Black Feather: Episode XXVII
"Virgil's Poem"
Uncharted Region LR-UR/74
6:01 p.m., 03/18
"There's twelve!! Each of you take out four!!" Virgil charged in with his EO activated. He released his back orbit cannons, totaling four orbitals to back him up while he battled with his rifle and flamethrower.
Rose made quick work of them with her shotgun and spread howitzer, damaging several creatures at once. Iris' sniper bullets impaled the creatures' frail exoskeleton. The last creature was larger than the rest and aimed its spine blaster at Rose. She reacted, but was too late. Fortunately for her, Virgil stabbed the creature with his flamethrower's barrel, hoisted it over his head, and beheld a burning spectacle as the creature squirmed and scorched into oblivion.
"Everyone okay?" Iris' AC had one small burn on its left leg. "Virgil?"
"I'm fine. Let's move further in." His AC was riddled with burns.
Geologic scans picked up an abrupt decrease in height. Revealing itself as a veil of mist faded away was a crater loomimg ahead. Iris was reminded of the crater back home. Fear rippled through her spine. They stood at the edge of the crater. In the center of the crater was a dead city, a dull patch, straight-edged and dotted with fine details, contrasting with the smooth and fuzzy terrain of the crater.
"Look!" Rose pointed to some wreckage below the crater cliff.
"That must be the recent exploration ship from Kisaragi. It was shot down, remember? It was all over the news when contact was lost." Iris reminded Rose as she jumped down into the massive bowl in the earth.
There stood a main elevator terminal not unlike the on in the center of Nephilon City. It was enormous, even from the trio's distance.
"Did you feel that?" Iris sensed something.
"What?" Rose looked around, expecting one of the creatures to ambush them.
"The ground just shook..."
"That's gotta be one of the mo-" Virgil was interrupted when...
"Sshh!!" Iris signaled for silence. The ground echoed. Pounding noises groaned from under. Iris felt her necklace jiggle; Virgil watched pebbles on the pavement hop and click.
Asphalt under Virgil crumbled. A thousand cracks scurried their way outwards, eventually widening the hole.
"Ah, what...!" Requiem plunged into the abyss, but Virgil activated his boosters. A blast from below disabled them. Requiem drifted into the deep. Iris and Rose fell headfirst. Activating their boosters in such a position will only accelerate their fall.
Rose and Iris finally regained their normal falling position, but it was too late to boost up. Virgil activated his leg boosters as soon as his sensors picked up a surface. Iris and Rose landed more softly than he did.
"Where are we?" Rose stepped forward. Her AC's footstep echoed.
"Someplace huge and spacious." Virgil looked up. What was left of the hole in the ground was now a tiny speck of dim hope in the void of darkness. Invisible dust was made visible from the ray of light of the hole. That ray continued to stretch down. down. and down. Finally, it rested upon a memorial epitaph. Iris came over to read a message that hasn't been read in decades until now.
"Here...
In this land of dreams and prosperity...
Promised by 'The One'...
We, of Layered Alpha...
Offer thou hope...
For a home is of Want...
As we cannot provide...
We shall guide thee...
Farewell, Destined One...
May His lies become the truth upon thou..."
Engraved on the immense stone was an angel, pointing up into the horizon. Iris' eyes followed, and came upon something of hope... A way home...
"We can get back up from there." Silvermoon pointed to a sky-impaling tower far behind them, as the engraved angel had done for her. The tower was outlined by waxing and waning red specks of light.
"That must be the main elevator we saw earlier." Rose reminded the group.
"But, if there's an elevator here, then..." Rose's map scan was complete. A 3-D image of the 'cave' showed that they were standing in a city. "This place must be another..."
"Layered..." Virgil said as he walked backwards, facing opposite of the main elevator. "W... We have to get back..." His AC's eye light was on.
"What's wrong...?" Rose inquired as she and Iris turned away from the elevator. They both gasped.
The entire horizon was illuminated by billions of red eyes. Buildings and city ruins reflected the bloody luminescence. Virgil continued to step back.
"We got company... You two! Head back to the transport now!! Time's almost up!!" Virgil nearly screamed when he ordered them.
"We're not leaving you here!"
"It's no use!! I can't make it back to the elevator alive! My boosters are disabled and my core is an EO type!! Now, get back before the transport leaves you behind!!" One of the eyes lurched forward. Virgil's eye light caught a glimpse of the possessor of the eye cluster. It was the spider giants from District 2. It towered over Requiem. The mass of eyes stirred. A tumult of metal clanging rang through the air. "Tell Paige I said... 'goodbye.'"
"But-"
"GO, NOW!! I'll hold them off!!"
"Iris, we don't have time!" Rose boosted straight for the elevator, evading any obstacles in her path with the help of her map and radar. Iris reluctantly started forward, careful not to get too far ahead of Rose. Iris tried one more time to contact Virgil.
No answer.
Rose knocked down the elevator door with her rocket and howitzer.
"Hurry! They're all coming for us!!" Rose punched the giant elevator switch once Iris got in. She looked behind and the blanket of red scurried ever closer. The elevator started, rising up to the surface. The creatures fired, but damaged only the lower sections of the elevator tower.
Rose wiped her eyes. She began to miss him.
"Virgil's Poem"
Uncharted Region LR-UR/74
6:01 p.m., 03/18
"There's twelve!! Each of you take out four!!" Virgil charged in with his EO activated. He released his back orbit cannons, totaling four orbitals to back him up while he battled with his rifle and flamethrower.
Rose made quick work of them with her shotgun and spread howitzer, damaging several creatures at once. Iris' sniper bullets impaled the creatures' frail exoskeleton. The last creature was larger than the rest and aimed its spine blaster at Rose. She reacted, but was too late. Fortunately for her, Virgil stabbed the creature with his flamethrower's barrel, hoisted it over his head, and beheld a burning spectacle as the creature squirmed and scorched into oblivion.
"Everyone okay?" Iris' AC had one small burn on its left leg. "Virgil?"
"I'm fine. Let's move further in." His AC was riddled with burns.
Geologic scans picked up an abrupt decrease in height. Revealing itself as a veil of mist faded away was a crater loomimg ahead. Iris was reminded of the crater back home. Fear rippled through her spine. They stood at the edge of the crater. In the center of the crater was a dead city, a dull patch, straight-edged and dotted with fine details, contrasting with the smooth and fuzzy terrain of the crater.
"Look!" Rose pointed to some wreckage below the crater cliff.
"That must be the recent exploration ship from Kisaragi. It was shot down, remember? It was all over the news when contact was lost." Iris reminded Rose as she jumped down into the massive bowl in the earth.
There stood a main elevator terminal not unlike the on in the center of Nephilon City. It was enormous, even from the trio's distance.
"Did you feel that?" Iris sensed something.
"What?" Rose looked around, expecting one of the creatures to ambush them.
"The ground just shook..."
"That's gotta be one of the mo-" Virgil was interrupted when...
"Sshh!!" Iris signaled for silence. The ground echoed. Pounding noises groaned from under. Iris felt her necklace jiggle; Virgil watched pebbles on the pavement hop and click.
Asphalt under Virgil crumbled. A thousand cracks scurried their way outwards, eventually widening the hole.
"Ah, what...!" Requiem plunged into the abyss, but Virgil activated his boosters. A blast from below disabled them. Requiem drifted into the deep. Iris and Rose fell headfirst. Activating their boosters in such a position will only accelerate their fall.
Rose and Iris finally regained their normal falling position, but it was too late to boost up. Virgil activated his leg boosters as soon as his sensors picked up a surface. Iris and Rose landed more softly than he did.
"Where are we?" Rose stepped forward. Her AC's footstep echoed.
"Someplace huge and spacious." Virgil looked up. What was left of the hole in the ground was now a tiny speck of dim hope in the void of darkness. Invisible dust was made visible from the ray of light of the hole. That ray continued to stretch down. down. and down. Finally, it rested upon a memorial epitaph. Iris came over to read a message that hasn't been read in decades until now.
"Here...
In this land of dreams and prosperity...
Promised by 'The One'...
We, of Layered Alpha...
Offer thou hope...
For a home is of Want...
As we cannot provide...
We shall guide thee...
Farewell, Destined One...
May His lies become the truth upon thou..."
Engraved on the immense stone was an angel, pointing up into the horizon. Iris' eyes followed, and came upon something of hope... A way home...
"We can get back up from there." Silvermoon pointed to a sky-impaling tower far behind them, as the engraved angel had done for her. The tower was outlined by waxing and waning red specks of light.
"That must be the main elevator we saw earlier." Rose reminded the group.
"But, if there's an elevator here, then..." Rose's map scan was complete. A 3-D image of the 'cave' showed that they were standing in a city. "This place must be another..."
"Layered..." Virgil said as he walked backwards, facing opposite of the main elevator. "W... We have to get back..." His AC's eye light was on.
"What's wrong...?" Rose inquired as she and Iris turned away from the elevator. They both gasped.
The entire horizon was illuminated by billions of red eyes. Buildings and city ruins reflected the bloody luminescence. Virgil continued to step back.
"We got company... You two! Head back to the transport now!! Time's almost up!!" Virgil nearly screamed when he ordered them.
"We're not leaving you here!"
"It's no use!! I can't make it back to the elevator alive! My boosters are disabled and my core is an EO type!! Now, get back before the transport leaves you behind!!" One of the eyes lurched forward. Virgil's eye light caught a glimpse of the possessor of the eye cluster. It was the spider giants from District 2. It towered over Requiem. The mass of eyes stirred. A tumult of metal clanging rang through the air. "Tell Paige I said... 'goodbye.'"
"But-"
"GO, NOW!! I'll hold them off!!"
"Iris, we don't have time!" Rose boosted straight for the elevator, evading any obstacles in her path with the help of her map and radar. Iris reluctantly started forward, careful not to get too far ahead of Rose. Iris tried one more time to contact Virgil.
No answer.
Rose knocked down the elevator door with her rocket and howitzer.
"Hurry! They're all coming for us!!" Rose punched the giant elevator switch once Iris got in. She looked behind and the blanket of red scurried ever closer. The elevator started, rising up to the surface. The creatures fired, but damaged only the lower sections of the elevator tower.
Rose wiped her eyes. She began to miss him.