[Gretin]

Wow, it's been AGES since I updated this thing! But, believe it or not, I do actually have the next chapter ready! Yeah, I know, it's amazing, so you'd better read it before you die of shock. (Just kidding)

Chapter 14: Timely Arrival

"...so, I've asked Sefon to begin the mustering of our force to prepare them to march, which I believe will be necessary in the very near future."

Ramnes was standing in the clearing of the gathering stones with eight other mudokons, explaining the situation and his reason for being there. He couldn't help throwing the occasional curious looks at Hembar and the chief of her tribe, who were known as the Avando, after all, they were the only mudokons here to be clothed as they were. But they didn't seem to notice, like the other six mudokons, they were too busy intently listening to his speech.

"That's it?" asked Chief Haupet softly, as Ramnes stopped speaking.

"Yes. The rest you know, I was on my way here, then I met a very hostile Hembar here," Ramnes nodded towards the now grinning mudokon, then continued, "and we came straight here. So what have you chiefs decided on?"

"You made the right choice," Chief Avando spoke up, "Whether we like it or not, battle is the only option now. They have made the first strike, executing Iagon with their new weapon..."

"Weapon?" Ramnes asked curiously, "What weapon?"

"We aren't sure," one of the other chiefs answered, "but the refinery has started production of a new type of weapon which is capable of severe burning damage to living creatures. This is the fate of Iagon, and of Scorp if we don't act quickly."

"Scorp!" Chief Haupet exclaimed, "I doubt he can wait for the army to get there, I sense he's in danger at this very moment!"

"Well, what can we do? It's not like we can get there any faster to save him," Ramnes said, looking downcast.

"I believe I have an answer," Hembar interrupted, holding out her hand. Blue light shone out of it, then a bird seemed to materialize in her hand. "Birds can fly much faster than we mudokons can march."

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Scorp watched on in horror at the black hole where there had once been a circle of solid floor. It sounded like something was coming up from the hole, closer and closer, and he didn't have to wait long to find out what it was. In a few moments some sort of circular elevator rose up from the hole and took the place of the open area on the floor, but Scorp was more concerned about what was on it. Standing right in the center of the elevator was some sort of robotic slig, it was shaped like a large big bro slig, but it was coloured black all over apart from the bright glowing red eyes. In it's right hand was some sort of gun with a long barrel and a pipe going round behind to attach to a tank on it's back. The left hand wasn't there; it was replaced by what looked like a gun barrel.

Rector spoke up again, "Well, mud, I'd like you to meet my friend. I like to call him Inferno. Cheesy, I know, but you know what they say, if the mask fits..."

Scorp was watching the bot warily, but it hadn't moved an inch so far. Then his sharp eyesight caught just the slightest movement and he quickly sidestepped, just as a spurt of greenish liquid blasted out from its left "hand". The liquid flew through the air and landed a few feet behind the spot Scorp had just been standing a moment ago.

Scorp glanced up at Rector cynically, "That's it?" But what was it doing now? - Scorp cursed, and jumped aside, just in time to avoid the scorching blaze of fire that came surging out of the weapon in the bot's right hand. It continued to sweep it's arm in that direction until the flames ignited with the chemicals on the floor. A split-second later there was an explosion that caused the whole room to shake; highly-flammable was too mild a term to use for those chemicals!

"Not the end I would have wished for," Scorp thought grimly.

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The mudokons at the gathering stones wasted no time in following through with Hembar's suggestion.

"You two can help," Chief Haupet spoke to Hembar and Ramnes, "we chiefs will communicate with the birds to their destination, but the more energy we can have put into it the better."

The seven chiefs leapt back up on the seven stones and began chanting. Ramnes and Hembar moved closer to the pool and joined in, focusing their energy into it, uniting it with the chiefs' power. For a few minutes nothing happened, then suddenly birds started appearing, seeming to come right out of the pool itself. More and more of them came out until there was a large flock there, all fluttering around the stones. Then, with one accord, they all flew upward, quickly fading into the fog.

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Scorp stood, waiting for the bot to make it's move once again, but it stood completely motionless as it had before. Scorp's mind was racing, though, and he was starting to have an idea... This continued for a few minutes, then the bot suddenly swung it's arm to blast another stream of chemicals at Scorp! But he was ready for it. He raised his hand quickly as the stream blasted towards him and it instantly stopped in mid-air and flew back at the robot, splattering itself over the bot's upper body and arms. Scorp smiled and moved his hand slightly, causing some of the chemicals to move into a strategically picked location... The bot prepared to fire...

...and with a deafening explosion, the bot's upper body was literally torn to pieces, throwing scrap and chemicals everywhere. Scorp stepped aside as a piece of shrapnel went flying past his body, then grinned up at Rector.

"Well, I am highly disappointed in your work, Rector. You must be losing your touch; maybe you should resign and let Patrick take over?"

He smothered a laugh at the thought. But Rector was no longer laughing.

"You think this is all a big joke, eh? Let's see how funny this is, then..."

The room suddenly darkened, then at intervals around the perimeter of the room lights started appearing. But there was something odd about those lights - they were flames! Scorp heard a loud mechanical sound coming from the roof and looked up to see, by the light of the flames, the entire roof was sliding open to reveal another layer which appeared to have millions of tiny holes in it. He had a feeling he knew what those holes were for...

"You go to all this trouble just to get rid of one mudokon?" Now Scorp's expression was one of disbelief.

Rector spoke with distaste, "Wrong. You muds aren't worth my time. You were simply convenient for me to test my designs on."

Scorp raised his eyebrows, "Testing them? For what?"

Rector now laughed, "Ah, you muds are so self-centred. You think everything I do is directed at you? On the contrary, you just happened to be in the right place at the right time for me to use you."

Scorp moved to stand more straight, "So... what is it you're 'testing' your 'designs' for?"

"You think I'm foolish enough to tell you?" Rector laughed bitterly. "I don't care whether you're about to die or not, you're not getting anything furthur out of me. Farewell."

He turned and walked to the back of the small room he had been in, presumably to a door to exit. A few seconds later the lighting from the room vanished, leaving only the flames to illuminate the larger room. As Scorp watched, four pipes halfway up the wall suddenly started blasting a huge flame across the room, intersecting in the middle to form an irregular cross. It was too high to do Scorp any damage yet, so he quickly turned and ran to the door, hoping that there would be someway to get out. But when he got there he stopped in surprise. The door was gone! Well, maybe he'd miscalculated, the door must be furthur along. He started running alongside the wall, but there was no sign of any door.

Then an explosion sounded behind him, making him jump and turn around to see that right in the center of the room, green chemicals were spurting from the holes in the roof and colliding with the flames in the center of the fiery cross, exploding on contact.

"Showoff," Scorp snorted. But no matter, every moment Rector spent with his "pre-execution show" was another moment Scorp had to find a way out! And then he saw it; a single bird had somehow made it's way into the room and flew straight to Scorp and landed at his feet. He stopped in surprise and stared at it, then noticed more birds coming to perch at his feet, one by one. He stood staring for a few minutes, then suddenly realized what was happening; some of the mudokons back at the village must have sent them! How they got into this room was beyond him, but that didn't matter. He started chanting and the birds slowly started to form a circle.

This carried on for a few minutes, and Scorp was starting to get a little impatient, they should have been forming a portal by now! He kept chanting, but he could sense the spurts of chemicals falling from the room at intervals around him, and it felt like it was definately started to get warmer in here... And then, one more bird entered the room and flew straight for the circle and, just like that, the birds seemed to merge together in a blast of energy and the light opened outward to form a large glowing circle.

Scorp could have laughed for joy at that moment, but he knew there was no time for that, so, in an instant, he stopped his chanting and ran straight for the portal, doing a flying leap and disappearing into it. The portal degenerated into birds again instantaneously, and they immediately dispersed to find their way out of the room...

End of Chapter 14

So, what'cha think? This chapter has been through HEAPS of revisions, and it possibly should have gone through more, but I thought I'd better post it up before my story was completely forgotten.
As always, comments and criticism are welcome.