War Beast

Book Two: Chapter 24

"Get on my back," Huntar ordered. "I can land safely!"

"Okay!" Krysta hopped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Huntar jumped off the drawbridge and landed on the giant machine. Zena and Torag landed behind him as Krysta slid off his back. The Devastator wasn't too far below the drawbridge, or else Huntar might have broken his legs.

"I need to find the vent on this weapon!" Krysta pulls out a round metal ball with a button on it. "Then I will drop this down."

Zena gazed at the ball. "What is it?"

"An explosive. It will destroy the core inside the Devastator. We need to get off before the entire weapon explodes."

Huntar glanced at the portal. It seemed to be coming toward them as the Devastator hovered closer and closer. "But if we destroy it now, how will we return home?"

"We can find a teleporter, or....." Krysta glared at the portal. "Or we can just jump through that portal."

"But you will be trapped in our world if you come with us," said Zena.

"Cluster has a teleporter at his base. If not, you wouldn't be here."

"What if the Devastator destroys his base? The teleporter will fall with it," said Huntar.

Krysta frowned, staring at the metal-plated floor. "I know the consequences. But as a freedom fighter....." She glanced back at Huntar. "I am ready to sacrifice myself for anything,"

Huntar smirked. The alien reminded him of Jenny. Strong, and very determined to accomplish anything at any cost. "Let's stop this thing now."

After she nodded, Krysta rushed through the portal, about halfway through the Devastator. Huntar and his companions followed her past two towering spikes.

Walking through the portal felt like air shivering through Huntar's fur. On the other side, the sunlight hit Huntar's face. He blinked his eyes, and then his breath was taken away.

On the Devastator, he could see the entire jungle landscape around Cluster's base. The sun rose over the mountains in the far distances and the minty-fresh air flowed around him. This feels good to be back.....

"Whoa....." Krysta's jaw dropped. "It has been a long time since I have seen a planet, covered in green!"

Huntar smiled toward her. "Then let's save it."

Krysta nodded. She looked around until her eyes paused at a large hole with bars covering it. She smiled at it. "That is it!"

"Then drop it!" Zena exclaimed.

Without hesitation, Krysta tossed the explosive down through the vent. "I hope it is the right one!"

Through the vent, the explosive device clung and clanked, until a great boom erupted far below. The entire surface of the weapon quake like a boiling pot. Then explosives sparked around the weapon. Mechanic parts and metal flew off as the superweapon crumbled.

Krysta wobbled while keeping her feet spread out from falling. "We gotta get off, now!"

"How?" Zena looked around.

Huntar looked down and found a tall building close by. He directed his finger toward it. "We can jump to that structure!"

"Then let's do it!" Zena raced toward the building, running down the giant sphere. She jumped off the moment she was about to fall off near the center. She landed with a tap on her hooves on the building's rooftop.

Huntar smirked at Krysta. "Shall I carry you?"

Krysta giggled. "I got this." She raced down like a gazelle.

After she landed next to Zena, Huntar and Torag ran across a spike to jump further toward the building. They both landed and watched the machine fall down upon the alien's base.

*****

Cluster heard a loud explosion and looked up. "Oh no!"

The Devastator was exploding while crumbling apart. Smoke, flames, and metal, all rained down above his base.

What happened? The thing just arrived from the portal? How could it already be exploding?

Everything turned dark as a large piece fell upon Cluster. He screamed before he blacked out.

*****

After the Devastator collapsed into the base, the dust cloud spread over the entire complex. Half of the base became a sea of rubble with a few buildings remaining. The cloud didn't last long as the winds blew the dust away, clearing the debris.

Huntar and the others clambered down into the ruins from the building. Zena and Torag dug through the rubble while Huntar and Krysta looked around.

"Jenny!" Huntar shouted while standing on a metal block. "Can you hear me! Jenny!"

His heart raced each time he imagined Jenny being buried alive under the rubble. What if her entire body was broken, or worse?

Huntar didn't expect the Devastator would appear close over the base. But Krysta chose to destroy it before it left the gate. With the gate destroyed and the base in ruins, Cluster should have been vanquished. But what about Jenny? Did she survive?

Huntar paused when something moved below the block. "Jenny?"

He jumped off the block and stared at the tremoring spot. Krysta, Zena, and Torag caught up to him.

"What is it?" Krysta asked.

A hand burst up from the debris, but it wasn't Jenny's hand. It was metal with tiny gears within its fingers.

Cluster's mech suit crawled out, covered in scratches and dirt. His cockpit helmet cracked across the center.

After he rose, his large eyeballs widened. "You!"

Krysta smirked and pulled out her energy gun. "Surprised, crab head?"

Krawl growled, spraying spit from his clicking mouth. "So you are the ones who destroyed the Devastator! Click-click! I'll kill you all!"

He opened his chest, preparing to fire his energy cannon. But something behind him rumbled with a soft thundering sound.

Cluster turned around to check. "What the-"

The debris exploded, sending rocks and metal into the sky. Then a white glowing female figure levitated from the hole with her arms out and her legs together. Naked with skin shiny like a crystal, and her long hair waved as if she was floating in the water.

Huntar rubbed his eyes to stare clearly at the strange apparition. His mouth slowly dropped by the time he realized who the figure was. "Jenny?"