Black Feather: Episode XXII
"Omnis"
Sphere Detainment Facility
11:52 p.m., 03/10
"Painted skies...
Deep in your eyes...
From His pyre of lies...
A new raven shall arise..."
"Iris! Get up! Something's happening." Iris sat up from the icy bed. Rose stood at the cell bars listening.
"Rose...? Wha-"
"Shh! ..." There was a moment of stillness. Iris began to hear what Rose heard. It was...
"Artillery fire...?" Iris whispered as she got up.
"I think it is... Whatever's happening out there, it's intense."
"Ya hears it, too?" BB was in the cell across from Iris'. He sat in the shadowy corner hunched over, his face buried in his hands. Faint voices in the background caused BB to abruptly stand up.
"What's wrong?" Rose noticed his sudden action. BB placed his left index finger to his closed lips, signaling silence. The voices mumbled again.
"...Intruder! Get her...!..." Footsteps grew bolder as they neared. A gunshot exploded in the air.
"...Aaahhh!! ..." One of the guards screamed.
"...rie! Get them...nd hurry up!!" A male voice was muffled in the distance.
More gunshots blasted. It lasted for a minute.
"Rose! BB!? Iris!!" A female voice reverberated through the bleak prison hall.
"It's..." BB was mellow.
"Kyrie!?" Iris stood up against the bars and called out. Rose joined in. "KYRIE!? KYRIE!! WE'RE IN HERE!!"
Kyrie arrived with an air of urgency. A multitude of keys hung about a tarnished metal ring, clamoring in her hand as she ran.
"Stay still... I have to open this..." Kyrie was out of breath as she scrambled through the keys, trying every one that looked like it'd work.
"There she is!!" More guards came their way. They readied and pointed their pistols. "Fire!!"
"No!" Kyrie dropped the keys. A disruptive bang vibrated the prison bars. The guards became corpses on the floor, their faces drowning in their own blood. A man brandishing two heavy assault pistols appeared behind the guards.
"Mist... Yer finally here." BB nodded, unshaken all this time.
"BB." Royal Mist tersely greeted. He turned to Kyrie. "Val, use the square key."
"You cover me..." Kyrie juggled the keys looking for the specified ones.
"Hey, c'mon Mist. How 'bout it? For ol' times sake." BB pointed at the lock. Royal Mist casually shot the lock, unlatching as sparks flew. He handed BB a shotgun.
"There... Come on! Let's go!!" Kyrie threw open the bars and followed Royal Mist. BB ran alongside him. Iris and Rose were close behind. They rushed through the dismal prison cells, the icy air stinging their faces. Up the stairs, kick the door open, shoot the station guard nearby, through the exit-signed door, retreat into a gap in the side wall with the rope ladder, climb up, retrieve the ladder, kill some more fool guards...
They reached the courtyard, where nine more patrolmen waited. They all jumped from the shadows, but a jarring explosion brought them to their backs. Our group braced themselves, took advantage of the situation, and ran for it. A heavy MT overhead fell back as a doomed helicopter collided with it. The MT's massive body crushed the guards of the courtyard.
_____________________________
Qastor awakened inside Xanthippius. Everything was active and ready.
"How in hell..." Qastor stopped when 'he' caught his eye. Rey Vyn was standing atop a frail tower's needle-antenna, perfectly balanced. Qastor looked down and saw Iris. She saw him also and stopped. Eyes fixed on Qastor's, she hollered something, but it was inaudible. He was surprised when he saw Valkyrie, one of the top-ranking Ravens, turned and pulled Iris' hand as if to keep on running. Iris did so, still looking back at Xanthippius.
"Iris...!" Xanthippius stepped forward, but something prevented him from advancing.
"Not so fast, Young Qastor!!" He turned back to Rey Vyn. A crimson aura surrounded his body as a grenade shell sailed through him. "First, I must test a hypothesis of mine! To see if you are really one of 'us'!!!" Rey Vyn's voice was clear and bold, unlike Iris'. His powerful arms reached out to the midnight sky. Strangely enough, Mars was directly above him, faintly glowing an alien velvet. Xanthippius' pale blue armor gleamed.
"GGAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Qastor's hands wrapped around his throbbing cranium.
"AAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!" Every sound muted. Rey Vyn's mouth stretched to a wide, malignant grin.
Xanthippius stood in the sky, its shining armor could light a city. Its back weapons were replaced by two, long, massive cannons that stretched nearly to the heels. Two black and blue plasma blades shrieked from its arms. Four enormous, independent, linear orbit cannons floated near the back.
A brave helicopter fired a shell. Qastor swiped the blade with malicious speed, vaporizing the shell.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! BEHOLD!! NOVA OMNIS!!" Rey Vyn's announcement shook the dark heavens.
Logic Drive Condenser Engine Online. Neutrino concentration complete. Disrupting neutrino flow. Everything froze except for Qastor. A dark aura swirled about him.
An invisible mist leapt from the boosters. Nova Omnis zipped around the sky, brandishing his twin blades berserk. He appeared an instant later on the other side of the perimeter. Violent explosions roared all at once as time resumed. A surviving MT lumbered from afar. Nova Omnis' four linear orbit cannons and twin shoulder devastators positioned, their barrels gazing at their target.
A blinding flash accompanied by a catastrophic shockwave screamed from the cannons. A gargantuan pillar of plasma born from the six barrels incinerated all in its path. The plasma pillar landed three miles away and left a smoldering crater in its place.
Qastor regained his senses. The cockpit was scorching. Xanthippius' armor whispered a slight dull red from the heat as it knelt. Qastor looked at the HUD. The blast left a deep chasm in the earth. The surrounding structures were literally melting, dripping with radioactive metal. Multiple stenches of molten alloy and plastic graced the midnight expanse. Qastor sensed a large object descend upon him. It was Rey Vyn. His AC looked completely different. It was both shadowy and vibrant blood crimson, its torso gently heaved in and out as if it were breathing. Qastor was too exhausted to make out its features, but compared it to a devil. He knew he was in trouble.
"HAHAHA... SUCH POWER... BUT IS IT ENOUGH TO FACE MY ARK OMNIS?" It sounded as if Rey Vyn's AC itself was speaking...
With that, Ark Omnis pounded Xanthippius with its bare, metal fists. Wincing, the stars turned away as a symphony of clashing metal thrashed throughout the midnight landscape.
Qastor lost consciousness from the barrage of impacts.
"Omnis"
Sphere Detainment Facility
11:52 p.m., 03/10
"Painted skies...
Deep in your eyes...
From His pyre of lies...
A new raven shall arise..."
"Iris! Get up! Something's happening." Iris sat up from the icy bed. Rose stood at the cell bars listening.
"Rose...? Wha-"
"Shh! ..." There was a moment of stillness. Iris began to hear what Rose heard. It was...
"Artillery fire...?" Iris whispered as she got up.
"I think it is... Whatever's happening out there, it's intense."
"Ya hears it, too?" BB was in the cell across from Iris'. He sat in the shadowy corner hunched over, his face buried in his hands. Faint voices in the background caused BB to abruptly stand up.
"What's wrong?" Rose noticed his sudden action. BB placed his left index finger to his closed lips, signaling silence. The voices mumbled again.
"...Intruder! Get her...!..." Footsteps grew bolder as they neared. A gunshot exploded in the air.
"...Aaahhh!! ..." One of the guards screamed.
"...rie! Get them...nd hurry up!!" A male voice was muffled in the distance.
More gunshots blasted. It lasted for a minute.
"Rose! BB!? Iris!!" A female voice reverberated through the bleak prison hall.
"It's..." BB was mellow.
"Kyrie!?" Iris stood up against the bars and called out. Rose joined in. "KYRIE!? KYRIE!! WE'RE IN HERE!!"
Kyrie arrived with an air of urgency. A multitude of keys hung about a tarnished metal ring, clamoring in her hand as she ran.
"Stay still... I have to open this..." Kyrie was out of breath as she scrambled through the keys, trying every one that looked like it'd work.
"There she is!!" More guards came their way. They readied and pointed their pistols. "Fire!!"
"No!" Kyrie dropped the keys. A disruptive bang vibrated the prison bars. The guards became corpses on the floor, their faces drowning in their own blood. A man brandishing two heavy assault pistols appeared behind the guards.
"Mist... Yer finally here." BB nodded, unshaken all this time.
"BB." Royal Mist tersely greeted. He turned to Kyrie. "Val, use the square key."
"You cover me..." Kyrie juggled the keys looking for the specified ones.
"Hey, c'mon Mist. How 'bout it? For ol' times sake." BB pointed at the lock. Royal Mist casually shot the lock, unlatching as sparks flew. He handed BB a shotgun.
"There... Come on! Let's go!!" Kyrie threw open the bars and followed Royal Mist. BB ran alongside him. Iris and Rose were close behind. They rushed through the dismal prison cells, the icy air stinging their faces. Up the stairs, kick the door open, shoot the station guard nearby, through the exit-signed door, retreat into a gap in the side wall with the rope ladder, climb up, retrieve the ladder, kill some more fool guards...
They reached the courtyard, where nine more patrolmen waited. They all jumped from the shadows, but a jarring explosion brought them to their backs. Our group braced themselves, took advantage of the situation, and ran for it. A heavy MT overhead fell back as a doomed helicopter collided with it. The MT's massive body crushed the guards of the courtyard.
_____________________________
Qastor awakened inside Xanthippius. Everything was active and ready.
"How in hell..." Qastor stopped when 'he' caught his eye. Rey Vyn was standing atop a frail tower's needle-antenna, perfectly balanced. Qastor looked down and saw Iris. She saw him also and stopped. Eyes fixed on Qastor's, she hollered something, but it was inaudible. He was surprised when he saw Valkyrie, one of the top-ranking Ravens, turned and pulled Iris' hand as if to keep on running. Iris did so, still looking back at Xanthippius.
"Iris...!" Xanthippius stepped forward, but something prevented him from advancing.
"Not so fast, Young Qastor!!" He turned back to Rey Vyn. A crimson aura surrounded his body as a grenade shell sailed through him. "First, I must test a hypothesis of mine! To see if you are really one of 'us'!!!" Rey Vyn's voice was clear and bold, unlike Iris'. His powerful arms reached out to the midnight sky. Strangely enough, Mars was directly above him, faintly glowing an alien velvet. Xanthippius' pale blue armor gleamed.
"GGAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Qastor's hands wrapped around his throbbing cranium.
"AAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!" Every sound muted. Rey Vyn's mouth stretched to a wide, malignant grin.
Xanthippius stood in the sky, its shining armor could light a city. Its back weapons were replaced by two, long, massive cannons that stretched nearly to the heels. Two black and blue plasma blades shrieked from its arms. Four enormous, independent, linear orbit cannons floated near the back.
A brave helicopter fired a shell. Qastor swiped the blade with malicious speed, vaporizing the shell.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! BEHOLD!! NOVA OMNIS!!" Rey Vyn's announcement shook the dark heavens.
Logic Drive Condenser Engine Online. Neutrino concentration complete. Disrupting neutrino flow. Everything froze except for Qastor. A dark aura swirled about him.
An invisible mist leapt from the boosters. Nova Omnis zipped around the sky, brandishing his twin blades berserk. He appeared an instant later on the other side of the perimeter. Violent explosions roared all at once as time resumed. A surviving MT lumbered from afar. Nova Omnis' four linear orbit cannons and twin shoulder devastators positioned, their barrels gazing at their target.
A blinding flash accompanied by a catastrophic shockwave screamed from the cannons. A gargantuan pillar of plasma born from the six barrels incinerated all in its path. The plasma pillar landed three miles away and left a smoldering crater in its place.
Qastor regained his senses. The cockpit was scorching. Xanthippius' armor whispered a slight dull red from the heat as it knelt. Qastor looked at the HUD. The blast left a deep chasm in the earth. The surrounding structures were literally melting, dripping with radioactive metal. Multiple stenches of molten alloy and plastic graced the midnight expanse. Qastor sensed a large object descend upon him. It was Rey Vyn. His AC looked completely different. It was both shadowy and vibrant blood crimson, its torso gently heaved in and out as if it were breathing. Qastor was too exhausted to make out its features, but compared it to a devil. He knew he was in trouble.
"HAHAHA... SUCH POWER... BUT IS IT ENOUGH TO FACE MY ARK OMNIS?" It sounded as if Rey Vyn's AC itself was speaking...
With that, Ark Omnis pounded Xanthippius with its bare, metal fists. Wincing, the stars turned away as a symphony of clashing metal thrashed throughout the midnight landscape.
Qastor lost consciousness from the barrage of impacts.