Author's Notes:
… Meh. I've got nothing to say here, this time…
Disclaimer:
Iji belongs to Daniel Remar and his company, Remar Games. I claim no ownership to it, or any references found within this story.
Iji: Demimortal
Chapter 12: Tasen Elite
Iji Soundtrack: 3 Cans Later
Satuxim stumbled backwards, a blinding flash of white appearing not a foot in front of him. Quickly fading away, it revealed Iji standing there, rubbing her eyes with her free hand, apparently dazed by the light as well. "Well, seeing has how you got back here in one piece, and rather quickly at that, I take it that your scouting was a success?" "Yeah, yeah, give me a minute…" she responded, still trying to get her eyes straight. When she was ready, she relayed the information to Satuxim. "Ah. Well, I suppose that the only place left to go would be up that ledge right there. Let us move!" he said in a near yell, sprinting and jumping over to that same ledge, Iji following him after a moment.
Walking up the steps, they saw a crate and a Commander behind it. Amusingly enough, it was sitting down and leaning against it, humming a sort of tune to itself since it evidently had nothing better to do. Satuxim put a finger to him mouth, motioning for the young woman beside her to remain silent. Creeping forward, Satuxim ducked behind the crate. Crawling on top of it, he leapt over, surprising the dozing Commander, before yelling a rather humorous-sounding "Boo!" A punch to the head, followed by a resounding crack, and the Tasen was now on the floor, unconscious. "Man, I love doing that. 'S one of the very few things that never cease to be funny to me…" Iji raised a finger, about to ask a question, but Satuxim beat her to it, "Oh, and I didn't kill this guy, either." Satuxim then snapped his fingers. "Okay, you know what? Whenever I punch or kick somebody, I'll just make sure that I don't do it with lethal force so you won't have to ask about it later. How'zat sound?" Iji nodded her head, a mild blush on her face when she realized how many times she basically asked the exact same question.
At the end of the hallway that they were walking down, there was yet another Lift, and a Security Door just beyond it. Seeing no other reasonable option but to take the Lift upwards, the two rode it to whatever it's destination was. When it came to a halt, another ledge was before them. Jumping up, the two were met with a Turret, and two Scouts on either side of it. Ducking behind the crates, Satuxim gave the 'Ready set go' signal again, and the two were off, weaving in and out of the crates and staying out of sight until they came to yet another lift at the end of the room, going up it before they could notice.
When this Lift came to a halt, what they saw was yet another Security Door to their immediate left, and a Crackable box and a Terminal to the right. Going over to the box, Iji discovered that she couldn't Crack it; she needed a Crack of at least three to do it. Motioning for Satuxim to do it instead, he Cracked it to reveal a Nanofield, Iji walking over and Assimilating it before Cracking the Terminal right next to it, the text appearing overhead reading 'Security Door on Floor 14 opened'. Treading over to the other side of the room, Satuxim Cracked the Door in their way, Dan telling Iji immediately after, "Uh, Iji, you really shouldn't go in there unless you know what you're doing… A Tasen Elite patrols the room beyond, and they're called Elite for a reason." Iji, growing a bit frustrated with his brother's bossiness, and general overprotectiveness, scoffed, "I'll do what I want, okay? I don't need my little brother bossing me around!" Satuxim applauded her, saying, "You tell 'em, woman!" An angry growl ensued from Dan before the nearby com grew silent again. Hopping over to the ledge in front of them, and breaking the glass in the way, a glance down revealed what Dan was warning them about, earlier. A Tasen nearly twice both of their heights was defending the Security Door on the other end of the room. "Hmm… Are you sure we should try this, Iji? We've already opened the Door back there. This is probably completely optional-" But she was already jumping down, wanting to prove that she was strong enough to defend herself without either of the males' aid.
The Elite saw her coming, of course, and the large Nanogun in it's hands began glowing and letting out blue sparks, shouting, "Intruder!" Three large, glowing spheres shot out from it, and Iji did a forward roll, propelling herself closer and dodging them at the same time. The explosives went off at the other end of the room, leaving a rather sizable indent in the wall. Priming her Shotgun and pointing it, she pulled the trigger, making the Elite momentarily flinch before it did the same, using what appeared to be a Machinegun that fired even faster than an ordinary Scout's, or Soldier's. The Nanofield on Iji took all of them in, preventing contact with the skin, but it still knocked her back a bit. The Elite took this opportunity to charge forward, letting out a fierce kick to Iji's stomach, forcing her into the air and knocking the air out of her. She swiftly recovered, though, and tried a kick herself. A message popped into her vision; 'You need a Strength of 9 to damage a Tasen Elite.' Another kick from the Elite later, and she was on the ground, groping her stomach in pain. The Elite's weapon began to glow again, sparking blue at the end of the barrel, and when Iji looked up and noticed this, her eyes widened a bit in fear…
… Before a flash of white and black appeared, hitting the Tasen in the gut, the Nanogun it had in it's possession flying out of it's hand, and it keeled over, feeling not too dissimilar to Iji at the moment. "And not a second too soon!" Satuxim announced, picking Iji up and slinging her over his shoulder, walking over to the Security Door and cracking it before going into the teleporter, vanishing in a flash of white…