Insanity: Chapter Forty-Seven

Insanity

Chapter Forty-Seven

~Dawn~

Day Thirty-Six

Shock of energy balled up in the center than in a sudden burst, a fiery blue shockwave radiated from the machine. Both Nest and Rose were blown back a ways. The force field around the building chattered floor by floor. The force from the wave shattered every window as well. Once it reached the ground it fanned out at all sides, shattering the windows of all the nearby windows and vanishing beyond the visible horizon.

Rose got to his feet. He heard Nest laughing hysterically.

“I told you,” Nest said in between laughs, “I told you we’d know when it was working!”

Penelope jerked awake with a scream as the wave passed her floor. She felt in her body, in her bones, in the very depths of her body almost as if it were scanning her, searching her. Wide eyed and terrified she sat still. Her body shook with the experience. It was probably, no certainly, the worst thing she had ever gone through.

She suddenly felt cold. Quickly she glanced at the computer. Both cameras were out. She swore at herself for sleeping and got up. Penelope ran into the hallway. Three guards were couched over in agonizing pain. One of them grabbed Penelope’s ankle and wouldn’t let go.

Another wave rolled down the building. Penelope gripped her head in pain while the others screamed as if they were being tortured. The man let go of Penelope’s ankle and she ran toward the stairs. She couldn’t wait any longer. She had to put an end to that thing.

Shadow tried another jab when the first wave went through. Both he and Thae fell to their knees. Shadow dropped his knife and gripped his head. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire. Glass from the windows shattered and flew in all directions.

When it passed and Shadow seemed to regain his pain educed insanity the second wave passed over. Again a searing pain shot through his entire body. He thought he saw Thae bent in pain a few feet away but in all honesty he didn’t care. All that he wanted was the pain to stop.

He spotted a dagger with in arms reach. Thoughts of killing himself raced through his mind; at least that would end the pain. Shadow closed his eyes and thought of anything else, anything other than the pain and his suicidal thoughts. Fang. It was the first clear thing that entered his mind. He tried to focus all of his thoughts on Fang and soon the pain subsided.

Shadow breathed heavily. He looked around for Thae but there was no sign of him. Shadow pulled himself to a wall and rested for a moment.

The first wave washed over Raven, waking her up from her back out. The thunderbird screamed in agony. Raven threw her hands over her ears. Her eyes darted around. She realized that she was thrown under a large conference table. While she was out the bird had been trying to reach her but she was too far in to be reached by the large bird.

Another wave passed causing her muscles to hurt. Again the thunderbird screeched. Something wet seeped under the table. At first Raven thought that it was blood but noticed that the consistency wasn’t right. She realized that the liquid was ink. Acting quickly, Raven grabbed her gun and rolled out from under the table.

The conference room was a mess. There was a large hole in the floor and a smaller one in the ceiling. Scratch marks were scattered around the large table where the bird had been scratching. Raven hit the ceiling at a certain angle that when she hit the floor she had rolled under the table.

Raven spotted the bird. Instead of its vibrant golds, blues and greens, in was a muddy combination of the three. The color was almost black but not quite. The bird spotted her. It screeched its anger at her and started to clumsily make its way toward her. Raven raised the gun and fired several times. Each time the bird took a step back toward the hole in the floor. She heard a click indicating that she was out of bullets. The bird was so close to falling to its inky death. She drew her last sword and threw it overhand at the winged beast. The sword struck in in the chest. It took one more step back, lost its balance and fell.

Raven took a deep breath and walked to the edge to view her job well done. When she looked over, her eyes grew wide and she tried frantically to get back from the opening.

Alister stumbled when the first wave came from above. He suddenly felt heavy and grounded. His head throbbed and it wasn’t helped with the dragon’s roars. He covered his head as glass shards rained down on him. Alister raised his head a little to see what the dragon was up to. His eyes widened as he saw the dragon’s armored scales seem to melt away into a puddle of black ink. He looked around quickly and saw Raven’s sword was still where it had been when she was picked up by the thunderbird. Without thinking he grabbed it and got to his feet.

Zorah recovered from the first wave and saw Alister pick up the sword. She looked to her dragon and saw what he was intending to do. She jumped over the edge of the balcony and ran toward her dragon.

It was a race to see who could get to the dragon first. Alister was only slightly in the lead. The second wave washed over. The dragon roared in agony. It extended it wings as if to take off into the air. Alister ran faster toward the dragon. He raised his sword and just as the dragon rose into the air, pierced the dragon’s skin at the base of its neck. In pain and agony it rose into the air and flew frantically in order to get rid of the pain.

Furious, Zorah managed to grab hold of the dragon’s hind leg. Angered and pained, the dragon few upward toward the ceiling.  Alister gripped the hilt of the sword with all his might. He looked with despair at the coming ceiling. Black ink fell from the hole that was made when the thunderbird had taken Raven. He closed his eyes in preparation of the impact.

Raven looked over the edge. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the dragon coming and she tried frantically to get back from the opening. The floor exploded as the dragon came through. The part of the floor Raven was standing collapsed. She felt herself falling.

Quickly, she looked for something to grab onto. The first thing she saw was the dorsal spiked on the dragons back. So far they had not been affected by the waves. The first one she past was too slippery from the ink around it. She tried again and managed to grab onto the largest one just as the dragon broke through another ceiling. Raven grunted as a piece of tile struck her in the head. Alister was even less fortunate. Since he was around the neck he took the brunt of the impact.

Shadow suddenly sat up, hearing the crashing and booming on the floors below. The floor started to shake, a feeling that Shadow thought was a good sign telling him to run. He got to his feet and ran toward the stairwell. As he got to the door, the dragon crashed through his floor. The lights flashed, debris few everywhere, a loud roar filled Shadow’s ears. He covered his head with his hands.

There were a few more crashes up on the higher floor that sent more debris and such to the floors below. Shadow slowly uncovered his head. He hadn’t seen what had gone through but was relatively certain that it wasn’t human. Slowly he rose from his crouched position. Live wires sparked giving off a ziit ziiz sound. He tentatively walked to the edge of the large hole in the floor and looked up to see what had done the damage.

The dragon let out another agonized scream. Alister hung on to the sword. His hair and face were covered in plaster dust. Even though it would be awesome to send the dragon up to the top floor and put an end to the machine, Alister figured that he would have to put an end to the dragon before a beam went through his head.

He brought out an army knife from his pocket and stuck it into the dragon’s neck. The blade wasn’t long enough to kill the beast but it gave Alister a hand grip. Lucky the dragon was still solid underneath its melting skin so the knife held. He pulled out the sword. He waited as the dragon rammed through another floor then stuck the sword in again, this time in a different place.

Crash, Stab, Crash, Remove, Crash, Rinse and Repeat. Alister was getting exhausted. He used the last bit of energy that he had left and pulled himself up higher with the hand around the knife. He then took the sword, angled it downward and plunged it into the dragon’s neck. The dragon roared in pain. Its assent suddenly slowed suddenly. The abrupt stop caused Raven to lose her grip on the dragon’s dorsal spike. She felt herself still ascending because of the momentum that she had been under for a while.

Raven saw the dragon falling beneath her. She saw Alister at the dragon’s neck. She screamed his name but if he heard her, he didn’t show it. The dragon’s head sailed by her, its green eyes were now black. She felt gravity take over and she started falling. The dragon fell at an angle through the floor below where it had just broken through.

Raven grabbed onto a metal beam that jetted out from the whole that the dragon had only half penetrated. She looked below as the dragon fell at an angle, landing more on its back through the floor two floors below hers. It fell some more but exploded into a puddle of ink a floor later.

With a sigh, Raven climbed up onto the beam and walked across it to solid ground. She collapsed in a heap once she was a safe distance from the edge. She breathed heavily for a few moments then quickly sat up. Raven got to her feet and ran to the stairs on her side and made her way up to the roof.

The first wave stuck the ground. Concrete and debris fell on those who were in the basement. Fang looked up as dust showered on top of him. He sighed. Inside he knew he had to get up there. He looked over at Zero then at Undertaker.

Undertaker brushed some dust off of his shoulder. The expression on his face seemed one of disgust that dust would dare fall on him. He met with Fang’s gaze and smiled.

“Come on, Reighn,” he said, his gold eyes glittering with mischief, “Let’s leave the rest to Fang, hmm.”

Reighn paused. He placed down his weapon and nodded.

Zero stood up from recently being knocked back. He smiled, “I see the machine is working fine.”

“I couldn’t tell, Beta,” Fang said as he walked closer, “was it supposed to tingle ‘course I couldn’t feel a thing.”

Zero smiled, “How did I give it away?”

Fang shrugged, “Back there, when you had me cornered, call it a gut instinct.”

Zero smiled, “Well, it’s nice to be remembered.”

“You killed Alpha,” Fang stated.

Zero laughed, “I recall he died in a very unfortunate building fire.”

“But it was your fault. You knew I never wanted Alpha’s spot and yet that’s what you told him.”

“I must have been mistaken,” Zero stated.

“You were the one who wanted Alpha’ place and since you couldn’t kill him and you hated me, you set things up so that at least one or both of us would end up dead. You wanted power and you still do.”

“And you’re still in my way,” Zero laughed, “Just my luck.”

Zero thrust his hand out in front of him. Fang flew back into machine. He looked at Zero and focused. For a brief moment he saw what was too happen in the next few seconds.

Fang dropped to his knees and rolled to one side as a four metal poles from the mess Undertaker made flew from the mess and struck the machine. Sparks flew everywhere signaling an end to the machines life.

The second wave thundered through crating a dusty mist. Fang used it to his advantage and ran toward Zero. He picked up a pipe along the way and jumped atop a concrete block. He heard Zero cough due to the dust and charged at him. Zero saw him coming at the last minute. His grey eye flashed quickly and Fang’s projected attack was deflected and sent him flying backwards again.

Fang grunted in frustrating. He should have seen that coming. Again he focused on what he wanted to see. The sharp pain wasn’t nearly as painful as it had been before. He rolled to one side as a live electrical wire fell. Fang got to his drew his gun and fired at the coming Zero.

Surprised at Fang’s quick recovery, Zero wasn’t expecting the gun shots. He gripped his shoulder in pain. He glared at Fang. For a moment, their eyes met and Zero saw something in Fang’s eyes that made him pause. Fang was determined to succeed. Zero smiled. He guessed fighting Fang would be fun after all.

Fang ran at him, seeing ahead in time. Zero raised his hand above his head, summoning loose cords that ran through the ceiling. Fang dodged and parried them all knowing where they would be and how they would attack. To avoid getting hit by one, Fang dropped to the ground. His eye caught sight of a glass shard about as big as his hand. He grabbed it and put it away for later use.

For the moment, Fang was forced to retreat but he retreated with a plan of attack. When Fang saw his chance he charged at Zero similar to how he had earlier. He grabbed his gun and raised it to aim.

Zero laughed, “I guess you can’t teach old dogs new tricks.”

His grey eye flashed and the reflection field formed, throwing Fang back to the ground. Fang took the impact and rolled to his feet. He charged again at Zero only to receive the same result. Fang got to his feet and tried again.

Zero sighed and his grey eye flashed again. Fang was sent flying into the dirt and grime on the floor. He rolled onto his feet easily and instead of charging at Zero again he reached for the class that he had kept hidden. Fang threw it at Zero. By the time Zero realized what Fang was planning it was too late.

Zero screamed in pain as a sharp pain in his eye. He brought his hand up and felt the sharp glass there. Without his grey eye, Fang could attack without much resistance. Outraged, Zero threw out his hand. Fang had to lunge out of the way of a large fissure that opened under his feet.

Carefully and as calmly as he could manage, Zero pulled the glass from his eye. He could feel the blood rushing from the wound. His breath came out in ragged gasps as he struggled to understand exactly what had happened. He looked at Fang though his good eye and felt nothing but loathing hate.

Fang stood and kept a close eye on Zero’s movements. He looked at Zero’s wounded eye. It was closed at blood flowed freely from the wound and down the side of his face. A sound got Fang’s attention. A large concrete boulder rolled its way toward Fang.

Reighn suddenly appeared with his weapon and slammed it into the ground between Fang and the boulder. The bell on his wrist rang and the ground changed its form into a kind of claw that stopped the boulders progress. Reighn looked at Fang and nodded. He had the situation covered.

Fang looked back at Zero and ran at him.

Zero smiled, “I think I’ve had about all the fun I can handle.”

He started to teleport when a firm clawed grip his throat. Undertaker’s nails dug into his skin. The grey ex-Agent forced Zero to his knees. He looked deep into Zero’s good eye and smiled wildly.

“Well, now, that’s a nifty power,” Undertaker laughed, “You don’t mind if I add it to my collection do you?”

Zero felt the power being pulled from his body. He tried all he could but he couldn’t stop Undertaker from making his power part of his own. When it was done, Undertaker let him go. He turned to Fang and smiled.

“He won’t be going anywhere,” he said then vanished in a swirl of grey.

Zero looked at the approaching Fang. He glanced at the gun in his hand

“I’m not going to kill you,” Fang stated, “That wouldn’t be enough punishment.”

“Glad to hear it,” Zero smiled.

The machine closest to the both of them exploded throwing Fang off balance. Zero pushed him back and ran the opposite way. Fang started to run after him when an avalanche of piping and wiring fell in front of him. He looked back at Reighn. Reighn nodded. He rang the bell on his wrist and dropped his weapon to the floor. The barricade collapsed at the sudden jerking of the floor. Fang nodded his thanks and ran after Zero.

Arisa snapped her fingers in anger. Edonya jumped off the balcony as the whole thing exploded. When Edonya landed, she formed a blade in one hand and almost threw it when the first wave shook the ceiling. Her blade shattered because of its delicateness leaving Edonya without a weapon.

Arisa ran at her and snapped her fingers. A row of machines exploded into fire. Edonya was blown to one side. The girl crawled frantically to her feet. Arisa grabbed hold of Edonya’s arm. Her grip singed the other girl’s skin. Edonya screamed in pain but Arisa didn’t seem to care. Arisa threw Edonya, her adrenalin giving her the added strength she needed.

Edonya flew back first into a metal pipe. She fell to the ground face first. Almost instantly, Edonya got to her feet. Arisa screamed in fury and charged at her. She brought a finger to her mouth and blew fire. Edonya dove to one side. The second wave crashed through. The impact caused some pipes above to break and come falling down on Edonya.

She looked up and covered her head. The pipes danced around her as they settled from their ringing bounces. Edonya screamed as a large pipe fell on her leg. She tried pulling her leg out but it was hopeless with the enormous weight of the pipe. Edonya noticed a shadow over her and looked up to see Arisa standing above her. Arisa was about to snap her fingers and Edonya closed her eyes tight.

“Arisa!” Lumin shouted.

Arisa paused. She seemed to snap out of her temporary insanity. A tear found its way down her cheek. She put her hand down and turned around slowly.

Lumin was now standing a little ways away from Kyra’s body. His eyes were filled with disappointment at what Arisa had been ready to do. Arisa broke into a run toward the one she knew as Blue. She hugged him and started crying. He held her gently.

A shadow seemed to stir behind the machines just behind where Edonya was trapped. Lumin looked in the direction and saw Thae. Thae held Edonya in his arms; Edonya’s leg was broken and bloodied. She held on to Thae’s shoulder and appeared to be crying with relief. He met Lumin’s eyes for only a moment before returning to the shadows.

Lumin picked Arisa up in his arms. Together they made their way back to the stairwell and up the stairs.

Penelope made it to the top of the stairs. There was only a door in her way and she was ready to face whatever lay beyond that door. She rolled up her yellow and blue stripped sleeves, her eyes narrowed as she approached the door; she took a deep breath and gripped the door handle. She stopped. The door was lock. Her eyes grew wide with distress. After the awesome build up and epic hero music running through her head, she was stopped by a locked door.

It was her time to shine! She was supposed to whip out her tessaiga, her scythe, her awesome ninja technique. She was supposed to be the awesome butler that everyone feared! None of that Starlight Power crap or that New York Kitty-kitty junk! Heck! Everyone else got their big moment! It was about time that she got hers! She had the arm metal! She had the forbidden snake powers! Nothing was going to get in her way now! Nothing! Because she, Penelope A. Patience, was the biggest thing to hit the manga section! Step down, King! There was a new Queen in town! A Queen with kick-ass fighting abilities! And was alright with a gun! She was the Anime of anime’s! The Manga of manga’s! NOTHING WAS GOING TO STOP HER!!!!!

Penelope’s eyes narrowed, “That’s right! And a door isn’t going to get the EFF-ing better than me!”

She raised one leg and kicked the door down off its hinges. With a satisfied look on her face she walked out into the open. Her eyes grew wide as a vine shot past her and hit the cement that had held the door. She ducked as another one nearly took her head off. Another vine attacked her when she was low and she jumped both legs awkwardly to each side. She then ran around the corner and hid behind the cement block.

Hey, I said she was an anime/manga character, not Superman.