Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.
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Action
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"Grab that weapon as soon as it gets in reach."
The beetles bolted at Ivan and my command, pulling the cages forward and sending everyone and everything unsecured sliding toward the back. I hit the back bars of my cage, and the box Ivan had mentioned earlier falls through the front bars and tumbles towards me, hitting me in the chest. There's a bit of good luck there.
"When you have that, slap those lights, turn them all off, then shoot the driver."
"Rub-augh!"
Somewhere ahead of me, the driver of the other cage screams out in pain. I see him briefly tumbling on the ground between the cages, trailing shards of ice and spraying yellow blood.
I curl around the box and roll over it a little until I'm facing the cage's wooden floor. I raise my chained wrists above me as high as I can manage, pulled apart as far as possible.
"After that, shoot at my chains." "I-I don't know if I can-" "Just do it."
A whistle of air, a crack of metal, a flash of pain, a cry of alarm. My arms are free, but my right hand is screaming.
I push myself up with my left hand and glance around. The woman has her hands over her mouth. The liquilizer is sliding along the other cage's floor, and Ivan grabs it before it can slide past him. I look down at my right hand. A huge open wound runs across my wrist, frozen slightly, still bleeding.
I feel ice try to crawl its way up my spine. No, no, I need to focus. I tuck the box under my right armpit and then squeeze my right wrist with my left hand. I steal a glance back, at Elco struggling to catch up with us.
Ivan gives me a pained look as he aims for the beast.
"Finally, shoot the beetle pulling my cage." "What?"
He squeezes the handle, a spear of ice flies from the barrel of the weapon, and the cage jolts. I tumble back across the cage's floor, this time crashing into the bars in front. My body screams with pain, my wrist especially. Blood is everywhere.
"Elco wants me more than he wants you." "...That's why you want him to see us before we start."
Elco stops at my cage and leans against the bars, breathing heavily. The other cage continues along the road, Human cargo in tow.
In the most furious tone I can manage, I scream, "You son of a bitch! We were in this together, you backstabbing fuck!"
Elco yanks on the back door of the cage, which creaks and groans before giving way. The exhaustion on his face gives way to perverse glee as he steps in and approaches me.
"Did the other Humans take advantage of you, Michael?" Elco taunts as he crouches over me. "Not used to being a nobody, yeah?"
I bare my teeth and growl at the Danian. I let go of my wrist and grab the box I tucked under my arm. I flip the top open with my thumb, scoop its contents out, and brandish it at Elco. "St-stay away from me," I snap.
Elco's eyes briefly follow the ring of brown crystal I'm waving at him, and he erupts into laughter. "All out of ideas, too. That's so pathetic that it's almost-"
His eyes catch my right wrist, and he freezes. I look down as well, and I gasp as if it was the first time I had seen my injury.
"Oh," I mutter. Then I let myself slump over and start breathing rapidly. The frost on the wound is fading, and the bleeding is starting to get worse.
Elco swoops down on my and rolls me onto my back. "Shit, shit, no! You aren't getting away from me that easily!" Two of his hands wrap around the cut and squeeze while he looks around with panic in his eyes.
I grin and shudder dramatically. "Well... guess I screwed this lifetime up..." I bare my teeth and force a cough. "Two weeks... Not my shortest attempt-"
Elco's face twists with fury. "You're not dying, you little fuck." He glances at the ring of crystal I'm now holding loosely in my left hand. "Don't ever think you can escape from me," he hisses as he wrenches the ring out of my grip with his other two hands.
"You want to get caught." "We have unfinished business."
Elco closes his eyes and holds the ring to his chest. "Powers of Perim, answer my call!"
I widen my eyes and whimper, "No, please..."
The Danian ignores me. He lets go of the ring of crystal, which slowly begins to float into the air. "Make this creature the perfect servant for me!"
I grab one of Elco's wrists and weakly shake at it while forcing a sob.
A glow begins to surround Elco. He lets go of me, stands up, and holds his arms out. "Perfect this body, bone, flesh and all!"
I grab the bars of the cage and slowly pull myself to my feet. "Don't..."
Elco looks down and me and grins. A ghostly shape rises from his body and swirls into the empty space within the ring. "Visit upon it the might of you Infectious Melody!"
The ring shatters. Magical music fills the air, and blue crystalline magic begins to spread above Elco.
Elco's grin falters as I grin right back at him.
I spring up, leaping at Elco. My left hand grabs the top edge of the shell of his chest, my feet land on the shell of his stomach, and I spring off him higher, into the mass of mugical sound and light.
I'm already changing. Skin hardening, turning blue. Points of pain in my waist and forehead as arms and antennae begin to sprout. It doesn't matter, though. I can see my goal.
Descending back toward Elco is that ghostly figure. A mugician, white in body, the light drained from its form. I reach out toward it as Elco screams in rage. The mugician changes course as it brushes against my hand, and I feel a rush in my veins and a charge through my nerves as it slips into my body.
Hello again. Miss me?
I hit the ground hard. Elco bellows again and kicks me in the stomach, but I'm beyond feeling it. My mind is starting to fragment under the mugic. Being twisted to its own ends. Doesn't matter.
Elco doesn't remember everything. Prince Osiris. King Rha of the Broken Edge. Inquisitor All-Sight. Hero of the M'arrillian War. He called me a lot of names, but not the biggest one, one he would never have left out in his taunt.
He didn't call me a god... Which means he doesn't know... that someone near him... really belongs...
...to me...
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End of Act III
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Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.