by Riker Kane
“Potent Mana,” I said. “Okay. We get some Potent Mana and the next time I see that asshole, I’ll punch a hole in his chest.”
“Finding the Potent Mana is only our first dilemma. The issue would be applying it to your weapons. I’m afraid I’m not as skilled as a seasoned engineer. My expertise is limited exclusively to your gauntlets.”
“So… you can’t do it?”
“I can. But it would take considerable time. Time we may or may not have.”
The clock was ticking as soon as this whole thing got started. Losing a day with Castleberry coming after us was cutting it even closer.
“I also discovered another dilemma,” Redgrave said.
“The hits just keep on coming…” I sighed.
Redgrave moved over to the map of our mission. The blinking blue dot was only a quarter of the way from our destination but it still seemed so far.
“I may have figured out why your father’s signal was lost. I underestimated just how erratic the environment of Anarchy was. A human made up of simple matter could only last so long without proper preparation. If we were to acquire some Potent Mana, I could apply it to your Recall Boxes to fight the distortion of Anarchy. It would give you certainly more time to rescue your father.”
“I don’t see what other decision we have to make,” Alisa said. “We need Potent Mana.”
“Indeed. I’ve been able to locate a source for it.” He drew a line with his finger on the display, moving up and away from the path we were following. “A lone dimension in Pandora. The Mana density is strong. I’m certain you’ll find what you’re looking for here.”
“Then it’s settled,” Jade said. “We go for the Potent Mana now.”
The choice was made without even having to say it. “We’ll head out for it now,” I said. “What exactly am I looking for?”
“I’m not certain. Potent Mana is as its name suggests. Powerful enough to contain all of the elements of every source of Mana. What I do know is you’ll know it when you find it. Because of the haste I located this world, I can’t offer you any details on it. But there’s a mission on file in the database. I’ll send it to your communicator now.”
I walked over and slid the gauntlets on. The touchscreen display on the side lit-up blue with text.
Available Missions
Acquire Potent Mana
Reward: $500
“If it’s where you say it is, we’ll bring it back.”
“Good luck, Slayer.”
31: The Undead Depths
One moment you’re having coffee and trying to avoid being fitted for a tuxedo. The next you’re in an open field at midnight.
The full moon shined through the dark clouds floating by. The wind blew through the tall grass and made it sway like the forest of trees in the distance. There was something out there in the woods, watching and waiting for a moment to pounce.
My surroundings were something out of a movie where everybody died in the end. Any man who had any sense would’ve turned around and run back through the Junction Gate. That wasn’t gonna happen to me.
“Okay…” Alisa shifted her eyes left and right, her hand cannon already aimed forward. “Potent Mana. Just our luck it’s in a place that’s spooky as shit.”
“What’s wrong? Scared of the dark?” I gave her a smirk to try and lighten the mood.
“Pfft! Nobody’s scared of the dark… The problem is what’s waiting in it…”
“Looks like we’re about to find out.” Jade stepped forward at the structure in front of us.
The entrance to a cavern had been carved into the mountainside about fifty yards away from us. Couldn’t really see deep into it with how dark it was. I glanced at my communicator and saw the blinking dot pinpointing our destination.
“Getting a reading up ahead. That’s what we’re looking for. Let’s move.” I slammed my knuckles together with a clang then moved through the grass.
I got to the entrance and saw the torch lighting the pathway. The cavern was narrow with only one way to go. More bright flaming torches on the wall appeared to light our descent.
I stayed quiet and walked forward. The musty smell of the cavern walls filled my nostrils. The rocks around me were dusty like nobody had walked through in ages. I left footprints with every step I took. But I kept my focus on the path, searching for the other end.
“Hope nothing comes at us now,” Alisa said. “Can’t fight in a narrow pathway.”
“At least they can only attack us one at a time,” I said.
“I’d agree if the Shadows were human like us. But they could be wolves. Or bears. Or lions. Or maybe giant bugs—”
“You made your point. Just be ready to fire with that itchy trigger finger of yours.”
Our descent didn’t last much longer. The cavern path opened into a smaller basin. More torches lit the walls and I was able to see how wide the space was. Above me, I could barely make out the cavernous ceiling from the flames shining up.
In front of me were three more paths continuing forward. “Three paths,” I said. “Three of us. We’ll find the Mana faster if we split up.”
“Agreed.” Jade didn’t hesitate in walking toward one of the paths.
“Hold on a second!” Alisa called out loud enough for her voice to bounce off the walls. “You really expect me to just walk down one of these paths by myself.”
I put a hand on her shoulder and noticed she was trembling. “We can’t waste time. Redgrave needs to get started on this as soon as possible.”
“I know… It’s just…”
“I don’t think it matters,” Jade said suddenly. “It looks like a couple of these paths are caved in. There’s only one way to go.”
The paths on the left and right were blocked with boulders just like she said. Only the center one seemed to keep going with more torches lighting the descent.
“Hmm… I wonder if it was always like that or if something else caused a cave-in…”
“There’s something else over here.” Jade pointed toward the side of the center pathway. “There’s something carved into the wall… It says something…”
I squinted to try and make it out. “Those seeking the Mana will only find death in its place. Only the living will be able to receive it.”
“Oh, that’s great.” Alisa put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “If this place wasn’t already ominous enough… Whatever’s waiting for us down there can’t be good.”
“Itchy trigger finger.” I laughed to try and ease the tension I could see in her eyes. She managed to smile. It was a nervous smile but it was there. “Let’s go see what’s waiting for us.”
I headed down the path without hesitating. Alisa stayed close behind me with Jade watching the rear.
The air got mustier. Some combination of rust, earth, and something I couldn’t quite tell filled my nostrils. It was palpable, thick enough I could taste it. Deep breaths helped me stay calm as the darkness continued to peer back at me.
Creak…
“Did you hear that?” Alisa suddenly gripped my arm.
We stopped in our tracks and held our breath, waiting for it to come again. Some sorta creak. I didn’t know what it was but it was definitely there.
Creak…
Again it came through, this time a little louder. The torches didn’t go far enough to light the pathway entirely, so all I could see was darkness.
Creak…
Alisa’s hand trembled as she aimed her hand cannon. Jade gritted her teeth and charged her weapon. The green flames gathered around the tip of her staff.
“Light the way,” I said to her.
She gave me a nod then shot a green fireball big enough to take up the whole pathway. It screamed forward, burning all of the dust around it and scorching the walls. Her Solo Spark kept going and going…
“SCREEEEEECH!”
Some indistinguishable wail filled the air. Like someone screaming out. Someone yelling. The flames died down and the darkness returned. I ke
pt staring with my fists up.
The seconds went by and still nothing. I didn’t blink, just waiting for something to appear.
“Maybe there’s nothing,” Alisa said. “Ha! Maybe it was just all in our head—”
“SCREEEEEECH!”
Another yell came toward us and along with it, something emerging from the darkness. A skeleton. A moving skeleton. And there was more than one of them.
“SCREEEEEEEEECH!”
They all screamed in unison as they charged toward us, tumbling over each other like an avalanche that was moving up.
“Let ‘em have it!”
Alisa and Jade fired immediately. Shots of energy and more flames shot forward, crashing into the skeletons and making them fall over. They slammed to the ground and exploded into Mana. But as soon as they were gone, there were just more skeletons stomping forward to replace them.
The ladies did their best to keep the skeletons at bay. But the flood was moving closer to us. Dozens of skeletons clawing and scratching their way forward, not caring about the damage they were taking.
“They’re not gonna stop…” I muttered to myself. “They’re not gonna stop. Shit…”
I stopped thinking and ran forward.
“Enzo!” Jade called out and stopped firing to avoid hitting me.
CLANG! I raised my fist up and cracked the first skeleton in the jaw, turning it into Mana. Another jumped toward me and—BANG—I pounded it in its chest. The next one met the same fate. Same for the next. And the one after that.
I’d fought other men before and knocked them out. Felt their bones shatter from my punches. Watched the life leave their eyes as they went unconscious.
There was something off about fighting a skeleton though. Empty sockets instead of eyes staring at you. Long, ragged teeth ready to chomp on you. Loud shrieks you didn’t know where they were coming from. It might’ve been their robotic movement as they flailed and clawed at me. That was something I could never get used to.
But I kept punching. I fired lefts and rights at them like they were coming off a conveyor belt.
Jade and Alisa picked their shots when they could.
The flood kept coming. It was so overwhelming, they got to me.
“Revolver Drill!”
My gauntlets moved up and I rotated with lightning speed. The dust rose from the cavern floor. I barely had enough room to raise my arms. Everything around me was a blur but I was doing damage. The crunch of bones slamming against the steel and colliding with the cavern walls was loud enough I couldn’t hear anything else.
I held on for as long as I could, letting the ability ride out. When I regained control, there was only a single skeleton left. A hard right hand into its skull sent it flying down the path until it turned into Mana.
“Let’s hope we don’t have to do that again.” Alisa sighed and wiped the beads of sweat from her brow.
We quickly resumed our walk to avoid getting stuck in our path. The descent took us down into a cavern basin that was larger than the previous one. The circular room was spacious, about the size of the main room at the Bloody Guts. It’d take me more than a few seconds to run across it. More torches lit the walls, giving everything an orange tint. Up above, there was nothing but darkness. Either the ceiling was too high or there was something up there I didn’t wanna think about blocking it. The floors were made of the same stone as the rest of the cave. There was something else though. Intricate patterns were carved right into the stone.
“This mean anything to you?” I asked Jade.
She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s important.”
“It must mean something,” Alisa said. “Look. There’s nowhere else to go.”
I looked around. The walls were the same in every direction.
“There has to be a way through,” I said. “Unless the other pathways were caved in for a reason… Everybody look around. Try to find something. A crack in the wall. A hole in the floor. A secret pathway or something.”
Jade and Alisa moved to the other sides of the wall. I examined the rocks in front of me and ran my hand over them. They were cold. Rough. Dusty. I kept searching for any sign of a way forward.
“Hey! I think I got something!” Alisa called out.
Jade and I headed over to the northern end of the room where Alisa was. She pointed at a small vertical line in the wall.
“Look… There’s something on the other side.” She grabbed one of the torches from the wall and held it up to the crack. I peered into it and saw a small spider skittering out. There was something else though. Something that didn’t match the rest of the wall.
“It looks like some sort of switch…” I said.
“Why is there a switch on the other side of the wall?” Alisa asked.
“Maybe it’s because we aren’t supposed to flip it.”
Who was I kidding? I knew we weren’t supposed to flip it. But it was the best option at the moment.
“Stand back.” I readied my gauntlets as they gave me space. I reared back then sent a right fist into the cavern wall. The rocks crumbled from the punch. Another punch chipped away more of the rocks. I kept pounding my fist into the wall and revealed more and more of the switch behind it. An entire chunk of the wall was cleared out until I could see all of it. A gray iron lever like a car shifter was dug into the wall.
“Here goes nothing.” I grabbed the lever and pulled. It barely budged, probably stuck in place from not having been used. But I kept pulling until finally managing to shift it down.
“You see anything?”
They both looked around. But the basin remained silent except for our breathing.
“Maybe you have to move it a few times,” Alisa said.
“What?” Jade said.
“You know, you’ve gotta like… wiggle it back and forth. Get the juices flowing or something.”
I shrugged and moved the lever back up. Then back down. Then back up.
And still there was nothing.
“Hmm… I was sure that would work.” Alisa twisted her lips and turned her head sideways as she examined the lever. “Maybe—”
The room began to rumble all around us. The floor and walls shook. Dust and pebbles began falling from the ceiling. The rumbling stopped as quickly as it started and again the room was silent.
The room hadn’t changed. The walls were still intact. The ceiling was still dark.
“Maybe if you keep doing it—”
“SCREEEEEEECH!” A sudden shriek from the ceiling cut Alisa off again.
“What the—”
Something came from the darkness above and landed right in front of us, thudding against the cavern floor and shaking the room. It was another skeleton. But this one was different. Tall enough I had to tilt my head back to see its head. It had to be at least twenty-feet high. Its yellow bones didn’t look as frail and vulnerable as the others. And on its body was what looked like dull, rusted medieval armor. Then there was the sword in its hand. A piece of shining steel that was at least three meters long. Its edge wasn’t sharp but it was thick enough I didn’t wanna know what it was like getting hit by it.
“That thing’s a lot bigger than me,” I said. “But it’s still not big enough.”
I gave Jade a look. She nodded and raised her staff.
“Go get ‘em, Champ. I got your back.” Alisa pulled her cannon up and fired off a shot. The energy bounced off the skeleton’s chestplate and made it take a step back before it lurched forward, dragging its sword against the ground in the process.
“Let’s go!” I ran forward with my fists up.
Jade sent a Solo Spark at the skeleton. The giant fireball consumed its whole chest and made it stop in place, giving me enough time to slam a right hand into its knee.
The skeleton roared as it swung its sword down on me.
“Shit!” I raised my gauntlets up. “Power Shield!” The blue barrier came up just before it landed. I absorbed the blow but the weight of it reverberated throu
gh the rest of my body.
Alisa and Jade fired more shots to keep it off-balance. Another hard right hand to its other knee made it stumble. That’s when I noticed something. I hit it hard enough to make its bones shift out of place.
“Chop it down… Alisa! Jade! Stun it!”
“Zero Blast!” Jade fired a stream. The blue and white energy hit the skeleton’s arm. The icy frost slowed down its movement as it tried to swing again. Alisa fired a charged stun shot to keep it in place, giving me enough time to hit its leg again. The bone went flying into the side of the wall.
The skeleton stumbled down, low enough for me to grab its chestplate.
“Keep it off me!”
Jade and Alisa blasted its arms to stop it from trying to swing at me. I used all of the strength I had and managed to rip the skeleton’s armor free. That’s when I saw it. Something inside of its ribcage at the center of its chest. A glowing orb, pulsing with energy. Red like Mana.
“Is that—”
“AAAAHHHH!” The skeleton suddenly roared. It threw its arms up and broke free from the stunning shots, sending the stream right back to Jade and knocking her down.
It quickly raised its sword and brought it down. I wasn’t fast enough to activate my shield. I moved out of the way but not completely. The dull blade dug into my skin and drew blood instantly.
“Shit…” I grunted through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the stinging pain.
The skeleton stood up on one foot then leaped up to kick me in the chest. I went flying into the wall, slamming into it so hard I lost my breath.
“Damn…” I got kicked by a one-legged skeleton. I would’ve laughed about it if I wasn’t struggling to breathe.
“Hey!” Alisa grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet. “Holy crap… Your arm…”
“Just a little blood.”
I looked at the skeleton as it straightened up. Then its leg on the other side of the room started to move. The bone began floating forward before reconnecting itself back to the rest of it.
“It put itself back together,” Alisa said. “How the hell are we gonna beat that thing if it’s already dead?”
“It’s not dead… That thing in its chest. If I could just get to it…”
