Chapter 18 Dash's True Colors
Morrow and Blaze drove home as Xero flew above them.
"So Morrow, how have you been doing with your leadership abilities?" Xero asked from above as the wings flapped again.
"Well, I'm not the best leader in the world but since I started it we have only had a few deserters."
"That's no good." Xero paused and thought for a second. "Well, I mean it's great that you have been holding things together so well, but having any number of deserters is a bad thing."
"I agree but we haven't had any problems in quite a while and they are all pretty loyal. But I am anxious to pass the reigns on to you Xero." Morrow pulled into the opposite lane to pass another car.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean, 'pass the reigns'? I don't want to lead the rest of the ravens on the planet!"
"Xero, they would trust you a lot more than they trust me." Morrow pulled back into his own lane.
"I doubt that, if they've shown that they are loyal already then there is no need to switch leaders now. I'm not gonna do it, sorry."
"Damnit Xero, you've always been a pain in my ass."
Xero laughed.
About twenty minutes later Morrow got a call.
"Xero, you need to get back to Trene city right now!"
"what? Why!"
"'Cause Dash is there, he's waiting for you with more drones. Just go ahead, I'll get there and help when I can!"
"alright."
Xero be careful! The wings warned.
"don't worry about it, I don't think it's Cataclysma this time."
And how would you know that?
"just call it a gut instinct…." Xero replied as he propelled himself off into the horizon….
"Dash!" Xero hollered as the fortress of a building came into full view, as well as a small garrison of drones lead by a large, strange-looking orange and silver AC.
The entire force turned to face Xero as he landed softly a few hundred meters away from the lead AC.
The colors matched, but the AC was completely different; regardless, Xero was positive that it was Dash.
"So Xero, you've awakened." The voice came through with a metallic tone to it.
"Well, I thought you would've known already."
"She may have known, but she doesn't share everything she knows with me." The metallic tone raised as he raised his voice.
A few seconds pause….
"What happened to you Dash?"
"What happened to me?" he started laughing, "I embraced my destiny!" the laughing stopped abruptly, "It was supposed to be ME in your shoes!"
What! Xero, only a three people on this planet were to know of this whole ordeal before it erupted, he was not one of them!
Sand began gathering in the open palms of the AC, "I was supposed to receive the weapons!" the sand formed into two large pikes as the AC launched forward toward Xero. The drones also scattered in their own directions.
Dash swung a giant pike down toward Xero, who cross-blocked the attack; Then boosted backwards as the wings shot out energy beams in various directions, the beams hitting multiple drones, scattering them into clouds of sand.
"I came here shortly after Matthew arrived and began searching for the weapons! I knew they were here, I helped design them!" Xero swung one blade upward horizontally and the other down to his side to block both incoming pikes.
"I wanted to help stop the plague that we set loose! But after you met Matthew, I knew it was too late for me." Xero boosted backwards again and flipped both blades downwards in his hands and stabbed them behind him; running through two more drones.
The wings came down in front of Xero to block the pike being stabbed at him. "I would've been sentenced to death anyway for coming here!" Dash launched himself into the air and brought both of the pikes above his head. "So I decided to go to the greater power so that I might survive!" He thrust the pikes downward as he fell.
"And you think that is your destiny!" Xero swung one blade outward horizontally, cutting one pike in half, the other pike scrapped against the left side of Adrenaline's core before driving down into the ground. Dash landed with his knees on Adrenaline's core. Forcing Xero onto his back with Dash kneeling on Adrenaline's core.
"You disagree?" Sand began gathering in Dash's left hand again, the pike having burst back into its original form when it was cut in half. A massive hatchet was left in Dash's hand.
"Yes I disagree; people don't get to choose their own destiny! It comes to them!" The wings pushed backward rapidly, throwing both of the ACs into the air.
The hatchet came down as a katana came up, the katana won.
The hatchet burst into sand as the second katana flew horizontally towards Dash's core, cutting the other pike in half on its way.
The swing was well placed and the katana dug deep into the side of Dash's core. Xero then pulled himself up by the sword, onto Dash's core. The wings came up and thrust the two of them back down into the ground.
Dash's AC was stuck in the ground with the katana in its right side and the tip of the other katana an inch from the head of the AC. The wings pointed themselves outwards and blasted off more beams; destroying the rest of the drones.
"Is this part of your damned destiny Dash?" Xero screamed into the comm.
"What are you going to do Xero? Kill me? You just rushed to help me two years ago. Look where that got you!" he laughed, "your not going to kill me, you couldn't kill one of your 'dear'' friends." He laughed harder.
"That's where you're wrong…" Xero stabbed the blade down through the AC's head, he then pulled out the blade from the side of Dash's core and angled it down.
"Very good Xero!" Dash hit his own boosters as the katana was stabbed downward.
The katana dug into the ground.
"Damn you Dash!" Xero stood, ready for more.
"That is very good Xero, now, I would say come get me, but you have bigger problems now that Mirage knows where this garage is. Who would've guessed that the ravens never actually left the old garages! That is quite an impressive move." He laughed and launched into the air before turning away and flying into the horizon.
A small window appeared in the lower-left of Xero's screen, "Only when you're ready…" a set of coordinates followed.
"Xero, we've got a problem," Morrow radioed in from inside the garage, "radar just lit up, we've got multiple bogies inbound." He stopped and talked to another voice behind him, "they're coming in from the south, I think the first wave is gonna be aircraft, and then the ACs will start coming." He turned away again. "Xero, there's more, the other garages are reporting the same thing! What are we gonna do?" He sounded rather hopeless.
Xero made a very quick decision; he glanced down to the small information window in the corner of his screen, blinked once, and then looked back to the horizon where Mirage was coming. "Morrow, tell all the ravens to get suited up and head for these coordinates, full-burn. Tell them not to bother with Mirage's forces." He sent the info to Morrow.
"A-all of them?" Morrow shuddered, fearing what was about to happen.
"Yes, all of them, we need to end this." He turned Adrenaline toward the marked destination, "and Morrow,"
"Yeah Xero?"
"Tell them to bring a blade, they won't have enough ammo for what we are about to face…"