Going on eight! This was an interesting chapter to write and you'll see why. I hope I balanced the light with the dark appropriately.
Thanks again to evil Ratchet96 and Trekker77 for the reviews, they are greatly appreciated and are the main motivation to keep this story going.
Anyways, enjoy,
Chapter 8, Terminal Velocity Part 2,
Everyone piled into the large, horse-drawn transport. Leo was the one holding the horses' reigns and Rykk was sitting with him. The transport was about as big as a van. The horses were keeping good pace, each of the two was a Valkyrie-enhance horse. You could tell by the light green line down their sides.
At the start of the ride Atlas showed everyone how to load, unload, and fire their weapons. It took them a short time to get it.
Half a day into the ride and; Ratchet was catching some Zs, every now and then Rykk would appear through the transport's wall to check on everyone, Bones and Clank were playing a game of chess, in their minds, Talwyn was chatting with Sly and Carmelita, and Bentley, Atlas, and Murray were also chatting.
"So Atlas, what's your story?" Bentley asked.
"Well, Oi'm a Law Man," Atlas started.
"What's that?" Murray asked and interrupted.
"A koind of soldier; means dat Oi went trough a hard trainin and was given a drug called Hammer. Et made me stronger and faster. Oi learned how to handle a McVoy."
"McVoy?" Bentley asked.
"Em, et's de pistol you're carryin."
"Ah, so you catch criminals I'm guessing?"
Atlas nodded. "Yeah, when Oi was a lad, me moter was killed by de rottin Attero. Me fater died shortly after from de Black Blood Scourge."
"I'm sorry; me, Murray, and Sly are orphans to. What is the Attero and Black Blood Scourge exactly?" Bentley asked.
"De Attero es a gang of bloodtirsty hooligans and de Black Blood Scourge es a terrible disease," there was venom laced in Atlas' voice whenever he talked about the Attero gang. "Oi lived on de streets of New Elko for a year before Oi joined de Law Men. Et was durin me trainin dat Oi met Rykk, Leo, and teir friends."
There was a shout from Leo, "Hunter at our ten o'clock!"
The yell puzzled Sly, "What's a hunter?"
"Basically, et's a giant wolf." Atlas answered. "Just hold on, this could be bit wild."
Rykk appeared through the wall, "Sly you a good shot with a gun that fires bullets?"
"When I had to be, never had to use one a lot though," Sly responded.
"Good enough," With that Rykk grabbed the thief and they both vanished through the ceiling. Sly didn't have time to comprehend what had just happened. "Over there," Rykk pointed.
Sly's gaze followed the gesture and his eyes widened. Rykk pointed to a giant, grey, wolf-like creature with a dark blue line down its back. It was in size like two, adult elephants. It was running perpendicular to the road and would soon cross paths with the wagon.
"If that thing starts to come towards us, I need you to hit that thing in the neck."
"But at this range and the size of the thing; isn't this rifle not powerful enough?"
"Don't underestimate Vector rounds, use these." Rykk handed Sly a blue-glowing Vector mag for his rifle. "Alacrity rounds, remember, aim for the neck."
Sly loaded the rifle with the rounds and held up the gun.
The Hunter started to sniff the air and Sly realized it was downwind of them. It turned and saw the wagon. It then began to charge. Aw crap, he thought as he looked down the rifle's sights. The wagon's motion and bouncing made it difficult for the raccoon to aim.
A loud electronic-explosion rang out and a blue flash left the gun's muzzle. The Alacrity round struck the giant wolf creature in the eye. A deafening howl/roar rang out as blood came pouring from the beast.
"Not bad, didn't hit the target but not a bad second option. I'll finish it." Rykk said before entering his aggression form and flying towards the ticked-off Hunter. He drew his two Tonfa-style blades in midair. As he neared it, he fired two lines of his black-and-purple energy at the Hunter's front legs. They hit and made it growl. It tried biting him but Rykk dodged it. He dove underneath its neck and slashed at it. His blades cut but not deep enough.
The Hunter had stopped running (it was about thirty yards away from the wagon) and was now intent on getting its attacker.
Rykk flew onto the back of its neck. The thing was thrashing about in a wild frenzy. Its footfalls made the ground shake and tremble; they sounded like thunder.
Rykk summoned a gun like the one Ratchet had picked; the break-action. He held it in one hand and fired it into the back of the Hunter's neck.
The giant wolf yelped and fell sideways onto the crimson ground.
Rykk simply jumped off and flew back to the wagon. "Hate those things to." He muttered.
"Showoff," Leo muttered in response.
Rykk lightly chuckled, "Like you could've taken that thing."
Leo scoffed, "You forget Rykk, I'm a Dragon, could so have taken that thing down with a lightning bolt."
Sly asked, "How long until we reach Velocity? Not a big fan of the Plain."
"That's normal, many aren't." Leo responded, "I'd say we should be in by no later than noon tomorrow. Best take him back in Rykk. Anyways, we'll be running these horses all night."
"They can go that long?" Sly asked.
Leo nodded, "Yep, remember these horses are stronger than the average horse. They've been known to run for up to three days without end. They also aren't cheap either, so usually they are rented. See you later,"
With that Rykk grabbed Sly and they went through the wagon's wall.
It was late that night and Ratchet couldn't sleep. It wasn't due to any nightmare; it was probably due to him sleeping all day.
Sly too couldn't sleep. He just felt jittery and eager after seeing the Hunter. The two of them sat in the back of the transport, away from everyone else, and were chatting. It wasn't long until Rykk came by and joined in their conversation. He never seemed to sleep a lot.
Ratchet was a bit antsy and was rummaging through some of the supplies as they spoke.
"Ratchet, what are you doing?" Sly asked.
"Just can't settle down, I do this when I'm antsy." He responded, his legs dangled on the back of the chair. Sounds of things being moved aside and examined came from the storage. He soon came upon a bottle of the soda Prime. It was a good-sized bottle to, equivalent to two-and-a-half liters.
"Oh yeah, Oliver put that in there. He said it was for anyone that wanted it." Rykk said as Ratchet sat back down in his seat.
"Well I'm thirsty anyway," Ratchet stated before opening the bottle and taking a big swallow.
"So you're a hero back where you come from eh Ratchet?" Sly asked.
Ratchet downed another gulp of the soda before responding, "Yeah, I was also the last lombax in the galaxy."
"That's rough," Rykk responded.
Ratchet nodded before burping loudly, though he tried to keep it quiet.
Rykk and Sly chuckled. Rykk then said, "Prime does that to ya."
Ratchet chuckled, "Guess so, I've done better." He said with more than a bit of child-like pride, "How about you Sly?"
Sly waved his head side-to-side. "Don't really know; always seemed immature to me."
Ratchet nodded and grinned like a little kid, "It is, but it's fun to, go ahead. Let's see what you can do thief." He offered the bottle to Sly.
"I can see where this is going." Rykk said and created a wall of black energy. "You guys can now make as much noise as you want."
Sly took the bottle and reluctantly drank down a few swallows. He waited a bit before, "UUUUURRRRRPPPPPP!"
Ratchet scoffed, "Not bad for a rookie. Let me show ya how it's done."
Sly's competitive nature kicked in at those words.
Ratchet and Sly then began a belching contest. Rykk just sat back and watched as they laughed and drank about half of the bottle down.
When it was all said and down, there was no winner, they had too much fun and didn't care.
Once they settled down, their stomachs sloshing with Prime, Ratchet looked at Rykk. He, for the most part had remained silent during the contest. Oh, every now and then he'd chuckle or laugh; he even made a comment once or twice.
Ratchet grabbed the bottle, "Hey Rykk, what can you do?"
Rykk grinned, "Trust me; it'd be better if I didn't."
Ratchet grinned, he was now curious. "Why?"
"Because it just is," Rykk said with a slight irritation.
"C'mon now, you've got me curious." Ratchet said in a slightly whining tone.
Rykk rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine, Sly, you might want to move." Sly was sitting in front of Rykk.
Sly moved and sat next to Ratchet. His curiosity was also peaked but was a bit more cautious when dealing with Rykk.
Rykk grabbed the bottle and proceeded to chug it.
Sly and Ratchet watched in amazement as the remaining liter of Prime disappeared down Rykk's throat. Loud gulping noises echoed.
It took him about a minute to down it and then he set the empty bottle down.
When Rykk unleashed his belch, not only did it last for a near minute and was near deafening, black and purple energy shot from his mouth and ignited the chair opposite him. The chair began to burn under black and purple flames. When Rykk finished he closed his hands into a fist and the flames vanished. "Now you see why." Rykk answered with a hint of irritation. "You guys will owe me for that chair."
Ratchet and Sly were both still for a few seconds. "Uh," Ratchet started, "Yeah, whenever we can. By the way, what is your energy called?"
"I call it Alter, since it can alter the density of objects and can move them." Rykk stood up, "I suggest you two try to get some sleep now. Tomorrow will be a long day."
"Seems to be the trend," Sly commented before trying to get in a comfortable position.
Rykk grinned slightly, "Had fun." With that he dissipated the energy wall and returned to the coach seat.
Sly managed to doze off quickly.
Ratchet eventually did about an hour later. His mind just wanted to think about anything and everything.
It was around noon and they were about a mile from the Velocity's border when Leo stopped the horses. Everyone got off the wagon and stretched a bit. "Well guys, here is where Rykk splits. Get your goodbyes out of the way."
"Hey, it's not like I won't see you guys again, it just won't be until you leave Velocity." Rykk tried to assure them.
They each said goodbye and either hugged Rykk (he hugged back but had an awkward look on his face) or they shook hands.
Ratchet was the last one, "Thanks for saving me and Clank, wish there was some way to pay that back." He said as he offered his hand.
Rykk grinned and shook. He had taken a liking to Ratchet; the two had become good friends. "Don't worry about it, it was…" Rykk froze mid-sentence and his ears perked. His tail stopped wagging as well. "…Everyone get out of here!" Rykk yelled scaring the group.
"What is it?!" Ratchet exclaimed/asked.
Everyone but Rykk jumped as the wagon flew into the air, it was then slammed back down to earth. Luckily it didn't hit anyone. The wheel axels were broken though, and the horses were killed.
Rykk answered/shouted, "Calamity!" He also turned into his aggression form.
There was a loud slam as Calamity landed behind the group. "Hello everyone, miss me?" He asked in a sing-song manner.
"Not really," Rykk responded, "Everyone make a run for Velocity." He ordered. He then held his hands out at an angle from his body. His fingers spread apart and black claws extended from his fingertips. When they all paused Rykk yelled, "Go you idiots!" He then took off his robe, letting it drop to the ground.
Ratchet looked back as Rykk got down on all fours. He roared, baring his fangs, and charged at Calamity, his black claws ready for the fight. He looked like a feral cat, his anger and rage consumed him. The line of fur on his back rippled as he ran.
Everyone in the group wanted to help, not run. They all had their weapons in their Utilities. None of them could fire though; they didn't want to hit Rykk.
Calamity just held his hands behind his back until Rykk got close. Rykk tried to pounce on him but Calamity spun and kicked Rykk in the back. The kick sent him sprawling. He recovered quickly and ran back at Calamity. He swung his claws furiously but it was evident that Calamity was much more in control of himself. He either dodged or hit Rykk's forearms, blocking his claws.
Rykk managed to nick Calamity on his arm, side, back, and face but in turn got hit hard on his face, lower back, stomach, and chest. Rykk's claws, though sharp and intimidating, only cut the air. He wasn't scoring any real hits, too much fury, he wasn't focused. Calamity though, was beating him, literally. It also didn't help that Calamity constantly taunted Rykk about his kills. He would go into detail about killing Randall and Harriet. He would talk about their pleas, their pain, and their blood.
Speaking of blood, it was running from Rykk's nose and mouth. His blood was a dark, almost-black blue. The hits were taking a toll on Rykk, as the fight went on he was getting slower.
Rykk did manage to kick Calamity back and fired an Altar energy beam. Calamity simply blocked it with a chunk of rock. He then fired that rock at Rykk.
Rykk grappled it with Altar and shot it back.
Calamity blew it apart.
Rykk then grappled a chunk of ground and tried to bring it down on Calamity.
Calamity grabbed it with his Ravage and spun it into Rykk.
The move was so fast and Rykk was more than a bit hurting from the beating; the rock hit him dead on. He was unable to phase through it due to it being controlled by Calamity's Ravage. It didn't kill him, but did massive damage.
Calamity pinned Rykk between the rock and ground using Ravage.
Rykk couldn't move and was struggling to get away. Upon impact, Rykk's claws retracted.
Rykk was between Calamity and the gang; they were all trying to figure out what to do. When Rykk was pinned they all went quiet as Calamity approached him. They all summoned their weapons and had them trained at Calamity.
"What are we waiting for? Let's nail him!" Ratchet practically yelled.
"We'll hit Rykk if we do!" Leo yelled.
Sly still had his rifle loaded with Alacrity rounds. He aimed, but the position wasn't good. "Leo," Sly whispered, "If I can get to a better position, I can use the Alacrity rounds."
Leo looked around with only his eyes, "Do it."
Calamity smiled but he didn't notice Sly moving. He was too into the moment. "Now this is a good day. Wow Rykk, you seem a bit off your game today." He said as he knelt down and looked into Rykk's eyes.
Rykk still wanted to fight and his eyes showed it. Calamity then kicked Rykk in his face repeatedly. Blood began to pool on the ground and Rykk's strength was waning.
Calamity sighed as he moved the rock off of Rykk, grabbed him and held him by his hair. Rykk was so dazed and beaten it took him a few seconds to gather his mind. During those seconds, Calamity drew his knife and cut about two-thirds of Rykk's right ear off.
Rykk yelled, it sounded inhuman, like a howl and scream all at once. It made everyone cover their ears. The dark blue blood flowed in generous amounts now.
Calamity held the piece of Rykk's ear, blood dripped from it. He studied it for a second before tossing it away. "There, that's better isn't it? I know you didn't like your ears all that well anyways." He then stomped on the ground and sent a shockwave towards the gang. The wave knocked them all onto their backs, including Sly. Calamity, with his free hand, then raised a wall of rock and stone between the gang and himself. "I need to be alone to work on you Rykk." He then pointed towards the wall and his three puppets flew through it. "They'll need company." Calamity commented tauntingly.
Ratchet jumped to his feet but was dismayed upon seeing the wall. "We gotta get over! Who knows what that monster is doing!" Ratchet shouted.
"I can get…" Leo was interrupted by Calamity's three puppets appearing through the wall. They charged the gang. Ratchet yelled as he charged one and in turn fired his gun. The blast of Vector pellets knocked the puppet back and made it yell.
The second puppet charged Atlas. He drew his pistol and started firing. His shots hit and made the puppet yell and hold back.
The third puppet went after Bentley but Murray protected his friend and fired up his big Gatling gun. "Come and get this you freaks!"
Everyone was trying to fight off the ghostly puppets. They flew around, yelling, slashing, and in general just harassing the group.
In the middle of the chaos, Sly grabbed Leo. "I need to get on top of that wall!"
Leo nodded and fired his shotgun at one of the floating ghosts. It was knocked back and Leo grabbed Sly by his waist, "Hang on!" With that, Leo shot plasma from his feet and propelled them to the top.
Rykk mustered some strength and kicked Calamity. Calamity released him and grunted. "Knew you had more fight in you,"
Rykk, bloody, bruised, and hurting managed to fire a beam of Alter. Calamity jumped over the beam and kicked Rykk on the side of his neck.
The blow was severe and made Rykk fall to the ground on all fours. His breathing was labored and fast, his arms were shaking, his tail drooped, and he looked exhausted. "You took… everything from me… my family… my best friend… my ex-girlfriend hates me… my reputation is in tatters… might as well kill me to." Rykk spat.
Calamity approached and he held something in his hand that made Rykk grimace. It was a cat o' nine tails whip. At the end of each of the black leather strands were metal hooks. Each hook was tipped with Ravage energy so they could cut him.
"You took everything from me as well, you monster." Calamity stated with venom and raised the weapon. He quickly brought it down on Rykk's bare back. The cat made multiple, deep cuts on Rykk's side. Rykk struggled not to yell in agony as his skin and muscles were ripped open. The sound of it striking and slashing was sickening.
He ultimately failed not to yell as Calamity proceeded to hit him repeatedly. Dark blue blood began to pool on the ground and Rykk had never before felt such physical torment. A few times the hooks would become lodged in his flesh and Calamity would yank them out, pulling out chunks of muscle, bits of hair, and sinew. When that happened, Calamity would laugh manically.
Rykk was near death when Calamity stopped and knelt down. "Well here we are Rykk; I'm savoring this sweet, sweet moment. And I want you to know; I will kill your new friends. I will burn them, cut them, and rip them, well, you get the ide…"
There was a loud shot as Sly fired his rifle, the Alacrity round hit Calamity in his right shoulder-blade. Upon impact, Calamity shrieked an unearthly sound; it made everyone cover their ears for a second time that day. A shockwave of sound and air knocked Rykk into the wall. The wind then reversed and began spinning towards Calamity. The wind and dust formed a twister around him. That twister spun viciously and then spun away into the Plain.
Leo grabbed Sly and jumped down. They both yelled, "Rykk!"
Rykk was a bloody mess, deep cuts lined his body, his breathing was shallow, and he was quivering as pain and shock racked him.
Leo summoned a syringe of Healer and injected it into Rykk. The serum helped to heal some of the more serious wounds but he was still bleeding plenty.
"That'll keep him alive for now." Leo said. "Get on my back!" Leo ordered Sly.
Sly put his rifle in his utility and his arms around Leo's neck. Leo flew over the rock wall, Rykk in his arms and Sly on his back.
When Leo landed everyone gasped at Rykk's condition.
"Oh my soul…"Talwyn exclaimed.
Ratchet was stunned, his mouth hung open.
Clank too was stunned.
"What in blazes?" Bentley exclaimed.
"Oh no," Carmelita shook her head.
Sly was silent and just hung his head.
Murray too was quiet.
Bones was grim, not particularly stunned, but grim and silent.
"Bones, give him a quick scan!" Leo ordered.
The A.I. floated over quickly and began to scan.
"We need to go, he needs more help. Some of the cuts are pretty deep." Bones stated. "Velocity isn't far."
"Looks like someone sent help, or an army." Bentley stated.
Approaching the group were hundreds of lombax soldiers in motorized karts. The karts held a driver and an armed passenger behind him. There were also some bigger vehicles among the karts that looked like troop transports.
Within a minute the group was surrounded by the army.
"Hey! Hey! We need help! Our friend needs help!" Ratchet yelled.
The gunner on the kart closest to the group ordered, "Everyone put up your arms."
Everyone but Leo did, he still had Rykk in his arms. Rykk was at this time, in and out of consciousness.
The driver of the closest kart stepped out. He was a big lombax, around 6' 3" and thick. His yellow fur with crimson strips was mostly covered by smooth, dark grey armor. He didn't wear any kind of head protection either. "I recognize a few of you," his voice commanding and demanded respect. He nodded in Leo's direction, "Hello Leo."
"Commander, do you have a medical unit with you?"
The Commander crossed his arms. "We do, but why should we help him? last I checked, he is still wanted."
"Calamity did tis, if 'e dies so does de best chance to stop him." Atlas retorted, "Unless ya tink you could take 'em."
The Commander growled, "If he dies, I would be called a hero."
Ratchet, though unsure of why Rykk was wanted, exclaimed in frustration and anger, "He saved all of us from Calamity! If he dies because of you, you'll have to contend with me!"
Leo growled, "Me to, and you know Commander, what I am capable of. So either get him some help or get ready to fight!"
The Commander growled again, "Fine." He put his finger to his wrist, "This is Commander Sigma, bring me the Med Unit."
"Copy that," a voice said from his wrist device.
"If he lives, he's going to be in a cell." The Commander said.
"Good luck with that," Sly commented.
The Commander grinned, "We know what he is and what he can do." He said as a big vehicle pulled up. It was evidently the Med Unit.
Leo took Rykk and set him on a stretcher. Then he and Bones got into the vehicle. "Atlas, make sure everyone is ok and keep an eye them." Leo ordered.
"Alroight, Oi'll keep 'em safe."
Leo then closed the doors and the Med Unit drove off.
"We'll figure out who you guys are back in Velocity." The Commander said as another transport vehicle showed up. "Everyone pile in," he barked.
An interesting turn of events no?
By the way, just added the belching contest in at the last second. Not exactly sure why, think it's to give a bit of a light moment before plunging in the dark. That and to show the friendship that is developing between the gang.
Also had a interesting time writing the flogging Calamity does to Rykk. Didn't want to give too much grisly detail but not too little either.
Let me know what you think of the chapter and story so far.
Thanks for reading,