Chapter 4 : Caves are best explored at night
The sounds of blades clashing and gun fire spurred Rune to hurry down the path further. He couldn't help but wonder how most of these places would split off into numerous directions by now, yet he was still just heading down the tunnel. It was clear to him that this was not natural but he didn't have the time to study the workmanship as the sounds of fighting continued to intensify. After a few moments longer he came to a fork in the road. Silently cursing himself for jumping to a hasty conclusion, he calmed himself and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed down and he became more aware of the surrounding area as he entered a trance like state of meditation. His energy began to strengthen as his consciousness started to "expand" and search the underground passage for his destination. The left fork seemed to travel into multiple little forks, most ending in dead-ends. The right however, moved in a similar straight path as his previous trail, then abruptly turn left and end in a large, open area in the cave. He could see the bright flashes of the gun fire and the sparks from when blades crossed. Finding what he needed, he began to increase the tempo of his breathing and slowly but surely the open area in the cave faded away and he found himself staring at the fork. Dashing off the left he soon began to pick up the familiar smell of oil that most firearms need to stay working. For some reason these smells seemed stronger than what he was normally used to, but he didn't have time to ponder the reason why and he jumped head long into the firefight.
Scanning the area quickly, he saw what looked like soldiers dressed in black bodysuits of ceramic like material with red *, shin guards and boots. A strange reddish glow emitted from the center of the open area but his concentration was quickly broken as a bolt of energy flew past his left shoulder. He deftly blocked another blast and then another with his staff and soon spotted his assailant standing towards the center, firing at him. He dived past one blast then rolled away from another as he came to rest behind a rocky outcropping. Taking a moment to collect himself, Rune peered around the rock to see the soldier walking towards him. Counting to 3, he jumped out from behind the rock and threw a rather large fireball towards his enemy. He was soon greeting by the sounds of sizzling and pain as the fire engulfed the soldier in it's burning grasp and quickly melted the armor and the bodysuit underneath. The soldier twitched for a moment then gave a final gasp as the fire consumed his life. Another soldier came running at Rune with a sword drawn and swung with an overhand swing with incredible speed. He barely had time to dodge the sword as it clipped his right pant leg, tearing off a small piece before hitting the rock floor in a shower of sparks. Rune spun to his left then flipped backward as the soldier followed with veteran swings and strikes. He knew that he couldn't keep up with this for too long even with his endurance. Rune blocked another strike aimed at his head and batted away the sword to his left before thrusting his right hand at his foe, sending tornadoes of air into the soldiers chest. The soldier didn't know what hit him as the wind picked him off the floor and slammed him into the rocky wall, causing an audible snap as the soldier slid to the ground and collapsed. Rune looked around and saw one last black and red gunman blasting at an outcropping similar to the one Rune used early. In two quick steps he was on the killer, smashing his staff on the armored head and then quickly spinning the staff around and using the more pointed end to thrust into the ribs of the stunned hitman. The thug breathed once then collapsed face first onto the rocky floor before having blue sparks burst from the hole in his side. Rune stepped back a few paces and held his hand up to cover his face as the now dead soldier exploded. Blinking his eyes to clear the spots, Rune examined the "corpse" to find out it was an android.
"What the hell are androids doing here?" asked Rune as he started to pick up pieces of the armor to look for any identifying signs.
"Perhaps they were after this?" a mysterious voice answered
Rune stood up, ready for another fight if need be. Stepping out from the rocky outcrop was a man of about 5'10 in height with brown hair and Hazel eyes. From the looks of his outfit he appeared to be a doctor.
"Who are you?" Rune inquired
The man smiled warmly and brushed himself free of dust, "Forgive me, I am Dr Hahn Mahlay. I think these soldiers were look for this.." Hahn gestured behind him towards the faint reddish glow. Rune moved a bit closer and saw that a statue made from appeared to be Laconia was emitting this glow. Rune's mouth dropped as he began to study the statue more intently.
"Could it be....? Is it....? It is! It is him!" Rune exclaimed as he hurried closer to the statue. Puzzled, Hahn followed the strange man and tilted his head slightly. He waited for a few moments for a further explanation. When one wasn't given he decided to prod a bit further,
"I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?"
Rune stopped for a moment, realizing he was acting like Chaz when they first met. Smirking and turning a bit to the left he answered,
"I'm sorry, but I'm Rune and you're looking at a statue of the great Esper, Lucas"
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