The Warden didn't just walk; he made the place shake with every step he took.
Each step he took on the metal walkway vibrated through my boots, and rattled my teeth. He was like seven feet of plasteel armor and malice, painted dark purple. His gravity hammer buzzed with this low, like, bone rattling energy, that made the air feel heavy.
Run! I yelled again, pushing Maya and Sarah toward the exit hatch, at the end of the walkway.
"Nowhere to run, rats", the Warden growled.
He swung his hammer.
He didn't even aim at us, he aimed and hit the railing, 10 feet away from us.
BOOM!
A crazy shock wave of purple gravity hit us hard, like a physical wall was slammed at us. I went flying, scraping across the metal floor. Sarah slammed into the wall, really hard. And maya, was still weak and confused, tumbled near the edge of the catwalk, a long drop to the prison floor.
Maya! Sarah screamed, crawling hard to grab her hand, just as she slipped over the edge.
The Warden laughed. The famous queen Lysandra, huh? Look at you now, Crawling in the dirt.
He raised the hammer up again, and the purple light got brighter.
Gravitational charge: 100％
I stood up, my ribs was on fire, and my armor was flashing red warning light.
Enemy: warden (BOSS)
Level: ?? (Way Too High)
Threat: fatal.
Glitch! I yelled into the comms. We need an exit now!
I'm on it! Glitch yelled back. The warden locked the airlocks manually, i can't open them till you disable his override!
"Where is it?"
On him! His suit's got a jammer that act as a security credential key. You gotta to shut it down!
Shut down his suit, I said to myself, staring at the walking tank in front of me. Right. Easy peasy.
The Warden was heading for Sarah and Maya, ready to squash them.
I just moved, without a thought.
Skill: Overcharge.
I didn't target any machines, I targeted my own legs.
I channeled 50 XP worth of energy into my suit's servos.
WARNING: SERVOS PAST SAFETY LIMITS.
I didn't care. I just launched myself.
I flew forward, covering the distance in a second, landing on his back and grabbing his armor's exhaust ports.
Get off, insect! The Warden roared, thrashing around.
He reached to his back, and grabbed me by the neck, choking me. I couldn't breathe and my vision started to blur.
"System", I wheezed out, "Devour".
I slapped my hand on his helmet.
Target: Warden's Armor (legendary Grade).
Energy Source: Fusion Core.
Drain Rate: Slow.
It was like trying to empty an ocean with a straw. The energy was too dense. Which made it hard to drain.
The Warden noticed and threw me.
I slammed into the floor, sliding to a stop near the edge.
"Cute trick", the Warden said, turning to me. But you're not strong enough.
He raised his hammer. The purple light was burning brighter, He was going to end me.
I looked at Sarah, she was pulling Maya up, but they were both trapped in the corner.
I looked at the Warden.
I can't drain his power, his to powerful
Wait!.
Glitch's words came back. Technomancy isn't magic. It's syntax.
If I can't drain it battery... maybe I could reverse it flow.
I looked at the hammer.
It was charging, pulling energy from his suit core.
Hey! I yelled.
The Warden paused. And said, "any last words"
"You forgot one thing", I said, standing up, blood dripping from my nose.
And what's that?
I'm not a battery, I said, raising my hand. "I'm a conduit".
Skill: Energy Siphon.
Target: The Floor.
I didn't drain the Warden, I drained the main power line running under the catwalk.
XP GAINED: 500...WARNING: CRITICAL OVERLOAD.
My body turned into a super bright blue light . I was holding enough electricity to power a city block. My skin felt like it was burning.
"Take this"!
I fired. (Skill: Discharge).
But! not at him, at his hammer.
My lightning hit the hammer's purple energy.
Overloading it.
The hammer was made to pull gravity. But by flooding electricity in, I messed up it polarity.
SCREEEECH!
The hammer went crazy. The gravity field was disrupted.
Instead of crushing, it pushed outward.
BOOM!
The Warden went flying, smashing through steel walls.
CRASH. CRASH. CRASH.
Then silence.
I fell to my knees, my armor smoking
XP GAINED: 0 (Target not killed).
ACHIEVEMENT: GRAVITY DEFIER.
Elias! Sarah rushed over to help me up.
"Did I... get him?"
"You knocked him out of this sector to the next", Sarah said, totally shocked. He'll be back, though. We gotta go.
Airlocks are open! Glitch yelled. To the shuttle, quick!
We ran like crazy, practically pulling Maya, Who just stared, totally freaked out.
We made it to the trash compactor room. The shuttle was right there.
We all jumped in.
Go! Go! Go! I shouted.
The shuttle took off. Glitch hit the gas, and we shot away from the Iron Cloud, vanishing into the smog just as the station's cannons started firing.
I sat on the shuttle floor, leaning against the wall, and i checked my stats.
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL UP!
NOW LEVEL 8!
I looked at Maya. She sat with Sarah, holding her mom's hand tightly.
We actually did it, I whispered.
But then the radio buzzed. A voice disrupted the noise. not the Warden, not Malachi either.
Asset 815 is secured, a cold, robotic voice said. Tracking signal locked. Starting Phase Two.
I looked at Maya.
Then at her cybernetic arm. A red light was flashing on her wrist.
"Sarah", I said, my voice shaking, "check her arm".
Sarah looked down and saw the light.
It's a tracker! Sarah said, freaked out. They let us get away! They wanted us to lead them to the Resistance.
Glitch! I yelled. "Scan for signals!"
Multiple contacts! Glitch yelled back. We got company! Gunships! Dozens of them!
We didn't get away at all. We just started a war.