by Dusks, Rydre
"That's quite the bike," she stated with admiration.
I checked it over, noticing a few nicks in the paint and a gash in the leather seat. The front of the bike was scuffed badly, probably from the sand of the Rove and the crash I'd been in. I sighed as I ran my thumb over the rip. "Rook's gonna hear it from me."
"I don't see why you're complaining," Blank spoke up. "A bike's a bike, so let's stop delaying."
"Yeah," I replied. "But we'll need to be careful. Chances are we will be one of the only riders on one of these in the city. And security is sure to be ten times tighter than usual."
"Azo, Crow."
I jumped. The voice had come from a radio. I looked over at Blank, who reached down and pulled a small square device off her belt, holding it up and pressing a button. "Hey, Va'th. This is Blank and Crow. What's up?"
"Velzae told me what's going on. To get out of GreyCross, the only way you're gonna be able to do it effectively is by taking the freeway down past the Tower, then out through the eastern residential area."
I replied to him. "Wouldn't getting that close to the Tower be too dangerous with how the city is right now?"
"Blank should have some tools to help you guys out. I gotta run, but I put my number in your phone while you were in the tank. If you need any assistance from inside the city once you're out, let me know. Over and out, kiddies."
Blank hooked the radio back on her belt and took her backpack off, unzipping it and opening it up to show me what was inside. There were a couple packs of heavily wrapped substance tied up with string, several extra gun magazines for my Jux, another gun itself with its own supplies, and some food items and water bottles.
"He told me as we entered Saydea that we needed to be ready to wage war if we had to," Blank muttered, picking up the extra gun and checking it over.
"Feel familiar?" I commented, recalling her holding her father at gunpoint in Roavo.
She looked up at my eyes. "Since when were you aware I could handle a gun?" She didn't wait for my reply. "My father taught me when I was younger. I can shoot better than any of the human guards ever could."
I smirked. "I like girls who know how to shoot."
She nudged me in the shoulder playfully. "Of course you do."
"So what are those?" I questioned, pointing to the tied packages.
Blank followed my finger and tightened her mouth for a moment. "Explosives."
"Explosives? I've never blown anything up in my life."
She gave me a raised eyebrow look and laughed. "Yes you have, Crow. I’d consider that Roavo truck you stole and smashed into the fence something you blew up. I also have. You remember me telling you way back that I helped remove some of the old buildings in Roavo with my father? This was how. I packed these as a just-in-case measure, but we may need them for the gates."
I stood up as she zipped up the pack and carefully slung it back over her shoulders. I swung my leg over the hovercycle before Blank straddled the portion of the seat behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist as I started up the bike. With a whoosh, the thrusters turned on, and dust blew across the cement from the forceful gusts of air.
With a deep exhale to steal myself, I gave the bike some fuel, moving out of the parking lot and onto the street leading to the Arutesa of GreyCross, or main artery--a widespread and fast-paced commute road leading straight through the heart of the city. Blank's arms tightened around my waist as I sped up and steered around a few cars on the busy expanse of road. Even with as bustling as the Arutesa normally was, a speeding hovercycle would be noticed swiftly by police. Although with as fast and nimble as I was going on two wheels, it would be challenge for any four-wheeled, grounded vehicle to keep up with me. I felt like we still had a chance.
In the distance was GreyCross Tower--a terribly high-pointed needle that extended to the moody skies and branched out with four, thin red rays of light that extended to the very edges of the city. Era's 360o surveillance system known as the Beam. Typically it was used for scanning for lesetti and other parasitic disturbances within the city walls, and not for judging crimes. Era wanted to make sure what happened many years ago did not repeat itself. It had me wondering just how Tragedy had managed to catch lesetti in such a highly-guarded place.
"I've never seen the Tower so close," said Blank over my shoulder.
"Good," I replied, squinting a bit from the wind against my face. "I could give you twenty reasons why not to be so close."
"What makes it so horrible?"
"'Horrible' may not be the best word," I replied. "But 'scary,' maybe. Scary because at the very pinnacle is where the manic machine who runs this country lives. Scary because if you are not on the right side of the law, this place tells you how much you suffer before you die. Scary because occasionally, Earthans come straight to GreyCross Tower and lock themselves inside it, making secret exchanges with the president that may or may not be in our favor. And worst of all... the Tower is scary because GreyCrossers need it. They need that strict control or they flounder."
Blank's radio sounded again, and this time it wasn't Va'th's voice. I recognized it though.
"Hightower, gevo sta uvar locesasuna."
It felt good to hear so much more life in Scarsar Insidd's voice as he asked for my location.
Blank pulled the radio off and handed it to me. I kept it in my hand with my wrist resting on the handlebar. "Headed east on the Arutesa, about an eighth of a mile from the Tower."
"The Strejca in the central area have informed us that officials have already picked up on you. Dentrin told Era you were being held in Saydea. He also knows that Saydea is now under the control of the Strejca. Be on your guard, kid, because you're about to have two MetalArts headed your way. I'd suggest you get off the Arutesa as fast as you can. On a white bike in a Strejc-style coat, you're sure to stick out worse than usual."
"Thanks for the warning, boss," I uttered.
"As I figured," Blank murmured from behind me while I handed the radio back to her.
"You speak Iasona now?" I wondered.
"I sort of had to after moving to GreyCross."
The obsidian walls of the Tower rushed past. There were no windows on the first level, so there was nothing to see. It was rumored the president delighted in how secretive the Tower was kept. The low hum of the southern red Beam two hundred stories above our heads was the only thing audible besides the traffic, and it was loud enough to shudder my soul. I felt Blank give a small flinch as we traveled under it, the two of us feeling its vibrations clear to our bones.
There was a clunk and a screech from behind us off the road. I looked at the side mirrors of the hovercycle but couldn't spot whatever it was. However Blank caught a glimpse as she twisted in her seat, and pressed one hand to my shoulder. "Time for some action, Crow. There's our first MetalArt."
"Your gun's not going to do anything to them," I answered, changing lanes to try and get off the road.
"I realize that, smart one. If you want to keep steering, then hand me yours."
I bit my lip for a moment, then took one set of fingers off the bars and reached for my pocket, drawing out my Jux. I pushed it behind me and into her hand.
A loud clang came from behind us, then an explosion of gunshots. Cars swerved out of the way as an assailing row of bullets marked the road to our left. I veered further over, heading for an exit. I finally caught sight of the MetalArt in my mirror. It looked a bit like a ship with two top propellers and one long, triple-jointed arm hanging from the bottom, geared with a heavy-duty gun. Another arm was much longer than the other, but only had two joints, and the machine used it to hold itself up and keep it balanced on the ground. I'd seen these MetalArts before. Normally they weren't used for chasing renegade bikers, but for protecting the Tower from airborne crafts coming from outside Iason.
The distinct blast of my Jux sounded as Blank made her shot. Through the mirrors, the MetalArt's automated gun warmed itself up with a whine for a second round of bullets. The
Jux missed the target, but Blank shot again. I watched the MetalArt's gun arm jerk to the side, then rip apart from the explosion. The hovercycle arched a little as it went up the exit ramp. The MetalArt disappeared behind a cement wall as we came closer to a stop light to a street leading into a shopping district. We only slowed for a moment before I ran the light and turned into the district.
"Nice shot," I commented as I rode under an overpass.
"Thanks," Blank replied. "I told you I was a good marksman." She handed me back my Jux before moving her backpack into her lap as I slowed down. I heard her fishing out a gun magazine and loading it into her own firearm.
"Do the Strejca know about your skill?" I asked, now leaving the overpass. The sun had broken through a little here, and it created a fantastic purple blaze across the skies, reflecting off GreyCross's toxic smog.
"I'm considering joining them after this mess."
A horrendous screech came from the air. I glanced at the mirrors to catch sight of another MetalArt just as Insidd had forewarned. This one was airborne, with two plane-like wings branching from an insect-like body. It was jointed all throughout its frame, with four appendages tipped with weaponry and two vertical, orb-like eyes in its center. Chrome-like and fast, the MetalArt zipped overhead and twisted fluidly in the air. I slowed the hovercycle even more and aimed with my Jux at the target.
"Crow, wait!" Blank called, but I shot anyway. The bullet hit the MetalArt dead center, but ricocheted off the super-strength plates and came straight back, striking the road behind us and exploding bits of asphalt in all directions at high speed. Blank ducked as I veered out of the way of most of the debris.
It was another variety of Super Machine, but mixed with the reinforced stability of a MetalArt. This was the very combination that had killed Kajaru years ago.
"We can't destroy this one with handguns alone, even if they're Juxa," I stated as I turned the hovercycle and moved down a covered alleyway to avoid detection temporarily. "A MetalArt SM is invulnerable, and off limits to Strejca techniques."
"Explosives won't work, will they?" Blank questioned as I stopped in a corner for a moment, turning the hovercycle's air power on low and resting it on its stand.
"Save those for the gates. The most we can do is hide and wait it out."
Blank wrapped her arms tighter around me, although we weren't moving now. She rested her head on my back. "Well despite all this, Crow, thank Sol you're alive."
I attempted to calm my racing pulse. "Don't thank Sol--thank Rook."
"I heard about your contact with the radiation, and Velzae also told me about the Mirrored Plains. To be quite honest, I'm shocked you're still here."
"Still here… bedraggled and angry like usual. Did he also tell you about the Roavo hounds?"
“I heard a lot of gunshots, but my father's guards had dragged me away from the fences before I could see what had happened. I was a nervous wreck for a little while. I was pretty convinced they'd killed both you and Rook."
"They nearly did," I replied. "Destroyed one with my bare hands after it ripped my leg apart."
Blank looked down at my legs in surprise and confusion.
"I got it fixed. Sort of," I explained.
The rending screech of the SM sounded again. I ramped up the hovercycle's air and rode down the connecting alley to keep moving.
"So are you planning on blowing a hole in the actual wall, or the connecting gates?" I asked for clarification.
"The gates," Blank answered. "The walls have reinforced metal interiors, so the gates are our only option. And I plan on taking out the robot guards while I'm at it, too."
I could probably sneak around the SM by following the alleys, but it would be too slow of a process, and the flying machine would be sure to roam over top of the buildings soon and spot us in no time. We only had one option, and that was to come out from hiding and face it. But with what working weapon?
Well, that was easier decided than acted out. This MetalArt was a work of Era--a product of evil and corruption, in my opinion. If I could muster the strength and willpower, I didn't doubt that I could defeat it. The question was simply how.
I looked back at Blank for a moment. "Can you ride a bike on your own?"
She raised her blue eyebrows. "Uh..."
I flipped a switch on the bike, spreading out its range of air to keep it perfectly balanced, then swung my leg off and landed on the alley floor. Blank pushed herself forward and gripped onto the handlebars, looking a little concerned.
"It's harder to fall off than you might think," I said. "Just give it a little acceleration with the right handle, break with the left, and don't touch the thruster switches above the pressure gauge. Make your way to the eastern gate. I'll be over there to meet you after I take care of the big nasty."
She frowned. "How are you going to--?"
"Some determination and probably leftover luck thanks to Rook," was my answer as I checked my Jux's rounds. I reached into Blank's bag to retrieve an extra magazine. "You'd better go as soon as I walk out of the alley, okay? No hesitation." I zipped up her backpack and wrapped my hand around the back of her neck to nudge her into a quick kiss.
"I'll see you in a few. You promise?" she asked.
"Of course."
Hesitantly at first, Blank gave the hovercycle a little fuel and coasted down the opposite end of the alley steadily. I turned from her and went the other direction, kicking my legs up into a sprint to make it back out where the SM searched for its prey.
There wasn't any warning when I stepped out of hiding. The giant machine had landed just outside the alleyway entrance and already had its guns fired up. A spray of bullets tore chunks of brick out from the flanking buildings and twisted their metal pipes. I lunged back around the corner as fast as I could and waited until the song of the machine's gears wound down to a patient rumble, trying to think of the best way to approach without getting ripped through with dozens of holes.
Looking around myself, I spotted a staircase several paces down with a ladder leading to the roof from the top balcony. That was my best bet. I rushed over to the stairs and scaled them quickly. Gripping onto the ladder, I made my way to the flat roof and walked around an extensive chimney. I kept low to avoid detection, creeping to the edge of the walkway and carefully looking over at the monster down below. It still waited at the entrance of the alleyway, though the whipping of its tail obviously meant it was impatient. I knew it still sensed I was alive, otherwise it would have taken off back to where it'd come from.
Clearing all other worries from my mind, I focused solely on the machine under me. I took a couple deep breaths and went through the process I was used to in order to connect with Sylvain. But this time instead of connecting to another god, I searched for the presence of the SM. For a moment, all other noises of GreyCross drowned out around me. The blaring of cars, the roar of engines of all types, the distant shouting of pedestrians, the nearby hum of the Beam... all brought to a mute so that I could tune into the SM's powerful whine of gears and construction. Once I'd collected myself, I stood up.
The SM noticed me immediately. Its wings raised it up off the road and above the building in a matter of seconds. I felt the wind that came off its propeller engines, and it was enough to nearly push me back. I had a flashback of standing in Uncertainty in front of the smile-bot, nearly blinded by its lamplight eyes, but this time was different and perhaps even more dangerous. Instead of two yellow, horizontal lamps, I stared up and into two black, vertical cameras. The guns wound back up, getting ready to send countless rounds into my body.
I waited.
Just before the guns fired I raised my arms in a stopping gesture. The rounds drove toward me in a fragment of a moment, then promptly slowed. With the sounds of GreyCross still muted, I felt as if I were in a dream, watching my own impending death come at me only to slow just feet from my outstretched arms. Amazed by my own strength, I stopped them completely, then threw my arms downward. The bullets came
down, then were sent back where they came from as I kept one arm to the ground and threw the other one back up above my head. Back to high speed with no sign of stopping, every bullet sent toward me and continuing to be fired was shot straight back to the SM. They had more power than my Jux, and drilled the SM's body full of punctures. Several shattered the eye cameras in the center of the SM and rent its insides to scrap. The MetalArt faltered in the sky, twisting sideways in malfunction, then spiraled toward the road as a piece of its side exploded in flames. I threw myself to the concrete roof as the flying structure hit the ground and released a larger fireball. The heat was intense, but I'd avoided any damage.
This must have been what Velzae was talking about, how my powers had amplified over time due to the prototoxine.
As I picked myself back up and dusted off my knees, I questioned how I was going to be able to get to the gates at the same time Blank did. From my position on the roof I could see across the district and most of the Arutesa. The freeway eventually broke off into several sections leading to various other districts. Just barely through the rows of taller buildings I was able to spot the forever closed gates of the east, slightly shrouded by haze from the distance. To my far left I spotted the MetalArt that Blank had impaired still standing not far from the Tower. I wasn't worried about that one as much.
"You're taking far too long."
I would have jumped if it had been any other voice but Velzae's. To my right as I glanced back was the white-haired god I was beginning to grow used to seeing. He walked closer to me.
"If you don't go now, you will miss your chance to make it outside of the city with Blank."
"Will you take me to meet her?" I asked.
"That's why I'm here, Kro." Velzae's eyes softened just a little as he put one arm over my shoulders. In a dizzying pull, my eyes were suddenly alight with unfamiliar surroundings. In front of me were stark shadows over the rooftops, and the sky looked like a swirling vortex of darkness. The bizarre, looming appearance given to the structures of the buildings were not what surprised me the most, though. All about the city were towering black creatures that closely resembled the monster Velzae had defended Stelliot from some years ago.