These Black Eyes Chapter 115: Angel Spear Four part 6, a teen titans fanfic

115. Angel Spear Four part 6

T-Minus: One Hour, fifty-four minutes..

Location: Frontline – Artillery Line

At least seven of the original data carriers are still alive...Starfire included. While the other escapees (especially the citizens) are rushed by Tamaranian artillerymen into bunkers of safety at the time being, the rest of us are marching our way in a straight line down the line of tanks and gunships positioned on the high ground. Every gun turret and every ion cannon and every starbolt amplifier is aimed directly at a huge, blue sprawl of Gordanian shield batteries erected in a ring around the Capital City of Tamaran. Though the Gordanian army has situated itself nicely in a line of defenses behind the force fields, the fact that there are rebels and freedom fighters en masse in the Capital is evident. A second battle beyond the front is taking place. And it's eating the City from the inside out.

Nearby, Tamaranians shout out commands and tanks sporadically fire huge ion blasts loudly towards the segmented sections of the battlefront.

BLAM!!!!!

"There are five layers that we have to pierce through," Katma breathily announces as we march along the line of tanks. Every red-haired native is too busy arming the weaponry and assaulting the shield batteries to pay much attention to us. "First off, we have to get a mode of transport from this artillery section. Secondly, we have to make a flight through the infantry zone...where lots of Tamaranians and Gordanians are battling as we speak. Third...there's the no man's land. It's a section of cratered landscape empty of everything except shellfire as the Tamaranians are undoubtedly attempting to lower the frequency of the shield batteries by constant, artillery bombardment. Once through the energy shield—however we're gonna accomplish that—there's the Gordanian line of defense. They've been spared battle damage for quite a while with their shield up...so crossing that barrier is going to be the hardest yet. Then finally there's the core...the Capital itself. Even though the Gordanian forces have focused on a ring of defense surrounding the City, the interior is filled to the brim with fights and brawls between the invaders and Tamaranian resistance. It may not be as thick a barrier to slice through as the Gordanian defense line, but it'll be chaotic enough to warrant caution."

I walk alongside her, nodding.

VROOOooooOOOOOoooom...

We both glance over.

Lobo cruises gently beside us on his Gordanian hoverbike. He hasn't gotten off since stealing it. "So when do we start smashing heads?"

Katma frowns. She turns around. "Your Highness."

"Y-Yes, Captain Tui?" Minnae replies.

"Is everyone assembled?"

"Everyone with the crucial data written in their blood."

"And do they know of the danger ahead of us?"

"Completely able and willing to face what's in store..."

"Hmmm...," Katma smirks slightly. "Sometimes it's easy to forget the true heroes of this day."

I blink.

The Green Lantern eyes an assault craft up ahead. It hovers low to the ground on six thrusters, contains an open back for troop and supply units, and houses two side laser cannons.

"Now if only we can persuade them to lend us a means of transport..."

"I have a better idea...," Lobo utters.

"Hmm?"

Lobo throttles ahead on his bike and comes to a stop besides the open cockpit to the vehicle. There are two Tamaranians doing last-minute checks on the hardware.

Lobo calls up to them: "Hey! Yahoos!!"

They both look down.

"H'mor li jaat?"

SWOOOOSH!! Lobo whips his chain out and slings it up wards. He bats one Tamaranian off the vehicle with the metal object—WHAP!!—and then lassos it around the second before swiftly yanking him off and onto his butt. WHUMP!!

"OOF!!"

"LOBO!!!!" Katma growls.

"Get in, sweet cakes!" Lobo cackles.

Katma shakes her fists...but Tamaranian escapees are already piling in. Followed by myself—grinning—and Minnae and Koriand'r. Katma herself reluctantly floats over and onto the cockpit.

Lobo throttles to the head of the vehicle to lead the way.

"Venduttaa threatta!!" one of the two upended pilots shouts. "Vortucal! Vortucal!! Hamniel ru fener s'rm nala!!"

Nearly three dozen Tamaranians rush over from nearby artillery units and aim glowing fists at us.

They shout orders in Tamaranian tongue most likely an equivalent of "FREEZE!"

I gulp.

"Bor'nan derakka thrye!!" one of the escapees shouts to his sisters and brethren. "Harra'k nymial b'tal!!"

A Tamaranian officer raises another starbolting wrist and frowns. "S'rmnalt kavortakun threenu! X'Hal vasaak siel benta nu rar'me!"

The escapee points at Katma. "Deveren'm cacla nul Gr'n Laant!"

The officer's green eyes narrow. He looks at Katma. "Baveratu nu??"

Katma glares. She holds up her ring finger. FLASH!!! The three-dimensional growing facsimile of a Green Lantern's power source appears."

Starbolt charging soldiers gasp and murmur. "De X'Hal....Gr'n Laant viye...."

The officer clears his throat. "Nulz seclakran Gr'n Laant ni Tam'ran a dredsuut??"

The escapee nods. "Uln..."

Silence.

The officer takes a deep breath. He motions with two fingers at the other hovering soldiers.

The Tamaranians move to give our transport easy access to the Frontline.

"N'manya thrutful ziett...," the officer says. "Jurka thretsan thriel Gord'n..."

The escapee smiles. "De X'Hal...."

The officer manages a smirk of his own. "De X'Hal!"

The escapee proudly looks at Katma. He points forward. "Vral thrielz."

Katma smiles. "Way to go..."

I sigh with relief.

Koriand'r sits up straight in her seat. Minnae fidgets beside her.

Katma takes a deep breath and throttles forward. "And here we are....the last stretch..."

FSHVVVVV!!!!

The transport cruises along on gliding thrusters.

Lobo follows behind on his hoverbike and waves at the soldiers. "Thanks a million, punks! Next time...introduce us to your subtitles!"

The officer raises his eyebrow.

And we're gone...the tanks and artillery shooting over our heads and blasting the distant path before us.

BLAM!!!

BLAM!!!!

BLAM!!

T-Minus: One Hour, fifty-one minutes.

Location: Frontline – First Hill

FSVHHHH!!!!

Katma handles the piloting instruments.

The Tamaranians grip to the sides of the open vehicle, looking all about at the battlefront. The wind across the fields blows at their red hair.

Koriand'r sits next to Minnae who sits next to me. I rest a hand back to Myrkblade's hilt behind me, keeping the weapon sheathed but still.........apprehensive.

But something is missing.

"I'm going to go have a look-see!" Lobo exclaims. VROOOOOOOM!!! He throttles ahead and his image ducks down beyond the crest of the hillside dip before us.

"V'goten freder ronnikun li'm!" a Tamaranian escapee exclaims.

"I don't get it!" Minnae nods. "Where's the battle? Where're the Gordanians? Isn't this the Frontline?"

"Hang on...," Katma remarks.

She accelerates the transport. We reach the edge of the hill and dip down. The horizon flies up and we see the extent of the valley as we rush down towards it. The fields are filled to the brim with clashing Tamaranian tanks and Gordanian hoverbikes. Starbolts and blue lasers stream back and forth over the heads of natives and invaders in close combat, forming a humongous melee of nearly five hundred thousand combating souls. The entire ground looks like a living, squirming entity from all the bodies rushing back and forth in bloody furor. Soon we're enveloped by the Sound...and the Sound is an ambient howl made up of thousands upon thousands of warcries, yells, hisses, bludgeonings, shrieks of pain, and dying breaths. The air smells like rust, and the ground beneath us becomes increasingly soggy with green and purple mayhem. It's like a whole new world comprised of the leathery body of War beneath a red and green sunset and before a ruby-red City drenched in miniature explosions and firefights.

My jaw drops.

The Tamaranians murmur prayers and exclamations to X'Hal.

As we rush down the hill, Lobo decelerates enough to hover just beside our transport and utter: "I think we're late for Happy Hour."

Katma takes a breath. She looks at her Angel Spear Bracelet.

T-Minus: One Hour, fifty minutes.

She looks up. Her green eyes narrow.

"No...we're right on time."

FSVHHHH!!! She accelerates our downhill plunge.

Lobo smirks. He throttles his hoverbike and joins us. VROOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

Katma charges her ring with a free hand.

Tamaranians all around us charge starbolts.

I glance behind me.

Minnae looks back. She wraps her arms around Koriand'r from behind. Protecting her. The little Tamaranian girl doesn't protest....trembling.

Minnae looks at me. She blinks her amber cat eyes.

'I've got her......'

I smile at the Princess. I turn around.

CHIIIING!!!

I hold Myrkblade out at ready.

I take a deep breath....two.....three.....

SWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!

The wind kicks at us and the sounds of Hell rise in a tumult as we plunge down the last lengths of the hill and glide across the field straight into the melee sea.

T-Minus: One Hour, fifty minutes.

Location: Frontline – Battlefield

SWOOOOOOOSH!!!!

The first thing we approach is a battalion of Tamaranian infantrymen hovering together and charging a starbolt attack on a nearby cluster of Gordanian melee grunts.

Katma grits her teeth and steers hard to the right.

FSSVHHH!!!!

The transport streaks around the natives at the last second, barely avoiding them.

A crumpled, smoking Tamaranian tank sits in our way now.

Katma steers back to the left.

SWOOOSH!!!

We barely miss it. Those in the back of the hover truck (myself included) have to duck as the burnt-out gun turret looms overhead.

Finally, as we enter the thickness of the chaotic battle, a line of Gordanian laser gunners stand in our way.

This time...Katma doesn't steer away.

"Up ahead!!"

The escapees shout out loud and launch a line of starbolts.

FLASH!!! FLASH!!!! FLASH!

The Gordanians hiss in confusion, look up, and promptly have their faces splattered by red-hot streams of green energy.

FLASH!!!!!

Over a dozen of the reptiles fall down. The rest are victim to Katma's throttling of the transport.

SWOOOSH-THWUMP!!!!

Bodies fly. Katma grinds the thrusters over the dead Gordanians.

A path is open ahead of us, but Gordanians start backing into our way, firing laser spears at surrounding Tamaranians.

VROOOOOOOM!!!

Lobo suddenly swings in from our side and drives his hoverbike in front of us. He twirls a pistol in one hand and steers with another. BLAM!!! He shoots off the head of one Gordanian. BLAM!! BLAM!! He shoots holes in two others. VROOOOM-WHAM!! He pivots the hoverbike and kicks another reptile out of the line of the transport. THWACK!!

"HRESSHA!!" the Gordanian hisses as he tumbles off to the side from Lobo's impact.

As we hover past him, two escapees load starbolts and pelt the grounded reptile to death. FLASH!!! FLASH!!!

And we keep moving surrounded in a sea of ear-pounding combat.

I take a deep breath. My black eyes dart around. My fingers grip tight to Myrkblade.

I see snapshot images of Tamaranians melting Gordanian chests. Gordanians gutting Tamaranian stomachs. Enemies falling dead in each other's arm. Green and purple mixing in a mad glob of rainbow death.

I try counting the bodies I see lying beneath us. But for the life of me, I can't tell who's winning or who's losing. Or if—at this point—one can determine a winner by death count. I hope to myself quite desperately that the Tamaranian generals know what they are doing. But then I remember that this is a war that the planet of Tamaran wins.

Or do they?

I look at Koriand'r...trembling in Minnae's arms.

I take a deep breath.

We are the silver bullet.........

"Threatta!!"

I look up.

An airborne squad of Gordanians appear to have found us and singled us out. They soar in, spanning five in number, and aim their laser spears.

ZAAAP!!! ZAP!!! ZAAAAAAP!!

Blue streams fly down at us.

The Tamaranians flinch.

Katma grits her teeth and holds up her power ring with one hand while driving with the other. FLASH!!!!! She produces a green shield. The lasers all splash into it.

FLASH!!! FLASH!!!!

The Gordanian squad leader hisses loudly. The fliers span out and extend their formation outside of the blocking field of the green energy. ZAAAAP!!! ZAP!!

Katma growls and concentrates, trying to widen the energy field.

But a few lasers eat through and invade the back platform of the hover truck.

Tamaranians gasp.

I hold my breath and twirl Myrkblade just right.

SWISH-CLANG!! SWOOSH-CLANG!!

I deflect the shots.

Katma glances at me.

I glance at her.

With a flick of her wrist, the Green Lantern shrinks her energy shield into a sphere...then splits it out into two tentacles that wrap around the legs of two Gordanians. She captures their momentum and flings them mercilessly in my direction.

I hold up Myrkblade....ready...

SLASH!!!!! SLASH!!!!!!

What was once two flailing Gordanian bodies turn into four pieces of meat on the other side of me with a splash of purple. Their remains flop soggily into the soiled battle field.

"HRESSHAAA!!" the last three shriek and come around angrily for another turn.

The Tamaranians stand up and face the rear with starbolts charged.

"Frakka sliy'm de X'Hal!!"

"De X'Hal!!!"

The Gordanians come in, aiming.

ZAAAP!!! ZAP!!!

I deflect the two shots.

The Tamaranians let their starbolts fly.

FLASH!!!! FLASH!!! FLASH!!

One Gordanian bites the dust, his body smoking. The other two fly low, avoid the shots, and take aim again.

VROOOOOOOOM!!!

Lobo appears—decelerating on his hoverbike and swerving over. He rams his shoulder into one low-flowing Gordanian. WHAM!!!

The reptile tumbles into the middle of a winning battle of eight Tamaranian soldiers who quickly pulverize him.

Lobo whips out his chain, spins it, and wraps it around the head of the second low-flier. The Gordanian hisses in horror as Lobo twirls his tethered body and flings him hard into the rock-hard hull of a passing tank to the left. WHACK!!! The Gordanian's body explodes in purple and quivers as Lobo yanks his chain off of him, salutes us with an undead smirk, and throttles ahead to take lead again.

Katma takes a breath and focuses on her driving.

A full line of Gordanians appear up ahead. They're firing at a cluster of Tamaranian soldiers to the far left. The defenders don't stand a chance, off guard.

"Sweep the sidewalk...," Katma grumbles. She flips open a panel and slams her fist down on a huge red button.

FFFFFFFFH-ZAP!!!!!

The laser guns on the sides of the hover transport charge up and fire explosively. Two green streams of fire sail into the Gordanian crowd and explode.

KABOOOM!!!!

Reptilian bodies go flying everywhere like organic shrapnel. A smoking crater is left of the scene.

I hear Lobo's voice laughing from his hoverbike.

I let out a shuddering breath.

CL-CLAMP!!!

I glance to my left. My eyes bulge.

A Gordanian has landed on the side of the hover truck. He hisses and stabs his staff down at into a Tamaranian's skull.

I lunge over.

SWOOOOSH!!! With Myrkblade jamming forward by two hands, I position the blade so close above the Tamaranian's head that I actually rip a few strands of red follicles. Myrkblade is in just the right position to serrate the entire length of the plunging, Gordanian spear. The staff literally splits in two around the Tamaranian's head, and soon the reptile realizes that it has no weapon.

"HRESSH!!!"

SLASH!!!

And now it won't be able to realize that it has no head.

I grit my teeth and kick the headless carcass off.

Tamaranian escapees around me cheer.

"HRESSHA!!!"

'Behind you, Mr. Noir!!'

"!!!"

I spin around.

WHUMP!!

Two Gordanians are pushing down on me, drooling. They've jumped in from the other side of the truck as I was slaying their brethren.

I wince and struggle to get loose from reptilian pressure.

A laser spear aims at my skull.

I sweat.

FLASH!!!!

A nearby Tamaranian escapee flings a starbolt into one of the attacker's face.

"HRESSSSH!!" The Gordanian reels, clutching its cranium.

I grit my teeth and headbutt his melting forehead.

THWUMP!!!

The creature stumbles back.

The second Gordanian hisses and whips out a futuristic grenade.

"Hakka'm threatta!!"

Katma spins around in her seat and extends her right hand.

FLASH!!!! A green lasso wraps around the Gordanian's torso.

YANK!!!

She pulls him up high into the air with a whiplike motion, but not before he drops the live grenade.

The Tamaranians gasp.

I jump to my feet, twirl Myrkblade, and bat the grenade like at a home run derby.

CLANK!!!

The grenade sails into a Gordanian on a hoverbike.

BOOOOM!!!!

Purple body parts splatter the hull of the hoverbike, which smokes and grinds into the ground besides a pair of battling infantrymen.

SWOOOSH!!

Katma flings the Gordanian victim high up into the air...where he his miraculously struck dead on by one of the shellings from the line of Tamaranian artillery.

BLAM!!! SPLORCH!!

Other streams of focused ion pulses rocket towards the energy batteries that appear closer and closer.

BLAM!! BLAM!!!! BLAM!!!

"They're not punching through!!" Lobo shouts from beside us on his hoverbike.

"We're going through that shield one way or another!!" Katma shouts, and as she does so she's already punching the red button.

ZAAAAAAAP!!!!

A Gordanian troop carrier before us explodes in a huge plume of fire. Two low-flying Tamaranians cheer at us with waving hands as they join a company engaging hand-to-hand with a cluster of Gordanians on the right. Katma drives us through what's left of the exploded troop vessel.

I pant. I spin around...three hundred and sixty degrees.

I see nothing but writhing bodies, flying streams of energy, and explosions.

We are officially in the center of the Frontline battle. Tamaranian and Gordanian bodies surround us. Tanks are burnt out and hoverbikes lie, abandoned. The bodies are piled higher. The ground is wetter.

I pant.

Cries behind us.

I turn around.

Five Gordanians team up on a lone Tamaranian soldier. The redheaded defender flings his last starbolt before he is impaled to death and imploded by laser spears. Green flies up from his riddled body.

An escapee in the back of the vehicle lets out a cry and madly tries to scramble out of the truck and wreak vengeance. Two others hold him down with strong arms around his shoulders. He wrestles and screams in frustration.

Minnae bites her lip. She then looks up. "Uh oh...."

"????" I look at her.

In the middle of a war this bloody, it has to be pretty serious for someone to say 'uh oh'......

I glance directly upwards.

My black eyes widen under my visor.

Three Gordanian dropships have managed to pierce through the anti-air of the artillery line and are flying in. They swoop down and drop bombshells in a stream. Explosions follow along on the ground, sending Gordanian and Tamaranian bodies alike flying apart.

Boom! BOOM! BOOM!!

"Hakla thriel!!" an escapee shouts.

Every Tamaranian in the back of the car launches starbolts—even at long range—at the incoming fliers.

FLASH!!! FLASH!!!!! FL-FL-FL-FLASH!!! FLASH!!!

But the starbolts merely bounce off the distant hulls of the craft. They keep flying closer and closer. And the exploding shells fall and impact nearer and nearer.

BOOOM!!! BOOOM!! BOOM!

"Hakla fraksu de X'Hal!!"

FLASH!!! FLASH!!

"No, morons!!" Lobo shouts as he parks the hoverbike momentarily and aims two uzzis at the incoming craft. "Aim for the payloads!! Aim for the payloads!!"

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!

Bullets ricochet off the shells in mid-air. They start to gradually explode before hitting the ground, saving the necks of scores of Tamaranians fighting close to us.

BOOM!!! KABOOM!!

The Tamaranians in the back—as well as nearby soldiers in general—get the idea and follow Lobo's lead.

FLASH!!! FLASH!!! FLASH!!!

Starbolts and laser blasts stream in, exploding eighty-percent of the explosives in midair.....ninety percent...

Lobo suddenly squints his eye, aims carefully at the first craft, and fires.

BANG!!!!

A single bullet hits a payload before it even drops from the low-flying dropship.

BOOOOOM!!!!

The Gordanian ship shudders in mid-air as a shockwave runs through it, then a chain reaction of multiple shells within the payload exploding.

B-B-B-B-B-BOOOOOM!!!

The entire right half of the ship explodes in a huge fireball. The remaining in-tact thrusters spiral the ship off balance and it spirals into the second dropship.

SHATTER!!!!

The second vessel 'implodes' from the impact and both flaming hulks of metal spin into the ground in the center of a contingent of Gordanians who had ironically survived by the previous shelling eliminating most of the Tamaranians in the distant area.

KABOOOOOOOM!!!!

Reptilian bodies fly over a hundred feet into the air and litter the battlefield.

A loud tumult of cheers fill the air. Tamaranian tongue.

"HA!!" Lobo shouts and blows the smoke out from the barrels of his uzzis. "Back at ya, assholes!!"

"Don't celebrate yet!!" Katma shouts.

SWOOOOOSH!!

The third and final dropship sails through the smoke. Its gun turrets glow red like a pair of angry eyes and let loose phaser pulses.

BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!

The blasts sail into the ground in a stream and form craters all around us, barely missing the transport.

The Tamaranians and I wince.

"Think you made them mad?" Katma grumbles.

"Hell yeah!" Lobo throttles his hoverbike into gear and drives off to face the slowly-turning dropship. "Hey!! Come back here, coward!! You want a piece of the Main Man?!"

"Lobo! Stick close! Stick cl----dammit!!"

I momentarily consider hopping out and nabbing the undead mercenary when I suddenly hear a stampede like sound from our right. In fact, we all hear it.

Everyone—Katma included—glances over at the side of the battlefield.

Tamaranian bodies out of the fighting crowd suddenly go flying every which way into the air. SWOOOSH!! SWOOOSH!!!

An escapee amongst us gasps. "X'Hal...."

Minnae narrows her eyes. A beat. She gets a mental reading and gasps. "Not another one!!"

I look at her. I look back at the scene.

"Another one what?!?!" Katma remarks while driving.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! STOMP!! STOMP!! STOMP!!!

Tamaranians are knocked left and right and reptiles triumphantly cheer as a Gordanian Rook bounds out of the crowd—wounded and burnt in many places—and charges in our direction. With beady red eyes of bloodlust, it shrieks a warcry and attacks anything amber-skinned and redhaired in sight.

As it turns out, our hover truck is full of that.

I gulp.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!" Katma shouts. She desperately flings a huge block of green energy at the giant, reptilian beast.

FLASH!!!!

The Rook easily bounds through it.

SMASH!!!

"HRESSSSHSAAAAA!!!!"

Stomp! STOMP!! STOMP!!!

Koriand'r clutches to Minnae.

I uselessly stab Myrkblade into the incoming forehead.

CLANK!!

WHAM!!!!!!

The escapees shriek.

The hover truck overturns.

Katma flies out of the driver's seat.

I gasp at the momentum. It's too much for us to simply turn sideways...

So as our left side hits the ground, I grab every fallen escapee that I can by their limbs and drag them inward.

CLUMP!!!!!

The world turns dark as the hover truck turns over completely and all of us are trapped underneath the inverted bed at the same time.

A breath...then...

SWOOOSH!!!

The truck lifts off us and the vehicle settles violently on it's right side beyond our bodies.

Everyone pants, their bodies numb.

I immediately jump up. I look around.

The Gordanian rook stomps around mercilessly beyond the truck, judging by its footsteps and hissing. Katma is nowhere to be scene. I glance right---

ZAAAP!! ZAP!! ZAAAAAAP!!!

A solid wall of blue lasers soar at us as a line of over twenty Gordanians rush in—unbroken—with spears aimed.

I gasp and fling Myrkblade about in a blurring fan, blocking most streams.

But not all...

ZAAAP!! ZAAAP!!

THUNK!!! A Tamaranian is shot in the leg. Green splatters. He grabs it, wailing in pain.

THUNK!!!!! Another escapee is hit in the heart and dies instantly.

"Bavratta'm!!!!!!" a female escapee shrieks.

"S'dladda vrala vienze kun!!" Katma's voice shouts a command from...somewhere.

Minnae, Koriand'r, and the surviving escapees drag the leg-wounded Tamaranian with them as they rush to the side of the hovertruck shielded from the incoming Gordanians. Some of them provide starbolt cover fire while I block incoming strings. The one female—however—is kneeling by the dead escapee's side and desperately trying to revive his dead corpse.

I linger on the top of the overturned hover transport. I look at her, sweating. I whistle and point towards the safe side.

She ignores me. She clutches the dead body to her chest. She sobs...wails. "Bavratta'm!!! Finuhli thrul ni X'Hal!! Ni X'Hal!!!!!"

I whistle again.

The Gordanians rush in.

"HRESSSH!!!"

ZAAP!! ZAP!!

TH-THUNK!!!

The woman shrieks as she's burned alive by lasers. Her body slumps down—smoking—and joins the fallen comrade.

I grit my teeth and dive onto the safe side of the truck just in time to avoid a volley of blue energy.

ZAAP!! ZAP!!

I land on the other side...crouching with my back to the crumpled vehicle. The Tamaranians huddle with me. The wounded one continues wailing in pain, being tended two by a female escapee with what looks like an alien first aid kit.

I glance straight up...expecting a Gordanian to vault over at any time along with the rest of the pack. I grip Myrkblade with sweaty palms.

"De X'Hal!!!"

"DE X'HAL!!!"

Thirty fresh Tamaranian soldiers rush in on the flyby and streak over our truck...over our heads. I hear the exploding sounds of combat between them and the incoming Gordanians.

I exhale.

"Where's Captain Tui?!?!" Minnae shouts with Koriand'r in her hold.

I subconsciously hand sign: 'I don't know'. I look around.

I finally spot her. The Green Lantern is holding up a green shield of energy and blocking laser streams from a huge fight going on forty feet from us. Gordanians fall from starbolts while—at the same time—the Gordanian Rook barrels through Tamaranian infantrymen...hissing madly and tossing screaming bodies high into the air. "HRESSSSSHA!!!!"

"Dammit...why can't they go EXTINCT?!?!" Katma shouts while blocking the incoming fire. "We need another transport!! I wish Lobo would get his ass over here!!"

I summon up courage, jump up to my feet, and rush out into the fray.

'Mr. Noir!!'

I turn around and point at Minnae where she is.

Watch Starfire!!

'Okay!!'

I blur into a nearby cluster of advancing Gordanians.

They hiss and fire at me.

ZAAP!!!

ZAP!!

ZAAAAP!!

I grit my teeth and deflect each shot.

CLANG!! CLANG!!

I reach them with a spin and a high slash of Myrkblade.

SWISH!!! SWISH!!

A head falls off, another's throat is slit.

I kneel and jab down low at the last of the three.

CHUNK!!!!

I rip into his groin.

"HRESSSSHAAAA!!"

I yank up hard.

RIIIIIIIP!!!!

A purple stream flies up into his bowels.

I yank out with a clump of guts entangled around Myrkblade. I shake the entrails off and spin the blade back to slash the Gordanian's throat.

The creature falls down dead.

I pant and look Tamarnians in the middle of battle pant and look at me. A beat. They look at the dead bodies. A beat. They cheer.

"Vranna Dredsite!!"

"Brakka de X'Hal!! Ha ha ha ha!!!"

I simper.

WHAM!!!

A Gordanian spear clips my head from behind.

"Gord'n trorfarker!!!"

FLASH!!! FLASH!!!

Starbolts fly over my downed figure and pelt the reptile to death.

I grit my teeth and vault to my feet. Just in time.

A Gordanian flies down with a jetpack.

I sidestep, twirl, and slash downward.

SL-SLINK!!!!

The reptile's legs come off in a purple spray.

Laughably, the shredded torso of the creature sails off on the jetpack before bloodily careening into the earth. Its body is soon shredded apart by the low-to-ground thrusters of an incoming Tamaranian tank. Its turret aims dangerously close to my body and glows.

I gasp. I dive out of the way.

BLAM!!!!!

The ion pulse soars past me...and into the body of the Gordanian Rook.

WHAM!!!!

"HRESSSSSHA!!!!" the creature's rock-hard hide smokes. It snarls and bats two Tamaranians away before charging the tank like a bull.

The turret glows again.

The Rook rushes in, waving its scaley arms and shrieking.

BLAM!!!

The turret fires.

The Rook angrily deflects the blast and comes in with a fist.

WHANG!!!!!!

The surface of the tank is dented immediately.

"HRESSSHA!!!!"

The Rook grabs the lower portion by the thrusters and upends the tank.

THWUMP!!!

"HRESSSSSSHA!!!!!"

WHANG!! WHANG!! WHANG!! The Rook mercilessly pummels the metal hull of the war vehicle.

I take a breath and rush towards the creature with Myrkblade.

The thing growls at the last second and backhands me massively.

SMACK!!!

I fly twenty feet in the air and tumble across the battlefield, rolling off two dead bodies.

I groan.

"Heads up!!!" Katma shouts.

I look up.

I gasp.

The gunship is swooping down at us again.

Firing.

BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!

The hot streams of phaser fire zero in on the overturned truck.

Minnae shrieks and runs off with Koriand'r in tow.

The other escapees shout out and fly every which way.

BLAM!!!!!!!!!

What's left of the hover truck explodes in flames and shrapnel.

I shield my face from the brightness of the blast. I stand up, teeth clenched.

Shit!!!

I hear cries. Minnae's cries. Koriand'r's cries.

I look around, panting.

All I see are foreign aliens fighting, hand to hand. Explosions. Blood. A huge scaley beast pounding into a tank.

But no signs of anyone...anyONE.

SHIT!!!

I hear Koriand'r's cries again.

I twirl Myrkblade and run in the direction of the sound--

WHAM!!!

A Gordanian body sails into me via jetpack.

I roll along the ground, grunting. I jump up—snarl—and slash blindly at the body.

SLIIINK!!!

A now-armless Gordanian hisses in pain.

WHAM!!

I kick him in the face and move on.

I rush down a narrow avenue formed between two fighting groups of infantrymen.

More cries.

I look to my left.

There's a smoking piece of one of the downed Gunship's wings. A petite Tamaranian girl is huddling underneath it, trembling.

There's sixty feet between us.

I hold my breath.

I rush towards her.

SWOOOSH!! "HRESSSHA!!!" Two flying Gordanians rush towards me.

I leap, blur, and half-teleport through them with a spinning slash.

Purple liquid flies into the air. Maybe I'm only grazing them. Maybe I lopped off a limb.

I don't care.

Forty feet.

My black eyes are on Koriand'r.

A Tamaranian Tank careens through. RUMMMMBLE!!!

I hold my breath and dive forward, ending in a roll that barely streaks past the hulking vehicle.

I jump to my feet and continue springint.

Twenty feet.

A Tamaranian body falls dead in front of me.

I leap over the carcass.

The Gordanian that has killed him flies up from behind me via jetpack and snatches my shoulders.

I grunt, put pressure on his weight, flip my lower body up, saddle his neck, and stab straight down through his helmet and skull with Myrkblade. I yank forward, ripping the head off like it was a cork to a bottle. CRACK!!!!

The body falls to the ground.

I flip off, land on my feet, and rush towards Koriand'r.

Ten feet.

She looks up at me.

Her green eyes widen and she smiles.

I smile...

STOMP!!! STOMP!! STOMP!!!!

The same damn Rook rushes over and shakes its head...disoriented by too many starbolts to the skull. It stands dangerously close to a frightened, shrieking Koriand'r. At the sound of the girl's cries, the massive creature looks down. It grabs the metal wing and effortlessly flips it off.

Koriand'r scrunches back on all fours, panting.

"HRESSHA!!!" the Rook reaches for her.

SWOOOSH!!! SLASH!!!! I dive in, standing between it and Starfire and swinging Myrkblade up into its wrist.

CLANK!!!

The Rook grabs its arm and shrieks in surprise. It glares down at me, drooling.

I stand before Koriand'r. I grit my teeth angrily as smoke pours down from underneath my visor.

Not today, shitbrains......

"HRESSSHAA!!!"

The creature marches towards me.

STOMP!! STOMP!!

It flings its fist down.

SWOOOOSH!!

I charge murk explosively and let out a silent scream as I meet his punch with the broadside of my blade.

FLASH!!!!!

Smoke pours down all around me. I anchor to the ground and resist the force of the huge scaley fist. A temporary shield of obsidian.

Little Koriand'r winces.

"HRESSSHA!!!!" The Rook shouts in frustration and pushes against me.

I grit my teeth...straining to maintain the warbling murk shield. My feet grind trenches in the earth as I'm shoved back

The huge lizard hisses and raises both fists.

I lower my blade, take a breath, and roll to the side.

SM-SMACK!!!

The rook's hands slam into the earth.

I jump up. I run at his side.

The creature hisses and swings its arm at me.

I dive beneath the swing, roll, and end in a crouch beside its leg...which I stab with a pulse of murk.

SWOOOSH!!!

THUNK!!!

So much smoke energy courses through my sword that I actually produce blood this time.

"HRESHAAAAAAA!" the hulking beasts lifts its bleeding leg to squash me.

I pulse murk through my legs and vault upwards.

SLAM!!!!

I fly up past its foot, flip in the air, and land on his back.

"!!!!"

I straddle the Rook's neck with my legs and raise Myrkblade. My teeth grit. I stab down.

CLANK!!!!

Sparks literally fly from my wooden blade against his leathery scalp.

"HRESHHHAAAARESH!!!!!!" the rook stomps about madly and tries to reach up and fling me off.

I struggle to stay on and stab repeatedly into the creature's skin.

CLANK!!! CLANK!!! CLANK!!!

Finally, the rook bends down low and grabs me by the pelvis.

I gasp.

SWOOOOSH!!!!

He flings me off.

THWUMP!!!

I land in a tumble besides Koriand'r....wincing.

STOMP!! STOMP!! STOMP!!

It comes at us.

I gasp. I grab Koriand'r by her wrist and roll away with her.

THOMP!!!!

The Rook's foot slams through where we once were.

I pulse murk through my arms and literally toss the girl high into the air.

She gasps and floats safely, a few feet off. She wrings her finger and watches....

"HRESSHA!!!!!"

The Rook snaps its jaws down at me.

SWOOOSH!!

I teleport on a carpet of murk and solidify behind him. I slash repeatedly at his backside.

CLANK!! CL-CLANK!!

The Rook swings around with a fist.

I duck it, roll to the side, and raise my blade just in time to meet his next swing with a shield of murk.

SLAM!!!!

But the impact is too great this time. I tumble backwards. Myrkblade tumbles out of my grasp against the earth.

CLACK!!!

I struggle to get up--

CLAMP!!!!

My breath leaves me.

The rook's left foot is pinning me to the ground.

It leans over and drools, its beady eyes glaring. A snakelike tongue slithers along its razor-sharp jaws and then its mouth lunges at me.

I wince...

FLASH!!!!

A starbolt sails into the monster's face, blinding it.

"HRESSHHHA!!!"

The rook steps off of me and clutches its smoking optics.

I sit up, panting.

I look to my side...up a bit.

Koriand'r hovers above me. A hand outstretched. Glowing.

She pants and looks at me.

I blink under my visor....I smile slightly.

STOMP!! STOMP!! STOMP!!

The rook bounds around, clutching its head.

I rush over, pick up Myrkblade, and stand up beside Koriand'r.

A humming sound...

I look to my right.

The dropship flies by again, but this time it's lower to the ground and seems to be snagged by something. There's a thick metal chain wrapped around its left thrusters. And holding onto the other side of the chain is a struggling Lobo riding his hoverbike...which is presently being dragged at an awkward angle across the bloody, explosive battlefield.

"Frag it....Frag it....Frag it....FRAG IT!!!" the undead merc growls. "Be a good kite and fly into a damned tree already!!"

I whistle.

Lobo looks my way.

I point at the Rook.

"Just what I'm looking for!! A paperweight!!" Lobo swerves hard on the hoverbike with one hand while hanging onto the chain with the other. He produces some slack by driving over to the Rook, hopping off the bike, saddling the creature, and tying his end of the chain around his neck. "Trust me! It looks good on you." He hops off, picks his bike back up, and drives back into battle.

"HRESSH???" the Rook fondles the dangling slack of chain around its neck.

SWOOOOOOOSH!!!

The dropship flies overhead.

The chain goes taut.

Then.

YANK!!!

"HRESSSSHAAAA—URKKKK!!!"

The Rook clutches its neck desperately as its dragged across the battlefield, squashing through three victim Gordanians, and smacking another Gordanian off of a hoverbike—which goes flying off and tumbling onto the ground.

The dropship lurches heavily to the side with the anchored weight of the Rook.

The creature grinds its scaley heels into the earth and pulls at the chain, growling.

The dropship yanks still and tries desperately to fly away.

The Rook struggles and struggles to get itself free.

A Tamaranian streaks by and flings a dead Gordanian's carcass into its chest, plowing the creature over.

WHAM!!!

"HRESSH—URK!!!" the creature struggles for breath again, now that it lies on its back.

And just then, Lobo rides over on his hoverbike. He parks, hops off, and whips out a grenade.

"Dr. Lobo at your service, sir...," he yanks the clip off with his teeth, rushes up the Rook's belly, and tosses the explosive down the monster's gasping throat. "Open wide for your fraggin' vitamin!!"

Lobo jumps off.

Just in time too.

BOOOOM!!!!

PLOW!!! The Rook's stomach literally explodes outward from inside its chest. Purple sprays the air like rain. The Rook would be howling in pain, if only its lungs hadn't dropped out and tumbled naked and glistening onto the ground.

YANK!!!!!

With a fraction of the Rook's carcass' body weight gone, the dropship with its blaring thrusters manage to lurch ahead forty feet or so before the rest of the 'anchor' grinds into the ground and finally sets the ship off balance. With the chain taut, the dropship curves and dives straight into the rock-hard battlefield.

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

Gordanian bodies fly in a ring around a huge plume of erupting flame.

"Exercise twice a day and eat your guacamole!" Lobo smirks as he mounts his hoverbike again. He revs the engine. "Cuz that's all your stomach is now!! Guacamole!! HA!!"

VROOOOOM!!!

He swerves around and...comes straight at me.

My eyes twitch.

WHUMP!!! SWOOOSH!!

He forcibly grabs me and flings me—tumbling—towards the other unmanned hoverbike lying on its side a few feet away. Koriand'r flies over and hovers over me. We both look at Lobo as he throttles by.

"Get on and drive!!" he exclaims. "It's the only way you'll stay alive! Trust me!!"

He rockets down between rows of fighting, combating aliens.

I hold my breath. I rush over. I turn the vehicle upright. Rather awkwardly...I get on it...gripping the handles.

Koriand'r gets the idea, and she flies over and settles herself on the seat behind me.

I look down. I kick at a lever beneath me.

VROOOOM!!!!!

The thrusters of the bike go off.

Koriand'r and I lurch forward.

I gasp.

She shrieks and clutches to me hard with her arms around my waist.

I grit my teeth and expect for us to fall over, unbalanced. And then I realize that some thruster system in the vehicle itself is causing me to stay upright for an inexperienced biker. I actually smile...

"See?! Easy as pie!! Follow my lead!!" Lobo shouts.

I throttle forward.

VROOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Koriand'r and I streak past battling Tamaranians and Gordanians as we pursue the undead mercenary. Fallen tanks and flaming patches of ground rush down our left and right sides. Shellfire zooms over us and splash into the energy field ahead.

BLAM!!! BLAM!!

Lobo whips a pistol out in one hand and takes potshots at flying Gordanians along the path.

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!!

Bulletholes splash purple from the throats and chests of the jetpacking fiends. Their bodies tumble from Lobo's punishment.

I swerve the hoverbike awkwardly, avoiding each tumbling carcass.

TH-THUMP!!

WHUMP!!!

Suddenly, a huge line of Gordanians loom ahead of us. Lobo swerves hard to the right and drives past their line as lasers fire.

ZAAAAP!!! ZAAP!! ZAAAAAAAP!!!

I'm not so good at swerving. I duck my head down low. Koriand'r does the same.

ZAAAAAP!!

Blue lasers streak over us.

I throttle forward.

VROOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"HRESSSHAAAA!!"

TH-TH-THWUMP!!!

We plow through the line, three bodies flying off like ragdolls.

Gordanians turn and fire at us.

ZAAAP!! ZAP!!

Koriand'r gasps as the lasers come near.

VROOOOM!!

Lobo swerves over directly behind us. He spins out a shotgun and fires once.

BLAM!!!!!

The shot sprays through the lasers and riddle the bodies of four Gordanians at once with its massive stream of lead.

Lobo spins his shotgun, pumps it with one hand, and spins it back in time to aim......at us.

"Down in front!!"

I gasp and swerve us out of the sway of the shotgun barrel...just in time to give Lobo open view of two incoming Gordanian biker that I didn't know were there.

BLAM!!!!

The first biker takes the load of the bullet spray. He bloodily flies off his bike and into the seat of the second driver, causing both of the Gordanians and their hoverbikes to collapse and tumble across the bloody ground.

VROOOOOOOM!!!!

Lobo and I swerve around the mess and proceed forward.

I pant.

I look around.

'Mr. Noir??'

I gasp.

'Where are you?!?!?!'

I'm going for a drive.

'What?!?!'

More importantly, where are you?! I have Lobo and Koriand'r safely with me.........for now.

'I'm all alone!! But I see Captain Tui!! I can't be too far from her!'

And where do you see Katma?!?!

'Look for her green energy!!'

I grit my teeth.

We're in the middle of a battlefield, your highness!! How's that gonna help---

FLASH!!!!!

Nine—count 'em—nine Gordanian bodies tumble high into the air from the sweep of a huge, green axe to our left.

My jaw drops.

A beat.

Never mind............

'W-Would it be ever too much trouble that you come by and.........er......SAVE ME?!?!'

On it!! Don't sweat, Minnae!

I motion for Lobo to follow and swerve left towards the green explosions.

"Heh...," Lobo smirks. "A detour I can do."

VROOOOOOOM!!!!

I accelerate through the thickness of the battle. With last-second swerves, Lobo and I steer madly around tumbling Tamaranians and Gordanians alike. We have no time to stop and help every single soldier. Koriand'r trembles into my back the whole way.

Four Gordanians block our path to where the battling Katma has to be.

Lobo fires over my shoulder with a pistol.

BANG!! BANG!!

Two drop.

The others hiss and rush me.

I grit my teeth.

Lobo is reloading. "I can't take them all down, Squirrel! You gotta help!!"

The Gordanians raise their spears.

I exhale.

CHIIIIING!!!!

I hold Myrkblade out with my right hand while steering with my metal one. I wooden blade cuts through the air, whistling.

"HRESSHAAAA!!!"

ZAAAP!! ZAAP!!

I swerve around both lasers. I twirl Myrkblade, let out a silent yell and swing the weapon in a merciless uppercut.

SLASSSSH!!!

I rip clean through the torso of the Gordanian on the right. Whatever's left of him sloshes over the second one. Both body masses go sprawling.

VROOOOOOOOM!!!

Lobo and I speed ahead.

We reach a circle of Gordanians, obviously circling a very fierce Green Lantern warrior.

"RAAAAAUGH!!!!" Katma shouts out loud and flings green maces, axes, and spears left and right.

FLASH!!! FLASH!! FLASH!!!

I swerve on the bike so that Koriand'r and I screech in...sideways.

WH-WHUMP!!!

We knock down two Gordanians with our bike alone.

SLASSSSH!!!

I slice off the head of one in the line ahead of me.

SWOOOOSH!!!

Koriand'r ducks as I swing backwards and slit the throat of another behind me.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!

Lobo has his uzzi out as he rides in.

Five more Gordanians drop, riddled purple with bulletfire.

"YAAAAUGH!!!" Katma—sweaty and with her dark hair stringy—takes advantage of her allies' surprise entrance by smashing the distracted Gordanians to bits with a huge, green hammer. She pants and looks at us from where she hovers. "Tell me you have at least ONE escapee with you!!"

Lobo smirks and points at Koriand'r. "Well...we can do 'one'!"

Koriand'r and I simper.

"You have the fastest transportation! You must take the one carrying the data to the Capital!!"

"Where're the others, Sweet Cakes??"

"Scattered and unaccounted for!!" Katma growls. She produces a huge whip of green energy out of her ring and slashes at attacking Gordanians on her flank while managing to speak. "It'll take too long to try and find them all!! At least one must get through!! And you have one!!"

"Yeah...lucky us."

"As Angel Spears, we must combine our efforts and get her through!!"

I look over my shoulder.

Little Koriand'r gulps.

I look ahead. I stab Myrkblade into the ground right beside my bike. With my hands free, I gesture 'cat whiskers' with my fingers.

"Minnae?!?!" Katma utters. She points over with one, sweaty arm. "Over there!! Besides the dead tank!! Take her! She's helpless on her own!"

"What about the badass cat?!?!"

"JUST TAKE HER!!" Katma shouts and decapitates at Gordanian with her 'whip'. "Break on through the barrier!!"

"And the shield batteries!"

"I'll find a way to get you four through!! I promise!! Just GO!!! RAAAUGH!!" she hovers into battle. Her green aura disappears amidst the chaos and entangling bodies of combatants.

I take a breath. I yank Myrkblade out of the earth and hold it tight.

"YEEK!!" PLOP!

I glance over and see Minnae forced onto the back of the seat of Lobo's bike, behind him.

"Sorry, but I ain't got a cushion...princess."

"Q-Quite allright," the immaculate girl trembles. "Anywhere has got to be safer than he—"

VROOOOOOOOM!!!!

"ACKIES!!" Minnae shrieks and clutches onto Lobo as he throttles ahead of me.

I hold my breath and Koriand'r holds tighter as I kick us into gear and follow closely behind.

VROOOOOM!!!

Again, we're streaking past hand-to-hand combat and underneath flying aliens.

I don't realize how far we've progressed until I notice something...

The number of Gordanians on the battlefield are increasing.

"HRESSHAAA!!!" four rush up from a battalion and fire.

ZAAAP!! ZAP!!! ZAAAAAAAP!!!

Minnae shrieks as lasers bounce off Lobo's bike.

"Shut your yapping!!!!........your highness," Lobo coughs. He whips out a pistol and shoots off a Gordanian's head with one pull of the trigger.

BLAM!!!

SPLORCH!!!

The others shriek cowardly and dive to the floor...trembling.

I raise my eyebrow at that. I realize that these are fresh recruits.

Meaning...

I glance behind my shoulder and see the field of battle stretching long and hard behind me.

We're at the edge of the second line.........

"You heard sweet cakes!!" Lobo reloads his pistol and regrips the handles of the bike as we approach a full line of Gordanians. "Break on through!!!!"

I take a brave breath. I hold Myrkblade up and accelerate by Lobo's side.

VROOOOOOOM!!

The line of Gordanian recruits march towards us.

We speed towards them.

The wind kicks at our face.

They raise their spears up.

Lobo aims.

I grip tighter to Myrkblade.

Glaring eyes.

Reptilian eyes.

Red eyes.

Black eyes....

And....

VROOOOOOM!!!!!!

"HRESSHAAAAA!!!"

ZAAAP!! ZAAAP!! ZAAAAAP!!

We meet....

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!" Lobo sails through the madness, firing his pistol like crazy.

BANG!!! BANG!!! B-BANG!!! BANG!!!!!

Gordanians fall in a straight line.

Blue lasers stream at us.

I swerve madly in front of Lobo, my hoverbike leaning in the partial turn. I twirl Myrkblade ahead of me.

CL-CL-CL-CL-CLANG!!!!

I deflect the shots just as Lobo reloads and—

BANG!!! BANG!!! B-BANG!!!

More Gordanians fall.

Lobo reaches the end of his clip.

Whatever reptiles are left standing directly in front of us take aim again....

....and I swerve towards them. I daringly toss Myrkblade into my metal hand and steer with my right just in time to hold the weapon out and slice off all of the immediate Gordanians' legs in direct succession.

SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SLASH!!!!!

The hacked-up villains fall to the ground, bleeding purple ooze and clutching ragged limbs while shrieking.

I hold my breath, even myself out, and throttle forward while Lobo fires back behind us at defending Gordanians.

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!

VROOOOOOOM!!!!

And then.....silence.

Horrible...horrible....silence.

The landscape rushing around us is empty.

"Hey....what gives?!?!" Lobo turns and looks ahead of where we're driving.

I blink. I glance at him from my speeding bike.

Minnae gulps.

Lobo's eyes thin. "Uh oh....."

0
T-Minus: One Hour, twenty-six minutes.

Location: Frontline – No Man's Land

The ground is open and empty of all soldiers, save a fallen dropship or two. The land is cratered with smoking holes. Beyond it—across an innocent stretch of emptiness—are the shield batteries. Green energy splashes between them. And beyond the translucent energy is a heavy line of Gordanian troops...complete with hoverbikes, leashed Rooks, and heavy artillery.

But that's not what we're worried about......not at the moment, at least.

"I usually don't say this...but....," Lobo grunts, "...I have a very bad feeling about this..."

BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!!

Koriand'r gasps.

I wince and turn around to look while driving.

Those are the sounds of the Tamaranian tank shells. But everytime they shot previous, we Angel Spears had been either right next to the tanks or directly underneath the fire as they were launched.

Right now...we're in No-Man's-Land.

A shrill whistle fills the air....

SHHHHHHHHHHHHWISHHHHHH!!!!!!

"HERE THEY COME!!!" Lobo shouts.

He swerves hard to the right.

I swerve hard to the left.

BOOOOM!!!!!

A huge crater explodes from a tank shell in between us.

Two more ion charges streak in like comets.

BOOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOM!!

Fried earth and flaming dirt showers down at us.

"Hot!! HOT!!" Minnae shrieks.

"Will you shut up?!?!" Lobo spits. "YAAAAAAUGH!!!"

VROOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

More incoming...at our rear tires.

SHHHHHHHHWISHHHHHHH!!!!

BOOOOM!!! B-BOOM!!! BOOOM!!!

The earth explodes on either side of me.

Koriand'r shrieks.

I struggle hard to keep control of the vehicle.

BOOOOM!!!!

Without warning, an extra shell explodes in the ground directly in front of us.

I gasp.

I pull up hard into a wheelie.

VROOOOOOOOM-WHUMP!!!

Koriand'r and I ramp up into the air, soar through the smoke, and sail down on the other side.

WHUMP!!!!-VROOOOOM!!!

Amazingly, I keep our balance.

Lobo swerves in front of me. He pulls out a high power rifle and awkwardly aims with it one-handed.

"Cover me!!" he squints one red-eye and aims at a single, distant shield battery ahead of us.

I gawk at him.

Cover you?!?!

'Behind us. Mr. Noir!!'

I glance behind.

Three shells are incoming.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHWISHHHHH!!!

BOOOM!!! BOOOM!!

Two explode in the ground directly behind us.

The third.....

I let out a silent yell and impossibly blur Myrkblade into a reverse swing behind Lobo's back.

CLANG!!!!!

I deflect the last shell mightily to the side.

BOOOOOOOM!!!!

Dirt and soil spray at us.

I nearly lose my handling, but regain in the nick of time to throttle behind Lobo who's presently aiming at the distant battery and--

POW!!!!

A red-hot bullet streaks ahead.

CLANK!!

It bounces off the shield battery.

"Come on...."

Lobo aims and fires again.

POW!!!!

CLANK!!!

"Come on!!"

BOOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOOOOM!!

Shells explode on either side of us.

We speed closer and closer to the energy field.

Dangerously close.

POW!!!

CLANK!!!

The bullet fails to even damage the shield battery.

"Frag it....if we don't break that shield soon we're all gonna turn into guacamole!" Lobo grunts. "We need something stronger! We need something big! We need—"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!!"

"?!?!?!?!?!" Lobo, Koriand'r, Minnae, and I look over our shoulders.

The two of us bikers gasp and swerve. We part just in time for Katma to soar through.

The Green Lantern's eyes are glowing. The arteries in her muscles are throbbing visually. She's yelling at the top of her lungs and glowing a bright emerald.

All of this because she's dragging an entire, fifteen-ton Tamaranian tank behind her by a green net and flinging it at ninety-miles per hour at the centermost shield battery ahead of us.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!"

SWOOOOOOOSH!!!!!

SMASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!

The shield battery practically liquidates from the massive, heated impact. Shockwaves ripple down the shield, causing the next two batteries in the line to short-circuit. As Katma soars upwards like an upside comet, a huge gap in the force field forms seventy meters wide.

Gordanians in the defense line hiss in shock and frustration.

And at the same time, a huge roar thunders over the landscape. Like a herd of stampeding, invisible buffalo. And I realize that it's the sound of well-near-a-million Tamaranian voices cheering both on the battlefield and in the Capital.

Lobo grins, his teeth showing. He tosses his rifle away and pulls out an uzzi.

"BREAK ON THROUGH!!!!" Katma's voice hollers down from above like a supernatural intercom.

"Oh HELL yeah!!!" Lobo throttles forward into the line of defense.

I roar aside him.

The Gordanians scramble to their weapons...trying to ready ourselves.

And we're on them....

T-Minus: One Hour, twenty-two minutes.

Location: Frontline – Gordanian Line

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

VROOOOOOO-OOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Lobo and I rush through the gap. Firing and slashing like mad.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!!

SWISSH!!!! SWOOOOSH!!! SLASH!!!!

Gordanian heads, shoulders, and torsos pop from bullet fire.

Limbs and heads and neckflesh fly.

Purple everywhere.

Lobo and I pierce on through. Onstoppable. Hover thrusters blaring.

The Gordanians hiss and fire like mad to hit us...but instead they more accurately hit each other.

ZAAAP!!! ZAAAAAAAP!! ZAP!!

"HRESSHAAA!!"

"HRESH!!!"

And faster than we expect, we've zoomed through.

Lobo aims back and fires a few potshots at Gordanians as we streak past their artillery.

"It's a m-miracle!!" Minnae gasps.

"Not really," Lobo smirks. "It was a MASSACRE!! HA!!"

I glance back while driving, panting. So does Koriand'r.

The Gordanians rush about and try aiming at us. But something overcomes them. Thousands upon thousands of rushing bodies and a huge, multi-throated yell thundering forth: "DE X'HAL!!!!"

In massive splendor, the entire Tamaranian infantry fly through the tiny hole made in the energy field and start springing upon the Gordanians mercilessly with solid walls of burning starbolts. The ground army of the Tamaran pours in on the invaders almost completely in less than two minutes. Caught off guard, the reptiles flee every which way...only to be pelted, shelled, and burned to death by the most pissed-off group of defenders in this part of the galaxy.

"Heh...," Lobo smirks at me. "Looks like we screwed Gordanian up their rear!!"

I smile crookedly.

"M'berrat de Tam'ran!!" Koriand'r points over my shoulder ahead of us. "Thriel!!"

All four of us look ahead.

The spires of the Capital City loom before us.

"Come, Squirrel!! Burn time!!" Lobo throttles ahead.

VROOOOOOOOOM!!!

I follow him.

T-Minus: One Hour, nineteen minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Outskirts

Lobo and I cruise down a hill and down a dirt road surrounded by dome-shaped houses made out of quartz and stone. At the sight of us, doors open and huddled Tamaranian families peer out. They wave and cheer.

I smirk.

Lobo swerves and goes down a dirt road adjacent to a crystal-blue river stretching East-West along the southern border of the City.

Ahead of us on the left is a bridge.

A battle is taking place on either side of it. Tamaranians on the South side, hiding behind rubble and flinging starbolts. Gordanians on the North side with their laser spears and barriers.

Lobo throttles towards the structure.

One Tamaranian freedom fighter taps the other on the back and points at us. They panic and aim starbolts at our incoming figure.

CL-CLICK!! Lobo aims his pistol at them. "Don't even think about it...."

The two defenders tremble.

As I ride by them, Koriand'r waves at the men and cutely utters in a voice fitting Starfire: "Caaveraat nu feemleblorg de X'Hal!!"

The two Tamaranians seem to relax.

I want to hug her....

0
T-Minus: One Hour, eighteen minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – River Bridge

VROOOOOOOM!!!!

Lobo ramps in the air, flies down the bridge, and fires left and right with his pistol.

BAM!!!

BANG!!!!

Two Gordanians drop.

Another hovers up, surprise.

As I streak over the bridge, I twirl Myrkblade and slash hard at his back.

SLINK!!!!

"HREESHAAA!" the invader clutches his bleeding neck and topples over into the river. SPLOOSH!!!

Lobo and I zoom down onto the ground North of the River.

T-Minus: One Hour, seventeen minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Outskirts

Dirt gives way to stone and concrete-equivalent surfaces as we streak down a space of urban ground between tall, dome-topped buildings of red ruby. The courtyard is randomly scattered with fighting pairs of Tamaranians and Gordanians.

Lobo casually steers left and right, kicking a Gordanian to the ground with a spare boot. WHUMP!!! SLUMP!!! THWAP!!

The grounded Gordanians are helpless as the Tamaranians take advantage of their lowered guard by pelting them with starbolts. FLASH!!! FLASH!!!!!!

Cheers erupt as we streak by with the one data carrier in tow.

Behind me.....

T-Minus: One Hour, sixteen minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Lower Streets

Lobo guns it.

I take his example and accelerate too.

As we throttle down denser and denser lines of buildings, I realize why.

Gordanians line the rooftops. At sight of us, they take aim and fire.

ZAAAP!!! ZAP!!!! ZAAAAAAAP!!!

Blue lasers rain on the ground, forming scorch marks.

Lobo twirls his pistol, aims with one hand while driving, and fires.

BLAM!! BLAM!!!

Gordanians hiss painfully and fall from the rooftops to the hard street below. PLOP!!! THWUMP!!!

Two Gordanians swoop down on jetpacks and reach gnarly hands out. They trip gripping Koriand'r and plucking her up and off of me.

"YAAAAH!!" she shrieks.

I snarl and swing Myrkblade in reverse.

SLASH!!!!

A Gordanian hand flies off.

"HRESSSSSHAAA!!!" it shrieks and tumbles to the ground, clutching its bloody stub.

The second reaches for me with razor-sharp claws.

I stab directly into his face.

SPLORCH!!!

His body—neck first—is skewered on my blade.

I yank and yank with my sword...but with his weight and my momentum, I can't do anything but have him dangle behind me by my sword.

"HRESSHA!!"

I look ahead.

Three Gordanians stand in my path.

I let out a silent howl—blur smoke into my right arm—and force the skewered Gordanian body up, around, and forward like a jousting spear.

And I throttle directly towards the three invaders.

THWAP!!!!!!!

I slam the Gordanian carcass into them.

WHUMP!!!

They fall to the ground.

RIIIIP!!!

I slice Myrkblade out of the fleshy mess and twirl it to shake the blood off it.

Koriand'r sighs with relief.

I take a breath.

I follow Lobo—swerving hard up an ascending alleyway.

T-Minus: One Hour, fourteen minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Courtyard

The buildings yawn open to reveal a huge clearing of concrete and beautiful fountains spread everywhere.

Lobo grumbles.

I gasp.

The courtyard is otherwise filled to brim with the heaviest of the inner-city combat. Gordanians and Tamaranians wrestle and fist-fight and fling energy at each other in a frenzied mass rivaling that of the battlefield itself.

"Keep it up!! Keep it up!!!" Lobo shouts as he merely throttles through the mess, not bothering to assist any soldier or pay particular attention to any Gordanian. He does—however—blow the head off of a reptile or two in his path with his pistol.

I'm content to follow Lobo on through the safe path he's making.

A rogue Gordanian biker—however—isn't.

The reptilian pilot throttles up alongside me like any other resistance fire and swings his laser spear. "HRESSHA!!!"

"!!!!" I duck the swing.

I kick against him.

WHUMP!!!

We part ways in our momentum.

A fountain sails past us...between us.

He swerves over and rams into my side.

CLANK!!!

I wince.

He jabs into me with his spear.

I grip it with my left hand....and realize that I shouldn't because now I'm not steering with anything.

VROOO-OOOO-OOOOM!!!

My hoverbike nearly loses balance three times.

Thankfully, this causes to ram twice into the Gordanian's hoverbike twice. His balance is ruined and he flounders to the left, trying hard to keep a grip to his spear.

I grit my teeth.

I do something desperate.

"YEEP!!" Koriand'r exclaims as I grip her arm.

I fling her to the left.

PLOP!!!

She lands on the back of the enemy's bike.

"......," the Gordanian blinks curiously at her.

SLIIIIINK!!!!

Myrkblade slides through his neck, leaking purple.

"SNKKKKK-KKKTTT!!!"

I exhale and fling his body off with my blade.

I then hop onto the bike on the left and take over from the dead reptile.

CHIIING!!

I sheathe Myrkblade to free my right hand, which I stretch out and grip onto my hold bike by the handle.

I spot a Gordanian tank up ahead besides an alleyway leading up towards the taller buildings.

I grunt, swerve just right, and swing the fully-accelerated former bike of mine like a spinning top into the vehicle as it aims at a helpless cluster of Tamaranian resistance fighters.

SW-SW-SW-SW-SWOOSH—BOOOOM!!!!

The turret erupts in flames...and the whole vehicle lurches as a thruster gives way and the huge gun barrel fires awkwardly into the ground.

BLAM!!!

PHOOOOOOOOM!!!

A huge fireball erupts, engulfing nearby Gordanians that run about with melting limbs flailing.

WHUMP!!!

I plow over one and catch up with Lobo as we both exit the courtyard and ascend to the next tier, driving deeper and deeper into the Capital.

T-Minus: One Hour, eleven minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Upper Streets

"Princess Sissy!!!" Lobo cackles above the speeding noise and mayhem to the girl clutching behind him. "Can you tell us exactly where in the Hell we're supposed to take this brat?!?!"

Minnae holds a laced hand to her temples. "Hold on, please...."

"I need an answer, kiddo!!"

VROOOOOOOM!!!

We sail up ruby-granite steps. Gordanians and Tamaranians wrestle on either side of us alongside buildingfronts.

"I'm concentrating....," the girl closes her amber cat eyes and focuses. "Searching....searching...searching..."

Lobo whips out a shotgun and takes aim at a line of Gordanians ahead of us. BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!

Repeatedly, huge sprays of lead smash down through three or four reptiles with each blast...knocking them down like meaty zombies.

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

We ride over their carcasses and continue our ascent.

The red buildings tower higher and higher over us. And above that is the furious red/green sunset with specks of the ever-ominous space battle flickering beyond.

And everything down here is echoing chaos still...still...

I pant and concentrate on driving as everything blurs past us.

Koriand'r clutches to me....

"Found it!!!" Minnae gasps, her eyes popping open.

"Where at?!?!" Lobo shouts as we round the top of the ascent.

T-Minus: One Hour, ten minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Upper Courtyard

We come into an opening in the urban sprawl. A huge 'ledge' of sort stretches before us. Bridges of the same red huge stretch immaculately into the air, forming majestic crossbeams between and connecting with the towering skyscrapers of scarlet beauty and aestheticism. The sky stretches above us, full of flying aliens and midair wrestling matches and the occasional dropship or two. But straight ahead of us at the end of the bridge is a huge, thick tower. Like a giant cylinder with a huge domed top.

"The most obscene thing I've ever seen...," Lobo muses.

"In there!!" Minnae points. "That's where the Tamaran resistance is situated!! I can sense their brave souls residing within!!"

"And why do we need to go there?!?!"

"Ha'm blorgan caclo throttica!!" Koriand'r exclaims from behind me.

"Say what?!?!?!"

"They'll have a secret transmission device to send a signal of the crucial data to the defending space armada!!" the Princess explains. "If Koriand'r's the silver bullet...that's the gun where we need to load her in!!"

"I love your analogy, Missy Prissy!!!" Lobo grins. He throttles forward. "CHAAAARGE!!!"

I take a breath and accelerate behind him.

VROOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

T-Minus: One Hour, nine minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Upper Bridge

We swerve around fallen carcasses, hoverbikes, smouldering ruins.

Lobo takes a pot shot at two Gordanians on the ledge.

BLAM!!!

They fall over, hissing bloodily...plummeting to the ground floor of the City hundreds of meters below.

Our engines echo across the expanse as we cross the bridge and cruise down towards the courtyard at the base of the huge tower.

A Gordanian line of tanks have formed.

"Perfect...," Lobo grunts. He holsters his shotgun and pulls out three grenades at once. He bites off all three pins.....somehow.....then flings them.

They rattle to the ground beside the tanks.

Nearby Gordanians hiss and jump/fly out of the way.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!

The explosion actually burns off an edge of a tank over from the force of it.

VROOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Lobo sails through.

VROOOOOM!!!

I follow behind, ramping over a piece of debris and flying over the tanks to land on the other side.

T-Minus: One Hour, eight minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Base of Tower

Lobo and I steer madly around a huge throng of Gordanians, all shooting lasers blindly at us and hissing like mad.

ZAAAP!! ZAP!!! ZAAAAAAAAP!!!!

The energy blasts strike the ground around us.

Minnae flinches more than once.

Lobo manages to whip his pistol out and fire while steering left and right.

BLAM!! BLAM!!!

Gordanians fall beneath me as I deflect blasts with twirls of Myrkblade.

CLANG!! SMACK!!!

Suddenly, a huge swarm of jetpacking Gordanians loom ahead of us. Numbering well over thirty.

"EEEK!!" Minnae shrieks and covers her eyes. "Must think of something happy!! Lidikins' fluffy tail! Lidikins' fluffy tail!!"

"Hold your breath, princess.....," Lobo smirks.

"Huh?? OOF!!"

She gasps as Lobo's sweaty back leans flat against her on the seat.

Before my twitching eyes, the undead mercenary leans back heavily on his bike. He lets go of the handles. His hands grab an uzzi each. He lifts his legs from the pedals and plants the soles of his boots against the handles. In such awkward fashion, the reclined Lobo manages to steer the vehicle with his legs while firing up and outward with two hands full of uzzifire.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!!!!!!!!

SPLORCH!!! SPLOT!!! TH-THUNK!!! SPLORCH!!!

Gordanians splash purple and purple and purple as the heavy spray of heated lead sail into the whole mass of flying reptiles and knock the life out of their bleeding, ragdoll bodies.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!!

"DIE MOTHER FRAGGERS!!! DIE!!! ALL OF YOU!!!! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!"

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!

Nearly the bodies of all thirty in the flying squadron litter the floor around us.

I desperately swerve—gasping—to avoid them all.

"Hallelujah!" Lobo grins as he slams his feet back down on the pedals and regains total control. "It's raining morons!! Ha ha ha ha!!"

I wince...flushed.

VROOOOOOOOM!!!

The four of us rush up a curved, stone slab of steps leading a windingly up towards the entrance doors of the huge, skyscraping tower.

T-Minus: One Hour, six minutes.

Location: Tamaran Capital – Base of Tower

The path is thin and narrow. Gordanians are presently trying to storm the doorfront of the building—which is heavily guarded by Tamaranians launching starbolts back out at them. With us coming up the rear, the reptiles are now sandwiched in a crossfire. When they realize it, they turn around and hiss only to face our charge at the last second.

BLAM!!!

Lobo blasts a head off one and swerves left to follow the curved steps up, up, up....

ZAAAP!! ZAP!!! ZAAAAP!!

Lasers stream down at us.

CLANG!!! I block a blast and drive up side-by-side with Lobo. CL-CLANG!!!

The reptiles hiss in horror.

We're unstoppable.

BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BL-BLAM!!!

Lobo offs four more with pistol fire.

Their bodies tumble over the sides and litter the distant streets below.

Lobo shouts out in trademark ferocity: "CUT ON THROUGH!!!!"

I sneer as I throttle forward and jerk left with a swerve an upswing of Myrkblade up the middle of the next Gordanian.

SLASSSSSH!!!

Two halves fall both sides, allowing Lobo to drive on through the purple mess.

I swerve and slash again.

SWOOOOSH!!!

A Gordanian head flies.

BLAM!!!!

Lobo fires a hole through a reptile flying at us.

We break through invader after invader.

Blood shedding.

Limbs flying raggedly.

From on high, the ferocious sounds of the battle-filled city....the battle-filled land....the battle-filled solar system come thundering in on our ears from everywhere and it's so loud that it almost sounds deafening enough to be silence itself.

SLASH!!!!!

I rip through the torso of another Gordanian, swerve, and climb up the last few meters.

I gasp.

A dropship that floats down. At first, it aims at the door to the huge building. But it swerves around at the last second and aims glowing turrets at us.

I glance to my right.

I see three Gordanians struggling to erect a rocket launcher of sorts to blast down the Tamaranian-guarded door with.

I stab Myrkblade out.

SLUNK!!!

The Gordanian's body jerks as my blade goes through him.

I lift him up. His stiff body clutches onto the rocket launcher.

I motion my head over at Lobo behind me and whistle.

He notices my prize and holds and arm out. "Hot potato!!"

SWOOOOSH!!

I toss the body back at him.

He grabs the rocket launcher, drops the body, and spins the huge weapon into position. "Steady this for me, princess!!"

"H-How?!?!"

"Use your head or your hands!! Choose now, dammit!!"

Minnae gulps and steadies the rest of the launcher's length with her hands.

Lobo lets go of the handles just long enough to handle both triggers.

"Hot loogey!! Coming right up!!!"

The dropship's turrets fire.

BLAM!! BLAM!!

I swerve to the side.

SWOOOOSH!!

The phaser charge streaks hotly past me.

BOOOOM!!

The steps explode.

I gasp.

.....

.....VROOOOM!!!

Lobo's bike ramps through the fire and smoke. He aims in mid-air and—

PHOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The rocket sails out of the weapon...past us....and into the cockpit of the dropship.

CRASSSH-BOOOOOOOOM!!!!

The inside of the ship catches fire.

Lobo's bike violently spins in circles from the backlash of the rocket propulsion. He digs his feet into the ground and steadies it. Minnae's dizzy-eyed as Lobo sweats and hollers: "BLOW!! BLOW!! BLOW ON THROUGH!!!"

I grit my teeth and gun it with both hands.

VROOOOOOOM!!!
0

T-Minus: One Hour, four minutes.

Location: Tower – Front Steps

SWOOOOOSH-CRUNCH!!!

The dropship lands on the ruby concrete, front first.

I accelerate the bike and ramp over the nose.

SWOOOOOSH!!!!

Koriand'r and I sail through the air in slow motion just as the craft explodes.

BOOOOOOOM!!!!

We sail through smoke and burning embers.

Through my murk-stained visor....I pant and see an opening above the singed door. Two Tamaranian resistance fighters gasp and duck out of the way.

I reach a hand back, grab Koriand'r by the back of her neck, and vault off of the flying bike with a pulse of murk.

SWOOOOOSH!!

I plunge us through the thin opening.

The bike slams into the door itself and explodes.

KABOOOM!!!

0
T-Minus: One Hour, four minutes.

Location: Tower – Inner Atrium

SWOOOOOOSH!!!

Koriand'r and I plummet—spiraling—into the front room. Tamaranians run and hover away to avoid our bodies.

I summon murk and cushion our bodies as I twirl and land us on my back first.

WHUMP!!!

I slide along the ground, hugging Koriand'r closely to my chest.

THWUMP!!!

I land against a wall...still....

I pant.

Silence....and then....

Rushing footsteps.

Hovering bodies.

Rushing all around us.

"V'ratta kun!!"

"Nablorgan thriel hatsay!!"

"Crads!!"

A green glow covers us. My helmet's visor reflects the angry faces of over two dozen resistance fighters bunkered inside the Tower. They hold up glowing starbolts threateningly and prepare to toss---

"Laymnu dreyhu ni X'Hal!!!" Koriand'r shoots up into a sitting position atop of me. She pants and holds out a desperate hand. Her green eyes are wide. She gulps and continues. "Draaceratsu m'nyol faaverot feelin ni Dredsu Naanr'm seedlana!!"

The Tamaranians around us grow silent.

The sounds of firefights and shelling emanate around us from the outside.

Flickering amberlight from the downed dropship settles against the walls.

Breathless, a senior resistance fighter hovers over and kneels before the redheaded girl. "N'mal fredin.....Dredsu Naanr'm?!?!"

The girl nods her head. She murmurs...trembling. "Uln. Daadlayt val'm si Gord'nzi sarakka." She points at herself. "Nrablan Koriand'r nu Myand'r! Slaata v'mal thrieye si naanrak kliel cayclan! Thrieye!" She holds up her arms and points at the mark where that data was injected into her bloodstream.

The Tamaranians gasp. And right before me, a good number of them shed green tears.

"Kliel!! Li kliel thrieye!!"

"Hanrasa ni X'Hal!!!"

"X'Hal salavar'm!!"

The senior officer grabs Koriand'r and the adults hoist her onto their shoulders, cheering like victorious Arabs. Grins and smiles and gasps of joy and cries of victory and howls of relief fill the room in a warm glow. The senior officer and a few others rush her into an adjacent room leading down a series of steps to where the transmission systems must be.

I sit up...panting.

A few Tamaranians huddle around me and pat me strongly on the back so much that it hurts.

"Nu capranna m'yel jaat!!"

"Ha ha ha ha!! Ronner cayk'm hedsu Gord'n!! Ha ha ha!!"

"De X'Hal!!"

"DE X'HAL!!!"

I continue panting. I glance at my Angel Spear wristband.

T-Minus: One Hour, one minute.

Time to spare....

Time to spare?!?! How is there time to spare?!?!

I forget about it...and with an inward moan I collapse back and stare at the ceiling through my visor.