Lost
Chapter 9
"Hey Lore?"
"Yes Roy?"
"We should probably leave out the fact that we're fighting robotic monkeys when we get home."
"Perhaps, though it is rather entertaining. Such fantastic technology!" Lore replied, sliding skillfully out of the way of one of Otto's saw blades.
Roy clumsily parried one of Gibson's drills and chuckled. "Right, you've never been to Hennsha…" he started, trailing off at an intense mental presence trying to force its way into his mind. "We've got a psychic problem here Lore, do you think can handle a few monkeys for a bit?"
"Surely you're kidding. These aren't merely monkeys; they're fine specimens of technological achievement." Lore chided, grimacing as one of Gibson's bolds came well too close to his drum. "Rude little creatures though, do what you need to do." He added, ducking under Otto's saws before lunging forward, his club striking out with a sharp thud as it impacted the green monkey's stomach. The air pulsed for a second before Otto went rocketing across the living room into the wall.
Roy was only moderately aware of his surroundings, dancing mentally against an unseen force that was very well trained in probing minds. It wasn't violent, much to the contrary in fact, and that had Roy curious. So he tossed out a little bait in his usual sarcastic attitude, reaching out with his mind to speak telepathically.
"Pray tell you fantastic meddler of the mind, you wouldn't have happened to see an immortal around here, would you? About six foot three, blonde, blue eyes, controls sand? Oh and of course, he's just a little bit introspective-"
"I figured you were here looking for Ark. We don't have much time, he's not-" The meddling intent, clearly Antauri, responded.
"Look I'm rather aware that he's not here, so if you're going to blather about things I already know, I'll just get back to-" Roy trailed off, sensing a quick pulse of energy.
"Chiro Spearo!"
With that, the pulse was gone, and Lore dropped to his knee in time to get punched rather squarely in the face by a yellow monkey.
Roy growled audibly, his hands weaving magic as he muttered a spell. He spoke out with his mind to both the meddling presence and the boy who'd just arrived and was chattering like a chimp with the monkeys. "This is the part where I start frying brains."
Another pulse of energy and Roy flung his left arm forward, tendrils of blue mana streaking forth and piercing through each of those unlucky enough to be in the room, rendering them immediately unconscious, but otherwise uninjured. He knelt down to check on Lore, who was struggling to his feet, rather displeased at the large burn-mark on his tunic.
"You gonna be okay, vinewalker?"
"I don't appreciate that slang term for my people, Roy."
"Yeah, you'll be fine." Roy replied, helping the taller elf to his feet. "Well, you can talk to the animals fine enough, what were they chattering about?"
Lore brushed himself off, his gaze still occupied with his clothes. "There was a lot going on, and they're dialectually a little different than anything I encountered, so it took me most of the fight to understand. They were going on about not having time for a fight. The red one kept saying that he knew trouble would come in 'his' wake. I don't think it's that infeasible to think he meant Ark." The elf explained, his hand glowing green as his tunic re-wove itself, the fibers springing to life long enough to grow before dying again.
Roy sighed in response. He hated having to tediously peel apart people's memories to find the right information, and with this many people involved, he was looking at a good day or so of searching. He felt that probing presence on the edge of his mind again, and sighed. "You can come out now, there's nothing to be gained by hiding anyway." He drawled, whipping his brow before sitting down on a nearby couch in time for a silver monkey to make its way into the room. "I'm a little worn out from that last spell, so Lore, if you don't mind…"
Lore politely waved Roy off and bowed respectfully to the silver animal before him, speaking in animal-tongue but maintaining his polite attitude. "Terribly sorry to intrude, but Roy is a tad impatient. We're looking for a friend of ours, something rather pressing has come up back home and it is crucial that we find him as quickly as possible." The elf politely explained, receiving a hurried response from the monkey.
"I was trying to tell your friend that I know why you're here. We were getting ready to go rescue Ark. I'm sure you're much more familiar with his animal side than we are, but it seems he's losing a battle with the beast within him. Furthermore, he's in the clutches of the Skeleton King, the embodiment of evil in our galaxy." Antauri explained.
Lore visibly paled. "That is most unfortunate. Rouse your friends, wise one, while I converse with Roy. Your skills are formidable, but you will need help if Ark is left to fight off his personal demons." He explained, eliciting a nod from Antauri. Lore looked at Roy with a serious face, and no words were exchanged. Roy knew what was wrong immediately.
"I'll fetch Stephen then. Help get these critters ready to fight, I shouldn't be more than a few minutes." Roy explained aloud, looking past Lore with a sigh. "Never mind."
Stephen's iridescent mask was peering around a nearby corner, before he stepped out into the open with a soft chuckle emanating from the speakers mounted in his helmet. "Sorry, old byproduct of my programming sir, I can't help but investigate such foreign technology." Stephen explained in his soft voice, lowering his head slightly in apology. Though human in spirit, nothing was left of Stephen Oak's body, long ago destroyed against his will to make him the perfect weapon. Now instead of hunting mages like Lore and Roy, he was one of their most powerful allies. Sleek and stealthy with an unrivaled ability to kill and a penchant for communicating with electronics, he was truly a force to be reckoned with.
Antauri spoke with his mind to all three, but Stephen was impervious and merely observed the room curiously, his sensors absorbing every bit of information he could gather. He hummed lightly to himself, reaching out to touch the wall as Antauri spoke. "I am Antauri, and we are the Hyperforce, the protectors of Shuggazoom city and this galaxy. We are a little on edge, and some of us are untrusting of things we do not understand." He explained, motioning to Sprx who was sitting up and groaning. "I cannot reach your friend, is he-"
"A robot? Indeed. His electronics probably rival your own." Roy responded in his mind, as lore spoke aloud.
"We need to get this metal giant back into fighting condition then." He explained. Much to everyone's surprise, Stephen spoke up, turning his head towards them while he deftly opened a wall panel to grab at some circuitry.
"Primate dialects are very easy to understand, and even though I am hardly a real person at this point, I rather dislike being ignored in conversation." He replied in perfect mimicry of the way Lore spoke in the monkey's language. "Your mech is rather talkative and has quite a personality despite its bland name. If you would kindly get injuries to sick bay, I can help augment the repair equipment to speed up the process." Stephen explained, recovering the wall panel and striding past lore to help Chiro to his feet. "My sensors indicate you are uninjured, sir. If you would kindly help your green friend, Otto if I recall, to the repair bay I'll fix him up immediately."
Lore looked at Roy incredulously. "I didn't know he could do that."
Roy replied with his mind. "Stephen rarely disappoints when it comes to surprises. Now then, shall we get introductions out of the way now so we can get underway? I dread leaving the girls in charge back home…"
