Chapter 17: Ascension
Sorry it's been awhile, but I've got school and had a tad bit of writer's block. I should've known: Getting a Gamecube and two games can do that to you. Anyway, we're getting close to the end here. I've also been stuck on the 19th chapter, which I had to split into two, and I'll probably upload the next chapter with the rest of the story.
UPDATE:
Corrections made thanks to Matri. Thanks!
A small part of the humor was rewritten for effect. That old haunting feeling.
Disregard the comment over the rest of the story being uploaded, we've got about seven chapters left, including the Epilogue.
"And so… it truly begins…"
The doors of the first floor of the Tower burst open with a smoke bomb, muting any visibility in the entire area. Three masked soldiers armed with M4s cautiously make their way inside shortly after. Well, one of them, anyway. He comes in low, carefully inspects his environment, and keeps his gun raised the whole time. The other two walk in casually, and one pats the cautious one on the shoulder.
"Not bad, Ron, only that we've been told that all floors have been cleared up to the 50th floor."
"Aw, c'mon, Jen, haven't you seen Cowboy Bebop?"
"Ron, since when have you watched that show?"
"Cable, KP."
"Oh, right."
"It's like that episode where Spike goes in and blows up the place and bullets start flying."
"Ah, yes, the last episode." Jen remembered. "Well, that time the first floor was filled with baddies, and as you can see, Ron, this floor is all clear."
All of them remove their masks to see the floor, but Jen was right for the most part, seeing five dead bodies that weren't human. Kim was still pretty grossed out by the concept of artificial humans, and seeing them lie lifeless on the floor didn't make things much easier. Maybe it was the fact that the police recovered Erik's body, and one of them gave Kim and Ron an up close autopsy. That was probably a week after the two graduated. Syntho Drones were gross, but Bio-Mechs were no less pretty. Ron on the other hand decided he'd take this mission with a diminished sense of reality, looking at Bio-Mechs as fragged/ killed opponents in games. That way he wouldn't be freaked out. It was a strange logic, but it was crazy enough to work. The only thing the games didn't have was the stench.
"So they managed to make a thousand, and those teams took out half of them?" Kim analyzed.
Jen shrugged her shoulders. "Nev did admit he was probably overreacting at their strength, but I don't blame him considering he knows the technology. Easy to take out by experts who know their weaknesses, but in the battlefield against our own soldiers who might not, that can be a bad thing."
Ron appeared to be perspiring. "Geez, why'd Nev give us these masks again? I didn't think it'd get so stuffy with a smoke bomb."
"Because, Ron, the sensors on them detect that if we attack anyone, that it's a Bio-Mech and not an innocent civilian. Besides, you look kinda hot in that mask."
Jen lightly rolled her eyes. "Uh, Kim, focus on the mission? We're almost at the end of this; you guys will have all the time in the world to do what you want afterward. But now, let's not wait."
Kim didn't appear surprised by this response. "I'm totally focused, Jen. Come on, Ron."
Was she? One of the things Jen was quick to notice was that Kim's hands were trembling as she held her gun, as was Ron. Sure, they weren't doing badly in VRS, but she just knew that the second one of them pulled their trigger for the first time, that something was bound to go wrong. But Nev assured them repeatedly that he had things handled.
"Oh, that reminds me, I forgot these."
He tossed three guns to each of the remaining team members behind him, and they all caught it in unison with their left hand, catching the gun by the handle single-handedly. Neither Kim nor Jen looked surprised that Ron caught it just as flawlessly as they did, but Jen was the only one who studied her weapon.
"Assault Rifles? Oh, Nev, you're so sweet, you remembered my favorite weapon."
"Oh hush, you. I'm serious."
"Sowwie."
Nev covered his face, filled with embarrassment. Earlier, he was the only guy who didn't see Kim do anything wrong, and he didn't have the strength to say anything. Even though Jen apologized to Kim, she's just as much as a flirt. But that was Jen to him, not perfect.
"Aaaaanyway, before you all head out, chew some bubble gum and kick ass, I forgot an important detail about all of your weapons, in case anything goes wrong."
Ron didn't appear surprised when all eyes were on him. "I'll admit, I'm a noob!"
"Be that as it may, Ron," Jen replied, "Putting a gun in your hands might be more dangerous than Kim and me, and that's not necessarily a good thing."
"No offense, Ron, but I'm also kinda concerned with a gun in your hands, too. This isn't some right gun game."
"You mean Light Gun game, Kim."
"Whatever, you know what I mean. So what's this detail, Nev?"
"All of your weapons come with a PIU unit built in, aided by your suit."
Jen was fazed. "A Personal Identification Unit? I thought you could only do that with Marines weapons and some Russian mafia stuff."
"What can I say? You can find a lot of stuff on P2P programs these days. You just gotta know what you're looking for."
Ron grabbed one of Kim's shoulders. "Wow, a PID, huh? That's cool, but how about we give a small explanation for Kim here, huh?"
Kim rolled her eyes, but Nev saw past Ron easily.
"PIU, Ron. Basically, I've connected all of these weapons to your suit so that only you can use them when you want to use them. No one else will be able to use your own weapons against you, and you won't fire a shot from your guns unless you fully intend to. Your suits virtually connect to your body and record your brain activities to determine this. It's a fail-safe so that you guys don't accidentally pull the trigger if you don't intend to, since you and Kim did this in the VRS. Also, your enemies can't use your weapons against you."
Kim rubbed her head. "I really need Wade to teach me this stuff."
"Coolio!" Ron cried. This way he wouldn't do something stupid unless he was in danger.
"I know what you're thinking, Ron, but I'm skeptical myself. Instead, you've got less ammo than the girls do in all your guns. You're best going off with the sword as your primary weapon. Lotus Blade experience."
"I guess that explains why I'm the only one with a sword, huh?"
"Yup."
"So why not Jen and KP?"
Jen answered first. "I'm more of a guns and explosives person. Besides, I'm not a big fan of blades."
Kim followed. "Not exactly the most skilled in that area, at least in sword fights. I'd trust a sword in your hands over mine."
Everyone was surprised to hear this from Kim, but didn't make faces.
Nev continued. "But I filled your guns with some ammo just in case, but don't rely on them unless you hit a desperate situation."
Ron nodded his head. "Right on, right on. The Ron can handle swords."
Kim only hoped he could, but she was being truthful earlier.
"So, anything else before we head out?"
Nev snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, if you haven't noticed, your suits have masks hanging from the back. You don't have to put them on now, but the visors that should help due to their visual interface. For one, if you see anyone, you'll know if it's an innocent civilian or a bio-mech. Second, it'll change modes depending on the situation. Thermal, Night Vision, X-Ray, it's all in there and are usually automatically activated. But just in case you need to do it manually, tap your eye visors twice. The suit will also detect a dangerous situation, so if that comes up, just tap it once. And don't worry. Like your weapons, it'll only do it when you want it to."
Kim groaned. "So much for thinking you know where technology is going these days."
Ron had an idea. "Any kind of radar to help us?"
Nev shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, and even if I could, it'd block your vision. And don't ask if there's a muscle-relaxing feature built in, Jen."
"Darn it."
"Now that I think about it, Ron, you'd better switch to your sword."
"Okay…" he whined.
About the time they all entered, it was already sunset, and it wasn't going to slow down for these three. They quickly made their way throughout the one-room-per-floor building, finding nothing but damaged furniture, broken windows, blood and scattered bio-mech bodies, all with their necks sparkling. Projectile weapons from knifes, ninja stars, bladed boomerangs, and bullets could be seen sticking out. Kim could've sworn a pen was used, but didn't stay to investigate.
"Good thing Wade told us about the other teams coming in first, otherwise I'd be pretty scared right now."
Even Kim had her moments.
"Yeah, nothing tells you 'someone else has been here' better than the place looking like a war zone. Kinda makes me wish I was part of the action." Jen commented.
"Okay, quick question, ladies." Ron intervened. "Where are the elevators?"
"Rigged, Ron," Kim answered. "And before you mention grappling to the top, seeing that the outside of the building is covered with gun cameras, taking the easy way is the last thing we should do. Dive's a smart one."
Jen agreed. "Honestly, I didn't think you could put twenty of those things on all four sides on each floor. They're going to have fun taking down all 8400 of those things, excluding those that are outside on opposite buildings. That must've cost'em a lot."
"That's probably why he's working with Elurt," Kim speculated. "He's got a grand fortune, perfect for this sort of thing. It'll all go toward the Red Cross once we're done with him."
The three continued their infiltration, floor after floor being filled with the same things. If anything was bothering them, it was the fact that the floors were completely silent and empty. Even Ron knew that they should have sent reinforcements to make up for the loss on the lower floors.
Floor ten…
Floor twenty…
Floor thirty…
Floor forty…
Floor fifty.
Everyone froze when they came to this floor, as it was pitch black. Putting on their masks and seeing the Night Vision activate, they all came to realize that the video feed from Wade didn't do this room justice. A small couch in the middle of the floor was the only undamaged object. Everything else was completely demolished, and it didn't help that bodies were hanging from the ceiling, from inside the walls, and almost slammed through the floors. Dismantled weapons of all kinds were on the floor, even those thought to be indestructible.
"My God…"
"Never seen a room like this, huh, Kim?"
"I still can't shake the nostalgic feeling, Jen. I'm starting to get a really bad feeling about this."
"Uh, KP, you've had a really bad feeling since Tibet."
"He's right, you know. Dive's not here, nor any of the Bio-Mechs."
Ron starting darting off toward one of the unconscious girls, and put his fingers on her neck.
"Her pulse is strong, but I don't think she's going to wake up any time soon… seeing that her face is planted completely into the floor."
"So they're still alive…" Jen took this moment to ponder the situation. "Why would someone who put you through so much hell spare these guys?"
"I don't know, but we're going to find out before this night is over."
That was Kim all right, confident until the end.
"Good to see you're back to normal, Kim." Jen complemented.
"Thanks, but remember, from here on we be extremely careful. The other 500 no doubt surround the next floors."
Everyone made their way toward the stairs and carefully moved up. Before opening the door that led to the next room and floor, Kim quietly opened it and peeked inside, quickly closing it in less than a second.
"So how's the sitch?" Jen asked with a sly look, mimicking Kim.
"There are a lot of them…"
Kim sounded shaky in her voice, and Ron was able to detect this better than Jen.
"Spill, KP."
"There's got to be at least thirty of them… and they don't have human skin."
"Elch, unfinished?"
"I don't know. They aren't like the ones we fought… they're gold."
"Gold?"
"It's like a bunch of golden metal skeletons walking around with machine guns. No eyes or skin but plenty of muscle tissue. Definitely no need to see if they're civilians."
Jen was becoming familiar with the tone in Kim's voice.
"Kim, if you need to head to a bathroom, there's one back on the previous floor, but DO NOT throw up on me."
"I think I can manage."
"You don't think on the battlefield Kim. It's do or do not, that's all. There's no think or try."
Kim didn't want to admit it, but Jen was right. She let out a loud gulp, trying to swallow anything that was going to come up, but had a disgusted look on her face.
"Yuck… Okay, I'm ready to go."
"So what's your plan, KP? Go in quietly with stealth or burst into action?"
Kim pulled out a grenade from her utility belt. "Try to toss in an EFG without alerting them to our presence, then attack when it goes off. Remember, the weak point is their neck, since that's where the CPU is."
"I know, I know."
Jen put a hand on one shoulder each. "Remember you two, these aren't humans."
Kim sighed, shrugging her shoulders with a grenade in hand. "I'll get used to it."
Jen had skeptical written all over her face. "Like getting used to holding grenades with the pin sticking out?"
Kim didn't realize that when she made her last gesture, she had one hand on the pin of the grenade and the other hand on the grenade itself. She inadvertently separated the two.
"Shoot!"
"What? Where?" Ron cried.
"Ron! I mean…-"
Jen cut Kim off, grabbing the grenade and tossing it into the room. The desperate move was enough to catch all the mechs' attention, but the bomb went off shortly after.
"Come on, you two, now!"
Jen quickly pushed Kim and Ron into the room, where a bunch of blinded Bio-Mechs were. She didn't look surprised as to what happened next.
Kim tried to go for a weapon, but had a hard time grabbing her gun, not to mention she was being blinded by the brightness the grenade let out. She tried to fire into the necks of the fallen mechs, and she succeeded, but not without hesitation. It took her some time to aim right and hit her intended target without being an inch or two off. Thankfully, the mechs didn't have vocal cords built in or faces that showed expressions, which made life much easier for Kim. Ron actually handled the situation pretty well, grabbing his sword and jabbing it into various necks, but his only problem was finding others to take down. Jen just stood by the doorway.
Kim was panting. "Whew, I think that's all of them."
Suddenly, a loud gunshot was heard, with a metallic groan behind Kim.
"Actually, you missed one," Jen smiled, while showing off her moves with a handgun, spinning it like a revolver in Western movies.
"Time out!" Ron demanded. "You were just standing there the whole time?"
"Yeah, only to see how you two would handle the situation. Did much better than I thought."
Jen did notice, however, that Kim's hands were still shaking.
"I don't think this weapon fits me," Kim confessed.
Jen's eyes were on every other weapon that Kim had on her. "Nev did give you alternatives. You know, now that I think about it, I haven't seen anyone use the bow and arrow before."
Kim grabbed it, but had an expression on her face that was anything but confident.
"Please, I haven't done archery since that course in the summer of freshman year. I mean, watch me take out this light."
Kim quickly turned around and fired an arrow without any sign of concentration. She didn't even bother to see where it went, turning back to Ron and Jen before it made contact with anything.
"See, I totally miss-"
The sound of glass cracking on the ceiling and instant darkness was enough to convince the other two. Kim let out a sheepish grin, not that anyone could see it.
"Okay, I'm gun girl, you're arrow girl, and Ron's the sword guy," Jen spoke in the darkness.
"Hey, KP, how come you never used those on missions?"
"I'm not going to kill my enemies, Ron. At least not those that are human."
"Well, we're in a war, Kim," Jen replied, "and now's no time to think. I don't mean to be rude, but now's not a place for the 'no big' or 'so not the drama' talk. If that were a frag grenade in your hand earlier, we could've died. Keep that in mind."
"First time…" was Kim's excuse. "But you're right… I can get used to this. I can do it."
Jen wasn't convinced. "I was thinking that maybe the catchphrase 'I can do anything' might've been inaccurate. I hope I'm wrong. I'll help out from here on, but I hope I don't have to clear out everything for you guys."
"Oh, you're on…" Kim hissed with an inviting tone and a slice of venom to boot.
Little did she know that Jen just used reverse psychology on her, intentionally provoking her to boost her confidence. It worked.
All three put on their masks for the night vision view, then proceeded to the next floor.
In fact, the next six floors had gone off without a hitch. It appeared that Golden Bio-Mechs were being used hereon out, and the same strategy was done, but with much better results. Kim would peek into the room to observe her surroundings, then tossed in the grenade in the center of the room. There were times where the mechs noticed them and fired their weapons before the grenade went off, but the door was bulletproof. The grenade would go off, not only affecting their skeletal structure, but their AI system and CPU temporarily. Kim, Ron and Jen would immediately go on the offensive and take them out, and Jen was glad to see that the two were getting used to their weapons fast.
But that wasn't all. Increasingly the mechs would avoid the bomb range and attack in full force, not allowing any of the three to pull the pin from another EFG and throw it. Because of this, Kim, Ron and Jen were forced to take them out before anything. To Jen's surprise, Ron would deflect several bullets from the bio-mechs' guns with his sword, unfortunately hiding behind a couch when he was done instead of going on the offensive. That's where Kim would go in, and Jen was astonished at Kim's accuracy and speed. She could fire off five arrows - one immediately after another - and each would hit her intended target, perfectly. Ron would handle things once the action died down. In fact, Jen didn't have to fire a single round sometimes, but that was because Kim and Ron often got in her line of fire. Once the show was over, all of the bodies would be stacked together, and another EFG would be thrown to ensure the CPUs didn't repair itself. Kim's mood only got worse when she noticed the Hephaestus name on them.
That was another thing Nev was inaccurate about. The Hephaestus Project wasn't being used for their skeletal structure or body parts, but rather on the CPU, clearly so it could repair itself. The EFG was ideal for preventing such a thing. In actuality, they were like zombies: Kill them, and they come back to life, at least until you take out their one weakness in a specific manner.
As they continued on, Jen was starting to get a little jealous that Kim and Ron would clear out the floors but never allowed her to take part of the action. She had grown up being in action a lot, and grew a bit tired of someone else doing it for her. That was a peeve of hers, actually; if someone else did something she was fully capable of. She didn't blame the two, of course. They had gotten used to taking care of things on their own just as much as she did. But that didn't mean she was completely void of it, as she often had to reload her gun in the middle of the fight. Twenty Bio-Mechs on a floor didn't seem like a lot in combat, not when Kim's handling one side and Ron's handling another.
Maybe it was the fact that Kim and Ron looked so much cooler with their weapons than Jen did with her gun, or maybe she wanted to take the challenge of the next floor.
Not a good idea. The mission suits Nev gave them were ideal for the situation. None of them realized it, but they had actually been hit on several areas of their bodies, except the neck and head areas. The bullet-proof areas were not only limited to the chest areas, but covered their whole bodies. Again, like their battle suits, the material used was an unheard-of metallic substance, but would allow for movement. It was tight, and at first uncomfortable, but the fit never crossed their mind in battle. The masks also consisted of this equipment, except for the visors.
They didn't realize it, but their lives depended on their luck of evading bullets. One false move and it would be the end. Well, if it weren't for the bad aim of these mechs, and that's where the EFG made things easier for the most part.
Things went for a change on the 66th floor. Now the lights were taken out, leaving a pitch black room with all the mechs in it. To the team's surprise, who were all peeking in with their night vision, the mechs didn't seem to have night vision enabled. But Kim saw the trap. Some of them had devices in their hands, and a similar device appeared on the light switch. To her, it was obvious. If they heard a noise, they would turn on the light and ambush the intruder. An EFG didn't sound like a good idea for now, since a few of the mechs were smart enough to open the door to the stairs and attack. Kim was nearly shot once on the 64th floor, and in a vital area.
Jen had an idea for this, putting something on her SOCOM; A silencer. She handled this one, shooting as many bio-mechs in the neck as she could as quickly as she could. The gun was quiet, but not the sound of a metal body falling on its face. Even though she took out eight in a second, none of the others heard her. She didn't care why this was, as it gave her the advantage. Before long, all of them were out, but at only twelve, the least number of mechs on a floor so far.
Another EFG and this floor was cleared. She just smiled at the other two, who smiled back. To Jen, this was more like it; less talk and more action.
The Bio-Mechs would be considered an almost invincible weapon if no one was aware of their self-healing technology and weakness in the neck. They could be shot everywhere else and be unaffected, but the EFG worked like chaff would for any other mechanical weapon. If chaff were affective on these, it'd make life a whole lot easier.
The rooms from hereon would be dark as well, but everyone kept their eyes peeled for anything. Floor 67 was empty, as was 68 and 69. It turned out the next ten floors were completely empty.
Floor 80 was when things changed. Instead of a huge room like every other area, it was a long and bright hallway, but it didn't look like there was an end. However, from another perspective, you could see a wall at the end. Dead end? From a third and final perspective, you could see small openings in the walls.
It didn't take everyone long to figure out this was a maze. No need for night vision here, as the walls, floor and ceiling were painted white.
They all knew this had to have been a trap, and despite Ron and Jen's almost unhealthy hatred of mazes, they kept quiet. For all they knew sound sensors would be near. They all took off their masks as they continued down the hall. It was a fork, offering only left or right.
But before they got there, a series of red beams surrounded Kim. They weren't in front of her, or behind. They were going through her, but she appeared unaffected.
She quickly figured out what it was: Infrared laser beams.
"RUN!"
But before the other two could move a muscle, the walls shifted, separating all three of them. Whatever security system was programmed into this room gave each of them a maze to deal with.
"WARNING. UNAUTHORIZED PERSONAL LOCATED IN SECTOR EIGHT. NO ACCESS WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORIZATION."
"Nothing like a computerized lady's voice." Ron commented. "Well, mazes are one thing, but it could be worse."
Fifteen bio-mechs leapt from the ceiling and into the maze. Five for each. The walls also started to shift quickly and randomly, giving each of them space and cutting it off just as quickly. And, as Kim found out the hard way, it would interfere with your line of fire. Shoot at an enemy, have the wall move in front of you and take the hit, only to find your enemy unharmed when they appear again.
"Okay, I'll shut up now!" Ron cried.
As the three tried to prevent from getting dizzy, this proved to be a difficult fight. Ron was actually the one to figure this one out, as his enemies stood still. He would wait for the wall to move, and dive through it before it closed. Strangely, they weren't strong enough to crush him, at least by the appearance of how thick they were, but they also seemed to be moving at a pattern. When he got close enough, he noticed the bio-mechs on his end were armed with swords instead of machine guns, and they looked like they knew how to wield them. It was intimidating at first, but there was one problem that gave Ron the edge; speed. He was able to take them out much more quickly than he anticipated. However, the room did not stop moving.
Jen was having a hard time shooting anything that wasn't a wall. She had a lot of close calls when the walls threatened to crush her, but she was more focused on getting out than fighting. She had the miraculous misfortune of running right next to a bio-mech, which she shot out of reflex. Unfortunately for her, this is how she managed to take out her five mechs. Walking around then finding a golden skeletal freak with no eyes is scary enough, five times makes you want to shoot the living crap out of them. And she did. Ron thought he had it bad when he first met her, but this was worse.
Kim was having the same problem that Jen was having, her arrows always hitting the walls, no matter how much she concentrated or where she aimed. She could've sworn this was a game and it was cheating, and perhaps it was. It was worse having her enemies just stand there and do nothing. This was one of those cases where she wished someone didn't stay still, as it would increase their chances of getting hit. Then again, it wasn't like these things wanted to get shot, even though it seemed like it on the earlier floors.
She didn't want to do it, but she chose to switch weapons, grabbing the assault rifle. She fired off one round, which hit one of them straight in the neck, but the clip was empty. Kim was unusually calm when reloading, not like earlier where she dropped the clip. She chanced the whole thing, running forward and avoiding the walls that were caving in, and shooting with her eye parallel to the barrel. Unfortunately, she was wasting bullets, drying the gun in seconds. She had taken two more down, but there were two more to go.
That is, until one of the walls that came down caught the gun. Kim didn't even know where the gun was, being focused on the wall movements again. Great.
Suddenly, she felt cold steel grab her neck. A bio-mech had slipped behind her and tried to choke her, but this was no new move to Kim. Just like she had done a hundred times with Shego, she managed to hurl the mech over her shoulder, but did something she didn't think she'd ever do – break the neck. Well, not like in action movies. She just twisted it too far that the CPU in the neck broke, but it sure looked like the former.
One more.
One wall moved to the left, and Kim suddenly found herself in front of a gun barrel. The last mech was holding her gun straight at her head, and quickly pulled the trigger without thought.
-click-
Kim smiled, before quickly grabbing the gun out of the mech's hand, turning it around, and firing it. The mech fell instantly as the neck spat out what was left of the CPU.
"PIU. I owe Nev for that one."
Just then, the walls lowered, unveiling the bright white room with square patterns everywhere. Fifteen dead mechs scattered the floor, and Ron and Jen looked surprised to see each other.
"AUTHORIZATION GRANTED. PLEASE PROCEED."
The door was clearly in view, but all three of them had their own opinion of the bright room they were in.
"Reminds me of the Matrix," Ron commented.
Jen was putting a new ammo clip in her gun. "'Authorization granted, please proceed?' Weird. Kill fifteen mechs and proceed to the next level. Reminds me of some game. Too many, in fact. Kill a baddie and go through the door. I should arm myself with a corpse…"
Kim was no longer concerned, also reloading her weapon. "We've still got twenty floors to go. This might be just the beginning."
Kim was right for the most part. The next ten floors were completely empty, but once they hit the 90th floor, they were put in yet another familiar situation. It was a small hallway, an entrance to the real threat.
"A laser trap? Please."
Indeed, a smaller room with lasers pointing in all directions, waiting to fry the next intruder. Seeing that this was what she started out with in the very beginning, Kim wasn't intimidated in any way, but just when she was ready to fly past it, all of the lasers started moving, fast. It was like a rave.
Jen almost went pale when she saw this one. "Oookay."
The lasers then went still, but just as Kim was getting ready to go again, they started moving again.
Kim let out a frustrated groan. "They're toying with us."
Jen quickly pulled out a gun and fired it. Kim and Ron were surprised to see what she took out; a surveillance camera right above them.
"I don't know if that'll do any good, but it might help," she smiled.
Unfortunately, it didn't. Ron tossed in a few decoy bullet shells, but they got roasted instantly. Kim tried to toss two in a different direction, seeing if all the lasers focus only on one target, but both were fried equally. So not only would the lasers move at ridiculous speeds depending on the distance of an object, but they would also fry anything that comes within a specific distance.
It even fried another bullet Jen fired.
Ron grunted. "If only there was a duct nearby."
Sure enough, there were actually four small ducts near their feet. Kim and Jen went low as they noticed this, having a hard time getting through with Ron in the middle. But once they squeezed though, they took the plates off and looked through them with flashlights.
Kim thought she found something. "Rufus! A little help here."
On cue, he came out of Ron's pocket. He quickly ran into the small duct Kim had opened, and he confirmed he found a few wires. He quickly snapped them, and they all heard something deactivate, but the lasers were unchanged.
"What about this one?"
Rufus then went into the next vent and snapped the wire he found. Another deactivating sound, and nothing. He went into one Jen found, snapped the wires, deactivation sound, and nothing. And finally, the last one. Sure enough, when Rufus snapped the wires, the lasers went off. After Rufus made himself comfortable in Ron's pocket, the three proceeded carefully into the door on the other side. They found a similar room, but no lasers. The next two rooms were the same.
Kim figured it out. "I'm guessing that those other wires Rufus snapped were supposed to be these ones. Spankin."
Oddly enough, it appeared that the stairs went further than just to the next floor, as opposed to the other stairways in the building. This was probably why it was abandoned; go up a set up stairs, and to go up to the next floor, walk across the building. Then again, the elevators were made to prevent this, if only they weren't rigged.
It took them up to the 100th floor, but there was a peculiar look to the floor and ceiling.
The second Kim took a step forward, the floor tile fell. Fortunately, Kim only lost her footing, and having Ron and Jen as support made matters easier. It turned out the tile fell ten stories to the laser room floor.
"No big, we can still manage."
With that, she pulled out her trusty grappling gun and shot it into the ceiling. But when she tugged on it, the ceiling tile came off, and when it hit the floor tile, it was sent ten stories below. It took Kim a while to get the ceiling tile off once her gun retracted. She tried to fire it in the same location, but the hook just bounced off, unable to penetrate the wall and ceiling.
Ron tried the same thing with his grappling hooks in his gloves, but with the same results.
"Hmm…" Jen pondered. "They don't fall immediately… I'm going to risk it!"
"Jen!"
Ignoring Kim, Jen ran as fast as she could to the very end of it, but Kim and Ron saw where she was going with this. The tiles only collapsed a second after she put a foot down, but by then it was already off and onto the next one. Both were appalled that she made it all the way to the end. Unfortunately, there was no way for Kim and Ron to get across.
Or was there?
"I think I know where she's going with this, KP. I'ves gots an idea."
"Ron, don't be reckless!"
Ron didn't listen, leaping toward the walls and actually running on them. He made it to the end rather easily, much quicker than Jen. Kim slapped her forehead when she saw Ron do a victory dance. Unfortunately, this left Kim with various tiles on the wall, ceiling, and floor to deal with. She wasn't exactly capable of running on walls like a ninja, either. Close, but no cigar.
"No big…"
Kim took a breath to ready herself, then did what she needed to do. She started on the floor, leapt toward the wall, jumped off onto the floor, then the other wall, and continued until she reached the end, only to be teased by Ron.
"What was that about, Kim? You didn't want us to risk it, but you didn't hear us when you were coming across."
"Only because you knew what was going to happen," she countered, "Seeing as Jen proved that they don't collapse immediately."
She got him on that one.
"C'mon, you two. We've got floor one 'o one to deal with."
They went up the stairs, and when Kim opened the door to the next floor, the room was completely dark. However, when they all put on their masks to see, they got nothing but static. They quietly closed the door and talked out in the stairway.
"What gives?"
Kim was all too familiar with this. "Either it's some jamming signal or too much harmonic resonance... See? My Kimmunicator doesn't work, either."
She showed Jen the Kimmunicator, and sure enough, it was showing nothing but static.
"Well, great. Another EFG, I guess."
They did the routine as usual. Kim pulled the pin and tossed it into the room, and when it went off, they went charging in. The second the grenade went off, the lights turned on, revealing the third breed of bio-mechs.
The three didn't realize they had already taken out four hundred of these. Do the math, and taking out twenty to thirty for sixteen floors wasn't as big as a deal as they thought it would be.
This floor had one hundred, were immune to the effects of the EFG, and were all armed with swords. Their appearance were different than the golden ones… in fact, they didn't have a solid color. They were reflecting everything else in the room, almost turning them virtually invisible. To Ron, this was like a game; save the most for last. There wouldn't be anymore of this once this floor was cleared.
Jen tossed another EFG just in case, but none of them were affected. They were skeletal like the golden ones, but if they weren't affected, this meant that they weren't made from Bradtosium. So, she decided to test something else. She fired a bullet into one of their skulls, but the bullet flattened, unable to penetrate the metal bone. The second time, she shot one straight in the neck, and it fell hard. Kim was surprised to see the CPU fly out towards her, and it didn't have her dad's Hephaestus insignia on it.
"These aren't regenerative types. Weird."
But that didn't mean they weren't intelligent. All of them looked briefly at their fallen comrade, then stared at the intruders with firm grips on their swords. Jen decided to fire another round, but one of the mechs was able to deflect her bullet. She decided to play Rambo and fired her assault rifle endlessly, only to find the bullets on the floor. The mechs had somehow managed to deflect every single one of her bullets with just blades.
Jen was impressed. "Damn."
"My turn…"
Kim went next, grabbing five arrows and shooting one after another. The arrows weren't deflected, but were instead sliced to pieces, and the arrowheads were caught in their hands. It was a pitiful sight.
For Ron, he was starting to feel weird, and he couldn't explain it. It wasn't sickness… nor pain, and it definitely wasn't food. Nev may have forced Jen to cook the couple some food because of her condition, and Ron hadn't eaten in some time, but she wasn't a bad cook. Focus, Ron. It was similar to the feeling he had back at the cave, but he was completely free of the nanos. No… this feeling… he remembered it from long ago, when he went to Yamanuchi the first time, fighting Fukushima.
It was some kind of sudden adrenaline rush, and back then it allowed him to perform a forbidden move that Sensei didn't teach him. But the circumstances were different.
"They're mine!"
Unknown to the girls, Ron was actually equipped with an extra sword, pulling it out as he leapt into the air, letting out his usual high-pitched battle cry, but this time it had much more adrenaline and was fierce, almost enough to scare both Kim and Jen.
Before his red-head girlfriend could cry his name, both girls froze as the mechs were sent flying from the impact of his landing, creating a clear circle for himself. And before Kim could even attempt to cry his name, both girls saw mech body parts fly everywhere. Limbs, heads, everything. Ron was swinging his swords like helicopter blades, with no less speed than the real thing. Thankfully, unlike the golden series, these bio-mechs were purely mechanical, meaning no human parts. This worked in Kim's favor, otherwise she might've gotten queasy again. But Ron was moving at an incredible speed, and there were times where Kim saw Ron jumping from the wall, but Jen didn't see it. Likewise, Jen thought she saw Ron jump onto the wall, but Kim missed it.
When it was all over, there was bio-mech parts scattered everywhere. Kim was surprised to see that she was somehow carrying Jen in her arms, and dropped her with ease.
"Ow…"
She was even more surprised to see Ron standing in the middle, unscathed, but laughing with a sword in each hand.
"A-booyahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHHA-"
Just when it appeared that Ron had completely lost it, a loud and haunting rip cut him off. Before long, the girls could see the pattern on his boxers.
"AWWW!" he groaned with the utmost disappointment.
Kim had a sly curve on her lips. "Bulletproof outfit, but sliceable."
Ron pulled his pants up quickly, noticing a peculiar glow in Kim's eyes, more so where they were. "So much for my new victory laugh."
"Victory laugh?"
"Well, I figured since villains had an evil laugh, good guys should have a victory laugh."
Kim was completely unfazed. "Uh huh."
Jen slowly walked toward them, rubbing the butt Kim dropped. Hers.
"Well, now that Ron's cleaned house, I think that's the rest. I counted 501."
Now Kim was fazed. "You kept count?"
Jen returned the gesture. "You didn't?"
Kim looked slightly embarrassed. "No... Not really. So is that it?"
"I dunno. I'd tell you to ask Wade or Nev…"
"… but the signal's still messed up."
Jen sighed. "Right. So we're four floors away from the roof."
Ron chuckled. "Yup. You know, I thought the whole 'scaling the building' would've been a hellhole."
Kim nodded. "You know, so did I."
"Me too." Jen agreed.
So that was it? Apparently so. But the Bio-Mechs were all intentionally created with a weakness in case they were placed into the wrong hands, as well as Dr. Possible's Hephaestus Project. Of course, no amateur would know of such a thing, only those who were experts on technology.
The three continued onward, with poor Ron having to pull his pants up. Little did he know that it was an intentional flaw done by Nev, just in case he became too overconfident and became reckless again. After a while, on the stairs to the 103rd floor, they managed to stay on.
"Weird… it was like they clicked back into place…" Ron thought out loud.
This broke Jen's concentration. "Say that again?"
"Never mind."
Floor 103 was the floor that Kim and Ron first encountered Elurt on. No one even bothered to cover up the windows, still with bullet holes.
However, floor 104 had a much different appearance than every other floor in the building. It had the sleek and sophisticated appearance of a furnished library, with wooden chairs that were perfectly articulated, as well as every other bit of furniture in the room. It had a calm and peaceful appearance, almost making Kim hope that this is the kind of place she gets to study alone in when she's in college. Since when an abandoned building become a mansion?
Jen didn't appear to be in any way suspicious. This room was too calm for traps. Even though she lowered her weapons and walked casually through the floor, Kim couldn't shake the feeling in her stomach that this was a trap.
"Jen, wait!"
"What? There's no traps in this room, Kim. I know of it. Take a look at the ceiling, the walls and the floor. There's nothing suspicious in terms of architecture. This can't be a trap."
Suddenly, her face was engraved into the floor, sending debris and splinters flying, knocking her out immediately. This was quick to startle Kim and Ron, because there didn't seem to be a cause for it. Nothing fell on her, nothing hit her. Kim carefully studied the room for any kind of traps, but stopped when she noticed Ron had a tense look on his face, his eyes locked onto something.
"KP, it's stealth camouflage…" he whispered.
After the line's delivery, a few electric sparks appeared in the form of a human, standing tall. When it turned off, they saw a tall man in a tuxedo standing on Jen's head.
As usual, Kim was the one to start the introduction, the prelude.
"Fred Elurt… Not surprised to see you here."
Elurt took a step off of Jen, grabbing her head and taking if from the floor, slowly leveling his eyes with hers as pieces of wood fell from her face. In comparison, Elurt was a giant.
"Hmph. Blondes. No novelty value whatsoever."
Ron could have sworn at one point he thought the same thing, but he couldn't remember when, where or why.
He quickly tossed her aside like a cloth rag before turning his attention to Team Possible. He was a towering man, wearing a shining black tuxedo. He removed his coat, revealing a bare chest. To the surprise of his opponents, he was incredibly well-built, leaving astonished looks on the faces of the team.
This especially took Kim off guard. She had peeked into muscle magazines when she was younger, but Elurt had muscles showing off in areas Kim didn't even remember there being muscles in. He wasn't Andre the Giant, and he wasn't just some dumb lug like his bodyguard, G. He wasn't like Ron with the muscular enhancer ring before, as that was mostly simulated. It was like some monster drawn in a comic book. Some girls think too many muscles can never be a bad thing, and the thought came to Kim's mind long before she attended high school. She was just proven otherwise, as it was a scary sight for her.
"So, you've also gotten stealth camouflage?"
Elurt cracked his knuckles, as well as the upper portion of his body, before he got into a fighting stance.
"Dive didn't see a need for it anymore."
Ron cut in. "So what's the real deal, Fred? You threaten to take over the world with four fake nukes and sixteen bio-mechs, followed by a thousand more. I mean, fake nukes?"
Elurt shook his head. "I wish I knew the answer myself. All of this was his doing."
"What?"
"The fake nukes that contained the nanos, turning my reliable syntho-drone bodyguards into bio-mechs, attacking you with four MPAWVs… it was all him."
Kim pushed Ron aside. "Wait, you're saying that you had nothing to do with any of what's been going on?"
The unshaven man shook his head. "Not entirely… He cut me a deal… convinced me that if I cut a deal with him, the world would be mine. All of it. First, it started with the assassination of various mafia gangs, the Forefathers included. That was done to create economic confusion… being more than qualified to fix such a situation, it sounded like it would work."
"So what was up with the blood drainage?" Kim continued as she got back into a stance.
"To assure me I could trust him by taking out an obstacle? Hell if I know. He took everything from there. All he did was tell me what was going on, but he never told me his true intentions… Well, that's not entirely accurate. To cut a deal with him, he only demanded one thing… you."
"Why? Who is he, really?"
"I have tried to find out, but I have failed in achieving such a thing. Now it seems as if he's double-crossed me."
Kim smiled. "Sucks to be you."
Elurt snorted. "Oh, not for long. After I kill you, I'll find him and kill him as well."
Ron chuckled. "I bet you couldn't lay a finger on him, could you?"
Kim and Elurt froze, surprised.
"How the hell did you know that?" Elurt demanded.
"It's not that hard, really…" Ron replied with a casual tone in his voice. "I don't think you'd just stand and watch him screw around with you, not with that build, unless you'd get schooled by him. Here you have someone do whatever he wants with your money and belongings, and you're just at the sidelines with no idea what's going on."
"What are you saying?"
"Dude, you're a tool. Dive tricked you into thinking you were going to get all of the world. I mean, KP and I have fought bad guys who've teamed up to destroy the world through time."
"And?"
"They never share, period."
Kim blinked, completely unfamiliar with this. "Ron, since when?"
"You know, when Monkey Fist, Drakken, Shego and Duff Killigan teamed up."
"When did this happen?"
"You know, I don't remember."
"Silence!" Elurt yelled. "Too true, Stoppable…"
Fred got out of his stance to walk around in thought, and kicked a chair down before resuming his previous position.
"It's a shame I hadn't realized this earlier. But don't worry. Once I kill you, I'll find a way to kill him… somehow."
Ron scoffed. "As if."
Elurt yelled in bitter rage, about to throw a fit.
"You know nothing of my abilities! Prepare yourselves!"
Kim and Ron resumed their stances as Elurt charged at them. They returned the gesture.
The taste of rain is usually pleasant in the mountains of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Bay City.
Yori came to as blinding helicopter lights flew over her. She instantly rose from the concrete she had been drooling on for the last four hours, observing her environment. She then noticed a slight pain deep in her neck, but the second she touched that part of the neck, she sighed.
"A sleeping needle… I should have known."
Her attention then turned back to the helicopter that woke her up. She read that helicopters frequent in populated areas, but not armored ones… and not ones armed with missiles and machine guns. The massive vehicle appeared to have been hovering over her for some time, but the second her eyes made contact with the pilot's, he made various hand signals and turned the air vehicle around. It quickly flew away, and Yori knew exactly where it was headed: The Tower.
"Oh no…"
Unfortunately, the pain in her left leg continued to hammer against her, and it didn't help that she was too weak from earlier. She tried as hard as she could to fight it, but she collapsed near the edge of the roof.
"It is a trap…"
The message behind the hand signals? "Stay out of the way."
If there was one thing that Kim and Ron had a hard time learning over the years, it was underestimating their enemy. Fred Elurt was a rich mogul who was an expert in business practices and with an unhealthy obsession with taking over the world, but nothing was said about him being built or being a martial artist. At first, the two used moves and techniques only meant to immediately incapacitate the enemy, usually just knocking them down and out. But when it's you that's flying across the room, it's pretty obvious it won't work. But Kim and Ron have been used to being kicked around by Shego and Monkey Fist, so they caught on quickly.
The two decided to use separate techniques against him if they wanted to take him down. Kim's primary martial arts style had been the Mantis style, mixed with her own personal mixings, and Ron's was obviously Tai Shing Pekk Kwar. Elurt's? Self-taught, and depending on the knowledge of the fighter, this could be a ridiculous move on their account, or extremely deadly.
The only other person Kim knew with self-taught martial arts? Shego. Elurt didn't have glowing hands or green skin, but he was no lightweight.
Often, Kim and Ron would throw different moves in his direction, but he was well-versed in his defensive moves, usually slapping their fists or legs away, and then striking immediately after. Often, when Kim and Ron would perform a move, usually airborne, Elurt would counterattack with a move that struck them in an open area. His style consisted of a few styles, mostly those that emphasized on counterattacks.
The team came to realize this when Kim jumped off the wall and tried to perform a spinning kick, but she learned to utilize it better. Her enemies could no longer determine if she was going to aim high or low, and she could decide that at the last second, almost making it impossible to counter it unless you're a clairvoyant. It was her usual move since day one, but she had a hard time realizing that it was also the one move that left her defenseless if she missed, and lately she had. Even if you keep your opponent guessing, a lot of them would catch on that you simply needed to get out of the way. Elurt went in low, allowing her to fly over him, but he quickly did a front somersault. He released his leg out, grabbing Kim by the neck with his foot and slammed her head on the floor when he landed. It wasn't enough to take Kim out, though, nor do any serious damage.
Ron had actually thought outside the box and tried to use weapons, such as his sword, but Elurt somehow managed to catch it with his bare hands. Ron refused to let the blade go, but this wasn't necessarily the smartest thing to do. Elurt waved him around like a pendulum and threw him toward a wall. To his surprise, Ron landed on his feet and thrusted himself off the wall, giving Elurt a hard right punch, knocking the towering man down.
This would be the first of many hits the two would deliver. Elurt was good at what he knew, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't skilled in several styles. This gave Kim the upper hand as she was. Often it would appear that she would deliver a blow to the gut with a punch from one technique, only to cancel it and go in low with the sweep from another technique. Sometimes she would punch left with one technique, cancel it and deliver a right from another technique. The strategy was good at throwing her opponent off.
This was one of the many things Ron taught to Kim in their sparring lessons in the sunset of his backyard. He was only trained in Monkey Kung Fu, Jujitsu, and lately he even used wrestling techniques in fights – often taking out many of the Ice Shadows with grappling moves and choke holds. His girlfriend was tough, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't know how to properly utilize her fighting abilities, considering she was well-versed in many styles than he was. Tourou-ken (Mantis), Crane, Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu thanks to Ron, Dux-Ryu (American Jujitsu), a bit of Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai, what many know as the kickboxing style. He never saw this before, but after his training from Yamanuchi, it became crystal clear. Ron, like Kim's enemies, was not able to see this before. This was because most fighters challenge their opponents with a peculiar fighting stance that reveals their style. However, Kim never saw a need for this, believing it was nothing more than just drama and theatrics, and that was the last thing that crossed her mind in a hand-to-hand duel. Her stances varied every single time, showing that she was a practitioner in such things, but it never revealed what style she was going to attack in. She didn't realize that it threw her opponents off. When Ron noticed this in a sparring match with Kim in his backyard, he saw a potential in it that Kim didn't know. She wasn't exactly a martial artist who tried to become more and more powerful, as she had other things in life she wanted to pursue. Unfortunately, against someone as trained as Ron in Monkey Kung Fu, it was clear that going back and forth between styles without thought wasn't the best idea.
For example, Kim would deliver several kicks in style A, but in the situation, the kicks from style B would have been more effective. Often, the situations varied depending on the opponent's style, the strength and weaknesses of the fighter and the style, and whether they were armed. Take the Mantis style, for example. With the moves Kim knew, she was better off using it against an opponent who left their midsection open, instead of doing moves that would strike the upper portion of the body as she often did, where other techniques were better at the said area.
So, one day, after countering several of Kim's moves that left her eating grass, he told her everything. Well, after Kim pouted in embarrassment, hoping that no one was driving by and saw that, and hoping Ron would forget the sight within days. Not as embarrassing as the pants incident, but it still didn't help her pride any.
He not only told her when to use specific moves in situation A and B, but he also taught her how to mix the styles effectively. So instead of fighting with Mantis and then switch to Muay Thai, he taught her how to combine everything she knew in combat. This way, if she broke from Crane style and went into Muay Thai, the second her opponent would recognize the style, she would switch to Jeet Kune Do, catching them off guard. He went easy on her in a training exercise, much to her dismay, forcing her to make each move in a different style. If she did anything as to perform two moves in the same style consecutively, the date to the mall was off, just when they would get a brand new shipment of Club Banana's Summer Line.
Needless to say, Kim did as she was instructed to do. She was excited about the new line more than Monique.
She wasn't convinced it would work at first, but luckily the sparring lesson was interrupted by another mission. Some high-priced jewel was being stolen downtown. Ron allowed Kim to do this alone, and to Kim's surprise, she was able to put everyone out of commission without breaking a sweat. She never expected Ron to be a teacher in anything, especially with how high school went, but he wasn't bad as a martial arts instructor. He wasn't Sensei, but he knew enough about Kim's fighting abilities to see the flaws in it. Makes sense; Kim teaches Ron several things, and it was his time to do the same.
Elurt may have been self-trained, but with each blow Kim was giving him and slipping past his defenses, he was becoming familiar with what she was doing. Unfortunately for her, she was fighting in a pattern, and when she went with a left hook from the crane style, she faked it and went in high with a roundhouse kick from the Jeet Kune Do style. This was perhaps the third time Kim did this exact move. She almost yelped in surprise when the huge man caught her leg and threw her across the room and into Ron, but not before dragging her around and slamming her into every piece of furniture the floor had to offer. He was often brutal when he saw an opening, but Kim wasn't the only one who was open. When Ron tried to attack, he also tried mixing moves, but he had a problem with distance. Most of his moves were designed to be lethal in close quarters, but he left himself wide open with Elurt took a few steps back. Often, he would grab Ron's neck, run across the room and slam him into the bookshelves on the walls, then finish it when slamming his face into the floor. Unlike Jen, debris and wooden splinters didn't fly in the air.
As the fight went on, Kim and Ron were getting further past Elurt's defenses and were able to escape his grasp when he countered. This wasn't really because of Kim and Ron being the better fighters, but rather, Elurt's own age was working against him. Kim and Ron have had several duels that lasted almost up to a full hour, and their young vitality allowed them to keep going. However, with Elurt, he was showing signs of exhaustion already. Needless to say he refused to give up.
Instead, he turned on the small gadget on his belt. Instantly, he disappeared, invisible to Kim's eyes. Ron could still see him somehow.
He tried to think of something as Elurt went straight for Kim, striking her in several places as he circled her. Every time Kim tried to counter in the direction she was hit, she'd get hit elsewhere, and the pattern went on for some time.
"Ron! Gah! Hel- Ugh! Help me!"
He wanted to, but he had no idea what to do. Unlike his previous encounter with Dive and the stealth camo, he couldn't see it as well. If only he had something to see him wi-
The visors on the masks.
Just as he put it on, it instantly went into thermal mode, free of the jamming signal, and he could see Elurt perfectly.
"KP! Use the mask visors!"
To make sure she wasn't hit as she put on her suit, she performed some kind of awkward spinning kick, stretching out her leg as she spun several times on one foot. By the time she was done, her mask was on and she could see her enemy right in front of her.
Kim had to onslaught Elurt with a bevy of punches and hooks from every style she knew, he could only block out a few of them. When it came to throws, they wound up throwing each other several times, probably more on Kim's part. Kim would land on her feet, and it appeared Elurt would, too, only if Ron didn't tackle him with a clothesline seconds away from landing. Of course, he retaliated by sweeping Ron off his feet and using the momentum to put himself back on his, only to find a foot an inch away from him. Size seven. As Kim was about to leap off of his face, he grabbed her leg and dragged her across the room, slamming her against all of the furniture in the room again. The bookshelves, tables, chairs, all of it. Some broke, most of it didn't. Kim tried to break out of it, but had a hard time with her body being jerked back and forth, and Elurt's grip was pretty nasty. He was being much more serious now.
Finally, he let her go when he noticed Ron was charging at him, but he pulled off a punch that surprised even Kim, knowing where it hit. Not the chest, not the face, not the belly, and not even the crotch.
The neck. Ron's knuckles collided with the Adam's apple of Elurt's throat. This wasn't a diversion or anything. He punched no harder than he did when he had to break a wooden door some time back, but his eyes were focused elsewhere.
The sickening sound of the organ almost snapping gave Kim a sick feeling inside her stomach.
Elurt flew back as his stealth camo turned off, choking and coughing a bit of blood, collapsing onto his knees. Ron helped Kim back up, almost taking her off the floor like dancers would in the Tango.
Kim was tempted to hit him as they removed their masks. "Geez, Ron. Don't you think you went overboard?"
Ron didn't seem to be amused. "Wasn't intentional. I was actually sidetracked by the zit-"
"ZIT? WHAT ZIT?" Kim was ecstatic, pulling out a mirror and 'scanning' it over her face.
"The back of your neck, KP."
Kim lowered her head. "Aw, man!"
The loud coughing of a middle-aged man interrupted the moment. Elurt tried to speak, even yell, but immense pain surrounded his neck with every vocal cord being used.
"This… isn't… the end…!"
He had moved toward the desk in the middle of the floor, quickly grabbing it and hurled the entire thing at the couple. They both somersaulted over it easily, but Elurt didn't seem to use the moment to flee. He kept coughing and hacking, still on his knees. Ron took the moment to go to see if Jen regained consciousness, while Kim kept her eyes on Elurt. He placed a finger on Jen's wrist to check her pulse, finding her hand on his wrist instead.
"I'm fine…"
The pain in her head didn't allow her to open her eyes or move much, and Ron could see this one easily.
"Just… leave me here… I'll only slow you down. Just take my bag… It's got everything you need in there."
It would be too long to take every weapon out and carry them, so he took off her backpack and put it on, almost collapsing from the weight. Ron grabbed the backpack, which was hauntingly heavy. He couldn't believe he forgot that Jen carried most of the weapons.
"Thanks, Jen."
She let out a weak giggle. "Hey, favor repaid, huh?"
He remembered, for her blunder with mistaking Yori as the true enemy, she offered to help Kim and Ron in the fight, and they had made it this far. He let out a weak but warm smile as he got up. Just as she requested, he left her behind and walked toward Kim and Elurt.
"How's he doing?"
"He won't talk."
Elurt chuckled. "You won't… capture me today…"
"Oh really?"
His response came in the form of pulling out a knife and lunging at the two. They both performed a backflip to evade, but when they landed, they saw that Elurt was hastily making his way toward the stairs to the next floor.
"Ron! Don't let him get away!"