Sigma 16 T2 - ​Chapter 103 - Takers! (Patreon)

Dusky scrambled up the elevator shaft, her legs moving in a blur. The urgency of the situation propelled her faster. The tunnel walls seemed to close in around her, the dim light casting hostile shadows. She pushed harder until she flew out of the shaft’s opening and landed on her feet.

The reds were swarming, their movements frantic and chaotic. Dusky hurried to Nest Leader, who was roaring commands. She chirped urgently, drawing his attention.

“There are lots of Takers, many, many, many!” she exclaimed.

“How many?” he demanded.

“Less than Nest could handle if all here, more than Nest can handle right now!” she replied, her voice trembling with urgency.

A metal pillar crunched through the roof of the chamber, its red-hot base glowing ominously.

It continued to push through and then fell, slamming into the floor with a resounding crash.

Enraged reds screeched and rushed toward it, their feet slashing at the metal. The pillar opened, and several Takers emerged, their weapons blazing with green-fire. The reds tore them to pieces before they could do more than injure a few spiders.

Dusky’s panic surged. Talia would send help! She turned to inform Nest Leader, but he had already moved forward, his focus on the battle. He had forgotten about her.

Outside the authority-chamber, more metal-Taker-things crashed through the ceiling into the Nest. In the distance, one opened and released more Takers who weren’t immediately surrounded by reds. They began shooting her sisters.

Dusky followed the surge of reds out of the chamber. She needed to get to the surface!

She sped up the side of a building, her legs gripping the rough surface. She avoided the street below, where chaos reigned. Her sisters poured out of entrances, their chittering filled with anger and fear. More metal cylinders crashed down, releasing Takers and green-fire that splashed everywhere.

One of those attacks exploded in front of Dusky, sending shards flying that stung her face.

She jumped back, her eyes locking onto the source. A sister eviscerated the Taker who had fired, only to be engulfed in green-fire by another. Reds swarmed the attackers, shredding them and their metal contraption.

Dusky leaped around the burning wall. The belt Talia had given her shimmered, ready to stop the green-fire. She needed to hurry. The sisters collecting lifestone wouldn’t return in time. Only Talia could save them now. Her maker-devices would already be trying to help, but Nest Leader had only let her keep a few on the surface.

Spotting the exit tunnel, Dusky dashed toward it. Explosions echoed behind her.

Ahead, on a side street, Takers gunned down her sisters in the open square. Dusky hissed and charged. The Takers aimed and fired. The Magic Blue field from Talia’s belt appeared, deflecting the green-fire up and away. She closed the distance, slashing the Takers in half with her front arms.

Distracted, the Takers tried to aim at her, but her sisters surged in, attacking with ferocity.

Death to Takers!

She broke free from the fight and headed for the exit tunnel. Movement ahead caught her eye, and she skidded to a stop. More Takers poured down the tunnel, wearing a hard carapace like Talia’s own metal skin.

The realization hit Dusky like a physical blow.

The metal cylinders were distractions, allowing the enemy to infiltrate the Nest through the tunnels without being stopped at the choke points. Hissing, she fled as they fired at her, dodging green-fire with agile jumps.

Dusky turned sharply and darted into a nearby building, its entrance half-collapsed from the bombardment. The dim interior was a maze of twisted metal and debris. She navigated the obstacles, her frame slipping through gaps and over piles of scrap.

Emerging on the other side, she spotted another Taker cylinder team under attack. Reds swarmed them, their fury palpable as they slashed and tore at the intruders.

Dusky chirped urgently, her voice rising above the din. “Lots of Takers come from tunnels! Cylinders are distraction!”

The reds ignored her, too consumed by their rage. They shredded the Takers with relentless ferocity, their focus solely on the immediate threat. Dusky hesitated for a moment, then bolted past them. She needed another way out.

Her gaze flicked upward to the Nest roof, where red holes marked the entry points of the cylinders. She considered climbing up but dismissed the idea. Too dangerous. Too exposed. The tunnels would be safer.

She raced through the Nest. There had to be another exit. She knew the Nest’s layout well, every twist and turn ingrained in her memory. She headed for a secondary tunnel she remembered, hoping it was still clear.

As she approached, her heart sank. Takers swarmed the area, assembling large metal constructs that looked disturbingly familiar. Weapons. They were setting up weapons like Talia’s. Dusky’s instincts screamed at her to avoid them. She veered off, searching for another route.

The fighting intensified as she neared the Nest’s edge. The sounds of battle echoed through the chamber, a series of screeches and explosions.

She rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. More Takers blocked her path, their numbers overwhelming. They hadn’t seen her yet, too focused on their task. She backed away slowly, her mind working furiously.

The tunnels couldn’t all be compromised. The Takers couldn’t know every entrance and exit. She just needed to find one that was still clear.

Dusky crouched behind a crumbling wall, her eyes locked on the Takers blocking the entrance. Their metal carapaces gleamed, moving with unnerving speed. She remembered the desert chase, the Taker shooting at her scrap metal find, and Talia swooping in to save her. These Takers were faster now. Bad. Bad-bad-bad.

She turned, darting back toward the Nest’s center. The central square teemed with reds and Nest Leader stood tall. Takers fired green fire at him, and he roared in defiance. Panic filled her. Things were happening too fast. Help wouldn’t arrive in time.

She leaped between buildings, using the shadows for cover. She moved from one hiding spot to another, each movement precise and swift. A quick glance back revealed more Takers arriving. They fired brown goop at the smaller reds. Not green-fire? The brown substance adhered to the other Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr, hardening and immobilizing them.

Fear gripped Dusky. Worse than net-things, the brown goop locked her sisters in place. The Takers weren’t just here to kill—they were kidnapping!

Dusky abandoned Nest Leader and the reds to their fight.

She couldn’t help them.

She wasn’t sure what help could help, but that was the best thing she could do. The Nest didn’t trust Talia, but Dusky knew she would help. Know how to stop the Takers.

The far end of the Nest became her destination, away from where she believed the Takers had come from.

It seemed she was right. The chaos of battle faded behind her as she reached a quieter part of the Nest. The coast seemed clear.

She hurried up into the tunnel, her eyes adjusting to dark. A few of her sisters cowered in the dark, their bodies trembling.

“Have Takers left?” one spider asked, her voice a shaky whisper.

“No,” Dusky replied, urgency in her tone. “They are many and coming. We need to flee.”

The spiders chittered and argued among themselves, fear and indecision paralyzing them.

Dusky couldn’t wait. She left them behind, her determination pushing her forward.

The air grew cooler, and she could feel the temperature change as she approached the surface.

The tunnel exited underneath a giant thought-caster, its massive roots forming a protective cover. Talia’s message sender wouldn’t work unless it was in the open, though.

She peeked out from under the tree, scanning for any sign of activity. The area seemed clear, but the distant sounds of machines filled the air.

Dusky took a deep breath and then darted out from under the thought-caster and into the open. She tapped her harness device, watching as the light turned green and blinked.

Relief washed over her. It worked! Talia would know.

She turned the recording part toward herself. “Takers are attacking Nest,” she began, but her words were cut off by a sudden impact.

Slime hit her from the side, knocking her off balance. She rolled, trying to pry the sticky substance off, but it clung to her legs and hardened quickly. Panic surged through her as she realized it was the brown goop.

Takers!

Dusky struggled against the hardening slime, but it was no use. She couldn’t move. Desperation filled her chirps as she called for help at the recorder, its green light still blinking.