Station 64: The Doll Dungeon: Frenzied Rebirth

by Matthew Peed

  I glanced around. While it looked like everyone was listening intently, I felt only a few of the creatures present were comprehending what was being said. Most of those gathered reminded me of robots that hadn’t been told what to do yet.

  “Let us speak to one another and learn from one another. All for the glory of cleaning the filth from this planet.” The man raised a cup into the air. I blinked and nearly dropped the cup that had appeared in my hand. I copied everyone else and raised the cup into the air as well.

  The golden man vanished into a burst of light, and everyone broke into small groups. I glanced around, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do when the cow man entered my sight. I gulped when he walked right up to me. I tried my best, but it was hard to keep my eyes off his equipment.

  “You are . . . new. Never new before,” he said, breathing out a large puff of steam.

  I felt two arms wrap around my waist and jerked my head to see the naked woman with horns draping herself on me. “Leave her alone, you brute.”

  “Excuse me. What’s going on?” I asked, unable to pull myself from the woman. I was wearing a dress, but the back was completely exposed, so I could feel every inch of her touching me. It reminded me of silk.

  “The Moon Gathering, my dear. You must be Sixty-four! I’ve heard rumors of you from my divers. I’m Twenty-one. The minotaur is Seven.”

  “Nice to meet you. Umm, could you perhaps let go?”

  “OH! My bad! I can’t resist touching innocent girls.”

  “Thank you, I think.” I backed away, making sure not to look away from her face.

  “Twenty-one. Know this?” Seven asked, gesturing at me. The simple motion was enough to cause his tool to swing. I carefully took a step away, as I didn’t want to get hit by it.

  “Yes. You know who is likely involved. She was dormant for a year. Not sure if that’s why there’s more going on upstairs than the others,” Twenty-one said, crossing her arms.

  “You know who?” I asked. I wondered if it was Terleza that she was talking about.

  “I can’t say her name here. Leads to all sorts of trouble. You”—she glanced around, then leaned in close to my ear—“have your previous memories, don’t you?” Aside from her breath causing a shiver to run down my back, her statement also caused me to panic. I just looked at her, as I wasn’t sure what the right move would be. “Good. Never say yes to that question. If certain people found out, you’d be erased before you became a problem.”

  I was about to reply when there was a burst of light from the center of the room. Twenty-one rubbed her hand down my butt, almost touching something that would have earned her a slap in the face, then she walked away with a giggle. Seven also walked away.

  The rest of the evening passed without anyone else talking to me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a ton of questions to ask the two, but something told me that would be dangerous, given the present company. I would need to reach out to them in the real world. Though, if their numbers meant which station they were, then they were clear on the other side of the city from me.

  “That is all for tonight,” someone proclaimed. “We’ll see each other in a month!”

  There was a boom, and I opened my eyes and found myself back in my dungeon. Looked like there was more going on than anyone knew. If I wanted to stay alive, I needed to shape up. Mainly, I needed to not break anything else.

  Chapter 24: Post Café Rumble

  Lance Teron

  I had to breathe a sigh of relief as I left Azaria’s dungeon after the strange frenzy that wiped out the party almost instantly. Not only was it annoying to fake new injuries, but I was questioned even harder than last time and ended up sitting in the guards’ tent for nearly an hour before they let me leave.

  Thankfully, I didn’t even have to lie this time. I told them straight out that the mage had caused some sort of reaction with the dungeon and it frenzied. Azaria wanted me to lure people who deserved to die to her dungeon, but warning innocents wasn’t off the table in our deal.

  I looked around the street, as I hadn’t planned for having this much free time on me. We had only been in the dungeon for close to thirty minutes, so it was still early morning. I released another sigh, then turned to head toward the suburbs. I decided I would check some of my old haunts to see if anything had changed.

  Thinking to myself as I walked, I knew I really should have done this first. Kyle wasn’t stupid, but I wouldn’t have put it past him to try something with my family. I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t been more worried about them before now. They were my only family, after all. They would have been worried about me.

  “Another effect of the harvests?” I mumbled as I walked.

  It was still early. Dungeon operations for low and midlevel dungeons started at six AM. We were the first party in, so it was only just hitting eight thirty. There had been a full line to the dungeon when I’d left. There was no way I could gather another party before the end of operations.

  At least at this time of day, I shouldn’t have to worry about anyone trying to jump me. I spotted a coffee shop as I was walking and felt my stomach rumble. Ever since I’d gotten the Gluttony harvest, I was starting to feel hungry more often. Another pain I had to live with until I found a harvest to counteract it.

  I had a few ideas, but nothing I could act upon right then. That would have to wait until I dealt with Kyle and got my life back. If that was possible. Giving in to temptation, I made my way into the café and ordered a dozen donuts and a large black coffee. I took a seat in the back, just enjoying the normalcy for a moment.

  “Yesterday, twenty-two known gang members vanished without a trace. Police had been keeping tabs on a number of the members, hoping to crack down on the organization.”

  I finished the donut I was biting down on and turned my attention to the television in the corner of the café.

  “With the disappearance, months of police work has been lost. Police are also advising any vigilantes that Powered could be among the gang members and to stop while they are ahead.”

  “Well, that is just rude,” I mumbled as I took another bite. I hadn’t been playing vigilante. They had jumped me, and I’d dealt with them, end of story. I was about to ignore it when the anchor continued.

  “Any information on the vigilante is worth a cash reward if proven true . . . On to our next article. Lance Teron, last seen three weeks ago is still wanted by the government. His relatives claim they have no idea about his whereabouts. A reward is being offered for any information on this individual.”

  “Motherfuckers,” I mumbled, having to hold back a growl. This had to be Kyle’s work. I’d never seen a dungeon disagreement stay on the news this long. I couldn’t help but wonder how much money he was spending on little old me. At least by the sounds of the news, my sister and mother were still safe. They would have attracted a lot of attention with the news being involved.

  “Crazy. I read what the news had on the guy, and I couldn’t see him doing something like that.”

  “Dungeons. They twist people.”

  I glanced at the two women who were chatting next to me. I wouldn’t have even heard them without my Keen Hearing harvest. They looked like normal people, who were just enjoying their time before work.

  Pulling Friz’s phone out, I browsed for information on Kyle. I knew he was a spoiled rich kid, but I didn’t have a good grasp of all the details. With Friz’s phone, I had access to a bit more than the ordinary internet.

  A few minutes later, I was looking at a very annoying situation. Kyle was connected to over half the crime organizations in the city. It appeared he funded quite a few of the black markets. Hell, the one I’d gone to last night was possible thanks to some of the money he used.

  “Dismantle all of them?” I muttered with a groan. That would take a long time, but I didn’t see any way to survive without doing so. I would need to reach a much higher level and power to achieve this. Azaria flashed through my head.
/>
  Azaria didn’t crave power, at least not outwardly. Which I felt was odd for a dungeon. Even her desire for her own survival seemed weaker than it should be. Something felt off about her, and she was about the only ally I had in this messed-up world right now.

  Thinking about her, I remembered she wanted me to look up the Highlocks. With a quick search everything the dark net had on them popped up. Most of which was “don’t touch them.” They were like a shining beacon of light compared to the other people on there.

  “A daughter? I’ve never heard of that before.” I clicked on the minor report from some nobody member of the Darker Organization.

  Anna and Zaris Highlock had one child, who turned fourteen the day of the Shift. Reported missing the same day, she is believed to have died along with the millions of others that day. End.

  Not much to go on, but I started to have a feeling I knew why Azaria was asking about them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any records of the daughter’s name. I couldn’t exactly ask the Highlocks, and Azaria seemed unable to talk about it.

  I put the phone away with a sigh. How did I want to handle this? I needed Azaria so that my power could grow. This morning was a fluke, but normally I would be absorbing the parts from the parties she killed. Not to mention, the actual diving and fighting would raise my level.

  If the Highlocks found out that Station 64 was their daughter’s soul or something along those lines, I could see it going two ways. They would seek to destroy it to free their daughter, or they would protect it and use their incredible power to keep people from diving. If the rumors were true, even Neo hesitated to fight both of them. For now, it might be in my best interests to keep all parties in the dark.

  Deciding to leave it to Future Lance, I left the café and continued heading for the suburbs. I was minding my own business when a length of chain wrapped around me as I passed an alley. I was violently pulled down the alley and slammed against the wall.

  “What the actual fuck!?” I yelled as I looked up. My luck couldn’t be this bad! I blinked when I saw the two girls from the café.

  “Finally, some prey. I was getting worried about paying the bills this month,” one of them said.

  “If you’d just stop inviting over every guy that catches your interest.”

  “Excuse me! What the fuck?” I asked, glaring at them.

  “Right, right. Friz Waldin. We’re here to collect your head. You have no rights, and they will not be read to you,” the other woman said.

  “Bounty hunters!” I couldn’t hold back the growl that escaped. The Goblin’s Soul was starting to make an appearance. Red was already coating my vision, but unlike before, I felt I could resist it if I wanted. “Trust me. You want to let me go.”

  Bounty hunters were basically thugs for the criminal organizations that they hired out against each other. These women were working for an organization that Friz was against, but tomorrow Friz’s organization might set them against the people they were working for.

  The women laughed as one pulled out a pair of clawed knuckles, and the other a crossbow. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll make it quick.”

  I glared at her, then channeled some of my Aether into my body using Dominate. Both women took a step back, and the crossbow one even peed a little. I felt some Aether from both of them and then straightened up. I cursed as I flexed against the chain but groaned when it barely budged.

  “Shoot him in the head and let’s be done with it!”

  I heard a click and activated Black Heart’s Armor on my head. The bolt slammed into my forehead, knocking my head against the wall. My vision went black for a second but quickly came back.

  “What the hell!?”

  “I got this!” The woman with the clawed knuckles walked up and went to punch me in my face. I waited, then jerked my head and bit clean through her hand. The woman screamed as she fell back, holding her hand. Eat Anything really came in handy. I spit out the fingers as blood ran down my chin. Glancing at a puddle, I saw that my fangs were poking out from the illusion.

  The crossbow woman finished reloading her weapon. I took a deep breath and used my Heart of the Chimera. I was not expecting the resulting wave of flames that left my mouth. Thankfully, they only went about twenty feet. More than enough to engulf the woman, but not enough to leave the alley.

  I angled the flames at the chain, melting it, then closed my mouth. The flames died almost instantly, leaving the crossbow woman a black husk. The knuckles woman was still squirming on the ground as her hand bled everywhere.

  As I thought about what to do with her, I felt something twist inside me. Knowing by some instinct, I placed my hand on her head. “Chaos.” A black mist exited her from her mouth and eyes and was pulled into my hand. The woman stopped moving even as her hand continued to bleed out.

  “Stand up.” The woman stood up without any hesitation. I had her hold out her hand, then emitted a small flame from my mouth. Using the flat of my cleaver, I cauterized her wounds. “What is your name?”

  “Mollie Parks,” she replied in a deadpan voice.

  “What am I to you?”

  “Authority. Controller of my chaos,” she answered in the same voice.

  “I want you to act normal. Can you do that?”

  A little light came back to her eyes, and her posture grew more relaxed. “Yes.”

  “I’m going to cut this person up. Does she have any family that will miss her?”

  “No.”

  I nodded and placed her body into my Storage. It was getting close to full by the sensation I felt from it. I would need to find a place I could do a bit of surgery on the thugs I’d killed the other night. Glancing at the time on my phone, I gave up on the idea of heading to the suburbs. With how unlucky I was, I might cause a monster riot by going there.

  “I want you to go home and tomorrow meet me back at the café from earlier. Tell anyone that needs to know that you failed and are going to take some time to recover from your injury.” I glanced at her hand. “Actually, head to the hospital first, then do all that.”

  “Yes.”

  She turned and walked out of the alley. It was a risk, but if it worked, I would have someone on the outside with connections to the dirt of the city. It seemed like a decent gamble to take. If whatever was controlling her wore off after some time, Friz would get some new rumors going around about him.

  After the sun set, I managed to sneak up to the dungeon and shimmy through one of the windows from the back. They couldn’t install cameras, because the dungeon aura messed with the feed. I just had to wait for the patrol to pass and I was in.

  “Azaria!” I waited but didn’t get a response until I saw Starburst making his way down the hall.

  “The girl is busy. She’ll be back just before dawn.”

  I looked him over. He seemed different from regular dungeon monsters. I always thought it was just because he was a boss monster. “Tell me. Are the cores created from humans?”

  “I couldn’t tell you even if I knew,” he replied simply, then turned and walked back the way he came.

  “What’s going to happen to her?” I called after him.

  He paused midstep and glanced back at me. “Survive or die. Just like any other creature in the universe.”

  Chapter 25: Housekeeping!

  Azaria

  The world came back to me in a blur. I would have shaken my head a few times to clear it if I hadn’t been back in my ethereal form. The time in the other place had felt warped, but when I checked outside, it was almost dawn. People were already lining up outside for their turn to get in the dungeon.

  I’d gone looking for Starburst when I noticed that I had much more Aether than when I’d left earlier. I found him in his room, dozing off. I wanted to glare at him for being able to sleep when I couldn’t. I had moved past it over the month that I’d worked on my dungeon.

  I got right next to his ear and took a deep breath. “Starburst!”

  He jumped into the air a
nd brandished his horn until he realized it was me. He dropped back to the ground. “Girl, you’re back. I’ll ignore that because I know you went through something very interesting.”

  “So, you know what that was about?”

  “Yes. The Moon Gathering. All the cores for a particular area gathered to discuss things. Even with your minds stripped, your human souls will go insane without company once in a while.”

  “That’s that. I want to know why my goal is supposed to be to kill all humans!?”

  “There’s more to it. You know how it is. I literally am unable to speak of it.”

  “I’m going to need some answers soon. This is getting tiresome. There were others there that still had their memories. They warned me that if it came out that my memories were intact, bad things could happen to me.”

  “That was very risky of them to talk to you like that during the Moon Gathering. Yes. You have a constant noose hanging on your neck. I can’t talk about it more until you gain more power. You need to be able to cut a piece of the world off for yourself.”

  I floated up as I stared at him. This was a lot to take in but, at the same time, didn’t change my situation. It only made me aware that there were more people who wanted to end my existence. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “To be honest?” he asked, and I nodded. “I forgot. As for the memory thing, I was on the fence about whether I wanted you found out or not.”

  “Because it would mean your freedom?” I asked, trying not to frown. I knew that he hated his new lot in life. Maybe I should have tried harder to see from his side of things.

  Starburst averted his eyes toward the wall. “No. I would still be a soul trapped in the core. If you were erased, the next consciousness might be, well, normal.”

  “I get it.” I circled around him as I thought about what I needed to do. I glanced at my status to see where I was.