
Bolting out of an alley, Crimson finds himself standing in the middle of a bustling street filled with Nefarious citizens gawking all around him. Further down the street a squad of Nefarious Laser-Troopers and regular Nefarious Troopers by their side, caught sight of him. He's capable of outrunning the bigger ones, but the normal troopers that didn't have any arms or legs, we're more mobile with their hovers. They moved first and sped directly towards him, each of them with a glare in their eyes.
Rushing over to the safety railings, Crimson uses it as leverage and jumps off it, leaping across onto the other side. "Taking the Nefarious forces the opposite way." He says, taking off into another alley.
"Will you be alright?" She asked.
To be honest he's exhausted. His legs felt as if they've caught on fire, his limbs were beginning to feel more like weights and his eyelids were heavy. The adrenaline pumping through his veins certainly helps, until it eventually stops and feels everything. Crimson would love nothing more than to get back to Thule and have a little bit of rest… but she didn't need to know that.
Sliding down some pipes, Crimson kicks off it and continues running. "I'll be fine. Just get them off this planet." He tells her, trying to keep his breathing levelled.
"Don't do anything stupid and remind me to double your pay." She told him.
"Yes ma'am." He replies, slowing down as he heads around a corner in the alley.
"I thought I told you to stop that! I've barely hit my forty's yet…" She sighs with a light chuckle. "Nevermind. Remember to contact me once you're safe, I don't need you going silent on me as well."
He lets out a small of his own chuckle. "Understood, Crimson out." He says, before clicking the comms off.
Another job done. Nefarious Forces are going to be scrambling around the area after the run he gave them. Should buy the others plenty of time to get to the evacuation location safe and sound, hopefully somewhere better then how this place treated them. Now all he's got to do is give them the slip, head back to his ship and say good riddance to this city.
Sneaking over to the exit of the alley, Crimson slightly peeks out when he doesn't hear anything moving about on the street. But immediately regrets it when he takes a good look at his surroundings. First thing that greets him is Nefarious Tower, the central momentum of Nefarious city and tallest structure there is. He's practically a couple blocks away from the egotistical building, guess that train took him closer than he expected.
Before he could admire the tower any further, he hears the faint noise of metal clanking against the street nearby. Quickly hiding back into the alleyway, Crimson watches as the squad of Nefarious bots rush past the alley. Seems like the patrols around the tower are more lively then usual, even before he arrived. Although Crimson still can't help but wonder how he didn't see the momentum earlier, must've been too caught up with the Seekerpede.
Waiting until the Nefarious squad is way out of sight, Crimson dashes to the other side into another alley. Speaking of that Seekerpede, he doesn't see or hear it anywhere near him, how far did he run? Far enough to roughly reach the base of Emperor Nefarious tower apparently, things literally built to resemble his head. He's getting off topic, if he can just find another sewer lid or platforms on the lower levels, he'll be able to reach his ship without any issu-
"GAAH!"
Before he could even register the sound of wet boots splashing through puddles and someone panting heavily, Crimson feels a force ram right into his leg. Stumbling from the impact, there's a thud followed by a startled feminine cry, quickly replaced with a hissing wince. Crimson looks to see who ran into him only to have his eyes widen in surprise underneath his helmet. There on the ground grimacing in pain was a Lombax, specifically the so-called famous resistance fighter.
Her fur was white, decorated with pigeon blue stripes and had thin dark eyebrows with a small light pink nose below. Similar to her picture on the red wanted posters, she wore black goggles with blue lenses sitting above that tuft of hair that looked fluffier in person, two silver hooped earrings in her right ear and one on her left. She was wearing a black and grey jumpsuit with a blue glowing upside down triangle in the centre of her chest and a belt with a glowing centre as well, along with a fluffy tail poking out from behind. She also wore two black gloves and boots with orange stripes on them, plus an orange scarf around her neck that was burnt at the end.
More importantly she was cradling her right arm to her chest and… it didn't look good.
Her light blue eyes looked dazed, unfocused of her surroundings. "Need… need to get… out…" She rasped out, struggling to stand back up only to collapse from either the pain or exhaustion.
Crimson knelt down in front of her. "Hey, it's going to be ok."
Noticing his presence, the lombax tenses and tries to crawl away. "No… stay back… or I'll… I'll…" She tried to sound threatening, but her voice wavered as she clutched her arm, hissing painfully as she gritted her teeth.
Crimson slowly held his hands up. "I'm not going to hurt you. You need help... let me help you." He gently asked her.
She eyes him suspiciously, almost like she was having an internal debate, until the increasing pain wins her decision. Her ears fatten against her head as she gives a hesitant nod, Crimson takes this as permission to step closer. Upon closer expectation, he couldn't help but grimace at the state her arm was in. Completely scorched all the way up to her shoulder, charred black muscles torn, splinters of bone visible and her furless-skin dripping in blood.
"The rebel went this way!" Crimson attention snaps to a voice echoing from the direction she came from.
She's being chased as well.
This isn't good… she's in no state to run on her own and it doesn't help when he's practically spent. And with Nefarious Forces searching every corner of this city, it'll be difficult not to get noticed. He'd have to carry her, which not only adds extra weight, but leaves him vulnerable without his hands. Wait, what is he even thinking? The jobs over, she's not a part of the job, so saving her shouldn't be any of his concern.
But…
"Grrrgg… ahh." She continued groaning in pain, her expression twisting in agony with a slight tear leaking out the corner of her eye.
Time starts ticking down as the distant noise of the Nefarious Forces continues to get closer and closer. Crimsons fist tightens when already knows what he's going to do.
"God dammit…" He quietly mutters.