It was a team effort loading Swiftshadow into the car. Wilson supervised every step. Making sure her wings were properly folded and head and tail tucked in. Her draconic form filled the entire back seat. He was assured that the tranquilizing gas would wear off in an hour or so. But knowing Swiftshadow's unique biology it was likely to be half that.
The man named Chase Devineaux took the wheel while Carmen took shotgun. The others shuffled in to the other car. They had decided to take them to a safe house for further questioning. While Wilson had answered a few of their queries regarding the darkling but he didn't go much further than confirming that it's existence was supernatural in nature. He was more hesitant to answer some of the more personal ones.
For now he was just happy to be out of that creepy old castle. Staying with these guys was probably the best chance at getting out of there without Lockdown noticing. If he was still around. They could get the nice hot shower and meal that Swiftshadow desperately needed.
Chase pulled out out of the castle gates with the other car close behind. Already Wilson could tell it was going to be a long silent trip. It was something he was used to from his long flights with Swiftshadow so he didn't let it bother him. After a while Carmen and Chase started talking. It was short, clipped, and riddled with small talk. Wilson had the distinct impression that the two had a long complicated history.
The mirrors were suddenly ablaze with a blinding light. Chase squinted as the cars mirrors reflected the lights full force into his eyes. "What is wrong with some people? Don't they know how to use their lights?" Chase flipped his rear view mirror to minimize the light some.
Wilson was suddenly on high alert. He climbed onto the back of his seat. A pair of blinding high beams radiated from a car that had inserted itself between Chases and Zach's cars. Dread flooded his systems. He recognized the black and green colour scheme of the hot rod muscle car. It could only be one person. Lockdown.
"Brace for impact!" Was all Wilson could shout as the car veered to the side and rammed its front bumper into their rear end. The car spun violently far into a steep ditch. It flipped a couple times before coming to a rest. Wilsons sickle claws kept him from flying around. He thanked himself for making sure Swiftshadow was buckled in.
But now they needed to escape. For that he needed Swiftshadow conscious. His sickle claws made quick work of the straps. Both Chase and Carmen groaned as they dislodged themselves from their seats.
All Wilson could see out the cracked window were a pair of headlights glaring down from the road.
Carmen stumbled as she disembarked from the wreck. Other that few bumps and bruises she was fine. Just a little dazed. Chase had already recovered and was already pointing his gas gun at the approaching muscle car. It crept slowly down the embankment, Its engine revved dangerously. Each rev twitched its front suspension and roared with the might of a dozen lions. Who ever the driver was he meant business.
The black and dark green paint job hid it well in the dim evening light. Tinted windows obscured the interior. Its engine jutted out from its hood as silvery spikes adorned its roof and bumpers. She noted the lack of a license plate or company logos. Perhaps this was a custom made vehicle? The driver was either very wealthy or was well connected.
She could already see Zach's vehicle pull up on top of the embankment. They had this guy surrounded.
"Step out of the car with your hands up!" Ordered Chase. Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead and his sleeve torn.
"Only one problem with that…" Carmen blinked in disbelief. It almost sounded life the car itself was speaking. Then again after recent events she could believe almost anything.
"Oh and what would that be?" She responded.
The muscle car broke apart. Its panels buckled and separated. They slid around as they rearranged themselves which was accompanied by a strange mechanical noise. Carmen raised her chin as the car effectively stood up. Scarlet eyes burned into hers from a white and black face.
"I am the car!" The once car grinned maliciously. "I do believe that you have something that belongs to me." The twenty something foot tall robot stepped towards the wreck. Each step sent tremors into the earth.
Carmen franticly rifled through her coat searching for anything that could be used against the behemoth. Lipstick flash drive, tracker, binoculars. None of those would be of any use. The only things that were remotely of any use were the laser cutter and grappling hook. The laser cutter was mostly ever used to cut glass and metal at close range. It lost any effectiveness after a few inches. That left the grappling hook.
She aimed for the hand reaching out for the rear door of their once ride. she couldn't allow him to get his hands on the dragon. Or rather hand as the other one was a sharpened hook. Her hook fired and wrapped snuggly around his wrist.
"I can't let you have her." Carmen yanked on the rope pulling the hand away from the door slightly.
"You've got guts, fleshy, I'll give ya' that," The robot smirked, "But your efforts are fruitless I'm afraid." With a flash of his hook the line was severed. The sudden lack of tension sent Carmen tumbling back. She could do nothing as the door was ripped from its hinges.
"Come on girl wake up!" Wilsons frantic pokes to the muzzle brought Swiftshadow into wakefulness. She jolted awake to find herself in the backseat of a car. How'd she get here? The last thing she remembers was fighting off a bucktoothed eel of a man with a cursed gem. There were other people there wasn't there? It was hard to think with this fog stuck inside her brain.
"Wilson? What's going-"
"Oh thank god." He interrupted, "We need to go. Lockdowns here and-"
"Lockdown?!" Alarm ran through her body. She desperately searched for a way out as Wilson climbed into his saddle. Before she could even formulate an escape plan the door in front of her was torn off its hinges. Large black fingers reached for her like slimy tentacles.
She acted on her first instinct. She bit down. Hard.
Sweet energon filled her mouth. She got a major line. Her sabre teeth hooked deeply into the metal flesh. If Lockdown yelped in pain she didn't hear it as he swung her around in the air. She felt the metal finger buckle slightly in her jaws. A sharpened blade pressed around her neck forcing her to release her jaws.
She was flung up the the embankment flipping head over tail. She righted herself in time to see two blazing red eyes above her. Blood trickled from a small cut at the base of her neck.
"Ya know I'm kinda impressed," He chuckled flicking his injured finger, "Not many have ever escaped my clutches. Fewer still have blew up half my ship and sank it in an ocean. I'd dare say you'd be the first. Good thing I always keep an escape pod handy. At first I this would be another boring retrieval mission. Now it's gotten interesting,"
"Wilson, give me everything you've got," She growled quietly under her breath before she addressed Lockdown, "Well I'm going anywhere without a fight,"
"That's what I want to hear. Been awhile since had a good hunt." His hand transformed into a cannon. She darted out of its blast zone. A deep pit of a crater appeared where she once stood. She could feel the saddles generator work overtime as electricity sparked along her back and arced between her wings. She had only one shot. She let the charges brew and amplify within her body. Dirt rained down as she dodged another blast.
She took a deep breath as she focused all the energy into her throat. She continued to let it build into almost painful levels. She had to make it count for everything she was worth. Failure was not an option. If this failed, she was screwed. Plain and simple.
Electricity crackled through her clenched teeth. Sparks snapped around her lips. It was almost ready. Just a little more. She jumped as the ground at her feet exploded. She landed onto of the wrecked car. Staring into those gleeful scarlet eyes she let it all loose. The dam that held all the electricity back broke open and it flooded out in a single bright bolt.
It landed on Lockdown's chest with a cackling kaboom. Snapping like a gunshot and ending in a low rumble. She struck him down with the full force of a lightning bolt. As if in slow motion Lockdown fell to the ground. Burnt metal filled her nostrils. Smoke curled from his scorched chest. He lay unmoving.
A glimpse through her spirit vision told her that he was still alive. It was only a matter of time before he recovered. She licked away the residual static from her teeth. She could still feel a slight tingle in her spine but it was quickly fading. A red bolt appeared in her visor read out indicating that the generator had no more to give. That was fine. She now just needed to get away from here. She doubted her wings could handle another long flight so soon.
"Carmen!" The red headed siblings slid down the ditch towards the woman in red. A dainty woman in glasses quickly followed. She noted that a man stood atop the embankment clutching his bloodstained shoulder.
"You okay, Carm?" The brother hoisted the red woman to her feet.
"I'll live, thanks to her," Carmen pointed to Swiftshadow.
"Is anyone going to explain what the hell was this was all about?" Demanded a middle aged man with a thick french accent.
"We need to get out of here." Said Swiftshadow to the red woman as she hopped down from the twisted remains of a car.
"You're a dragon. Can't you fly away?" Said the redheaded sister.
"I don't think I can fly far enough." Swiftshadow said grimly.
"Another problem. We've now only got one car. I don't think we can fit everyone," Said the brother.
Swiftshadow cursed. She signalled Wilson to disembark which he promptly did. She allowed her body to reform itself into human form. Wings and tail tucked themselves away. The familiar twisting sensation washed over her. "How about now?" She smirked at all the surprised faces.
The woman in red recovered the fastest. "Zach your driving, Shadow-san gets passenger. The rest of us will have to squeeze into the back."
Everyone wordlessly climbed the embankment and piled into the parked car on the highway. It was a tight fit for five people to sit on a three person seat. After some shuffling they managed to get four people on the seat. The lady with glasses had to sit on the frenchman's lap. Swiftshadow was the unfortunate monkey in the middle. She had no elbow room. She was somewhat envious of Wilsons small size as he hunkered down on the armrest between the front seats.
When they were a suitable distance away from Lockdown she wriggled out a hand accidentally elbowing the redhead sister.
"Hey watch it!" She complained.
"Sorry," She apologized before saying, "I need to concentrate." Resting a hand on a seat ahead of her she focussed. Lockdown would be hunting for a dark navy blue car when he awoke, So she needed to throw him off their trail. At least until they reached their destination. It should be possible with a bit of illusory trickery.
She had never placed an illusion over anything else other than her own body. It was possible though. With the stag gem Calvin had made an entire building vanish and Crawford had created an illusory duplicate of himself from thin air. So in theory she should be able to do this. She stretched her magic over the vehicle. The cars paint changed into the first colour she thought of. The deep scarlet of Carmen's attire. Several gasps indicated she was successful. She just had to hold it until the got to their destination.
However far that may be.
The bell jingled as Julien stepped into the pawn shop. It wasn't the worst place he'd been to. It was clean at least. Old junk littered the shelves. Antiques and pottery to one side and game consoles, televisions and other modern appliances to the other. In the middle in clear glass cases were glittering jewelry. Gold and silver necklaces, bracelets, and earrings all neatly lined in rows. Stones of every type showcased their sparkle. He didn't come here for any of them. He was only interested in a very particular kind of gem.
One that matched the four gems inside his white suit jacket.
He felt Malic Korvoth stir and writhe in the back of his mind. He paid him no head. Ever since the battle in Metro City his mind kept wandering to dragon girl. The images of her redirecting that horrid beast replaying in his head. He could not find a single solid reason as to why she did that. If she truly wanted to stop him then surly letting that beast gore him was a surefire way. If she were half as duplicitous and insidious as Malic has lead him to believe then surely she would've let him die then and there. Instead she saved him.
Then again she was travelling with a robot that believed that it was his uncle. He could excuse that for some kind of trick. Uncle Wilson was a genius who was building a device of unknown nature when his father murdered him. When he visited his uncles old house It was broken into with evidence that someone had been working on something in the basement.
Perhaps he should give everything another think through.
"Can I help you sir?" A man in a uniform broke his musings. Perhaps he'd been staring at a set of necklaces fore a bit too long.
"I'm looking for a red gem in the form of a ram. It's for a collection I'm starting,"
"Oh, yes, that. I regret to inform you that it has already been purchased by young man earlier today. Perhaps there is something else here that will perk your interest."
Julien cursed inwardly. Of course this had to happen. "I think I'll pass," He said as he made a beeline for the door. He had a mystery buyer to locate.
