A small caravan of buggies makes its way across the rugged landscape of the Hakkan Lowlands, going over each loose stone and jagged crag at dangerous speeds, causing the crates of supplies held within to jostle and jump with each bump. The drivers all hoot and holler at each other, shouting asinine jokes and obscenities over the whipping winds and the ceaseless metallic rumbling of their stolen goods. One of these Lowland Bandits places a steadying hand on one of the crates next to him, admiring the stylized symbol of a deep-red sunrise painted on its side, marking these supplies as Montag Industries made and approved.
“The boss’ll be happy with this!” The bandit shouts with a wide grin, a golden glint shining from his false tooth. “I smell a big payday!”
Another bandit laughs. “Alls I smell is you, buddy! When was the last time you cleaned yourself?”
“Ay, I’ll clean up when we find some water,” the first bandit quips, drawing a knowing glare from the driver.
“Seriously, you smell like a vollick’s raw underside. You got mold growing on you or somethin’?” The driver retorts, turning his attention back to the rocky path ahead of him. While his friends keep bickering behind him, a slight metallic glint from above catches his eye. He looks up to the top of a nearby cliffside, but he doesn’t see anything, just miles and miles of rusty orange stone, just like everything else around them. He brushes it off and keeps driving, only for another brief flash to shine in his vision, followed by the soft whining sound of an engine accelerating. “Tighten up, boys, we got company,” the driver announces, pulling a pistol out from its holster.
The caravan of bandits all react quickly to this news, arming themselves with various weapons, psychic powers, and whatever they have lying around. As they make their preparations, the whining sound coming from the cliff starts to get louder as their tail starts to speed up. One bandit looks over his shoulder and turns to aim at a flicker of metallic blue as a single-person dune quad comes into sight above the top of the cliff. Just as the bandit is about to fire, however, the quad suddenly gains a burst of speed and banks hard to the right, flying off of the cliff and soaring through the air, heading for a collision course straight ahead of the caravan.
All of the buggies come to a screeching halt as the drivers in front slam on the brakes to avoid crashing into this insane rider, causing many of them to spin out and topple over, spilling most of their looted contents and gear. As the bandits struggle to regain themselves, the quad rider lets go of the handles and whips their arms out to the left, sending out long, thin tendrils of coppery red energy into the nearby cliffside, digging into the thick stone like an anchor. The rider then flexes their arms, halting their forward momentum and pulling themselves back toward the cliff, keeping their vehicle caught between their legs until their quad slams wheels-first into the stone. The quad screeches and whines as it scrambles against the side of the cliff, held up solely by the rider’s psychic tethers and brute strength.
“Shoot ‘em already!” One of the bandits cries out, pulling out a rifle and firing round after round at this mysterious rider, each shot going wide, landing where they were a second before.
The rider lets go of one of their tethers and slings their arm out to fire a new one into a different cliff, extending both tethers out to slow their descent and allow them to land safely behind the caravan of bandits with a small extra flourish with a spin of their quad. The bandits scramble over each other to try and aim for the rider, but they simply raise their hands in surrender, getting off of their quad with a casual confidence in their step. As they raise their hands, they drop the sandy brown hood and bandana covering their face, revealing a tangled mess of auburn-red and elegant-gray hair, bronzed skin, and a wide, cocky sneer.
“?Hola, perdedores! ?Qué pasa?” She says with a fluid lilt to her voice, taking a small step forward.
“Well, well, well, lookie who it is, boys,” one bandit with long, tousled hair and scars on his face replies with a scowl. “Esperanza Reyes.”
“Se?or Tackan, por favor, there’s no reason to be so formal. Anza will do,” the rider says, placing her hands back down and resting them on her hips. “So, boys, tell me. Where’s this all going?” The bandits say nothing in reply, simply priming their guns as a warning. “You really are a bunch of idiots, aren’t you? Okay, then.” She raises her fists and summons several sparking tendrils of coppery power around her arms, taunting the bandits around her with a wave of her fingers. “Ahora bailamos.”
Immediately, the quiet valley erupts into explosive gunfire as a hailstorm of bullets comes flying straight for Anza’s chest. Anza simply smirks and whips her left arm out, sending several tendrils of energy arcing out, slashing through most of the gunfire, carving an opening for her to duck seamlessly under as she charges straight ahead, lowering her right arm for a massive uppercut straight for Tackan’s jaw. A small explosion of energy bursts from Anza’s fist and Tackan is sent flying high into the air, only to be dragged back down as several psychic tethers wrap themselves around his body and smash him into the stone, instantly knocking him out cold, his messy hair flowing down to cover his broken face.
The other bandits try to gang up on Anza, but before any of them can even move, she’s already gone back on the offensive. She swings Tackan’s unconscious body around like a club, taking out most of the other bandits and sending them flying back into the cliff walls around them with a mighty crack and an explosion of rusty sand and stone. She hears the telltale click of a rifle being primed behind her, so she finishes off her reckless spinning by planting her foot firmly into the ground and chucking Tackan into the gunner as hard as she can, knocking them both down to the dust, leaving just a few scattered and fleeing bandits in her wake.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Anza says teasingly, tethering one of the fleeing bandits by the leg and roping him back in, shouting in fear and protest. “Cálmate, ni?o, I just want some information, that’s all. Where’d you punks get all of these Montag Industries goods? And, more importantly, where are you taking them?”
“I—I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’,” the young bandit stutters. He doesn’t look to be more than eighteen, maybe nineteen years old, and definitely not cut out to be with such a rough crowd. “You can’t make me talk.”
Anza smirks at the young man, a playful sort of smile that shows just what she thinks of that statement. “You’re cute, you know that? What’s a little kid like you doing all the way out here? You get lost or something?” The young bandit doesn’t say anything, he just scowls, seemingly trying to fight back mentally instead of physically. Anza’s eyes perk up a little as she feels the boy’s weak telepathic assault brush right off of her psyche without so much as a scratch. “Wow. Good job, ni?o. That one almost made me sneeze. Now, if that’s all you’ve got…” She twists around and chucks the kid high into the air, flinging him like he was just a feather. As the kid screams and soars into the air, Anza springs into action once more, leaping over to the cliff wall and shooting tether after tether into the coppery stone, pulling herself higher and higher at immense speeds.
She crests the summit of the cliff right as the kid halts mid-air and starts to plummet back down to the ground. Before he can crash, however, Anza casually whips out a single tether from one of her fingers, looping all around his body, leaving him dangling precariously over the edge of the cliff, swaying in the gentle breeze. “Habla. Where were you headed?”
“Irroco Caves! The Irroco Caves! We have a workshop set up underground!” The kid shouts, nearly soiling himself in terror. “That’s all I know! I don’t know what they wanted all of this stuff for! Now, let me go!”
Anza smiles and yanks the kid back up on top of the cliff, letting her tether run loose so he can escape. “Gracias, ni?o. Do yourself a favor and go home. I’d hate for you to see me actually get serious. ?Nos vemos!” Before the kid can say a word, she leaps down off the cliffside, using a tether to anchor herself to the top and her boots to dig into the stone so she slides smoothly down into the valley below. Once she reaches solid ground, she simply hops on her quad and races off toward the Irroco Caves, ready to continue her hunt.
***
“This is nice, ain’t it?” Peter says contentedly, dangling an arm out of their buggy, feeling the gentle rush of wind as Joel continues to drive closer and closer to their next rest stop: a small town just outside of the Hakkan Valley and its Lowlands—Joya Town, if he remembers correctly. He leans his head back and lets himself get lost in the pleasant warmth of the evening sun, the beautiful melodies of Sullivan’s rhythmic strumming beside him, and the strangely nostalgic feeling of being on the road once more. “So much better than gunning it at a hundred miles an hour everywhere all the time.”
“Well, I would go faster if I could, but this old thing just ain’t built like our old buggy,” Joel replies with a slightly complaining tone. “I tried to fix this sucker up as best I could, but it still can’t handle higher speeds, especially not on this terrain.” He looks down at the driver’s side wheel and grimaces as he sees it jolt over a relatively small stone, doing silent damage to the suspension and rims.
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“The offer still stands, if you want a break,” Maria quips from the passenger’s seat, instantly ruining Peter’s good mood.
“No. Never again,” he says simply, not even bothering to look at his friend. “I like the pace we’re going just fine. No need to ruin a relaxing trip.”
Maria scoffs jokingly at that. “Sure, it’s relaxing, but it’s just so boring. Honestly, I think I prefer having to fight off monsters and bandits. So much more fun.”
“Hey, don’t jynx us, now,” Joel says with a smirk. “Talk like that usually gets us into…” His words trail off as he starts to see thin plumes of black smoke billowing just over the horizon, right where Joya Town should be. “Trouble… Ah, scuff it all. Guys, we have a problem.”
“What is it?” Peter asks, perking up and stretching his senses out as best he can, trying to figure out what’s out there.
“I’m not sure,” Maria replies, holding a hand out toward the village and half closing her eyes in focus. “It’s weird. I can feel someone’s energy, but it’s very low, like they’re barely fighting at all. Maybe the village is just on fire.”
“No. There’s monster and buggy tracks leading to the village,” Sullivan points out, slipping out over the side of the buggy, holding himself up by the crash railing. “They’re under attack. Step on it, Joel.”
“Aye-aye, captain,” Joel replies half-jokingly, pressing the accelerator as hard as possible, pushing their buggy for all its worth, jostling everyone around wildly and quickly closing the gap to Joya. Right as they are about to crash through the front gate, Sullivan leaps off of the buggy and takes off running, reaching the village in a split second, his body enveloped in the burning green aura of his Flash Blaze technique.
He bursts through the front gate only to be met by a shotgun blast straight to his chest. Dozens of lead pellets explode against his defensive aura, not even leaving a scratch on him or slowing him down. His eyes dart around until he gets a lock on the man who shot him. Before the assailant can gather himself, Sullivan is already on top of him, palming his face in his hand and chucking him to the side, leaving the useless rifle scattered on the dirt. He hears a few more gunshots and turns to block the bullets by raising a hand and summoning an emerald green construct of a fist ahead of him. The bullets crash against his construct harmlessly, leaving the bandits wide open as Sullivan dashes forward, summoning a few more constructs to his side, taking each opponent out with a mighty strike, sending them flying all over the town.
“Hurry up, boys. Sully’s beating us to it!” Maria’s voice calls out from the village gate as she and the others finally reach Joya.
“Better be quick; I hear reinforcements,” Sullivan says, jerking his head around to try and find where the sudden sound of metal crashing on metal is coming from.
Hoving around the corner of a wrecked shop, a massive hulking ape of a monster steps forward, releasing a mighty roar of challenge, beating its chest tauntingly. Everyone’s eyes go wide as they take in this nearly twenty-foot-tall behemoth, its massively powerful arms, its horribly sharp tusks, but most disturbingly, the various chunks of steel and machinery crammed haphazardly throughout its whole body. The ends of what appear to be pistons jut out of the beast’s elbows, releasing bursts of steam with each movement. The lower half of its tusked maw looks like it was ripped off and replaced with a steel trap, adding to this monstrosity’s already fearsome arsenal. And, to top it all off, a large superstructure reaches up and around the creature’s back, hoisting two large cannons over its shoulders, both swiveling to take aim at its newest prey.
Joel is the first to speak up. “The scuffin’ blazes is that thing?” He exclaims, reaching for a bomb in his side pouch and chucking it at the mechanical monster.
The creature raises an arm to block the explosion, letting out a distorted cry of pain as the bomb goes off, leaving scorch marks all over its mangled limb, but not really doing much more damage. In retaliation, the beast slams the ground with its fists, leaving massive crates behind as it charges forward, cannons firing wildly into the various homes and shops nearby, causing the cowering townsfolk to flee in panic. Sullivan charges forward to catch the ape’s fists just before they crash into another house, straining against the beast’s unnatural strength. He lets out a grunt of exertion and summons two massive constructs to his side, using them to lift the ape up and toss it backward, letting the townsfolk behind him run to safety.
“We gotta get the villagers out of here,” Peter says, watching as more bandits appear behind various chunks of rubble, laying down cover fire to keep the newcomers down. He and the others duck behind a house to avoid getting shot. “Maria, can you take out those snipers?”
“Already on it,” she replies, hefting her steel orb up and launching it forward, sending it flying straight for where the bandits are hiding, taking a couple of them out with a single powerful sweep. The bandits all scatter to avoid getting struck by Maria’s orb, but the rain of bullets dies down.
“Joel, you get the villagers to safety. Maria, keep the bandits distracted. I’ll help Sullivan with that monster,” Peter announces, not waiting for a reply and simply leaping forward, a Psion Orb charged in both hands, ready to be shot.
Joel follows right behind his friend, leaving Maria with a simple “Knock ‘em dead,” before he also jumps into the fray, shooting into the sky to get the villagers' attention. “Everyone, over here! Through the gate!” Seeing Joel in the center of the village square, one bandit opens fire, trying to take him out from behind. Joel barely manages to leap out of the way of the gunfire and spins around, locking eyes with the sniper. “Piss off,” he growls, taking aim and firing his pistol, striking the bandit’s rifle directly in the barrel, causing it to explode in her hands.
Before any other bandits can react, Maria hefts several chunks of rubble along with her orb and sends them flying at them, chasing them around the village, keeping them from firing back, and even taking a few of them out in the process. With the bandits distracted and the ape being peppered by both Sullivan and Peter, the villagers are able to exploit the opening Joel makes and flee their town. As the last of the villagers escape, a massive explosion of red fire rocks where Joel is standing, blowing him far off and crashing him to his knees, his ears ringing and his vision swirling.
“Hey, you stupid monkey! Down here!” Peter shouts, forming a few Psion Orbs in his right hand and tossing them up into the beast’s face and arms, causing it to lean back and roar in pain, leaving its still-smoking left cannon wide open. Peter chucks one last blast into the side of the cannon, making it explode in a shower of bluish-purple fire and sparks. Peter leans back for another attack, but his arm starts to flare up with excess energy, small tongues of purple flames leaking out of his various scars.
“Ease off. I got this,” Sullivan says, pushing Peter back and summoning four massive fists of emerald energy to his side, coiling his body in preparation to strike. The ape charges forward, arms outstretched to crush Peter, but Sullivan leaps into the air, winding up all four constructs into a single massive punch, blowing the mechanized creature far down the village, crashing through a ruined workshop and disturbing something within, causing it to ignite and explode, launching the beast further into the air. Sullivan takes advantage of this and darts forward, grasping the ape with a massive construct, using his momentum to spin it around and hurl it even further into the desert, crashing into a cliff in the distance with a mighty crack of shattering metal and bone.
“Dang…” Maria mutters, stepping out from her cover and leaning over to help Joel back onto his feet. “How’s your head?”
“It’ll be better when you stop shouting…” Joel wheezes, clutching his aching skull and trying to shake off the last of the concussion, a horrible mistake.
Maria sighs as she hefts Joel back up, then smirks a little. “How the mighty have fallen.”
“The heck are you on about?” Joel replies weakly.
“Just thinking that now I’m the one helping you limp home,” Maria answers, waving Peter and Sullivan over to their side. Sullivan manages to nab a fleeing bandit on his way back, rushing the goon to the town center and dropping him flat on his back, placing his foot squarely on the raggedy man’s chest to keep him from getting up.
“Talk. Who are you? Where did you get that..thing?” Sullivan demands, jutting a thumb in the direction of the dead ape miles away.
“I…ain’t talkin’,” the bandit replies with a gasping wheeze.
“You don’t have to. Peter?” Maria says, handing Peter Joel’s unsteady body to support. She leans down and places her hand over the bandit’s face, sending psychic probes deep into his mind, reading his thoughts and memories in the blink of an eye. The bandit strains against her presence in his psyche but is unable to kick her out or block her attempts to get the information she wants. After a brief moment, her work is done, and she stands back up. “Thanks, Greg. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Kiss a vollick,” Greg replies, unable to look her in the eyes.
“Charming. Sleep,” Maria retorts with a smirk, sending the bandit unconscious with a single wave from her mind. “Those guys were part of the Lowland Bandits. Apparently they got all of this tech from someone he calls ‘The Prof’.”
“Okay, then…” Joel says, the last of the effects from the blast wearing off and his mind clearing up a little. “So, they’ve got some sort of inventor on their side. Any idea where he’s at?”
Maria considers the information she stole from Greg’s mind for a second before answering. “I don’t know if this Prof guy works here or not, but these guys keep visiting some base in the Irroco Caves, just a little bit northwest of here,” she says, pointing vaguely in the direction of the base, just past a series of canyons and cliffs.
“Sounds like we know where we’re going next,” Peter says, taking a second to watch as the townsfolk start to pour back into Joya, then examining the charred and ruined state of their homes. “After we clean up this mess, that is.”
Sullivan chuckles at that. “Figured you’d say that." He walks off and starts handling some of the larger chunks of rubble, hefting them onto his shoulders and carrying them off. "Alright, guys. Let’s get working. The quicker we finish, the quicker we can hit the sack.”
