Clash of the Guardians II
#2 of Clash of the Guardians
Chapter II of Clash of the Guardians. Please rate and comment, hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing!
Rai stared into the buster cannon for a moment before rolling to the side through the inky water as the mysterious figure unleashed a charged shot of energy, grazing his left arm as his body was mostly submerged beneath the surface. Grimacing slightly, he emitted a growl that seemingly shook the cavern as he activated one of his double sabers and bathed the immediate area around him in a foreboding, red glow. The figure's buster seemed to be quite powerful, releasing a pure form of energy as a rapid succession of bullets that could be charged up to wield even more damage in single shot. Many combat Reploids and Hunters were fitted with these types of weaponry.
"I've been told not to underestimate you, Rai," the figure said as he took a menacing step towards the panther, steadying his arm as he charged up his buster. "Your biometal is quite sought after, I'm sure you're aware. I'd ask you to hand it over, but it never seems to work that way in these situations, does it?" He grinned and let off the charge at Rai.
Lifting his arm and swinging his saber at the incoming shot, Rai sliced at the energy as it was absorbed into the saber. Furious at his idiocy for falling into a trap, he swung his saber towards the shadows where the figure had last stood and released an arc of energy, apparently missing the target and smashing into a wall, shaking the very foundations of the cavern and sending eroded rocks crashing down from the ceiling. Rai tried to lock onto the signature the assailant gave off but failed and blindly chased after him, charging through the water and releasing wave after wave of energy into the darkness.
Rai stopped suddenly to gather his senses and to attempt to track his attacker. He tilted his head upwards and noticed he was in a different section of the caverns, a particularly spacious one at that. The room was filled with many stalactites of various shapes and sizes, formed over the countless years of subdued silence that was so swiftly broken by his unwelcome presence. Visually he could see nothing, but the scanner said otherwise.
"Aw, the kitty can't see me?" The figure stifled a laugh, releasing a rapid series of buster shots at Rai. Rai rolled out of the way in the nick of time, the blasts of energy generating large waves that pummeled the panther, soaking him thoroughly. The water dripping down the edge of his saber evaporated quickly into the stagnant air as he crunched the scanner numbers in his head.
Where is he...rather, who is he and why would anyone know where I am, aside from my biometal signature? I'm too far away from any city or settlement for anyone to notice it, and I'm reasonably sure I wasn't followed. Was...was I set up?
Rai didn't have much time to think as the assailant continued his buster barrage. He activated his other saber, the dark glow intensifying around his golden armored body. He dashed upwards into the air, his mechanical wings expanding and streaming out a steady flow of energy, creating a fantastic light show as he twisted and turned around the rock formations, slashing at the air and sending forth his very will through his sabers. He dropped down to the ground after a minute and knelt on one knee, listening for any signs of movement. His whiskers twitched while his cybernetically enhanced ears tried to discern between the noises of falling rocks, shocks, and ebbing water.
"There!" Rai whirled around and released the energy from his right saber, slamming into the assailant at close range and causing him to stagger back, the smell of synthetic blood quickly filling the cavern. Whoever it was, Rai was instantly certain that he was a full-fledged Reploid. Rai stood up and glared intensely at the smirking figure, pointing one of his sabers at him. "Who the hell are you, and what do you want with me?!"
"My name? Why should you care?" The figure continued to smirk, his emerald green biomechanical eye trained on Rai's body.
"It's only fair since you're aware of my identity, don't you think?" Rai growled loudly, trying to impose himself. "I could care less about your name, actually. What's the meaning of this, Reploid?"
The figure snarled back at Rai, angered by his emphasis on 'Reploid.' "I'm no mere Reploid. I am Draze, one with the shadows. I desire your biometal fragment, and that's all you need to know." Draze's smirk quickly returned onto his face. Aside from the green crystal that adorned his helm and his equally green eyes, Rai couldn't decipher much about the Reploid. There was nothing unique about him, and that was obviously to his advantage. "Now die."
Before Rai could react, a charged shot blindsided the panther and sent him tumbling away. He doubled over and roared in pain, dropping one of his sabers and grabbing at his side, a wildly confused expression showing on his face.
"What the hell!!" Rai cried out. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Draze hadn't moved an inch since he knocked him down. Shit...does he have a partner? He looked around frantically. His scanner said nothing of the sort of a different energy signature, but he had little faith in it right now. It was already a large contributing factor to him being in pain.
"Confused, are we? I gave you fair warning. I am no mere Reploid!" Draze cackled slightly, savoring the forthcoming demise of the panther. "Let me show you a little secret, kitty, and the reason why you shall not escape this sector alive!" Draze stood up and tensed his mechanical muscles, an unreadable expression on his face as he closed his eyes. Rai panted heavily as he staggered and regained his fighting stance, picking up the sabre he dropped and flicking it to the side to rid it of water. A moment later, Draze's eyes popped open and his figure multiplied.
Incredible...he really isn't a mere Reploid. "So that's your little trick? I'll admit I'm impressed." Rai refrained from saying more, trying to cover his fear with a facade of condescending talk of which he was never proficient at. He knew Draze could feel his growing fear, but Rai still had plenty of tricks hidden within him. He grunted and lowered his head, then swiftly dashed at the Reploid, raising a saber in the air and swinging it down, another arc of energy rushing forth ahead of him. Draze and his copy jumped to either side and scattered away, the echoes of laughter assaulting his ears from every direction. Rai jumped as he was about to collide with the wall and twisted his body around, planting his feet firmly against it as he made contact and springing up and away aided by his armor. He hovered in the air for a few moments, wondering from which direction the next wave of bullets would come from.
So far there were at least two copies, and probably more in hiding. He checked his scanner, reading the various energy signals around the area. There were more signatures in the area now, though they were all seemingly identical at first glance. One reading seemed ever so slightly off, and just as he was about to lock onto it, a barrage of energy bullets flew into him from multiple directions, damaging his wings and sending him crashing down towards the water. Rai quickly regained his hold and veered upwards, taking a cursory glance at his scanner again. To his surprise, a massive amount of energy was detected not too far away, but Rai had no time for thought of anything outside the current cavern he was fighting in. He turned his body around and planted his feet on the wall of the cavern again, jetting towards one of the copies and slashing clear through it, his saber cutting it clean and the image dissolving rapidly. Rai heard another laugh echo throughout the cavern.
Draze appeared below Rai out of nowhere and jumped up deftly, pulled back his left arm and in one swift movement plowed forth and swiped at the panther's lower back. Rai growled in pain and turned around to slash blindly at the space where Draze had floated a moment before, only to be met with no resistance. Trickles of his blood stained his golden armor at a leisurely pace as the slash that marred his back burned in searing pain. His scanner had locked on to the real Draze, but he had no time to aim for him as he dodged the swipes of the Reploid's copies. Rai dashed down to a corner, droplets of blood flying off his armor onto the rocks and into the water and turned around. As he suspected, the copies couldn't come from behind and he fended off their frontal assault. After destroying two more of the images and watching them dissipate cleanly into the air, mixed with the scents of real and synthetic blood, Rai managed a visual lock on the real Reploid and prepared to make his move.
"I'm done idling around here, kitty. You're finished." Draze closed his eyes momentarily, and a few seconds later they burst forth with a greater intensity than before. Four copies of Draze appeared and they all dashed between each other, confusing the order up for Rai visually but not fooling his scanner. Each of them rasied their right arm in unison, a bright pink glow growing larger by the second and illuminating the entire cavern. It was now or never.
"Oh really?" Rai drew a deep breath and trained his eyes on Draze, drawing his sabers towards his chest and illuminating his golden armor in a vivid red blush, then rapidly flinging them out as he dashed out from the corner and released the energy from both swords into a single sweeping entity. It raged towards the original copy of Draze and narrowly missed as the wide-eyed Reploid stared thunderstruck at Rai, confounded as how he was able to tell which was the real version.
"You missed! But how did yo--" Draze was cut off instantly as a massive stalactite broke and crashed from the ceiling straight into the emerald crystal atop his head, rendering him instantly unconscious, and probably, Rai thought, dead. His body twitched and sparked wildly, and the panther dropped down to his knees, exhausted, blood slowly streaming out from his back. The copies instantly disappeared into the thin air, and after a few minutes of ethereal silence, he cautiously approached the motionless Reploid, treading lightly through the freezing water.
The panther knelt down and amateurishly attempted to hack into Draze's system to obtain any pertinent data as to why he might be following him or who he worked for, but he was frantically alerted that the Reploid was in the process of self-destructing. Wide-eyed and not wasting a moment more, Rai turned tail and put his full energy into dashing away, a massive explosion imminent. He only managed a few seconds before the darkness was filled with a searing light as he passed out from the force.
He awoke some time later to a disturbing noise that shook him violently, his entire body pounding in pain and his armor severely damaged. Rai was fortunate to still be alive, but he came to slowly realize what had just occurred not too long ago. A glaring light shined into his nearly lifeless eyes.
"We have the biometal secured, sir. It's in possession of a severely wounded Reploid."
"Where's the other one?" an older voice barked.
"Over here. He appears to still be breathing."
"Excellent. Bring them both."