Action city, p.17
Action City, page 17
Kimie raised her flame thrower. "Oh well, only one way out of this mess, huh? Last stand it is."
"Last stand, kid," Blue replied. They clasped hands tightly. "Make it a good one, huh?"
"You bet."
Kimie and the man raised their weapons as Blue raised her fists. That was all she needed.
The nearest Money Man approached Blue slowly. She glared back at him.
"Come on! Come on you...."
He leapt at her.
Suddenly a hook exploded through his chest and swung him to the side, slamming him against a wall. He slumped to the ground as the hook retracted into Jazze who approached, grinning slyly.
Blue nodded and gave a quick salute to the Hooker who did the same. Several more Hookers stepped out from the construction beams behind her.
"Just thought you were a little too pretty to waste," Jazze said smoothly. "Oh, and there are some others who wanna say hi too."
A high-pitched squeal followed and then several steel nets were flung over some Money Men who were pulled down. Then, from all around and flooding up onto the street from the world below, swept wave after wave of Alley Cats and Sewer Rats, led by Layhorn. With a cry they launched into battle alongside the Hookers and brought the Money Men to their knees.
Kimie smiled and stepped back and relaxed.
"Looks like you inspired them all," she smirked to Blue.
"Don't get all sentimental on me, squirt," Blue shot back. She bashed a Money Man in the head and threw him back into the crowd. "Now go beat something up...hard!"
"You got it!"
They launched themselves into battle as a full blown rumble broke out in the streets.
"BLUE'S BACK!"
The cry came from the debris and ash of the smouldering streets as a survivor looked to the fighting in the distance. Several people followed his gaze to see the small figure fighting fiercely on the streets.
"It's Blue! BLUE!"
"She's here! We've got a chance!"
"THE CITY'S GOT A CHANCE!"
"COME ON!"
Finding what weapons they could, the survivors ran into the streets, ready to take back what was theirs.
High above, the Tower began to glow. At first its light was dim and barely noticeable, but soon it became an angry red.
Almost as if it were possessed by a demon.
And on the rooftop of the Tower itself, stood Platinum. She was as still as death while the red glow grew around her.
"One nuclear reactor deactivated," the Starman said proudly. Then he noticed Yushera gazing horrified at the monitor. "What's up with you, scaredy-cat?"
She was almost too shocked to speak.
"A demon!" she hissed. "There is evil in the Tower!"
He frowned as Gilwain mused over the readings.
"Definitely an ultra-sonic frequency of some sort," the Dwarf said.
"But one with a bio-organic compound," added the Starman. "See, the delta-wave particles are fluctuating on rotation sector seven point eight. They're moving in unison and that's way too focused to be a coincidence. This isn't just any old song the Tower's singing."
Gilwain looked up astounded. "But that would mean the energy signature's coming from..."
"You've got it! Which means that's not just any old energy signature. That's an energy-based life form which looks like it's been living in the Tower for some time."
"A demon!" confirmed Yushera.
"That's one way of putting it," he continued, "but judging by the ratio collaborator here I prefer to think of it as a living song of darkness. Look at these three frequency spikes. The noise it's making is worse than grunge."
"Speaking of which," said Gilwain, "I'm picking up someone on the rooftop of the Tower."
He twisted a dial and the monitor zeroed in on Platinum who was staring blankly into the doorway.
"Looks like she's getting a full dose of a satanic symphony," the Starman said.
"Good!" snapped Yushera.
"She did expose the beast," Gilwain said. "We must give her some credit for that."
"Like the sewers of hell!" Yushera seethed. "The blue lady shall destroy them both."
"Not," the Starman cut in, "without help and that means we'll need something to counteract the dark music with."
"Which is what, clown face?"
He grinned. "Rock and roll!"
"Okay," Kimie said, indicating the Tower. "Somebody tell me what that is."
By now the cries for Blue had subsided and all eyes were focused on the Tower.
A sudden clap of thunder ripped through the air, then a flash of lightning flickered around the peak of the Tower, accompanied by a heavy wind. Then suddenly the night split open as two swirling portals in the sky appeared, churning and funneling around the tip of the building.
Several murmurs of "demon" and "evil" came from the streets as the glow around the Tower became redder and redder. At its base, the doors opened and several Money Men marched out, taller, broader and stronger than ever before.
"Looks like he's brought out the reserve bank," Kimie shuddered.
"The army reserve bank," Blue corrected, "and it looks like we've scored ourselves a biggie on this one. Score baby, score!" She turned back to the crowd. "You're not scared by a building and a couple of Money Men, are you guys?"
A murmur swept through the crowd.
"Wimps," she muttered, then spoke again. "The City's yours you know. We built it, but somehow it went feral and out of control. That's the System for you. It kept us in subservience for years, only we didn't recognise it, but now we're a little older, smarter and wiser too. We've learnt our lesson and now it's up to us to put things right. If you guys wanna be slaves to the Money Men for the rest of your life, that's fine, but I'm taking these guys back to nature. The real raw stuff and not the superficial fairy floss designed by some machine. That's what scares the System completely."
The thunder rumbled as the storm gathered momentum.
"This it guys and girls!" Blue called. "It's up to us to fight for tomorrow and stand up for who we are. We're not lazy or indulgent slags! We're not product units or consumers sucking up everything in sight!"
A small murmur of hope arose around her.
"Does the System think we're sheep or something?" she continued. "Animals that they can just dangle products in front of while we roll over and get kicked in the guts. You're all worthy of respect. You can all think for yourselves and your voice is important. YOU CAN BE FREE!"
Several people screamed and punched the sky. She grabbed a gun and held it high above her head,
"PARTY TIME! LET'S ROCK!"
The crowd cried back triumphantly and they followed her as she turned towards the Tower, renewed with strength.
A fierce thunderclap suddenly diverted their attention and several white streaks of lightning illuminated the night and clasped down around the Tower like a hand.
Dismissing the crowd Blue jumped into the monster truck and revved the engine. The truck rose up on its two back wheels before racing towards the Tower with its thrusters burning.
Luther hugged himself tightly as he stumbled through the apocalyptic Babylon. Long strands of black hair fell over his face as he looked around at the crumbling remains.
A roar split the night and then the monster truck tore down the street towards him. Blue gave a wave as it skidded past and drenched him with mud. He could only watch helplessly as it roared up a slope of debris with its thrusters ignited, before it flew up several stories and crashed through the window of his old office. As the back wheels of the truck hung out of the building, a City-wide cheer erupted from the survivors in the streets.
But all Luther could do was hang his head in despair.
"The demon algorithm's increasing," said Gilwain.
"Ballop!" snapped the Starman. "Our dragon must have a nest egg tucked away for a rainy day. Now it's ready to hatch."
"Enough!" hissed Yushera. "Listen! Your machine makes music."
She pointed.
"That?" the Starman said confused. "That's only the tertiary relay signal."
Yushera frowned and concentrated, speaking what she heard.
"One, three, seven, nine...space...two one, two one....space, space, space....three, four..."
The Starman's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"You can actually hear that?"
"Of course," she replied haughtily, "I'm a cat, am I not?"
The Starman whooped and smacked the panel. Gilwain beamed.
"That cat is something," the Starman grinned. "Now your Majesty, do you think you could put some of those numbers down for me on that touchpad by your hand?"
"Of course not," came the haughty reply. "I am above such things."
"I'll do it," Gilwain said, and took it.
"Fallabaloopin!" the Starman grinned. "Okay your Lowness, I need you to call out the numbers as you hear them and I also want you to..."
Yushera nearly exploded. "You WHAT?"
"I would most humbly ask of you, in the service of your great sewer kingdom, to include the numerical spaces that you were saying before."
"Better. For what purpose must this Queen denigrate herself to such a menial task?"
"Well...what you're hearing is like a song. The song of the demon. It's a very powerful song and what we would like to do is to...inject...a little of our own music between the spaces to... shake things up a bit. A sonic disrupter should shoot a few chords in there for us but we need to compose those chords first."
"I can rig up that disruptor as soon as we have the numerics," said Gilwain.
"Great. Let's get started."
Yushera glared at him.
"Your Majesty," the other two both bowed to her.
She nodded.
"This is most degrading."
"Take it away Sewer Queen!"
"Five, nine, one, four, two, three, five...space...seven, nine, eight, three, two...space, space..."
Gilwain began recording the numbers.
"Majesty of Rock!" the Starman whispered. "Now we're in business!"
Chapter Fourteen
The Dragon's Breath and The Blacksmith's Forge
Blue ran up the stairs.
The heat rose steadily as she ascended. When she burst through the door onto the roof it was intense.
Facing another open door where a red glow illuminated the room, was Platinum. The noise that came from inside sounded like hissing, as if countless demons were chanting in unison.
Blue pumped her gun and aimed it, first at the glow, then at Platinum.
"What the hell have you done?" Blue hissed and then ran at her, holding her gun like a club.
Platinum turned smartly to face her and then looked at her watch.
"Cool," the older woman said satisfied. "Right on time." She indicated the gun. "Lower that side a bit, you'll get a better hit. Here, let me show you." She reached up and moved the side of the gun. "There. Now shoot."
Blue seethed furiously.
"Can't blind me with words, lady. This is all your crudding fault!"
"Not at all. I just freed you all by exposing the real enemy."
"Don't try and worm your way out of this..."
"Actually I'd rather go into it. No need to thank me."
Blue raised her fist. Then she looked at the glow and sighed.
"You are good. I'll give you that."
"The best."
A savage roar came from the doorway and then a fireball suddenly rushed at them. Blue ducked as it flew over her head into the night. It had missed Platinum by inches but she'd remained still the whole time.
"Dragon's breath," Platinum noted. "It's waking up."
"That's what's controlling the City, huh?"
"You bet. It's called the System. It took over the City long ago, bit by bit, until everyone was its slave, unconsciously of course. It disguised itself well, keeping hidden as a malignant force under the sugar-coated economy. Luther thought he was in control, bosses always do, but he was as much a slave to the System as everybody else. People created it, but the thing manifested into a demon. My job was to expose the darkness. You know what yours is."
"Mine? This is your mess!"
"I don't live here. Looks like you've still got some growing up to do Bluey."
"DON'T CALL ME BLUEY!"
She fired her blaster three times into the glow. The blasts disappeared and silence followed.
Then a piercing screech came from within.
And the City shook.
Down below in the streets, the people stopped in their tracks and held their ears. Only the Hookers continued marching as several more Money Men emerged from the Tower and headed towards them.
"Guys and girls, we have a feedback signal!" the Starman said, looking over the readings.
Gilwain followed his gaze.
"This is strange," the Dwarf mused. "It's on two point four megacycles. Like something far below us has been activated."
"An enemy?' asked Yushera.
"Not quite," answered the Starman. "I started working on some frequencies to counteract the dark music high above and something down below seems to have answered us. It's coming from somewhere so deep that it looks like it was there before the economic takeover. It's got power, it's got guts, it's got...hear, have a listen."
He twisted a dial and some music resonated through the room. It was synthesised, but mesmerising and they all listened entranced as its colours seemed to swirl before them and the music connected with something deep inside themselves.
"It's beautiful," whispered Yushera.
"The most magical thing I've ever heard," added Gilwain. "It was always the promise of Dwarves to make the first instruments with the perfect harmonies. Perhaps this is it."
"Trust a Dwarf to take credit for something good as soon as it shows up," huffed the Starman. His hands flicked over the controls. "Whatever this thing is, it's alive and it can help us."
"And it can only be Dwarf made," Gilwain smiled.
"Enough with that!"
"Jealous are we?"
"You don't even know what it is!"
"I know what's in a Dwarf's heart!"
"Your lot couldn't even make a musical triangle!"
"At least we didn't make the Hookers!"
"Where's it coming from?" Yushera asked, oblivious to all of this.
The other two stopped and blinked.
"Ahem...yes," said Gilwain. "It's coming from somewhere in a maze of tunnels, far below us. It's tucked away somewhere."
"It can help us," she said softly. "I feel as if I know it. Whatever this music is, it is the true heart of the City."
"Of course," said Gilwain. "It's Dwarf..."
"Bolt it!" the Starman snapped. "Now our dearest Queen, you're the only one who can get to it. The pipes are narrow and short-podge here couldn't fit through them if he tried. We'll fit you with a relay device and send you through."
"Excuse me?" she asked crossly. "A Queen does not take orders and she certainly does not work in the service of others!"
"Not even when her sewer kingdom is about to hit the stars with the fires of hell?"
Yushera sighed.
"This is most undignified," she mumbled. "Very well then. I...accept, but I shall go with dignity and grace which is fitting to that of a Queen."
She composed herself and then opened her mouth and gave a piercing squeal. From the crevices around the room, several rats scurried out and came before her.
"Which way?" she asked the Starman.
He indicated the grille on the floor.
"Go," she ordered to the rats, "and pave the way for your Queen."
The rats squealed and ran to the grille before vanishing down it.
"Place the device on me," she ordered and then regally turned around and sat on a chair with her back to Gilwain. He pushed back her greasy, dirty hair and fitted the device. Then she stood up and walked over to the grille.
"Remove the obstacle," she pointed.
Gilwain hurried over and did so before bowing, "My Lady."
He held her hand as she stepped down into the vent. Once in, she knelt down and began crawling along.
"She'd better hurry," the Starman mused, looking over the dials. "Things are heating up out there."
Blue stood before the doorway. Its burnt red illumination now enveloped the whole of the entrance. Several wisps of smoke followed and just for a second, she thought she could see a flame flicker as a searing blast of heat brushed across her face. Several short blasts suddenly pounded into her head, rather like bullets, but they hadn't come from without.
Rather, they had come from within her mind.
The gun swayed in her hand as a figure stepped out of the doorway and walked through the red glow towards her, flanked by two Money Men. He looked human at the very least and was wearing a long coat with tails. Upon his head was a top hat and as he walked he tapped a long cane. A screeching hyena-like laugh followed as several hundred dollar notes floated out on the wind and danced past her, along with some office paperwork. She blinked quickly and re-aimed her weapon as he approached, towering over her.
He was taller than her. Much, much taller; almost eight feet. His face was completely white but his eyes were dark. Long strands of jet black hair floated down and danced on the wind. He seemed similar to the Starman, Blue thought. Then again she reasoned, the System had turned the Starman into in an image of itself when all hope was lost. Luther too, for that matter, for he also looked similar to the person who now stood before her.
"What kind of freakish system are we living in?" she muttered. "No wonder we're screwed."
She fired.
The blast shot right through him and into the doorway which suddenly flared bright red as if salt had been poured into an infection. A hideous scream in her mind followed, then died down.
"Crud!" she hissed. "Only scored the mouthpiece."
The figure smiled cruelly and clenched his gloved hand as he tapped his cane with the other.
"Ra-ta-ta-ta...ra-ta-ta-ta...ra-ta-ta-ta..."
His voice was sly and sneaky, but also charismatic. He paused before glaring down at her. Then his cane rose and a voice snarled within her mind,
