When Render first received Ion's call to arms, he didn't know what to think.
It had been a long time since he had even seen Ion, much less heard from it, but the call was far too juicy for him to not come. Of course, he'd finish with that fine male specimen in a few days, after whatever Ion wanted them to do, of course.
Render was one of the few defectors from the Protogen Empire, though this was quite a while ago as the reason why he left has since been withdrawn, and he could really go back any time he pleased.
He was once a part of the cataloging division in the S.O.B section of alien exploration. S.O.B, meaning Study Of Breeding.
Of course, it only took him so long to gain true sentience, unlike his drone brothers and sisters. He left to, well, to explore the mating habits and breeding rituals much more intimately.
Render was one of the stranger protogen in the fact that he barely had any mechanical parts, but that was due to S.O.B requiring them to blend in easily, and although the visor was a large indicator on what they were, having almost no other metallic parts actually worked fairly well.
He had managed to intercept a trading vessel to get to where Ion told them to meet up, and had given them detailed plans on what they needed to do to make sure everyone got inside. With compensation of course: Can't do anything without paying.
Render had two small devices orbiting around him clockwise and counterclockwise, coming ever so close to touching yet never actually touching. These weren't just for show either, they were actually rather powerful devices.
He could create life-like models of any being, object, or place with just a thought, and they were so convincing that sometimes it was hard to distinguish them from reality. He guessed his little quirk was one of the reasons Ion called him.
Hexel was a little different from him as well: He wasn't a true protogen in the sense of the word. He was actually an argumantulian, a spider-like being hailing from the deep corners of the universe.
He had illegally downloaded his conscience into a dead protogen body he had found, and discarded the consciousness chip. This, however cruel and dastardly illegal, did make him technically a protogen.
He had several powers that most other protogen didn't have, and some unique only to him because with his powerful mind, he doesn't need Boson Energy or particles.
He outfitted himself with a constant electrical generator that always surged through his body, and with a little drop of multipliers, it mainly powered him so he didn't need to eat or sleep at all.
That generator was hooked up to his scalp and to his hands, allowing him to control directional lines of electricity. Inside his legs, he hallowed it almost completely saved for the supports and some of the nerves, and added in several compartments.
Due to his unique species, he can also harness another energy source unique to him: Hexing energy. Considered by most to be more akin to magic than real science, he can pretty much to anything with the elements.
He had several weapons, pieces of high-tech armor, and several creations he had made himself. He was wanted across the universe for numerous crimes that although not gruesome, numbered in the tens of thousands.
He wasn't even sure why Ion called him. He only met the guy once when he saved him from going to trial, and even then he disguised it as him accidentally dropping the keys. He still has no idea how that worked out.
Though, he still owned him for that, so he answered the call. He acquired a fake I.D and biometric code that easily fooled scanners and other equipment, most of which Ion produced. Perks of being the lead engineer that uses machines to basically power the entire world.
Once he met up with Render, they discussed the plan: Render was to distract the guards stationed all around the domed city and draw them away by any means. He could do that by solidifying some of the holograms and trapping them.
Of course, he wasn't troubled to kill them, but Ion gave him strict orders not to. Once they are out of the way, he is to make sure the shield generator of the dome is fully active, and that the dome is still fully enclosing The Machine.
Hexel meanwhile is to make sure that B-64 gets to Ion, whether by force or by sneaking around. Hexel did prefer force, but he knew and understood the mission well enough that sneaking around would be better.
While that happened, Mason will take the Ebony Crusade to the main fuse room along with Marissa. They will plant it besides the main control, as it would have the greater explosive yield there,
Catalyst and Axel are going to take the second canister, The Ivory Crusade, to the secondary fuse room and do the same thing that Mason and Marissa did. After that, they have to get out of there as fast as they can, as the fuse cores will interact with the canisters, even if they aren't open.
When B-64 is with Ion, it'll give him an excuse to stop working and bring B-64 away from the area. Whoever is there will allow it, simply because it is Ion they are going to talk to. The only one that has the authority to stop them is B-01.
After they get outside, Ion will activate the machine via a transmitter he had plugged in there. It will activate the fuse cores, and only the fuse cores, generating the explosive yield needed to destroy that machine.
And take out anyone else there. But the reigning four top B-Series members aren't really that important. In fact, the only being besides Ion that could survive the blast would be B-01, and Ion could only survive because of his upgrades.
When the group had gone over the plan with the others, they were given a few looks.
"I get we need to get out of there, but how can we manage that?" Axel asked, fidgeting nervously as the two went over everything. The visor on Hexel's visor twitched to life for a moment.
"Use those damn upgrades you all got. Tear them limb from limb, detonate their cores inside of them, crush them to a bloody pulp, or cause their entire remaining nervous system to shut down or overreact. In other words, fight." Hexel replied, a dark grim, almost sadistic smile appearing on his visor.
"However violent, he is right. The only way to really get outside is to rip and tear. Sad to see all those bodies go to waste and crumble to dust, but I'm afraid that it is a must." Render told them, rubbing a finger against the floating devices around his head.
Mason looked at the hologram that Render produced: An entire life-like replica of the dome that encapsulated The Vortex, even with little replicas of protogen stayed around. It looked oddly satisfying.
"That simple, huh?" Mason said, still peering down. He had to admit, it seemed simple on paper, or hologram, but he understood that it most likely will be much, much harder.
"In simple terms, it will be simple. If we tried to explain the finer points, well it wouldn't be simple." Hexel repeated. Who could argue with that logic?
Marissa sighed and gripped her upgrade, now transformed into what looked like a knife. She looked down at it, seeing how she would use later on and what she could do with it now. If they had a chance, then they were going to take it.
Mason hugged his own upgrade, the umbrella, rather closely. He could only really increase his strength and speed, so he needed to stay focused and get there without alerting anyone else, as almost every protogen he had seen thus far has had some sort of long range weapon.
Marissa could be his saving grace if anything did go wrong, as she could actually use her own power to fight at long range. It would be tricky, but she could do it without too much strain.
Mason was worried about Axel and Catalyst though: Catalyst was damaged a fair bit and was more or less drained at this point, and Axel did the worst out of the three of them when it came to fighting.
"We'll distract the guards first. The main entrance is here-" Render pointed down at his hologram, landing right in front of a small gap inside the dome, "- It can close once we are outside. I can probably harden my holograms around them and knock them out."
"That's not a distraction." Axel said half-mindedly.
"Well, it will keep their mind off of us. Their whole mind, in fact." Render replied half-heartedly, waving his clawed hand around in the air, "Anyways, once Hexel get's B-64 to Ion, me and him will high-tail it out of there. The rest of you have to follow."
Mason and the rest nodded, understanding the plan. Once they went over it a second, third, and fourth time, they all left for the cylinder vehicle that Catalyst produced. Since it was so cramped though, they had to do something.
Catalyst had managed to regrow three more needles, but he had to use those to expand the vehicle for all of them to fit inside. They needed to get there fast, so they couldn't walk. It'd be too slow.
Once that got finished, they all piled inside. Catalyst tightened his hold on the steering device and accelerated rapidly, hitting the top speed in only a matter of seconds while still staying silent. They were just fifty miles away now.
_-_-_
"Ion." A chilled voice rang throughout the room, soulless and empty yet full of fake joy and wonder. Ion didn't dare look up as his very presence filled the room, intoxicating despite how horrible it made him feel.
"I am.... Very displeased to hear that The Machine is not up and running. May I ask, why isn't it running?" Ion gulped, the air growing thinner and thinner as he approached. The electricity that was ever present inside him slowly dwindled as he came closer and closer.
"It is currently eighty-three percent done. We are taking a short break due to having immense stress on our physical forms." Another protogen, a worker drone named J-839, answered for Ion.
B-01 clenched his claws in thinly veiled rage, turning his visor to peer at the drone, "I know your limits. Ion here takes the excess and turns it into electricity. One of the reasons why he built the thing in the first place and why only he can operate it. I am asking him."
"The rest can be put up shortly, sir. I assure you, I am taking a break due to a physical malfunction having been triggered, and I am simply resting to make sure that I can finish the rest without freezing and accidentally falling into something vital." Ion replied, still looking down and not at B-01.
Ion cringed as he heard the faint laughter echo out of the emotionless voice box, "Very well. I give you ten minutes to recuperate, and then you finish it. I can activate myself if anything were to happen to you, no big problem."
Ion said nothing more as B-01 walked down the room and into the hallway, going to the main control room and awaiting Ion's completure.
Ion gulped, looking at the countless drones around him completely frozen in fear or dread. Either emotion really worked, and Ion was the only one that could really move at all in B-01's presence, at least in that building.
He sighed deeply and checked his internal clock. It was near completion, and they weren't here yet. Where were they?
________________________________________________________________________________
Heya!
So, yeah. This is the next chapter.
Now, it might be dragging now, but the next chapter is gonna be very, very long! In fact, the next few chapters will be extremely long.
It's nearing the end of the book now, and I want these last few chapters to be epic in properation, length, and style. I hope you inderstand that if I want to do that, I need a bit more time.
It won't be too long till the next one, but I do have a lot of stuff I need to type out.
Either way, I thank you for reading and making it this far, and I hope you're enjoying it!
~ Candle