Part VI: Battle and Bonding
"Run, now!!" screamed Tyr, running in the opposite direction away from the barreling machine coming their way. Dylan and Trance, with the little girl in tow, follow close behind him. They are trying with all their might, but they can barely outrun the gargantuan monster. As the vehicle gains momentum, Tyr gets an idea. "Everyone split up!!"
They follow his orders by branching off from one another in different directions. Tyr continued to run forward back toward the beach and the Maru in hopes that the machine will chase him to what he has planned for it. Trance, putting the child on her hip, headed west until she reaches some rock formations. She saw something in them that looked like a small cave. She and the child crawls in and hides just behind its narrow opening. Dylan headed east toward what he thought would just be more jungle until, all of a sudden, he loses his footing as the earth beneath his feet begins to crumble from underneath him. The huge plants in front of him has obstructed his view to the point that he didn't realize he was on the edge of a very high cliff. He continues plunging to what he thinks is an untimely death, only to have his fall broken with a refreshing embrace. He falls into the waters of a lagoon.
Their mechanical nemesis realizes that it has loss track of the child it was seeking, but ventures onward toward the beach in hopes of finding her. It is unaware that Tyr is waiting for its arrival. Meanwhile, Dylan has crawled on shore after pulled himself out of the waters of the lagoon, coughing and sputtering, thankful that he's alive. He looks up at the edge of the cliff trying to figure out how he's going to get back to where he was. Trance and the girl wrap their arms around each other cowering in the shelter of the cave, hoping that Tyr and Dylan were safe. The girl was quietly sobbing, laying her head on Trance's chest.
"Shh, it's okay." Trance says reassuringly. "I'm not going to let them hurt you. Whoever they are." She peers out of the cave trying to see if she could spot Tyr, Dylan, or the horrid machine.
Running through the hatch doors of the Maru, Tyr hops into the driver's seat and starts the craft's engines. The rusted, beaten up ship start to slowly lift off and hover over the beach. He positions the Maru towards the opening of the wooded area and waits patiently for the metal vehicle to emerge.
"Now it's time to fight fire with fire." Tyr said under his breath. "Show yourself, dammit."
Not even seconds after uttering his words, the behemoth crashes through the brush to the open beach area. The vehicle neither stops nor slows down, even after seeing the Maru hovering in front of it. It was like a strange game of Chicken that was starting between these two massive giants, neither wanting to back down from the other.
"You dare to want to challenge me?!" Tyr proclaimed. "I... gladly... accept."
The two start at one another as Tyr guns the Maru forward. The armored monster shifts gears and starts to drive faster and faster. Then, suddenly the back of it start to open revealing to Tyr eight large missiles inside, ready to fire. Aiming squarely on the Maru, the first four are launched and by using some evasive maneuvers, Tyr steers the ship out of the line of fire from every one of them. The explosions of the near misses echo on for miles. They frighten Trance and the little girl believing the worst had happen to Tyr, Dylan or both. A worried Dylan, who had started his ascend up the cliff with the use of some vines he found, after hearing the explosions, begins hurrying his pace so he could try to help Tyr. Tyr begins to grow tired of being this thing's target and starts to retaliate.
"You have no idea what you've started, have you? Well, I'm going to show how great an error in judgement that was."
Having already lined up its shot, the Maru's belly starts to slowly open up revealing the massive plasma gun Tyr rigged up inside it. The men inside the armored vehicle quickly realized the errors of their ways and planned for a quick getaway but Tyr was not about to let them have that chance. As the metal monster was turning around to head back into the sanctity of the woods, Tyr activates the gun's firing mechanism and in seconds, the huge silver machine explodes into a mushroom cloud of fire, smoke and ashes along with its two occupants. Tyr throws his hands up in triumph.
The vibrations of the explosion were felt by Dylan as he finally managed to pull himself onto the edge of the cliff. He starts racing toward the beach to see what's happened. Trance, with the child in her lap, has also heard the explosion and also wanted to know the severity of the situation.
"Sweetie, you have to stay here for a little while. I have to go check on my friends to see if they're alright. Don't come out of here until I come back for you, okay?"
"Please don't leave me!" the child sobbed. "They'll get me if you go!"
"Shh, don't worry... I won't let them get you. Just stay in here and don't make a sound. I'll come back real, real soon."
Before tucking her back into the cave, Trance kisses the child on top of her head. The girl, in turn, hugs her around her waist and goes back into her hiding place. Trance then begins her run back toward the beach.
Meanwhile, Tyr had landed the Maru and was headed back into the wood to find the rest of them when he suddenly ran into a out-of-breath Dylan.
"What... happened?!" gasped Dylan, fighting for his next breath.
"We've won." Tyr cryptically said. Confused by his vague statement, Dylan peers through the trees at the fiery inferno Tyr has left on the beach.
"God, I'm glad that's over." sighed Dylan. "Now, let's see if we can find Trance and..." But before he could get the rest of his sentence out, Trance appears right behind him.
"Dylan! Tyr! I heard explosions. Are you two okay?"
"We're fine, Trance. How's the girl and where is she?" inquired Dylan.
"I got worried about you two, so I told her to stay put in the cave we were hiding in so I could go looking for you. It's not too far away from here. What happened to that big machine?"
"Obliterated." stated Tyr, pointing toward the beach and the mountainous blaze he created.
"Do you think there's more of them out there?" inquired Trance.
"I, personally, don't want to stay around to find out." Tyr insisted, trying to hint to Dylan that they should leave.
"Before we decided whether to stay or leave, let's first find the cave where the little girl is and find out from her what's going on around here." Dylan suggested.
With Trance leading the way, they headed back toward the rock formations. The girl was waiting in the mouth of the cave for their return. She practically jumps into Trance's arm, ecstatic to see her. Trance giggles at the sweet gesture.
"See, I told you I would come back." smiled a reassuring Trance as Dylan and Tyr stand back and finally get a chance to look at the child. She has a beautiful mahogany complexion with wavy black hair flowing down her back and is dressed very poorly. She looks about five or six years of age. After lavishing her love and affection all over Trance, the girl finally acknowledges Dylan and Tyr's presence and offers her gratitude
"Thank you for saving me. My name is Almira Brabazon... out of Lilka by Balthasar. Tyr's interests are immediately perked as he recognizes the typically Nietzschean introduction. He kneels down to Almira's level to get a good look at her.
"I am Tyr Anasazi... out of Victoria by Barbarossa." he says with a slight smile. Suddenly, the child gives him the most unusual look. He doesn't know how to translate it.
"Barbarossa... son of Temujin?"
"Yes, he was"
Almira had a look of confusion on her face at first, but then, it was replaced with a beaming smile.
"You are Kodiak?"
"I am."
"So am I."
