(AN: I don't own the Capcom characters. But I DO own my guys(and chicks),
and will loan them out of asked. BTW, Thanks to all of my reviewers. You
guys keep me going!)
Chapter 10: Two Faces
Serrael watched from behind a stack of crates as jet after jet took off. It had been going on with a takeoff every few seconds since she arrived. "It looks like the whole damn fleet's going up..." she muttered. "And why only one at a time..."
"To avoid detection, I'd guess." Her startled gasp was cut off by a hand placed over her mouth. "You shouldn't be here. Go. Now." When the hand was removed, Serrael spun around to find a frowning Night ducking next to her.
"Night! This reeks of Master...I have to find out what's going-"
"Like hell you do! This place isn't safe!" he whispered. Motioning for her to rise, they both peered over their cover. It seemed like every reploid on the base was repairing or prepping planes. There wasn't a human in sight. Serrael was about to say something, but came up short as she noticed the purple glow coming from each of their eyes.
"Mavericks!" she whispered a bit too loudly. Night pulled her back down, putting a finger to his mouth.
"Keep it down! They're not infected, as far as I can tell. More like something's possessed them. Who knows if it's contagious or something. That's why I want you to leave...Please?" he asked. His annoyed frown had been replaced by a look of serious concern. She barely managed to suppress a blush.
"Thanks for caring, luv, but if this is the Angels...my old friends, then I can't let you hurt them." She leaned forward, giving him a peck on the cheek. His dumb grin soon faded as she kicked him out into the open. "Hunter! There's a Hunter here!" she yelled, before vanishing from sight.
As every pair of eyes on the strip stared at him, Night made a weak attempt at a smile. "Uh, actually, I'm not really a Hunter, so if you don't mind, I think I'll-"
Out of instinct, he dashed backwards, skidding on his butt. Judging from the scorch marks where he was before, he decided a sore ass was worth it. More shots followed him as made it to his feet. "Serrael, you bitch!"
He dove for the side of a building as a hail of plasma shots came after him. "Ah, shit!" Hugging the wall, he took a peek to find at least twenty Buster-equipped reploids all staring in his general direction. Another volley of shots went for his exposed head, missing by inches. "Double shit!" he muttered. Just as he thought things couldn't get worse, he heard the familiar whine of Buster charge several times over. "I swear to God, my ghost is going to kick her ass!!!"
He tensed up, his eyes sealed shut, as he heard the shots go off. The searing heat and unimaginable pain never came. He heard shouting and screaming from the other side of the wall, followed by more shots. Then, after a few moments, there was an eerie silence. After a long pause, Night opened his eyes and chanced a look around the corner.
All but one of the reploids that had shot at him was on the ground, unconscious. The remaining soldier waved a metallic staff at Night, grinning like an idiot. Then, to Night's amazement, the soldier faded into the form of a familiar green-armored hunter. Slate ran over to Night, ducking behind the temporary. "I managed to sneak up to those guys. More are on their way. And might I ask, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!"
Night shrugged, crossing his arms. "Ser's out here somewhere. I came to keep her out of trouble. Needless to say, she ditched me. Crazy bitch..." Slate nodded, then jumped onto the side of the hangar wall.
"Come on, kid. There's something up around here, and we're going to find out what. We might even save your crazy girlfriend's life." Night followed, holding back a rude comment on the tip of his tongue.
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Serrael had been watching from the highest point she could find: The roof of the GDA command center. From what she could tell, the humans were under heavy guard. The rest of the reploids on base were working to prep the air fleet. It seemed that they were stealing the whole thing. "What's causing this...I was sure that Master had something-"
Just then, a beep of recognition went off in her mind. "Rena...what's that schizo bitch doing here...And why did I pick her up...Only Father, Gabe, and I can use the Control...right?" Looking in the direction of the source, all was confirmed. Rena was skipping straight for the flagship, several GDA soldiers skipping after her. Her scan showed a wave flowing out from the girl to everyone on base, including herself.
"Okay, now this is odd...If she's sending it to everyone, why am I free?" she muttered. "And not even Father can fully control reploids..." Her mind crashed to a halt as she felt the floor begin to hum below her. "Oh, shit."
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Night and Slate made their way to the center of the base, jumping on rooftops and ducking behind crates to avoid combat. Night wanted to free the humans along the way, but Slate held him back. "Forget it...cut off a snake's head, and the rest will follow," he said.
"Not nice to kill your relatives, dragon boy."
"Just shut up and keep going..." They had almost made it to the main base when they saw the GDA command center literally fall apart. Towers and walls fell away, revealing a huge flagship, whose engines were rapidly warming up. "What the hell?!!" they said, jumping to their feet.
Unfortunately, their cries of surprise alerted the possessed soldiers. They barely managed to duck again as shots whizzed past their heads. Shouts and calls for help rang out over the base. Slate grumbled, lowering his helmet over his eyes. "You dumbass!" he yelled. "Look what you did!"
"ME?!! You-" Night screamed, but Slate cut him off, extending his Dragon Tail to its staff length. With a twist of the shaft, a plasma blade came out of each end, both ends glowing light green. "You jackass, you can't kill them!"
Slate shook his head. "Relax! I'm just going to hold them off, rook. You get your ass in that damn plane! The bossman's gotta be in there!"
Night started to protest, but as a volley of charged Supershots destroyed their cover, Slate acted, twirling his Tail to deflect the newest shots. "You wanna die?! Then GO!!!"
With a rushed nod, Night dashed towards the ship, stray shots landing all around him. In the distance, he could heard a load roar, followed by screaming. "You better be okay, Ser, cuz I'm going to rip your fucking wings out!"
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Serrael wasn't in any immediate danger, but from what she could tell, that was bound to change. A dark blur had made its way to the ship, and that could only mean one thing. "Night, that fucking imbecile..."
What worried her more was happening right below her. The sound of the engines was deafening as the ship began a slow turn. The whine of the thrusters was growing higher by the second, and the entire vibrated from their power.
"Damn it...they'll take off any minute, and then it's to hell with Japan. Gotta get those bloody engines stopped...Sounds like a job for..." With a flourish of her arms, she faded into the surroundings. "The Hidden Hacker."
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The inside of the battleship was, remarkably, exactly as he'd imagined it before it went airborne. Long hallways went along the length of the ships, carpeted in GDA sky blue. Offices with name plates came in set intervals, sometimes broken by elevators or break areas. It was one big bureaucracy. "I don't know what's weirder...that this joint's flying or that they have so many freakin' offices..." Night muttered. He'd been walking for what seemed like an hour, but was still as lost as ever in the endless crisscross of halls. Every door he tried seemed to be locked, the door handles not budging to even his strength.
The frustration was starting to get to him as he marched onward, the whine of the engines still growing in the background. After what felt like an eternity, he found himself in a huge open work area, a tube rising from its center to a ceiling of pipes and girders. "Okay...I guess it's up we go..." When he stepped into the clearing, he felt a sudden breeze behind him.
"The fu-" In front of him, cubicle walls rose from the ground, forming what looked like a maze of metal plates. From the nest of steel above, several blurs jumped downwards, landing with the sound of steel on steel. Night took a step back in surprise, to back into a seamless wall. His blades slashed at the wall, bending before his eyes. "Shit...TT- Alloy...Guess there's no running from this one."
With a dash, he burst into the maze. He soon regretted his haste when he came into contact with a wall, knocking him on his ass. "So much for rushing..." Blades upraised, he started running. " I don't have time for this shit!"
The path seemed to lead to the center tube, twisting around to meet with other paths. "This is too easy." he thought, the main elevator in plain sight. He dashed for it, a victorious grin on his face. "Yea-AAHH!!!"
He dashed right through the first mechanical spider, cutting it in half, to come face to face with its five brothers. Crouching, they matched his height. A single red eye glowed in the surrounding glow, shedding light on a pair of sharp-looking mandibles. Their abdomens protruded like a wasps, their spiked tails pointed at him. In unison, they fired. Long whips struck out, wrapping around Night's arms and legs. "Aw, SHIAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" Electricity coursed through him, bringing him to his knees. They slowly stepped forward, their mandibles clacking wildly. 25% of my systems energy got shocked away..., he thought, not to mention I can't move...I could use a little help...
On command, a status bar appeared in his vision, a purple line quickly rising to full.
PROBE INTEGRATION COMPLETE. CONVERT TO REPAIRS?
"Hell, yeah..." he whispered. The spiders paused in their slow advance, peering in confusion at their prey. While they watched, a green glow spread through him. After a few moments, he pulled himself to his feet, his blades reactivated. Their clacking grew more frantic as golden vents opened over his body. The bar in his eyes took a sudden drop to 60%. "My turn!" Dashing forward with a double burst, he screamed as the flames surrounded him, melting away the webs. He rocketed through the spiders, frying two of them as he passed. Grabbing onto a wall, he changed his direction, dashing at another, blades outstretched. There were six legs, then four, then one and a half left, following a flurry of slashes, until his target exploded from the punishment. The other two soon followed.
"Wow...I did pick something up from bunny boy...Let's try that healing bit again." His blades turned off as the green energy rushed through him. The bar to his left was down to the halfway mark when his systems were back to full, then slowly began to rise again. "Huh...damn. Guess I'd better be careful with the fireworks. I don't have time to waste charging!" He dashed into the elevator, recognizing the trademark doors close behind the shaft. "Did they freakin' plan for the place to be stolen..."
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"Slate, come in! Come in, dammit!!! Shit, he's gone...Someone get me eyes on that goddamn base!!!" Alia screamed, banging on her chair terminal for added effect. It was unnecessary. Everyone in the room was typing as fast as they could. The situation had gone from bad to worse when Slate reported that the whole base seemed Mavericked, but he hadn't reported in since, and their hail attempts had recently stopped reaching him. "What the hell's going on?!!" she screamed. "Damn, you rookie techs are godawful...WHERE'S NIGHT?!!!"
"Um, sir...er, ma'am" A very frightened tech turned in his seat, holding himself.
"...What?" Her sickly smile was enough to make him shiver.
"You're gonna believe this, but-"
"Try me."
"The GDA command building just went airborne...and it looks like it's try to turn our way."
Alia was speechless. For a few moments, she just stared ahead, letting the thoughts settle in her head. "Okay...lemme check. The freakin' GDA building just took off? And Slate's comm just went? Anything I'm missing?"
Another tech, one who looked even more afraid than the others, slowly raised his hand.
Through a sudden bout of controlled breathing, Alia managed to let out a hoarse, "What?!"
"Night's signal has been located...a,a,a,a,at the, at the-"
"Oh, for the love of all SHIT!!!!" she screamed. "I swear to every god above, I'm going to beat him to death with his own spine...Now, who DOESN'T have any data for me?"
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As Night passed through the elevator, he stepped into an empty command center. "Well...wasn't expecting this," he muttered. "Ah, well, better turn this sucker off."
He ran for the engine controls, only to trip and hit his face on the console. "Ugh...what the-"
"Wanna play, Mister?!" someone cried. He rolled over to see a girl of no more than ten years, still playfully holding out her foot. "Aw, c'mon, let's play, I'm SOOOOOOOOOO bored here!"
"I'm busy, you little brat. Go home, it's not safe here. There's Mavericks." Night pulled himself up and took a look at the control console. "What is this stuff written in-"
"Well, FUCK YOU, TOO, BITCH!" Night turned again to find a blur of the girl slamming into his chest, knocking him into the console yet again. The spinning ball bounced off of him, landing in a chair. The school uniform the girl had before was replaced by a set of yellow armor, with thrusters on the arms and legs. "It's more fun to beat the living shit outta you, anyhow."
"Angel!!" Night yelled, drawing his Duel Blades. He charged forward, stabbing at the giggling girl. She leaped over his lunge with ease, using his head as a stepping stone to hop over him.
"You're dumb! Nya-na!" she teased. "You can't touch Aerin, you fuckin' moron! I haven't started hurting you yet! Check it out!" With an almost comical pose, she created a bubble of sparks around her. "Now, dodge this!" instantly, she turned into a spinning ball, aiming for Night's head. He barely managed to duck under the shot.
"Ha!" He turned around just in time to catch the ricochet in the gut, knocking him back as she kept bouncing. "Ugh...bitch..." He barely managed to dive out of her way as she came back around, slamming into the wall as she went. "I'm ready this time!" he yelled, slashing at her, to find his blade knocked aside as she smashed into his face, bringing him to the ground.
"Hey, stupidface, you can't hurt me when I've got me 'Lectro-field up!" her voice called as she went for his head again. He dashed across the floor, trying to defend himself. "Give it up and DIE, JACKASS!!!"
"Not quite...Let's see if you like it hot!" Night jumped to his feet, dashing straight for the hurtling girl. The vents appeared and engulfed him in flames, his meter draining down to a quarter. "Eat this!"
They collided in midair with a crash and a wave of sparks. When the smoke cleared, Aerin was seated on a captain's chair, rubbing her head. Night, on the other hand, was on the ground, barely conscious and short half of his internal energy. "Ugh...that went well."
"You gave me a boo-boo...YOU HURT MY FUCKIN' HEAD, YOU QUEER!!!" Aerin jumped into the air, screaming at the top of her lungs. "I'm gonna kill you!!!" Spreading her arms and legs, her body began to shiver. Arcs of lightning lanced around her, restoring her safety bubble. With a insane yell, she dove for him.
"Uh-oh..."Gotta flame...Hey, what's happening!
INSUFFICIENT PROBE ENERGY. USE OTHER WEAPON(S)
"Shee-it!" He ducked under her mad charge, jumping onto a nearby wall. "Don't tell me I'm out of ammo! Gimme something!"
ACTIVATING BLAST BUBBLE. FIRE WHEN READY. His blades retracted, their arm cylinders retracting into his arm. He had to let go of the wall, dodging another bounce, as his left arm ballooned to double the size, blue lines streaking across it. "This is more like it!" he yelled, aiming at the spinning Maverick.
She froze in her tracks, still coursing with electricity. "Oooh...baby got a pop gun? Well, tough titty. I'm gonna rip it out and shove it up your exhaust!" She chuckled like a madman, throwing her head back in victory.
"Oh, shut the fuck up..." he muttered, firing. His remaining energy dropped by half. A bolt of blue flew at her, slow to the point of agony. She could barely dodge it as she convulsed in midair from laughter. "The fuck-?"
"That all you got? A fuckin' bubble?! I'm gonna kick your ass so hard..." Her voice left his mind as he followed the path of his shot. As the ball struck the wall behind her, the bubble burst, several smaller bubbles blasting outwards too fast to detect. As several balls flew at her, she continued to laugh, then screamed at the top of her lungs. Clouds of steam rose from her back, creating jagged bolts of lightening. The freed charge struck her, reducing her into a babbling mess on the floor. Her hair struck straight up and her eyes took on the purple glow of an angry Maverick. "THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE FUCKED, MISTER!!!"
She rose to her feet and ran for him, bolts of lightening randomly flying out from her armor. He found himself backed into a wall. He aimed another shot and fired. She ran right through the large ball, the electricity in her system growing stronger as her screams of pain and fury grew loader. She was only a few steps short of her target when the ship violently rocked. Night felt himself falling, and was knocked to his knees by a tremor that knocked the command center into darkness.
Aerin was outraged, the sparks rising from her tainted eyes as she marched onward, the only source of light in the shadows.
"Damn...guess this is my last close call..."
"Oh, you know it, bitch...I'm gonna love this..." she said. Then, she began to giggle as she stepped closer. Something about that laugh made Night more afraid than he'd ever been.
A blur of movement in the corner of his eyes distracted him from his fear. A familiar voice called out from the darkness. "Night! Cut your auds!"
"Ser?!"
"Now!" His hearing went offline without a thought. As he sat dumbfounded, he watched Serrael appear from nowhere, floating in the middle of the room, and saw her mouth open wide. The air seemed to vibrate around them, destroying equipment everywhere. The sparks in Aerin's armor grew to a fever pitch, then died out as she fell, in stasis, to the ground. Then it was all over and she gave a tired-looking thumbs up.
"-t's okay now...My Hellscream...should keep her offline for a couple days...help." Night barely caught Serrael as she fell from her pose.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah...tired. Need to rest a bit 'fore we go." She wrapped her arms around his chest as he carried her towards to a chair.
"Quick question. Why the hell didn't you do that before she went for my ass..." He dropped her in the seat none-too-gently, the annoyance returning to his mind.
She blinked a few times, grinning as if she'd just woken up. "Five reasons. First, I was busy landing this bloody boat. Second, My Hellscream only works on exposed circuits. Most reploids are shielded unless they've been damaged. Third, you seemed to be handling yourself. And fourth, that bloody yell takes a lot out of a gal."
"Uh-huh...you said there were five things."
"You look cute getting your ass kicked," she said. "Not to mention that twitch you do when you're pissed..."
This was apparently one of those moments. "I owe you an ass-kicking, Ser...I really do."
"Look on the bright side, Nighty. You're barely busted up this time. No melted skin or anythin'."
"Rest's over. Let's go." he muttered, looking over to the unconscoius Maverick. "I'll warp her to a cell and come back for you. I don't want you risking a solo jump if you're this weak."
Serrael shrugged, her smile widening with an added blush. "My hero."
"I just want you intact for the thrashing I'm oh so going to give you."
"Ooh...my favorite." It was his turn to blush, just before he was gone, Aerin thrown over his shoulder. "He's got potential..."
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(not my best work, but ah well...c'est la vie. Sorry about the delay, but finals wait for no man. Hopefully the next chapter will come out of my head a little faster.
Random guy: What, you're constipated?
till next time...Excuse me...WHO THE HELL-
end transmission)
Chapter 10: Two Faces
Serrael watched from behind a stack of crates as jet after jet took off. It had been going on with a takeoff every few seconds since she arrived. "It looks like the whole damn fleet's going up..." she muttered. "And why only one at a time..."
"To avoid detection, I'd guess." Her startled gasp was cut off by a hand placed over her mouth. "You shouldn't be here. Go. Now." When the hand was removed, Serrael spun around to find a frowning Night ducking next to her.
"Night! This reeks of Master...I have to find out what's going-"
"Like hell you do! This place isn't safe!" he whispered. Motioning for her to rise, they both peered over their cover. It seemed like every reploid on the base was repairing or prepping planes. There wasn't a human in sight. Serrael was about to say something, but came up short as she noticed the purple glow coming from each of their eyes.
"Mavericks!" she whispered a bit too loudly. Night pulled her back down, putting a finger to his mouth.
"Keep it down! They're not infected, as far as I can tell. More like something's possessed them. Who knows if it's contagious or something. That's why I want you to leave...Please?" he asked. His annoyed frown had been replaced by a look of serious concern. She barely managed to suppress a blush.
"Thanks for caring, luv, but if this is the Angels...my old friends, then I can't let you hurt them." She leaned forward, giving him a peck on the cheek. His dumb grin soon faded as she kicked him out into the open. "Hunter! There's a Hunter here!" she yelled, before vanishing from sight.
As every pair of eyes on the strip stared at him, Night made a weak attempt at a smile. "Uh, actually, I'm not really a Hunter, so if you don't mind, I think I'll-"
Out of instinct, he dashed backwards, skidding on his butt. Judging from the scorch marks where he was before, he decided a sore ass was worth it. More shots followed him as made it to his feet. "Serrael, you bitch!"
He dove for the side of a building as a hail of plasma shots came after him. "Ah, shit!" Hugging the wall, he took a peek to find at least twenty Buster-equipped reploids all staring in his general direction. Another volley of shots went for his exposed head, missing by inches. "Double shit!" he muttered. Just as he thought things couldn't get worse, he heard the familiar whine of Buster charge several times over. "I swear to God, my ghost is going to kick her ass!!!"
He tensed up, his eyes sealed shut, as he heard the shots go off. The searing heat and unimaginable pain never came. He heard shouting and screaming from the other side of the wall, followed by more shots. Then, after a few moments, there was an eerie silence. After a long pause, Night opened his eyes and chanced a look around the corner.
All but one of the reploids that had shot at him was on the ground, unconscious. The remaining soldier waved a metallic staff at Night, grinning like an idiot. Then, to Night's amazement, the soldier faded into the form of a familiar green-armored hunter. Slate ran over to Night, ducking behind the temporary. "I managed to sneak up to those guys. More are on their way. And might I ask, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!"
Night shrugged, crossing his arms. "Ser's out here somewhere. I came to keep her out of trouble. Needless to say, she ditched me. Crazy bitch..." Slate nodded, then jumped onto the side of the hangar wall.
"Come on, kid. There's something up around here, and we're going to find out what. We might even save your crazy girlfriend's life." Night followed, holding back a rude comment on the tip of his tongue.
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Serrael had been watching from the highest point she could find: The roof of the GDA command center. From what she could tell, the humans were under heavy guard. The rest of the reploids on base were working to prep the air fleet. It seemed that they were stealing the whole thing. "What's causing this...I was sure that Master had something-"
Just then, a beep of recognition went off in her mind. "Rena...what's that schizo bitch doing here...And why did I pick her up...Only Father, Gabe, and I can use the Control...right?" Looking in the direction of the source, all was confirmed. Rena was skipping straight for the flagship, several GDA soldiers skipping after her. Her scan showed a wave flowing out from the girl to everyone on base, including herself.
"Okay, now this is odd...If she's sending it to everyone, why am I free?" she muttered. "And not even Father can fully control reploids..." Her mind crashed to a halt as she felt the floor begin to hum below her. "Oh, shit."
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Night and Slate made their way to the center of the base, jumping on rooftops and ducking behind crates to avoid combat. Night wanted to free the humans along the way, but Slate held him back. "Forget it...cut off a snake's head, and the rest will follow," he said.
"Not nice to kill your relatives, dragon boy."
"Just shut up and keep going..." They had almost made it to the main base when they saw the GDA command center literally fall apart. Towers and walls fell away, revealing a huge flagship, whose engines were rapidly warming up. "What the hell?!!" they said, jumping to their feet.
Unfortunately, their cries of surprise alerted the possessed soldiers. They barely managed to duck again as shots whizzed past their heads. Shouts and calls for help rang out over the base. Slate grumbled, lowering his helmet over his eyes. "You dumbass!" he yelled. "Look what you did!"
"ME?!! You-" Night screamed, but Slate cut him off, extending his Dragon Tail to its staff length. With a twist of the shaft, a plasma blade came out of each end, both ends glowing light green. "You jackass, you can't kill them!"
Slate shook his head. "Relax! I'm just going to hold them off, rook. You get your ass in that damn plane! The bossman's gotta be in there!"
Night started to protest, but as a volley of charged Supershots destroyed their cover, Slate acted, twirling his Tail to deflect the newest shots. "You wanna die?! Then GO!!!"
With a rushed nod, Night dashed towards the ship, stray shots landing all around him. In the distance, he could heard a load roar, followed by screaming. "You better be okay, Ser, cuz I'm going to rip your fucking wings out!"
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Serrael wasn't in any immediate danger, but from what she could tell, that was bound to change. A dark blur had made its way to the ship, and that could only mean one thing. "Night, that fucking imbecile..."
What worried her more was happening right below her. The sound of the engines was deafening as the ship began a slow turn. The whine of the thrusters was growing higher by the second, and the entire vibrated from their power.
"Damn it...they'll take off any minute, and then it's to hell with Japan. Gotta get those bloody engines stopped...Sounds like a job for..." With a flourish of her arms, she faded into the surroundings. "The Hidden Hacker."
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The inside of the battleship was, remarkably, exactly as he'd imagined it before it went airborne. Long hallways went along the length of the ships, carpeted in GDA sky blue. Offices with name plates came in set intervals, sometimes broken by elevators or break areas. It was one big bureaucracy. "I don't know what's weirder...that this joint's flying or that they have so many freakin' offices..." Night muttered. He'd been walking for what seemed like an hour, but was still as lost as ever in the endless crisscross of halls. Every door he tried seemed to be locked, the door handles not budging to even his strength.
The frustration was starting to get to him as he marched onward, the whine of the engines still growing in the background. After what felt like an eternity, he found himself in a huge open work area, a tube rising from its center to a ceiling of pipes and girders. "Okay...I guess it's up we go..." When he stepped into the clearing, he felt a sudden breeze behind him.
"The fu-" In front of him, cubicle walls rose from the ground, forming what looked like a maze of metal plates. From the nest of steel above, several blurs jumped downwards, landing with the sound of steel on steel. Night took a step back in surprise, to back into a seamless wall. His blades slashed at the wall, bending before his eyes. "Shit...TT- Alloy...Guess there's no running from this one."
With a dash, he burst into the maze. He soon regretted his haste when he came into contact with a wall, knocking him on his ass. "So much for rushing..." Blades upraised, he started running. " I don't have time for this shit!"
The path seemed to lead to the center tube, twisting around to meet with other paths. "This is too easy." he thought, the main elevator in plain sight. He dashed for it, a victorious grin on his face. "Yea-AAHH!!!"
He dashed right through the first mechanical spider, cutting it in half, to come face to face with its five brothers. Crouching, they matched his height. A single red eye glowed in the surrounding glow, shedding light on a pair of sharp-looking mandibles. Their abdomens protruded like a wasps, their spiked tails pointed at him. In unison, they fired. Long whips struck out, wrapping around Night's arms and legs. "Aw, SHIAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" Electricity coursed through him, bringing him to his knees. They slowly stepped forward, their mandibles clacking wildly. 25% of my systems energy got shocked away..., he thought, not to mention I can't move...I could use a little help...
On command, a status bar appeared in his vision, a purple line quickly rising to full.
PROBE INTEGRATION COMPLETE. CONVERT TO REPAIRS?
"Hell, yeah..." he whispered. The spiders paused in their slow advance, peering in confusion at their prey. While they watched, a green glow spread through him. After a few moments, he pulled himself to his feet, his blades reactivated. Their clacking grew more frantic as golden vents opened over his body. The bar in his eyes took a sudden drop to 60%. "My turn!" Dashing forward with a double burst, he screamed as the flames surrounded him, melting away the webs. He rocketed through the spiders, frying two of them as he passed. Grabbing onto a wall, he changed his direction, dashing at another, blades outstretched. There were six legs, then four, then one and a half left, following a flurry of slashes, until his target exploded from the punishment. The other two soon followed.
"Wow...I did pick something up from bunny boy...Let's try that healing bit again." His blades turned off as the green energy rushed through him. The bar to his left was down to the halfway mark when his systems were back to full, then slowly began to rise again. "Huh...damn. Guess I'd better be careful with the fireworks. I don't have time to waste charging!" He dashed into the elevator, recognizing the trademark doors close behind the shaft. "Did they freakin' plan for the place to be stolen..."
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"Slate, come in! Come in, dammit!!! Shit, he's gone...Someone get me eyes on that goddamn base!!!" Alia screamed, banging on her chair terminal for added effect. It was unnecessary. Everyone in the room was typing as fast as they could. The situation had gone from bad to worse when Slate reported that the whole base seemed Mavericked, but he hadn't reported in since, and their hail attempts had recently stopped reaching him. "What the hell's going on?!!" she screamed. "Damn, you rookie techs are godawful...WHERE'S NIGHT?!!!"
"Um, sir...er, ma'am" A very frightened tech turned in his seat, holding himself.
"...What?" Her sickly smile was enough to make him shiver.
"You're gonna believe this, but-"
"Try me."
"The GDA command building just went airborne...and it looks like it's try to turn our way."
Alia was speechless. For a few moments, she just stared ahead, letting the thoughts settle in her head. "Okay...lemme check. The freakin' GDA building just took off? And Slate's comm just went? Anything I'm missing?"
Another tech, one who looked even more afraid than the others, slowly raised his hand.
Through a sudden bout of controlled breathing, Alia managed to let out a hoarse, "What?!"
"Night's signal has been located...a,a,a,a,at the, at the-"
"Oh, for the love of all SHIT!!!!" she screamed. "I swear to every god above, I'm going to beat him to death with his own spine...Now, who DOESN'T have any data for me?"
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As Night passed through the elevator, he stepped into an empty command center. "Well...wasn't expecting this," he muttered. "Ah, well, better turn this sucker off."
He ran for the engine controls, only to trip and hit his face on the console. "Ugh...what the-"
"Wanna play, Mister?!" someone cried. He rolled over to see a girl of no more than ten years, still playfully holding out her foot. "Aw, c'mon, let's play, I'm SOOOOOOOOOO bored here!"
"I'm busy, you little brat. Go home, it's not safe here. There's Mavericks." Night pulled himself up and took a look at the control console. "What is this stuff written in-"
"Well, FUCK YOU, TOO, BITCH!" Night turned again to find a blur of the girl slamming into his chest, knocking him into the console yet again. The spinning ball bounced off of him, landing in a chair. The school uniform the girl had before was replaced by a set of yellow armor, with thrusters on the arms and legs. "It's more fun to beat the living shit outta you, anyhow."
"Angel!!" Night yelled, drawing his Duel Blades. He charged forward, stabbing at the giggling girl. She leaped over his lunge with ease, using his head as a stepping stone to hop over him.
"You're dumb! Nya-na!" she teased. "You can't touch Aerin, you fuckin' moron! I haven't started hurting you yet! Check it out!" With an almost comical pose, she created a bubble of sparks around her. "Now, dodge this!" instantly, she turned into a spinning ball, aiming for Night's head. He barely managed to duck under the shot.
"Ha!" He turned around just in time to catch the ricochet in the gut, knocking him back as she kept bouncing. "Ugh...bitch..." He barely managed to dive out of her way as she came back around, slamming into the wall as she went. "I'm ready this time!" he yelled, slashing at her, to find his blade knocked aside as she smashed into his face, bringing him to the ground.
"Hey, stupidface, you can't hurt me when I've got me 'Lectro-field up!" her voice called as she went for his head again. He dashed across the floor, trying to defend himself. "Give it up and DIE, JACKASS!!!"
"Not quite...Let's see if you like it hot!" Night jumped to his feet, dashing straight for the hurtling girl. The vents appeared and engulfed him in flames, his meter draining down to a quarter. "Eat this!"
They collided in midair with a crash and a wave of sparks. When the smoke cleared, Aerin was seated on a captain's chair, rubbing her head. Night, on the other hand, was on the ground, barely conscious and short half of his internal energy. "Ugh...that went well."
"You gave me a boo-boo...YOU HURT MY FUCKIN' HEAD, YOU QUEER!!!" Aerin jumped into the air, screaming at the top of her lungs. "I'm gonna kill you!!!" Spreading her arms and legs, her body began to shiver. Arcs of lightning lanced around her, restoring her safety bubble. With a insane yell, she dove for him.
"Uh-oh..."Gotta flame...Hey, what's happening!
INSUFFICIENT PROBE ENERGY. USE OTHER WEAPON(S)
"Shee-it!" He ducked under her mad charge, jumping onto a nearby wall. "Don't tell me I'm out of ammo! Gimme something!"
ACTIVATING BLAST BUBBLE. FIRE WHEN READY. His blades retracted, their arm cylinders retracting into his arm. He had to let go of the wall, dodging another bounce, as his left arm ballooned to double the size, blue lines streaking across it. "This is more like it!" he yelled, aiming at the spinning Maverick.
She froze in her tracks, still coursing with electricity. "Oooh...baby got a pop gun? Well, tough titty. I'm gonna rip it out and shove it up your exhaust!" She chuckled like a madman, throwing her head back in victory.
"Oh, shut the fuck up..." he muttered, firing. His remaining energy dropped by half. A bolt of blue flew at her, slow to the point of agony. She could barely dodge it as she convulsed in midair from laughter. "The fuck-?"
"That all you got? A fuckin' bubble?! I'm gonna kick your ass so hard..." Her voice left his mind as he followed the path of his shot. As the ball struck the wall behind her, the bubble burst, several smaller bubbles blasting outwards too fast to detect. As several balls flew at her, she continued to laugh, then screamed at the top of her lungs. Clouds of steam rose from her back, creating jagged bolts of lightening. The freed charge struck her, reducing her into a babbling mess on the floor. Her hair struck straight up and her eyes took on the purple glow of an angry Maverick. "THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE FUCKED, MISTER!!!"
She rose to her feet and ran for him, bolts of lightening randomly flying out from her armor. He found himself backed into a wall. He aimed another shot and fired. She ran right through the large ball, the electricity in her system growing stronger as her screams of pain and fury grew loader. She was only a few steps short of her target when the ship violently rocked. Night felt himself falling, and was knocked to his knees by a tremor that knocked the command center into darkness.
Aerin was outraged, the sparks rising from her tainted eyes as she marched onward, the only source of light in the shadows.
"Damn...guess this is my last close call..."
"Oh, you know it, bitch...I'm gonna love this..." she said. Then, she began to giggle as she stepped closer. Something about that laugh made Night more afraid than he'd ever been.
A blur of movement in the corner of his eyes distracted him from his fear. A familiar voice called out from the darkness. "Night! Cut your auds!"
"Ser?!"
"Now!" His hearing went offline without a thought. As he sat dumbfounded, he watched Serrael appear from nowhere, floating in the middle of the room, and saw her mouth open wide. The air seemed to vibrate around them, destroying equipment everywhere. The sparks in Aerin's armor grew to a fever pitch, then died out as she fell, in stasis, to the ground. Then it was all over and she gave a tired-looking thumbs up.
"-t's okay now...My Hellscream...should keep her offline for a couple days...help." Night barely caught Serrael as she fell from her pose.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah...tired. Need to rest a bit 'fore we go." She wrapped her arms around his chest as he carried her towards to a chair.
"Quick question. Why the hell didn't you do that before she went for my ass..." He dropped her in the seat none-too-gently, the annoyance returning to his mind.
She blinked a few times, grinning as if she'd just woken up. "Five reasons. First, I was busy landing this bloody boat. Second, My Hellscream only works on exposed circuits. Most reploids are shielded unless they've been damaged. Third, you seemed to be handling yourself. And fourth, that bloody yell takes a lot out of a gal."
"Uh-huh...you said there were five things."
"You look cute getting your ass kicked," she said. "Not to mention that twitch you do when you're pissed..."
This was apparently one of those moments. "I owe you an ass-kicking, Ser...I really do."
"Look on the bright side, Nighty. You're barely busted up this time. No melted skin or anythin'."
"Rest's over. Let's go." he muttered, looking over to the unconscoius Maverick. "I'll warp her to a cell and come back for you. I don't want you risking a solo jump if you're this weak."
Serrael shrugged, her smile widening with an added blush. "My hero."
"I just want you intact for the thrashing I'm oh so going to give you."
"Ooh...my favorite." It was his turn to blush, just before he was gone, Aerin thrown over his shoulder. "He's got potential..."
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(not my best work, but ah well...c'est la vie. Sorry about the delay, but finals wait for no man. Hopefully the next chapter will come out of my head a little faster.
Random guy: What, you're constipated?
till next time...Excuse me...WHO THE HELL-
end transmission)