Episode 15: Signaling Devastation – Part 3
Ethan was dazed and sickened. A second ago they had been fighting Sub-Prime and practically winning. A few seconds later, Sam was mutated and gone before they could do anything and Ashina had interrupted and destroyed a large portion of the Kraang. Now they were zipped through a portal and in a place Ethan would have guessed last.
At the beginning was places like Dimension X and the plethora of warehouses they had been to.
At the bottom would be the Statue of Liberty. Yet, there she stood in the night sky, her torch held out in her lofty hand, her crown's spires jutting out in every direction around her head like a halo. A book was slung in her hand, her whole form looking deep green in the lack of light.
"The statue of liberty is a Kraang base?" Kaela asked breathlessly. It wasn't really a question, Ethan assumed because neither he nor Jess answered it. More Kraang droids had burst from the portal behind them and nudged their backs hard with the barrel of their guns.
"The ones known as ninja's will move forward to that place, or you will be vaporized in this place by Kraang." They continued to nudge them up the side of the island until they reached a door at the base of the huge granite pedestal that held the statue up in the air. One of the Kraang moved forward and pulled open the door and immediately a gust of wind hit them, stirring Ethan's whiskers uncomfortably against his cheeks. Jess sneezed with her long snout.
Consider yourself lucky, Kaela. You don't have to deal with all of these stupid animal problems.
They walked into the dimly lit Statue of Liberty base to see a long staircase that spiraled up further and further until it vanished into the dark above them. Ethan couldn't help but feel that he was dreading the idea of moving up all those stairs. If I am going to die here, then I hope that I die from being shot and not from walking up all of those.
As they moved to the landing of the first steps, Ethan looked over at Kaela and Jess. Fear was in their eyes. Tears had welled up in Kaela's. Ethan knew she was thinking about Sam. Ethan could hardly believe it. He hardly knew the kid, but he had always been there to help – always the solution. Ethan had almost felt like he was a sort of replacement to Master Hamato in some ways. Now, who knew where he was or what was going on in his head. Ethan felt a sick sense of guilt. Somehow this felt like it was another one of his leadership blunders.
They continued up the stairs until they reached a large cement landing on a bridge that ran across the two twisting staircases. A series of the long, window-like touch screens were displayed in rows and Ethan could already see that displayed on each of them was what looked like a miniature army of Technodromes. He tried to gulp down his fear, but it didn't work.
"The portal is almost ready to be activated." One of the Kraang droids was saying as he touched one of the screens, several dials spinning on it and buttons lighting up violet and white. "The Invasion known as the Invasion of Earth is about to be initiated when the button known as the activation button is pressed by Kraang." one of them chattered away, his steel fingers spinning across the buttons on the screen.
"This is bad." Jess muttered to Ethan.
"Silence." The Kraang had heard her.
"Let us begin." The crowd of Kraang turned to the one at the center panel he reached his hand out. Ethan stared hopelessly.
"FILTHY KRAANG! HORNS UP!"
Ethan, Jess, and Kaela shrieked and grabbed each other, arms wrapped around each other, terrified by the sudden loud sound. A creature that was now all too familiar had just appeared up the stairwell. How they had not heard him before, Ethan had no idea, but he was a huge Triceratops, or – as they liked to call themselves: Triceratons.
This one had a certain madness in his eyes that Ethan was not used to. "MOVE!" Ethan yelled and he slammed his sisters to the ground just as the hulking dinosaur smashed through the Kraang, the computers shattering like glass into a thousand pieces. Some tried to escape from the walkway, but he had grabbed it by the legs and crushed it into the ground violently, his emerald-like marbled eyes glaring down with fierceness at his prey. One quickly hid it's weapon behind it's back. "Kraang?" The Triceraton asked suspiciously. He didn't wait for an answer as a second later he slapped his hands as if swatting a fly and crushed the droid's head. "Empire to victory!" The Triceraton shouted enthusiastically between loud, hacking coughs. "The beacon! It must go!"
"Did he even notice that we exist?" Jess asked as they looked at the huge Triceraton, suited in black and orange, his horns like blades sticking from his fan-like head and talon-ed mouth. Ethan didn't know the answer, but what he did know was their weapons were now lying flat on the ground.
Kaela quickly burst forward, using her ninja run to build her momentum. The Triceraton seemed to notice her, but he was too busy with destroying Kraang to care much. He ripped one's torso from its legs and hucked it over the banister to the cement floor far below. She snatched up their weapons and, turning, she threw the naginata and the two kama's. Jess snatched the weapons out of the air and gave them a good spin, a smile spreading on her face as she looped one of her fingers into the holes on the blade and gave the whole weapon a few long spins. Ethan twirled the naginata between his fingers and felt the familiar begin to take over again. "I don't know where this thing came from or if he's really our friend, but I'm game to destroying some Kraang with him." Jess said.
"I don't know." Kaela quickly added. "The Triceraton showing up can't be good. I mean – we know that they are involved with the black hole weapon."
"DESTROY THE KRAANG! START THE BEACON! THE BEACON!" The hulking beast was screaming as he made his way up the stairs, throwing Kraang in every direction as he went. Some he smashed with more violence and passion, others he simply threw out of his way with his huge, spiked hands.
"Well, let's do this." Ethan quickly followed up the stairs. Kraang were firing from every direction above them, but they were plummeting to the floor below, very few making their mark with the huge Triceraton target. Ethan, Jess, and Kaela stayed close behind him to ensure that he was shielding them with his massive body. "Around him!" Ethan dived underneath one of the beasts swinging arms the size of tree trunks and slammed his naginata into the Kraang's chest. It buzzed and went quiet.
He continued to run forward, the Triceraton now booming up the stairs behind him as Ethan cleared away more of the Kraang. Many were beginning to run in fear, their arms in the air, guns on the ground, shrieking the whole way. As Ethan slashed through another Kraang's body, he turned to take a look at what was happening behind him. Kaela and Jess were busy destroying Kraang droids, from Kaela attacking the stairwell above them, to Jess fighting ones that Ethan had missed under his arm as he fought off his own crowd. The Triceraton coughed again, but despite the sudden strange sickness about him, he continued to smash through the Kraang. One he tore from its body and swallowed it whole.
Finally, when they reached the top of the Statue of Liberty, they took a breather and looked behind them. A whole trail of Kraang carnage followed them all the way up the stairs, many being the ones that this creature had literally smashed to bits. For a split second, Ethan felt a little bad for them, but then he remembered Sub-Prime and what had happened to Sam and immediately any feeling of sadness turned to fierce anger. The huge Triceraton had stopped next to them as well. He had to be nearly three times Ethan's height and build. "Thanks." Ethan said. "I hope that we were able to help."
The Triceraton saluted him. "Yes! Sergeant Zog is grateful for any assistance in destroying the Kraang."
"Why is he talking all weird?" Jess muttered to Ethan and Kaela as the Triceraton began to cough again. Ethan shrugged. The Triceraton didn't seem to either care about her question, or hear it, because he turned and was walking away again from them. The railing led to a final staircase up into te head of Lady Liberty.
"This is really weird." Kaela said nervously as they followed after him. "When we were in the dream, those other Triceraton guys totally talked normal. There is something wrong with this Sergeant Zog guy."
"Well, this is our best clue to figuring out what is going to happen with this whole Black Hole Generator thing, so it's not like we have much of a choice." Ethan replied.
"Ethan's got a point." Jess quickly added, spinning her kama's in her hand. "Don't worry Kaela. First sign of trouble, we attack."
Kaela frowned. "You want us to attack this mountain? There is no freaking way that we would win."
Ethan put his finger to his lips to signal them to be quiet as they slowly climbed up the final staircase and into the room. The room was small and filled with glassy windows that looked out at the New York bay and the skyline that was glowing not far off shore. The hulking Triceraton was kneeling on the ground, his hands out in a small box on the ground. Ethan couldn't help but feel that he looked a little silly, crouched down on the ground like a giant boulder.
Now that he had a moment to actually breath, Ethan noticed that Sergeant Zog's uniform was torn in places, like he had been beaten up by the elements around him. How long has he been on earth. Ethan wondered suspiciously to himself. Kaela was spinning her ribbon in her hand nonchalantly, but Ethan knew that she was gearing up to attack.
Sergeant Zog picked up a large belt from the box and strung it around his middle. Almost immediately, the sound of beeping echoed in the quiet room and the side of the belt flashed with lights. Steam or some sort of gas burst from the collar of Sergeant Zog's uniform and he gave one solid, long, heaving breath. He sighed blissfully. "At last." he said quietly, more to himself than to the three. "I can . . . breath again."
"That's . . . good. I guess." Ethan said, not quite sure how to react to that. The Triceraton was ignoring him and rummaging through the box again. Ethan gave Jess and Kaela a sideways glance and shrugged his shoulders. "So, Sergeant Zog, what have you been doing on Earth? Just . . . tourism or something?" The joke immediately choked in his throat as Sergeant Zog turned and pointed one of the familiar, huge, microwave sized guns straight at his face.
The sound of energy building inside the barrel alerted Ethan immediately. "SCATTER!" The three dived out of the way as the gun went off and an amber beam shot the door behind them clean off its hinges. Ethan ducked his head as he heard the gun fire again. As he looked up from the ground where he had fallen, he noticed that Sergeant Zog was gone. "Follow him!" Ethan said, leaping back to his feet.
"I told you! I told you!" Kaela snapped. "Did either of you listen to me! No, you didn't, did you?"
"Save your gloating for latter, please!" Ethan called back as they ran across the empty room to the open safety hatch that Sergeant Zog had likely used. Ethan peered out to see that he was climbing up the side of Lady Liberty's head. He pulled something from his belt.
It looked like a giant metal diamond, power conduits glowing with amber light traced the side of machine. "No signal." Ethan heard him say to himself. "Need higher ground." He then turned and continued his hike up the side of the statue.
"Do we really have to follow him?" Jess said looking down at the ground far below them.
Sergeant Zog had already made it to Lady Liberty's head.
"Yes we are." Ethan quickly slashed his claws into the side and began to climb, making sure not to think about the tremendous drop just below him. Jess followed close behind him and then Kaela came last.
"You guys should be happy." Kaela said from below. "You guys have claws! I just have stupid human fingers." As they climbed, Ethan could see that Sergeant Zog was tinkering with the electronic. Finally, they reached the head.
Ethan used his naginata to help him get to his feet and he pointed the business end at the giant dinosaur. "Sergeant Zog! What exactly are you doing with that bomb looking thing?" He turned to glare at them with his marbled, serpent like eyes.
"It's not a bomb." Sergeant Zog said ominously, his mouth turning to a smile. "It's a signal beacon to signal the Triceraton Empire's armada to come and wipe out this Kraang infested planet."
Ethan, Jess and Kaela's mouth dropped open simultaneously. "What?" Jess snapped. Before Ethan could react, the monster's giant fist slammed into his side and he tumbled along Lady Liberty's hairline but Jess and Kaela managed to grab him before he tumbled past her crown spires to his death.
"Can't you just like, kill the Kraang in normal ways without destroying our entire planet? That's a little extreme don't you think?" Kaela cried as she threw her ribbon dart. The ribbon barely managed to reach the beacon before he wrenched it towards him and Kaela slammed into the ground, face planting on Lady Liberty's head.
Sergeant Zog turned away from them and began the climb up to the fiery torch of Lady Liberty.
"We have to stop him. Now." Ethan said, getting to his feet.
"Got it." Jess threw a volley of shurikans as the three sprinted towards him. He reached the top and slowly stood next to the glowing fake fire on the torch and he turned to look at them as they scrambled up after him.
The gun came out again and blasted down at them. Ethan felt the heat on one of the beams and flinched. "We aren't going to make it up there in time!" Jess cried up to Ethan, her green bandanna waving in the wind behind her. Ethan looked back up to see that Sergeant Zog and tossed the beacon into the air. It levitated several feet above the fake fire and began to beep like a ticking time bomb.
"Kaela!" Ethan called down to her. "Alley oop!" She threw her ribbon dart and Ethan snatched it out of the air and with all the strength he could muster, faulted her up.
The beacon gave a few last resounding beeps and then separated, blasting a wave of amber light in a 360 degree radius around it. Kaela flipped through the air and threw several shurikans. They slammed straight into the beacon, a perfect shot, and the machine exploded in a cloud of fire of purple.
"YES!" Ethan and Jess exclaimed joyfully as the pieces of the beacon fell down around them, smoking and smoldering.
Kaela landed expertly on the flame and glared down at the Triceraton. "You can't destroy our world." she said pointing her finger at Sergeant Zog accusingly.
"You fool!" he shouted back up at her. "I'll squash you!" He slammed his fist into the fire and she tumbled to the ground.
Jess and Kaela jumped up onto the railing just as he charged Kaela who tried to stand up again. She yelped and tumbled away from the charging monster. He tumbled over the edge with a yell and grabbed onto the railing, his huge body bending the metal.
"Zog!" Jess yelled. Ethan quickly helped Kaela up and followed Jess to the edge of the railing to look down at the monster that was hanging on for dear life over what was likely a five hundred foot drop. Ethan suddenly felt a horrible amount of pity for the creature. "Take our hands!" Jess and Ethan reached over the edge.
Sergeant Zog then looked up straight into their faces. "Long live the Triceraton Empire." he then let go with his massive scaly hand. The three stared in horror as he tumbled through the air and smashed into the ground.
"I can't believe that just happened." Kaela said quietly in the silence on the torch of Lady Liberty, their eyes cast down to the landing that certainly meant death for Zog. The three stood together in the wind in silence for a few moments.
Jess looked up to the night sky where stars were winking down on them with the faintest of light, competing against the lights of the city. "Do you think we stopped the beacon in time?" she asked . "I hope so." Ethan replied.
A lot had happened. Ethan's mind ran over the details again and again as they made their way the ground below. Sam was gone – who knows where. The Triceratons had revealed themselves, or at least one of them had and Ethan had a terrible feeling that the Black Hole Generator was not going to be far behind.