บท 72: Protocol: Juggernaut
A/N: Leave a damn review if you liked it! Also, stones help. Enjoy chapter.
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The metal railings rattled, dust scattered in the air, Void briskly skipped from one platform to the other.
His footsteps light as a feather. Void flickered through the hollow cavern, descending into the dark below.
A cool yet salty breeze ushered from below, serene echoes bounced around.
"The air's gotten lighter."
Void felt the humidity rise as he continued gliding downwards. Periodically, the cavern walls would shudder, chunks of rock cracked with each push, ever so often, tumbling off the cliffs, into the unknown.
Void dropped to the final platform, a rusted scaffolding welded at its edges, barely holding his weight. He gazed into the abyss below, but there was no way down.
"Obsidian."
"Yeah, I felt it too. We're getting closer to sea level."
"Rocketyard is the closest body of water. Does this ravine stretch all the way through?"
He glanced ahead, but despite his piercing gaze, he couldn't see the end.
"If that's true, where even are we? Who made these platforms.?" Obsidian scanned the surroundings yet he couldn't understand.
"These platforms, this ravine. None of it is in the City's database. This is uncharted territory."
"Uncharted?"
Void questioned that premise. 'Getting in here isn't impossible. Besides...'
His gaze lingered on the platforms.
"No. Someone was here. It's faint, but I can tell."
Traces of energy, faint traces, but traces nonetheless. Far too much time had passed, and Void couldn't differentiate its origins, yet it didn't dissuade him.
He looked up, the secret opening was more than a kilometer away. Taking the location and difficulty into account, it was definitely a guardian. No, a hunter.
A titan wouldn't have the patience to squeeze himself through the gaps, a warlock wouldn't have left any traces at all. All they had to do, was warp.
"It seems, whoever it was, didn't report it. Maybe he didn't want anyone else to find this place."
The conditions of the platforms he used wasn't the best either, he didn't think much of it at the start, but while he rushed downwards, Void had noticed a series of platforms were missing.
Whether or not that was the rust eating away at the metal, or the intervention of this 'guardian'. He didn't know.
Void's lips curved into a smile, "A hunter trying to hide something, means only one thing."
Obsidian's eyes flashed with a vibrant hue, "Loot."
Carefully moving around the platform, Void noticed that it flexed under his feet. It wouldn't be long before it gave out.
Regardless, he surveyed every nook and cranny, as far as his eyes could see. Whoever it was, had done a meticulous job. Void didn't detect anymore traces.
"This bastard was really something. Its as if he vanished from existence right here."
"I've checked residuals, there's nothing left."
Obsidian sighed.
"It's a shame."
'If it wasn't me that is.' Void inched closer to the edge, the abyss stretched endlessly to the sea floor. But that wasn't what he was looking for.
"How predictable, found it."
Void gently stepped off the platform, as he fell, he spun around and swiftly gripped the ledge. Void looked towards the space beneath the platform.
There it was, carved into the rugged rock. An entrance. Void swerved as he swung himself into the tunnel.
Void prowled across the tunnel, he was on full alert. Walking into another hunters stash was a dangerous endeavor.
However, as he scuttled deeper into the tunnel, a solid thick steel wall blocked his way.
"Huh?"
Obsidian was puzzled but he swiftly analyzed a gate situated within the wall, the electronic access pad beside it seemed to serve as a node.
In a matter of minutes, Obsidian had deconstructed the encryption, but the facility was far too old.
"There's no power, all systems are down."
"I guess we're trying the old way."
He stood against the door and cracked his knuckles, a faint aura coated his arm. Void jolted, as his fist struck the door.
The entire cavern rustled, tremors flowing through the steel, a clear dent appeared as the door flexed inwards.
Void exhaled sharply, deftly, he punched forwards. A rapid flurry of repeated blows focused on a small area.
Each strike was deafening, but after a series of tries, the hinges came loose. Void shuffled closer as he struck one last time, blasting the door open.
The gate was deformed into a curved sheet of metal as it shot backwards, planting into the ground.
"Not exactly subtle."
Obsidian shook his head.
"I don't suppose you wanted to wait till I chipped through each layer of the gate."
Void rolled his eyes as he strolled in. Though he was walking clumsily, his senses were running wild. Scouring the place an inch at a time. A few seconds passed, as he finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Looking at the place with a fresh pair of eyes, the room seemed...small?
No that wasn't right. The small room was littered with odd trinkets, and rusted old chests, its walls decorated with souvenirs from a bygone era, perhaps this was a little trophy room.
But Void spotted something, peculiar. One of the walls was fake. There was no attempt to hide it, it was merely a separated section of the room, isolated behind a partition.
Void rummaged through the litter.
"Hmm, old engrams, golden-age relics. These...limited edition figurines"
Everything here was merely a trinket. There were was no loot to speak of.
"Everything here is just collecting dust." Void dusted his hands as he moved to the faux wall.
He ripped off the wallpaper, revealing a thin line separating the walls panels.
Void traced the gap, as he gently tore the plate from the wall.
"All this for a scanner?"
Obsidian moved closer as the plate fell off. Behind it was a biometric lock. Naturally, busted beyond repair.
Void's eyes narrowed, he looked back to the room, contemplating, yet just before he could voice it out.
"I think I can brute force the lock. There should be an emergency power for the biometrics."
Voids thoughts drifted away as he intently watched Obsidian tinker with the circuit. A few minutes of fidgeting around and then.
"Got it."
A click resounded, the screen lit up and flashed once, but a few seconds later, the wall didn't seem to move.
"The motors are fried, so you're gonna have to pry it open."
Void shrugged as he gripped the thin edge of the dense well. Following obsidian's instructions, he tugged the wall.
The metal scraped against its railings, a shrill screech echoed, mangling the walls surface, but Void kept pushing, driving his legs into the ground, he shoved the wall into its side.
Dust scattered, as a heavy lull spread. The faux wall now fully pried open, revealed a massive armory. Dozens of caches lined each wall.
The dust settled and Void stepped inside, suddenly his eyes widened. The moment his foot crossed the edge of the door, his instincts screamed at him.
Each corner of the room was rigged with explosive, the ceiling lined with snares and smoke traps, every wall was laced with poison. Every crate, placed on a pressure plate.
However, dead center of the armory, hundreds of heavy chains dangled from the ceilings. Their ends coiled and tightly wrapped around each appendage, of what could only be described as a behemoth.
Sprawled across the ground, bound and restrained, its jagged mechanical limbs were similar to a spiders. A corrosive maroon rust marred its chasse, every few inches, Void could still spot the scars of war that had put a stop to the machine.
Bullet holes decorated its armor, yet at a closer glance, the damage was superficial at best. Mounted at the top of the grotesque steel chimera was its head.
A fifteen inch thick steel dome, a singular screen wrapped around its circumference, servings as its eye.
The chains weren't the only thing. A familiar thin laser cage seemed to encase the machine.
"What...is this?"
Obsidian was flabbergasted, his scanner couldn't detect anything. It's as if, the humongous machine in front of him, didn't exist at all.
"A relic? No, this thing, isn't from the golden age. It's far too intact."
"My scans aren't going through, I am getting a bad feeling."
The room seemed to constrict, Obsidian felt an eerie panic sneak up on him. He seemed hesitant to linger, as if the walls had ears.
The air grew sullen, and quiet. Too quiet.
Void's eyes were glued to the machine, whatever it was, had somehow been banished here. He inched closer to the light prison, his gaze settled on the traps.
All of a sudden, everything fell into place. The traps, the cage, the locks, the walls.
Void sucked in a cold breath.
"There is no treasure. This, isn't a loot stash."
His eyes searched for answers, Void's gaze carefully traced along the machine's chasse. Its surface was scrapped, and the paint had cracked. But it was visible. That symbol, it was here, on its body.
Void uttered, quiet as a whisper.
"Rasputin"
The metal hunk seemed to shudder, Void jolted, anxiously taking a step back, his eyes searching for signs of life in the visor.
"It's a prison."
His voice was drowned out by the periodic tremors of the sea crashing against the cavern.
Void carefully took one step back, his full attention was focused on the mechanical abomination chained up ahead.
He wasn't sure if it was truly dead, and whatever it was, it gave him a bad feeling. Rasputin, was never good news.
As he crossed over the threshold, Void heaved a sigh of relief. He tried to close off the wall, yet the railings refused to budge. His initial push had crippled its movement.
Suddenly, Void felt the tremors again, the closer they were to sea level, the stronger the force. An eerie instinct implored Void to take a step back.
He followed his gut. The next instant, a sudden rise in tide occurred, the waves pulled back. The periodic thumping seemed to disappear.
The water grew turbulent, reflecting the unseen yet archaic luminescent halo of the moon.
A strong sea breeze rushed up on Void, he immediately clenched his teeth and planted his feet. The tide rose.
An imminent wave came crashing forth, water gushed towards the cavern, slamming its hollow walls. Abrupt tremors violently shook the place.
Void felt a sudden push blast him to the ceiling as he tumbled forwards. The shockwave erupted, everything happened fast, too fast.
Everything in the room slammed forwards, the armory was flooded every trinket on the ground shot towards the laser cage.
The trap triggered, a fraction of a second later, the waves receded. Void brought his arms forward. Each mine, each snare, each tripwire shorted simultaneously.
A bright flash. That's all it was.
Followed by deafening eruption that levelled the room, blowing a hole that ripped through the cavern. A thick fog flushed the room, dense smoke settled to the floor.
Void found himself firmly planted into the rock wall, his armor was singed, and half of it was missing.
A revolting pain coursed through his vein. Obsidian appeared, and an immediate stream of light rushed to him. Healing his wounds.
But Void wasn't concerned. No, his eyes were glued to the armory. With bated breaths, he looked inside.
A clamoring echoed, creaking every second. Something snapped, and a weight fell to the ground.
'The chains....snapped.'
The fog dispersed, and inside the armory, the behemoth was now unrestrained, laying on the ground. Void looked intently, yet there were still no signs of life.
'Was it already destroyed?'
He gathered himself, and got to his feet.
Against all odds, Void saw that the laser cage had survived and relaxed.
"You got all that?"
Void regained his balance, fully rejuvenated.
"I was recording the moment we stepped foot inside."
Obsidian flew to his side. Void hurriedly searched for a way out. The tremors didn't seem natural.
He turned towards the exit, the rock had shattered, the blast earlier had carved out a new opening. Void began his climb.
The tunnel shuddered. A metallic screech echoed, like rusted linkages forcing each other apart. Void glanced back.
It's jagged limbs dug into the ground. The behemoth whirred to life, collapsing the light cage, an alarm triggered. A menacing voice, overlapping its own, resounded.
-Все системы отключены. Начало чрезвычайной ситуации. Оповещение о вторжении-
The visor flashed, a singular red dot seemed to grow brighter.
"Of course its alive." He clicked his tongue.
The eye immediately spotted him, urging the behemoth forward. It's seemingly rusted and jagged appendages were suddenly agile. It crept towards Void.
The voice changed, the glow in its eyes now a bright orange.
"Triggering protocol, Juggernaut."
Void smirked, facing the behemoth that dwarfed him.
"Catch me if you can, you bastard."
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"Captain..."
"I will admit, you've got balls. Whose idea was it."
Tevis flickered, landing steps away from Levi. He looked back to the Nightstalkers watching over the pile of guardians like vultures.
"....."
Silence lingered as he shot them a glare, yet no one dared utter a word.
Loyalty? Solidarity? Brotherhood? No that wasn't it.
As Tevis looked to them, so did Levi, who was standing right behind the man. However, the two glares had different meanings.
The former, was pissed, ready to dish out some orders, perhaps even some odd jobs for punishment. The latter, however, only had one meaning.
'I will beat the ****** out of you.'
A look so universal, that no words were needed. It was an open challenge. So naturally, they kept their mouths shut, and simply glared back.
"What's this? A show of camaraderie? Can't bare to sell out your brother? You dogs are quite loyal in this regard huh?"
'No that's not it Captain...' Is what they would have said, if they could.
" I'll admit, I taught you guys well. Guardians cover each others back. But this time you really messed up."
"I am talking sewer runs, day and night. Once you're done with that, you'll be scraping every damn floor of the tower."
'Captain...he's behind you' Moltran screamed, internally of course.
Tevis was finding it a tad bit amusing as he continued to berate them. He kept on piling up chores, from every sector of the city imaginable.
Heck he had even included helping out the warlocks with organizing their libraries....He wouldn't even do that to his own enemy.
'How are these bastards not cracking'
His wrist buzzed, a crimson alarm flashed.
Levi's face paled. The rest of the Nightstalkers felt cold sweat down their back as they recognized the signal.
Tevis fell silent, his playful demeanor nowhere to be seen.
"...Gather your arsenal. That son of a b**** is back."
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A/N: Sorry for slow releases, enjoy chapter. Leave a review!! Leave comments and give stones, thanks.
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