Valandus himself was trying to run as fast as he could. As soon as the first small pop sounded he was already halfway to the back door. As the larger explosions began to ring he had reached it and just before things got too messy he had already closed the door behind him. It was unfortunate then that though he escaped, he didn't do so unharmed. Gritting his teeth he pulled a small shard from his side. Despite all the shelving a single piece had still managed to pierce him, though that itself could be considered lucky.
As Valandus ran he tended to his wound. His mind was alight as it tried to hold the memory of the Sky Fortress within his mind. There was no doubt in his mind that Urza would come out alive. Even before he had taken Philius' side he was a formidable fighter. What he needed now was to escape and come up with a plan.
"Valandus!" Urza's scream indicated that the traitor was hot on his trail.
He span around and began to fire into the walls of the corridor. What looked like random shots burst into the underlying piping releasing a torrent of white gas. As he turned the corner he caught a glimpse of Urza freeze before the obstruction and smiled. The gas was harmless being mostly steam, but Urza couldn't know that and the few seconds spared Valandus enough time to gain some distance.
The problem remained however that Valandus was in a pickle. He had truly expected Urza to be down below. The self-important man wasn't one to miss the changing of the world that Philius offered, especially if he was a key player in it. The fact that he was here, the fact that Valandus had to face him, it was something he couldn't avoid.
"Sorry Reina but it looks like this one's mine," he sighed and pressed his bloodied hand against the wall, his feet coming to a rest. "I'll finish this for the both of us."
Urza soon caught up and gloated immediately, "Did you finally realise running was useless?"
"Well at least in this direction, yes," Valandus drew his dagger and held his pistol in the other.
"Ha!" Urza laughed spitefully. "You think you stand a chan-." His words caught in his throat as suddenly Valandus ran towards him. Two bullets fired forcing Urza to defend and in that space of time Valandus reached him. The first strike arced his unprotected neck. Urza narrowed his gaze and stepped back out of reach, preparing to swing his sword in reply. Again Valandus fired his pistol forcing Urza to retreat. Valandus however kept close, his dagger already flashing forwards.
Annoyed, Urza moved to parry the blow only to find empty air as Valandus suddenly stepped back. His erratic movements were a far cry from any standard form of martial arts, while confusing, Urza however simply smiled. His parry instead became a wide swing as he stepped forward, sword moving far faster than an ordinary man could follow. Valandus' eyes hardened in focus. He could feel his muscles tense as they forced his body down, the sword streaking across the wisps of his hair. Then came the snap that echoed through his bones. A jolt of more than just muscle crackled and pushed him forward as he lunged towards Urza, dagger pointed straight. The metal's edge cut through Urza's coat but failed to reach his skin as the man leaned back. What followed was the rapid fire of Valandus' pistol. The resounding shots continued to ring until the chamber clicked empty. Urza scowled as he deflected the bullets, each impact forcing him to an even more awkward stance.
"Melissa now!" Valandus yelled and charged.
Urza's senses went wild as he tried to flush out the oncoming attack. His mana turned within, ready to defend himself. As a once 1st Officer of the Hero's Guard he knew of Melissa's past and how deadly she was, much more deadly than the man in front of him. The assassin's blade however never came and with his attention diverted Valandus swung past. Practiced fingers flicked across Urza's waist, their target, the pass that hung on his belt. Had Urza not been distracted there was not a chance he wouldn't have stopped him, but like he was, Valandus held his prize, a determined grin plastered on his face.
With the pass in his hands Valandus didn't stop and ran back towards the reactor. Urza was left hesitating and unsure what had happened. It was only after Valandus had left his sight did he finally react as he realised that Melissa's name was all a ploy against him. Angered now, he gave chase, the black sphere in his chest reacting to his emotions as it let off ominous sparks. Back around the corner, the corridor was filled with white gas which Urza now knew was harmless and without hesitation he ran through. The moment he did however a click resounded in his ea. Without warning he was suddenly covered in blistering flames.
A yell mixed with pain and wrath echoed down the corridor and with it the flames extinguished to nothing. Despite the pain, Urza's body was untouched. His clothes were singed but the skin beneath remained pristine aside from the thick black veins that spread from his chest. He laughed at the miraculous power of his body and continued his chase. Back within the room they had met Valandus' next trap triggered immediately as sparks of energy flashed across the room causing the already shattered crystal to flare violently once more. The result was nowhere near as effective as Urza simply walked through weathering the impact of shards not bothering to defend himself.
There was only one place Valandus would go now that he has stolen Urza's pass and as the once member of the Hero's Guard expected, the door was already open. The reactor was relatively large and had ample space to work around it. Thick thread like cables reached down from the ceiling, all encompassing a single point in the centre. The space however was empty, the core that made up the Sky Fortress in use elsewhere. Within the room Valandus was waiting, his forehead covered in perspiration as the wound he had received earlier was showing its toll. He faced Urza with a stiff expression.
"I'm both impressed and disappointed Valandus," Urza mocked him as he slowly approached. "On one hand you managed to avoid me for quite some time. On the other, all you amounted to was a bag of tricks. Though you have enlightened to me to the true power I was gifted." He flexed his fingers causing dark crackles of black to course above his skin.
Valandus breathed out exasperated, "You really are quite the easy to read arsehole."
"Insulting me now before death will only make it more painful."
"Cautious yet overconfident in everything you do." Valandus stood straight and glared at him, "I like to call myself a coward but you really take the cake."
"I am no coward," Urza said through clenched teeth and thinly veiled anger.
"It's okay," he smirked. "You were always playing second fiddle to the Captain anyway."
"I killed your Captain! Bethial was nothing compared to me!"
"Ha!" Valandus began spitefully, "You couldn't even kill him and relied on a bomb. If the two of you fought even now we both know who would win."
"Me," Urza spoke as if it was the obvious answer.
"Wow, you really are a piece of work."
"That's enough of your prattling." Urza began to approach him once more. "You're nothing but a useless coward who hid behind an equally pathetic man."
Valandus stepped back slowly, "It's true. I am pretty pathetic. I'm not a bad shot but not a great one either. My swordplay is below average and all I can really do is drive. But you know what Urza? The Captain did keep me around for a reason."
"And why's that?" he stood only a few metres away.
"Because I'm damn resourceful." Valandus charged for the wall as soon as the words left his mouth. His hand reached out to an inconspicuous panel, a clear desperate determination pushing him. Urza reacted quicker. He leapt to Valandus' goal and cut down to where his arm would meet the panel. The metal splintered apart as Urza's sword rendered through the steel and Valandus' wrist.
The driver groaned in pain and threw everything he had into diving back. All the while Urza grinned at the now twitching appendage and the trail of blood it had left. His smile however only lasted a moment as Valandus' grit of pain turned to a smirk of victory. An explosion of cold rocketed out of the wall and the pipes that had been hiding within. The chilling gas broke into Urza's body as he flailed away from it. A pain he had never experienced broke apart his muscles as they froze and splintered only to be reformed by his new body.
Urza however managed to focus despite the crippling assault. He raised his sword intent to finally end Valandus' life.
"Melissa now!" Valandus yelled but Urza refused to fall for the same ploy twice.
"Like I wo-," the words cut in his throat as a line of electrified steel coiled across his neck.
Melissa tugged hard, pushing her legs into his back, using herself as an anchor. Even a veteran's head would have rolled but Urza barely bled as he moved to fling off the nuisance. His body however reacted slowly. Between his frozen muscles and Melissa's coursing current his movements had slowed and just when he managed to grip her leg something else plunged into his chest. He looked down to see a pronged cable an inch deep beside the stone in his chest.
Still unable to speak Urza widened his eyes and followed the cable back to where it came from. It had been pulled from the reactor and until now had been hidden from his sight. A clear sense of panic assailed his senses. Whatever Valandus was doing was dangerous and the man needed to die. Melissa however would have none of it and yanked harder on her wire. A click resounded from her leg and with it a blade shot from the heel of her shoe, piercing into Urza's back.
"Just die!" Valandus roared and pressed his entire body into the thick cable. Slowly millimetre by millimetre it crept deeper. Urza finally managed to shift his body as his chilled muscles healed. His hand gripped onto Valandus' shoulder and crushed downwards. The steel like fingers easily broke past Valandus' armoured uniform causing him to scream in pain. Blood shot eyes, Valandus continued to push ignoring the damage to his shoulder and with an almost inaudible click the cable jerked.
The world around them seemed to pause. A final warning before the storm. Then in an instant the entire room lit up as power returned to the system. The source, the very thing that sustained Urza's new body. A shockwave erupted sending Melissa and Valandus sprawling. Their work however was complete.
"Fuck!" Urza moved in slow agony as the power coursed against him and ebbed away. He tried to grip the cable but found no strength in his fingers. "No- I can't- not now!"
"It is now," Valandus huffed tiredly.
"You- how!?"
"I may not be as talented as everyone else, but I do have my own way of doing things." He pointed his pistol towards Urza. "This is for my Captain. This is for Bethial Vonteur."
"No!" Urza screamed but could do nothing as Valandus pulled the trigger. The result was silence.
"Ah shit, I'm out." Valandus shrugged, "Can't really reload with one hand so I guess you're just going to have to live with all the pain as you're drained to nothing by this monster of a fortress."
Bit by bit Urza realised that his body had begun to harden. Starting from the edges of his body, his fingers and feet, clothes and all, they begun to grey to stone.
"Wait!" Urza began to beg. "I'll do anything. I'll help you. I know Philius' plans. I can-."
"Let me stop you there," Valandus laughed spitefully. And tapped his head. "I've got your whole modus operandi in here. I know how you think and even how you'll react. It's over. No one will save you. You have no one left who cares."
"Curse you Valandus! Curse all- of- you." With that Urza could no longer move. His body had shut down, hardened to a stone like structure, it's only use to power the fortress.
Like that Valandus' bravado vanished and he collapsed to the floor breathing hard. Melissa wobbled to his side and pulled out her wire.
"W-wait don't kill me I'm still good," Valandus coughed.
"Stop joking around or you really will bleed to death. FYI I'm not a great medic." She tied the wire around his stumped arm to at least stop some of the bleeding and proceeded to provide some brief medical aid with the few tools she had. "Did you really have to lose your hand?"
"Well he was a bit faster than I expected," he chuckled, wincing in pain as he did so. "We can sew it back on later right?"
"We'll see." She helped him to a stand.
"Ah slowly, please," he groaned. "I really think I might still die."
"If you do, I'll curse you."
"Cursed after death, what a way to go."
"I'm pretty sure there's a first aid room nearby. The others can handle the rest." She paused, "That is assuming the reactor is working right?"
"It should be, though then again we never tested what a human battery would do. I did try a few tests but it actually may be better for me to stay here just in case."
"Will you be fine?"
He smiled, "I like the fact that you're genuinely concerned about me. The first aid room is two doors down on the left, then out the back." With Melissa's help he slumped back to the floor and leaned against the closest wall.
"Got it," she began to turn but halted and faced Valandus. "Also, good job. You won."
"I really did," Valandus eased the tension in his body. "Captain was right. With enough preparation even I can help save the world. Now hurry up. I need a shot of adrenaline or I really will pass out."
Melissa nodded and vanished out the room.
With power restored to the Sky Fortress Valandus knew that Leela and Mica would take care of the rest. Though not as good as him, Leela knew the main functions of the fortress and with Mica's help would get to exactly where she needed to be. On cue Leela's voice rang from the entire fortress' speakers. Valandus closed his eyes, listening to the message that would hopefully seal his side of the battle.
"To all members of the Lavise Guard, the Sky Fortress has been taken over by the Hero's Guard and is now under our control. Turn your eyes to the sky. Out there the Hero is fighting for you! Every day he risks his life for us and now he needs us to help him. What Philius Tombre has done only seeks to strip us of our unity, to break us apart. But what can my words prove."
The announcement paused and a new voice replaced Leela, "My name is Talia Burn, Knight of Lavise. The Hero's Guard spared my life after our invasion as they did for many of us. Please hear me, my friends, Christoph, Andre, all of you. What Philius Tombre ordered us to do, the plan he convinced our council to follow, it will only ruin us all. He wishes to break down our world and take over with rules of his own. We cannot let that happen. Rise for the Hero! He has promised all who turn back to his light will be forgiven."
The voice again changed, "My name is Gregor, a researcher for the-." Their messages continued, pre-recorded statements to confuse and turn the Lavise Guard against themselves and to hopefully stand where they should have all along. It wouldn't take long for them to find where Leela was broadcasting, at that point it really would depend on who decided to switch sides. Regardless the cannons would be firing to help Arvel and once that monster was gone, the entire operation would be easy from there. With those thoughts, Valandus tiredly sighed and the world began to fade....
A sudden jab shot into his thigh and forced him wide awake. "Hero almighty!" he swore and eyes wide glared at Melissa who had just plunged a thick needle into his leg.
"I found your adrenaline," she smiled. "No napping, you still have work to do." She kneeled beside him and began to unpack a large bag filled with various medical tools. "Now either you help me with this or I try to find out what all this does myself and you really may die."
"I got it, I got it!" Valandus was more than awake now. "I'm here till the end." He could only hope that the ground team were doing well.