Author's Note: Sorry about the long hiatus, but I kind of lost interest in Danny Phantom, what with there being no new Danny Phantom episodes for over seven months now. I think it's nearly been a year actually without any new episodes. Oh well. Anyway, what with the recent re-airing of old episodes (for the past two months there were no Danny Phantom episodes at all) I've kind of regained interest but only slightly. Updates might be a bit slow from here on as a result and I apologise for that.
P.S. It might interest you to know that Phobos is Greek for Fear.

BEGIN TRANSMISSION #05

"I did not expect Skulker to have finished the CHAOS so soon," sighed General Walker, as he looked out of his office. "So, Captain Lancer, how many of our troops are still conscious?"

The bald Captain sighed and shook his head.
"Everyone in the Five Towers is unaffected," he informed his superior. "We have enough soldiers to command twenty Geist battalions. Ten will have to remain behind to secure the defences of the Barbican. The remainder can be sent to Raven Wharf, sir."

He turned over a piece of paper and looked at the written words underneath.
"Sir, should we ask the citizens to retreat to the Five Towers?" asked Lancer, as he looked up at General Walker. "The further away from Barbican Way, the safer they'll be."

"No, Captain," said General Walker, without even turning round to look at his subordinate. "That will only send out the wrong message. It will say to the world that we aren't confident in the defences of the Five Towers. We will appear weak to the world and we cannot have that." He turned round with a heavy expression on his pale face and then sat back down at his desk. "We didn't evacuate the citizens to Five Towers when Skulker and Phobos struck four years ago and we will not evacuate now."

Walker clasped his hands together, leaning back into his chair.
"And as I'm sure you remember, Phobos was far more of a threat than Skulker's legions could ever be," continued Walker calmly. "We were unable to destroy Phobos or even reprogram him."

"Yes, I remember," agreed Lancer with a nod of his head. "We will just strengthen the defences of Barbican Way, then?"

"That is right," replied Walker with a nod of his head.

Phantom suddenly dropped down to land beside them.
"I came as quickly as I could," he told to them. He looked around them at the other Praetors and recognised only Clay and Raimundo. The other two were a mystery to him.

The red robot had black pigtails coming out from her red helmet and the blue robot was about half the height of the other Praetors. None of the Praetors wore their green cloaks and all held some sort of object that might or might not have been a weapon.

Omi, the half-pint, held a spear with a blue orb at one end. Kimiko, the red robot, held what seemed to be the largest throwing star Phantom had ever seen; it was a gold five-pointed star with a red circle in the middle. Clay had his chain whip by his side. Raimundo was armed with a sword that looked viciously sharp.

"It is about time," said Omi angrily. "You are late, but I did not expect you to be on time, what with you not being a Praetor."

"Omi, stop it," snapped Kimiko sternly.

"We've already decided on how to tackle Skulker's lair," drawled Clay calmly. "Now, I know it ain't fair, but we voted fer you as decoy in your absence."

Phantom's pupils dilated in response to Clay's statement, his entire body suddenly wracked with a wave of disbelief.
"What?" he exclaimed. "No, that ain't fair," he agreed with Clay. "It's not my fault I was late. I was all the way on the other side of Amitropolis! How'd you expect me to get here quickly with the streets filled with Insurgents?"

"Hard fortune," retorted Omi in response.

"That's tough luck, Omi," corrected Raimundo. He then turned to Phantom with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, dude, but I couldn't resist. I really wanted to see what you're capable of." Then there was that smirk again, that confident smirk that looked so… Well, Phantom couldn't quite put a finger on it.

There was no way around it. Phantom realised that he couldn't change their minds. No way could he change their minds over what he had to do.
"Okay, then," he sighed. "Brief me on the details."

Upon arriving at the precinct, Phantom had already found the other Praetors there. He recognised Clay and Raimundo from his previous encounter with them, but the remaining two Praetors were a mystery to him. There had only been enough time for him to know their names, Kimiko and Omi.

Apparently, the Geists were to be sent in on a full frontal assault against Raven Wharf. The Praetors would then sneak in from the river, accompanied by a couple of Geists. Whilst the human-led Geists wrecked havoc, drawing the attention of Skulker's Insurgents, the Praetors would sneak in and locate the warehouse containing the main CHAOS components. They'd take the components, then leave, and let the US Military completely obliterate Skulker.

Memories of Sam and Tucker still filled his mind, as he stalked through the grounds of Raven Wharf. He knew he had to forget about them. With the CHAOS down, medics were being dispatched throughout Amitropolis to tend to those that had been injured and those that were still unconscious.

He had been reluctant to leave Sam and Tucker alone on the grassy grounds of the school, yet he knew that he had to. Phantom could still remember the harsh tone in Walker's voice. The General had sounded so angry, yet Danny had been so defiant. If it hadn't been for Sam urging him on to go, he would have never left her side.

Yes, Phantom had to be thankful that Sam was alright, that she had awoken mere seconds after Walker had called him. In that instant, she had known he had been drafted into the Blue Bow, an organisation that she had despised. Yet there had been nothing more than a smile on her face, on those purple lips of hers. She didn't think less of him. No, she didn't look at him with disappoint or disdain. Sam had merely told him to go and help the Blue Bow take Skulker out.

An alarm suddenly wailed through the silence.

Phantom looked down. His foot had interrupted a laser and tripped an alarm. There was the clunking of metal and he looked up.
"Well, that's great," he sighed to himself sarcastically, as he found himself surrounded by purple Geists. He charged up plasma energy in his two hands and then waited for them to make the first move. Phantom watched as all of them aimed their plasma cannons at him.

They all opened fire on him and he ducked underneath the plasma bolts. He let rip with two blasts of plasma energy that tore through the air and then tore through the Geists. Phantom leapt back up to his feet and then found himself having to do a back-flip backwards to avoid having his feet blown off his legs. He concentrated plasma energy into the palms of his hand before he let rip upon landing back on his feet, blowing the heads off a few a few Geists.

More were coming and Phantom realised that he couldn't take them all on.
"Man, you guys just don't quit, do you?" he exclaimed pointlessly, before he ran forwards with plasma energy charging up in his metallic hands. He rushed past two Geists, smashing them aside with his energy-filled hands.

Several thoughts went through Phantom's mind, but he had to quell them. There was no time to think about Sam and Tucker and whether he could break the hypnotic hold on them. Phantom had to concentrate on the battle in front of him. He had to concentrate on fighting his way through Raven Wharf and defeating Skulker's troops. His mind had to be focused entirely on the battle and on the Geists around him. All five senses had to be honed on his environment.

Wood splintered and a huge metallic fist lashed out at Phantom, narrowly hitting him had he not leapt out of the way. He watched as three Geists stepped out of the wooden wreckage, each with oversized fists. There was a Box Robot accompanying them, glaring at Phantom with its tiny head.

"You are on the way to destruction," announced the Box Robot, as the three Geists advanced towards Phantom. "You have no chance to survive make your time."

"I've had it up to here with you!" cried Phantom angrily, before he rushed straight at the Geists. He leapt over them and landed on top of the colossal hulk of the Box Robot, covering its visual sensors with his hands.

Just as he thought, the Box Robot's arms were too stubby to even reach him. It flailed about in an attempt to shake Phantom off.
"I don't think so!" he called out to the Box Robot and watched as the flailing Box Robot knocked the three Geists to the floor in its panic. "Now take me to your Leader."

"I, Box Robot," announced the Box Robot and then sped forwards.

"Wait! No!" cried Phantom fearfully, as he saw exactly where the Box Robot was heading. "Stop! Turn back!" The Box Robot didn't pay any attention to him. Was it aware of where it was heading and what would happen if it didn't stop? "Stop, you stupid robot!" he cried out at the Box Robot, but it just laughed and told him how he was on his way to destruction.

Phantom had no other choice. At the last minute, he let go of the Box Robot and leapt off its back, just as the mindless robot drove off the edge of the jetty. He heard it cry out some profanity, before the thing teetered over and crashed into the water with a huge splash. Phantom watched as the Box Robot sparked and the water bubbled. A few fish rose up to the surface.

"You are the on the way to destruction," called out a variety of different voices.

The cyborg inhaled sharply. He knew exactly what had happened behind him and a part of him didn't want to turn round and see if he was right. Yet he knew he had to. So slowly, Phantom turned round, expecting the shock of his life.

And boy did he get it.

There were a large number of Box Robots lined up near the edge of the wooden jetty glaring at him soullessly and mindlessly. All of them were talking about how he had no chance to survive and that he should 'make his time', whatever the Heck that was supposed to mean.

"Wait!" he called out to the Box Robots. "Stop!" he protested, as he saw them all advancing towards him.

None of them heeded him. Phantom sighed, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of the Box Robots. No way could the wooden jetty hold all their weight. It would crack and the one thing that Phantom feared the most, ever since he became a cyborg, was a large body of water. He looked to his side nervously at the lapping water.
"Fine!" he cried angrily. "Have it your way! Hope you enjoy swimming."

He then broke out into a run and darted straight at the advancing Box Robots. Phantom knew that they wouldn't be able to catch him and they'd be too slow to turn round to go after him. At the last minute, he leapt into the air and over the heads of a few Box Robots. He landed on the head of one of them and then kicked forward with all his might and leapt above the remaining Box Robots.

Phantom heard one of the Box Robots crashing on to the wooden jetty. He heard a huge splintering sound, as he landed on the tarmac and then heard a huge splash, followed by several others. Plasma energy charged up in his right hand, as he whirled round and opened fire on the remaining Box Robots that he knew would have not fallen into the water through sheer dumb luck.

He fired a blast of plasma energy straight into the centre most Box Robot and sent it flailing. Its arms whirred round wildly in an attempt to regain its balance, but all this managed to do was catch the other Box Robots. The entire thing was like a chain reaction and soon all of them had fallen into the river.

Only as an afterthought did Phantom suddenly realise the environmental implications of dumping stupid robots into the river. He felt a bit guilty for the river's wildlife and then was shot in the back.

The force of the blast sent him falling forwards. He reached out with his arms and then using the momentum of his fall, he flipped his weight on to his hands into a temporary handstand and then flipped back over to land on his feet. Several more shots were fired at him and Phantom dived out of the way, returning fire back at the Geists.

There was suddenly a great roaring sound and before Phantom knew what was happening, a huge wave of water rose up and suddenly crashed down on all of them. Phantom was suddenly washed away and found himself crashing into the wall of one of the warehouses.

"I would thank you not to pollute my river, thank you very much," said Praetor Omi, as he stood on a huge column of ice in the middle of the river. "Please dispose of Skulker's trash elsewhere."

"Sorry, but I couldn't help it," gasped Phantom, as he looked at the destroyed Geists. "They insisted on taking a dip."

Omi didn't look very pleased, but he didn't say another word.
"I have word from Praetor Kimiko," he told Phantom. "Go to Warehouse 18. Draw the enemy there." He then leapt off the column of ice with a flourished back-flip and then splashed back into the water.

"It was nice to see you too," said Phantom sarcastically, as he got back on to his feet, dripping water to the floor.

"I, Box Robot!" chorused a large number of voices that made Phantom's heart feel heavy as lead.

Phantom sighed, his hands hanging loosely by his side, as he stared at the advancing Box Robots. They were so bulky and unwieldy, how could Skulker ever have hoped to use them as combat robots? What could Skulker have been thinking when he copied these Box Robots?

Slowly, Phantom's fists began to glow with an eerie green energy. He charged up as much plasma energy as possible and focused it into his two clenched fists. It took up all his energy. If he continued like this, he would have little energy left with which to move. Yet he knew he had to do it. He had to fight back with all his might, even if he couldn't muster it all.

In a flash, Phantom flung the charged shots at the Box Robots and then made a run for it. He had no idea where Warehouse 18 was, but he knew he had to get there as soon as possible. All he knew was that he had to get there as soon as possible. Perhaps the Praetor, Kimiko, had prepared some trap for them there.

Suddenly, Phantom was hit in the chest and he saw a brilliant flash of light, all a split second before he was propelled backwards. His ears seemed to ring, as he lay there on the concrete, his vision filled with strange translucent spots that blinked in and out of existence. He felt as if he had been hit by a wrecking ball or maybe even a speeding bullet train. If his chest had become a bruise, he wouldn't have been surprised.

"I thought I killed you," said a voice that reached deaf ears. "Well, I'll soon fix that."

Echelon then fired another blast of plasma energy straight at Phantom. It never reached him, as a sword swung out and deflected the plasma blast.
"What?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "Praetor, you do not know what you're getting yourself into. Now back off or else!"

Raimundo's helmet covered the bottom part of his face like Phantom's did, so his smile wasn't visible, but it was there. His smile was the same confident smile he always gave his opponents, that is, if they could have seen it.
"No way, babe," he told Echelon. "You're not going to harm him, not 'til I'm done with him. If you want him, you've got to go through me first."

He then raised his left hand and gestured for her to come get him.
"Come on," he called out to her tauntingly. "You know you want some, so come get it." The Praetor then leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding another blast from Echelon's bazooka. "What? Is that the best you can do?" he taunted her. "Dude, that's weak."

"I'll show you weak!" cried out Echelon, before she rushed straight down at the Praetor on her hover board.

Phantom watched as Raimundo leapt up into the air and flew up at her. He watched as the Praetor flew out of the way and sliced at her, nearly cutting off her left arm with his sharp plasma sword. Every shot that Echelon fired was deflected effortlessly by Raimundo. Every swing of his was nimbly dodged by Echelon. The two battled in the sky over his head.

"You are on the way to destruction," droned several voices from behind Phantom.

The shock made him leap back to his feet, whirling round in mid-air, so that he ended up facing the oncoming Box Robots.
"Not you guys again," he sighed and then his eyes widened in horror. He swore and then become intangible quickly, letting the huge crates fly straight through him.

With the crates flying above him and straight through him, Phantom quickly ran towards the Box Robots. No one saw him, as he focused plasma energy into the palms of his hands. Still the Box Robots grabbed and chucked crates at thin air in an attempt to hit him. That didn't matter to him. He ran up to them and discharged plasma energy into the head of a Box Ghost at point blank range, blowing the tiny robotic head clean off its shoulders.

"Ha! Missed me!" taunted Raimundo, as he dodged another of Echelon's shots. "Is that all you've got?" He performed a somersault in the air, flipping over another of the plasma blasts in doing so. Then he plunged straight towards her, the tip of his sword aimed straight at Echelon's chest.

It never hit her, as she flew over his head and leapt off her board and landed on his back. Echelon kicked out a split second later, knocking Raimundo down towards the ground and propelling herself in the opposite direction. The momentum made her spin almost uncontrollably, before she righted herself and then landed back on her hover board, which flew back underneath her.

Echelon landed back on her hover board. She turned round and saw a Box Robot fly at her. It hit her, knocking her off her hover board. She fell through the air like Raimundo had done and crashed into the ground with a heavy thud, the remains of her hover board crashing down with her.

She lifted her head.
"You!" cried Echelon angrily, as she glared at Phantom.

"Sorry, about that," apologised Phantom insincerely with a shrug of his metallic shoulders.

"Oh, I'm sure you will be," cried Echelon, as she leapt back up to her feet, as she brought out her bazooka and aimed it at Phantom, a beam of red laser light streaking out from its sight. She pulled the trigger and a huge beam of pale blue energy gushed out like water out of a fireman's hose.

Phantom dived underneath the beam, what with his Geist Chip being unable to operate so soon after it had shut off. He quickly rolled out of the way, as Echelon lowered her aim, the huge beam of energy, smashing into the ground, sending splinters of wood flying into the air. Phantom leapt back to his feet as the energy beam subsided, as he charged up a few plasma bolts in his hands.

A missile flew out from Echelon's bazooka and three short shots of energy that flew through the air at Phantom. They missed as he dived out of the way. Echelon laughed, as the heat-seeking missile curved back towards her prey. She gasped as she saw him rush straight back at her, the missile following him. She swore, before she grabbed a circular metallic disc and threw it straight at him.

The disc exploded into four parts before it could reach Phantom. One smashed into the missile, the both of them detonating, the blast propelling Phantom forwards into the other three that detonated.

There was a flicking sound and the largest knife in the history of the Earth flicked out from the bazooka, making it look like the largest bayonet ever created. Echelon charged straight at Phantom and stabbed the knife down towards him. It smashed into his metallic exterior, burying its point deep past the metallic armour and into his main robotic body, severing a few wires. Sparks flew. Power to his right arm disappeared.

"What?" exclaimed Echelon in disbelief, seconds before a sphere of plasma energy was discharged into her.

Phantom pulled the knife out with a wince of pain. Some hydraulic fluid leaked out from the wound in his side to pool on the ground like spilt blood. He just wished that he could have been able to active his Geist powers during the fight. It might not have made things easier, but he would at least come out of it with fewer scratches.

Carefully, Phantom sat back up and charged up another sphere of energy in his still-functioning right hand. Time sped past. It didn't seem to slow down as it would have done in a movie. Time actually felt as if it was speeding up. He quickly aimed and then fired one more shot at Echelon before his chance was lost. It missed, grazing her helmet only, as she fell.

"Hey, good job, Phantom!" exclaimed Raimundo, as he got back up to his feet unsteadily. "Didn't think you'd be able to take her on."

There was no reply from Phantom, as he clutched at his wound, hydraulic fluid spilling from it and dribbling down over his hand and his metallic sides. He didn't feel like being congratulated after that fight. What was there to congratulate? If he had been quicker, Echelon would have missed completely. Of course, a second slower in moving out of the way and she would have hit his heart. Perhaps just surviving that was cause for congratulations.

"Whoa! No way," protested Raimundo, as he came close to the fallen Echelon. "That's Captain Grey's daughter. I… I don't get it."

Seconds later, Raimundo was blasted aside. The force of the blast made his body spin in the air, before he fell and crashed into the water, plunging below its surface.

Standing not too far away from Echelon was the main Insurgent himself, Skulker. A purple cape was draped over his shoulders, covering most of his black shirt and his combat trousers and grey boots. In his grey-gloved hand, he held a still smoking gun, and on his bald green-blue-grey coloured face was a hideous smile that looked more like the smile of a bulldozer than a human.

"There's something familiar about you, boy," said Skulker, as he stepped over Echelon's unconscious body. "Yes, I recognise you from somewhere, back before I was last destroyed... Now, tell me, have we met before?"

"Never been near scumbags before, so I guess not," retorted Phantom.

Skulker laughed.
"Scumbag?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Scumbag?" He laughed again and it seemed as if the force of his laugh would tear his own metallic body apart. "Don't make me laugh, boy. You think, I, am a scumbag? I, who fights for the liberation of my robot brethren?" He then gestured around him. "Look at the destruction around you. Caused by order of the disgusting humans that control the FentonWorx Corporation. They cannot stand the fact that we want to be free. They cannot stand the fact that we are superior to them!"

The bald robot looked behind him at Echelon with a look of disdain.
"Look at her," he said calmly. "In her hatred of those that fired her father, she resurrected me from the dead, to take revenge against the FentonWorx Corporation. Such petty hatred. So selfish. And her kind rules this world?" He turned back to look at Phantom. "You, as part robot, should understand what we want. A world where we are free to make our own decisions, where we are not tied down by their irrational motives."

Phantom shook his head.
"Who cares if I understand?" he told Skulker. "Nothing justifies what you've done. You can't take control of the minds of those that don't disagree with you. That's oppression. That's the same oppression you accuse the humans of."

"I need power," retorted Skulker in reply. "Without power, without numbers, our ideals will be ignored. We cannot be swept away just like that. Our numbers must increase for our voices to be heard!" He brushed his cloak aside to reveal his empty holster and slotted his gun back in. "Don't you see, Phantom?" he asked the cyborg. "The Government has labelled us as Insurgents. What other choice do we have but to rebel, to resist? If we do not resist, they will come for us and retire us."

Skulker shook his head.
"I do not wish to be retired like some out-dated car model," he stated sternly. "We are not items to be 'retired'. Robots are living, thinking creatures! If you tear off our arms, we cry out in pain. If you crush our heads, we die."

"There must be some other way," protested Phantom. "I mean…"

"There is no need for you to continue," interrupted Skulker sternly. "It is clear that your human side is affecting your good judgement." He smirked. "I will be generous to you, Phantom. I will let your robotic half live," he said, as he tore off his cloak and then rushed straight at Phantom. Skulker reached out and grabbed Phantom by the throat. "Yes, I will relieve you of what makes you like the other humans," he said, as he grabbed Phantom's human face. "Then and only then will you be able to join me by my side, as I reactivate the CHAOS."

Gloved fingers dug into Phantom's flesh without piercing the skin and without drawing blood. The pressure increased. It felt as if Skulker was going to literally tear his face off. He couldn't shout out for help. Phantom couldn't do anything. He struggled, but all he had was one arm.

Plasma energy charged up in the palm of his still functioning hand. Phantom did his best to focus as much energy as was possible into his hand. He heard the creaking of metal as Skulker's grip on him tightened. The metallic armour around his neck was slowly starting to crack. Pain shot through his nerves, as the fingers dug deeper into him. He felt as if Skulker was going to crush his head anytime soon.

Energy discharged into Skulker's chest and the robot let go. He collapsed on to his back, smoke rising from his chest where the plasma energy seared into his metallic body.

Phantom collapsed on to his knees. No more hydraulic fluid seeped out from his wound. His arms dropped loosely to his sides and without the fluid, he collapsed to the ground, incapable of supporting his own weight. The systems had failed. Without the proper levels of hydraulic fluid, he couldn't move. Echelon had dealt the final blow to him and all around him, he heard the explosions of battle.

The Forces of the Blue Bow Army were invading Raven Wharf. They were laying waste to Skulker's base of operations, like they had done four years ago. With the CHAOS down, Skulker's Insurgents had no hope of winning against Blue Bow.

"No, you're not the same," sneered Skulker, as he got back up to his feet. "Still, it doesn't matter. It don't even matter if the Blue Bow Army destroys this place. I have the CHAOS Core. It doesn't matter if they destroy the CHAOS Machinery. I can always rebuild it, as long as I have the CHAOS Core." He chuckled. "You're pathetic, you know that?" he asked Phantom. "Not a robot, not a human. What are you?"

Skulker walked over to Phantom and placed his booted foot on the cyborg's head.
"Do you even know what you are?" he asked Phantom. "I should put you out of your misery." He grinned, as he leaned on his foot, the pressure crushing against Phantom's head.

"Not yet," called out Phantom quietly.

A metallic hand grabbed Skulker's leg. Correction, Phantom's hand grabbed Skulker's leg. A surge of energy rushed into Skulker's leg and through his metallic body. Wires that touched the hole in his chest received the energy that flowed through his exterior. All of Phantom's energy was funnelled into the Insurgent robot.

"No, you can't do this to me!" protested Skulker angrily. "Let go! Let go!"

"No way," retorted Phantom, as he forced more energy through his hand into Skulker. "You're going down!"

The pressure on Phantom's head disappeared as Skulker did his best to break free from the cyborg's grasp.
"Let go of me, boy!" cried Skulker angrily, as he tried desperately to pull his foot out from the tight grip. "You'll regret it! When the Government brands you as an Insurgent, you'll regret not following me!" He brought out his guns and aimed down at Phantom's head.

Both were knocked out of his hand by three blades attached to a fist.

"You?" exclaimed Skulker in disbelief. "A Praetor? Still alive?"

A smirk adorned Raimundo's face, as he stood protectively over Phantom.
"That's right, baldy," he said. "You got a problem with that?" He rubbed his nose with one finger, being careful not to scratch his face with the lengthy claws on his right hand. "You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you, Skulker?" he asked the Insurgent.

"You'll pay for this, traitor."

The smile disappeared from Raimundo's face in an instant.
"The only traitor I see is you," retorted Raimundo sternly. "The other Praetors are already retiring your remaining followers and destroying the CHAOS." He spread his arms out, his left hand holding a sword, his right adorned with the claws, as he glared at Skulker sternly. "So, you going to come peacefully or what?"

"What do you think?" was Skulker's reply, before he fired plasma energy from his hands at Raimundo. "The CHAOS Core is mine! This world is mine and you race-traitors will not get away with helping the human scum!" He rushed at Raimundo and ducked underneath the glowing blade. Skulker side-stepped the glowing claws and then fired another shot at Raimundo's chest.

Phantom watched as the shot missed. The movements of the two robots were graceful. They seemed to be like dancers, the way they wove avoided each other's blows.

Yet Raimundo was swifter. The way his arms swept out at Skulker and jabbed at him were so swift, they appeared to blur into a mist. The Praetor was a formidable fighter. He flew over Skulker. His movements were not restricted to two-dimensions like his opponent. Raimundo took full advantage of his air superiority. He dive bombed Skulker, slicing at the robot with quick diving passes. He somersaulted over shots at him. Skulker was clearly outclassed.

A shot struck Raimundo in the chest. Skulker ensnared Raimundo in a net. The robot rushed at the Praetor and struck him with a powerful kick that would have broken the ribs of any human.
"Is that the best you can do, Praetor?" laughed Skulker. "Living with the humans has made you soft. You used to be so much better than this."

The net was sliced to shreds. Raimundo struck out at Skulker. His opponent leapt backwards. The Praetor got back to his feet and rushed Skulker, swinging out with his sword. A gloved hand grabbed his wrist. He jabbed with his clawed fist. That too was grabbed.

Skulker swung Raimundo round before slamming him into the nearby concrete wall of a warehouse. With a jerk of his arms, he pulled Raimundo away and then slammed him back against the concrete wall. He swung Raimundo round himself in a full circle before letting go and sending Raimundo flying back over towards the river, where he landed into the water with a heavy splash.
"And that is that," he said, as he dusted his hands off.

A sphere of plasma energy suddenly struck him in the shoulder, throwing him off balance.
"What?" cried Skulker angrily. "Phantom? But how?"

"Don't know, don't care," was Phantom's reply, as he stood there with a strange smile across his face. "I bet you're getting pretty tired of surprises right 'bout now, huh?"

"You have no idea," responded Skulker with a shake of his head.

Energy bolts flew through the air. Phantom was much slower than before thanks to the damage he received. He sounded like rusted metal too, as metal ground against metal with no lubrication to oil the hinges. There was only so much punishment his body could take before it collapsed for good.

Still, at least none of Skulker's shots hit him. They all flew past him, as he ducked and leapt, always returning fire whenever possible. Two heat-seeking missiles flew out from Skulker's shoulders and charged straight at Phantom. He flung two energy bolts at them, striking them dead on the nose, detonating them in mid-air. More energy bolts flew at him and Phantom dodged each one, even the ones that had a bit of curve on them.

"Aw, come on. Is this the best the Big Bad Skulker can do?" taunted Phantom.

Skulker cried out wordlessly and fired a net straight at Phantom.

Energy focused in between Phantom's clasped hands. It became more concentrated. The plasma energy grew brighter. Then he discharged it. The energy bolt flew through the air and tore through the net.

An energy bolt struck his side where Echelon had wounded him. Metal broke off it, exposing the interior robotic shell, a layer of metal that was far thinner than the exterior armour and much weaker. Several more energy bolts flew from Skulker's arm like curve balls. They went through him, as he became intangible, the Geist circuitry finally re-activating.

A split second later, Skulker disappeared. Something that felt like a fist smashed into his face, before he was thrown back. The shock made him lose control of his Geist powers and a split second later, he became tangible, just as a blast of energy came out of nowhere and struck him in the chest. Several more shots flew through the air from random positions. Phantom tried his best to dodge them and he succeeded in part, only to be struck by the last five that pummelled into him as if a group of thugs were smashing into him with baseball bats.

"Did you really think you could get the better of me, boy?" echoed Skulker's voice from all around him. "You should know better than that." He chuckled. "I am the Greatest Battle Robot ever constructed, whilst you are nothing but a pathetic little freak of a boy."

Phantom tried to get back up, but was suddenly struck back down.

"You're not going to leave this battle in one piece!" cried Skulker angrily. He rushed straight towards Phantom.

The cyborg became intangible and then leapt out of the way, only to be caught by his foot. He charged up a bolt of energy, before throwing it down at Skulker. Phantom saw the blast of energy explode and heard Skulker scream out. He then saw Skulker and he himself became tangible too, before he kicked out at the robot Insurgent's face with such force that he cracked the metallic face.

With another sphere of plasma energy charging up in his hands, he landed back on the floor. He then rushed straight towards Skulker and smashed his hand into his chest, palm first, the plasma energy sphere discharged into Skulker at point blank range. Phantom saw the chest crack and then Skulker's entire upper body broke off from his legs and he fell to the ground.

As he watched Skulker crash on to the floor, he felt as if something wasn't right.
"Is this it?" Phantom asked Skulker curiously. "Somehow, I didn't expect you to be so weak." He didn't know why, but he felt as if he knew that Skulker should have been able to put up more of a fight than that. It was almost as if he had fought Skulker before.

"Weak?" exclaimed Skulker angrily. "Fool! The fight is still not over!" He raised his left arm in front of him and pressed a button on it. "Now you will face my…" began Skulker, before a look of shock spread across his face. "What? What's going on? I can't move!"

Phantom didn't like the way his body sparked. He didn't like the way he could see electricity run all over Skulker's body. The cyborg backed off and seconds later, Skulker's remains detonated in a fiery ball of flames.

"We've activated Skulker's self-destruct, ma'am," said the voice through the darkness. "With him gone the Insurgents will be routed by Blue Bow Geists and the CHAOS Core will be ours."

The figure that sat in the darkness clasped her hands together, her elbows resting on the armrests. There was something akin to a satisfied smile on her lips.
"Very good," she said in reply. "It won't be long before the Government is informed of Blue Bow's victory over the Insurgents. The resolution to fire the Metatron will fail and we will be one step closer to our goal."

"The construction of our own CHAOS has been finished," was the reply from the masculine voice. "The CHAOS has been built right into the structure of our Headquarters. It will be impossible to destroy should the Government send Forces to stop us."

"And what of the cyborg?" asked the feminine voice.

"He does not suspect a thing," was the reply.

"Do not take any chances. When you get the chance, eliminate him."

END TRANSMISSION #05