Imbue, Chapter 10: London Bridge

"This is a load of crap," Narcy said suddenly. "We have a plan to fly to Stonehenge, and we keep getting interrupted. Can we GO already?" she said, impatiently rubbing her hands together. The snow whipped her face, making her appear a bright red.
Anthadd chuckled. "I guess we could get moving."
"THANK YOU!" Narcy said, and with one fluid movement of her fingers, blew a piercing whistle out.
"PHHHT! Ok everybody, if you're coming along, get outside of the building right now!"
Luna looked up from attending to Paula. "Can't we wait a few more minutes? You're so incredibly rude, you heathen!" Luna paused, and scratched her head. "I can't believe I just said that..."
Meanwhile, TsuramiSea and Tony the Fobby slunk out trhough the doorway, and met up with the group.
"We heard your whistle, fob, and we're ready to go." Tony said, shifting slightly on his little Fobby feet.
Anthadd noticed Charles and Sebastian walking up behind him, and he saw Apple kid and Doctor Andonuts pouring hot water on Rusty.
"I think once Paula revives, we'll be ready to go." Anthadd said cautiously.
"Good, because I'm going to kick the living daylights out of anyone who interrupts us anymore."

"I think Rusty is getting back to his normal temperature," said Jeff as he wrapped a blanket around Rusty. "No signs of hypothermia or frostbite."
"That's good to hear, son. Paula is recovering form her shock, but it's best we wait until both Paula and Rusty are 100%."
"YAR! I've got me sea food if thems want some!" exclaimed Poo.
"Poo, this will all go faster if you....SHUT UP!" yelled Narcy.
"But I was just practicin' my pirate talk!" complained Poo.
Narcy glared at Poo.
Dan stared at Luna.
Luna raised an eyebrow.
Anthadd checked on Paula.
Cyan walked over to Tsurami and Tony and started a conversation.
"Ok, everyone! It looks like Rusty is better!" exclaimed Dr. Andonuts.
Dr. Andonuts and Apple Kid grabbed Rusty's arm and tried to help him up. Instead, Rusty over powered both of them throwing them both to the ground.
"What happened t' me?" asked Rusty. "What's wrong with Paula?"
Rusty walked over to Paula and felt her forehead.
"Eh, what's up, doc?" asked Rusty.
"Paula was attacked by....a Mookwell, if you will," explained Doctor Andonuts. "She's just about recovered now."
"Paula? Paula, dear?" Luna attempted to get Paula's attention.
Tsurami walked over and sat down next to Paula.

"Hey, Paula. It's me, Tsurami. You okay?"
"Yes. We need to get to Stonehenge. This is really important that we get there soon. Everyone, let us proceed out the door. Maxwell, thank you for all your aid here at Snow Wood. We all appreciate it. Goodbye."
When they were outside, Anthadd looked around and did a head-count.
"Hm...We're missing someone."
Anthadd thought for a second and then went down on his hand and knees.
"Has anyone seen Tony? No? Ok, I'm going back inside. Be right back."
Anthadd stepped into Snow Wood and found Tony hiding in the corner.
"Tony, we're going. C'mon!"
"No....you don't need me. I'm just getting in your way, fob. Let me stay here with Maxwell. It's just too dangerous for someone like me to go with you, fob. Maybe I'll see you again. This is my choice and I'm staying here. Fob."
"Are you sure, Tony?"
"Yes, fob."
Anthadd left the school and met up with the group at the gate. He explained Tony's situation.
"...and that's his choice! Now, let's go to Stonehenge."
They, on by one, went through the gate on their way to Stonehenge. As TsuramiSea, the last person, left, he wondered to himself. Was he the one that encouraged Tony to leave? He could only wonder.

The group, after being escorted to the underground room where the tunnel had lain dormant for years, was given one last briefing. "The tunnel goes for about a half a mile before it meets up with Stonehenge Base. Be sure not to let anyone see you as you exit. Good luck and Godbless."
The steel hatch, which must have been 6 inches thick, was opened, and one at a time, the group dropped in. It ranged from 6 feet to 4 feet tall, requiring plenty of crawling. The entire tunnel had been lined with iron or somesuch substance. This was it. Their lives, and the lives of others, depended on them getting through the base and defeating Miss Fake.

"You know," Narcy commented after they had been walking a time, "I haven't seen Mike recently."
"When the explosion happened I distinctly remember him rushing out in a crazed frenzy," Anthadd explain. "Therefore, it is my assumption that he somehow stumbled onto this path, and neglected to inform us of its location. Resultingly, I expect that some time upon our arrival in Stonehenge, we will encounter him."
"Ah... sure," Sebastian said. "What'd he say?" he whispered to Charles.
"Mike left hurriedly after the explosion. Anthadd thinks that Mike found this pathway, but didn't tell us, and that we'll find him in Stonehenge when we get there," the Strong Watcher related.
"Correct." Anthadd smiled.
"This adventure is shawl heatin' up," Rusty drawled. "I expect it'll end on a high note for all involved."
"That should be true," Jeff said. "I hope we're all ready for any horrors we may face there?"
He looked from one to the other as best he could. Tsurami nodded, as did Paula, Narcy and Luna. Dan, Poo and Anthadd did as well. Everyone else followed suit.

They emptied out into Stonehenge.
"So," Cyan began, "the final onslaught begins."
"Don't call it that! I prefer to call it the liberation of the Imbued!" Narcy protested. Not to mention getting my revenge on Fake, even though she may or may not deserve it...

Narcy brushed off a lump of dust from her suit. "Besides that, we need to be mentally prepared for other things...like dead bodies!" she said, suddenly jumping at Luna. Luna threw her gloved arms above her head, and screamed.
. "Phht. Grow up, Luna, or the time you spend in Venus' body may get to you."
Luna snorted, but kept moving along the hall.

The eerie purple light bounced around the familiar halls, and Narcy noticed a hole in the ceiling. "That must be where charles and Poo fell through..." She whispered softly. "And accoring to my calculations, we should be near the room with the flickering lights. Remember, I got my pixie's bracelet there!" She said, letting the small butterfly gems on the bracelet catch the light. Poo pretended to gag, so she cuffed him in the head. "Come on, come on, there's not much left to go. Soon we're going to find Fake..." She said, climbing down a long ladder to a lower floor, "Or what's left of her." She dropped to the floor, and looked up to see the others clattering downward.
When Anthadd reached the bottom of the ladder, he suddenly smiled. "There's an exit mouse room around here isn't there?"
Cyan nodded, and the entourage began to grope the walls in search of a doorway. Dan reached out his zapper, and felt it hit something. "Gotcha!" he said, leaping for the door. However, all he saw inside was a glass tube.
"Ooo..." he said, slowly approaching it.
"I'd stay back if I were you," Narcy warned from the doorway. Dan began to rethink his actions, but it was too late. A large cage plummeted from the ceiling, and landed on top of dan. A figure strolled into the room, and Narcy shot her revolver before she looked at what it was.
The dust cleared, to reveal a singe Starman DX. Or as she prefered to be called, a Sstarwoman.
"Well Narcy, your aim is impecible as always, but you need to learn to not be so trigger happy," Fake said sardonically.
"Well, happiness is a warm gun," Narcy countered, seething.
"What say we make a trade. I give you Dan back...and you give me the Imbued girl, Venus."
Anthadd looked at Luna, and raised his eyebrows. "You can tell she was imbued?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Fake snorted. "She carries herself as though she was born yesterday." Luna looked slightly hurt at the comment, but brushed it off. She began to weigh her options. She put her finger to her necklace, and felts beads of sweat developing around her neck. However, the rest of the group was not looking at her.
"The bars," Anthadd muttered, "They're melting!"
Indeed, the bars on Dan's cage were melting to bits, and Luna hd not even noticed. THe top of the cage began to slowly buckle downward when Luna finally looked up. The melting stopped.
Narcy's mind raced. 'This is the energy conversion granpa talked about! Incredible! I bet me and Anthadd are the only ones who even have a snowballs idea in heck whats happening!'
Narcy suddenly called out to luna. "Look away from the bars!"
Luna scratched her head, and did. Her mind began to drift back to the situation with Dan, and the melting began again.

Fake had stood in the corner, watching almost nonchalantly. However, her thoughts would have betrayed her outward appearence, as she was quite nervous.
"Impressive display," Fake said, as Dan ran from the melted jail cell. "but the battle has only just begun!" She reached out a tentacle, and it formed into a sharp raygun.
"Come on, Fake. I'll take you one on one!" Poo said as he pulled out his Sword of Kings. He ran at her with the sword held out, dodging precise shots from her ray gun. "You'll have to do better than that!" Poo yelled just as a shot him in the chest, sending him flying into Narcy.
"Hey, watch yourself, Poo!" she snapped. "This is the final battle. We have to work together if we want to win."
"Maybe you're right..." Poo trailed off as he tucked his sword away. Meanwhile, Fake was looking around the room, with her ray gun pointed outwards. "Which one of you shall be the first to go...?"

Fake was more than ready to show off her new body, and fired a single, now fully charged blast from her raygun. The section of the thick kevlar wall it touched disintegrated.
"That was impressive," Dan said nervously.
Fake laughed. "Would you like a closer demonstration?" The raygun glowed once again. She held it menacingly and continued. "You humans may have killed my Mook, and X-015 failed his mission, but those were just for fun. You won't be so lucky fighting me."
"Oh, but we don't really have to," Narcy said.
"What do you mean?" Fake nearly shouted, and turned the raygun towards Narcy, who was grinning.
"You're slowly killing yourself," she continued. "As someone is Imbued, they slowly waste away, leaving only the persona of the Imbued body. Eventually, you'll simply become a crazy Starman."
"You were stupid to talk back to your superior." Fake fired, the beam flying right over Narcy's head.
Meanwhile, Luna looked over what was happening. She knew she was the key to defeating Fake, but another thing was on her mind now. Would she be returned to her body in time?
"Scorpi--"
"Wait, Charles!" Anthadd cried, causing the Strong Watcher to stop.
"What for?"
"We can't fight with strength alone! We've got to use our wits," Anthadd quietly said.
"You're not considering what she did to me!" the Strong Watcher complained.
"It's not what she did to you!" Cyan argued. "It's what she'll be doing to us if we lose! We can get you back to your old body any time... once we find it!"
"That reminds me," Anthadd mused. "Where is your old body, Charles?"
Charles sniffed the air a second.
"The air seemed worse when I was strapped to a table of sorts. It's down further."
"Watch our backs, Narcy!" Anthadd called out as he, Cyan and Charles descended further into the darkness of Stonehenge.

Mike was running after Dan. "Wait up!" Mike called. He was running through the halls when he saw a couple of figures emerge from the dark. "Identify yourself!"
Anthadd called out. "This is Anthadd! I'm with Cyan and Charles."
Mike, who had already stopped, waited for Anthadd and co. to get to him. "What's going on? Dan ran off ahead of me, and now I don't know where he is."
"He's in the main room down the hall. Don't go in, though. Ms. Fake is in there. ... You know, the Starwoman? Anyhow, Cyan, Charles, and I are looking for Charles' body. Did you happen to see anything down this hall?"
"Oh." Mike began to think. "I remember seeing a few rooms back that a way. Maybe the body is there. Why do you want a body anyways? Shouldn't you be helpi- Oohh. I see what you're doing now. Good luck in finding the body." Mike hit Anth on the shoulder and grinned. "I'm going to go help the others."
Anthadd and his group ran down the hall.
Mike stood and began walking toward the battle. Oh, if only I could find a way to get above... hey! I found a ladder. There's always advantages in being on higher ground... Mike climbed the ladder and settled himself on the supporting cross members. He ran in the direction of the battle on the beam.
Once above the scene, he took out the Vindicator. I know that she's not really like that... I can't kill her he thought to himself about Ms. Fake. He adjusted the settings on the gun so that it would only disable units temporarily.
Once done, he took careful aim. He aimed for her weapon knowing that that weapon, as with most any weapon, could cause much harm to his friends. He fired once he was sure that he had his target. The energy beam struck the weapon at the point where he aimed.
"Augh!" A shriek could be heard throughout the room. The beam had disabled Ms. Fake's weapon, her left tentacle, and her right leg. "Fool! What were you thinking!"
Mike called out. "Guys, take her! But be careful, okay? The effect will only last for about a minute and a half!" He grinned and ran back to the ladder, knowing well of the repercussions that his attack on Ms. Fake would have once she recovered. What a vacation... he thought to himself.

In the middle of the battle, Skulryk looked about. Everyone was doing something except him; giving Ms. Fake everything they had and more. He should do something; although it will not kill Fake, he can at least knock her out, and make it easier for the rest of the group. Yet despite this, he was doing nothing. He never really did too much...
He had been doing nothing for too long.
Skulryk reached by his side and grabbed a knife. It wasn't what he usually had; that had been left back at Snow Wood. Right now all he had was a simple pocket knife, which he had accidentally left in his pocket.
Unfolding the blades, he silently concentrated. However, he knew that he could probably never make a shot like that, and was almost sure to miss. He barely knew how to throw knives, and he couldn't throw very well from any further than 15 feet. This was at least twice that, and with a rather bad knife, one not for throwing.
He pushed thoughts of failure out of his mind and grabbed his blade, staring at his target. He closed his eyes, brought his knife back behind his head, and concentrated before throwing.
All of a sudden, the tip of the blade began to glow. What is this? He had suddenly lost what he had before realizing he had managed to finally integrate psychic power with his weapon. He concentrated again, feeling psychic power flow through him. The blade in his hands was glowing white.
He released it, watching it fly through the air at Ms. Fake, heard it hit her, heard a gasp of rage, and smiled.

A dark figure watched as Anthadd, Cyan and Charles ran down the dimly lit passageway. Suddenly, a beeping sound eminated from Anthadd's side, causing him to look at the Ditel.
"dang... it needs repairs... You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up after I take care of this."
The dark figure looked on with anticipation, finally seeing his chance to get revenge on one of the abdomational warriors. thoughts flew through his head... Anthadd merely watching as he was dragged off to Miss. Fake's lab... Anthadd not even caring that he got shoved out of the teleportation... Anthadd hardly noticing him when they met again in Fourside... Anthadd not even regarding Captain Poo's meanness to him. All of these thoughts came and went in seconds, not bothering to think if he was exaggerating any of these or thinking about the nice parts of the adventure. And now, he had the infernal Anthadd all alone...
Anthadd finished replacing the busted battery on the Ditel (maybe that's why it wasn't charging very fast before) and was just about to head off down the hall when a masked figure jumped out at him...