Difference between revisions of "Falling into the Theraxians Trap - Part 2"

Adonia laughed as she touched down on the ground and approached Kr’anri’s seemingly unconscious form lying on the floor;

“Now, now little PET, it’s time for you to get back in your little cage!” she jeered

Her hands burned with yellow energy as she stood over Kr’anri, laughing manically. Vitality grabbed a guard and threw him towards one of the larger hybrids; the guards’ body flipped through the air as it flew towards the hybrid creature. The hybrid backhanded the smaller guard away with a powerful energy fist, and he readied himself for combat as it ran towards Vitality. Vitality glanced to his left quickly noting Kr’anri’s predicament at the other end of the clearing, he turned back to the hybrid just in time as its bright yellow fist connected with his body, slamming him into the wall behind; Vitality shook himself off, peeling out of the impression he’d made in the metal panelling. The hybrid creature raised both fists above its head preparing to slam down onto him; Vitality positioned himself and pushed off the wall colliding with the hybrid. He grappled with it, quickly gaining the upper hand as he held onto the two strips of armour crossing its back; he spun round in the air and launched it into Draydeon. He sped towards where Kr’anri lay; avoiding stray energy beams, bronze weapons and punches. Vitality looked on as Adonia knelt down, reaching out to grab hold of Kr’anri, willing himself to fly faster. He was a few meters away from Kr’anri and Adonia when a blue psychic fire aura enveloped Kr’anri as Adonia muttered the word ‘pet’ as she moved closer. Kr’anri jumped to her feet and spun round, her eyes burning brighter than before:

“WE. ARE. NOT. A. PET!!” She roared

The android looked surprised as Kr’anri suddenly lunged towards her, teeth barred with a crazed look in her eye betraying her anger. Kr’anri latched onto its shoulders and began to hack away at the androids face with her claws. The grating sound of Kr’anri’s claws scraping and slicing against a thin layer of the fleshly substance then metal was enough to cause Vitality to stop and just stare for a moment or two, not to mention the appearance of this new, strange aura. A blast of yellow-golden energy slammed into Vitality, jerking him forward slightly, knocking him out of his musing about Kr’anri’s newly acquired aura and aggression. He turned around to see an airborne Draydeon, at the sight of Draydeon alone, caused his blood to boil. Vitality narrowed his eyes and flew directly towards him.

---

D.A.W.N. locked onto the guard Cavalier was fighting and launched a row of missiles from her arsenal and fired a potent plasma beam at its back, it thrashed and flailed as the beam continued heating up its bronze armour and skin. Taking advantage of D.A.W.N.’s helpful distraction Cavalier jumped up high and plunged his energy claw into the chest of the guard, the guard stilled as a fiery sensation blossomed in its chest, rapidly spreading to its entire body leaving him immobilized as it crashed to the ground completely paralyzed. He pushed off the guard making his way to Kr’anri as he nodded his thanks to D.A.W.N.

Kr’anri continued viciously hacking away at the androids face as the internal mechanisms sparked and crackled. In her rage Kr’anri had managed to claw her way through the androids face and rip out the ‘brain’ and throw it onto the floor. She pushed off the android as it staggered backwards, putting herself at a safe distance before its head exploded and the remaining body clanged against the ground. The psychic aura seemed to slowly vanish as she calmed down, a slightly fearful look in her eye as she looked around at the unconscious guard she had previously taken down and the android’s body which was still sparking and jerking involuntarily.

“Kr’anri? Are you okay?” Asked Cavalier

“Kr’anri…does not remember…how did Kr’anri got here?” she asked sounding dazed

“Kr’anri, don’t you remember the fight?” asked D.A.W.N.

Kr’anri looked up at D.A.W.N. and shook her head;

“Kr’anri does not know this fight. Is Good Magic hurt?”

“I’m fine thank you for asking.” replied D.A.W.N.

Vitality emerged relatively unscathed from the waves of energy which the android had sent his way; it watched as he continued on towards Draydeon. Vitality pulled back his fist as he approached and punched through the Draydeon android. The android stopped firing immediately as it looked down and noticed the large hole in its torso. Vitality retracted his fist from the hole he’d created and wrenched the head of the android from the rest of its body. The body of the android fell away from Vitality, falling out of the sky and landing in a heap on the ground. The android head sparked periodically, threatening to explode any moment as Vitality held it in his hand. Looking directly into the eyes of the android, he spoke;

“If this is how you’re watching us, know that I’m coming for you and the next time it won’t be a robot double this happens to.”

Cavalier, Kr’anri and D.A.W.N. looked on in surprise as Vitality slowly crushed the Draydeon android head in the palm of his hand, the metal skull buckled quickly under the overwhelming pressure exerted by Vitality; it was soon no bigger than a golf ball. Vitality turned to his team, his expression conveying barely restrained anger as he descended. The android’s frame was nearby and suddenly jerked violently; Vitality spun round and slammed his fist into it again, his breathing markedly changed as he sharply inhaled and exhaled air. Cavalier stalked forward, lightly easing Vitality away from the android;

“Easy there bud, it’s over now. Is there something you’re not telling us?” asked Cavalier

“It-We should get moving and free Mentella. We don’t have much time left.” concluded Vitality

“You know where she is?” asked D.A.W.N.

“Yeah. She’s in a specialized cell, in the final cell corridor. She told me where it was. It’s over there, let’s go.”

The team made their way to the corridor leading to Mentella’s cell and were confronted with a solid purple energy barrier, D.A.W.N. assessed the barrier;

“Give me a moment; I’ll see if I can overload this matrix. It may take a while though…” she murmured

“Sorry Dawn, but time isn’t on our side.” Vitality frowned

He hovered closer until he was inches away from the crackling energy field, and placed both his hands on the energy matrix; the energy barrier crackled and hummed as Vitality slowly but surely ripped a hole in the energy matrix, slowly widening it as the energy cracked around the hole and up through his arms. He barred his teeth as he continued to open the hole, pushing against the sides of the make shift hole as it continued to flash and attempt to seal itself. His team mates looked on in surprise as he tore open the solid energy field, tendrils of purple energy crackled around his forearms as he widened the hole. The energy field projectors hummed loudly and Kr’anri covered her ears as the sound intensified before, the energy field dissipated violently as the projectors sparked.

“That was…some display of strength David.” noted D.A.W.N.

Vitality looked down at his hands and then raised his head as he looked forward, he shrugged in response and hovered through the space where the energy field was and was quickly followed by his team members. A significant psionic pressure became apparent as they neared the end of the corridor, increasing with each step they took.

“I’m guessing this was the ‘effect’ she was talking about.” frowned Vitality

Sensing the presence of Delta, Mentella projected a message to them all:

< Apologies, the pressure will continue to build until I am free from this chamber. My people and power suppression chambers do not go hand in hand.> ~ Mentella

A large bronze wall quickly came into view as they neared the end of the corridor; a golden ‘T’ was emblazoned on the bronze wall a thin line running through it, signifying its ability to be parted as a door mechanism. D.A.W.N. stepped forward and scanned the door.

“I’m only picking up three sets of doors and then pure darkness beyond that. My guess is the door is lined with a tungsten polymer to prevent scanning; it’s likely the final door. I’m picking up another hacker in the vessels system…strange; they’ve just opened the way for me to access this chamber.”

“Kr’anri does not like this feeling.” she frowned

“You’re not the only one. Dawn you need to hurry up.” Vitality sighed

Kr’anri paced back and forth attempting to distract herself from the near painful psionic pressure. The pressure quickly started to abate as Mentella once again projected a message.

< I’ve managed to contain the pressure’s effect; it should be long enough for you to access me. > ~ Mentella

D.A.W.N. hacked into the chambers security mechanisms, overriding the lock command forcing the doors to open up. A resounding clang rang through the hallway and was subsequently followed by a chain of mechanical whirring. Behind three sets of interlocking bronze doors, surrounded by a crackling security field, a large cuboid shape was attached to the head of Mentella’s body, several restraints locked down her neck, hands, legs and midsection. They walked in, the lights of the specialized cell turning on as they approached Mentella.

“Wow. Talk about a total lock down.” Cavalier mused.

“Security protocols here will be offline in five.” D.A.W.N. nodded

The cracking security field went down as she overrode the safety protocols, disengaging it almost instantly. Vitality and Cavalier assisted in pulling off the magnetic restraints, whilst Kr’anri and D.A.W.N. laid waste to the rest of the cell deactivating several trained weapons in the process. Mentella flexed her wrists as she was slowly but surely freed from her physical bonds, lines of light became increasingly apparent to her as Vitality and Cavalier wrenched open the containment unit surrounding her head. Mentella sat forward quickly massaging her neck and standing up.

“Much obliged.” she sighed

“Are you okay?” asked Cavalier

“No, I’m not. I will be in a moment.” Mentella replied.

She stepped forward and lifted her right index and middle fingers to her temple and a crown of magenta psionic energy manifested itself boldly on her head, the psionic energy arcing to the back of her head. Mentella’s eyes burned brightly as she unleashed a thick beam of psionic energy at a giant alien guard who had just regained consciousness. The psychic attack slammed into its bronze helmet, it screamed out in pain as the maintained assault continued until the helmet exploded outwards in a violent display of golden-magenta energy, and bits of bronze helmet fell to the floor, chiming against the floor in the distance. Its eye sockets and mouth had wisps of magenta smoke weaving out of them; the guard dropped to the floor, a dull thud sounding through the prison block. Mentella’s eyes flashed momentarily as she sighed lightly.

“Much better.” Mentella stated

“Whoa, yeah, let’s keep you out of suppression units…” Cavalier nodded.

“We need to get out of here. I’m pretty sure they’re bringing their people here or something; if we don’t act fast we’ll all be in danger.” Vitality urged

The group of heroes made their way to the Prison Cell Block exit, which was completely sealed. Mentella looked towards Kr’anri and frowned at her, Kr’anri shifted uncomfortably under Mentella’s frown;

< I’m sensing a lot of instability in your mind. > ~ Mentella

< Kr’anri does not feel okay. > ~ Kr’anri

< Mind if I? > ~ Mentella

Kr’anri shook her head and turned towards her fully. Mentella had a quick look through her mind, noting a slightly darker, instinctual presence in Kr’anri’s mind; barely restrained below the levels of control she had been taught.

< Hmm, yes I can see. I’m beginning to think I should have conducted the procedure earlier. How long has this instability been afflicting you? > ~ Mentella

< Kr’anri thinks after Skyfire hair took away psychic help. > ~ Kr’anri

< Well, for now, I can only suggest that you do your best to keep it together, I’m going to be monitoring you after we leave this place and help you to resolve the issue. Alert me if you feel strange. > ~ Mentella

Mentella focused her attention back on the rest of the team; D.A.W.N. had been furiously hacking the door mechanisms whilst Vitality and Cavalier attempted to find a more direct route through to the other side. Vitality frowned deeply;

“We don’t have TIME for this!” he exclaimed

Vitality curled his fist into a ball and plunged it into the bronze door. The metal began to yield under his strength; it buckled and bent as his fists continued to assault the door.

---

Alarms bleared and screens flashed as the control room conveyed the current state of the Prison Cell Block to the Theraxians. Zultaer was the last to join Draydeon, Adonia and Gidrean in the control room, Draydeon turned to Zultaer, his eyes a dangerous yellow as the lines of his face contorted into a decidedly angry frown;

“The Security System, what is your status on it?” asked Draydeon

“I was attempting to reactivate the security system, but to no avail. Whatever has gained access to our system has not only decoded our encryptions but has also anticipated replacements and future encryptions; I’m unable to do anything. Aside from the Virillian blast doors separating the Prison Cell Block from the rest of the vessel we have no security in place.” replied Zultaer

Draydeon growled, his eyes flashing as he nodded towards Adonia;

“I managed to bypass the surveillance loop…” started Adonia

“And?” frowned Draydeon

“They have… escaped and laid waste to the Prison Cell Block, the guards and the hybrids have been completely incapacitated. The androids were not successful either, all are offline. The Xenian somehow alerted them to her prison cell and they freed her. They are currently--”

A powerful shockwave rolled through the vessel, causing the Theraxians to almost lose their footing, Gidrean fell over and attempted to stand, bumping his head in the process:

“By Therax! What was that?!” He gasped as he got to his feet.

“It’s them…attempting to break through the blast door.” Adonia sighed

Draydeon slammed his fist through the monitor and roared angrily, his eyes burning with yellow-golden energy;

“This ends NOW! Prepare yourselves; it is time to destroy the heroes ahead of schedule. Do not forget your Psionic Preventers.” he shouted

Draydeon stood up, attaching a small, flat metal square to his temple and clicked his metal gauntlets in place; he floated into the sky and flew out of the room, swiftly followed by Gidrean, Adonia and Zultaer who followed at a safe distance.

Mentella watched as Vitality utilized his colossal strength against the blast door, D.A.W.N. stepped back, somewhat shocked as Vitality’s continually pounded against the door, each strike’s shockwave increasing in magnitude as it pulsed out from the impact point. The bronze door continued to fold in on itself until a final punch from Vitality caused it to buckle completely. He hovered through the relatively large hole; the edges of the hole in the bronze door were jagged and jutted out at odd angles. Cavalier walked forward and pushed against the remaining pieces of the door, managing to bend them slightly as the team stepped through.

“It looks like we have company.” noted Mentella

A few feet in front of them stood Gidrean, Zultaer and Adonia in a line with Draydeon hovering in front. His body glowed with a yellow energy aura, his fists surrounded with spheres of energy as he made eye contact with Vitality, drifting forward slightly.

“This is where your story ends. Heroes of Earth; feel the might of Therax-Prime!” shouted Draydeon

He took aim and unleashed a blast of energy at the heroes; Kr’anri’s eyes widened as the blast rocketed forwards, she jumped up, scaling the wall and hiding between the hollow columns in the ceiling. D.A.W.N.’s shield activated; an orange hexagonal matrix forming in front of her as she braced for the impact. Cavalier shot a look towards Mentella;

“Let’s not stick around?” She nodded and he grabbed hold of her, teleporting out of the line of fire as the other Theraxians bolts of energy fed into Draydeon’s forming a colossal cascade of yellow energy.

Vitality crossed his forearms in front of his face, as the blast slammed into him, sending him back a few feet, parts of his costume tearing away under the sheer heat of the energy beam. He chanced a glance towards D.A.W.N., her shields holding as the energy from the cascade finally dissipated. Vitality winced as the searing heat of the blast Cavalier and Mentella materialized in a flash of pale red energy behind the remains of the Virillian blast door as the excess yellow energy from Draydeon’s attack burst through the hole in the door. Smoke billowed from the corridor they were just in, the smell of molten metal filling the air. Cavalier spoke into his com-link;

“Kr’anri? Vit? Dawn? You guys alright?” he hissed

“Kr’anri is warm, but fine.”

“Shielding is down to 45% but I’m good. David looks fine, a little cooked, but his com-link is likely fried, his uniform took quite a bit of damage.” D.A.W.N. replied

Draydeon squinted as he looked through the smoke, vaguely making out two distinct figures, one of whom was hovering in the air, albeit a few feet back from where he previously was. Behind the blast door, Cavalier looked over to his right to see Mentella who was crouched beside a block of debris, her index and middle finger on her left temple, her eyes glowing slightly.

“What are you doing?” he asked

“I’ve just overloaded their Psionic Preventer patches.” she replied

“All of them?”

“Yes, it was an amusing attempt to block out telepathic attack from myself and Kr’anri.”

“Oh, nice. I think the coast is clear.”

“I’ll be along soon, join your team and fight the Theraxians.” Mentella replied

He nodded and turned to look through the now more circular hole in the blast doors. He gingerly hopped through the hole; surveying his surroundings as he entered the thick veil of smoke which clouded the corridor. Kr’anri crawled along the ceiling, as the smoke cleared she saw Adonia turn the corner with Draydeon and the others.

“Kr’anri sees them!” She cried

Vitality’s eyes snapped open as he rubbed his forearms, pushing the hot burning sensation to the back of his mind; he flew forward after them, Kr’anri pointed to the upcoming turn in the hallway. Vitality focused himself and flew after him, quickly turning the corner. He caught up and quickly closed the gap between Draydeon and himself. Draydeon turned round, gritting his teeth as he attempted to escape Vitality. D.A.W.N. was close behind, tracking the Theraxians as they tried to evade the heroes.

“Stay together and finish them! I will deal with this one.” roared Draydeon

Draydeon watched as his Vanguard team flew straight on to the main body of the ship; he turned and flew down a hallway towards the engine room, with Vitality hot on his heels. Both dodging various machinery as they flew along; Vitality reached out and as soon as he was in range placed a firm grip on Draydeon’s heel. Draydeon’s eyes widened as he felt himself stopping abruptly, promptly followed by the sensation of being swung around. Vitality spun Draydeon around before shoving him towards the ceiling with immense force; Draydeon slammed into the ceiling, cracks shooting out in all directions. Vitality grabbed onto Draydeon’s breastplate and continued to force Draydeon through the ceiling.

Draydeon pushed down against Vitality’s forearms in an attempt to escape, his fists of energy soldered to Vitality’s forearms. Draydeon felt the forearm guards bend under Vitality’s strength, his bones threatened to snap as the pressure increased. Removing his hands he released a powerful concentrated energy bolt; the bolt exploded outwards. The explosion sent them both spinning in opposite directions mid-air. Draydeon’s forearm guards were rendered useless as they failed to re-attach to his uniform;

“You’ll pay for that, you wretch.” warned Draydeon

Vitality flew forward towards Draydeon, slamming his fists into a powerful energy shield Draydeon was surrounded by. The energy shield threatened to shatter as his fists continued to pound against the shield, cracks spreading out from the impact points. Draydeon barred his teeth as he focused his energy, attempting to repair the shield. Vitality drew back further and smashed his fist into the side of the shield; the shockwave caused Draydeon to plummet into the ground, his spherical shield protecting him from the impact like a hamster ball. He groaned as he looked up to see Vitality crashing down through the air; the sheer magnitude of the impact and the velocity instantly shattering the energy construct. Bits of the energy construct were sent everywhere, quickly vanishing into thin air as Vitality grabbed hold of Draydeon’s collar;

“Had enough?” he asked.

Draydeon coughed and grinned salaciously at Vitality leaning forward slightly;

“Give me more, I can take it.” he winked

Vitality drew back from Draydeon, a look of incredulity on his face. Draydeon used this opportunity to sink his foot into Vitality’s chest, ripping himself out of the heroes grip. He flew into the air and flying forward he grabbed hold of Vitality; throwing him to the ground and firing a thick beam of energy as his yellow eyes burned brightly. He stopped firing and looked into the crater that he’d created;

“Looks like you’ve finally met your superior. Now yie--” started Draydeon

Vitality stood with his eyes closed in the center of the crater, his suit smouldering as parts of the fabric drifted to the ground and he looked up at Draydeon as the redness in his face receded.

“It’s not a good idea to piss me off, and guess what?” Vitality frowned

“What?” whispered Draydeon, slowly hovering backwards in shock.

“You’ve just pissed me off.” Vitality replied

Draydeon’s eyes widened as Vitality rapidly closed the gap between them.

---

D.A.W.N.’s targeting system helped her dodge the incoming torrent of energy blasts from Adonia and Zultaer. A compartment on D.A.W.N.’s shoulder opened up, a series of heat seeking missiles flew out, two breaking off for Zultaer and two trailed after Adonia. D.A.W.N. looked down at Kr’anri who she was carrying; a psychic aura of blue fire had previously enveloped her as her eyes tracked Adonia.

“Kr’anri, the missiles are seconds away from impact, get ready to attack.” D.A.W.N. announced

Adonia managed to make it into the main room before the missiles exploded near her, the force of the explosion knocking her out of flight, sending her plummeting to the ground. The room seemed to stretch for miles and was split into two levels; the middle level was comprised of a square silver platform which floated in the middle of the room, entirely unattached to the rest of the room except for the connecting energy bridge from the entrance to the platform. Below that on the lower level, a purple energy matrix hummed and crackled violently, shielding a powerful engine.

Kr’anri growled as she watched Adonia fall out of the sky, her voice taking on a deeper tone as she struggled in D.A.W.N.’s grip;

“WE ARE READY!” she growled

She swung herself free, flipping in the air and digging her claws into Adonia’s back. Distracted by the piercing pain, Adonia crashed into the floor, rolling along the floor with Kr’anri firmly attached to her, flipping off at the last second as Adonia’s body slammed into a piece of machinery. Adonia quickly got to her feet facing off against Kr’anri;

“You’ve been a bad little pet.” Adonia spat

Kr’anri screamed; unleashing uncontrolled blasts of psychic energy, causing Adonia to crumple to the ground under the incredible psychic pressure Kr’anri was exerting, Adonia randomly fired waves of energy in all directions in an attempt to kill Kr’anri. Kr’anri stopped attacking and deftly avoided the energy attacks which gradually became more accurate as Kr’anri’s psychic attack wore off. Adonia’s mind swam with painful psionic energy as Kr’anri unleashed a new wave of direct attacks against her, once again impacting her vision and ravaging her mind. D.A.W.N. flew by sending a barrage of ballistics towards Adonia, who managed to protect herself with a weak shield of yellow energy. The missiles collided with the shield just as Kr’anri flipped back, sending Adonia backwards into a nearby piece of machinery. Zultaer recovered from the missile impact and flew into D.A.W.N. knocking her away from Kr’anri and Adonia;

“You won’t be able to defeat the REAL me! Enjoy the final moments of your life robot.” snarled Zultaer

“The fact that I’ve defeated an android version of you should tell you, to give up now. You have breakable bones and pain receptors. It didn’t.” replied D.A.W.N.

D.A.W.N. engaged her secondary jets, the thrusting force from the jet powerfully opposing Zultaer, almost ripping her out of his grasp, sending him backwards, slightly disorientated. Zultaer shook off the disorientation and unleashed a beam of energy at D.A.W.N. only for it to be met with an equal beam of energy mid-air as the palms of her hand hollowed out as cannons came forward and opened up and unleashing a powerful beam of orange plasma energy in his direction.

“You think…you think you can stop us? We are…Theraxians! We will drain and SHATTER your world until no semblance of your pitiful race is left!!” shouted Zultaer

He pushed forward, forcing more energy into his beam, slowly forcing D.A.W.N. backwards. She strained against the incoming energy, her shields currently holding at 41% but slowly declining as the energy became overwhelming. She adjusted her jets, expertly lowering herself to the platform beneath. She increased the power of her plasma beam forcing the energy pulses into Zultaer, disorientating him temporarily. Noting his brief period of disorientation, D.A.W.N. re-routed power to her shield matrix, boosting its power by 20%. A relatively small mini gun rose out of her shoulder as she locked onto Zultaer, it started to spin, rapidly building speed and began firing a series of bullets at her target. Zultaer shook his head as he refocused on his opponent, the energy shield around him flared as it incinerated several bullets. He looked down towards D.A.W.N. and growled as he focused an energy beam at her, his shield paled slightly and a few bullets flew through his shield piercing the wall behind him. He relented and focused on the energy shield around himself as the bullets increased in accuracy and strength as D.A.W.N. continued to fire them through her shield matrix.

The strain of keeping the shield active slowly got to him and Zultaer’s eyes widened comically as he looked around to see his energy shield rapidly deteriorating under the continuous fire; the shield started to crack, white energy stress marks spreading out from the various bullet fire impact points. D.A.W.N.’s locked onto Zultaer as she trained her micro yield nuclear missiles on Zultaer; square patches on her torso opened up as five orange tipped missiles fired off towards Zultaer. The resulting explosion shattered Zultaer’s energy shield entirely, pieces of the yellow energy construct flittered to the ground before vanishing.

“Stand down; this is your final chance.” D.A.W.N. stated

Zultaer growled at D.A.W.N., slightly groggy as he got to his feet. He stood, half leaning on the wall behind him; his shoulder seemed to be sitting at an odd angle causing him to wince as he tried to move. D.A.W.N. hovered towards him, her palms outstretched as her cannons glowed in Zultaer’s direction. She looked down at him.

“You’re hurt. Don’t make this any worse on yourself.”

Without warning he surged forward with an angry shout, unleashing a violent blast of energy her way. The blast sent D.A.W.N. flying backwards, the shield matrix values had fallen drastically, she started as she realised it had almost been overloaded. She looked up as Zultaer’s left hand enveloped itself with golden energy and he grabbed hold of his displaced shoulder, quickly snapping it back in place as he rolled his shoulders experimentally before flexing both fingers and walking towards D.A.W.N.

---

Mentella stood near the remains of the Virillian blast doors as she contacted Techna Ology;

< How much headway have you made with the vessel? > ~ Mentella

< I’ve kept it in geostationary orbit but the engines, security system for the vessel is inoperable, I’ve got control over it…oh and the secondary power sources are offline. The stability field and main engine, I left online for obvious reasons. I’ve contacted the Virillian Prison Fleet; they are in Sector 15, and making their way here for pick up. Due to the direct involvement of the Theraxians on Earth, the Virillians are okay with them to be held captive on Earth. > ~ Techna

< Good, how long have we got before they arrive roughly? > ~ Mentella

< Hmm, let’s see…about an hour till they are in reclaiming distance. Speaking of time, you really need to get those Theraxians away from Earth or get them in power suppression units; their abilities drain Earth’s natural power, and from what I can decipher it looks like they are trying to contact their people to come to Earth. Not good for humans or planet Earth. > ~ Techna

< Delta’s working on it. I’m assuming you’ve disabled any robotic assistance they may have on the ship? > ~ Mentella

< Partly, there’s still the third and final robotic assistance unit I’m looking for. Some sort of defence androids, they teleport as well…which is irritating. But I’ve locked the hybrid creatures in their suspended animation chambers. If you’re alone, I’d say be careful. Let me know if you spot any additional hostiles, I’ll be looking too. > ~ Techna

< I see, I’ll be in touch. > ~ Mentella

< I’m serious Mentella. Be. Careful. I don’t need the Theraxians or Delta to see my crazy side because something bad happened.> ~ Techna

Mentella smiled at the thought and closed the psychic link. She stood up and narrowed her eyes slightly, honing in on the psychic signatures of the Delta members and the Theraxians. Quickly locating them all, Mentella made her way to them.

---

Gidrean shot through the air, well aware of his opponent’s teleportation abilities. He constantly weaved through the air, avoiding the flashes of pale red in the sky around him. Gidrean chanced a look, catching a glimpse of Cavalier as he vanished in another flash. He flew faster and whipped round, releasing a series of blasts from his fists. A blast of yellow energy shot past Cavalier as he closed in on Gidrean’s position; he noted Gidrean who was seconds away from hitting the ceiling. Gidrean spun round just in time to see the bronze ceiling speeding up towards him; Cavalier appeared behind him and shoved Gidrean forward, causing him to slam face first into the ceiling. Gidrean reached behind him and placed a firm grip on Cavalier as they struggled; random blasts of energy and swipes of energy claws missed their intended mark as they hurtled towards the ground.

Gidrean shoved Cavalier away and managed to right himself mid-air hovering before he hit the ground. Cavalier spun through the air and landed gracefully, quickly rolling to his left as another energy blast narrowly missed him. He looked up as Gidrean fired a large blast of golden energy right at him; the blast connected with his jaw, knocking his mask off his face, it scrapped along the floor a few meters away, a dark singe mark across the left side of the mask; wisps of smoke wafting off it. Cavalier hissed at the shooting burning pain the energy blast caused. He massaged his jaw as he glared at Gidrean.

“You’re gonna wish you hadn’t done that…” he frowned

“You’ll wish you were never born!” Gidrean snarled

Cavalier’s energy claws manifested and flashed aggressively as he ran towards Gidrean. Gidrean ran to meet him, unleashing a flurry of charged punches; Cavalier expertly avoided the punches, ducking, shifting and occasionally blocking them. Gidrean growled deeply as Cavalier’s energy claws sliced through his protective armor, the tips of them igniting his skin and sending shooting pains through him where they made contact. He drew back slightly, watching as Cavalier seemed to be mimicking his current pose.

“Hmph. You wish to copy something? Copy THIS!” he roared

He surged forward with incredible speed, landing a double fisted punch, causing Cavalier to stagger back the burning sensation flared in his stomach as Gidrean turned around, preparing for another strike. Thinking fast, Cavalier flipped backwards, avoiding two more energy strikes; he crouched low and pushed off the ground spinning towards Gidrean with his foot out stretched. His foot connected solidly with Gidrean’s jaw, propelling the Theraxian backwards. Gidrean grunted as the dull pain of the kick hit him, Cavalier jumped forward, landing another kick to his opponent’s chest. Gidrean staggered back and massaged his jaw; he shot up into the air, swooping down to grab hold of Cavalier. Gidrean unleashed a series of intensely bright flashes of golden energy all around Cavalier. Cavalier cursed loudly as the orbs exploded brilliantly around him, marring his vision.

“Oh shit. I can’t see a damn thing…” he winced, rubbing at his eyes.

Gidrean flew into Cavalier, his hands placing a firm hold on Cavalier as he continued to fly towards the energy matrix on the level below. Cavalier felt the ground suddenly vanish from beneath him as Gidrean flew; a burst of hot breath assaulted his senses signalling how close to Gidrean he was. His face contorted in disgust at the smell as he tried to escape.

“Hey, bud. I don’t know how much Listerine costs where ever you come from…but…you need it. Bad.”

Gidrean looked down at Cavalier, genuinely confused; his grip on Cavalier slackened.

“What? What is this Listerine you speak of?”

“My point exactly.” Cavalier smirked

Using Gidrean’s brief moment of confusion, he burst out of Gidrean’s grasp. He looked up to the ledge high above as he fell and teleported just in time as he drew near the energy matrix, a tendril of purple energy just striking the heel of his boot. Gidrean opened his eyes as he collided with the energy matrix, a series of harsh flashes of purple and gold hued the walls as Gidrean slammed into the matrix. Cavalier appeared in the space a few inches away from the ledge; his outstretched hand managed to grab onto the ledge and he pulled himself up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large golden projectile flew up from the level below. Cavalier rolled backwards away from the ledge as the golden projectile hurtled past, slightly melting the metal panel. Cavalier looked up to see Gidrean sheathed in a blaze of golden energy. The Theraxian dropped out of the sky in a controlled descent, a small shower of golden sparks flew up from the impact point as he landed. He stood to his full height as he frowned at Cavalier.

“Now, I will show you what real power is.” Gidrean snarled

Cavalier’s eyes narrowed as a small smile formed on his face;

“Good, so far you’ve been pretty underwhelming.”

Gidrean’s eyes flashed dangerously as he pointed his closed fist at Cavalier, he opened his palm and beckoned Cavalier towards him. Red energy swirled dangerously around Cavalier’s fists as his energy claws manifested themselves. Gidrean eyed the energy weapons and chuckled somewhat nervously as his golden sheathe dimmed.

“Come on, show me your worth.” he challenged.

A dirty grin cracked across Gidrean’s features as Cavalier ran towards him. He spun around at the last moment, deftly avoiding the swipe of the red energy claw as it sliced through the air and launched an unexpected but powerful blast of energy at Cavalier. The energy blast slammed into Cavalier’s gut and a fiery pain spread through Cavalier’s body, almost paralyzing him as he stumbled forwards before falling to the ground. Gidrean gave a harsh, derisive chuckle as he hovered towards Cavalier, hands burning brightly.

“That’s right; kneel before your superior, filthy human…”

“My superior huh? You really want to test that? Fight me. Hand to Hand. You think you can handle it?” taunted Cavalier

Gidrean drifted back as Cavalier got to his feet, he shook his head as he landed on the ground a few feet away. The golden sheathe around him vanishing as he tightened his forearm guards.

“You want to pit your substandard fighting skill against that of Therax-Prime’s finest?! I’m unsure if you are incredibly foolish or incredibly brave but I’ll gladly put you in your place.” hissed Gidrean

Gidrean adopted a martial pose and faced Cavalier; his fists sparked golden-yellow briefly as he flexed his fingers.

“I’m going to enjoy this…” grinned Gidrean.

---

Mentella stood still as she carefully observed the room she found herself in, a slight shift in the air behind her alerting her to the fact that she was not alone. She narrowed her eyes and looked to her right as the air very slowly shifted again.

<J’asira, something else is in here…two robotic minds.> ~ Mentella.

<Hmm…one moment. Mentella. Get out of there. Those are A.D.D’s.> ~ Techna.

<A.D.D’s?> ~ Mentella.

<Adaptable Defense Drones, these aren’t from the Theraxians…or Virillians. I don’t know how they got on board, there’s no record of them. But they aren’t good news. At. All. > ~ Techna.

Mentella narrowed her eyes as a small niggling pressure alerted her to a second robotic presence in the room making its way towards her.

<One of them is right behind me, there’s another one approaching.> ~ Mentella.

<Hold on. I’m going to take the one behind you for a spin. Give me two minutes.> ~ Techna.

Mentella turned her head ever so slightly, as a low crackling sounded behind her; the drone’s cloaking field had lifted. It stood still as it looked down at her. She turned back to see the other drone’s cloaking field had lifted, revealing it and the decidedly dangerous energy sword its left arm had morphed into. It took a step towards her brandishing its weapon; Mentella stepped back, as a small light flashed at her from the drone.

“Target Designation: UNKNOWN. Threat Level: UNKNOWN. Adaptable Defence: INSUFFICENT DATA. Solution: ERADICATE.” It sounded.

Mentella’s eyes widened as the drone’s arm came crashing towards her; she leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding the energy blade’s arc through the air. The drone attacked again with incredible speed; Mentella looked up to see the sword slicing through the space between her and the droid. A circular psychokinetic shield hastily materialized in front of her. The sword collided with the shield, causing a rapid spider web of cracks to spread from the impact point. The drone swung again and the shield shattered in an explosion of magenta hued light; the explosive force sent Mentella flying backwards. The first drone turned around, joining the second drone as it advanced towards her. She winced as she left her healing factor kick in, soothing the pain which ravaged her body. She focused momentarily; taking the edge off the psionic whiplash she had sustained and looked up to see both drones standing close by.

The second drone pulled its arm back as it aimed at Mentella. The bladed weapon gleamed in the shaft of light that cut through the darkness of the room; it turned slightly in the light before vanishing as it was thrust towards her. The weapon stopped part way through its arc as a loud crunching sound echoed through the room. Mentella narrowed her eyes as she made eye contact with the drone, which had shoved a glowing fist into the chest of the second drone.

<J’asira?> ~ Mentella.

The drone removed its hand and latched onto the head of the other drone, flinging it behind it towards the back of the room. Mentella raised an eyebrow as it turned back to her and knelt down. A strange crackling sound came from the drone as a smile of sorts appeared on its face. Techna’s voice sounded through the drone.

“Hi!”

“Thanks.” she sighed.

“Not a problem, this is an older model unfortunately it can only adapt to one attack at a time. That other model seems to be…oh…upgraded with Theraxian technology.”

Mentella picked herself off the floor, the fresh cut across her head knitting itself together as small sparks of magenta danced around it.

“How long can your device keep the override up for? Or are you finally taking my advice to use your own mind?” Mentella asked.

“My own mind, so until this thing is torn apart pretty much…the adaptive program on the other drone is still active. It will be targeting me but it can easily adapt to anything in this drone’s arsenal. You should go, find Delta. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

Techna’s drone gave her the thumbs up sign. Mentella frowned and looked towards the other drone; it had landed in the shaft of light a few feet from where she was. The various wires and plates started to whirr and twist and buckle as it started to rapidly repair itself.

“No, you need to be in contact with the Virillian Retrieval Unit, monitor things. If we lose that that A.D.D will go after Delta and go on a killing spree.”

The drone picked itself up and turned towards Mentella and the controlled drone as the last of the exposed wiring on its chest folded in on itself as metal plates bent back into place.

“Repair Status: COMPLETE. Scanning: ERR0R! Scan indicates partner drone programming has been disrupted by an external source and is unable to function correctly. Solution: ERADICATION.”

“Do you have any ideas to shut it down permanently?” asked Mentella.

“We’d need to do something unexpected…to overload its adaptive programming.” Techna replied.

Techna’s drone backed up as the A.D.D ran towards them and leapt into the air spinning through the air; both its arms converted into deadly glowing energy blades. It spun faster and faster as it drew closer. Mentella’s shifted to a darker hue of magenta as she spoke.

“Keep it busy.”

“Hey! Wait! What are you-? El’sai! Adaptive Defense Command, seven point eight two!”

The panels on Techna’s drone fluttered in response to the command; they lifted as a strange substance began to ooze out from between the plates. The strange green slime rapidly encased the drone before being sucked back in as the A.D.D’s energy blades struck it. On contact the plates shifted rapidly, as the energy from the weapon was drained out and fired it back at the A.D.D.; it staggered back, disorientated by the energy surge. Mentella closed her eyes as a bright swirl of psionic energy encased her form, lifting her high into the air above the disorientated drone.

A large psychokinetic blade manifested in her hands as she lifted herself higher into the air; her eyes crackled fiercely as she raised the weapon above her head, slicing through the air as she forced it down towards the disorientated drone. The drone looked up to see the construct flying towards it surrounded by a blaze of magenta energy. The blade sliced straight down the middle of the drone as Mentella forcefully dragged it through the quivering drone as it attempted to adapt to the weapon. The two sides of the drone fell away, either side of the bright construct; it crackled slightly as she landed back on solid ground. The psionic energy around her dissipated as she twirled the blade between her hands before dismissing it. Techna’s drone shook briefly, its paneling fluttered wildly for a few moments before stilling as it fell to the ground. Techna’s voice sounded in her sister’s mind.

<El’sai…that was a bit extreme…I didn’t realize you could still do that…> ~ Techna

<You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do something like that.> ~ Mentella.

<Are you sure you should have done that considering the conse-> ~ Techna

Techna stopped as Mentella shot a warning at her and instead sent a mischievous grin alongside her teasing reply.

<Should…I schedule you in for more combat sessions with Sarai?> ~ Techna

Mentella gave a small smile as the magenta hue from her eyes faded; she steeled her jaw, resuming her stern expression as she hurriedly exited the room.

---

Gidrean growled in frustration as his opponent dodged or blocked his attacks, only managing to punch Cavalier a few times. Gidrean winced as Cavalier’s kick caught him, his foot sinking into Gidrean’s stomach. He backed away before lashing out with a sweeping kick, moments too late as Cavalier jumped up into the air, flipping forwards as he came down with his leg outstretched. Cavalier’s leg slammed into Gidrean’s raised forearm, a small splitting sound followed the impact as a crack spread out from the impact of Cavalier’s heel on the Theraxian man’s forearm guards. Gidrean’s eyes widened as he felt the guard crack, with incredible speed he twisted his hands and latched onto Cavalier’s leg as he was flipping backwards; Gidrean spun round and released his grip flinging Cavalier backwards with incredible speed and strength.

“What the-?!” gasped Cavalier

Cavalier flew through the air; he crashed into the ground, bouncing several times leaving dents in the metal flooring before his shoulder slammed into the ground, halting his body with an audible crunch. Cavalier swore under his breath as he slowly got to his feet, he stood up as a stab of pain shot up from his leg. He looked down to see the right leg of his uniform sported hand shaped holes and burn marks were forming on his leg as his exposed skin reddened. Cavalier pushed against his shoulder managing to push it slightly back into place, thankful that it wasn’t fully dislocated. Gidrean whirled round to face Cavalier, his hands burning with golden energy; he balled his hands into fists and glared at Cavalier. Cavalier stood up as straight as his body would allow, his left hand pushed up against his right shoulder as he straightened up. Gidrean eyed cocked his head to the side at an unnatural angle and narrowed his eyes at Cavalier. He looked down at the broken forearm guard and ripped it off, he panted audibly as he snarled at Cavalier.

“I’ve grown tired of this game; it’s time… to play… a new one.”

Gidrean shouted as he released a thick bolt of energy at Cavalier and ran behind it as it travelled through the air, partially taking flight as it sped towards his opponent. Cavalier acted fast rolling out of the way, hissing as a stab of pain from his shoulder resurfaced, he turned back a moment too late as Gidrean’s full weight slammed into him, driving them both towards the wall which was coming up fast. Gidrean’s vice-like grip threatened to squeeze the air out of him, Cavalier twisted an arm free and a fiery red shape formed around his hand as he closed his fist and plunged it into Gidrean’s right shoulder blade. Gidrean cried out as the pain coursed through his body; the world around them exploded as they both crashed through the wall. The impact wrenched Cavalier and Gidrean apart, his arm twisting at an odd angle as he was flung backwards.

Gidrean’s body shook as he writhed in pain, slowly stilling as red energy arced around his body. Cavalier forced his eyes open; his brain quickly registered the white hot explosion of pain that ravaged his body as he tried to take an inventory of his wounds. His vision slowly darkened around the edges as he looked around; bits of machinery sparked intermittently amongst the twisted pieces of metal and debris which littered the floor around him. Cavalier groaned as he tried to move himself, quickly realising he was unable to move his arm when it responded with a sharp burst of pain. He looked down noticing the main source of his pain; a piece of metal was buried in his side. He winced as he attempted to dislodge the jagged metal rod, blood pooling at his side. He sighed deeply as he pulled it free. The darkness lingering at the edges of his vision spread faster, enveloping and obscuring his vision entirely as he blacked out.

---

Mentella turned the corner, eyes widening as she entered the room, she looked up as D.A.W.N. fought with Zultaer; a stray missile exploded as it hit the ceiling, sending shockwaves through the panels above. Mentella frowned as the panel above her wobbled and then dropped out of the sky towards her. She backed up and pressed herself against the wall as the panel fell, picking up momentum and embedding itself in the ground where she once stood. A wicked laugh alerted her to the approaching presence of Adonia; the light and heat from Adonia energized fists trailed after her as she flew past Mentella, retreating from a furious and savage Kr’anri. Mentella eyed Kr’anri briefly, as her form was enveloped by an aura of blue psychic fire.

“Come on, PET. If you give up now, I’ll make sure you get your treats!” laughed Adonia

Kr’anri emitted a low growl in response and leapt after Adonia as she flew away.