Universal Chaos - Web of Chaos

Chapter 17 - Breaks Loose

Sept 27, 2229

In the ruined food market, Diesel yelled at Joe. "You're the one with the Arkvee experience, and now you won't do it?"

"I'm done. I have nothing left inside me to give to this."

"All the time we put into this... And now, just quitting."

Joe sighed and sat down. "Call it what you want. The drives gone. I'm empty inside."

Diesel looked down at him. Shaking his head, Diesel walked away.

Someone ran up to Diesel and showed him his PAD's screen. "Reports coming in all over the net like Malphas said in the center of Philly."

Running to the Onslaught, Diesel climbed into it. "Ok, move everything to the next site now. I'll probably be there waiting. Probably be one shot to take that exo out."

The Onslaught closed around Diesel, the letters G.E crudely spray painted on it. With a jump, he burst through the ceiling and flew off. Parts of the roof fell down in a cloud of dust.

Soaring to Center City Philadelphia, the Onslaught zipped between buildings. The police blocked off the area. People drove and ran past the police vehicles escaping down the elevated streets. With the lack of sidewalks, some pedestrians almost got hit by the cars speeding away.

SWAT vehicles surrounded the massive skyscraper which had blast holes burned through the first couple floors. People lay dead in the street, though some writhed in pain or crawled along in a struggle to live.

The skyscraper's fire extinguisher system sprayed foam. The SWAT teams laid dead and their drones destroyed; robotic-squid tentacles scattered about, twitching.

Using his Onslaught's scanners, Diesel found the Rephaim exo-armor on the third floor deep near the middle of the building but a clear shot down the wide hallway through its glass sides. Opening a barrage of blasts the Onslaught took out the walls. The Rephaim's exo-armor glowed yellow. The damaged walls gave way, and the floor above crashed down into the hallway. A few people tumbled down shrieking with it.

The glowing exo-armor burst out of the rubble charging at Diesel. The energy blasts scorched the exo-armor, but it still advanced. Vaulting out of the building the exo-armor slammed into the Onslaught with a loud clang denting it.

As the Onslaught tilted back, Diesel flew away to get a bead on the falling Rephaim. The exo-armor hit the asphalt and cracked it. Standing up the Rephaim ran to one of the SWAT trucks. Diesel released a hail of blasts. The Rephaim grabbed the truck, lifted it up, and tossed it. Evading, Diesel flew down at the Rephaim, firing as the truck smashed into another skyscraper.

The Rephaim ran at Diesel shrugging off the blasts. Realizing too late he had meant to keep his distance Diesel got hit by the Rephaim. With a clang, the Onslaught stopped dead on impact with the much smaller exo-armor.

Standing up, Diesel grabbed the Rephaim and pulled him off. The Arkvee's metal screeched as the glowing yellow exo-armor held on. Diesel threw the Rephaim and opened fire. The exo-armor and building behind it got hit by the bombardment of energy. The exo-armor's yellow glow faded. Blasted to pieces, it and charred remains of the Rephaim fell, bouncing across the ground.

Diesel made sure witnesses recorded the Arkvee then launched up and away.

News drones followed the Onslaught zigzagging around the cities building but could not keep up with it.

****

Seeing his plan unfold Malphas smiled. "Get us out of here." He pushed an icon on his PAD and the truck with the other aliens in it exploded. Hurling pieces of metal through the air the blast took a chunk out of the nearest building and flung away some cars zooming past.