Deathsong Chronicles - Sonata 4

As he travelled along a drain via a motorized mobile floating barge, he wrinkled his nose at the putrid stench rising out of the sewage.

"Damn it Micino. Did'nt you know of a better shortcut?" muttered Xepher,"This place stinks like crap."

He travelled on speedily, but halfway along the route, a sound made him tense. An explosion further ahead, followed by three blue robots hovering down from a hole, each armed with laser rifles and rocket launchers, and a strange two-piece contraption sticking over their shoulders.

They moved in on him with practiced precision, training their infrared lasers on him. He readied his sword in response.

They opened fire. Xepher retaliated by slashing the laser bolts back at them. Two of them evaded the deadly salvo, but one was too slow, and he erupted into a fireball.

"Eat this!" yelled one of them as their shoulder-weapons launched energy balls that homed in on Xepher. He dodged aside and slashed at one of them, as they arced around back to him. It dissipated, and he disposed of the other in similar fashion.

The two remaining robots drew laser swords and charged at him. "Bad idea." said Xepher as he readily sliced through both in one fluid motion.

The boat reached the dock a few minutes later, with nothing eventful happening after that.
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In an obscure part of the AERIA, a robot similar to the three assassins reported the incident to a black-garbed, eye-patched, one-legged man. His other leg was completely mechanical. The scout said:" The advance unit has been wiped out! How can Blue Mist's finest be wiped out so quickly?!"

"Calm down." said the Colonel. "We merely have to fight the way we do." He calmly strode to a balcony and looked down at his nine remaining Blue Mist soldiers, and said to the scout:"Continue to observe the target."

The scout flew off.
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Xepher raced through the prison facility, searching for the cell C-5, namely Jennifer's cell. He sneaked past robot sentries, killed the human ones, and dashed through laser sensors carefully.

Eventually, he reached cell C-5, and smashed down the door. He took a glance around the cell, and rushed in to untie Jennifer. "You came...I thought you won't." said Jennifer,surprised and happy. "I came because of my promise to Shadowz. I am merely doing what he would have done."

"C'mon, let's get outta here." said Jennifer as she took back her sword from Xepher.
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Once returned to the lander, Jennifer asked Xepher to check out a bio-weapons research facility. She heard of it during her capture, as the guards talked about a monster the scientists were developing.

Xepher arrived outside of the research centre, which was deathly quiet. He cautiously approached the door, and opened it. And he saw...

...Dead bodies everywhere. Fires running rampant. Computers destroyed. And the most intriguing of all, slash marks on the walls caused by something other than a blade.

"What the hell happened here?!" muttered Xepher as he drew his blade.

It was that moment that a creature out of nightmare dropped from the ceiling in front of him.