Chapter 12: Home on the Wastes (VI)
Saphirette felt like she was going to throw up. That room, that twisted place, was overflowing with the rotting corpses of countless elementals. Being spirits, they had no physical forms beyond their occasional manifestations, but she was able to perceive their spectral traces, an ability she now repudiated, for it forced her to watch the massacre.
Those machines on the walls subtracted vital energy from the earth by unknown methods, robbing Polove of its natural vitality, and worse, torturing the forces of nature. All around her she could hear the cries of spirits, who in constant agony pleaded for help as they were processed, their very lives transmuted into something else. She did not have the words to explain the evil essence that was distilled, but one thing was obvious, and that was that it was something unnatural, something that went against the very laws of nature.
"W-we must stop it, we must stop this carnage!" she uttered as she quickly looked to the sides in desperation, searching for some way to stop such a horrifying act. "We have to do something!"
The elementalist turned around so that she could see her companion, but to her surprise she could see that he had moved from place to place. After a quick search she could notice that he was in a secluded part of the room, contemplating what seemed to be an open passageway. The small spherical golem he carried with him seemed to communicate something to him through a series of strange sounds that made no sense at all, but which he somehow managed to understand.
"You say it was this way?" the man asked as he contemplated the huge path into the darkness that unfolded in front of him.
The little golem seemed to answer the question again by emitting those screeching noises.
"I see," the man turned his head slightly so he could address her. "Saphirette, we'll go this way."
And just like that, the man entered that dark passageway, without even waiting for her confirmation or opinion. He had even started calling her by her name instead of the nickname he had given her, something that seemed to denote his newly acquired seriousness. She had barely met the man since yesterday, but even with the little she knew of him he had given her the impression of a cheerful, carefree man, so seeing him act so serious and dry was almost shocking.
"W-what?!" Saphirette exclaimed, looking shocked at such a response. "B-but first we should find a way to save the elementals, we cannot abandon them like this!"
Her plea fell on deaf ears, as the man continued to walk into the dark corridor without even deigning to say anything to her. The adventurer had now disappeared into the deep darkness of the hallway, now with only his footsteps echoing in the silent place, sounding farther and farther away.
Saphirette felt hesitant for a few brief seconds, unsure how to proceed, an insecurity that was compounded by the constant resonance of the suffering spirits around her. Without many options and already feeling overwhelmed by the horrible scene around her, the elementalist finally decided to follow her companion's step and enter that mysterious and dark passage.
"Solstis, heed my call, honor our bond," she began to whisper softly as she raised her right hand in front of her. "Illuminate my path and restrain the shadows, Enlightenment."
A small fireball manifested in mid-air in front of her, illuminating the passageway. It was a particularly narrow place, as if designed for the particular passage of only one person at a time, with the ceiling being so low that Grognak had to be slightly bent over to move around. Because of this she was unable to see what lay ahead on the road, for Grognak's broad back blocked her view, so she was forced to follow him blindly, with Solstis' light only managing to illuminate the small space between him and her.
Seeking to break the silence, Saphirette spoke up. "M-Mr. Grognak, if you like, I can go to the front to light the—"
"That won't be necessary," he interrupted. "I can see with no trouble."
For some reason that answer did not surprise her. That man had a spiritual energy unlike any she had ever seen in her life, basically a walking natural paradox, so the fact that he was able to see in the dark was the least surprising thing about him.
"Mr Grognak, I would like to ask you something," Saphirette said.
"Make it quick," he replied as he continued walking.
She remained silent for a few seconds, mentally formulating what she would consider would be the right question. She had so many doubts, so much that confused her about him and that she longed to know, but she knew that the man's current mood was the least appropriate to inundate him with questions.
"Who exactly are you?" she finally asked. "Your weapons are like none I have ever seen before, your armour is not recognisable from any nation I know, and above all your spiritual energy is... bizarre, so to speak."
The man did not answer the question, choosing to remain silent. Not content to accept that kind of response, Saphirette continued speaking.
"The key to the ruins responded to you, as if it recognized you as the rightful owner. There is no doubt that it responded to your spiritual energy, something that has never happened in the recorded history of this land. I need to know, what does that mean?"
The latter caused the man to stop suddenly, much to her surprise. He turned slowly, albeit with difficulty due to the narrowness of the corridor, fixing the red lenses of his helmet on her. Again she felt fear sweep over her as if she were about to be attacked
"There are things I can explain to you, and things I can't," he began to say. "Right now I have as many questions as you do, the truth is that I feel so lost that you can't even begin to imagine, and I honestly don't find myself in the mood to answer what I already know."
His tone of voice was serious, devoid of the jocularity that had previously characterized him.
"When we finish all this crap and get out of this damned Vault, or whatever the hell this place is, I'll answer you whatever you want over a glass of the strongest whiskey you've got. How 'bout it?"
The man turned away before Saphirette could respond, as if he was not interested in her answer. It seemed that the small talk had only put him in a worse mood, for he hurried his pace aggressively, moving away from her and marking a wide distance between the two. Unwilling to let the matter end in such a manner, Saphirette took courage and adopted the same aggressive pace to again approach him, going so far as to put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"I do not mean to sound rude, but I was the one who hired you for this expedition. In these serious times any little bit of information can be vital, so I would be grateful if you would not keep secrets from me," she declared firmly. "So I ask you to please talk to me!"
At that moment the man turned around in the blink of an eye, fixing those terrifying red lenses of his helmet on her again, looking as if he was going to raise his voice again, but unexpectedly, he raised his fist in the air and prepared to deliver a powerful blow. Saphirette barely had time to react, for when she saw that fist rushing in her direction, she could do no more than cover her face with her arms in an attempt to defend herself.
SMASH
The sound of that blow made her flinch, keeping her eyes closed in fear. She thought that perhaps the punch had been such that her body was taking time to process the pain, but a few seconds of complete silence and normalcy made her realize that this was not the case.
"H-huh?"
Slowly she began to lower her arms, seeing to her surprise that the punch was not aimed at her. Instead the adventurer's fist was buried in a part of the wall right next to her, one that was now sending out sparks.
"Looks like your jabbering did some good. If you weren't nagging me, I wouldn't have noticed it," he said, now somewhat resuming his mocking tone.
She moved closer to look carefully, and was indeed able to confirm that it was some kind of machinery embedded in the wall, one that had been more than effectively disguised.
"H-how is it that you were able to see it?" she asked, still feeling her heart pounding from the fright.
"Out of the corner of my eye," he replied as he pulled his hand out of the now sparking hole in the wall. "Let's just say that when I'm hassled enough, I'm more prone to notice those details."
Suddenly they could hear a sound, being the grinding of gears and pistons, followed by the scene of the wall they faced opening in two, revealing a dark but massive room. Of the two, the man was the first to advance without any hint of doubt or fear of the unknown, entering that mysterious room with a firm step, as if looking for something in particular.
Saphirette hesitated for a few seconds before finally deciding to step forward, cautiously stepping inside while illuminating the room with her floating sphere of fire. She could see that it was an extremely wide place, much wider than the narrow corridor they had previously passed through. She could guess that it was an important place given how hidden it was and how difficult it was to cross that narrow corridor, as if it was designed to allow only one person at a time, one who would have to have prior knowledge of the secret location and how to enter; otherwise they would continuously wander down a long, dark and narrow corridor.
It was an extremely large and complex room, with all kinds of machinery beyond her understanding. She could see massive shiny crystals that seemed to reflect some kind of writing that continually appeared and disappeared, strange metal boxes of different sizes connected to each other and emitting powerful, almost roar-like sounds, and endless sheets of paper scattered across the floor and tables.
"You've got to be shitting me," Grognak's voice echoed in the darkened room.
The adventurer stood in front of what appeared to be the main machine in the room, one that featured a massive crystal, almost as big as the man. It was dark in color, with curious green and luminous letters appearing continuously in sprawling columns that moved at a dizzying speed. That was not what had provoked his reaction, however, for he was focusing his attention on the flag that was proudly displayed on the wall behind the machine.
Saphirette walked over to where he was standing, raising his hand so that the fireball, fully illuminating the darkened flag. She had spent years studying at the Saint Welsple Academy, where apart from specializing in elemental studies she had also dedicated herself to deepen her knowledge in various areas, among them the different nations that occupied the world. However, that flag did not belong to any existing nation, it did not even remind her of one she had seen in her history books about ancient kingdoms and empires.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, puzzled by the man's reaction to the flag.
The man looked shaken. His face was still hidden behind that mask, but the way he was so fixated on that banner, not even interested in all the other gadgets and objects in the room seemed to indicate that for some reason that flag had a profound effect on him.
"That flag, do you—"
Her question was interrupted by screeching noises from the golem the man was carrying. It was a series of noises incomprehensible to her, but the man nodded at the strange sounds, understanding it in a way that was beyond the elementalist's comprehension.
Grognak stepped forward, approaching the main machine. He proceeded to place the little golem on a small table in front of the huge dark crystal, making some sort of connection between the small metal sphere and the machinery. Then the little golem proceeded to emit a new series of bizarre noises in a continuous manner, but this time with greater speed, becoming a disturbing spectacle.
"What is it doing?" Saphirette asked, both astounded and confused at what she was seeing.
The man did not respond immediately, he simply listened to the grotesque noise coming from the golem, paying close attention to it. He remained like that for several minutes, being absorbed in it. Saphirette considered that perhaps he had not heard her, so she prepared to ask again, though to her surprise he was the first to speak.
"He's collecting data," he started to say. "There's not much, though. There are certain details that are encrypted under powerful encryption sequences, and others that are missing, but he's slowly putting together what he can and deciphering it for us."
The man turned to look at her, and just by noticing her expression of complete confusion, it was obvious that she had not understood anything he was referring to.
"He is looking for information about the place," he said simply. "He's also seeing if he can manipulate the machinery and cease the subtraction of energy from the land."
She gasped in surprise. "He can do that?!"
"It looks like this is the mainframe of the Vault. If he manages to decrypt certain data, then we'll have complete control of the place," he explained as he folded his arms. "And before you ask, a mainframe is sort of what handles all the information and processes."
"I-I see," she murmured, barely having a clue what he was talking about, but glad to know what he was capable of.
The little golem continued in the frenzy of noises for a short time, but abruptly stopped, much to the shock of both of them. Suddenly a human voice began to emerge from it, taking them both by surprise. That voice belonged to a man, but it spoke in a language unknown to her.
"What is happening now, Mr. Grognak?" she asked as she approached curiously.
"It's... it's a recording," he mused, with noticeable astonishment in his voice.
That mysterious voice continued to speak, although from what was unknown to her. His manner of speaking was one that seemed to possess a certain weariness, as if he were someone who was straining to speak before falling exhausted. Thus it continued for a whole minute until it fell silent, remaining so for a few seconds before speaking again, only this time it did so singing along with a melody.
It was a soft and loving song, reminiscent of the lullaby a loving parent would dedicate to their baby before bedtime. She herself could not help but let out a small smile, for although she did not understand the language in which it was sung, the pure and honest appreciation of the weary song reminded her of her childhood years.
"It is beautiful, but I do not understand what a song is doing here, was this machine not supposed to control the ruins?" she inquired.
"It seems that it was a private file, it was hidden. ED-E was able to access it after gaining access to the most important files, although I don't understand what significance it might have," he explained, equally confused.
Both continued to look curiously at the golem while it continued to emanate that singing voice, which once it finished singing, said one last thing before disappearing, probably as a farewell. After that, the metallic sphere remained in silence.
"It looks like he ran into an extra layer of security," he pointed out. "It will take a while to crack it."
"I… I see," she whispered as she fixed her glasses, looking puzzled by such a seemingly random event. "I have to be honest, I do not really understand this whole process, but what I do know is that it can help us save Polove, so I think that is all that counts."
Having said that, she began to look around, contemplating the strange machinery that surrounded them. She had a certain pride as a scholar, having dedicated several years of her life to the study of various areas and subjects, so finding such objects of mysterious provenance was not only astonishing, but also intriguing. She had spent so many years engrossed in finding some way to save the Polove ecosystem, that she had slowly forgotten the allure of discovery and learning for the sheer enjoyment of it.
"I have to say that you are an extremely curious man, Mr. Grognak. Well, you and your golem," she began in a somewhat cheerful tone. "To tell the truth, I had my doubts as to whether it was wise to hire you for this expedition, but all in all, I must say that it was possibly the best decision I could have made."
She averted her gaze from the little golem, now turning to face the man, giving him a happy, satisfied smile.
"Even though the expedition got off to a bad start, I have no doubt that everything will turn out well in the end."
That statement on the part of the black-haired woman did nothing but play against them, because as soon as she said it, the whole room was engulfed in red lights and the sound of alarms. The mysterious dark crystals began to change, with those green letters replaced by huge crimson messages that took up all the space.
"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" he claimed as he hurried to disconnect the little golem from that machinery.
He reacted quickly, disconnecting the spherical golem and moving it away from the machine as soon as possible. It seemed that he did it in time, because soon the machine began to be enveloped in multiple sparks. Not only that, all the machines began to act the same way, with several even starting to emit smoke.
"A-are they going to explode?!" she questioned in panic as she raised one of her hands in the air, preparing to summon one of her elementals for protection.
"Move your ass!" he commanded as he grabbed her wrist roughly.
The man pulled her tightly, forcing her to run as she watched everything around her begin to burst into flames. As they ran towards the exit she couldn't help but turn her head to look back one last time, watching as that mysterious star-spangled red and white striped flag was covered in flames.
Sofiva was barely able to dodge a piece of concrete that was thrown in her direction, having to flutter in the air to avoid that huge projectile. The scene unfolding in front of her was chaos, one she realized she was incapable of confronting.
"Are you planning to escape?" the demon shouted from afar, her intimidating gaze fixed on her.
That metal monstrosity had its attention focused on the agents of the Fourth Princess, focusing each of its attacks on them. From its gigantic body came out small cannons that fired constant and powerful beams of energy, with endless limbs of different sizes transformed into all kinds of sharp weapons, from axes to swords. That beast was attacking with the goal of annihilation, and yet the demoness had her attention focused on her, flying after her as she dodged the shots and attacks with agility.
Sofiva sought only to escape and rejoin the rest of her group, but that demon had no plans to allow her to do so.
"Zarthir, forget her! We have bigger issues on our hands!" the dark elf screamed as she barely dodged a flurry of gunfire aimed at her. "Zarthir!"
The dark elf's screams were ignored by her comrade, who was obsessively pursuing the owl mage in the middle of the battle.
"I will not let you keep my dear Grognak!" the demon roared as she raised her hand high, concentrating her demonic energy on the crimson claws of her gauntlet, causing them to grow to gigantic scales. "Begone!"
The demon attacked with an incomprehensible speed given the size of those claws, being so fast that Sofiva barely had time to fly to dodge. She could only see how those claws fell on her, being saved at the last second by one of the metallic extremities of the beast-machine that interposed itself in the attack, shattering those claws and hitting the demon with a powerful lunge, sending her soaring to the other side of the aisle.
Not looking to test her luck, the owl mage flew as fast as possible away from the battlefield, praying that the metallic monstrosity would keep her attention on the rest of them. She flew and flew as far as possible, not even daring to look back, only finding relative tranquility when she could begin to perceive those battle noises farther and farther away, to the point where they became little more than a distant murmur.
Once she finally felt safe, Sofiva dropped to the ground exhausted. Her kind had a rather weak flying ability compared to the other harpy breeds, being more specialized in flying between trees than extensive flying sessions. That was no place for her, and she knew it well. Owl mages like her were meant to stay in their forests, places where they were not only the absolute masters of the land, but also where they were assured of a quiet life. It was renegades like her who inevitably faced terrible results when they tried to go against their own nature.
Exhausted, Sofiva leaned against a nearby wall, trying to catch her breath.
"Why am I here?" she wondered to herself as she looked up at the silvery ceiling above her.
She was always putting herself in dangerous situations. From wearing human disguises in the lands of the Order, where any slightest suspicion would have meant her immediate execution, to traveling to a continent far to the east, one from which she barely made it back. She had several close encounters, and yet she kept putting herself in danger, all to satiate her unending curiosity.
That powerful demonic energy continued to have repercussions in her body. She barely felt able to get up again, and seeing the situation she was in, it meant her doom.
"This way, I can feel the source of the energy in this direction!" exclaimed a faraway voice.
She could hear a female voice in the distance. She could discern that it was Saphirette. After that she could hear hurried footsteps, which sounded closer and closer.
"Quick, I left Miss Anne nearby!"
Hearing her utter her false name, and above all, seeing that she was so concerned about her, provoked a certain reaction. It was not joy or flattery, but fear. She was tired, so casting a new illusion spell would take a little longer, and seeing as those hurried footsteps sounded closer and closer, it was obvious that she would not have enough time.
Sofiva began to panic. If she was unable to assume a human appearance again, then Saphirette would see her in her true form. She would see her for what she truly was, and if she knew anything about humans, it was that her hitherto friendly attitude would turn into a ruthless and cruel one the moment she discovered her true nature. She had already experienced that horrible situation more times than she could count. She remembered the humans to whom she had shown her true appearance, only to have them denounce her as an abomination against their god and try to kill her.
She could not bear to see the woman who protected her turn another aggressive zealot against her. With difficulty she tried to manifest the spell, which was already half effective, which was visible with one of her wings turned into an arm and half of her face adopting a human disguise, but before she could finish doing so, she heard someone running and turning the corner of the corridor.
Resigned to what was about to happen, she closed her eyes and expected the worst.
"There you are, Sofiva."
Sofiva opened her eyes in surprise when she heard Grognak's voice. There she saw him at the end of the hallway, in his intimidating black armor. She still didn't know how to feel about the man. He had threatened her and put a knife to her neck, but at the same time he had allowed her to travel with her and had protected her from the sun without asking for anything in return. She had seen him slaughter half of a tribe of orcs without any remorse or moral regret, a fact that had almost caused her to turn away completely and refuse to deal with him, but she had also seen him altruistically assist a couple of brothers and help the villagers without expecting any kind of remuneration.
He was a more than curious man, so mysterious that she herself had risked accompanying him in spite of his violent tendencies, all in order to discover his secrets. They had traveled together for a week, but she still had difficulty understanding his way of acting or what was going on in his head. She herself could not help but wonder what would happen next, whether he would get rid of her because of her weakened state, or whether he would ally himself with Saphirette and annihilate her because she was a mamono.
"Mr. Grognak, why are you stopping?! We have to help Miss Anne!"
Saphirette's voice was getting closer and closer. Soon she could see how the elementalist crossed the same corner, running and passing the man on her run.
"We must—"
The woman was abruptly stopped by a hand covering her face. The man had immobilized the woman in her run, sticking her to him as he covered her vision with his palm, holding her tightly to prevent her escape.
"H-hey! W-what are you doing?!"
Sofiva could only watch in amazement. The man had instantly understood her mishap and had acted almost instantly, blocking the black-haired woman's view to prevent her from seeing her in the midst of her transformation.
"Let me go!" shrieked the elementalist as she struggled to free herself from his grip, but failed due to the difference in size and strength between the two. "B-be careful with my glasses!"
He ignored Saphirette's complaints, keeping his gaze fixed on her. He gave her a small nod, wordlessly indicating that she was free to proceed, much to her surprise. She still wasn't able to define exactly what kind of man he was, but with what he had just done one thing was clear to her, and that was that he was someone she could rely on.
Sofiva let a small smile slip. "Thank you," she whispered.
Gradually the light enveloped her, causing a brilliant splendor as her winged form was slowly replaced by that of a human.
"Miss Anne, that was most irresponsible of you!" Saphirette reprimanded, with a noticeable break in her voice. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to walk on your own in a condition like yours?!"
The group had finally reunited after that abrupt separation, with each having something curious to relate about their respective encounters. They had had to seek shelter in a nearby empty room, one that upon quick inspection, they could see had previously served as a dormitory. The Courier stood vigilant by the door, constantly watching the surroundings of the corridor outside to make sure that no hostiles of any kind were approaching, with the Ranger Sequoia drawn and ready for any unforeseen event. Meanwhile Saphirette was sitting on the edge of one of the unoccupied beds, attending to the recumbent Sofiva to help her recover from her recent encounter with the enemies.
"But to think that there are agents of the Demon Lord right here, in the Order's territory," Saphirette grimaced as she attended to her exhausted companion. "The situation is getting more and more bizarre, I do not know what to think anymore."
Explosions and sounds of destruction in the distance echoed constantly, and on more than one occasion they could feel slight tremors. If it continued then there was no doubt that the ruins would sooner or later be buried in their own rubble.
"What should we do, Grognak?" Sofiva asked once she had finished drinking from the canteen she had borrowed, seeking to quench her fatigue-induced thirst. "That monstrosity was unlike anything I had ever seen. No matter what kind of magic they used, nothing could do anything to it."
The Courier remained silent at that question, mentally analyzing all the information he had managed to gather.
"Saphirette, you said we were looking for an 'artifact', right?" he asked as he looked away from the hallway for a moment, turning to look at her.
The Courier's question was met by a withering look from Saphirette, who still seemed to resent his previous action.
"When we leave these ruins we will have a serious discussion regarding your understanding of personal space, Mr. Grognak," she declared with a particularly threatening tone, somewhat surprising given her timid nature. "And so it is. According to the scrolls I have studied, at the heart of the ruins was an artifact belonging to the Ancients. It was a device of magical technology that was capable of manipulating the life energy of the earth and changing ecosystems at the will of the wearer. I always assumed it might be related in some way to the Polove ecosystem, but..."
Saphirette had to remove her glasses in order to rub her eyes, still affected by what she had previously seen.
"The Artifact was not on its pedestal, but there is no mistaking what I saw. The spirits of the land were being slaughtered and harvested, all to create some kind of unnatural energy. I do not know where the Artifact is now, but there is no doubt that it was being fed by centuries of constant torture of Polove's elementals."
The Courier listened carefully. He was still trying to understand different things due to the recent wave of new and shocking discoveries, but one thing he could be sure of was the importance of those so-called elementals. Saphirette proclaimed them to be magical spirits, but he had a different theory. He was not only on a different planet, but in a whole dimension different from his own, so it was not unreasonable to assume that certain rules of nature might be different in that new world.
The Laws of Physics as he knew them, even the very normality to which he was accustomed, could all be vastly different in that place. He wasn't willing to acknowledge something as ridiculous as wizards or spells like those he used to read about in the old pre-War comic books, but he knew he had to think outside the box now if he planned to be able to survive.
"ED-E said that the machine that attacked him had put something on its chest, some kind of device that emanated that same energy that we felt on that pedestal," explained the Courier as he looked at ED-E, who due to his current condition was forced to rest on Sofiva's lap. "And if the description we just heard of a metallic monster emanating energy is what I think it is, then I think there's no doubt what we're dealing with."
That statement did not take long to provoke a reaction in the two women.
"A-are you saying that we are facing a monster empowered by centuries, perhaps millennia of constant flow of energy stolen from the earth?" Saphirette asked in horror.
"Quite a predicament, don't you think?" he replied as he removed his helmet, looking to get some fresh air so he could think better. "And that's not all."
The Courier headed in their direction, with a mighty tremor occurring as he approached. The intensity of the distant battle only grew greater with each passing minute.
"Let's just say I went a little overboard when I attacked the machine. I got a little carried away, so I didn't destroy it at the moment, instead I wanted to make it suffer," he explained as he scratched his head, slightly abashed. "And I think I accidentally ended up leaving it in an unstable state."
"Unstable? What do you mean?" asked Sofiva, already feeling mortified before she heard the answer.
He sighed as he stood in front of them. "The last time I saw the machine, it was barely able to control its own energy. If we don't find a way to destroy it or shut it down, there is a high possibility that the energy will spiral out of control, most likely through an explosion. And if what Saphirette says is true, then it would be centuries of concentrated energy that would be released not only here, but throughout Polove and the surrounding lands."
Saphirette turned pale once she heard that.
"N-no, it cannot be true!" she exclaimed in dismay. "Are you saying that it is possible that Polove will be destroyed? And it would be our fault?!"
The horrified elementalist could do no more than bring her trembling hands to her face, covering it in despair.
"Is there nothing we can do?" Sofiva asked, trying to remain calm.
"We'll see about that," the Courier said as he pulled a cardboard pack from his pocket, pulling several red pills from it. "Eat up, it's time to think."
The man did not wait for confirmation from them, forcing those pills into both of their mouths so roughly that they were forced to swallow. He himself proceeded to swallow several at once.
Sofiva coughed as she said, "What did you just give us?!"
"Mentats," he replied glibly as he sat cross-legged on the floor next to the bed where they were resting. "They are common drugs where I come from, they help you think better."
"Drugs? Did you just drug us?!" Saphirette shouted in a daze.
"We can argue all you want about my methods once we keep the whole nation from becoming a smoking crater," he replied as he brought his hand up to his chin, stroking it gently as he sank into deep thought.
Soon the effects of the chem began to take effect, with both women feeling a mental clarity the likes of which they had never felt in their lives. They could feel their mental processes being accelerated, the impact being such that they both brought a hand to their heads almost instinctively, overcome by that new and powerful sensation. The Courier, who had previous experience with chem, remained calm, making use of the temporary increase in his intellectual capabilities to plan a new course of action.
The three remained in absolute silence for several minutes, taking advantage of the temporary mental benefit to work their minds to their maximum capacity.
"I have an idea!" pronounced Saphirette as she rose from the bed. "Miss Anne said that no magic of any kind was capable of harming the monstrosity, but if its energy came from the elementals, I could find a way to pool the power of my four elementals together and make a countermeasure!"
Sofiva also rose from the bed, carrying the now immobile ED-E in her arms, much to the chagrin of the little eyebot who through low beeps cursed his current state.
"And if we can imbue a buildup of that energy into a weapon, then we might be able to use it to effect appropriate damage to the machine, it might even generate a reaction that could weaken it!" Sofiva detailed, showing a certain enthusiasm in her voice.
The two looked at each other with renewed hope, equally showing pride in each other's cleverness.
"We would need powerful weapons capable of cutting steel, I think maybe Grognak might have—"
Clang
They were alarmed by the sudden metallic sound of something falling, looking down to see that the Courier had dropped the protonic inversal axe in front of them.
"This baby has destroyed countless robots of all kinds, plus it was responsible for making the machine run away with its tail between its legs. I think it can be useful, don't you think?" he said with the same kind of pride of a father to his child.
"M-marvelous!" Saphirette stammered with excitement as she approached to contemplate the weapon. "It would take a little time, but I can enchant the axe with the power of the four elementals and transform it into the ultimate weapon for a counterattack."
The tense atmosphere had become a more cheerful one now that the opportunity to fight again had presented itself, but while Saphirette and the Courier looked excited, Sofiva denoted some uncertainty.
"But... Are we sure that only one weapon will be enough?" Sofiva questioned, attracting the attention of the others. "We cannot be sure that just one attacker will be enough, we would need at least two both to increase the damage done and to have a backup in case the first one fails."
"In that case," he mused as he reached under his duster for something, pulling out a new war-axe, only a slightly larger tribal-looking one. "This was the one I took from the raider leader. I don't think it's as good as my baby, but it's sharp and powerful, so it must be good for something."
He proceeded to throw the war-axe near where he had left the protonic inversal axe, causing Saphirette to startle.
"I-I could enchant both weapons, it would take me a little longer, but I can do it without a problem. But who would carry it? I doubt both you and I can wield such a heavy weapon, Miss Anne," Saphirette pointed out as she analyzed the new war-axe.
Sofiva remained silent for a few seconds at this. She seemed to have an idea in mind, but she was doubtful whether it would be a good idea.
"The leader of the Demon Lord's agents seemed to have an obsession with Grognak," she started to explain. "I was unable to discover the reason why, but her obsession was such that she was willing to go against the wishes of her companions. We could use Grognak as a token in our favour to convince her of a temporary alliance and use the axe to attack to distract the machine."
That explanation shocked Saphirette, who stood up abruptly from the floor.
"Allying with monsters?! You cannot be serious, Miss Anne, that is simply impossible!" Saphirette protested. "We are talking about servants of the Demon Lord, the sworn enemies of the Chief God. To do such a thing would be to damn our souls!"
Sofiva tried to hide her discomfort. "I know but—"
She was interrupted by Saphirette's sudden grip on her shoulders.
"They are monsters, blasphemous aberrations!" she exclaimed. "We cannot trust them, it is in their nature to want to wipe us out. We simply cannot be fooled by them!"
Saphirette's words began to have an effect on Sofiva, who had her mouth half open, as if she wanted to say something but was preventing herself from doing so.
"Cut the shit," the Courier interfered, stepping in between the two and separating them.
"B-but Mr. Grognak!" Saphirette tried to speak up.
"No buts," the Courier leaned in to see her face to face, giving a glimpse of his intimidating aura. "Right now I'm not in the mood to deal with any kind of damned moral conflict you have. If this gets us out of here alive and keeps the whole country from vaporizing, then we'll gladly do it. And if you have a problem with it, then say so to my face."
The elementalist could do nothing but tremble in terror at the sight, barely able to see him face to face, forced to avert her gaze on the verge of tears.
"I-I u-understand," she whispered between slight whimpers.
He nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Good, then let's get down to business."
The group had barely escaped the clutches of the aberration who was now chasing them from a distance, its slowness due to its immense mass being the only reason why it had not yet caught them. All three were powerful mamono, with decades of experience in battle, but at the time that was unremarkable as they were in a pitiful state. Valeria and Faeren were extremely injured, trying to recover from what surely would have been a deadly encounter. Zarthir on the other hand was injured but barely showed it, standing in the middle of the corridor and constantly looking to the sides, desperately searching for something.
"Zarthir, we need to retreat. These ruins are more dangerous than we thought, we need reinforcements," Valeria pleaded as she made use of her staff to keep from succumbing to the ground. "Staying here will only mean our death."
"I do not care," the demoness stated curtly. "I think I've already made it clear to you that we abandoned our original mission. Our new objective is to find my husband."
"Would you stop that!" Faeren shouted as she approached her with an aggressive stride. "This whole mission has been a failure, and it is your fault! If you had not been searching for imaginary husbands, we would probably have found what we were looking for and gotten out of here without having to face that thing!"
Zarthir raised an eyebrow. "Imaginary, you say?"
"Yes, imaginary!" Faeren reaffirmed as she stood face to face against the demoness in a defiant manner. "There is no way there could be men down here. The only thing we found was a lost owl mage, but not a trace of humans. It seems to me you have finally lost your mind and are imagining things!"
The demoness and the dark elf engaged in a duel of glances, dedicating each other an intense and firm look, seeking to intimidate the other to give in. Of the two Faeren was the one most likely to lose, for the sight of those crimson eyes provoked an instinctive terror in her, struggling not to let her body betray her and show her terror by trembling.
"What is that?" Valeria interrupted the conflict between the two, speaking in a manner that highlighted both surprise and disbelief.
The two mamono stopped their little confrontation so they could turn to where Valeria was pointing, finding to their surprise a dark figure approaching in the distance. That figure was surrounded by a peculiar type of energy that almost managed to camouflage its essence, but Zarthir was able to overlook and discern what was more important: its spirit energy.
Without warning the demon flapped her dark wings with force and propelled herself in the direction of the figure. There was no doubt, it was that delicious spiritual energy she had been so obsessed with, the one belonging to her beloved whose name she now knew.
"Grognak!" she moaned fiercely as she raised her arms high, ready to have him back in her clutches and never let him go again.
To the surprise of those present, that dark figure did not flinch at the sight of the demon flying at full speed before him. He remained standing, waiting for her, and when the demon finally reached him, he prevented her from knocking him to the ground and instead held her in his arms with a strong grip.
Zarthir looked up, surprised, contemplating those red lenses that hid the eyes of his beloved.
"I have been looking for you, my love," he said, his deep voice slightly altered by the mask he wore. "I have scoured these treacherous ruins in the hope that I might find you, and now that I hold you in my arms, I swear I will never let you go again."
The demoness could feel her very being melt as she heard those words, her heart beating at a rapid pace, and with a heat like no other invading her body. On the other side Valeria and Faeren were speechless, their mouths hanging open in surprise. Faeren was shocked to learn that the supposedly mysterious husband existed rather than being a creation of the demon's imagination, and Valeria was stupefied just by seeing the warped spiritual energy of that individual, one that seemed to reject the world around him, as if he were a walking paradox.
"Oh, and I brought you a gift for our reunion," he said as he reached under his duster for something, pulling out a dark, severed tail. "Here, I brought you your tail back. I kept it after I cut it off."
Zarthir brought her hands together as she smiled. "You are so thoughtful!"
"He cut off your tail?!" Faeren exclaimed, horrified. "Zarthir, I do not know what you are thinking, but this man is not to be trusted at all. We should—"
"Silence," the demon manifested as she pointed her hand in the direction of the dark elf, causing a small green magic circle to appear in the dark elf's throat, robbing her of her voice.
The dark elf put her hands to her throat, having been taken by surprise. She tried to speak, even scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. In desperation she approached the dark mage, seeking to reverse the spell.
"Right now the only voice I want to hear is yours," the demon said seductively as she attached her body to the human's, her fingers placed on top of the human's mask in what appeared to be a loving gesture.
"I'm afraid this is not the time to make our love official, my dear," he said as he placed one of his hands on Zarthir's shoulder, rubbing one of her multiple wounds. "I cannot rest easy knowing that someone hurt my woman."
She could feel the blush flood her face once she heard him refer to her as his woman.
"I would go myself to annihilate that accursed monstrosity that dared lay a finger on my woman, but this is a vengeance that must be shared as a couple. What say you, my darling? Will you and your friends join me in destroying this monster?" he asked softly as he gently caressed the demoness's face.
"Yes! Whatever you say, we will do it!" she responded immediately, almost throwing herself on top of him.
The other two mamonos watched the scene in silence, still processing what was happening. Faeren nudged Valeria slightly, looking for her to communicate what she could not because of the spell.
"But how are we going to do it? We tried everything, none of our weapons or spells managed to get a scratch on it."
In answer to the question, the man displayed a huge tribal-looking war-axe, one whose blade was imbued with a powerful amalgamation of elemental energy, one so intense that it emanated a constant wave of energy around it.
"With this," he replied as he offered the war-axe to the demoness. "Here, my dear. Consider it my proposal present."
Hearing that Zarthir grabbed the weapon almost instantly, clutching at it with sickening desperation. On the other hand, Valeria was impressed to see an enchanted weapon of such caliber, especially since it was elemental energy, something that required handling of immense magnitude.
"Wait, how did you—"
"I love it!" Zarthir exclaimed, interrupting Valeria's question. "We are at your disposal, my love, we will do everything you order us to do!"
And with that, the group of Fourth Princess agents had been forced to make their services available to a total stranger. Faeren tried to protest, but the lack of voice caused her discomfort to be ignored. Valeria was too weakened and wounded to put up any kind of opposition to the decision, leaving Zarthir to lead them straight into the stranger's clutches.
The man smiled from under his mask, pleased to see that everything was going according to plan.
Her mind was lost in an infinite sea of consciousness. She was barely able to retain her own individuality, it being a constant battle to recognize her own existence. The mountain of steel that now made up her new body moved of its own accord, guided by her desire to destroy the enemy. She was barely capable of commanding her own weapons, which were wielded by pure instinct.
She was now a prisoner in her own body, with her personality slowly being corroded to primitive levels. Her own mind was in a constant duality, terrified of what was happening to her body but at the same time excited by the potential it was allowing her. She was horrified by the damage she was causing to the facility but at the same time didn't care, focused solely on attacking the invaders. She was afraid of what she had become, but at the same time she was excited about the new power she now wielded.
Her amorphous, immense metallic body crawled through the corridors in constant pursuit of the invaders who managed to flee. Countless metal limbs sprouted from her body, several serving to drag her along as fast as possible while the others were converted into all manner of weapons, from metal swords to huge maces, not to mention improvised cannons, already prepared to fire concentrated amounts of energy designed to vaporize and disintegrate the enemy's atoms.
The multiple sensors on her body were on constant lookout for any sign of the savages, only being able to pick up a distant signal, indicating to her that the group of invaders was at a relative distance, one that she herself was striving to shorten. Suddenly, her sensors picked up a figure flying at full speed towards her, although something was strange, and that was that the flying figure was accompanied by a powerful energy slightly similar to that of the Battery.
"Savage!" she roared, her voice being distorted by the huge maw that now formed the mouth of her new body.
The multiple cannons on her body focused on the flying figure, firing those powerful energy charges multiple times but failing to hit any of them, instead hitting walls and the ceiling of the hallway and instantly melting them away. Soon the flying figure arrived in front of her, forcing her to raise her many weaponized limbs and attack in melee.
SLASH
Surprisingly one of her many limbs was severed, with the piece of steel falling to the ground inert and a steady stream of pure energy flowing from the wound. Somehow the flying creature had managed to harm her, something impossible because her armor was reinforced by the energy of the Battery. Not wanting to let the surprise leave her uncovered, she quickly moved her other limbs against her, seeking to destabilize her flight and force her to the ground, where she would crush her.
"Savage!" she again screamed with pure, distilled hatred as she sent every limb she had available to attack her.
Soon the situation was reduced to a chaotic and disorganized combat between the two, with the small flying figure flitting from side to side like a fly while the amorphous metal creature moved its multiple weapon-limbs steadily and furiously, destroying multiple parts of the facility in the process. A part inside her begged her to stop, that she was going against her original task of guarding the premises while waiting for her master, but the hatred and influence of the energy overpowered her, causing her to act more like a wild beast.
More limbs were severed by the blade of that glowing axe, but in her fury she paid little attention, focusing solely on crushing the invader. In a stroke of good luck she managed to deliver a powerful hammer blow, sending her flying into one of the piles of rubble that had previously been a wall. Not wanting to waste time, she quickly readied her cannons and prepared to fire a concentrated charge in order to annihilate it. But just as she was about to fire, she could feel something pulling her from behind, causing her cannons to point upwards as she fired.
BOOM
Both the ceiling of the corridor and the floors of the upper floors were blown away by the burst of gunfire, causing huge chunks of concrete and rock to fall, burying the corridor. From the rubble the mechanical aberration managed to dig itself out, barely affected by the impacts, but with multiple of its limbs and body parts having been snatched away by that mysterious weapon, causing the energy to flow freely from her.
Searching for the reason for that interruption, she noticed that she had a whip entangled in a part of her body. It didn't take long to find the person responsible for it, because on the other side of the whip was a brown-skinned woman with pointed ears, who by the look on her face had used an enormous display of strength to deflect the course of her shots, one that had apparently been too much because she was now on her knees, barely managing to hold the handle of the whip in her now feeble hands. She was surrounded by a protective field that was generated by another woman, who was holding up a staff to protect them from the falling concrete and rock.
Enraged by that act of audacity, she directed the weapon-limbs she still had in an erratic attack aimed at that protective field, one that did not take long to show small fractures due to the power of the impacts. The individual with the staff seemed to be using all possible energy to resist and hold the protective field steady, but she soon succumbed slowly, with the forcefield progressively losing power. Just when she was about to deliver the final blow, she experienced a withering, agonizing pain in what was now her gigantic, shapeless metallic skull.
"It hurts!" she furiously growled.
Several of her remaining limbs moved quickly to the place where she felt the agonizing pain, grabbing something that they did not take long to throw against the duo still protected by the protective field. She threw it with contempt, without realizing beforehand that it was the flying creature, which violently collided against the two other women, being such the force of its impact that it destroyed the now fragile protective field.
Now the three invaders were lying on the ground, defeated. However, they had managed to inflict immense damage on her, since one of those attacks had been directed at her head, where part of her original body lay and therefore the Battery, which was beginning to react to that mysterious energy. Parts of her body were beginning to crumble, and the pure energy of the Battery began to pour out of her like small waterfalls.
She was no longer able to control the instability. Soon the energy would spiral out of control and consume her completely, but she didn't even have the mind to care anymore. She was so consumed by anger and the desire for destruction that her own well-being and that of the facility were no longer part of her concerns. She was now reduced to a mindless beast-machine, a weapon that only served to annihilate the enemy.
"Barbarians," she exclaimed dully and primly, her deep, monstrous voice now noticeably cracking.
She slowly bent over the defeated invaders, who were now barely able to stand up. One of them, the one with magical qualities, began to utter a new spell, one that her sensors detected to be one intended to teleport them. After having brought destruction and chaos to her home, they sought to leave and leave behind all the disaster they had caused without even deigning to confront the consequences.
Blinded by the rage provoked by that insult, she mustered all the still manageable energy she had left and proceeded to aim her cannons at the group, preparing a new shot, one that they would not have time to dodge. Panicked expressions began to emerge from the invaders at what seemed to be their imminent end, a fact that filled her with a certain sadistic pleasure.
Just as the guns were about to fire once more, she heard a scream.
"Hey!" a male voice shouted behind her.
She turned around, watching as the barbarian from before ran towards her at full speed, wielding with him that purple axe that had previously nearly destroyed her, but like the weapon wielded by the flying creature, it was now imbued with a type of energy that rivaled that of the Battery.
The barbarian ran towards one of the multiple pieces of ceiling now flooding the hallway, climbing onto one of them and gaining momentum to take a long leap towards her. She quickly mobilized one of her weapons, ready to cut him in half in mid-flight.
SLASH
What was once a gigantic metallic skull was cut in half, exposing part of its original body and with it the now damaged Battery. From that wound an atrocious amount of pure energy was leaked, which was expelled by a powerful shockwave of energy as her huge, monstrous metal body succumbed to the ground. This wave managed to reach the trio of invaders while they were performing the teleportation spell, being such an impact between magic and energy that caused them to disappear in a flash of light.
Slowly her system was shutting down, losing consciousness as she watched the energy wave spread throughout the hallway, and most likely, the facility.
The Courier carefully climbed the mountain of metal that had previously been the titanic body of the machine. He had barely been able to resist the powerful expulsion of energy that had been enough to render him unconscious for a few minutes. That had been an extremely risky tactic, perhaps even stupid, but it had paid off.
Sofiva, Saphirette, and ED-E were safe in a locked, reinforced room in the Vault, under strict orders not to leave until he returned. There had been many things that could possibly have gone wrong, from non-cooperation on the mutants' part, to the machine having managed to take out the distractions before he had the perfect opportunity to decapitate it. There were so many things that could easily have gone awry, but again Lady Luck showed her favor to him.
He finally reached the top of the mountain of steel and rubble, finding the face half assimilated into the metal of the machine. It appeared that the robot had likewise suffered due to the energy expulsion, having undergone an emergency shutdown and barely turning its systems back on, albeit with difficulty. Of its particular human face only one eye and its mouth remained, the rest having been consumed by the metal that now served as little more than dead weight.
"Howdy," he said with curious calmness.
The machine did not respond. It just stood there, still, with constant sparks around it and with that curious glowing object in its chest constantly emanating small waves of energy. He could tell that this was the source of that mysterious radiation-like energy, that which Saphirette had searched so hard for, but which now seemed to be in its final moments.
The Courier moved his hand towards the object, but was interrupted by the machine's choppy speech.
"Don't… touch it… you savage," the robot said haltingly, its vocal functions noticeably impaired. "I will never… allow you to steal… the Master's possessions."
Once the robot said that, the object on its chest began to glow steadily, with the small waves of energy becoming larger and more common. There was no doubt that the machine would take advantage of the instability to cause the much-feared explosion, one that would not only kill him, but wipe out the entire nation of Polove. The robot had no problem in self-destructing, all to prevent him from taking that curious artifact. Now he had little time to do anything, because in a matter of a few minutes all the remaining energy would be used for an explosion similar to that of an atomic bomb.
The Courier calmly removed his helmet, thereby revealing his face to the robot, who despite its sorry state still denoted an expression of genuine contempt. In those moments where the hatred was so palpable and the violence so prominent, the Courier could only do one thing.
"There is a flower within my heart, Daisy, Daisy," he began to sing softly. "Planted one day by a glancing dart, planted by Daisy Bell."
The Courier's singing voice echoed in the silent ruins of the corridor, being the only thing that resonated.
"Whether she loves me or loves me not, sometimes it's hard to tell," he continued to sing as he gently crouched down, approaching the dumbfounded robot, who looked at him with both amazement and disbelief. "Yet I am longing to share the lot, a beautiful Daisy Bell."
The robot's mouth moved with some difficulty, but slowly began to accompany him in his song.
"Daisy, Daisy… give me your… answer do," the robot began to sing slowly and clumsily, but with a curious enthusiasm, as if it were something it had been wanting to do for a long time. "I'm half crazy… all for the love… of you."
The Courier smiled slightly as he continued to sing, "It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage."
"But you'll… look sweet upon… the seat," the robot continued the song, showing more and more emotion in its static voice.
"Of a bicycle built for two," the two sang in unison.
By the time the song had ended, the mysterious object on the robot's chest had ceased its constant flickering, with those little ripples of energy now gone.
"How… do you know… that song?" the robot asked, now mellower.
"It's an old song where I come from," he explained. "And if you know it, then you sure have something to do with my home."
The robot was speechless at that. Despite being a machine, it seemed to be experiencing all kinds of emotions at that moment, its contempt and hatred now buried.
"My Master, he… used to sing it to me… during my testing phase," the robot said in a tone that almost made it sound like it was about to burst into tears.
"Well then, in that case it doesn't make much sense for us to kill each other, don't you think?" the Courier said as he held up his Pip-Boy, wanting to show it to the robot. "You and I have a lot to talk about."