“Aqwen, calm down. Who took Wulkun?” Kaleb asked as the female lizard stomped up to him.
Aqwen swung her arms around angrily as she explained. “The Faceless, one of the criminal gangs that run this area of Under-Town. After your fight with the Ciliaton they claimed that the Brute Clan was responsible for the damage caused to the practice area.”
“Damage?” Kaleb asked trying to remember his fight with Rokka.
“There was no damage. Or at least nothing noticeable, so Wulkun told them to stuff it. We thought they had given up but apparently not.”
Kaleb sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. If he had to guess Kaleb would bet the game AI had created a random event based on his past actions. It wasn’t a bad thing just badly timed. He had wanted to focus on crafting, but now he had a quest that would probably affect his affinity with the Brute Clan. He had to handle it somehow.
“Do you know where they took him?” Kaleb asked.
“Sure, the gangs don’t exactly hide down here. They have a place in the north, but that’s their territory so marching in there is a bad idea.” Aqwen said pointing off to the north behind the arena.
Kaleb nodded before he glanced at Daivor and Roy. “But I should be able to sneak in. Can I ask the clan to watch over these two for me?”
“What…” Aqwen began.
“But…” Roy started.
Kaleb interrupted them both before they could argue. “Look, a single lizard will have an easier time getting in then a group of armed lizards. And Roy I am not risking your life when you are a Super it will be a different story but right now that is final.”
Aqwen looked annoyed, but she nodded. “That kind of makes sense, but how do you plan on getting out?”
“Well, that is where the Brute Clan can help. After I sneak in, I’ll send up the signal and you lot can come marching in. Wulkun and I will escape in the confusion.” Kaleb described his plan.
Aqwen nodded again, but Roy spoke up annoyed. “I can help!”
“No one said you couldn’t but I’m not taking the chance, Roy. I can sneak in easier alone.” And I can respawn and you can’t. Kaleb thought as he looked a question at Aqwen.
“We will watch the hatchling and Gnome. Meanwhile, I shall gather our warriors and prepare to march on the Faceless.” Aqwen said angrily shaking her fist.
Kaleb exhaled loudly before he turned his gaze to Roy, who was looking defiant. “Roy, stay here.”
Roy shuffled his feet and looked ready to continue arguing, But Kaleb patted his shoulder with his metal hand. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to risk your life starting next week.”
Finally, Roy gave a halfhearted nod and Kaleb patted his shoulder a finally time before nodding at Aqwen and jogging off. As he moved past the arena practice area, he took stock of his current weapons. He had his Cybar Pistol and Sun Gun in newly made holsters on his waist, his Magic Gun was in a lab coat pocket along with three Taser Eggs, Shocky 2.0, and his rail spike launcher. All together, he was loaded for bear.
“So how do you plan to sneak in?” Farrah asked from his wrist.
“Oh, Farrah, you should know me better by now.” Kaleb whispered as he jogged further north.
“You don’t plan on hiding at all, do you?” Farrah sighed.
Kaleb merely laughed as he continued to jog. As he ran the streets grew empty and the nearby building appeared more residential. Squat square buildings lined either side of the road and the buildings looked more and more run down. As Kaleb ran the nearby residents, both human and alien, seemed to watch him with interest. Kaleb continued to jog down the street until the nearby buildings grew dark and the only signs of life came from a large mansion three blocks ahead of him.
“This…” Farrah began followed by a loud burst of static. “Not… idea.”
“Great. They have a communication jamming equipment because why not?” Kaleb mumbled as he slowed down to a walk and continued toward the mansion.
As Kaleb got closer, he saw a few doors ahead of him open and four people walked out onto the street. Kaleb noted that while all the people were casually dressed and different sizes and races, they all wore the same faceless mask. Faceless. Kaleb thought as he approached the group, smilingly wide. He briefly wondered how many more of the gang hid in the nearby houses before he returned his focus to the biggest member of the group ahead of him.
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It was obviously a red pig alien that he and Roy had run into just this morning. Although Kaleb couldn’t tell if it was the same one from this morning or not. Is that racist? That feels racist. Kaleb thought as he moved to stand toe to toe with the masked pig-man.
“Business?” The masked pig-man grunted.
Kaleb continued to smile as he said. “Ah yes, well, you see I was in the market for a grouchy, old, Brute Clan lizard, and I heard that I might locate him in that fancy mansion up ahead. Would that be correct?”
The pig-man seemed to snort in surprise before he reached forward and grasped Kaleb’s collar. Kaleb went limp, letting his hand drop to his side and his feet drag as the porcine brute snarled angrily at him.
“Listen here, that old lizard owes us. So until we get what they owe us he will remain a guest in the master’s house of pain. You got that little lizard.”
So he IS in the house. Kaleb thought as he drew his Cybar and Sun pistols, cranking the Sun Gun to maximum he gave the pig-man both barrels to the chest. As the grip around his neck loosened Kaleb took several steps back continuing to fire. He shot two more of the Faceless before the third seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke.
Kaleb kept both of his guns up waiting for the fourth Faceless to reappear. He wasn’t sure if the Faceless had teleported or sped away; he hoped he was dealing with a teleported because he really didn’t want to deal with a speedster.
*BAM!*
Something solid collided with Kaleb’s back sending him sprawling onto the dirt street. Speedster. Kaleb mentally cursed as he picked himself up and ran for the nearest building. He hoped that the small square building would make the speedster easier to deal with. The speedster jabbed him two more times in the ribs before Kaleb made it into the building, using his metal arm to shoulder-barge through the door landing on his side.
Maybe I should have tried sneaking. Kaleb thought as he picked himself up and put his back to the nearest wall. He momentarily heard a whoosh of air come from the door and he had just enough time to put his guard up before the speedster struck him again with another punch. It kind of surprised him how weak the speedster was, but he figured that was the trade-off for this brand of speedster.
Putting his back into the corner of the room, Kaleb deployed Shocky and waited. Really need to find a better way to deal with speedsters. Kaleb thought as he mentally switched on Shocky 2.0’s stun function. There was an electrical snap and a high-pitched voice screamed in pain. Kaleb dropped his shield and quickly fired both his pistols into the Faceless frozen in front of him.
Kaleb sighed as he watched the orange-skinned Faceless drop to the floor. He vented his Cybar as he checked the charge on his Sun Gun, luckily he hadn’t used it much so it had stored a good deal of power. Before Kaleb could catch his breath, though a large gray arm reached through the wood and metal wall and pulled Kaleb bodily through.
Kaleb yelped in pain as jagged metal edges tore at his skin and clothes. As someone lifted him up, he fired his Sun Gun blindly toward the source of the arm that was holding him. But in the alleyway‘s darkness he could see the yellow energy of his pistol seem to dissipate over the large figure holding him aloft. A gravelly chuckle emanated from behind the white Faceless mask before the large gray arm threw Kaleb into the middle of the street.
Yep, definitely should have tried sneaking first. Kaleb thought as his back slammed into the street. He had dropped his Sun Gun mid-flight, and he momentarily searched for it. But, the nine-foot tall gray monstrosity that had flung him over ten feet was stomping its way closer. Thinking quickly, Kaleb reached for his Magic Gun and turned onto his back as the large humanoid stood above him.
Lashing out with his leg Kaleb kicked up into the thing’s crotch, hoping it was male. But instead of connecting with the things dangly bits, Kaleb’s shin connected with a what felt like a brick wall.
“Fuck!” Kaleb swore as pain flared in his leg.
The nine-foot asshole chuckled again as Kaleb drew his Magic Gun and focused his Mana. Mentally picturing an icicle attack he had seen Jar-lock throw around, Kaleb aimed at the laughing behemoth’s chest. The Faceless must have thought Kaleb was using a regular gun cause it squared its chest and seemed to dare Kaleb to shoot. Kaleb mimed pulling the trigger as he released his built up Mana.
There was no sound as a spear of ice shot from his gun and pierced straight through the thing’s chest. Kaleb sighed in relief before he realized the behemoth was tilting forward dangerously. Thinking quickly Kaleb rolled away as the large humanoid fell face forward into the dirt street. Okay five down, how many more people can an underground gang have? Kaleb wondered as he got up and searched for his Sun Gun finding it nearby in the street none the worse for wear.
*Cli-clack*
The sound of several metal doors opening and closing resounded in the street as Kaleb straightened up. His leg still throbbed in pain as he turned to see more and more Faceless pouring out of several houses. Pocketing his Magic Gun, Kaleb did his best to shake the pain off and smiled widely at the oncoming mass of Faceless.
“I don’t suppose you all are here to give yourselves up, are you?”
The mob of Faceless gang members seemed chuckle before they charged as one at Kaleb. Kaleb quickly turned and ran down a nearby alley, firing his guns blindly behind him.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Kaleb muttered to himself as he ran through the dark alleys.
He could hear the thundering footsteps of mob chasing after him. Luckily the alleyways were small enough that few of the Faceless could chase after him. Little weird this gang members don’t have guns though. Kaleb thought before three spears of metal slammed into a wall just in front of him. But they can throw metal spears, okay then. Making a quick decision Kaleb used the metal spears to climb up onto the small metal house.
Once on the roof Kaleb found it easy to jump from roof to roof. Spotting the mansion off in the distance, Kaleb fired a few more pistol blast into the horde coming up behind him before he ran for it. As he got closer to the mansion Kaleb saw that a brick fence that was a little higher than the nearby houses surrounded it. Deciding to just jump for it, Kaleb poured every ounce of his stamina into his legs and made a leap for the top of the fence, using his momentum to swing himself up and over.
As he cleared the fence into the mansions yard, Kaleb felt a tingling sensation travel up and down his spine. Alarm ward? Kaleb wondered as he landed on his feet and caught his balance. He could still hear the mass of Faceless on the other side of the stone fence. So he quickly moved away toward the main building and looked for a door.
Okay, the plans going well so far. Just need to keep doing what I have been doing and nothing can go wrong. Kaleb tempted fate as he moved around the large mansion searching for a proper door.