Chapter 11: Dungeon in a Different Dimension
Hello, loyal readers. Welcome to another co-authored chapter that will sit forever on Tehg's computer until he finally decides to get to parts where he can use these. No comment...Because it's true. Though, to be fair, I've done the same for this one. This is happening just because of the free time I'm getting for spring break. That's good right? Either way we're writing so yay? Yay indeed. So, shall we begin? 'Are you two forgetting about me?' Oh...I forgot about you...Start the chapter! START THE CHAPTER! 'Talk about rude.' I apologize for him, but we do have to start. 'Fine.'
In Planeptune's Basilicom, Tehg, Lux and Alexis are standing around Histoire waiting for Steven's Histoire to pick up. An hour later (fuck you g1) they finally got a response.
"What do you want, it's three in the morning. You woke up our poor tiny fairy."
"Steven I think I found one of those temple things, wanna go check it out?" Tehg asks towards a confused looking Steven.
"You called. At three in the morning. To give me work? Why?"
"Because I'm bored...please help me."
"I'm really tempted to say no, but I'm being told to say yes."
"By…?" Alexis asks very confused.
"The voices in my head." It may sound weird, but he wasn't wrong, nor crazy. "And the fact that I have the Devil sitting on the couch drinking Johnny's beer."
"'Sup?"
"Uh...how is he here?"
"It's Saturday...well, Sunday technically. We have beers on Saturdays."
"How do you sound so casual about drinking with the Devil?" Lux asks with slight intrigue.
"Look, girly, when you do this long enough, you stop caring about the 'whys' and just learn to deal." Lucifer replied, turning on the sass.
"Point taken." She sulked.
"How can you tell that she's a girl?" Steven asked his hellish companion.
"I see souls, kid. How many times do I have to go over this?"
"Look, does not start running until seven a.m. and has installed ."
"Would you like a full cooked breakfast by your fiancé too?" Tehg asked mockingly.
"Only on certain days. Personally I enjoy cooking breakfast, so…"
"Um...Can we get back to why we're here?" Alexis asks.
"~Dude looks like a lady!~" Lucifer sang.
"H-how could you tell?"
"Did you miss what I just said? I see souls, not faces."
"I did hear it, however it was a god that made me like this, so I was unsure if you would be able to tell…" She says, fidgeting all the while.
"Do you honestly think some pagan god could outclass me?"
"Lucy, don't start that." Steven warned. "The headaches you give me from starting those fights with the others hurt something fierce. And yet, you aren't bothered by the CPUs, and have refused to say why."
"Does it matter? Just go already." He said, fading as if he were a mirage.
"'Bout damn time. So, you coming then or not?" Lux asks, looking impatient.
"If it really is a temple, then I really have to. Hopefully it won't be a repeat of Hecate's."
"I don't even want to know. Let's just get this over with, I have things to do." The call ended so that the two Histoires could do their thing. With the portal open, the older man entered their room.
"Where's the bathroom? I need to change." Steven asked, standing before them in nothing but shorts.
"Uh, uh, uh...it's over there!" Alexis manages to say through her blush.
"Thanks." He left, going to the direction she(?) was pointing. When he returned, he was clad in what Indiana Jones wore in Raiders of the Lost Ark, hat included. "There we go. If I'm doing this, I'm doing it right."
"Really?" Tehg asks, face palming. "Well, whatever, let us be off then."
"Hey, I'll have you know that there hasn't been a temple that I HAVEN'T gone into with this. Getting the blood out was a pain, but it's worth it."
"B-blood? Are you okay?" Alexis asks, slightly worried.
"Don't worry about him. It's him." Tehg says.
"Yeah, I'm good. You saw the scars, and I always have Doctor Ragland to patch me up if things get too bad."
"Don't even want to ask. We're losing daylight." Lux says, ushering the lot on.
"What, you don't want to hear about the time I fought a reanimated dragon skeleton?" He asked, following her.
"Don't care, I've fought worse just trying to survive day to day."
"You've clearly never fought Plutie then."
"No clue who that is, but they can't be that bad."
"She's a powerful CPU with a hard on for sadism."
"And that changes what? That she lives longer than most people?"
"Here. Watch this recording." He replies, handing her his phone with the recording of the torture that she put Mister Badd.
"Huh, not bad. Maybe me and her can get along." She says, chuckling.
"No. The worlds don't need two of her. Having one as a sister can be bad enough."
"I feel for you…not really, though I guess I might hold a tiny bit of sympathy?" She says more questioning herself.
"Kid, I can and will punt you like a football. When we're in there, it's my lead, my say. I've seen enough bodies made by traps, I don't need any more."
"C-can you two not fight? Please? It's bad enough when she acts like she owns Tehg. Though I do agree that you should lead as the most experienced." Alexis says, sighing.
"Fine, fine. So, where is it, anyway?"
"Uh...Somewhere in Lowee. Lux is the one who found it so I'm not exactly sure." Tehg says looking over to Lux who refuses to answer.
"That's a walk, and someone's being a brat. God, am I glad I missed this stage with Monika."
"How's she coping anyway?"
"She's got a girlfriend, if that means anything."
"I ship it. And don't worry about Lux. I should know how to find it once we're in Lowee...I think?"
"Fucking hell...Alright, let's get this shit show going." A few hours they finally arrive in Lowee. Along the way they encountered many mob enemies which Steven made quick work of with his giant hand cannon. (Hehe...Phrasing!) Their travel time was increased when Lux still refused to give up the temples location, so Tehg had to stumble around by memory until they finally found it. Unlike those that he's seen before, there was very little of the structure that could be seen. The entrance was a small stone entrance that wasn't more than five feet in any direction inside, and the outside was covered in snow. "Tehg? You see there?" He asked, lifting the hand that was full of hellfire towards one of the walls.
"Uh...I don't see what you're seeing."
"You know that game from back home, Pokémon?"
"I do, but it's been awhile since I played any of them."
"He's talking about Unknown, Tehg. Seriously, how could you not know?" Alexis said, sounding disappointed in him.
"It's been awhile, so I don't remember what each one is, but I swear if I'm making a contract with a Pokémon, someone is going to pay. Man, I wish I grabbed the camera. It's annoying that I can't document this."
"Here" Tehg says, throwing one over. "I heard from Cynthia about how you document it so I brought it just in case."
"Oh hey, not a Polaroid. That makes things at least a little bit simpler, though doing this one handed will be a pain." Keeping the flame pointed without having it in frame, several pictures were taken of the various stone carvings.
"Hey Alexis what you doing staring at the wall?" Tehg asks walking over to her.
"O-oh nothing! Just trying to see if any of this made any sense."
"And does it?"
"No comment." She says before slipping away from him.
"Well, the only path is down, so let's get moving." Steven said, walking down the stairwell that was in the center of the room. The only real light was from the crimson flame held in the older man's hand.
"So, what are things like in these temples normally?" Lux asks, matching his pace.
"Depends, really. Each god is different, so the layout and what's inside is different too. Hecate, for example, while a goddess of magic is also known for necromancy, so we had zombies and shit to deal with. Anansi, on the other hand, had puzzles to solve and spiders. Lots of spiders. Definitely not going back into that one."
"Sounds like fun! Unlike Snoozeville over there." Lux says, point over to an unaware Tehg.
"Yeah, you'd think being in a Resident Evil game is fun, until the dragon shows up and doesn't give a damn about what you do to it."
"Did you hit the core?"
"Didn't have one. Ended up finally getting Lucifer's GCG and stabbed it in the not-face before turning it to ash. Turns out I was never angry enough to use it...Shit I sound like I went Super Saiyan."
"This isn't even my final form." Can be heard from someone behind the man.
"Who dare?" The man questioned, extending his staff to its full length.
"Um, I'm sorry." Alexis said "You said that so I kinda said it out of reflex."
"Yeah, so now you're getting bopped." The end of the blunt weapon quickly made contact with the top of her skull.
"Ow...That actually hurt." She complains to the man.
"Good. It was supposed to." Seeing as how no one was paying attention, given the commentary, they never noticed the holes that were in the wall of the hallway they just turned into. So, when a stone plate decompressed in the middle of it...well…"Ah, shit. Move!" As they started running, a hail of arrows ejected themselves out of the openings, intent on skewering anyone that was unlucky. Alexis tripped on one of the stones that had upheaved over time, moving right into the path of one of the deadly weapons. Steven, out of instinct, tossed her to safety, taking the hit for her.
"Ah shit, you alright Steven?" Tehg asks grabbing the crystal attached at his waist all the while Alexis rushes over while 'trying to' dusting herself off and tries to speak as she gets to Steven, however words fail her.
"I'm good, I'm good. Just an arrow." He replied, simply ripping the offending thing out. "See? Hit my fake shoulder, so nothing serious."
"Fake huh...Well just to be safe I'm gonna heal you. Better safe than sorry...Also, Alexis, deep breaths. And find your words...you're kinda fumbling over them." Tehg says as he readies his crystal. "Just to let you know...I'm no expert so this could go wrong...horribly wrong." The look he received screamed 'are you kidding me?' "I don't get the chance to use healing magic much ok?!" The look persisted. "Fine be that way, I won't heal you then."
"You say that like I haven't done this with worse. 'Tis but a scratch." The hallway opened up into a large circular structure with a domed roof. "Oh, fun. Nothing like sealed doors to indicate that shit's going south."
"You speak from experience…don't you?" Lux asks the man.
"Of course I do."
"God dammit...so we're basically walking into a trap right?"
"Pretty much." They stepped inside, and the door behind them shut. "See?"
"I do see, however I do wonder what will come next. Any theory's as the expert on the subject?" Lux asks with fake interest.
"Nope. Usually shoot first ask questions later helps."
"I can get behind that." Tehg comments. "Permission to transform if it gets dangerous?"
"If necessary, but things normally don't get too bad until much deeper in." The three then give each other a look before getting readying for whatever is going to happen. Several of the stone pillars that looked like they supported the room crumbled, and a flow of lava was coming into the room. "Oh, lava. That's new." He then proceeded to take pictures.
"Welcome to our dimension…" Tehg says in a flat tone while he readied his crystal.
"Lovely place. I'll have to swing by sometime, see if there aren't any volcanoes to hang out by." He replied, sarcasm oozing out of his voice.
"I'd love to show you some, however I'm busy with this right now. Vas fictile munitionem!" The earth starts to move creating a barrier for them from the lava. "That should hold it for now, but we really should find a way out of here."
"Uh, how about...no, that won't work." Alexis tries.
"We could try hitting it till it dies?" Lux offers, possibly sarcastically.
"Platforms? We've got enough stone to do it, and if we get one in the right spot, we shouldn't have to worry about any spillover." Steven suggested.
"Oh I get you...and yay...bad memories return." Tehg says cryptically.
"So uh, once that's done. What then?" Lux asks Steven.
"I'm gonna punch the door." He said, with the straightest face possible.
"Did...no...ok...you go do that." Tehg says as he goes and sits down in a corner.
"Okay. Thor!" A bolt of lightning, which shouldn't have been able to happen underground, struck him. When the flash died down, he was covered in scalemail and was wielding a massive hammer. (Thor's armor in the Marvel movies, just with a different Mjolnir) "Time to get to work." Swinging the weapon broke the wall into large chunks, which he proceeded to throw. "There! Now we can cross!"
"Impressive, I guess, though I thought you said you was punching something not throwing a hammer?" Tehg says towards the man.
"First of all, I swung my hammer. Secondly, how can I punch the door from here?"
"Uh...um…" Tehg tries to think of a retort/response to no avail. "Ok, fine, you win. You have a point."
"Onward! For Asgard!" With no hesitation on the safety of the bridge, he leapt from stone to stone before he reached the door. "Now, for what I promised." Left fist reeled back, one strike broke to door into rubble. "See! I punched it!"
"So you did. Pretty cool I have to admit. Now do it with your own strength." Tehg says snickering.
"Fine. Just make the jumps."
"On second thought, let's keep going." Tehg says while barely managing to make it across. The other two made it across with ease. At one point Alexis had grabbed onto Tehg's shirt to keep him from falling backwards into his fiery death.
"Thanks, Alexis, um I almost became bacon." Tehg says, laughing nervously.
"No problem, just try to not become crispy 'round the edges." She responds with laughing lightly.
"Hurry it on up before I leave you guys!" Lux says dashing past Steven.
"That one is going to get herself killed." Steven muttered before following after her.
"Oh, fuck. Help me!" Lux screams down the way. The three bolted towards her to find that she was surrounded by golems made of stone and metal. Across their bodies were carvings similar to the ones that were seen so far by the group.
"Okay, who expected this to happen? Show of hands." Tehg says, sighing.
"What, the golems, or her getting attacked for rushing ahead like Leeroy Jenkins?" Steven asked.
"Her being attacked. Also, Alexis, Imma need your help with this, so let's hurry and get this done." He says while readying his weapon. "You too, Steven."
"Like I don't know that." Steven said, cocking back the large war hammer as lightning cackled around the head of it.
"I don't know why...but I'm jealous of that…" Tehg comments, making his way to attack the creatures.
"If I must, I must." Alexis says. Steven, with his hammer head over his shoulder, threw the weapon, decimating one of the constructs. After a moment, it returned to his open palm.
"Show off." Tehg mutters as he thrusts his rapier into the center of one of the constructs, the weapon getting stuck in the process. "Fuck."
"That's what happens when you try to stab stone." Steven commented, smashing another with the war hammer.
"...Well fuck you too." He responds whilst trying to pry the blade free. Alexis charges in and slices down towards the one Tehg's currently occupied with cutting in half, also freeing his rapier.
"Thanks." He says before running of towards Lux. With three of the golems destroyed, Lux was free enough to draw her twin daggers and began slashing at the joints, removing limbs from bodies.
"Took you long enough." Lux says whilst cutting a leg off.
"It's your fault for running off in the first place." Tehg says, sighing and looks over to Steven. "You gonna stop being the god of thunder any time soon or…?" He asks the man.
"You wanna get electrocuted to death? Because that's what will happen if I do that."
"We're fine, thanks!" Lux answers for me in a hurried manner.
"Why would that happen?" Alexis asks.
"Well, the timer for my contracts don't start until the fifteen minutes are up. So, I either wait out the time, or expel it all at once, and you wouldn't like that."
"Oh...that sounds...fun." Tehg says. "This is starting to bore me. LIGHTNING!" He shouts firing multiple lighting balls at the constructs destroying the rest in short time.
"That, was not fun...So, expert, how far in do you think we are?" Lux asks while putting her daggers away.
"I don't know, maybe half. Haven't seen any rooms with treasure in them, so we're still pretty far from the inner chamber."
"T-treasure!?" Tehg asks.
"Yeah. How do you think I fund this shit?"
"Plutia?"
"Taxes."
"Ouch, some sister."
"Well, income tax is income tax, and some of the stuff is taken to be researched or because technically we're government employees and they can take what they want. Hence the bag. Everything we're sure we want to keep goes in there."
"Um...sister?" Alexis asks.
"Yeah, through some legally questionable means the CPU of Planeptune before Neptune showed up with me created an identity for me while also making me her sibling."
"Is she even allowed to do that?"
"Do we question the will of God, Alexis?" Tehg commented.
"Say that shit again, I dare you." She says, uncharacteristically angry, scaring Tehg. He just nods and apologizes.
"That was a thing." Steven stated before moving on. The rest follow behind. Eventually, as they made their way through the labyrinth, a flash of light signified the release of Steven's transformation. "Time...one-thirty seven p.m." He said, jotting it down on a small notebook.
"Um, is there any reason for your time keeping?" Lux asks, walking in front of the man.
"After the fifteen minute use of one of my contracts, I have to wait twenty-four hours to use it again."
"That seems a little bit harsh, no?" Alexis comments.
"The gods can't directly interact with Gamindustri, so it's more of a loophole to get around that. The only one who isn't affected by that is Lucifer for...reasons."
"Reasons?"
"Yes, reasons."
"If he isn't willing to share, than leave him be. Still be alert, it's too quiet for there not to be traps around." Tehg says whilst looking around.
"Eh, sometimes it just works out like that. Really, the only time you have to worry about those is if there's bodies around."
"Other people explore these?" Alexis asks, surprised.
"Yeah, though a lot of them don't make it. You should've seen the pile we dragged out of the one for Hecate. Both from traps and the ones that were dragged into the zombie rooms."
"That...doesn't sound fun." She says as Lux steps on something that makes a loud clunk. Moments later two cylinders of stone shot out from the walls on either side of her. She tries jumping out of the way, failing and getting crushed by the stone.
"Do you think she's dead?" Tehg asks while wincing.
"I hope not. Death looks bad in a story." She says.
"We're in a party. You can see her health."
"Wait...what?" Tehg asks confused.
"Yea, this isn't a game Steven." Alexis adds.
"But...but it is. It's in the goddamn name of the dimension! I can see it. Hell, I have a menu and shit I can go through."
"Uh...I think you need to go talk to a doctor Steven. You might have something wrong with your head." Tehg says calmly.
"Look, I can see that while she's seen better days, that she's ok, and I'll fucking prove it." He walked up to the two stones and separated them, revealing an injured but alive Lux. "And I do see a doctor. Regularly, in fact. He gives me a clean bill of health after fixing my stupid mistakes."
"I get your point...now, time to practice medicine." Tehg says with a German accent as he walks over to Lux.
"How about no, seeing as how the last time you said something about healing you said it could go horribly wrong."
"But medicine…"
"There's things for that, like medicine." The older man replied, retrieving a bottle from his inventory, which seemed like it was pulled out of thin air to the others. "Here, this should do."
"What is it?" Asked Lux in a weak voice.
"Well, the easiest way to explain it is that it's liquid ibuprofen. Even simpler is that it's a healing potion."
"Ah, ok...down the hatch then." She says downing the medicine in one. "Ack! How do you stomach that stuff!?"
"Hold my nose and pray that I don't taste it."
"Uh...how does ho-" Alexis starts but Tehg stops her by raising his hand.
"So, what're we going to do with Lux? She gonna be able to fight or…?" Tehg asks the elder.
"Well, why don't you ask her yourself?"
"Give me ten to twenty minutes and I'll be back in fighting shape." Lux answers.
"You rest then...for now, let's keep moving. Who knows what else lies in the shadows." Tehgs says then starts walking down the corridor. It wasn't long before they reached a path that inclined upwards.
"There's no way this isn't a trap." Alexis states.
"Whaaat? No… It's just an innocent walk up a hill, what could go wrong?" Tehg asks sarcastically
"Look at what I'm wearing and ask me that question again."
"Shush Indiana Jones." Alexis says. "The adults are talking."
"I'm 24, if anyone is an adult here, it's me."
"Point made." Tehg says looking up the hill. "So...how are we going to handle this?"
"Git gud." Lux says while being carried by Alexis.
"Well, I don't want to burn through a contract for one trap."
"I could transform...if only someone releases the hounds so to say." Tehg comments towards Steven.
"Um...Question mark?" He replies, tilting his head to the side.
"Okay, I maybe sorta might have blown up half of Lastation once...so from then on I can't transform without permission now."
"Only once?"
"What the hell did you do in your dimension!?" Lux asks both amazed and scared at the same time.
"Woke up Noire in the middle of the night about research, and the violence that resulted from that action."
"That sounds about right...question though...how did it get so bad?"
"Well, hellfire for starters. Then it became a game. She couldn't outright kill me, because then she'd have to deal with Plutie, so I made it very hard for her."
"Alright then. So what's the game plan?"
"Well, I don't give a damn if Tehg transforms or not. All I know is someone needs to break the boulder." He doesn't get a response as a flash of light covers the corridor for a moment. After it dies down Tehg is clad in white baggy pants, a black cloak with red trims and a hood, no shoes or shirt, long black spiky hair and blue eyes. Finally he has a long staff as a weapon.
"Ah, it's good to be back in this form again." Tehg says while cracking his knuckles.
"Neat, now go do the thing."
"Yes sir…" Tehg says dejectedly. He then walks up the slope slowly before setting off the trap, a boulder starts rolling down the hill and instead of turning and running, Tehg just raises his staff and shoots a small orb towards it, once it hits it, well...explosions. All that was left was a few bits of rubble.
"The area's clear, just watch out for anymore traps."
"You really know how to handle a staff, don't you?" Alexis says with a smirk.
"Shush, you." Tehg says walking up the slope again. "How much further do you think it is? I'm starting to get bored...these temples sounded cool, but there just full of old stuff and don't get me started on the scenery or lack thereof." Tehg starts ranting.
"That old stuff is worth a lot, and bitching about the decor isn't going to change anything, so suck it up. This isn't meant to be exciting. It's archeology, a science, a study of what has come before. It's a learning experience, not a theme park."
"Isn't this technically grave robbing?" Lux asks.
"It would be if we were in a tomb, not a temple."
"Oh...as you were then." The hallway that they turned to after going up the slope had several rooms along the one side. Unlike a good amount of the areas they had been in so far, these ones were lit, the light pooling out the bottom of the iron doors.
"Newbies get to pick first room." Steven said to the three.
"Ladies first." Tehg says pointing to Lux and Alexis.
"Cut the gentlemanly bullshit." Lux says.
"Tehg…" Alexis starts in a dark tone. "Wait, where'd he go?" She asks, looking around and spots him dashing through one of the doors.
"That…*sigh*...fucking amateurs. You don't just run into the room." The veteran groaned.
"Uh guys, a little help!" Tehg cries out.
"See. Don't run into the room. Bad things happen when you do." The man lectured to the two that were with him before going into the door Tehg entered. "Oh, not this shit again."
"Get this crazy lady off of me!" Tehg shouts, trying to get the woman with long pink hair off of him.
"Mm...nah...Think of this as a lesson. Also, she looks good on you." Steven stated.
"You listen here you little shit, get her off me!" He shouts with her still refusing to get off the man.
"Who wants popcorn?" Lucifer asks, startling the two girls.
"Oh! Uh, I guess I'll take some, will make the show more entertaining." Lux says smirking.
"Hey, that's mean!" Alexis says.
"But it's funny." Steven and the Devil said at the same time.
"I'll owe you big if you help me?" Tehg pleaded.
"Look, I've already dealt with a Servant before. Honestly, don't want to deal with it again."
"I'll owe you two…?"
"Can't you just, you know, politely ask instead of making demands?" He suggested in turn.
"Oh yea...crazy lady can you PLEASE get off me?"
"Yeah, 'cuz calling her crazy will help." Satan commented.
"Why are you even here!?" Tehg snapped at the Devil.
"Got bored, saw you suffering. You know, Devil stuff."
"Will you guys kindly shut up?" The lady asks.
"Nope. I don't bow for anyone. Ask my old man, God, queen of Connacht." Lucifer quipped.
"She's...oh my." Tehg says while the two females of the group just face palm at Lucifer's shit.
"So you know who I am? Who are you?" She asks while getting off of Tehg, the latter cheering for joy at the turn of events.
"Why, I'm Satan, of course!" The man replied flamboyantly, adding a British accent towards the end.
"The devil himself, hmm? Interesting. But you're not really threatening, though." The Queen says.
"Well, yea, I'm basically a glorified phantom at the moment, being in the cage and all. Him, on the other hand, he's a bundle of fun if you piss him off." He replied, pointing a thumb towards his contractor.
"That a fact…? Anyway, let me introduce myself formally." She says mainly towards Tehg. "I am Queen Medb. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." She curtsies then lowers a hand to help Tehg help. As he takes her hand he introduces himself to her.
"Um...Is anyone else still confused?" Lux asked.
"Actually yeah, I am a bit confused. Can someone please explain? You seemed to know something, Steven." Tehg asks the man.
"You, like my adopted daughter, accidentally summoned a Servant, someone from the past that became a legend. Monika summoned Caster."
"Never heard of a caster in legend...but huh, neat. Do you come with tricks Medb?"
"I'm not a pet! I am of the Rider class, and a queen. Show me the respect I deserve!" Medb says angrily.
"But Servants are fancy familiars, are they not? Caster doesn't seem to mind. Then again, I think it's just an excuse for...things…"
"I am not some lowly familiar!"
"Yes you are, by technicality if nothing else." Lucifer commented.
"You have no say in this encaged devil." Medb retorted.
"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." He said enigmatically, snapping his fingers. With a sudden lurch the Rider was pinned to the wall. "I may be stuck, but I'm still an archangel."
"Can you stop now? Your fighting is giving me a headache." Tehg almost pleads.
"As soon as she stops acting high and mighty, sure."
"I don't think she can…" Alexis comments.
"*sigh*...If only Daddy dearest didn't make that damn cup in the first place." Lucifer muttered, letting her go.
"I thank you." Medb says.
"Next room? Next room." Alexis says, leaving the room to go towards the next.
"So who's the man who looks like a lady?" Medb asks the others.
"Currently she actually a girl, however...you're not wrong if it was say...six hours later." Tehg answers her.
"Holy hell!" Alexis cried out.
"Who wants to bet that she's in trouble?" Lux asks pulling out some credits.
"Sure, why not? Not like I'm losing anything substantial." Steven said, matching her amount. "I bet she found something interesting."
"Count me in on this." Tehg says pulling the amount out too. "Imma bet she in trouble."
"Gambling over a friends life, shame I say." Medb says disappointedly.
"Not a friend. Acquaintance at best." Steven countered. "Just met her today after this fucker woke me up at three in the morning. And yes, I'm holding a grudge." He finished, pointing an accusing finger at Tehg.
"Wow. Cold. And how was I supposed to know the time difference...it's not like I have a sister who live...oh." Tehg starts saying before coming to a realization.
"Yeah. Speaking of whom, she's waiting for a phone call from you, you know." It was not a question, but a statement.
"I'll get to it when we're done here, I think it should be morning or early afternoon by time we're done here." Tehg guessed.
"And if you don't, well, I guess Rider here has the riding crop." (Haha...oh fuck)(I don't forget)
"I get it, I get it. Heck I might even visit her!" He says panicking slightly.
"Wait, don't do that quite yet. I don't need Plutie holing up in her room making another plush. One time she didn't leave for days."
"That's a problem for me how?"
"She'll have to get a real close look at you. She likes to be accurate." Just to tease, he gave the younger man a wink.
"I...uh...might not be opposed to that." Tehg says with instant regret.
"Yeah, being bound up by a sadist so you can't run away would be fun for you, huh?" (You can stop anytime soon!)(I'm done, I'm done...For now.)
"Can we go check on her please? I need to know if I won the bet." Lux urges the group before running out to check on her.
"Should we follow?" Tehg asks.
"We won't find out who won unless we do." Lux said, leaving.
"I too, am quite curious." Medb says walking out. The last two follow suit soon after.
As they walk in they see Alexis diving headfirst into a pile of weaponry on the floor.
"Loot!" She cheers.
"Oh my, how uncouth." Medb says while walking over and inspecting a whip that was left on the floor before throwing it away.
"Well, I win, and at the same time I lose." Steven chuckled, shaking his head.
"Sucks to suck...oooh rapiers! I'll be like half an hour. And here's ya fookin' money." Tehg says throwing it over whilst running over to said weapons.
"Alright St. Patty's day, settle down."
"Just because I can down pints and you can't?" Tehg retorts.
"Who gives a damn?" Lux said, shoving her way through people to reach into the pile. From it she removed daggers similar to her own, except that the hilts were gold and had black jewels embedded in them. "See? Not hard."
"But it's hard finding the right blade with the right balance and so on. It isn't easy you know." Tehg says while giving one of them a test swing. He finally decides on a blade seemingly made out of crystal, the hilt is silver with a blue gem imbued in the bottom. The blade itself was made of crystal, and the guard had two bent z-shaped formations that crossed over the base of the blade. Finally the guard at the top was triangle shaped to fit the guard. "Looks like I got an upgrade. So you guys find anything?" At his hip was a matching sheath that had two blades on either side, with holes in so that the sword could be drawn without him cutting himself.
"I found a blade I never thought I would." Alexis says holding out a sword with a black leather grip, an eagle head as the pommel and eagle wings as the guard.
"You better not break that." Tehg says.
"If you break that, I break you." Steven added.
"Break me all you want." Alexis replied with a wink.
"Um...Well then...Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm engaged. To his sister's clone." He replied, and Tehg waved.
"Finally realized it huh?" Tehg asked Steven.
"She made it obvious enough for me right there."
"Huh...uh, you alright Alexis?" He asks, he just gets a nod in response.
"Now, now, was that any way to treat them?" Medb asks Steven.
"Sometimes it's better to nip it at the bud, so it's not as painful later on. Also, I don't like the idea of being with multiple people. My wife-to-be is more than enough."
"Ouch, kick her while she's down why don't you." Tehg comments.
"Got what she deserve." Lux says before walking off.
"Hey, I'd rather have this not have become something even more awkward than it is. Sorry about being so blunt, but I'm not sorry for saying it." Steven commented, also leaving. The rest follow behind with Alexis dragging at the back. The last few rooms had various jewels and other such artifacts that were distributed evenly. After exploring the temples corridors for a while, they eventually reach what looks to be the main chamber.
"So, uh, when does the boss thing appear?" Tehg asks, looking around nervously.
"When I try to get the crystal over there on the pedestal. It'll sink into the ground, something will come out of the hole that is opened, and fun times for everyone."
"You think we're high enough level to beat the boss?" Tehg asks with a hint of sarcasm.
"Me? Yes. Rider? Yes. You guys…? Probably not."
"Imma take that as a yes. Go on, grab it and let's do this." Tehg says with the others.
"There's no grabbing it until the thing is dead." The older male deadpanned while moving forward. He saw that the crystal that sat on the podium looked like something he had seen before. "...It's the fucking Adamant Orb…It's the fucking Adamant Orb! Alright, folks, get ready to deal with some time bullshit!" He yelled, grabbing at the stone. It immediately did exactly as he described, and out of the hole emerged a large automaton. Its entire body seemed to be made up of clockwork gears. In an instant, it moved across the room with Steven in tow, smashing him into a wall. "Ow."
"You alright? Looked like it hurt." Lux asks while drawing her daggers. Before she can fully draw them, however, the automaton appears before her smacking her into the ground. "Ow ok, never mind."
"Yeah. If it wasn't for Thor I'd be a fine red paste. Orcus!" Out of a pillar of shadows stepped a suit of black armor with white highlights. The helmet appeared to be a skull and several of the armor plate on the arms, legs, and waist looked like coffins. The staff he used had turned bone white and had a scythe blade of darkness. The back of the armor was hidden by a cloak of shadows. "Let's see how you like this!" He cried, charging with the weapon raised. The blade bit into the metal, damaging it, but it didn't seem like it made that much of an impact.
"Let me assist." Tehg says aiming his staff and firing multiple ice shards at the automaton freezing some of its gears. "That hopefully should slow it down." Alexis then charges in slashing at the gears, however the blade does nothing bouncing off whenever she attacks. The ice slowly cracked before breaking, allowing for movement once more.
"Aim for joints and pins! We have a better chance if we take it apart!" Steven commanded.
"Sir yes sir." Tehg responds enthusiastically and shoots at ice at the joints until he gets slapped back by the automaton. "That...really hurts." Medb then tries striking from behind...all it really does is annoy it.
"You might as well have patted it on the back." Lux stated to the Heroic Spirit.
"No need to rub it in!" The queen shouts. "At least I tried."
"Why not use your Noble Phantasm?" Steven asked.
"We're underground...would you like to die along with it?" She asks seriously.
"Hm...With Hecate's help I could probably magic us out of here, but that still leaves the issue of getting the crystal..." The man replied, honestly thinking over the option.
"Uh guys, it's great that you're strategizing but a little help would be appreciated." Tehg complains while barely keeping the machine away.
"Is there a core or anything?" Alexis asked.
"Thanks for asking. It's hard to see through the gears, but I think there is." Tehg replays hurriedly.
"Think you can get it to stay still for long enough for someone to get a solid hit in?" Steven asked before being punched by the machine, cracks forming in the macabre armor.
"Um, I believe I can, but the window wouldn't be long."
"Doesn't need to be long to break something."
"Alright then, on your call I'll keep it still for you."
"Hit it!" Alexis and Lux both targeted several gears in its legs, bring it to its knees while Tehg froze it in place. With a grunt of effort, Steven threw his weapon, sending the blade into the center of the clockwork monstrosity. The light that it had for eyes dimmed and it crashed to the ground. "Well, that makes getting my staff back that much harder."
"Well you wanted to kill it, so suck it up." Lux says mockingly.
"I swear, my boot is gonna go so far up that kid's ass…" The man muttered under his breath, hefting the remains up enough to retrieve his weapon. "Might as well grab something from here while I'm at it." Pocketing some of the gears as well as the broken core, he dropped it, allowing the pieces to make a mighty thud.
"The pieces even worth anything?" Tehg asks.
"Probably, at least to a techie. R&D would have a field day with this stuff."
"Huh. Well go claim your prize god tamer, we will be over here waiting." Tehg says ushering the others to step back.
"Would you call it taming with this guy? More like the gods making him their bitch." Lux says to torment Steven.
"Okay! My foot! Your ass! Right now!" He yelled, running at her. Tehg holds his staff out in an attempt to trip Steven up as he runs toward her. Avoiding the attempt, the man brought his foot around, kicking her a la Chuck Norris. (Ok…) "Take that!" He huffed before moving on to this gem that had risen from the ground. Taking the jagged stone in his hand, he crushed it and his world turned black. All he heard was a deafening roar before his vision returned to normal. In his mind, a sort of explanation was drilled into him about his new ability. "Huh...Neat. Gonna have to look into ways to stop my heart without killing myself. 'Tia's gonna be pissed when she catches me practicing this one."
"You know, I could inform her of this…" Tehg says chuckling. "Still, that vagueness scares me...and I don't think I want to know what you can do."
"Let's just leave it at Dialga and call it a day."
"I knew it!" Alexis shouts out of nowhere.
"Um Alexis, what are you going on about?" Tehg asks confused.
"Well, I wondered who the god would be and I tried reading the things on the wall, and it turned out I was right." Alexis says proudly.
"Yeah, well I can definitely say this was unexpected. Who would've thought that I'd make a contract with a Pokémon? Lucy's probably flipping his shit right now, and the only one that would be truly calm about this is Thor."
"Huh, yeah...Well, think we should get out of here? I wouldn't put it past the temple to collapse now." Tehg says sighing.
"They normally don't do that. One did, but that's because I was making sure all the spiders died."
"I don't blame you." Alexis says albeit a bit quietly.
"Okay, let's bounce." The older male said, dispelling the deathly armor and leading the way out. Tehg follows suit with his transformation finally and follows, with the rest following behind. The journey back wasn't nearly as bad as the way in...Though Tehg complained when they had to jump on the platforms again. Nobody paid him any mind, not even his Servant. After that it wasn't long until they saw daylight, well the afternoon sky.
"It feels like forever since I've seen the surface. How long was it that we were down there?" Alexis asks to no one in particular.
"Five hours. Maybe six." Steven answered.
"Jeez, remind me not to go temple crawling again. They take too long." Tehg complains.
"Master, you shouldn't complain so much. It reflects poorly on how people see you and company involved." Medb says.
"Is that true?"
"Does it matter? We have stuff to cash in." Lux stated.
"Oh yea...payday here I come!" Tehg cheers.
"Is he always like this?" Medb asks everyone.
"Not always, but he is sometimes." Alexis answers.
"And he's solely your problem now." Steven chided.
"Joy." Medb says with fake enthusiasm. The walk home was rather interesting, with Medb trying to get her Master into one of her Noble Phantasms. Otherwise, it was an uneventful walk. Waving goodbye, the explorer was sent home by the tome.
The end is nigh! Oh, don't you start. You wanted this, after all. You could've picked someone else, I gave you the option. I know, still. Glad we finally got it done. Yeah, it's been a bit tough figuring out times, but it worked out. All's well that ends well. Aye aye, so unless you have anything to say, I'll see you guys next time. Nope, I'm good. Peace.