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NetStar Chronology - Chapter 16 |
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Red, Blue, and Yellow were flying to dodge missiles that the Ghosts were firing at them.
"What, are they nuts?" Red yelled. "They're firing those missiles way too close to the ship!"
"Maybe you should be more concerned about yourself, Terra!" Blue told her, as he did a barrel roll.
"It's... almost as if they're forcing us to move." Yellow said. "They know they can't drive us away, so maybe they're guiding us to land."
"Most likely there will be a montage of battles." Red grumbled. "They must have seen us coming, otherwise those Ghosts wouldn't be so on top of things."
The three landed on a balcony, which led to a long stretch of path outside the ship. The two Ghosts who were standing there were wiped out by the three of them.
"Seems this ship has a working gravity mechanism." Yellow was surprised, but then became serious. "All right, let's retract our Dragonflies. No need to damage them, if it's not necessary."
The Dragonflies disappeared.
"Let's get moving." Yellow ran ahead.
"Wait!" Red ran after her.
And here I thought Terra was the only hasty one, in this group. Blue thought as he chased them both.
They all stopped after a minute. Yellow was in the lead, and she halted them.
"What is it, Charlotte?" Red asked.
"I sense somebody..." She looked around.
"Very perceptive!" Eddie appeared in a burst of Light powder. "I suppose I shouldn't have been using a Generic concealment technique, but oh well. The name's Eddie, Lieutenant under Captain Athena Pink."
"I know you." Blue noticed him. "You and your brother were two of the best Ghost units. So, you finally became a Lieutenant. No matter. We'll still beat you."
"Hold up." Yellow said. "We need to pace ourselves. If the Lieutenants and Captains intend on fighting us, going one on one will help us conserve our strength."
"So, who's going to help us past this small hinderance?" Blue smirked.
"I will." Yellow said. "You two can take down Captains. But... I'm not so sure if I'm that powerful, so I'll stick to handling the Lieutenants, if that's okay."
"Works for me." Red smiled. "But Vincent is mine."
"And I'll handle James." Blue became serious.
"Hello?" Eddie growled. "I'm standing right here! Honestly, for people who intend to be heroes, you sure are rude."
"Lieutenant Eddie, enemy of ours, prepare yourself!" Yellow's gems glew.
"Right." He pulled both energy guns out of his pockets, then twirled them.
Yellow shot a spray of static, catching Eddie off guard. Using his momentary stun to her advantage, she had time to conjure a more focused bolt of energy. He stumbled back from the force, then started shooting bursts of Light. Yellow brought up a barrier, but it was soon disabled from the torrent of shots. She was able to focus on both her barrier and her next attack, though, and soon after the barrier was destroyed, she shot another bolt at him. He dodged that one, then crossed his arms like an "X". He started accumulating energy, and dodged Yellow's attacks, then he shot one large burst of Light. Not expecting that, Yellow was blown back. However, she did a backwards hand spring, and landed on her feet. Once her feet touched the ground, she shot a very wide, but weak spread of static. Eddie stepped back, and guarded against the attack, then ran at her. Yellow took defense, and they engaged in hand to hand combat. Eddie held the guns so that they would bolster his skills while fighting melee. Yellow's skills in hand to hand left a lot to be desired, so she started channeling Electric energy through her fists. Eddie kept on getting shocked, even if he blocked, and that gave Yellow a better advantage. Eddie jumped backwards to avoid a hook, then held his arms behind him.
"Divine Spear!" Eddie called out, and leaped forward.
He thrust the guns at her, then released a powerful blast of Light, which blew her backwards; almost off the balcony. She got up, slightly dazed by the attack. Eddie came in for another, but she jumped over him, then gave him a burst of lightning powerful enough to fling him from the Eclipse.
"One down." Yellow sighed.
"Take a break, Charlotte." Red advised. "I'll handle the next one."
The three continued running along the main strip, Blue leading the way. They encountered Pink, standing in wait. She flowed her hands a little.
"Sorry, kiddies." She giggled. "This is as far as you go. Wind Tunnel!!"
She flung both hands forward, and a gale force wind blew the three of them away. They armed their Dragonflies, and boosted back to avoid being blown off board, then Blue swooped in and shoulder slammed Pink. She was almost knocked over, but she caught herself.
"Aw, you guys have more endurance than I thought." Pink frowned. "I was hoping I could blow you away. And, it would seem I don't have enough power for another."
"Athena, I'll be facing you today." Blue claimed.
"I'm honored." She smiled. "I've always wondered what it would have been like if I fought you."
She shot less powerful gusts of wind at Blue, which knocked him back bit by bit. He retracted the Dragonfly, then drew his spear. Pink blocked his attacks by concentrating Wind around her fists and forearms. Blue knew that it was useless to attack her with projectiles, since she was a master of that type of Counter. He managed to get past her guard a few times, but they weren't powerful enough to do any considerable damage. She then used a wall of wind to blow him back. He rolled backwards, and Pink jumped up for a critical strike. But at the last second, Blue stood, and thrusted a hand out.
"Fountain!!" He called, hand glowing with Water energy.
A deluge of water shot out, launching Pink out of the range of the Eclipse's gravity system.
"That wasn't too difficult." He smirked, then frowned at his spear. "She bent my spear, though."
"I can fix that." Red walked over, and grabbed onto the bent part.
She heated up the area just enough to straighten it again.
"Oh, thanks Terra." Blue was surprised.
"No problem. Now, onwards!" She pointed ahead.
As they ran, Red and Yellow retracted the Dragonflies again.The three of them ran into a Phantom in an orange body suit. His mask had only one eye hole, though. On his back was a Danger Cannon, but it was black and had another handle near the back.
"Lieutenant Nero." Red smiled. "A pleasure to see you again. If you're here, that must mean Vincent is the next one we'll fight, right?"
"If you can get past me, girl." Nero said.
"Then I'll sit this one out. Hey Charlotte, you think you can handle him?"
"I feel like I've recovered enough." Yellow told her.
Little did anyone know, Yellow had been accumulating energy the entire time, during Blue's battle with Pink.
"I'll fight you." Yellow said to Nero sincerely. "But, I hope you won't be too disappointed by the outcome."
"We'll see." Nero laughed, then armed the Cannon. "Let's go!"
He immediately fired a huge blast of Light, the Cannon shooting a shell out behind it. Yellow dodged the blast, then ran at him. He held the cannon so that one hand held each handle, then swung at her.
"Another gun melee attacker?" Yellow raised an eyebrow as she dodged the attack. "The Empire needs a little more originality."
"I taught Eddie everything he knows about gun melee!" Nero took another swing, barely missing her. "We of The Empire all strive to get as much training as possible."
"Sounds like you work together pretty well!" Yellow gave him a powerful hook.
Nero stepped backwards a little.
"That is right. We shall conspire to wipe out all the evils on Iota. It is a group effort!"
Nero started running at her.
"But you know what they say." Yellow started. "A team is only as good as it's worst player! Arcane Blitz!!"
She held her palms out, and bombarded Nero with a barrage of large bolts. Nero fell to the ground, unconscious.
"That... took a lot out of me." Yellow sighed, slouching.
"You okay?" Red asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine." She nodded. "Let's just keep moving."
They started running again.
"This is taking too long." Yellow frowned. "By the time we get there, the Guardian of Destruction may already be awake."
"I've got an idea." Red smiled.
As Red had predicted, Orange was next. He walked towards them.
"Man, they're fast!" He blinked. "Okay, that's as far as you go!"
"I doubt that!" Red confronted him. "Yamato, Charlotte, go on ahead!"
They both nodded, then ran ahead. Orange turned, and was about to chase them, when Red tackled him.
"Hey!" Orange jumped up and shook her off.
"I'm your opponent, Vincent." Red smirked. "Your Admiral's little plans of hindering us aren't going to work."
"Fine." He took defense. "I'll play your game."
The two of them engaged in hand to hand combat.
Meanwhile, Yellow and Blue had reached an elevator.
"Hey!" Yellow blinked. "I guess this is where the strip ends..."
"Yeah." Blue nodded. "This elevator leads down to the main lobby, then to Daisaku's room. The ship is piloted by an AI program, so Daisaku can focus on more important things."
They stepped into the elevator. The area was both tall and wide, so there was plenty of room to move around. It started slow, then moved downward pretty smoothly.
"Why is it so big?" Yellow asked.
"It is meant to hold a lot of cargo and troops." He answered. "Not your leisurely elevator."
Yellow giggled a little.
"You know, your mood seems to be improving."
"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I realized that I should be making the best of it, no matter how bad things look. I still have some negativity, but that really isn't important."
"Do you think that you could open up to me... er, us more when we return?"
"I guess I could try."
"If you even return at all..." Black's voice came from above, and the area became slightly darker. "I'll take you on, Yamato."
Black dropped down in front of them.
"Fight me if you must, James." Blue scowled. "But leave Charlotte out of this!"
"Oh, what's the matter?" Black chuckled. "Afraid that you'll lose her, too? Fine. I'll make sure she's out of danger."
He raised a hand, and a shadow engulfed Yellow. She was only able to gasp, before she disappeared.
"Where did you take her?"
"You should worry more about yourself, Yamato!" Black ran at Blue.
Black swung a powerful kick, which Blue blocked with his spear. Every attack Black would throw, Blue would block. But, he didn't have time to return his offense. Black landed a very powerful palm attack on Blue's chest, but then Blue's eyes flashed. He immediately unleashed a torrent of high speed thrust attacks, each one striking more swiftly than the last. When it was over, Black jumped back.
"I should have known better than to get caught up in your Retaliation attack." Black growled. "But no matter."
Blue attempted a chop attack, but Black blocked with his forearm. When he blocked, a high pitched snap rang through the air, and a third of the spear was broken off. The head stuck into the ground, as Blue stared in shock and surprise.
"Oh, would you look at that?" Black grinned. "I guess that spear wasn't as strong as you thought. And you shall share it's fate."
Ten Ghosts in black body suits dropped down out of nowhere, and a shadow absorbed them all, then went into Black.
"I can only hope this attack makes your last moments very painful." Black's tone became more malevolent, as a blood red aura surrounded him. "Genocide!!"
Blue only smirked as Black closed in with a palm. At the last second, Blue's entire body shifted to water, and the impact sprayed water all over the entire side behind him.
What the hell? Black thought, his aura fading. Where did he go?
The water all concentrated together, where Blue was previously standing, then he reformed; but he was holding onto his stomach, and slouching a little.
"What is the meaning of this?" Black growled.
"Aqua Body..." Blue smiled weakly. "I managed to reduce the damage I took to one sixteenth of the norm. But... that was still pretty damn powerful."
"Drat..."
"And, I can tell using that much power took it's toll on you, too."
Black suddenly knelt down, feeling pain all through his body.
"Hold still." Blue clenched both fists. "This will only hurt for a second.
Blue kept mercilessly throwing his fists forward. Each time he threw one, an ice crystal would shoot out, and harm Black even further. When Black stopped responding to the attacks, Blue stopped firing them.
"Why did you frame Clair?" Blue asked. "Was it because you were jealous that I had a sister, and you didn't? Was it because you envied the fact that I had somebody who loved me, and who I loved back? Or, perhaps maybe you're working behind The Empire's back, secretly plotting the downfall of everything they stand for."
"You... are a fool." Black struggled. "There is no reason... no motivation. It just... happened. So get... over it."
Blue became angered by that, and was about to throw another crystal when Black disappeared. Yellow reappeared, and looked around.
"Where am I?" She asked, then noticed Blue. "Yamato! Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Charlotte..." He blinked, then gave a weak smile. "It's good to see you're safe."
Yellow gave Blue a quick hug, then detached. He was surprised, but didn't show it. The elevator stopped, and they both walked out. Soon after, the lift started rising again.
"Doesn't James have a Lieutenant?" Yellow asked.
"Yeah... Jean Shadow." Blue nodded. "But she's afraid of heights, so she was probably left behind with the soldiers on guard duty."
"I see." She nodded.
"Charlotte... you know who remains, right?"
"I know."
"We're going to have to fight him."
"Yes, I realize that. But maybe... we should rest for a while."
"At least, until Terra shows up."
They both sat down, and waited for Red. As they waited, Blue and Yellow sat in silence, mentally preparing themselves for the next challenge...
 Shin-Maruku · Fri Nov 30, 2007 @ 04:48am · 1 Comments |
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