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thelanternwielder · 6 years

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Too Late - Part Nine

Author’s Note:

To the people who have been waiting for this chapter: thank you for your patience. I’ve just been too busy to work on it.

Originally, I thought I was just going to be writing one last chapter. 16,000 words later, I decided to split it into four.

Welcome to the beginning of the end of this story.

Link to the previous part: >Here<

Link to the start: >Here<

Link to the next part: >Here<

Tell me what you think. Feedback is always appreciated (and I do mean that).

The frigid bowels of the shadowed mountains still seemed to shimmer during the night time.

In the cavern that had the glossy green wall, Dr Suno was knelt at its base. Beside him was a metallic suitcase of sorts containing various portable scientific paraphernalia.

A scraping sound could be heard. He was shaving the emerald ice off the wall with a small blade and collecting it in several test tubes. He was going to take them to his laboratory to study the wall’s composition.

He was calm, methodical. His chilled demeanour was from the belief that he was safe. He had asked two soldiers to accompany him; they stood at the entrance to this cave. They were armed, and he was sure that they could handle any intruders. He was at the location so late because he betted on the idea that his enemies were human and needed sleep.

But he still had to work quickly. The longer he and the soldiers stayed, the colder it got. Soon, it would be too dangerous to be there.

He was almost done, collecting the last sample carefully.

He was so focused that he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him.

Suddenly, there was a deadly click followed by an electronic whistle, as if something was charging.

Dr Suno froze.

Then a feminine voice spoke, dripping with disgust.

“Hello Jeredy. I vant my Monsuno back and a little birdie tells me that you have it.”

His hands lowered as he looked over his shoulder cautiously.

His eyes met the end of a black pronged gun. He followed the weapon to its owner. A blonde short-haired woman with a long fringe and a scowl held it. She was wearing a thick black and red jacket over her long white coat.

Her voice became more menacing, “Give it to me now or else.”

The scientist was quite flabbergasted to see the woman. He put his blade and test tube down and swiveled around to face her a bit more.

Her eyes narrowed as they watched him slowly reveal his blue and yellow core.

He waved it indicatively, “You mean this, Charlemagne?”

“Yes,” she hissed.

She lurched forwards to grab it.

He abruptly threw it, whipping his wrist. She gasped as she saw it skate across the icy floor, spinning.

Ting!

With an explosion of azure, a navy lion with a golden mane, fearsome head armour and jagged wings materialised. It eyes met Charlemagne’s. It snarled.

There was a sudden slam behind her. She glanced down to see the suitcase, now shut, yanked from where it was.

She looked at the fleeing man, “Trying to escape, are ve, Jeredy?”

She aimed the gun at him.

He quickly peered over his shoulder, “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.”

The woman glanced back at the lion.

Crackling in its jaws was a bright blue ball of electricity. Her eyes widened.

She dived to the side as the massive feline hurled the charged orb at her.

BOOM!

The cave shuddered. The emerald wall fractured slightly.

Sliding on her side, Charlemagne aimed her gun again. She wasn’t going to let the man get away.

Bang!

“AAAAAAAH!”

Dr Suno screamed as his whole body seized with the shot’s surge. He, along with his suitcase, dropped to the ground like boulders.

The woman got up, maliciously grinning. The lion looked at the fallen man and, for a moment, was processing what just happened.

She took the lion’s hesitation as a chance to get to the man’s body and snatch the core from his hand.

The cat emitted a guttural, disgruntled sound as the woman approached it.

“I have your core now, Driftblade,” she stated, “I am your rightful controller. You vill obey me.”

The giant feline was shooting daggers at the woman as she stopped in front of it.

It raised a heavy paw. She spotted it.

“Vhat are you –“

Whack!

Charlemagne was batted to the side, face slamming into the icy floor. Her gun rattled beside her, and the cat’s core bounced away.

Rapidly, she flipped herself onto her back, haphazardly grabbing her gun. The lion was stomping towards her.

She fired. The Monsuno flinched with a growl.

She pulled the trigger again.

Click.

She glanced at the gun, “Oh, now I run out.”

She chucked the gun to the side as she scurried from the hurtling paw. It missed with a thud.

She backed away, regarding the rebellious Monsuno that was once so obedient.

She gritted her teeth with frustration, “It seems that you need some disciplining, Driftblade.”

She pulled out a crimson core.

“Acro! Launch!” she slung the tiny container at the lion.

It burst, engulfing the room with a vexed vermilion.

Meanwhile, dashing down one of the tunnels, feet pounding the ground, Dr Klipse was leading the rest of his team through it. They had found out about Charlemagne’s escape. They were not there to save her, quite the opposite. In the Doctor’s words, they were there to ‘strip her of her core and his snow jacket before kicking her to the ground’ and all the words after that were lost in inaudible rage.

He saw her textile thievery as a bitter personal attack against him. Oh, how he was fuming!

He swept the others up in his wrath like a wildfire. They too wanted good old-fashioned revenge.

And so, Eklipse Resistance was charging through the ice caves, an angry mob.

The group staggered to a halt when they reached the area with the five doors. They had spread from the entrance and into it.

The Doctor closed his eyes, body tensing with the pent-up fury.

“I forgot about this part,” he grumbled.

Tinker glanced at the doorways.

He turned to his two leaders, “Er, which way?”

“Maybe we should go down the p-path,” the Professor pointed dramatically to a tunnel with his cane, “with the two fainted soldiers in front of it.”

The cane, as it hit the ground, cracked the air like a gunshot.

Everyone regarded the right-most tunnel, the one that was pointed to. Splayed along the floor were two S.T.O.R.M. soldiers, guns lying near them. One seemed to be angled away from the tunnel’s mouth, as if he attempted to flee.

The Doctor’s smirked slightly, flames flickering in his eyes. He swaggered towards the tunnel with malevolent snicker.

Dom Pyro, like an alert rabbit, gazed into the third tunnel, body pricked by an invisible force. A nervous smile appeared on his face.

“Tonight’s going to be fun,” he said.

Everybody looked at him. The Doctor’s face had reverted to its snarl.

Drezz detected the nerves, “What makes you say that?”

Suddenly, a cobalt core hurtled into the room from the third tunnel. It struck Dom’s shoe and exploded right in front of him. He staggered backwards, shielding himself from the light.

A voice announced itself confidently to the villains.

“Surprise!”

Revealing itself was the ursine glacier Hyper Lock, to the abhorrence of the group. Chase bounded to his white Monsuno’s side.

The boy’s smugness was cut short by the red core that erupted near him. Rising from the light was the parasaurolophus Sauro, plunging its drill hands into the bear’s face.

The Doctor skedaddled from the two titans as they crashed into the icy wall. The whole place shook.

Another azure core skated into the room, weaving past the Punk Monks. They began to run from the light that burst behind them.

From it emerged a long, dual-bladed, whip-like tail. Swinging like a guillotine, it smashed the frosted floor, mere centimetres from where Tinker was, cutting him off from Drezz. The former jumped out of his skin. He, along with Ratchet and Throttle, rushed into the first tunnel.

“No!” Drezz saw his comrades fleeing from the giant, quad-winged, bipedal dragon that was summoned.

The reptilian beast roared, spotting the lone Punk Monk. He backed away, glancing at where the third entrance was. The blond S.T.O.R.M. specialist had joined Chase with a cocky grin.

The Punk Monk looked back at the dragon. He dived out of the way of the snapping jaws. He ran towards the Professor who was standing back from the action.

He gazed over his shoulder. He saw Dom, Hargrave and the Doctor dodging the dragon. A laser, courtesy of the butler, slashed at the dragon’s face. It wailed.

Suddenly, Sauro skidded in front of him, bashed by the polar bear’s blow. It was blasted into the wall by a bright blue beam from the bear’s maw.

“Wah!” Drezz flinched.

He felt a tugging at his shoulder.

“Come,” the Professor commanded.

Drezz glanced at him, “And leave the others?”

“They’re perfectly c-capable of handling t-t-themselves!”

The Professor, clutching his cane and hat, scurried into the fifth entrance. Drezz, with reluctance, followed.

Chase caught a glimpse of orange at the corner of his eye.

“Dad,” he frowned, pierced by sudden worry.

He began to race towards the tunnel with the concussed soldiers in front of it. His friends had just caught up with he and Bravo.

Dax was the first to come out. He saw the boy in blue as he returned his Monsuno.

“Bleazing heck, Chase!” he exclaimed, running after the boy, “We just got here!”

The other members of Team Core-Tech trailed Dax, with Bren wheezing. As they passed Bravo, Alpha appeared from the darkness.

The ginger boy inquired, “What’s the situation?”

Bravo pointed to the battlefield, “I’m battling the ‘eclipse’ of their ‘resistance’. Chase has gone after Tallis,” he directed to the right, “I saw three of the Punk Monks go that way.”

A mighty wham came from the fight as Hyper Deadfall and Sauro clashed. The dragon was smacked in the back of the head by fiery blasts, originating from a two-tailed spider-scorpion. Sauro headbutted the lizard, causing it to stagger backwards.

Then the black beast Backslash seemed to teleport to the dragon and slashed at its throat. The reptile hollered.

Alpha, turning to his arriving team, ordered, “X-Ray, Tango, you’re coming with me. Kilo, you’re with Bravo.”

Another voice spoke, “And I will stay here with the boys.”

Everyone glanced into the tunnel’s darkness and saw Six. Alpha nodded to him before running off, followed by X-Ray and Tango.

Kilo and the boy in red flung their cores into the fight, crimson and cobalt streaking the ice.

With a cerulean light, the thick-limbed dragon Hyper Warwing materialised from underneath the spider-scorpion. It lifted the arachnid up as it waved its legs helplessly. To the butler’s fright, his Monsuno was tossed to the side with a crash.

A flash of vermilion had summoned the scythe-tusked skeleton Serno. It charged towards Backslash with a bellow.

WHACK!

Backslash was thrown across the arena. The Doctor, struck down with exasperation, gazed at the middle entrance. His eyes blazed as they landed on the bald boy.

“You!” he boomed.

“Hello Father!” Six replied with the same level of aggression.

Dom and Hargrave glanced over to see where the new voice came from.

The flames licked from the Doctor’s mouth as he shouted, “How dare you BETRAY ME!”

A slight smile appeared at the corner of Six’s mouth.

He remarked with a bitterness, “Betray you? I just moved on to a better place, Father.”

The words were the catalyst for the Doctor’s rage. You could almost see the steam wafting off his searing skin.

He commanded, body about to erupt from wrath, “BACKSLASH!” he threw his hand out to the children, “CURSED SPIRAL!”

The dark wolf-bear rushed past its master. It jumped into the air, corkscrewing rapidly, aimed at Six.

“Look out!” he gasped, leaping out of the way.

The S.T.O.R.M. specialists did the same, slamming the ground. The boys braced for the impact.

There was a shuddering smash as the black beast hit the hole, drilling into it. The children became coated in a plume of icy rubble, rattled by the quaking.

The debris settled as the shaking stopped. Coughing, the boys unburied themselves.

Six staggered to his feet and glanced at his friends, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Bravo responded, dusting himself off.

Kilo nodded. He gazed at the battlefield.

“Huh? Where did they go?”

The others turned to it. Their creatures were searching aimlessly for their opponents.

Six stared into the third tunnel, entrance widened and more cone-like from Backslash’s attack.

A grin appeared on his face.

“I have an idea,” he softly said.

Further down, the three men were fleeing virtually in the dark, hearts racing as fast as they ran. Their feet rattled the rocky floor.

Hargrave felt that he was tapped on the shoulder. He glanced over it.

He did a double-take, eyes popping.

There was an orange light rapidly growing behind them, accompanied by a whooshing warmth.

The butler spun around, whipping out his core and launcher.

“Twinsting! Protect us!” he fired at the wall.

The spider-scorpion appeared from the vermilion light, hunched in the tunnel. Its legs and pincers pressed tightly against its body, becoming crystalline and hardened. It created a diamond-like shield.

Hargrave hightailed it towards the tunnel’s exit. The other men had frantically reached it and hid behind the walls. The butler could hear a bang as his arachnid was struck by the blazing orange. It strained a squeak.

Instinctively, the butler leapt to the ground, robot arms retracting tightly to his body. He took cover.

An inferno erupted from the cave’s draconic mouth, illuminating the surrounding air. It bellowed as it sent out a shockwave to the shadowed outside area. Twinsting’s crimson aurora snaked back to its controller.

The area darkened again as the dragon calmed, chilly air becoming still. There was a silence to it as the three men tried to recover from the near-grilling.

Robotically, the butler found his feet and shook the snow from his sleeves. His mechanical arms sprung back to their normal position.

Dom and the Doctor took a few steps away from the wall. All the men regarded the tunnel with shaken disbelief.

Dom commented, eyes flickering between the Doctor and the butler as his words dripped with sarcasm, “You’ve taught him well.”

The butler was just as dry, “I’d argue that move was more your style, Dom.”

The Doctor, uninterested in the conversation, gazed to the night sky. He could see the flashing lights of the black metal goliath that hung in it, nearly camouflaged.

“Oh boy,” he breathed.

The others copied him.

The butler, trying his hardest to hide his trepidation, asked quietly, “Are we really going to take on an entire army by ourselves?”

A deranged smile spread across Dom’s face. The idea of it thrilled him, especially when he thought about the number of bodies he was going to leave behind.

The Doctor, pulling out a core, grudgingly answered his butler, “We have no choice.”

Dom ripped the cores off his sash and exclaimed with gusto, “So, let us rain the snow in their blood!”

Hargrave snapped his core to his launcher.

The three men launched their cylinders, leaving trails of crimson behind. They struck the raised surface. The auroras danced into the night time air, lighting the snowy area up.

Meanwhile, down path number one, Tinker, Ratchet and Throttle had reached the cavern that possessed the green door.

“Oh, great!” Tinker was riled, “A dead end.”

Throttle suggested, “Maybe we could hide here.”

A boy’s voice shut her idea down.

“Some hiding spot you got there!”

The Punk Monks turned around to the only exit. Blocking their path were Alpha, Tango and X-Ray. The latter looked slightly fatigued.

Ratchet complained, “Why is it you lot that have to find us?”

The children pulled their cores out, beaming with assertion.

“Strike Squad! Launch!” they threw their cores at the Punk Monks.

The adults responded with their tiny containers. The room erupted with the clashing blue, red and yellow, saturating it.

On the other side of the cavern, in the room with the emerald wall, the undead ampithere Acro was wrapped around the navy lion as it thrashed. The serpent was constricting tightly around the feline’s neck.

“Obey me!” Charlemagne ordered, “OBEY!”

The lion wheezed a roar.

Suddenly, there was a flash at the end of the room. Then a skeletal triceratops, body emblazed, rammed into the lion and the ampithere. They crashed into the green wall, snapping it ever so slightly more.

“VHAT?!” she exclaimed as she watched the dinosaur pin the other creatures to the wall.

She glanced at the origin of the light. Glowering at her were the cycloptic Professor with the banded Drezz.

“Hello C-C-Charlemagne,” the Professor spat spitefully.

Her eyes flickered between them, “You little rats. You think that you could bring me down.”

Drezz held his core up, about to throw, “Yes. Hate’s a pretty powerful emotion -”

A fourth, anguished voice interrupted them.

“Dad!”

The men glanced behind them. The woman looked past them. The three saw Chase knelt at his father’s limp body, wide-eyed and gaping. His breaths were shallow.

He gazed up and saw the villains.

His voice was strained, “What have you done?”

Drezz immediately became defensive, putting his arm down, and faced him side-on.

“Don’t look at us kid!” he pointed to the woman, “It was her.”

Hasty footsteps came from the cave’s mouth. The rest of Team Core-Tech appeared from the tunnel. Dax entered first, then Jinja and Beyal. Bren supported himself on the edge of the entrance, panting.

A growl came from the Monsunos as the triceratops was pushed back by the lion. The feline ripped the serpent off its neck and flung it towards Charlemagne. She dashed out of the way. The ground shuddered as Acro hit it.

Chase got to his feet, flooded with grief-stricken anger. He whipped out his core.

“Lock! Launch!”

The tiny cylinder created a blue trail as it left the boy’s hand. He ran from his father’s body to join the battle.

Drezz quietly said to the Professor, “Looks like this’ll be a three-way.”

“Perhaps we can u-utilise this to our a-advantage,” the Professor slyly replied.

A smile appeared on Drezz’s face.

Dax, baffled by what was happening, was tending to Dr Suno. He flipped the man over and placed his fingers on his neck.

Jinja ran up to him, “Is he…alive?”

There was a pause.

Dax eventually said, “I feel a heartbeat.”

Beyal bounded to his side. His cloak swished as he revealed his core.

“We will protect him.”

Jinja got into a fighting stance, pulling her core out.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of crimson near the gathering. Emerging from the cloud was the finned lizard Iguano.

“Blazing hell!” Dax shouted, attempting to drag the scientist to safety, “Bren! Help me!”

Bren’s ears pricked at his name. He scrambled to Dax to aid him.

Beyal and Jinja had launched their cores. With bursts of azure, their triple-headed serpent and armoured moose joined the battle. The monk’s serpent had smacked the finned lizard away from the fainted man. The lizard seemed to taunt the two. The moose chased after it.

In the entryway, Dr Suno was on his back. He opened his eyes and blinked, groaning. His eyes focused and saw Bren’s and Dax’s elated faces.

“You’re alive!” the boy with glasses exclaimed.

The scientist sat up, rubbing his head.

He then heard the ruckus. He looked to the cavern and saw the unfolding chaos.

He addressed the boys, “What is going on?”

Dax responded, “We’re here to save you, Doc.”

Bren added, rubbing the back of his head, “Yeah, we received this distress signal saying that Charlemagne was here. Then it turned out that all of Eklipse Resistance is here. And now Chase, Jinja and Beyal are fighting against Charlemagne, Professor Tallis and Drezz.”

Dr Suno glanced at his hands then patted himself down. He looked around him, now panicked.

He asked, “Were you able to get my research kit?”

“Uh,” Bren exchanged a look with Dax, “you mean that suitcase?”

“Yes. Where is it?”

Dax pointed to the cavern, “In there. We were trying to get you outta there first.”

The scientist sighed as he gazed out to the battlefield. He could risk being trampled to retrieve his kit or stay safe and come back another time. He didn’t like either of those options.

Then he heard a shout. It was distraught, in pain. He got to his feet and walked to the edge of the entrance, joined by the boys.

“Chase?” he whispered.

The scientist saw Hyper Lock fighting against the skeletal ampithere.

“Jaw of Light!” the voice cried.

A bright and powerful beam burst from the bear’s mouth. It smashed the skeleton.

“Again!”

Another bean struck the Monsuno.

“Again!”

The serpent had been bowled over, barely able to get up.

The voice sounded tearful now, “AGAIN!”

The ampithere was hit by the energised beam once more, shattering it instantly, slithering back to Charlemagne. The force was so great that it sent a shockwave through the room. It caused the other Monsunos and humans to hesitate.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting snap that resonated through the room. Cracks radiated through the green glistening wall from the centre, spreading like the roots of a tree.

Everyone had stopped and now was looking at it. Chase was the closest to the wall. He went up to it, noticing something odd.

The cracks on the wall had seemed to go around the X-like symbol that was printed on the ice.

He touched the symbol with his hand.

BANG!

The wall exploded. The boy jumped back. A cavity had formed in it.

In a blink of an eye, a sticky lime green tendril shot out of the hole, latching onto the boy’s belly. He glanced at it, startled.

He lurched forwards as the tendril dragged him into the hole with a yelp.

Dr Suno was struck with horror, “CHASE!”

He, along with Bren and Dax, raced into the cavern. Only now had everyone else realised that the scientist was still alive.

Charlemagne glanced at the exit, now unoccupied. She began to hurry towards it.

Whack!

She was thrown back by the triceratops’ long, bony tail. She slid as she landed, eyes closed.

The Professor chuckled, hearing the satisfying strike. He glanced at the gathering in front of the hole that had formed.

There was a scream.

Jinja.

The giant moose turned its head to the glistening wall. It bounded over. Jolted by the Monsuno’s action, the three-headed serpent rushed to help.

In the gathering, Jinja’s arm was being clung to by Bren, Dax, Beyal and Dr Suno, desperately pulling back. The girl’s other hand had been snatched by the slime.

“Don’t worry Jinja! We’ve got you,” the man reassured.

“it’s creeping up my arm!” she blurted.

Her moose was just as distressed as her, moving agitatedly. It turned around and shot at the slime with its tail. It snapped and Jinja collapsed forwards. The boys caught her.

But just as the group became hopeful, Jinja was yanked back again, slipping out the boys’ hands. She disappeared into the hole.

The group were shocked statues, at a complete loss at what to do.

Drezz took the distraction as an opportunity to loot Charlemagne. He had taken the black and red jacket and beheld it.

He quickly slipped on the forbidden garment. His entire body relaxed.

“It’s so warm,” he mumbled.

“Drezz!” The Professor hissed.

The man cocked his head. The Professor beckoned to him. He nodded, running over to him.

Drezz put his hands in the pockets. He felt a core in one of them. He glanced at it. There was a vermillion light.

He remarked, “I’ve got the jacket and Acro.”

The Professor had an urgency to his tone, “We need to g-go. Now.”

They returned their monsters and rushed towards the door. They skidded to a halt as the giant lion leapt in front of them.

The men flinched. The Professor reactively loaded his launcher and fired it.

The lion’s face was engulfed in orange as the core burst. Hyper Lock glanced over its shoulder, hearing the lion’s grunt and a whirring.

But another sound caught the bear’s attention.

“Wah!” Beyal had fallen and was dragged into the darkness by a slimy tentacle that had latched onto his ankle.

It happened so rapidly that no one could react in time. Hyper Glowblade hissed sadly, engulfed by a sudden guilt.

The snake pushed Bren, Dax and Dr Suno away from the hole with its tail. The three staggered back. It then blocked the hole with its body.

Bren looked around, needlessly adjusting his glasses.

“Um, where’s Professor Tallis and Drezz?”

The others studied their surroundings.

“Gone,” Dax answered breathily.

The scientist wandered up to the now concussed Charlemagne and plucked his core from beside her. In the instant that he glanced at it, the azure aurora of the lion snaked back into it.

He turned his gaze to the broken wall, flooded with anxiety.

Meanwhile, outside in the night, Dr Klipse, Dom and Hargrave were amidst crossfire from both above and on the ground. In the dark cloudy skies, the wyvern Dactyl slashed and struck down any Hopper that dared to get in firing range. It was hotly pursued by the swooping dragons Hyper Deadfall and Hyper Warwing. The clouds were alight with the falling carnage, air filled with hostile shrieks.

Below, the long-necked Bronto was gunning down some of the aircraft with its beams. Charging towards it was the bladed lizard Serno. It was suddenly body-slammed by Sauro.

On the other side of the battlefield, the sabre-toothed reptile Odon clashed with the undead bear Archaic Lock. The joints in Odon’s tail glowed as it whipped around to smack the bear. The ursine brute batted it away with its arm. It was barely scratched. The lizard jerked away from the bear.

The Doctor threw his hand out to the powerful monster, “Lava Bomb!”

The lizard began to belch boulders of molten lava at the bear. Each ball was shattered with fists, ground shuddering with each slam.

The Doctor’s eyes widened. Six smiled deviously.

The boy turned to his bear, “Let us show Father what you can really do. Flaming Fissure!”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow; he didn’t remember Archaic Lock having this move.

The bear’s forearms became engulfed in fiery light. It slammed the snowy ground with its palms. The ground began to shake violently. Everyone stumbled as they tried to stay on their feet.

A red-hot line shot towards Odon, melting the snow and exposing the rocky floor.

Then…nothing?

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed, “Was that really it?”

Six snickered at his father’s comment.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Odon erupted with a geyser of fire, swallowing up the lizard.

“GAH!” the Doctor jumped out of his skin as his Monsuno shattered into its crimson aurora and returned to him. It wasn’t coming out of its core any time soon.

He regarded the boy with a mix of intimidation and indignation.

The boy’s eyes burned brightly with hate, “That’s only the tip of the iceberg, Father. Oh, how I am going to enjoy showing you what we can do!”

He bellowed, pointing to his father, “GET HIM!”

The gargantuan monster roared viciously. The Doctor bolted as it charged towards him.

Hargrave gazed to where he heard the roar. His eyes grew in terror when he saw his master.

“Doctor!” the butler began to race to him.

From above, blue rings were flying towards the butler. It contacted a triple beam from the brontosaurus. The explosion caused the man to falter in his step.

He glanced up and saw the thick-limbed dragon being blasted by the brontosaurus’s beams.

He scrambled towards the bear. Using his robot arms, he shot a laser at the beast. It yowled as its eye was seared, rearing upwards.

“Archaic Lock!” Six called out to his Monsuno.

He was struck in the leg by a core. He jerked it.

“Whoa!” it burst with vermillion in front of him.

Backslash appeared and leapt onto the giant’s back. With an emblazed claw, it gouged out the bear’s other eye. The beast screeched in pain, swaying uncontrollably. Backslash backflipped off as the goliath crashed into the snow.

Six’s jaw dropped as his Monsuno lifted itself, dazed and blinded.

The Doctor goaded the boy, sneering, “What’s the matter, Six, not as indestructible as you originally believed?”

The boy snapped, “It’s not over yet!”

The big bear snarled. The black beast lunged at it.

Hargrave sighed with slight relief, realising that the situation wasn’t as dire as he first thought.

Suddenly, a line of bullets pelted the snow near his feet. He jumped like a rabbit from them. He ran from the second line that punctured the frost.

He spun around, looking for the source. He spotted a lone Hopper.

He took aim with his drill.

And fired.

With a slash of a laser, the propeller was damaged. Smoke began to billow from it. It wobbled in the air. Another beam from Bronto smashed through the helicopter.

Boom!

The aircraft was obliterated as a person plummeted to the ground. Kilo and Bravo glanced over to where they heard the explosion. They saw the flaming shards speckle the snow.

The boys were hit with astonishment when they identified who the fallen pilot was.

“The Commandant Marshall?! What’s he doing here?” Kilo wondered.

Bravo clenched his fist, spying the butler as he sauntered to the collapsed leader.

“He needs our help!” the boy declared, beginning the charge.

He was joined by a courageous Kilo.

They were abruptly blocked by the stomping three-headed brontosaurus. It snapped at the boys with all its jaws, driving them back. They watched helplessly.

The butler had his hands behind his back and a feeling of evil delight in his chest. There before him, in tattered clothes, lying face down at his feet, was the Commandant Marshall himself.

He sniggered while the weakened man roused, “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Jon Ace,” malice twinkled in his eyes, “How nice of you drop by.”

The Commandant Marshall rose to all fours and remarked combatively, “You’re not the only one with a trick up his sleeve.”

“Oh, really?” the butler raised a mocking eyebrow.

Ace looked up. His jade eyes were glowing. That wiped the smile off the butler’s face.

Ace flicked his head down, body convulsing as he arched his back. He groaned from the pain as it began to surge through every one of his cells. The butler stepped back in start.

The man’s body glowed with an eerie green aura. His muscles were tensed tightly as all the veins in his body popped to the surface. His white gloves ripped, revealing dark seized, inhuman hands with bestial claws. His limbs bulged as they grew larger and larger, shredding through the navy uniform, leaving nothing but shorts. As he stood up slowly, a long, pulsating tail whipped from his rear. His skin was now an unnatural blackened teal as visible vessels running along his body and limbs quivered with each heartbeat. The skin was stretched over his face, exposing the eyes, mouth and slitted holes that replaced his nose. Rupturing through the surface of his shoulders and forearms were giant crimson blades, and, through his chest and back, large gemstones of the same shade. He snarled like an animal as his teeth sharpened. Closing his mouth, two incisors stuck out, pointing upwards. The aura disappeared, leaving a monster heavily breathing in its wake.

Hargrave regarded the beast with horror-filled eyes and shocked speechlessness, backing away. He recognised the creature.

He was only able to muster one sentence, “I have wondered how you were able to change back…”

In the distance, Kilo and Bravo were gobsmacked at the transformation.

“Dude,” the blond one said, “did our leader just turn into a monster?”

The other crossed his arms, chortling, “Yeah. I don’t think he needs our help anymore.��

A head of the brontosaurus turned around as the other two watched the boys. It was struck with panic.

The dark green goliath grinned, showing off its daggers, as its gaze reached the butler. The dwarfed man clenched his jaw, incredibly wary.

And for good reason: the last time the man had seen the monster, the latter had a mind-control device attached to him to subdue him. He also knew that Jon Ace would not have taken kindly to being the Doctor’s prisoner and slave.

And he was about to bear the full grunt of it.

His robot arms twitched nervously. He was being stared down by the monster.

Suddenly, the creature sprung into a sprint. He was stampeding towards the butler.

A clawed hand swiped at the man as he jumped to the side. He changed direction and scurried away from the other monstrous hand.

The goliath spun around, whipping his arm with the motion.

Whack!

Hargrave was backhanded by the beast. He was airborne for a moment before smacking the ground, sliding into the snow face-first.

Lifting himself weakly, he spluttered, spitting the snow out of his mouth.

There was a deathly snarling from behind. He shrunk ever so slightly, heart wrenching. He spun around and sat up.

The goliath loomed over him, backlit by the flashes of light from the battle. The bangs were like thundercracks as the creature’s eyes struck him with emerald electricity.

There seemed to be a roar from another Monsuno, a quiet distressed rumbling.

The butler was paralysed. His heart tried to rip out of his chest to flee. He futilely attempted to rationalise with the beast before him.

His voice was shaky, “Surely this is overkill,” he recoiled further, “especially on poor little me?”

The creature’s expression switched to one of condescending distrust. All hope the butler had for surviving the situation had evaporated in that instant.

Suddenly, the man found that something had coiled around his leg, squeezing tightly. He immediately looked down with frightened eyes and saw a thick, red, pulsing tentacle rendering his limb immobile.

Before he could react, he was yanked forwards and dragged through the snow. With a snap of the goliath’s tail, the butler was catapulted into the air.

He was heading towards the raised surface. Dom and the Doctor had been backed onto it, still commanding their Monsunos while surrounded by bestial bellows.

The butler crash-landed with a clumsy roll. The men cocked their heads to him.

“Hargrave?” the Doctor was perplexed by the butler’s entrance.

The butler stumbled to his feet, hand on head as he swayed a little.

“What happened to you?” Dom was just as bamboozled as the Doctor.

There was a fearsome snarl, unlike any of the other monsters on the field. The Doctor turned to it.

His eyes grew exponentially, now actually scared.

The giant, sapient monster was lumbering towards them. It was able to strike the brontosaurus that stampeded towards him with a swift uppercut without truly losing his stride.

“Toxic Ace,” the scientist’s words were tinged by bitter disbelief, “Impossible!”

Dom, at the corner of his eye, had spotted the strange creature. Its presence made him uneasy.

The butler regarded the beast, trembling. He took one step back.

Then another, heart pounding as the banging around him almost became a blurred sound.

And one more step.

He plummeted downwards with a yelp.

The men turned around. In the butler’s place was a circular hole in the ground.

Dom wandered up to the hole, peering down it. Darkness.

He glanced at the stunned Doctor, then back at the hole again.

He jumped.

“DOM!” the Doctor shouted desperately, “DON’T LEAVE ME!”

He raced to the hole’s edge as it slammed shut. It was sealed by a stone slab that had a symbol engraved into it: a curvy X with the line through it.

His eyes flicked back up. Toxic Ace had climbed onto the raised surface, shooting him down with an intense glare.

The gaze was broken when a falling wyvern crashed on top of the goliath.

A pain-stricken grunt came from behind the Doctor. He glanced over his shoulder. Backslash had also been herded onto the raised surface. It appeared to be badly beaten, reduced to a crawl.

The Doctor looked around, realising that he was completely surrounded. Even the skies swarmed with danger. For a moment, he became petrified.

The two S.T.O.R.M. elites and the bald child climbed onto the snowy platform on opposite sides.

Six ordered the man, “Give up! You have lost!”

Triggered by his voice, the Doctor’s expression changed to utter spite. He began laugh darkly. The boys’ eyes narrowed with suspicion.

The man spoke with menacing grandeur, “Oh, but Six,” he looked the boy dead in the eye, taking his words as a challenge, “it’s not over yet!”

He boomed his command, “BACKSLASH! MALEVOLENT HOAX!”

The black beast’s ears pricked as it sprung to its feet. It leapt into the air, now a blur.

Suddenly, there were dozens of Backslashes. The battlefield soon became swamped. There was nothing but vicious snarling and claws as each of the beasts attacked.

It was utter anarchy.

Meanwhile, down path number one, it was comparatively less chaotic. In fact, it almost seemed to be controlled. In the air, an undead dragon clashed with an organic UFO. Below, a beaked insect attempted to stab a black and white wolf but constantly missed. A skeletal ankylosaur kept charging towards the giant stag beetle, the same one that could fly, and failing miserably to strike it.

It appeared that the Punk Monks were going to lose this battle.

But they had managed to manoeuvre themselves towards the exit while the children’s backs were to the shiny wall.

As Tinker’s reptile fought, he noticed that the bespectacled boy’s movements were delayed. Despite the fact that he had frequent powernaps throughout the day, X-Ray was still tired.

This gave Tinker an idea.

He called out to the Punk Monk with pigtails, “Hey Throttle! You want a target that you can hit?”

She looked over to him. He gestured to the boy with glasses.

She nodded, giggling.

She faced her Monsuno, “Mallus!” the ankylosaur skidded to a stop and looked at her.

She threw her hand out to the boy, body electrified by malevolence, “Charge!”

With a bellow, the ankylosaur galloped towards the S.T.O.R.M. specialist. He was too focused on his battle, looking up.

Tango was jolted with shock, realising what was about to happen.

“X-Ray! Look out!”

The boy glanced down, hearing his name.

“Huh?”

A clubbed tail swung around.

Wham!

He was thrown into the glassy wall.

The ankylosaur was driven away by the beetle’s blue shots.

Alpha saw his friend.

He called, “X-Ray!”

The boy with glasses got up and groaned, “I’m alright.”

The red-headed boy was suddenly blasted back by something. He too smacked the wall.

He looked up.

The burly woman fist-pumped, “Bullseye!”

The boy growled, gritting his teeth. The underhandedness infuriated him.

“Follow Shot!” he ordered his Monsuno.

The wolf’s tail spawned diamonds that hovered around its body. The shapes fired golden lasers at the insect. It screeched, overwhelmed by the attack.

X-Ray placed his hand on the wall, steadying himself. It was on the green door-like section.

And just like a door, the section slid down. X-Ray lost his balance.

“AAH!” he fell through the door, plunging into the darkness.

Alpha gasped, rushing to the door. Tango did the same, juggling her attention between her Monsuno and the wall.

“Gone!” Alpha was baffled at the boy’s disappearance.

He stared into the darkness with a frown.

Shooting out of the shadows was a slimy emerald tentacle. It splatted onto Alpha’s chest.

“What the Hell?!”

His body jerked forwards as he was dragged into the hole.

A hand grabbed the back of his collar.

Tango pulled back, attempting to resist the tentacle.

She lost her footing and slipped.

The children vanished into the hole.

Watching from afar, near the entrance to the cave, the Punk Monks witnessed the unfolding drama with growing smiles.

Ratchet chuckled, “That takes care of them.”

And with that, they returned their Monsunos and fled.

Unbeknownst to them, all the souls who had been snatched were tumbling down tunnels, deeper and deeper into the dark mountains.

#monsuno #fanfic

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