Ch 17: Escape from Celestis

With the Void Drive in hand, Douglas and the others run afoul of Giselle, Alastor's right hand. As they make their daring escape, what will Douglas do with faced with his former leader?

            After taking the liberty of copying any important data in the computer onto a disk, Douglas grabbed the void drive and he, Rufus, and Schmitt made their exit from the computer room. They made their way through the rows of cylinders where the remains of the failed Project Zero still hung, no longer being preserved by the systems Douglas had shut down, and headed for the stairway up to the catwalk. Then the secret doorway suddenly opened. Quickly noticing this, Douglas said, “Hide!” Rushing to hide themselves from view behind the cylinders, they barely escaped being seen as Giselle stepped through the doorway. Looking around a moment, Giselle silently descended the stairs. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she looked around again and muttered, “Why are the lights on…?” From behind the cylinder, Douglas looked through the liquid within at Giselle as he thought, “Giselle Rui, Alastor’s right hand gal. Things were goin’ so well too…” Slowly, Giselle started to walk down the row of cylinders towards the computer room. They waited with bated breath for her to pass, moving quietly and carefully around the cylinders as she passed so that they remained out of her field of vision. Then Giselle paused and furrowed her brow suspiciously as she said, “What is this I’m sensing? Why are these tanks deactivated? Who is in here?! Show yourself!” 

Gritting his teeth, Douglas thought, “Damn! Her senses are too good! There’s only one way we might get outta here…” A moment later, Giselle whirled around as she suddenly heard Douglas’ voice say, “Well fancy meetin’ you here Giselle! How’s life?” Looking at him in disbelief, Giselle said, “You?! You were defeated back in Silens! What trickery is this?!” Laughing halfheartedly, Douglas replied, “Yeah well, a lotta things happened. Sorry to say, but I don’t think I’m comin’ back to the fold. The money’s good and all, but I kinda like this world the way it is.” With an angry expression, Giselle said, “So you intend to betray Lord Alastor?! Even though you’re already a Revenant of Altera Veritas?!” Flashing a big grin, Douglas said, “Sorry, I’m not big on loyalty.” Gathering a mass of EDE into her hand, Giselle said, “Then I hope you are prepared to face the consequences! I will kill you where you stand!” Forming Furtim Bovis, Douglas’ grin widened as he said, “Consequences, smonsequences! I follow my own rules!” Her long sword formed, with lightning speed Giselle charged Douglas before he could take aim and drove her sword into his chest.

            To Giselle’s disbelief, Douglas simply raised his gun and said, “Bang.” Struck by one of Douglas’ ice bullets, Giselle found herself encased in solid ice up to her neck. Eyes wide with fury, she exclaimed, “This is impossible!” As the image of Douglas before her faded, Giselle could see it had been one of Douglas’ decoys. Deactivating the cloaking field he had created around Schmitt, Rufus, and himself, Douglas called out from up on the catwalk, “See ya!” They quickly made their escape as she glared after them. Gathering her strength, Giselle transformed into her half-demon folk form, her left arm growing into a muscular demonic form and black wings growing out of her back. Shattering the ice with her tremendous strength, a red glow in her left eye, she shouted, “You will pay for this, TRAITOR!” Douglas and the others rushed out of lab 7D, and quickly Douglas shut the door and smashed the door controls. Then they made their way to the elevator, Douglas shouting, “Go, go, go! That won’t hold the b***h for long!” Pressing the button to call the elevator, Douglas tapped his foot impatiently. 

Then behind them they heard a loud bang as Giselle started punching out the sealed door with her strength. With a look of terror, Rufus exclaimed, “A-aren’t there s-some stairs or something?! That door is solid steel! If she catches us, she could juice us like a piece of fruit!” Gritting his teeth in frustration as he watched the door giving out against the pounding Giselle was giving it, Douglas said, “Actually that door looks like it’s prolly made of reinforced titanium, but who cares about the little details…” The elevator door opened and they quickly got in, Rufus rapidly pressing the button to close the door as he held Ian tightly against him. With a massive explosion of lightning, the door to lab 7D shot out of its frame and slammed into the opposite wall of the hallway. Giselle quickly stepped through the door, lightning crackling around her, and seeing her in demonic form, Schmitt exclaimed, “Oh boy…” Pressing the door close button even more rapidly, Rufus shouted, “What the hell is that?! Close already damn it!” At last the doors started to close just as Giselle started running for the elevator, shouting, “You’re not getting away!” As the doors shut and the elevator began to rise, they heard the loud bang below them of Giselle bashing in the elevator door. Rufus slumped to the floor and said, “I think my heart stopped there…”

            Reaching the first floor, the three quickly rushed from the elevator. Seeing them rush past, the secretary shouted, “What in the world is going on?! Did I just hear an explosion?!” Stopping to smile nervously at her, Schmitt said, “Sorry miss, we’re in a bit of a hurry! You might wanna hide under the counter here for a spell…” Hearing a loud banging from the elevator down the hall, Schmitt followed Rufus and Douglas out the door. Having climbed the elevator shaft and broken through the bottom of the elevator, Giselle smashed her way out of the elevator and stepped into the hall. Watching them escape through the front door, Giselle clenched her fists and said, “I grow weary of this!” Raising her demonic hand as though to summon something, from the shadows of the hall appeared dark vortexes, and from them came four anomalies. Pointing at her escaping prey, Giselle said, “After them!” Quickly the anomalies rushed down the hall, giving the secretary quite the fright as they passed. Then reaching into her clothes, Giselle pulled out a cell phone, and pressing a button on it, she raised it to her ear. As Alastor answered, she said, “Sir, there’s been a slight incident…”

            Schmitt and the others rushed to the hover taxi, which Louie had parked on the other side of the street since he couldn’t very well stay in the handicapped spot. As Louie spotted the three of them, he also noticed Douglas carrying his Furtim Bovis rifle, and sticking his head out the window, he called out, “Hey, what’s the rush? Is that a gun?!” Reaching the hover taxi, Rufus opened the door and quickly got in as he said, “Get us outta here! There’s a demon lady chasing us!” Looking back at him, Louie said, “What?!” Schmitt quickly got in as well and said, “Don’t ask! Just go!” Looking back, as Douglas saw the anomalies coming, he tossed the void drive into the backseat with the others and jumped onto the roof of the hover taxi. Leaning out window again, Louie said, “What the hell are you-” Then seeing the anomalies coming, Louie quickly started the hover taxi and said, “Holy crap!” Firing ice bullet rounds at the anomalies from the roof as the hover taxi began to speed off, as the anomalies evaded and continued to pursue, Douglas muttered, “Hope the traffic’s good…” Inside the hover taxi, Louie was shouting, “What the hell’s going on?! I’m definitely gonna charge you hazard pay here y’know!” 

Looking out the back window at the pursuing anomalies, Rufus said, “How the heck are they so fast?!” The hover taxi sped through the streets, running red lights and stop signs as the people of the city fled in terror at the scene. All the while Douglas continued to fire at the anomalies, leaving a trail of ice in their wake. Missing again, Douglas muttered, “Damn these quick little buggers…” Then one of the anomalies made a powerful leap onto the roof of the hover taxi, and Douglas barely blocked its bladed arms with his rifle. Struggling against it, Douglas shouted, “Get off me!” As he shoved it away from him, the anomaly fell off the roof and bounced into one of the others. Grinning, Douglas said, “Alright, just two more!” Then another of the anomalies made a desperate leap, falling short of the roof but managing to cling to the hover taxi by digging one of its bladed arms into the trunk. Staring out the back window at the hooded figure, it’s glowing red eyes gazing back at him, Rufus exclaimed, “Not good not good not good!” Trying to beat the anomaly off with his rifle, unable to fire at it in such close range without freezing the hover taxi as well, Douglas thought, “If only I were near some water…” Then morphing its arm into humanoid form, the anomaly grabbed hold of his rifle as he swung at it again. Struggling with it for possession of his rifle, Douglas said, “Take your grubby hand off my Furtim Bovis!” Holding fast to his rifle, the anomaly ripped its other arm from the trunk. Seeing this, Douglas hesitated a moment, then released his rifle and said, “Fine, keep it!” Falling away from the hover taxi with its hard won prize in hand, the anomaly bounced across the road. Watching the last anomaly continue to pursue, Douglas got down on his knees and bent over the side of the hover taxi. Through the open window he called down to Louie, “Get us to a fountain or a park with a pond or somethin’! I need water!” Looking as though he thought Douglas was crazy, Louie said, “This is no time for a drink!” Douglas simply shouted back, “Just do it!”

            The hum of the overworked hover engine filled the air as they sped into the plaza. People ran for their lives as the hover taxi raced to the fountain in the plaza’s center. Stopping next to it, Louie shouted, “Whatever you’re doing, do it quick!” The three who fell behind having recovered, all four of the anomalies charged after them. Smirking confidently, Douglas said, “Alright, now we’re set!” Calling the water from the fountain forth, he gathered it around him. Then as the anomalies all leaped into the air at him, Douglas froze the water into jagged shards of ice and shouted, “Eat this!” He willed the ice shards to shoot forth, and the anomalies were shot out of the air, riddled with the icy projectiles. They fell to the ground, lifeless, and with a smug look Douglas said, “Done deal.” Then above the fading sounds of the fleeing people, Douglas heard a faint clapping sound. Looking around for the source of the sound, Douglas felt his blood turn cold as he laid eyes upon Alastor. Sitting in a chair by the coffee shop, Alastor applauded at him for a few more moments. Then as he rose from the chair, he said in his empty voice, “Bravo Douglas, bravo.” Watching him start to walk over to them, Douglas muttered, “Humph, outta the fryin’ pan and into the fire!” Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Alastor said, “I suppose you think you’re very clever, hiding yourself from me by using the same little trick as my dear brother… I knew you were alive, I simply did not know where you had gone.” Jumping off the roof of the hover car, Douglas faced Alastor as he approached and said, “I ain’t afraid of you Alastor, and I ain’t goin back…” Flashing his faint smile, Alastor said, “Despite all your talk, you are far too soft to make a proper Revenant. I didn’t come here to take you back. I came to retrieve what is mine.” Alastor raised a hand, and Douglas could feel his shades vibrating. Lowering his hand, Alastor said, “You’ve stolen a part of my power Douglas. I will have it back now…”

            Within the hover taxi, Rufus stared out the window at Alastor. Turning to Schmitt, he squeaked, “It’s him! What do we do?!” Looking at the void drive, Schmitt thought, “D****t! We’ve got what we need, but no matter how much of a lowlife Douglas is, we can’t just abandon him here!” Looking back at them, Louie said, “Now what’s goin on? You look like you guys have seen a ghost or something.” Raising his hand again, Alastor channeled Corrupted EDE into it and said, “Well I’m rather busy at the moment. Excuse me if I make quick work of this matter. If you’ve thrown in your lot with Mr. Greyson’s friends, then you can die with them.” Clenching his fists, Douglas thought, “There’re only two options here, and neither of em involve me walkin away alive.” Then smirking slightly, he thought, “Well, if I gotta go down…” Quickly he turned to Louie and said, “Get these guys outta town Louie!” Looking at him with a confused look, Louie said, “Hold up, what’s going on?” Douglas just shouted, “DO IT!” As Louie started up the hover taxi, Schmitt struggled with his seatbelt as he said, “Wait just a damn minute here!” Looking back and forth from Douglas and Schmitt, Louie said, “Somebody make up your mind!” Aiming his hand at Douglas, as black rune circles formed along his arm, Alastor said, “No one is leaving.”

            Quickly forming Furtim Bovis, Douglas willed three of his floating orbs to form a triangle formation and generate a blue barrier field between them and Alastor just as the villain unleashed his Deathsoul Summoning. The vortex of Corrupted EDE clashed with Douglas’ barrier, and knowing it wouldn’t hold for long, Douglas leveled the barrel of his rifle at Louie and shouted, “Get outta here before I turn you into a snowman!” The hover taxi took off, Schmitt popping his head out the window and shouting back, “DOUGLAS!” Quickly Douglas leaped aside as the barrier shattered and the vortex of darkness cut through the plaza. Rolling to his feet, Douglas looked after the hover taxi as it sped away, and smiling slightly, he said, “Good luck ya old coot…” Looking after the hover taxi as well, seemingly uninterested, Alastor said, “That was very unlike you Douglas, sacrificing yourself for someone else. You know full well you cannot make it out of here alive.” Laughing, Douglas replied, “Yeah, I’m pretty screwed! But if I’m goin’ down, I’m goin’ down fightin’ like a man! And there’s only room on this final stage for the two of us!” Returning his gaze to Douglas, Alastor said, “How… heroic of you. Very well, let us set the stage for your demise.” As he gathered EDE, three spheres of wind formed around Alastor, wind blades dancing within them. He willed them to attack and the spheres shot out at Douglas. Quickly flying up high to avoid them using the repulsion units in his Furtim Bovis’ shoulder pads, Douglas returned fire as he bobbed and weaved away from the wind spheres. Casually sidestepping and leaping away from his bullets as they came at him, Alastor pointed his finger at Douglas and began firing Corrupted EDE beams at him. Continuing to fire as the wind spheres chased him, Douglas shouted, “This all you got?!” Evading another ice bullet, Alastor said, “Haste…”

            Leaping into the air, Alastor flew on the wind itself and shot towards Douglas like a bullet. Caught off guard, before Douglas could raise his rifle at him Alastor grabbed him by the neck, and spinning in the air he threw Douglas to the ground with powerful force. Dropping down out of the sky in a falling kick, Alastor almost slammed his foot down on his head, but rolling aside, Douglas got to his feet and dodged again as Alastor quickly turned and threw a punch at him. Ducking and dodging as Alastor lashed out with powerful close quarter attacks, Douglas struggled to get out of his range. Suddenly caught by a pressurized spinning roundhouse kick, Douglas sailed into the side of a building in the plaza. Alastor slowly walked over to the building, calling out, “You always have been quick and nimble in battle, but it looks as though I’m even faster, wouldn’t you say?” Then as the smoke cleared Douglas was nowhere to be found. Alastor simply flashed a faint smile and blocked Douglas’ ice bullet with his air pressure barrier. The ice forming around the barrier, Alastor merely turned and shattered it with his fist. Then raising a hand, he extended a finger in the air as though he were checking the weather and said, “Furtim Bovis truly is a marvelous defensive and offensive asset. However, you will not fool me with it.” Then looking at a seemingly random point in the sky, Alastor aimed his finger and shot a stealth decoy from the sky. Then he took aim and shot down another. Then he finally leveled his finger at the spot where Douglas hovered just above the ground and said, “That’s two, plus the three I destroyed earlier. That means you’re right there. I can detect you simply using the fact that your body is displacing the air around us.” Douglas’ voice called out, “Heh, you really are the master of wind. Sensin’ my location just by checkin’ the bloody weather…” Dropping his stealth field, Douglas raised his rifle and fired again. Blocking again with his air pressure barrier, Alastor punched through the ice that formed and said, “Do not waste my time…”

            Casting his rifle aside, Douglas drew the high tech weapon he’d used back in Silens and said, “I ain’t finished yet! This here’s my show!” Rushing at Alastor, Douglas channeled EDE into the device and formed its twin ice blades. He reached Alastor and swung with powerful force, but met with Alastor’s pressure barrier once more. Staring at him blankly, Alastor said, “Does it not occur to you that I have a barrier? I thought it would surely have registered in your tiny brain by now.” Alastor slammed his fist into Douglas’ face, and with a blast of pressurized air Douglas sailed several feet before landing sprawled on his back on the ground, dropping his weapon. His shades knocked off by the force of Alastor’s attack, they clattered to the ground at Alastor’s feet. Stooping down to pick them up, as Alastor stuffed them in his pocket, he said, “I’ll be taking these if you don’t mind. I’ll have to go through good deal of trouble to unseal the essence within them. First though, I must lower the curtain on this little show of yours…” Tapping his boot on the pavement, a retractable blade in Douglas’ boot slid out, and leaping to his feet yet again, Douglas rushed at Alastor and swung his bladed boot at him. Grabbing the blade between two fingers, Alastor stopped it cold in its tracks, and as Douglas struggled against his grip, Alastor said, “Persistent aren’t you? It’s a pity that your affinity for water and ice requires a decent amount of the actual element H2O to be present for you to fight effectively.” Taking hold of Douglas’ leg with his free hand, Alastor jumped into the air with him, and swinging him around like a rag doll he once more hurled Douglas to the ground. Then Alastor faced his palm down at Douglas, and black rune circles formed along his arm as he channeled Corrupted EDE into it and said, “It seems your little betrayal has been your undoing. It’s always the downfall of people like you, who’ve lived in the shadows for so long, to try and step back into the light…”