Jemorille: The worst part about cliffhangers is, reaching the summit of a cliff often reveals an even steeper one ahead.
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Chapter 56
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Knockin' on Heaven's Door
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Antisthenes still held Red Feather in his grasp. Her neck was bent at an impossible angle, and blood trickled from the edges of her mouth.
She was dead.
Still, Antisthenes looked at her closely, and while it was impossible to interpret its expression - seeing as its featureless face had none - it was deep in thought.
Behind him Eden stared her face utterly white, her brain trying to wrap itself around the lifeless glassy stare in Red Feather's eyes. "You monster…" she whispered.
The platonic turned its head slightly. "Monster?" it asked. "A monster to one can be a savior to another. The Tier sentenced the god they worshipped to eternal imprisonment in the temple they had built, and you, their descendant, still admire them. Would that god not see its subjects as monsters."
It turned back to its victim, with a golden aura covering its free hand. "A monster can only destroy. Those who are more civilized can also repair."
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Imagine if you can, being strangled. Vainly struggling to breathe as a crushing grip on your neck as everything around you turns red, the one thing you can see clearly being the face directing the grip. Your mind sheds any semblance of rational thought as the sheer animal instinct to survive at any cost kicks in. You flail you scratch, you try and muster enough oxygen to scream even though all that comes out is a wretched gagging sound.
Then there's a cracking noise, and it all goes black, plunging you into incredible uncanny cold and darkness. Your heart stopping, and the warmth that sustained you leaving, plunging you into a cold void. It's like some fiend had taken your clothing and threw you outside in a blizzard, leaving you to freeze to death. Except you're already dead.
Now try to imagine as somehow, the blood within you started to flow again, the warmth in your veins returning and pulling you from the void.
You were helpless, terrified, and freezing a minute ago, but now someone has given you a blanket and made a fire. You're still helpless, but a generous stranger has offered help. You won't freeze. You'll live.
Problem is, as you now realize, the savior offering you warmth is the same fiend who left you to freeze.
If you can imagine that, then you might have an inkling of how Red Feather felt when she opened her eyes.
"Wh…" she stammered. "Why?"
The platonic hadn't released her yet, even if its grip was slightly relaxed. "Your colleges and employer must realize the futility of opposing me," it finally said. "Hopefully, this message will suffice."
It let go, and she fell to the floor with a thud. Then it turned to the PC on the desk. With one blink - or at least it seemed like a blink - the whole console burst.
Then Antisthenes itself faded away, the four wisps of green smoke covering the Memory Crystals - or rather, the now-empty pedestals where they had been - blown out.
Eden, who had witnessed the entire scene, collapsed.
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Nightmares raged through Eden's mind. In the centuries she had lived, she had stood up to the most horrific abominations from beyond Shadow, and an iron will tempered by some of the greatest minds in history had sustained her determination and willpower when it had worn the thinnest.
Again and again she had challenged dark temples with fanatical cultists to access their demonic relics, explored forbidden libraries with undead guardians, bravely walking past gates decorated with the corpses of those who had come before, her quest for answers met with monsters intent on cutting it short.
Now, all those monsters were assaulting her, their threats to tear her apart far more terrifying than they were the first time. She fled from them as shadow claws grasped from behind, until…
"Eden? Eden!" shouted a voice.
"M… Mr. Stormbringer?"
Her eyes opened, her vision blurry at first, and she saw the Leader of the Shadowchasers there. "It's okay, Eden. it's okay."
Unfortunately, the weapon he now had strapped to his back wasn't all-too convincing. It seemed he had felt the need to arm himself with that enchanted assault rifle that other Shadowchasers were so fond of talking about.
"Red Feather, is she..." started Eden. She looked around, seeing that she was in the infirmary. Usually places like this were safe and clean, but when an accident or brawl made such a place crowded by patients, the incident tended to stand out more.
"Actually, Eden," said Tony, who was next to Jalal, "Red Feather seems in better condition now than anyone here. Physically, at least." He handed a clipboard to Jalal as he continued talking. "Her blood pressure, cholesterol level, and heart rate are now perfect for an elf her age."
"And everyone else?" asked Jalal.
"Hank has a mild concussion," said Tony. "Dolores twisted her ankle trying to run from it and I don't blame her." He nodded over to where Fanciullo and his henchmen were. "Mr. Tormento has a broken arm, but I think he was half beaten up before he came in. Other than that, it's mostly a lot of scratches and bruises. Everyone was very lucky."
"This wasn't luck, Tony, he was pulling his punches."
Eden turned and saw Red Feather on the other side of the room, sitting upright and hugging her knees while a nurse tried to comfort her. Her eyes met Eden's and she tried to give some semblance of a smile, but Eden saw how shaken she was from the experience. The message Antisthenes had wanted to leave was pretty clear: "She'd be dead if I wanted her dead; I could come here and kill anyone at any time."
"The more pressing problem is, Jalal," continued Tony, "it seems everyone here now has an upgraded strain of the nano infection."
"Upgraded?"
"The Balance of Elements system I used before isn't working at all now. Something is different."
Eden craned her neck to look at his Duel Disk, which now held the cards Fire Sorcerer, Cure Mermaid, Zolga, Silent Wobby, and Fire Princess, in that order left to right. "He clearly upgraded the program and created a superior version of the earlier model of nanomachines. He may have even used the information that Karl had accessed!"
"Yeah, we were in the middle of a download," grumbled a voice. Jalal turned around noting it was Karl. "And then SAL said…. Oh brother, SAL!"
Before anyone could stop him, he leapt up and charged out of the room.
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Naturally, the R&D building had been cordoned off with tape, but that was hardly enough to stop Karl. Jalal and Eden could barely keep up with him.
"What happened to her anyway?" asked Eden.
Karl opened the door and made a beeline for a trash can in the corner that had been turned upside-down. He quickly lifted it and recovered the glove amid a pile of discarded paper and the remains of a take-out order from Wimpy's.
"You threw her in the trash?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"Only thing I could think of at the moment." He slipped the glove on his hand. "SAL, you okay?"
"Aside from my mortally wounded pride, I'm fit as a fiddle," she replied, the sarcasm obvious. "I was able to download up to the point where my connection was forcibly severed."
"As in, by the computer blown to pieces," said Jalal with a nod. "Did you manage to get anything?"
"Belle's plan was a rather bold endeavor. She was trying to transmit a guidebook detailing Antisthenes' plan with every aspect and every weak point emphasized, as if to serve as a guidebook to anyone who would fight him. It was an extraordinary amount of information, and I believe I only downloaded two percent, at most."
"Did you manage to find anything about the nanomachines?"
"Unfortunately, not on the nanites themselves," replied SAL, the admission nearly - but not quite - shattering the small hope spot they had gained a minute ago.
"The most complete file I downloaded was this interesting factoid about the gemstone system he uses."
Her holographic screen came up, and odd diagrams with colored stones appeared alongside tests, with magical sigils interspersed among them. "Getting a sense of deja vu here," said Eden. "This is the system he uses to influence the nanites remotely."
Sofia, Dram, and Philip walked in behind them as they pursued over it. SAL went on. "This seems to be a blueprint for a hedge incantation that would upgrade the gemstones further."
"Just what he needed, an even more secure way of controlling people," sighed Karl.
"No, these incantations are for wild mages," added Eden. "If this was an upgrade, he wouldn't have approved…." Then she let out a small squeal of shock and glee.
"This is a recipe to alter the gems the same way Karen did to escape! Karen's idea was almost a crude prototype of it!"
"I don't get the connection," added Philip.
"Karen realized that if a gem could be enhanced by another, it could also be hindered by the odd one. Say, they use a Water stone to strengthen a Wind stone, and then use the Wind stone to impair Earth. If the Water stone was replaced by a Fire one, the Wind stone is hindered, and the victim is shielded."
She stopped, doing the system over in her mind again. "Yeah, that makes sense…"
"I see what she's saying," added SAL. "If these formulae were applied to, say, a gemstone attuned to Fire, it could protect the Earth infectee in a way akin to the Lesser Relics."
There were some looks of confusion, but Jalal intervened. "This was a conjecture of sorts by a member of the Athar who claimed that if a mortal ascended to godlike power, that power could be taken away by exploiting a link to his mortal self. Belongings he owned in his mortal life that were left behind could be enchanted into 'Lesser Relics', or 'man-made artifacts'. In theory, simply holding a 'Lesser Relic' would render a mortal invisible to its original owner, and impervious to any attacks via direct power from that entity. So long as he never relinquished it, he would be in no danger of being smote. And it might have worked.".
"Might?" asked Dram.
"Well, he tried this with something he discovered that belonged to, well…" He stopped for a minute before saying it, "...Vecna."
Everyone in the room shivered. Vecna was not someone you wanted to mess with. Ever.
"From what could be discerned, it worked, as it seemed he was able to enter Caviticus itself and get away with a spell book before he was discovered. Unfortunately, it seemed Vecna was able to strike indirectly, sending a golem and an army of skeletons to make him give it back."
All this time, Eden and Dram had been reading while SAL scrolled down. "Well, this is similar," said Dram. "If this were to work, a gem with such an enchantment would make anyone with Antisthenes' specific design of nanomachines impervious to the divine and supernatural powers of a rogue platonic. They would even be impervious to any attempts by such beings to detect via scrying, telepathy, or other magical senses. The very specific nature of this ward is done to make such an enchantment easy to craft. Problem is, we'd need the Elysium crystals to craft them."
The small hope spot nearly shattered again. Obviously, that was the flaw that Belle had not accounted for.
"So we're sunk," muttered Karl.
"Say, wasn't Domino made of those things?" asked Sofia.
Karl and Jalal looked at each other at the same time. "Don't give up the ship yet!" added the half-dragon.
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After Domino's body and D-Wheel were totaled, back when they didn't know he was just one of Diogenes' drones, Jalal had both moved to another part of the R&D building, conveniently only a short walk away.
"We're still afloat everyone," said Jabels, who had joined them.
He held one of the gems taken from Domino's chest cavity and held it to the light while examining it with a jeweler's lens. "Some of these are still usable as receptacles, but seeing as they were previously enchanted, they wouldn't be as effective."
"Give me three hours," replied Dram, "I might be able to come up with something."
"While you're doing that," added Jalal, "I'll see if I can find out where to start looking for him."
Then the ringing on his Google Glass started again. He flicked his eyebrow to answer. "Francis?" he stopped for a minute to listen. "Jabels, get Dolores and come with me, we may have even more info to go on…"
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"Well, they're not answering their phone."
In Jabel's office, Dolores was quietly watching while Jalal rubbed his chin in thought. Francis was there too, and a good deal more nervous, pacing until Jabels hung up.
"I've never known them to do anything like this. Still, if they were, it would explain a lot."
"You sure about this?" asked Jalal.
"It's what Sheeva said," replied Francis. "She could have lied."
He'd never seen the boss like this. Even someone who had known Jalal briefly could see the doubt and worry inside him.
"Start preparations for a raid, Dolores. Tell any volunteers to meet at the commissary in two hours. Before then, call Curt and have him scope the place out.
"One way or another, this is ending tonight."
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"Wells, where did you get these?" exclaimed Eden.
The gautiere was sorting her deck while Red Feather watched them, the tears slowly starting to subside as the warmth gradually came back.
"Well, to be honest, I was planning to give these to Melissa when she graduated," answered Wells. He slowly pushed the four odd Monster Cards towards her. "Seeing how well you take to these things, I doubt she'd mind if you borrowed them to make a test run first."
Red nodded and smiled as Eden gave them a closer look. Unfortunately, as she was about to say something, an interruption came from the other table.
"Didn't think he was ever gonna leave," muttered Nitro.
"Sure as hell nothing stopping us from leaving," added his boss, "once we have a clear path to the door."
Drago was looking at Red Feather, and not the way he usually did. "So, she was dead for a minute and now she's alive? That ain't right."
"Shut up, Drago," whispered Fanciullo.
"How we even know she's alive? Maybe she's a zombie or something."
"I said SHUT UP, Drago!"
Unfortunately, the dirty look from Red was more than enough to make him do that. She got up and stormed out, slamming the door behind. Eden and Wells got up to follow her.
"You four better keep it zipped," added the don. "I'm starting to think leaving the country might not be a bad option."
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"This really isn't the best time," said Curt's voice over the conference call intercom. "Everything has turned helter-skelter lately with stuff moving into crazy-territory, the least of which is some lunatic who tried to turn Hyde Park into a demolition derby."
Then a crass, rude voice interrupted. "You wanna say that to my face, you fuckin' pig? C'mere! I'll -" This was, in turn, interrupted by a muffled scream.
"Guess Antisthenes is still playing with his new toy," mumbled Francis. "I never liked Trevor…"
"Now that you mention it, seems something did happen at the Copek building," continued Curt. "The doors and windows seem to be reinforced using magic to the point where even taking a sledgehammer to a window won't break it."
"Can you see anything inside it?" asked Jabels.
"Fraid not, interior seems dark and foggy. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to dissuade someone from going near a place like this, but the hazmat guys are going to want to go in eventually."
"Probably Mordenkainen's Secure Sanctuary," Jabels mused. "Pretty sure wecould get in with the portals." He spoke up, "Just tell them to keep watching the place, Curt we'll be there when we can."
"I'm gonna beat the fuckin' shit out'a you narcs and then feed it to you!" screamed the suspect. "Then I'm gonna beat it outta you again!"
"Uh, Jabels, can I get back to you?" added Curt.
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As much as he hated macaroni and cheese, Hank might have appreciated it now. Unfortunately, most everything in the commissary had been taken, down to every carton of yogurt in the fridge cases. Someone had even taken the olive loaf sandwich that had gone uneaten for a week, and the coffee that most of them had come for was starting to run low.
Still, the place was much more crowded than usual as Jalal entered with Jabels and Dolores behind him, and Tony behind them. Most everyone there had been present with the platonic's initial attack, with Viola and Prospero were at one table, nervously watching Philip and Sofia, who were at another. Fanciullo and his henchmen were off to the side, looking cramped at another table, Drago and Tormento not seeming to care much about the clearly visible "No Smoking" sign. Eden was with Wells, having spread her new deck out on the table and studying it closely. Melissa and Prospero with in the middle of a round using only cards – as in, without Disks. The only ones visibly missing were Dram and Karl, but a text message assured him they'd be here shortly.
If Antisthenes had intended to scare them all, it didn't work. Still, Jalal had to wonder how many simply wanted to "get even" for all that had happened.
"Attention!" he said, loudly. Everyone quieted down as he cleared his throat. "I'm glad everyone could come, so I'll outline everything as briefly as I can. The most important goal here will be to find the Pan Dimensional Homing Device and either destroy or confiscate it. One way or another, that thing has to go. Second, we have to stop Antisthenes from getting to wherever he's trying to get to. If he already has gotten there, be prepared to follow him."
"Will you look at that prima donna?" asked Drago, in a tone he thought nobody else could hear. "What's he got that I don't got?"
"Draconic powers?" asked Tormento.
"Good looks, manners, personality, and charm?" asked Uomo.
Everyone ignored them, and Prospero spoke up first. "How are we going to deal with Antisthenes?"
Jalal cast an aside glance at a pouch on his belt. "I made special preparations to cross that bridge." While none of them knew about the plan he had made with Maskent, the tone made it clear it was unorthodox.
"We're with you, Stormbringer," said Viola.
"Eden?" asked Jalal. The gautiere nodded.
"Well, that's just peachy," said Fanciullo. He stood up, reaching for his hat. "Me, I've had enough of dealing with you guys, have fun."
"Yeah, don't let the door hit you on the way out," said Melissa
Jalal crossed his arms as the mobster passed by him, speaking only when they were at the door, his voice clearly showing an irked tone. "Mr. Fanciullo, your help in gaining the Memory Crystals has appreciated and proved invaluable. Thus, you and your men may leave unmolested. I suggest you do so quickly before I change my mind."
Fanciullo got the hint fast. He nearly bumped into Dram and Karl as they entered, the former holding what looked like a briefcase. Something that alarmed everyone there.
Dram had clearly had some trouble enchanting the gemstones, as he showed the effect of having been hit by at least one Surge. His skin was pink and glowing dimly, while his nose had grown about four inches. Sofia was barely able to stifle a laugh.
"You should have seen what happened last June," said Philip, again in a hushed tone. "He's still not allowed at Busch Gardens".
"Let's focus, everyone," said Jalal. "Dram?"
"I managed to cobble these together with Mr. Hudson's help," said the fel. He opened the briefcase, revealing about a dozen odd objects. Each one was a coaster-shaped framework about eight inches in diameter, each with four compartments holding four gemstones.
"Once you put one on, you say the word 'activate' in Auran, Aquan, Terran, or Ignan, depending on which Element corresponds to the wearer."
"I've got those written down here," added Karl. He motioned with a small stack of index cards.
"In theory, the activated enchantment will create a 'blind spot' centered on the wearer preventing him from issuing or receiving information from the nanos in the wearer's system. In effect, the wearer becomes a 'blind spot' in his sight."
"What's the catch?" asked Francis.
"I was getting to that. This was a rush job, so how long it will work, I have no idea. Could be a day, could be an hour."
"Always a catch," sighed Francis.
"Well it's better than nothing."
"Exactly," said Jalal, nodding. "Tony, you stay behind, I'll need you to monitor the nanite activity. If we find a solution to the second goal, I'll need you to enact it immediately. There's no telling how far this has spread. Jabels, you're in charge, you and Dolores monitor the interdimensional activity and let us know if anything else is summoned with that thing." He turned to everyone else. "Last chance for anyone to reconsider."
There was dead quiet.
"Jabels, is the portal room set?" His aide nodded.
"Then it's just us against the machine," said Red Feather.
"Precisely."
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The Copek Building, fifteen minutes later. A large, blue, swirling portal opened.
At first, nothing seemed to happen. There was a crinkle as an unseen foot stepped on broken glass, then stopped.
"Okay, come through," said Greg's voice.
A brief blurring in the air appeared briefly he undid a fastener on his cloak, dispelling the aura. The magical Shroud of Darkness wasn't exactly as efficient as a Cloak of Invisibility, but easier to use. Penelope, Karl, and Red Feather stepped out of the portal behind him.
"We're in, Jalal," said Karl.
"Is it safe?" asked their leader.
"Well, by 'safe' do you mean built with structural integrity in mind? Because in that case, they succeeded admirably."
"I'd say a hurricane hit this place," mused Red Feather, "but hurricanes don't hit single buildings."
"Look over there," said Penelope. She nodded to the door leading to Sylvester's office, indicating the bullet holes.
"There was a fire here which was extinguished using fire-smothering foam," added SAL. "But the alarms never went off. I can't find any trace of living beings still on the premises, human OR Shadow."
They slowly and cautiously entered the showroom, where the ominous Dreadnaught in the glass cabinet stood, the one intact thing left in the building.
"See if you can access the security cameras," said Jalal's voice. "There should be some clue as to -"
"Uh, hold that thought, chief!" interrupted Greg.
The huge robot's chest cavity was opening, the red, fiery core becoming visible again. Jabels' voice came on over the transmission: "Damn, I never trusted that thing. Stay away from it, the others are coming to -"
There was a wave of ear-splitting sound, and Red, Penelope, and Greg seemingly vanished into thin air.
Karl looked at it with a dumbfounded expression for a minute. "...Oh, what now?!"
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Penelope and Red Feather appeared in… another place, landing as if they had jumped down about five feet, landing with a slight rattle, as if on a grate. Which they had.
The air in the cavernous place there were now was hot and muggy, and then smell was like motor grease. Greg landed behind them, and quickly covered himself with the Shroud. Fortunately, the dim light here was even dimmer than the place they'd left.
Penelope was startled as something tried to crawl onto her leg. She swatted it, and the clockroach scurried away with about six others. Red noticed it too, the same weird things that were in the manor house.
"I read somewhere that elves could see in the dark," whispered Greg.
"We can," replied Penelope, "we can see a whole lot of dark."
Then there was a loud "BZZT" and some old-fashioned arc lamps illuminated the place. Not that the nightmarish factory around them made that comforting. They were standing on one giant cog that was slowly turning, with one vertical connecting gear that was just as large. Smaller gears turned around them at quicker paces, while giant pistons moved up and down in time with the turning.
The realization came to Penelope first. This was like the innards of a clockwork device. Like a robot…
"HEL-LO!" said a voice.
As Greg backed up, doing his best to conceal himself, a large metal hook lowered from below with via a crane. Penelope recognized the annoying voice quickly, Red after seeing who it was.
Emily was alive and had finally managed to change out of the torn and filthy nurse outfit, Her new outfit almost seemed tasteful. Almost. It was a violet, low-cut blouse with a short skirt, and knee-high boots, with black gloves.
Problem is, something about her seemed… wrong. As her old rival looked her in the eye, Penelope found them… cold. Cold and inhuman.
Something terrible had happened.
"Emily," started Penelope.
"Glad you could come, Princess," said Emily. "Hope you're ready, cause this time," she raised her Duel Disk, activating it, "I'm playing for keeps."
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"This is amazing," said Karl. He could barely take his eyes off the robot, as SAL continued the analysis. Jalal, Eden, Hank, and Prospero entered from the portal behind him.
"What happened?" asked the leader of the Shadowchasers. "This thing 'grabbed' them?"
"Seems Antisthenes concealed the way he and his minions came to and from his fortress in a simple way," explained Karl, "how he orchestrated his nanomachine plague right under our noses. He did it by leaving the whole thing in plain sight."
"The robot has a portal from his fortress?" asked Prospero.
"Nope. The robot is Antisthenes' fortress. Always has been. We're looking at the most extensive dimensional transcendence stationary mechanism I have ever seen. I'd call this pure genius if it wasn't so dangerous."
"Dimensional transcendence?" asked Hank. "That sounds familiar."
"This 'robot'' is actually a building, an artificial structure. While it's volume is that of a large closet, the interior is a much larger interdimensional space to those within."
"So, it's a TARDIS?" asked Jalal.
"Exactly! I don't think this one is capable of time or space travel like the one on the show is, but it likely has access to quite a few interdimensional conduits, including one on Broken Reach. And a far more unsettling difference…" He looked at the robot while SAL changed to another screen. "This one isn't a living thing."
"That's bad?" asked Eden.
"It means Antisthenes built this thing," answered SAL. "He has access to technology that even the Doctor may have only dreamed of…"
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"Emily, please, you're not thinking clearly!" said Penelope.
"Oh, I've never felt better," the emordenung replied with a laugh. "C'mon, for old time's sake. I'll take both of you at once!"
Penelope looked at Red, who nodded back. At least she doesn't see Greg yet, she thought.
"You sure you're up to this?"
"It might even be just what I need to blow off some steam," replied Red.
(Red Feather: 8,000) - - - - - (Emily: 8,000) - - - - - (Penelope: 8,000)
"You two go first, I insist," added Emily.
"Seriously?" asked Red.
Greg was rather surprised too; a Battle Royal was supposed to have three duelists opposing each other, but here it was a two-on-one in all but name. And voluntarily going last in even a normal Battle Royal was often a death wish.
Red nonetheless drew a sixth card, then set a monster and a card behind it. "I'm done," she indicated to Penelope.
Penelope drew, then set a card, and played another. "I'll bring out Divine Seraph Glacia, Angel of the Gale!"
Emily smirked a little, as cold winds and snow started to blow through the corridor. "Why so dramatic? You used that one last time."
Nonetheless, the coldly beautiful angel of winter gracefully descended through the mist, her long blue hair flowing with the wind. (1,200 ATK)
"And now I'm done."
As Emily drew a card, larger clouds of steam shot from the pistons, as they pounded faster. A device was lowered via hook onto the conveyor belt behind her, and robotic arms with soldering irons and welding torches started to assemble smaller parts of machinery onto it. Eventually, it took a shape that suggested a mechanical Dragon made of iron (or rather, iron junk cobbled into that shape) but with no forelegs and a long tail.
As that was happening, Emily set two cards in her Spell Zone. Then, as she used a third, the odd Machine hopped off the belt and jerkily walked in front of her. (1,700 ATK)
"Here we go," she said. "Ancient Gear Wyvern has an effect I can use just by summoning it." The Machine turned to her, and a small whirring noise fed a card out through a slot in its mouth. "Thank you!" she remarked. "I'll end my turn there."
Here go, thought Greg. More than likely, these next two rounds aren't gonna be very pleasant for Emily…
"I'll summon Rose Paladin," said Red Feather.
A rather unlikely Warrior appeared a she used the card, a woman with richly tanned skin, and short, blonde hair. She wore a white crop top, a green, tattered cape, a golden diadem, and a long skirt that was made of long, white flaps, similar in shape and texture to rose petals. She held a long, metal lance, a weapon that made her seem out of place without a horse. (1,800 ATK)
"Not bad," said Emily. Then she winced a little, as the Paladin hurled the lance like a javelin, impaling Ancient Gear Wyvern.
"Good arm!" Then one of her set cards lifted. "And thanks a million! I'll use Ancient Gear Reborn!"
The Wyvern appeared behind her again, as the mechanical arms again started to work, welding bladed and barbed extensions to its arms and wings. "Something you learn when you work for a robotics firm, an unsuccessful model is only a failure when you can't improve on it. This Trap Card not only revives my Wyvern, it gives it 200 more points. (1,900 ATK)
(RF: 8,000) - - - - - (E: 7,900) - - - - - (P: 8,000)
As it stepped forward again, not making as much noise as last time, it turned to its master with a new card in its jaw. "Thanks again! By the way, I can use Ancient Gear Reborn once per turn, so long as I have no monsters on the field."
"I'll use Paladin's special effect," continued Red. "And sacrifice her for Chirubimé, Princess of Autumn Leaves!"
The Warrior stood at attention, then disappeared as large, thorny vines sprouted from the spot, giving way to a giant red maple blossom. It opened, revealing the lavish, tanned Plant Princess in colorful ceremonial raiment. (2,800 DEF)
"Honestly, where do these girls of yours shop," asked Emily, "Banana Republic?"
"Look who's talking," replied Penelope. She drew and fit a card next to Glacia's card. "I'll summon Divine Seraph Marina, Angel of Enchantment."
A bubbly, musical surge of water spouted from the floor, and another lovely angel clad in blue, flimsy clothing and pearls appeared, perched on a seashell that she used as a throne. (1,400 ATK)
"And because she's Water, much like Glacia, I can summon Claudia too."
There was a girlish giggle, the charming angel of Glory descending. She had a large, red ribbon covering her chest and red shorts and boots, both with white trim, and a poinsettia in her hair. (1,800 ATK)
"Poser," grumbled Emily.
"Yeah, I know. I'm Tuning together Claudia and Glacia into someone else I'm sure you'll remember."
The two angels grasped hands and flew upwards, turning into a flaming comet as they spun through the Synchro rings.
"Soaring across the celestial dome comes an unearthly force of divine majesty! Descend to the mortal realm and smite the wicked with your punishing flames!"
The comet crashed upon the ground in a geyser of holy fire.
(*3 + *4 = *7)
"I Synchro Summon… Divine Seraph Mikaela: Angel of Fury!"
Emily did indeed remember this one, and it wasn't a fond memory. A gorgeous and muscular woman with a long mane of flaming red, wearing incredibly revealing clothing that seemed to be bronze that had somehow been made into cloth, with pure rage in her eyes. (2,500/1,800)
"Now for something completely new," said Penelope. She took Claudia's card, and tucked it into a pouch in her pelt. "By banishing that card, I can also summon Divine Seraph Lyssa, Angel of Mercy."
There was more radiant light, revealing a more human-looking angel with a long, tattered white coat with a hood and matching skirt. This one, oddly, had no wings. (2,400 ATK)
"Marina, attack that Wyvern!"
"Say what?" replied Emily.
A golden bow and arrow appeared in the Angel of Enchantment's hands, and she deftly aimed and fired at the Machine. Of course, the Ancient Gear Wyvern made a shriek, and swung with its tail, causing the arrow to spiral back towards its owner. The projectile struck Marina, impaling her and her shell, and she shattered.
"That was pointless."
Then she realized Mikaela was burning even fiercer, the blades on her gauntlets even longer and sharper. (3,200 ATK)
"You thought she was angry before," said Penelope, "she gets even angrier when another Divine Seraph is defeated. Attack with Searing Shard-Storm"
"I activate Cyber Repairer!" shouted Emily. Her Trap lifted up as dozens of burning-hot metal needles shot from Mikaela's fingers towards the Wyvern. "You draw once, but my Machine survives this round. UGH!"
The force of the impact caused her to struggle a bit. As the onslaught subsided, Ancient Gear Wyvern was a little dented, but still in one piece.
Penelope paused for a minute to draw one card and place it with her others. Then Emily shrieked as Lyssa simply lifted a palm, causing lightning to crash from above and strike the Wyvern. It was still functioning, but Emily seemed dented now.
(RF: 8,000) - - - - - (E: 6,100) - - - - - (P: 8,000)
"Now I'll set a card facedown, and finish up with Lyssa's effect, which means you gain back the Life Points you lost this turn."
"I don't need your pity!" yelled Emily.
"I don't really want to give it," responded Penelope, "but in return for that, I can summon a Divine Seraph with an Attack Score equal to or less than that amount. I'll summon Divine Seraph Aoede."
The Angel of Song appeared, her soft, chanting voice echoing through the hall as she knelt in Defense Mode. (300 DEF)
(RF: 8,000) - - - - - (E: 7,900) - - - - - (P: 8,000)
Well, Emily lasted that turn, thought Greg, but next turn she'll be up against an army…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Can you open the entrance portal?" asked Jalal. He didn't like the look on the "robot's" face now, seeing as its eyes were shining with golden light. The portal back to their own HQ was now freely open, making room for Wells, Hank, and Melissa to step through.
"Don't worry, we got it," said Karl.
As he typed on SAL's virtual screen, the chest cavity on the device slowly started to open.
Then a loud, booming voice came from the robot: "Warning! Lifeform not recognized! Invasive program terminated! Continued interference will result in defensive maneuvers."
"Well, I had it." He started to type a little faster.
"Breach of security detected!" it yelled. "Countermeasures enacted!"
"This is bad, right?" asked Melissa.
"Okay, you want to play rough, huh?" asked Karl. He cracked his knuckles. "Hold my back everyone, this may get rough…"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"You know, Penelope, maybe that was a little hasty a minute ago." Emily smirked as she put her new draw with her other one. "After all, seeing as you were so generous, it's easier. But first, I'll activate the Continuous Spell Card, Tribute Ticket, which naturally, requires a Tribute."
As the card rose onto the field, the bolts and screws fell out of Ancient Gear Wyvern. The broken pieces were drawn into the rippling surface of the Spell Card.
"We'll get to that in minute. For now…" She flipped a new card onto her Disk. "I'll pay 1,000 Life Points to Special Summon the Ancient Gear Prototype!"
There was a loud, scratchy whirring noise as a winch lowered something from above, a Machine that seemed, well, wrong. It was like a frame that might have been meant to serve as the endoskeleton of a larger Machine. Its arms looked gangly and uneven, and it seemed to be struggling simply to balance itself (900 ATK)
"Okay, I'm assuming this has an effect of some sort," said Red Feather.
"True, this monster is an early model of the Ancient Gear Golem, which means it is one while on the field. While that might not seem like a whole lot, it's a very big deal for when I use Ancient Gear Fusion!"
The pistons started to pound again, and the crane lifted the prototype, depositing it in a hopper. Scrap metal was trollied along the conveyor belts to a large chamber.
"See, this is better than plain old Polymerization, because when I have an Ancient Gear Golem on the field, I can use it along with stuff from my deck to Fusion Summon. So I'll fuse that old model and an Ancient Gear Foreman to roll out something new."
The chamber opened, and a new Machine stepped out of it that, well, didn't seem like much of an improvement. While it seemed more in control of its movements, it was clumsy, top-heavy, and awkward, with arms - each supporting a cannon with three barrels - about twice as large as its legs, and a wing-like frame made of thick girders on its back. (1,800 DEF)
"It's called the Ancient Gear Howitzer, and I can use it to deal 1,000 points of damage every turn!" She pointed to Red Feather. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Explosions blasted from all six cannons, the shells bursting around Red. She grunted and fell on her behind.
"RED!" shouted Penelope.
"I'm fine!" grunted the elf, even though it was easy to see that she wasn't.
(RF: 7,000) - - - - - (E: 6,900) - - - - - (P: 8,000)
"Hey, I got enough for everyone!" laughed Emily. "Specially with Tribute Ticket there, which I can use as two Tributes for a summon!"
As the ticket disappeared, the ground below them opened and a larger shape started to emerge on a lift…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Okay, NOW we have it," said Karl.
As he typed in the command, the chest cavity on the Dreadnaught started to open…
"Critical threat index," shouted the device, as sirens started to sound.
"Hmm, think I see the problem now..."
"Analysis diverted. Initiating sanitation protocol."
"Uhm, Karl, not to rush you here," said Wells, "but -"
"Calm down folks, I -"
Then a surge of power much like the one that had grabbed the previous two Shadowchasers burst from the chest cavity. Eden actually body-checked Karl to knock him out of the path, but was quickly struck by it herself….
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Unbeknownst to all this, Penelope, Red Feather, and Greg were staring up, way up, at the Ancient Gear Golem….
At least, they assumed that's what it was, although it looked slightly different from the giant mechanical behemoth that Professor Cronos de Medici was so fond of using. The armor seemed newer and shinier, while its right arm seemed slightly too small, and the left one much too large. (3,000 ATK)
"The Ancient Gear Golem - Ultimate Pound adds a few bells and whistles to the old model. Here, I'll demonstrate… Attack Mikaela! Mechanized Melee!"
The Golem stepped forward, causing the floor to shake, and its fist - the smaller right one - plowed into the Angel of Fury. It didn't hurt much, the shock to Penelope was far greater.
"Now I can discard a Machine, and this big guy can attack again!" laughed Emily. She discarded Ancient Gear Cannon, and the Machine pivoted and punched with its left fist, smashing Lyssa. "And again!" she laughed, as she discarded another monster, causing the thing to aim a third punch at Aoede.
This time, Penelope truly screamed, the powerful blow ripping through her as the Golem crushed through Aoede's weak Defense. Clearly, this upgrade to Ancient Gear Golem was not made at the cost of previous features.
All this time, Emily was laughing hysterically. "AND AG…" she started, as she went for her last card. Then she stopped, looked at it, and calmed down a little. "Huh, guess not."
(RF: 7,000) - - - - - (E: 6,900) - - - - - (P: 4,200)
"Is she always like this?" asked Red, between deep breaths. Penelope's only response was to shake her head slowly. As spacy as Emily had often been, this was not the same…
She drew a card, then flipped her set monster. A gorgeous woman with long, cascading blonde hair in an elegant, red dress appeared from it. Greg nearly had to bite his tongue to avoid gawking and giving himself away. (0 ATK)
"I activate Powerful Rebirth," continued Red, "so I can summon a monster from the Graveyard one Level higher than before."
As the Trap opened, a tombstone with four stars appeared, the four changing to five as the ground churned, and Rose Paladin leapt free. (1,800 ATK)
"I'll Tune together Rose Lover and Rose Paladin!" she announced. The maiden chanted softly, and green, thorny vines sprouted from the ground, encircling her and Paladin as they flew upwards.
"Hunter of splendid thorns hidden in the sacred forest, with your whip of punishment in hand, come forth now! Synchro Summon!"
(*1 + *5 = *6)
"Appear now! I Synchro Summon Splendid Rose!"
With a shower of rose blossoms, a tall, statuesque woman in a green, skintight outfit floated from above. The garment was light green on the left and dark green on the right, with a leaf-shaped skirt and roses around the anklets. Long, thorny vines grew from her back writhing and lashing. (2,200 ATK)
"Huh, is this the part where I say I'm not into whips, or I'm not into tentacles?" Emily mused tapping her chin. "To be entirely honest I'm not sure if either would be true...
"Moving on!" Red barked. She took Rose Lover's card from the discard slot of her Disk, pocketing it as Splendid Rose lifted her hand, causing thicker vines to sprout around the Golem and start to entangle it. (1,500 ATK)
"Banishing that card halves your monster's Score," she said. "Move to Attack Mode, Chirubimé!"
The Plant Princess uncrossed her arms and made eye-contact with the Golem as more and more vines sprouted from the floor. (1,800 ATK) Red Feather studied the two monsters closely.
This should work, she thought.
"Splendid Rose, attack Ancient Gear Howitzer with Aerial Twist!"
The Rose maiden soared at the Machine, half-leaping and half lifted by her vines, twirling in mid-air, and landing a two-foot kick to the Machine, smashing it underfoot.
"Sorry to nip this plan in the bud," said Emily, "so to speak, but with Howitzer's destruction, I can summon any other Ancient Gear from my deck."
"Any?" gasped Red.
"Yep, even another Golem. But…" She rolled the 'but' rather long to emphasize it. "Think I'll summon Ancient Gear Foreman instead."
A new machine appeared, one that was the same general design of the other Ancient Gears, but shorter and squatter, with thick limbs and a cranium resembling a hardhat. It leaned on a shovel as it knelt in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF)
"Afraid that so long as this guy is in Defense Mode, you can only attack him."
"Then I end my turn," replied Red. She turned to Penelope and made a slight nod, even as the Golem's score returned to 3,000.
"Last time I didn't feel any need for this," said Penelope, as she made a draw, "but I think I do now. I activate A Rival Appears!" As the Trap activated, both it and the Golem were bathed in soft, blue light. "I can Special Summon a monster that's the same Level as your Golem, meaning Level 8! Sorcière de Fleur!"
Much like Red's monsters, a shower of flower petals proceeded the arrival of this creature, but in this case, the petals were black. The dark and foreboding Flower Witch, a sorceress in a long, orange and green dress with a lace shawl, ominously glanced at Emily from beneath an oversized hat. (2,900 ATK)
"Now I could take care of your Foreman with that," continued Penelope, "but I have a better idea."
Sorciere de Fleur produced a long, oaken staff topped with a bouquet of the same black flowers, twirled it twice, and then held it upwards as lightning flashed and a black ankh appeared from the tip. Shadows radiated from Fleur as a familiar shape emerged from below, Emily's Ancient Gear Wyvern. (1,700 ATK)
"You little…" said Emily, her tone suddenly changing.
"I don't intend to keep it," added Penelope, "I summon Righty Driver!"
The actual card appeared this time, in projected into a much larger size, and a small, cute robot hopped out, in the shape of a little girl covered with blue metal. She held a long Phillips head screwdriver the way a Spellcaster would hold a staff. (100 ATK)
"And because I Normal Summoned her, she summons her partner, Lefty Driver."
A new droid appeared, resembling the first, but plated with yellow metal, and a head that suggested pigtails. Like the other, she had a staff-sized screwdriver, but this was a flathead. (300 ATK)
"This one has its own effect which I can activate now."
Lefty Driver turned to look at its card, which again, was lingering, and pointed the screwdriver at it, turning counter-clockwise. The two Level stars moved to the left, a third one emerging from the border.
"As you can see, its Level is upgraded by one. And Righty Driver can change its name!"
On cue, Righty Driver turned to its card, and turned its weapon clockwise, causing the name title to scroll up, replaced by 'Junk Synchron", then "Nitro Synchron", and finally settling on "Fleur Synchron"
"Think you can guess what's coming next. I'll Tune Righty Driver, Lefty Driver, and Ancient Gear Wyvern!"
Let the horns sound and the whistles blow! Vive la Revolution! Lead me to victory!"
(*5 + *3 = *8)
"Synchro Summon… Chevalier de Fleur!"
The three monsters dissolved into starlight, and with a flourish of rose petals and a dashing red cape, the rapier wielding Warrior appeared. (2,700 ATK)
"Here's another card I think you remember, Emily." She lifted her hand, and her other Trap opened.
"Erg, Miracle Locus," growled her opponent.
"You got it! You draw once, but my Synchro Monster has enough power to junk either of your Machines, and attack both of them!"
Chevalier de Fleur lifted her weapon, made a leap towards Emily's monsters, somersaulted once in mid-air, and then made one mighty slash, landing with her back to them. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then both Ancient Gears started to shake and rattle, and then the top halves of both Machines started to slide off the bottom halves. As Fleur stood up, they collapsed into piles of scrap metal with a large cloud of dust.
"Oh, very dramatic," said Emily. "I'm sure you -"
Then she noticed Sorciere de Fleur aiming her staff at her.
"Attack directly!" ordered Penelope.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Karl, we have no choice," ordered Jalal, "abort the program!"
Karl was about to protest, but then he stopped. He looked at the huge robot, which seemed ready to either explode of unleash some high-tech wave of death at any second.
"Could it be that simple?" he asked.
The sirens in the room were still going off, and everyone but him was trying their best to keep their distance from the thing while still bracing themselves for whatever it was about to do next.
"Karl!" yelled Jalal.
"SAL, abort the invasive program!" shouted Karl. "You heard him!"
As SAL did so, shutting down her holographic screens, the sirens turned from howling and flashing to just flashing. "Invasive program no longer detected," it said. "Security grid shutting down…"
"So how are we going to open it?" asked Melissa.
Karl sighed and walked up to the huge thing, over the shattered glass that had once been the display case. "THIS way!" he exclaimed. He grabbed hold of a winch on the thing's waist and gave it a hefty turn. As he expected, the chest slowly started to open, the portal inside switching on.
"Whoever built this thing has a sick sense of humor," muttered Hank.
"They always do," said Jalal with a nod. He winked as his Google Glass went on again. "Send the last group through, we're moving in." Then he added to those already through, "Be ready for everything, even the things you wouldn't usually be ready for, because I suspect Antisthenes could have anything waiting for us."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Emily?" asked Penelope.
She seemed to have taken quite the hit from Sorciere de Fleur, and was lying flat on her back.
"C'mon, girl, you're stronger than this."
"Huh?" said Emily. "What? You want me to stop the duel and kill them? Right now?" She sat up. "Oh, sorry. You know, the evil voice in my head." Seeing their horrified looks, she laughed a little. "Kidding! He told me to finish the duel first."
(RF: 7,000) - - - - - (E: 4,000) - - - - - (P: 4,200)
"Sooo… Before I draw, I'll use the effect of Ancient Gear Reborn to bring Ancient Gear Foreman back from the Graveyard."
Now that's odd, thought Greg, watching the Machine reappear. (500 ATK) That could have blocked Sorciere de Fleur's attack, unless…
Emily made a draw, then pointed to Foreman, causing it to disappear as quickly as she had brought it back. "Foreman's effect is a little wonky, but it's a good one. I have to sacrifice it, and banish two Ancient Gear Monsters in my Graveyard." Two cards - one of which Penelope recognized as Ancient Gear Cannon, the other not so identifiable - appeared behind Emily and crumbled into pixels.
"In return for that, I gain two Ancient Gears from my Graveyard. Even better, because I banished Ancient Gear Excavator, I get one from my deck too."
Two cards formed in her hand, Ancient Gear Golem - Ultimate Pound and a regular Ancient Gear Golem, then yet another normal Golem.
"But before I use these, let's use Ancient Gear Reborn one more time. "
The ground rumbled, causing Ancient Gear Howitzer to emerge again. (1,800 DEF)
"And I'll summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"
Despite its name, this Machine more resembled a bulldog than the type used for hunting, and had foot-long, upward-pointing teeth. It could not, however, pass for anything but a jury-rigged Machine, its eyeless face and blocky armor a giveaway. (1,000 ATK)
It barked loudly, twice, and two sharp, circular blades shot from its jaws; Red made a startled grunt as they hit her.
(RF: 6,400) - - - - - (E: 4,000) - - - - - (P: 4,200)
"I see you noticed the effect, or rather the first one." She quickly knelt beside the Hunting Hound, sliding the cards depicting the two Golems and the Ultimate Pound into a slot on its back. "Here comes the second, and it's a lulu!"
The Hunting Hound barked even louder, and the three cards were spit from its mouth with three loud popping noises, spiraling backwards and upwards as a blue and orange vortex started to appear.
"That's a Polymerization gate!" exclaimed Red.
"Yup, my Hound fuses them together with no Spell needed."
The gears and pistons in the huge room pounded harder than ever, with the entire platform they were on lowering, depositing them in an even larger hanger. Behind them was a huge chamber with iron doors, with hoppers loading scrap metal onto conveyor belts and two Ancient Gear Soldiers working a set of levers. Steam blasted from pipes as the infernal contraption rattled and shook.
"I was saving this guy for just the right duel, Penelope," said Emily, with another sly giggle. "Now, I'm not saying this is the right duel, but hey, I doubt I'll get another chance."
One of the Soldiers pulled a lever, and the door of the giant chamber opened. "So I can finally bring out the mighty Megaton Ancient Gear Golem!"
The… thing Emily had summoned was obviously the result of some insane engineer who figured he could take the destroyed remains of three Golems and bolt them all together into one giant incohesive mess, all just to see what happened. This Machine had six arms on a standard Golem's body, which just barely balanced on thin waist above four legs. (3,300 ATK)
"Now, we can…" she started, but was interrupted by the Dreadnaught's portal opening slightly behind the two Shadowchasers. Eden spilled out, clumsily landing on Greg, knocking the illusion off.
"Damn, every time I bring out something new, someone has to drop in," sighed Emily. She giggled again, then said, "Sorry, I always wanted to say that."
Then she loudly stated "AHEM," and turned back to Penelope. "Just so you know, this guy has all the features of the regular Golem and seeing as I used three Golems to create it, it can attack three times."
"Wait…" said Eden, not yet fully taken in everything around her.
Unfortunately, her next statement was drowned out by the Golem's powerful roar as two flaming, burning bolts of energy blasted from its eyes, pulverizing Penelope's two monsters.
"NO!" screamed Eden.
It was too late. The third blow hit Penelope directly, knocking her over and causing her to skid ten feet backwards while crushing the last of her points.
(RF: 6,400) - - - - - (E: 4,000) - - - - - (P: 0)
"Toldja so," said Emily, with a smirk.
Emily was shivering and both Eden and Greg were almost too scared to move. Emily slowly walked up to her fallen foe.
"Scuse me, a second," she said to Red Feather. Then she bent over Penelope, yanking the amulet from her. Penelope groaned weakly, collapsing on her face.
"Now… where was I?" she said. The ermordenung's smile chilled Red Feather in a way she hadn't experienced since she had been taken prisoner by that Doomdreamer, and like then, transmitted an intent that barely seemed human…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Jemorille: The field of nanotechnology is still relatively new. Its advocates claim it could revolutionize engineering, computer science, and medicine, if it ever became practical. So why is it a neglected science? Well, ask any doctor why research in nanotechnology has not progressed far in mainstream medicine, and they may tell you that it's hard to find volunteers. And for good reason.
Say, for instance, that a patient has heart disease, caused by fatty tissues causing blockage near a heart valve. A doctor suggests nano-surgery as a cheaper and more efficient way that the usual risky procedure. This would involve a squad of nanomachines introduced to the patient's bloodstream, programmed to seek out the blockage and remove it.
A comparison might be made to a demolition team using hammers and explosives to destroy a wall, but the thing is, these robots would be inside you, close to your heart. Could these tiny robots ever malfunction or rebel against their creators the way robots so often did in science fiction? The fact that such devices often do appear in science fiction, almost always used by villains, doesn't help matters. Such a nightmarish scenario could give even a critically ill patient doubts about whether it was worth the risk.
Penelope right now would clearly see the view of the detractors. A few minutes ago, the small army - fully capable of dicing her to pieces from within - had been comatose via Belle's ingenuity, applied by an amulet… That protection had just been forcibly taken, and even now, the small army was awaiting instruction from its commander…
To be continued...