Robin headed for the hatch entrance, climbing up the ladder and opening the hatch as he braced himself, trying to stand on the outer hull of the ship.
“Hold her steady, lad,” John said as Will eased on the yoke, gently inching towards the window to the room where Marion was being held captive. Robin leapt off the ship, crashing through the castle window and landing at Marion’s feet.
“Oh my God! Robin!” Marion exclaimed, rushing over to him and kissing him as she helped him to his feet.
“Go! Get on the ship! Get out of here!” Robin said and Marion shook her head.
“Robin he’s crazy! He’s full of rage! I won’t leave you!” Marion said but Robin looked angry as he ushered her towards the window.
“Marion go! Now!” Robin yelled and Marion made her way to the window, stepping out onto the hull of the ship and making her way to the open hatch.
Robin took his bow in his hands, loading it with an arrow. He fired at the door to the room, blasting it to pieces before stepping out into the corridor.
*****
Marion climbed into the cockpit between Will and John, ripping off her white gown and relaxing in her white singlet and white pants.
“Are you okay?” Will asked and Marion nodded.
“I’m fine! Robin can’t fight the sheriff alone! That’s insane! We have to go in after him,” Marion said and Will shook his head.
“Lady, we’ve got police fighters coming in hot and our men on the ground are boxed in. We cant go back,” Will replied, flipping some switches and turning her attention to the rear target system. There was indeed a team of triangular police fighters, followed by four flying police cruisers in pursuit. All of them were firing on The Alanna and the shields were almost gone.
“Our shields are at twenty percent. At this rate, they won’t hold much longer! If we lose those shields, those bastards will cook us like popcorn in tin foil,” John insisted and Will sighed.
“We’ll just have to outfly these bastards then, won’t we?” Will asked, pushing hard on the yoke and speeding upward, away from the castle and into the clouds, with the fighters and cruisers in hot pursuit.
Will navigated the ship through the clouds, the fighters speeding towards them, shooting at the ship with everything they have. The skies were full of streaming laser fire as Will performed a barrel roll, then pulling up on the yoke, he flipped the U-shaped vessel upwards, flipping around to face the incoming fighters.
“Are you crazy??” Marion asked and Will shrugged.
“Sometimes,” Will replied, opening fire and blasting one, then two, then three of the fighters, spinning the craft around and flying downward towards the towering metropolis of the city beneath.
*****
The castle corridors were dimly lit as Robin quietly stepped through, his bow held in his hands at the ready. There was a long staircase that led down to the below floors and with heavy heart, Robin slowly made his descent down the spiralling stairs.
Robin held his bow out in front of him as he stepped downward, looking left and right for signs of life, pausing briefly to listen for approaching footsteps. Satisfied there were none, Robin continued stepping down the steps, breathing calmly, his senses heightened.
He glanced upward, spying a camera, which he aimed at with his bow, firing quickly. The single shot hit the camera, causing a small explosion. He moved to the next camera, aiming and firing on it the same. Robin froze as a young maid ran past the bottom of the staircase and into a room down the corridor, not seeing him. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Robin began to creep down the corridor, careful not to attract any attention.
*****
Gilbert and Tuck had eliminated most of the soldiers at the front of the castle, but it had cost them Reynold's life. They took a breath, coming out of hiding as Gilbert fired arrows at what seemed to be the last of the robotic soldiers; the metal bodies of the fallen soldiers now strewn about on the ground surrounding the entrance to the castle.
“Are you okay?” Tuck asked Gilbert and Gilbert nodded, lowering his bow.
There was a metallic tapping coming from somewhere within the castle, multiple sounds actually as though something was walking or crawling towards them from deep within the blasted hole where the gate once was. Gilbert raised his bow again, squinting into the distance.
There were three of them... three sets of glowing red eyes, four eyes per creature. The giant mechanical creatures scampered out of the hole in the castle gate, eight, massive mechanical legs on each of them and each with huge mechanical mandibles. The metal spiders moved fast, scampering over the metal robot body parts, crushing them like they were aluminium foil.
“What the hell are they?” Tuck asked, sticking his head out from behind some trash cans.
“Spider droids. These foes are beyond us. RUN!” Gilbert yelled as he and Tuck took off running through the battle torn street, the giant metal spiders chasing them and firing red lasers out of each of their eyes.
Buildings exploded around them as Tuck and Gilbert leaped over fallen light posts and rubble, darting down the street as the laser blasts tore everything in their path apart, the red lasers disintegrating damaged vehicles and broken buildings. Debris and fire filled the air behind Tuck and Gilbert as they ran, not daring to look back. Gilbert led Tuck into an alley between two massive skyscrapers, removing a grapple gun from his belt and firing upward. He grabbed Tuck, allowing the rope to grapple them upward
