Freedom Planet: Trinity (CANCELLED)

Chapter Eight: Rescue Retaliation

As Aya and Carol went off to deal with the engine core, Neera and Lilac ran towards the captain's deck of the ship, sure that Serpentine would be there. They encountered a few Brevon drones on the way through the ship, but nothing that they couldn't handle. They stayed silent as they ran forward. Neera wasn't one for chatter while on a mission. Lilac and Neera got to the door leading to the captain's deck. Neera sighed and stepped over to the console next to it.

"Do you know what any of that means?" Lilac asked, motioning towards the alien text on the keypad.

"No. But this does," Neera pulled out a device that looked similar to the chips that Lilac had encountered back in the Thermal Base, during Brevon's first invasion. Neera placed the chip into a small slot on the console, and within an instant, the door slid open. Lilac and Neera were ready for a fight, Neera gripping her frost spear in her hands, and Lilac in a battle stance. But..when the door opened. Nobody was inside.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Neera said as she stepped into the captain's deck with Lilac right behind her. Neera walked over to the ship controls and saw that they had all been destroyed. Lilac sighed and looked at Neera, "Well I guess that means that we've got to go and get the other-"

An ear-piercing screech filled Neera and Lilac's ears, as something came in over there communicators, "Augh!" Neera put her hand against her ear as she heard laughter.

"TCHYYAAHAHAHAHAAA! YOU IDIOTS! YOU REALLY THOUGHT I DIDN'T KNOW YOU'D COME LOOKING FOR ME?" Serpentine shrieked over the communicator.

"Serpentine?" Lilac seemed surprised, "How did you even get onto this channel?"

"Look up, morons," Serpentine chuckled. Above the two, on a monitor on the deck there was video of the engine room. Inside of it, Serpentine, a ton of Brevon drones, and Aya and Carol, both who had been restrained by the drones. Carol struggled to get out of their grasp, but Aya had just submitted to them. She knew she couldn't break free.

"Carol!" Lilac gasped.

"Aya!" Neera shouted. Lilac and Neera looked at each other with worry.

"Your pathetic friends are now prisoners of war," Serpentine sneered. He pointed at a Brevon drone and yelled at it, "The snatcher! Now!"

"NO!" Neera turned sprinted out of the room, followed closely behind Lilac. However, Lilac just wasn't fast enough, and the door to the captain's deck slammed shut, separating the two.

"Not so fast!" Serpentine laughed over the communicator.

"Neera!" Lilac shouted through the door, slamming against it a few times.

"Find another way out, I'm going to save the others!" Neera ordered, before sprinting off towards the Engine Room. As she ran, she couldn't stop fearing for them. She couldn't lose people she cared about. She couldn't. She won't. As she continued, she encountered heavy resistance from Brevon Drones, but in her blind rage, they were no match for her. She tore through them like paper, leaving nothing behind but scrap metal.

Neera got to the engine room, and burst through the door insanely quick. As she entered, she saw that Carol was still being held by the Brevon drones, but Aya was standing next to Serpentine, her back facing Neera.

"TCHYAAAHAHAHAAAA! YOU'RE TOO LATE!" Serpentine yelled. Neera charged forward, which startled Serpentine. He shrieked and slithered backwards, bumping into the Brevon drone holding Carol. It gave Carol just enough of an edge to slip out of the Brevon drone's grasp and destroy it. Serpentine glanced at Carol and Neera, both of them on either side of him. He let out a small whimper and grabbed something off of his armor. He threw it onto the ground, and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Neera coughed and gagged on the smoke as she inhaled it. She collapsed to her hands and knees, and tried to stop herself from throwing up. A hand reached down and grabbed onto Neera, dragging her out of the smoke. It was Carol.

"Carol-," Neera coughed and wheezed for a moment, "Lilac is trapped in the captain's deck, go help her! I'll finish up here!" Neera said, getting off the ground and dusting herself off.

"Got it, be quick though, we'll wait for you at the escape pods," Carol said, nodding and turning to leave the room.

"Wait," Neera grabbed onto Carol's arm and frowned, "What did they do to Aya?" She asked, a tone of concern in her voice.

Carol shrugged, "I wasn't paying attention. I was trying to escape...I just...I heard her scream. I'm sorry, that's all I know," Carol said, pulling out of Neera's grasp, "Be quick," She said.

"I will," Neera sighed and looked down at the ground as Carol ran off. What happened to Aya. Where was she? A bolt of superheated plasma shot through the cloud of smoke and just barely singed a string of Neera's hair, "WOAH!" Neera rolled out of the way as another plasma bolt came from the smoke. She rolled out of the dodge and raised her frost spear.

As the smoke settled, a figure stood, it's arm raised, and a large laser blaster in it's hand.

"Aya?"