Made with help from rbrooks25
Chapter 39
The Rescue
Third Person
"Fox, why is this damp?" Xanatos asked, holding the blueprints.
"Thailog came in 'fore I could look at anything." She answered. "It still legible?"
"Yes, Fox. Lay back down. You are exhausted and need to rest." He reminded her.
"I fought him so good…" She laid back down.
"I know you did. But Alexander will not like seeing you hurt." Owen told her and she fell asleep.
"Are you sure Fox shouldn't see the doctor?" Xanatos looked at Owen.
"She only has a minor head injury. The adrenaline in her system has worn off. He would insist on several days of rest. The spells will heal her faster. You need to sleep as well." Owen replied.
Xanatos had undressed for the night and was about to go to bed when Fox crashed in the courtyard. Hudson had brought her in. He remarked that it was incredibly luckily that she gotten to the castle at all. Owen insisted she be brought to the master bedroom.
He took the blueprints from his boss, making him sit on the bed. He laid down involuntarily and Owen pulled the sheets over him. Xanatos glared for a moment before he yawned.
"Don't think you got off…" His eyes drooped.
"I know, I know." Puck soothed.
Owen and Puck telepathic-ly connected to the gargoyles and told them the news. They cut their patrols short and started to head back. Goliath would have to calm them down. It was too late for anything to get done tonight. Owen went to his room. After a few drinks of honeysuckle wine, Puck finally let them fall asleep. They had a busy day ahead.
By the next day, they had gotten everything they needed. It was evening. They were in the gargoyles' lounge area using it as a makeshift war room. The blueprints were laid flat on a large table.
"Just to be through, Group A is Lexington, Hudson, Broadway, and Brooklyn. Group B is myself, Fox, Owen, Talon, and Goliath.
I will hack the building's security system and shut down the cameras. Or cause a distraction if need be. Then we will go in the lobby and use Thailog's private elevator. Group B will sneak in through the loading area and use the freight elevator to get to the lab. Then Lexington will hack Sevarius' computer and get the data on Talia.
While they are doing that, we, Group A, will be looking for Talia. I believe she should be in this part of the lab. However, we don't know which cell. The drone footage gets spotty past the entrance.
Since this is a hidden lab, I expect there to be security measures. So, we must be prepared to fight if necessary. Does everyone remember the backup plans?" Xanatos looked at everyone.
"Use the distress beacon if we're captured while everyone is there or use the tools hidden in our loincloths if not. If we have Talia at sunrise, go to a safe spot and use the distress beacon so we can be picked up." Lexington repeated.
"Yes-" Xanatos nodded.
"Also, we stay here to guard the castle and watch the kids until you get back. Matt's gonna cover for me at work." Elisa gestured to Katana and Angela.
The lab wasn't meant to have a lot of foot traffic. Having nine people was already pushing it, but it was decided that no one should be alone while in the lab. Talon was a crucial addition as he could use his lighting blasts on Thailog and also open the iron cell without any problem. Talon would have partner with whoever he could reach first.
"Is that everything?" Talon asked.
"Everyone needs to rest tonight for the mission tomorrow. No patrolling, no fighting, no strenuous activities." Owen added.
"I think that's everything so we'll leave you all be for the moment." Xanatos said and walked out. Fox guided Owen out to see Alex. Everyone slowly dispersed for the night, trying to relax before they went to rescue Talia.
Group A was searching for the cell block with Talia. Owen had gotten in front of the group with Fox and Xanatos acting as a buffer for Goliath and Talon. Their footsteps were the only thing making noise at the moment.
Xanatos was in his red battle armor. Fox wore her ninja suit. She had brought a katana, a bunch of throwing knives, small packets of acid, and a first aid kit if Talia was injured. Owen had long sleeve shirt and athletic pants. He had wrapped his hands in bandages so the iron wouldn't irritate his skin.
Sneaking into the lab had been easy. Thailog hadn't thought anyone would ever find it. However, it was more maze-like than they had anticipated. They hadn't talked to each other since they got deeper into the lab. A few hallways looped around and some were short dead ends. Where was the cell block?
Owen snarled frustratedly as he sniffed the air. He could smell his daughter's magic. It was acidic, turning rotten. It was a miracle Puck only brewed beneath his skin. She was close. So close. But not here. He paused suddenly; inhaling deeply. He veered left and darted down the hall.
"Owen, no!" Fox went after him. Everyone else soon followed.
"So, has this always been happening or is this a new thing?" Talon asked.
"He has been getting worse as of late." Goliath replied.
"Puck's been antsy since we got the blueprints." Xanatos added.
A surprised roar echoed through the lab. They rounded the corner. Fox moved back after slicing Thailog's arm. Owen tried to run past Thailog, but he swiped at him. She jumped over Owen and grabbed his wing. Thailog was yanked to the side. He tripped her with tail.
Owen threw a hard right hook. Then he shifted and kicked him in the side. Thailog stumbled. His jaw hurt; his armor was dented. Owen lunged and pinned Thailog. Stone grinded against stone as his fist uncurled.
His stone claws were aimed for Thailog's throat. The clone realized that Owen wasn't fully human. He barely managed to tuck his chin in. They ripped through his cheek and shoulder muscles. He roared and shoved Owen away. Owen fell a few feet back. Thailog got back up.
"Talon!" Fox shouted.
He shot some lighting blasts. Thailog bellowed in pain, falling to his knees. Talon couldn't keep up the voltage and cut it off. Fox, with a knife in hand, tried to stab Thailog. He tipped back from her weight. Fox hit his armor and broke her knife.
Xanatos activated his shoulder canon. "Fox, move."
Fox got out the way, but Thailog also did too. There was a hole in the wall. He charged past Fox and Owen, running deeper into the hall. Xanatos fired off a few more blasts.
Goliath and Owen were hot on his tail. The others were close behind. They skidded to a stop when Thailog refused to give another inch. He growled and flared his wings. They heard chains rattle and muffled pleading.
"Ok, so I think we should see if Sevarius' office is down that hall." Lexington said, pointing.
"Alright, lad, lead the way." Hudson said.
"I kinda expected there to be more alarms." Broadway glanced at the wall.
"Maybe they're the silent kind." Brooklyn frowned.
They went quickly down the hall. Hudson bashed the door open when they realized it was locked. The office was fairly big. It had a large console with three screens at the front and a desk off to the side. Lexington went to the computer as the others searched the drawers for anything.
Broadway helped Hudson grab papers and files. They grimaced as they saw she was filed under Project: Fountain of Youth. Brooklyn had found a tablet and tried to see if it had anything. It took a few tries to get in, but it didn't have anything. He set it down. It sent an email.
Lex was breaking though the firewalls the flash drive couldn't. Hudson and Broadway exhausted the drawers quickly. The flash drive was 70% done downloading when the door slammed opened. Sevarius had come back.
"My chick!" Puck growled.
Owen's ears became pointed and he grew fangs. His hair was now shoulder length. His eyes blazed green. Everyone knew that Puck would give in to his instincts when they had found Talia.
Fox threw a knife at Thailog's fractured wing. It tore through the membrane and fell on the floor. It distracted him long for Xanatos and Owen to get through. Goliath was blocked by Thailog.
"I won't let you take my ticket to immortality!" He punched his face.
Goliath growled. "You will not win a war against the Children of Oberon."
Then he grabbed Thailog by the armor and yanked him back toward Fox and Talon. The chest plate clattered as it was discarded. Talon got in close and twisted his arm. Thailog kicked Talon's feet out from under him. Then he slapped Talon with his tail. Talon clutched his side as he slid across the floor.
Fox grabbed one of her knives off the floor. Thailog jumped on her and wretched her hand open. He stabbed her shoulder. Goliath pulled him off of her. She took the knife out, throwing it into Thailog's arm. Goliath hooked his foot around Thailog's leg and knocked him to the ground. Thailog grabbed something from his gauntlet. It was a self-injecting syringe. He jabbed it in his neck and got up.
"I discovered Talia's magic increases the effectiveness of stem cells and white blood cells. Without needing to be added." He laughed.
"Don't hold back!" Fox told Goliath.
His eyes widened as he saw who was there. He ran to the large console and haphazardly typed in something.
"Hybrids cells A, B, C, D opened." A robotic voice said.
"No, they can't all be out at once!" Sevarius cried.
The room shook as something thundered through the halls. Brooklyn and Broadway tried to stop him, but he scrambled to type another command in. They wretched him away as his hand hit the enter key. Sevarius broke free and ran out the door.
"Self-destruct sequence activated." A large timer filled the screens. 3:00, 2:59…
"Lads, we have to go!" Hudson yelled.
"It's almost done!" Lex shouted back.
"Xanatos can do without the information. The clan needs you, Talia needs us." Hudson yanked the flash drive out.
They had gotten halfway through the lab when they skidded to halt. Hudson grimaced. Lexington stared. Broadway gasped. Brooklyn growled angrily. A group of animal mutates, of all different kinds, blocked the path. Some had muscular tails, others had talons. But all of them had gargoyle wings.
Owen was now in the middle of the hall; he had gotten that far ahead. David saw him grab the bars of a cell and try to tear it off. He heard Owen growl. He pushed himself to catch up. Talia was in it. She was chained to the wall and gagged.
"Owen, Owen! Stand back! I'll get her out." He said.
Owen reluctantly stepped aside. He aimed his arm canon at the door. It was destroyed. They went inside. Talia tried to reach out to them. Owen rushed to her side and undid the gag.
"I'm here, Daddy! I want out, lemme out!" She screamed. They winced.
"Talia, shh, I'll get you out." Her adopted father ripped the shackles open.
"I'm sorry, I-" Talia leaned on him.
"It's ok, we're here." David soothed.
Owen caught her as she stumbled to him next. She tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. She was out of breath from trying to scream for help. He petted her hair. It took a bit for both of them to calm down. Owen pulled back. He knew she couldn't run. And he knew he couldn't carry her and also fight Thailog. He looked at David and let him picked her up.
Thailog swung at Goliath. Goliath caught his fist. The clone swiped at his chest. Goliath snarled and let go. The wound bleed. Fox got her katana and slashed at Thailog. The tip sliced his stomach as he moved back. Talon jumped onto Thailog's back, clawing up his back with his panther claws. Then Talon forced him down. He snarled as Talon blasted him with electricity.
Thailog grabbed his chest plate and threw it. Talon moved out of the way. Fox kicked the clone in the face. She prepared to strike. He whipped Fox's feet out from under her. Goliath tried to kick him, but he rolled out of the way. He got up again.
"WE'VE GOT TALIA!" Xanatos was carrying Talia. Owen was slightly ahead of them. He had calmed down a bit, his eyes no longer glowed. They were sprinting.
Thailog roared and charged for Xanatos. Owen couldn't stop in time. Talia sobbed loudly. Fox grabbed her katana, screaming. She jumped in the air. Her katana glowed with an electric green aura. It went through Thailog's wing and sliced his back. He screeched.
"THAILOG, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Demona yelled.
She came up from behind him and threw a punch. He stumbled to the side. Demona pivoted and faked a right hook before kicking him in the stomach. They traded blows, going deeper into the hall. Demona had the upper hand.
Xanatos led his group back through the lab. There was a countdown coming through the speakers. 29, 28… Their legs burned and their lungs hurt. Halfway through the lab, they saw Hudson, Lexington, Brooklyn and Broadway fighting mutates. Then the explosions began, one after the other. Xanatos paled as he lost count of them as they were coming closer to them with every blast.
The roof began to collapse. Fox grabbed Talia from Xanatos' arms, shielding her daughter with her magic and body. Owen curled up on the floor, protecting his head with his arms. He knew she was safe with Fox and David.
Hudson's eyes widened as he saw the explosions continuing towards them from down the hall. Thinking quickly, he covered Lexington's small frame with his own. Broadway did the same for Brooklyn. Goliath threw himself on Talon.
Explosions erupted all around them and they heard the screams of the hybrids that got buried under pieces of the roof and who were not strong enough to survive the blasts and fire.
On the other side of the building, Demona and Thailog grappled. They were next to a destroyed cell. The shackles ripped open. Thailog had gotten in a few lucky hits.
"I should have locked you up and made Macbeth kill you!" Thailog snarled.
Demona shoved him into bars of the cell. She used her talons to slash through Thailog's stomach and neck. Guts and gore spilled out. As the large gargoyle held his stomach, she advanced.
"It's time to end this." Demona growled as she leapt forward.
Before she could reach Thailog, explosions ripped through the hall. Her eyes widened in surprise as the shock wave struck her as she fell backwards.
Demona felt small pieces of debris pierce her flesh and choked on the dust going down her throat. She coughed as she fell to the ground. She felt her ribs and winced. They were broken along with her left wing. She tried to stand and she smirked at the nearly decapitated body of Thailog lying beneath her.
Next to Thailog, one of the explosives hadn't gone off but it was stuck on two, then she saw it change to one. The timer was slow! Demona began to panic as she turned to run as the explosive went off and the world went dark.
David held up rubble from the roof cave-in to protect Fox. The light from her magic shield faded. The emergency lights occasionally bathed them in red. She had done a lot of fighting and the explosions knocked her unconscious. David had to stop the roof from crushing her but he knew if he moved that the pieces would fall.
"Owen! Owen, I need you!" David shouted. His muscles began to strain from the weight of the roof.
"I'm… trapped." Puck said weakly.
A large iron plate had fallen on Puck. He was struggling to lift it, grunting in pain. He hadn't meant to transform, the explosions triggered his instincts. His leg was numb and his head was throbbing. There was even some iron in the air. It hurt to breathe.
Goliath heard Xanatos shouting for help and he began to run over. Talia crawled out and dragged Fox with her from underneath the roof. When David was sure that it was clear, he dropped the roof and it split in half on his armor before it fell to the ground.
"I have to find my clan." Goliath said as he began to search the rubble.
"Goliath, there may be some bombs that didn't go off." David advised. Goliath nodded and turned. David saw the large gash in the gargoyle leader's leg and cuts that spanned his wings and arms.
"Goliath! Goliath, Hudson's hurt!" Lexington called.
As Goliath went Lexington's aid, Broadway dug his way out. He panted as he pulled Brooklyn out. The red gargoyle hissed as his tail was jostled. It was fractured, possibly broken. Goliath had gotten Hudson and Lexington out, but his mentor was unconscious and bleeding.
Talon helped Puck get free. Puck ripped part of his sash and tied it over his face. He tried to get up, but he fell. Talia coughed loudly. It was wet sounding. Talon took the cloth and tied it around Talia's face. They heard the building rumble as some smaller explosions went off.
Xanatos picked up Fox. "We have to get out of here before it collapses completely."
Demona climbed out from under the rubble. There was red light coming from somewhere. A fire? Her head hurt. She felt her head and winced in pain as she saw her hand covered in blood.
Looking around the area, she noticed a familiar body covered in ash and debris. She crawled over, quickly cleared the debris off, and felt for a pulse. There was none. She moved closer to check again. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of death.
"Goliath." She whispered.
There was a pause as she struggled to process it.
"My love, I let you down." Demona felt her eyes water as she looked at him. "But I will kill those damn Vikings."
Demona struggled to get to her feet, gritting her teeth and growling. Her eyes burned red. She began to look for any Vikings that she could find or any gargoyles that she could save.
