"You know this is further from the staircase than earlier, right?" Don asked him. Him and Wing were still taking the path that he took earlier. He stopped by a fork and tried recalling where he went.
"I came from this way." He told, reassuring himself as he pointed to the right. He pushed Don to continue walking in his direction. "This is even further away," He complained. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"Shut up." Wing ordered Don, he wasn't able to focus with his constant noise. He felt weak from the fight earlier. Don's power doesn't just make the target feel immense pain, but also drains their energy.
"Can't you just let me lead the way?" Don asked. "I already let you catch me and wore these flimsy things." He shook the handcuffs. "Okay no," Wing felt his head ache from the constant bickering. "Why can't you just stay silent like other people who get caught?"
"I'm just trying to help," Don said before becoming quiet. Wing felt a bit bad about how he was treating his old partner, but he knew that Don wasn't the same person he knew he was before.
Don't fall for it.
People always worried about Wing, on how he was chasing his old colleague. They worried that he wouldn't be able to catch him, that his connection to Don would eventually lead him to fail, or even die.
"The way we're heading leads us to a dead end," Don said. "I may be old but I can recall everything about this place."
"Listen…" Wing sighed, "You are currently held captive by me. We're not partners this time Don, you're a criminal now." He hated the situation, listening to how his ex partner continued to stay as if nothing was wrong.
Then, a loud, ear piercing sound was heard. Both of them stayed still and low, listening to the painful sound. Once it ended, Wing looked at Don and pointed his sword to him, "What the hell was that?"
"It should be the thing Parquatz kept," Don explained. "I don't really know what it is, only that he kept it locked up." Wing moved his sword a tad bit closer to his neck, "Alright, then why did it suddenly make that sound?"
Don shrugged, "Maybe it got hungry."
"Really?" Wing asked him, "What can even make a sound like that?" His ears were still ringing from the screech. "Beam can," Don told him. "So can the creatures from The Wastes."
Wing stopped him from talking, "Beam? Is that its name?"
"I wouldn't worry about its name, I would worry about getting out of here." Don gestured to one of the pathways, "We should really take that path while we still can."
"Why?" He asked him, "Why should I follow the words of someone who strayed from the path he once preached so much about?" Wing went to face Don, "Wasn't it you who hated these types of people the most?"
Don fell silent. His stoic face broke into one of sadness, something that Wing rarely sees. "Wing, we've been together for so long. You know that I don't make rash decisions. It's about time I tell you exactly what I've been doing…"
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Another high pitched screech filled the caverns. This time, it was louder, more unbearable than the last. "Isn't that closer than last time?" Wing shouted out. "What?" Don looked at him confused.
"Get the hell away from me!" A woman's voice could be heard from afar, followed with multiple gunshots. Wing turned to where the sound came from, recognizing the voice as someone he knew.
Anora?
"Looks like Beam's going to be fed soon," Don said. "Come on, we're helping her." Wing told Don, he threw his blade to the ground and ran to where the screeching sounds came from. "Do you always leave your prisoners alone?" Don joked as he easily got rid of his handcuffs.
Don grabbed his blade with a dissatisfied look, "You really should treat weapons better." He said, cleaning the debris off before following behind Wing. They quickly made their way, using their ears to follow where the sounds came from.
Shots flew towards the metal beast, leaving barely anything as it landed. "Just what is this thing made of?" Anora complained, she's desperately been trying to find a way to kill Beam.
The creature paused, jerking slowly before lunching towards Anora, ravaging everything in its path. She barely managed to dodge as Beam crashed into the wall. Their fight had constantly been on the move, spanning all around the caverns.
Is this thing even alive?
Using her eyes, she couldn't see everything that makes a living creature. It moved off, his movements were erratic, in a jerking rhythm. She couldn't make sense of its biology, it moved as if it had no care for its body. It had no opening to attack, no ears or eyes, only a large mouth that's layered with steel.
Her bullets have been having no effects against Beam, all she could hope for was to lead this thing further in where it won't see the light of day. If Beam were to ever reach the surface it would lead to devastating losses.
"What the hell is that?" Wing shouted out before firing his gun at it. All the bullets converged into one spot, leaving a small dent on its tough skin. Don jumped up in the air and struck at the dent, trying his best but failing to pierce through.
"That's Beam," Don answered him. "Though I didn't know he was this big." He looked at its size. It barely managed to fit in the area, clearly struggling to move around in the cramped space.
Anora noticed Don and pointed her gun at him, prompting him to raise his hands. "Isn't he one of the targets?" She asked Wing, "Don't tell me after all those years, you got cold feet now."
"He's helping," Wing pointed her gun down. "And we can't be choosy right now with reinforcements." Beam screeched out again, cracking its metal skin as it jerked towards them.
"Let's keep at it, attacking at the same spot!" Wing commanded before continuing to fire. They all went and attacked Beam, slowly chipping away at a single point. Eventually, they would have to break through.
"Do you know anything about this thing Don?" Wing asked, trying to find out more about what they're fighting. Even the smallest pieces of information could become the clue that leads to victory.
"Parquatz was secretive about it," Don answered while looking for an opportunity to strike. "But he told me that it wasn't always like this, that he made it to be what it is now."
"He made it?" Wing asked, "So it's not alive?" That would definitely explain the irregularities of Beam, his odd behavior and erratic behavior.
"No, it's alive, I can see that it has a gift. Though it's definitely missing some of the other things." Anora jumped in their conversation, "Does anyone know where the hell this Parquatz is?"
Don shrugged when both Anora and Wing looked at him, "I don't keep track of everyone here." He braced himself as Beam brushed by him, barely being able to block. Both of his arms were shaking, it would take a bit before he would be able to do the same thing again.
The three of them quickly wore themselves down. Meanwhile, Beam showed no signs of fatigue. Anora reached to her pouch and shuffled her hand around, "I'm out of bullets!" She checked to see that the only other weapon she brought was a knife.
Like that's going to be useful.
Wing looked at Don, his movements were starting to become sluggish. He had been pestering Beam the entire time, making sure that the creature would only pay attention to him. Wing could tell that if the fight continued, they wouldn't last longer.
"How about putting it back in its cell?" Don asked. "We can't, he already broke it wide open." She explained. Those bars were the only thing that kept him from escaping, and she willingly opened them.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Hey Anora, take these!" Wing threw a pouch at her. "When Don backs off, throw them!" She caught it, opening to see that the inside was full of grenades. "We're going to cause a cave in!"
She looked at him, "How are we going to get out then?" The explosives in the bag was enough to blow up a building. "Just follow what I'm about to say," Don told them as he batted around Beam. "It'll be the fastest route out."
The caverns were already unstable from the recent explosion. If they caused another one, then the entire place would collapse. Anora tried to look for another solution, another way out that could guarantee everyone's safety.
But oftentimes the perfect solution is nothing but a dream.
Don struck Beam again, then began to run away to lure it closer to the exit. Each time it would try to do anything else but follow him, he would strike it to get its attention. They needed to be closer in order to be able to escape in time.
Don noticed a small hole, just enough for a child to fit through but also a hole big enough for him to squeeze into. It gave him an idea, "Wing, distract Beam for a bit!" He shouted out. Don went towards Anora as soon as Wing began attracting Beam's attention.
"Make it quick!" Wing shouted out while continuing to shoot Beam. "Alright, I need you to memorize this…" Don began telling Anora the quickest path to the staircase. "Why not tell Wing?" She asked.
Don smirked at her question, "He's horrible with directions." He smiled before back into battle, "Wing, we're switching plans!" He shouted out as he continued striking Beam, "Go follow Anora!"
Don activated his power, looking all over Beam but failing to meet his eyes. He struck a random area, causing Beam to become agitated. It jumped spontaneously at him, thrashing around violently.
So he sees through echolocation?
"He sees using sounds!" Don shouted out, he looked to see that Anora and Wing were far enough. "Now!" Don shouted, prompting Anora and Wing to start throwing the grenades. Once they threw all of them, they ran towards the exit.
Beam kept his attention to Don, still trying to swat him down as he continued to move around. Don used his momentum to shoot himself through the small hole, leading him to the abandoned section of the mine.
I'm lost.
It was pitch black, even with his sharp eyes he was barely able to see. The area was massive, its entirety still unknown to him. He ran quickly, relying on his knowledge and instincts to try and find another path out.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion rang, causing an even bigger tremor than the previous one. Anora and Wing had to dodge as rocks and debris came crashing down. "Watch out!" Wing told Anora, but she was too late.
A jagged boulder slammed down across her lower leg. The sound of her bone cracking was muffled beneath the sound of collapsing earth. "Agh!" She screamed out in pain. Anora looked to Wing, "Listen closely, I'll tell you where to go next."
"No need," Wing told her. "Look." He pointed ahead, the path they were taking was now blocked by debris. They heard Beam screech loudly close by, "Looks like it's our last stand." Wing told her. They pointed their guns at Beam as soon as he appeared, emptying their magazines until the gun kept clicking.
Beam could be seen rushing towards them, lunging when they were in range. Anora and Wing braced themselves for death as the distance between them and Beam quickly shortened. At that moment, debris flew everywhere.
KLANGGG!
Ikra blew the blockage open, striking Beam. He caused the creature to fall back and saw the state that Anora and Wing were in, "Just in time?"
"Just in time", Wing smiled.