***
Miles away, at the temple of the Qi Messa, Mandhe lay at the feet of the seemingly resurrected Qi Drego, blood flowing from the bullet hole in her forehead. Qi looked down at her, smiling, as smoke poured from the muzzle of her gun. "Now, little Gunfighter," she said, "we'll see if you're worthy of the gift you've been given."
***
Mandhe was chained to a wall. The wall was white, as was the floor. She looked up and saw the ceiling was the same color as the rest of the room. Given the color, it was impossible to see how large the room was. She looked down at herself. She wore rags and knelt in a pool of blood. There was no blood on her, so she assumed it wasn't hers. The chains, shackled to her wrists and neck, felt heavy. She examined those she could see, and noticed circuitry woven through the steel. The pool of blood spread, but still did not seem to come from her. She tugged at the chains and her shackles tightened. "Help!" she cried out. "Someone help, please help me!" She struggled again, the shackles tightening still more while the rough cloth of the rags she wore chafed against her skin. That was when she realized she didn't have the Gun. She continued to struggle, crying out for help. No help came. She slumped in her chains. Her Totem was gone, though for some reason she didn't sicken, she had no tech about her with which to fashion her escape and all she could see was blood. She heard a high-pitched chittering sound. She looked around her, and gasped at the sight of innumerable tiny mechanical spiders crawling across the walls and floor toward her. They crawled over her, getting tangled in her hair and caught on her rags. She felt their miniature legs like little pinpricks all over her skin. She screamed and they began to crawl into her mouth. And still the blood flowed from nowhere.
***
"Amazing!" Anton exclaimed. He indicated the young laboratory assistant should begin taking notes. She did, keeping a written record of his every word while her associate captured everything on a crystalline broadnet recorder. The old scientist beamed up at the young woman floating above him, paying careful attention to her boots. At the other side of the room, Mar Dagnae smiled and leaned against the wall, watching the proceedings with an amused air. A man came and stood next to her. He indicated the scene. "She come with you?" he asked. "Aye," she answered absently. "Where'd you find her?" he glanced up at the young hovering woman, taking in the scarred face, missing eye and crooked arm. Mar turned on him, glaring. She didn't like the suggestion in his tone. "What is it to you?" she asked coldly. He backed off, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean anything by it," he protested. "I was just making conversation." He held out one hand. "The name's Conte. I'm from Vega City. I was brought in by Professor Anton. I offered him sanctuary in my shop during the whole-" Mar waved him silent. "Yes, I've heard of you. Mandhe Pacha was an employee of yours?" "Mandhe?" Conte's eyes widened. "You've seen her? How is she? Wait. 'Was'?" His face blanched. "You mean, she's dead?" Mar laughed. "No, certainly not dead. I simply meant it's doubtful she'll be returning to your employ any time soon. She's been away for some time, and hasn't had it easy since you saw her last. I'll be sure to mention you if and when I see her again." She turned away from him and walked toward the group. Anton had donned an odd-looking pair of spectacles to further study the strange boots. Conte backed toward the door as she walked away. "Yes," he muttered at her retreating back, "do that." He exited the lab, wondering when he'd be able to leave. Anton had promised to let Conte study the Mad Wizard artifacts and he didn't want to leave before he got his chance. He had to study those artifacts. He had to understand them. Back in his shop, he could have sworn they'd spoken to him. He felt a need growing in him. He'd get his hands on those artifacts again. And if Anton didn't set up some time for him soon, well... Anton was an old man. Conte would just have to speak with him about it. At that moment, unaware of his young friend's growing instability, Anton was examining the boots closely. His spectacles let him see their actual molecular structure and what he saw excited him. "Simply amazing," he repeated softly. He indicated Darine could land. She did, absently rubbing her elbow. "What's so amazing?" she asked. "I'm hardly the first flier you've met." "True," Anton nodded absent-mindedly. He skimmed the notes taken by his assistant before looking up at Darine. "Yes, but you must understand," he said, straightening with some difficulty. Another assistant rushed to help him. "There's a good lad," he said to the boy. He looked back to Darine and said, "You must understand that with these boots, this... Totem of yours, the natural flight abilities you have can become much more." He shook his head. "Your potential is..." He looked up, smiling. "Well," he said cheerfully, "it's been a long day. I think I have all I need for my studies." He turned toward Mar, who approached from across the room. "You two must stay with us tonight. It grows late. Continue on to the Valley tomorrow once you've rested." "The Valley?" Darine asked. "What makes you think I'm going there?" "Oh, but you must, my dear," Anton said. "The Totem itself is-" "I don't care what you say," Darine cut in angrily, "I'm not going. After what happened, I want no part of whatever they're offering. I just want to take these boots and use them to help others, make things better for those that have it rough. I don't see how going to some hole in the ground to talk to a bunch of muttering old witches is going to..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed Anton was laughing. "Oh, that is charming," he said. "You think you actually have a choice in the matter." He wiped his eyes, still chuckling. "Good night to you," he said, "and safe journey tomorrow. Wherever you might be going." He winked as he gathered up his things and left the laboratory, leaving Darine to stare after him, dumbfounded.
***
Kel stood in the cave, sword out in front of him. The dark streaks pulsed as though breathing, while the rest of the blade gleamed. It seemed on the cusp of actually shining, but just wasn't bright enough. He swung the sword through some basic forms, the voice of Umbra chattering away in his head. Oh, what is this, now? As though practice will make you better? As though all this training and teaming up will make you any less likely to ruin everything? He didn't answer, though the forms grew more elaborate. You cannot ignore me, Kel. I am in your soul. There is no denying me. I... what is happening? Kel smiled, continuing a lengthy form, the final position of which had him plunge the wooden blade straight down into Kai's Chalice. He heard screaming in his mind and ignored it. The sword shook in his hands, and he gripped it hard to steady it. A black oily fog rolled off the sword, leaving the gleaming wood unmarked. It began to brighten almost instantly and the voice was gone from Kel's mind. The fog took on a vaguely human shape and a harsh cackle echoed about the cave. "You truly are stupid, Kel," Umbra's foul spirit mocked. "All you've done is unleash me on the world! Now that I am free of that wretched sword, I will-" She tried to fly out of the cave, but came up against an invisible wall. She turned to float off in the opposite direction and hit another. Every way she tried, she found herself blocked, and by the way her shape was changing, the walls were closing in. Kai and Davin stepped from the shadows. Davin wore his crown, and its third eye opened as Kai knelt to retrieve her Chalice. Kel swung his sword through another form or two and its radiance filled the cave, illuminating the ghostly outlines of Umbra's shrinking prison. "Yes," Davin said mockingly, "because he really is that stupid. No, the three of us concocted this plan, to rid Kel's Sword of your vile presence." "Fool!" Umbra's compressing spirit cried, "Do you really think this feeble prison will hold such as me?" "In fact I do," Davin answered, unconcerned. "You, Umbra, are little more than the remnant of a malignant thought-form. You're an idea." He smiled wickedly. "And that just happens to be my area of expertise." The Eye flared once, then settled into a nice steady glow. "In fact," Davin continued, "not only will it hold you, I am quite convinced it will actually destroy you." The walls continued to close, compressing Umbra's dark spirit smaller and smaller until the entire thing vanished with a small pop and a fading wail. Umbra, Queen of the Underworld, was finally no more. "And it would appear I was right," Davin said with a satisfied grin.
***
Mandhe woke in a strange
bed. She could only see out of one eye and her arms felt odd. Looking down, she realized they both ended just before the elbow. Stifling her rising panic, because somehow this all felt familiar, she looked at her legs and saw that one ended mid-thigh and the other was missing a foot. Before she could call out, three faceless mechanical men entered. They lifted her effortlessly from the mattress and carried her across the room. Looking around, she saw that the room itself was very elegant and clearly expensive. "Excuse me," she said to the automatons, "but could you tell me who's home this is?" The faceless heads turned toward her, then toward each other. They did not speak in any conventional sense, but Mandhe could "hear" their communications. It was nothing but a stream of ones and zeroes, but for some reason she could decipher them into language. "The Mistress is confused again." "It is the organic nature of her brain, prone to degradation and malfunction." "It must be replaced." Mandhe stiffened in their arms but could do nothing. The machines continued their conversation. "Replacement is too drastic. We will continue with augmentation." "As you command." They carried her to an ornate tub on the opposite side of the room from the bed, stripping her bedclothes and laying her comfortably in the warm water. They scrubbed her clean, which embarrassed her somewhat, then removed her from the tub and dried her gently with a large thick towel. They then strapped her to a long table. "What..." she struggled, but the straps were thick bands of metal and very tight. The strange numeric language flooded her brain. "Be still, Mistress. We are applying your limbs, as we do every morning." "And your eye." She felt something pushed into her eye socket, then heard a loud click. Suddenly, information began streaming through the lens they'd inserted. She could see so much more than a human eye could. X-ray, infra-red, microscopic... she felt like... "Oh no!" she shouted, "Emfex! No, I won't be that again! Do you hear me?! I won't-" "The Mistress' delirium worsens." "We must begin the procedure." As two of the automatons fastened mechanical arms, leg and foot, the other began shaving her head. "What are you doing?" she strained against the straps, but could not get her artificial parts to work. Suddenly, her eye shut down. "Do not be alarmed. The procedure will go faster with your mechanics deactivated." "Procedure? What proced-" She felt her newly bald head go numb, as with a localized anesthetic, then a very uncomfortable pressure. Blood ran down her face. When she heard the saw blade spinning and saw the bone chips flying, she knew that strange vibration in her head was them cutting open her skull. "All will be well after further augmentation." She only started screaming when they began slicing into her brain.
***
Darine Kanto flew away from the University, sailing idly along the updrafts and thermal pockets, careful as she dove out of the clouds. She was very careful now. She flew much higher than the aircars could travel, yet kept her eye open for any airships that might be passing. No one else would die because of her. Though Mayor Dagnae overturned her sentence, Darine would never forgive herself. Secretly, she believed she would never forgive Mayor Dagnae for releasing her. She'd deserved her time in prison, as well as her time in the Pit. But now she was free. She landed somewhat gracefully on a ledge of rock. The town of Castle Hill lay nestled against the low foothills of a small mountain in the distance. They were close to the Wild Lands border, just a short distance from the Drego Plateau. She paused to admire the rocky terrain below her. A few rodents ran between patches of scrub grass that grew up out of the dusty earth. She marveled that she could see them. In fact, since gaining her Totem, she'd found her eyesight improving drastically. She could see things clearly, though they were miles away. The ground and all things on it were plainly visible to her from the air and she could easily- A faint scream broke her reverie. It came from Castle Hill, and she trained her gifted eye on the distant town. What she saw there caused her to take a step back. A dragon was attacking the town. A creature out of the old stories had broken free of the Wild Lands and was terrorizing those just over the border. She seemed to remember hearing something about this. Something about how the wards between the Wild Lands and the rest of Amorlia were breaking down, and no one lived who could repair them. At the time she'd heard it, during her stay at the University, she'd ignored it. Now she wished she'd paid more attention. That way she'd know what she was up against. She laughed at herself, trying to drown out the growing chorus of screams and the roar of the dragon. She closed her eyes against the sight of its great billowing flames engulfing the buildings and homes. No, this wasn't her concern. Just because she could fly, that didn't mean she was a hero, no matter what that dead speedster in her mind kept telling her. She couldn't do this. She didn't have to do this. There was nothing for her to do against a dragon. What in the Broken Hells was she supposed to do anyway? Fight the damn thing? She couldn't. There was no way she was risking... The screams grew louder and more frequent and she sighed, squaring her shoulders. No one else would die because of her. She dove off the ledge and streaked across the plain toward the small town of Castle Hill.
***
Mandhe Pacha walked between two different alternate Amorlias, her cursed Gun in her hand, the black metal almost pulsing in its malevolence. It wasn't hungry. No, she'd fed her damned weapon well in the years since she'd began her hunt across the myriad pathways of spacetime. Many had fallen to her Spark-draining bullets, all of them cursing her as they died. All of them deserved their fates, because all of them were her. She hunted her alternate selves across the multiverse, delivering justice to those who abused their powers. Which, so far, turned out to be all of them. She- "Okay," a deep voice said behind her, "this is about all of this I can stand." Mandhe turned and she was back in the white room. The pool of blood was gone, though she could feel her own running down her face from a hole in her forehead. The Gun was gone, but she was back in her old traveling leathers. Standing before her was a large blue man with red wings. He tucked his thumbs in his belt and looked at her. "Kel?" she took a step forward. This didn't look exactly like her friend, but he definitely looked familiar. She tried to remember where she'd seen him. "Not quite," he said with a smile. "You didn't know me while I was alive, but once I was Champion of all Amorlia." He bowed. "Kael T'Ken..." she whispered, taking a step back. "Aye," Kel's dead father said, "and I do not have much time for this visitation, so I will make my point quickly. First, however, a question." He paused, then asked, "How long do you plan on remaining in this self-inflicted Hell of yours before you come to your senses and get on with your duty?" "Self-inflicted?" Mandhe shook her head. "I was shot in the head by Qi Drego in front of her own temple! She's the one who-" "No." Kael shook his head. "Qi Drego was naught but a vision, just as I am. You shot yourself with your cursed weapon, put yourself through this little gauntlet and even conjured me up to try to talk sense into yourself. So, I ask you again, do you not think it time you got back to work?" "Work?" Mandhe drew herself up angrily. "What work? The work of stealing souls and killing the innocent? That work? Because if that is my duty, I'll remain here forever." Kael chuckled, shaking his head again. "It is your duty to help people, to be a hero to them in these difficult times. Instead, by infecting your own Totem with a 'curse' of your design, you've turned yourself into what you believe yourself to be: a villain. At best, a rogue. A lone wanderer who belongs nowhere and with no one. All because of an odd mistake or two." "An odd mistake or two?!" Mandhe was furious. "When I was merged with Emfex, I did horrible things to people. I put machines in their heads, led them to murder and their own deaths." She glared at him, finally shouting, "People died!" "Ah," Kael nodded. "I see. Well, I am certain all those who die in your absence will be comforted by the knowledge that you were busy punishing yourself over the last group of people who died because you were being selfish." Mandhe grit her teeth. "But, the curse... I came to the temple so it might be lifted." Kael rested a friendly hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "So lift it," he said softly. "The curse is yours," Kael said, "born of your remorse and maintained by your guilt. You have been forgiven long since by everyone else," he told her. "Forgive you
rself, and let the curse at last be lifted." He vanished, leaving Mandhe to stare at her empty hands.
Amorlia: Age of Wonder Page 17
