The elevator stops with a gentle bump, and a massive set of grated doors in front of them slides open. The sight brings all of the group to widen their eyes.
"Holy shit," says Lexia.
“How the hell was this operating under our noses?” says Peter.
Before them stretches an enormous cavern, converted into a factory. Gleaming stainless-steel vats line the walls, connected by an organized network of pipes and tubes.
Workers in hazmat suits move between stations, monitoring gauges and adjusting valves. In the center of the facility, massive glass containers hold blue liquid. The containers are being observed by the hazmat workers, and each container has droppers plopping out chilled, thick liquid onto wax paper.
The overall scale of the factory is staggering. At least twenty vats, each capable of producing gallons of Reel Sight liquid. Catwalks crisscross the upper levels, where armed coyote guards patrol, watching the workers intently. The far end of the cavern contains what appears to be a testing area, with medical equipment and examination tables.
The group steps closer, watching the workers carefully spraying frigid air over the Reel Sight gel pills and putting them in bottles, which are then put in boxes, six at a time. Each box is taped with tamper-evident tape.
As the group quietly watches, too dumbstruck to speak, a growl next to Lexia brings her to look at her side. Her eyes widen at the sight of Jayson.
His teeth, his hand clenching his weapon tight and fur bristled as he stares at the expansive factory. His body trembles, and his blue eyes pulse with his weapon.
“Uh, Jayson, are you okay?” asks Lexia.
"This wasn’t just a safe house we attacked. This place is a factory. And Ramsey is in charge of this factory,” says Jayson, his voice gravely and heavy.
Spotlights suddenly shine on their hiding locations, and Ramsey’s voice booms over the speakers.
“Uninvited guests! Are you going to come out to play or what?” says Ramsey.
Jayson peeks from around the pillar and squints against the light, trying to locate the source of the voice. From a raised platform at the far end of the lab, the massive ram steps into view.
Light shines on his towering body, giving a slight glow to his gray spotted-black fur and white mane. Bright red eyes gleam with amusement beneath curved horns, and a twisted smile spreads across his muzzle. He wears a lab coat over his armored blue suit, and the strange metal collar and bracelets encircling his thick neck and wrists have small green lights on them.
Flanking Ramsey is Mortimer and Claribel, both wearing their usual attire.
Mortimer is clenching a solid metal rod tightly and using his free hand to adjust his racoon mask, and Claribel has her Thompson gun prepared.
Then there is a large group of coyote guards, all wearing vests and carrying a variety of weapons, all inching closer to the group’s position.
“There you are. I see you Hobo, peeking out with your pointy ears and little nose all twitching. Such a little bunny thing to do,” says Ramsey.
Jayson growls again and goes back into cover. Lexia loads up her bazooka and injects herself with the three syringes of anti-venom Mariana gave her. The surge causes Lexia to shudder and hop in her spot, muttering gibberish to herself. While this happens, Nermal, Owen, Peter, and Chipper adjust their weapons.
Lexia sees Jayson gripping his weapon with both hands now, his eyes wide and dark, pupils dilated. His breathing is heavy and his growl rumbles high, then low, and back to high. Her hopping stops, and her ears droop slightly. Ramsey is still talking, but she is more focused on Jayson.
“Uh… Jayson, are you okay? Do you need some calming meds? I got some in my pocket,” says Lexia.
“He killed her,” says Jayson heavily.
“What?”
“He killed Lexanne. The Reel Sight that she took was manufactured here. He. Made. The drugs. He. Made. Reel Sight!”
A pulse of blue erupts from Jayson’s weapon, and Lexia can barely raise her eyebrows before he zips around her. With a vicious yell, Jayson slams his cosmic wood sword against the ground. A pulse of blue waves surges forward, knocking the coyotes off balance and it strikes the support beams of the elevated walkways.
The metal rapidly ages and snaps, bringing the walkway to collapse. Mortimer, Claribel, and Ramsey all scream during the drop, and the coyotes writhe on the ground, moaning and groaning with decades of age added on to them, muting their colors and wrinkling their skin.
Jayson collapses to his knee, the tip of his cosmic wood sword pressed against the ground. One hand clutches his heart, the other keeps a tight hold on his weapon. His breathing is scratchy and wheezy, and thick beads of sweat roll down his face. But his darkened eyes are focused on Ramsey.
“You,” snarls Jayson to Ramsey.
Jayson pushes himself up, his limbs quivering and his world darkening as his wild eyes fully focus on Ramsey. His chest heaves, and he adjusts his position, preparing for a lunge towards Ramsey, who is now pushing himself up.
“Your drugs killed Lexanne. I’m going to kill you. Then I’m going to kill Mama Bear!” yells Jayson.
“Is that right? Well, come and get me, then!” taunts Ramsey.
Jayson launches himself across the debris-strewn floor, his cosmic wood sword trailing blue energy that crackles like lightning. All he sees is Ramsey staring at him, no worry in his eyes. Just that shit eating grin. The pain in Jayson’s chest is nonexistent now, and all noise is drowned by the rage filled noise in his ears.
“DIE!” roars Jayson.
Before Jayson can reach Ramsey, a flying leap and kick to his side knocks him off course. Jayson crashes and slides across the floor, his weapon spinning away from him.
Mortimer rolls to his feet and twirls his metal rod, flashing a smile behind his raccoon mask.
“Alright, that’s enough. I’m just going to kill you so I can finally go home and get paid,” says Mortimer.
“Get out of my way, Mortimer,” growls Jayson, his voice deep and rumbling.
Mortimer’s eyes narrow, and Jayson arches his back as he pushes himself up. The whites of his eyes have become nearly pitch black, his blue irises sharply contrasting pools of color. Jayson’s fingers twitch and his eyes narrow on Mortimer.
“Okay… Now, you’re creeping me out,” says Mortimer.
“Mortimer, it’s the eyes! I told you there’s something wrong with him!” says Claribel.
A pop and whistle suddenly streaks towards them. The Fixers leap away from each other right before a rocket strikes their location. The explosion pushes them further away and flings broken concrete everywhere.
During the chaos, Jayson snatches his cosmic wood sword off the floor and charges Mortimer.
Mortimer rolls to his feet and swears, barely bringing his metal pole up in time to block Jayson’s strike. The impact vibrates his weapon and shakes his arm down to the bone.
Mortimer winces, and blocks another swipe, being forced back by the strike. As this happens, gunfire and explosions shake the ground and air around them.
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“Out of my way!” snarls Jayson, advancing on Mortimer with heavy strikes, his tainted eyes darting between Mortimer and Ramsey.
"I’m not letting you near Ramsey," growls Mortimer.
Jayson slashes forward, meeting Mortimer's pole with a sound like thunder. Blue energy cascades around them both, the cosmic wood's power rippling through the air.
"Get out of my way," snarls Jayson, disengaging only to strike again, harder. "This isn't about you."
Mortimer blocks the strike, but the impact drives him back two steps. His eyes widen in surprise at the force behind Jayson’s hits.
"It kinda is since protecting Ramsey and killing you is my job," says Mortimer, countering with a sweep aimed at Jayson's legs.
Jayson leaps over the pole and brings his cosmic weapon down in a vertical strike that Mortimer barely deflects.
The force of the strike coupled with the deflection causes Jayson to roll to the ground, but he quickly hops back up and rushes Mortimer again, swinging his weapon madly.
Mortimer staggers under the impact, shock and pain twisting his face.
Jayson presses his advantage, each blow coming faster than the last. The cosmic wood sword hums with energy, leaving blue trails in the air as it slices toward Mortimer again and again. Mortimer blocks desperately, his rod vibrating with each impact, and his arms numbing from the force.
Mortimer ducks under a horizontal slash aimed for his head. The cosmic wood sword’s passing is so close that he feels the air brushing against him and its energy singe his fur and hair.
While Mortimer shifts back to a sturdier stance, Jayson presses forward. His next attack comes with blinding speed, the wooden weapon blurring as he activates its time-slowing powers. The world around him crawls to a near-stop, Mortimer's shocked expression frozen in the blue aura surrounding them.
Jayson slashes Mortimer three times in the space of a heartbeat, disarming him, striking his gut, and then slamming the cosmic wood against his back.
The aura disappears, Mortimer crashes to the ground with a loud thud, and Jayson staggers away from him. His breathing is scratchy and ragged, his blue eyes pulsing in their dark pools as he takes heavy, unsteady steps towards Ramsey.
Mortimer lays on the floor, twitching and aching. His bones feel bruised and sharp pain blooms all over his gut, hands, and back like sharp weeds.
As Jayson approaches Ramsey, a blur of brown and white intercepts him. Jayson and Lexia roll across the floor just as a barrage of bullets chews up the concrete where he had been standing just a second before.
Lexia hoists Jayson up and drags him to cover behind a concrete support pillar, but his eyes remain on Ramsey the entire time. Meanwhile, Lexia pokes her out, just to snap back to cover as bullets narrowly miss her face, chipping off bits of concrete and ricocheting off in wild directions.
Nearby, Claribel advances, her Thompson gun smoking as she reloads with practiced efficiency. Her red eyes gleam in the industrial lighting, her steps heavy and fast and her forked tongue flicking out, tasting every bit of gunpowder, chemical and flame.
“Bazooka Bunny! Come out and end this!” shouts Claribel, shooting the pillar again.
Lexia flinches from the bullets tearing off bits of the concrete, her grip tightening on Jayson. She looks at him, heart racing and throat dry, and sees his tainted eyes are still focused on Ramsey.
“Ah jeeze,” sighs Lexia. “Go to Ramsey, I’ll distract Clarilame.”
Lexia releases Jayson, and he storms towards Ramsey without saying a word. The blue inferno in his eyes and tight jaw says plenty, and when Claribel turns her rifle to Jayson, Lexia leaps out of cover and launches a rocket at Claribel.
The explosion throws the snake into the air, and she lands on a table, breaking it and scattering bottles and pills all over the floor as bits of concrete and dust rain down.
Lexia cheers and fists pumps. “Yeah, that’s how you kill a snake!”
Claribel’s eyes open, and she hisses and rattles her tail as she pushes herself up, her clothes torn and singed, and stained with bits of blood. Lexia’s smile disappears, and Claribel crawls off the destroyed table and runs towards her, her red eyes wide and mouth open for a scream.
The light reflects off Claribel’s fangs, and Lexia forces herself to smile as she slips her bazooka on her back and draws her knife.
“Alright, another fist fight with a snake coming right up!” says Lexia.
Lexia charges Claribel, and when the pair are within striking distance, Lexia brings the knife down on her. Claribel deflects the strike, and Lexia swiftly follows with a hard knee to her midsection.
Claribel gasps but recovers quickly. She dodges another swipe from Lexia and uses her tail to tug her foot out from underneath her. Lexia lands hard on her back, eyes rolling and head throbbing.
Claribel jumps on top of Lexia and lunges towards her face with her fangs. Lexia’s brown hand shoots up and Claribel’s fangs sink into her flesh, puncturing it fully and scraping bone.
Lexia howls in agony as the dual punctures tear into her flesh and scrape her bones. Blood mingles with venom, streaming down her arm and splattering across her body. Her hand twists in a feeble attempt to dislodge Claribel’s fangs. Her flesh bubbles and skin splits open, a fiery agony racing through her veins, radiating from her hand to her arm and surging throughout her entire being.
As Lexia lays on the floor, bleeding, thrashing and screaming, the battle rages around them. Nermal and Peter exchange fire with the remaining coyotes while Owen and Chipper work to sabotage everything they can get their hands on, leading to fires sprouting up and the air thickening with smoke that tingles the nose and leaves the eyes throbbing.
Back to Lexia, Claribel keeps her fangs into Lexia’s had, their eyes locked. Lexia’s arm buckles and she grits her teeth. Tears roll down her cheeks and her large muscles flex under her two-toned fur. Her bitten hand is drenched in blood, and the fire in her veins feels like it is dissolving her from the inside out.
Claribel braces herself and presses down, heart thumping and the scent and taste of Lexia’s blood filling her tongue with pleasant tingles.
Lexia growls painfully through her teeth, grabs Claribel’s throat with her white hand, and squeezes.
As the females try to kill each other, Mortimer shifts on the ground, his eyes still closed, and Jayson continues walking towards Ramsey.
Every step is heavy, every heartbeat is erratic, and the world is dark around Jayson. It is just him and Ramsey.
Ramsey chuckles and spreads his arms out, his body and voice being the only colors and noise in the void.
“Look at you go! You’re a determined lagomorph, aren’t you? Did Trafford put you up to this?” says Ramsey. “If you tell me the bounty I’ll triple it. Maybe even see if Mama Bear can get you an amazing salary, because let me tell you, there is a fire in there that is being mismanaged right now.”
On the floor, Mortimer’s eyes open. His vision swims, but he can see Jayson walking towards Ramsey. The odd blue aura is surrounding him, but it seems darker.
Mortimer blinks, and looks at a destroyed safety case, his ears twitching from gunshots and explosions. He sees a pair of gasmasks lying on floor. He stands up, growling irritably and throws his mask off. His gloves spark and he extends his hands to the gloves and another metal rod.
“Claribel!” shouts Mortimer.
Claribel looks at him and he uses his electromagnetism to throw one of the gas masks at her. He holds the other one tight in his hand and marches towards Jayson.
“Hey, Hobo!” shouts Mortimer.
Jayson keeps walking towards Ramsey, so Mortimer slips on the mask, and uses his free hand to throw a metal table at Jayson.
The table knocks Jayson off his feet, and his manic eyes snap to Mortimer.
Mortimer glares at him through the lens of his mask, and his gloves and battery park emit a small electrical storm as he extends his hand to one of the large metal vats.
The vat hums and vibrates. Soon it groans and shifts, breaking loose bits of concrete and popping out screws and bolts. Claribel swears, hastily slips on her mask, and stomps on Lexia’s nose.
“Ah, dammit! My nose again!” curses Lexia, holding her bloody nose and writhing on the ground.
Meanwhile Jayson keeps staring at Mortimer, but when the tubes to the vat break, spraying blue liquid and fumes all over the floor and air, his dark eyes widen to shock. And Ramsey clutches his hair.
“Are you freaking kidding me, right now! What are you doing!” screams Ramsey.
“I’m really tired of your shit, Hobo! Now die!” yells Mortimer.
His gloves and battery pack explode in a fierce display of electrical surges, creating a scorching cloud of bright bolts. The vat zips towards Jayson, spraying blue liquid everywhere, and Jayson screams and whacks his cosmic weapon against it.
Time slows downs to a crawl in the large bubble, and the trajectory of the vat is altered when the cosmic wood connects with its metal hull. The vat crawls through the air as though it is in molasses, but when the aura disappears, it speeds away, breaking a walkway and hitting a glass vat, shattering it.
More of the blue chemicals gushes out, carrying shards of glass with it. This batch is stick and nearly a gel, and the liquid state of Reel Sight starts evaporating, filling the factory with thick blue fumes.
Jayson coughs, and stumbles as the fumes seep into his nose. His heart races, and he shakes his head frantically as his hands twist and break apart and remold in the fumes.
“No, not again. Not again. Not again,” chants Jayson hysterically.
He looks around, watching in horror as the world around him ripples and morphs. The colors brighten and shift, and walkways, vats, tables, people, all of them transform into bulbous displays, each floating, breaking and remolding into oddly colored caricatures of people and structures. Butterflies and orbs break free from the warped bodies, equipment, and furniture. They float and twirl in the air.
The factory stretches and contracts like breathing lungs. The flames from damaged equipment transform into dancing wisps trailing sparks of bright colors. Sound distorts, gunfire elongating into celebratory firework pops, voices becoming orchestral arrangements.
Jayson blinks rapidly and clutches his racing heart. His breathing is ragged, and he paces in circles, trying to focus through the hallucinations. The cosmic wood sword in his hand radiates wispy colors that flow up his arms in visible streams of blue light. His heartbeat echoes in his ears, each pulse sending ripples through the air that he can see.
Orbs of light float through the mist, bouncing gently off surfaces, leaving trails of stardust.
“Jayson~” calls Lexanne.
Jayson sharply turns around. Through the haze, he can make out Mortimer. His gas mask transforms into pure white eyes, and a black mist rises out of the colors, engulfing his body. From the mist comes bloody water, and a white void grin spreads on the face that once was Mortimer while darkness floats around the new body like submerged hair and fabric.
Jayson steps back, clutching his weapon tighter, heart aching and throat dry. “No…”
Lexanne's white eyes fix on Jayson, her grin widening. She stretches one hand out, spinning a colorful rod, and she floats towards Jayson.
“There you are, my dear, sweet Jayson,” says Lexanne. She extends her other hand to Jayson, her wide grin splitting her face in half and her finger hooking to beckon him. “It is time… Come see with me.”
