Finally, after nearly an hour, the walls around him opened up. Suddenly Eddie and his car were nothing more than a blip in a sea of shadow. A single lonely firefly. Fearful of going over the edge of the narrow path, Eddie parked the Deuce and got out, leaving only the headlights on.

Once he was far enough away from the glow of his car, he noticed that the place wasn't pitch black. There was a faint red glow coming from the deep floor of the chamber, but it wasn't enough to see by so he had to pull out his lighter once more.

He walked some ways and had no idea how far from the end of the path he was. He hoped that the Guardian would show up soon to tell him what the Hell was going on. Usually the strange being would pop out of the magma almost as soon as he got there, but then again, it looked like the magma was either gone or rapidly cooling. Maybe the Guardian was trapped down there...

With that thought, he started calling out.

"Guardian! Hey, Guardian of Metal!" He gave a series of short whistles. "Guardian!"

"I'm not a fucking dog!" That echoed from some distance up ahead.

Eddie smirked. There was no doubt who that vulgar voice belonged to. Feeling a little better, he picked up his pace, and soon he spotted a light up ahead; luminous red lines that formed the shape of a high cross floating in midair. However he knew better.

As he got closer, the weak glow of his lighter fell across a tall form wearing a black cloak to which the cross was adorned.

The Guardian of Metal didn't move as Eddie came up behind him. His arms hung at his sides and he stared blankly at the great empty darkness of the cavern. Eddie moved to his side and looked into his face, but still he failed to react. His expression was dour... more so than Eddie ever thought him capable of.

"So..." Eddie said, "Who turned out the lights?"

"I did."

"Oh! Uh... cool." He was seriously put off by the Guardian's withdrawn demeanor. Usually when he came down here, he couldn't get the man to shut up. This strange attitude, along with the great big nothing surrounding them left him feeling like he was being suffocated... drowning. "Then could you maybe... turn them back on?"

The Guardian sighed and lowered his head, his shoulders slumping under an invisible weight. "Don't you think I would if I fucking could?" he asked bitterly. "There's no power left here. Motor Forge is gone!"

"What!" Eddie's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. Then he blinked and shook his head. He put up his hands in a 'slow down' gesture and said, "Hang on. Wasn't this place like... made by the Gods of Metal? How the hell can it just be gone?"

"It was invaded by...". The Guardian stopped talking abruptly and shivered.

"By..." Eddie prompted.

The Guardian turned towards him so suddenly that he nearly jumped out of his skin. "For fuck sakes, man! Will you shut up with the fucking questions?"

Eddie immediately went on the defensive. "Hey! I only came down here to check on you!" he countered. "If you want me out of here so bad, just tell me what the fuck is going on!"

The Guardian drew himself up, and appeared to actually grow taller... grander as the darkness quickly merged with his black cloak and hair. Only his bared teeth and his round glasses could be seen by the flickering lighter.

Eddie took a step back. In that moment - for the first time since he met this being - he feared for his life. Luckily it didn't last very long.

The effect was gone, and the Guardian deflated, groaned, and nearly staggered forward onto his guest. "Sorry," he grumbled. "I'm just... exhausted. Can't think strait..."

Still not sure about getting close to the mysterious being, and not wanting to upset him again, Eddie stayed where he was, tried to look calm, and said, "Dude, it's cool. You uh... do kinda look like hell."

That caused the Guardian to snort and smirk bitterly. "This is Hell. Think deeper." He sighed again and said, "I suppose you came because you felt the quaking all the way upstairs?" He didn't wait for confirmation. "I'm not surprised. The Golems made a big fucking ruckus before they bit it."

"Golems?"

He gestured out towards the cavern at large. "The giant metalworkers you used to see down here."

"Oh those!" Eddie's chuckle was a confused one. "I thought they were the Titans you mentioned." He half expected to be laughed at for that one.

Instead the Guardian simply waved him off and said, "Nah. They were just automatons left over from the Glory Days. They did a good job of shaking shit up during the invasion, though."

Eddie, happy that he was finally getting answers, said, "So those Golems trashed the place while they were chasing the... 'thingie' out?"

"No." The Guardian almost sounded offended. "Those twats couldn't do a God damned thing. Just stood around flailing and banging; would've been comical really, if all your little lives weren't on the line. No... in the end I had to drive... them back myself."

"You?" The Roadie pointed at him, brow lowering in suspicion. "But I thought you said you weren't a fighter?"

"I'm not!'" he barked in exasperation. "However I am a Guardian. That means if something I'm guarding is in danger, I'll fucking fight. Besides, if I hadn't every protection the Gods placed here at my back I would've lost horribly."

Eddie nodded. "Fair enough," he said. He turned to look out over the emptiness, trying to picture just what the Guardian had gone through. "So these things. I'm guessing you can't talk about them?"

The Guardian smiled. "What tipped you off?" He then grew serious once more. "The Gods forbade their mention under fear of eternal damnation."

Eddie whistled appreciatively. "Must be pretty bad."

"You can't imagine." It was a simple statement, but his haunted tone of voice was enough to send chills up the Roadie's spine.

"Are they coming back?" Eddie asked.

"Yes. Not this way, but definitely yes."

"So what do we do?"

"You," the Guardian jabbed a finger into Eddie's chest that he quickly swatted away, "are going to go back upstairs, get ahold of the Gods of Metal, and tell them what happened here."

"But why don't you tell them yourself right now? Aren't you some sort of emissary?"

He shook his head. "I've used up all the power in this place, including my own. I can barely fucking stand right now let alone project as far as the Heavens."

"And you don't think the Gods already know what's going on? Wouldn't that make sense seeing as they're... oh I don't know... Gods!"

The Guardian clawed his hands in the air in front of Eddie's face in the universal gesture of 'must... resist... crushing... larynx...' as he said, "Shut the fuck up and listen to me!"

Eddie gulped and nodded.

"Good. Now pay attention," said the Guardian. "First you'll need the song to call upon the Gods. Your friend, the Kill Master knows it, so-"

"How do you know about the Kill Master?" Eddie immediately regretted cutting in, but couldn't resist.

He snarled and got in Eddie's face. "I'm the fucking Guardian of Metal, man! I have ways of hearing all the bullshit that goes on up there!"

The Roadie backed away with his hands up in front of him. "Okay. Okay."

With another heavy sigh, the Guardian turned away and went on. "Go to that giant iron cross on the hill due west of Bladehenge. The Gods left it there as a sort of calling card, but they got sick of answering to those Demon wankers eons ago and haven't got back into the habit. Luckily the Kill Master should be able to get their attention (they never could resist a good bass line). Tell them that Motor Forge has fallen to 'The Genocidal Bastards' - say it exactly like that - and that I sent you to them. From there, they should be able to lift the taboo, tell you what you're facing, and what you need to do next... I hope..."

"That's it?" Eddie asked uncertainly.

He frowned and shrugged.

"And where will you be during all this?"

"Me?" The Guardian went still, staring off into the shadows once more and leaving Eddie to shift awkwardly in the impromptu silence. Just when the Roadie thought he wasn't going to answer he said, "I'll be dead."