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Arcane: TTB: Ch. 75
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 18:24:29 +0000 UTCThey regrouped on a ridge overlooking the smoldering ruins of the Hammond facility.
Vander winced as he settled onto a rock, hand instinctively moving to his ribs where Revenant had landed a blow. His breathing was shallow.
Bangalore noted, offering a medical injector. "This will help."
Vander studied the device for a moment before accepting it with a nod. He pressed it against his side, and his expression relaxed slightly as the medication took effect.
"That facility held answers," Cipher said, scrolling through fragmented data on his device. "About Revenant's creation, his transformation from human to simulacrum."
"You almost sound sympathetic," Silco observed, carefully organizing the chemical samples he'd collected from the laboratory.
"Understanding your enemy isn't sympathy," Cipher replied without looking up. "It's strategy."
"How long until we reach Artillery Basin?" Vander asked, straightening up with effort.
"Half a day's journey across open terrain," Bangalore replied, surveying the landscape ahead.
Silco exhaled cigarette smoke thoughtfully. "We have what we came for. Technology, data, chemical compounds. Is this extraction point truly necessary?"
Cipher explained. "The ambient energy field at Artillery Basin would make it more stable. Otherwise..."
"We might end up scattered across multiple dimensions," Silco concluded dryly. "How inconvenient."
"We need to move," Bangalore decided, already gathering her equipment. "Whatever head start we have won't last long."
---
Coolant dripped from Revenant's metal frame as he surveyed the burning facility. Pain didn't register, not physically, but the memory of pain lingered.
He recalled the face of the large human who confronted him on the bridge. The word he used: Family.
Something stirred in his fractured memory banks, but he dismissed it instantly.
These intruders were different from the usual prey. They were hiding something.
Something worth hunting.
The thought brought a simulation of pleasure as he began tracking their trail across the landscape.
---
Bangalore led them across the open terrain in a strategic pattern designed to minimize exposure. Sometimes they doubled back, creating false trails. Other times they split temporarily before reconverging.
They reached a ravine with a narrow land bridge, the only crossing for miles. On the other side lay a relatively clear path to Artillery Basin, visible now as a massive depression in the distance, filled with what appeared to be abandoned military equipment.
Vander eyed the narrow crossing.
Silco had already begun preparing a mixture of chemicals he'd salvaged. "I can create a temporary visual barrier."
While Silco worked, Cipher and Bangalore set up small electronic devices along their path.
"Motion sensors?" Sevika asked.
"Better," Bangalore replied. "Energy decoys. They'll emit signatures similar to ours, creating false readings for his tracking systems."
Once preparations were complete, they crossed the narrow bridge one by one. Vander went last, checking behind them constantly.
As they reached the other side, a familiar silhouette appeared on the distant ridge they had recently vacated.
Silco activated his chemical trap, obscuring visibility and temporarily interfering with sensors. The energy decoys activated simultaneously, creating multiple false readings.
"That won't hold him long."
They fled toward Artillery Basin, pushing their pace despite growing fatigue. Behind them, Revenant emerged from the chemical fog, momentarily disoriented by the conflicting signals. But the confusion lasted only seconds before he corrected course and continued his pursuit.
The chase intensified as they entered more terrain with a series of steep inclines and sharp drops leading down into the basin. Their path narrowed, funneling into a canyon with steep walls on either side.
"This is a death trap," Vander muttered. "He'll catch us before we clear the canyon."
The group halted briefly, catching their breath while assessing their options.
"We need something to slow him down," Bangalore stated.
"No," Vander said firmly. "What we need is for some of us to continue while others delay him."
Sevika immediately shook her head. "Not happening."
"The mission matters more than any individual," Vander insisted. "You know this. The technology we've gathered could protect Zaun for generations."
A heavy silence fell over the group. Cipher checked his scanning device, confirming what they already knew, Revenant was closing fast.
"I'll stay," Vander decided. "I can buy you time."
Before anyone could argue further, he reached into his pack and distributed the technology samples he'd been carrying to the others.
"We're not leaving you," Cipher insisted.
"Yes, you are," Vander replied calmly. "Because that's your job now. Get back to Zaun. Protect our family."
Silco studied Vander for a long moment before reaching into his pocket. He removed several small spherical devices and handed them over. "Chemical explosives. Use them strategically, not all at once."
Vander nodded in thanks.
"Two kilometers to Artillery Basin," Bangalore said. "The extraction point is at the central command bunker. We'll have communications there."
With reluctance, they continued through the canyon, leaving Vander behind. Sevika looked back once, her expression unreadable, before following the others.
Vander stood alone in the canyon as Revenant approached.
"You should have kept running," he said as he drew near.
"I'm done with running. Not my style," Vander replied, drawing his knife.
Revenant attacked with inhuman speed, but Vander anticipated the movement, sidestepping at the last moment, his knife edge finding a gap in Revenant's shoulder joint.
The simulacrum's arm spasmed momentarily. Revenant disengaged, studying Vander with newfound interest.
"You've fought machines before."
"No," Vander replied. "But I've fought things that think they're invincible."
Revenant's second attack came from above, he scaled the canyon wall before dropping down behind Vander. But he had anticipated this, rolling forward just as Revenant landed, then spinning to face him again.
For minutes that felt like hours, Vander held his ground. But gradually, inevitably, Revenant gained the advantage. A slash across Vander's back drew first blood. A second blow punctured his leg, causing him to stumble.
As Revenant moved in for the kill, Vander triggered one of Silco's explosives. The blast caught Revenant directly, temporarily disorienting his systems. Vander used the opportunity to put distance between them, leaving a second explosive behind.
When Revenant pursued, the second blast triggered a partial collapse of the canyon wall. Tons of rock crashed down, momentarily trapping the simulacrum beneath the rubble.
Bloodied but alive, Vander limped toward Artillery Basin, knowing he'd bought minutes at most.
---
"His name was Kaleb Cross," Cipher explained as they continued toward the extraction point. He had completed his analysis of the facility data while they moved. "A contract killer for the Mercenary Syndicate over three hundred years ago."
"He died on an assignment. Hammond Robotics recovered his body, scanned his consciousness, and uploaded it to their first simulacrum prototype. Each time he completed a contract, they would wipe his memory and reset him."
"One corporation profits from another's misery," Silco noted, glancing at Cipher. "This place isn't so different from ours after all."
They paused as Vander caught up to them, his clothing torn and bloody. Sevika immediately moved to support him, but he waved her off.
They crested the final ridge overlooking Artillery Basin.
But as they drew closer, Bangalore's expression darkened. "Something's wrong."
The promised evacuation shuttle lay in ruins, burn marks consistent with Revenant's previous attacks. The extraction point had been compromised.
"He was here before us," Silco observed.
"How is that possible?" Sevika demanded.
"It doesn't matter," Bangalore replied grimly. "What matters is finding another way out."
They approached cautiously, weapons ready. The central command bunker appeared intact, its reinforced concrete walls offering protection that Revenant couldn't easily phase through.
"Communications equipment should be inside," Bangalore explained. "If it's operational, we can call for extraction."
---
Night was falling as they established their position in the decommissioned bunker. Multiple entrances made it difficult to defend, but the heavy walls provided security they hadn't had in days.
Cipher and Bangalore worked to repair the communications array while the others prepared for Revenant's inevitable arrival.
Silco created chemical tripwires using compounds from the Hammond facility. Vander, despite his injuries, positioned heavy equipment to create choke points at each entrance.
Sevika tested the enhanced capabilities of her mechanical arm. She discovered she could now generate small electromagnetic pulses, which could come in handy to disrupt other mechanical systems.
As darkness fell completely, Silco's tripwires ignited, illuminating the night with eerie blue flame.
The light revealed Revenant moving slowly toward the bunker.
His first attack came from an unexpected direction, above. He dropped through a maintenance shaft they'd overlooked, landing near Silco, knocking him away.
Cipher drew his Wingman, when Revenant lunged toward him, talons aimed for his throat. He dropped flat, the metal claws slicing air where his head had been. Without missing a beat, he fired upward from the ground, the heavy round punching through Revenant's shoulder joint with a shower of sparks.
"The comms array!" Bangalore shouted, recognizing his intention as she laid down covering fire.
Cipher rolled to his feet and sprinted for the communications console. Revenant phased into shadow, reappearing directly in his path. Cipher didn't break stride, he slid beneath the simulacrum's reaching grasp. As he passed under, he fired upward.
Revenant howled.
His backhand caught Cipher as he rose, sending him crashing into the console. Pain exploded across his ribs but he twisted away as those deadly talons stabbed into the metal where he'd landed. Cipher emptied the Wingman's chamber in response.
Sparks and hydraulic fluid erupted from the simulacrum's joints.
He used the momentary advantage to eject the spent magazine, reaching for a fresh one at his belt. His fingers had just closed around it when Revenant recovered, lunging forward with impossible speed.
Metal fingers closed around Cipher's throat, lifting him off the ground. Fighting for breath, he slammed the new magazine into the Wingman. Revenant's face leaned in close, orange eyes glowing with malice.
"You are... interesting."
His free hand transformed into a blade.
Cipher twisted, the edge missing his eye by millimeters, slicing a thin line across his cheekbone instead. Blood trickled into his vision, but he didn't blink, couldn't afford to. He jammed the Wingman under Revenant's chin and pulled the trigger.
The blast rocked Revenant's head back, his grip loosening just enough. Cipher dropped to the floor, gasping for air, and delivered a kick to the simulacrum's knee joint.
Metal buckled. Revenant staggered.
Cipher rolled away, coming up behind the communications array. His hands flew across the controls while his eyes never left Revenant, blood still streaming from the cut on his face. When the simulacrum phased through a nearby wall to flank him, Cipher was already moving, vaulting across the console as metal talons slashed through the air.
Bangalore's smoke canister hissed between them, filling the area with thick cover. Cipher seized the moment, completing the connections on the array with one hand while keeping the Wingman trained on the smoke cloud with the other.
A shadow moved within the smoke.
He fired twice, rewarded by the sound of metal striking metal. The smoke parted as Revenant charged through, seemingly undeterred. Cipher ducked the first swipe, sidestepped the second, and countered with a shot to Revenant's knee, already damaged from their earlier exchange.
"Sevika, on your three!" Vander shouted, tearing a length of metal pipe from the wall. He hurled it across the room.
Sevika caught the makeshift weapon with her good arm, twisting her body to build momentum before driving it like a spear toward Revenant's exposed back. The simulacrum sensed the attack and phased partially, the pipe passing through his shadowy form before solidifying again.
"Silco, now!" Bangalore called, sliding her reserve sidearm across the floor to where Silco had regained consciousness.
He snatched the weapon, his aim remarkably steady as he squeezed off three shots in rapid succession. Two found their mark in Revenant's shoulder joint, sending sparks across his metal frame.
Vander seized the opportunity, launching himself forward in a tackle. His shoulder connected with Revenant's midsection, driving the simulacrum back several feet before metal talons found purchase in Vander's shoulder. Blood bloomed across his shirt as he grunted in pain but didn't release his grip.
"Got your six!" Sevika called, her mechanical arm whirring back to life as she charged from the flank. She delivered a punch to Revenant's head, the impact sending visible shockwaves through his metal skull.
Despite their coordination, Revenant adapted quickly. He used silence technology to disable Sevika's arm once more, the limb going suddenly limp at her side. He phased through walls to outflank their defensive positions, appearing suddenly behind Bangalore, only to be met with a cloud of caustic chemicals from Silco's improvised grenades.
When Revenant cornered Cipher at the communications array again, the young man's response was pure reflex. He dropped to one knee as talons swept overhead, thumbed the reload release, and ejected the half-spent magazine while reaching for his last full one. The magazine slammed home as he rolled backward, coming up firing in a three-shot burst that caught Revenant across his midsection.
"The comms are operational!" Cipher shouted, blood from his facial wound spattering the console as he completed the final connection. "Signal's going through!"
A response came immediately, reinforcements were already inbound, having tracked Bangalore's locator beacon.
"30 seconds!" he called, wiping blood from his eye with the back of his hand, the Wingman never wavering from Revenant's position.
"We don't have 30 seconds," Vander replied grimly, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Cipher launched himself into the fray, firing with pinpoint accuracy to draw Revenant's attention away from the others.
It was then that he noticed something strange, Revenant's attacks on him specifically were different.
He wants the tech, Cipher realized as he executed a perfect slide across the floor, ducking under Revenant's grasp and coming up behind him. He planted his final two rounds into the back of the simulacrum's head, buying precious seconds as the reinforcements drew closer.
At that moment, the roar of engines announced the extraction ship's arrival. It hovered above the basin, spotlights sweeping the ground.
"Come!" Bangalore shouted, laying down covering fire.
Sevika dragged Silco to his feet while Vander provided cover. They made a break for the open area where the ship could land.
Revenant pursued Cipher, moving faster than before, ignoring opportunities to strike at the others.
As they reached the extraction point, Bangalore made a decision. She activated all her remaining ordnance at once, creating a massive explosion that temporarily separated Revenant from the group.
The ship touched down for mere seconds. They boarded quickly, Vander barely conscious from blood loss, Silco still dazed.
As the ship lifted off, Revenant made one final, desperate leap. His metal fingers caught the edge of the doorway. Sevika and Cipher struggled to dislodge him while Bangalore secured the technology.
In the chaos, one of the scanning devices fell. Revenant snatched it before losing his grip and falling back to the ground below.
The ship accelerated away.
