58) --- Where Angels Fear To Tread ------------------------------------ "Bye bye boys!" "Have fun storming the castle!" "(Think it'll work?)" "(It'll take a miracle) Bye!" -- Valerie and Miracle Max "Dammit, we've got to do something! Our friends are in that thing, and we're just sitting around watching the fireworks!" Trevor exclaimed. "Rufus! Have you got the Legios finished yet?" "Well, we're almost done, but since we've taken time out to watch--" "Well then MOVE it already! Let's get that thing going, NOW!" Trevor yelled, startling the engineer; who jumped, gulped, nodded, then ran back inside, Lugnutz in tow. Soon the sound of power tools resounded through the hangar, along with the occasional curse as something was dropped. "Don't you think you overdid it -juuust- a tad?" Galen commented from behind Trevor. "Well, I'm sorry, but we've got to do -something-," Trevor stated curtly to Galen before turning and walking inside. Galen shrugged, and followed. Trevor had already begun strapping on his CVR, and as Galen rushed to put on his own, Trev had secured the last catch, and was now shinnying his way up into the Alpha's cockpit. Galen finished latching his CVR, and ran for the bomb-bay doors of the Beta, which would lead to its cockpit. "You -sure- about this?" Galen asked Trevor as he secured his 5-point harness. Trevor's voice shot back, "Of -COURSE- I'm sure!" "Just checking..." Galen said as he checked his controls and ran through a cursory preflight checklist, and beginning to actually warm to the idea of causing chaos. "You finished yet?" Trevor asked impatiently over the Alpha's external speakers, his question directed toward Rufus, who was rushing every which way to finish the enormous aerial juggernaut. Rufus shot back uncharacteristically, "Dammit Trevor, you -can't- rush someone who's trying to build a fusion turbine! If something's off by even -half- -a- -millimeter-, there won't be enough left of this campus to spread on toast!" Then, grumbling, he cut the connection, returning to his attempt to successfully calibrate plasma injector coils, asking Lugnutz for a sonic screwdriver in the process. Trevor, in the Alpha's cockpit, mused to himself, Rufus, moving as fast as his hands could move, made the last electrical connections, slammed the access panel shut, and said a silent prayer as he called out, "TRY IT!" Trevor, nodding from inside the Alpha's cockpit, hit the ignition and began to throttle the engines. A loud *whhiiINE!* was Trev's answer, and smiling, he gave Rufus a thumbs-up. "Trevor!" Rufus exclaimed as the Legios' turbines began to build in strength. "The Legios is operational!" "Excellent!" Trevor replied, making a quick air-guitar riff that could be visible through the canopy. "Now you'd better facilitate your posteriors out of here immediately! The situation's getting worse!" Rufus yelled through cupped hands into his communicator. "You heard the man," Trevor smiled. "You ready, Galen?" "Is the sun hot? Is a talking squid wet?" Galen smiled back from inside the Beta's cockpit, in a frightening mirror to Trevor's own visions of incipient mass destruction. Mumbling to himself, he said, "We sold our tank; we cannibalized our cycles; all we have left is our Legios and it's never been flight tested. Next time, I'll have Rufus add in some options. Like brakes..." "'Ok Chewie, _Punch It_!'" Trev exclaimed as he punched the throttles to Full Afterburner. Galen's comment of "I LIKE MY HAIR!" was lost as the mighty (and damn large) Legios' main engines flared to life, blasting away the entire back wall of the hangar in its sudden takeoff. Fortunately for the Corps' nascent engineering staff, Rufus and Lugnutz had already retreated to the outside of the building as soon as the turbines had turned over, and therefore weren't fried to a crisp. <<< Force Ten : RUSH >>> The USAF jets dodged and weaved, trying to avoid Ray's onslaught of destruction while trying to do some damage themselves (and failing). One pilot had managed to get out of the way for a bit to get a breather from the carnage, and turned his jet around to look. "Damn," the pilot muttered to himself. Everything was just getting worse. "Mike, I've got another radar contact, closing fa--" RRRR RRRR RRRR OOOO OOOO OOOO AA AA AA RRRR RRRR RRRR !! !! !! R R R R R R O O O O O O A A A A A A R R R R R R !! !! !! RRRR RRRR RRRR O O O O O O A A A A A A RRRR RRRR RRRR !! !! !! RR RR RR O O O O O O AAAA AAAA AAAA RR RR RR !! !! !! R R R R R R O O O O O O A A A A A A R R R R R R R R R R R R OOOO OOOO OOOO A A A A A A R R R R R R !! !! !! The pilot's REO's words were cut off as the Legios blasted over the campus (and under the T.M.N.T.) at 300 times the maximum recommended speed for the altitude they were flying. The shock wave passed over the campus, shattering lesser materials. In the Legios, Trevor was living the ultimate adrenalin rush. "YEE-HAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Trevor yelled in his best Han Solo impersonation. Nothing, -nothing- could compare with piloting (or not piloting, as the case may be (thank god for collision-avoidance systems)) a top-of-the-line fighter jet; no sport, no vehicle could even come close. And when said fighter jet was travelling at close to mach six, that only added to the experience. However, since he was still enjoying it immensely, he didn't hear Galen's voice until the commlink almost squealed from the feedback. "TREVOR!!!" "GYAAAAH!" Trevor exclaimed as Galen's voice was forcibly transmitted from his helmet headset into his ears. The Legios shook a bit as Trevor attempted to regain his hearing, and then cleared his voice to speak. "-YES-, Galen?" Trev replied crossly. "What -is- it?" "We just got hit by twelve missiles... shouldn't we be avoiding them?.. and by the way, where's the shadow device?" he asked. "Missiles? Oh, sorry... we'll have to get the paint job fixed later," he replied flippantly. "And, you know that the shadow device was one of the options Rufus was planning to add, but never got around to it." "Oh, speaking of options, you know that Rufus never finished the brakes..." "Oh." Over by what remained of the Engineering Parking lot, away from the majority of the action, the piles of LEGOs began to stir. They shifted and shook, attempting to form a coherent shape, but since they were very far away from the signal that was summoning them, they couldn't do so. Instead, each individual piece began to lift off by itself, homing in on the signal, obeying the directive to . As more and more pieces took off, the LEGOs continued to try to form something so that they could increase their processing power, but they were unable to hold anything solid, instead quickly clicking together and then falling apart as the entire mass of LEGOs took to the sky. From a distance, it looked like a gigantic multicolored swarm of bees. Philip stood in front of the comm panel that Emmy had hacked into, his hand resting on the golden LEGO that was plugged into it and his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to control his LEGO Armor remotely. Unfortunately, although he had plenty of experience using the LEGOs as power armor around him, with his motor signals being read and translated into the armor's actions, it was another thing entirely to try and circumvent his motor impulses entirely and route them to the LEGOs. This was why he was unable to form any cool-looking power armors at the moment; he was too distracted to do so. Eventually, he got so frustrated that he didn't care about doing it subtlely, and just wanted to pound an airlock open in his anger. Which was exactly the image his armor needed. *WHAM!* *WHAM!* *WHAM!* "Um, sir?" A tactical officer attempted to get the Ship Captain's attention on the bridge of Ray's aerial juggernaut. "Yes, lieutenant?" he replied succinctly. "There's, um, a large mass of, um, _LEGOs_ outside the ship." The Captain's brow furrowed "LEGOs? What are they doing?" "Umm... pounding on this hangar bay's door..." The tactical officer brought up an image of the bay in question. The captain blinked as what looked to be a gigantic log flew back and forth, attempting to force its way through as it collided with the hangar's locked door. The Terrapin Corps, led by Gordo in an attempt to find their comrades, fought their way through Ray's ship tooth and claw, figuratively in the case of the human members of the Corps, literally in the case of the non-humanoid members. Eventually, they passed by a large window, showing a panorama of carnage outside. "Wow, COOL!" Liam exclaimed as he got up against the window to watch the action. The rest of the Corps paused as well to watch and take a breather. A little ways over, Wyndi was describing to Rebecca the large mass of LEGO's she'd glimpsed, and the HH'ers were looking over their campus. "Hey, look! You can see our dorm from up he--" Shaggy's words were cut off as one of the giant turtle's guns fired and in a tenth of a second reduced the Ellicot Hall Male Dormitory to ash. Everyone stared out the window, jaws slack, as they gazed upon the charred and smoking crater that was once a seven story red brick dorm. Several of the more religious members of the Corps offered up a prayer for the souls of the now-dead students, while others crossed themselves. But what was most notable were the reactions of the occupants of the dorm who had happened to join the Corps. First was the shocked, wide-eyed expressions on them all. Then, the choked voices. "they... blew... up.... our... dorm...." "They .. blew up.. our dorm..." "THEY BLEW UP *OUR* DORM!!" Horse turned, and with a cry of "YRRRRRRRAAAAAUGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!" he smashed through the nearest five bulkheads in a row without regard for practical weapons use or procedure, with mayhem and chaos on his mind. Spurned on by Horse's cry of anger, the Hellicot Hallers followed him with their own cries of rampage, their actions consuming anything and anyone in their path as they charged through the holes Horse had made. Before anyone else could stop them, they had vanished from sight. James blinked. "Hooookay..." he said as he stared. "That was... unique..." He continued to look down the passage they had made until a firm hand on his shoulder turned him around. "About as unique as that thing of Duplo blocks Wyndi saw outside," Rebecca added. "There is that," he admitted. "Duplo Blocks?" Galen asked as the Legios flew around, around, around, around, over, under (but not through) Ray's tortoise. They had been flying about, trying to do damage while avoiding the artillery fusillades being thrown against them, and evading the US missiles being fired in their direction. (The US forces didn't know that the Legios was on their side, you see.) "Yeah, what?" "There's a large of bunch of Duplo blocks hovering outside the window. Why are there a large bunch of Duplo blocks hovering outside the window? I don't understaaand!" Galen whined, quoting the CAP motto. "No, they're LEGOs," Trevor began to correct Galen, until he realized, "Waitasec, -LEGOs-?! That means Philip's somewhere nearby them!" "So, what do we do now?" "Knock!" "Okay, who's there?" Trevor groaned, muttering dark thoughts. "Don't groan, it's not polite..." "Shut up, 'Chewie'," Trevor muttered. "Don't knock the hair!" Galen replied. There were a few moments of silence, and then Trevor swung the Legios around towards the hangar in question. Trying to slow down to hover in front of the hangar, Trevor noticed that it wasn't working. "Slow the engines, 'Chewie'.." "I told you the brakes were optional, and Rufus didn't finish the options package." "Oh -shit-! FIRE!" Trevor cried out as he uncovered all the missile safeties, arming them, and pressed all his available triggers down at once. The Legios was surround by smoke and fire as the Alpha's entire missile payload was expended in under a tenth of a second. They streaked forward, not even having any time to evade the nonexistent missile defense systems, and impacted, blasting the airlock wide open. As well as the hangar door next to it. In fact, where there once was about 50 square yards of hull, there was now 50 square yards of hole, with twisted and blasted metal at it's edges. Just in time for the Legios to coast/skid it's way onto the miraculously undamaged hangar bay floor. The inertia expended from the missile spread, plus the backblast from the door, had managed to slow them down. The Legios separated, it's component jets detaching and transforming to their respective robotic forms. "Well... Any crash you can walk away from, is a good one, right?" Trevor said. "Riiight...." Galen replied, dubiously. A few minutes ago, Mrs. Wiz, Mr. Yee, and company had been just killing time in the hangar bay where Gordo had told them to stay put. They had done so, opting to sit the carnage out and look over their two wounded charges. "Any word from Gordo or the rest?" Mr. Yee asked as he leaned on the Magnet Van. Jeff checked his Corps-provided communicator once again, and was rewarded with an ear-piercing squeal. "GAH!" He quickly shut down his communicator to prevent his eardrums from being pierced. "Nope... they've gotta be too far in for us to reach them through all the metal.." A few moments of silence prevailed, as everyone thought about their situation. Said silence was then interrupted by a dull thudding sound. Coming from the outside airlock door. "Um, somebody's trying to knock..." Jeff said as he began to approach the Van, still looking at the door that the thudding was coming from. "And they sound -very- insistent," Mrs. Wiz agreed as the thudding sound was getting louder by the second. "Get those two into the Van!" Kevin yelled to be heard over the noise. He, Marlo, Jeff, and Mrs. Wiz did so as Mr. Yee got into the driver's-side door, and turned the ignition. The Van started with a roar, and as soon as the two invalids were tied down, and their four attendants were buckled in, Mr. Yee burned rubber for the door leading to the corridor beyond. Just in time for the entire outer wall of the hangar bay to be ripped to shreds by an incoming missile barrage. The Magnet Van skidded and shuddered as Mr. Yee fought to keep it stable in the midst of all the debris and pressure equalization. He managed to skid it to a halt, facing back the way they'd came, as a big flying -something- made a 2-and-a half point landing, sparks flying everywhere, and came to a reluctant stop. "What the heck are -those-?" Marlo exclaimed as she looked at the large winged thing, which even now was beginning to separate into two pieces and transform into two large robots. "Did Philip say something about giant humanoid robots?" Jeff asked. "Actually, he did... he said that Trevor and Galen would be flying them," Kevin replied. "Ah. That's what I get for missing the briefing," Jeff quipped. Kevin chuckled, and the two of them got out of the van to greet the newcomers. As the two mecha touched down, Jeff pointed off out through the open hangar door. "Hey, aren't those Philip's cars?" "Yeah... they are!" Kevin exclaimed as they flew in and touched down next to the feet of the Alpha. "Hi, guys!" Lugnutz called out as he opened the Suburban's door after he parked. "How'd -you- two get here?" Trevor exclaimed as Rufus made himself known by getting out of the Citation. "Well, you two had left us without a means of getting up here, so we hotwired Philip's flying vehicles, and barely evaded the heavy artillery on our way up." "Ahokay..." Trevor replied. "Anyway, now that we're here, and you guys are here... how do we find the others?" "Well, Gordo, James, Liam, and the others left that way several hours ago to try and find Philip and Aeri..." Mrs Wiz pointed out as she indicated the corridor adjoining the hangar bay. "Works for me," Mr. Yee admitted. Mrs Wiz, Marlo, and Mr. Yee got back into the Magnet van, while Jeff joined Rufus and Kevin joined Lugnutz in their respective vehicles. Then, with the two mecha leading point, they drove out into the darkened corridor beyond. Galen and Trevor, in the Beta and Alpha, respectively (as the comic relief at the moment), advanced down the corridor. "Aren't there supposed be lights on?" Galen asked as his Beta stomped along. "Well, there used to be lights out here... but when you guys blasted your way in, they went out," Mr Yee commented through his communicator. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that," Trevor apologized. "'Sokay." "Well, in any case, it's an easy enough problem to fix," Rufus said as he turned on the Citation's headlights. The rest of their group took the cue, and soon the corridor was filled with the light from their external floodlamps. After about ten minutes, the group heard shouts of "Bloody hell that's bright!" and "Blimey's just a figure of speech, you idiots!" The mecha and the cars slowed to a halt to see who had addressed them. As it tuned out, it was a Sable patrol group. The leader of the sable squad stepped forward with a bullhorn and yelled through it: "OY! You in the mecha! YOUR BRIGHTS ARE ON!!!" Trevor and Galen blinked, then complied, dimming the external lights. The Sable commando nodded. "OK! Thanks, now we can fight." Mayhem ensued. (Ok, so it was short-lived mayhem.) Once the group had totally annihilated the commando squad, they paused, wondering what to do next. They were, for all they knew, all alone in this section of the ship, and had -no- idea how to track Philip, Gordo, or the others. "Well, since we didn't put tracking devices on them, and the communicators aren't working well over any great distance inside this metal monstrosity, how do we find Philip, Aeri and the others?" Jeff asked. "Well, we could follow that large plastic log of LEGOs that just flew past us," Rufus pointed out. The group turned and watched as the mass of the LEGO Armor flew past them, assuming a more amphorus shape as it entered the corridor. "Works for me," Jeff admitted. 57) --- Accidents Do Happen ------------------------------------------- "Oops." -- Kei and Yuri (too many times to count) "This -sucks!-" exclaimed Winnie as she and her siblings stood around the comm terminal, standing guard to protect Philip, Aeri and themselves in case anything hostile approached. But nothing was coming, which was setting the raptor on edge. "How long are we going to have to wait here?" "As long as it takes for Philip to guide his armor to our location," Charley stated. "With Emmy providing directions, it shouldn't take long." Behind them, Philip continued to concentrate, guiding the armor along it's complex path, with Emmy on one side providing instructions, and Aerianne on the other side, providing emotional support. Winnie hmphed, and continued to wait. Gordo and the rest of the Corps were still wandering about the ship. However, they were no longer lost: they had found a computer interface port, and Gordo had plugged into it, asking for any information that would lead them to the Head of the ship. The port had chirped happily, and then spat out a printout on a nearby printer. So now they were following the instructions on the printout that would ] lead them to the head of the ship. "Don't you think it's strange that these instructions are leading us -backwards- through this thing?" Peter DeGlopper commented as the group trudged on. "Eh, you worry too much," Byron replied as they walked. "Besides, with the -size- of this bloody thing, we can't tell -which- way we're goin', so we might as well follow them anyway!" "Quite right, my Berserker friend!" Gordo commented. "In fact, we should be reaching our destination right about...-now!-" The group stopped as they encountered a -large- door at the end of a hallway. "All right, everyone, 'FAN OUT!', 'LOCK AND LOAD!', as the sayings go." The group compiled, the more bloodthirsty members getting anxious, while the not-so-bloodthirsty ones were getting more apprehensive. "Is everyone ready?" A somewhat halfhearted cheer went up (it would've been a full-hearted cheer, but some people were still not sure about the entire thing.) "Byron, open the door, if you would?" Gordo asked. Byron grinned wildly, and kicked the nearby control panel with a cry of "CUT LOOSE!!" The panel complained at being kicked, but the doors opened anyway. The Corps opened up with a roaring blaze of gunfire with all their weapons, creating armageddon in miniature in the doorway, clouding it with debris. They stopped firing, and the smoke and dust cleared. "Did we get 'em?" Byron eagerly asked. The group listened for any life signs. Their ears were greeted by the sound of a toilet flushing. "Guess not." The group continued to watch, some of them *d'oh!*ing unsuccessfully through their helmets as cracked porcelain and tile crumbled in the aftermath. A few dozen soiled and angry Felizians reared up out of the rubble that had been the officer's washroom and began cursing. "Talk about getting caught with your pants down..." Aaron commented, eyes wide. "They must be really pissed. Of course that depends on whether they were doing number one or number two at the time..." Liam added. "OK, enough talk! Waste 'em!" Byron shouted. There was a chorus of triggers clicking and hammers slapping down on empty chambers. "We're empty!" someone cried. The Felizians had gathered up their weapons and had started advancing on the group, cursing and snarling. "Time to backpedal?" someone whispered to Gordo. "Right," Gordo turned to face the group. "Ladies and gentlemen... RUN AWAY!!! RUN AWAY!!" he screamed and bolted down the hall away from the ruined restroom. The others joined him in running and screaming as the Felizians charged and returned fire. Galen, Trevor, and company continued to follow the LEGO armor through the large corridors of the ship, not knowing where it was taking them, but pretty sure that it would lead them to their friends (well, at least Rufus and Trevor were sure). They encountered little resistance; those few Sables, Felizians, and Gleepians who got in their way were summarily wasted; the rest stayed -way- out of their way. "Any idea how long this is going to take?" "As long as it takes to find Philip and the rest." "Ah." They trundled on. Philip continued to concentrate. Summoning and controlling the armor was taking a lot out of him, and Aeri could tell. "Philip?" "mm?" Philip asked, distracted. "Why don't you take a break or something? I'm sure you can pick up where you left off?" "Can't.. at least, I don't think so... ghods, I'm getting a headache," he admitted. "So, why don't you stop?" "Because we don't have the time..." Aeri was about to say more, when Charley shushed her. "Hold on, someone's coming," the Raptor announced as she brought her weapon to a ready position, aiming it down the large corridor that adjoined the small cul-de-sac where the communications station was. "Yeah, I can hear them," Winnie replied as she too brought her own gun into play. "I can't hear anythi--" Aerianne was about to protest, and then she heard what the two reptilian sisters had heard earlier: The sound of pounding metal on metal, accompanied by the engines of small cars. "Nevermind," she muttered, as she brought her own weapons out where she could reach them. Not that they would do her much good, considering that the sounds of their approaching would-be opponents implied that they would be very large and -very- hard to kill. she thought as she got into a ready stance in front of Philip to protect him and Emmy. "They're coming... I can start to see their headlights.. What the FUCK is THAT?!" Winnie exclaimed, pointing at the large, amphorous, -something- that could be seen in the distance, framed by the oncoming lights. Philip, startled, turned around to look. And then gasped as his glasses magnified the 'something'. "-Finally!-" he yelled, grabbing the Golden Lego and pulling it out of the comm port as he turned, ignoring Emmy's cries to be careful with the system. "*OOF!* -Philip-, what do you think you're doing?!" Aeri exclaimed as her SO shoved past her in his haste and started running towards the amphorous blob. Then, she began to recognize what he was doing. "You mean it actually -worked-?" she muttered to herself, incredulously. Philip ran down the corridor, Golden Lego clutched in his hand. He concentrated, beginning to use it to directly control his Armor, as opposed to controlling it through the ship's comm system. As the LEGOs surged forward to meet him and lift him up into the air, he focussed on an image that would be able to repel this potential threat. Trevor and Galen and company had been driving for some time now, and quite frankly, they were getting bored. Jeff had started singing "One hundred bottles of beer on the wall" several minutes ago, and everyone else had tried to get him to shut up at one time or another. "Seventy bottles of beer on the wall, seventy bottles of beer..." "Oh, please, make it stop..." Galen whined, but before he could do something drastic, like fire his GU-XX cannon at the Citation that Jeff was in, the LEGO log in front of them suddenly picked up speed and began to separate into it's millions of component parts. "Gang, -something's- going on!" he said as he checked his weapon systems and began to accelerate. "What do you mea-- Hooboy," Trevor replied as he watched the LEGOs begin to spread out. The rest of the group slowed, and Trevor called to Galen. "Don't shoot! It's Philip!" "Bwa?" Galen replied as he pulled his mecha to a halt and watched the display in front of him. A person in brown and grey CVR-3 had come running down the corridor, intent on reaching the mass of LEGOS that were even now moving to join him. He jumped, and the plastic pieces shot underneath him and surrounded him as they began to interconnect again and lift him up into the air. His body became hidden from view as the little bricks formed an upper and lower torso, and legs quickly formed to support it's mass. Strangely enough, the legs looked like mutated construction equipment. The rest of the armor formed, once again repeating the industrial vehicle motif, but in a rather garish bright-green-and-purple paint scheme. Finally, a head appeared for the armor: Black and Grey, though with a cool pair of red wraparound shades. An amplified voice boomed as the LEGO Mecha raised it's right hand to stop the coming threat. "HALT! DEVASTATOR CRUSH ALL WHO PASS --" "Philip, you've -really- got to get a better motif for that thing," Trevor wryly commented through his Alpha's external speakers. If the LEGO Mecha had eyes, they would've blinked. "-TREVOR-?" it exclaimed. Now that two groups of the Terrapin Corps had been reunited, they took a short breather to check up on one another and try to figure out what had happened to Gordo's group. "You mean to tell me Gordo and company are currently somewhere on this ship, trying to find us?" Philip asked Mrs. Wiz from within his armor. He had managed to control its volume, and get it into a kneeling position so that he was closer to the rest of the group. Mrs. Wiz nodded. "Damn, that takes guts." "Not much brains, though," Winnie added. "True," Philip acknowledged. "Unfortunately, we've also got casualties," Kevin said, pointing at the Magnet Van. Philip's armored form regarded it, and then sagged slightly in synch with its owner's emotion. "Damn," he muttered to himself. < 'This ain't no game!' > his mind mocked him, and he sighed. "We'd better find them soon, to keep any more from occurring," he stated. "Any idea where they went?" "I have no clue, Philip," Mrs. Wiz admitted. "One moment Gordo told us to stay put; next moment he and the rest of the -- 'Corps' were going down the corridor. I think they were going the opposite way we ended up taking, though." "Greaaat...." Philip muttered. "Well, we can't change what they did. Emmy?" he said as he turned his 'head' to regard the cybered Velociraptor. "Don't suppose you can access the computers and find any references to their location?" "Already on it, Philip!" the perky Raptor replied as she began to check the FOWL data net for possible intruders and other similar data. While she was busy doing that, though, Philip then asked if Rufus and Lugnutz had brought anything to contribute to their little venture. "Actually, we have," the blonde engineer said as he walked over to the parked Suburban. "We managed to stow yours and Aerianne's Cyclones in the back before we were forced to depart the College Park Airport. Jeff, could you help me with this, please?" Aerianne smiled as Rufus and Jeff pulled her custom Cyclone out of the side door of the Suburban. "Did'ja do all the modifications I asked for?" she eagerly asked as the two put it on the ground and Rufus pressed the button that would unfold the Motorcycle/Power Armor. Rufus cleaned his glasses and spoke as Aeri put on her blue and white VR-126 "Super Angel" Cyclone. "Well, I replaced the forearm guards with the CADS blades as you requested, and added that new gun housing in lieu of an EP-17 or RL-6." Aerianne grinned, and looked at the sleek orange barrel of the gun on her right arm. "But I wasn't able to get it to the power levels you requested in the time we had to do the modifications." Aeri pouted, but Rufus continued. "Also, I wasn't able to tool the micromissile pods, or install the tail point defense lasers. Sorry," he shrugged apologetically. Aeri hmphed, and then her expression lightened. "'Sokay, I understand," she smiled. "We've all been a little stressed these past few weeks. Some more than others," she said as she looked up and regarded Philip's armored form fondly. "Speaking of which..." Rufus turned, and activated his communicator. "Philip! Do you want me to get out your Cyclone, or should I just leave it in the back of the Suburban?" The armor tilted its head, and then faced Rufus directly as it spoke. "Yeah, you'd better get it out and let me carry it. No telling when the corridors are going to get too small for me to walk in them." Rufus nodded, and once again pressed Jeff into service to free up the other Cyclone. "Philip! I've got something!" "Yeah, Emmy?" Philip turned his armor from where he was talking with Galen and Trevor. "What've you got?" Emmy looked up at Philip, checked her portable monitor, and then looked again. "Well, there was a semi-authorized request for some map information about 10 to 15 minutes ago, and then there have been some on-and-off reports from a group of ticked-off Felizians, requesting backup and reinforcements to try and hunt down some people who shot up their bathrooms." Emmy looked confused at that last statement, but Philip let it pass. "Hmmm... do the reports indicate which way they're heading?" "Lemme check..." *clickclickclickclickbeep!* "Yeah! They've just requested a squad to cut off their prey at an intersection, three decks down and about 50-70 meters thataway." She pointed in the indicated direction. "Well then, gang, that at least gives us -something- to do," Philip said as he straightened up his armor, and then transformed it into its tractor-trailer mode. "Terrapin Corps -- ROLL OUT!" Galen's and Trevor's mecha bapped the cab of the LEGO armor. Gordo's commando squad was -not- having a good time. Between the shooting, the screaming, the running, the dodging, and the carrying of those Corpsmembers who had become wounded, the -entire- group was beginning to tire. Add to that the fact that the Felizians had requested backup in various forms, and were now pursuing them through the ship, and it all came down to the fact that their 'goose was cooked'. Gordo was thinking as much as he lead the group who knew where, just as confused as the rest of them. he cursed himself as he fired another round from his autopistol at a Felizian power armor which had tried to block their path. It did little but to annoy the Felizian inside, who growled and charged at them. Gordo moved to punch him, and as he did so, deployed his interface spike, punching through the Felizian's armor and into it's neck. The Felizian gurgled, and fell. "Gentlemen! We are approaching an intersection!" he yelled, once again focussing his thoughts at the task at hand. "I propose that we make a turn here to obfuscate our pursuers!" "You don't have to tell US twice!" Aaron yelled back, as he shot a Sable that had been dogging him. The group nodded as well, even as they dealt with their own problems. They fought down the corridor -- Into the waiting sights of a FOWL task force. "FREEZE AND PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!" the lead Felizian growled through his armor's external speakers. "Oh bloody -HELL-," Gordo cursed to himself. But he, and the rest of the Corps, complied. Philip's squad ran/drove down the corridor. They didn't have much time; no telling how many hostiles Gordo and company had encountered, and they couldn't even tell if the FOWL reinforcements had arrived or not. "How far until we get there?" Philip asked as his armor roared down the corridor. "Not far!" Emmy yelled back. "We've got one more deck to go -- Actually, we should be right above them now!" Philip thought, and then called the group to a halt. "Well then... I propose a change in plans." His armor stopped and transformed, this time into something that looked like it'd stepped out of KO Century Beast Rangers, complete with spear. "Now what, Philip?" Aerianne asked as she hopped off of his armor where she had been riding, and touched down. "Well, if FOWL's going to ambush our friends... why don't we ambush -them-?" he smiled, although his armor couldn't show it. "Um, Phil?" Trevor's voice piped up. "Yeah, Trev?" "Problem. Galen and I've been scanning the area below us (once we figured out HOW to get the damn things working), and there's a lot of heavy weaponry down there... I think they've already been captured." "Damn," Philip muttered. "Any idea where they're holding our friends?" "Well, I've picked up the protoculture emissions from the Cyclones, so they're further down the corridor... they weren't able to reach the intersection," Galen answered. "Ok, quick action time!" Philip announced as his armor straightened and he began to call out orders. "Aeri, get that gun of yours primed. Rufus, Lugnutz, Mr. Yee, pull your cars back out of the way down the corridors. Trevor and Galen, get ready to jump on my signal." The group quickly complied, knowing that time was of the essance. Philip positioned himself at the end of one of the corridors, facing the intersection. Across him was Galen, and to the side was Trevor. "Ok, Aeri -- You ready?" The diminutive (to him at the moment) armored figure nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be," she said. "Ok. Blow out the floor." "Gotcha." Aerianne ran and jumped, her Cyclone's thrusters lifting her into the middle of the intersection. She hovered in midair, and sighted her arm cannon. *BthrubZARK!!!* Gordo's group's day had gotten progressively worse. Under the watchful eyes (and sights) of at least four squads of Sables, Felizians, and Gleepians, they had been forced to drop their guns and remove their Cyclones, and were currently being herded into a tight group. "Any idea what they're planning?" Wyndi asked nervously. "Trust me, you -don't- want to know," Rebecca replied, as she noticed their captors flicking the safeties off their weapons. "Beforre we terminate yourr pathetic excuses for a lifestyle, you kepitalist freeloading swine, do you have any last requessts?" a Sable taunted, holding his weapon at the ready. Gordo blinked. He, among all the rest, had been allowed to wear his armor, most likely because the task force hadn't realized that it was powered. (Everyone had been allowed to keep their CVR, because it wouldn't do much good against the SableMEKs, Felizian power armor, and Gleepian eyebeams poised against them.) And now, his visor's sensors was picking up a building energy reading from above, unnoticed by the FOWL troopers. Gordo thought for himself, and then came upon an idea. "Ahem," Gordo said, clearing his throat. "Yes, what is it?" the Sable said, aiming his weapon at Gordo's head. "Actually, I -do- have a last request." The Sable chuckled. Not like he was about to fulfill Gordo's request, but it was best to humor the unenlightened capilatist dog. "Werry well... what is it?" "I have decided on what I want on my tombstone." Gordo's visor noted that the energy was reaching a peak. "End what is thet?" the Sable sneered. Gordo cleared his throat, and raised his voice to be heard by all. "'Cheese and Pepperoni!'" The Sable did a double-take. "Whet the hell are you talking about--" he began to exclaim, but his words were cut off by the sound of the ceiling above and behind him being blown apart by some unseen weapon, raining hot debris over the assembled FOWL troopers. "IT'S A TREP!!" a Sable yelled as the others scattered for cover and raised their weapons, firing up into the hole. But their shots went wild as a big green SOMETHING fell out of the hole, widening it as it did so. "Get BACK!" Gordo roared as he backpedaled, forcing the Corpsmembers out of the onrushing FOWL troopers. "GET TO YOUR CY --" His words were cut off as the entire deck shuddered from the green mech's landing, which flattened the unfortunate FOWL troopers whom it had trapped underneath it's feet. It growled, and then swung it's large trident/spear at the closest SableMEK, slamming it against the opposite corridor wall and damaging it beyond repair. As the first mecha was dealing with this threat, two other mecha were also arriving, but this time on pillars of thrusterfire from their feet, softening their landing. They took up positions blocking the other two hallways, and opening up with their GU-XX cannons to lay in a few rounds into the retreating FOWL mecha, troops, and armors. The three mecha blocked off the three corridors, leaving only the one from which the Corps had come. And even now, another form was flying through the hole, clad in a blue and white modified Lite Cyclone, and towards where the Corps was rushing to put on their gear. "Are you guys all right?" a feminine voice spoke through it's speakers as the Cyclone touched down next to them. Several people recognized the voice. "-Aerianne-?! Is that -you-??" Wyndi asked, somewhat incredulous. "Aerianne! I am so glad you were able to survive being captured by the FOWL henchmen!" Gordo exclaimed as he approached her and clapped her on the shoulder. Even with the armor on, she still shook from the force of Gordo's armored hand. "Yeah, good to see you too, Gordo..." Aeri said, straightening herself. She then turned and regarded the fleeing FOWL troopers, and fired a few low-powered energy bolts at them with her arm cannon to hasten their departure. "Given that you are still alive, and that there is a large unfamiliar mecha fighting on our side behind you, I assume that Philip is alive as well?" Aerianne smiled, although Gordo couldn't see it. "Alive and kicking," she said as the large green mech punted a straggling Felizian power armor 70 meters down the corridor (ok, so the corridor made a left turn at 50 meters. That didn't stop the Felizian). "-- As you can see," Aeri continued, giggling. "Ah, good," Gordo said. He looked around, and regarded the chaos that had been wrought. "I believe it is time for Philip to take command of the Corps. I have done enough for one day." Aerianne looked at him questioningly, but didn't comment. 60) --- Endgame ------------------------------------------------------- "Ok, kamikaze play on three... Cosby up the middle, everyone else off the field ... BREAK!" -- Bill Cosby "Allright, everyone, LISTEN UP!" Philip yelled from the shoulders of his LEGO armor at the group assembled before and below him. The area around the intersection had been quickly cleared of debris, and there were no FOWL troopers to be seen. So, it was time for a -quick- strategy session. Once everyone had gotten quiet, he walked/slid down his mech's arm to stand in its palm, even though that still put him above the crowd. "Gang, we're in the middle of some sort of ship, floating over the University of Maryland and being shot at by the US army. We're the only ones who can stop whatever this 'Ray' is planning, because we're the only ones who have managed to get INSIDE the damn thing!" Some of the Corps members looked apprehensive, but kept quiet. "Now, I know we've got casualties, and I know some of you feel we're -way- over our heads. I know, because I'm worried too. But, I -also- know that we've essentially got no choice. We are the -ONLY- ones who have the technology and know-how to deal with this threat and to try and stop it somehow." Philip hopped down to the floor as he spoke. "What I propose is that we split into two or three teams; one heads for main engineering, one heads for the computer center, and one heads for the bridge, and each of them try to pacify and disable that area so that we can stop FOWL. Those of you who don't want to take the risk are welcome to stay here and guard the wounded with Mr. Yee and company. Quite frankly, I'd like to stay here myself. But we've got too much at stake for anyone to just stand by. "So! Any Questions?" Everyone raised their hand. Philip sighed. Eventually, the Corps managed (under Philip, Aeri's, and Gordo's guidance) to split into three groups. Kevin and company would stay behind to look after the wounded, while Mrs. Wiz did triage and the Corpsmembers who weren't too keen on the running combat thing would protect them from any FOWL soldiers. A task force, led by Rufus and Lugnutz in the Suburban, would proceed towards Main Engineering with about 15 Cyclone-wearing students. Philip and Aerianne, along with the rest of the Corps, would try to take the bridge. The idea to have another group take out the computer center was scrapped due to the fact that Emmy had already hacked into a large portion of their system. Much to Galen's annoyance, the Beta was being left out of the assault. "Waaaa, Phillllippp! I wanna use the Beta!" Galen whined as Philip explained for the fifth time that hour. "Galen, we've gone over this before. So far, we've been stomping around corridors -Zentradei- could fit in, but the closer we get to any centers of human (or Sable or Gleepian or whatever those cat-things are) activity, the corridors are pretty much guaranteed to get smaller! And in our current state of affairs, the Beta's going to be more of a liability than an asset." Philip thought to himself. "But Phiiiilllll!" Galen continued to mock-whine. "Look, we -don't- have time for this. Either you can come with us, and leave the Beta behind, or you can stay here with the Alpha and the Beta. It's your choice," Philip stated, flat-out. Galen grumbled, but then acquiesced. "Fine, fine... just let me get the keys for that thing..." He climbed back into the cockpit of the Beta, pulled the keys (and squid keychain) out of the Beta's ignition, and then climbed back out. "There. Don't suppose you have a Sabre I could use?" "I'll have to check.. one of the wounded Corpsmembers probably doesn't need it..." Philip left to check on it, although a voice in the back of his head worried about what he had just said. "Why aren't you getting ready, Gordo?" Rufus asked as his group got ready to make the trek to engineering. "I thought you were into this kind of stuff." Gordo sighed. "So did I, friend Rufus. But during the past few hours, my attempt to lead the Corps in Philip's absence has just lead to his friends getting injured, and almost killed! No, it's better that I sit this one out; it'll be best for all involved." Rufus blinked, not sure how to deal with his friend's change in attitude. But, he decided to try and make a go of it anyway. "Gordo, I'm not really good at this talking thing, but I want you to know that as far as I can tell, everyone's cut out for different things. And Fighting and Leading are two different things. I mean, look at me -- I'm an engineer, not a fighter, so I don't try to force myself to fight. If you don't think you're a good leader, then don't try to lead, don't try to be everything at once. "Gordo, you're setting standards for yourself that -no one- could attain! And what's worse -- You're out of character!" Gordo blinked, taken by surprise by Rufus' statement. But, as he thought about it, he realized that what his friend was saying was true. "I do believe you're right, my friend. I -have- been overconcerning myself with events I have no control over. Well, now, with my cool demeanor restored, we can proceed!" "Yaaaay," applauded Lugnutz. Rufus smiled, and returned to getting ready. After Gordo's minor bout of angst, the group continued to prepare. Once Emmy was able to find a nearby computer terminal, hack into it, and get instructions to reach their destinations, the two groups were on their way. On the bridge of the T.M.N.T., the command staff was in a panic. Reports had come in of a group of commandoes who had managed to break into their 'impenetrable' base, defeat -several- squads of their best soldiers, successfully evade capture, and according to reports, had even managed to hack into their internal computer systems. And now, internal sensors had indicated that the 'Terrapin Corps', as Ray had called them, were splitting into three groups; one staying put, and the other two headed for engineering and the bridge. Needless to say, this was putting everyone on edge, and blame was being laid on any head that was still attached to it's shoulders. Except for Ray. Ray wasn't doing much of anything at all. He was just sitting in his command chair, brooding and smoking his cigarette, regarding the smoke as it wafted up into the air, and totally ignoring the frenzied activity around him. he asked himself. <-Impossible-. We still have the upper hand. We've wounded several, and their numbers are still decreasing. They're running about a ship the size of a small city, one that could be considered hostile to them in all aspects. Ray stood, immediately catching the attention of everyone in the bridge. "Gentlebeings, it is time to take action. The Terrapin Corps has demonstrated themselves to be a threat, however minor it may be, and therefore we must deal with them. "Tell the ground troops to clear the hallways, deploy the special ops teams in critical areas, and activate the internal defense systems. I want every last one of them -dead-." Ray sat back down. The officers and techs gulped, and they rushed to obey. Philip's group walked down a long, deserted hallway. The majority of the group were in Cyclones, although Philip had managed to leave some of his armor's mass behind as the corridors got smaller. It still towered over the rest of the group, though. "Philip?" Aerianne asked as she looked up at her BF's armored form. "Yeah, Aeri?" Philip replied as he looked down. "I'm getting worried..." "Oh? How so?" "Well... after we encountered Gordo's group and stomped the bad guys flat (or, at least you did), I'd have thought FOWL would have thrown everything they had against us. But, they haven't." Aerianne tensed slightly. "I don't like it." Philip blinked, and shrugged within his armored form. "Yeah... it's starting to worry me, too... Best we can do is wait for them to make the next move, eh?" Aerianne sighed, and nodded, and then hugged the leg of Philip's armor. (Ok, so she was still wearing her Cyclone. She didn't care.) Philip stopped walking so she could do so, and then after a while, she let go, and they continued on. "Targets are approaching -- is the device ready?" a Gleepian muttered to its subordinate. "Ready and waiting, sir. Once they get within range, it'll activate." The other Gleepian checked a status readout. "At worst, they'll be delayed by it, by which time they'd be targets for the internal defenses... at best, they'll be killed." The Gleepian smiled. "Good work -- fall back to base, and activate this section's internal defense network," the first Gleepian replied. "Understood." After several more minutes of travel, Philip's group encountered what had to be one of the strangest things they had encountered so far. There was a -truck- in the middle of the corridor, just parked there. No driver, no passengers, no cargo -- just a rather nondescript dark green pickup truck, of the type made back in the 30's and 40's. The group slowed as they approached, and then stopped. The truck was -right- in the middle of the corridor -- anybody could have walked around it without any problem -- but something in the back of Philip's mind -recognized- this truck, and he held up a hand to stop the group. "Huh? What'd you stop us for, Philip?" Abraham asked, looking at Philip. "It's that truck... I'm sure I recognize it from somewhere." "Aw, come -on-, Philip... It's just a truck! Here, I'll show you..." With that, Aaron walked towards it, not listening to Philip's muttered, "um... I don't think it's a -truck-..." As soon as Aaron's foot had come within a 10 foot radius of the truck, its headlights came on, and its engine turned on. "Uh, oh," Aaron breathed, and then hastily backpedaled as the 'truck' began to shift, it's rear tires folding out to become feet, while the cab lifted up and then slid back as it's front tires also extended, becoming arms with machine guns sticking out of them. Everyone backed up as the truck-cum-robot stomped towards them, and then it said in a flat mechanical voice, "-I-see-you-", as it raised its guns to fire. Philip pointed valiantly at the monstrosity. "I see you too, GICU-2!..." Everyone blinked, Philip included. "...did I really say that?" "I'm surprised you had the time," Rebecca commented. And then she cried out "SCATTER!" as the security robot opened fire with all its offensive weaponry: machine guns, lasers, and missiles. Philip's group did so, but the GICU-2 held that section of the hallway. "Dammit, we don't have time for this," Philip muttered as he shielded Aerianne and several others with his armored bulk, and then he got an idea. Jumping up, he charged towards the robot, and then shifted his armor, pulling in LEGOs so that it became a giant ball. With the momentum he had gained from running, the LEGO Armor crashed into the GICU-2, and carried it along with him as they hit the wall. A *CRUNCH* of metal informed him that his plan had worked. His armor unfolded back to a relatively bipedal form, and he stepped back to regard his handiwork. "A -giant- -ball-?" Aerianne asked incredulously as she walked up next to Philip, looking at him, then at the remains of the 'truck', and then back at Philip again. "Why not?" Philip shrugged. "That's how Gizmoduck did it." "Who?" Philip sighed. "Never mind, it'd take too long to explain right now." Aerianne grumbled slightly, but then stopped as she acquiesced. He was right, this was -not- the time to ask cultural questions. She turned back to look at the rest of the group, who was approaching, then at Trevor, who was waving his hands to get Philip's attention, and then beyond them, at the corridor they'd been travelling down. "Um, Phil?" "Yeah, Trev?" "We've got a problem. While you were playing 'bowling with mecha' with big greeny over there, a blast door activated, and sealed the end we came from. We can't go back that way." Philip processed this. "That. Is bad." He was about to say something else, but then a faint whirring sound caught his and everyone else's attention. They looked for the source, and then identified the -sources-: small panels that were opening up on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Each one containing some form of antipersonnel weaponry. <<>> "Correction... -That-. Is bad. Terrapin Corps, GO!" he yelled as he herded the group forward as the weapons behind and all around them opened fire. "Shouldn't that be 'Terrapin Corps, Sanjo'?" Aerianne asked as she ran, rapidly firing her arm cannon at the weapons that were popping out all over. "Well, I don't speak Japanese!" Philip replied hurriedly, slamming a gun emplacement back from whence it came. The rest of the group didn't comment as they ran for their lives. As Philip's group was playing the deadliest game of dodge ball in existence with the ship's internal security systems, Rufus and Gordo's group had been encountering similar difficulties. However, since their group had some of the more 'bloodthirsty' members of the Corps, they met this challenge with more relish, laying out death and destruction to the machinery without quarter. Even Gordo was in the thick of it, firing his autopistol rounds with deadly accuracy. Eventually, the automatic weapons began to thin out. Curious as to the cause, but wary all the same, Rufus decided to have the group advance, weapons drawn. After a few minutes of unearthly quiet, the corridor began to widen. "Holdon... this can't be right..." Rufus said as he consulted his maps. "Lugnutz, stop the truck." Lugnutz did as he was asked, and Rufus got out of the Suburban. Gordo, curious, approached him. The rest of the group had stopped advancing as well, seeing as the automatic weaponry had become almost nonexistent. "What seems to be the problem, Rufus?" Gordo asked as he looked over his shoulder. Rufus looked up at him, confusion on his face. "Well, I think Emmy gave us the wrong map to Main Engineering...." "What makes you think that?" "Well..." he pointed to a section on the map, "we're -supposed- to be right here... but there's no mention of an Arboretum along this route." He looked up again, and indicated the hedges scattered throughout the corridor and surrounding their group. "Um, Rufus?" Liam piped up. "Yeah?" "Since when do hedges wear tabi socks?" he pointed out, indicating the pairs of feet sticking out from underneath the hedges arrayed about them. The hedge closest to Liam moved away, trying to escape notice. Rufus blinked. "You're right... That -is- odd..." he commented, finally noticing that the hedges in question weren't rooted like hedges should be. In fact, they were quite mobile, and were moving to block off the group on both sides of the corridor. "Gentlemen..." Gordo said, beginning to back towards the Suburban, "I believe we may have stumbled across a trap --" His words were cut off as a piercing "Kiyaaaaaa!" echoed across the metal corridor, as the Ninja Death Mongooses who had been hiding inside the hedges leaped out, screaming, pulling out their blades and moving them in deadly arcs, blocking off the group's escape routes. "By the might of our steel, the surety of out skills, and the fire of the spirit of the dreaded Mongoose Clan, NONE SHALL PASS!" Gordo regarded the flashing swords, sais, and other japanese weapons arrayed around them, and grumbled. "The hell with it," he muttered, as he reached behind himself, and grabbed his 'special project' from the open back seat of the Suburban. He slung it around, arming it as he did so, and fired as he brought his Cobra Assault Cannon to bear. *BAROOM!!* Sure, it was like trying to use a naval howitzer to shoot a housefly, but it got the message across. Gordo grinned as the mongooses took one look at his weapon and fled for the proverbial hills. "I do believe the cobra beats the mongoose this time." "Deck 160, sector 18, section 2's squad has been routed! They're fleeing for their lives!" "Enemy group's leaving 160-18-2, proceeding down transit corridor three towards Main Engineering!" "Patrol group's encountered a group on deck 192 -- they're fighting back, and our group is requesting assistance!" "Internal defenses have been taken out on deck 51, sector 1! Projected destination for enemy force is the Bridge! We're sitting -ducks-!" The bridge of the TMNT was uncontrolled chaos, as panicked officers and subordinates cried out the current known positions of several groups of Terrapin Corps members. The internal defenses seemingly had no effect on them; they just ran right on through, shooting indiscriminately and taking them out. Any special FOWL forces they encountered they bowled over as they advanced towards their destinations. The only person who wasn't panicking, or running about like his head had been cut off, was Ray. [Ok, so he was brooding. But we can forgive for that. -- Ed.] "Ray!" Korzon exclaimed, floating over to him. "You said that you had everything in hand! You said that the Terrapin Corps were nothing more than a group of upstart kindergartners who couldn't be organized! But now they're practically beating down our doors, and you're just sitting there? We've got to get out of here and make our escape before they catch us!" "Fine, then. Leave." Korzon did a double take. "WHAT?!" "Go. Save your sorry excuse for a green Gleepian hide. I will deal with the Terrapin Corps myself." Korzon looked at Ray for a few seconds more, confused, but then his self-preservation instincts kicked in, and he began to evacuate his people off the bridge. The last thing he said, as the turbolift doors closed in front of him, was, "Whatever it is you're planning, it had better work." And then he was gone. Pretty soon the bridge was empty except for Ray, the displays' beeps providing the only sound. Philip's group reached the bridge doors, having run/rode/flown over half the ship's length to get there. They were, quite frankly, on a bit of an adrenalin high, seeing as they'd fought all that distance to get there. They came to a halt, and Emmy quickly examined the door. "Looks like it's locked tight, Philip -- Do you want me to hack it?" Philip walked over, clad in his Cyclone (he'd had to dump the rest of his LEGO Armor's mass to fit into the human-scaled hallways), and regarded the door in question. "No need," he said, raising his arm. "I've got the key right here." With that, he backed up and fired a missile from his left arm. *BAWHOOM!* The Bridge's main door was blasted open, and the members of the Terrapin Corps immediately jumped through to take covering positions in case any FOWL flunkies put up a fight. But, oddly, there weren't any. The bridge was deserted, silent except for the beeps of the control panels, the hisses of air from the ventilation ducts, and the tap of CVR boots on the decking. "Um, Phil? Shouldn't the bridge of a titanic battle fortress at least have -somebody- running it?" Peter pointed out as the group spread out, looking around. "There is." Everyone spun, focussing on the voice that had just spoke. The voice had come from the center chair, which was even now turning around to reveal -- "Ray... *RABBIT*?!" Philip exclaimed, dumbfounded, as the lepus in question smiled, stood up, and regarded the Corpsmembers arrayed around him wearing expressions of shock similar to Philip's own. "Yes, I am Ray Rabbit," he smiled, taking a draw from his cigarette. "And yes, I'm the Criminal Mastermind behind FOWL. Surprised?" "Great, we're dealing with Harvey's evil twin," Trevor muttered. *BANG!* Trevor jumped in surprise as the control display next to and behind him shattered, victim of the bullet Ray had just fired. Ray smoothly re-holstered his smoking (and -very- expensive) autopistol inside his (expensive) Armani jacket, having not once taken his eyes off Philip and company. The message was clear: Don't mess with the Rabbit. "Now. I assume you have questions?" he said, waving his hand in an offhand manner. "I... um, er... that is..." Philip stammered, for once at a loss for words. "Oh, come now. Speak up, boy! I don't have all -day-, you know." He turned slightly, so that he could look at the gigantic IMAX screen that was at one end of the bridge, revealing a floor-to-ceiling panoramic view of the outside environment, without having to take his eyes off his opponents. "I have corporations to dominate, countries to conquer." He returned his attention to the Corps. "After all, I -am- a criminal mastermind. I'm a busy Rabbit." His eyes smiled, although they really couldn't be seen from behind his cool sunglasses. "Besides," he said, pointing at Philip with his cigarette holder, "The leaders of heroic groups -always- have questions." "Um, well... For one--" Philip started to say, but was cut off by Ray Rabbit as he continued to speak. "Let's start with the easy question, now shall we? Where is the rest of my bridge crew? Quite simply, they were of little use to me since you seemed intent on blowing down my door. Ergo, I gave them leave to, oh, how should I put this... 'scatter to the four winds'? Yes, that will work nicely. "Now let's work with the next question: 'Why am I doing this?' Now I must confess even _I_ don't really know why I decided on this course. Perhaps I'm a reincarnation of some forgotten warlord, perhaps I was meant to rule, if you will. I do know that conquest was a means, not an end. I have some far-reaching plans to be made, and some people to find, that I know for certain are pivotal to my plans. Three people very... close to me, I imagine. "As a matter of fact, I may have found one of those people much faster than anticipated. Wouldn't you agree Ms. ... 'Connor', I believe is your current nom de guerre, yes?" Aerianne blinked, surprised that Ray knew her name, but even more surprised that she was being singled out. She just nodded, confused. "Oh, and do get your self another armorer, tailor, or whatever -- One can barely even tell you're female under that glorified metal halter. It just does nothing to emphasize your physique. I've heard metal bikinis are coming into style again --" *ZARK!* Ray's words were cut off rather suddenly as the beam from Aeri's arm cannon lanced through his head, burning a nice circular hole through it, and then straight out the other side where it continued on until it punched a hole through the IMAX screen. "Aeri killed da wabbit!" Galen exclaimed in a singsong voice. "AERI! What the hell did you do -THAT- for?" Philip exclaimed, shocked. "I- I don't know! I just felt a sudden urge to blast something, and that something was him!" she replied, just as equally surprised as Philip was. A choking sound was heard, and everyone's attention was riveted by the sight of Ray, trying to support himself on the control panel behind him. "Curses, foiled by my weakness. Still, all will not be lost," He leaned forward, using his weight to press something. "We ... will meet again... in Ti-----" He fell back, collapsing onto the floor in a bloody heap. "Um, guys?" Philip and Aeri turned towards Jeff, who was indicating where Ray had fallen. "We may have a problem here..." Philip and Aeri walked over, and looked at his dead form. And then they looked at his outstretched hand, which was raised up and leaning against the console in front of him. Said console had a panel blinking on it, partially obscured by the blood that had dripped from Ray's forehead. Philip wiped it clear with a gloved hand, revealing the words "AUTO DESTRUCT ENABLED". "Oh, -shit-," Philip swore. "The Auto-destruct's been enabled!" Philip's observation was immediately collaborated by a feminine voice saying: "Auto-destruct has been enabled. This ship will self- destruct in Five minutes. Four minutes, fifty-eight seconds. Fou--" "Oh hell, now what?" Trevor exclaimed. "Look for an off switch?" Galen suggested. "Good idea! No, wait, where the hell would it be?" Philip said. "Why don't you ask the computer?" "Good idea!" "Four minutes, thirty seconds." "COMPUTER!! Where is the Emergency Self-Destruct Deactivation Switch?!" Philip exclaimed. "What do I look like, a tour guide? Find it yourself!" the computer's voice replied, and then it continued to count down. "Four minutes, ten seconds." "Well, -that- worked great," Trevor grumbled. "Now what?" "Look for a user's manual?" Galen suggested again. "And where the heck would -that- be?" "Glove Compartment?" "GLOVE COMPARTMENT?! This is a Starship, not a Buick Skylark!" Philip replied frantically. Trevor interposed himself between Galen and Philip. "Look, we -don't- have time to argue --" "Three minutes, forty seconds." "-- so stop arguing design features and start searching!" The group began pressing buttons and touchpanels desperately, in an attempt to find any kind of help files. Unfortunately, since almost nothing on the bridge was -labeled-, that made their task harder than it should have been. "Three minutes, ten seconds." "Hey, what's this?" Jeff said as he opened a compartment underneath one of the bridge station consoles, revealing a -very- thick book. "'TMNT User's Manual: Devastation and Destruction in thirteen easy steps.' This what we're looking for?" "Sounds good to me!" Philip said as he hurried over to pull out the book. "Two minutes, fifty seconds." Philip shoved his hands underneath to book to lift it. Or, at least he tried to. "Gah -- I can't lift it!" Jeff then noticed a latch underneath the shelf the book was resting on. "Wait, what's this?" He clicked the latch open. The book fell out with a *WHOMP!*, and landed on Philip's hands as he was just starting to work them underneath it. "EEEEYOWWWWWW, MY HANDS!!!!!" "Oops. Well, we got it out." "Two minutes, twenty-five seconds." Aerianne removed Philip's gloves to check on his hands as Peter and Galen lifted the User's Manual to a clear surface so they could search through it. "Quick, check the index!" Philip stated unnecessarily from where he'd sat down for a moment as Aeri checked him. Everyone watched, on edge, as several people took turns flipping pages as fast as they could (It was a BIG book). Peter called out names as he searched. "Elephant Pens... Engineering section... AHA! Emergency Self-Destruct Deactivation Switch -- see Captain's Command Panel." He immediately started flipping back in the index, to find the other entry. After twenty pages, he found it. "Captain's Command Panel, location of... elements of... use of... Emergency Self Destruct! -- page 12597." Everyone assembled groaned. Peter shrugged, and started flipping the pages backwards. "One minute, forty-nine seconds." "12580 -- 12600 -- 12597! Found it! 'Operation of Emergency Self-Destruct Deactivation Switch'!" "Great!" Philip exclaimed, getting to his feet. "How do we get at it?" Peter began reading off instructions as the group searched for the controls needed. "First, activate the Captain's Command Panel, as specified in section 20.12.1 --" "How do we do that?" "Hold -on-, I'm looking! -- Here it is! Press the fourth, fifth, and eighth buttons simultaneously on the captain's chair's right arm--" Aeri checked the chair in question, found the buttons, and pressed them simultaneously. A whirring sound could be heard, and a panel lifted away from the control panel on the other side of the chair, revealing controls that were already lit up. "One minute, zero seconds. Fifty-eight seconds." "Ok, now back to that page -- Second, press 'Emergency Command Functions' to bring up the submenu --" Philip checked the panel (which was like the ones in ST:TNG), found the button in question, and pressed it. Its display was replaced with another, one of which was labeled "Emergency Self-Destruct Deactivation". Philip pressed it without hesitation, even as Peter was saying, "Third, press 'Emergency..' -- well, you know; and then enter the password." "-Password?-" Aerianne exclaimed, and was joined by the rest of the group as they chorused her surprise. "Password?" Philip repeated, his mouth going dry. "Thirty-three seconds." People started suggesting passwords as fast as they could, each one drowning out the other. And at the moment, Philip wasn't really listening to them. he yelled at himself, even as he entered passwords at random, each one causing the panel to buzz, flash "INVALID ENTRY", and clear the password field. "Twenty seconds," the computer recited. "Dammit, none of them are working!" Philip spat out, angry at himself for bring this all on them, for trapping them here. "Philip, enter something! -Anything!-" Aeri's voice cried out. Philip could hear Emmy's voice in the background going, "Oh please god I don't want to die!" to her elder sister. Philip's eyes widened as he remembered a factoid from earlier that day. "Ten seconds." "Philip, -HURRY!-" he argued with himself. "Seven." <*shrug* What the hell.> "Four." Philip quickly tapped in the password Emmy had set earlier. <12345> "On-- *BEEP!* -- Self-Destruct Deactivated." *PHEW!* Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as the self- destruct mechanism politely informed everyone that the engine overload was returning to nominal levels, that there was no need to worry, and that their insurance companies wouldn't end up bankrupt due to their untimely deaths. Philip plopped down in the Captain's Chair, letting his helmet drop to the decking, as everyone else found a place to relax or rest against. "Ooooohkay... now that the bad guy's dead, now what?" Peter DeGlopper asked. Philip looked over at the dead 6-ft tall rabbit who was currently imitating a Jackson Pollock painting. "Well... I guess we'll end up contacting the authorities, tell them what happened, show them the dead bodies, and hope we don't get put away for life..." Philip paused as his ears picked up a faint beeping sound. He cocked his head to try to pinpoint it's source. It seemed to be coming from where Aeri was leaning against what must have been the navigator's station on this bridge. In fact, it seemed to be coming from underneath her palm. Aeri looked at where Philip was looking, and moved her hand. Now, the beeping sound was louder, and audible to everyone on the bridge. "Um... that's bad, isn't it," Aeri said as she looked, wide-eyed, at the flashing button her hand had accidentally pressed as she'd leaned on it. "Yep, bad... definitely, -definitely- bad, uh-huh," Trevor deadpanned. Then, before anyone could reply, ask questions, or lay blame, the computer's voice spoke once again. "Tunnel Drive Initializing. Prepare for immediate departure," it announced as various control panels on the bridge, previously dark, sprung to life, displaying diagrams and information that no-one there could understand. The entire ship hummed ominously as unknown devices powered up, and on the monitor screen, an odd disturbance could be seen. "Or, we could end up god-knows-where as an untested propulsion system is activated for the first time," Philip continued, nonplussed, as if none of the previous events had just happened. He then blinked as he realized what he'd said. "-Oh- boy," he becketted. Epilogue) ------------------------------------------------------------- "It is a good day to die... But the day is not yet over." -- [who said this?] THREE MINUTES AGO The campus, quite frankly, was a mess. The Mall was littered with the twisted, smoking remains of FOWL's finest power armors, mecha, and aircraft. A few US tanks and jets were there as well, victims of Ray's aerial bombardment. Buildings everywhere were in various states of disrepair, from simple defacement to total vaporization. Sirens wailed in the distance, and the smell of burning organic matter was heavy in the air. And above it all, a titanic shape hovered over College Park, occluding the sun and causing the lightpoles (the few that were standing) to turn on automatically. This lack of light was not lost on the man who had just exited the Tawes courtyard doors. He was fairly average in appearance: the only features that distinguished him at first sight were his hawk nose, his sandy brown hair, and the round spectacles perched on his nose. The fact that the man had just exited the Tawes courtyard doors without bothering to go through the -lobby- first didn't bother him one bit. The man looked at the silver card he carried, and thought to himself for a bit. Then he looked -up-. This newcomer to the campus had seen a -lot- of strange things in his travels. So many in fact, that they were more of the status-quo to him than anything else; he had seen things that made what was now in the sky before him seem normal in comparison. Even so, the sight of a four kilometer starship, hovering over the ground at about a thousand meters, and just -happening- to be shaped like a large turtle -- his mind reminded himself -- was... different to say the least. As he continued to look at the ship above him (an action which was going to give him a -really- stiff neck in the morning), he began to notice little energy tendrils playing about the ships' surface. As he watched, they built in strength, feeding back on themselves and forming the beginnings of a force-field around the ship. This force- field continued to build in a very short time; in a few seconds, the entire ship was surrounded by a cylindrical force-field, arranged about the ship's long axis. And before his mind could truly register what was happening, the field suddenly compressed itself into a thin line and shot forward at Ludicrous Speed, shattering windows and blowing debris as it punched open a hole in spacetime with a flash of plaid and a CRACK! of sound. The spacetime distortion closed in on itself, sucking in astral matter and other things as it winked away. Nothing was left of the ship itself. It had vanished. "Now this," Edison Bell said to himself, "-This- is interesting..." But before he could follow them, he noticed a field of white encroaching on the horizon. he thought as he opened his Gridpass, and vanished... TO BE CONTINUED... <<>>