* * * * *
“The last transmission location from Toriko is just ahead,” Mini-T said, a holographic map displaying before her. There was nothing ahead except a mountain of debris. Broken bricks and twisted metal were interspersed with geysers of fire and water from broken mains—until a small group of black-clad soldiers dashed around the corner and skidded to a halt before them. Mencari’s panic subsided when he saw the confusion in the Nukaris’ eyes. They were just as befuddled as his team.
“Are you okay?” one asked.
“Yes,” Mencari said, on guard to avoid arousing suspicion.
“Do you need any help?” a second said.
Help? From a Nukari?
“It’s not safe out here right now,” a third said. “You should go to the nearest shelter.”
“Where would that be?” Osuto asked.
The second pointed in the direction the soldiers just came from. “There’s one a few blocks that way.”
“Do you know where the ISC is?” the first asked.
“ISC?” Mencari shook his head.
“Inner-stellar communication tower,” the first said.
Mencari shook his head again. “No idea.”
“Okay. Thanks anyway,” the soldier said, waving.
“Please get to the shelter,” the third added. “For your own safety.”
The small troop dashed off.
Kindness from a Nukari felt strange, especially as the countless atrocities they’d committed came to mind. Though, even within an evil group, there could be good people.
Osuto waited until the soldiers disappeared around a debris pile, then said, “They appear to be in chaos too. Hope that’s good for us.”
“How do we know the others are even alive?” Nikko said.
“I’m getting a ping from Toriko’s suit,” Mini-T said. “All the interference is making it impossible to tell where the packets are coming from. But it’s her signature with biometrics. I know she’s alive.”
“This looks like a dead end here. Maybe we should check the shelter for the others?” Osuto said.
They followed the direction the Nukari soldier had pointed. A knot sat in the pit of Mencari’s stomach. Toriko and the others couldn’t be found, the Nukari were being friendly: everything seemed wrong.
As they approached the shelter, one of the yellow-jacketed aid workers from the ferry approached. “Any luck finding your friends?” Her weary eyes revealed her own struggle.
“Not yet,” Nikko said sadly.
“Maybe they’re here. Follow me,” the woman said. “Just watch your step.”
She headed to an industrial-looking stairway that went underground. Nearly twelve people wide, and two tall, it appeared to be an entrance to a mass transit system. Portable lights dangled precariously and cast a dim light across deeply fractured walls. Similar cracks ran through the wide cement steps. They avoided a section to the far right that had cracked off and lifted a foot higher than the rest.
Adjusting to the dimmer light, Mencari made out rows of benches against the wall, and tunnels with tracks. Subway-like cars were strewn about, tipped against the walls, tossed off their tracks.
“Is it safe here? Another quake could hit anytime,” Nikko said.
“The way we see it, this place took a beating, but it’s still here,” the woman in the yellow vest said. “Can’t say that for the rest of the city.”
She led them through turnstiles, onto platforms where people most likely waited for the tram. A field of beds and bodies covered the floors and ramps.
“How many are here?” Mencari asked.
“Hundreds. From a city of hundreds of thousands.” The woman looked down, her dirty cheeks flushing. “I just hope many left after the first quake, or found other shelters like this one. There might even be people wandering around trying to help out, or just not sure where to go. I can’t let myself think anything else.… I can’t …”
Very few appeared to have escaped some type of injury. The stench of death already wafted in the air. “We need to look for them quickly,” Mencari said.
“We’ll spread out in teams,” Osuto said. “Mini-T and Mencari, I’ll go with Katen. Nikko, go with Speru. See if our people are among those here. Meet back in fifteen minutes.”
Despite the sprawling underground along the ruined tracks, it didn’t take long to discover Toriko and the others weren’t there. They re-gathered along with the yellow-vested woman, and each group reported their failure.
“What will you do now?” she asked.
“Maybe head topside and look for the next shelter?” Speru said.
“If you’re going to go, what does your group look like, in the event they show up here?”
“A woman wearing tech-gadgets, a small girl with a beast companion, a big-muscled guy, an exceptionally tall gal with a bony forehead, and an old woman with crystal-like skin,” Osuto said.
“A group like that would be hard to miss. I’ll keep an eye out and have them wait here if I find them.”
“Thank you,” Osuto said as a commotion between survivors erupted a few yards away.
The yellow-vested helper quickly headed to the disturbance.
“Is there a way we could look for other breadcrumbs?” Mencari asked Mini-T. But she wasn’t listening. Instead she seemed lost reviewing some virtual screens before her.
“I—I’m getting something,” Mini-T said, her excitement undiminished. Her head snapped up; she looked wildly about. “There. There!” Before another word was spoken, her projection began floating toward one of the larger tunnels, one with scattered cars and broken track.
“What did you find?” Osuto asked, the group following.
“Toriko! I found Toriko!”
* * * * *
Several cars were crushed like tin cans against one another. Mencari used his abilities to lift himself up and carefully make it through.
“This is taking too long,” he grunted, met by another tangle of tramcars obstructing their way.
“Yes, I was about to tell them, Fio’tro!” Katen screamed, pounding the ground with his staff. Turning toward the others, the crystal atop his staff radiated with light as he said with an unnatural calm, “Allow me.”
Thick vines sprouted from the floor and pushed through the cracks in the walls and ceiling. After weaving through the tangled cars, they constricted, crushing them like toys, and opening the path forward.
Mencari squeezed through the opening created, and groaned.
“The signal’s getting stronger! We’re close!” Mini-T cheered.
“Then we have to keep going,” Speru said as light spread across the walls. Mencari turned toward the source and saw the boy’s firelight sabers burning bright. He dashed forward, slicing through the metal beams. Dirt and debris fell like black rain on him, and the supporting structures melted away.
“Careful! Everything could come down,” Osuto warned.
With surgical precision the boy cut his way through, holding the firelight blades in place long enough to fuse metal and rock together.
“Nearly there! If we keep going, I’ll be able to sync up!” Mini-T said.
“What do you mean?” Mencari asked, in close pursuit.
“There’s an instance of Mini-T, I mean me, running off Toriko’s hardware. She’s been collecting information from the group as they’ve traveled. When we finally make contact, I can absorb the instance, and all the documented information with it.”
“How does that work?” he said, confused.
“Well, Toriko knew there might be times I can’t reach them. So, she wanted the ability to leverage a version of me if she needed it. Instances aren’t perfect versions of me, but they should be nearly indistinguishable from me to the average person.”
“Is it strange to merge together?”
“Not at all. They’re simple exchanges of information. The only difference is I’m given the entire context without having to initially experience it myself— Wait! Wait!” she
cried out. “Downloading!”
A projection of Toriko and Naijen appeared, along with a host of holographic panels that scrolled information. “They’re—they’re right around that bend!”
She pointed as soft thuds echoed down the tunnel.
“Another quake?” Nikko said, nervous.
A high whine joined the thuds as they continued forward.
“Eudora!” Mini-T cried. “Tons of Nukari are on them!”
Mencari burst into a run, his aura radiant. Bursts of light reflected down the tunnel, ending in plumes of dust from pockmarked walls. An unmistakable roar accompanied a blast of light, which ended in a thunderous shaking of the tunnel.
“Naijen!” Mencari yelled, and with superhuman speed, he powered down the corridor. There, black-clad soldiers wielding bulky laser rifles had pinned down a group of people. He took a quick inventory of the allies present.
A catwoman with long black hair laced with red streaks: that would be Maro, Toriko’s sister. Next to her, a woman in pink techno armor and strips of white neon. That would be Toriko, he expect to see Spark at her feet but recalled it was with Toriko’s ship. The big muscles and tattoos could only be Naijen. A short, overweight catman cowered behind him. He recognized Palo, one of the resistance fighters from Toriko’s world of Tericn.
He skidded to a stop and reached forward. A hot white energy blazed from his outstretched arms in two arcs of raw power. A cluster of the black-garbed soldiers were enveloped in a vengeful embrace, and shrieked before falling unconscious.
A familiar shrill voice cried out, “Rhysus! Everyone!” Toriko attempted to dart around Naijen, but was corralled back.
“Don’t make yourself a target,” Mencari heard the muscle-headed warrior bark.
“Reinforcements!” one of the Nukari soldiers yelled.
Despite crouching, a bone crown of white drew his attention upward. Cerna stood, glaive in hand, preparing to defend their position.
“Rhysus, we have to find Seigie and Allia! We got split up,” Toriko yelled.
“Speru,” Mencari cried out, reaching Toriko, Spark, and Naijen.
Packing away the firelight blades, the boy quickly joined him. “Nova Burst,” Mencari barked out. In moments the boy’s body shimmered, as did the radiant white light that rippled in waves around them.
Mencari’s golden aura turned blood red. The soldiers cried out as he released the attack. The explosion ripped through the enemy lines, tossing enemies like rag dolls. Those who recovered turned and fled.
* * * * *
“New trick, Rylee?” Naijen sneered.
The warrior suspiciously eyed over the stranger next to Mencari. Another whelp? The boy’s striking amber eyes locked onto his own. Where’d he come from?
Allia’s call for help echoed through the caverns. “Kid! This way!” Naijen bellowed.
He didn’t realize how far ahead he’d gotten. Why couldn’t they keep up?
“Hang on!” Naijen yelled, pivoted, then charged like a mad bull toward Allia’s cry.
He eyed the piles of Nukari soldiers, some still twitching. Mencari did good. Now that their industrious leader was back from his vacation, Naijen needed to convince Mencari to reveal how he was doing the tricks he did.
With each step, his aura grew with greater brilliance. A blockade of soldiers stood in his way. But that wasn’t going to keep him from reaching the little girl. He lowered his shoulder and rammed through the enemies, smashing them out of the way.
Allia, Ichini, and Seigie were fighting back-to-back, surrounded by enemies. The warrior roared, drawing the Nukaris’ attention.
“Naijen!” Allia cried.
He bellowed as he unleashed a flurry of D’mok blasts. The soldiers were easy pickings. As the masses fell, the others turned and fled.
“Run, ya cowards,” Naijen chided while Allia ran to his side.
“Thank—I mean—I had it covered,” Allia said, gratitude and fear breaching her overly confident exterior.
“Yeah?” He put his face inches from hers. “I say you were about to pee your pants, little girl.”
She jerked as if slapped in the face. Her eyes met his, and she smiled. “Nah, I just kept them busy so you could try and learn how to hit something from a distance.”
He tried not to grin but couldn’t help it. “You’re learning, kid,” he said, and laughed.
The ground started to shake and a mechanical whir drifted from the direction of the fleeing soldiers. Beaming lights shone at them through the tunnel, accompanied by the sound of clanking and gears turning. In moments, a treaded war machine thundered toward them.
“More?” Allia asked, exhausted.
Allia’s tiger companion circled the girl, enraged. Light poured from its body, enveloping the beast. An unholy howl emanated from the spectacle as the radiance expanded three times its original size. Clawed hands and thick, muscular arms emerged. Protruding through the muscle were long, white, serrated blades of bone. The glow receded, revealing twisted horns and a furry mantle that framed a gargoyle-like face. Tufts of fur covered its muscular chest, which heaved in anger. Ichini stood on satyr-like legs, which stomped into the ground before it bellowed.
“Oh, they pissed Ichini off but good,” Naijen said with a smile.
* * * * *
“Rhysus,” Una said through the communicator, panicked.
Mencari fired his blaster as Naijen, Seigie, Allia, and Ichini attacked the war machine, moving with coordinated grace he’d never seen before. Perhaps they had been practicing together?
“Are you there?” Una said again, with greater urgency.
“Go ahead,” he said, taking cover behind a rocky outcropping.
“A small fleet of ships just arrived in orbit. Looks like a number of first responders.”
“What about it, Una?”
“There are Nukari ion trails among them.”
“All of them?”
“No, but a few. Nukari reinforcements might have just arrived.”
“Be ready to pick us up. We’re getting out of here.”
“Give the word, and I’ll be wherever you need me in minutes.”
A blast drew him from hiding. Naijen laughed from atop burning wreckage. The warrior turned, about to chase the last of the retreating soldiers, when Mencari called out to him.
“Reinforcements have arrived. Back the way we came!”
* * * * *
“We move as a unit and get out of here. Daleron, Naijen, guard our rear,” Mencari barked, motioning the others to continue forward. “Nikko, Katen, Allia, and Ichini, make sure our path forward is still clear.” With quick nods they dashed ahead. “Speru, you and I are going to protect the others as we move.”
“I’m quite capable,” Seigie said, annoyed.
“You’re also the slowest. I need you to focus your abilities to move faster.”
“I can help protect the rear,” Osuto said, already falling back.
“No, stay with us. I don’t want you straining more.”
The old man paused, then looked back. Mencari could see a knowing look in the old man’s eyes. He paused a moment more before returning next to Mencari.
“Cerna, anything gets past us, cut it down.”
Mencari led a swift retreat, back the way they came.
“I’m sorry we caused this mess,” Maro said, defeated.
“They wanted you to get to me. Looks like it was all planned out. You didn’t cause anything. I’m glad we got everyone out.”
“Still clear,” Daleron’s voice said through the communicator.
“Toriko, status?” Mencari followed up.
“Fine this way.”
He nodded. So far so good.
“Continue forward at the next intersection,” Mini-T said, looking at a holographic map before her.
“I believe our probe technology would be useful in situations like this,” Bob said, flatly. “It could easily monitor the way ahead, and cover behind without putting resources at risk.”
A tremor shook the ground. Again Mencari felt a knot in his stomach. They had to get aboveground. “Don’t stop!” he yelled, even as the tremors subsided.
“Rhysus, I don’t like what I see down there,” Una said through the communicator.
“What’s going on?”
A blast exploded on the wall next to Mencari. His body flung back helplessly. The world spun, and his ears rang.
Everything felt numb. He couldn’t even see. Then an intense sense of vertigo overcame him, along with a searing pain across his left side.
The sound of phaser blasts echoed madly around him, along with Osuto’s commands. Though he couldn’t make out what the old man was saying: now his head throbbed too. He pushed to up to his hands and knees. A green light washed over him. In moments, the pain was gone. Seconds beyond that, and clarity returned to his mind.
“Are you okay?” Seigie asked. “That was close.”
She’d healed him with a green gem. He counted his lucky stars. But what hit him?
“Yeah,” he said as she helped him up. Those he intended to protect had taken up defensive positions on either side of the intersecting tunnels. Blaster fire rained from around the corner. The Nukari reinforcements had a great strategy; it nearly worked.
“Una, what’s going on out there?” Mencari asked.
“It looks like transports unloading, heading into the underground areas. My scans show vehicles, in addition to a small army of people.”
“Nukari coming up from the rear,” Daleron yelled, the rapid fire from his automatic weapon buzzing through the channel.
“Rhysus, I’m detecting a number of digital signals nearby,” Toriko said, casting a projection of the tunnels before her. Four blinking indicators closed on their position. A fifth indicator appeared, the Nukari emblem. “It’s Jencho and—”
Metal clangs echoed down the corridor. It sounded like heavy machinery. “Eudora!” she screamed when a whoosh followed a small explosion. The walls illuminated as a fireball streaked toward them.
“Rocket!” Osuto yelled. His mentor radiated a powerful golden aura, then released a blast that intercepted it in midair. Mencari focused, erecting his D’mok field as the explosion rolled toward him. He held firm against the blast.
D'mok Revival: The Nukari Invasion Anthology Page 74
