The Frontier Spark
Episode 5: Breakout
"Wait there's something in your hair." Gilgamesh said to Agatha as he noticed a glint of metal hidden under some of her hair.
"Some sort of connector from the gas system. It's kind of pretty." Agatha said as she looked at the little shiny band of metal. Burke watched for a moment as Gilgamesh briefly shot the pilot a smug look before explaining a little idea of his to Agatha. He explained how he was going to marry Agatha to spite his father. At that moment Burke took the perfect opportunity to strike back hard with some humorous retaliation.
"Wait a minute! You aren't fixing on proposing to her, are you r- I mean Gilgamesh?!" Burke said in surprise and slight anger but still catching himself before insulting the dictator's son. "God your name is so long! Anyway, ha that's rich!" Burke burst out humorously.
"Pfft hahaa! You're both so funny!" She responded, cackling with laughter.
"No wait, it looks like he's serious Agatha…" Burke trailed off calmly. "Why don't we laugh even harder?! Bwahaha!" The pilot joined in the laugh fest.
"Not funny you-whoever you are!" Gilgamesh snapped but couldn't land a solid comeback since Burke had never mentioned his name to the son of the baron.
"For me that just makes it funnier since you have no serious comeback!" Burke said with a grin under his helmet. "Ah, anonymity is just so sweet right now. So, here's some advice boy-o, quit while you're behind!"
"You just want me to marry you to annoy your father? How romantic."
"From where I'm sitting, I'd say this is comedy gold! Not as good as when my Da gets drunk and goes on a bender, but it's something!" Burke cackled loudly with laughter at the situation. Suddenly a large figure swung down from the ceiling in a swift action.
"HA-HA!" A large man bellowed as he snatched Agatha from where she stood.
"What in the -?!" Burke shouted in surprise as the man swung upwards to a support beam. "Agatha, you alright up there?!" He called out to her as she argued with the mystery man.
"Agatha, get away from him!" Gilgamesh shouted up to them.
What's the matter Wulfenbach, you and your associate didn't expect a hero to rescue a damsel from your unwelcome advances?" The large man retorted.
"They weren't unwelcome!" Gilgamesh snapped.
"Oi, big guy, get your hands off her!" Burke roared at the delusional brute.
"I'm fine, and I'm not done yelling at you yet Gilgamesh!" Agatha shouted down to the boys.
"Yes, you are. We've got to go, and he has to die!" Othar said as he drew a gun and fired at Gilgamesh.
"Hit the dirt!" Burke shouted as he dove for Gilgamesh and the shot whizzed right by his torso. Gilgamesh was briefly stunned by the fact that his own disliked rival had just saved his life. Burke was about to return fire, but Agatha beat him to it as she bit down on the delusional brute's arm.
"You… saved my life." Gilgamesh said as he exhaled from the experience.
"Don't you ever forget it." Burke said as he grappled upwards to help Agatha. Gilgamesh snapped out of his daze and chased after Burke in a race to help their mutual acquaintance. As the large man argued with Agatha, Burke swung in and kicked him in the face, knocking him off balance with a tooth falling out. Burke dropped down and swung himself upward on the other side to see Gilgamesh swinging off with Agatha. When they all landed safely on another support beam Gilgamesh released a rope, causing a massive trap to fall and knock the man straight out of the airship.
"He's fallen out of the airship! I went to all that trouble to rescue him, and you killed him!" Agatha was mortified by Gilgamesh's actions.
"Uh hello, Agatha? He was a damn psychopath!" Burke snorted to the girl.
"On that you and I can actually agree. Besides, I've seen him survive much worse. Trust me, when you get to know him better you'll want to throw him out of a window yourself." Gilgamesh deadpanned to his associates.
"I want to throw any number of people out of a window, but I control myself!" Agatha snapped to the baron's heir.
"Uh huh, forget eloping, we'll go straight to my father and he'll get us married right away. The sooner the world sees you as mine, the safer you'll be." Gilgamesh provided his reasoning on why he should get Agatha's hand in marriage.
"What is it with you two?! I am not your personal property or Othar's!" Agatha snapped to the son of the Baron. "He's the only one who has some sense around here!" She then gestured to Burke who only shrugged coolly. Though he hid a look of smugness under his visor that would betray his outward demeanor.
"He can't protect you from what's out there, he's a nobody! And you're going to be someone's personal property unless we do something now!" Gilgamesh shouted at her. "You've never been outside of Beetleburg, you don't stand a chance!"
"For the love of-! Just shut your damn mouth Gil, ya fricking moron! She said no, you stupid jerk, so take your rejection like a man! She does stand a chance, you pompous dillweed!" Burke roasted the son of the baron like he was born to do so. Gilgamesh was taken aback by the pilot's latest insult barrage and was about to respond accordingly.
'Burke.' Agatha blushed slightly at the soldier speaking the truth.
"Me, pompous?! How can you be so self-righteous?!" Gilgamesh shot back at the pilot.
"I stand up for something bigger than myself for one! What do you stand for eh?!" Burke got in his face and growled like an angry dog.
"Oh really? Then what's that little deal you have with her?!" Gilgamesh butted heads with the future soldier and pointed to Agatha.
"None of your business!" Burke snarled in fury.
"Both of you stop!" Agatha shouted in annoyance as she had enough of the petty argument. Just after that outburst, Gilgamesh was silenced by a large fist that hit him in the face. Burke had flinched backwards as Gilgamesh hit the ground unconscious. The future soldier looked to se a man and woman stand by Agatha in a calm manner.
"Was that boy bothering you dear?" The woman spoke to Agatha.
"Lilith, Adam, you hit him?" Agatha said in shock from the sudden surprise.
"He'll be fine dear. Who is he, and who is this young man?" Lilith soothed to the girl, and then gestured to both of the boys.
"That's Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, he wants me to marry him. He kind of insists." Agatha pointed to the boy on the ground then gestured to Burke who was standing up straight at what he assumed were Agatha's parents. "And that is my friend, Thomas Burke. He's been helping me try to get off this airship."
"He seems like a fine gentleman." Lilith complimented the pilot.
"Well thank ya ma'am. I couldn't have gotten this far without Agatha's help." Burke said sheepishly.
"It's time to leave." Lilith said as she scooped up Agatha and took off running.
"So, you think I shouldn't marry Gilgamesh then?" Agatha asked her the woman carrying her.
"We're leaving right now; your friend can come with us." She replied as the whole group bolted for an exit.
"How?!" Agatha shouted incredulously.
"No disrespect ma'am, but I've been trying for a while to get off this tub!" The Irish pilot said as he ran beside them.
"None taken, we've been following the castle on the ground. This sudden burst of activity, all those ships leaving, it was simple enough to commandeer one of the smaller vessels." Lilith said as she ripped open a steel door, which shocked Burke as he'd had to receive 'enhancements' and he couldn't do that. "We'll leave the same way." Lilith answered coolly.
"Uh, no offense ma'am, but… how in god's name can you rip open solid metal doors?!" Burke shouted in utter confusion at how a normal seeming person was able to rip a metal door from its hinges like it was sheet metal and staples.
"That's a secret young man." Lilith replied curtly, which left Burke slightly annoyed, but he knew better than to complain about it.
"This place is huge! How did you find me?!" Agatha asked.
"We have done this thing before dear, we just looked for the center of the chaos and there you were. We knew something like this would happen if your locket was removed." Lilith answered her in a matter-of-factly tone before griping about Agatha's locket. That immediately caught Burke's attention, and he wondered about it.
'Locket?' Burke thought curiously as he pondered the situation, there was certainly more to his new friend than he thought.
"You started to break through at an early age." Lilith said as she began to explain the locket's necessity.
"You knew I was a spark?!" Agatha shouted, clearly upset from the revelation.
"Your uncle made the locket to keep you from breaking through completely." Lilith replied.
"But, but, I was so stupid! How could you let me live like that?!" The orange haired spark cried out in in confusion.
"We were hiding you! Young sparks never survive without powerful protection!" Lilith retorted as her supposed husband carried Agatha under his hulking arm. Burke then listened to her explain the reason behind why Agatha's powers were kept in check. The whole explanation just gave Burke a rotten feeling in his gut about just how strange and backwards this version of earth was. He just tried to keep up with the three of them as they made their way to freedom. Just as Lilith was about to get to Agatha's family history, they ran into the baron and his forces. The room was tense with a deathly silence until Burke stepped forward, with a cocky attitude in his body language.
"Well we meet again baron what's your face! Figured I'd be off this tub before I ever saw you again. Here's how this is going to go, I stick around and beat the crud out of you, they go free." Burke said as he tugged on his gloves and entered a fighting stance.
"That won't be happening." The baron narrowed his eyes.
"Vait ponch? Judy?" one of the jagermonsters piped up in recognition of the two adults with the teenagers. The baron then smacked the lowly monster and ordered his subordinates to keep them out and seal the area.
"Um, no baron there's been a mistake, these are my parents Adam and Lilith Clay." Agatha chimed in.
"Punch, Judy, so you're the unfindable clays. This explains so much. But the girl, she's not your daughter." The baron said as he scrutinized the two people with the fugitives. The baron then deduced out loud that she was a member of the Heterodyne family for everyone in the room to hear. He argued with Adam and Lilith for a few more moments before Burke lost his temper at the whole ordeal.
"Oi, what am I here ya big jerk, chopped liver?!" Burke had a tick mark on his helmet in frustration.
"I'll deal with you later! I want an explanation from them!" The Baron growled at the young pilot.
That lit a fire in Burke and he was more than ready to brawl. "No way, we duke it out here! You and me, come on!" Burke said as he charged head on at the Baron. He just barely avoided a retaliating strike from the well-built older man. Burke sprung up from his sliding position to uppercut the Baron. The pilot didn't let his momentum go to waste as he grappled the ceiling and then took a shot at Von Pinn with his pistol. The clank in black blocked his rounds and then went to attack him. From there a huge fight ensued and Burke found the odds stacked against him as he took on multiple opponents at once.
Punch and Judy were surprised at the young fighter's courage when he took on all the various opponents at once. Agatha could see that her friend was either very brave or insane when he did that. Either way he was doing something few others would have the nerve to even think by themselves. She then noticed the blush on her face again as Burke kicked a clank in the face and broke its optics.
The pilot continued his stand against the Baron and his forces but was being overwhelmed by sheer number of skilled individuals in the fight. He parried a strike from Vonn Pinn and tried to take a direct blow from the baron but was knocked into a wall. Burke held his chest in pain but refused to back down. He sprinted back into the heat of battle with a loud cry of determination. Howling like a furious wolf, Burke ripped several grenades from his belt and tossed them into the crowd. He kneeled on the ground at his moment to rest. Agatha saw her friend stunned and without a moment of thought she ran to her friend and helped him to his feet.
"Burke, what were you thinking?!" Agatha shouted to her friend as she helped move to a safer spot.
"I was buying you guys time to run!" Burke said as he and Agatha witnessed Adam/Punch get ripped apart by a very angry Vonn Pinn.
"Adam!" Agatha shouted in horror as she watched the man die.
"Agatha, take your friend and go! Get to castle heterodyne!" Judy ordered to the frantic girl.
"What?! But-?!" She started to say but was unable to finish.
"We love you now run! Lilith said as she hurled the tow of them to an upper level, just before Vonn Pinn could intercept them. Burke drifted near the edge of consciousness as he was helped along by some of the group he'd been thrown to. He heard Krosp the cat king return to take charge and lead them to freedom. Agatha was happy to meet with her cousin Theo who was a part of the group of young sparks. The advanced warfighter summoned enough strength to walk on his own eventually until Vonn Pinn caught up with them. One of the group stayed behind to fight her as the others ran on ahead. Burke cursed himself at feeling so useless, and clutched his chest as it ached. Soon enough, the rest of group stopped as well to delay or convince the Baron, Burke knew that would fail but said nothing. Eventually they finally reached a small flying contraption to escape on, and waiting right beside it was that same annoying man from earlier. Before he could say anything, Burke growled angrily and punched the man who Agatha, and her cousin Theo who had joined them earlier, called Othar, square in the face.
"Ooof you broke my nose!" Othar bawled on the ground.
"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! Quit your whining you big stupid baby! I've had it through the roof today so stick a sock in it!" Burke ranted at the overtly annoying psycho.
"Remind me not to make you mad." Theo remarked at Burke's methods.
"Don't act like him and we'll get along fine. I needed that so badly, hooah!" Burke replied with a huff of triumph. Theo and Agatha said their goodbyes to each other as they started to leave the airship, bound for freedom. Burke sat down while Othar got up from his moment of pain, climbed aboard, and took the helm. Several explosion sounded off throughout the airship, and Othar mentioned his explosives. Burke didn't care though and was about fall asleep. That was until Othar pointed a weapon at Agatha to which Burke struck the psycho in his face one last time and caused him to fall off of the flying machine. Then Burke once again attempted to fall asleep and rest for a few minutes, Agatha and Krosp nodded in understanding as he did so and he shut his eyes.
-END CHAPTER-