by Jamie Hawke
I was just starting to feel good about this, when the mist led us to a wall. A dead end. For a long moment we stood there, not sure what to do. Navani cleared her throat.
“Must be some sort of trick?” I said, pushing against the wall. Nothing happened.
“There could be a latch around here?” Charm said, and I saw her shadow moving along the wall to the left. I went right, running my hands along the surface.
“Wait, Drew,” Navani said. “How do you know it’s here, exactly?”
“A glowing mist,” I said. “I know it’s stupid, but—”
“No, it’s not. Show us where and then, Charm, send one of your pets forward.”
I did, and a second later one of the pets approached the wall… and walked right through. In my excitement and confusion I reached out to stop it from hitting the wall, so that when it went in, my hand followed.
“Oldest trick in the book,” Navani said with a grin.
“Is it really?” I asked, but shrugged. “Maybe… but seems like a hidden brick switch would’ve been the oldest.”
“Shut up or say thank you.”
“Thank you,” I replied with a grin, and then followed the pet in while the others came behind. When we emerged through the wall, we found ourselves in a room with three cloaked figures sitting in a triangle facing inward. They were focused on an object shaped like a small pyramid that floated before them. Lines like patterns, or maybe writing, glowed on the its sides.
But what really caught my eye was the image of Lamb, standing there where the mist was accumulating, staring at me with hope and excitement.
20
Lamb’s first movement was to put a finger to her mouth, and then whisper. “I’m not really here. I’ve been able to sneak into one of their transport rooms and they haven’t noticed me yet, but this is basically a private call, like an encrypted comms channel.”
I cocked my head, trying to convey that I didn’t quite understand but not able to ask without likely alerting the guards—if that’s what they were.
“What you see here are three of their top ranks, though I think they’re not exactly Nihilists,” Lamb went on. “More like their gods, you could say. I’ve heard them referred to as Dexetilaitite… try saying that three times fast.”
My grin gave her confidence, but she shook her head. “Don’t think this will be so easy. This is the first step—retrieving the item and then going back to the Citadel. Navani knows—in fact, I imagine using the dais is how you got here. This time, do the same but with this, and you’ll be able to sort of travel as they do… but it’s complicated. You’ll understand when the item is in place, the power channeling through it.”
The others had entered now, though it seemed Lamb hadn’t noticed. I got the feeling she could only see me and the Dexetiliathingies.
“I know you’ve grown a lot over a short while,” Lamb went on. “Now it’s time to test yourself. Not for me, but for what this can mean for overthrowing them. Please, Drew, promise me that if it comes to it, you’ll abandon me. I’m not worth risking all of this for.”
At that, I shook my head. That was a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep.
She sighed, turned and gasped. “I have to go,” she hissed, and then faded along with the mist. Before she was completely gone, however, she added, “Be careful, Drew. A damn lot is riding on you.”
Way to take away the pressure. Navani was staring at me in confusion, and I noticed Charm’s shadow behind one of our pets.
I pointed to the small pyramid, indicating that we had to take it, and Navani’s expression turned sour. She had to have known that’s what we were here for, but didn’t seem any more enthusiastic about taking on these three than I felt.
As quietly as she could, she unslung her rifle and took aim. I did the same with my blaster, wishing I still had that badass assault rifle. Charm’s shadow moved and I knew she was ready. Holding up my fingers, I counted down from three, then took hold of my blaster with both hands, and gently squeezed the trigger.
Navani’s shot rang out at the same time, both blasts hitting an invisible shield as Charm lunged and hit it too. She was thrown back and slammed into the wall as the three Dex beings turned to face us. They rose to their feet, pulled swords from their backs, and stepped out of whatever force-field they were in.
Our pets instantly turned on us as well, so that we were outnumbered. Whatever these things were, they apparently had some sort of connection or power over our pet Nihilists that was stronger than Charm’s powers.
I pulled back and a strange feeling came over me, one that I hadn’t felt in some time—it was fear. I was terrified. Part of it had to do with the fact that I could tell from that one simple emotion that my hype had worn off. This was all me—sure, I had the upgrades from my leveling up and all that, but there was no extra speed or strength coursing through my body.
It was more than that though. These things, these Dex creatures, they had an aura about them, a way of getting inside my head.
Still, I shot again. The blast hit a shield and didn’t seem to do much damage. When they were within reach I lunged. Not only did my strikes not make contact, their counter strikes were coming hard and fast. One of them kicked back Charm and then pushed back off the wall, coming at me instead, so that there were now two against me.
Charm cloaked and blew her power on one of them as he was about to hit me, but instead he turned and hit her and sent her flying. She cloaked again, and his next strike apparently missed, in spite of how fast he’d followed her.
Meanwhile, Navani was trying to get the distance to shoot. Each time the enemy got close enough to strike she threw herself backward, barely having enough time to throw a shield in her place so that at least she could slow him down. The former pets were more in the way than anything, and quickly moved to the back of the room, only sending attacks our way whenever one of us tried evasion tactics.
It was only when a sword cut through the metal on my chest and I felt its sting as it nicked flesh that I realized we were screwed if we didn’t change up the strategy fast. These three, they were in here for a reason. They were guarding that floating triangle—the key to all of this, I knew it.
Throwing myself toward Charm’s attacker and therefore putting two on me again, I hissed, “Grab it.”
“What?” she said, using her claws to try and attack but getting pushed back as metal clanged on metal.
“Cloak and get to it. Forget us, whatever happens—” Another clang interrupted me, this time followed by a thud to my back. I spun in time to see a sword coming for my faceplate, and only dodged enough to avoid death.
The impact still hurt, a slice that tore through my helmet and left the hilt of the sword slamming into my jaw. I staggered back, dodged another strike and came back for an attack, when I saw the next one over turning to protect the floating pyramid. Charm was cloaked, so I had to imagine she was making a move on it.
Whatever I could do, this was the time to do it.
Instead of going for the strike, I rolled, getting some room, and let out the craziest war cry I could think of. As it startled the enemy, I kept on rolling, turning it into this sort of war chant I’d seen a sports team doing once. Here I was, slapping my forearms and making it up as I went—there was no way I’d remember the actual chant—and those all-powerful beings stared at me, cloaks floating around them… and then they vanished.
I paused mid hip-thrust, staring in confusion, until my eyes moved over to the image of Charm uncloaking, holding the pyramid object in her hands. Navani was surrounded by three shields, on the floor with one arm up to block herself from a strike that had apparently been about to make contact.
“What… just happened?” she asked, dazed.
“As soon as I pulled it free, they were gone,” Charm explained, carrying the item over carefully. Her eyes darted over to the former pets, who were now frozen like statues. “What’s up with them?”
“Maybe brain-fried after your littl
e charm and whatever the Dexetilaitites did to them,” Navani said.
“Whatever this is,” I pulled off my Nihilist robe and used it to wrap the object, then slung it over my shoulder and secured it, “we’re going to want to keep it away from the enemy.”
Navani agreed although she said she would want to do some tests on it, and then we raced out of there to find our companions. Suddenly there was another explosion and the wall to our right crumbled inward.
Sakurai plowed through the opening and came to a rest at our feet. When she saw us, she coughed, laughed, and then coughed again.
“Damn, I haven’t been plowed like that in a couple of years,” she said, trying to stand, but stumbling. When she saw me, she added, “But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get there.”
“Not the time for jokes,” I said, pointing to a large, dark, dex-like figure that had just risen up in the hole behind by her.
“Where are the others?” Navani asked anxiously, standing at our side with rifle ready. “Still alive?”
“They’re coming,” Sakurai said. “I was the distraction. Watch this.”
Tattoos around her neck started to glow, and then the light worked its way out of her body in the form of a myriad of glowing insects that reminded me of fireflies. They flew at her enemy, exploding in a series of bursts upon impact.
“Nice,” Charm said, still invisible, but the smoke was clearing and the enemy still stood there, facing us down. “But… not enough.”
“Shit,” Sakurai replied. “You all got something?”
“Give him hell,” Navani replied, unable to hide the shakiness in her voice.
We all started firing at once. The bastard charged us then, robes flickering and darting around it in some sort of shield manner. It pulled a long, curved sword from its back and I nearly shat myself.
The being was like the others, the guardians of the pyramid we had just seized, but this one was faster. He seemed to be everywhere at once, darting amongst us, appearing to be floating rather than feet planted on the ground, striking with that huge blade like a shadow. We were in defense mode, my chest pounding. My brain couldn’t quite grasp that this guy was putting up an even better fight than the other three combined, but it wasn’t like I had time to analyze it—I was too busy fighting for my life.
“This isn’t working!” I shouted, watching a slice take off a chunk of hair from Charm’s tail.
She cursed and rocks shifted as I assumed she was dodging, while the being blocked Sakurai’s dragon of light.
“Maybe this’ll help,” Charm said next to my ear, and when I turned I saw a red breath coming at me from a couple of inches away.
It took me a second to process what had just happened, nearly costing me my life as the being came back in for another attack. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the red breaths hitting the others, and then felt it as I processed what had just happened—she was giving us boosts. This one came in the form of aggression. My energy levels rose, my muscles felt on fire, and I pressed the attack. I was going all out, working to use anything I could from my upgrades. Combo bonuses weren’t doing any good, because I couldn’t land a damn strike. A stun attack almost worked, but the creature was moving again a split-second later.
The others were attacking like crazy now too, and it almost seemed possible that they’d land something, but nothing was hitting. More breaths came our way, giving us stamina and clarity of mind, but still it went on like this.
As good as we were, this son of a bitch always seemed one step ahead. Sakurai thrust out her hand and abandoned the sword for her swarm of crazy firefly things, but a sweeping motion of his robes and they all vanished into darkness. When he spun again, a ring of shadow burst out of him like an explosion, knocking Sakurai and me to the floor.
“Try something different,” I said, lying next to Sakurai, my world spinning. “Direct attacks don’t seem to do much good.”
“You’re right,” she said, pushing herself up and watching as Charm and Navani attacked from both sides but couldn’t make any progress as the figure darted about, its cloaks leaving empty targets.
Sakurai’s tattoos lit up as a golden glow came from her hand, and she pressed it to the floor. The glow darted across the floor like veins, circled, and then seemed to come to a halt. She gave me a nervous glance, but then the Dexetilaitite touched down, and the gold leapt up. Strands caught hold of his cloak, moving up, wrapping around its base. The creature tried to fly left but was yanked back into place.
When it next tried to move, Navani was ready—this time catching it with a blast from her rifle that sent a chunk of cloak and inner matter flying. It actually seemed to show some fear when it turned again, trying to flee.
“Not going to happen,” I grumbled, pulling my blaster and shooting at it from where I lay. Another chunk, and this time it fell, more of the glowing lines reaching for it, pulling at it.
Sakurai and Charm moved in, dealing the final blows that ended this now pitiful creature. When it was done, I turned to Sakurai, impressed.
“How many different uses do you have of this power of yours?”
She grinned. “So far, that I know of? Four or five. Maybe we could experiment later and see what happens.”
That caught me off guard, at a moment like this, so I just chuckled nervously.
Navani was pushing herself up, looking around at us as if still unable to believe that had just happened. “Nice work, all.”
“It was thanks to Sakurai,” I pointed out.
“Well then, especially nice work to you, Sakurai.”
The woman actually blushed.
“These things…” Charm shook her head. “I hope I never see another one in my life.”
“Just like the others that were guarding the item” Navani said, indicating the robe tied around my shoulders where I’d stashed the mini-pyramid that Lamb led us to. “Different… stronger than the other Nihilists. They’re clearly connected, but I’m wondering if they’re something different altogether.”
This was all hurting my head, so I just stood there, chest heaving, overwhelmed with what we’d gotten ourselves into. Only, then I remembered what Lamb had said.
“Dexetilaitite,” I said. “Yes, a being that was using the pyramid thing—somehow it helped them travel, in a sense.”
Sakurai glanced over with a grunt like she didn’t care about the who’s who of it all. “Sounds like you all had some luck.”
“We know how to go deeper,” I said. “Looks like the seventeen-year thing was bullshit.”
“Maybe,” Navani interjected. “It’s how long it would take us to reach their world, but it sounds like you’re saying they found a way to reach us faster. Judging by the way they vanished when we took that thing… by not being themselves at first, but materializing more over time. The item has to be protected, too, or the enemy returns to their own world.”
Sakurai joined in, “That explains why more of those things vanished when I was fighting them out there.”
“Did they?” Charm asked. “Why not this one?”
“Might be that there’s another item,” Navani said. “Or that some came earlier and established themselves, like the travel was complete.”
“So… like they sent their souls through first, and their bodies followed?” Sakurai asked.
“Maybe? The point is, we might be able to do the same to rescue Lamb—basically we’re going to need this,” she gestured to me, and I revealed the item wrapped in the cloak. “This, and a place to lay low while we use it—as far as we know, our bodies will remain behind, at least at first.”
“Lamb said we’d need the Citadel,” I pointed out. “But other than that, it seems like a lot of this is guesswork.”
Navani clearly didn’t want to admit it, but she nodded. “Much of life is. Are you having second thoughts here?”
“I’d like to think I’m a hero by now, and if not… this’ll do it.”
“It’ll be one more notch of heroism on your
belt,” she replied, placing her hand on mine.
I kept my laugh in check, assuming she didn’t know the Earth thing with notches in belts and what that really meant. She took my smile as a sign of commitment.
This time I didn’t have to say we should go find the others, because they found us, in a sense. Another explosion sounded and the far walls fell, the floor collapsing in ahead of us. We moved back, stopping at a point where the cracks came but the floor stayed together.
When it was over we could see outside and the other side of the fortress. There was Sacrada rising up in all her glory, not worried about keeping a low profile anymore, and she was shooting off sun bursts like it was the fourth of July. We weren’t sure where the others were, but had no doubt it was time to get back out there and join the fight.
21
The charge through the rubble wasn’t fast enough, as by the time we reached the spot we’d seen Sacrada, she’d flown over the top of the roof. Explosions from up there lit the sky, while in the distance we could see a series of new tunnels—some merely holes in the ground, others jutting out like abandoned snake skins—as well as metallic spikes covered in bodies.
A shout sounded and Threed darted out from one of the tunnels, five Nihilists on her tail, and then another Threed showed up from near the fortress, shooting at the pursuers. I whistled to this one, figuring only the real Threed would have a real gun, although the replicas could fondle my balls, so I assumed they could also pick up an enemy weapon. Still, when this one looked I motioned to the roof and she nodded, firing again before moving back into the building.
We turned, about to work our way up, when a strange ship that resembled a curved laser burst from the ground. Metal followed, twisting and piercing its hull, keeping it in place as Andromida appeared, floating. She grabbed the hull top and pulled it off, and there was Caldoran inside with twin blasters ready in his hands. The shots threw Andromida back, where her metal caught her. He was out and leaping through the air as three more supervillains appeared, one flying.
