ALTERNATE MACHINOS

Chapter XXVI: "Discovered"

"I don't believe this," Matthew sighed, slicking his hair back as he climbed out of the creek waters. It was now early evening, and, after getting as far away from the smoldering courthouse as possible—he figured that with Judge Roy gone and nearly every citizen in town burnt to ashes, there wasn't much left that they could do except wish the dead a peaceful afterlife and head back out to where they were going before—namely, Pachyderm Range. On the way, however, they had stopped to rest at the creek, so that they could relax for a while before starting off again.

"I just don't believe this," he repeated, shaking his head as he sat down on a nearby boulder. "We leave town for a few hours and the next thing we know, the entire courthouse has been burnt to the ground, along with the citizens of the town that we knew so well…" He sighed, then continued, looking at the others—Inez and Paradox were seated next to each other on the ground, as were Jackie, Digit, and Codebird, and Matt, Zeny, and Jacqueline were down by the creek, possibly fishing—with a solemn gaze, "It's no use. Wherever we go, whatever we do, he's sure to follow us, every step of the way. It doesn't matter to him how many people or things he burns, kills, gores, or destroys; he'll stop at nothing to have us. And we can no longer take that risk." He paused. "The Reverend was one of my finest friends, and for that I have made my decision. We will rely on ourselves for refuge only. I can't take much more of this…not after what happened again…" He leaned against a nearby tree, his arms crossed.

Jacqueline came up from the river, then, followed by Matt and Zeny, who were looking rather pleased with themselves despite what had happened earlier that day. Triumphantly, she looked at Matthew and held up her hand. Clenched in her fist, rather tightly, were four or five newly made arrows, their tips sharp and pointed, almost glistening in the late afternoon sun. Matthew looked at her in both puzzlement and confusion; he thought that Jacqueline couldn't have had the chance to retrieve her arrows. The last one he knew of was embedded in Saton's paw, and only heaven knew where he was now.

He didn't need to think it over, though; Jacqueline explained it for him. "I decided upon making some new ones in case we ever need them," she told him, removing her quiver from her back and stuffing the arrows into it before slinging it back over. "Matt and Zeny went hunting for materials with me…we found some tough reeds near the edge of the creek that would serve as a perfect substitute for straight wood, and some stones at the bottom of the creek. They needed a little sharpening, of course, but afterwards we had a new set of arrows." She grinned and crossed her arms. "Just let him try poking around this area; I'll shoot him another blind spot!"

The others seemed rather impressed with Jacqueline's triumph, except for Jackie, of course, who had seen first-hand what exactly happened when Jacqueline possessed arrows, both for hunting and defense. She didn't comment this time, of course; she merely smiled and nodded as the girl turned around, then removed her quiver again and dove into the creek water, to cool off after working.

As Matthew became restless and began pacing around, every now and then scanning the treetops, and Zeny and Jackie became absorbed in a conversation, while Codebird and Digit decided upon playing a game of tic-tac-toe in the dust, Paradox, who was still sitting next to Inez at the time, shimmied closer to her, then brought his hand to her ear and whispered, rather softly:

"Inez, could I talk to you alone for a moment?"

Inez was taken aback at first, and she jumped slightly, but turned to look at the robot anyway, who still had that timid and loving expression on his face that he always gave her. Inez had grown used to this gaze by now; it didn't bother her nearly as much as when he had gazed at her like that the first time. She calmly spoke.

"Yes, Paradox, I have a moment. What do you want to talk to me about, though?"

Paradox blushed. "You'll find out later," he told her timidly, then he rose to his feet. "We need to go further off, though, Inez…I don't want anyone to overhear what I'm trying to tell you right now."

Inez looked rather uneasy by this, but she decided that Paradox would not harm her in any way; he was too timid upon doing so. She nodded, then quickly rose to her feet next to him, as he smiled shyly at her, then began heading off toward a nearby grove of trees, beckoning for her to come with. She obeyed, of course, and they walked for several moments, until they were standing in some sort of small, dark clearing. The trees weren't very high here, being pine, but it was shadowed enough to hide anyone from view. Paradox slowed to a stop in the center, while Inez stopped after him. He then turned to look at her, placing his hands behind his back as he did so.

"So?" Inez asked, crossing her arms. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Paradox was silent for a few moments, then he finally sighed and said, "Inez, about what I said a few nights ago at Heaven's Lake…I didn't think that you were getting the idea that you thought I really meant it. But…but I do. And now that no one's around to clog the words in my throat, I want to say it now, before anything comes between me and what I say again." He then took her hand in his and said, kneeling down like a gentleman, "Inez, I love you…" He shuddered for a moment as if his words had been just like a quick stab in-between his shoulders, then finally said, "There…I—I said it. I hope you're not too angered with me…"

Inez was taken aback yet again for a few moments, and for several seconds all that she could do was stare ahead of her. Finally she looked back at him, as he slowly rose to his feet, and said, still sounding rather far off, "Paradox, I didn't think you…"

"I know," he sighed; then he released her hand and said, gently placing it on her shoulder, "But I just don't…you see…I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't think that you found my approach very comfortable, did you?" He looked at her like a puppy does when it's done something wrong. She sighed, then, deciding that the robot should at least get a bit of what he had wanted all this time—she just couldn't leave him like this while she told him—slowly extended her hand and placed it on his shoulder. She then slowly drew herself closer to him, taking care not to get too close all at once.

"I understand what's going on," she told him, gently embracing him, "and I knew all this time…since that time after the Felinus house was destroyed. But, Paradox…it is not going to work at all. You're too old, I'm too young, and…well, it's just not right. Besides, I'll probably be getting back to my own dimension fairly soon, and I don't want you to miss me to the point where you don't even want to live anymore. I probably will never return, if anyone can help it."

Paradox was silent for a moment, then he finally said, sounding rather disappointed, "I understand. I figured that you wouldn't want anything to do with me…" He emitted a small sound that Inez could clearly tell was a sob. "But I just wanted to do one last thing, before we put all of this behind…"

"What may that be?" Inez asked, looking at him in puzzlement.

Paradox smiled despite his sadness. "This," he said quietly, before he removed her hands from his shoulders, took them in his, and locked his lips with hers. Inez let out a small choking gasp before finally looking at him, then returning the kiss, closing her eyes as she did so. Paradox then put his arms around her, she did the same, before the two finally pulled away. Inez clearly looked shocked, while Paradox had a look of both happiness and relief on his face. It was one of the only times she had ever seen him smile and actually mean it.

After a time of looking at each other, Inez was about to open her mouth to make the suggestion that they get back to the camp, now that their main problem was taken care of between them, but before she could do so both she and Paradox heard a whirring noise, then the sound of something striking another object with great force. Sensing that there was someone else in this area besides them, she quickly closed her mouth, then jumped into a nearby patch of brush, dragging Paradox along with her.

She managed to successfully hide herself, along with the robot, just as two iron-gray horses galloped into view, halting to a stop near the spot where she had heard the noise. Looking over, she could now see that it was an arrow, a brand new one, brilliantly painted along the edges, and it was stuck tightly into a nearby tree. She shifted her gaze to the horses, in time to see that the riders stationed on top were none other than the remaining Dark Riders of Machinos's party. She shivered at the sight of them, but kept quiet and remained still.

She watched as one of the Riders steered his horse over to the nearby tree, then reached down to the point where the arrow was and worked it out of the bark. He then blew the excess sawdust from it before returning it to the quiver strapped across his back. The other Rider then stopped beside him and hissed, in a low voice, "Did you find where it hit?"

The other Rider nodded. "It was stuck in a pine tree," he replied, then he sighed and shook his head. "I should've aimed for the water, it's not too far from here. That tree is going to die fairly soon, I'll bet."

"Odd that Machinos would make us fight with arrows. I'm not quite used to that…I've never shot an arrow before in my life, to be honest. I've only fought with the sword and the rifle that I possess. This is just awkward. Arrows aren't very effective in the offender, anyway."

"Stop your complaining. The master always knows what he's doing, and he clearly said earlier that we were to fashion arrows so that we could fight 'fire with fire'. And we know very well that that Jacqueline girl can fire arrows like a professional archer."

"Yes, but at least with a sword we'd be able to slice a few of their limbs off—"

"I told you to stop complaining. Something must've gone to your head, because you apparently don't remember what these arrows are made of that clearly sets them apart from your average arrow."

"And what may that be?"

"In case you haven't recalled what we did to make these before, the tip is coated with the venom of the black-gold creek adder. That type of venom can drop a full-grown elephant in half a minute if used correctly. The poison overtakes the body like a river…there's no stopping it once it enters. And after several minutes of suffering…bam. You're dead as a doornail."

"So we're apparently going to give the Freedom Fighters the death that they deserve."

The other Rider nodded, as a grin broke out on his face. "Along with their 'twins'."

At this remark the two broke out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, and they were still howling among themselves as they turned around and headed back toward the place where the Machinos party had set up their camp, obviously. As soon as they were gone, Inez leapt out of the brush, with Paradox following slowly behind her, looking rather frightened and confused; every muscle in the girl's body was tensing in fear.

"Oh God," she said, her voice quaking in fear. "I have to warn the others before it's too late…they'll probably start off in a few moments." She took a few breaths, then turned back to Paradox and said, "Come on, we have to head back before Machinos decides to come after us."

Paradox whimpered, apparently he was just as frightened as she was, then the two broke off into a run, heading back in the direction that they had come from. They got out of the trees just in time to see Digit and Codebird, who had given up their game of tic-tac-toe (mostly because of the fact that Codebird was a bit of a sore loser) and were now just flying down from the overhead sky. They, too, looked rather frightened, and Inez could easily guess why.

"Inez, did you see—" Digit began, pointing up toward the sky, but Inez quickly cut him off before he could finish.

"Yes," she said, "I did see. And we have to leave camp at once because of it." She looked around. "Did you warn Matthew or any of the others of the approaching danger yet?"

Digit nodded. "I told Matthew, and he's getting Skyrider ready. He said that we're going to set off for an old abandoned farmhouse near Pachyderm Range, and hide there until it's safe."

Inez looked rather confused, not to mention wondering how in cyberspace Matthew seemed to know where everything was. "Abandoned farmhouse?"

Digit nodded. "He was telling me about it before he went to get Skyrider from her post. He said that they had helped an old couple escape from Machinos a few years ago, but before they could get back to their living quarters they were slaughtered by a pair of Machinos's Blind Trackers." He shuddered at what he had just said. "However, they left the farmhouse intact for some reason or another. It's right at the edge of the woodlands, near that bend in the creek. Not too far, I don't think…"

Inez didn't reply but nodded, just as Matthew came over from past the creek with the horse. Jacqueline and Zeny mounted her at once, taking their places behind Matthew, while Matt and Jackie climbed on after them. Inez and Paradox quickly ran over and got on, not wasting any time, while Digit and Codebird made the decision to fly overhead and track the party's locations. Matthew, refusing to look behind him, snapped the reins, then galloped off.

The sudden galloping noise, however, managed to catch the attention of the two Riders, who had left the clearing and were now a few yards from the Machinos camp. Upon hearing the horse, however, they both stopped, then listened for a few moments before turning their positions around, back in the direction that they had come from.

The General, who had just mounted his horse to go scouting for intruders, was the first to notice their sudden change of direction. Looking toward them, he called out, "Ay! Just where do ya think 'dat you're going?"

Upon hearing his voice both Riders turned back to look at him. "We're going back to the clearing," the first one informed him. "We heard the sound of a horse not too far from here, and considering the fact that Pachyderm Range is an unpopulated area something's up. We're going back to investigate."

"Look, 'dat gives ya no reason to do something like 'dat. It was probably just a wild—"

"We're going back to investigate because it may be the Freedom Fighters, General. Why else would we try to disobey your commands? Surely not because of anything else, my liege."

The General stared at them blankly for a few moments, as if in a trance, then he finally said, "You'd best take me with yas…if it's 'da Freedom Fighters I doubt 'dat we'll get a chance 'dis good." He mounted his horse, then turned it around toward the spot where Machinos was stationed. "I'll inform Machinos…you try to find 'dem, and we'll set out after yas fairly soon."

The two Riders nodded, then they turned back to the trees and, digging into their horses' sides, snapped their reins. The steeds reared up, then charged off into the grove, while the General turned around to go and inform Machinos of what had been heard.

While the kids and their alternates continued to ride Skyrider along the forest path, Digit and Codebird flew overhead, directly above them, to track the party's movements. So far they could see nothing, but they knew that that was not in the least bit true, and thus continued to stare down. Finally, just as they were nearing the end of the woodlands, Codebird managed to spot something below him: a group of four small, dark shapes, moving in a pattern similar to that of the Freedom Fighters'. It didn't take a wild guess to know who those figures were.

"Wuh-oh," Codebird muttered to himself; he then swooped up beside Digit and muttered to him, his teeth clenched nervously, "Digit…the Machinos party managed to find the trail left by Skyrider. They're dangerously close to the farmhouse, now."

Digit looked at him, his eyes rather wide. "What? How? I didn't think that Skyrider left footprints of any kind."

"I know, but the ground around these areas is soft, unfortunately," Codebird told him, biting his lower lip before continuing. "I figured that out while we were playing our game. They can easily follow Skyrider's hoof-prints this way. It's too late to do anything now, I'm afraid."

Digit looked unable to believe it for a few moments, then he finally sighed and nodded his head, looking rather defeated. "I suppose you're right. The only thing we can do now is keep out of sight and hope that the army rides past that particular area."

"Hope so," Codebird agreed; then, upon seeing the kids and their alternates, Skyrider included, enter a small, rickety old building below them—namely, the farmhouse—the two hastily prepared to land, trying to keep out of sight while doing so; before they swiftly planted themselves on the grass next to the door they had seen that the Machinos army was only about a kilometer or so away; they would be here any moment, it seemed.

Refusing to falter due to this knowledge, they quickly opened the door, then rushed in, with Digit slamming the door quickly behind him, nearly breaking it off of its hinges due to its age. Shuddering at the noise, he slowly got down—there were windows in this building, naturally—and crawled across the floor, where he found the others already hunkered down. Matthew was looking up toward the window nervously, as if half-expecting the party to all of a sudden bust through the glass, and Zeny and Jacqueline were both keeping Skyrider flat against the ground, although the horse sensed the danger and was more than happy upon doing so.

Stopping next to him, both birds flattened against the ground, leaving their ears pressed against the floorboards. Due to the fact that one always seems to hear sounds magnified when against the ground, they naturally heard the sound of clopping hooves approaching, rather loudly, then the sound finally halted; Digit guessed that they had stopped in front of the farmhouse. He then heard their voices, first the Rider's:

"They went this way…I just know it, Machinos…but I don't see them. Considering how far away that they were when we started off, and considering the fact that their horse can't run very fast after the Tracker attack—"

Digit was about to ponder to himself on how the Rider knew this, but before he could have the chance to think in profound silence Machinos spoke up, sounding just as dull and dead as always:

"I know very well of the Tracker attack, thank you, and I don't think that they could have made it past the range in the time it took us to arrive here. Not only is their horse slower than usual, but the range is over two miles long. It would've taken them at least twenty minutes to get safely across, not to mention manage to hide themselves from view…"

"Where do you suggest that they went, then?"

Machinos paused for a moment before speaking. "You forgot the fact, my comrade, that we are standing directly in front of an old farmhouse. Owned once by that old couple, I do believe…" Digit heard him chortle to himself before he continued, "They may have been able to seek refuge in there, but we cannot be entirely sure. Their horse may have managed the trip across quicker than we have calculated."

"Do you suggest that we search inside the farmhouse?"

Digit and all the others, he could tell, froze at this remark, including Skyrider, but Machinos calmly responded, "That may kindly be an option, but first we must search the outer grounds before we do an inner search…however, your suggestion is probably the most reasonable to start with."

Digit heard Matthew utter a quiet whimper, a noise of defeat, before looking over toward the doorway. They heard the sound of footsteps, then the soft sound of fingers against a wooden surface. Matthew's heart pounded rapidly, and his breathing became slow and unsteady, but he refused to move from his position. There was hope, even though the chances seemed slim.

After the scraping, they then heard the sound of a doorknob turning, and all of them froze in place once more, defeated looks on their faces. However, right when the doorknob was halfway through, it suddenly stopped, then clicked back into place. They then heard the sounds of muffled talking from behind the door, both the General's and Machinos's:

"Sire, what are you stopping for? Surely you can open a door without thought or hesitation?"

"I know, General, but something about this entrance doesn't seem right…" There was a pause before continuing, "This door…it's too memorable…and something about it makes me rather uncomfortable upon entry. But I do know that there is only one other option in this case."

At this Matthew relaxed, thinking that this 'other option' was to leave the farmhouse to be and start off across the range, where they would take a separate path alongside the range itself. They would then backtrack the party to another location, and start off for another landmark in an attempt to find the portal. Yes, everything was all planned out for him, so it appeared…

That is, if Machinos wasn't planning on saying something else other than the answer that he was expecting, which was, unfortunately, an answer that made him stiffen yet again:

"The door cannot be entered normally, not by my standards, either way. I know that they're here; I can sense their presence." There was a pause while Matthew began gasping for breath out of fright.

"General, break it down, if you would be so kind."