Oncie's head pulsed with a dull repetitive throb. He shifted, gripping at his hair to make it stop, but was puzzled when he felt silk sheets slide across his arm. Had he been dreaming?
He opened his eyes, dizzy as the room slowly came into focus and shapes and colors began to affirm their identities.
A warm spot of oil dripped onto his lap, and Oncie slowly lifted his head in horror.
No. He was awake.
A tall figure stood confidently outside; hands gripping the balcony as if looking out onto his kingdom. "Gree-" Oncie began, the covers sliding off of him when the floor suddenly pitched back and slammed him roughly against the wall. Oncie glanced about in panic, scratching at the loose sheets when the ground shifted again and sent him tumbling off against a grated window. He clung to the bars, watching in terror as the hills fell away, feeling the heavy sensation of being pushed up and into the burning red sky that glowed from the setting sun.
They were moving... he trembled, looking over at Greed whose shoulders were shaking like he was giggling. Oh, god... The factory was actually moving...
Oncie crawled on his knees to reach the door, using its frame to stand up and stare out at his friend.
"Are you proud of me now, mom and dad!" Greed cried, spreading his arms out wide to the bloody sky. His high-pitched maniacal laughter cackled out over the noise of the creaking machinery; the sound of it sending chills down Oncie's spine.
"Greed!" he shouted, desperate to snap the man out of whatever trance he was in. Far down below, the spots of a few straggling barbaloots ran desperately away from the spinning razors of the factory's gnarled feet. Oncie cringed and looked away when the claw finally overtook them.
"Isn't it wonderful, Oncie?" Greed grinned, whirling around to face him with eyes afire like the green pits of hell. "We never have to stop! Every time some place runs out of trees we can just walk the whole factory somewhere else!"
He laughed and danced his fingers across the rusted railing as if it was a tiny ballerina, then copied the dance himself, adding a graceful leap and landing it flawlessly even though the floor lurched again.
"Y-you're mad!" Oncie screamed, holding onto the door for his dear life.
"Ah, ah! But that's not all! Once we run out of trees to harvest, we just keep expanding! We'll never have to worry about going under again! We can skin the swans, the birds, people-"
"People?" Oncie nearly lost his grip in shock. "You'd make thneeds out of people?"
Greedler laughed as he strode elegantly across the listing floor in perfect balance, grinning as he cupped Oncie's horrified face. The ethereal green smoke billowed out from his stare like smoke from a chimney stack and Oncie strained to pull himself away, afraid of what the ghostly poison would do if it touched his skin.
"Oh, don't you worry, my dear," he beamed, eyes shining with demented affection into bright blue fear. "I would never let the machines hurt you...You're special." He tapped Oncie's nose like an affectionate mother.
The musician's eyes welled with tears. "I... I have to stop this... I have to stop you..."
Greed only smiled kindly in reply, oblivious of Oncie's distress. He let him slip effortlessly from his hands and watched as he ran away into the heart of the walking machine.
He began to laugh again and the metallic monster hummed and sang along with the industrialist; its churning gears and blades consuming all that was below.
Oncie nearly fell down the twisting staircase as he ran; desperate to make it back to the office. He finally stumbled when the floor tilted drastically to the left, making him trip on his own feet and slam his head against the massive door. Dizzy and head throbbing, he struggled to stand, staggering inside as the building started to tip to the right.
Realizing that the floor was beginning to slide out from under him, Oncie clambered as fast as he could over to Greedler's massive desk; his hand just managing to grasp the side of the bolted table as he lost his footing and the floor turned into the wall.
Decorations and plants spilled and tumbled past, shattering one of the large French windows now residing under his feet and sending glass and junk to the distant ground below.
Oncie's arms burned, but he pulled himself up; panting as he stretched into the hollow of the desk where Greed had always put his feet. His hand found the familiar grip of the handle to his old axe; the tool having been long hidden right under the industrialist's nose just in case things ever went as horribly wrong as they had now. It was a miracle that the thing hadn't tumbled out with everything else.
The floor leveled itself suddenly, the shift sending a massive crack up through the side of the papered wall and throwing the musician back onto the floor. Oncie took advantage of the moment to run back down toward the relative safety of the hallway, only hesitating when he came back to the spiral stairwell.
A large shuddering rumble let loose some plaster to crumble onto his vest, but the building hadn't been the reason for his pause.
...Up or down? Oncie tilted the axe's blade to look into his own frightened reflection, seeing the water shining in his eyes.
He took a deep breath to gather his courage and gripped the handle tighter as he made his decision.
The furnaces roared below from mechanical lungs, breathing with each lumbering stride. A thin silhouette rushed past the fire and down towards its heart, shielding his tear-filled eyes as the pipes cried and strained. Occasionally one broke under the stress, gushing out hot oil or steam onto whirling gears and pistons that paid no mind.
At last, the young man reached the core.
Staring up into a clockwork heart, he sniffed as he readied his axe. Steam billowed and coiled from the vents where filthy water ran through tubes to cool the massive engine. He lifted the small tool and swung as hard as he could, denting a brightly marked panel. Sparks and steam exploded, and the machine screamed with pain. He raised the blade again, the hot steam hurting his face.
I'm sorry.
WHACK.
You did this for us.
CRACK.
The damaged sheet of steel fell away, exposing a bundle of cords that crackled and glowed with life. Finally he could see its electric soul. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoisted up the tool for the final time.
Iron connected to the wiring, and a massive firework of energy splintered out in the dark, knocking Oncie back as it spread up the walls like a spider's web.
He slammed against the metal wall like a fabric doll; impact to his skull knocking him out cold as the metal creature seized up and began to collapse around him.