[writing] Project Chaos - Chapter Eighteen

[djtenku]

Title: Machinae
Word Count: 1853
Summary: Preparation. Separation. Activation.

Xiong Lang stared at the towering cloaked Chaos, wondering what it even looked liked. For a while, he thought that he would not get the damned thing to work, let alone opening the hatch. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to kill off the fat man, he reflected, turning his attention elsewhere. On the other hand, he didn’t look like he would talk either; probably just spew out useless junk or just keel over and die.

He glanced up as he heard hurried steps along the catwalk, and saw a large group of guards and two Screamers quickly descending the ladders. “Where are you going?” he demanded, his growl echoing slightly. It stopped nearly all of the guards.

“The intruders,” one said breathlessly, “they’re on the other side. They have the hostage with them as well!”

Lang could not believe his hearing. On the other side? He grinned wolfishly at the mere thought of it as he strided to join the guards. Fate dealt a good hand indeed.

-

Shin flicked off the pin of the bright canister and tossed it towards the instantly, it expelled white phosphorus smoke and created a thick screen; she turned on her heel and realized that Rowan and Xander were already gone. “C’mon,” exclaimed Kento, motioning towards the middle right entrance. The smoke was already thinning out and blind bullets were all around.

The halls themselves were not that wide and twisted into near-blind trails. The stand alone gaps allowed some room in the otherwise constricted areas. More than often, the paths had a dead end, and the duo had to backtrack. “Now’s a bad time to say that I suck at mazes, is it Shin?” Kento asked, approaching another dead end.

“I thought I was the only one,” she sighed, to his relief. She began to turn and head back when the tip of her boot gave into the floor. Gravity took over, and she found herself looking down at a black pit; she clasped the other side with her free hand tightly. Kento moved forward until a shrill wail bounced off the metallic wall and straight at him, stunning him for a moment.

A guard came around the corner, hoping to draw blood from something. Shin gathered the strength and readied up her pistol, shooting wildly; a round struck the guard’s ankle and brought him down. Recovered, the Ace squad leader un-shouldered the EMP gun and fired at a strange angle. Electricity crackled as it fanned the wall, disabling the guard completely and catching another on the other side. He reached out to Shin as her grip was beginning to slip and hoisted her up. “Nice shot.”

They crossed over again, avoiding the square pit and trudged on.

-

Xander ran blindly through the maze. Damn that old man for designing the base, This is absurd! he exclaimed soundlessly. The halls were shrinking and getting narrower by the second and stretched out. He glanced behind him as a bullet ricocheted off of the steel wall. It sounded distant. They can’t be near now! You just had to stray away, a coarse voice said.

He lost his footing and crashed, uttering a sharp cry. The walls were still closing in and the lighting dimmed. What was it? His mind began to wander at a fast rate and sound seemed to –

Something jarred him into consciousness, and the effects suddenly lifting up. Xander glanced up and saw Rowan come around the corner, and quickly assembled himself.

“What was that?” Xander asked.

“Anxi gas,” Rowan replied curtly as he strode by, gesturing at the now defunct console that was hidden within the cracks.

Xander stared at his son incredulously. He was calm and almost casual, as this was a everyday occurrence. The nerve! “Right,” he managed to say. Not far off, he heard something slowly start up, and the familiar disorienting sound of the Screamers to the left of the wall. He dumbly stared at the bright canister thrown at his feet. Rowan turned at the minute sound, and started.

It exploded, emitting black smoke that quickly filled the space by more than twenty feet. Rowan saw the odd sight of bent light rushing into the smoke and followed it, only to nearly run into the wall. He bellowed a curse, and ran back through the smoke. There was a couple of gunshot and a dying cry of anguish nearby to the right. “Guys!” he shouted. “They got Xander!”

“What?” came a chorus of disbelief. Rowan cringed.

“Ambush,” he said, “but they can’t be too far!”

-

Red Screamer’s visor buzzed to life, chattering excitedly. “We recovered the subject!” He acknowledged and notified the Wolf leader with a simple gesture, who grinned even wider.

“You can have your fun now,” Lang said as the figures emerged from one of the maze exits. “Ah, Mr. Xander, we meet again,” he said mannerly, oblivious to the haggard man’s look of shock. “I believe we still have some unattended manners to look over? I hope you’re willing to…discuss.” His last word dropped to a low growl as he grabbed the back of Xander’s thin neck.

The door shut, leaving behind the Red Screamer. He signaled the rest to enter the maze, and slowly joined after them.

-

Electricity crackled and fanned out its thin, wispy fingers, catching some of the unfortunate guards. Kento lost count a long time ago, but whatever the case, had to reload the EMP gun about three times. Shin split up some time ago, and guessed that she was well ahead of him. He stopped as a surge of pain raced up his back; the PKs were already wearing out…

“How you’re two doing?” he called out.

+Fine,+ the two chorused, strangely flat.

+Hey Ro, have you ever finished a maze?+ Shin asked.

+Yeah, several. I’ve got some books at home, why?+

“What’s the best way to go?” Kento chimed in, staring at a dead end. He glanced at the gatling gun, and despite what Xander said earlier, he was going to test it.

+Well,+ the sniper started, +it helps to look ahead sometimes, or just look at it.+

Kento glanced back and saw Shin turning the corner and beckoned her over. “Can you climb?” he asked, glancing at her leg. The bandage was soaked in crimson. She nodded, wincing. “Have you ever cheated?” he asked Rowan. He imagined him with something of a aghast expression and smiled with mirth.

+Cheated?+ Rowan echoed, curious more than anything. +Like going over the lines?+

“Ah, that’s the answer I was looking for,” Kento said. He cupped his hands and boosted Shin over the wall. Surprisingly, the wall was thick enough to stand her unbalanced weight.

“We’re not that far from the door,” she proclaimed. “There’s something else too…” Before she cold blink though, a wail shot past her ear and nearly y set her off balance. She fired three shots at the source, killing a nearby Screamer before jumping off the wall.

+There’s a opening,+ Rowan said, slightly out of breath. + Don’t you hear that noise?+

For the longest, Kento didn’t realize the sound was even there. That probably accounted for the constant ringing in his ears, he thought as he trailed back, turning to the right path. Soon enough, he did find the clearing. Within a few moments, Shin and Rowan appeared, slightly more disheveled. Rowan’s pale face was marked with black spots, but it seemed to bring out his green eyes even more.

Seconds passed, and across from them more guards poured in from the maze, ready to kill. They didn’t count on the next thing. “Stand back guys,” Kento warned, as he braced himself. He switched to the Gatling gun, and for a few seconds, worried that it wasn’t going to work at all when he pressed the small button on the side of the handle.

-

Red Screamer suddenly stopped in his tracks, and glanced at his flashing HUD. The numbers were steadily decreasing. Another member had been lost, and the other had just a sliver of percentage left. The other two he suddenly lost communications with.

Automatically, his visor switched over to thermal and watched as most of the vanguard were cut down, and the remaining percentages dropped to zero immediately. Metal started to shred around him and he immediately sprang unto the top of the wall, and activated the stealth camouflage, surging forward.

-

Kento released the button and the turret died down, smoke emitting from the red barrels, and marveled at the destruction he caused in little time. The walls were holed, with some with more than two inches in width. The bodies of the guards and the remaining Screamers laid strewn about, and he was surprised that the gunfire itself didn’t cut them down in half.

He grunted as he lowered the gun, and flexed his free arm. “Think we got them all?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Think that’s the definition of overkill?” Rowan retorted, something of a vague tone of sarcasm in his low voice. He glanced up in time to see a dark form making its leap from above, screaming like a banshee. Kento couldn’t guard in time and the Red Screamer knocked it and him away with a low frequency shot. Then it, went towards Rowan with a open hand, and emitted something, causing his vision to go white.

Shin began shooting at the Screamer as it came towards her slowly. Its armor held up but the visor begin to crack further. The Red Screamer suddenly lunged at her, gripping her neck and slammed her into the wall.

“And now,” the distorted voice said, glaring madly at her with a dull brown eye, “I will kill you first.” The Screamer raised his fist, revealing a pod on its forearm, a light blinking a rapid red.

Shin kicked the Screamer away, knocking him backwards, and shot him once point blank in the eye as he started to charge for her again, through the small crack. The Screamer crumpled instantly.

“Remind me not to piss you off when you have a gun, Shin,” Kento said as she slowly recovered.

* * *

It didn’t take them long to finish the maze separately, doing sweeps to make sure nothing took the squad by surprise.

When they burst through the door, there was complete silence, and they gazed up at the beige drape that covered something monstrous as someone clapped slowly. “Well, I guess that wasn’t punishment enough, I take it?” Xiong Lang asked, standing high above them on the object. He disappeared within it, and a deep rumble resonated throughout the hollow hangar.

The cover fell away, revealing a metallic beast that stood on its hind legs and short arms outstretched, claws already out for destruction. Its body was long and robust, and its tail laid dormat. The head itself was huge and wide, and displayed two rows of sharp teeth, almost giving it a cruel smile.

It took a thunderous step forward and produced a deep, mechanical roar, and glared at its targets with menacing red eyes.