06-27-2017, 01:14 AM
Kelly's head ached, an ocean of scrambled recollection roiling in the depths of his mind. The scar on his arm burned, and a sense of deja-vu overtook him so profound that even with the corrupted atmosphere of this twisted jungle dampening his powers and casting a pall over his psychic senses he almost felt as though he knew what was going to happen next.
Not that it would have been hard to figure out regardless. The winged darkling's intent was abundantly clear.
No sooner had the human hornet made his grim pronouncement than his wings blurred, their buzzsaw whine increasing in pitch. The sound ripped across the foliage-sky of the sinister forest's gloomy understories as he strafed overhead, too fast to see. The fetishes rushed forward in his wake, shrieking and waving their horrible weapons.
The psychic's overclocked brain and the reploid's tactical subroutines reached exactly the same conclusion - he's behind us, move! - at exactly the same time. Kelly clocked upward, pushing his thoughts into a higher time-base, and dashed to the side, turning and stepping just in time to see a venomous silver stinger whispering past him in leisurely slow motion - and the darkling commander attentively following his every move. X spun on his heels, dropping into a low crouch - but his ancient servo's weren't quite fast enough. A stinger embedded itself in his shoulder, piercing the android's weathered titanium armor and coating his internal circuitry with venom. His right arm jerked and went limp as damage reports flashed across his optics - as well as an unexpected progress bar, counting backwards from ten: auxiliary self-repair patch (TMP).
Both liberators returned fire, pellets of yellow plasma shining in the dark and fish-eye globes of psychic force bending the ambient crimson light, but the darkling just laughed and vanished in a blur of motion and another burst of high-pitched noise. The psychic and the android ducked in opposite directions, and this time it was Kelly who caught a stinger, instantly losing feeling in his left flank. The traveler nearly toppled, bracing himself on his staff - but the effect was far less dramatic than he'd expected based on what had happened to Steve.
No time to dwell on it.
Fetishes swarmed around them, giggling madly from behind grinning wooden masks, hacking with serrated machetes and poking at them with little spears. Kelly's durable choice of trousers and X's armored exoskeleton meant that not much damage was actually being done - yet - but it wasn't something they could allow to continue. Even worse, both warriors realized that if they paused for long to deal with the fetishes, then the darkling commander would get a free shot with his venomous barbs.
"Suppressing fire." Kelly wheezed, kicking and stomping while he charged a force-bolt.
"I'm not quick enough to follow his movements," said X.
A hail of tiny blow-darts emerged from the stygian undergrowth, and it was all Kelly could do to dive and roll across the hard-packed soil. Several spots on his back tingled, renewing the horrible numbness, which had begun to fade. They clanged off X's armored carapace, mostly harmless to his titanium hide.
"Follow the sound," Kelly hissed, his face sinister in a pool of ruby light.
The traveler forced himself to one knee and swept his staff low to the ground in a wide arc, smashing multiple fetishes, and knocking over a stack of them that had begun to stand on each other's shoulders. It bought him several seconds. He panned his gaze methodically across the path, and the unknown jungle beyond, listening carefully for the buzzing roar of his enemy's wings.
Behind him, a high frequency whine begin to build in intensity from a roar to a rumble.
Kelly didn't bother to look - he just dove, the fading numbness in his back robbing him of his usual grace. Where the psychic had crouched a moment before, a sonic shockwave crashed into the path, sending a fountain of soil and shattered fetishes into the air.
Just as the darkling unleashed its onslaught, X's arm came back online, and the android formed buster-canons with both hands, staggering his shots in a complex pattern, leading his target. The human hornet howled as he dodged three globes of yellow energy only to be struck by three more, disrupting his equilibrium. He strafed in a wide circle, but X's targeting algorithms were beginning to compensate for the creatures speed. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Kelly made another sweep with his staff, sowing further injury and confusion among the fetishes, and scanned the treeline. In the shadows, threatening shapes moved. He was starting to get an idea.
This aeronautical asshole is tremendously fast, but he seems to rely exclusively on his wings to maintain his advantage. If I can just find some way of immobilizing or damaging them...
I wonder if there are any snakes up there?
Not that it would have been hard to figure out regardless. The winged darkling's intent was abundantly clear.
No sooner had the human hornet made his grim pronouncement than his wings blurred, their buzzsaw whine increasing in pitch. The sound ripped across the foliage-sky of the sinister forest's gloomy understories as he strafed overhead, too fast to see. The fetishes rushed forward in his wake, shrieking and waving their horrible weapons.
The psychic's overclocked brain and the reploid's tactical subroutines reached exactly the same conclusion - he's behind us, move! - at exactly the same time. Kelly clocked upward, pushing his thoughts into a higher time-base, and dashed to the side, turning and stepping just in time to see a venomous silver stinger whispering past him in leisurely slow motion - and the darkling commander attentively following his every move. X spun on his heels, dropping into a low crouch - but his ancient servo's weren't quite fast enough. A stinger embedded itself in his shoulder, piercing the android's weathered titanium armor and coating his internal circuitry with venom. His right arm jerked and went limp as damage reports flashed across his optics - as well as an unexpected progress bar, counting backwards from ten: auxiliary self-repair patch (TMP).
Both liberators returned fire, pellets of yellow plasma shining in the dark and fish-eye globes of psychic force bending the ambient crimson light, but the darkling just laughed and vanished in a blur of motion and another burst of high-pitched noise. The psychic and the android ducked in opposite directions, and this time it was Kelly who caught a stinger, instantly losing feeling in his left flank. The traveler nearly toppled, bracing himself on his staff - but the effect was far less dramatic than he'd expected based on what had happened to Steve.
No time to dwell on it.
Fetishes swarmed around them, giggling madly from behind grinning wooden masks, hacking with serrated machetes and poking at them with little spears. Kelly's durable choice of trousers and X's armored exoskeleton meant that not much damage was actually being done - yet - but it wasn't something they could allow to continue. Even worse, both warriors realized that if they paused for long to deal with the fetishes, then the darkling commander would get a free shot with his venomous barbs.
"Suppressing fire." Kelly wheezed, kicking and stomping while he charged a force-bolt.
"I'm not quick enough to follow his movements," said X.
A hail of tiny blow-darts emerged from the stygian undergrowth, and it was all Kelly could do to dive and roll across the hard-packed soil. Several spots on his back tingled, renewing the horrible numbness, which had begun to fade. They clanged off X's armored carapace, mostly harmless to his titanium hide.
"Follow the sound," Kelly hissed, his face sinister in a pool of ruby light.
The traveler forced himself to one knee and swept his staff low to the ground in a wide arc, smashing multiple fetishes, and knocking over a stack of them that had begun to stand on each other's shoulders. It bought him several seconds. He panned his gaze methodically across the path, and the unknown jungle beyond, listening carefully for the buzzing roar of his enemy's wings.
Behind him, a high frequency whine begin to build in intensity from a roar to a rumble.
Kelly didn't bother to look - he just dove, the fading numbness in his back robbing him of his usual grace. Where the psychic had crouched a moment before, a sonic shockwave crashed into the path, sending a fountain of soil and shattered fetishes into the air.
Just as the darkling unleashed its onslaught, X's arm came back online, and the android formed buster-canons with both hands, staggering his shots in a complex pattern, leading his target. The human hornet howled as he dodged three globes of yellow energy only to be struck by three more, disrupting his equilibrium. He strafed in a wide circle, but X's targeting algorithms were beginning to compensate for the creatures speed. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Kelly made another sweep with his staff, sowing further injury and confusion among the fetishes, and scanned the treeline. In the shadows, threatening shapes moved. He was starting to get an idea.
This aeronautical asshole is tremendously fast, but he seems to rely exclusively on his wings to maintain his advantage. If I can just find some way of immobilizing or damaging them...
I wonder if there are any snakes up there?