Introducing, chapter 15
Thanks to both evilRatchet96 and Katratzi for their reviews and input, it is very much appreciated and keeps me writing.
I apologize as this chapter is shorter than the previous ones, I'm planning for the next one to be longer. Was going to combine this chapter and the next but thought better of it.
Anyways, enjoy
Chapter 15, Taken From You,
"What is he doing?" Rykk asked, his full attention was commanded.
"He's killing anyone within his reach with either his sword or Ravage." Clank stated. "The Law Men are doing their best but it's not enough.
"What about the Attero, is he attacking them as well?" Rykk asked. "And where are Theo, Nai, and Phil?"
"The Attero seem to be avoiding him." Bones answered. "And Theo, Nai, and Phil are assisting the rescue effort."
"Are Calamity and The Attero working together?" Sly suggested.
"Highly unlikely, Calamity very, very rarely works with others. If he does, he will turn on them. The Attero leaders are intelligent and wouldn't work with him. It's more likely Calamity found out about the Atteros plans and is taking advantage of the chaos." Bones responded.
"I got Calamity," Rykk started, "Ratchet, Sly, Leo, and Murray, Draxis, Fen, Arco, and Carmelita, now is when we fight back. Kaden and Atlas, you handle the Attero situation. Bentley, Bones, and Clank, keep feeding us intel." Rykk barked.
"Glad to help," Kaden added.
"Will do," Bentley stated before jumping into a mobile computer terminal.
Rykk nodded before making his way to the cockpit. "Max, set us down in Columbia Plaza's upper main square. We can split from there."
Clank and Bones then gave everyone com units. (They didn't give them any for Parson as the Dark Radiation would've ruined them.) "We'll be in touch." Bones said.
"Hey Rykk," Draxis started, "We would like to be called by our nicknames on this op. Y'know," he pointed at himself, "Revamp," then at Arco, "Bastion," and finally at Fen, "Arcane."
Rykk paused for a sec, "Um… ok?" He wasn't quite used to the antics of the younger lombaxes.
Arco smiled, "Besides, we've come up with a nickname for you as well."
Rykk raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
Fen said, "White Tip."
Rykk felt a bit conflicted about the name. Yes the white tip on his ear was very noticeable and the name did have a cool ring to it. But it reminded him that he was scarred but he was scarred in many other ways. He shrugged, "It'll work."
A few minutes later and the Atmo landed in an open, empty square. Upon touchdown, both Rykk and Sly entered their Aggression Modes.
The two teams split up and headed for their goals.
The streets of New Elko were huge and mostly empty. There were bodies all around, both human and lombax. The view from the second ground level was breathtaking. The buildings towered above them and rivaled the stone pillars on the Plain. Stone and metal rubble lined the street they were on.
Rykk led his team through the streets. He had his swords drawn. Refugees ran past them in a hurried frenzy.
Revamp turned into a prowler and ran with the team. His appearance scared more than a few refugees.
Arcane sent Ferra flying amongst the towers. He loved seeing the ground through her vision.
Ratchet had his wrench drawn. It was then he realized he was going into the fight wearing only the special shorts. He shrugged, no need for armor when your skin is just as, if not more tough.
Leo summoned a short sword that belonged to his mentor. It was straight and had glowing red edges.
Sly summoned his staff and held it behind him. He forced himself to filter out all the noise of a panicked mob and chaos.
The team ran until they came to a square, it was where Calamity was last seen. Sure enough, he was standing in the middle of it. Dozens of corpses were scattered throughout the square. As the group entered the gory square, they saw him slit the throat of a human refugee. The blood shot out a great distance and dripped off of Calamity's dual-bladed sword. He smiled as the refugee's body slumped to the ground. "Ah the gang's all here. Good, was starting to get bored." He spotted Sly, "Well Rykk, looks like we got another one of us."
Sly grinned, "Yeah, and I'm not weak anymore."
Calamity walked casually over to a wall. "Maybe…" He reached down and picked up a bound lombax. Everyone was shocked when they saw who it was.
Kaden ran alongside Atlas towards the scene of the hostage situation. It took the enhanced duo only a few minutes, they were fast. As they ran Bentley gave them a heads up on the situation. "It would seem that over a dozen Attero gunmen stormed the government building during the trade negotiations. They were able to sneak their way through security and forced their way into the meeting room. They currently have most of the chiefs held up in a maintenance bay underneath the building. The Law Man heading this op is Carter Vance. I have alerted him to your presence and he will fill you in on the details."
The place was a meeting hall inside a huge government tower. The tower was one of the few that started on the city's second level but was still a very tall one. Law men surrounded the building along with journalists and onlookers.
Kaden and Atlas shoved their way through the crowd. Thanks to Bentley, they were allowed inside the building. They made their way down to the basement of the building. It was dank and there were a half-dozen tunnels. They soon found the Law Man in charge.
He shook their hands, "Hello Atlas, Chief,"
Kaden asked, "Are they working alone or is the Attero behind them? And what do they want?"
"Best we can tell they are backed by the Attero. As for the second question, they want ten million gold Icons delivered to this address." He handed a piece of paper with the address to Atlas. "We're getting the funds in order and setting up a counter op. However these tunnels can lead on for miles. Without Bones, Clank, and Bentley's help, we would get lost. "
"What can we do sir?" Atlas asked.
"Atlas, you can join Sigero's team and help with the grab. Theo, Nai, and Phil are with them. Chief, unfortunately I'm afraid I can't use you." Kaden began to protest but Vance continued. "I can't be responsible for letting a lombax chief getting hurt or killed in this operation; especially one as high as you."
"But I can fight and I've been Hammered." Kaden remarked.
"I'm sorry, I can't." Vance stated.
Kaden grunted and stepped back.
"Oi'm sorry about dis Kaden but e's roight." Atlas said trying to help.
"Maybe… Atlas, tell those Attero I said hello will ya?"
Atlas grinned and nodded, "Will do Chief."
Kaden leaned against a wall and waited.
Suddenly Bones' voice came through the chief's com, "Kaden?"
"Yes?"
"If a situation arises where you would be useful, I'll let you know ok?"
Kaden didn't know whether to be insulted or thankful. So he chuckled, "Thanks Bones."
Calamity hoisted a bound Chief of Defense, Ryan Decagon.
The young Chief yelped as he was lifted by his tail. His uniform was in tatters and Calamity held him in such a way that any action against him would hurt Decagon. Calamity then ripped off what remained of Decagon's uniform and summoned his knife. "You know Rykk; I'm actually helping you this time." He then drew the knife from Ryan's shoulder to his hip. The cut wasn't deep, but it bled well and Ryan yelled. Calamity then drew the knife's blade to his mouth and licked the blood off it. The sight made Ratchet's stomach turn. "Hmm, never really had a taste for blood but I must admit, lombax blood is sweet. Anyways Rykk, this is for you." At that, Calamity slit Ryan's throat.
Ryan crumbled to the ground, blood went everywhere.
Rykk growled as he flew towards Calamity. Though he wasn't a fan of the Chief, he didn't deserve to be killed by Calamity.
Rykk was joined by the rest of the team, they yelled as they ran towards their foe.
Sly teleported behind Calamity and fired a bolt of Bide.
The bolt hit but Calamity just cracked his neck from side-to-side. Bide had no effect on him and he dodged a blast of lightning from Leo.
The plaza was filled with the sounds of battle. This fight required much more effort from Calamity than most of his previous ones.
Rykk yelled as he fired Alter beams and used his energy to try and counter Calamity's Ravage attacks. Calamity commanded his puppets to attack. Rykk unleashed his as well. The difference between Rykk's puppet and Calamity's was that it was dark grey in color.
Sly would exchange blocks and strikes with his staff. He also had puppets, two of them, and used them alongside Rykk's. They were a dark blue in color. He teleported around erratically but Calamity was quick. Sly's Bide wasn't completely useless against Calamity; whenever Calamity threw something with Ravage, Sly would shoot it with Bide. Bide overrode Ravage and slowed the chunk of rock or metal.
Carmelita fired blasts of sapphire flames and was quick to dodge Calamity's sword and anything he threw with Ravage.
Leo alternated between firing plasma bolts and lightning, to swinging Fang's blade. Often he would get in a short exchange with Calamity's blade.
Ratchet stuck mostly with his normal size when fighting. He didn't want to be a big target against Calamity and the square, though big, offered little room for maneuvering. His increased reflexes served him well as did his wrench.
Arcane stood back and used Ferra's hornet form to try and harass Calamity.
Bastion shielded herself, Fen, and anyone who needed to take a brief respite from the fight.
Revamp stayed in his Prowler form (he wanted to be a Hunter but, like Ratchet's dilemma, there wouldn't be enough space to fight.). He was very careful to dodge Calamity's blade and tried to claw and bite the dark entity.
The fight wound all around the square. A couple times Calamity, Rykk, and Leo took to the air and fought on the side of the buildings.
After a few minutes passed the rescue op started and Kaden was tense. He could hear the exchange of gunfire and yells coming from the mobile com unit the Law men had. Not being able to see what was happening made the situation tense.
"Yaaaah!"
"Shots fired!"
"You're all dead!"
"Man down!"
"Get him!"
"Die! You son of a… AAACK!"
"Hostile down!"
"Down with the Law!"
"I'm hit!"
"Yow!"
"I'll kill you all!"
"AAAAH!"
"Got him!"
…
…
"Carter," Atlas started, "Attero gunmen are down. Hostages are secure, wait, dere's two Attero an' a hostage missin'. Bones, 'ave ya got an eye on dem?"
"Scanning… found the Attero, they're in the tunnel that leads out to an AirRail. I cannot see the mission hostage."
"Show me where they are." Kaden stated.
"Hey, I can't let you…" Carter started but was interrupted by Kaden.
"I'm doing this, you can come with me but I am going."
"He is the closest one to them." Bones stated. "He can keep an eye on them, maybe slow them down while backup is on his tail."
Carter relented; though he couldn't go with him as he had to manage his men.
With that, Kaden followed Bones' voice to the tunnel.
"I'm sending Atlas and two other Law Men as backup." Carter said through Kaden's com, "Keep an eye on them Mr. Ellipse."
"Copy that,"
Kaden made it in time to see them jump from the tunnel's opening onto an AirRail.
Too bad Ratchet's not here, this would've been even more fun. He thought as he ran and jumped onto the rail. It took his eyes a brief second to adjust from the dark tunnel to the bright sunlight. He felt his boots shift under him as they shot orange energy that connected to the rail and propelled him. He wasn't physically touching the rail but hovered a few inches above it. The rail curved up and around a tower.
Kaden looked up and saw the two gunmen jump from the ascending rail onto a descending one. Kaden gauged the distance, tensed his body, and leapt. He loved the feeling of flying through the air. He glanced down and saw the city below him before he landed on the rail. He lurched a bit as the rail dropped rapidly towards the ground. The gunmen slowed when the rail was about ten feet above the ground and leapt off. They then ran down the street on foot. Where are you going? Kaden was puzzled by their actions.
He did the same as they did and pursued them down a crowded street. He was gaining on them when they made a hard turn into an alley. He followed them, nearly tripping as the turn was very quick. These guys must've gotten their hands on some Hammer. They led him through a maze of alleys and back roads until they came to a dead end.
It was then Kaden got a good look at them. One was a human; the other a lombax and they both looked rough. The lombax was a towering figure; he must've been around 6'6" while the human was around 5'8".
"You boys seem to have run out…" Kaden's heart stopped when he heard an all-too-familiar sound. A sound similar to dark wind instruments being blown in a mesmerizing manner.
A green light glowed against Kaden's face.
Revamp got an opening and leapt at Calamity. His Prowler claws were extended and his fangs were bared in a furious snarl.
Suddenly everything went silent and he stopped.
The enhanced lombax was confused until he looked down.
He saw Calamity smiling with his blade embedded in his midsection. The Prowler was impaled on the blade and held in the air.
Everyone froze as Calamity threw the mortally wounded lombax off his blade. As he flew off the blade, Draxis turned back into his lombax form. Calamity then tossed a boulder on top of Draxis; it crushed his legs and lower torso.
Arco was mortified and ran over to her badly hurt boyfriend. She yelled his name and felt sick with fear.
Fen was enraged, he yelled, and drew his swords. He charged Calamity and had Ferra turn into a trio of crows. They flew at and pecked Calamity. Rykk, Ratchet, and Sly joined him in the assault. Murray and Leo ran to help Draxis.
The rage of the group was intense and it was what Calamity wanted. He got an opening and, in an instant, sliced off Fen's left arm and left leg. Calamity then kicked the howling, red lombax back.
Rykk roared at the top of his lungs as he flew apart into an Alter storm. It roared towards Calamity and knocked Sly back. It threw him into a building before disappearing into the ground. The storm reappeared but it was different. It was composed of pieces of the ground, rock and stone. The pieces were held together by Alter and together they formed a beast. It was in shape similar to a huge ape. It had a roughly-shaped face, with eyes made of Alter. Its mouth was filled with fangs made of Alter. Rykk's new form stood around forty to fifty feet in height and was intimidating.
Rykk roared and ran on all fours towards Calamity.
At the sight of the rock/Alter beast, everyone froze and rushed to give him room. They focused on helping Fen and Draxis and getting them to a safe distance.
Fen was yelping and crying, clutching what was left of his bleeding arm and leg. Sly gave Fen some Healer; it stopped the bleeding from being deadly.
Draxis' condition was much more dire. Not only was he impaled on Calamity's dual blades, but his legs and lower body were under a boulder and mostly crushed. He lay on his back. Arco, Ratchet, and Leo all gave him as much Healer as they could but there was a limit to how much Healer can fix, no matter the amount applied.
Draxis was dying.
Pain racked his body and blood was pouring from his nose and mouth. "Arco… I'm… sorry…" He coughed up some blood.
Arco was struggling to speak coherently to her dying boyfriend. "Don't be, you fought well."
Draxis coughed violently once more. "I… lo… ve… you…" At that, the young, lombax warrior went limp.
Arco's yells of pain and misery rang out and put everyone in a state of anger and despair.
Calamity's tactics changed and he started to avoid Rykk's new form. He actually looked slightly afraid as Rykk tried to crush or bite him. Though Rykk's new form couldn't fly, he could leap incredible heights and made Calamity constantly move. Calamity was actually running half the time. The other half he would try to cut at his attacker. His blade did manage to cut, but its effectiveness was severely limited. His cuts weren't deep but his Ravage attacks were somewhat effective. They slowed the rock/Alter beast but didn't seem to do any real damage. Calamity was shocked when he was hit and flew into a building. The blow would've easily killed a normal person but it barely fazed him. It was more of an insult to him than anything else. Calamity growled, he knew this wasn't working for him. If he was going to get Rykk, it wasn't at that time or while he was in that form.
Calamity shot himself out of the building as the beast leapt onto it. Calamity looked down and saw Rykk's gang huddled on the ground. He flew towards them and yanked out a huge piece of the building above them. "Rykk, save your friends or come get me, your choice!" Calamity laughed as he flew off. He hated running, but he knew he couldn't take Rykk then and there. Besides… dying at that time wasn't part of the plan.
Rykk stopped, Calamity you coward! I hate you! Playing the same trick is cheap! He thought as he jumped towards the debris. His larger form knocked the debris away and it crashed into an unoccupied street. Rykk looked back up but Calamity was gone, he roared in frustration before reverting to his original state.
He landed, the sight of Draxis pinned and dead made him sick but he didn't show it. He showed little emotion as he approached. "I'm sorry guys, but we need to go and get Atlas and Kaden."
"Draxis is dead," Fen stated.
"We will be too if Calamity decides to come back." Rykk stated in a cold manner.
Arco looked up at him. "How can you be that cruel?! Your friend is dead! I love him!"
Rykk kept his cold, calm, distant expression and tone. "I can be because I am used to this. Now we must go." Though he was cold outwardly, inwardly he was just as upset.
"Ok everyone, hands up!" A loud voice rang out and ten armed men surrounded the group.
Thought the Attero was trying to hold the Chiefs hostage? Sly thought.
Everyone put their arms up except for Arco and Fen (obviously).
"You guys just got here right?" Rykk asked the gunmen.
"Yeah, now give us all your Icons and valuables."
Rykk grinned and lowered his hands, "Look pal, we're having a rough day. Leave us alone or I'll kill you all." He said in a dark tone.
"Look you white-tipped freak; just give us your money!" The thug ordered.
That was the worst thing to say at the worst time; the leader just signed his and his men's death warrants. Rykk quickly touched Sly's shoulder.
"Blast this area with Bide" Rykk said in Sly's mind. "Leave only you and me free to move. I'm taking these guys out."
Sly nodded and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and felt Bide gather inside him. He quickly shot his arms up and there was a red/grey flash. Instantly everything in the area, except for Sly and Rykk, was frozen. Everything was drained of color except for the grey/red color of Bide.
Rykk summoned one of his blades and proceeded to cut and stab each one of the group of Attero. The wounds didn't bleed as he cut their major arteries and veins. He vented his anger, rage, and frustration.
Sly was aghast that Rykk was killing these men. Sure they were criminals, sure they had them at gunpoint, but he could've just knocked them out or disabled them. Sly didn't do anything though, he just watched with a darkly firm expression.
Rykk finished and he approached Sly. "Unfreeze them," Rykk ordered in a cold manner.
Sly slowly raised his hand, as if he were pulling a lever. Instantly time resumed and all the gunmen fell at the same time. Blood began to pour from their wounds. Sly looked away, the hood from his sleeveless jacket hid the dark expression on his face.
To everyone else that was frozen, it looked like the gunmen had spontaneously started bleeding and fell.
"Let's go," Rykk barked. He wasn't in a good mood.
"They've… got him…" One of the thugs said as he faded.
Everyone stopped, "Who's they? And who do they have?" Ratchet asked as he was closest to the thug.
"They… got… a…" The thug was near the end. "Chief…" at that he collapsed.
"A Chief?" Ratchet asked before his expression became filled with worry, "Dad!" He grew to twenty feet before he ran off. He grew so he could cover more distance. He was careful enough to avoid injuring innocents but was quick.
"Murray and Carmelita, help Fen, Draxis, and Arco back to the Atmo." Rykk ordered as he, Leo, and Sly took off after Ratchet.
Thanks for reading and stay thirsty my friends.