Chapter 22
The battle of the Grid caused fluctuations in the power couplings, disabling the shield over the city. Aaron smirked from the good fortune as he darted over the wall and the great stretch of wilderness of the Grid. Far ahead, a small glow was quickly diminishing. Aaron was positive, the glow of orange was the Disciple's patrol. Aaron swore as he saw the glow getting smaller and weaker. Restlessly, he searched around the cockpit for any control. The mechanisms of the Jet were few and simple. He then found another function he'd previously not used. With a shrug and deep sigh, Aaron waved over the mechanism. The wings in the nose folded into the sides of the Jets body and the booster in the rear kicked into an entirely new propulsion level. Aaron felt as if he was melting into the cushioned pads which he lay in the cockpit from the immense overpowered acceleration. The air around him roared as he stiffly adjusted course when needed. The smeared glow ahead began to part into individual glows as he got closer and closer to the procession. Ahead, the pilot programs straddling their First Generation Light Jets turned their heads, seeing only a bolt of blue light fast approaching. Two banked into a flip, arching high in the air and rounding behind Aaron's jet which was now only yards away. Their orange laser ribbons traced their route, leaving the lethal walls behind in their wake. Aaron quickly disengaged the setting needing complete control to navigate the barricades of the ribbons and ready to engage the two jets. From behind, they fired their wing mounted cannons at his Jet. With a snide grin, Aaron thumbed another control, emitting his own light ribbon. In a swift maneuver, he executed a sharp turn which careened into a corkscrew. The jets behind banked away to avoid impact, and pursued with their cannons blazing. Aaron rolled to avoid the blasts, creating a complicated tunnel with the ribbon. Quickly he threw the throttle back, flipping his jet in a sharp back flip, arching behind the jets, lining them in his sighting reticule. Aaron squeezed the trigger again, releasing another hail of lasers. The Jet ahead of him, spun to avoid the shots, though was winged in its attempt. As it teetered unstably, Aaron gunned the accelerator, cutting down in front of the program's route. The light ribbon of Aaron's wake sliced the jet down the middle before dispersing into tiny bits in the wind. The program manning the second light jet glanced back at his derezzed comrade. Aaron swerved his jets course, shifting his ribbon's path into a collision with the other pilot. When the program finally returned focus, it was too late. He slammed into the remaining wall, derezzing on impact. Aaron whooped again as he spun back on course with the initial patrol. His eyes grew wide and mouth dropped, finally realizing how much ground he'd lost. Spanning far out over the horizon was the vast Sea of Simulation. The dark depths restlessly surrounded the grand body of land which comprised of the Grid, nearly mirroring the torrent of the stormy sky. The Disciples patrol was nearing the shore while Aaron was still in the midst of the Outlands. Aaron kept calm over the stressful circumstance, remembering the Light Jet's enhanced capabilities. Suddenly, the displays of the craft flashed urgently red. The Jet shuddered, bobbing in the air and losing speed. Aaron scrambled on his back inside the cockpit, searching for the cause. The displays all around him shone calculations showing his craft losing power. "Oh perfect!" he grumbled as the Jet shuddered again. According to the display, he only had seconds left before the Jet would disengage completely. As he struggled for a solution, he saw the Disciples getting further and further away. Suddenly a surging emission of light caught the corner of his eye. Aaron glanced down over his shoulder spotting one of the many bright glowing blue transmission beams, streaking in a single straight direction above the black ocean below. The beams emitted from transmission nodes located throughout the edges of the Grid. From what Aaron saw, the Disciples' route was evenly parallel with the rod of pure energy. His eyes darted between the two of them, wincing at the inspiration of pure insanity that burned in his head. His Jet was shutting down, and he was in a race against evil and oppression. Cursing over the blaring alarms of his cockpit, Aaron shifted the throttle, banking off to the left. His Jet shuddered violently now as he drifted over the beam. He climbed higher slightly before making his move. "Bad friggen idea!" he belted as he disengaged his Jet. The cockpit around him seemed to digitally collapse and fold away. He quickly snapped the baton to his boot before wrenching his disc off his back, gripping it tightly in both hands, he dove straight into the intense burning glow of the beam. Aaron squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn't going to work, he just knew it. He expected to just disintegrate into the beam without a trace; he didn't though. Zipping down the beam headfirst with his disc out in front, Aaron soared through the beam. The surging power was overwhelming, causing his stiff arms to shake, feeling a pressurized squeeze on the rest of his body. Aaron dared to open his eyes, nearly blinded by the sudden exposure of immense light. The beam to his surprise looked almost hollow, comprised by a collection of millions of tiny streaks of the pure energy, surging in a single direction like a current. The experience was exhilarating, Aaron no longer traveled as fast as a bullet, he was a bullet, launching across the Grid at an unfathomable rate. He turned his head to the right, to watch as he was neck and neck with the Disciple's patrol. A single large aircraft Aaron had never before seen, edged with the orange circuitry was flanked by an escort of two other Light Jets and four Recognizers. Aaron contemplated the force the Disciples had escorting them, calculating the sum of the Recognizers and the Light Jets. He shrugged off the thought; he'd deal with the odds when he faces them. Suddenly, the patrol broke from its route, taking its cues from the Disciple's Light Shuttle. Watching them he saw the patrol branching away to the east. Aaron readied himself for what he knew he had to do. He made three tiny heaves of his body encased in the beam before throwing his weight and out of the current. He felt himself break through the beam and back into the cold contrast from inside the hot energy of the beam. Free from the beam, he shifted his weight over to his right, leering away from the beam. He flailed while still being launched forward by the extreme momentum gained from the beam's acceleration. Grasping his focus again, he felt himself begin to lose momentum, slowly beginning to drop as he rapidly launched forward. Next Aaron knew, the dark misty, rocky ground was swallowed by the vast, dark depths of the Sea of Simulation. Desperately, Aaron replaced his disc on his back and scrambled for his baton. He reached to his boot and quickly grasped both ends. "Please work!" he pleaded to himself before breaking the two ends. Again he was forced onto his back, which he expected this time. The cockpit materialized around his body and long, skinny wings expanded from the nose of the sleek Jet. Not long after he banked sharply in an airborne U-turn just feet above the black ocean, the circuitry of the Jet flickered and flashed. The displays blared red again. Like an overused battery, the craft was barely grasping sustainment with nothing but the scraps of its power reserves. Aaron focused on the large body of orange glows which had landed. On the edge of a geometrically shaped peninsula, the crafts had landed. The beam had carried him far over the dark ocean. Aaron dared to push the limits of the Jet pushing it as fast as it would go. He shot through the air, once again feeling as if he was sinking into the pad of the slim cockpit. He shuddered violently, his teeth vibrating from the uncontrollable shaking of the craft. The shoreline of the peninsula was now within sight, he was nearly there. Then his Jet failed. The craft lost all acceleration, soaring purely on momentum now. Aaron watched as the cockpit around him collapsed away again. The two ends of the baton in his tight grasps were all that remained of the jet. The momentum still carried him but couldn't keep him away from plummeting into the depths of the Sea of Simulation. The splash was agonizingly painful, Aaron had broke through the surface on his back, unable to straighten out into a pencil form. The pain at first was excruciating, though slowly eased away. His eyes which previously had been squeezed shut, gently opened. All sense returned to him as he clawed away at the numbing bite of the water. He had no perception of how deep he truly was. As he looked down there was only the pitch black of the depths, looking up was no better. He kicked hard with his legs propelling to the unknown break of surface. First through to the brisk yet relieving air were his hands quickly followed by his head. Aaron gorged on a huge breath of air as he frantically bobbed in the unstable shift of the ocean. Darting his head around, he found land just feet away. Aaron powered through the overwhelming cold of the Sea, propelling to the land before him. From where he swam, he saw ahead of him in the distance the gathering of orange glows of circuitry on the programs' attire. Aaron tore through the Sea like a surfer past the breakers. He was a strong swimmer though the overwhelming fatigue of his recent actions tolled on his aching body. Finally, his fingertips grappled onto the edge of solid land. There was no steady descend of a beach beneath a tide, only a merciless drop off into nothing. As he threw his heavy arms out from the ocean and onto the solid land, his body slammed into the face of the sudden ledge of solid ground. Taking deep breathes at his first chance, Aaron rested his weary head on his arms, treading with his stomach down submerged. As his vision cleared, Aaron remembered where he was and the stakes he was up against. Groaning and straining his fatigued body, he pulled himself on shore. Slowly, he rose to his feet looking out over the terrible sight. The Guards all circled around a pedestal in the center of the flat, grey peninsula. From the distance he was at he could barely make out the ceremonial progression of black robed figures, approaching the pedestal. Winded yet determined, Aaron mustered his strength and sprinted to the pedestal. No matter what, the Disciples could not leave! As he got closer and closer, he made out the figure of at the head of the procession, gingerly holding Aaron's own disc in his pale hands. With a grimace, Aaron reached for his borrowed disc and heaved it at the Guard closest in the circle. The program never saw it coming, derezzing on impact without warning. The disc returned to Aaron as well as capturing the attention of the surrounding Guards. They spun to face him, drawing discs and batons. Upon retrieving his disc, he spun it out again, encountering a Guard wielding only a baton-staff. Aaron quickly covered ground, approaching the Guard head on. Aaron swiftly wielded his disc in the encounter, treating it as a set of brass knuckles. As the Guard swung hard left, Aaron deflected with a punch-like maneuver to the side then followed through slicing the program on the chin. He dropped with bits flying as Aaron spun out of the way to continue a charge. He jumped into the air, spinning with his body horizontal to the ground before releasing the disc. The powerful attack missed the programs completely, impacting on the ground between two of them, sending an explosion of light, swallowing them whole. Aaron finally closed in near the pedestal, just outside the ring of Guards. Six Guards faced him, batons pointed out at him, daring the user to make a move. A guttural hissing chuckle lofted in the air.
"Impressive, User, to come so far for nothing," Scyluss taunted, fixing him with the same stare as his fellow Disciples. "Despite your misguided efforts, you have failed." Scylus suddenly bellowed a guttural roar as he hefted the disc over his hooded head then slammed it into a slot on the floor of the pedestal. A wave of light expanded from the center of the pedestal, enveloping the dark area in a blue light. Lesser programs destabilized from the immense force which came from the disc of a user. Scylus retracted three steps as a pillar of blue energy surged from the disc, reaching endlessly into the storm ridden sky. Aaron, after tumbling from the force of the wave regained his footing. Scylus stood aside motioning for Vyril to approach the pillar. The broad beam of energy glowed fiercely, nearly washing out the white, pale faces of the Disciples. With a determined, devious grin, she stepped into the pillar, disappearing into the flare of light. With a tiny bow of the head to Scylus, Avro too submerged into the light. Scylus looked to his two remaining brothers, who gracefully waved him away.
"No Brother," Jekl boasted.
"I want the User," Drux said lustfully with a snarl.
"Careful Brothers, I don't need to remind you how long you have after removing the key," the Disciple warned. Aaron watched as Scylus gave one last stare then reached down to the ground and drew the disc from the slot in the pedestal. To his surprise, the pillar of light remained. Scylus stepped into the pillar. Drux and Jekl both leapt from the stone pedestal to the hard, flat ground. Landing on their feet, they emerged with discs in hand, sizzling and burning hot red. Aaron glared back at them, his disc held loosely in his grip. Drux, a program not much different than his fellow Disciple, made the first move. His broad form chucked his disc out from across his chest. Aaron didn't dare depart from his own, knowing his companion Jekl would retaliate the moment he let it go. Within seconds after smacking away Drux's disc, Jekl's sizzled up at him. Aaron dodged the attack, leaning far back. Following through with his dodge, Aaron leapt into the air, launching to them, closing the gap between the combatants. He, however, found himself where he didn't want to be. In the middle of furious sweeps and short jabs and slices, Aaron focused all his attention on deflecting attacks instead of dealing them. Drux finally rounded behind him, grabbing his back collar and revving for a slice. Aaron reacted, throwing his weight to the side, minimizing the hit spot and depth of the wound. The blood dripped away from him through the incision on his back. With a grunt, Aaron rolled away from a cascade of incoming slams from Drux. Jekl hung back, laughing as his eccentric brother continued trying to nab Aaron on the ground.
"They say Users are difficult to erase," he laughed, his sick pale, white face contorted with evil glee. "That you're immortal, that you're divine." Aaron finally rolled far enough to regain his footing, glaring back up at the taunting Disciple. "Yet you seem no more powerful than any of the rabble that you strive to defend." Aaron quickly diverted from Drux's next over powering blow. Launching his disc out at the program and slicing through him in a rain of crystalline bits. Aaron turned to face the Disciple, catching his returning disc without breaking an intense stare down.
"Well, then you must not be worth anything," Aaron shot back. Then with a grin very much like a boy grown on the beaches of California by day and lashed out by night, Aaron scoffed boldly at him. "Cause I'm gonna mess you up." The user charged at the Disciple in a full on sprint. Drux too charged head on, disc drawn. As the two closed in on each other, their discs sizzled and flared in their respective colors. Drux moved first, fueled by rage and bad judgment. Aaron focused on the Disciple's sweeping hand, swerving just out of reach and bringing down his own disc, slicing straight through the program's arm. The limb shattered away into derezzed bits. With a wail, the Disciple dropped to his knees, shuffling around as he flailed the jagged stump of his arm. Aaron turned to face the Disciple, rage and torment imprinted on his evil face. "That's how its done in Cali, bro," Aaron breathed. With a final heave and grunt, he chucked his disc hard at the fallen, crippled program, shattering him from the chest out. The disc arched around into Aaron's grip. The rumble of the surge of energy from the pedestal began to die as the column shuttered unstably. Storing his disc, Aaron sprinted, clambering onto the stone pedestal and leaping into a dive into the collapsing pillar.