Disclaimer: Same as always.
Chap. 13
I stood out in front of a vast wasteland. A good distance away, I could make out a city. It glowed in a blue crystalline light. It was here that I would find the Metatron master, Inhert. But reaching him would be difficult. According to Ken, the entire area was booby-trapped and guarded heavily. The sky above the wasteland alone was rigged to destroy any that ventured close to the city. I would have to skim across the ground. But even that was completely safe as mines were hidden in the area thanks to Vector Traps. Ken knew the direction, but I wouldn't be able to hear it clearly. I would have to rely on Dingo.
-'Forward.'-
Simply enough. I glided across the ground quickly, but steadily. He had to be ready at a moment's...
-'Stop.'-
I stopped, almost abruptly. I was a few meters from where I started and now in the midst of the wasteland. 'What a dreary...
-'Left.'-
I shook my head and ventured left. I have to keep my attention on the task. I continued to move to the left and as I did, I saw a group of objects floating in the sky before me. 'What are those?'
-'Defend.'-
Defend? I soon realized the significance to those words as the objects now flew at me. Missiles! I quickly raised my shield just as they hit me. They exploded harmlessly against the energy barrier and eventually died off. With the missiles gone, I continued on my path.
-'Wait.'-
But the warning came too late and I hit the trap. A giant explosion hit me right in my face and blasted me back. I shook it off and examined myself. My armor was singed, but not damaged. However, a second blast won't be as forgiving. What happened? I was on track, so what happened.
-'Diverted.'-
Divert...oh I see. The missiles must have put me off a bit. Just enough to cause me to walk into a trap. It then became clear how precise I would have to follow instructions.
-'Right a bit.'-
A bit. Okay. I shifted off to the right slightly and began to move slowly. I was in no rush to repeat what had just happened.
-'Stop. Angle to right.'-
Angle to right? That would put me away from the city. Still, it was the safest course. I angled myself off to the right and traveled forward. The direction she gave lead right into a giant crater. I was waiting for instruction to tell me to turn from it, but none came and I soon found myself in the crater.
-'Careful.'-
Huh? I soon found out the meaning of the word. Suddenly, an energy field encircled the crater, trapping me inside. Even worse, several images appeared with me. Mummyheads. Two of them. I watched them approach and found myself wondering. Why only two? This is far too easy. But I wasn't going to complain. Still, it did make me worry...
My thoughts were interrupted when one of the Mummyheads unleashed a Halbread stream at me. I quickly swooped downward and away. The second Mummyhead tossed out a stream of Phalanx, but I easily blocked it with my shield. So how should I handle this? Hmm, I know.
"Wisp!"
I let out the tri-pointed wire weapon and hooked on to the Mummyhead.
"Get over here!" (I couldn't resist.)
I reeled the shielded soldier toward me and grasped it by the head. I then began to spin around and I tossed it into his partner. The soldiers collided and the first one exploded in pieces. I was half-surprised to see the second one still active. I guess he'll need another approach.
"Comet! Strike him down!"
I released a Comet blast and it flew speedily at the Muumyhead. It struck dead on and the second Mummyhead exploded. The field dropped and I suddenly started glowing. What is...?
-Halbread-
Another technique. Alright. I guess my luck must be changing. But I would have to put that on hold for now, at least until I reach the city. Besides, past experience told me that this would get harder.
'Left, then forward.'
Oh, I almost forgot. I lowered to the ground outside of the crater and skimmed the ground again, being careful not to go too fast and hit another trap. The direction she gave was moving me toward the city, but in a diagonal line. I continued to move until I reached a small trench. But it was what was in the air that caught my attention.
-'Damn. Mines.'-
The air over the trench was practically littered with mines. They glowed in dark red, ready to explode on anyone that came close. To make it worse, they were magnetically charged, meaning that anything coming close to them would pull it in with them. I hoped that Ken would tell Dingo that I had to go in another direction, but no such luck. I had to tread carefully. Slowly, I eased my way through, making sure not to come in any contact with the mines. If I could, I'd be fairly certain that I would be sweating right about now. Okay, halfway through. I continued to skim through it easily.
Beep, beep.
Uh, oh. One of the mines had been activated and was now coming toward me. Even worse, when I turned my head to look, the reaction change caused a couple more to lock onto me. They were coming at me fast, pushing some out of the way while shoving others and activating them as well. I had to get away before they exploded. My shield wouldn't stop them at such close range. But that means I would have to fly a good distance before they detonated. But if I did that, I would risk running into another trap. But at this point, it was better to get caught in a trap then to be blown up by several mines. My wings ignited and I swooped away. The mines began to follow as I crossed over the canyon. But they were still following me. They haven't detonated yet. I moved again, still in a straight line. I was getting increasingly worried that I would hit a Vector Trap.
-'Go to the right, now!'-
Huh? In a flash, I swerved off to the right of the wasteland, completely avoiding the invisible trap. The mines turned along with me, but their time ran out and they each self-detonated. I stopped in my flight and turned.
-'That was too close, even for me.'-
Huh? It was strange. Dingo's thoughts were clearer now, almost as if they were my own. Should I be worried? Nah. That clarity just saved our lives.
-"We're here."-
Turning back, I saw the beautiful city before me. I saw no activity within though other than moving lights. But I had a feeling there was more to this place than meets the eye.
"You've come at last, Frame Warrior Jehuty."
Who was that? It wasn't Dingo's voice.
"You've come searching for me, as I knew you would one day."
"Master Inhert?"
An elder's voice chuckled, "Master? Heh, that's a title I have not been called for quite some time."
"Where are you?"
"Within the city. But, if you want to come and meet me, then prove yourself worthy!"
The connection was now severed. 'Prove myself worthy? Now why doesn't that sound like an easy thing?' I flew up into the sparkling city and searched. There was nothing around. Nothing at all. What kind of person builds a city with nothing?
Crrrrrrrrreeeekkkkkkkk
That's when I received my answer. On the ground there were three moving objects, coming right at me. I took a closer look. They were frame minions, but I never seen this type before. Just my luck. They seemed to be digging underground, keeping a part of themselves surfaced. I better get this test over with then. I moved forward to attack when they suddenly leaped out at me. They had bent legs and arms. I would provide a more apt description, but right now three of these guys were coming right at me. I dodged to the side, ready to fight when they suddenly fell back to the ground. 'Huh? Oh, I see. They can't fly. Well, that makes things easier.'
Someday, I will learn to keep my big mouth shut...
Suddenly from behind, several projectiles hit me in the back. Turning upward, I saw a troop of Mummyheads and Raptors coming right at me. 'Great. Now I have a problem going up or down.' Speaking of down, when I turned back to look at the ground minions, Leopardo, one of them was already airborne and coming at me. Quickly, I dodged, but it wasn't enough and the creature slashed my shoulder and caused me to drop. I hit the ground semi-hard and examined myself. My shoulder armor was slashed, but it wasn't as bad as it looked. However, the Leopardo were coming right at me. I quickly stood upright as they all leapt at me at once.
Stupid move.
I quickly summoned the Metatron within and when they got close enough, I spun around, letting my blade out and slashing all three at once. They fell to pieces on the ground and I focused my attention to the oncoming force.
"Gauntlet!"
I release the spark of energy at the Mummyhead, causing it to soar away from the group. As it did, I attacked the two Raptors. One came to slash at me, but I quickly cut it in two. The second swooped in as well, but it only received the same fate as its partner. The Mummyhead continued to close.
"Geyser!"
I let out the little balls of light and tossed them at the Mummyhead. The minion froze and I flew in to attack when suddenly...
"What?"
From out of the side of one of the buildings, a couple more Mummyheads appeared, along with some Raptors, Cyclopses, and Leopardos. Where did they come from? Moving fast, I grabbed the stunned Mummyhead and tossed it at the coming horde. It destroyed a Cyclops, but it didn't stop them from coming. I flew off to the side and focused.
'Must...hold it...now!'
At that, I let out beams of Metatron, each one flying toward an enemy. Luckily, the Leopards were weak, so one or two of them were destroyed quickly while the other beams damaged the others. I unfolded my blade and set myself for the kill when...
"What the...?"
Three more Mummyheads emerged, this time from the other side. And they were accompanied by a couple of Leopardos. At the same time, the stunned horde had revived and continued their attack. Seeing the odds, I flew back away from their fire and flew behind one of the buildings. Their fire was trashing the area as they came. I looked over the side, only to see another group join then. I twisted back against the wall. 'Where are these guys coming from?' Flying around another building for cover, I found my answer. A good distance away from me was a Cellar sphere. It was currently pulsating and new minions emerged out.
-"That thing's gotta go."-
Without hesitating, I flew toward it in attack. But I underestimated the amount of guards there would be and I found myself facing more than I thought. They seemed to be swarming all over the place, shielding me from the prized possession. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Cellar was within a group of pillars, making hitting it from afar difficult. I would have to get in close. Even worse, the group that was behind me had just come around the building and moving toward me. 'Just great.' I would have to use every skill I have to defeat them.
"Wisp!"
The thin-blue strand of energy grabbed one of the Mummyheads and reeled it in. Then on reaction, I quickly tossed it behind me, destroying a Raptor and disorganizing the group. I then flew backward and focused on the guards now.
"Comet!'
Instead of one, I hurled three of the energy balls at them, each one destroying an enemy. A raptor flew at me, but was quickly disposed of with a vertical slash across. I let that guide my attack and I dived in and began to slice the enemies furiously. But despite these efforts, the Cellar continued to pulsate and create new opponents for me to fight. It would be extremely difficult to get in close now. And the enemy began to close in and surround me. I quickly shot straight up into the air and above them. But they were beginning to close in on me once again. Damn, if only I could blast it from here. But the pillars are in the way... wait a minute.
I shot of to the side to get away from the advancing enemy. When I reached a good distance, I summoned the Metatron Sphere in my hand. But instead of launching it, I held on to, bringing it to full power. But the enemy was coming closer. If they attack now, I won't be able to do the damage I want. 'Come on, hurry.' The sphere finally reached its full size. A Raptor swooped in and slashed at me, but not before I set the massive sphere of energy down at the Cellar. The sphere hit the pillar, but it didn't stop it as the pillar exploded and the Cellar along with it. With the Cellar gone, I was free to attack.
"Now!"
I dove into the enemy formation once again. What happened was a series of events I can't remember. I lost myself in the destructive dance as I slashed, chopped, ripped, tore and dismembered every enemy that came close. Whenever I was done with one, I would dive to another group and repeat the dance. When I came to my senses, all of the enemies were destroyed. I couldn't believe what I had done. There were so many that I destroyed. I knew I was powerful, but this is something that still surprised me.
Shaking it off, I lowered down to the ground. Behind the area were the Cellar once was, there was a large gate. Moving to it, it opened before me and I entered. The door closed and the elevator lowered down. It then opened up to another room. Before me was a piece of Metatron. 'Great, I could use...wait a minute.'
Before I could think it, a group of Mummyheads, Cyclopes, and Raptors all appeared and attacked me. 'A trap.' Quickly I raised my shield as one of the Cyclopes attack. But the blow was hard and I was slammed against the wall. The Mummyhead summoned a Halbread attack and almost pinned me to the wall, but I managed to dodge it. Standing in the corner, I set myself as one of the Raptors flew in to attack.
"Halbread, show them the light!"
The intense beam of light emerged out of me and the Raptor was destroyed. The beam continued on and destroyed both a Cyclops and the second Raptor. I stopped it, seeing the power it was draining from me. But that still left the two Mummyheads and a Cyclops. Kicking off the wall, I stabbed the blade into the Mummyhead, which was fortunate seeing as how his Halbread was still firing. Grabbing the massive shielded minion, I spun around wildly as the Cyclops came at me. But it was caught in the whirlwind and bashed aside. Dazed, it began to recover. But not before I released the Mummyhead and sent it smashing into him at high speed. Both minions exploded and I was left with the last Cyclops.
But not for long...
Shhrrrrrrrraaaaaccckkkkkkk!!!!!
Now that everyone was destroyed, I lowered down and grabbed the lone Metatron cube. It didn't give me my full power, but it did heal me greatly. I flew toward the other end and found another elevator, which lowered down further into the ground.
"You're getting warmer." Inhert beckoned.
I gave a slight sigh as the elevator stopped. I flew out and looked out and found a strange sight. I was in a large room with the floor which was divided in several parts, but sealed. Two Raptors suddenly formed and came in to attack. I growled inwardly.
'Here we go again.'