Chapter 49: Undead
Malco was technically incapable of experiencing pain, but he could still feel how much of a wreck his body was at the moment. His sensory receptors were hot from stress, and his outer shell had sustained more damage than it was ever meant to for a robot like him. Fortunately, while his body was in critical condition his inner computer was stable enough. He could still see Quote and Curly facing down their enemy- the Undead Core apparently didn't block his transmission like its original form- and was already beginning to think of a strategy for them.
The crowd of Mimiga which had surrounded him earlier had mostly dispersed by then, with only Curly's children staying behind to watch over him. Sue arrived as well, teleported there by Cthulhu, and walked to his side with concern still all over her face.
"Another robot? Are you here with Quote?"
"Correct. In fact, I'm helping him right now- look out, here they come!"
Curly was immediately forced onto the defensive as Cthulhu lunged for her with his claws outstretched. For his bulk he moved surprisingly fast, clearing the distance in seconds and swiping at her throat. She reacted quickly and took a step backwards out of his reach, responding by slamming the butt of Nemesis into his stomach. A garbled cough sputtered from somewhere beneath the tendrils covering his face, and he stumbled back from the blow. His new wings unfurled and began to flap, lifting him into the air. The gust produced by them was strong enough for Curly to nearly be pushed off balance, but she adjusted her feet to stay up and opened fire on him as he swooped in to attack again.
Quote, meanwhile, had moved ahead to confront Misery and the Undead Core. He kept Spur's trigger held down to charge his attack, aiming at the red face in his main target. It had been the Core's weak point last time, and he assumed it would be the same case then. Strangely, its smaller counterparts were not hovering defensively around it but rather floating in a circle throughout the room. They seemed to have no interest in attacking him or Curly, which he decided was a good thing as they had enough threats to deal with.
With a loud shriek, Misery stretched her hands out and began her assault. A bright flare emitted from her palms, and a swarm of pale orange bats spontaneously appeared in front of her, streaking toward Quote. He slashed through several of them with King's sword, causing the creatures to simply dissolve into thin air. However, there were still too many for him to defend against, and the remaining bats collided with his body and left a burning sensation in the affected areas. Quote didn't back down, unleashing Spur's fully-charged laser blast. It sped through the air and struck Misery in her right shoulder, sending the transformed witch backwards. He didn't really want to harm her, seeing as she was still enslaved, but she was in his way nonetheless.
The Undead Core had freed itself from the wall and was slowly levitating across the room. It had yet to contribute to the battle, instead watching its two minions fight. Within its center, the red face of the Doctor swiveled upwards to reveal a smiling mouth of clenched teeth.
"I don't know what it's waiting for," Malco commented, "but it's leaving itself wide open for attack."
Curly was still fending off Cthulhu, keeping him at bay with more Nemesis shots. Dark energy clouds formed around his hands, which he then clapped together. A shockwave burst through the room, hurling the soldier against one of the small Core defenders. It didn't react to her touch in the slightest and continued to float in line with the others, leaving Curly on the ground with Cthulhu diving at her again.
"I've determined his trajectory. Roll to your right and fire upwards!"
She did as Malco suggested, tumbling over to the side. Sure enough, her enemy swooped above where she'd been less than a second earlier and completely missed a slash with his claws. Curly spun herself around, shooting him in the abdomen. Despite having upgraded her rifle into the Nemesis with his own magic, Cthulhu was clearly affected by the blasts. His momentum carried him further past her, and he crashed headfirst into the floor.
"Thanks for the save, Malco."
"No worries. Get moving, Quote needs your help!"
The other soldier was engaging the Undead Core itself. He unloaded another Spur laser into its blood-red face, earning a furious roar for his efforts. Its teeth swiveled downwards to reveal the hollow eye sockets again. Quote aimed his gun toward them, curious as to whether he could deal more damage by attacking it there, but he was interrupted before pulling the trigger. Misery was back, casting a lightning bolt from her palms which struck the ground just in front of him. He was thrown backwards and landed hard on his rear, dropping both of his weapons. Curly had made it to his side by then and fired on Misery before she could finish him off. The transformed witch backed away, bringing her arms up to defend her face.
Quote picked up Spur and got back to his feet, taking aim again. His charged laser slammed into the Undead Core's face, and while it was certainly damaging the beast he wasn't doing as much as he would have liked to. Curly shot at it as well, scoring multiple direct hits but harming it even less than him.
"Can we really beat this?" she asked upon realizing how little they were doing.
"We have to! Just keep shooting!"
"Behind you-"
The pair were thrown to the side in opposite directions when the ground beneath them exploded. Cthulhu had rejoined the fray and cast a fireball at the soldiers, spreading his wings apart threateningly.
Quote activated the Booster and flew high into the air, landing on one of the Undead Core's small counterparts. It didn't stray from its mindless path, merely carrying him along toward the main beast. He shot it with yet another Spur blast, but even he was beginning to question their odds.
On the floor below, Sue and the Colons were listening to Malco shout instructions with expressions ranging from concerned to terrified. Their hopes rested on the two soldiers fighting tooth and nail above them, and based on the third robot's current assessment the battle wasn't going well. Malco himself remained on the ground with his legs folded in. His gears were damaged, his processor was hot, but still he continued to analyze the situation to the best of his ability.
"Curly, flank from the right side and take cover behind the lower-flying defender Cores! Misery has yet to notice you, and she and Cthulhu are heading left. Quote, keep their attention for just a little longer. They don't seem to be working well in unison, and are attacking one at a time instead."
The Colons shifted nervously where they sat in front of him, looking between one another for some form of consolation in such a bleak time. Sue, meanwhile, had turned her attention to Malco's discarded weapon. Napalm sat a short distance away from him.
"Hey you, does that gun still work?"
"It is empty of missiles, but it retains its ability to launch fireballs."
Malco looked at it as well. Understanding that his friends needed heavier firepower, he began struggling to get up.
"Everyone stay here, I will bring it to them…"
His legs were shaking hard from the stress, and he wound up falling back to the ground.
"Ugh… I may have underestimated my damage…"
Sue wandered over to Napalm, lifting it up with her front paws. It was clearly heavy for her based on her grunts of exertion, but she somehow managed to lift it up off the ground.
"I'll do it. You keep watching them, got it?"
As much as he didn't want her to be in harm's way, Malco knew that in his current state he'd never make it up the long staircase in time. He nodded at Sue, who began to climb the spiral as fast as her short legs could carry her. The Colons watched her go as well, shouting words of encouragement to their fellow Mimiga.
"Please hurry, little one. Quote, Curly! Sue is bringing Napalm up to you!"
"WHAT?!" Curly shouted, taking cover behind one of the small beasts as ordered. "She can't come up here, stop her before she gets herself killed!"
"My legs are malfunctioning, and I cannot catch up to her. I am staying here with the Colons in the meantime."
Hearing that her children hadn't left the area made her even more worried, but Curly didn't have time to focus on that. She fired on the Undead Core from her hiding place, striking it in the side of its face. With an enraged howl, the red skull-like visage turned to face her. The smaller counterpart she'd hidden behind was continuing to float along the side of the room, leaving her exposed as the main one finally began to attack personally. A pair of smoldering rocks launched from somewhere within its eye sockets, bouncing across the floor and exploding once they approached her. Curly covered her face with an arm just in time to feel hot shrapnel blow against her bare skin, cutting her torso and forearms.
Quote was leaping across the higher-floating defenders of the Undead Core, propelling himself between them with the Booster. He was too preoccupied to attack it, as Misery and Cthulhu were keeping him on the defensive with repeated magical strikes. As Malco pointed out, the two weren't much of a team and didn't put their numerical advantage to good use, instead attacking him one at a time. Even so, they had drawn his attention away from their main enemy.
Dodging another swarm of bats from Misery, he made his way to the next small Core in the line and looked for his partner. She was still fighting from the ground, spraying more shots at the red face. It swiveled back up to expose its clenched teeth, which spread apart with a roar. Quote felt his heart briefly stop when a massive ball of white-hot energy fired out of its gaping mouth, and memories of their last encounter with it came back to him. The blast shook the entire room upon striking the floor a short distance from Curly, launching her backwards. She landed hard on her back, wide open for any one of their enemies to finish her off.
Quote gave up on his attempt to damage the Undead Core, using the Booster to rocket to her side. Fortunately she was still moving, but the blow had clearly dazed her. While she attempted to stand again, he stood defensively in front of the fallen soldier with Spur charging. Cthulhu flapped his wings and lunged for them, claws outstretched and crackling with dark energy.
"Dodge to your left and counterattack!" Malco shouted.
In one swift motion, the soldier stepped aside and let him pass harmlessly by, then brought the hilt of King's sword down on Cthulhu's hooded head as hard as he could. The transformed mage crumpled to the ground a short distance away from Curly and didn't move again. Quote wasn't sure if he'd killed him or not, but he couldn't worry about that at the moment.
"Excellent! Don't let your guard down, I'm detecting another buildup of energy in the Undead Core!"
Not only that, Misery was charging some attack of her own. Blinding electricity flared in her palms, condensing into what would no doubt be the largest lightning bolt she had to offer. With Curly only just beginning to stand up again, Quote knew that their odds of enduring both magical strikes were slim. He kept the sword gripped tight as if planning to deflect the attacks.
Before either of his opponents could unleash their charged energy, a blur of orange flashed past him and slammed into Misery. She lost control of the electricity stored between her palms, causing it to spark out in all directions. Quote narrowly avoided a bolt that struck the floor to his right- luckily it missed Curly as well- and watched as the transformed witch collapsed to the ground like Cthulhu had. Among the objects struck by her untamed magic was the Undead Core, through which electricity surged. It appeared to have been momentarily stunned by the sudden attack.
Sue was standing at the top of the stairs, clumsily balancing Malco's weapon on her shoulder. Her short height prevented her from holding Napalm as intended, so one end of it was leaned against the floor while the other was pointed up like a mortar. She stared with wide eyes at the downed Misery, as if not quite believing she'd actually managed to hit something with her hurried shot.
"Nice going!" Curly shouted to her, picking up Nemesis from where it had landed. "You saved our necks there!"
The Undead Core had recovered from being stunned and was opening its mouth to charge another blast. With both of its pawns down for the count, an unimaginable fury seemed to emanate from the red face in its center.
"Suffer! Suffer!" the Doctor's voice roared as white-hot energy illuminated the beast's throat.
"He is open for an attack!" Malco pointed out. "Aim into his mouth!"
Quote already had Spur fully charged. He raised his arm and fired one last laser into the designated area. Curly sprayed Nemesis down the Undead Core's throat as well, and Sue- following their example since she couldn't hear the third robot- pitched in with another Napalm blast. Their combined attacks ruptured the monster's innards, and the Doctor's twisted laughter was instantly replaced with a long, inhuman screech. The Undead Core's mossy shell smoldered and cracked, allowing rays of light to filter between the openings all over it. Then it exploded, filling the entire room with a blinding flash and throwing sharp rock fragments in every direction. All that could be heard was a long, agonized scream from the disembodied voice of the Doctor.
"The helicopter's good to go!"
Momorin was standing beside the vehicle in question, looking toward the temple with great concern. She and Itoh- who was currently inside the cockpit preparing it to take off- had made their way up to the surface of the island via the same rocket used by the robots, and escape was within their reach at last.
Itoh poked his head out the rear door of the helicopter, a relieved grin on his face. Despite having the body of a Mimiga, he seemed confident that he could fly it nonetheless.
"Fuel level is sufficient, and all systems are operational. We can take off whenever we want! Ha ha… I didn't think we'd really be able to escape."
She didn't fully share his enthusiasm. As excited as she was to get to safety, Momorin had heard nothing of Sue or Kazuma and was beginning to fear the worst. Those three Mimiga who had hidden away with her were safe, having separated from her in the Plantation to find a way back to their village, but the robots hadn't returned from their battle with the Doctor. Had they beaten him?
"I wonder if they're okay…"
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden quake that tore through everything around her. A deafening rumble drowned out even the whirring of the helicopter's blades, and Momorin nearly lost her balance with how unsteady the ground felt.
"An earthquake?!" she sputtered, trying not to fall over. "Did something happen to the Core?"
"Momorin, get in! We need to go!" Itoh shouted over the noise. He ran back into the helicopter to finalize its preparations. As she turned to follow him, however, she noticed something coming toward them. It was a quartet of small Mimiga, running as fast as they could as the very ground beneath their feet began to crumble apart.
Quote's eyes shot open when he felt the tremors begin. He was on his back, dazed after their hard-fought battle but nevertheless alive. Looking around, he saw Curly and Sue nearby in similar positions. Nothing remained of the Undead Core save for a few broken shards strewn across the dark chamber. Misery and Cthulhu, meanwhile, were nowhere to be seen.
"Oh no…"
The voice was Sue's, who pulled herself up and began pointing at the staircase leading down frantically.
"T-the island's starting to fall! Come on, we've gotta get out of here before this place collapses on top of us!"
He looked to Curly, who shared the girl's worried expression, and scrambled to his feet. Sue had already sprinted toward the stairs, with the soldiers hot on her trail while the temple walls began to crumble. The three descended four steps at a time in a mad dash to escape, making it into the room where Quote had fought the Doctor not long before. Cages which had once housed Mimiga now lay scattered throughout the area, having been knocked over by the tremendous earthquake. The only occupant of the room was Malco, back on his feet at last. He waved them down urgently, standing beside the next flight of stairs to the throne room below.
"Thank goodness you're okay!" he warbled as they descended together. "I've sent the Colons ahead to the helicopter outside, as I recall Doctor Sakamoto saying she and Itoh would make their way up here as well to fly it."
"Mom's safe?!" Sue cried.
"Yes, I believe so! Listen, there's something important you should know: the island is falling-"
"We figured that out already!" Curly yelled, struggling to be heard over the deafening rumble.
"-that isn't all! I'm detecting a magical force stronger than anything else we've encountered so far. The island isn't collapsing due to gravity; something is pulling on it!"
Quote paused in his step as they reached the front door of the temple. Sue and Curly looked at him expectantly, wondering why he'd stopped in such a dire situation.
"Malco. This magical force, is it coming from something physical?"
"I haven't had much time to analyze it, but I believe it is. I noticed it exactly after you destroyed the Core."
The soldier nodded. His memory was flashing back to the Mimiga, to Jenka, to the Gaudi, to everything living on the floating island that could possibly die once it crashed into the earth below.
"Could we stop it from dragging the island down if we deal with it?"
Malco hummed in thought.
"I suppose it's possible. The Core seems to have been inhibiting this force, whatever it is. Are you suggesting-"
"Yes. Tell me where to find it, and I'll destroy it right away."
"I'm going with you," Curly said. By the adamant tone of her voice he instantly knew she wouldn't change her mind no matter what.
"I cannot directly determine the source's location," Malco remarked with a worried beep, "but the magical signature appears to be emanating from the opposite side of this temple."
Quote nodded again.
"Okay, Curly and I will find this thing and take it out. Malco, get Sue to safety just in case. There's no telling what could happen now. Go!"
The latter pair looked at the soldiers hesitantly, knowing the risk of splitting up. If Quote was wrong, then he and Curly would almost certainly perish with the island. As if finalizing the decision for them, a stone pillar collapsed from the temple and landed between the four with a crash. Malco at last gave them a thumbs-up with his one remaining arm, then turned to half-drag Sue further back toward where the helicopter had been.
Quote looked to his partner, who cradled Nemesis in her arms with a steadfast expression. The two didn't speak, instead beginning to run around the side of the Doctor's temple in search of a way to find what was dragging the island toward the earth.
Their final mission had begun.
