The Shadow Chasers

Chapter 12

A shot from a crow Shadow sailed nearby suddenly and struck the ice holding Kaito. The ice melted and he quickly slipped into the drain he'd made a break for earlier.

"Aigis!" Mitsuru yelled, busy with the crow Shadow and now a multi-armed Shadow that had appeared. "Take the spies and follow Kaito! He may lead you to the relics!" she managed between breaths of exertion from dodging and parrying attacks.

"Roger!" Aigis replied who'd turned to the drain and was already on the way. Sam noticed the exchange, signaled to Clover and Alex to follow, and reached the metal grate moments after.

Sam used her Laser Lipstick to cut the bolts securing the cover, then Aigis grabbed it and tossed it aside. She glanced to the spies and Labrys, who'd landed behind them to provide cover. Mitsuru and the others had regrouped to cover them as well. Surprisingly, there was still a fair number of Shadows they were battling, including the formidable lion Shadows.

Aigis dropped into the drain chute, followed by the spies, then Labrys. Each paused briefly to provide space between them for whatever was ahead. Darkness grew as they plummeted for a few moments, but Aigis activated a lamp on her headband which lit the way with a small yet strong beam of light. Aigis' unique feet, which were essentially toeless cylindrical extensions of her legs, impacted with the metal bars of a grate cover. The spies had slowed to a stop using gloved hands and their boots on the chute slides. Labrys, bringing up the rear, activated her back thrusters to hover.

The blonde android had considered blasting the cover on her way down, but didn't want to risk injury to her allies in the narrow space. Instead she pushed on the bars until the cover was torn free, stripping the bolts holding it. She dropped through and activated her thrusters, entering the large, dark room through its ceiling. The spies used their jetpacks to hover behind her, followed by Labrys, flying behind them on high alert.

"Ugh," Alex muttered with a distasteful expression, repulsed by the dank smell that reached her.  Sam and Clover reacted similarly, but quickly focused their M-Ray-assisted eyes on potential leads to the location of the relics.

"Sensors are picking up Shadow activity-" Aigis stated ominously, looking below with a beam of light. "Everywhere," she finished, illuminating a disturbingly large section of floor which seemed to be moving unnaturally. "Don't land, anyone! The floor's covered with Shadows!" Aigis announced.

They all quickly flew upwards with a chorus of started yelps, and a multitude of stretching limbs shot up towards them. The spies had their staves back out and extended, darting about evasively and using them to swat away attacks.

Incredibly, small rocket launchers extended out from either side of Aigis' torso. She released about a dozen small rockets to strafe the huge mass of Shadows below them with explosions that lit up the room, drowning out the bizarre squelching of the masked monsters.

The floor was clear of enemies. But the concrete below was too damaged to properly walk upon, so the group hovered further into the cavernous room. Alex sighed in relief, adrenaline still coursing through her. She made brief eye contact with Sam and Clover to see they were okay. They also looked relieved, yet were intently looking for the next possible attack.

"Sensors still indicate-" Aigis began.

"On the wall--!" Clover exclaimed, and Labrys' headband lamp illuminated impossibly long, thin limbs shooting out from a sea of Shadows on the closest wall. The opposite wall also shot out a vast number of limbs. The spies, Aigis, and Labrys avoided attacks and defended themselves until Alex, then Clover were overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Arms pinned, they were unable to reach their Laser Lipsticks. Labrys quickly tore through some Shadow limbs with her giant rocket-powered axe a safe distance from the two girls. Aigis and Sam were covering themselves from attacks, yet still moved to defeat the enemies at the source.

A/N: Thanks for reading this.  I appreciate your vote and comment as always.  Your support means a lot to me!