HuniePop Space Adventures
Chapter 7: City on the Edge of Battle
I held my face in my hands, completely distraught. They took her instead of me. WHY? I could feel my rage building and the demon inside of me trying to claw its way out as I asked myself that question over and over again. The thought of Nikki being in trouble and getting killed was all I could think about at the moment and the fact that she was now in the hands of our enemies made it that much worse.
"Max? You're needed in the med bay," Eva said, breaking my thoughts. I just sighed in sadness and followed her to the med bay, where Celeste was shining a pen light into one of Hiro's eyes while everyone else was just standing around.
"Look, is there a point to this?" Hiro asked, pushing the light away.
"Yes, there is. You two were in cryostasis for ten years, so I need to make sure that your senses are still in good condition," Celeste replied, pointing the light back into his eye.
"You know, this is a nice ship. Looks very spacious. Kind of like the ships we have," Zero Two said.
"Really? 'Cause last time I checked, humans didn't even HAVE these sorts of spaceships," Amki replied. Celeste suddenly noticed me standing in the doorway and came right over to me.
"Max. I'm glad you could make it," she said, hugging me.
"It's not like I had any other choice," I replied sadly. Celeste just looked up at me and placed her hands on my face.
"We WILL get her back, I promise. But, right now, I need your insight on something."
"Yeah, these two won't stop talking about VIRM and all sorts of other crap that none of us can even understand," Amki said.
"Look, I swear to god, I'm losing it. Can't someone, anyone, tell me what the hell is going on?!" Hiro asked, panicking.
"Right? We've been on this ship for twenty whole minutes and I haven't seen one of these so-called jetpacks. Not one!" Zero Two added, holding up a finger. All of us, Hiro included, just gave her confused looks.
"What have you been asking her?" I asked Amki.
"I just… thought they had jetpacks because they're rambling on that they're from the future and all that!" Amki said. I just looked at her funny.
"What Amki says is true. Both Hiro and Zero Two have claimed that they come from the year of 2139. What's more is that they keep mentioning VIRM, Dr. FRANXX, the klaxosaurs and klaxosapiens, as well as a number of other things," Celeste said.
"Wait, so… these two are from 119 years in the future?!" I asked.
"Yes, but, parts of what they are saying does not make sense. For instance, this 'VIRM' planet they keep mentioning doesn't exist. Even with the rock you recovered from the crash site to go off of, there isn't a planet in this entire sector with the same elemental properties," Celeste said.
"Well, maybe it hasn't formed yet," Hiro said.
"That is true, but planets don't just appear out of nowhere. If it isn't here now, it won't be there for thousands of years."
"OK, what about the 'klaxosaurs'?" I asked. Celeste's response was to pull up a display of a monstrous creature with black scales and blue skin underneath. It also had the head of a dragon and a mace-like tail.
"THAT is a Klaxosaur," she said.
"Umm, they don't look like that," Zero Two said.
"That's what the species catalog pictures them as. And there's a huge variety of them. Some have wings, some breathe fire, some are small enough to sneak through the tightest of crevasses. And they all reside on the planet, Klaxen."
"Are they dangerous?" I asked.
"Only if they are attacked. They are mostly benign and never leave their planet," Eva replied.
"And then comes the issue with this 'Dr. FRANXX'," Celeste said.
"Let me guess: he doesn't exist," Hiro said with a bit of disappointment in his voice.
"Unfortunately, no. But that's not what intrigues me the most."
"What is?" Odango asked. Celeste just brought up a screen that showed Hiro and Zero Two's vitals.
"It's their vitals. They're very unusual for any ordinary humans on Earth," Celeste replied.
"That's because we're half human! Zero Two is a human-klaxosapien hybrid that was created by Dr. FRANXX and I recently turned into one myself! Of course our blood would be different!" Hiro insisted.
"That's what I also thought at first. But when I isolated your human genome, I found something rather intriguing. There's some kind of extra properties in your blood that aren't normally found in normal humans that I can't explain. Not only that, but both your arteries and veins have switched places. They still function like normal, albeit in the reverse way, but it's highly irregular for a normal human to be born that way," Celeste concluded.
"Which means what?!" Hiro asked.
"I don't know. That's why I needed Max's insight."
"And I think I have a pretty good idea what it is," I replied.
"You do?" Amki said.
"Look, this gonna sound crazy. I mean, yeah, everything is already crazy enough, but this might be the most crazy: You guys are from another dimension," I said. Everyone just fell quiet at that statement for a few seconds.
"Huh?" Zero Two asked.
"Look, yes, that sounds like I'm crazy, but all of this proves it. The inverted blood vessels, the fact that VIRM doesn't exist, the klaxosaurs are just giant dinosaur-like creatures. It took me just five minutes to come to that conclusion and, chances are that I'm right!"
"And tell us, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-The-Universe, how in the HELL did you come up with that?" Amki asked. I just turned around and located a whiteboard, which I began drawing on to try and explain.
"Yep, he totally lost it," Odango said behind me.
"Shush," Celeste replied. After I had finished with the drawing, I pointed to each universe as I demonstrated.
"OK, imagine that this is your universe. It's 119 years in the future, VIRM exists, and the klaxosaurs look like… whatever they looked like to you. And this is OUR universe. It's 2020, VIRM doesn't exist and the klaxosaurs are harmless dinosaur-like creatures that reside on their own planet. See, these planets occupy the same region, but they vibrate at different frequencies so they may be absent from one universe but is there in another. This is what we call the multiverse," I explained.
"Hmm. Go on," Zero Two said, looking interested. Or maybe she was pretending to look interested.
"That's all I had."
"Interesting. Do go on."
"Either way, Max's logic is sound. The multiverse is a common belief that many different scientists across the galaxy have often wondered if it were to be true. In fact, I believe there was a human on Earth who supported this theory. Stephen Hawking, correct?" Celeste asked. I nodded in response.
"OK. So then how did we get here?" Zero Two asked.
"Hiro, perhaps you could tell us the events that took place moments before you entered cryostasis?"
"Well, we were heading to VIRM's home world to destroy it. I was there in body, but Zero Two's spirit was inside the Strelizia while her body was back on Earth. We set the Strelizia to self-destruct and we forced the bomb we were carrying into the core of the planet and moments before the bomb detonated, Zero Two's body just… materialized out of nowhere and then next thing you know, we were falling through space even though the bomb had detonated and half of the Strelizia was gone. After that, one of the pieces of VIRM tore through our hull and forced the entire FRANXX into cryostasis. But, I don't get how we ended up here!" Hiro explained. The entire room fell silent for a while and everyone's eyes fell on me to explain.
"Well, best theory I got: the explosion was so violent that it ripped a hole in the dimensional barrier and you fell through that hole and that's how you ended up here," I said.
"Really?" Amki asked.
"I did say 'theory', didn't I?"
"I believe you," Zero Two said. Hiro just looked at her in disbelief.
"You believe him?!" he asked.
"Well, he took the time and effort to make that drawing AND he gave a pretty reasonable explanation. Why shouldn't we believe him?"
"In any case, we need to table the multiverse discussion until after we rescue Nikki. That is, if we can identify who those soldiers work for," Celeste said.
"Those soldiers belong to General Taarkin. He works for this entity called the Overlord who wants to 'correct' the entire universe," I said.
"It's true. The Overlord already has the Crucible, but he still needs the Infernite energy to make his dreams of universal domination come true. Energy that Max has coursing through his veins," Rhea added.
"OK. So why take Nikki?" Odango asked. Everyone just fell silent in thought.
"She's the bait," Zero Two finally said.
"Sorry?" Eva asked.
"You have something they want. You love that girl so much. Therefore, he's trying to bait you over there so they can get what they want."
"Well, that does make sense, but the Overlord gave his crusade the order not to harm Nikki. So why would Taarkin just disobey orders?" I asked.
"It sounds like Taarkin has other plans that do not involve the Overlord," Celeste said.
"Well, the Overlord's not going to be his number one problem. Rhea, where exactly is the heart of Taarkin's empire?" I asked. Rhea just looked at me like I was crazy.
"Y-you wish to head to the center of Taarkin's stronghold?! Where he has the largest military might in the galaxy?! Are you insane?!" she asked.
"It doesn't matter. I know exactly where Taarkin's empire is stationed. The planet of Imperialus. Many travelers avoid that planet because of Taarkin's brutality and bloodshed and they believe that he will make soldiers of anyone who does land there," Celeste said.
"Then that's where we need to go," I said. But just as I was about to head straight for the command bridge, Rhea stood in front of the doorway, blocking my path.
"Look, I understand that you wish to save your lover, but this is crazy! Taarkin is the most powerful warmonger under the leadership of the Overlord. He is tactful, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of us. I am truly sorry, I am. But chances are that your friend is already-!" Rhea tried to explain. But before she could finish, Celeste grabbed her by the neck and pinned her up against the wall, her katana against Rhea's neck.
"DON'T you DARE finish that sentence. I understand that you mean well and I understand that you are afraid of Taarkin, but I do not condone cowards on my ship! If you wish to stay here on Zandor, then I will not stop you. But if you wish to help us fight, then you will muster up every bit of courage you have and use that to help us destroy that pitiful monster and bring his empire crumbling to the ground! Do I make myself clear?!" Celeste said. Rhea silently nodded her head and Celeste released her before walking out of the room without another word, leaving the rest of us silent.
"I like her," Zero Two finally said, making us all turn our heads towards her. I immediately pursued Celeste to the bridge, where she tried locating Imperialus on the navigation map.
"Celeste, don't you think you were being a bit too harsh on Rhea?" I asked.
"Don't pretend like you wanted to hear that nonsense come out of her mouth. She should know better than that!" Celeste replied.
"OK, yeah, I didn't wanna hear it! But Rhea's just scared! She's been kept prisoner on the Overlord's ship for God-knows-how-long and she's seen first hand how lethal our enemies are! Of course she thinks that this is crazy!"
"I made an oath the second you two stepped foot on my ship that I would protect you with every fiber of my being! And so far, you been unwillingly transported to two different planets and kidnapped once! I haven't been doing my part in protecting you two!"
"Then maybe you're pushing yourself too hard," I said. Celeste immediately stopped and began to cry in despair and frustration. I gently hugged her as she continued to cry.
"This is uncharted territory for humans. No place for any sane human being to be. That's why I'm so hard on everyone," Celeste replied.
"Look, I know that you're as afraid as I am of losing her. But, Nikki's a strong girl. We'll get her back. And Taarkin will have hell to pay. If not through me, then through the Overlord," I said, drying Celeste's eyes. She just smiled for a bit before a sudden alarm went off, which pulled up a map of the ship with a glowing red dot in the cargo hold.
"We have intruders!" Celeste said, running straight for the cargo hold. However, when we got there, I saw the intruders were none other than the Ravager Queen and a few of her sisters. Celeste, of course, took out her katanas and readied herself for combat.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Hold your horses! They're on our side!" I exclaimed, running in front of Celeste and holding my hands out. Celeste backed down but she didn't sheath her katanas.
"May I ask what you are doing on my ship?" she asked the Queen.
"I apologize for the intrusion. But I figured that when Taarkin's men took your friend, you would not hesitate to go after him and make him pay. We wish to help you so that we and all those who have suffered at his hands will finally have justice," the Queen replied.
"That is out of the question! This is not-" Celeste started to say. But I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Celeste, she's right. This was their war to begin with. It only makes sense that we help them finish it," I said. Celeste just sighed and holstered her katanas calmly.
"Very well then. If Max says that you should be allowed to come, then so be it. But I am the captain of this ship and the leader of this team so I give the directions," she said. The Queen just smiled slightly and kneeled to the ground, the rest of her sisters following suit.
"I thank you for allowing us to join you. We will follow you into battle so we may finally be rid of this pestilence that has made us suffer for 5 long years," the Queen said humbly. Both Celeste and I smiled at her and her humility. As she got up, I felt something tugging my arm and looked down. It was Paki, the little Zandorian girl that me and Nikki had rescued earlier.
"Oh, no. You're staying here with everyone else, you little rascal!" I said, playfully with a smile. But Paki just pouted and stamped the ground with her foot.
"He is right, little one. Where we are going you cannot follow," the Queen added. Paki again stamped her foot on the ground with a huff. She obviously wasn't budging, so I kneeled to the ground and gently petted her head.
"I know you want to help us and I'm glad that you're being brave. But you need to stay here and help the others be strong. Can you do that for me?" I asked. Paki just started to pout and cry a bit before Celeste kneeled down as well.
"What Max says is true. The soldiers would easily hurt you and your mother would be worried sick. But your people need someone strong like you, so it's best if you stay here," she said. Paki dried off her eyes and nodded. But when she turned away to rejoin her village, she turned back to me and gave me a hug, which I returned to her. She then hugged Celeste, spoke to her in her Zandorian language, and gave her a photo before going back to her mother.
"What's that?" I asked.
"The little one said it belongs to the pilots. She also said thank you and she hopes your friend will be OK," the Queen replied. Celeste just stood up and smiled.
"Then let us make haste to Imperialus at once!" she said, heading straight for the bridge.
Nikki's perspective, Imperialus
I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in a large open room with a lot of computers as well as a large window which stared out into a crimson sky. As I was admiring the view, someone walked in front of me, somehow standing on the ceiling. And then I realized: they weren't standing on the ceiling. I was hanging upside down. The person pointed my head upward to view their face, which looked like a middle-aged man with dark green skin and short, whiteish hair.
"I take it there wasn't much trouble getting her here?" the man asked someone off to the side.
"None at all, General Taarkin. The male did try to rescue her, but the bomb had left him too disorientated for him to catch up," one voice said.
"Good. Then he should be on his way here now," Taarkin said.
"General, you do realize that this is extremely risky, yes? The Overlord DID give us orders not to harm the girl," another voice said.
"While that is true, the Overlord's methods are severely delaying our progress of our conquest."
"General, I would seriously reconsider doing this. I understand the reason you are doing this and I know that your ways are always right, but we should consider the possibility that there are, indeed, other ways!" the second voice said. Taarkin pulled out a pistol and shot the second guy just outside of my vision, his body falling to the ground with an audible thud. Taarkin holstered his pistol and stared out the window, admiring the view of the horizon.
"Tell me, girl. How much do you wager that your lover will come to rescue you?" he asked me, his back still turned to me.
"I think you already know the answer to that," I replied. Taarkin just scoffed at my answer before he turned back to me.
"Of course you would wager your own life. But, then again, I do expect that he will come to save you. It's in his nature."
"Yeah? And what happens if the Overlord gets here first when he finds out? Either way, it's gonna end badly for you if you hurt or kill me."
"I don't plan to kill you, girl. The Overlord wishes to have the Infernite energy in order to fulfill his plans of conquest. And I will give it to him. When the male arrives, my soldiers will rain down upon him and I will sap every bit of that energy from his veins when we have him in our custody. When we are finished, I'll kill him and leave you here to mourn for him. The Overlord himself will greatly reward me for my efforts. He will bring our enemies to their knees!" Taarkin exclaimed. I just rolled my eyes at how ridiculous he was sounding. But he came back over to me and forced me to look at him again.
"And you, my Terran friend, will help me," he finished before he turned and headed out the door.
Hiro's perspective, The Centurion
As we were on our way to Imperialus, Celeste led me and Zero Two to a room with a twin bed and a desk.
"These will be your living quarters for the time being. There is a clothing fabricator down the hall if you decide to change into something more comfortable. I'm sorry that there isn't more we can do to help," Celeste said. Zero Two immediately ran over to the bed and landed face first onto it.
"This bed feels so SOFT!" Zero Two said, her voice muffled. Before I could walk over to the bed, Celeste grabbed me by the arm and handed me a photo, which I took.
"One of the Zandorians found that on your ship. I thought that it might've belonged to you," she said. I just nodded sadly and sat down on the bed while Celeste left in silence and Zero Two began to bounce on the bed. The photo Celeste had given me was the one we took moments before two of our friends had gotten married. Or WOULD'VE been, if not for APE ruining it. The picture was of our Squad: Futoshi, Zorome, Miku, Goro, Mitsuru, Kokoro, Ikuno, Ichigo, and, of course, me and Zero Two. My eyes began to tear up as I remembered the memories we had with Squad 13. Zero Two stopped jumping up and down on the bed and put her arms around me.
"Are you OK, darling?" she asked as the tears began to run down my face.
"I don't know what OK means anymore. We're in a completely different dimension hundreds of years in the past where nobody knows us. It's just… so much to take in," I said, putting my hand on my head.
"It could be worse. We could be dead."
"That's not the point. We shouldn't be here."
"Darling, we should just be glad that we're OK and that these people are willing to help. What matters is that we are together, right?"
"That's just the thing! How exactly are you here? Your body was left on Earth! How is it that your body just suddenly appeared on the Strelizia moments before we destroyed VIRM?" I asked. Zero Two just sat back, held her face in her hands, and began to cry.
"I don't remember, Darling! I try to remember but it's not there! I'm sorry I can't remember!" she said, sobbing. I just wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. Look, I couldn't be more happy that you're alive and that you're here with me now. I just want to understand what's going on, that's all."
"But I can't remember. That's the problem, Darling!"
"Then we'll figure it out! We can get through this together! And I'm sure that these people would be more than willing to help us!" I said. Zero Two stopped crying and broke off the hug for a while before she got off the bed and walked over to the door, which opened for her.
"You're right. But not before we help them," she said before walking out the door.
Max's perspective
After almost ten minutes of moving throughout hyperspace, we finally stopped in front of a grey planet which had a city so large that we could see the lights from space. Rhea, Celeste, the Ravager Queen and the rest of the team joined me on the bridge and looked out at the planet with me.
"So, this is Imperialus?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. It was once known as Stellan, which means 'peace', until General Taarkin came and transformed it into the warmongering empire it is. The worst part is that the people that live in the city are basically prisoners. Any sign of resistance or rebellion is met with lethal and deadly force without even so much as a trial," Rhea explained. I shuddered to think about how bad things were down there, especially for the children who had to grow up on a planet like that. My thoughts were broken by the sound of Hiro vomiting into the waste bin behind me.
"Oh god… Is that normal?" he asked.
"It's your first hyper jump. You'll get used to it," I replied.
"I didn't catch what you said. What was that?" Hiro asked, talking a bit louder. My guess was he also got hit with some temporary deafness. As I helped Hiro try to stand up, Celeste pulled up a large map of the city.
"The base of operations for Taarkin's empire is this tower here," Celeste said, pointing to a large tower that was separate from the rest of the city surrounded by some kind of wall.
"Well, I give this guy credit. He's way more paranoid than I thought," I said.
"That wall is there in case if a riot that gets too out-of-control," Rhea said. But before she could say anything more or anyone could reply to that, one of the communicators started beeping like crazy, which Celeste picked up.
"Who is this?" she asked. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she gave the communicator to me. I held it up to my ear and listened to see who was calling.
"Are you there, Terran?" General Taarkin's voice said. My rage started to build a bit, but I inhaled gently and replied.
"What the hell do you want?" I said, signaling Celeste to put the comms on speaker for everyone else to hear.
"A simple trade, of course. You seek the female, yes?"
"What did you do to her?"
"She is alright… for the moment. But, if you do not comply to my demands, I can't promise that she'll remain that way."
"What is it that you want?"
"The Infernite energy, of course. If you agree to give me the energy, you will see her alive and well again," Taarkin said. The entire command bridge was just stunned by that statement.
"Give me a bit of time to think it through," I replied.
"Very well. But, just so we don't have any delays, I shall periodically give you a brief reminder of our deal," Taarkin replied. Without any warning, we heard the sound of electricity crackling and Nikki screaming. It went on for about 5 seconds before the screams and the crackling stopped. And then Taarkin's voice came back on to taunt us again.
"You have 2 hours to reply to the demands," he said before the feed went dark. I angrily slammed my fist on the table as everyone else just remained silent for a minute.
"It's a feint. He will kill both you and the girl either way if he gets what he wants," the Ravager Queen said.
"Yeah, I figured as much. So, any ideas?" I asked.
"We make our approach from the city and work our ways to the wall guarding the tower," Celeste replied.
"How risky is that?"
"Uuuhhh, does almost hundreds of soldiers patrolling the entire city sound risky?" Odango asked. I just gave her a look that said yes in a very annoyed way.
"Even if we could breach the wall without alerting the soldiers in the city, Taarkin has his own praetorian guard of elite guards that act as the last line of defense to the tower," Rhea added.
"Would the BFG work?" Amki asked.
"It would, but I don't feel comfortable using it in an area with innocent civilians. Plus, we don't know how many of the elite guard lies beyond that wall," I said.
"In either case, there are 7 of us plus 25 Ravagers against a whole city full of soldiers that have had decent training like we have," Celeste said.
"9 of us, actually! We're going with you!" Zero Two said, coming up behind us dressed in one of the same prototype battle suits Nikki and I wore on our first mission. She had two pistols attached to each of her thighs.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Zero Two, you can't be serious!" Hiro said, trying to hold her back.
"Well, this is what I meant when I said that we would help them, so let's get to it!"
"You're not going," I said.
"What?"
"No offense, but I don't trust the two of you going out there in case if a serious fight breaks out."
"Plus the fact that you ran into the middle of a firefight on Zandor without any armor on, which states that you're reckless," Celeste added.
"That's because there were innocent lives at stake! Don't act like you wouldn't do the same!" Zero Two said, agitated.
"Look, Zero Two, I admit that maybe we should help, but this is way out of our league!" Hiro said.
"Darling, we've fought giant monsters before. A bunch of soldiers is just a cakewalk."
"That's where you're wrong. The klaxosaurs you fought are just lumbering beasts without any real thoughts other than just 'kill anything that gets in the way'. These are battle-hardened soldiers with more years of experience than you have. I appreciate that you want to help, but this mission is too dangerous," I said.
"Well, we live for danger, Darling and I. You found us when no one else was looking and we need to return the favor to you somehow. That girl… you care so much about her, don't you? What would you do if it were me in that situation and Darling begged you for help?" Zero Two asked. I just sighed. She did have a good point.
"Alright then. Since I guess that there's no way to talk you out of this, you can both come. But you stay in the middle of the group where it's safe. If we keep a tight formation and stick to the shadows, we should be able to get to the wall without too much trouble," I said, earning a smile from Zero Two.
"Yes, but that still leaves the problem of the praetorian guard. The second that we breach that wall, they'll come straight for us," Celeste said.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's suit up," I said. After about five minutes, we teleported down to the planet's surface. Me, Hiro, Zero Two, Celeste, Eva, Amki, Odango, and Rhea split into one group on the east side of the city while the Queen and the rest of the Ravagers split into another group on the west side. But when we got down to the surface, all we saw was a horrific scene. We had been teleported to a secluded alleyway in between two buildings, but in the alleyway were four bodies, all dead. One body had gotten to the wall and had written, "Resistance is futile" on the wall with his own blood, as if it were a warning to anyone brave enough to try and start a rebellion against Taarkin.
"Jeez. Celeste, you said it was bad, but you didn't say that it would be THIS bad," Amki said. Celeste pulled up the mini map on her wrist and huddled us together to show us.
"Here's what we're going to do. We'll stick to the alleyways until we can get close enough to the wall. There is an APC packed with high-grade weapons that takes a normal route close to it and then blast a hole in it. From there, once we've dealt with the elite guard, we'll make our way up the tower, kill Taarkin, and rescue Nikki," she explained.
"Remember, be STEALTHY. The last thing that we need is a whole bunch of soldiers bearing down on us on the way there," I said.
"Look, I don't mean to sound paranoid, but don't we kinda stand out?" Hiro asked.
"I'm actually with Hiro on this. One of us is a 7-foot tall, red, four-armed alien and one of us carries a giant stick!" Odango added, earning glares from both Amki and Rhea.
"We'll improvise," I replied.
"What about the Ravagers? Don't they also stand out?" Odango asked.
"They have camouflage and years of stealthy experience. They can handle their own," Rhea replied.
"Alright, team. Let's move out," I said. Without any delay, we immediately started making our way to the fortress' wall, sticking to the shadows without any guards noticing us. We were making really good time, too. But as we were almost ten feet away from our destination, Zero Two suddenly stopped and peeked back around the corner behind us. Both me and Hiro turned back to see what exactly had gotten her attention. As it turns out, right in the middle of the street were three soldiers who were standing above a civilian while two more, a woman and her child, helplessly looked on. The soldiers looked a bit different than the ones on Zandor, as they had visors over the majority of their heads with only the mouths uncovered, making them look a bit like RoboCop. Except, you know, the armor was black. Just as the civilian on the ground was about to get back up, one of the soldiers mercilessly shot him in the head, which killed him instantly. Both the mother and her child immediately began to cry in despair as the soldier bent down to check the dead civilian's pulse.
"We need to help them," Zero Two said quietly. I just sighed in sadness.
"We will. But we need to get to the rendezvous point right now," I replied.
"Why can't we help them now?"
"Zero Two, we can't worry about this right now. We have to go!" Hiro said silently.
"What they're doing is cruel! We should be doing something more than just running!"
"Yes, I understand that and I do feel sad that things like that are happening to these people. But that's just how war and dictatorships work. They don't care who gets hurt. They just keep them in line and give them orders to follow," I replied sadly, walking away with Hiro following behind me.
"Look, what's gonna happen to these people if we DO manage to take down Taarkin?" Hiro asked, grabbing me by the shoulder.
"I don't know. I'm trying to figure that out."
"Look, Zero Two's right, we can't just leave these people to die."
"I don't plan to. But we have to work with what we have and go from there," I said. But when I turned to face Hiro, I saw that Zero Two was no longer behind him. I immediately ran back to the corner and peeked back around it. The soldiers were searching the body of the civilian they shot, but Zero Two was nowhere in sight. I looked around until I spotted her in an alleyway that was adjacent to the soldiers, both of her pistols out and ready to fire. When she looked back at me, I hastily tried to give her a signal to stand down, but she just gave me an angry look and pointing one of her pistols at the soldiers, her finger on the trigger. Quick thinking, I silently launched my grappling hook at the wall of the alleyway and slingshot myself at her, catching her before she could fire. Unfortunately, we accidentally hit a piece of garbage in a dumpster, which fell to the ground with a loud clatter, alerting the guards.
"What was that?" one soldier asked.
"I'll go check it out," the second soldier said, walking over to the alleyway. Zero Two and I hid behind the dumpster with my hand over her mouth and my other arm around her to keep her from trying to blow our cover. The soldier pointed his flashlight down the alleyway and started to slowly inch down the alley. But before he even saw us, a small, rat-like creature hopped down from the dumpster and ran past the soldier.
"False alarm. Just another Scrounger," the soldier finally said, leaving the alleyway and returning to the other two soldiers.
"I'll take these two back home. I'll meet you back at HQ," the third soldier said. I peeked back around the corner as the other two soldiers mounted up onto two bikes and sped away, leaving the third soldier alone with the woman and her child before making them walk toward their home. Before I could react, Zero Two ran past me, sticking to the shadows as the soldier and the captives made their way home. I just groaned to myself and pursued her until the three entered a house that was actually not that far away from the wall and silently crept up next to the doorway. Zero Two snuck in through an open window as the soldier helped situate the two civilians.
"You're safe now. Remember to follow the curfew and guidelines set by General Taarkin. These rules will help you to stay alive. Have a nice day," the soldier said. But as he was walking away, the woman grabbed him by the arm.
"You need to wake up! Don't you see what you're doing?!" the woman asked, hysterical.
"I am following directions from General Taarkin himself. And his directions help to keep the city safe."
"Jarkis, wake up! You're my husband! You should be fighting this, not reinforcing it!"
"I advise you to calm down. Your heartbeat has greatly elevated."
"Please, I begging you!" the woman pleaded. But the soldier just turned back around where Zero Two was standing, silhouetted by the darkness with only her cyan eyes glowing in the dark.
"Hey, who are you?! Identify yourself!" the soldier said, pointing his rifle at her. Zero Two didn't reply and instead roundhouse kicked the soldier before wrestling the gun out of his hands. The soldier quickly recovered and wrestled her to the ground. Zero Two's horns had noticeably grown a bit and her eyes were starting to glow red. I snuck into the house and, just as the soldier wrenched the rifle free from Zero Two's grip and prepared to kill her, I grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall, which knocked him out and made his helmet fall off. Both the mother and her child just stared in awe as Zero Two got up off the ground and Celeste, Hiro and the others walked in. Hiro immediately embraced Zero Two when he entered the room.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Celeste asked Zero Two.
"I was helping them is what I was thinking," Zero Two replied calmly.
"At the cost of risking our mission and Nikki's life?!"
"I don't see what the big deal is. Nobody saw us. And we're closer to the wall now."
"That's not the point! You just rushed without a plan and nearly got us caught!" Hiro said.
"OK, do you think you guys wanna keep it down before we actually DO get caught?" Amki hissed silently.
"I actually agree with Amki. Everyone just calm down," I said. Just as I had finished that sentence, the soldier got up, holding his head as he sat up. But when he got an eyeful of us, he didn't have the look of hostility or anger. It was… confusion.
"What… what's going on here?" he asked. The woman immediately ran over to him and embraced him for a while before she moved back and held his face in her hands.
"Jarkis… do you remember me?" she asked. The soldier put his own hands on the woman's face and smiled.
"Of course I do! You're the one I love with all my heart! My beautiful wife!" the soldier replied, which brought the woman to tears as they embraced again with the daughter joining in. However, the rest of us were completely confused. I went and picked up the helmet the soldier was once wearing and examined it for a bit before tossing it to Odango.
"Odango, can you do a scan of that helmet for me?" I asked. Odango complied and beams shot from her eyes as she started scanning the helmet. She suddenly stopped as the beams turned red and she reached into the helmet, pulling out a small square-shaped device.
"What is that?" Eva asked.
"I don't know. But it was positioned where the frontal lobe of the brain would be, and it was giving off a really weird frequency," Odango replied.
"Which means WHAT?" Amki asked.
"It's a mind control device," I said.
"Wait, you mean that Taarkin's soldiers were transformed into mindless zombies held against their will?" Odango asked.
"So that's how he did it. I often wondered how Taarkin was able to create an empire in a matter of days after the War of Stellan," Rhea said.
"Either way, this complicates things. If these soldiers are under mind control, that means that they're innocent and being held against their will," Celeste said.
"So, what do we do?" Hiro asked.
"Depends. Celeste, how far away is the APC?" I asked. Celeste checked her wrist map for a minute.
"It's nearly 10 minutes out. We should try to think of a way to keep the soldiers out of harm's way until it gets here," Celeste said. As she and Rhea helped the soldier and his family and Odango continued to study the chip some more, the rest of us tried to think up a plan.
Nikki's perspective
Ever wonder what it feels like to be electrocuted? It's not fun. As I continued to hang upside down, Taarkin paced back and forth in front of the window as he was still awaiting an answer from Max. After a while, he signaled on of his guards over to him.
"It appears that the human has momentarily forgotten our deal. Open up the comms and prepare to give the girl another shock," he said. As the guard moved back to the console for the electricity, another guard moved over to Taarkin and gave him a small disc.
"Apologies, General. It's Jeongho Yoon," he said. Taarkin nodded in approval and activated the disc, which brought up a hologram of Yoon himself.
"General Taarkin. I apologize for calling in unannounced, but the Overlord wishes to know of your progress," Yoon said.
"It's moving much faster than anticipated," Taarkin replied.
"Ah, so you've located the prisoners?"
"Not quite. But I do have a way of drawing them out," Taarkin replied. As he was talking to Yoon, one of the guards accidentally tripped and pulled the lever on the console, which caused the ring I was on to electrocute me again, which made me scream in pain. The guards hastily turned the machine off, but by then it was too late. Yoon had heard me.
"What was that noise?" Yoon asked.
"Nothing you should be concerned about, Yoon. As I said, I have a way of drawing them out," Taarkin replied. After a few seconds, I saw the look of horror on Yoon's face as he came to the realization.
"Taarkin, what the hell have you done?!" Yoon asked.
"I am merely speeding up progress. The human will come for the girl and the Overlord will have what he desires."
"Taarkin, the Overlord gave us specific rules not to harm the girl! Are you mad?!"
"No, I am not. But I am willing to do what it takes to make sure that our mission is complete as soon as possible," Taarkin said before he shut off the device. He then walked over to the guard that accidently turned on the console and, even as the guard was pleading for his life, mercilessly and audibly beat his skull in. He then walked back over to me and grabbed my face again.
"You had better hope that friends come soon… for your sake," he said to me.
3rd person perspective, Overlord's ship
The Overlord sat quietly on his throne, staring out into the void while using his magic to levitate the Crucible from hand to hand. After a while, he grabbed it and stared at in silence.
"My beloved, I do this all for you. I only wish to bring peace to this universe," he said to himself. He then heard the sound of the doors opening and got up off his throne, turning to see Celeste and Philip walking up to him.
"My lord," Selene said, kneeling before him. The Overlord turned to Philip, who now had a visible scar running down the left side of his face.
"Are you feeling well, Philip?" the Overlord asked.
"A little. But, I never pegged you for the guy who actually gave a damn," Philip said.
"I care for the well-being of everyone on this ship, Philip."
"Oh yeah? Even that scumbag and his little bitch? You care about THEM so much?"
"I am only trying to avoid any choices that could lead to our demise. Have patience."
"Philip, I understand that you feel resentful because the human caught you off guard, but the Overlord will make sure that you have vengeance," Selene said, putting a hand on Philip's shoulder.
"I know that. I'm just… going through some stuff," Philip said. Without any warning, Yoon came through the door and ran up to where Philip and Selene were and bowed.
"My lord, forgive me!" he said, panting heavily.
"What is it, Yoon?" the Overlord asked.
"I have troubling news from Imperialus!"
Max's perspective, Imperialus
As the group was trying to think up a plan, I was busy trying to make sure that the BFG was in good condition to fire just in case if things would get too chaotic. As I did this, however, I noticed that Zero Two was sitting in the corner by herself, sulking. I put the BFG on my back and went and sat beside her.
"You OK?" I asked. Zero Two just sighed sadly.
"I don't know. I just felt that if I was helping innocent people, I would feel more… human. All my life, all I ever wanted was to feel like I was actually human. Darling was the first to make me feel that way and, in time, our squad also accepted me as a human. But, I still feel like there's a part of me that's missing," she said. I just smiled and petted her on the head.
"You were willing to save these people, even if it meant putting our mission at risk. I mean, yeah, that was stupid, but that's what it means to be human. We learn from our mistakes. Yet, we never give up in trying to do the right thing," I said, which made her smile. The soldier's wife came over to give us some tea to try and help calm our nerves.
"I want to thank you for saving my husband," she said.
"I'm sorry that you had to suffer from Taarkin's tyranny. I swear that we'll try to make him pay for his crimes and help everyone that we can," I said, which made the woman smile.
"The people of this planet are great warriors. They have survived far worse than Taarkin's madness. In fact, the legends often spoke of one warrior who was so compassionate, he did not abandon his fellow warriors when all hope seemed lost. He inspired them to take a stand and the battle turned in their favor," she said. After she had finished that story, Celeste's wrist started beeping.
"The APC is only two minutes out. We need to move out. Now," Celeste said.
"So, has anyone thought up a good plan on how to help the soldiers?" I asked. Everyone just went silent for a while until Odango spoke up.
"I actually do!" she said, transforming her arm into some sort of device with an antenna on top of it.
"OK, what is that?" Amki asked.
"THIS is an EMP emitter!"
"Why would we need an EMP emitter?" Eva asked.
"Well, do you remember that small device we found in the soldier's helmet? Well, I managed to hack into it under the radar and I found out that all of the soldier's helmets share the exact same frequency. With the chip inside the emitter, I can target the frequency that they share and when I fire it…" Odango started to say.
"We can shut the devices off and free the soldiers of their mind control without any casualties. Odango, I don't think that I say this enough, but you're a genius," I said. Odango just smiled.
"How much of the city can the EMP cover?" Celeste asked.
"The entire thing. Except… I would need to fire it outside. Close to the wall. Where all the soldiers are."
"That might not be a problem. All we need to do is get to the APC and you can fire the EMP," I said.
"Then we have a plan in place. We need to get Odango to the APC while refraining from killing any of the soldiers that attack us. If we can get them on our side, the battle could turn in our favor," Celeste said.
"Then let's get to it," Zero Two said, pulling out her pistols. Without any delay, we ran out into the streets and made our way over to the route to intercept the APC, once again sticking to the shadows. However, as the APC rolled up and the soldiers switched out, we ran in and took out the closest two soldiers. Alerted, the other soldiers opened fire on us as Odango and I ran toward the APC. Some more soldiers fired at us from behind, but they suddenly began levitating off of the ground. The reason for that was, of course, the camouflaged Ravager Queen, who tossed the soldiers aside without killing them. As the fight continued, one soldier emerged out of the APC with a rocket launcher and fired down on us. A few rockets came close to hitting us, but I fired my grappling hook at the soldier and kicked him, knocking the rocket launcher out of his hands. Odango jumped on top of the APC and activated the emitter, which fired a bright, blue beam into the air and created a blue wave which spread throughout the entire city. The soldiers that were attacking immediately stopped as the helmets became shrouded in electricity and they fell to the ground, unconscious and the streets fell silent. After a while, a few of the soldiers got back up before taking off their helmets and looking around in confusion. Many of the civilians taking shelter inside came out to see them and many of the soldiers ran into the arms of their families and embraced them while the rest were helped up by Celeste and the rest of the team.
"Well done," I said to Odango. She just smiled and gave me a thumbs up before we both hopped down from the APC to help the soldiers.
Nikki's perspective
"General Taarkin!" one of the guards shouted. Taarkin walked over to where the guard was and I looked over and saw on a monitor that a bunch of white lights were turning red all at once.
"What's happening?" Taarkin asked.
"It's the soldiers! Their helmets are shutting off and their being released of their control!"
"How is that possible?"
"An EMP emitted on the west side near the wall and has spread throughout the entire city!" another guard said. Taarkin walked back over to the window in anger before his demeanor calmed down a bit, as if in satisfaction.
"They're here. Perfect. Ready the elite guard for their capture at once," Taarkin said. But as he was walking back over to me, a large hologram of the Overlord's face suddenly appeared.
"General Taarkin!" the Overlord said in a pissed off tone. Taarkin slowly turned back to face the hologram.
"My lord. To what do I owe this honor?"
"You have disobeyed my orders. I gave you specific orders not to harm the girl!"
"I am simply speeding up progress, my lord. The human and his team have been found in the city of my planet and I was just about to send out my elite guard to capture them immediately. I did this all for the glory of your will."
"And what do you hope to gain from this?"
"I have a machine. It's capable of extracting the Infernite energy from the human's blood and when the process is complete, it will be yours."
"Then you are a fool."
"…What?"
"Do you think that it will be that simple? What the human has is not as small and simple as you think it is. The energy has not built up enough power to be able to extract it. No matter how much you claim that it may work, it won't. Now, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. You will return the girl to the human male at once and you will return to my ship with your troops so we can concoct a new plan," the Overlord said. I just slightly laughed a bit.
"Didn't you hear, Overlord? Taarkin just lost his entire military force and he's been left with nothing! They've been freed and there's nothing he can do about it!" I said. Taarkin angrily signaled one of his guards, who flipped the lever on the console and activated the electricity again, which violently electrocuted me worse than the first two times they did it. After the electrocution stopped, Taarkin turned back to the Overlord.
"You dare belittle me? This is MY planet! You asked ME to help you because of my expertise and strategy. My device will work! The energy you sought will be yours to wield!" he said.
"You miss the point, Taarkin. Your military force has been turned against you. The human will bring vengeance down on your empire. He will wipe out your elite guard. Destroy everything you built. Reap justice for those you have enslaved. You will beg me for help. But I will not give it to you."
"Then to hell with you! You dare to insult MY ingenuity?! Then perhaps I shall use the Infernite energy for MYSELF! I will become a GOD! And after I have killed the human male and his pathetic friends, I'm coming for you! And I will bathe the star ways in your own blood!"
"We disagree…" the Overlord said before the hologram disappeared, leaving Taarkin to stand in front of the window in anger.
"General, do you still wish for the elite guard to capture the male?" one of the guards asked.
"Send them out. Vaporize the city. Kill every man, woman, and child in the city and bring the male here immediately! We will not let anyone stand against the might of Imperialus!" Taarkin said.
"Sir, yes sir!" the guard said. Taarkin then walked back over to me and grabbed me by the face again.
"The only reason I won't kill you is because when I have successfully extracted the energy from his blood, I will make him watch as I make you part of my elite guard before I have you split his skull open. And you will be my weapon that will destroy the Overlord once and for all," he said. I angrily spit in his face in response.
"Go to hell," I said.
"Poor choice of words," Taarkin replied before slapping me across the face and making everything go dark.
Max's perspective
The streets were filled with clamor and commotion as the freed soldiers embraced their families and loved ones. The rest of the soldiers were brought up to speed and tended to by Rhea and Odango.
"So, what's the damage?" I asked Celeste as I walked up to her.
"Only minor injuries and some confusion, but no casualties. It looks like everything turned out OK," she said.
"I can't believe that Taarkin was even capable of this. Turning the great men of this planet against their families and each other," the Ravager Queen said.
"Well, like I said, he's a coward. Of course he wouldn't want to get his hands dirty," I said. As if on cue, a hologram of Taarkin's face suddenly appeared in several spots all around the city, making the Ravager Queen growl in anger and many of the people shudder in fear.
"People of Stellan! For years, I have given you peace and tranquility that you so desperately sought. I only had one recommendation for all of you: to follow the guidelines that I set so that there would not be any needless violence. But it seems that you have not appreciated this peace. You speak out against me, there are too many rebels, and you take solitude from foreigners! But no more. This will be the day where your pathetic race will finally be erased from existence like the insects that you are! My elite guard will burn this planet to its very core and leave nothing of it behind! So kiss your children and your loved ones goodbye, because none of you will live to see another day," he said before the hologram disappeared and the people began to shout and cry in fear. Me and the rest of the team just stood there in shock and disbelief.
"He wasn't lying. The entire tower has been activated and the west side gates are about to open. He's going to kill everyone in the city," Celeste said.
"Well, maybe we can help them! We could teleport everyone onto the ship and we could take them somewhere-," Hiro started to say.
"There isn't enough time! And we don't have nearly enough room on the Centurion. I'm sorry but, it looks like some of these people might not make it out of here alive," Celeste said sadly. Zero Two and Rhea both came to tears while Amki just looked downhearted. I just clenched my fists in anger. This couldn't be the end. We had come so far and saved so many people. And yet, Taarkin didn't care about what lives were lost or who got hurt. Everyone around us was panicking or crying in despair even though Eva, Odango, and Hiro were trying to calm them down. The thought of Taarkin slaughtering innocent people just because they wouldn't stay in line made my blood boil. But then another thought came back to my mind. I immediately ran back over to the APC and jumped on top of it before looking back out at the crowd.
"Is that it?! We're just gonna give up like that?!" I yelled out to the crowd, which quieted them down. Everyone, including the team and the Ravagers, looked up at me in awe and confusion. Odango then transformed her arm into a camera and several holograms of me appeared all over the city.
"We can't just let it end like this! Taarkin thinks that we're just easy pickings and we can't fight back, but we aren't! I understand that you're all scared and you have every right to be! But you can't let that tyrant use that fear against you! This planet was yours first! It's time that someone put a stop to Taarkin's madness!" I yelled.
"But… we're not soldiers…" one woman said.
"I don't need soldiers. I only need those who can believe! Taarkin may say that he has the strongest military force on the planet, but there are more of us than there are of them! I was told that this planet had great warriors once! And no matter what invaders they fought, no matter how strong that they were, no matter what the odds were, they never gave up! They kept fighting even if it seemed like all hope was lost! And this planet can have that kind of warrior again! But only if we fight the threat together! Not just for the planet, but for our families, our friends, our loved ones! So, who will stand with me and fight?!" I yelled. Everyone was just completely silent for a few minutes, making me think that I came on too strong. But, the first soldier we had rescued stepped forward in front of all the others.
"The human is right. The day that we lay down our weapons is the day that this planet truly dies. And if our planet dies, then the ancestors who have died trying to protect this planet will have died for nothing. We can't allow that to happen!" he said. The rest of the soldiers raised up their firearms and stepped forward, giving me a salute. Celeste, Hiro, and the rest of the team jumped on top of the APC and stood alongside me as the town began to shout and some of the civilians armed themselves.
"Quite the speech you gave there," Celeste said, making me smile and blush a bit.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's start this party with a bang!" Zero Two yelled, picking up the rocket launcher. Before any of us could stop her, she fired it at the wall, which created an explosion that tore a large hole in the wall. Luckily, no one was hurt. As we got off of the APC, I took the launcher from Zero Two's hands.
"You're not allowed to shoot rocket launchers anymore," I said as I tossed it to the side. Zero Two just gave me a cheeky smile as we climbed over the rubble to the other side of the wall. When we got over, I saw in the distance that there was a rather large door at the base of the tower opening up. Inside, there were Taarkin's elite guard, but there were also some kind of nightmarish monsters roaring and snarling beside of them.
"What in the hell are those things?" I asked.
"Failed experiments. The original prototypes of the Ravagers," the Ravager Queen said as the rest of the Ravagers and the soldiers all climbed over the rubble and stood alongside of us. After the doors had fully opened, the Ravager prototypes and the elite guard ran at full speed over the vast open field towards us.
"Oh yeah, this seems pretty easy," Amki said.
"Odango, how many enemies are there?" I asked. Odango's eyes turned cyan as she scanned the horde coming toward us.
"Uh, well, you were right about one thing. There are more of us than them. The only problem is that there are about 1000-1500 of those things heading toward us," she said, a bit worried.
"How many are under mind control?"
"None."
"Good," I replied, walking out a ways and taking out the BFG. I kneeled close to the ground and pointed the BFG at the oncoming horde. When they got to a good distance, I pointed the BFG slightly up and then fired. The shot looked like it would just zoom over the enemy's head.
"Uh, you aimed that a bit too high," Amki said.
"Just watch," I replied. Sure enough, as Taarkin's elite guard ran towards us and the first enemy came within range of the green orb, it fired a bolt that vaporized the enemy instantly. As the green orb sped towards Taarkin's tower, it destroyed every enemy left and right, turning them to nothing but bones and chunks of flesh. Some of the elite guard tried to turn back and flee, but the orb was just too fast for them and it kept going until it finally made impact with the tower and created a shockwave that vaporized even more enemies. The way ahead of us was now a bit more clear and there were a way fewer enemies than when the siege started.
"That did it! The number of the elite guard has dropped straight to 546!" Odango said, happily.
"Now, men! TO ARMS!" Celeste said, holding up one of her katanas. We all ran towards the remaining enemies, with some of the soldiers using sniper rifles to try and thin out the horde even more and we began fighting the rest of the elite guard as soon as we had reached them. Zero Two took out her dual pistols and began shooting enemies like crazy while Hiro and Odango also shot at more enemies from behind her. Amki began crushing some of the enemies' heads with either her bare hands or her flail, even throwing Celeste at a group so she could decapitate them. The Ravager Queen and her sisters used their tentacles to slice and tear through the elite guard, some of them biting into their flesh. Some of the Ravager prototypes sprouted wings to try and catch some of the soldiers off guard, but Eva used her concussion blasts to throw some of them off and Rhea conjured up a windstorm to blow some of the others away. As I shot at several more enemies with my shotgun, me, Zero Two, and Hiro ran towards the tower. However, the blast doors to the towers immediately slammed shut, keeping us from getting in and, to make matters worse, the door was sealed too tight for me to be able to open in forcibly.
"Dammit, no!" I said, trying to punch my way through the door.
"Do you see another way in?" Hiro asked as Zero Two continued to fire at the enemies behind us. The Ravager Queen fought her way through even more of the enemies before she was able to get to us.
"What seems to be the problem?" she asked.
"We have trouble," I said, trying again to force the door open.
"Ha. You call it 'trouble'. I call it 'sport'," the Ravager Queen said. Her tentacles coiled around me, Hiro, and Zero Two before she jumped into the air and latched onto the side of the tower and began climbing up. Some of the Ravager prototypes saw us going up and climbed after us, only for them to either get shot down by me, Hiro, and Zero Two or torn apart by the other Ravagers climbing the building. When we finally got close to the top floor, the Queen broke open the window and took us inside.
"Well, that's quite a way to get up a building," Zero Two said.
"Hey, Max, you there?" Odango said over my comms.
"Yeah, go ahead," I said.
"I've got a fix on General Taarkin's location. It seems like he's holed up on the 40th floor."
"What about Nikki?"
"She unconscious, but she's alive."
"Good. Only problem is that we're on the 35th floor. Is there an elevator somewhere?"
"It should be down the hall, second corridor on the left and the end of that hallway. Apparently, that's Taarkin's personal elevator."
"That sounds simple," Zero Two replied.
"Yeah, that's just the thing. If it usually sounds simple, it technically isn't," Hiro said. As if on cue, we heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. We turned and saw three of Taarkin's elite guard, except their armor was a bit different and each of them had different weapons. The one on the left had sleek, jet black armor and was wielding a high-tech bo staff with electricity coming out of the sides. The one on the right had normal looking armor which was orange and was holding a high grade combat shotgun of some kind and grenades on his belt. And the one in the middle had bulky, tan armor, was holding a sword in one hand, and had a shoulder cannon on his left shoulder.
"Oh boy, here we go," I said. The sleek soldier immediately leapt into action and attacked Zero Two, pinning her to the ground. Zero Two was able to get him off and the other two elite soldiers began to attack me, Hiro, and the Ravager Queen as she fought the sleek soldier. The bulky soldier fired some kind of grenade at me, which I grabbed and threw back at the soldiers, only for it to do absolutely nothing against them. I ran toward the bulky soldier and began to fight him while the shotgun soldier shot at Hiro and the Ravager Queen. The bulky soldier swung his sword at me and came close to nearly chopping my head off, but I was able to disarm him and tear the arm cannon off of his shoulder. Quick thinking, I attached the cannon to my own shoulder as the bulky soldier got back up and grabbed his sword. But before he could take another swing at me, the arm cannon shot a burst of ice, which instantly froze the soldier. I immediately followed it up with a punch which instantly caused the soldier's body to shatter into pieces. Hiro and the Ravager Queen were stuck dealing with the shotgun soldier, who pulled out a device that emitted a sound that highly irritated the Ravager Queen, leaving Hiro defenseless as he tried to hit the soldier. Zero Two, on the other hand, was struggling to try and land a hit on the sleek soldier, only for him to counter each of her attacks and pin her back to the ground. Unfortunately for the soldier, she was within arm's reach of an exposed cable, which she grabbed and stuck it into the sleek soldier's face and electrocuted him until he dropped the bo staff. Zero Two used her foot to pick up the staff and she began to strike him down with the staff until I came in from behind and stabbed him through the head with my arm blade. All that was left was the soldier with the combat shotgun giving Hiro a hard time, destroying the rifle he had with one of his shots. But Zero Two attacked him from behind and continued to use the bo staff to repeatedly strike the soldier, knock the shotgun out of his hands and destroy the device that he was using to disrupt the Queen, leaving him to rely on his military training. But when he did finally punch her off, Zero Two held up a ring of some sort, which made the soldier panic as he started frantically checking his belt. Zero Two had pulled one of the pins from one of his grenades. The soldier failed to find the grenade in time before an explosion went off, killing him instantly. My helmet reformed over my head and the Queen used her tentacles to block out the searing heat of the explosion. After the flames died down, Zero Two cheekily walked out and flashed me a smile.
"As I said before: we live for danger," she said.
"That was reckless. Did you even think before you pulled that pin?" I asked.
"It was either that or we all die. So, yes, I did think."
"OK, I admire your enthusiasm. But you need to think more clearly. It'll help you a whole lot more if you do."
"You're the boss. Oh, and Darling?"
"What?" Hiro asked. Zero Two picked up the combat shotgun with her foot and threw it at him.
"Present for you," Zero Two said. Hiro just held up the gun and carefully examined it. Unfortunately, he wasn't careful enough as he accidently fired some kind of grenade which flew past us and hit a bunch of elite soldiers that had just gotten around the corner to attack us. The grenade exploded and left nothing but blood and chunks of flesh at the end of the hallway for us.
"Sorry, I had no idea that that's what that did!" Hiro said, pointing the gun downward.
"Max, are you there?" Celeste said.
"I'm here. Just took out more of Taarkin's elites with Zero Two and Hiro's help," I said.
"Well, do you mind if I borrow them? We need their help down here."
"Why? We can help him up here!" Zero Two insisted.
"Because if Taarkin sees me with you two, he'll kill Nikki. I know you want to help, but we need to anticipate that Taarkin wants me to come alone," I said.
"I'll take them back to your friends and join you shortly," the Ravager Queen said. But before I started to head down the hallway, Zero Two gave me a hug.
"Be careful," she said. I just smiled before she and Hiro were grabbed by the Queen and carried down the tower. I then ran down the hallway, killing more of the elite guard as I ran toward the elevator. When I finally got to the elevator, I took it straight up to the 40th floor. When the doors opened, strangely, there was not a single enemy in sight down the hallway. But I cautiously made my way down the hallway until I finally stepped into the main control room, which was completely dark.
"I must say, I'm surprised that you made it this far," Taarkin said, stepping into view wearing his helmet. I immediately pointed my shotgun at him, but he didn't move nor did he have any weapon on him.
"Where is she?" I asked. Taarkin snapped his fingers and a bunch of lights turned on to reveal Nikki, who was unconscious and strapped to a metal ring. She didn't seem to have any visible wounds on her body.
"She's much stronger than I thought. I see why you love her so much," Taarkin said, trying to taunt me.
"If you're trying to bait me into getting angry and doing something stupid, it's not going to work."
"No, of course you wouldn't want to get angry. You feel it, don't you?"
"Feel what?"
"That seething hatred. That burning anger trying to claw its way out of you. The hate that you wish to use to tear me apart."
"You slaughter innocent people for fun. You enslave those who won't bow to you. Of course, I'm angry. But things will be a hell of a lot worse if you so much as THINK about killing or even HURTING her," I said, my anger growing a bit. Taarkin snapped his fingers again and two soldiers rushed at me from the sides, pointing their guns at me. I just simply grabbed the rifles and crushed them before shooting one with my shotgun and stabbing the other with my arm blade. Taarkin didn't look the least bit fazed.
"I never intended to kill her, human. Once you have been drained of the Infernite energy, I will make her a part of my very own elite guard. I'd wager she would make a great soldier," he said. My rage started to build again and I took a few steps toward him.
"What, working for the Overlord wasn't enough for you, so you go against what he ordered you to do?"
"FORGET THE OVERLORD! I, General Taarkin, shall personally wage war on the Overlord and hunt him down like the dog that he is and make him pay for belittling me! But not before I have killed you!"
"Like you actually could. We both know that you won't get your own hands dirty," I said. But, Taarkin's enraged face grew into a wicked smile.
"Of course, you are right. I intend to use the girl as my executioner. After I have drained you of the energy, I will make her split your skull and let her watch long enough before she becomes the leader of the greatest military might in the entire universe," Taarkin said. I became even more enraged that it felt like the demon inside was about to burst out and rip open Taarkin's throat.
"If you so much as touch her, you're dead!" I said as I stood in the middle of the room. But, Taarkin's only response was to pull out a remote and press a button which caused a ring to glow underneath me and four electric pylons to sprout up all around me. Before I could do anything, the pylons shot electricity at me, which made me drop my shotgun and crumple to my knees. The electricity was extremely painful and felt like it would scorch my heart. While I was gritting my teeth, trying to bear the pain, Taarkin was watching in satisfaction.
"Even if you do escape, you cannot stop what will come next. There will be no more resistance. No more of the Overlord! There will only be… the reign of TAARKIN!" he yelled in sadistic glee. This guy had gone completely crazy and now he was hell-bent on taking over the entire universe even with the threat of angering of the Overlord. But as the pylons continued to electrocute me, it didn't feel like I was being drained of the energy. It felt like it was building power with every second and it was patiently preparing for whatever came next. As if to confirm this to Taarkin, a blinking red light started flashing on one of the consoles, which alerted him and one of the scientists.
"What is going on?!" Taarkin asked.
"This… this is impossible. The energy readings are growing stronger! They're… building!" the scientist said in awe. As Taarkin rushed over to the console, I began to get back onto my feet as my skin started to turn pale and my blood vessels started to glow with electricity.
"You said that this machine would work!"
"It should! But these readings have exceeded our expectations!"
"RESTRAIN HIM!" Taarkin yelled to two of his elite guard. But it was already too late. The monster inside of me had already taken over and he was ready to destroy everything in sight. As the two soldiers rushed over, I grabbed both of their heads and crushed them, splattering blood onto the floor. After the electricity had built up enough, the pylons to the machine began to break apart until the entire machine finally blew up. When the smoke cleared, both Taarkin and the scientist stared at me in horror.
"I must thank you," Taarkin said, grabbing the scientist's arm.
"For what?" the scientist asked.
"For your courageous sacrifice," Taarkin replied, throwing the scientist at me, who screamed in horror. I just simply sliced him in half with my arm blade and advanced towards Taarkin. He grabbed a knife and threateningly pointed it at Nikki.
"Do not come any closer! I swear I will rip her throat open!" he said. But I didn't listen, still making my way towards him. Just as he prepared to stab her, I fired an ice blast from my arm cannon which froze his arm in place. When I finally got up to him, I shattered his arm with my bare hand. Taarkin could do nothing but yell in anguish and try to attack me. But I just beat him to the ground and tore off one of his legs before then throwing him against the window, knocking his helmet off of his head. As the blood flowed out of his wounds, I angrily pointed my shotgun at him. But Taarkin's look of horror turned into a look of contentment.
"GO ON! DO IT! KILL ME!" he said, grinning a bloody grin. Part of my brain told me that I should. I would be doing all those he wronged a favor by killing him. But… it also felt like that's actually what he wanted. Like he would die at the hands of an actual warrior rather than a slave or someone else. With a deep breath of anger, I withdrew my shotgun and holstered it.
"I'm not going to kill you. You don't deserve death from my hands," I said in a demonic voice. I turned away from Taarkin and used my immense strength to break Nikki free of her restraints. With my anger quelled, I reverted back to my normal self and held Nikki in my arms. As I turned to leave, however, Taarkin angrily spat blood at me.
"Damn human! I deserve death by a warrior's hand! YOU DESERVE TO KILL ME! YOU WOULD RATHER LEAVE ME TO DIE BY THE OVERLORD'S HANDS?!" he yelled as he sat up against the window.
"Who said that the Overlord was going to be the one to kill you?" I said. After those words left my mouth, the sound of chittering and snarling filled the entire room. Taarkin only looked up in horror as the metal walls were torn open and the Ravager Queen and her sisters descended into the room.
"No! NO! You cannot leave me here with these beasts! Have mercy!" Taarkin said. I just turned and walked toward the exit, picking up Taarkin's helmet, only to stop just behind the Queen's ears.
"Do what you will with him," I said. Taarkin immediately grabbed a pistol and tried to shoot the glass, but it barely left a scratch on the glass. When he turned the pistol on himself, one of the Ravagers crushed both the pistol and Taarkin's hand with her tentacles. As I headed out the door and as it was shutting behind me, the Queen let out a terrifying roar and bared her teeth at him. After I had gotten to the elevator and the door shut, all that I could hear was one final death scream from Taarkin. On the ride down, I looked at Nikki, who was still unconscious, but alive. I just gave a smile knowing that she was going to be alright. When the two of us finally got to the bottom and the doors opened, I saw the last of Taarkin's elite guard still fighting Celeste and the others. But when they heard the doors open and they turned to face me, they immediately turned their weapons to me. After a few seconds of silence, I held up Taarkin's mask to show to everyone with a determined look on my face. Taarkin's elite guard just stared at me for a few seconds before they dropped their weapons in fear. As the soldiers rounded up the elite guard, one soldier in the crowd could no longer contain his joy.
"VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!" he yelled, causing the rest of the crowd to break out into an uproar of happiness. After several minutes, we were able to reduce Taarkin's tower to rubble and the rest of the people in the city began to cheer, happy to finally be free of Taarkin's madness. After saying our goodbyes to the Stellanites, we sped back to Zandor to return the Ravagers to their home. Some of the soldiers from Stellan made the long trip with us to try and help the Zandorians rebuild their village. In the cargo bay, Paki ran up to me and hugged me tightly, happy to finally be free. The Ravager Queen then came over to me as she looked out into the village.
"I have a question for you. Why did you let my kind kill Taarkin instead of you?" she asked.
"Because it was your war to finish. I didn't want to deny you of your vengeance," I said, standing up. The Ravager Queen gave me a slight smile.
"My kind and I will be forever in your debt. Should you ever need our help again, we would be happy to help you."
"Thanks," I said, smiling back. But as I turned to head back to the med bay, the Queen stopped me.
"There is something you should know. The girl… Rhea. She has a good heart. But, there is something about her that seems… off. I would strongly advise you to be cautious around her," she said.
"I'll be careful," I said. The Queen then led Paki out of the ship and we sped off into the void. Back in the med bay, Nikki slowly woke up before turning to face me.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
"Hi," I said back.
"Taarkin. Is he…?"
"Yeah, he's gone for good. How do you feel?"
"Like I got electrocuted several times and nearly died. But, other than that, I should be fine," Nikki said as she sat up, wincing from the pain. I pulled her armor disc out of my pocket and gave it back to her.
"Sorry I didn't show up sooner," I said. Nikki just smiled and kissed me.
"Aw, that's sweet," Zero Two said from behind us, causing us to break away from the kiss. Standing in the doorway with Zero Two were Hiro and Celeste, who were both smiling.
"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Nikki. You gave us quite a fright," Celeste said, giving her a hug.
"So, what do we do now?" I asked.
"Until we can be certain that the Overlord isn't following us anymore, we should lay low for a while."
"I guess that I'll take a well-deserved nap then. My muscles feel a bit tense," Nikki said.
"So, then, where does that leave us?" Hiro asked. I stood up and put my hand on his shoulder with a smile.
"We'll do everything in our power to try and get you home, if we can," I said. Both Zero Two and Hiro smiled.
"Well, we're in no rush. In fact, do you think you can help train me to use this thing?" Zero Two said, holding up the bo staff she obtained earlier. I just nodded.
3rd person perspective, Stellan
Walking amongst the rubble of what was once Taarkin's empire, the Overlord, along with the rest of his crusaders, looked over the damage until he located the corpse of Taarkin himself.
"Such a shame and a waste of potential," the Overlord said.
"Well, he was an idiot," Philip said.
"So, what do we do now, my lord? We have lost track of them and absolutely no way of tracking them," Yoon asked. The Overlord looked back at the his crusaders and the city in silence.
"Fret not, Yoon. I have a way of finding them. A way that even they do not even know of," the Overlord said, his eyes glowing red.
To Be Continued…
