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 glowing with yellow energy as she took her aim at Kr’anri. Vitality noted Kr’anri’s situation and quickly rid himself of his current opponent, launching them into Draydeon for the moment. He flew towards Kr’anri, dodging stray energy beams, bronze weapons and punches; he looked on as Adonia approached Kr’anri willing himself to fly faster. A blue psychic fire aura enveloped Kr’anri at the mention of the word ‘pet’ and she quickly got up and spun round, her eyes burning brighter than before:
“WE. ARE. NOT. A. PET!!” She roared
Adonia’s android looked surprised as Kr’anri suddenly lunged towards her, teeth barred and entirely consumed with rage. Kr’anri latched onto her 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 flesh 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 aura 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 pale red 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.
Kr’anri continued slicing at the androids face as the internal mechanisms began to spark, in her rage she 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 walls of energy which Draydeon had sent his way, they washed over him and he continued on towards Draydeon, he pulled back his fist as he approached and punched through the Draydeon android. A relatively large hole was apparent as Vitality retracted his fist from the hole he’d created; he wrenched the head of the android from the rest of its body, as it sparked periodically threatening to explode any moment. He looked directly into the eyes of the android;
“If this is how you’re watching us, know that I’m coming for you Draydeon and the next time it won’t be a robot double.”
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 and was soon no bigger than a golf ball. Vitality turned to his team, his expression still conveying anger albeit somewhat controlled. The Draydeon android jerked slightly and Vitality slammed his fist into it again, his breathing slightly heavy. 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 contacted me telepathically. It’s over there, let’s go.”
The team made their way to the corridor leading to Mentella’s cell and were confronted with an 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 said
“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 whined 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. Cavalier, Kr’anri and D.A.W.N. looked on in surprise as Vitality tore open the energy field, tendrils of purple energy crackled around his forearms as he widened the hole. The energy field projectors sparked violently until they burnt out, dissipating the energy field.
“That was some display of strength David.” Noted D.A.W.N.
Vitality shrugged 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’ Mentella 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. Xenians 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 two 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
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 sounded 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 offline.” 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
“Truthfully no, I’m not. But I’ve just found a way to fix my predicament, one 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 powerful 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.
“Much better.” Mentella stated
“Whoa, yeah, let’s keep you out of suppression units…” Cavalier nodded.
“We need to get out of here. Their abilities are having a negative effect on Earth; if we don’t act fast Earth could be permanently damaged.” Vitality urged
Delta and Mentella 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
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 Mentella had taught her.
< 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 help. > ~ Kr’anri
< Of course, after I removed my mental shields…hmm. 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. Whoever has gained access to our system has not only decoded our encryptions but has also anticipated replacements and future encryptions. 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 ripped 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
“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 end 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 before a final punch from Vitality caused it to buckle completely. He hovered through the makeshift relatively large hole; the edges of the hole in the bronze door were jagged and jutted out dangerously, Cavalier walked forward and pushed against the remaining pieces of the door, bending 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 faced Vitality.
“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 out of harm’s way clinging to the ceiling, D.A.W.N.’s shield activated, an orange hexagonal dome matrix forming around her as she braced for the impact. Cavalier acted quickly, latching onto Mentella and 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 power of the energy attack. He chanced a glance towards D.A.W.N., her shields holding as the energy from the cascade finally dissipated. 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 fine.”
“Shielding is down to 45% but I’m good. David looks fine 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.
“Are you okay?” He asked
“Yes, I am. 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.”
“I think the coast is clear.” He frowned
“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 hopped through the hole cautiously, alert to 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 shook off the mild burning sensation from Draydeon’s attack; he flew forward quick enough to see Adonia turn around the corner. Vitality focused himself and flew after him, sharply turning the corner. He caught quickly closed the gap between Draydeon and himself as Draydeon attempted to escape Vitality. D.A.W.N. was close behind, tracking the Theraxians as they tried to escape 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 machinery as they flew along Vitality reached out and as soon as he was in range placed a firm grip on Draydeon’s heel, stopping abruptly and swinging Draydeon round and pushing him towards the ceiling with immense force, Draydeon slammed into the ceiling, cracks shooting out in all directions as, 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.
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 at Adonia, causing her to crumple to the ground under the severe mind crushing 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 attacks ceased. Adonia’s mind swam with painful psionic energy, as Kr’anri unleashed 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 protected herself with a shield of yellow energy, 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 so easily, enjoy the final moments of your life robot.” Snarled Zultaer
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 from D.A.W.N., her hand cannons opening up and unleashing a powerful beam of orange plasma energy.
“You think…you think you can stop us? We are…Theraxians! We will drain and SHATTER your world until no semblance of humanity or super humanity 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; D.A.W.N. used this to re-route power to her shield matrix, boosting it's 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. The energy beam generated by Zultaer melted some of bullets before they managed to affect him, a few flew past his head, alerting him to the attack. He relented slightly generating an 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.
--
Mentella stood near the Virillian blast doors or rather their remains 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 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 going to allow 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 are draining Earth’s natural power even at this distance. > ~ Techna
< I’m assuming you’ve disabled any robotic assistance they may have on the ship? > ~ Mentella
< Yes and locked their hybrid creatures in their suspended animation chambers. > ~ Techna
< I see, I’ll be in touch. > ~ Mentella
< Be careful! > ~ Techna
Mentella turned and made for the main room, following the sounds of explosion and the minds of her allies.
--
Gidrean shot through the air, well aware of Cavalier’s teleportation abilities. He constantly weaved through the air, avoiding spheres and flashes of pale red energy in the sky around him; he turned around, catching a glimpse of Cavalier as he vanished in another flash. Gidrean flew faster and released a series of blasts from his fists. A blast of yellow energy streamed past Cavalier as he closed in on Gidrean’s position, he noted Gidrean’s position 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, kicking Gidrean forward before he could stop himself, causing him to slam into the ceiling. Cavalier and Gidrean fought as they fell towards the ground, random blasts of energy and swipes of energy claws missed their intended mark as they hurtled towards the ground.
Gidrean managed to right himself mid-air hovering before he hit the ground, Cavalier landed on his feet, 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 pain the energy blast caused.
“You’re gonna wish you hadn’t done that…” Frowned Cavalier
“You’ll wish you were never born!” Gidrean snarled
Cavalier ran towards Gidrean, both engaged in combat; Gidrean attacked Cavalier with a flurry of punches, most missed but a few powerful strikes hit him, winding Cavalier slightly. Cavalier flipped backwards avoiding two more energy strikes; he crouched low and pushed off the ground spinning towards Gidrean with his foot stretched out. His foot connected solidly with Gidrean’s jaw, propelling him backwards. Gidrean cried out as the pain of the kick hit him, Cavalier landed another kick followed by punch to the Theraxian. Gidrean staggered back and massaged his jaw; he took off into the air, swooping down to grab Cavalier, flying him towards the energy matrix on the level below. Cavalier teleported up and out of Gidrean’s grasp just in time as he drew near the energy matrix, a tendril of purple energy just striking the heel of his boot. Gidrean flew back up and landed on the platform, he adopted a martial pose and looked directly at Cavalier.
“Come on human, show me your worth.”
He grinned dirtily as Cavalier drew closer; he launched an unexpected but powerful blast of energy outwards; the energy blast slammed into Cavalier’s gut, causing him to double over falling over in front of Gidrean. The fiery pain spread through Cavalier’s body, almost paralyzing him;
“That’s right; kneel before your superior, filthy human…”
Gidrean’s fists hummed with energy as he directed his fist towards Cavalier’s head, with the little focus he had left, Cavalier shoved a small pale red claw into Gidrean’s leg and teleported a few feet away. Gidrean screamed in pain before turning towards Cavalier’s new location, his eyes and fist burning with energy, he fired a large blast at Cavalier, the yellow energy leaving a dark singe against the bronze floor. Cavalier attempted to back away, a new pain ravaging his body; Gidrean regarded Cavalier and chuckled as he gathered his power once more;
“Lights out, you disgusting piece of –UARGHARGH!!”
Cavalier looked up in confusion, pain overtaking his mind and a darkness threatening to cloud his vision. He backing up as Gidrean gripped his head in pain, slowly turning around to pin point the source of the sharp sting of pain. A clicking of heels against the metal floor alerted him to his attacker’s presence. He turned to see Mentella standing a few feet away. Wincing and staggering slightly he grinned at her;
“Well, looks like we were able to meet after all…” He smirked
“I’d advise you to back away from him; if you do I promise I’ll go easy.” Mentella replied
Gidrean chuckled to himself as he walked closer to Mentella, his fists burning with energy. Sensing confusion and a level of concern for her wellbeing, Mentella looked at Cavalier:
< Don’t worry about me; focus your energy on recovery while I distract him. > ~ Mentella
Gidrean stretched him arms out wide and then proceeded to tap his chest;
“You wish to fight me?” He asked
“I’m beginning to think you talk so much to make up for…other short comings…” Mentella replied coolly
Gidrean frowned and charged forward, throwing a punch at Mentella which was thoroughly avoided, Gidrean continued to attack, each punch and kick deftly avoided.
“This…isn’t…possible!” Panted Gidrean
He roared and swung with an energy powered fist, he managed to graze Mentella’s shoulder sending a small sting through her shoulder and right arm. Mentella’s eyes narrowed and she ducked and spun round launching a well-timed kick towards Gidrean, her heel connecting with his face. Mentella focused on Gidrean’s mind, applying mental pressure to him, moments away from unleashing an immobilizing psychic attack when she saw Cavalier get up, he nodded towards her, a signal he was ready and decided against the attack;
“Give up, you’ve already lost Gidrean. You cannot fly and you most certainly cannot run.”
He attempted to tap into his powers, but found them inaccessible, Gidrean staggered back from Mentella in an attempt to alleviate the pressure. Unbeknownst to him Cavalier had fashioned an eight inch long pale red claw on his left hand; Gidrean drew closer and he plunged it into the Theraxian man’s spine. Gidrean let out a silent scream and convulsed violently as the bio-energy claw scrambled Gidrean’s motor functions, causing him to become completely paralyzed. Cavalier looked at Mentella as he rolled his shoulder.
“I didn’t know you could fight, I mean, like that, all close quarters and stuff. That was a good solid kick back there, nice dodges too.” Frowned Cavalier
“Admittedly it’s not a skill I demonstrate often, I’m not generally one for close combat unless it’s astral combat. I--” Mentella started Cavalier followed Mentella’s focus and saw Adonia, who had blasted back Kr’anri and was protecting herself with an energy shield. Cavalier’s eyes widened, he teleported to Kr’anri’s unconscious form, scooping her up, and teleporting out of the range of Adonia’s energy blasts. Cavalier and Kr’anri appeared in a pale flash next to Mentella. She knelt down placing a hand on Kr’anri’s forehead;
“She’s got lowered levels of brain activity. She’ll be alright, she’s just unconscious, minimal damage done, mostly due to her Prosythian physiology.” Mentella reassured
D.A.W.N.’s shields were heading into the 20% region as Zultaer’s energy attack continued to hammer her shields. Her weapons were cooling, whilst her shield continued to hold, looking down she saw an unconscious Kr’anri who was currently with Mentella and Cavalier. She activated her com-link:
“Daniel? I’d appreciate some assistance if you are able.” D.A.W.N. said
Cavalier looked at Kr’anri and handed her over to Mentella, who laid Kr’anri’s unconscious form on the silver ground.
“Go, I’ll deal with Adonia, assist Dawn.” Nodded Mentella
Cavalier picked up his mask, re-attaching it and disappeared in a flash of pale red.
Draydeon’s slight form smashed up and out of the floor as Vitality forced him mercilessly upwards through the third level of solid metal. Vitality hovered closer, waiting for Draydeon to stand up;
“Three levels of solid metal and you…managed to smash me through it? You must be really upset. I should tell you though…Anlea can’t see you and all your strength. Or did you forget that she’s dead?” Draydeon coughed
“Get. Up.” Ordered Vitality
Draydeon pushed himself to his knees, his form battered from his fight with Vitality; he re-clipped his gauntlet back into place as it threatened to fall away. Draydeon took into the air and looked at Vitality, his opponent’s uniform similarly battered and he smirked;
“You humans are so sentimental, and that is your weakness. Anlea didn’t actually like you; she was a Vanguard of Therax-Prime with a pretty face. She used you to gain information, but your human weakness tainted her. Unfortunately there is no room for weakness or imperfections in a Vanguard team, all weakness must be eliminated and replaced.” He spat
“I warned you not to mention her name. You have no idea who she was, who she COULD have been. She was a good person and YOU killed her in cold blood. No reason, you’re the weakness!” Shouted Vitality
Draydeon roared and fired a beam of energy at Vitality, sending him careering backwards. He stabilized himself and looked up; a cracking purple energy matrix was visible through the grating above them. Vitality shot forward and focused his strength into a powerful uppercut; time seemed to slow as his fist connected with Draydeon’s gut and Draydeon was propelled up through the metal grating. Vitality flew after him, shoving him up through the energy matrix as it crackled around them both. Draydeon cried out as the energy crackled over him, his own energy powers were waning fast, exhaustion quickly overcoming him. Vitality slammed his fists into Draydeon’s chest, shoving him into the energy matrix, Draydeon gritted his teeth and head butted Vitality, disorientating him slightly.
On the level above D.A.W.N. and Cavalier battled Zultaer, dodging his energy detonations and blasts.
“Daniel, my shields are already dangerously low, currently at 17.9%. We need to take him out as soon as possible.” D.A.W.N. urged
“I’ll see what I can do, I need an opening, their energy blasts REALLY sting…” Cavalier responded
D.A.W.N. focused her eyebeams at Zultaer’s feet; he stopped firing and jumped away from the beams towards the edge before attempting to balance himself. Cavalier saw an opening and went for it; dropping low he kicked out sweeping Zultaer off his feet. Zultaer’s frame hit the ground and D.A.W.N. blasted him with a beam of searing plasma energy, wisps of smoke rose from the impact point and Zultaer groaned, grinding out one more insult before falling into unconsciousness;
“Human scum…” He coughed
“Thank you Daniel. Have you seen Vitality?” D.A.W.N. asked
“Not since the Prison block. He broke off to deal with their leader or something…”
Before D.A.W.N. could reply a powerful explosion rocked the room, originating from the level below. Purple flames flicked up from below, purple and grey smoke billowed upwards as Draydeon’s limp form shot from the heart of the heart of the explosion. His slightly charred body rolled across the platform; Draydeon attempted to get up but failed repeatedly, his body crackling with purple energy. Vitality emerged from the smoke, his eyes narrowed and focused on Draydeon. Mentella walked forward towards the scene with a now conscious Kr’anri. Adonia followed behind, a magenta telepathic manifestation adorning her head. Vitality hovered down towards Draydeon, lifting the alien by the neck. Draydeon, who was miraculously still somewhat conscious weakly gripped at Vitality’s arm;
“I should kill you. It’s the least I could do for the destruction and pain you’ve caused and want to cause.” Vitality hissed coolly
“Hmm, then what are you waiting for, hero? I can see it in your eyes, you’re not a killer.” Draydeon rasped
Cavalier stepped forward, his energy claws glowed a solid red;
“He might not be but I’d be happy to do it, so he doesn’t have to.”
Draydeon made a weak sounding chuckle;
“You’re so much of a hero you cannot even kill for your beloved Anlea. I was correct you are weak, I saved her from you.” He chuckled
Vitality squeezed against Draydeon windpipe causing the alien to squirm, his eyes growing wide.
“Vitality, stop. This isn’t the way forward.” Warned Mentella
“Why?! He was the one who caused this mess. He needs to die!” Retorted Vitality
He applied more pressure; Draydeon’s eyes began to roll to the back of his head. Mentella stepped forward;
“DAVID! Drop him! Trust me, it is not worth it to kill him, revenge will NOT bring you peace of mind, nor will it bring her back to life. Believe me when I say he is NOT worth it!” Mentella urged
“But--”
“Think! Focus, this isn’t you! Let him go. Do not resort to killing; it’s not in your nature. It won’t make you feel better and you’ll be on his level. David, I’ve read his mind, he WANTS you to kill him.”
“What?” Asked Vitality
“If you kill him the Theraxian Empire see it as a crime, this would allow them to ‘rightfully’ wage war against Earth and its inhabitants.” Explained Mentella
Vitality looked towards Draydeon, who was still weakly struggling against Vitality’s grip. A dangerous glint in his half open eye betraying his true motive to Vitality. Vitality closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before releasing him, Draydeon's limp form landing on the floor in a heap. Vitality wordlessly floated away from Draydeon, Draydeon stirred sucking in a hungry breath of air, smirking to say something but found himself unable as darkness clouded his vision as Mentella forced him into unconsciousness. Kr'anri whispered to Cavalier;
"Kr'anri thinks he should die..."
"Me too, but it's really Vitality's call and I guess we don't want to start a war." Replied Cavalier
D.A.W.N. moved Draydeon's body near Gidrean and Zultaer's unconscious form, Adonia walked forward, she stood perfectly still under Mentella's control, before dropping to the ground unconscious. Cavalier removed his mask, idly rubbing at the burn mark on the left side of his mask, he looked up to the group;
"So, I'm glad that's over but how exactly are we getting out of here? Not all of us can fly."
A small spherical robot zipped up from the lower level and projected a screen of hard light outwards, forming a display screen. Moments later Techna Ology's face filled the screen;
"Hey guys! Hi Caaaaaaaaaav!" She cried
"Oh wow, hey Techy!" Winked Cavalier
Mentella shot him a stern look as her sister giggled uncontrollably and he smirked back at her, shrugging a little;
"J'asira, what have you got for us?" She asked
"I've disabled the teleportation dampeners surrounding the ship, one of them is actually not too far from your current location. The Virillians will be here in about fifteen minutes to reclaim this vessel, so you may want to leave quickly. The agents at Project Stargazer have alerted UNTIL to the situation and they've got power suppression units waiting on Earth for three of them. Oh and the Department of Defense said they have one for the leader? I'll assume you know who that is. Anyway the teleportation system is up and running, I've set your co-ordinates to the UNITY level where you were sent off from. The device is just through the next set of doors in front of you." Techna explained
"Thank you Techna. I'll assume you were the one responsible for the numerous system hacking I detected?" Asked D.A.W.N.
Techna grinned widely before the screen projection vanished. Mentella sent a quick message to her sister;
< Fantastic work, J'asira. I'm very grateful. > ~ Mentella
Vitality floated forward, making his way towards the teleportation device. Mentella's magenta telepathic manifestation appeared, adorning her head like a crown and one by one appeared on the unconscious Theraxians. Draydeon, Zultaer, Adonia and Gidrean stood up and followed Mentella as she walked down the hallway, her hands hovering either side of her temples as she guided their movements.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to seeing that...it just looks wrong." Cavalier whispered as he nudged D.A.W.N.
They reached the teleportation system and the countdown began as Kr'anri bounded onto the disc shaped device. Three pulses of golden energy rings shot up from the base of the disc and in a decidedly loud and bright pulse of energy the heroes and the Theraxians were teleported away.
--
Vitality opened his eyes as they materialized seconds later on Earth, he was met with the sight of a squadron of fully armored UNTIL Agents with weapons pointed at them as they arrived. He looked at them relatively blankly, D.A.W.N. stepped forward with Cavalier, ordering the troops to stand down;
"Situation is under control boys, no need for weapons." D.A.W.N. assured
One of them stepped forward, saluting D.A.W.N. as he did;
"Welcome back Agent Dawn, we're not sure what happened with the teleportation system but more importantly are you guys okay?" He asked
"We're fine, the sooner we drop these in a deep dark prison cell the easier I'll sleep." Cavalier replied jerking a thumb back to the mind controlled Theraxians
"Of course, right this way. And welcome back Agent Henderson."
Kr'anri and Cavalier walked on with the UNTIL agents, some medically trained agents every so often attempting to check them for injury, some getting a scratch from a rather antsy Kr'anri. Mentella glanced to her left watching Vitality walk along the corridor, his facial features betraying no emotion aside from a stark emptiness. She could sense the storm of emotions still swirling in his mind, in amongst clouds of confusion and sadness.
< David? You haven't said anything, but your thoughts are all over the place. If you want to talk, I'm listening. > ~ Mentella
< I feel numb. I feel as if I still should have killed him, and I know that I could have. > ~ Vitality
< You did the right thing. Remember this, Anlea still exists in the one place Draydeon could never harm her…your mind… > ~ Mentella
She replayed a compilation of memories of Anlea with Vitality as they flew through the sky, assisted people and spent time with one another. Vitality smiled at the memories, a surge of happiness and slight sadness prevailing his thoughts as the memories continued to play at the forefront of his mind.
< Thank you Mentella. > ~ Vitality
The sun was beginning to rise as the heroes reached the top level where four transports waited for them, three were marked as UNTIL STRONGHOLD and one slightly smaller one belonged to the Department of Defense. As the heroes drew closer, the transports were opened up by a small number of agents, each one holding a neck, gauntlet and head piece. Mentella brought Adonia, Gidrean and Zultaer forward, D.A.W.N. and Cavalier assisting the agents in fitting the suppression units. Adonia was then placed in a transparent body chamber and placed in the first transport, her suppression units activated and Mentella released her from her control as the transport took off. Gidrean was put on a podium which extended a containment vortex around him as his suppression units activated, Zultaer was locked in a stasis tube and both Theraxians were put on their respective UNTIL transports.
< My pleasure, just remember what I said. If you want to talk about anything, I've got an office in Downtown. I'd be happy to book you in for an appointment. Although I don't think that would be necessary. > ~ Mentella
"Finally, what about this guy?" Asked Cavalier
"I think the Department of Defense are taking him in, he seems like the most powerful out of the group. David will likely be bringing him in. In which case David, take this." D.A.W.N. responded
She handed him a new com-link and he clicked it in place;
"Thanks Dawn. Yeah, I'll be taking care of Draydeon. He'll be taken to a secure facility. I'll check in soon though." Vitality responded.
Two D.o.D agents exited the transport, placing a large singular suppression unit on his head, it made a few noises before beeping loudly signifying it's active suppression state. Mentella released Draydeon from her control, his body slouching against the side of the transport, Vitality righted his body, lowering him onto a platform inside the transport. He climbed aboard securing Draydeon in place and nodded towards his team before the transport doors sealed themselves for take off. The transport rose into the air before rapidly ascending and heading west.
"Kr'anri is going home now. Skyfire is almost here." Kr'anri announced still looking slightly antsy
Kr'anri ran off towards the Renaissance Center, Cavalier looked at Mentella as Kr'anri left;
"Is she alright? She seemed to freak out a lot during the fight, I've never seen her act like that before."
"I wish I could say she was fine. But the fact of the matter is she's not. Some sort of psionic presence has invaded her mind, either from her unconscious or from elsewhere. I wasn't able to access it earlier due to our situation but I'm certain that it poses a threat to her well being. It also explains her savage behavior and blue psychic fire aura at times. Without my mental defenses in place in her mind, she's powerful enough to fend off most telepathic attacks but this psionic presence seems to have originated from her own being. I'll keep Delta informed as I uncover more. I have a feeling I'll have to directly confront it if this becomes a severe issue and doesn't relent." Mentella explained
"You kept that quiet." D.A.W.N. said
"I wasn't exactly in a position to explain these things with the safety of Earth at stake earlier." Replied Mentella
"Fair point, anyway I'm off, got a few things I need to take care of. Take care Daniel, you too Mentella."
D.A.W.N. jetted off into the air leaving nothing but a faint trail of smoke in her wake. Cavalier adjusted his mask slightly and nodded towards Mentella;
"I should probably get out on patrol or see if I can locate Jim or Chris and see how their doing and probably get breakfast, it's almost 7:30 AM. Wanna come along?" Cavalier asked
"Thank you for the invitation but I also have a few things to do. Enjoy your breakfast though." Mentella replied.
"Alright, thanks for the back up earlier. And hey, don't be a stranger!" He winked
Cavalier left the scene in a flash of pale red and Mentella turned to the left walking out of the UNTIL HQ's landing and down the flight of steps leading back into the building.
END OF SPYBOT 9 RECORDING
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