Ch 16
–
Chapter 17
–
It took me a moment to get re-accustomed to splitting my focus in so many directions, and by the time I returned attention to my Dreamer form, I had a few eloquently-presented questions which I felt were both reasonable and pertinent.
I had noticed, as was quite different from before I had my focus re-prioritized, that the vehicle which Eilrach possessed had abandoned a passenger - namely, Diero, who had vanished into thin air. The car’s elevation was also something worth noting, as I could hear the cracking of loose roof tiles under the tires as it tore along.
“Catch him!” The car- sorry, Eilrach, bellowed. A dark object with small glowing lights was barreling towards the front of the vehicle, and at the current speed was slated to go right over. My connection to my Dreamers has always been a bit more nuanced than anyone else’s, and my arms snapped forwards at twice their original length to catch the speeding object and draw it in close.
“Thanks for the saAAAAAAAAAAAH” Renner eloquently spoke, reminding me how happy I was that I didn’t have ears. “GHID?! Diero, DREAM: WHIRLgblkgfmmbjgak!”
I know you must be wondering where this new Dream came from, but do not fret; it was simply a collaborative effort between me and Renner, with him doing the trying to scream and me smashing all my fingers against his mouth to shut him up.
“Where’s cerebruh moment, anyhow?” I inquired of the mad motorist, who was driving to progressively higher and higher rooftops, but was clearly running out of options forward.
“You don’t remember?” Eilrach replied, gunning it as he approached the final rooftop. “He said that if we could somehow manage to hit that thing in the trachea, we could cut off its air flow for good.”
“Is he as brainless as he is scalpless?” I frowned, even as my hands grew larger to accommodate for Renner’s armor getting new edges and points. “That thing’s made of Dreamers; it doesn’t have a trachea.”
Of course, my further comment was prevented by the vehicle leaving the edge of the last rooftop, plummeting downwards at a slow curve… And then rocketing high into the air with unprecedented force. Beneath it, holding the frame of the car, was the deadsperado himself, and he quickly clambered back into the driver’s seat.
“DREAM WHIRLING IRON!!” Renner bellowed, having finally built up his armor enough to sneak his exposed neck out the side and command his bodyguard. Diero’s eyes flamed, and then glared flatly at his superior.
“With. What.”
The group was silent for a moment. “I hate to kill the mood, but how are we flying?”
“At first I hated everyone in this group of yours.” Eilrach revved. “But I’ve talked, and thought, and dreamt empty dreams in those bullet casings.” The giant in the distance turned to face the vehicle, now identifiable as the Dreamer-formed monstrosity I had assumed it was. “And those dreams and thoughts point with unbridled resolution to one goal, unchangeable by opinion or times.”
Diero gawked at the two shiny new revolvers Renner handed him, which whimpered as they transferred owners. “If you’re going to wield power, why only go part way?”
The car zeroed in on the neck of its opponent, the giant roaring in reply to the two golden lights shining down on it. “If you’re going to fight, why only fight for yourself?”
Diero climbed onto the hood, finally fulfilling the dream of whirling iron as le lay down, spinning his two revolvers at furious speed. “If you’re going to live, why live for nothing?”
“Trachea time, car. Go, car…” Diero grinned as the car approached its target, his revolvers easily carving through the brittle Dreamers before the car smashed through the now-severed portions with the greatest of ease. The giant roared and fumed, while Diero let out a guttural cackle as the car turned around.
And then met the balled-up fist of the colossus, which customized it from a functional car form to a sad curve of sheet metal.
“TRACHEA CAR NOOO!!” Diero wailed, falling through the air in mock anguish at the horrendous loss. I must admit, trachea car was the best person I had ever met. I’ll miss him for certain.
“Wish we could use your actual flight again!” Renner grunted, having caught both myself and Diero and was now trying to hold us in each hand. What a silly little goober he could be sometimes.
“If you’re going to die…” Eilrach’s voice rumbled from Diero’s ribcage, as the deadsperado floated up into the air ominously. I saw his right eye begin glowing green as he stared down at Renner, who eventually nodded his consent for the situation. “…Why not die for something?”
The giant swung another fist, but this one fell into two halves onto the ground below, Diero’s flaming firearm spinning on his outstretched finger. Both guns began whirling. It was almost enough to distract Renner from me climbing up onto his shoulders.
The furious fiend opened its horrendous maw and concealed the deadsperado inside, but as my grin grew even wider, so did the giant’s, until it wrapped all the way around and the head fell completely off. Diero was absent for only a moment after, having carved down through the neck and diced up the torso.
The remaining Dreamers sprawled down into a pile below him, all hissing and clattering in fury. As if the timing had been planned, Zippy’s hologram glowed on the horizon once more, and his pre-recorded voice filled the air around me.
“Hi! This is a pre-recorded message in the event I’ve been cut off from the computer network. Whoopsie!” He chortled. “My backup systems will make sure all Dreamers still have an active connection, so please surrender yourself to the proper authorities and be ready for execution immediately. Have a good day!” The lights disappeared as quick as they had arrived.
“Where’s his backups?” Renner looked up at me with a grunt, as his armor adjusted to support his spine. “You want to do something useful,you help us take him offline right now.”
“Take me back to the room Monopoly broke into.” I clenched my teeth. “I’ve got some house cleaning to do.”
–
Ch 18
I fooled both you and Cordax, he he he ha
