**Author's note: For the lore purists out there, I have changed the shape of the Tesseract Labyrinth Trazyn carries from a sphere back to a cube.**
Monster corpses smoked in the heat of the midday air as the ground trembled below us as another minor quake struck. This whole Necron tomb raiding adventure was awful, and I wanted to be fucking done with it. Instead of one Screamer to deal with, we had encountered a plethora of outrageously aggressive beasts on our walk back. From two leaping white tiger creatures with spiny tails, and a pack of leeches the length of a space marine's leg, it felt as if every single living thing in the area now hated us and wanted us (but mainly Trazyn) dead. I noted that only a minority of these creatures caused the Key on my chest to react, trapping their souls and storing their energy for later. Maybe only some of these creatures had souls, but I had no idea. I filed this soul-trapping phenomena under "space magic I don't understand", and tried not to think about it too much. The latest monstrosity to assault us was some kind of red and black giant salamander that was now a bloody mess on the riverbank. Hesitantly, I peered around another bend in the canyon to see if it was safe for us yet. My companions waited behind me, not wanting to deal with Trazyn, who was a giant asshole.
As the day had worn on, the canyon's height had gradually decreased as we made our way back to the Divine Retribution. Minor quakes had begun to rumble below us with alarming frequency, which definitely motivated us to keep moving, despite Trazyn's reassurances that everything was fine. The weather became hot and very uncomfortable. Yesterday's hike had been pleasantly warm, but now, the desert was blazing, and the descending rock walls surrounding us left us occasionally exposed to the bright sun. The canyon surrounding us gently sloped downward until it was only a few times my height, which enabled some kind of comically dangerous simian creature that resembled a giant red-skinned capuchin monkey to ambush us, pouncing down from the cliff and right on Trazyn's back with a screech. It would've been funny had this whole day not been so awful. Directly after impaling the vicious mutant monkey through the chest with Roquat's staff, a giant salamander hiding in the water attempted to reach onto the shore and bite the Necron's leg. It quickly became the focal point for Trazyn's ire, who beat it to death within seconds.
"This is nothing compared to what I will do to him!" Trazyn swore again, striking a closed metal fist down onto the dead amphibian's skull, splitting it and spilling bone fragments and brains everywhere. He was behaving like a giant metal toddler after being humiliated by the hologram earlier. We had learned to trail behind the Necron lord at a distance, as it kept us away from the full wrath of the local predators, and prevented us from being covered in more gore than we already were. Whoever Orikan was, I felt darkly grateful for his meddling, even if it appeared that he was hanging around waiting for us back at the Divine Retribution. I just hoped that the ship was still safe, and that no one was trying to cut their way in. Valkyrie had said we were being watched, so it made sense. At least this new scheming Necron didn't seem overtly unfriendly to us, and that meant a lot in a universe as hostile as this one.
"I will deconstruct his body, only leaving his essential circuits intact and serving as living puppet strings hanging from the museum ceiling. There, he will hang for eternity, displayed like the bones of ocean leviathans in more prosaic museums. There, he will remain an eternal example of an avatar of foolish insolence as a warning on how not to conduct one's self. He will be conscious, too. Oh yes! Conscious forever!" Trazyn punched the skull in frustration again, beating it into a pulp.
Is he finished? Alberich asked behind me, stinking of dried black blood. I shook my head, and I could hear the beastman groan. I felt bad for him. After our encounter with the worm-centipede, Alberich had attempted to take a quick rinse in the river, but was interrupted when a crab half the size of a small car had surfaced beside him, previously hidden in the sand. After the Tzaangor sliced off one of its claws in a wild panic, it turned its hungry pinchers to Trazyn, who struck it with his staff, causing it to burn up and die with the aroma of cooked lobster. Trazyn had then yelled at Alberich about how he was "useless", which caused the beastman to simply walk away from the encounter, fed up. As wildly threatening and nasty as the Necron was, I did notice that he didn't hurt us. Trazyn only seemed very fixated on hurting Orikan, and was not focusing on anything else besides that. This included forgetting the cube he had dropped on the shoreline, which now nestled hidden within Null's robes.
Trazyn stopped his temper tantrum, and turned back to us again, huffing in irritation. "I swear, the more time I spend with flesh-based animals the more inferior you seem. No offense, but it's the truth."
Another quake shook the ground below us, causing a few stones to fall loose from the canyon wall. This was getting worrisome. How long did it take the other non-mindless Necrons to wake up? How much time did we really have?
"We aren't far away now," Null said as he appeared next to me, apparently having similar thoughts. 77-X followed close behind, still carrying the battery and also covered in drying gore. I was jealous that the tech-priest still seemed much cleaner than the rest of us. At least I could look forward to a bath if and when we got back to the ship. Null blinked in the direction we were headed twice, and stated. "We are a mere hundred meters away from our destination. I pray to the Omnissiah that we do not see many more monsters."
Speaking of hidden monsters, I realized that I hadn't seen Wolfie since Lian had tried to kill him back at the bolt-hole. I hoped he was okay and wasn't scared off for good. I missed my Toto analog.
"What do you weaklings care about monsters? You are not helping!" Trazyn spat at us, dunking his body in the water briefly to wash himself off again. "You best hope that Orikan does not have plans for you! He is not an individual of quality."
That would make two of them, Alberich telepathically whispered. I stifled a laugh that went unnoticed.
In the air, we saw something shining and metal buzzing toward us from the direction of the Divine Retribution. I couldn't tell what it was, but I did see Null perk up and spread his arms out in a gesture of welcome as it fluttered rapidly toward us. Was that Jiminy? The tender reunion was interrupted by Trazyn snatching it out of the air with a quick motion.
"More stupid tomfoolery, I'm assuming," Trazyn remarked, holding the buzzing object.
"That's my helper, Jiminy," Null said as he walked toward the Necron. "He is my creation, and I must examine him. I haven't been able to contact him for over a day now."
"You made this?" Trazyn asked, studying the metal creature, turning it over in his hands. Jiminy attempted to fly away, but the Necron lord grasped the insect firmly by a struggling leg. "I am genuinely impressed, former human. If you made this one, you can make another one. This contraption is just perfect for my alien artificer exhibit, so I'll be taking it."
"No, you won't."
Our party's attention went to the new metal voice, which came from above. Above us stood three new Necrons standing about four meters above us peering over the cliff face. Two warriors held futuristic rifles, both of which were trained below on Trazyn, and they flanked a third individual bearing a staff and wearing a shadowy cloak. Somehow, this group had snuck up on us, despite Trazyn and Null's incredible senses. We had been addressed by the mysterious individual standing between the warriors. From what I could see, he wore a short Egyptian pharaoh-styled headdress under a fluttering dark cowl. The new Necron wore a robe of actual dark red fabric covered in strange runes that shifted in the light. This one, like Orikan, had a singular green eye in the center of his forehead, and a short brass beard embellished his chin as he stared down at us, his robe moving in the desert wind. In his right hand he held a long staff of braided metal which terminated with a shining green jewel. From below, I could see that he was also very tall, like Trazyn, who responded while still holding the struggling Jiminy. "So, Orikan isn't here himself? He sends a lesser Cryptek as a welcome party instead? Who are you and why should I listen to you?"
"Who I am is not your concern. Release the drone," the Cryptek responded cooly as the two warriors at his side aimed their rifles at Trazyn's head. "You will refrain from all theft in the presence of Orikan the Diviner. I am here to escort you and the fellowship of the Plane Walker to the Divine Retribution, where Orikan waits for you."
"Please let him go," Null pleaded. "If you want one, I can make one for you, but this one has sentimental value to me."
Trazyn grunted contemptuously at the trio before a flash of green energy ignited before us on the riverbank. The Cryptek and his warriors had instantly teleported to us. The two warriors still had their weapons trained on Trazyn's head, who merely reacted with annoyance. "Oh please, spare me the melodrama," he said, tossing Jiminy away like a piece of rubbish over his shoulder. The drone righted itself midair and fluttered back to Null, who took it in hand. The tech-priest briefly fussed over poor Jiminy before the metal insect perched itself on the tech-priest's shoulder once again with a cheep.
The Cryptek glanced at each of us with his single eye before saying, "Follow please." Without further word, he turned around and began walking ahead of us on the riverbank, and through the last blind curve I remembered in the canyon. We trailed these three Necrons at a short distance, with Trazyn walking ahead.
"That ridiculous, rude, pugnacious..." Trazyn muttered.
"I suggest you keep it to yourself, larcenist," the Cryptek said ahead of us. Trazyn hissed with irritation, but complied.
Seeing the golden shape of the Divine Retribution begin to appear again gave me a feeling of immense relief as we began to exit the last gentle bend of the canyon. I was even happier that we didn't have to walk next to that river that respawned monsters every five minutes. Instead, we now had multiple scary skeleton aliens escorting us, each appearing very dangerous, the robed Cryptek especially so. Orikan and Trazyn apparently had a history, and were involving us in their feud.
The Divine Retribution appeared divine as it loomed over the scene when we finally stepped onto the dry rocky sand of the desert away from the river. The ship reflected brilliant golden light everywhere in the midday desert sun, making it very difficult to look at directly. Atop the crook of where the right wing met the body, and high above us, I saw a single shining figure leaning on an elaborate staff. On the ground, and partially in the Retribution's shadow, at least a dozen Necrons of various appearance had their rifles trained on Trazyn as we arrived. I saw the Necron lord shake his head as we approached the ship, displeased at this military display. He turned his head upward, and projected his voice to the figure standing high above us on the wing, "What is this little thing you have planned here, Orikan? Seems excessive to me. You know I would never harm such a beautiful craft. Why the small army? You don't trust me?"
"A simple security measure, dear rival. I don't want anyone to get hurt," another hollow metal voice called out from above. I saw the Necron standing on the wing of the Divine Retribution wave his staff at us in acknowledgment. That was probably Orikan. Were we about to see a fight? "I see that you are mostly intact. Good show, old friend. I'm impressed. I do hope the Nome King's guard beasts gave you an exhilarating challenge. I can tell from the filth that covers you that you've all certainly been busy!" The warriors ahead of us parted to let us approach, and our band stopped just before and below the Divine Retribution's head.
Orikan smiled down at us from above. "Hello again, Trazyn," he greeted with a warm acerbic tone.
"So tell me, old friend. Why are you here? Why bother with this childish behavior?" Trazyn inquired, a note of annoyed boredom in his voice. "My wish was to simply see this marvelous ship again. It is a historical artifact, one integral to the history of the galaxy, and you defile it by climbing all over it like a monkey. You give the Plane Walker's slave more work since it will now have to clean your dirty footsteps away. Shame."
"I assure you I have no intention of harming this vessel or the fellowship that controls it. Quite the contrary, really." Orikan turned his single eye down to us, squinting and leaning on his staff as if he was a feeble old man studying his grandchildren. It appeared that he was taking a moment to assess us all individually. Once his eye settled on me, he called out to me, "You are the pilot of what is now designated the Divine Retribution, and these are your crew, your fellowship. One of you is missing. Where is the Cowardly Lion?"
"He's imprisoned. Trazyn took him," I responded before Trazyn could, projecting my voice to be heard. How did this Necron know all of this, and did he just say "Cowardly Lian" or "Cowardly Lion?"
"I am not surprised," Orikan sighed. Another flash of green energy, and Orikan was now standing two paces before us. The Cryptek who had escorted us offered a short bow, and took his leave. He walked a few paces away to stand at attention. Whoever that mysterious goth Necron was, he appeared very dangerous.
"You old meddlesome fool," Trazyn bristled. From behind, I could see that his fists clenched in obvious discomfort. "A question, if I may. Since when do you actually care about these creatures and their fates? I categorize and cultivate each bit of the culture of the galaxy for the academic benefit of our species. You, on the other hand, seem to be interfering with time for your own amusement."
"That deflection is laughable, Trazyn. I happened to discover that a specific record was missing from my archives. You most certainly know the importance of the individuals you are with, and what this vessel is. Your interest isn't just in simple tourism, and this is not something you should be interfering in."
Trazyn laughed, "I don't know what you're talking about. I do not interfere. In fact, I saved their lives when the Nome King woke, which is something I suspect you interfered with to make happen. I have simply been anticipating the reappearance of this gold bird for an age. As we both know, what was once the Divine Intervention vanished in the local area long ago. In my wisdom, I calculated signs that it would once again fly, and I had a few friends in the area inform me directly that it arrived once again. Is it not a glorious sight to behold? You couldn't resist it either, it seems." The Necron lord gestured widely up to the Divine Retribution with Roquat's staff.
"You didn't interfere?" Orikan gently chuckled, and pointed Roquat's staff with his own. "Is that your artifact? Is that your necrodermis? You have subsumed the Nome King's body. I categorize that as interfering."
Trazyn groaned. "You know what I'm talking about. The Nome King had reacted with his typical unreasonable anger when he noticed his new visitors, and was preparing to kill my present company. I had to react quickly to save them. It was fortuitous that I had been watching this world, really, as these nice people would be dead without my help. Aside from that little detail, my intentions are pure. And whatever emitter implanted within me put all of us in danger. As you can see, the glory of the golden-eyed Plane Walker has been tarnished by filth and animal gore because you wanted mindless monsters to hurt me. How vindictive. How primitive," Trazyn explained with drawling sanguine snark. He then stepped forward. "So, now the question is this: what game are you playing at now, Orikan? Let these nice people go about their ways and fulfill their destinies. Stop interfering with their fates."
With that, several of Orikan's warriors trained their rifles on Trazyn, who moved no further. Orikan tapped his fingers against his staff. "Their lessened number is an admission of your guilt here, dear rival. I'm sure they're not happy with you sundering their fellowship like this. It is foretold in the sacred records that they must all travel together!"
"They are whole and well, Diviner. I don't know what you're talking about," Trazyn said dismissively, tapping his staff once against the ground.
"Hmm, are they? They seem to be missing one important element."
I cleared my throat and tried to help the situation, "I think we're f-"
Orikan immediately whipped his single-eyed head to me, and yelled, "Let me handle this, Plane Walker! I'm on your side!" There was a strange shimmer of light, and when I blinked, it seemed as if reality had skipped a beat behind.
"They are whole and well, Diviner. I don't know what you're talking about," Trazyn said dismissively once again, tapping his staff against the ground. Didn't this just happen? Beside me, I saw Alberich's blackened feathers fluff up again as he glanced about nervously. Valkyrie shimmered in the sun, and the beastman looked up to the blade and closed his eyes.
"Hmm, are they? They seem to be missing one important element. The Cowardly Lion. She says you took him."
"That individual was revealed by the Plane Walker herself that he was not a part of their crew, and that he had just been met. I have caused no interference in their quest. You're the one causing the bends and breaks in time and fate."
"Don't play dumb with me anymore, you old fool. You and I both know about the prophecies of the Plane Walkers, the Marii-Suze who walk the lines of all creation. I know you know of these prophecies because I know you stole that specific record from my library. You likely could not resist showing up here to see for yourself, and to snag one of their destined crew. This Plane Walker has what is called a "Cowardly Lion", and he is in your possession. You must return him."
"I don't know what record or prophecy you are speaking of," Trazyn remarked. Beside me, I saw Alberich roll his eyes. I feel you there, ex-Nazi bird buddy. I was also darkly amused at hearing the term "Marii-Suze", which sounded similar to "Mary Sue", an amateur plot device for writing self-inserts. Honestly, if this was a fanfiction somewhere, everything would be easier if I was a Mary Sue. Instead of being a neurotic mess, I would be having more fun and getting in less trouble if I was overpowered, unique, and universally loved, just like the Emperor.
I stopped my nerdy contemplation as I watched Orikan glare at his rival. "I know you have it, Trazyn, you liar. You would derail how things must be. You would deny the skeins of fate shifting positively in our race's favor. Cease with your damned selfish behavior."
"That's very amusing, coming from you. Friends, did you know that this malcontentious excuse for a Chronomancer regularly tampers with the flow of time, using it for theft and other uncouth things? It has made him quite unpopular with his betters. How many times have you been brought before the counsel, Orikan? Do remind me, old friend," Trazyn said with a flippant riposte, glancing behind us over his shoulder.
"I do what is necessary for the continuation of our race, Trazyn, and for the continuation of life in this galaxy. Stealing one of my most valuable artifacts and using it to help determine the location of a Marii-Suze while the rest of the galaxy is distracted is glaringly predictable! I didn't think you'd have the insolence to actually commit to this!" After saying this, Orikan tapped his staff on the ground, which then began to sparkle.
A peculiar shimmer again washed across my vision like a heat mirage, and reality became a two-dimensional veil, muffled and suspended. Orikan was suddenly directly before me, and held a hand out in an open gesture of peace. The world around us had completely frozen into a grey tapestry, and no one was moving. It was as if time had stalled out. "Do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm, Plane Walker. I had hoped to meet you along the road, not like this. Here!" Orikan reached into his robe, placed a small metal disk the size of my palm in my hand. It was marked with strange runes which I did not recognize.
"What is this?" I asked.
"Ask your tech-priest, and keep it hidden. Say nothing of this when time restarts. Watch it when you are far from here!"
"We were able to steal Lian back but he's still trapped in a cube. Trazyn doesn't know. The tech-priest has him in a pocket right now," I blurted out quickly as Orikan stepped back.
"Old fool actually dropped a Tesseract Labyrinth and forgot about it because he was too angry? Hah! Makes things easier for me. I'll fix that," the Chronomancer then produced a plain metal ring roughly the diameter of a half-dollar. "This was once Trazyn's, and will undo the Labyrinth's grip on your companion with a touch. Open it when you are in a safe place. Hide that too!"
I placed the ring and the disk in a pocket. "Why do you help us? Where did you hear about the Yellow Brick Road and the Cowardly Lion?" I asked the obvious question. Here was someone who somehow definitely knew about the Wizard of Oz in this universe, and it was blowing my mind.
"I foresee events moving across all creation, even between universes. I see the echoes of fate across time, and as cycles advance, they repeat themselves. The Divine Retribution has flown before under a different name and a different pilot before, and many times. It has potential to unleash grand positive change for both my race and yours. With the recent formation of the Great Rift, hope against the threat of the Empyrean is under grave threat. If I let this fool take away hope and put it in a museum, I would be betraying my people. Regrettably, I must now warn you of something I was not able to fix: Trazyn, in his ignorant greed, has started a negative chain of events from his continuous theft from the Nome King's hoard. Ages ago, the Nome King was called 'Roquat the Red' for a reason, and now his murderous empire wakes. He will surely seek to reclaim his purloined properties, and his many missing emeralds. The disk will explain how I know some of these things. For now, I have little borrowed time remaining. I hope to explain further if I see you again. Say none of this to those beyond your crew."
"Thank you," I said breathlessly. Wow.
Orikan smiled at me as I began to see the world begin to ignite in color and motion again. "Dorothy will have her Lion, and she will see the Wizard, and all of the galaxy shall rejoice," he said cryptically.
"Wha-" was all I could say when I found myself suddenly standing next to Trazyn and Orikan as they continued to bicker. Time had restarted with another nauseating skip. I found myself returned to the main timeline, apparently already in progress.
"-and, over and over! You steal without thought to the functionality and promise of the future. Give them back their Lion, Trazyn! They need the Lion to go where they go! Interrupt this, and you risk averting the our hope for a better fate!" Orikan pleaded.
Trazyn continued to stonewall his rival. "Is this all you have to say to me, you cancerous blight upon time? How many times must I tell you? The supposed 'Cowardly Lian' you have identified wasn't even a part of their merry band, but someone they had just met. You're wasting your time, and for you, that is especially funny. Why even bother standing here trying to convince me of anything? You know I'll never give anything up!"
Orikan stood still and did not respond for a few moments, and then, began to unexpectedly grin. Nearby, the red robed goth Cryptek that had escorted us also began to grin. What were they up to?
"Oh, no. Of course not. I gave up on trying to talk reason to you long ago. I just needed to get you to stand here talking in my presence long enough for this to work," Orikan said, suddenly holding a small rectangular device in his hand. With a quick motion of his thumb, he flipped a tiny switch, and a red light began to blink.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Was that a twinge of worry in Trazyn's voice?
"This, my short-sighted friend, is an activation key for the Nome King's belt. You really never paid attention to it, did you? It is a powerful artifact, able to store and manipulate consciousness, almost like your ability to infect others with yourself. It is so powerful that I suspect you weren't able to transmute it, and that it still lays within your body, unaltered. After I met with Roquat and listened to his grievances, he allowed me to import an experimental mnemonic within him and his belt, making him resistant to your contagion of will. Talking with you this long has given him enough time to begin to reclaim his body from within your grasp. All that exertion in fighting the local predators damaged you enough to allow his neural pathways to begin to assert themselves again as they regenerated your body. With this final action, your time here is now very limited."
Trazyn responded with stunned silence ahead of us. This had probably really pissed him off. He took a single step at Orikan, but then halted midstride.
"The Nome King hears every word we say, you know. How many times have you stolen from him now? When did you infect his body with the virus that allows you to live within him? Well, I'm not sure on those things, but, I will leave you to your fate here. My suggestion to you now is to immediately transport yourself back to Solemnace before you lose control so that you can save whatever else you stole here. When you get there, you should probably set up a welcoming party of your own for him, as he will probably wish to speak to you concerning his missing ornaments and jewels. Oh, and to let you know, the Plane Walker managed to steal her Cowardly Lion back from you when you were distracted by your own anger. You have been bested again, it seems!" Orikan said to Trazyn, who had begun to shudder.
"Ah, I'm finished here," Orikan said to us, smiling in satisfaction and turning away from Trazyn's infuriated frozen body. "I will depart with my guard now. Perhaps I will see you again? My advice to you is to leave this planet and fly as far away as you can as quickly as you can. Make haste for your Oz, but be warned, for this vessel is highly visible, both in the Empyrean and here. Your flame has attracted many moths already. A thousand eyes watch above and beyond." The Chronomancer smiled at us, and then made some indication to his companions with another wave of his staff. The robed Cryptek that had accompanied us bowed to Orikan as he wore a smug grin, and then vanished in a flash of light, along with his two guards.
"I'm... not... finished... with... you... yet!" Trazyn managed to choke out to Orikan. I could see that his metal skin was slightly undulating like ripples in a pond.
"No, I don't expect that you are, dear rival. We'll meet again elsewhere, but your time here wanes. With each second you wait here, the Nome King grows within you. Do you want him to retake that body, and take all the remaining precious shiny things you managed to procure so far?"
A pause, and then I heard a tortured groan. In another flash of green light, Trazyn himself vanished in a bright flash. Left behind, both Roquat's staff and jeweled belt fell to the desert sand with a dull thud. Another tremor struck, this one stronger than what we had felt earlier. We probably didn't have much time left before this planet fully woke, considering Trazyn's hold on the Nome King had just been broken.
Before me, Orikan bowed slightly. "Safe travels, Plane Walker. May the road you walk always be golden," he said warmly. With another wave of his staff, the Chronomancer vanished along with his entourage.
I turned to my companions, who were staring in surprise at the whole situation. "What... just happened?" I asked. How on Earth (or Holy Terra) did these random Necrons know about us coming here, and on top of that, how in the fuck did they know about the Wizard of Oz?
"There will be more than enough time to decipher the riddles of these xenos, but my suggestion to you now is that we depart from here," Null said hastily. The tech-priest's dim eyes then found Roquat's belt and staff, and he slowly leaned over to pick them up.
Alberich responded with quickly placing his glaive in front of the Necron artifacts, and stopping the tech-priest from touching them. The Tzaangor shook his head. "If these things can hurt these metal aliens, they can hurt you! They are cursed."
A tense moment passed as another quake struck below us, this one nearly causing me to stumble. Null actually didn't move to chastise Alberich for stopping him, and slowly straightened back up. The tech-priest then did something unexpected. He nodded in reluctant concession, and stepped back. "It is a shame," Null said, gazing down at the artifacts on the desert floor. "But in this instance, I fear you are correct. We need to leave. We must escape."
I took a deep breath. Okay, seriously, we needed to not stand around and worry about stupid bullshit on this waking Tomb world filled with monsters and Necrons.
"Alright, you heard the man, let's go! Divine Retribution, open up! Let's make like a tree and get out of here!"
As the Divine Retribution kneeled down and unrolled its gangway before us, Alberich cocked his head at me, and said "That doesn't make any sense."
"I was trying to be funny," I said, walking up the stairs as I was followed by my crew.
"The mysteries of the Travelers are difficult to grasp, I suspect," Null tried to clarify as he and 77-X walked behind Alberich, boarding the ship. Even though he didn't get my stupid little joke, we had made it back here, so I was definitely happy about that. I even looked forward to sitting on that terrible golden throne again just so we could be out of here faster.
Soon, we would be gone from this doomed planet. Things had to get better from here on out now that we finally had the battery, right?
Right?