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NetStar Chronology - Chapter 10 |
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Red was running around, searching for anything that might clue her in on what The Empire was up to. Every time she saw a Ghost, they would scatter. This annoyed her to no end, and by the time she actually caught up to one, she was about ready to kill something. The Ghost had an orange undersuit.
"You!" Red growled as she hauled the Ghost back. "What is The Empire doing?"
"I... I don't know, girl!" The Ghost yelped.
"I don't believe you. I think you're lying. Okay, how about I put it this way? Tell me, and I might let you live!"
She grappled the Ghost so he couldn't break free.
"Ah... I really don't know..." The Ghost pleaded.
Her grip got tighter.
"Gah! Okay... I do know something."
"Out with it!" She commanded.
"Orange says he and his fellow Captains are searching for some Gems." The Ghost said hastily. "They say it's to bring about some greater force, or something."
"Where are they searching?"
"All over Iota. Captain Vincent... was going to the Ankhol Settlement."
"Thank you for your cooperation." Red smiled.
She shoved the Ghost, who made a frantic run away from Red.
"Those Ghosts are losing more of their edge every day." Red shook her head. "Well, best call Charlotte."
She pressed two fingers under her right ear.
Hello? Charlotte said from the other line.
"I found out some info."
Oh, did you? She sounded pleased. Please, tell me all about it!
"The Empire's looking for some Gems. A Ghost told me that it was going to 'bring about some greater force'."
I wonder what it means. I'll see if I can find anything on it.
"He told me Vincent was at the Ankhol Settlement. I'm headed right there."
Don't do anything too reckless.
"Don't worry. It'll just be like old times, except I'll annoying the hell out of good ol' Vincent, instead of Yamato." She grinned. "Terra, out."
The connection was terminated, and Red disappeared in a flash of flames.
The Ankhol Settlement was a minor city, south of the minor city Aqualiss, west of the eastern major city Estarion. Aqualiss was directly south of Toria. Red had never traveled to Ankhol very often, so she only knew the coordinates to the bottom. Ankhol was a large stack of plateaus and caves, so Vincent could have been anywhere.
She appeared at the bottom of the plateaus. There were five Generic Soldiers wearing the same uniforms, standing nearby. They all wore blue jackets with short sleeves, blue pants, black belts, black shoes, and blue caps with black visors. All of them had energy pistols in holsters on their belts, but two had one very large white cannon strapped to their back, each, as well as a large backpack. Soldiers are very common on Iota, and are skilled in the arts of the gun, and hand to hand combat. They also might learn a few baton techniques.
"You there!" One of the cannon wielding Soldiers noticed her. "Go no further. This is Police business. We'll handle it from here."
Red crossed her arms, and glared at them.
"Do you really think you can handle it here?" She asked.
"We know we can handle it here."
"You don't need any help from me?"
"We don't need any help from you." He then turned to his group. "We're advancing, men."
The five of them started towards the entry cave, but then something came at them with blinding speed. It was a Phantom. Phantoms usually wear full body suits, even with hoods and masks. Their masks only have two eye holes, just enough so they can see out of them. They wear shoulder plates, gauntlets, greaves, and knee high boots. One of the cannon Soldiers was knocked out by the immense force, and the rest stumbled backwards.
"Phantom!" One Soldier yelled.
The Phantom, despite how heavy he looked, moved swiftly and silently.
"Fire!" The other cannon wielder yelled.
The three remaining Soldiers shot at the Phantom, but his armor was too strong to be truly affected. The impacts did shift him a little, but his objective was more important than the pain.
"Damn." Red blinked. "It's been a while since I've fought a Phantom. Well, here goes!"
She threw a well aimed fireball at the Phantom. It exploded on impact, turning the Phantom's attention to her.
"Hey you!" Red yelled. "Come get some!"
The Phantom charged at her, full bore. He was about to tackle her, but she jumped over him at the last second, making him fall on his stomach. But he ran on all fours, got up, then turned to rush at her again. She unleashed a stream of Fire energy, and the Phantom was knocked back. They both ran at each other, and clasped their hands together, trying to force one another back. The conscious cannon wielder took aim at the Phantom's back, and fired a highly powerful burst of Light; upon firing, a large shell rocketted out the back of the cannon. The Light burst streamed towards the Phantom, and hit directly. A big explosion erupted from the impact, and both the Phantom and Red were toppled over. It was unknown whether the Phantom was still alive, but Red was dazzled by the attack. The cannon wielder slid the head of the cannon forward, took a large shell from his backpack, put it in the cannon, then slapped the head back on with a loud clank.
"Watch what you're doing!" Red stood up, and stumbled a bit.
"We told you, we don't need your help." The cannon wielder said.
"Quiet, you." A Soldier told the cannon wielder, then looked at Red. "How did you stand up to the Phantom's physical strength?"
"Ah, it was easy." Red smiled. "I have much tougher grapples with Vincent, all the time."
The Soldiers all looked in awe at her.
"You know, I only look scrawny. My strength fools a lot of people, just because I don't have the image of a strong person. But man, that cannon was some powerful stuff. Is that what the Police have been working on all these years?"
"Yeah." The cannon wielder answered proudly. "This is the Danger Cannon. The prototype was less functional, because it fell apart after one use. But, our research team found a way to utilize shells, which absorb the shock of the blast."
"By the sounds of it, the cannon has more bark than bite."
"Give it some time." He scowled. "Our developers will create a better version, you'll see."
"Anywho." The first Soldier rejoined. "We could really use your help in the field. What do you say?"
"It was my intention from the start, to confront this problem." Red looked at the plateaus. "I heard Vincent Orange is here, so naturally I'd want to come and get in his way."
"Do we really want to mess with him?" The Soldier looked at another.
"Most of our unit was devastated on the way here, anyway." The Soldier grumbled. "And one of our five is out of commission, just from one Phantom attack."
"What are you guys worried about?" The cannon wielder said. "If Orange comes up, I'll just pop him with my Danger Cannon."
Red looked at him for a long time, then let out a surpressed giggle.
"What is so funny?" He growled.
"Just remember." She smiled. "That blast only had the power to knock me over. Vincent has more endurance than I do, plus his skin is tougher. Think of how little it will affect him. And, even if you do hurt him, it takes so long to reload those things that you'd only be able to get one shot off."
"Why you..." The cannon wielder reared a fist back.
"Cool it." A Soldier stopped him. "She's right. We might stand a chance if there were ten cannons in our party, but right now we're powerless."
"Well, what can one girl do?" The cannon wielder lowered his fist. "These plateaus have to be crawling with Empire grunts!"
"What do you think, ma'am?" The Soldier asked Red.
"I think you could really help me save time by taking care of the grunts inside. I know it sounds cowardly, but Vincent is the only reason why I'm here."
"You're doing a great service to us, ma'am." The Soldier smiled. "Thank you for your assistance. When we clear the way, you go through, all right?"
"Sure." She nodded. "And, if anybody runs out of energy, I can always revitalize them. It's the least I could do, after what you're doing for me."
"Thank you." The Soldier gave a gentlemanly bow, then looked at his unit. "We're advancing, men."
The four Soldiers headed into the cave, with Red close behind.
That took a lot longer than I wanted. Red thought, while frowning.
They traversed through the caves, slowly ascending the plateaus. The Soldiers took care of any Ghosts and Phantoms that they encountered, and Red stuck to her word. She recharged those who needed it, as her jewel took in excess energy from the air. They eventually reached one of the top shelves, outside. They saw Orange smashing some rocks with a Phantom.
"Captain Orange!" The cannon wielder called.
"Well, look who's finally here!" Orange laughed. "Iota's little boys in blue! But... I really don't have time to deal with you. Phantom, crush them!"
"Sir!" The Phantom nodded, then rushed at the Soldiers.
"You are a fool to mess with us!" The cannon wielder said. "Taste the power of my cannon!"
The Phantom jumped up, and the cannon wielder fired at the last second. The shell was propelled down to the ground below, and the blast straight into the Phantom. A brilliant light shattered the Phantom's consciousness, and sent him up in the air, then crashing to the ground. After that display, Red stepped in front of them.
"You!" Orange stared at her. "You little pest! I might have known you were with them. Just when things were going so smoothly, too!"
"Quit your complaining!" Red smirked. "Aren't you glad to see me? We always have so much fun together."
The Soldiers all looked at each other.
"I was hoping I might crush some of our opposition, today." Orange eyed the cannon wielder. "But... I suppose I have bigger fish to fry. Just so you know, I won't hesitate to eliminate one of your little escorts, if I get the chance."
"Guys, get out of here." Red told the Soldiers. "No need for you guys to take any more losses."
"Why you smug little..." The cannon wielder scowled again.
"Do as she says." A Soldier said. "Our job here is done."
"Fine."
The Soldiers all disappeared.
"How noble of you, Terra." Orange told her. "A guy can't have any fun, I suppose."
"Oh stop it. You know that fighting me is a lot funner, 'cause I actually fight back, instead of crumbling after the first few hits."
"Well, you got me there." Orange cracked a smile. "Come! Let's do this thing!"
Both Red and Orange took defense, and prepared for another battle.
 Shin-Maruku · Mon Nov 12, 2007 @ 08:42pm · 1 Comments |
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