Chapter CCI: And So It Begins – Apocalyptic Storm Returns ~Multehx

Ratch frowned as he surveyed the terrain. Caelum. This planet was far from his favorite by now. He looked over at the assassin and the mercenary. They were over to his right, surveying the landscape over a cliff that overlooked the volcano, river of molten lava, and buildings below. Things in this area formed a step-like affect. There was the ground with the volcano below the mountain path, and the rock wall of the mountain rose to the left of the path.

Kenzo and Omega were in the cockpit of the Spectrum, trying to fix the controls. Apparently the damage inflicted upon it earlier was more severe than the robot had thought, and the repairs only lasted one go. Shutting it off caused a spark out, and now the two of them were laboring to repair things. So it was just him, and the two secretive ones. Ratch grunted and folded his arms, watching the sun set. Yes, the others had gone off to do battle with the Twilighter Council, leaving him sans action. Then an explosion from the mountains above shook the surrounding terrain briefly.

Ratch sneered. “Ain’t that dandy?”

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Jaded and Scilas arrived on the higher mountain trail first, joined shortly after by the massive yellow robot. The three saw the cause of the blast, but did little more than stare at what met their eyes. There was a blackened area, where apparently something exploded, and in the center of it sat a strange looking, rather large machine. Ratch felt an eerie feeling he had seen it quite a few times, but forgot where. Around the blast area three figures were arguing intensely.

Ratch squinted to make out who they were. The one on the left was obviously that whacked out Professor Alfred Nsvem. To the left, and also to his surprise, was a pretty intact Vaurix Delezzah. In fact, aside from the black replacement arm, he looked in prime condition. Now the large robot near the middle he had never seen before. But he recognized him as being vaguely of similar design.

Nsvem was shouting loudly and angrily at Vaurix, waving his arms wildly as he shouted. Havoc could only make out bits and pieces of it.

“– Lousy confounded scrap heap of a robot!! – If I wasn’t so forgiving – Yes, and do you know why?! – A EUROPEAN one. The African breed is non-migratory, chowderhead!" as well as other excerpts he could get.

But, abruptly, Vaurix seemed to notice the trio and pointed rapidly at them, saying something and waving his other arm angrily. The professor and the bigger robot turned, peered at them for a moment, then assumed defensive stances.

Electricity crackled on Nsvem's disembodied gloves as he frowned. "Wonderful, the peanut-gallery has arrived. Just terrific..."

Vaurix glared and revved his internal systems in a show of hostility. The other robot didn't quite seem to know just what was going down, but it looked angry as well, to be like its companions, no doubt. The two sides stood at arms, standing silently for a time.

Finally, Alfred spoke. "Well, I don't know what brings you three here, but whatever it is, you won't live to tell about it."

Jaded's broken sword gleamed in the evening light. "You're beginning to bore me, Professor. Why not try fighting your battles like a man."

Nsvem muttered something under his breath, then seemed to get an idea and grinned maliciously. He shrugged, emphatically gesturing with his hands to accent the movement.

"Very well, if it's a fair fight you want, it's a fair fight you get."

Instantly he snapped the fingers of one glove and thrust his hand forward. "Vaurix- Assassin, Malfector- Brother!"

Instantly, the robots charged toward the three. Vaurix gave a slight leap and shifted to his flight mode, his afterburners kicking in. The point of his face-shield crashed into Scilas's waiting grasp (it was meant to impale the assassin, but Scilas sensed this manoeuvre and reacted, letting his assailant plough into his waiting arms instead). The two went barrelling off the path and to the path the Spectrum has parked on.

Ratch was caught off guard as Malfector hopped a short distance to the right, pulled back his right fist, and delivered a shot to Havoc's jaw that sent him over the edge of the path and down the mountainside. Not hesitating, he leapt down to the incline as well.

Jaded raised an eyebrow, looking over both shoulders in the direction his partners had vanished, then turned his head back to Nsvem. Adjusting his grip on his weapon, his eyes narrowed. Nsvem snickered, flexing his gloved fingers, the yellow energy leaping from digit to digit.

"Shall we?" Alfred remarked.

"Let's," Jaded nodded back.

With that, Nsvem scooped up his cane in hand, the two charged, and Jaded swung his blade down hard. A metallic clang filled the air as only the cane prevented the blade from cleaving Nsvem in two.

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As Vaurix stopped in mid-air, Scilas lost his grasp and continued, smashing into the ground. Near-instantly, he scrambled to his feet, flipped back, and raised his fists. The robot came out of his fighter plane-resembling form, his wings fanning out from his back and a low, steady burn from his boot thrusters keeping him hovering. He folded his arms, smirking cruelly.

"Well, well, the renowned hunter and killer Scilas; you're not half the hype you're given in the bars, you know."

Scilas didn't bat an eye, only tightening the muscles in his hands slightly. "Well...about this, we shall soon see."

The assassin swiftly reached up, pulled the bandana on his head a bit tighter, crossed his arms over his chest and crouched. An instant later, he sprung upwards and his arms flew out. The objects thrown blurred through the air at blinding speeds. But instead of falling instantly to the barrage, Vaurix scoffed and crossed his arms to lessen the area in which he could be damaged. The throwing knives whizzed past, instead of just harmlessly hitting the armour and bouncing off, they left deep gashes in the metallic skin. One even embedded in his shoulder, another in his lower chest.

Vaurix's eyes leaked cleaning fluid and he growled over the pain. Reaching both hands down, he grabbed the knives by the handle and pulled them out. The holes left in their wake showed cut electric wires that sparked wildly.

His voice came out in a deep, throated growl. "Yyyoou bastard. Whaat the HELL was thaaat!!"

He flung one of the knives away, still holding the other in his hand. Looking at the blade, it gave off an oddly brilliant metallic shine, and appeared brilliant beyond a normal buff job.

"It's elementary, Infect,” Scilas explained. “Normal knives don't pierce your metal flesh. But I've studied a fragment of Infect armor I found that was knocked off Havoc. Using it, I blended various metals until I had an alloy that, when pointed, could cut through your metal exterior as if it were just flimsy cardboard! Of course, I was only able to make a few of these, but they're enough to help me win over you."

Vaurix snorted and landed. An audible whirring came from his joints. "Well, let me repay those with some specialties of my own!" He snapped into a fighting stance,
yelling, "Fury of the four winds; strengthen me with your power!!"

Almost in reply, the wind began to howl fiercely and seemed to blow only on the two there. A green light began to surround the robot, whom almost seemed to be breathing with renewed power.

Vaurix laughed evilly. "NOW yer gonna get SMASHED!"

Scilas was barely able to dodge to the side as, in a blurred trail of the green light, the robot was right in front of him, delivering a powerful and extremely fast side kick. This was evaded, but before the assassin could move again, a rapid fire volley of punches riddled his side. Pain caused him to double over, giving him a clear view as the robot went into a roundhouse kick and ploughed his metallic boot into Scilas's side.

The force of this was enough to propel the man through the air. His body spiralled rapidly before he crashed down on the dusty rock ground. He didn't hesitate to catch his breath, but forced his body to respond, rolling to the side in time to not be lying where Vaurix's boot smashed into the rocky ground, sending up a cloud of mineral dust.

He threw himself onto his feet and hopped over the robot's attempt to sweep his feet out from under him. He retaliated by slamming the palm of one hand into Vaurix's left shoulder. Though his physical strength had a bit to be desired, his aim was impeccable. The attack totally threw off the robot's center of balance and the force behind it sent him flying back.

Leaving a trail in the dirt, Vaurix skidded on his back for a few yards before throwing his hands out to the ground ahead of him, forcing himself into a handstand and vaulting into the air. He flipped twice and landed back on his feet, snorting in anger through the vents in the side of his mouth plate.

Scilas smirked and clapped his hands once. "Impressive indeed."

Vaurix's pupils glowed brilliant green and soon his entire eyes were engulfed by the glow. His body seemed to shake with a mixture of anger and power charging for his next assult.

"You ain't seen nothin yet! Now, for the perfect blend of speed and POWER!"

Steam began to pour from his joints as his body shook and he assumed a fighting stance. Abruptly, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Vay Rhou-tan K'latal VIEMOS!!" before blazing forward, driving a powerful punch into the assassin's stomach, knocking the wind out of him in one hit.

But the robot was far from finished. In the span of a moment, he spun on a boot, CRASHING his other metal foot into Scilas's side, an echoing “CRACK!” resulting, then drew his katana, slashed diagonally down his victim from left to right, then across in a right to left slash, withdrawing his free hand then rocketing it forward. An intense wind erupted from it and continued on and on into the assassin's lower chest. The force alone was enough to send him flying high into the air.

A minute or so after taking flight, Scilas's battered body crashed violently down on to the path, bouncing once or twice before settling. Blood oozed from the gashes in his outfit, and his muscles throbbed. Some he could not even feel, and he deduced shattered bone probably caused pain so intense, they just shut off any sensory input for the present. He could hear the crunching of Vaurix's boots as he drew nearer, and he felt his body unable to respond to his will that cried out for him to move.

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P.C. sat at his desk in the agency, staring out the window at nothing in particular. He continued this for a time until an idea penetrated the turmoil that was his mind. Sitting up and turning his chair back to face his desk, he opened a new file in his word-processor and began to type furiously.

Meera, the jade-haired agent responsible for covert entry and exit procedures, walked over and looked at the screen, squinting slightly.

"Hmm, what is all this?" she asked, waving a hand at the monitor.

The orange skinned, tan fedora-donning one didn't skip a beat, typing furiously as he responded, "To be honest, I'm not quite sure. But what I have here is a detailed schematic of Tehx." He pointed to a smaller series of lines of text beneath those. "These would be the details of the 'Alpha Armor Chip' that kept fritzing and breaking down on him. I've just got a hunch that there's some serious circumstances that we missed that will come back to haunt us." He frowned, leaning back in his chair and idly turning a pen in his hand. "It'll haunt us when we don't need it to the most. If there's one thing I've learned on the job, it's to never take chances; not when there are forces like what I've seen the past three years about."