Disclaimer: See previous chapter
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Chap. 42
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The cockpit hatch of Phantom opened up and Ellie exited her machine to survey the damage. Black cinder marks were strewn all over the AC and the joints electrified with significant damage. But it wasn't the outside that was messed up. The controls were all fused and fried badly and in need of extensive repairs. It had taken a lot just to arm the dual warhead missiles and fire them on the MT. But for all intents and purposes, Phantom was finished.
"How bad is it?"
From behind her, Havoc and Cloak came up to her wrecked machine. Ellie looked at them briefly and then sighed. "Controls are totally busted. Total system failure." She lowered her head sadly. "She won't fly again."
Ellie lifted her head on the sound of Havoc bending down in front of her machine and the cockpit hatch opening up. Peering out, Elijah waved at her from above.
"Get in."
But Ellie shook her head. "No. I'll only slow you down. You'll have to go on without me."
It was true that entering the cockpit with Elijah would only slow him down. With little room for her in there along with him, she would be in his way. If they encounter any battles (and they more than likely would), his reaction speed would be reduced, not something that should be happening in a place like this.
"Don't be silly. Get in."
Surprisingly, this came from Diana. Ellie looked hard at the AC, visualizing the woman within. She would have thought that Diana would be more reasonable than this. They were deep within Silent Line and they couldn't take any chances here. Considering the battles they've been in, they couldn't afford to. However, Diana was finished speaking.
"We don't leave anyone behind. Not when we're this close to the end."
Ellie was silent as she heard those words, but she frowned within. She wanted to be rational about the situation. But she just couldn't. She couldn't dismiss the care that was shown for her here. Though without a core, they refuse to leave one of their own behind. They were a clan, a team. It was together that they managed to make it this far at all.
And it would be together that they finish this…
Without word, she strode over to Havoc and climbed up toward the cockpit. 'I guess this is where we part ways' she thought as she took once last glance at her AC. 'Goodbye Phantom.' Looking back toward Havoc, she saw that she was right in her earlier assessment of room within the cockpit, leaving her little choice but to sit on his lap.
"Just…don't get any ideas." she said quietly.
Elijah remained quiet, hoping that she didn't see the flush beginning to form on his face.
In the second chamber, Professional and Bloodhand were searching the chamber. There was no other entrance aside from the one they had entered into and that simply lead back to the gunnery room, a place they were fairly certain they didn't want to head back to. But there had to be another pathway, something they hadn't seen yet. As Bloodhand scanned around, Koemai let out a light moan and rubbed his injured side. Pulling his hand back, he found spots of blood on it and upon inspecting; he saw that the bandage he had set up was beginning to leak once again.
"You're hurt."
Koemai looked up as Charles made that statement. "It's nothing I can't handle."
"I'm not Diana." Charles replied back sharply. "You're hurt badly. I saw it in your movements. You're better off staying put here."
"Like hell I am. I'm going on."
Charles frowned almost as much as Koemai was right now, but continued to try and rationalize things to him. "This isn't the type of mission to be trusting in bravado. Just stay back and…"
Koemai cut him off. "I don't think you're listening. I'm going on." He paused for a moment to massage his wound. "You're right. I am hurt and I'll probably get myself killed this way. But you are wrong about one thing." The next line he said was laced with determination. "This mission is all about bravado, all about guts. No one would've taken this mission otherwise."
Charles was quiet as he considered Koemai's words. All of what he said was true. Especially for Charles. He was driven to come back here, to finish what he had done years ago. That wasn't rational thinking, he knew.
"Unless they're insane." he said finally.
Koemai gave a light chuckle. "Heh… Either way, I'm going on.
Charles gave a light grin. "Well, you can at least serve as a decent distraction."
"Funny guy." Koemai retorted. "Now, how about we find a way out of this."
Nodding in agreement, Charles rechecked his sensors. Since Professional's radar was a higher quality than Bloodhand's, he would be able to detect things sooner than Koemai. "The energy readouts are strong. We must be close. But they seem to be coming from…" His eyes narrowed. "…below."
"Wait a minute. Below?"
"Yes. Which means…" The eyes of the Nightwatch leader suddenly widened. "I don't believe it."
"What, what is it?"
Professional turned to him as Charles answered his question. "The door. We're standing on it."
"We're standing on it?"
In the second chamber room, group two had just discerned the same thing Charles had. Actually, it was Ellie who discovered it after examining the structure of the chamber and noticed something amiss. That and the fact that the energy readout Diana informed them came from below them verified this fact to her.
"Yep." Her eyes continued to sweep across the floor of the chamber. "These cracks, they're locks. This is the gate to…whatever it is that's down there."
"Okay. Let's say you're right." Diana replied. "How do we open it?"
"I'm still working on that one."
Looking past Ellie, Elijah did a search of his own. So far, he was in the same boat as the other. There seemed to be no computer terminal to key into in order to open the door. The only thing in the chamber aside from them and the wreckage of the white MT where the…
'Hold on.' His eyes jumped back down to the cracks on the floor and he traced them right up, right to the side of the walls where he made the connection.
"There. Those lights line up with the cracks." he announced. "They must be the locking mechanisms for the door."
Ellie blinked as she realized that he may have been on to something. 'How did I miss that?' Now that she saw it, it was so obvious, due to its downright simplicity. Diana moved her core around to look at the glowing lights.
"Well, let's give it a shot."
The two cores moved over to each individual light, pressing it like a button and causing it to change from blue to green. When Havoc clicked on the final light, a low rumbling echoed beneath them and soon the cracks on the floor began to divide and give way, shifting inward and opening a hole to them both. When the door was fully opened, the group was faced with a descending pit. The walls glowed with bluish energy and there were silver insteps that lined all the way to the bottom.
"Now this is seriously cool."
In the room behind the two groups, the weaponry stood silent and still. After the team divided and escaped, the gun batteries went into their standby mode once again. There hasn't been a living soul there for an untold amount years, yet these weapons remained ready as though they were sentinels, ever ready and waiting for when anyone tries to approach their territory.
Beep…
The sensor wire in the outside corridor had been tripped, alerting the machines that something was approaching. In synched unison, all gun batteries turned toward the entrance, ready for whatever it was that would enter, obeying only their sole command to fire on sight.
Beep, beep…
The second wire... The intruder was now just outside the door. Target locks began to light up from each battery, focusing on the targeted object just outside the door before it even entered. A moment later, the door shifted open and a single AC strode in. The machine gazed around in the room and walked in further. No sooner after the door close behind it did the machines followed the programming inputted into them.
Destroy all intruders…
"So, do you want to jump in first or should I?"
Koemai and Charles manage to discover the entrance to the lower chamber of the complex through the lights. (In actuality, Koemai accidentally pressed it after an attempt to shoot the doors, to which Charles had insisted, was a silly idea, but noticed the light change and figured it out from there.) The two ACs were now gazing down the luminous structure beneath them.
"These energy readouts are greater than I thought." Charles indicated. "A lot greater…"
Koemai shrugged. "So what? Let's just get down there and do our job."
"Are you sure you're up for this?"
"As you said before, you're not Diana." the Raven fumed. "So stop asking me that already."
"Okay." Charles snorted. "It's your funeral."
Without another word, the two machine dove off the side and down into the shining chasm. As they fell down, the lights and silver shone to and fro before them, almost like a kaleidoscope. They continued to fall for a full minute before the ground became visible. Activating their boosters, Professional and Bloodhand slowed their descent and eased their way down the rest of the way until they touched down. Despite the cushioned landing, Koemai was still forced to stifle a moan. He didn't need to hear Charles try to convince him to stay behind again. Not when they were this close to the end.
'Come on. Time to get tough.'
"The energy readout is dead ahead." Charles announced, directing Koemai's attention to a single pair of silvery door. Within though, Charles was quite close to feeling…excited. The last time he came, he didn't even make it halfway and now the end was just beyond those doors. Once they shut down the energy source, Silent Line will be opened and their mission will be complete. It wasn't easy though. It took much planning on his part and to efforts of those around him. And even still, it hadn't been without drawbacks; the major one being the loss of a clansman. But if his death was to mean anything, then they had a task to complete.
"Let's go."
The two machined strode toward the door, with Professional moving ahead to unlock the system. But to his surprise, the doors swiftly slid open on their approach to reveal…another pair of doors. Moving close to those had the same result and again a third pair of doors was behind it.
"Well, this is fun." Komai grumbled.
The two machines continued to walk, passing the next ten sets of doors, all which moved in similar fashion. Finally, they reached a different pair of door. This wasn't like the first group as it was actually locked. Professional moved up to the terminal on the side and Charles began to unlock it. The change in stride made them remember to be more cautious. There was no telling what they were to expect once they entered in. A generator, sure. But given the defenses of the place, there could have been something else. More Big Whites… Koemai shuddered partly at the thought of facing those MTs again. They were twice as annoying as the Disorder units on Mars and have the firepower to boot. But if it were them, then he'd have to handle it. After all, he made it through a rival clan, energy blasts from the sky, several Big Whites, and a room full of weaponry, all the while bearing severe injuries. Whatever it was behind this door, he could handle it.
And as the door opened, he saw just how wrong he was…
"Talk about a free fall."
Havoc and Cloak had just finished their descent into the shining chasm and touched down. Before them were the silvery sets of doors that lead to the energy source they had been tracking. Considering its strength, it was just beyond them.
"Looks like this is it." Elijah half-whispered.
"I…"
Elijah blinked as he looked toward the speaker. Ellie…
"I never thought I'd see it this far." Since her last effort into Silent Line, Ellie has thought much about going back in. Like Charles, it motivated her to become a better Raven and allowed her to join with the clan in order to achieve the goal. But for her, it was a test of skill and personal ability, to see if she could make it all the way. And though she was without her core, she was still going on with the help of her clan. Of her friends…
"Thank you."
"Can't get sedimental yet, girl." Diana replied, despite the fact that felt a bit hypocritical at saying so. Since the time they descended down, all she could think about was Koemai, hoping that he was alive and well somewhere in this place. She knew he must have been hurting now. She felt it in his last transmission; the strain in his voice as he tried to hide the pain. She also knew that he was a tough guy and was probably over exaggerating things, but that was simply the way she felt. Still, they did have a mission to complete. The sooner that was done, the sooner they could leave. All of them…
"We have to finish out job first."
"Yeah…" Ellie replied softly.
With that, the two ACs moved on ahead, causing the doors to open automatically and reveal a second set of doors. Continuing, they were greeted by a second, third, four, and fifth pair of doors.
"What is this?" Elijah grumbled. "Someone's idea of a joke?" In truth, the younger Raven was feeling a little anxious, for two reasons. One, Ellie was sitting on his lap and in while controlling his AC, he also had to control his hormones. Two, he was in a place where no one had ever been able to venture. Silent Line was no man's land, something of a legend. But here he was, deep within its secrets, on the verge of seeing…the Promised Land.
'Sounds like something Cain would say…'Continuing on, the two AC continued to shift through the opening doors until they reached a different door, gray and locked. Cloak moved up to the terminal to open it while Havoc stayed behind, with two pairs of eyes simply staring at the door. Soon, they would be able to complete their mission and go beyond Silent Line. It was an intense moment and they were just preparing themselves for what may be on the other side.
And the door opened…
It watched…
As the two doors opened in the shimmering sanctuary, it was already entering its battle mode. Sleek black metal glistened as it hovered just above the ground. Humaniod in basic form, with no visible weapons to see, yet it sported a large set of spine wings, much like a bat. A yellow visor glimmered as it scanned those that were now entering the sanctuary. Four ACs, yet detecting five lifesigns. Weaponry high grade, yet it wasn't anything it hadn't seen before. Armor was marginal due to the great effort it must have taken to make it this far.
It waited…
Since detecting their arrival from high above on the surface, it was active, watching their progress as they came deeper and deeper. Though the network system that lined the entire complex, it watched their battle tactics, noting their strengths and weaknesses and adjusted itself accordingly. The battle with the Big Whites was extremely helpful for info. It had taken much to defeat the guardians, showing that these weren't simple Ravens. They had to have great skill in order to survive and to make it this far.
And it saw them survive…
Now it was only a matter of time, that being when the door opened, revealing to them the main power generator; a generator that powered everything in this place and beyond, reaching up into the skies where the stealth satellite cannons fired upon any intruder that came close. But the cannon had been dodged, the gunnery had been passed, the MTs had been destroyed.
Which left on it to fulfill its program…
As the four machines entered in the generator chamber, the lights on it came alive and all systems were ready for battle. It would be here were they would meet their end, for none have ever gotten past this dark sentinel. And none would get past it, not as far as it was concerned.
And with a hiss of its boosters, IBIS acted…