The Perseids escorted us into an elevator leading downwards. We had no way of escaping, because Alia held us at gunpoint. At the bottom was a pretty horrifying view.
To our left was Rill Gomana holding a barely conscious Einstein. To our right we saw Amber and Sebastian bound by ropes, unable to do anything with Dawn arriving to guard them. The scariest thing was in the middle.
There was a shallow pit filled with dirt and another egg in the middle. It looked just like those on the rockets. Above it, there was a claw dangling from the ceiling, holding Anthony. He was upside down and had to stop himself from throwing up, but he was alive.
- Hello there! - Dawn welcomed us as if nothing occured - Were you hoping to thwart us for a third time?
- Yes - Arika muttered, but nobody replied.
- Looks ike you won't be able to do it now - Dawn giggled.
- But we already did! The spores have been destroyed and nobody died - I added.
- Yes, but that was just to distract Lim and his Chinese dudes... - Dawn started - We've mixed up a new fluid and created an even deadlier bioweapon. It's really cool, believe me! You'll even see our patient zero interact with it! - she meant my dad.
I was stunned for a bit, but Arika came up with an idea.
- Why did you bother making a more powerful bioweapon behind Lim's back? Weren't you concerned over him noticing your actions? - she asked and I quickly understood her plan. She wanted to use Dawn's boasting to learn about the evil plan.
- Oh, while everyone was supposed to die in here, we'd run away with our new toy while the US is bombed by China, because we're letting that go. China will have no idea that we used them to create our deadly weapon and they won't be able to catch up for a while, giving Russia a bioweapon monopoly... - Dawn paused because she was suddenly interrupted by none other than Leonid.
- Be quiet! Can't you keep a secret?! - he asked and Dawn instantly went silent.
With Dawn being silenced, Leonid came closer to us, specifically eyeing up me. Saying that I was spooked would be a great understatement.
- Hey you, glasses guy...? Chris, was it...? - he started.
- Yes, I'm Chri...
- Okay, doesn't matter - Leonid growled - Because you came so far, I'll give you a choice: you can press the red button and nobody will die, besides your daddy of course. Or you can click the blue button and free Anthony, but we'll take the bomb - Leonid smiled, but it wasn't an ordinary grin. It was filled with evil and vengeance.
Would I sacrifice my father for the good of everybody? Even though he was gone for so long, I still love him, because he's simply my dad. He saved my life during this mission. Would I really kill him under pressure from the Perseids?
On the other hand, allowing our adversaries to keep the bomb could cause even more harm, because Russia would swiftly create an unbeatable arsenal of bioweapons that could cause mass destruction if unleashed. What a tough choice...
Thinking for a while, I knew that both options were horrible. I didn't want to kill my dad for a bomb. After all, the Perseids have the recipe for their new spores and can just recreate them on Earth given the tools, so the sacrifice would be pointless.
I decided to come up with a third option: dispose of the bomb while saving my dad.
- Made your choice? - Leonid was getting impatient.
- I know this is tough for you, but you have to make a decision - Arika sighed.
- I need a bit more time, I'll decide soon - I looked up, hoping to come up with something.
Instead of finding an answer, I found a vent. As it turned out, the vent was the answer.
Behind Dawn was a lever used to control the fan inside the vent. Sure, Dawn was there, but with a coordinated move, I could push her onto the lever and activate the fan, which would blow over the claw. Around the circular pit was a platform on which we stood and if the claw swings far enough, dad could be thrown onto the ground. With him landing behind Rill, he can knock the latter out and free Einstein. The adults would clobber Leonid while Arika and I deal with Dawn. In the end, everyone would be saved, because with the Perseids out of commision, there was nothing stopping us from disposing of the bomb or taking it over.
Staring into the distance caught Arika's attention, as she looked in the same directions as I did. At one point, she was determined to make me chose one thing over the other. In the next moment, she understood my concept and without announcing anything jumped into action.
With Leonid focusing on me, he wasn't really looking at Dawn or Arika, so he didn't expect the two to get into a fight. Because Dawn was certain about her group's victory, she wasn't prepared for a surprise attack She tried to fight back but was quickly knocked over by Arika, activating the fan.
Alia obviously opened fire and tried to hit Arika, but ended up nearly knocking me out in the process. Willing to live, I dodged her first pellets, because she had a laser blaster. Leonid soon joined in with his pistol and I would be dead if not for the fan.
As I predicted, the strong blow of wind made the claw swing. Dad's face was really turning green and his expression turned from begging for life to being surprised by our unorthodox moves.
The thing that I didn't take into account was that the claw can move in other directions that just back and forth. It started chaotically swinging, almost hitting me along the way. In the end, it ended up hitting Rill and knocking him out, which was only better for me. The strong hit also made the claw loosen its grip on Anthony, who was now able to grab the platform's edge with his hands.
Meanwhile, Arika put Dawn out of commision by rendering her unconscious and joined me on the quest to stop Leonid. He was still trying to get me, but when Anthony freed himself from the metal claw and got up, Leonid also tried to shoot him. He fortunately missed and Anthony helped Einstein, who was quickly freed. The two adults were now formidable opponents for Leonid, but he still continued.
A bullet whistled right in between the two adults, startling them for a bit. I realised that Leonid had the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone right now, so I stepped in.
While fighting the adults, Leonid pretty much forgot about the teens. With Dawn gone, Arika and I were able to free our allies and the five of us overpowered Leonid by ambushing him from behind. When Einstein and Anthony joined in, there was no way for Leonid to win.
Alia tried to save her boss, but Einstein was quick to knock the laser blaster out of her hand as soon as she approached our unit Claudius thn made sure that Alia will no longer be a threat by knocking her out as well. The Perseids were finally defeated and to make things better, they had no way of escape.
Our previous two missions ended with the Perseids fleeing, ready to strike again in a while, but this time around, we caught their leader, Leonid. Sure, it was likely that some members were still on the loose, but without a leading figure, chaos will ensue.
Arika and I high-fived each other in celebration of our success. Everyone was happy to be safe for once.
That was until we remembered about Lim Yazhu's plan.
Even though Dawn mentioned it, we were too focused on stopping the Perseids to be bothered by the rockets, which were probably ready to launch by now.
Our joy was replaced by stess again and we were quick to come back to the surface. The rockets were still in the craters, but it was unlikely for them to remain in those positions for much longer. The cable cars were nowhere to be seen, indicating that both Lim and the scientists left the biodome.
With the current situation, we also had to leave and face the Moon once more.
ns216.73.216.45da2
and then Add to home screen.