Ace was right: these magnetic mine carts were actually pretty easy to handle. The controls weren't all that different from an arcade motorcycle racer I played with a few friends back when we were kids. And I was no stranger to feeling the wind whip in my face like this, though this thing was a lot faster than the scooter I had back home. Considering it didn't use wheels either, the ride was a lot smoother too, and the rails made it so that I didn't have to steer. All I needed to think about was speed and maybe jumping; so, like a typical mine cart level in a platformer.
Tiara took the lead on the same tracks as me, while Rouge followed us on the ceiling set above, and Red clinged onto my shoulder. The route gradually started to slope down after a minute, though the worked stone and strung-up lights kept a uniform look the whole way. That changed once we hit a sudden drop, where our carts kept to the walls during a dizzying descent. Not even a few seconds in, we found ourselves ducking under fire from automated versions of our vehicles coming in from the rear, with turrets in place of seats.
"Hang tight, Barry!" Tiara yelled over the hum of energy bullets and our rides, "use this!"
She let up on the accelerator and jumped so that she ended up above me, holding onto the controls with one hand while she threw me a blaster with the other. I almost fumbled and dropped it, but managed to hold on while my friend readied that scepter she'd acquired while with Ace. Its gem became an electric yellow as she pointed it at our pursuers, and a lightning bolt launched from the tip. It went through the barrel and shorted out the enemy cart, causing it to fall away from the rails and tumble down the shaft, thankfully missing us. Rouge leapt off her own and kept pace as she folded her wings, drilling into another enemy with her Screw Kick. That destroyed it outright, and she wasted no time in moving on to the next with a three-hit combo, reducing that one to scrap as well. I would've helped them with the gun Tiara gave me, but I was too afraid of either dropping it or missing something if I took my eyes off the tracks.
They didn't end up needing my help with how well they mopped up the rest, anyway. We hopped over the remains once we reached the bottom, where the tunnel kept going for what felt like at least a couple of kilometers. The rails forked off into several directions at that point, and out of habit from playing games, I guided us down the leftmost one. To my relief, we didn't immediately run into anyone or anything else, giving me a moment to calm my nerves.
"You okay, cave guy?" Red asked me.
I did my best to smile. "Yeah, considering the circumstances, I guess so."
"Since when could you understand Flickies, Barry?" Tiara wondered, squinting her eyes at me.
Oh, right. When I told them about Green, I never actually brought up the fact that she gave me earbuds that could let me do that. Kinda weird, really; it didn't seem like something that could be handed out like candy, given how eager some people were to know what the birds were saying. Oh well, something to think about later.
"Um, since that lady gave me these," I replied, quickly showing her one of the buds before popping it back in my ear.
Rouge perked her brow. "Really now? That's interesting."
"Y-yeah, it is pretty neat being able to understand them," I chuckled a little.
"I bet. Sorry that it's not going to last too long."
I blinked at that and gave her a confused look. "Wait, why?"
"Think about it, Barry," Tiara chimed in, sounding a little impatient with me, "Ace and Rouge came here to investigate, and they're gonna need some evidence to take back with them. You're gonna have to give up the buds once this is all over."
Red's face fell a bit at that news. "Aw man. Does that mean we can't talk anymore, cave guy? I liked having another Animal able to understand me aside from the fire bird."
I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Honestly, I don't think that anyone's ever implied that they actually liked talking with me. He might've been tougher than the average Flicky, but I guess Red still had some of that kindness and sentimentality often associated with them.
"I mean, maybe the technology will become more available in the future," I responded hopefully, "or I can learn to understand you without it. I mean, there are people out there who can do it, so I just have to put in the effort."
Tiara beamed at me. "That's a good attitude! It'd help us a lot with the work we do!"
"Oh, uh, I'm...not staying."
There was a pregnant pause, one that made me rather uncomfortable. My bandicoot friend was looking at me as though I'd said something awful, while Rouge was just smiling, content to listen in.
"You don't want to stay?" Tiara asked me in an unusually gentle voice.
Hearing her like that, I did feel a little guilty, but in light of everything? "I just can't. When I volunteered to help the sanctuary, I didn't expect to deal with...with everything that's happened! Your dad gets taken hostage by folks wanting to use his technology and whatever this Crown of Delusion is to take over the world, G.U.N. agents come in to try and stop everything, and we're caught up in it all!" I slammed a fist into the cart's controls. "I'm not like you; I'm just a normal guy with geeky interests who can't really fight. I wanted to get away from home and pursue some of my more meaningful passions while also stepping outside of my comfort zone, but not like this! I didn't sign up for this, Tiara!"
The last parts came out much louder than I'd initially intended, but it was clear the message got across. Rouge's face had settled into a neutral, unreadable expression. And as for Tiara, she'd winced at my words, appearing more remorseful than I'd ever seen her.
"I'm sorry you got dragged into this, Barry," she apologized, "I really am. If you wanna leave after this, I won't stop you." She gave me a hard look after that. "But, the fact is that this isn't over yet. And even if you're a 'normal' guy compared to the rest of us, you can still do something. I'll do whatever I can to make sure you get out of this okay, as long as you help me save my father and stop these assholes."
I guess that was all that could really be asked of me at that point. Yeah, it was still a lot, but I'd come to accept I really didn't have any better options. The real question was how I was going to cope with everything afterward, assuming I made it out alive...
Green and I stared each other down for what felt like hours, her finger ready to fire her gun while I directed some of my suit's energy to my arms. Eventually, I was the first to make a move, letting loose a Shocking Blast while flying past her in the opposite direction that Rouge and the rest of the group had gone. The gunner leapt into the air to avoid the attack, then flipped around and pulled on the trigger, unloading a cyan beam of light that bent and snaked through the air towards me. It closed the distance so quickly that I couldn't avoid it, striking me first in the chest and then slamming into my back. It arched around me like electricity as it repeatedly rammed me, and while the individual hits weren't that painful, I was getting knocked this way and that nearly a dozen times a second. And while I couldn't be sure, it didn't feel like my suit was protecting me as well as it should have. The attack dissipated after a few moments, the final surge nearly enough to knock me out of the air.
My foe adjusted her firearm as she approached, a hint of red in the barrel visible when she got in close. I dropped to the ground just in time to avoid an immense gout of fire spewed forth from her pistol, countering with an energy blade. My opponent staggered from the slash, and I capitalized on this opening by careening into her gut with a superman punch. She skidded back several meters but stayed on her feet, sweeping the area once more with her flamethrower and catching me in the stream. I cried out in hot pain and shock at the revelation that my suit was, in fact, not mitigating the damage at all! Whatever tech this woman had access to, it had G.U.N.'s beat to be able to manage that.
I saw that the tracks took a sudden turn down into the sides of a deep shaft, the bottom almost out of sight even for my sharp eyes. As I allowed myself to go into a free fall, Green swiftly caught up, another click coming from her weapon while the light inside shifted to a light sea green. She didn't bother to aim at me as she sent a veritable hail of lemon-sized energy bullets my way, like she was firing a gatling gun rather than the little thing she was using. Moreover, many of them actually altered their trajectory to hound me, and though not as persistent as the homing ray she used before, I still got pelted by quite a few rounds. In response, I curled up and powered through them with an Aerial Spin Dash, striking her square in the sternum and audibly knocking the breath out of her. She would've hit the rails behind her, but she flipped around so that her feet hit her platform just as it came down to assist.
Green's boots anchored themselves against the surface as though theft were magnetized, and I saw the indicator in her barrel change to a light coral pink with the next gun cock. There was no time to ponder just how many settings that weapon of hers had when an incendiary orb about as big as a softball was launched at me. It was slower than the other things she'd fired, and it seemed easy enough to dodge, but quickly discovered that was how it had been designed. I'd barely started to prepare another Aerial Spin Dash after just pivoting around the round when it violently detonated and threw me into the other wall. The instant after I bounced off of it, the woman used her own Spin Dash to pinball me into it again, this time against the rails. I felt nearly excruciating pain as she continued to apply pressure, grinding me into the metal. If my suit hadn't been protecting me, she surely would've snapped my spine and more with that maneuver.
Left with little choice, I activated my armor's Assault Surge, throwing Green off of me and leaving her literally electrified as my suit let loose a massive shock. Unlike the first time it descended, she hit her platform with the flat of her back, giving me ample time to close in with successive hits. The moment she pinged off the surface, I closed in with a roundhouse kick, smacking her off of it again and following up with a Spin Dash into her navel. A part of me was pleased to hear her cry out in discomfort, but that was expediently eschewed when she grabbed me in her free hand and hurtled me like I was an American football.
Fortunately, I had enough room to right myself before I could crash into the wall again. I kept coming at her, and after getting in several more strikes, she managed to shrug me off entirely, her ride reorienting itself so that she could keep upright while we continued descending. Green sent another explosive shot my way, but since I knew what to expect that time, I straightened out and flew upwards to avoid the imminent blast. She jumped from the platform and fired around my feet, prompting me to retreat further up, although my adversary had correctly predicted I would do so. Her ride shot past and above me, cutting off my escape in that direction and leaving me to take another boom. It threw me into the craft and I went into a momentary tumble, yet fortunately, I regained my senses in time to dive away and escape further injury.
We finally arrived at the bottom of the shaft, the path opening up a little bit as our flight became horizontal once more. I tried to interrupt Green so that I could disarm her, but she switched both the hand she was wielding it with and the ammo type, the inside changing to pure blue. I flew ahead and gathered more energy myself, giving her a double helping of my ranged blades. Green avoided one and got caught in the side by the other, and while it did make her flinch, it didn't stop her from pulling the trigger. Initially, it looked like her beam weapon from earlier, but the light just kept extending until it hit the opposite wall, carving into the stone as we went. It instantly disappeared when she let off pressure, and I winced when she nicked my shoulder with a follow-up shot. More concerning was that not only did it pierce my suit's defenses, but singed and cut through the material without any trouble.
If that had hit me in one of a few critical spots, she would've easily killed me. However, despite the force she was bringing against me and the clear grudge she held for whatever reason, I didn't feel that desire from her. Believe me, I've fought with and against many people, and you learn to suss out the ones that truly have killing intent. If she wasn't after my life, then what did she want with me that would make her go to such lengths?
"Intruders spotted!" both of us heard from up ahead.
We both scattered as a sizable copper train with several cars attached hovered over to us. It reversed course to keep pace, and within each of the passenger parts, handfuls of troopers made themselves known, weapons primed. Several of the same sorts of carts we saw earlier came in on the other tracks above and below us, bringing even more reinforcements. In the engine, one of the grunts was wearing a purple jacket rather than the red of all the rest. Another handed a microphone to the apparent commander, who held it close to the helmet.
"Battle Kukku XVI, woman in green," I heard an authoritative voice address us, one that was strangely familiar to me, "you are surrounded and outgunned. We have more than enough squads en route to handle your comrades as well. Surrender at once!"
Were I any lesser Animal, forfeiting here would've been the wiser course of action, since they did want me alive. I had no intention of actually doing so, of course, and I was going to make that perfectly understood. Before I got the chance, though, Green beat me to punch on that front.
"Here's my counter-offer, boot-lick," she answered coldly.
She shifted her aim to the apparent man in charge and sent a beam at his noggin, although he didn't drop to the ground motionless like I anticipated. Instead, he vanished into an odd burst of red-purple mist, which dissipated before long. None of the other soldiers reacted, suggesting they were stunned by Green's brash response in the face of what they believed was an overwhelming advantage on their part. With another cock of her gun, the barrel gave off a magenta glow, and she glanced over at me for a moment as her free hand counted down from three.
In time with her motions, they opened fire on us, with a good many more aimed at the masked gunner. Green deflected most of their attacks using her shorter beam blade, twisting and swiveling this way and that to dodge the ones she couldn't, almost as if dancing to some inaudible beat.
"Don't run away," she warned me in an oddly playful, yet predatory tone, "although I wouldn't blame you if you did after seeing what's about to happen." She tapped at the back of her helmet and sprang from the platform. "Let's get down, Nanatsu no Chikara! Mode Change: Heishi no Chikara!"
That craft of hers seemed to dismantle itself into dozens of bits and pieces, only to gather around her and morph into a wholly different shape. In mere seconds, it transformed into a vaguely humanoid mech that was primarily army green, with bronze upper arms and legs, and a single blue optic that served as an eye of sorts. While not as large as the machine that my father or the doctor used, it was still about four times my height and many times my weight. It flexed its limbs to "loosen up" prior to landing, keeping up with myself and our sudden company with long and well-paced strides once it started sprinting. Whatever it was, I could say for a fact that it wasn't Kukku or Babylonian tech, nor any other I'd personally seen.
(If you had to hazard a guess, do you have any idea at all?)
(None. It had a relatively primitive appearance, but again, it looked like nothing I've ever seen. And as well-equipped as they were, the NBA grunts present weren't prepared to handle something like that.)
"Dig in your heels," another proclaimed, wearing a bold and brilliant orange, likely the second-in-command to the one Green eliminated, "don't let them intimidate you! There's only two of them, for the gods' sake!"
Given that she made a bigger and bulkier target, my enemies focused most of their attention on Green. However, even as they upped the intensity of their arms to compensate, the vast majority of rounds, shells, and blasts hardly even scratched the armor plating. In retaliation, the gunner bent her mech back with its arms reaching around behind it before it jerked forward, a pair of bladed bronze boomerangs nearly as large as myself being chucked towards her attackers. The hurrahs and shouts of the troops turned to screams as the rebounding weapons tore through several of them and their carts as though they were nothing more than paper. A few of them avoided the initial throw, only to be chopped into pieces upon the return flight of the boomerangs. I suppose I'd been right about Green going easy on me before, since she clearly wasn't shy about racking up fatalities when it came to the NBA. And yet, just like their late commander, every soldier that fell to her attacks was reduced to that same short-lived vapor. I wondered if it had anything to do with the Crown of Delusion, though I put it aside after brief consideration; I would get confirmation on that soon enough.
As for the others, those grunts chose the "wiser" course of action and targeted me instead of the big death machine. Of course, with my speed and battlefield experience, dodging their attacks wasn't particularly difficult, but there were too many to emerge entirely unscathed. I closed in on the ceiling shooters first, ducking under a rocket and knocking the guy off his ride with a flying kick. The next tried grappling me while still straddled in his seat, yet his strength was lacking, and I easily threw him clear and left him behind. Two more used turret mounts on their rides to attempt to zap me out of the air, and I answered in kind with a double Shocking Blast. Yet, as fast as I took each of them down, more popped up in their place from further down the tunnel, and others joined them as they climbed to the top of the train's cars.
Green aimed one of her machine's fists at the forces flanking the main vehicle, accounting for the evasive action that some of them took. The arm extended out to more than twice the construct's length, smashing anyone that got in its way and leaving them rolling on the track behind us. This gave me the opening I needed to land on the roof of their primary craft, sprinting over the length as more of their numbers came to meet me. The first few of them were easy enough to deal with thanks to an Aerial Spin Dash, sending them over the sides. I closed in on the next set, sliding under the stunning charges and countering with more Shocking Blasts. A third group was dealt with using my ranged energy blades, but they were just as rapidly replaced, as were the ones that Green cleared out on the other rails.
It was a few minutes later that the twisting tunnel changed from smooth stone to layered concrete and metal supports, and it opened up into a cavernous substation. Spare rail cars and mine carts were situated near various platforms, and loads more NBA troops, some of which decided to throw their hats into the ring. Given that the tide of forces seemed never-ending, my other problem decided that she'd had enough. Her mech rose into the air and straightened itself out so that it was flying parallel above the train, and while the NBA's vehicle accelerated to try and outrun her, she simply stepped on the gas herself. I could feel that something was coming, and I didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.
I folded my arms and legs in and flew forward as fast as my surroundings would comfortably let me. Not a moment too soon, either, as Green's mech kept up my pace and began dropping what looked like green cannonballs with small gold details. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were, and in the next instant, the figurative dominoes fell. Seeing a real train crash first-hand, I couldn't bring myself to look away from the carnage and destruction. The bombs rocked the entire installation as well as the train itself, causing untold tons of rock to collapse behind the latter. The cars decoupled and lost their magnetic stability yet maintained their momentum, flipping and bounding over the rails into each other and other parts of the station. Soldiers were smashed into nothing, fire roared as tankers and fuel containers exploded, and as the tunnel narrowed once more, Green and I witnessed the way back get thoroughly sealed. It seemed that I would have to find another route to get out of here, and hoped that the route the others took was also connected to the same place we were headed.
And yet despite all that, the soldier in orange survived the wreckage and kept on my tail with his own cart. As he straddled it and fired at me with his sidearm, his other hand went to his helmet while he ducked low.
"Sir, damage report!" he shouted into the built-in comm, "the forward company has been routed, train included! Substation A has also been destroyed! Returning to base immediately!"
The head of Green's mech swiveled around to lock its eyes on the survivor. "Oh no you don't! Mode Change: Juu no Chikara!"
Her machine disassembled once more and morphed into an entirely new shape as it closed in on the officer. This time, it assumed a giant golden version of the gun she wielded, complete with a huge ammo clip that inserted itself with a loud click. And like in a classic western film, it began to spin around as though on an expert gunslinger's finger.
"Hostiles are far more formidable than anticipated!" the grunt continued debriefing his boss on the other end as he went for maintenance passage off to one side from where the rails forked, "the woman in green can–"
BANG!
The cart and its rider were both blown to smithereens by an explosive round before he could get out another word, as was much of the tunnel he'd been attempting to flee into. The oversized pistol flipped around several more times and then returned to its original platform state with Green atop it. Even though I couldn't see her face, I could feel amusement radiating from her at the stunned expression I was wearing after everything that had happened back there.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't run," she said with some small satisfaction, "but maybe you should've tried anyway."
I growled, not liking what she was implying. "I am not a coward."
"Says the guy that was too afraid to defy his despot of a father until it was most convenient," she shot back.
My fists clenched at the jab. "You don't know what it was like being directly under him! Not just as a soldier, but as his son, his progeny that he believed would rule the world...you can't possibly understand!"
"You're right, but you know what?" She cocked the slide of her gun yet again. "You couldn't possibly understand what I've been through, either."
(Given she was a key witness and participant in the ordeal, the Commander also had us collect Tiara's testimony. It's good to assess multiple perspectives on a situation, after all.)
Man, when I spotted those weirdos the other day, I never expected things to go the way they did. G.U.N. agents, an evil organization, bounty hunters, ancient treasures, mythical creatures, and Barry and I getting involved. I knew he was less than thrilled to be caught up in it all, and I felt kinda bad for him, but it got my blood pumping. I'd been meaning to put some of my personal training to the test, as well as practice a few other things I'd picked up. Nice that I actually got to use it all, and I picked up a pretty cool scepter as a bonus. It's kind of like using a twirling baton, only it can shoot out fire and other elemental stuff.
Anyway, it'd been one hell of a journey up to then, and it was even crazier that it'd all happened in one day. Even though I'd been there for a little while, I'd never gone too far into the Rusty Ruins, or most of the other Zones on the island until then, so a lot of it was pretty new to me. Although, I knew even without Barry telling me all the geology details that the place we were in was definitely not here before. It made me wonder just how long these NBA guys had been knocking around; probably a good while if they were able to make passages like these. Not to mention all the other stuff they set up, such as a few automated defenses we'd run into since we separated from Ace.
I got annoyed when we found ourselves back at that one fork we turned down earlier, but at least that got rid of two of the options. After I hopped over a few tracks and changed course, I led us down the one that was right of the middle. We stepped on the gas as we passed a dip and climbed up a large hill, then tapped the brakes when we came down the other side. None too soon, too, as we had to turn our carts upward to get onto a steep wall. Once past that, we rode into a loop the NBA had constructed for whatever reason, then hopped across a gap to a sharp downturn in the rails.
It went L-shaped at the bottom, and once we were horizontal again, our rides took us through a pair of steel posts that scanned us with a bright blue light. They turned red and started blaring some irritating siren that echoed throughout the tunnels, followed by the sounds of stone shifting around. More NBA grunts with their own carts came out of hidden passages and chased after us, while turrets and cannons emerged from the walls. There weren't as many of the latter as in other spots, but the numbers of the former more than made up for that, as there were many more than we'd seen so far.
I wasn't worried, though.
'Go ahead, Al,' I thought at the time, 'throw as many of your chumps at us as you want. We'll knock 'em all down!'
"Looks like the big guy's not playing around anymore," I heard Rouge comment with amusement.
I actually rather enjoyed her banter and attitude, more so when she and Ace had each other to play off of. Barry, on the other hand, was very much not okay with this.
"Where the hell did the NBA get all of these people!?" he swore in a panic, "I didn't think there were that many folks that sympathized with the Empire!"
Yeah, after hearing about G.U.N. putting the kibosh on most of the remaining soldiers, it was hard to believe they'd been able to scrounge up numbers like these. Something wasn't adding up, and I had a feeling it had to do with that crown the others had been talking about. I mean, those Cursed Corundums were supposedly capable of altering reality or something along those lines. Was it possible that Al was creating soldiers out of nothing with one of them? That...would be really bad if that's true.
"Tiara! A little help!" Barry cried out from my right nervously as he did his best to duck and dodge around lasers being fired at us.
"Now's not the time to have your head in the clouds, hun!" Rouge echoed his sentiments.
I shook my head to clear out the cobwebs and readied my scepter, changing the gem to a verdant green as I swung it down. A small chunk of the ceiling crashed down onto the tracks behind me, tripping up some grunts and making them wipe out. I would've been more impressed if there wasn't so much crap to watch out for from our unpleasant company. Thankfully, my attack gave Rouge an opening to use her Screw Kick and knock one of the upside down EGs onto the lower level, likewise taking out a few more goons. It was weird, though, because instead of a horribly bloody mess, those guys just kind of...poofed out of existence, leaving behind some weird mist. I guess my earlier thoughts weren't so outlandish after all, and if that was the case, then we were in for quite a fight.
They chased after us as we first went up a hill that felt like it belonged on a roller coaster, then went into a straight drop down another shaft. This one was a lot shorter than the one from before, only taking us a few seconds to reach the bottom and make our way up a second steep incline. Up ahead, there were two ways we could go after a little jump, up or down, and I chose the latter after giving it a second's thought. We whipped along some big curve and briefly ended up upside-down, shot down another L-turn, and descended further. And all the while, more of those NBA flunkies were on our tails, with new groups popping up in front of us as well.
"Mm, I didn't want to use these too much because I only brought so many," Rouge mumbled as she glanced at the guys hounding us on both sides. She shrugged after a couple of seconds and reached into the pockets of her suit, pulling out a couple of baseball-sized white spheres with heart designs on them. "But if we're gonna get out of this one, a lady's gotta do what she has to."
She dropped them behind us, and I was startled from the explosions that came from such little things. It wasn't enough to make the place start caving in on us, but they had damaged the rails enough to hamper our stalkers. That left us with those gun mounts to deal with that were popping up every so often, which was nothing some lightning couldn't fix. Barry even worked up the courage to fire a few rounds from the blaster I'd given him. One or two of them managed to hit, but it didn't seem very effective against those weapons, so Rouge and I had to cover for him.
After a couple minutes of flying around bends and turns dealing with whatever popped up along the way, throwing magic and bombs every so often, it seemed like the NBA finally gave up chasing us. Good thing, too, because even though the path ahead of us was pretty straight forward, it still looked to have a few bumps along the way. Four separate times, we had to jump some small gaps to keep from tumbling into pits, and then we hit a ramp that sent us over a really wide one, fortunately making it to the other side. Thank gods for it, too, otherwise Barry and I would've been taking an impromptu lava bath in the pool at the bottom.
We went down one more time before finally pulling up to what looked like the end of the line. I'd never been to a proper railroad junction, but the place in front of us was definitely suited for that. So many other EGs were parked on the main rails and off on the side in maintenance stations, along with what were probably military train cars. A few monitors and speakers were set up with the lights, no doubt to make announcements to troops coming in and out. In the back of the place, there was a large metal door that was probably thick enough to stop a tank shell, and we reckoned that it was the entrance to the stronghold we'd been looking for. I mean, the big emblem of some bird of prey's skull on it kind of gave it away, so it wasn't exactly subtle.
I'm not that good at describing things, but try and bear with me, alright?
The tracks also went around into another tunnel that came from a different way, which meant there was a big loop to this whole thing. It looked like it'd allow Ace to come meet up with us if he went in the other direction back at the starting point. Then again, to be honest? That Gunner Green or whatever her name was, I could tell she wasn't playing around. I didn't want to show it or say anything, but I was actually kinda freaked out when she destroyed my fireballs like they were nothing. And while it wasn't easy to startle me, that lady? She scared me...I'd not want to imagine how things would go if I tussled with her, differences in physique aside. Still, if Ace had asked us for help, I would've gladly pitched in; I hoped he was alright facing her on his own.
"So, this is it, huh?" Barry asked as he got off his Extreme Gear.
"Yeah, looks like it," I replied as I did the same, keeping my scepter at the ready, "nothing says 'evil lair' quite like a hidden base beneath a volcano."
Rouge tapped at her comm a couple of times, then flew over to join us. "I just pinged Ace to let him know we're here." She eyed the area and hummed. "Normally, I'd try to sneak in, but I don't see another way inside. They probably already know we're here anyway."
"That we do," came a voice from the speakers, "we've been expecting you, Rouge the Bat, as well as your partner and young Ms. Boobowski."
The monitors all flickered to life, showing us the image of a figure in black, full-body suit of armor. It looked like it conformed to the guy's shape, but none of it gave away what species he was. I'm not a clothes girl, so I couldn't tell you about any of the fancy details, only that it was like something you'd see soldiers wear to avoid getting any chemicals on or in them. It was a pretty basic getup with nothing flashy aside from a matching mantle he wore, making him look even more the part of a villain. This had to be the guy running the show.
"You must be Al," I growled at him while pointing a finger at the nearest screen, "let my father go!"
I was met with a calm laugh, which made me even angrier than I already was. Barry put a hand on my shoulder to try and get me to ease up, but it didn't work. I was at least a little grateful for him trying, though.
"Indeed I am, young lady," the figure replied as he folded his arms behind his back, "and as for Booby, he's nearly finished his work on the project that I've tasked him with. You'll get to see him soon enough, in any case."
This bastard had the gall to use my dad's nickname as if he was a friend. Oh yeah, you can bet that I was going to kick his ass when I got to him. The gem on my scepter was glowing in response to my emotions like it was some kind of big mood stone, red like what I was seeing.
"Ah, so you managed to retrieve the Elemental Euclase from the minotaur construct," Al said with piqued interest, "wonderful. I was going to go after that one next, but you've saved me the trouble."
He knew stuff about the rock that I didn't, huh? I would've barged in without a care, but I could tell from the twinkle in Rouge's eye that she was interested in knowing more. And hey, she could've been onto something, like maybe the info would help me better learn how to use it.
"Mm, caught your interest, have I?" he crooned, making my fur rise, "I would be happy to enlighten you, if only you'd come inside. Meet me on your own merit and I'll indulge you, but I won't prevent my soldiers from trying to stop you. I do hope you arrive safely, for the sake of those who care."
He laughed again before shutting off the monitors, and we heard the groan of the giant door starting to move. This guy was confident enough to invite us directly into his stronghold, and it seemed like he even expected us to make it to him. Well, I'd hate to disappoint him, considering how much I've been craving to beat his ass. Whether or not the others were ready, I was gung-ho to go save my dad and send these goons packing!
"Gah!"
Green cried out as I swerved around the homing fireball she launched from her gun and elbowed her in the stomach, momentarily knocking her off her platform. It reoriented itself to catch her, letting her land on her feet and nurse her wound before changing her ammo type. Coral pink this time, which meant that she'd be lobbing those burst projectiles. The power of her firearm was incredible, though if you memorized the colors associated with what it's capable of, then you could prepare for what's coming.
One of the few meaningful lessons my father taught me was that no matter how strong an attack is, it's useless if it doesn't connect. It was a mindset that I took to quickly, and as a result, I learned to adapt even in the middle of a fight. And over the course of the past few minutes since the train wreck, I'd begun to turn the tables. As formidable as Green was, her openings were easier to exploit than I had initially thought, and she relied heavily on her arsenal. I was glad that she hadn't resorted to using her platform's transformative properties against me yet, though; I don't think I'd stand a chance if she did.
Also during that time, I received a ping on my communicator. It seemed that Rouge and the others had made it safely; so much for that grunt's boast about having "more than enough" numbers to handle them. It would've been better if they waited for me, but I wouldn't hold it against them if they didn't. With the Crown in Al's hands, getting that back from him and saving any hostages took priority over regrouping.
Back to the fight, Green fired off a round straight at me, which I dodged by retreating just before it exploded. While the blast kept me obscured for a moment, I used the opportunity to fling a pair of energy blades through the smoke and fire. I heard Green grunt and hiss, then another bang as she let loose a second shot. It would have struck me dead-on if I hadn't predicted the trajectory, flipping over just in time and countering with a kick to her chest. She was a little more prepared for my attack this time, but I still forced her to skid back a little and growl in pain. It was good to see that despite her superior armor, it didn't completely protect her from my blows and weaponry.
Perhaps she'd never fought someone as formidable as myself until now. With that in mind, I allowed myself to show a bit of boldness.
"Seems whatever hardships you've endured didn't adequately prepare you for me," I boasted with a small smirk, "I will admit that you're quite strong, and your technology is most impressive, but you can't win with the way you're fighting me now."
She answered with a short bark of a laugh as she once again switched her ammo type. The inner barrel was now a blue-magenta slate sort of color, which she hadn't busted out yet, so I didn't know what to expect.
"You think this is the extent of my abilities?" she sneered derisively, "please, your hollow bird bones would snap like twigs if I was really trying, even with your armored suit. I've been going easy on you this whole time."
That much was obvious, given how she'd had ample opportunity to kill me and yet hadn't taken it. The question was...
"Why?" I inquired, my expression shifting to a frown, "why aren't you putting in more effort if I'm one of your primary targets? Why aren't you aiming to kill?"
She was quiet for a few moments, not even making a move to attack me, as she seemingly considered my words. Out of respect and my own curiosity, I waited until she could give me a proper reply.
"Because my," she started to say, then shook her head, "because Miles Prower would never stand for it."
That made me cock my brow. "While I don't disagree, I don't see what he has to do with any of this."
"Let's just say that I respect him too much to spit on the work he did, even if saving you was part of it." She balled up her free hand while she took aim. "Although I don't think he'd mind too terribly if I kicked your ass if he knew just what it is you're bound to do."
There it was again, that insistence that I was going to do something terrible. Even if her reasons for believing so were understandable in light of my past actions, it was getting tiresome to hear this.
"Have you ever considered that you might be wrong about your assumption?" I asked her with mounting annoyance.
A tiny blue beam whizzed by my cheek faster than I could blink as Green stood there unflinching. "I have, and I've determined that what I'm doing is the best course of action!"
Stubborn, but unsurprising given the sort of conviction she'd been showing. The one shot from before was followed up by many, many more, the storm of energy leaving scorching holes all throughout the tunnel. Unlike the orbs from earlier, these didn't home in on me, but it was still difficult to avoid so many without getting grazed. As things stood, I couldn't get any closer to her until she changed her gun's properties, so I put more distance between us to make dodging her attacks a little easier.
Once that opening arrived, a boom came from behind me as I rocketed towards Green faster than sound. She reacted more readily than I thought she would, but not quickly enough to keep me from managing to knock her firearm out of her hand. As it clacked and bounced away while we swiftly left it behind, I heard her click her tongue.
"Damn it," she grumbled irritably as she suddenly leapt from her ride and began sprinting after me. She pressed on the back of her helmet and gave the large floating device a look. "Nanatsu no Chikara, go get my gun and then return to me ASAP! Transform if you have to!"
The platform made a U-turn and sped off to where she'd lost her weapon, leaving just the two of us. With both of her strongest forms of attack now unavailable, and a seeming inability to fly on her own, I saw this as my chance to strike a more decisive blow. But just before I closed the gap, Green suddenly flung her arm outward, and I felt stabbing pain seep into my shoulders and knees from a handful of shurikens she'd thrown. That instant where I'd stopped to react and pull them out was enough for her to get in a Rolling Jump, smacking me down into the rails. I pivoted out of the way of a Stomp, knocking her off her feet with a sweeping kick and soon getting back to my own.
I made a break for it while she was still down, flying as fast as I could manage in the narrow corridor. Unfortunately, I didn't get terribly far before I heard her cry out.
"Mode Change: Okami no Chikara!"
The shifting of gears changed to the rapid clanking of heavy metal, which soon caught up to me. When I glanced back, I saw a huge metallic green and gold wolf with a short tail that ended in some sort of cannon rather than fake fluff. No doubt it was another of the forms that that strange thing of hers could assume.
"Tch, persistent bitch!" I snarled in frustration, slowing my pace just a tad so I could keep a better eye on her.
"You can't escape!" she yelled back at me from within the machine.
That rear appendage tracked my movements without fail even as I tried to shake it off, and after a couple of seconds, it unleashed a big blue energy ball from the tip. It was easy for me to get out of the way of the projectile itself, though I was in for a nasty surprise when it exploded with even more force than the burst ammo. It nearly forced me to the ground, but I flipped around and kicked off of it to stay in the air, just barely avoiding a swipe of one of those steel paws in the process. I launched a Shocking Blast and energy blades in retaliation, only to watch them fare no better than the NBA's own weapons. With that, I went in for an Aerial Spin Dash, slamming first into the head and then diving down at the tail. It had more than one trick though, as I soon found myself getting thrown back by a short-ranged, but broad yellow and blue ray.
"Now, Ricochet Rounds!" Green commanded her machine.
Its tail bent so that the barrel aimed diagonally at the ceiling, an ominous yellow light blinking from within. And a few seconds later, the tunnel was filled with needle-shaped shots of the same color, each and every one bouncing off of the smooth stone and somehow keeping up with us. I felt myself starting to grow lightheaded as the projectiles that I didn't successfully deflect or dodge tore into my armor and opened more wounds. My flying got a bit wobbly too, but I wouldn't succumb to my fatigue and injuries just yet.
Whether out of mercy or boredom, Green made the mech return to its platform mode and brandished her gun, the magenta glow giving away that it was currently set to that short beam blade she favored. Just as well, for we both pulled into what had to be the main station just a couple of moments later, as evidenced by the cavernous space, the way the rails looped into another tunnel, and the huge reinforced door. The latter was open, meaning that Rouge and the others had already gone ahead of me like I expected them to. Perhaps the NBA wasn't so tough after all if the four of them were able to get this far without my assistance. Or maybe this is exactly what their leader wanted, and my comrades were walking into a trap. After all, we were on Al's turf now, and he had the Crown to boot, which had capabilities we still weren't entirely knowledgeable about.
I suddenly had a bad feeling about all of this.
"I'm not done with you!" Green snarled.
I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to meet her, only to get a face full of that beam blade instead. Were it made to slash through flesh rather than bludgeon it, that would've been the end of me then and there. Instead, I was knocked to the floor of the station not too far from the door, some of my blood smearing the pavement. It was more difficult to get to my feet than I thought it would be as I fought against the aches and pains ringing throughout my body. That gunner had done a lot more damage to me than I'd thought, but not enough to take me down just yet.
But just as we were about to come to blows again...
"Oh my, what's this?" a smooth and authoritative baritone came from the speakers around us, "if it isn't Battle Kukku XVI and the mysterious woman in green, fighting on my doorstep."
Both Green and I turned our attention to the monitors that suddenly flickered to life across the station. In the image was a figure in all black armor with a matching mantle, an outfit that would've been rather plain if not for the designs of his soldiers to compare it to. Still, I suppose it was imposing enough for his purposes and let everyone know who was in charge of matters.
"Al!" Green shouted at the nearest screen while waving her beam sword at the image, "or should I say Alexei!?"
Alexei? The name sounded strangely familiar to me, though I couldn't place why. And as I pondered over this, a soft laugh came from the man that had to be Al.
"Hoh, it seems you're privy to something not even my closest confidants here are aware of," he mused, stroking the chin of his helmet, "I applaud your detective work, miss." Though it was hidden, I felt his gaze shift to me. "And it seems like you've got something on the tip of your tongue, Sixteenth." He let out another condescending chuckle, which only annoyed me more. "I suppose without some visual aid, you wouldn't figure it out, so allow me to show you. None of my troops are here with me or there with you, and neither are your other friends, so I need not worry about exposing myself to them just yet."
With a simple click on one gauntlet's wrist, the armor winked away in a snap, leaving us with the revelation of Al's true form. He was an owl Animal with moderate brown feathers that appeared black in low light, with white down around his sharp yellow beak and what was visible on his chest. They fanned out around his neck in a manner like wavy hair, and a couple of portions stuck up in a similar manner to that Sonic kid's head spines. His eyes, like mine, were a deep red, while the lids were white and the sockets angled in such a way that he seemed to wear a permanent scowl. He wore a long white coat that came down to his ankles, red gloves, a red dress shirt with room for some of his chest down to show, and black formal pants that were tucked into dark red boots with white cuffs and gray soles.
Seeing him now, I let out a gasp as a memory I'd long thought lost came back to me. When I was on the cusp of adolescence, I recalled visiting the doctor alongside my father to check on one of his latest developments. At that time, he had another owl there with him that he claimed was his protege, and the one that would take over the position of chief engineer when the time came for the old bird to retire. My father had been in agreement with the idea, but nothing ever came of it. I didn't see that owl again after that brief meeting, so I assumed that he'd abandoned the idea of succeeding the doctor. And yet there he was, after all those years.
"You!" I said almost involuntarily, "you were there that day with Dr. F. when my father and I were visiting R&D!"
The other avian clapped his hands and grinned. "Haha, so you do remember! That's right, 'Speedy', I was the one who was to become the successor to the position of chief engineer. However, it was determined that I needed more knowledge and experience, and so I left to expand both of those on a journey across the globe." His face changed to one that better matched the ferocity of his eyes. "And yet, by the time I was ready to return, the Empire was no more, and both your father and my grand-uncle had perished!"
Green was taken aback by what she was hearing, if her body language was anything to go by. It seemed that as much as she knew about Al and the NBA, there was plenty that she wasn't aware of.
"Grand-uncle?" she repeated, "but, that would make you–"
"Finally figured it out, have you?" Al proclaimed as he spread his arms wide, "then allow me to properly introduce myself." He swept one arm over his chest and gave us both a bow through the screen. "I am Dr. Alexei Fukurokov, leader of the Neo Battle Armada."