by Ramy Vance
The cheers of the orcs beyond the hills were thunderous as Terra turned back to the agents.
Anabelle quietly murmured, "You're getting pretty good at that."
Terra slammed her fist to her chest. "Can we get going already? I'm tired of talking. I'd like to kill something now."
Roy pointed to someone off-screen. "All right, Creon, pop those Gates open. I'll be joining you shortly. Try to stay alive until I get there."
The Netherverse Gate opened in front of Anabelle and Terra as the holograms faded.
The elf met Terra's eyes. "If there was anyone I'd want to fight Death with by my side, it'd be you. I respect you a lot."
Terra punched Anabelle in the arm. "Hold off on all the sappy shit until Abby's here. She's going to get a kick out of it."
She ran through the Gate.
Anabelle took a deep breath and followed her.
As she passed through the portal, the air went cold. It felt as if it had been sucked out of her lungs and replaced by ice, an unnerving sensation. When she saw the Netherverse, the uncomfortable feeling was replaced by pure dread.
Anabelle had reviewed Abby's report on her experience in the Netherverse, but it did nothing to prepare her for what was in front of her.
The plains of the Netherverse were built of souls. Anabelle could see their hands poking out of the ground as if they had been heaped up and were clawing their way out from under each other.
Jagged pieces of purple stone floated through the air, stretching to an infinite darkness broken only by flashes of purple lightning followed by thunder that sounded as if the world were collapsing on itself.
Out in the darkness, colossal shapes moved, barely visible—millions of tentacles wrapping around each other, sliding over bulbous bone skulls with a sea of eyes, skin peeling, revealing something deeper that Annabelle could not bring herself to look at.
Terra looked to be just as displaced as Anabelle before suddenly laughing. "Abby's gotta get better at her reports. She should have mentioned that this place was a fucking walking nightmare."
Anabelle couldn't help but laugh too. Only Terra could look upon the horrors of the Elder Ones and find something to laugh at. "Come on, let's head toward those coordinates."
The two of them sprinted toward the location Martin had given them.
Bolts of purple lightning repeatedly struck the ground in that direction.
Suddenly, a shockwave of purple energy blasted through the ground, rippling across Anabelle’s and Terra's feet.
Around them, the hands of the souls started to shake, coming to life. The ground rose and fell as if an earthquake were rolling through the Netherverse.
In the distance, Anabelle could see the faint outline of two figures floating in the air. Beneath them was a force of ghouls that could not be counted.
Terra spoke into her HUD. "All forces roll in. Get ready to fuck shit up."
The two stared at the army in front of them. "You think the horde can handle this?"
Terra nodded as she stretched her arms. "Yeah. Cire'll take care of it. You ready?"
"I've never just slipped into the Path."
Terra clenched her fists. "We did it before, so we can do it again. Let's go get Abby."
Anabelle closed her eyes and let herself sink within. The mana flowed through her as she focused on the only thing that was important: her strength. She let it consume her, burning within her like a fire threatening to devour everything.
Flames burst from her skin, covering her in a fiery aura. She and Terra screamed, their eyes glowing white. "I'm ready," the elf said.
The two of them launched toward the site, leaving a trail of energy behind them, heading for the thousands of ghouls standing between them and Abby.
Chapter Twenty
The horde poured into the Netherverse as Anabelle and Terra slashed through the thousands of ghouls ahead of them.
Terra, moving faster than she ever had in her life, sliced through the ghouls in front of her, Anabelle at her side like a flaming rocket. They eviscerated everything in front of them with the power coursing through their veins.
Neither of them could see the ghouls in detail. Even though time was moving slower for them, they were racing toward Abby.
The horde's purpose was to handle the ghouls. Abby was theirs.
A bolt of lightning struck directly in front of them. The elf flung herself to the right while Terra increased her speed, narrowly missing being struck.
The ghouls far behind them, they stood before the two floating figures: Abby and Tesla.
Abby's armor had changed. It looked more militaristic and vicious. Spikes ran down her back and across her shoulders. Her forearms were covered with blades, and her eyes glowed an eerie black. Other than eyes, there were no other facial features.
Tesla slowly turned around. His pupils were purple, and his mouth was turned up in an unforgiving grin. He had the audacity to twirl his mustache as he cackled. "Ah, my dear ladies. I believe you have arrived too late. Abby has been helping me power the Dark One's army. How does it feel to have one of your own leave your ranks to serve me, the Great Tesla?"
Terra drew her axe. "I thought you were serving the Dark One. The way you make it sound, you are the one in charge."
Tesla laughed again. "My dear, it does not matter who I serve. My genius will be known regardless. Bow before my technological glory. Look at what I have done to your precious Abby! Her tech was a little lacking. Rudimentary, I would say. I've given her a few improvements. perhaps a microchip or two." He followed this statement with an aggravating old-time laugh reminiscent of the worse vaudeville.
Anabelle's heart sank as she imagined the worst. Maybe Roy had been right, and it had been a mistake to encourage Abby to try to work both sides. Just by looking at the girl, Anabelle could tell something was different.
Tesla waved his hand, causing another bolt of lightning to strike the ground in front of him. "Abby, my dear, my muse, please show them the power you can call with just a little bit of ingenuity."
Abby floated forward, her eyes flashing brightly as the blades running down her spine glowed. "It would be our pleasure." She raised her hand, her arm converting to a plasma cannon that dwarfed anything she had created before. She aimed it at Anabelle and Terra. "We have experienced substantial upgrades. There's nothing more we would like to do than show them off."
And then she winked.
She spun, her cannon trained on Tesla, and fired a plasma blast the size of a MAC truck. The blast rocketed at the scientist, who let out a yelp and teleported out of the way.
Abby flew to Terra and Anabelle, laughing. "Oh my God, can you believe he fell for that? We swear, all we did was make our armor look 'evil,'" she said with air quotes, "and he totally bought it. I don't understand how a genius could have been so stupid."
Tesla's eyes shifted from purple to red. "You were faking? But I showed you so many diagrams and shared so many theories. I thought we were bonding as equals!"
Abby was doubled over laughing. "We know! It was hilarious. You really need to work on your people skills. Like, learn how to read a room, my dude."
Tesla crossed his arms and pouted. "Some of us are beyond the normal realms of intelligence and don’t waste time on trivial things. We pursue the sciences and truth."
Abby wasn't listening to Tesla. She was already talking to Anabelle and Terra. "Dude, you won't even believe this. He handed us his improvements on the microchip before he chipped us. Just put it in our hand. We broke it down and came up with a counter-virus for it, so the Dark One won't be enslaving anyone new for a while."
Tesla grabbed his head and screamed, "Nooooooooooo! How could you betray me?"
The blades on Abby's armor withdrew. "Oh, that's not even the best part. He put us in charge of powering the whole first quadrant of the ghouls."
Abby held out her arm, and her HUD projected a holographic image of the battlefield. "Looks like we have your orcs here, and Sarah's forces on t
he other side. And...yep, here we go." She tapped the holoscreen.
In the distance, there was a giant explosion that shook the ground they were standing on. "That takes care of probably half the ghouls that were resurrected," Abby said as she dusted her hands off and took a bow. "Thank you, thank you. We'd like to thank the Academy for this award, and Terra for always reminding me how strong we are, and Anabelle for always encouraging us to take risks."
Terra slapped her knee as she laughed and gave Abby a high five. "Dude, that was fucking awesome. He didn't even see it coming."
Tesla was still stewing above them, unable to deal with his defeat.
Terra pointed at the man. "So, what now? Do we just beat the shit out of that nerd?"
Abby raised her hand. "Not yet, not yet. This is the best part." Her hand flashed bright white, and a portal opened in front of her.
Persephone stepped out and sent her tentacles flying.
Abby giddily pointed to her hand. "We also jacked his teleportation tech. He wasn't joking about the upgrades. We got hooked up! Uh, Persy, you wanna help the orcs or the gnomes?"
Persephone stared at the Elder Gods as she thought. "I think I'll give Sarah a hand."
Abby opened a new portal as Martin projected a holographic version of himself. "All fun and games once you get portals, huh?" He groaned.
Persephone jumped through the portal, and it closed behind her.
Abby took another bow. "Now we can beat the shit out of this nerd."
"Enough!" Tesla shouted as thunder boomed behind him. "I will not be mocked."
A bolt of lightning struck him, and then another, and yet another. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain and rage as bolts continued to hit him.
Terra stepped forward, swinging her axe. "Don't even worry about it, guys. Me and Anabelle unlocked our ultimate potential. We can handle this in, like, two seconds."
She tossed her axe in the air, caught it, and ran toward Tesla, then brought the blade down in a move designed to finish him.
Tesla raised one hand and caught it. "I do not think it will be that simple, my dear." He let out a roar and lightning blasted from his body, sending Terra flying.
Tesla floated into the air, purple lightning flashing from his eyes as vents opened on his body, exuding steam. "My social skills might be lacking, but my genius cannot be doubted."
He teleported in front of Abby and Anabelle and loosed a torrent of electricity that sent both members of the DGA flying. "I am Tesla, the Master of Electricity."
Anabelle skidded across the ground as hands reached up to grab and pull her down. She flexed her mana, scorching everything beneath her. "Abby, make me some space!"
Abby casually flicked her hand to the right as her body pulsed with kinetic energy. She blasted forward and connected with Tesla, who caught her mid-charge and held onto her wrist. The girl vented steam as her body recharged.
All around Anabelle, ghouls were beginning to rise, their mouths foaming as the Dark Melody they'd been introduced to earlier started to tear out of their corpses.
The elf flipped backward, torching them to ashes. "Terra, I want you to take care of the ground."
Terra swung her massive axe, cleaving through the ghouls rising near her.
Anabelle pulled up her HUD and pinged the other commanders. "Cire, Sarah, I want reports now. Where the hell are those dragons? We're going to need them soon!"
Sarah's voice came through first. "The gnome division is working its way through the first wave. I'm glad I brought Rasputina and Grok along. Even with the dragonriders, we're only barely cutting through these bastards. We’re going to be able to make it, though. We're forcing a path toward you. Figure anything that dies on the way is a job done well."
Cire came in next. "A set of explosions helped us out a lot. We're outnumbered, but the horde wishes to prove something. They're fighting as if they plan on being immortalized here. We're also making our way toward you. It will be bloody, but we will be there."
"All right, keep heading this way!" Anabelle shouted before flipping her HUD down. "You hear that, Tesla? You better quit while you're ahead. We have the numbers to take you down."
Another bolt of lightning hit Tesla. "Not if I get rid of you three first. Do you think I care about your silly Path? A bygone remnant of the past. I am the future. Even Abby saw the superiority of my tech."
Martin's image projected in front of Abby. "He does have a point. I mean, his tech is pretty out of control."
Anabelle laughed. "Yeah, okay, I'm supposed to believe that a reanimated Tesla is going to pose a challenge to us? This guy lost to Thomas Edison. I hardly know human history, and even I know how badly he got his ass kicked."
Tesla's eyes narrowed. "Do not speak his name in my presence."
The mad scientist teleported and reappeared in front of Anabelle, who tossed up her arms to block the lightning bolt he held. But Tesla didn't pull away. The rods on his back flashed brightly as the air filled with sounds of gears. Tesla's arms lengthened and forced their way through Anabelle's defense.
The ball of lightning hit Annabelle in the chest, shocking her into screams as she flew backward.
Tesla teleported above her, driving his elbow down into her stomach.
Anabelle hit the ground hard as Tesla floated above her, gathering electricity. He divebombed her, his body crackling with energy.
Abby slammed into his side, knocking him off course.
Tesla hit the ground hard, tearing open the earth and sending souls flying, then he jumped to his feet. He dashed forward, moving at the speed of light, and hit Terra with a jab in the jaw.
The force of the impact sent a shockwave past Terra, who tried to turn her face to meet Tesla's. Before she could, he teleported behind her and cracked his knee across her neck.
She stumbled forward, then swung her axe as she whirled toward him again.
Tesla's torso separated at the waist, allowing the axe to carve through the empty space. Then he reconnected, his hands glowing with electricity, and clapped them to Terra's head.
Anabelle rushed the man, and her fist connected with his chest. She let out a wild scream as she launched a flurry of attacks. Tesla blocked them all but only narrowly. Then he slipped up, and Anabelle saw her chance. She harnessed the power of the Path of the Lost while holding true to her knowledge of the ways of the Traveler and burst into a green mist, reforming behind Tesla. She grabbed him by the throat, spun and lifted him, then flung him to the ground. She remained in the air as her body flooded with mana, and then she dove at him and drove her fists into his chest. They disappeared into a crater.
As the resulting shockwave spread, Terra swung her axe in a circle, cleaving through the ghouls who were slowly gathering around them. Abby fired a precise laser, slicing up the remaining ghouls.
Anabelle leapt out of the crater and wiped a few drops of sweat off her brow. "What the hell did I tell you guys? Hardly even broke a sweat. We got this in the bag."
Terra walked over to her as Abby landed by her side. "Yeah, this was a cakewalk compared to Grok or Rasputina."
Abby's armor pulled back and she crossed her arms. "We didn’t know you two had gotten so strong. Our upgrades look lame next to yours."
Terra shoved the girl. "Don't be stupid. You got all this practical shit. Nullifying a new microchip is kinda a big deal."
Abby kicked one of the leftover ghoul hands. "Yeah, but it doesn't look nearly as cool."
A chuckle came from the crater.
Anabelle and the rest of the DGA leaned in to check what was happening.
Tesla lay in the crater, his head crushed, brain and blood leaking from the hole. His legs were broken, and his left arm was a few feet from his torso. Yet he was laughing.
Anabelle's fist caught fire. "Hm. Thought you were dead."
He spoke in a dead, mechanical voice. "Reconfiguring based on combat data." The brain matter and blood were sucked back into the skull, which regrew its armor as his legs straight
ened out and his arm was magnetically drawn back to his body. A bolt of lightning hit him, and when the dust settled, he floated into the air. "Thank you for the data. Shall we proceed?"
Anabelle stepped forward. "Let me handle this." She leapt at him, her fists flaming as she swung.
Tesla teleported to the side and grabbed Anabelle's hand. "Elemental damage increased through an oscillating mana reserve. Simple enough." He let go, and she backhanded him.
The attack did no damage. Tesla looked at the elf curiously. "Also bolstered physical force. Calibrating."
Tesla emitted a burst of energy that sent her flying.
Terra tossed her axe on the ground. "Fuck this. I'm just gonna beat his ass."
Tesla landed on the ground and spread his arms, waiting for the attack.
Terra rushed him, slugging him in the face with everything she had. Tesla stood his ground, and the shockwave ripped the ground around him open as if it had been hit with an earth-destroying quake.
He blinked. "Pure blunt force, five megatons’ worth. No elemental discharge. Calibrating."
"Calibrate this," Terra screamed as her energy swirled around her, causing her muscles to bulk up. She grabbed Tesla’s skull and slammed her knee into his forehead.
The scientist landed on his feet. "Calibrations complete. Matching force." He backhanded Terra, sending her flying into one of the jagged rocks floating above. Then he turned to Abby. "Would you like to try now?"
Before Abby could answer, a voice said, "That will not be necessary."
Tesla turned to find the source of the voice and a blast of magical energy the size of a train hit him, sending him flying into the distance. It was impossible to see where he landed.
In the space where Tesla had stood was Myrddin, his raised wand still smoking. José stood by his side. "Shame to waste that on him," the wizard said. "This is the only time it will work."
