Chapter 27: Bring in the Cannon
Back in the laboratory, the man kicks the top of the desk in frustration and stands up.
???: “Damn them!”
He throws everything off of his desk except for his landline. He picks it up, only for the recipient to respond down below.
Vayne: “What? What is it?”
???: “Go time. They broke through the first line of defenses.”
Dredd: “We won’t make it to them before they get up here.”
???: “Do I have to do everything around here!?”
There’s an eerie silence before the mystery man’s voice squawks in again in Dredd and Vayne’s ear.
???: “Come back to Titan. I don’t want you all to get caught up in this.”
Dredd: “Caught up in what, sir?”
???: “Just get back here. Anywhere near Above should be good enough.”
Vayne: “Yeah, yeah. We’re on it.”
The two androids turn around back to where they started. Back in Rozay, the rumbling only gets stronger as objects begin to levitate off the ground.
Luke: “We need to find that elevator now!”
The group runs over to the elevator and cram inside. They find the button for an “entrance”, but the button doesn’t light up…
Ren: “There’s no way it’s out of power!”
Ana: “We don’t have time to react, we need a solution!”
Henry: “How the hell can we re-activate an elevator?!”
The group takes a brief second to think.
Jace: “Got it!”
Mythril: “What's the plan?”
Jace: “I’m gonna need some help first.”
Jace glances over to Ren. He squints in confusion before realizing the borderline braindead scheme Jace came up with.
Ren: “Are you sure this is safe?”
Jace: “Have you met us?”
Ren: “I guess that’s true. I’ll grab the right side.”
Jace: “Beautiful. I’ll take the left.”
Luke: “What are you two doing!?”
Jace: “Letting you all experience a rocket launch. Hold on tight!”
The remaining four stare in bewilderment and confusion as Jace and Ren leave the elevator. They each grab a side of the elevator before Ren activates his Aura and Jace swaps into Burst.
Jace: “Prepare for launch in 10…9…8.”
Ana: “We don’t have time for this shit!”
Jace: “Other numbers…1! Ready for takeoff!”
Ren: “What!?”
The two blast off as they transition from the sides to underneath the elevator for a consistent and powerful push.
Mythril: “Uh, are we gonna be stopping at our destination!?”
Henry: “These idiots are absolutely shooting us through the ceiling.”
Mythril: “Aww…”
Ana: “Just hold onto one of those handlebars! You have four arms, you’ll be fine!”
With one more solid blast of fire, the two are able to break through the top of the mountain and somehow land safely thanks to Jace and Ren’s sudden knowledge of how to land a rocket. The four step out and look around. Morning Glory’s mountains were a part of the terrain, but here they can see the peaks of said mountains. After enjoying nature, they turn around to find the city they’ve been looking for. The city of Above. Before they can walk towards it though, they can still feel the rumbling and it's only getting stronger.
Vayne: “Hey, assholes!”
Henry: “Shit.”
Dredd: “Vayne, this wasn’t the plan.”
Vayne: “Shush, my sweet innocent child. I just want my run-back.”
Dredd: “I’m the older one.”
Ana: “Can you two go the hell away?!”
Vayne: “No can do, missy. We got orders from the boss to snuff you all out this time.”
As the two sides continue bantering, the rumbling begins to slow down before ultimately coming to a stop. Suddenly from behind the six, a massive purple laser envelopes their view. The force pushes them back as they can only watch what’s happening. After what feels like minutes, the laser subsides. Henry and Ren sprint over to the impact point, but find no sign of Rozay Rocks left. The entire town has been evaporated.
Henry: “No…”
Ren: “Where’s…”
Henry: “This can’t…be happening.”
Ren: “It can’t even be rebuilt. The mountain’s gone…”
Henry drops to his knees and lets out a horrified and enraged scream. He slams his fists on the concrete continuously until they start to bleed. Ana walks over to help him, but he pushes her away.
Henry: “I’m sorry. I just…need time.”
Ren: “My aunt…oh no.”
Luke: “We don’t know the casualties yet. Let’s hope that your aunt is alright.”
Ren: “You’re right. There still may be a chance. She means everything to me. She helped raise me whenever my dad was on his monthly business trip. I couldn’t be where I am today without her help.”
Finally, Ren breaks down too. Instead of rage, all he can do is cry.
Vayne: “THAT was his big idea? Nuking an entire city!?”
Dredd: “Since Ben Jr. died, there hasn’t been a reason to keep siphoning money from it.”
Vayne: “Like we got anything beforehand.”
Henry: “Your boss just erased my town because it wasn’t benefitting him?”
Dredd: “Correct. He deemed Rozay Rocks, ‘an irrelevant, worthless town”.
Henry: “I’ll kill him.”
Vayne: “I’m afraid I can’t let you go through with that…unless you intend to get through us first.”
Henry: “Do you think I care about some rust-buckets like you?!”
Vayne: “RUST-BUCKET!? Oh, I’m so offended!”
Henry dashes towards Vayne in an effort to shut them up, but Vayne quickly forms a curved blade and brings it right to Henry’s neck. They press in slightly, drawing some blood and causing Henry to grit his teeth.
Vayne: “Attacking me like that is an easy way to get you killed.”
Luke: “Give it up, Henry! You’re falling into what they want. They can’t fight back anyways unless they want repercussions!”
Suddenly, the ear-piece in Dredd and Vayne squawks out to them.
???: “What did I say!? I told you two to come back here this instant!”
Vayne: “Aww, boss. I was just trying to have some fun.”
???: “You can have your fun when I keep only your memory chip in a computer. You’ll get to simulate as much violence as you want.”
Vayne: “Booooring. We’ll be there shortly.”
???: “Dredd, please knock some sense into them.”
Dredd: “Already tried, sir. You programmed them to be violent. There isn’t much I can do to correct that program choice.”
???: “...right. Hurry up and get back here!”
The ear-piece squawks again as the two androids turn around and walk further into Above.
Ana: “Are we gonna chase them down?”
Dredd: “Chase us and you’ll die. If you wish to speak to our creator, they are at the highest floor of the highest building.”
The group shifts their heads to the left.
Jace: “Found it.”
Ana: “Found it.
Mythril: “Found it.”
Vayne: “Alright, we get it! C’mon, Dredd.”
The androids continue moving away from the group. After looking away for a second back at the large building, the androids seemingly disappear.
Luke: “Let’s make our way through the city.”
Mythril: “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Henry and Ren?”
Henry: “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Ren: “She’s okay. I know she is. She has to be.”
Jace: “Then we’re off.”
The six walk down the chromatic sidewalks and observe the almost utopian city around them. Everything is clean. Every building has at least one set of neon lights attached. Hell, every building towers over the tallest the group’s ever seen before. After a rather short walk to the center of Above, they reach their destination: Titan.