Rise in Revolution (Chapter Five)
Mar. 18th, 2016 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tanadin posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
saladloveBut let's not worry about that! :D Here's chapter five, where nothing could ever possibly go wrong, ever.
Also- how's the pacing of RiR so far? Is it feeling too fast, too slow? The difference in update schedule is throwing me off when it comes to feeling how quickly the story is moving, so your feedback would be appreciated. ^^
Chapter list: https://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/650.html
World map: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/Kaldri
Chapter Five
First to Fall
Black Market, Sector IAL. January 5, 2272. Time instance 842N.
“So what, exactly, are you planning to do with my second and final bomb?” Kyir demanded, glaring at Geek as he practically cradled the explosive in his arms.
“Throw it at him.” Geek told him, raising an eyebrow. “He can’t detect what’s not near him. The only problem is how to throw it hard enough- I was thinking magic, but Scott came up with the idea of a slingshot. We set up this big slingshot, lure him into the area, light the fuse, and launch it. It’ll explode before he even knows what hit him.”
“Bam. No more cyborg.” Scott grinned.
Kyir looked between them. “And who is making this slingshot?”
“Scott and I did, last night.” Emma didn’t recognize the voice until she turned to look at Cap. “I did most of the work, though. He kept sleeping on it.”
“Hey!”
“You know how to make a slingshot?” Fan asked, surprised.
“I do now.” Cap didn’t elaborate, instead getting to her feet. “We can set this up on a low roof somewhere and lure him in range.”
“I can do that.” Gali volunteered, but Scott shook his head at her.
“Nah. My plan, I get to do the running.” Scott grinned. “I’ve always wanted to throw a rock at a cyborg.”
“Don’t you remember last time you tangoed with a pissed off cyborg?” Tanadin demanded.
“That was different!” Scott protested. “It’s not like I’m making a habit of it!”
“You kind of are.” Clash mumbled. “Please don’t get hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt.” Scott assured. “It’s like you guys don’t even know me.”
“You get hurt more than almost anyone here.” Devan told him, drumming his talons on the arm of his chair. “I’ve definitely patched you up more than anyone.”
Scott shrugged. “That’s irrelevant.”
“How about we argue after the cyborg’s blown up, huh?” Kyir’s hostile gaze passed over the entire group. “And try not to completely destroy all the essential systems. I’d like something to study- something to give us an edge over ‘em, cause this is my last bomb.” He looked around suspiciously. “Who am I handing this to?”
Several people exchanged glances before Shawn sighed quietly and held out his hands. “I’ll take it. I don’t trust Mars with it.”
“Hey! You act like I killed someone in the Black Market!”
“You almost did.” Emma told her, shrugging slightly. “If 7007 had decided to look into where that bomb came from, someone could have been arrested or killed.”
“Pfff. Cyborgs don’t kill people.”
“That’s a lie.” Zahnra’s voice dripped with venom, slicing through the tone of the conversation. “They kill anyone they can once the order for death has been sent. If they’re sufficiently threatened, they will kill. If they deem you easier to deal with dead than alive, they will kill you. Some of us know that better than others- Fan, Hawk, anyone who was alive during the invasion. Never underestimate what one of them will do. They have no remorse, no sense of mercy. They will destroy you without a second thought.”
Silence.
“So.” Shawn cleared his throat. “Who’s helping blow up the cyborg?”
~~~
“Where are they?” Clash mumbled as he paced across the rooftop. It was just past dusk, the final rays of the sun fading along the horizon.
“Gali will be here any second.” Shawn assured from his place by the slingshot, eyes passing over the bomb once more. “Stop pacing. You’ll draw attention.”
“Sorry.” Clash reluctantly sat down, but he was up and pacing again within a minute.
Shawn resisted the urge to join him, instead keeping his eyes locked on the space in front of them. The area they were overlooking was a space between several buildings, mostly empty except for various boxes and barrels storing who-knows-what. He was confident that Gali would reach them before Scott and 7007 did, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared.
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm his racing heart. Despite how solid this plan seemed, he had a bad feeling it wouldn’t work as well as they had hoped. The slingshot would break, the bomb would go off too soon, the cyborg would somehow avoid it...something. Maybe 7007 would catch up to Scott before he reached the area, or he’d capture Gali and the two on the rooftop wouldn’t know.
Shawn glanced at Clash and figured that he was thinking something along the same lines- although it was worse for him, Shawn supposed, as he had cause to be more worried about Scott.
You tend to worry about people you care about. Go figure.
Shawn almost jumped out of his skin when he heard footsteps along the edge of the building and a small form leaped into sight. Clash jerked as well, but they both calmed down when they realized it was Gali.
“They’re coming this way. Hurry!” She dropped to a crouch as Shawn fumbled to get the bomb into the slingshot (which was a very bizarre-looking object, he noted, but he supposed ‘slingshot’ was still the best term for it) and Clash moved closer. He crouched as well, all three of them watching the entrance that they figured Scott would take.
A tense twenty or so seconds passed before they heard two sets of footsteps, one of them with the unnatural heaviness that most cyborgs possessed. Shawn was completely locked in place with tension by the time Scott came racing into the area, and, without looking up at them, jumped behind some boxes.
“Now!” Gali hissed. Shawn jerked out of his tense, frozen position as the cyborg came into sight.
“Light it!” He whispered, louder than he meant to, and Clash made a slight hand motion that lit the fuse. Clash and Gali scrambled back as Shawn took careful aim, pulled back the slingshot, and let it go, watching the bomb sail directly where he had hoped.
Right on target.
The cyborg’s head snapped up as the bomb shot towards him. It exploded as it hit, destroying several boxes and the area where 7007 had been standing moments before.
Gali started to cheer but Shawn quickly covered her mouth, leaning forward as the smoke cleared to be absolutely sure they had taken out the cyborg.
His eyes widened as he made out the figure of 7007, still standing where they had last seen him. He seemed to be covered in odd, glowing yellow hexagons of energy that quickly faded as he looked around to survey the damage.
7007 growled quietly and looked around, scanning the area. Shawn scrambled backwards and Gali bolted, leaping from one roof to the next and vanishing into the darkness.
Shawn heard footsteps but didn’t dare to creep closer, barely daring even to breathe. He heard boxes being moved, then the voice of the cyborg announcing that someone was under arrest. He waited several seconds before hesitantly moving forward, watching as 7007 marched Scott back onto the main street and towards the prison.
Clash tensed and started forward, but Shawn grabbed his arm. “Have you lost your damn mind? If you try to do anything you’ll get arrested as well.”
“But Scott-”
“-can be freed by Cap as soon as we get back to base. C’mon! We should have run when Gali did.” Shawn got to his feet and stalked over to the ladder, clambering down it and forgetting the slingshot on the roof.
He had more important things to worry about.
~~~
Emma’s head snapped up as she heard the door open. Immediately everyone in the Black Market crowded around the forms of Shawn and Clash as they entered. Both looked shaken, especially Clash.
“What happened?” Tanadin demanded. “Gali got back about ten minutes ago going on and on about the bomb not working and some kind of shield, but she wouldn’t explain until you got back.”
“He had some kind of shield, yeah. It completely blocked the bomb’s explosion.” Shawn growled. “Our aim was fine, too. If he hadn’t…” Shawn shivered. “They’ve got Scott.”
“I’ll get him out of there.” Cap assured, putting a hand on Clash’s shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
“Don’t get caught.” The phoenix mumbled quietly, barely reacting as Cap nodded and set out with her pickaxe.
Tanadin shivered. “A shield...I hadn’t even considered that. Why didn’t 7006…”
“Maybe she didn’t have one.” Jimmy suggested. “She was a lot less metal than 7007 is.”
“Maybe.” Tanadin sighed and leaned against a wall. “We need a new plan. Kyir’s going to be pissed.”
“I think Kyir’s pissiness levels are the least of our concerns.” Emma pointed out. “Scott is literally in jail.”
“Cap can get him out.” Tanadin told her confidently. “She got Fan out, didn’t she?”
“Fan didn’t try to kill 7007.”
“Neither did Scott.”
“He might not see it that way.”
Tanadin sighed. “Okay, miss sunshine. Say Cap can’t get Scott out. What’s the plan from there?”
Emma shrugged. “Cry?” She suggested.
Tanadin laughed. “Sure. I’ll get right on that.”
~~~
It was past midnight when Cap returned, dirty and breathing heavily.
Clash raced right up to here. “Where’s Scott?” He practically demanded. He had been stressing out the entire time that Cap had been gone.
She shook her head. “No, I can’t….can’t get to him.” She sat down shakily on one of the bedrolls, clearly exhausted. “He’s in a high security cell. Why, I’m not entirely sure, but all I know is I can’t get in there. He’s on a higher floor so I’d have to stroll right up the steps and I don’t really feel like getting myself thrown in the adjacent cell.”
“How long will he be in there? Is he okay?”
“Clash, I don’t know. If I had been able to see him, then I probably would have been able to break him out. I’m guessing he’s fine, but I don’t have any way of knowing.”
“How do you know he’s on a higher floor if you didn’t see him?!”
“Because I checked every single cell on the bottom floor, then waited awhile and checked again! Unless he’s in the same cell as Chester and is very good at hiding, then he’s not down there.” Cap paused, taking a deep breath. “Sorry. I kinda got snappy there. I’m just tired and stressed.”
Clash nodded and slunk out of the Black Market, clearly upset.
“Poor guy.” Shawn muttered. “I don’t know what I’d do if…” He cut himself off, clearing his throat quietly and crossing his arms.
“If?” Tanadin questioned.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. What time is it?”
“Past midnight.” Sub told him, sounding practically cheerful despite the circumstances.
“Right. I’m going home to sleep. Good night, everyone.” As Shawn left, Tac looked over at Sub and frowned.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“Shhh.”
“Sub, it’s a workday tomorrow! Go to bed!”
“No one else is going to bed!”
“Almost everyone has gone home already! Shawn just went to bed, Clash left and will probably go to bed, and the rest of us aren’t far behind!”
“Go to bed, Sub!” Geek called from across the room, where she was reading a book.
Sub pouted for awhile before leaving as well, a few others not far behind.
As Emma started to leave, someone grabbed her arm. She yelped in surprise and turned to see Cap standing behind her.
“Watch yourself.” She said simply, before letting go.
Emma shivered and left, moving a bit faster than before.
There was something odd about Cap, but she couldn’t quite place it. It soon slipped from her mind, replaced by worries about Scott and how they were going to get rid of 7007.
She would have almost preferred the mystery.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-18 05:46 pm (UTC)Good chapper! And as far as pacing goes, it would be nice to have a few slower chapters just to see what the Black Market does when they're not trying to blow up cyborgs before anything gets too cereal.
Sandwiches for you! [||] [||] [||]
no subject
Date: 2016-03-19 08:02 am (UTC)I feel like the story's moving pretty fast, but I have no idea what's coming, so I don't know what we're leading up to here and can't give you a firm answer. I might like to see what they do when they're not getting arrested, but maybe that just doesn't happen. xD
(::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::) (::)
-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: 2016-03-19 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-19 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-20 07:40 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: 2016-03-20 10:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-20 01:02 am (UTC)We'll probably have a filler chapter or two coming up while everyone's sitting around like 'well shit' so that'll give you some time to get used to the characters before I jumpstart the plot with some electrical wires.
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Date: 2016-03-20 07:40 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker
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Date: 2016-03-19 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-20 01:03 am (UTC)Still just a sadie
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Date: 2016-03-21 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-03-20 03:00 am (UTC)-Anon Cami
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Date: 2016-03-20 02:40 pm (UTC)Otherwise, mountains.
sadistic sadie sittin in