Chapter 24: 23 - Finale

Alarms blared down the steel halls of the Collector’s Facility as the trio of Rex, Davis, and Queen entered. Moments after passing through, two guards emerged into the hall from the wall, guns already drawn and trained on the intruders

“Free-”

Before Davis could even react, Rex sprung forward with a grin on his face. He closed the gap between the two, grabbing one of the guards by the arm. He swung the guard into the other, both crashing into the wall at high speeds. Still with a grin on his face, Rex walked over to the two limp bodies, unraveling his right hand into two wires. The wires coiled around their necks, and he tightened the wires until he heard a snap.

He sighed, smiling.

“Not fun when you get invaded in your own home, yeah?”

He turned back, looking at a disturbed Davis, and the blank stare of Queen.

“Davis, you got a problem with me?”

He flinched, shaking his head. “Nah well… Murder is kinda…”

Rex turned to the two guards. “These guys want to turn your town into a zoo, and treat you all like lab rats, right? If they’re gonna see us as that, then it’s only fair we don’t treat them as human.”

Davis stared in silence, feeling his heart pound in his chest as he gazed at the lifeless bodies of the guards.

“As far as I’M concerned, they gave up their right to live the moment they decided to side with the feds. Now get over here, help me out.”

Reforming his hand, He began rummaging through the bodies’ pockets. Queen hurried over as well, and Davis stared, still frozen with nerve.

Rex looked at Queen.

“Since you’re a bit slow, I’m looking for something that looks like a PDA or cell phone. For a government facility, I’d expect them to have some sort of map on them.”

Queen nodded, and began rummaging the other body, pulling out a PDA. Rex pulled out another from the guard, and looked to Queen.

“Perfect. Guess you aren’t as slow as I thought.”

“I am very fast. You will see that soon.”

The two stood up and returned to Davis, still staring at the two bodies.

Rex patted him on the back

“Hey, you expected a few heads to roll during this, suck it up. Your friend isn’t going to save herself too, yeah? Nor can I make these guys suffer without spilling some blood.”

Queen perked up, staring down the hallway.

“More are coming. Several of them.”

Rex glanced at his PDA, smiling to find it had no passcode on it. “Queen there has one of them. I’ll take care of whoever is coming towards us, and you see if there’s any sort of map on that thing. Got it?”

Davis beckoned for Queen as the two entered a small room where the guards came from; A small office space with a camera monitor, some radios, a coffee machine, a single desk and a few chairs.

Heavy footsteps filled the air as the two peeked from around the corner, Rex standing in the center of the steel hall.

A dozen men lined the hall, each one with steel shields, and behind them stood a dozen more, holding rifles Rex had never seen before. Unlike the more SWAT-like look the men at the front held, the rear looked more like military soldiers, dressed in forest camo, gas masks, and thick looking helmets.

The shield men moved forward, Rex eying the men in the rear, all tracking him with their guns.

One of the men held up his hand, and they fired their rifles in a volley. Several prongs fired forward from their rifles, and Rex leapt past all of them.

One of the prongs grazed his leg, sending a slight jolt of electricity up his body. He gazed at the men as they retracted all their prongs, somewhat dumbfounded.

The dumbfounded look turned into a wicked grin, as both of his hands unraveled into razor-sharp wires. His body began to whir, the wires glowing bright orange.

He bolted forward, and another volley of taser rifle fire was launched his way. Each one struck on the mark, but Rex didn’t slow down one bit.

With a maniacal laugh, he stretched his arms outwards and brought them together. His heat cables cut through both the shields and the men behind them like they were nothing. A dozen men were cleaved into a collection of charred pieces, much to the joy of Rex. The riflemen from behind had already begun retreating down the hall, this time with pistols drawn and trained on him. They fired, and he paused, flinching as each round struck his body. Still grinning, he grabbed one of the mangled pieces of metal shield he cleaved through with his cabled limb, and swung it at his retreating foes. The high speed debris slammed into a few men, knocking them flat on their faces. A few of their comrades came over to try to help them up, but fled seeing the crazed face of Rex approaching. Arms outstretched, he coiled his unwound right arm into a ball, and slammed it on top of one of the downed men. His left arm grabbed the other downed man, and swung him into the wall, resulting in a violent-sounding CRACK.

One of the men, wearing a gas mask with a red mark on the forehead, drew a sawed off shotgun from his vest, charging forward towards Rex and fired at his head.

The force of the blast sent the boy flying backwards, dazed. The shotgun man cried for the rest of the men to hurry, as he and them all bolted town the hall in retreat.

Rex shook away the last of his wooziness, vision clearing up. He sighed, turning back to find Rex and Queen watching from far behind.

“So, did you find that map?” He yelled from across the hall. Davis flinched, realizing he had been watching Rex’s rampage the entire time.

“Uh… One moment!” He yelled back. He looked at the PDA, finding a minimap on the front page, even marking his exact position. “Yeah, there’s one!”

Rex casually walked back to the two, pulling out his PDA.

“This will work perfectly.” Spoke Davis. “When we get Louise and need to meet up, we can find where we are easily!”

“Actually, I had something else in mind.” Rex said as he was browsing through the map. “I’m assuming there’s gonna be lots more locked doors as you work through the facility. If they use any sort of two factor authentication, you’re boned. BUT, we already know how these doors work.”

He smiled, finding a nearby transformer room, down the hall opposite to where all the soldiers retreated.

“Stick with me, I know exactly how to make sure we can have as much fun with these imbeciles as possible.”

“…That’s all we know about the Cryptid sir.”

The Collector was on his intercom, tapping his fingers on the desk.

“I will admit, I did not expect them to make a move so soon. But to bring an unknown cryptid into the mix as well?”

He felt his heart race with excitement.

“We’re waiting for another group of Chaff to join us on the frontline once more. After that, we’ll be ready to re-engage him.”

“One moment.” He spoke. He pulled out his own PDA, bringing up local security footage. Rewinding to minutes before, he witnessed the inhuman man’s slaughter himself. His eyes widened as he paused at the moment when the Chaff unit was cleaved into pieces.

“How brutal…”

He continued to watch in silence up until Rex was blasted in the face with a shotgun.

“Sir?”

“Captain Wood, we’re still going to focus on capturing it and the other two intruders as well. Make a full retreat to the nearest armory, and arm up on every type of weapon you can. Utilize rifles to keep it at a distance, and if rifles dont work, heavier machine guns. Keep a wall of Chaff between you and it, and try to find any weakness to exploit. Anything that can harm him, but preferably incapacitate, let me know. Blunt force trauma is all we know, but still runs the risk of killing him.”

He swapped his camera to the Styx Weed chamber, noticing Louise was fighting a torrent of vines.

“I want four Stalkers at the entrance to the Styx Weed habitat, and another four Stalkers patrolling the cell block. Should any be alerted, call for reinforcement.”

He swapped the camera back to Rex, Davis, and Queen watching them cautiously walk down the halls.

“While pressuring them, see if you could drive them to…”

His eyes widened as he caught sight of fleeing engineers. He noticed they were heading for the transformer room.

“Swap to radio communication, stand by for further orders!” He shouted. He hung up, punching a new number into the intercom system.

“We need an emergency shutdown of the reactor immediately. Begin transitioning to backup power right away!”

“Right away sir-”

“Don’t bother with full protection, send in people as quickly as possible!” He glanced at Rex unraveling his hands on the security camera, entering the transformer room. “Treat it as if something is going to threaten it directly, just get it shut down!”

There was a bright flash from the camera, then the signal cut out. Several alarms popped up on his PDA, warning of power failures across the facility.

He pulled a drawer out from his lower desk, bringing out an old radio set. Twisting the knobs, he spoke.

“Testing, reactor room, do you read me?”

“Yes sir, we read. We just had a sudden surge of feedback from the dark wing before we could even begin shutting down the reactor!”

He clenched his fist.

“All the failsafes went off, but we still have yet to determine the extent of damage-”

“Do we have any means of backup power?”

“The cabling connecting the backup generators melted from the power surge. We’re going to need a few hours to replace them, run checks, and get things running again.”

The Collector rubbed his brow. There was a hint of worry, but at the same time…

“Get it running as soon as possible. Your lives are quite literally depending on it.”

He smiled.

The perfect stage for a brand new hunt after so long!

“Captain Wood? Do you copy?”

“Loud and clear sir. What’s going on?”

“For now on, utilize radio communication. Call out to all standby Frontiersmen to follow Blackout Protocol.”

He cleared his throat. “As for our intruders, I want you to pick twelve of the most competent Frontiersmen, and have them stay close to you. Same plan as before, but this time, we’ll lure the cryptid to the cell block. If you’ve discovered no means of suppressing it, we’ll work with what works.”

“Yes sir! We’re getting geared up as we speak!”

The Collector took a deep breath, smiling. “Oh how long I’ve WAITED for a moment like this! And not a damn thing P.A.I.N. can do about it!”

Back down below, the halls had gone pitch black. All that was left were emergency lights, Davis felt energized as he slipped on his night vision goggles, watching Rex stumble out of the transformer room. From behind, his back was spewing out a copious amount of steam, and he seemed a little dazed.

“So, you got your distraction!” He exclaimed, wobbling back over to the group. “Probably gonna take them a good while to get all the damage undone too.”

“What did you do?” Davis questioned.

“I used my body as a conduit for all that high voltage energy flowing to the transformer, and sent it back upstream. Absolutely positive it caused some generator damage and then some!” He laughed. “MAN this is kinda fun. If you two ever want to mess with feds more, call me whenever I’m not on shift. I gotta try this more often.”

Davis took a deep breath, turning to Queen. “You have her scent, right?”

“No. It smells too much like burning.”

Rex stretched out with a big smile on his face. “Once I find where those feds ran off to, the air isn’t gonna be clear. Hurry on up!”

The group walked together, the PDA’s map system still working by some miracle. Moving through the halls of the facility towards a near stairway. As they approached, Queen perked up.

“I can smell them. They’re not too far away.” She pointed in the direction of where the stairway was.

Rex turned to the other two. “Well, guess it’s time for us to part ways. I know the plan, just feel free to take your time on finding your friend, all right?” He said with a terrifying grin.

Davis tried to ignore his ally’s intentions, and looked at the PDA, finding an elevator shaft not too far away.

“I think I know how we can still make our way up without the stairs. Let’s hurry.”

The two hurried off to the elevators, as Rex walked towards his foes, cracking his knuckles.

Reaching the elevator shafts, Davis tried to grab the inside of the doors.

“Queen, help me out here, pull on this.”

She nodded, slipping her hands into the doors’ slit. As the two pulled, the door inched open, just enough for them to squeeze through. Davis peered down the elevator shaft, finding that the facility went too deep for him to see. There was a ladder, and red emergency lights illuminating the shaft, alongside the two elevator cables that went down into the depths.

“So.” He shuddered, thinking about the climb that was to come. “Is Louise up, or down?”

“Up.” Queen said. “Can we climb up through there?”

“You bet. Lead the way.”

From the stairway emerged twelve chaff units, alongside thirteen Frontiersmen behind. Each of the Frontiersmen had backpacks on, each with several different forms of weaponry slung together, with three near the center holding high powered rifles. Standing at the center was the same man with the red mark on his gas mask.

Rex grinned, before charging forward, unwinding both of his hands into high heat cables. The chaff at the front planted their shields into the ground, forming a barricade, and drew tranquilizer rifles, firing in a line.

With a swing of his hands, Rex was able to deflect most of the projectiles before they even hit. With both of his arms, he cleaved through the barricade and kicked through the sliced sheets of metal. Several of the soldiers tumbled over, and Rex turned to all of them. Expelling steam from his back, he grabbed two of the soldiers and slammed them into others. Some of them drew pistols and fired, each bullet bouncing off of his body. The cryptid grabbed his shooters by the legs, and threw them at the wall.

Some Chaff were frozen on the floor in fear, and Rex took delight in how they looked. He was laughing, reaching for his downed foes. A large steel net suddenly struck him, pinning him to the floor.

“Back onto your feet and into formation! Being carved up by that thing is gonna be the least of your worries if you don’t follow orders!” Barked the man in the red-dot mask.

They scrambled up, taking their shields and re-forming with the Frontiersmen.

Pushing with all his might, Rex found the net was magnetized to the floor. He huffed, maneuvering his wires and heating them up. Grabbing ahold of the magnets holding the corners of the net, he felt the magnetism slowly giving way. With another push, he stood back up, grabbing the steel net from off the floor, and slinging it towards the Frontiersmen.

It crashed into the shields of a few of the Chaff, knocking them over. The red-dot man began waving to the rest of the Frontiersmen, them falling back and heading towards the stairway. Two of the high-powered riflemen stayed behind with the few remaining chaff.

The chaff charged forward with their shields, but with his high-heat cables, Rex cleaved through them, his assailants literally falling into charred pieces. But from behind, the two Frontiersmen fired a few shots from their rifles, the recoil intense enough that their bodies lurched back from firing.

He barely dodged out of the way, one of the rounds striking his arm, blowing the entire appendage off. Rex stared at it with a slight expression of shock, not even bleeding out of the wound. It looked like the frayed end of a string that was terribly cut.

They began to retreat, keeping their rifle trained on him while speaking on a radio.

Rex charged forward again, bouncing from side to side at high speeds.

The men tried to keep the rifle trained on him, but he grew closer and closer.

At near point blank, they fired, but Rex dodged right under the barrel. He grabbed the weapon from the two with his cabled arm, heating it up until it deformed into a pile of scrap. The men attempted to retreat to the stairway, but new cable sprouted from Rex’s stump of an arm, grabbing the two of them by the neck.

Grabbing the radio from one of the men as he choked the two, he clicked it on.

“Whoever’s in charge here, listen up! I’m very aware of you all, how much you’ve made my life a living hell. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of breaking into somebody’s home and smashing everything up. Unlike you frauds, tax dollars never helped me get my life back together!”

The Frontiersmen gagged, kicking and pounding Rex helplessly.

“So guess what? It’s time for you all to pay me back! And I’m only taking payments in flesh by the pound!”

He crushed the walkie in his hand, staring at the two soldiers he was still choking. He noticed they were reaching for something on their belt, and he cocked his head. On their belts were a few grenades.

“Oh, what do we have here? You wanna go out in a blaze of glory, huh? I assumed you were contracted mercenaries, but you got too much loyalty for that.”

Two more cables sprouted from his stump, pulling the pins off of the grenades.

“Have fun you two, hope you enjoyed your career choice!” He tossed them far away. Moments later, as they struggled to remove the explosives from their belts, they exploded in a loud, horrendous, screaming fireball. The darkened hallway glowed bright for a brief moment, and dissipated back into nothing but the growing red emergency lights.

Rex stretched out, more cables sprouting from his stump until they reformed his arm. He opened and closed his hand, and moved towards the stairway door.

Passing through the doorway, he was struck by several liquidy blobs, the force staggering him. Touching the substance with his hand, he found his hand stuck to it. He turned, looking upstairs; There sat more Frontiersmen and Chaff, standing in formation on a stairway wide enough to hold six men, with a mechanical lift running up the center of it.

He inhaled, feeling the strange device in him whirr. His body began to heat up, and the sticky substance bubbled, sliding off his body. He bounded up the stairs, fist reared back and punching a molten hole through the shields of the Chaff. He yanked it free from the grasp of the poor soul still holding onto it, and threw the soldier over the stair railings.

A force struck him in the head, sending him tumbling back down the stairs. It was the same red-dot man, holding his sawed off shotgun. He waved his hand, beckoning for his men to start moving further up the stairs. Shaking off the daze and expelling more steam from his back, Rex unraveled his arms into cables and bound forward. Grabbing ahold of the railings, he flung himself over the gap of the stairs. With one arm, he grabbed the railing far ahead of the retreating soldiers, and the other grabbed ahold of one of the Frontiersmen.

The red-dot man drew a knife, trying to cut the cable to no avail as Rex Swung the man off the stairs, and down into the dark below.

A few Frontiersmen looked down the rails with flamethrowers, and engulfed the cryptid boy in a torrent of flame.

Rex grit his teeth, feeling discomfort as the fire torched his body. He felt his body getting stiff. He swung himself back down the stairs far from the retreating men, landing and releasing another plume of steam from his back.

He glared an expression of disgust at the men, still staring at them from over the railings. He sprinted as fast as he could up the stairs in a fury, catching up with the men quickly. They fired their flamethrowers at him once more, but he leapt through, letting his momentum carry himself into them. Crashing into one, he began to mercilessly slam his fists into the head of a Frontiersmen, over and over. He felt the glass of the mask crack, the helmet dent inwards, the man was most likely already dead but he continued to beat him more and more. Staring up, still he saw the surviving men were retreating, firing another plume of flames towards him.

His body stiffened again, being engulfed in flames, and his disgust grew.

His insides churning, he heated up his body even more as the flames immobilized him.

Coiling his right arm into a giant rope, he screamed, rearing it back and swinging it down in front of him. The giant, superheated strand of his body slammed down on top of the man firing upon him, the force of the attack flattening him instantly and shaking the stairs. He was panting, feeling his appendage melt through the metal flooring of the stairway.

His back opened up, billowing out steam. He heard more footsteps as they continued to run upstairs. When he got back to his feet, something dropped in front of him.

It was a liquid tank of some sort. He looked up the stairs, finding the red-dot man holding a pistol, aimed down.

Rex’s frustration turned into an all too familiar wicked grin, and he grabbed the tank with his tendrils and slung it up the stairs

The man fired, and a massive fireball lit up the shaft.

As the smoke dissipated, the man was gone, and Rex dusted himself off.

“I’m gonna roast you alive for that!” He screamed, his voice echoing up the stairway. He expelled more steam from his body, and continued his chase.

Climbing the elevator shaft up several floors and prying open another elevator door, Davis and Queen traversed through a few more unpowered security doors, prying open those as well, eventually arriving at a large, circular pathway. The walls were lined with several small chamber doors leading into what they could only assume were cryptid containment units. Queen paused moments after entering, a new scent intermixing with Louise’s.

“There’s four people ahead. They smell like cryptid.”

The two slowed down to a crawl, taking care to not make any noise, and Davis holding his jacket down to make sure none of his gadgets clinked around. Peering ahead, Queen and Davis saw the Stalker units.

The men were coated head to toe in thick, metallic plating that looked like hardened molten lava. Each of them had a greatshield made of the similar molten material, and a cattle prod.

They leaned back.

“They shouldn’t be an issue.” He whispered. “They have Louise in that cell I assume?”

“Yes.”

“Easy then. I’ll phase out, enter the cell, grab Louise, and phase back in right here. Then, we take a quick rest, and then leave without even being caught.”

“But you’ll be limp. What if Louise is hurt too? I cannot carry both of you if you are caught.”

Davis glanced at the armored men.

“Yeah, but how do you suppose we even take down those guys… Working around them is a much safer option.”

“Their armor is not perfect.” She said, glancing at them carefully. “Like Louise told me. Their joints. The back of the knees are weak.”

Davis squinted. “And you really think you can kill them just with that.”

Queen nodded. “I can immobilize them. That will be enough. So I do not get overwhelmed, can you make smoke?”

Davis gave her a confused stare before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a smoke grenade.

“Oh, yeah. Cover. You probably don’t want to get jumped by all of them at once, huh…”

Davis pulled the pin from it, and it began to spew smoke.

He rolled it over to the Stalkers, who eyed the can. They quickly put their shields facing the bomb.

It exploded, expanding the plume of smoke exponentially. The second it did, Queen bolted into the cloud, sharpening her fingers.

Weaving behind one of the stalkers, she stabbed behind the knee of the armored opponent. He yelled, stumbling over, the weight of his armor crashing onto the floor. He put his hands on the floor, trying to push himself back up.

“It’s here! The cryptid is in the smoke! Stay vigilant!” He cried, as Queen got close to the man’s body. Eying up and down, she found gaps at the legs, armpits, but looking close enough, there was a slight slit right at the neck.

She plunged her fingers into the foe's neck, slicing it. Catching the scent of the others, she leapt into the air, landing on top of the next one, dexterously slicing his neck as well.

Then the next one, his body also crashing onto the floor.

She heard a cattle prod crackle with electricity. Her hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and she bared her teeth, hissing. She sidestepped the device being thrust towards her, and she jumped on top of her assailant’s shield. With a precise strike to his neck, he gagged, falling onto his back.

By the time all the smoke cleared, Queen was standing in the center of the crumpled bodies of all four stalkers. Davis took a deep breath and sighing as he slowly walked towards the bodies.

“Are you okay? They are dead.”

“Yeah it’s like… I can explain later.” He took a deep breath, and phased into nothingness. He passed through the wall of the containment chamber, and phased back in.

The chamber was totally dark, only the sound of running water audible. He looked around for his friend, finding a giant mass of plants on the floor, wrapped in some cocoon. His heart raced.

“Louise? Louise, is that you?”

Some of the plants on the floor were wrapping around his boots. He kicked them off. He took out his knife, and began to cut away at some of the vines near a head shaped bump on the cocoon.

They quickly regrew, and he felt the vines at his boots tugging harder.

Tracing the roots back to the small stream in the cave, Davis grabbed the stem of the weeds.

The cocoon Louise was trapped in began to shrivel, but moments later, hundreds of more weeds sprouted from the stream. Davis’s eyes widened, as he tore away as much of the dead weeds as he could. Finding Louise’s hand, he grabbed it, and phased out with her.

From the darkness, he saw the weeds continued to sprout until they coated every square inch of the cavern in their hand-like leaves. Holding his breath, he tugged Louise through the walls of the chamber, and back out into the hallway. He steeled himself, tugging her further away from the corpses of the stalkers, and phasing back in.

He fell over, and began coughing and retching. Amidst coughs, he began tearing away more of Louise’s dead vine cocoon.

Queen noticed and hurried over, assisting her friend. A minute of ripping away layer after layer of plant, Louise was completely freed, her eyes still closed.

Davis panicked, putting his ear to her chest.

He still heard a faint, but steady enough heartbeat. He began shaking her.

“Louise, come on! Wake up! I’m finally here, come on!”

He got on his knees next to her, and started performing chest compressions. After a few, Louise jolted awake, yelling.

“Yeow ow ow ow!” She gasped, taking in deep gulps of air. She turned to her friend. “Davis, what are you-”

Her eyes widened. “DAVIS?”

Davis looked like he was on the verge of tears, with a big smile on his face.

“Hehe… Wh-Who else was supposed to help you out if things went wrong?”

Queen crouched next to Davis, staring at Louise with a smile as well.

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Louise’s face grew teary, and she grabbed both of her friends into a group hug.

“What took you idiots so long?” She cried, tears running down her face. “I thought when I was gonna get out of that cell, I’d see that STUPID Collector’s face again…”

They all embraced each other for a few moments, before Louise broke it off.

“I have so much I want to say.” She sighed, regaining her composure. “But we still have a mission! We’re all together, so let’s go kick the Collector’s butt!”

“Well… We’re here to free you. I don’t think we can do anything about the Collector…” Davis looked away.

“What? But this is like the perfect time! I’m betting he didn’t expect me to be out this soon, you got the power to his base knocked out which is perfect. Plus, check out what I got!”

She conjured her shield, showing it off.

“No gun can stop me now, just give me a single opening and I can beat his face in!”

“I thought you said you wanted to kick his butt?” Queen questioned.

“Not now Queen. But well, I got from a good source that we just, can’t. Even if we do kill him, we could die as well.”

Louise looked annoyed. “Who told you that? I’ve seen him a bunch, and he’s very mortal, not to mention punchable.”

“Long story, but it was Kirino.”

Her jaw dropped. “You WHAT?”

Her mind flashed to the future the Oracle showed her.

“Louise, just trust me! She’s the one who gave us some secret backdoor to get in here. As for the Collector, she doesn’t know why, but my guess is maybe he has a dead man’s switch that’ll blow up this facility if he dies. Or maybe he’s not even human! That’s all I know for sure, and when I broke in here, I intended to get us all out alive.”

She was still thinking about the future she was shown.

“You’re… Not gonna quit after this is done, right?”

Davis was flabbergasted. “Excuse me? Louise, I want us to live, but I don’t want to give up! Yeah this is really scary but…” He put his hands on his head. “What’s scarier is losing my friends to all this. Something both P.A.I.N. and The Collector both want.”

Louise sighed, but couldn’t push the future she was shown out of her mind.

“Fine. But you better explain this all in detail. You better not be betraying me for Kirino!”

“If I was, I wouldn’t bother to get through all this to save you.” Davis smacked her on the back. “Now be a bit more grateful, and let’s go!”

A crackling noise came from Davis’s jacket.

“Yo, Davis?” Rex spoke.

“Who’s that?” Louise questioned.

“A… New friend I hope.” He responded. “What’s up? We just got Louise, we’re gonna be making our way back to the rear exit.”

“So small hiccup. I may have been baited to the cell block.” An explosion and gunshots cut off his conversation. “They have me a little bit trapped, so could you hop on down here and help out a tiny bit? I’ll hold out fine for-”

Another explosion, then static.

Louise smiled. “So, we’re gonna have a little bit of a fight before we leave, huh? I wanna pay a visit to one place.”

“We’re all getting out of here alive. All of us.”

The cell block was a terrifying sight. The mangled bodies of many Chaff created a path, dismembered corpses of Frontiersmen, and several of Rex’s dismembered limbs lead up to the backs of two Stalkers. They stood side by side. Their shields and armor were covered in lashes, but they stood firm. Their shields linked side by side all the way to the wall, forming an impenetrable wall.

Two other Stalkers formed a similar shieldwall, creating a box

Rex was lying in the center, missing his arms and legs, with a wicked smile on his face.

“This isn’t enough to kill me!” He yelled. “In a few moments, I’ll yank your limbs right out of their sockets!”

He focused, trying to re-grow his missing limbs, but they were working slowly. He needed more energy, a coffee would get him back on his feet.

“If you value your life, I would stop resisting. It’d be a shame, considering how uncommon your kind is.”

He glanced towards the voice. Two of the Stalkers had parted way, letting the Collector stand over him.

“Ah you’re the boss! Just who I wanted to see! I got a deal: Stop sending goons to harass me and let me leave my life, and I’ll let the rest of you live!”

“Your bargaining posture is quite… Dubious from this angle. But your life will only be left alone if you live here with me. Else, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

“If I wanted that, I woulda surrendered myself to your goons years ago.”

The Collector raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid I have no clue what you even are. But, I’ll figure it out eventually.”

Rex’s eyes widened. “You what?”

The Collector chuckled. “P.A.I.N. agents trying to capture you on their sacred ground? My, you must be very valuable.”

He loaded a shell into his elephant gun.

“Last question, what would happen if I fired this shell right at your head? Would it kill you?”

He grinned. “It would be extremely painful.”

“As expected.”

Suddenly, Davis appeared next to Rex, glaring the Collector right in the eyes. Without a word, he grabbed Rex, and phased back into nothingness.

Without missing a beat, the Collector grabbed his radio. “Any Frontiersmen guarding low-risk specimens, make your way to the nearest stairways. Cut them off before they make it back to the Dark Wing. I’ll be on my way over as fast as possible.”

Davis felt his heart beating out of his chest, carrying Rex through the shadows. Missing limbs aside, he was bizarrely light, feeling barely heavier than his backpack loaded for school.

“Timing couldn’t have been better Davis!” Rex shouted. “Though I think I need a fifteen.”

Back near the stairway, Davis phased back in, dropping the body of Rex and keeling over.

Louise and Queen ran over.

“Davis, you did awesome!” She started patting him on the back, as he felt pins and needles rush through his legs. He fell over to the floor.

“Louise…” He mumbled. “We need to hurry. Think you can-”

She didn’t hesitate to scoop up his friends. “Anytime partner! Though, you’re going to have to tell me why you invited… Well I mean I’m sure Rex here is competent or something but he looks…”

“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much!” He barked. “Just give me a minute, my legs will be back in no time.”

Queen imitated Louise, picking up the torso of Rex.

“That works too, I guess.”

Davis woozily grabbed the PDA out of his pocket, bringing up the map.

“So… We just need to head back down to this wing…”

“You’ll be my navigator, let’s hurry!”

Louise ran to the stairway, leaping over the railing and landing on her feet, jumping down several flights of stairs. Queen followed, but froze after a few leaps, grabbing Louise by the back of her shirt.

“There’s more men coming upstairs. I can smell them.”

Louise conjured her shield in one hand. “Then we’ll beat our way through them!”

“Louise…” Davis moaned. “I really REALLY don’t want to get shot at when I can’t phase out. But that’s our only exit…”

“Well we’ll…” Her mind flashed back to all of her escape attempts. Every time, he was ALWAYS there, standing in the way between freedom.

“Wait no, that secret exit… He’s always going to be a step ahead of us. Unless we do something not even he could anticipate…”

She looked up.

“I got an idea, we’ll go out the front door! Queen, follow me!”

Louise started sprinting up the stairs, with Queen tagging behind.

“Louise, are you INSANE?” Davis yelled.

“Just enough to outsmart the Collector!” She yelled in response. “I know there’s that entire military base between us, but think of it this way: He wants me alive. You can phase into nothingness, Queen can sneak out some air vent or something, and uh… You?”

“Rex! Nice to meet you Louise, these fed scum really don’t like treating commoners like us well, do they?”

“Can you sneak out just fine?”

“If there’s air ducts, then definitely!”

Louise grinned. “This nifty shield will help me charge on through. And I can count on you to help me in case I’m in a pinch, right Davis?”

Davis’s heart was racing. The plan was insane, but…

“Give me a quick breather, and yes! As long as the place isn’t torched with floodlights… No, I'll do whatever I can no matter what!”

Louise pumped her fist to herself. “See, that’s the spirit! We’re getting out of here!”

Racing all the way up to the top floor, the sound of numerous footsteps trodding up the stairs behind the. All that was left was a large, curved hallway, with a smaller elevator at the center. She ran over, and began mashing the up button.

“Louise, there’s no power to the place-” Davis spoke up, but the elevator chimed, the door opening.

“How?”

“I’m not gonna question it, let’s go!”

The four piled into the elevator, Louise mashing the close door button as much as possible. The footsteps approached, and the elevator closed, beginning its slow ascent.

Louise sighed, dropping Davis and slumping against the wall.

“Ow…” Davis said, his head bumping against the wall. Feeling had returned to his legs a while ago, but he knew there was no way he could have kept up with his friends.

“Hey, ok I think I got it.” Said Rex. He closed his eyes tight, grunting, feeling the machinery inside him whirr intensely. His body heated up, and he felt his limbs begin to regrow. Several strands sprouted from his stump-limbs, quickly reforming into fully-clothed arms and legs.

“Hoo, there we go!” He said, stretching out his new limbs.

“Your… Clothes regrow too?” Louise questioned. She looked at her jacket and pants, covered in dirt and scratches from her tussle with the Styx Weed. “I mean Liberty Aegis kinda does that but…”

“I don’t really question it. I mean, at least I don’t gotta spend money on clothes?” he responded. “And Liberty Aegis? That’s your shield?”

Louise’s eyes beamed. “Oh no, this shield is new! My gauntlets are called that, and they make me super durable and pretty strong! Man I wish I could show off what this shield can do, because like a giant cryptid tried to attack me, and it just bounced right off it and I didn’t feel a thing!” She paused. “Wait, Rex, what are you? Are you a skinwalker too? But weirder?”

He sighed. “Davis, you can explain it. I don’t really feel like explaining it again.”

“He’s very weird, and strong, and terrifying. His body is a giant rope and… Yeah. Weird.”

“Well, glad to have you on the team Rex!”

He waved his hands in front of him. “Woah woah woah, this is like, a one time deal. I think.” He tapped his chin. “It was pretty fun though… I’ll give it some thought. Maybe.”

The elevator dinged, opening to the ivory doors of the Collector’s office. Down the hall were the large steel doors. It was all silent, and Davis sat on the floor, against the wall.

“All right, one minute, and I’ll be ready to go.”

He breathed steadily as Louise walked forward, pushing on the steel door.

It was locked.

She gave it a powerful kick, and it didn’t budge an inch.

“Aw shoot… I don’t suppose you know how to lockpick, do you Rex?”

As she said that, the lights of the lodge hall turned red. A massive steel shutter fell in front of the steel door, and another, heftier steel door closed in front of the elevator shaft. Everyone shot up, glancing around.

Louise’s eyes widened and her heart started to race. She gritted her teeth.

“Oh no… He had this covered too? It’s just another trap?”

She gathered with the rest of her friends.

“Davis, you can at least phase me through the wall, right? Then we just run together, to the exit!”

He got back to his feet.

“All the way? I… How big is this military base? Louise…”

“Davis, you gotta, you’re my only way out!”

“Hold on, there could be other ways…”

He shoved open the doors to the office, looking around. Nothing but several decorative artifacts, and the stuffed sasquatch in the back.

“Like, he’s an eccentric rich guy, they have to have some secret exit, like a hidden passageway or SOMETHING?”

His heart began to race as he started pulling out random books.

It was working, my plan was working and it had to just come up short right at the end?

“I don’t want it to end here, I want us all out of here alive!”

“Davis, I know you can-”

He whirled around to Louise. “Louise, I am going to be real. I can’t. If I try to tug you all the way across a military base, knowing I can’t make it, that’s almost the same as murdering you. I need something more tangible, less risky, something I know that can work!”

He turned back, tearing through the bookshelves of the Collector’s office.

“Rex, you have those high heat cable things, just give them a swing at that bulkhead or something!”

Rex stared at the door. “Not even worth trying. I’d just be wasting energy, you see how thick these things are? No offense to you two, but if things are looking bleak, I’ll have to leave on my own.”

Queen ran over to Louise, hissing at Rex. “I thought you were a friend? Why do you want us to die?”

“Look here, I think you all are nice people. Like not every day I can bond with people about me being like… this. But the cards are on the table, and things are looking grim.”

Louise stood, stunned.

Her mind flashed back to her prophecy.

“Davis, you’re not going to leave me, are you?”

“I’m trying to find a way out of here, I swear!” He yelled back. “Even if it means praying for a miracle, I’ll do anything other than leave you behind?”

The future was the same. The Collector was always a step ahead, but now he was blocking the path for her, and her friends.

Queen broke her angry gaze from Rex and began sniffing the air.

“Something… There is something in the air.”

She followed the scents, until she reached the air vents. Taking a whiff, she felt slightly light headed, and bounced away.

“There is a smell… It makes me dizzy to smell it.”

Davis froze, turning to Queen.

“Would you all help me already, find any path for us? Now we’re on even more of a clock.”

“Well, when the gas knocks you all out, I’ll take that as my queue to leave.”

“You COULD be helping you know!”

He laughed. “Helping? Was killing several dozen feds not enough help for you? Stop being so ungrateful!”

Davis gritted his teeth, pulling open the drawers to the Collector’s desk. Nothing but paperwork, and a radio set.

Louise still stood, frozen.

Is my fate so absolute?

“Why should you be above the chaotic nature of fate?”

Her brain paused as the Oracle’s words echoed in her mind.

“No…” She said, “No, no, fate isn’t absolute! It’s chaos!”

Davis turned to her friend. “What?”

Taking her shield, she smashed the display case to the artifacts the Collector had on display. “Anything can happen in life, so do you know what that means? I’m going to find us a miracle to get us out of here, even if it kills me!”

“Louise!” Davis screamed, as Louise reached for the nearest artifact, a strange cube made of ash.

As she tried to grasp it, a flash of energy burst between her, repelling her grip. She stared at her gauntlets.

“Are they… Davis, try and see what this cube does. We’re surrounded by magic, we just gotta figure out how to use it!”

Davis ran over, staring at the cube and carefully reaching towards it.

Touching it, it certainly felt like ash, but nothing happened.

“I think this one’s a dud?”

She reached for the twisted cane, the same burst of energy. She grunted.

“Come on, let me just work with this stuff you stupid gauntlets!”

Davis ran over, inspecting the cane as well. He felt nothing when he touched it.

Artifact after artifact was repelled from Louise’s grip, her cursing. She felt her vision getting blurry, now starting to smell the strange gas being pumped in.

Eying the last artifact she hadn’t touched, was the strange, gel-like crucifix. She reached for it.

Then, darkness.

She was standing in a void, nothing around her. All of her friends were gone, no more gas, no more lodge, nothing but her and the crucifix she was grasping.

“You…” A voice spoke, from every direction. It sounded like a very aged, old man. “Who are you?”

“Louise Palrick.” She barked. “And where am I?”

“There’s such a strong cause in your heart young girl.” Spoke a much younger sounding male voice. “What is it?”

“My cause? To save my town! ”

“She does not speak the truth.” Spoke a raspy voice.

“Perhaps she does not understand herself?” Said the younger male voice. “She is only human.”

“You know, I’m not sure who you are, but what gives you the right to judge me? You’re in my head, you can see what I’ve done!”

“Her actions speak louder than her words.” Spoke a more gallant voice. “We know where her allegiances lie. Her cause matters not.”

“She needs tempering.” Spoke the aged old voice. “But can she handle it?”

“Do not let her looks dissuade you.” Spoke a mature, lady-like voice. “Her potential is as great as any.”

“Enough.” Spoke the gallant voice. “Louise Palrick. You are very aware of the darkness that threatens to swallow your town, and you stand in defiance of it.”

“Thank you for noticing!” She yapped.

“Yet, what you have seen is but a taste of the unholy things that perverse God’s world. What threatens your town is but a shadow of the abominations that torment the world.”

“So? Keep them coming!"

"Should you claim Witchbane, you will be an instrument of God to restore order to His world. It is forged from the steadfast wills of many before you to cut through the shadows and the abominations themselves. You must hold absolute in your cause, lest Witchbane will be only useful as a means to pray. Do you accept it?”

“Are there more terms to this? This isn’t a trick, right, like a genie?”

“The child is doubtful! She is not worthy!” Cried the raspy voice.

“Such skepticism is good.” The feminine voice spoke. “The devil would not hesitate to use God’s word to trick a poor soul.”

“All we ask of you, Louise Palrick: Fight until the darkness is eliminated. Drive them from God’s world, and do not hesitate. Only then, we can all rest in peace.”

Louise smiled. “I accept!”

The world came back to her. Louise was holding the crucifix tight, and the gel-like exterior began to melt away.

“Hey Davis!” She yelled. The gel melted away, revealing a brilliant, gray and silver crucifix.

“What is it? Found something?”

She held the crucifix in the air. From the tip of it, a gleaming silver blade sprouted forth. The sides of the cross expanded into a crossguard.

[https://fishstoriesblog.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/commfishlouisewitchbanepants.png]

“A miracle!”

Swinging it to the side, she ran to the stuffed sasquatch, swinging it several times. The blade cleaved through the cryptid several times as if it weren’t even there. Like a swordsman cutting through bamboo, the taxidermy fell into pieces across the floor, spilling out its fluff.

“Should be careful leaving such rare treasures out in the open!” She gloated. She turned to her friends.

“I got a new plan. We’re going out the front door, guns blazing. We keep pushing on through, let nothing, and I mean NOTHING stop us!”

Davis’s heart steadied, seeing his friend restored to high spirits. “Hold on hold on… If you’re going to do so, let me set the stage for you. Just so you can make as clean of an escape as possible. Hold tight, I’ll call you on the radio when I’m ready!”

Davis sucked in his breath, and phased out. It was tougher than usual because of the light, but he felt a new intense energy burning in his chest.

Outside, as he anticipated, spotlights were trained on the steel bulkhead. Numerous men with taser rifles were all around the lobby of the lodge. The entire base was very well lit, every man and watchtower on high alert. He sighed, happy for the miracle as he took in the full size of the military base; Even with this new energy, he didn’t think he could make it carrying Louise alongside.

He walked behind all of the men watching the doors, pulling out a smoke bomb. Pulling the pin, he tossed it, the bomb phasing back in in front of the troops.

He phased back in for a moment, pulling out the walkie.

“Get ready to break down that door in 3…”

Inside, Louise grabbed Witchbane with both hands. The crucifix grew taller and taller, the silver blade turning into a sturdy shaft. The front of the weapon turned into a large glaive.

“2…” She sliced a large cross through the bulkhead. All the men tensed up, so focused on the door they didn’t notice the smoke bomb roll in front of them.

“1…”

“Behind me!” Louise yelled, as she shrank Witchbane back into a sword, and she drew her shield, charging forward.

“NOW!”

The smoke bomb exploded, all of the soldiers flinching. Louise, Rex, and Queen charged forward, punching a hole through the bulkhead and steel door. They continued charging forward together, ramming through men dazed in the smoke. Rex unwound his hands into more razor-sharp and hot cables, holding them out like a fan as he ran, slicing through any men who were to the side.

“YEAH, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” He screamed in joy.

Alarms across the base were blaring, as the men began charging after the team. Some men tried to cut her off from the front, but with a few swings of her blade, she easily cut through them, continuing her charge towards the exit. A literal army was on their tail, but out of nowhere dropped a few more smoke bombs, exploding into thick, pitch black clouds. The few soldiers that tried to cut them off with cattle prods, Louise either rammed or cut through with her new blade.

A full minute of their wind sprint, her legs were screaming but she knew she just had to keep running.

“You’re not gonna take me alive, suckers!”

An APC drove from behind and swerved in front of the group, trying to cut them off.

“I told ya!” She screamed, her shield vanishing and grabbing Witchbane with two hands. It stretched out into a large, twin-headed axe. “You’re not gonna take me alive!”

Keeping her momentum, she used the weapon to cleave a gaping hole in the armor of the vehicle, jumping through, a dozen soldiers watched in shock as the girl made a mockery of their modern armor, cleaving another hole through and leaping through, Rex and Queen following close behind.

“DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?” She cried out.

“HELL YEAH I SAW THAT!” Rex responded.

“So did I. Why are you pointing it out?” Questioned Queen.

She was so close to the gate, and she intended to cleave it open as well. But the strangest thing just dawned on her.

She skidded to a halt, the other two as well.

“Hey what’s the hold up?”

The front gate was wide open.

“No, no they can’t just… Is this some kinda trick again?”

They heard another car off in the distance driving towards them

All of the sudden, a hummer sped towards the gate, screeching to a halt. Louise grabbed her axe again, but paused when she saw who was in the driver’s seat.

It was Davis, waving.

“I thought of taking a little bit of initiative! Since like, we’re not gonna get too far on foot!” He yelled. “Now pile on in!”

The group hurried, and Davis floored the truck, speeding past the front gate and into the night. The dirt road it traveled on was uneven and bumpy as hell, Davis struggling to keep control of the car.

“I didn’t know you could drive!” Louise exclaimed.

“Y-yeah about that, I…” Davis turned the wheel, trying to stay on the dirt path. “Only have a learners permit! Nothing crazy!”

Queen was holding onto the seat for dear life, as Rex laughed. “Do you even know where you’re going man?”

“Anywhere but here, We got our phones, we can find our way home once we’re clear!”

----------------------------------------

The Collector stared at his rummaged office, snarling at the sight around him.

“Sheer, incompetent buffoons! The lot of you!” He muttered to himself, as he stared at the many artifacts that were tossed on the floors. “An entire military base and you couldn’t capture a single girl?” He took a deep breath, focusing himself.

He sat at his desk chair, tapping his fingers on his desk.

He recalled the future the Oracle gave him. He saw himself in this very office, in that very chair, dead of old age. His surroundings were a blur, and memories foggy: Had he achieved his goals when age would take him? So long as he didn’t die to a cryptid, he would stand on top of the food chain.

“This isn’t my future.” He said to himself. “Not yet, at least. Now…”

He pulled out his PDA, going to the most recent security footage. He observed Louise grabbing each artifact in a panic, each one being repelled by her gauntlets. Then, when she touched the crucifix…

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s possible?”

A smile crept across his face. “Then there’s more that I need to understand… To conquer…”

He transferred the footage to a secure server, and deleted it on the local device. He took a deep breath, pulling out his radio.

“Wood?”

“Yes sir.”

“I’m going to alter my deal with P.A.I.N. I’m going to relinquish full control of my facility to them, let them take care of the cleanup from this… blunder. While I’m gone, you’re to make sure they do not interfere too terribly with my prizes.”

“Ross? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m making the most of this situation dear friend. Perhaps I have gotten a bit rusty from being stuck in this cursed town for so long.”

A devious smile crept across his face. He stared at the remnants of the torn sasquatch, watching as its hide was re-attaching itself.

“Having P.A.I.N. poke at my prizes is a small price to pay, if I can make a miracle of my own happen.”

----------------------------------------

Miles away from the Collector’s facility, the party abandoned the hummer, and continued the rest of the way home on foot. It was the dead of night, everyone sound asleep at home. The silence of night was broken every other moment, by a late night commuter returning home every few minutes. After reaching the outskirts of Tomahawk Hills, Rex waved goodbye to his new companions.

“I’m going to hibernate for the next few days, see if the feds show up again after this. But if you ever want to go knock some heads again, text me!” He shouted, as he parted from the group, running towards his home. “Oh and, text me if you play any sort of games online! I’d be happy to squad up!”

The trio continued, finally reaching Louise’s quiet neighborhood. Louise’s new shield had been dissipated, and Witchbane had returned to its crucifix shape. Davis checked his phone, looking at the time.

His stomach churned. It was 2 A.M.

“Oh god…”

Louise’s face turned sullen. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

“Louise… How angry do your parents get? You’ve been gone for a while…”

Her eyes widened, and she sucked in her cheeks.

“I uh… Did they want to see me or something?”

“They wanted you home by dinner.”

She froze. “I don’t think I’ve ever really done something this bad to them before…”

Davis inhaled. “Well, let’s face the music then. Together.”

.

.

“LOUISE! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WHERE WERE YOU?” Bellowed Mrs. Palrick, waking up the neighbors.

The trio sat on the couch, all shrinking back into it.

“We kinda went on an adventure… and it really got out of-”

“Louise, I was worried! Like, so worried that something happened to you! You could have at least texted or given us a call or something!”

Mr. Palrick glared at Davis. “You seemed like a good kid. Don’t tell me you’re dragging her anywhere dangerous.”

“N-no no! I’d never!” Davis babbled in response.

“But see mom, I’m all fine! That’s good, right?”

Mrs. Palrick crossed her arms, puffing her chest out. “Look, rules were set, and you disregarded them! You’re grounded for a week!”

Louise shot out of her seat. “WHAT?”

“But Louise cannot fly. Can she?” Queen questioned.

“Really, not now Queen…” Davis muttered.

“You can’t just do that to me!”

“I am your mother, so yes I can! Your father is going to make sure to get work done from home this week, and if he doesn’t see you home RIGHT after school, you’re gonna get another week of punishment!”

“Honey, I can’t just jump work with that…”

She turned to her husband, fire in her eyes. “Tell them it’s a family emergency.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Fair enough.”

“Can I at least visit?” Davis spoke up. “I-”

“It defeats the purpose of the punishment if you’re just going to spend time with her still!” She yelled back.

“N-no it’s… Studying… We still have a big test that was pushed to Monday that we have to study for and… We kinda had a nice study group going…”

Mrs. Palrick was still fuming, but Mr. Palrick sighed in relief. “You know, that’s not too bad honey.” He squinted at her daughter. “Her grades could be much better, and he has been guiding her on the right track.”

Louise’s eyes started to gleam as she turned to Davis. She mouthed “Thank you” to him.

Mrs. Palrick took a deep breath. “Well, so long as you are studying, I SUPPOSE I can allow it…”

Louise bolted forward, hugging her mother. “Oh thank you mom! I promise, we’re gonna ace that test… And…”

Mrs. Palrick looked down, still angry.

“I’m… Genuinely sorry mom. Things are just getting really out of hand, and I’ve been having more fun than ever before with Davis. I don’t think you’d believe me at all if I told you how great it was.”

Her mother sighed, embracing her child.

“I’m happy you’ve found a wonderful new friend, but I’m still worried about you. That urban exploration stuff is dangerous, and I don’t want you to just vanish one day because something went wrong.”

She stared at Louise in the eyes. “I just want what’s best for you. Even if you don’t like it. So you’re still grounded.”

Louise turned to Davis. “I think I can survive a week without an adventure just fine.” She winked at her friend.

He winked back, and so did Queen.

“We’re just gonna let the days flow on by. And I promise mom, I’ll start being more honest.”