"Alright! This is where we should blow to smivvereens!" The hooded monster turned and looked at Lily. "Uhm… 'elloooo, 'uman!" He tapped her on the head with the back of his axe. "Oi! Leave it aht! That stuff belongs to the Master! There'll be 'ell to pay if ya mess wiv it!"
"Too late!" Lily ran over, easily jumping over the hoodlums hand when he went to grab her, though he was quick and caught a pigtail. Lily let out a hiss as she lit one of the bombs and threw it, watching as it took out the teeth that were stuck like stalactites. "Got it!"
The group went still when the explosion was much bigger than it should have been and a shadowy hoodlum dropped down, a snarl pointed at the group. Lily looked back, making sure their hoodlum was still there. "Oi, that ain't me! Now I gotta show it oo's the boss!" He picked Lily up, tossing her and Arisplotle towards the monster. "Show 'em wot fer!"
Lily used the momentum to swing her hammer, bringing it down on the shadow monsters head as the hoodlum jumped down after her and taking a few quick slashes at the shadow. The two pulled back, grinning at each other when the shadow disappeared. "Gertcha, ya shady rotter!" The hoodlum put a hand on his belly as he laughed. "Say, yer pretty 'andy fer a kid! Didn't throw a fit or nutin' when I tossed ya!"
"I'm used to it!" Lily laughed as she turned and started collecting all the bits of Malroth she could find.
"You got guts, too. I'd never've touched them fings wiv a bargepole…" The hoodlum slapped Lily on the back and laughed again. "Right then! I'll stick wiv this runt! Let's get aht there and destroy everyfin' we can, until we can't destroy nuffin' no more!"
Lily let the hoodlum pick her up and place her on his shoulders before looking down at him. "Hey, hoodlum. I'm building a ship to escape Doom's Day, you wanna come with and meet more ragtags like you?"
"You ain't muckin' me abaht, are ya? Troof be told, I'd rather not get destroyed if I don't gotta. 'Ight, 'ight. Take me back to yer base and 'ave a butcher's at this ship o' yers."
"Hold it! Hold it!" Arisplotle glared down at the monster, jiggling towards the beast. "Do you know of any other monsters near here that don't wanna go splat? We want to resgoo as many as we can!"
"As it so 'appens, I do know a few of 'em, they mates o' mine. It ain't far from 'ere, troof be told." The hoodlum followed the group back to the buggy, pointing Lily in the direction she needed to go for the first one.
When they got to the cliffs, Lily couldn't help her grin. "Another skeleton, huh?" She ran up, giving him a playful wave. "Hello! I'm Lily, these monsters and I are going to escape Doom's Day, you wanna tag along?"
"You bonehead! Why would I want to do that? I'm just about to be freed from an eternity of armed conflict! Doom's Day can't come soon enough!" He flinched when Lily frowned and looked away from him. "H-Hey now! You don't have to look so glum. Wait… you aren't angry at me… are you?" He took half a step back when Lily gave him a scowl, a gasp leaving him. "If looks could kill! Alright, alright. I'll consider your offer, but only if you can persuade the rest of my unit to come too." He jabbed to an area of cliffs behind him. "Two of the boys are back that way, I haven't seen sarge recently, but he can't be far off. If you can talk the rest of them in, come and find me."
Lily took off, swinging her hammer with all of her might and knocking down stone walls to get to the rest of the skeleton corps. She paused mid-swing, eyes going wide as tears burned and threatened to spill over when she heard a familiar voice. "Another fresh start! Damn. I just wish I could have said goodbye to everyone before I died… I hope they're doing alright…" The skeleton on the other side let out a cry when the wall came crashing down, his red eyes just as wide as Lily's when he saw her. "You're pullin' my leg bone! Lily! Arisplotle! It's really you!"
Lily lunged at the skeleton, hugging him tight. "Gris! I can't believe it!"
"I thought I told ya, kid? I can't die, I'm undead. A little thing like death won't stop a warrior of the Immortal Corps! Never mind that, what are you doing all the way out here?" Griswold patted Lily on the head, grunting when she hugged him tighter.
"We're looking for monsters to take back to the Ark!" Lily pulled away, giving him a sappy grin. "You'll come with us, won't you?!"
"What a stupid question, of course I will! Come on, one of my boys is all the way at the top, let's go get him, you can fill me in on the details on the way up!" Griswold followed Lily up, listening to her tell him about the Ark and the Buggy Buggy along with the adventures they had since he had departed with them. They were about half way up when an arm lashed out, destroying the bridge Lily had been building.
Griswold and Arisplotle landed with the other three monsters, gaping up when they say Lily frozen in the hands grasp. "L-Lily! Kid! Hang on, we're coming!"
Lily was frozen with fear, she had felt the power of Malroth's destruction all this time and it had never caused such a reaction in her. Then again, she had never felt his rage like this before, had never felt his claws pressing against her back in a way that could tear her to pieces. She took in a few shaky breaths before forcing herself to relax in his hold. "Mal? Can you hear me?" Her hands ran over the finger that wrapped around her shoulder as she pressed her cheek against it. "I'm coming. I-I swear that I'll save you."
Griswold led the way up, eyes narrowed on the arm. "Damn it! This isn't how I wanted to learn if she's truly friends with the Master or not!"
"He's not in the right mind, there's no way!" Zebadee watched in awe as the arm stayed still and just simply held onto the builder. "My magic won't reach that far; I have to get closer."
Lily hugged the finger, squeezing it back as best she could when the hand squeezed her. "You have to set me down, Mal. I can't save you like this." She squeaked when two claws pressed against her back more, she could feel them sink in a fraction and draw blood. She gave a growl and slammed a fist down on the hand. "Malroth! Set me down before I make you drop me!"
The group of monsters, including the one stuck at the top all watched in awe as the hand moved up and set Lily down at the top near the stuck monster. "Thank you. Now go destroy something else! I'm busy here." She kissed a knuckle as she glared at the arm. "I shouldn't have to scold you! Just you wait until I find you, you're getting an earful!" She jabbed a finger at the hand when it acted like it was about to pick her back up. "Ah! Don't you dare!" She smacked at it when it went to grab her again. "Malroth-" The builder stilled when a claw lightly touched her cheek before disappearing.
Lily rubbed her cheeks, trying to get rid of the tears there. "Dammit, Mal! I'm coming, I promise!"
Zebadee was panting by the time he got to Lily, the orb on his mask was like a beacon as he gawked at her. "I truly witnessed that… the Master… He cares for you! How! What trickery is this!?" He squeaked when Lily turned a scowl on him. "Truly, if looks could kill-"
The group set off again, taking it slower this time. The monsters huddled down when the arm appeared again. "Ms. builder!" The hoodlum held her up as if she were some kind of sacrifice when it poised to attack the monsters.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Really?! What part of 'destroy something else' don't you understand right now?!" She wiggled away from the monsters before continuing her ascent to the next skeleton. "Stupid monsters. All you care about is destroying-" She whirled around when the arm moved next to her. "What?!"
Before the arm could do anything, Lily jumped a few more levels and made it to the skeleton up top. She turned, pointing at the arm. "Stay there! And don't sass me!" She gasped when the arm lashed out, destroying an area to her left. "Malroth! If I knew your whole name-"
"Uh… can I help you?" The skeleton flinched back when Lily turned a glare on him. "Oh… my…"
"You're coming with us, and do not sass me." Lily started work on another bridge, not waiting for a response from the monster.
Griswold shrugged at his fellow soldier, a fearful look in those red eyes of his. "She's in a mood, that's for sure."
The arm appeared once more but stayed still as Lily built her little bridge across to the last skeleton soldier. It disappeared once the large group was in the buggy with the last skeletal soldier and on their way to the final monster.
Arisplotle looked to Lily when the last monster came into view, seeing panic stir in those ocean blue eyes of hers. "What's the matter? Gloop got your tongue? Let's go say hello!"
Lily stared at the monster standing before the darkened cave, her throat closed and her whole being began to tremble as she stared at the snow white batmandrill. She slowly shook her head as she slid down and hugged her legs. "No… h-he's dead…"
Arisplotle gave Lily a confused look before slipping from the cramped buggy. "Ookay then, I'll go say hello for us." He returned to Lily a few moments later, his slime body wiggling to put himself in front of her face. "He says his friend is stuck in that dark cave, let's leave the booggy here and go search for her. Then we can go home?"
Lily gave a stiff nod and slowly stood, glancing over when Griswold helped her to her feet. "Sorry… I just…"
"You're alright, kid. Let's go get this over with, I'm far too excited to see this Ark!" He led the way, keeping his boney hand on Lily as they walked by the batmandrill and into the darkness.
Lily tripped a few steps but quickly recovered thanks to the hand on her arm. She couldn't stop her trembling as they walked through the darkness. Her hand was out, waiting to feel something, anything. She bit her lip to stop the scream that threatened to leave her when her fingers slid through thick, coarse fur. Though that didn't stop the monster from giving a loud screech. "Eek, eek, eeeeeeek! Who are you?! I thought I was alone in here!"
"We're here because your friend sent us! She's worried about you! Please… come with us! Before I throw up!"
"Oh… I suppose I should go and say something. Take her under my wing and convince her to join me in the darkness. Do you know the way out?"
Lily gave a whimper when the leathery hand touched her arm back. "Yeah! Don't touch me! Please!" She turned, tripping over something slimy which made her scream.
"L-Lily! It's just me!" Arisplotle cried out when Lily thrashed for a moment. "You're really worked up right now, huh?"
Lily grabbed the slime and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Let's just hurry up." She whimpered as she crawled on hands and knees out of the darkness. She kept her head down as the monsters slowly walked out around her, throwing worried glances her way.
The group froze again when they saw the batmandrill that had been outside running towards them. They looked up, seeing a hand hovering around nearby. "Can the Master feel your fear, child?" Zebadee helped Lily to her feet and throwing a glance to her back when he felt something wet, seeing the blood there. "You're bleeding, child."
"I-I'm fine." Lily watched as the two batmandrills went into a small fight, snapping at each other about how stupid the other one was. The two monsters turned and looked at Lily, grinning at her. "So… I take it… you're joining us?"
"Sure are!"
The buggy moved slower with all the weight on it, but the group made it back in one piece. As soon as Lily got the buggy parked, she watched the other monsters swarm the new group, cheering about seeing old friends. She slowly climbed out, her hand moving to her head as the world began to spin around her. She groaned as she tried to make her way down the steps, a small moan leaving her when it all went dark.
Hellen ran over, barely catching Lily before the girl could hit the ground. "What happened?!"
"Hellen the Horrible! You'll never believe it; this child is friends with the Master! I've seen it with my own eyes, though he caused some damage and I believe she's lost quite a bit of blood over the ordeal…" Zebadee jumped away when Hellen lashed out at him. "What did I do to deserve a swing?!"
"You did not bring our only hope back!" Hellen snarled as she scooped Lily up in her large hands and carried the girl into the altar room. "Heathens, the lot of you!" She slammed the doors shut, locking everyone else out as she set to work on helping Lily. "Oh, my sweet summer child…"
Some time passed and Hellen finally emerged from the altar room, the orb on her mask dull as she stomped over to the new crew of monsters. "Next time anyone goes out with the builder, if she is bleeding in such a manner, you will bring her back. I will not have the Master destroying something she has worked so hard on because we failed to help her!"
Zebadee slowly turned away, his movements stiff as he tried to stay out of the priestesses anger. "We… we were nearly finished… we were going to get the batmandrills and- and…"
"I care not for your excuses, magistrate! It is our duty, Hargon's will, to see this child save her friend and us! If I see Lily come back injured in such a manner again, I will destroy whoever allowed it." Hellen slammed a morning star down, snarling at the other monsters. "She will sleep for the night. For now, you can all switch between guard duty and collecting vines for food. Until then, I want to see no one standing still."
Drackson looked to Zebadee, a worried look on his face. "D-Don't you… outrank Hellen the Horrible?"
"Shush, my child. No one outranks an enraged female." Zebadee pulled Drackson to his chest, covering the smaller monsters mouth. "Now, let's… find somewhere to hide."
Lily stirred; her whole body ached as she turned her head to the side. She could hear shouting and arguing from the other side. It was tempting to close her eyes and pretend like she was still asleep, but she had a friend to save. She pushed herself up, seeing the bandages the Hellen must have wrapped around her torso. A glance to her right showed her where her armor was at, she shrugged at it, her undershirt and shorts would be fine for now.
"I will tell her what I know when she wakes up, slime."
"But I want to know too!"
"Oi! Are we ignorin' the fact that y'all fink I'm goin' ta build anythin'?!"
"You'll build if you want to live!"
"Yeah, put a sock in it! You either help build and live, or you walk away and die!"
"But we're Children o' 'Argon!"
"You guys can't do anything with me, huh?" Lily leaned against the doorframe, grinning at the surprised monsters that turned to her. "How long was I taking a snooze?"
"It's only been a few hours. I expected you to sleep through the night, child." Hellen ran over, looking the builder over. "Why are you up and about already?"
Zebadee also went to Lily, his hands tucked in the pockets of his gown. "Lily, your slime friend told me I never answered your question about knowing where Malroth might be. I expect him to be within the walls of Hargon's Castle."
"How do I get there?" Lily straightened up, eyes narrowing on the magistrate.
"It will be no easy task." He pointed beyond the low walls of the Ark. "And I don't know of anyone who can fly that far."
Lily walked around until she could see what he was pointing at, her jaw dropping. "How had I not seen that before?"
"I only noticed it when we were heading back, I assume the Master did something to bring it here." Zebadee shrugged some, a sigh leaving him. "Even if you had the means to fly that far, builder, you could not get through. The castle is surrounded by powerful vortexes, not to mention the magical barrier. I have no insight on how to break passed those defenses."
Lily glared at the castle, a monster worthy growl starting in her belly and worked its' way out of her throat as she clenched her fists. "I'll think of something."
"Congratulations-Lily! You-have-acquired-new-data-pertaining-to-your-friend's-expected-coordinates." N04H came over and patted Lily on the head.
Arisplotle jumped onto N04H, watching Lily. "That's right, but we have all these new and sticky problems! How to get over there and how to break through!?"
"Silly-slime. We-can-upgrade-the-Buggy-Buggy. We-have-the-technology. Hope-has-not-run-out!" N04H spun around, looking at all of the new monsters before turning back to Lily. "Another-problem-now. We-have-more-monsters-than-ever-before. We-must-introduce-the-newcomers-to-the-basics-of-building!"
Lily nodded and went back to the altar room, reappearing with her book in hand. "If we did this, and then this…" As Lily got to work on the next portion of the blueprint, the monsters did what they do best and cleared out the area beneath for the undercarriage. She looked up when she heard a commotion of excitement not that far off. "What in the…?" She got up and went over, seeing that Hellen, N04H and Gremville had been busy while she'd been away. "You guys made materials?"
"But of course, child! We couldn't let you have all the glory, am I right?" Hellen laughed as she patted the new storage container that was chock full of things for building.
Lily grinned as she watched the monsters look over the contents. She tossed her blueprint down, letting the beings around her get busy. "Lily? Lily, child. This Ark of yours-" She turned, seeing Zebadee walk over to her. "Did this come from that rust bucket running around or… from the leather-bound tomb of yours?"
"Hah, the guts of this book are a secret." The builder gave the magistrate a playful wink, laughing when he gasped in surprise. "Don't worry, it drives Malroth up a wall too. But no one but I will ever see the inside of it!"
"This information makes me all the more curious!" He cleared his throat as he rubbed the glass orb of his scepter. "I have been informed you use these-" he waved to the two forbidden altars. "to create materials for us to use here. Isn't that quite the task for a single person? Perhaps you could make a proper room? A, uh, summoning chamber if you will. I could help with creating these materials…"
Lily lifted a brow at him and smirked. "Oh? Alright, I can do that." She slipped back into the altar room, fixing it up with what would be needed. Once she was finished, the magister came in, an awed noise leaving him. "Like it?"
"I… do!" He turned to her, clapping his hands softly. "Lily, will you answer a question of mine? I've been truly baffled since we first met. I need to know how a human, a builder, came to be friends with the Master."
"Simple. We washed up on an island after a shipwreck and became friends. At the time we didn't know he was the Master of Destruction. And truth be told, I wouldn't have him any other way. I love Malroth for who and what he is. No matter how frustrated he gets at his destructive powers."
"That is poppycock." Zebadee slammed his scepter down, growling. "I… I cannot believe what you claim! Heed my words, builder! Creation and Destruction are fundamentally irreconcilable forcers! Sooner or later, the balance will tip, and one will extinguish the other."
Lily frowned as Zebadee turned and left her alone in the summoning chamber. She crossed her arms and looked out the stain glass windows, seeing the castle just out of reach. "I refuse to believe that." She went outside and started helping where she could on the Ark.
