Guardians' Tales
Chapter VI: Jump Into Hell
Era: Tranquil-Mystic Calendar
Cycle: June 24, 2548
Time: 24:17 Galactic Standard Time, 15:00 Resident Time
Star Cluster: HUB
Planet: Resident
Location: SOLDIER Institute, Main Gym
Sora's POV
"Today, you will receive the privilege of learning why the ODSTs are called Hell Jumpers."
"This can't be good." I heard Shin comment next to me.
"You will be dropped into a simulation of the school's design this time." The Sergeant told us, to which the crowd released small mumbles of joy. "Don't get too excited now. I still had input on how you will start the mission, and just because I'm not directly responsible for the actual exercise, doesn't mean that it will a walk in the park. As a matter of fact, it will be much more difficult." The crowd released a collective groan, to the amusement of the Sergeant and some of the more sadistic upperclassmen. "In a moment I will start the simulation. At that point, you will be materialized into a briefing room with your designated team. From there, Commander Sark or Aurora Unit three-one-three, will give your designated task. Unlike the last exam, there is no time limit. You just have to complete the mission." That's a relief. The Sergeant hit the switch and the floor lit up a bright white-blue light and we were transported away to the exam.
We were transported to a large room with a table mounted to the floor in the center. From a glance, the table looked to be a holo-projector.
"We're in space?!" I heard Roxas shout and turned to look at something that I did not notice at first. The windows that surround the room peered into the vast darkness of space. How I missed that is beyond me as we were surrounded by nothing but windows, only an entry way on the right and a low hanging staircase to the left that obscured my vision.
I ran to the window and looked down at the blue planet below us. The large continents and the swirling clouds above the land.
"What is this place?" Xion asked.
"Earth." Riku replied. "The planet that has endured every test that has ever been thrown its way in the short time it has existed."
"And I thought I was knowledgeable." Shin commented next to him. "I wonder why we would have a mission here."
"That is because the terrain of Earth is perfectly suited for this particular endeavor." We looked around the room when a monotone female voice replied to Shin's question.
"Are you the Aurora Unit for our briefing?" Shin asked the disembodied voice.
"That is correct, Shinryu." The voice replied and then the table in the middle of the room lit up with ghostly blue light and an obtuse ovular structure projected itself on the table behind us. "I am Aurora Unit three-one-three. I will be simultaneously administering the objective to five different teams."
"I'm guessing the teams each have different objectives." Riku asked the AI.
"That is correct, Riku. You will competing against one of the teams overseen by Commander Sark for the same objective."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Roxas cut in. "So we're racing against one of the other teams?"
"That is correct, Roxas. Your team will have the objective to retrieve an artifact from a tower in the center of a city surrounded by dense jungle foliage."
"What is the artifact?" Shin asked.
"I do not have that information."
"What?!" I exclaimed. "How are we supposed to find the objective if we don't know what we are looking for?"
"The Sergeant left a message for that very question." The projector changed from the Aurora Unit to a projection of Sergeant Johnson. "In case you are worrying about how you are going to find the objective to this exam, the answer is simple. Get off your lazy ass and figure it out!" Sometimes I wonder if the Sergeant is the son of Samuel L. Jackson. "The point of studying is to go through and find the information you need in order to solve an upcoming problem! The text is provided, you just have to read between the lines!" The Sergeant's figure disappeared.
"Well that was helpful." Shin sarcastically added.
"He's blunt, if nothing else." Isaac added. "Reminds me a bit of Grandfather Isaiah."
"At any rate…" Kairi cut in, refocusing us. "We can worry about the finer details when we actually get going. We already know that it is in a tower somewhere in the city center. Once we get there, we should be able to find whatever it is we are looking for."
"That is correct. You will find a set of weapons near your mode of transportation to the planet's surface. Just head to the right and find what you will need for the mission, then meet back here for the second part of the briefing."
We did as we were told and moved to the side of the room where we were told to supply ourselves. Riku, Roxas, and I grabbed some basic swords, nothing special, Roxas grabbing two short swords as opposed to me as I grabbed a double-edged broadsword and Riku grabbing a katana called a Dotanuki, apparently the name stands for torso cutter. Pretty intense I know. Kairi grabbed a pair of armored gauntlets that covered her fist and forearms and held retractable claws, think wolverine, and armored greaves that extended over her knees while Naminé grabbed a scythe that was about as tall as she was. Why a scythe? Apparently there wasn't a bow staff. We all grabbed a bag full of potions and cures for the instances we get hit with some ailments. Terra grabbed a bow and some arrows just for good measure. The bag itself was a single shoulder strap that wrapped around our torsos. While we waited, I noticed that there were nine escape pods lined against the wall. I guess they were probably put there to show some sense of realism for the military installation we were on. We returned to the steel table and the Aurora unit appeared once again.
"Now that you have supplied yourselves, I will commence with the rest of the briefing." The table lit up underneath the Aurora Unit with a tower surrounded by a crumbling city with a number of smoking debris and dense foliage. "The city has been infested with an unknown enemy force that is currently battling for dominance in the streets. The inhabitants have already been killed, you are to find the artifact located somewhere in the tower and retrieve it. Once you have it, you will need to make your way to the top of the tower where you will be air lifted out, thus completing your mission." All the while, the map was showing arrows leading from the three locations towards and through the city and up the tower. "As I'm sure you have noticed, there are three starting points where there should be one. The reason being is that you will be split into three groups and you will have to rendezvous with each other before advancing to the tower."
"There's always a catch." Isaac added in an annoyed tone.
"The next step of the briefing will be the most crucial step. You need to form a strategy for the execution of the mission. When preparations are complete, you are to proceed back to the area where you supplied yourselves for the final step. Report when you are done. And remember, once this transmission ends, the race to attain the artifact will officially begin." With that the hologram flickered off and the image of the city remained.
"Wait!" Roxas tried to stop the Aurora Unit from leaving, but was a second too late. "Great…so what do we do now?"
Isaac circled around the table, removing his sunglasses and letting the pale light coat and shadow his features. Shin and Riku did the same thing, while Kairi and Naminé just stood at one side of the table and stared at it intently like the other three.
"I guess we start brainstorming, and quick." Xion replied and went to take a place next to Kairi at the table.
"Your sister sure is the go with the flow type of person, huh?" Roxas whispered next to me.
"Something she got from Mom." I replied rubbing the back of my head. "We might as well join them. You know, pull our weight and what not."
"After you."
We stood staring at the table for a good five minutes, no one speaking up for the whole time. That is, until Shin spoke up first.
"Anyone have any ideas. Besides winging it." He aimed the last one towards Isaac.
"We know that we need to retrieve some artifact from that tower." Kairi pointed to the tower in the center of the city. "We also know that we will be dropped into three different zones and will have to make our way there before the other teams can have a chance to retrieve the artifact."
"We also know that the city is currently occupied by some unknown force." Riku added.
"If we're going to split into groups, then we be as efficient as possible." Shin replied.
"I think we should have the fastest people in one group, with the strongest in another and the cleverer of us in another." Kairi suggested. "That way the faster of the group can reach the tower and scout the area for the other groups."
"Since it's a race, then that will be the best idea for completing the mission." Riku agreed.
"But it's the most dangerous." Isaac added, his fist on the table and a hand on his chin with his fingers wrapped around his sunglasses as he stared at the table.
"It's a race, Isaac." Kairi added sternly, her eyes on the analytical guy. "We need to get to the artifact first and this is the best way."
"The other team will have thought of this strategy as well so we have to move quickly." Riku concurred.
"And normally I would agree." Isaac stated as he leaned in closer. "Except for a few things. We don't know what we are dealing with and splitting the teams up like you were suggesting would leave everyone exposed and vulnerable."
"Do you have a better idea?" Riku asked with folded arms.
"Just a few." Isaac replied. "For instance, we are going to be dropped into three zones regardless of what teams we form and having everyone separated in the jungle is extremely inadvisable. It would be better to have us split into three's with a power hitter, a speedster, and someone clever. That way, we can cover each other and maximize our chances for survival instead of having everyone so divided that we might as well be painting bulls eye's on our backs."
"But that will take too long." Kairi reasoned.
"Not if we pick the teams accordingly. We put Riku, Sora, and Kairi on one team. Riku's clever, he can find a way around potentially dangerous situations for the group. Sora is quick and nimble, he can scout an area for them to proceed through, and in the event that you run into some trouble you have Kairi to lend a hand to help level the playing field. Instead of having Sora, Xion, Kairi, and myself on the quickster team without any heavy hitting support besides Kairi. Or Shin Naminé and Xion on the clever team without any back up."
"That would be the safest way to do things." Naminé added.
"And we can move efficiently as well." Terra added.
"Do you really think this plan will work?" Kairi asked.
"No." Not the best response Isaac could make considering that he thought Kairi's idea was worse. "Too many unknown variables. This plan relies on us being able to work together and analyze our environment so we can get clues as to what we are looking for and what we are facing."
"Then our next plan should be to find a rendezvous point before we enter?" Shin added.
"That would be prudent. The only question is…"
"Where?" Isaac and shin leaned in close to the table and Isaac traced his finger over the city.
"Looks like here is a good place to meet." Isaac pointed at a half crumpled building half-way into the city with a corner of the ten story building missing, like someone had taken a three story bite out of it. "It's the closest building to the tower and at the safest distance for us to travel. With plenty of coverage to duck in and out of."
"The only problem is this." Shin pointed to one of the landing zones to the northeast of the building. "Whoever lands there will have to travel the furthest distance to reach the rendezvous point."
"Then that will be the point that I have to drop into. I'm the fastest person here so I'll have no problem traveling that distance."
"I'll go as well." Terra replied. "I can fly and carry one other person so we can keep moving quickly."
"Much appreciated." Isaac replied. "Now I need someone clever. Shin, you up for to be our clever guy?"
Shin just raised a brow at the question. "Why not? We worked well together in the exam."
"So that leaves Xion, Roxas, and Naminé on the remaining team." Isaac looked at the final group. "I'd say we are pretty well off. Let's get to the supply area so we can get a move on."
"Just one question." Xion asked. "Who's the clever person in our group?"
"Simple." Isaac replied. "You and Naminé. Roxas is your heavy hitter."
"Oh…" Roxas replied feeling somewhat dejected.
"Relax, Roxas. Clever just means how perceptive you are. Everyone in this room is clever. I'm just focusing more on who is stronger and quicker, different kinds of clever if you will." Isaac replied, wrapping an arm around Roxas. "Don't ever think this…" He tapped Roxas on the head. "Is useless."
"Alright, Isaac." Roxas meekly replied.
"Come on now!" Isaac lightly shook Roxas. "You can do better than that."
"Alright, alright, jeez!" Roxas added a little more enthusiasm in his replied as he pushed Isaac off of him. "Man, you are too giddy."
"Ya got that right!" We chuckled and made our way towards the escape pods that we were at earlier.
"Have you decided on a plan of attack?" The Aurora Unit's voice called over the speakers.
"Yes." Riku replied.
"Then step into the pods. You will then be dropped through the atmosphere and into the jungle."
"Wait, dropped?!" The majority of us exclaimed, the exception being Isaac who just rubbed his temples and Shin and Riku who just placed a hand on their heads in annoyance.
"Yes. With these pods, you will be dropped towards your landing zones. Above the middle of the set of three pods will be a marker indicating which zone the pods will land."
"That's suicidal!" Riku exclaimed, looking up at the screens. "There's no way these pods can survive a drop through the atmosphere of a planet!"
"These pods can. If they are built to specification." Not helping computer! "These pods are used by the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers that Sergeant Johnson is a member of. They are nicknamed the Hell Jumpers because they would be dropped into the middle of enemy armies and through heavy artillery. The atmospheric entries are the least of their concerns in this respect."
"Has anyone actually died from riding in these things?" I really wish Shin hadn't asked that.
"Yes. There have been a few documented cases of ODSTs dying from an atmospheric drop. Most times, these are a result of a stray artillery shot striking the pod as it fell towards its destination."
"Will we have to deal with these variables?"
"I am not allowed to confirm or deny that question. You'll have to find out for yourself."
"Great." Shin sarcastically replied.
"Might as well get a move on. The sooner we drop, the faster we can move." Isaac stepped into the pod under the screen that marked the furthest landing zone, Shin piling into the one on Isaac's right and Terra taking the one on his left.
"This thing had better be safe." Riku piled into the one under the landing zone at the middle most distance. I loaded into the pod on his left, placing my sword and scabbard in a holster on the wall of the cramped pod and sitting on the padded seats and strapped myself in with the multiple belt straps. I assume Kairi piled into the remaining pod and Xion and the others piled into their respective pods. The hatches folding down over me and sealing me in an airtight lock with three screens on the inside of the hatch.
"The last of the teams have loaded into their respective pods." The faces of my dorm mates shown on three screens, each set of three on one screen and two on another screen. "We will commence with the drop sequence." The glass on the doors gave me a view of the room, even though I would rather have the pod not have a view of the planet below since I'm going to be falling through the atmosphere. The pods jostled and shook before I felt the pod be moved from where it was and out of the bay where a large shutter lowered in place of where we were resting. We turned to face another shutter in the very dark room until the floor of space we were in opened, the light from the planet below opening up below us. "Commencing drop sequence in three…two…one…drop!"
With that we were dislodged from the station and thrown towards the planet at incredibly intense speeds. Seriously, I felt my insides being forced up into my mouth.
"Now I get why they are called Orbital Drop Shock Troopers!" I heard Roxas grunt out through gritted teeth.
"If that title is literal, then I have one question." I heard Shin reply, having just as much trouble with the intense shaking as the rest of us. "When does the shock come into play?"
"Shin, sometimes I wish you wouldn't ask questions." I heard Riku reply in a somewhat stable tone, like he wasn't fazed by the shaking of the pod.
"Commencing final descent through Stratosphere in three…two…one…" The pods shook violently again, shaking my head abruptly. I think I might have whiplash now. "Commencing final descent to designated landing zones. From here on out, you are on your own. Everything you need in is the pod. May the Goddess have favor on you."
"Looks like we're on our own." I heard Isaac call over the radio and he was the most composed of the nine of us, even considering Riku, who looked like he had just managed to recover from the shockwave. Xion was holding her head on the screen, as was Naminé and Roxas. Kairi seemed like she was recovering and Isaac's team seemed to be just fine. Isaac leaned over to the side and retrieved something from the pod. "At least they were kind enough to provide communicators."
I saw everyone was going to retrieve their respective communicators so I retrieved mine, it was black and looked like a small Bluetooth headset with the speaker stopping halfway across my cheek.
"Not exactly fashionable." I heard Xion grumble.
"Not supposed to be." Riku replied. "We need to keep these on set frequencies. For the team as a whole and each individual squad." Riku rotated the device on its side. "Looks like there are three buttons. Two for individual frequencies and one to switch the communicator off and on."
"It only has four frequency settings." I heard Shin reply. "I think the team frequency should be four and have it set to the second button."
"Agreed." Isaac replied. He pulled a speaker down from under one of the arms of his sunglasses and tapped on the side of it. "I'll set the headset frequency in my glasses to match this headset."
"We'll be team two." Roxas told Naminé and Xion. "We'll probably get to the rendezvous point first so we'll have to scout the area."
"Looks like we'll land on the edge of the city." Naminé called. "We'll give guys a call if we see anything out of the ordinary."
"Much appreciated, Nam." Kairi replied.
"We'll be team one." I heard Riku call us. I flicked the button to team one and four respectively.
"That leaves us with team three." Shin stated. "We'd better keep these lines clear and only use them for emergencies."
"Like finding each other when we first land. These will also be our squad numbers. You know, keep it simple." Isaac replied, his head tilted towards the planet. I looked to see the cloud line quickly coming into view and the landscapes finally clearing up and it was amazing. Rolling hills and rocky-mountains, lush amber fields of the savanna and the lush green foliage of the forest. I noticed that each of the group pods were separated and moving further apart. Xion's group was at least ten miles away from us and Isaac's group even further away. "It looks like we'll be landing separately. Make sure you link up immediately before advancing any closer to the city." The image of Isaac and his group was starting to fill with static. "Sh-zzzt! Looks like we're-zzt out. Rem-zzt link up before-zzzzzt." The image faded into static and we saw the pods veer off sharply to the side and fire some after burners before deploying four pronged metal fans that slowed them down exponentially for five seconds before snapping off again.
"Sora-zzt!" I heard Xion call before her squad faded from the screen in static.
"Xion!"
"Relax, Sora." I heard Riku call over the comm. "Look." He pointed to the three pods landing close to the city edge. "They're landing and so are we." The pod suddenly slowed as, what I assume to be, our metal parachutes were deployed before the thud of the chutes being ejected came. "Get ready, we're going to link up immediately after we land so make sure you have that communicator on."
"Okay." I nervously replied.
"Don't worry, Sora." Kairi called this time. "She'll be fine. Now get ready." I looked back towards the glass screen to see the tree line rapidly approaching, less than a mile below us.
"Get ready!" Riku shouted and then there was a loud thud. Followed by darkness.
Shin's POV
My head throbbed. One of my belt straps popped as we landed and I hit my head hard against the padded seat head. I should be lucky it was padded or I would have been unconscious from the impact. I looked up to see that the glass of the pod covering had been cracked, not broken, and there was a countdown on the top of the pod. The countdown had some words under it that read Ejection Sequence. Before I could question what that meant, the countdown hit zero and a loud hiss emitted from the front of the pod as steam leaked out and was quickly followed by a detonation that jettisoned the front of the pod and allowed me to step out, after unbuckling myself and stumbling out of the pod.
"Shin, Terra, are you there?" I heard Isaac's voice over my ear piece.
"I'm here." I heard Terra respond.
"I'm hear as well." I managed a reply.
"You alright, Shin?" Terra asked me.
"Yeah, just a little bump on the head. I should be fine in a few minutes."
"Take your time and find someplace safe." I heard Isaac tell me again. "Terra, you go find Shin and give him some aid if he needs it."
"What about you?"
"I seem to be in a bit of a jam. My pod managed to land on its side and the Ejection Sequence wasn't able to put it upright so I could get out. I should be able to get out regardless, but it will take some time. Just focus on meeting up and be careful. We still don't know what we're dealing with."
"Okay, Isaac. Shin, where are you right now?"
"I think I landed further in from than you two." I examined my surroundings for the first time, I was surrounded by trees. Lots and lots of trees, but one tree was darker than the others. It looked black and twisted like it could come to life and strike me at any moment. "There's a black tree in the forest. If you landed behind me, then just keep going straight towards the city."
I didn't get a response for a few seconds, I guess Terra was trying to find her bearings. "I see it. I'll meet you there in about five minutes."
"I'll get there a little later, just have to, ugh! I just have to dislodge myself and I'll start making my way there. Just be watchful. Isaac out."
I retrieved my Solais and supply bag from the crashed pod and made my way up a nearby tree. I figured I might as well look around to see if I can learn anything. I looked around my immediate area for anything that could be helpful. Nothing was immediately apparent. 'Should've figured it wouldn't be that easy.' I looked to the top of the tree and saw that I could climb higher up it. 'Maybe I can see what happened to the city.' I climbed up the branches, passing half-broken limbs and fallen leaves until I could see the faint light at the top. When I pushed through, I could see the setting sun on the Savanna. It looked like something out of the Lion King. Normally I would appreciate this sight, but I had more pressing issues on my mind, like the loud explosion from the city behind me. I turned to see a new cloud of black smoke emanating from the destroyed city, the sound of energy weapons being discharged could be heard even from here which tells me that there is a big militia in the city.
"Shin!" I heard a familiar voice behind me and turned to see Terra flying towards me. She slowed to a halt and floated next to me. "Are you okay?" She asked as she floated around me to see if I was hurt anywhere, her hair and cape floating on the gentle breeze.
"I'm fine, Terra. Just a bump on the head." I replied, returning my attention to the ruined city.
"Let me see." Terra floated in front of me and moved my hair aside with her hand. "We hit the ground pretty hard, you could have a concussion." Her face was mere centimeters from mine and it was starting to get a little uncomfortable.
"Uh, I hit the back of my head Terra…" She looked at me and retracted her hand from my forehead before floating around behind me and checking my skull.
"You look alright to me." She told me before floating back to my side. "You should still be careful. At least until we get to the rendezvous point."
"Speaking of which." I put my hand to my ear to contact Isaac. "Isaac. Terra and I have met up. How is your situation coming?"
I waited a few seconds for the static to clear before receiving a reply.
Isaac's POV
You have got to be kidding me. I had just got off of the line with Shin and Terra before attempting to rectify my situation. As a recap, my drop pod had landed on a sloped hill in the forest, despite the thrusters on the bottom of the pod firing to help slow my descent even further, and rolled down the hill into a small cliff face and stopped on its side in such a way that the Ejection Sequence for the pod cover wouldn't open enough for me to squeeze through the cracks. I may be thin, but I'm no octopus. I still have a spine after all. So now I am faced with a problem of how to manually eject the hatch to the pod and roll it in such a way that I can get out.
'Let's see. The back of the pod is facing the hill I rolled down and the hatch is facing the cliff face. The hatch is slightly under the pod making it difficult for the force of the Ejection Sequence to actually roll the pod…maybe I can roll the pod slightly and hit the Ejection Sequence to give a little boost…provided there is something to latch onto since wood is not a viable option.'
I changed my eyes to my Aura Gaze to see if I could detect any kind of magnetic frequency. I saw something buried deep in the dirt, but it was too far to be of any use. I tried to look behind me, but the electrical circuitry in the pod, coupled with all the metal that was around me, made it difficult to locate anything to help improve my situation.
'Is there anything else?' I quickly looked around the cabin for anything that could help me, to no avail. 'Guess I'll have to improvise.' I looked at the pod hatch itself and noticed that the glass was cracked and could probably be broken if enough pressure was applied. 'Looks like I can fit one foot through there…and it looks like the panel next to it can fit one as well…that could work.'
I placed one foot against the first glass panel and braced myself against the back of the pod with my hands and left leg. I started bashing away at the already cracked glass. To my disappointment, it was still sturdy. Given that I had dropped through the atmosphere it is a good thing that it had held up so well. To my delight, it started to crack even further until it eventually broke. I did the same with the other glass panel, with some more difficulty, and another to make sure I could get some extra lift just in case I needed to adjust. I cleared out the jagged edges so I don't gut my legs while trying to make this hair brained scheme work. I really need to stop winging it. I braced my legs against the soil and kept my hands on the back of the pod.
"Okay, here goes nothing." I felt the electricity course through my body, still sore from that magic practice earlier. The black-blue bolts concentrating in my legs. I pushed against the soil and felt…nothing…the pod didn't budge at first.
'Looks like you need a little more juice.'
'Nah, ya think?' I put a little more power into my legs and pushed again, this time the pod actually moved a little. "That's more like it. Just a little more juice and a good push should do it." Once again I poured my energy into my legs and jumped. The pod moved around and onto its back, hitting my head against the padded seat and making me flop on my neck in an awkward position. "Heh? That actually worked."
'No kidding. Now you just need to open the hatch and find your team.' The old man told me.
'Thanks for pointing that out.' I rolled on my back and looked at the four red buttons for the manual eject.
'And it looks like your powers are gradually returning to manageable levels.'
'Now that you mention it, I do feel like I have more energy now. Maybe I'm adjusting to this new time zone.'
'Maybe. At any rate, it looks like you don't need my help to keep you conscious when using your powers.'
'Looks that way.'
'So I'm gonna go to sleep then. Between keeping you awake and stopping the Fair boy's powers from running amuck, I'm beat.'
'Alright, old man. Take as long as you like.'
'Oh, I will.'
I returned my attention to the buttons and hit each of them. The hatch hissed and steam leaked out of the pod before it exploded out and landed next to it. I pulled myself out to see my surroundings. My Aura Gaze was still on so I could see if I was in any immediate danger. To my relief, I wasn't. I returned to my Mortal Sight and saw the brown dirt and bark. The rocks and the branches that covered the slowly setting sun light.
"All of this detail for a retrieval scenario. Whatever suits them, I guess." I pulled my supply bag out of the pod and removed my cloak so I could place the bag comfortably around my body so the cloak can flow freely. I hopped down from the pod and made my way up the hill I rolled down. The trail of upturned soil making it readily apparent where I landed. I climbed a nearby tree to the top, jumping from branch to branch with ease as I had done so many times back home. When I reached the top I looked around to see where I was. The first direction I looked showed the city I was aiming for, behind me was the savanna. "There's the city, now where is Shin's landing site?"
I searched around until I could see something to help me find the crash site. I saw a red dot flying towards the city and I assumed that was Terra. She was moving pretty fast. "She isn't too far, probably a five minute sprint at top speed and I could catch her."
I jumped off of the tree and rolled down the hill towards the toppled pod at full speed. I jumped onto the pod and then atop the cliff and sprinted into the forest. I ran at top speed, jumping over ditches and vaulting over rocks like I was free running through a city until I came across a large skeleton and immediately slid to a stop to examine it. "What do we have here?" The skeleton was animal in nature, an elephant probably, it was completely devoid of anything that resembled flesh. "Could it be…?" The thought of those things sends chills up my spine. I have no way of killing those things short of becoming a walking bug zapper. I turned on my Aura Gaze and examined the creature thoroughly. "No. It couldn't be. They would still be here and the skeleton would exude a red Aura. But this… The last time I saw this was during the magic lesson when Riku…" I shot up and bolted towards Terra and Shin, channeling the black-blue electricity into my legs to give me greater speed. 'That couldn't be! They wouldn't!'
"Isaac. Terra and I have met up. How is your situation coming?"
You couldn't have better timing Shin. "Yeah. I'm on my way right now."
I guess they could hear my concern since the next thing I heard was Terra asking: "Is there a problem, Isaac?"
"I'm not sure, Terra. I need some more proof before making a conclusion. In the meantime, watch your backs. I should be there in five minutes."
"I copy. Terra will be on the forest floor so that Aura Gaze of yours should find her no problem."
"That'll be a great help. Isaac out." 'I need to hurry or we're all going to be in trouble.'
Kairi's POV
We landed hard, but without incident. I found Riku soon afterwards and we walked around to see if we could find Sora. I was getting a little worried since he hadn't answered our attempts to reach him over the headset.
"Do you think he died?"
"Riku!" I can't believe he said that.
"I'm just saying. Anything could've happened when we landed."
I was getting ready to respond when I saw another pod in the forest, laying on its side against a large rock wall. "Or maybe he's alright." I ran towards the pod and knelt down in front of it to look inside it. Thank Cosmos that he was in there. He was just asleep… ASLEEP!
"Guess I was wrong to worry." I heard Riku comment next to me.
"That lazy bum! To think that I was actually worried about him!" I began to bang on the hatch as hard as I could, my armored gauntlets making it easier to make a large amount of noise. "Sora, you bum! You'd better wake up right now or so help me I will beat the spikes off of you!"
"Easy there, Kairi." I heard Riku's amused tone in my ear. "He probably hit his head during the landing." He pointed to a large impact crater and some smaller ones that appeared at spaced intervals before a long trail appeared and lead to the large rock that the pod was laying against.
"We still need to wake him up. We can't get to him unless he activates the Ejection Sequence."
"It should activate when he comes to." Riku replied. "And would you look at that." I looked to see Sora stir and rub his head.
"Sora!" I hit the hatch again and caught his attention. I saw him move his lips, but I couldn't hear him.
"It's sound proof, Riku."
"Yeah, but we might want to move out of the way."
"Huh?" I saw him moving to the side of the pod. "Oh!" I quickly moved out of the way of the pod and the hatch exploded outward seconds later. I moved back around the pod and saw Sora unbuckling his straps and retrieving his sword and supply bag.
"I was telling you guys to move out of the way." Sora said as he stood next to us. "Ugh, how long was I out for?"
"About ten minutes if I had to guess." Riku replied. "You landed on the way to the city and we found you by chance." He told the brunette as he moved pass the rock and deeper into the jungle.
"By chance?" I heard Sora repeat. "Wait, so you would've left me here if I wasn't on your path to the city?!"
"Maybe~." Oh that guy sure knows how to get under a person's skin.
"I can't believe you!" I couldn't help but chuckle at these two.
"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, Sora." I told him as I followed after our silverette squad mate.
We continued through the forest for another twenty minutes, no sign of life in sight. I guess the wild life must have fled when the fighting started.
"Hey, take a look at this." Sora pointed to a scorch mark on a tree. "This doesn't look like any kind of fire I've ever seen."
Riku came over and took a look at the mark on the tree. The tree itself held three similar marks across its trunk. "These look like carbon scoring consistent with energy based weapons."
"Someone knows his stuff." I replied standing next to Sora. "But yeah, these do look like the result of energy weapons."
"But that could pertain to any number of races in the galaxy." Sora added. "How do we know which one we're dealing with?"
"Simple. We find more clues." Riku replied and continued towards the city.
"Easy for him to say."
Xion's POV
We made our way through the forest. We landed practically right at the edge of the city and we already saw the city coming into view along with large flood lights pointed into the forest.
"I wonder what the lights are for." Roxas asked as we exited the forest through the path we followed, the lights positioned at the edge of the city and in such a way that the shadows were pointed away from the main path.
"Maybe it's a way to identify people trying to move through the forest at night." Naminé offered.
"Maybe. It still seems kind of fishy to me."
"Oh relax, Roxas. " I told him as I turned around to walk backwards. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's just focus on getting to the building and doing some recon on the tower."
"I agree, Xion. We can worry about the flood lights later." Naminé added and examined our surroundings. "There." She pointed down a desolate street with overturned and burning vehicles in the middle and on the sidewalk. "Our rendezvous point is just down this block. Let's hurry and set up before the others arrive."
We moved down the block, passing the destroyed vehicles and random pieces of paper that floated on the breeze or were stuck in drainage outlets. The buildings were in even worse shape with multiple holes blown into the sides of what was once glittering glass skyscrapers but were nothing more than burning embers, melting glass, and crumbling brick.
"What could have done all of this to a city?" Roxas asked.
I was getting ready to answer when I felt my foot drop lower than usual. I looked down to see a large foot print, like a combat boot, imprinted in the concrete that was at least a size fourteen in men's. "Whatever it was, it has a large foot print." They stopped to look at the large foot print as well.
"I'm even more concerned to find out what can leave a foot print in concrete." Roxas stated.
"Whatever it was, it looks like it was fighting something even larger." Naminé pointed to a pair of foot prints about the same size as the foot print I stepped in. Next to the print was another, even larger print that looked like some kind of ribbed item, I'm not even sure what it could be, along with some scratching on the concrete from a very sharp object.
"We need to be careful." I pulled out my gunblades in anticipation. Roxas pulled out his swords and Naminé unslung her scythe and held it behind her with the blunt end of the blade was resting close to the ground. "Come on, let's get to the building." We hurried down the street, keeping our attention firmly on our surroundings as to avoid an impending ambush.
We reached the building, one whole corner of the building was completely destroyed, leaving jutting iron bars and girders. The double doors that served as an entrance to the building were partially destroyed, leaving the lower half of the right door intact and the left door partially blown off of its hinges.
"You think there may be something in there?" Roxas ask as he pressed up against the opposite wall with Naminé.
"Probably." She replied.
"I'll go in first." Roxas stated. "Naminé, you get behind me. Xion, you bring up the rear since you have those gunblades."
"Right behind you." Roxas entered through the left side and kept his blades raised, one behind him and one in front of him as he shuffled in. The room we entered in was partially destroyed and very dark. He retracted a flashlight from his bag, as did Naminé and me, and clipped it to his jacket. When he turned it on, we saw that the upper floor had collapsed partially, making a slope for us to walk up. This place was built very well since the support beams were still standing, the concrete partially chipped around the iron girder. We advance up seven stories of the ten story high structure, aiming to get to the highest level we could get that wasn't exposed due to debris and allowed us to examine the area around the tower since it was a clear line of sight to the tower from here.
"Let's get set up. I'll let everyone know that we've made it to the rendezvous point." Roxas told us.
I unslung my bag from my back and placed it on the ground. I pulled out a pair of electronic binoculars I got from the space station and lay on my stomach to reduce my size. I peered through the binoculars and the blue heads up display showed the cardinal directions and zoom with a distance counter on it.
"Roxas here. Has everyone met up yet?" Naminé came up next to me and knelt down to peer through her own pair of binoculars. "We made it to the rendezvous and set up on the seventh floor… Yeah, so far we haven't found anything more than some large foot prints. Whatever we're dealing with is very big and incredibly strong. We may be dealing with a power struggle… Okay, I'll keep an eye out, Isaac. Last thing we need is to get caught off guard." Roxas ended the call and made his way over to us. "You see anything out of the ordinary?"
"Nothing yet. What about the others?" Naminé replied.
"So far, Riku, Sora, and Kairi have met up and are making their way here. Shin and Terra have met up and Isaac is making his way towards them. After they meet up, they will make their way here as fast as they can since Isaac and Terra are the fastest out of all of us."
"That's good. We can focus on reconnaissance while they make their way towards us."
"Isaac also said to look out for the shadows."
"What is that supposed to mean." I had to ask. That warning made zero sense.
"It couldn't be them could it?" Naminé asked.
"The shadow predators have been ruled out for the moment, but that doesn't make things any better." Roxas replied cryptically.
"What? What is it? Come on, tell me!" I really hate being left out of the loop like this.
"Isaac thinks that we might have Heartless in the city." Roxas replied to my confusion.
"Um…What's a Heartless?" They looked at me like I had two heads or something. "What?"
"You really don't know what a Heartless is?"
"No. This is the first time I've heard of one."
"Lucky you. I almost got killed by one of them as a twisted prank." What?
"Who would be so cruel as to use those things as a prank?!" Naminé exclaimed.
"Three platinum blonde Mama's boys, that's who. At any rate, a heartless is darkness incarnate. They feed off of negative emotions and no one knows where they come from or how to get rid of them for good. All we know is that we have to watch out for moving shadows."
"Great, shadow monsters. Riku and Kairi are probably explaining this to Sora since he doesn't know what a Heartless is either." I returned my attention to my binoculars and back to the area around the tower when I saw something silver glinting in the distance and moving slowly and rigidly across the plaza. Then another showed up and another and another until there were a total of eight gathered in the plaza. "Guys…" I said with worry in my voice. "I think I know what left that boot print in the sidewalk." I recognized those things from my history books. They came about and disappeared before the Time War and resurged during the Fallout wars as an even more advanced form of being. An upgraded human.
Naminé immediately looked toward the plaza and I didn't think it was possible for Naminé to turn any paler. "Naminé...are those what I think they are…" Roxas asked with apparent fear in his voice.
"I'm afraid so, Roxas." Naminé solemnly replied.
"Roxas, you guys hear me?" I heard Isaac's voice in my ear.
"We hear you, Isaac." Roxas replied.
"I've got some bad news for all of us."
"Lay it on us Isaac. It can't be worse than what we have over here." Roxas replied with a hint of dejection.
Terra's POV
I stood on the floor of the forest while Shin stayed atop the tree to survey our surroundings, he decided that he would try to hide under the leaves to give him some camouflage. I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me and pulled out my bow in anticipation when Isaac came barreling out of the forest and slid to a halt in front of me.
"Where's Shin?" He said in a hurried tone, as if he was scared about something.
"I'm up here." Shin called from atop the tree.
"Then get down here. Now." This is different. I've never seen Isaac this authoritative.
"What's the problem? You know, besides possibly having Heartless to deal with."
"Just get down here." Isaac shot back.
Shin dropped from the tree and stood up right. "What's your problem?" Isaac examined us up and down, oddly enough, paying particular attention to our shadows.
"Okay. We're clear. I hope to Muumba that means we have nothing to worry about." Isaac breathed out a sigh of relief.
"What's the matter, Isaac?" I asked, noticing the color coming back into his cocoa colored features. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."
"I thought for a second that we have something worse to contend with."
"Vashta Nerada." Shin added. "You thought we would have to deal with Vashta Nerada, didn't you?"
Isaac gave him a stern stare and nodded ominously. "Yeah. I ran into the skeletal remains of an elephant in the woods and there was no sign of flesh or movement of bones from a predatory attack. Not to mention it looked to have died recently. Even if Vashta Nerada did eat it, there wasn't a trace of them left in its shadow. Not to mention that Heartless are one of the few known things that can prey on Vashta Nerada since the Heartless themselves are beings of shadow."
"So we just have to deal with Heartless and whatever is in the city."
"Yeah, so let's get a move on. The sooner we move, the sooner we meet up with everybody. Terra, think you can carry Shin?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't be too difficult."
"Good. Now get ready. We're going to move as fast as we can towards the city."
I turned to Shin who had a very nervous expression on his face. "You can hop on my back, Shin. I can fly easier that way."
"Uh…"
I tilted my head to the side at his response. "Is something the matter?"
"Uh, no. I just don't like moving too fast."
"You better get used to it quick, cause I hate moving slow." Isaac replied from behind us.
"Come on, Shin. We need to get to the Tower before the other team does."
Shin still looked nervous, but he reluctantly agreed and I floated off the ground and turned around so Shin could climb on my back. When I felt his hands on my shoulders I let Isaac know we were ready.
"Follow me and keep a good following distance just in case I stop suddenly."
"Alright."
"Here we go!" Isaac took off through the forest with me and Shin in tow. His black-blue lightning lingering on the forest floor briefly. We continued at such high speeds that I was having trouble keeping up with Isaac and his parkour technique. I could tell that Shin was having a hard time handling the speed since he was clinging tightly to my shoulders.
We continued for about ten minutes when we reached the edge of the forest where the city was. That honestly went by extremely quickly, all things considered. We were on the furthest edge of the forest and we had a delay in meeting up, but we made it to the city in less than half an hour after landing. Though my joyful thoughts were interrupted by Isaac skidding to a halt and staring to the side. The flood lights on the cities edge coupled with his horrified expression made his figure dark and foreboding. I looked to the side to see what Isaac was looking at to see another skeleton, this one looked to be that of a cheetah.
"Isaac?" I nervously asked.
"Red…" He replied ominously. "We need to get to the rendezvous. Now!" And he took off toward the ruined buildings.
"Isaac, wait!" I took off after Isaac, dodging and weaving through back alleys in an attempt to keep up with him. We made it to the rendezvous quickly after he took off and met up with Riku, Kairi, and Sora at the same time.
"What's your hurry?" Riku asked.
"Inside. Now!" Isaac commanded as he moved into the building.
Shin hopped down off my back and struggled to move without stumbling. He really isn't good with high speeds.
"Roxas, you guys hear me?" Isaac called over the comm channel as we made our way up to the seventh floor.
"We hear you Isaac." Roxas replied.
"I've got some bad news for all of us." I don't like the sounds of this.
"Lay it on us Isaac. It can't be worse than what we have over here." Roxas replied with a hint of defeat in his voice.
"How bad is it on your end?" Shin asked.
"We've got Cybermen." Roxas dejectedly replied.
"Ah come on!" Riku angrily shouted, Kairi's face going pale with Sora and Shin standing rigid. I just looked at the ground dumbfounded.
Isaac just stood still, taking in the new information. "What about you guys? You got anything to add to on top of Heartless and Cybermen?"
Isaac released an ironic sigh before giving an equally ironic smirk. "Unfortunately. I do."
"I can't wait to hear this." Roxas sarcastically replied.
"Yeah, this ought to be good." Riku added in an equally sarcastic tone.
"Depends, how do you feel about Vashta Nerada?"