Right. This is the moment we've all been waiting fer, folks!
SHOWDOWN--Attack of Sekto
Even though they weren't in their prime condition, Stranger and Umi would still get Sekto, even with a limb cut off, and their arms and legs tied behind their backs.
Streams of light cutting through the broken jagged holes above in the roof shone down upon the dusty field of suspense.
Behind the tall desk where Sekto stared up at his prized trophies hung on the base of his wall, and the curling horns from an unknown creature.
Sekto stood up by his desk, staring with splendor at his trpohies, while thinking of the Steef he would add to his collection, and get something more rare that would satisfy his craving of his game.
He let out a hazy chuckle.
"The Steef's here," he said slowly, blinking his golden eyes down to his pets, upgraded and armored.
The Gloktigi's arms were mechanical, horns sticking out of its wide squid-shaped forehead.
Sekto then stared down the office walls untouched of damage.
"I can feel it,"
The Gloktigi snorted in agreement, standing closer to its master, and having a ready glare ahead of the entrance to his office.
"But, it won't get away from me this time. Not even the human,"
Sekto turned to the Gloktigis, they turning to him.
"Deal with them, but be careful with its head,"
Sekto then looked up to a head plate empty by the Steef head preserved perfectly in their raging form.
"I have a special place for it,"
The Gloktigis were to set off around the library, until Sekto raised an arm.
"And, another thing," he said.
The Gloktigis turned back to its master.
Sekto's eyes grinned down deviously.
"Give me the human,"
He turned his head to each of them.
"...Alive,"
The squeal of the Gloktigis came over the thin office walls. Stranger was walking on his own now, keeping umi behind him for any surprise attacks. He knew Sekto would want her almost as bad as Sekto wanted his head.
And he wouldn't let him even lay a finger on her as long as he was still alive.
Artifacts behind glass showcases stood in perfect balance with their stands. Grubb cultural were more behind the showcased glass, bones of decrypted Grubb ancients and masks of perfect shape to the Grubb's heads.
Stranger slowly approached the entrance to Sekto's office, shelves acting as a jungle sprouted around the bottom base of his desk.
And there he stood. Sekto, with his arms behind his back, staring brightly with large golden-yellow eyes.
"Steef," Sekto called.
Stranger snarled fiercely.
"Sekto,"
Remembering how Sekto almost took his and Umi's life made him explode with rage.
"I'm-a kill you, you filthy bastard!"
Stranger stampeded up to the base to Sekto's desk. But a forceful push knocked him aside from his desk. Green gel tackled him aside from a vertical shelf, the tapping Gloktigis chuckling successively.
Sekto ratted his fingers together.
"So glad of you to join us..." Sekto chuckled, slowly looking to the human standing defensively, and glaring at him fiercely.
"and letting us to the human,"
Sekto snapped his fingers authoratively to the Gloktigis, pointing a finger to her.
The Gloktigis darted out from the forested shelves, holding down a familiar stance that meant they would attack.
Umi gasped, blinking quickly.
Green blobs shot around her arms, quickly collecting around her, until she was wrapped in the gel as well, writhing helplessly, as the Gloktigi rapped closer with their sharp talons.
Stranger's eyes shot out a furious stare at the backs of the Gloktigi.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH 'ER!"
Stranger flexed his arms outward from the ensnare, ripping his elbows out of the glop, and ripping it off as if it were a torn blanket.
Umi scrambled with her legs backwards to the office wall.
The Gloktigi circled around her, boxing her in with their mechanized arms and writhing mouth tentacles.
Until a barrage of sharp stinging bugs ripped the back of their heads in large clusters.
The Gloktigi cowled angrily, spinning around to the Steef, already free of its trap, and its arm with a weapon holstered on its arm.
Stranger panted, sneering of his sharp stained teeth out the side of his mouth.
"I said don't, touch, her," Stranger scowled heinously.
The Gloktigi chuckled, turning their backs on the human tucked near the wall. They squawked to each other of a machination unknown to Stranger. They then stared back to the Steef, one stepping up to it, and the other turning back to the human.
Stranger nodded to the Gloktigi's challenge, immediately jumping back, while shooting back Boom-bat Seekers.
The Gloktigi challenging dodged a cluster of Seekers, imploding on the weakened walls.
The second cluster tackled in to an arm of the Gloktigi.
The arm zapped of electricity, breaking off from its foot and arm in a large section.
It wobbled on its only free arm, its sapped arm writhing around bionically, the Gloktigi roaring furiously at the Steef.
Stranger knew it wouldn't be able to attack on only one arm, so now focused on in on the Gloktigi nearby Umi.
It caged in the human under one set of claws. The Gloktigi turned back to the Steef, noticing that its brother was somewhat already defeated.
It snorted, blinking skeptically at its fallen brother balancing on only one arm.
Stranger nodded at it.
"Move away...Yer gonna die anyhow," Stranger whispered ominously.
The Gloktigi moved its talons from over Umi, stepping up to the plate this time. It squawked to its brother concernly.
The other shook its head, flexing its bionic claws out further apart.
Whilst the Gloktigi kept Stranger under their wing, Sekto, far behind, watched intentionally how the Steef fought. Its reflexes were lightning-fast, and its speed was top-notch. But its weakness was only one thing; its human.
The human was the link to his weakness. Somehow, he'd have to plan to get the human and the Steef together. But it would be tough. That Steef's intention was to protect the human from him.
Shrapnel of Riot slugs tore through the Gloktigi's ghostly-purple hide. Stranger circled around the Gloktigi, as its attack was spinning around on one claw, and acting the rest as a shredder fan, drawing closer to the Steef.
Stranger kept his distance from its attack, while forwarding his attack of Super Stingbees and Riot slugs to the spinning Gloktigi.
Blood spurted out in entrails, leaving a dashy ring of blood around the Gloktigi's arms, its skin weeping blood out from its pores. The Gloktigi whined exhausted, stumbling closer to the Steef standing before it.
It was weak. Almost too weak to continue fighting. Stranger could sense that, bringing up his last Boom-bat Seeker to its forehead.
It snorted in failure, standing weakly on its last.
Sekto watched his pets fall to this bumbler. He almost shouted in anger, when he realized it was only a test. He knew somewhat that the Steef was tired from trying to reach his office. That would give him a home-field advantage to it, and the human.
The human, on the other hand, was still stuck by the office walls, tearing off the glop flaking off its arms.
Sekto sneered. The Steef would be after him in seconds. That meant he'd have to start with his plan to take them down.
One Gloktigi down, and one last straggler to go. The last was jumping on its arm, frantically to reach its master's desk, and hide before it could get caught.
Stranger opened his bow up to fast-firing Stingbees that tore through its last arm.
Wires sprawled lively around its attached nerves. The Gloktigi tripped down from its broken arm, bawling around on the floor with its stubby arms whirring helplessly around to crawl away from the Steef.
Stranger dug his claws in to the back of the Gloktigi, turning it around with its face up to him.
The Gloktigi's eyes shone fearfully up to the Steef's bright devious eyes. It shook its head, knowing that it has also failed its master to bring it down.
Sekto heard the loud shriek of its last pet. He sneered to himself, pushing a button under his desk.
The base suddenly transformed in to a cirular control panel Sekto sat in. Trap doors beside the control panel seat snapped open to a sprouting machine with two prongs physically attached to large circualr barbs.
Two circular panels popped up under the base of his transformed desk, glowing as bright as the bionic eyes of the Shock tanks. Dashes blinked circularly as a halo around the eyes. The circular control panel began to hover off above the desk he sat in. Ahead of his stern hands were two long handles. A ringing hum grew louder to life.
Stranger heard the humming of an awkward machine. He turned back to Sekto, now noticing that his entire base had transformed to a strange weapon darting right to him.
He glared up to Sekto, his hands wrapped around the two handles.
"Now, as like your ancestors, Steef, you will die by my hands,"
Sekto pulled the levers in unison down to him. A blue-silver sphere shrouded around Sekto and the control panel.
"The hell is that?" Umi rubbed her head.
Stranger snarled.
Loud buzzing grew higher-pitched. The panels below Sekto were flashing up to the twin cannons, wires glowing a dark purple.
He gave a hum of suspicion, locking down Riot slugs and rounds of Super Stingbees.
As his cannons grew more powerful with the unknown attack, a rumble and crash of cement chunks from the roof came barreling down in front of Stranger.
He was fazed a bit, but blinked back to the flashing panels.
And the barrage started.
Super Stingbees and the shards of Riot slugs pricked at the panels. His attack wasn't strong enough to figure his suspicion.
He dug around his ammo sack as he continued to fire at the first panel. Just as he thought.
Not enough Boom-bat Seekers. He only had two left. But he would have to use them wisely on both panels.
As he weakened the first panel starting to flash weakly, the cannons made a loud click. Two beams of black-purple laser fire shot out of the barbs in the cannons. The beams disinegrated the chunk of cement roof Stranger kept behind. Stranger kept in suspense, keeping calm by the chunk of roof, and watching the cannon's stream grow weak.
The two beams died out, and the chunk of cement exploded in to shards of metal and rock.
Sekto grunted angrily, restarting the engines on the narrow beam cannons.
Stranger backed away in to the forest of library shelves, a steady stream of Super Stingbees chipping away at the weak panel by Sekto's right cannon.
He noticed that his shields flickered as every Stingbee stuck to the panel. He now figured that the panels fed in to his control panel and affected his shields.
Now Stranger's plan changed entirely.
He used is first Boom-bat out of two, hoping that the panel he kept attacking would be weak enough to blow out a part of Sekto's shield.
His heart pounded, as the Boom-bat fluttered from his bow, and directly to the extorted panel chipped away of its color.
The Seekers pummelled the panel.
And the eye blew out in a quick jolt of fire.
Sekto's shields dimmed on and off. He blinked at the red flashing words on his green wireframe keypad:
RIGHT CANNON SECTION- DISABLED
"Damn you, Steef!" Sekto yelled wildy, slamming his fists on his controls.
But the left cannon was still intact.
Sekto still had a chance.
Stranger kept near in the library, noticing now black ghostly laser pellets snapping off the wood of the shelves.
Sekto let a rough chuckle out.
"Where are you, Steef?" he called.
Sekto then darted to the human, its back against the wall, and staring at him fearfully.
"I suggest you come out now, or the human dies," Sekto threatened.
The cannon whirred to Umi, the two claws around the powering barb opening with its energy gathered.
'He's about as worse as X'Plosives,' Umi thought.
The pellets stopped, and the hum reached maximum.
Stranger heard Sekto's threat, snapping his direction over to Umi.
"Oh no you don't!" he ran out.
Sekto caught the Steef charging to the human.
"Got'cha," Sekto grinned.
Stranger wrapped his arm under Umi's arms, turning back around to see the panel staying a solid orange.
That meant the cannon was charged.
The cannon's beam shot out from the barb again, melting the book shelves with the shape of the beam down where the Steef was.
Where the Steef was
The cannon died out again.
Sekto leaned over his controls, staring only at the black spot seered in to the floor.
"Huh?" Sekto grumbled loudly.
Stranger hunched down low behind rows of shuffled shelves, covering most of him with books alligned.
Umi sat low on the ground under Stranger's neck.
"You stay 'ere, and don't even think of moving," Stranger told quietly.
Umi nodded, her eyes shining wetly of tense tears.
The buzz of the cannons were delayed.
Sekto still looked around wildly for any sign of the Steef. He was beginning to think the cannon had killed the Steef, but it was impossible.
He would've seen it happen.
"Steef!" Sekto roared.
"I know you're out there! I'll blow this entire dam out if I have to!"
Stranger kept low under the shadows of the shelves, caerful not to knock down the books hanging loosely over his hunched back.
Only one panel left. That would leave Sekto open for the kill.
Stranger moved himself close to the panel to the left last cannon. He locked down his bow again with a fresh round of Riot slugs and Super Stingbees, and keeping his last Boom-bat Seeker close at hand.
Sekto's gut feeling was that the Steef was closeby, but he couldn't put a finger on it. It figured out how to kill his cannon and weaken his shields, so it would go after...
'Aha...' Sekto looked down left by the last panel.
He recharged his cannon's power again.
Sekto had figured where he was.
Stranger began to fire at the last panel, slowly chipping away at the protective covering to the inside of the eye.
He listened to the hum of the cannon grow louder. The covering sprouted out to a small hole exposing the wires that would disable the last cannon.
'C'mon...'
He hosed the Stingbees above the small hole.
Chips of the covering shot out, exposing the eye more.
Stranger's brain impulsed. He quickly switched out to his last Boom-bat Seeker.
Umi moved away books to unveil Stranger and Sekto. She watched him place on a Boom-bat Seeker, almost jumbling it in his hand from his extreme hustle to put it on.
His arm retracted out to the panel, and a grin growing hatefully in to the fiery eye of it.
"Fire it..." Umi's throat almost choked.
The eye blinked to a solid orange again. The cannon stopped humming.
"Fire it..." Umi said louder.
The two claws retracted from the barb, and a black-purple narrow beam exploded out of it.
Umi's eyes contracted suspensefully.
"STRANGER!"
The Boom-bat Seeker fluttered out the launcher of Stranger's bow. Slow motion seemed to take over Stranger's eyes. He watched the arrow of the beam darted right to him.
The Seekers impacted the panel, and the wires exploded from the heat the 'bat gave off.
A quick fiery jolt shot out of the eye. The cannon sparked out of the barb.
The beam produced from the cannon suddenly vanished in to a sprinkle of black dust.
Stranger fell on his back, watching as Sekto beated brutally on his control pad, swearing hatefully at the Steef.
Red flashing words blinked under his flattened hands.
But it wasn't what Sekto expected.
His eyes widened to a brighter golden-yellow, as the red words flashed in his eyes;
SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE- 5
Sekto shook his head.
He noticed his failure to kill the Steef, his dream shattered to the ground. He was defeated by the creature he wanted to wrought from this world.
"No...this can't be..."
A whirring hum sounded from the center of his control panel. The cannons sparked ominously by him, the barbs exploding inside the cannon.
Stranger scrambled away from near the base, laying flat down by Umi, holding her head under his chest.
Vibrations under Sekto's feet suddenly exploded in to a fiery blast. The cannons exploded outwards from its core, a chain reaction beginning next with him, and then the last cannon.
Shockwaves were sent out upward, the base above him with his prizes caving down upon him.
Sekto let out a shrill roar, as the rocks came tumlbing down upon him, crushing the machinery, along with him underneath.
_____
Rubble of Sekto's office settled down, dust scattering high above the grey clouded sky. The echo of Sekto's scream lingered in Stranger's mind, sending chills down his spine each time it echoed.
He lifted his head off over Umi's scalp, blinking through the thin covering of brown dust gliding around.
Only rock and metal were the remanents of where Sekto last stood.
Stranger lifted his body off of Umi, wiping his arm off of the splinters that were prickling irritatingly in his tender skin. He walked over to the rubble that burried Sekto, and a calm silence over took the moment of truth.
Stranger dug through the rocks, a torn arm rolling out when a slab of cement was pulled away. He dug out Sekto's battered body out flat in front of Stranger.
His eyes were beaten closed, his skin bloddied and bruised. His expensive suit was torn and stained of dark red blood.
Umi walked by Stranger, loping her head on his arm, and sighing exhaustedly.
"You did it," she said, moving her head up to his eyes.
Stranger let a heavy sigh through his nostrils, the heavy burden that was weighing down his shoulders finally was thrown off.
Revenge was extracted, and it felt so good.
Rebel yells from far below called out far from the dam.
Umi and Stranger turned to the open window, listening to the concerned voices call out their saviors.
Umi looked up to Stranger.
"Go on, Stranger," she nodded.
Stranger's face straightened. He glanced down to Umi, she giving off a confident smile.
Stranger scruffed the shirt on Sekto's shoulder, and dragged him up to the window.
Umi stayed behind, watching Stranger take his claim up to the Grubbs with a strong sense of pride.
"Show 'em who you are,"
Stranger held Sekto high above his head, then locking his head back, closing his eyes.
He released a successful bellow, echoing down to the Grubbs gathering slowly on the riverside's ledge.
The Grubbs blinked up to the small dot high in the dam holding their mortal enemy above its head.
"What was that?"
The Grubbs began chatting suspiciously.
"It was Steef,"
The Grubbs squawked. Steef actually did it. Their prophecy of a Steef coming to the Grubb's aid was fulfilled, and no more were they to be burdened with the Sekto demon.
Grubbs began to raise fists in the air, chanting loudly, "Steef! Steef! Steef!"
As the chant grew louder, Stranger's pride swelled larger in his chest. Sekto was no more. Stranger dropped his body off his arms down by his own dam.
Umi walked up by him again, touching his arm, and looking up to him.
As she was about to praise him again, the earth shocked below them, thumping down heavily.
Cracks grew about the weak dam wall, spurts of water spraying out of the open wounds.
Stranger jumped down from the sill, staring below.
The dam was weak from the Grubb's attack. The dam would shatter, releasing the water back in to the valley.
Stranger moved back away from the sill, kneeling down on the ground, and hugging Umi tightly to his chest.
Grubbs below began to scramble away from the crumbling dam, waterfalls forming through the opening cracks.
"Don't let go of me, Umi..." Stranger told.
The inside became unstable, and the wall exploded outward. The office pillar also fell along.
Water exploded freely out of its prison, flooding the Mongo River, and giving the Grubbs their most sacred instrument to life.
Even if the water was free, their sacred guardian wasn't expected to live through the destruction of the water's prison. They were brought down by the demon's wrought.
_____
Fierce is the spirit of her waters.
It creates us, binds us, flows in us.
The fool who dare enslave her, beware.
She washed his life away.
The Grubbs gathered by the river's edge, watching the Steef guardian float to the snowy ridge. They assissted their savior up on dry land, calming him of the burden he had to put up with.
"Steef,"
A ring of Grubbs circled around.
Stranger slowly regained his posture, looking back to the broken dam still trickling of the river's water.
Umi stood by his side, touching his arm. She jerked her head back to the ringed rebel Grubbs staring curiously down at an object.
Stranger nodded slowly down to her, resting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, then walking up behind the Grubbs.
He moved the ring aside with his hands, entering the ring, and staring at the torn body of Sekto laying face-down in the snow.
He sighed rumbly, inspecting upon his body carefully from top. His body was the same way preserved when the base came down upon him. He slowly scanned down, immediately stopping at his legs.
Two scrawny hooves twitched painfully near each other.
Stranger blinked.
"Huh?" he grumbled.
He knelt down to Sekto, blinking again to see if he was imagining things.
He rolled Sekto around upwards.
The Grubbs gasped along with Stranger, his jaw moving crookedly from his eyes.
"Oh no...it's the old Steef!"
He was looking upon a Steef, pale as a ghost with red bumps and blood spatter upon its face. Its eyes stared a pale-blue blankly up to the stone-cold clouds.
Stranger felt himself become defensive for some odd reason, his teeth baring slightly from his chapped lips.
The Steef came to life, releasing a painful cough in a puff of white mist.
Stranger relaxed back, the Steef blinking at Stranger gratefully.
Its mouth opened shakily.
"Is the water...free?"
The Steef spoke weakly in a shaky voice.
Stranger frowned, moving his head away from the Steef. Shame pitted his stomach. If he had known Sekto was actually a Steef...
Stranger's lip curled to a smile.
"Yeah,"
He blinked back down to the Steef.
"All free,"
The Steef blinked, a smile crept upon its bleeding lips.
"It's free..." it hazely said, its head resting back in to the snow.
The eyes of the Steef were fading to a blank white.
"Free..."
The Steef exhaled deeply once more, its head resting lifelessly on the snow.
"Free..."
The life escaped from the Steef's eyes.
Dread showered upon Stranger. A tear began to form in his eye.
But the Grubbs were around. He didn't want to show his emotion around them to give them a false impression.
His eyes stared back down seldomly, bringing his fingers upon the Steef's cold face, and down to its chest.
The Grubbs parted from Umi walking slowly up behind to Stranger. They bowed their heads respectively behind her.
Stranger balled his fists near his ribs. He was angry. Sekto was still out there, probably planning on to still rid the world of every Steef.
Umi slammed down on her knees, tears streaming down her apathetic face.
Stranger wrapped his arm around her, pulling her up on his lap, and laying his jaw over her head.
She tied her arms around his stomach, resting her head on his ribs. She knew how he felt of the elder Steef he had misleadingly killed. It was a terrible loss to his pride.
Stranger wiped her cheek with his thumb gently, cocking his head down vertically to her.
"It's ok..." he purred gently, gathering her head in his palm, and brushing her hair back with his fingers.
The Grubbs stayed quiet, gathering closer to the Steef hugging the human tightly to him.
They patted his arm confortingly, while dragging the Steef away from him so their guardian wouldn't feel any more heartbroken.
"Steef," the rebels knelt down on a knee.
Stranger's head raised to the Grubbs bowing down before him.
"We are forever in your debt. You freed our water, and dwelled the Sekto demon forevermore,"
Stranger grinned, nodding thankfully to the Grubbs, then looking out to the shining water flowing freely once again down the cloudy canyon.
Me and Stranger were lucky to survive with our very lives
Umi looked back up to Stranger, his eyes closed and his head rested upon her head.
The deed was done, and a bright future was ahead for her, and her newly-found friend.
Who knows when I'll get home. Maybe this is where I belong...
With Stranger and the Grubbs intentionally...
But that doesn't mean my journeys are over.
Oh no...
In fact...
They're beginning...all over again
Last edited by Dark Elite_H2; 01-29-2006 at 02:56 PM..
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) THEN get ter Sekto and Stranger's battle.
