True Mettle
True Mettle â€" By Electric_Rage and Alo Foxx
Tags include: Plot Development, and Story Series.
The story belongs to Electric_Rage as well as all characters, except Alo, who belongs to himself.
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James was sent flying back against the small refrigerator. He let out a loud yell as a bead of crimson ran down his face. He quickly switched back to his human form and scrambled to his feet. The plane gave another great jolt, except this time there was a sound of crunching metal. Alo had an iron grip on the overhead compartment. His vision was blurred by the gradual smoke filling the cabin.
"Alo! ALOOOO!!!" James yelled.
"Everyone hold on! We were just hit. Major get your ass out here!" Alo said as he held on to a panel.
James crawled over to the girls. They were hanging on to the arms of the furniture. Aeris had panic in her eyes. James felt hopelessness growing inside his stomach. What could he do? He wasn't able to stop an aerial attack! He peered out the window to see a large sidewinder missile heading directly toward the central fuselage of their airplane.
Alo moved towards the front of the plane and yelled, "INCOMING!! Do a barrel roll, NOW!!" The pilot jerked the stick causing the plane to rotate while losing some altitude making the missile miss by a bare inch.
The plane rumbled in the wake of the supersonic missile. James pushed all three girls towards the front cabin then turned back to face the rear barracks entrance.
Major Nemeyer slammed the door open yelling, "James are you safe?!"
James stood there for a second in thought. We were just hit, in the air, and I'm worried about? That doesn't make sense.
James reached out a hand to the Major, but right as their hands touched, the airplane's floor erupted in a cataclysm of searing hot metal shards and fire.
A loud ringing filled James's ears as he felt a fierce wind on his face. He whipped his head back to see the plane's nose end rushing away from him. He heard Aeris' faint, hysterical cries. The tail end fell past him towards the ocean as he was bombarded with bits and pieces of the demolished aircraft.
Alo had to hold Aeris back with all of his human strength to keep her from jumping out after James.
Aeris scrambled towards the open end of the nose screaming, "JAMES! NOOOO!!! JAAAAAAAMES!"
The nose was headed directly towards a large island. The tail section would fall into the ocean near the island. Alo flung himself on top of the girls during the last moments before impact. Right as the nose collided with the trees, Alo closed his eyes and braced for impact. "James... don't die..." Alo whispered.
He had managed to maneuver himself to face the ground. James saw the nose section of the plane slam into the yellow dirt of the island. A dust cloud quickly enveloped it. James flipped over on his back again and screamed a demonic scream, "AERIIIISS!!!" He heard the tail section of the airplane collide with the ocean water. To him, he was the only surviving passenger from the attack. He saw the island steadily grow larger and larger.
On impulse, James allowed his full aura to release itself. The red, electrical field enveloped him in a rush of red light. It left a trail behind him like a blood red comet. The last thing James remembered was one single sentence. I will save you... Aeris. He felt the very core of his body jolt, and then everything went silent and black.
Alo awoke in a daze. His blurred vision was even more obscured by the lingering dust of the crash. He saw the limp bodies of the girls lying inside the cabin. He pushed himself up from his stomach and called out to the girls, "Aeris... *cough* Shira... girls... are you ok?"
Shira groaned and coughed. "Alo? Is that you?" she asked weakly. She placed a bloody hand on her head. Saia pushed herself up from her side. She sat staring at Aeris waiting for her to get up. Aeris did not move.
"Where's James?" Saia asked with terrified tears in her eyes.
Alo replied, "He is with the tail in the ocean... along with the Major and my team..."
Saia looked down and said, "I saw him get sucked out when that last missile hit us..." She began to sob into her hands. Shira placed a quivering hand on Saia's back.
"What should we do?" Shira asked nervously.
Alo glanced around the wreckage and said, "Well first we should get what we can and then make our way out of these trees down to the ground." Alo turned and then peered out over the gaping hole where the plane split and estimated their altitude. The wreckage was making ominous creaking noises.
"What are we going to do about Aeris... She looks hurt." Shira asked worriedly.
Alo looked at Aeris and replied, "We need to clean her up. There should be a first aid kit in the cockpit."
Shira nodded and crawled slowly towards the cockpit. She saw the dead pilot's body impaled on the steering mechanism. She shuddered at the sight of the blood running down the broken shaft. What if that happened to James? She thought. Shira imagined James suspended in the jungle with a large metal shard in his chest. The image was unbearable. She began to shudder in disgust.
Alo called from the other end of the nose section, "Did you find it yet?"
Shira broke her stare on the pilot and began to search for the kit. "I'm still looking!" Shira called back to him. The large nose section began to slip out of the tall jungle trees, causing the floor to rumble under the inhabitants. Shira scrambled toward a cabinet behind the pilot's seat. She slid open the white panel revealing an emergency red box. It was clearly a first aid kit.
Shira grasped the handle and yelled, "I found it!"
Just as she was making her way back to Alo and the others, the nose section slipped out of the trees and fell hundreds of meters to the forest floor.
The sun glared hotly into James's sensitive eyes. There was a thick black ring around his vision. He couldn't make out what it was. Am I in Heaven? He wondered. He picked up the faint sounds of seagulls and ocean waves. James raised a hand to his forehead. The smell of his own blood filled his nostrils as he brought his hand down to view it. How far did I fall? He pondered.
Broken glass and large chunks of plastic littered the forest floor. Alo had a death grip on Aeris. His forehead had a large slice in it. A small red bead ran down his nose. Aeris made a faint whimpering noise. Alo stared at her, begging her to make another sound. "Aeris, wake up! Do it for James. He needs you." She whimpered loudly at James's name. A shot of hope ran through Alo's chest.
"Alo! Are you alright?" A voice yelled. Shira crawled from what seemed to be a fatal wreckage. She was cut up, but not seriously injured.
Saia tugged on Alo's shirt. He helped her up and replied to Shira, "I'm fine, did you find the kit?"
She held out the bright red kit. "Yeah... I also found this." She said slightly nervous. She tentatively had a hold of a small Glock. Alo looked at himself as he realized he was not wearing his strap witch held his gun and supplies. He took the kit and found a flat place to set Aeris down as he dressed her wounds.
"Did anyone of you see James?" Aeris asked wincing as Alo applied alcohol to her larger cuts.
Alo replied, "He is with the other half of the plane, sit still... I'm sure he's fine." He performed the finishing touches and began packing the bandages back into the metal case. He rose up and glanced around the obliterated nose section. After a few moments his face lit up as he saw a familiar shine. Alo walked towards it and dug out his knife, a Balisong which is the upgraded model of what was given to James. He originally received it as a wrist blade, but he liked the freedom of a butterfly. He dusted it off and twirled it expertly around his fingers.
Shira had Aeris on her shoulder. Aeris was weak, but able to walk. Saia had a small bag in her hand. "What's that?" Alo said as he helped steady Aeris.
Saia replied, "Its full of all of the food from the cart. There's no telling how long we're going to be stuck out here."
"We should get what we can use and get away from this wreck... I have a bad feeling about this place..." Alo said as he looked up at the sky and then into what seemed to be a deep tropical forest. As the girls were salvaging parts and anything useful, he thought to himself, If I am thinking right... sector 13's island is northwest of the Hrakert Atoll. Then this means... We are on Hunter Island. Oh Shit...
Shira placed a hand on Alo's arm. "We have just about everything we can carry." She said holding an armful of pillows and blankets.
Alo replied, "We need to move... NOW. I think it's best if we change to our Atlantean forms, we can cover more ground."
Hot, humid air filled James's lungs as he entered the forest. He figured it would be best to go in his Atlantean form to cover more ground, and plus, he simply wanted to. He was suddenly hit with a case of déjà vu. This was all oddly familiar! Then James remembered his dream from when he first met the girls. He was finally free of all simple burdens. Now he had a mission, and that mission was to protect his friends.
He was not too far into the forest when he came across a small concrete building. It was completely black with dark blue windows. He saw human figures moving inside of it. It looked somewhat suspicious. James wasn't about to take any chances so he readied his wrist blade. He slowly crept up to the door and knocked.
The steel door flew open to reveal a dark skinned man loaded down with ammunition belts. He stood wide eyed at the large black wolf in the door.
"Uh... did you guys see a plane crash?" James asked casually.
"IT'S HIM!!! KILL HIM!!!" The man screamed. The other man inside yanked a machine gun off of the wall and began to fire a wall of lead towards the wolf. James leaped up on to the roof and hesitated for a minute. Who are these guys?! He thought to himself. Are they terrorists? The black man ran out with another machine gun and fired at James. He quickly laid back on the roof watching the flaring tracer rounds fly inches above his body. As soon as the bullets stopped, he launched himself at the man.
With great ferocity he tore the weapon from the man's hands and slammed his knee into the man's gut. The man coughed a spurt of blood and fell hard onto the forest floor. James began to turn around just as the other man cracked him in the head with the butt end of a rifle. "YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED IN THAT CRASH!" The guy yelled. James pretended to be incapacitated on the ground. He waited until he could reach the man with his leg, and then he struck. With inhuman speed, James smashed his leg into the other man's ankle shattering it instantly. The rifle was sent flying, and James leaped up to catch it. As soon as he had the rifle in his hand, he slammed it down onto the man's face.
He glanced around ready for more to attack. It was his experience and instinct that wherever there are enemies there is always more. As soon as he felt that it was all clear, he slung the rifle and entered the small outpost. It was relatively simple inside. A weapons rack, small table and chairs and a computer terminal were inside. James stocked up on ammo for the rifle and logged on to the computer terminal.
The screen read:
HUNTER Base #14409
Status: Green
Location: North Beach Forest
Objective: Find and eliminate plane crash victims
James's eyes burned a bright red color. HUNTERS were here. This is the first time he had ever seen a base for them though. Wherever he was, he wasn't safe. He was more concerned for Alo and the girls. They are probably injured, and Alo is the only one able to take on the HUNTERS! James smashed the computer screen angrily, and ran off into the forest looking for a scent trail of his friends.
Aeris limped weakly alongside of Saia while Alo scanned the forest for any movement. He was familiar with forest settings due to his extensive training, but something seemed off with this particular forest. It did not smell like a tropical forest.
Alo sniffed the air as they moved forward and said, "Shira, is it just me or does this forest seem different?"
Shira glanced around and shouted, "Alo, WAIT! Look!" Alo stoped stiff and looked down to where she was pointing and saw his furry leg nearly touching a thin hair line. The wire ran directly to a black box suspended from a tree.
Alo glared at the box and lightly stepped over to Aeris. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms as he stepped over the barely noticeable wire. Saia then hopped over the wire daintily and shuffled over to Aeris. Shira curled up her tail and straddled the wire. As she moved her second foot over the line, her pack suddenly felt lighter.
The bright red first aid kit fell rapidly towards the ground, snagging the line on its way down. Shira made a mad reach to catch the box, but failed to grasp the handle.
The wire made a barely audible twang and an ear splitting wail followed suit. Shira quickly snatched up the box and stared at Alo, cringing in pain.
"What do we do?!" screamed Aeris as loud as she could.
Saia stared at Alo fearfully as Shira stepped beside her.
With a stern frown, Alo yelled, "Move, now!"
He readied his weapon and glanced back at the girls, and said, "Go! Just go! I'll hold the HUNTERS off for as long as I can."
Aeris screamed, "YOU'LL GET KILLED!!!"
Alo smirked as he handed Aeris to Saia and said, "Trust me, I can take ‘em." Without a second glance, the girls bolted into the forest, leaving Alo behind. After the girls disappeared into the woods, Alo spotted black figures rushing towards him wielding various firearms.
"OK, I just have my blade and Atlantean form... Think Alo..." he thought to himself as he tried to prepare for the HUNTERS. He moved to a tree and jumped up to a high branch as he unsheathed his blade.
The black soldiers stopped directly below him. They searched around the base of the tree that Alo was perched in. He noticed that they were also highly trained in tactical maneuvers as they moved in strategic formations and only used hand signs to communicate. By sheer chance, one soldier looked upwards to find a white creature glaring back down at him. Before he could open fire, Alo pounced down forcing the tip of his blade directly into the skull of the man and then leaped back into the tree. The others quickly turned and all aimed at Alo. One stepped forward and grunted, "Come with us, alive or dead."
Alo stared down at him and smiled slightly, "How ‘bout you catch me first?" The agile fox darted to the side and jumped up landing on top of one hunter as the rest fired upon him. Alo growled as he jumped into a tree as a bullet shredded through his tail. He barely flinched and jumped from tree to tree, barely dodging the hail storm of lead in his trail.
James heard gunfire in the distance. He began to sprint toward the noise, but he halted. "It could be a HUNTER firing range." he thought to himself. "But what if it wasn't?" He stood pondering his dilemma for a minute. He decided to go with his gut and investigate. He smirked as he pulled a chrome .45 caliber pistol out of his pocket. "Heh, a fool's errand." He mumbled to himself as he ran towards the gunfire.
As Alo leapt from limb to limb, he caught a familiar scent. His eyes widened as the spicy odor filled his nostrils. It was James! He searched the forest floor frantically while dodging the barrage of bullets being fired from the HUNTER soldiers. "JAMES! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" He screamed.
James was drawing closer to the action. The stench of spent gunpowder wafted heavily in the air. Another scent struck James by surprise. It was a clean, almost metallic aroma. "Is that...no...could it be?" he thought to himself. He pushed himself to go faster. James was literally flying through the forest at a speed that would even make Sonic the Hedgehog proud. "I'm coming for ya Alo... just hang in there." James mumbled to himself.
The trees decreased in size as Alo moved forward. Pretty soon, the trees would not be able to hold his weight. But, if he landed on the forest floor, those soldiers would tear him to pieces. "DAMMIT JAMES WHERE ARE YOU!" Alo cursed.
James began to make out black figures in the distance. They seemed to be focused upwards. James looked up into the trees to see his brother rushing towards him. "ALO!!!" He screamed"
His call got the attention of the soldiers in black. "There he is! Get him!" they yelled. Hundreds of bullets flew towards James. He darted left and right, avoiding the deadly pellets. He fired five rounds in quick succession. All were aimed at a different target. James could see the glowing bullets flying in slow motion towards the heads of his targets. A sharp pain filled his arm, causing life to snap back to normal speed.
All five soldiers' heads jerked backwards, and they collapsed under their own weight. James stood holding his injured arm. He looked up at his brother standing on a small limb. Alo was grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly the limb snapped, causing Alo to plummet to the ground. He tucked his legs into his belly and did a somersault, landing firmly on his feet.
James just stared at Alo, then burst into a wild fit of laughter. "Hahah! Always have to be stylish huh brother?" he chuckled.
Alo replied, "eh you get used to it..." He looked at James's arm. It was bleeding badly.
"I'm fine..." James shrugged. He has been through worse, a small bullet wound was the least of his worries. He began to take ammo from the dead soldiers. He looked back to his brother and asked, "Where are the girls?"
Alo skillfully twirled his butterfly knife around his fingers, and replied, "I told them to run away from the guards. I didn't expect them to be so coordinated." James stiffened up holding a full ammo clip. He sent the girls into an unknown forest alone?
James latched his hand around his brother's neck. Alo's eyes flashed a bright white as he glared into James's blood red eyes. "Do you even think of their safety?!" James growled demonically. Alo wrapped his hand around James's muzzle and pulled the arm from his neck. "Don't push your rage on me James, we were attacked and I got them away from the HUNTERS..." growled Alo as he pressed his nose to his brother's, "and standing here isn't getting them any safer!"
James sneered and shoved his brother's hand away from his muzzle. He began to walk in the direction the HUNTERS came from. Alo stood staring at his enraged brother. James turned to look at Alo and said, "Well... I can't do this alone..." Alo hesitated a moment, but then followed after James into the green mist of the forest.