After walking for what seemed like hours, the six teens were stopped by Dunal. She looked around for a moment before walking forward into a clearing. The others followed her until they reached the edge of a swamp. Near the middle of the swamp, barely visible past the trees, was a large spaceship.
She looked around, eyes careful and watching. She cautiously moved forward, turning off her holographic device. Trees thinned, but only for a few feet, before they all thickened, making a much denser forest, almost a jungle. She walked past the weird line of lifeless-ness and into the thick bog. Fog, mist and mud characterized the swamp. The ground sucked at feet, slime smeared all over everything, from vines to leaves to trees to rocks. And in the middle of it all, a large spacecraft shaped like a Kronosaurus sat. It had obviously crashed into the muck, its front half submerged in murky waters. Parts of the hull had been scratched, some of the plating ripped off from the crash. Interior plating showed, and muck swelled up around it, seeking to sink the damaged ship. Moss and some sort of green slime covered it, dripping into the lake.
"Raijiar's ship, the DreadHeart," Dunal muttered, staying well out of sight of the guards patrolling around the monstrosity.
"You all think you can help yourselves in?" She grinned. "All those guards are pansies."
"Leave it to me." Jonathan whispered. "I'll distract them. You guys go in."
"What about you?" Jasmine asked. "If they catch you..."
"You seem to be forgetting who I am..." Jonathan replied as he took off his backpack and opened it. He pulled out two handguns, which he put in his front pockets, a belt containing several throwing knives, and a holster with a scoped revolver in it. He then pulled out a somewhat large case and put his backpack back on.
"Get ready to run when you hear gunshots." He said as he ran to another tree. He continued to move from tree to tree, staying out of the guards' sights. Finally, he walked into the clearing where the guards could see him and fired several rounds at them, purposely missing to draw their attention to him instead of killing them.
The creatures stood there for a moment in shock before charging at him, spears in hand. Jonathan dashed away, firing several more rounds as he did. The others ran through the now-unguarded door. Molly pulled a handgun from her pocket and shot a few of the creatures that weren't chasing Jonathan. They dropped to the ground, but they weren't dead. They were just knocked out.
Some of the other monsters charged at her, only to stop, frozen in fear as they stared behind her. Dunal stood behind her, in battle form. She roared, scaring the crap out of the guards, who ran away as if their pants were on fire.
The Patrol Team and Jasmine were already inside. Jasmine pressed a button on the handle of her briefcase. The parts quickly started shifting around, forming a rifle. "Let's go." She said.
Several guards turned to look at them upon hearing this. She pointed the gun at them and fired several small orbs of golden light. Each one released a small explosion as it hit, killing every creature she hit with a single shot.
"What was that?" Dina asked.
"A folding plasma machine gun that I built." Jasmine replied.
She fired a few more rounds. Some of the remaining guards ran away, but a few charged at her with electrified spears and knives that had a clear gel dripping from them. Jasmine tried to shoot them, but her gun was overheated and had to cool down first. She grabbed a dagger from her pocket and stabbed one of the mutants with the spears. She stole his weapon and fought off several more with it.
Meanwhile, Jonathan led the creatures that were chasing him into a clearing. He was surrounded now, as his back was against a steep mountain. He pulled out his handguns and shot a few of them, but he ran out of ammo before he could get them all. As he reached for his revolver, one stabbed him in his right shoulder with a dagger coated in a clear gel. Jonathan stabbed the creature with one of his throwing knives, but his right arm was no longer usable. He winced and bit back a scream as the gel, which was actually a powerful acid, started eating away at his flesh. It quickly dissolved through his muscles, tendons, and even the bone, internally severing his right arm. The only thing holding it on was the remains of the skin. It eventually stopped, but his arm was destroyed now.
He pulled what looked like a small canister out of his left pocket and pressed a button on it. He dropped it onto the ground at his feet. Then he did something that froze the mutant creatures in fear.
He kicked the canister a few feet away from him. His shirt suddenly tore open as a pair of silver metal wings shot from his back. They made the boy look almost like an angel or something.
The feathered wings folded around him like a cocoon. Just as they did, the canister exploded, releasing a massive fireball that engulfed every creature in the clearing. The blast cleared to reveal that the guards had been burnt to a crisp, but Jonathan was unharmed. His wings spread once again and folded against his back. He took a strip of his torn shirt and tied it around his injured arm to hold it together and stop the bleeding, then ran back to the ship after reloading his guns, which was not easy with only one working arm.
The monsters that were attacking Jasmine and the Patrol Team had mostly been either killed or tranquilized by the time he arrived. Jasmine nearly screamed when she saw Jonathan's arm.
"I'm fine, Jas." He said. "Let's just find Todd and get out of here. Molly, you take Dina, Rupert, and Pauleen and see if you can find Todd. Jas, you and I can provide covering fire. Dunal, you can help with whichever side you want. Your choice."
"Got it." Jasmine said. She walked to a support pillar on the side of the room and hid behind it.
Dunal nodded, then spread her wings. I am on my own team now.
She turned, wings still spread, to a group of mutants behind her. The air cooled all of a sudden, red energy becoming visible as she inhaled several times. All of the monsters before her had wide eyes. Some were smart enough to take cover before she opened her mouth and fired a powerful fire cannon, roasting everything in its path and melting some of the metal plates lining the floor, walls, and ceiling. Everything was silent for a while after this.
The guards had apparently stopped attacking for now, but they needed to be ready for when they came back.
Molly and the others eventually reached the leader's room. Two guards blocked the entrance. Molly threw a small canister at them. It exploded, but instead of a fireball, it released a blinding flash. She took the opportunity of the guards being blinded to shoot them with her last two tranquilizer darts. She then put a small device on the door and pressed a button on it. She covered her ears and the device exploded, breaking the lock and opening the door. On the floor, covered in horrific injuries and crying like a baby, was a familiar green-clad boy.
"Todd!" Dina shouted out of a mix of fear and joy. She ran over to him. With some help from Pauleen, she got the injured boy to his feet and all five of them ran out of the room.
As they ran, several more of the monsters started chasing them. Jonathan and Jasmine tried to hold them off. One of them that was carrying a spear slashed Jasmine across both legs, just below her hips. The electricity from the spear caused her to collapse, the nerves in her legs completely fried by the attack.
"Jasmine!" Jonathan shouted. He shot her attacker in the back and ran over to her. She couldn't move. He was about to pick her up, but then she pointed behind him. Maltoic had caught up to them. Molly was struggling in his grip.
Jonathan got up and ran to help, but not before Maltoic clamped his jaws down on Molly's neck. She tried to scream as his fangs pierced her skin, but no noise came out. Jonathan pulled the acidic knife out of his arm and slashed Maltoic across the face. It didn't pierce very deep, but the knife sliced his eye, tearing it open along with his flesh. He would definitely be blind in that eye now.
The creature let go of her and hissed at Jonathan, but was silenced as Molly spun and slammed her metal-coated right arm into his face. He squeaked and stumbled back, fluttering his wings and trying to fly away.
Molly took advantage of this opportunity and ran to the exit while Jonathan went back to get Jasmine. He picked her up and carried her on his back, holding her arms over his shoulders as well as he could with only one arm. He was in pain from her touching his destroyed right shoulder, but he tried not to show it. Everyone ran as fast as they could, trying to get as far away from the ship as possible.
They had saved Todd, but this was still only the beginning of the adventure.