by Ryan DeBruyn
On his third day sweating in the slave camp, Rocky tossed a large piece of metal onto a mound of rubbish near the excavation site. The hulk of metal topped the growing heap, which threatened to teeter if stacked any further. Empire ordered them to tow the pieces to the side of the pile. The irritable golem would stop at nothing to ensure their day was filled with misery.
He dragged a piece of metal that was once a garage door and heaved it to the side. As he turned away from Empire’s sabaton, he glimpsed a swish of long hair. His sister.
What used to be vibrant red hair was now nearly a dull brown. Her body looked frail, and her clothes were unrecognizable as the designer brands they once were. Her feet were bare and she didn’t look up from the ground. There was no mistaking her. He wanted to run to her and hug her fiercely. It was everything he could do not to scream her name or race over to find his mother—that would cost someone their life. Maybe even hers.
He summoned his clone into Stealth and ordered it to follow her group. The clone made it to the group before it ran out of Ether to supply the Stealth spell. Rocky glanced up at Empire. Any Stealth skill used near it would drastically consume Ether. He held his breath as his clone walked to the rope his sister pulled on. It joined the line and worked alongside her. Her eyes never left the ground.
Please don’t let her be broken. Please.
Flatiron’s whip cracked and Rocky jumped. Flatiron signalled for the slaves to detach the ropes from the haul and fall into line. He quickly joined his group as they hastened to the task. His spirits, for the first time in days, were buoyed—even while walking beneath the strongest creature he had ever seen.
The remainder of the day, Rocky tried to stay focused, but his mind kept entering Meditation to look through his clone’s eyes. He sensed from his clone that his sister's group was harvesting an entirely different part of the city.
He studied his sister's body language and desperately looked for his mother without success. The clone was unable to talk to or get his sister's attention. Lacy continued to stare at the ground. He wanted to scream, wanted to run to her, but timing was everything. During lunch, his group ate near Omega’s team.
“Flat bro! Good to see you, man. Heard any newski on the impending invasion?” asked Omega.
The glare Flatiron turned on the surfer golem would have melted stone.
“I heard the scouts are, like, circling the city. If you look over there, you can see the tiny dot hanging in the sky, like a surfer on a colossal wave.” Omega pointed at the sky, and every head in the clearing followed his gesture. “You see him, brah?”
Flatiron ground his teeth together and grumbled. “Of course I can see the dot in the sky. Who cares what it is.” Flatiron made a slicing gesture with his hand and then pointed to another silhouette on the ground. “Can you see our forces returning from their recruiting? These mosquitoes don’t stand a chance against the combined might of the Three.”
Flatiron ordered his group of slaves back to work with a crack of his whip. Rocky sensed that the cruel Taskmaster was worried—its reaction being one of bravado, rather than confidence. He doubted that the Mechanoid devices attached to the Floridians could do any damage to a creature of Empire’s size and levels, but golems like the Ottawa Knights and Flatiron were fodder in a war like this. Rocky flashed Omega a tubular sign with his hand as he walked away, hoping Omega understood he had found his family. He received no acknowledgement from the fun-loving golem, so he got back to work.
He checked his clone and found his mother staring into his face. His sister was looking at his clone eyes narrowed, and lips pressed into a firm line. Rocky had missed the events leading to this. His mother appeared injured in some way and looked very weak as she lay on the ground. His sister held a soup bowl to his mother’s lips and fed her from it. Two other bowls sat nearby. Evidently, his clone had given over his food to the women. His clone didn’t need to eat, but it had gotten a bowl of food and found his mother.
Neither his mother nor sister spoke, which was eerie, and the moment didn’t last long, as the group went back to work. His clone and his sister stood as their Taskmaster ordered a start to the afternoon hauling. They left his mother in the resting area with the bowls of food. His sister looked at his clone and made a gesture. She raised both fists and showed him the backs of them. Then banged the palms of the pinky side together in an unmistakable gesture. This was something from a TV show they both loved.
He nearly laughed out loud as his true self pulled the rope tugging a small truck with his group. He made the appropriate response by lacing his fingers behind his neck and banging his elbows together. His sister smiled for the first time, and his gut clenched. He had found them and they were both alive. Now it was time to get them out of here.
That night, all five of the Ottawa Knights camped their ‘slaves’ at the same place Flatiron did. The Knights’ slaves looked healthier than Flatiron’s and the other Taskmaster’s groups who chose this open expanse of dirt to rest.
His family’s group was a few miles away, camping out on the other side of the city. He was desperately working on a plan to get to them when a loud voice spoke over the entirety of the city.
“We have been observing you for a few days now, and it seems you hold no love for humans. Release the one known as Rockland Barkclay to us, and we will leave you be.”
TheFloridians had arrived. A group of fifty human shapes flew high in the air. One robot form was at the forefront and appeared to be the speaker. From this distance, Rocky couldn’t make out the form but he knew the familiar voice belonged to Ernest.
Some of the Mechano-Lords argued amongst each other. A few of the subordinates approached Ernest and then slinked away. Rocky wished he could have heard their discussions. He looked over to the Golem Knights and held up a hand. It was too early to make a move. They needed more of a distraction.
Empire’s gravelly voice broke the stillness of the night. “Do you think you have the power to make demands, tiny insects? Liberty, give them a glimpse of what power truly is.”
A beam of light lit up the dark sky. The robots swerved out of the way, and tension stirred the air across New York. The voice from the sky laughed, then shouted, “A shot across the bow? I will take it as a sign of greater intelligence and give you another chance. Give us the one human we desire—you can keep the rest.”
The group behind Ernest visibly backed away from him. They were upset by the words their leader had chosen.
From the words spoken, Rocky knew that Dahrix had taken full control of his little toy. He felt a pang of regret for everyone up there, as their souls already belonged to another. Even if they disagreed with the actions now, it was too late.
Boosters flared, and a group broke off to fly away. They made it a few hundred meters before they circled back. Their return signaled other groups to attempt an escape—only to suffer the same change of heart.
Rocky grimaced and nodded to the Ottawa Knights. This was about to get very heated, very quickly. Rocky triggered Shadow Cloak and Stealth simultaneously and crept toward Flatiron. Epsilon touched his ear and said, “Stand ready.”
A few of the Taskmasters gave Epsilon side-eye. But the Knights got into hurried battle stances facing the flying robots. The rest of the golems followed the lead of the Knights a moment later.
Empire finally responded, his gravelly voice booming, “If you want our property, you can come get it.”
Lightning streaked through the sky and shot down toward the center of the city, as if Zeus himself had thrown a bolt of blue light from Olympus. Smaller arcs blasted into the night, connecting with robots who jerked and twitched. They didn’t fall from the air. Instead, each one spread out, releasing missiles, ballistics, laser beams, and skills onto an unseen target.
That was a signal if Rocky had ever seen one. Skills flew upwards from different quadrants of the city, and one of the Taskmasters in his area threw a green swirling ball into the sky. The ability was slow-moving, and the M
echano-Lords easily dodged it.
Rocky charged his Dark Blade skill five times and struck at Flatiron from cover. He channeled all of his anger and pain into the blow, using a piercing attack and releasing the ability as his blade punctured Flatiron’s groin.
The skill tore upward through Flatiron, narrowly missing its core. Flatiron lashed out with his whip and Rocky dove backward as the whip snapped in the area he had stood.
Flatiron cawed, “You think you saw an opportunity. Now I will kill all of the humans here, worm.”
Every human on Rocky’s team froze the intensity and hatred in the golem’s voice. They were conditioned for what followed an angry outburst from Flatiron. Rocky went berserk as he heard the whistle of the whip winding up. He pumped two stacks into Dark Blade and shot it out.
He pulled an Ether Draught Elixir from his Bag of Holding and downed it before charging his Dark Blade again. He heard the whip crack behind him and someone screamed. Rocky slashed vertically, releasing his skill, and the recharged Blade cut horizontally in a split second. The skills chased each other in a grid pattern toward the tormentor.
“Your weak skills mean nothing to me, cattle.”
Another whip crack sounded, and Rocky added a triple charge horizontal strike. He felt lightheaded as this skill merged with the others. He pulled another Ether Draught Elixir and glanced at his Ether Bar as he downed it—it was recovering from a quarter full. He had just used upwards of three hundred Ether in seconds, and yet the creature laughed.
He downed a third Ether Draught potion as the retracting whip whistled. He had two options for attack—close in with the charge on his blade, or pierce the golem from a distance. Closing in meant navigating a latticework of danger. His Dark Blades screeched and ground against Flatiron’s stone hide.
He added a triple-charged pierce attack and prayed it would be enough. It was times like this where he sharply felt the need for new, powerful skills, but his altered class mostly offered him survival and Etherience boosts.
He punched the point of his sword forward and released the skill. Flatiron grunted as his final attack joined the others with some effect. The golem’s whip fell to the ground as it brought its hands together. Flatiron’s feet dug into the soft earth as he fought for purchase against Rocky’s latticework of skills.
With a mighty heave, Flatiron threw the entire mass of energy away from himself, changing its course on a near right angle. The skill ripped through the ground and took Rocky’s fight with it. How was he going to beat a creature that had just thrown a total of ten stacks of his Dark Blade away like a beach ball?
Rocky fell to a knee. His skill collided with a group of Taskmasters grouped together to defend themselves against the Knights. The crisscrossing skill tore through the three other golems from behind like they were paper and screeched into the distance for a few meters before dissipating.
Flatiron’s eyes were wild, but his mouth smirked. “The ant has fangs. Time—” Gamma’s red glowing ax cleaved halfway into Flatiron’s head. The evil creature fell to a knee and its recently smirking mouth fell open before its body crumpled.
Rocky fell onto his butt and looked around, breathing heavily. Five human corpses were on the ground, but the vast majority of the survivors lived. Omega leaped to his side and held out a large green gauntlet. In it was a tiny radio, likely the one from his ear. “Rockman. Sela is asking about you. Get on the airwaves, bro.”
Rocky shook his head and pulled his earpiece from his bag, “Rockland Barkclay here. Report. Over.”
“Rocky, we have brought the ship and are currently grounded north of the city. Evacuate survivors here—glad you are alright. Over.” The last bit was added with a softness in her voice that made Rocky glow.
He turned to the golems Knights, “You heard her. Begin evacuating them—” he pointed to the survivors “—to the north.”
Epsilon looked at him and asked, “What do you plan to be doing, Rockland?”
Rocky’s clone was currently huddled in a pile of debris with his mother and sister. Other survivors clung to nearby wreckage. The golems in the vicinity hurled skills and rocks into the air, hoping to hit the tiny flying humanoids. Flashes of lightning, beams of light, and balls of green energy exploded in the sky. Red laser beams, missiles, and fireballs lanced toward the ground in retaliation.
His area was unaffected by the barrage. None of the golems there had been able to attack the Floridians yet. He clicked his radio and said, “Sela, I think the Floridians are being controlled by the beacon now. A few tried to leave the battle when their leader suggested abandoning the humans here. However, they all came back after the attempt. Over.”
“Selaphelia Ardensai here. Understood, I will fly south with Azoth. Perhaps we can destroy the beacon. Over.”
“Epsilon, I am going to save my family, and as many survivors as I can on the way. Can you guys clear a corridor?”
Tao nodded. “This sounds like a knightly endeavor.”
“Alright. Omega and Delta, you take this group back—save others as you find them. Stay on this thoroughfare. Tao and Gamma, you are with Rocky and I. We will drop and hold sectors along this route,” Epsilon said, taking command.
Rocky downed another Ether Draught, and the Elixir debuff gained a third stack in his UI, along with a drunk debuff. It was a risky move. Time to go.
The group split, and Rocky sprinted to keep up with the Knights. Fifty meters further, Gamma split off as he spotted a group of golem Taskmasters to the right. Half a mile later, Tao did the same to their left. Rocky checked in with his clone. At least another mile to go.
Epsilon called, “This is my stop, Rocky. Don’t forge too far ahead, or you will have no avenue of escape.”
Rocky gave him a thumbs up. He only had half a mile left. That wasn’t too far—at least he hoped not. The path they travelled was empty. Abandoned ropes tied to cars, trucks, golem scraps, and more all littered the thoroughfare. He slowed down for a moment and scanned the rubble for the teams that had been pulling it. Many of them huddled amongst the stones and rocks on the roadside.
He stopped and pointed back down the path. “There is a ship that will take you to safety in that direction. Green golems on or near the path are friendly. Head straight north.”
A few brave souls ran, but the majority of the people continued to cower. He didn’t have time for this. “Grab your neighbors. Help each other. Go north and stick to this road. Save yourselves.”
A few of the people who had run turned back and coaxed others to follow. That was the best Rocky could hope for, and he continued sprinting, stopping every few hundred meters and yelling out the same instructions. At the half-mile mark from when Epsilon left, he checked his clone.
It was off to his right. Mere feet away, ten Taskmasters exchanged fire with the airborne Floridians. Rocky glanced up. Not a single robot destroyed. A few looked injured, splashed by the acid green balls, but unaffected by the strikes of lightning. It appeared Dahrix might have improved on his conversion devices!
The lightning seemed to recharge their skills. He didn’t doubt that on the ground, Empire would annihilate them. But up there, in the sky, the skyscraper was limited in its attack options.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Getting into the middle of the fighting wouldn’t go well for Rocky. He chose to attempt sneaking through the firefight,and use the distraction to evacuate his family and the survivors with them.
He moved within two hundred meters of the golems, and a familiar double-toned voice called, “I know this feeling. Remember—just because I can’t see you, doesn’t mean I can’t kill you.”
Drumbeats echoed from his left. The Yin-Yang golem pumped its three fists up and down, striking the earth and stirring up an undulating wave. The earth rolled in a circular pattern, tossing debris, golems, and humans skyward. A hailstorm of stone, metal, and dirt rained down on him. Rocky jumped over the wave of rubble as rocks pelted his scalp and shoulders. He reached up and felt warm bl
ood under his hair.
Damnit, this was the worst time to run into this nutjob.
Yin-Yang golem
Master-Paradox
Level 62
The second wave of Ether had strengthened Yin-Yang further. It had gained nearly thirty levels! This wasn’t a fight he wanted. As Rocky jumped over the next undulating wave, he glanced around. Humans attempted to hide in nearby debris. The debris teetered, and a huge slab of stone shifted and collapsed on top of a group of four humans. If Rocky engaged Yin-Yang here, it would cause more carnage and death.
He ran and left off Dark Cloak so as not to highlight his position. The golem called out, “You cannot escape from me; you are a favored enemy of mine now and can never fully hide from my skill.”
Yin-Yang stopped its skill and followed after Rocky. If he couldn’t escape the thing to stop its rampage, then he had to disable or destroy it before it started again.
He planted his front foot sideways and slid to a stop. He pushed back hard, turning his retreat into a sprint aimed at Yin-Yang. His change of direction surprised the dual golem, and Rocky mentally fistpumped as the golem couldn’t see him. It could only know when he was near. The surprise didn’t last long, and Yin-Yang clapped its two lower hands together. A sound wave buffeted Rocky’s ears, and he fell on his face, sliding over the hard-packed earth. His body spasmed.
A stun debuff counted down one second, and as the effect faded, he rolled over. He pushed off with his arms and legs on his first turn, propelling himself out of the impact zone.
Yin-Yang landed where he had fallen, three fists and two feet aerating the ground. The shockwave of the skill strike flung Rocky further away. He was no longer able to control his roll, and he careened to a stop as his back smacked against a scrapheap. He climbed to his feet, spitting out blood, and dodged left as Yin-Yang’s fist punched through the air where he had stood. A truck bed lurched away into the distance from the blow.
Its next fist hammered the ground, and Rocky rolled beneath the arm, twisting back up to his feet near one of the golem’s legs. It raised its foot as if to stomp, and Rocky charged his Dark Blade, finally given a moment to breathe. He activated Dark Cloak, knowing he couldn’t hide in Stealth from his nemesis.
