by Pal, J
The scraping started again, and concerns of a second collapse filled me. In the current state, we could still climb back up. If more of the structure we were climbing down fell apart, we’d have to look for a different exit. I didn’t have high hopes for us in the darkness. We’d survive one or two attacks, maybe—but if a swarm of nocturnal beasts descended upon us, we’d be done for.
My jaw dropped when we got to the source of light. The fact that the glow was coming from Winnie’s open chest didn’t surprise me. Instead, it was the large silver dome behind the bear. Looking at the color and texture, I knew straight away that it was Miley. When Morpheus pressed a hand against the structure, a face-sized hole opened up, and Kitty peeked out.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
She nodded. “Something lunged at me when we landed,” Kitty said. “Miley managed to knock it out of the way, but I twisted my ankle.”
“Damn it.” I sighed. The bike golem brightened its light, illuminating the underground structure. “Morpheus is going to get you out of here, alright? Miley, Winnie, and I will cover you and then follow.”
The silver dome melted away, the liquid metal pooled together before solidifying into the usual spherical form. Once this was all over, I’d grill her about the new golem’s capabilities. I respected her desire to make it a surprise, but considering the state of the world, we couldn’t afford to play such games with one another.
“Can you climb onto his back?” I asked, patting the bike golem’s back. “Or do you need some help—”
My jaw dropped much like the floor had. Morpheus’s rear blossomed up, creating a Kitty-shape hole. It reminded me of what Wile E. Coyote left in his wake while chasing his lifelong roadrunner nemesis. She climbed into the golem and it closed around her, getting a touch larger in the process. Holy shit. She had turned Morpheus into a living power suit. Had we rubbed off on Kitty, or had she been a secret sci-fi geek all this time?
“We’ll get out of here together,” Kitty said. “Morpheus can keep me safe.”
Another sonic pulse accompanied by technopathic energies washed over us. This one was stronger and left a metallic taste in my mouth. What followed made me jump out of my skin.
“Was that a meow?”
“Sure as hell sounded like one,” I replied, running my scanner over the area around us. We heard it again moments later, and it was much closer. Cats could see at night, but that didn’t mean they had sight in the pitch dark. They needed a minimal amount of light for their hyper-sensitive eyes to work. So whatever we were dealing with had to be more than an ordinary feline. “It could be a trick. We don’t know what’s down here.”
Movement on the edge of Morpheus’s light caught my attention. I raised the Charge Launcher, fully prepared to blast whatever creature was trying to sneak upon us. My breath caught in my throat when I saw that it was a kitten. It wasn’t a mutated or System-perverted animal. Instead, we found ourselves staring at an ordinary kitten.
“Holy shit. How the hell did it get down here?” Kitty asked, trudging towards it. Morpheus didn’t appear very stable carrying her and moving on two feet. This was the first time she had ridden him in such a fashion after all. The metal plates that formed the power suit continued to move. “We should get it out of here.”
The sonic blast passed over us again, and my eyes widened when I sensed something new. “Kitty, stop!” I exclaimed as she knelt a meter from the creature, the mechanical hands waving it closer. “That’s not a cat.”
Kitty recoiled as the cat’s eyes glowed a bright red before exploding. The blast didn’t have much power, but it sent shards of metal flying everywhere. If not for the protection Morpheus provided, it would have killed her. A growl sounded from within the darkness, and a much larger feline form leapt at Morpheus. Miley jumped into action, accelerating at a ridiculous speed and launching herself at the beast like a wrecking ball. The creature’s tail shot backwards and latched onto the ground like a hook, helping it change direction midair.
It looked mostly like a cat. A large metal contraption akin to a pimped-out muscle-car engine stuck out of its midriff. Its ears were bigger than my hands, and the hole stretched all the way to the empty eye sockets. Then, a little hole opened up on its underside, and a kitten fell out. Now that I focused on it, I knew that it wasn’t a feline at all but a little metal construct covered in metal bristles.
“Why the fuck are you keeping still, Kat?” I yelled. “Get back.”
I got a better look at Morpheus’s front. Bits of the metal plating were dented, and shards had embedded themselves around the softer bits. I hoped none of the damage had gotten through to Kitty. The new monstrous wheels on the bike golem’s back slid down to his feet. Morpheus reversed just as the kitten bomb exploded. He threw his metallic arms up, blocking the shower of shrapnel.
“Matt, I’m hurt.” Kitty’s voice sounded shaky. I hoped it was the layers of metal muffling her voice and not something major. “I’m heading up.”
“We’ll cover you,” I said. “Get moving.”
Another exploding kitten popped out of the creature. I gave neither of them time to move and shot the Charge Launcher at them. It came as a surprise when the creature didn’t dodge. I expected it to jump out of the way, but the creature remained still and my projectile struck its shoulder and burst into countless strands of crackling energy. The kitten exploded, and the larger feline hissed as shards of metal pelted it.
I needed to know what I was dealing with, so I scanned the beast.
Elite Auranther: Exploditty Carrier
Originally bred by the eyeless aurins to live on their dark planets, auranthers are experts of hunting and surviving in the darkness. When the aurin species mysteriously disappeared, their neighbors assumed it was their pet felines that’d wiped them out. Now the auranthers live in dark space, preying on lost travelers and traveling to young planets to feast.
Besides their exceptional hunting skills, what makes elite auranthers extra terrifying is their ability to grow biometal tech into their biology. As a result, most opt for carrier-based modifications and use drones to assist in their hunting.
Damn. I needed to disassemble this beast.
I had tons of questions regarding how this creature functioned. Where did it get the materials for creating the exploding kittens? A gland would explain the biometal, but the kitten needed to have explosive material within it to pull off their kamikaze attacks. Distracting the creature and retreating would be the smarter move, but curiosity and greed got the best of me. As long as I had Winnie and Miley backing me up, everything would be fine.
The auranther had retreated into the darkness while I read the scan data, so I kept Winnie close to me. With Morpheus focused on climbing out of the hole, the little bear was my only source of light. When I switched on the thermal scanner, everything lit up around us. It was the shrapnel from the exploded kittens. I lowered the mode’s intensity so it was a barely visible overlay over regular sight. It probably wouldn’t help me spot more than sudden movement, but that was as good as anything I could hope for in our current situation.
I knew for sure the creature hadn’t retreated. Small pools of a hot liquid had sprayed around its initial position—blood. My infrared vision detected bright spots of it in the darkness, and they continued to pop up all over the room. The creature had stuck around. I couldn’t tell whether the collapse had trapped it in here or if it was too obstinate to accept the loss and leave.
The fact that my Charge Launcher had caused some damage gave me confidence. The projectile had struck the metal part of its body and not done much, but the arcing bolts of electricity had burned its flesh. A carefully aimed shot would probably put it down.
“How’re you doing up there?” I called, keeping my eyes on the darkness ahead of me. I shifted my position so my back was to the erect parts of the collapsed floor.
“Halfway there,” Kitty answered. “I’m sorry.”
“Focus on getting
out, love. We’ve got this.”
A moving cold patch caught my attention, and I fired off a shot without hesitation. Instead of relying on the crosshairs, I aimed the projectile at where the blip was moving. I missed, but the Charge Launcher’s bolt exploded in front of the moving green light and showed it with electricity. It exploded, sending hot biometal shrapnel all over the place.
“Damn it!” I swore. It was a kitten. I needed to find the elite and put it down quickly. Even though I wanted the parts that made this creature tick, we needed to put it down and get out as soon as possible. The explosions were much too loud, and the auranthers clearly used sound for hunting. In fact, the pulses I’d sensed before were probably a natural sonar. Other members of the beast’s species could’ve heard the noise and might descend on us at any moment.
I caught another glimpse of movement and fired the Charge Launcher again. I hit nothing. The momentary flash of light illuminated the creature’s hooked tail as it zipped into the shadows. Then out of nowhere, two kittens came sprinting into the light. I activated the barrier projector, but thanks to Miley, I didn’t need it. She rolled in front of me and shifted into a thick barrier. Much to my surprise, the golem didn’t just block the explosions but absorbed the shards of biometal too.
Instead of sticking by my side, Miley rolled on into the darkness, two skinny spikes extending from either side along the horizontal axis. Moments later, a growl sounded from within the dark, and my goggles picked up a sizeable warm mass leaping through the air. Unfortunately, there was too much rubble for me to get a clear shot, so Winnie and I rushed forward together to get a hit in.
“Get back to the wall!” Kitty screamed from above. “Miley is rolling around blindly. If that thing gets behind you, you’re done for.”
I ducked and activated my barrier as the creature entered the light, leaping straight at us. Winnie didn’t let the beast make contact. The bear golem stepped in front and took the blow, allowing the creature to grab his torso using its massive jaws. The auranther realized much too late that it had made a big mistake. Winnie’s arms stretched and wrapped around the creature’s neck before spikes burst from almost every part of his body.
Muffled and panic-filled meows filled the room, but the little bear put an end to them by roaring in the beast’s face. I imagined the attack was as good as gouging the creature’s eyes out. It continued running around, banging its head and shoulders against walls, but failed to peel Winnie off. That’s when Miley came in like a wrecking ball and slammed into the creature’s side. She changed shape again, becoming a four-limbed starfish. Silvery biometal spikes extended from the appendages before they bashed wrapped around the creature’s rear.
The creature’s still-free metallic underside opened up, dropping a kitten and a half—the second half only had two limbs and a head. It was running low on materials! The auranther fell onto its side, angling Winnie and Miley to take the full blast. It got hit by some of the shrapnel too, but the explosions forced the bear golem off its target. The creature turned its focus on Miley when it should have been preparing for me. I ran in and hit the beast in the face with a point-blank blast from the Sonic Shotgun.
Much to my disgust, the sonic attack made the auranther’s skull and shoulders wobble like jelly before the creature collapsed. Blood poured from its mouth and nose, and I hit it again with the precautionary double-tap. When “Disassemble” lit up on my HUD, I knew for sure the creature was dead.
Materials stored for creation and upgrades:
elite auranther grapple tail
elite auranther ears
elite auranther fangs
biometal gland x2
boomjuice gland
mini-drone constructor
mini-drone carrier
sonar
Damn. This was an awesome take. Liam would have little trouble building his 3D printer now, and I had several ideas for the remaining parts. Winnie waddled up to me in rather ragged shape. His leathery skin always sealed itself after withdrawing the spikes, but now his head hung limply to one side. Kitty would need to fix that up once we were out.
A chill ran up my spine as a wave of pain washed over my eyes and temple. I sensed multiple technopathic signals. The creature’s death cries must have summoned its friends or hastened their arrival. I suspected the collapse had sealed off the entrances to the area—otherwise the injured creature would have retreated—but I didn’t want to find out. So I activated the Pogo Heelies and launched myself partway up the collapse. Winnie and Miley followed after me in their own way.
Kitty had Morpheus shine his light down at us, so I had an easier time finding handholds. Booms sounded from down below, followed by several weak sonic pulses. The auranthers were probably trying to find their way into the sealed-off area. I didn’t know what kind of family structure these creatures followed, but if it was a lion-pride-like setting, maybe these creatures wanted to help their friend. When they found out it had died, they’d probably follow our scents out into the building.
I didn’t want to take any chances. So once at the top, I had Kitty and her golems go up the stairs before unloading the Charge Launcher on the cracked floor, causing all of it to collapse. If we were lucky and these creatures sucked at climbing, perhaps we were safe. Kitty came up with the idea of destroying the staircase and barricading the door. Morpheus and I moved around a few fridges to block the entrance and wedged them in place for security. We couldn’t afford to lose the building; it contained too many valuable resources.
“You’re lucky the generator wasn’t in the basement,” Kitty said when I collapsed on my bottom, breathing heavily. My head and body ached from the stress and exertion.
“Either way, we need to empty the building soon and get everything back home,” I told her. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. I bit the bullet and got Morpheus to use the Medi Gun on me.” The bike golem opened up, letting her out. Two little beads of blood marked her pale collarbone. I lifted her bloody top and gave her a once over. A patch of raw red skin sat above her right breast, and she had a similar bit on her left hip. The damage had already disappeared off Morpheus, but hers would need the Nurturing Field generator. “I wanted to wait until we were home.”
“You don’t like needles, do you?”
“I never have,” she answered.
We fell silent when a loud rumbling sounded far below us. I didn’t sense any more pulses though. It probably meant the sonars had a limited range, and we were far out of it—the bastards couldn’t climb up after us. So it was safe to assume that the auranthers were the nocturnal creatures haunting the parking structures. They had probably spread throughout the sector using the dark underground tunnels.
After grabbing a snack and a drink, we headed back towards home base. Hopefully, Liam had a few leads regarding the platyhawk menace. Once we had dealt with them, we’d need to investigate the extent to which these half-metal felines had infested the region. If there were any of them living up on the hill, we needed to up our defenses as soon as possible. Unfortunately, our platyhawk defenders would probably turn out somewhat ineffective against them.
Chapter Eleven
Target Acquired
It was late in the afternoon when we started our journey back home. The sun was getting low in the sky, but it was still light. I hoped that would be enough to keep the auranthers in their dark hidey-hole. Unfortunately, the scan data hadn’t specified that they avoided daylight, but I went with observational knowledge and deduction. Compared to the elite platyhawks, the auranther was comparatively flimsy. They most likely relied on fighting in pitch blackness to ambush their prey and refused to risk fighting in the light where their enemies could see them. As a result, we didn’t need to worry about them.
Since coming to this new sector, the Sonic Shotgun had proved so much more potent than the Charge Launcher. It was a good thing I had equipped Kitty and Liam with sound-based weaponry too. Liam’s would probably be much stronger now that his ba
se body had an extra McGuffin. When we had materials to spare, I’d have to pimp out Winnie’s sonic blast generator. With a more powerful roar, he could make short work of auranthers and platyhawks.
I was happy making the Charge Launcher my primary weapon. However, it still needed more power or additional firing modes. Perhaps a high-speed projectile would cover my bases. I’d need something that didn’t need too much aiming though. Along with that, I required a utility device. With Rajesh gone, we didn’t have many options for crowd control. From now on, Morpheus would be our primary tank. With some training, Kitty could probably teach him to grapple, but I wouldn’t feel particularly secure until both of us had decent tools for disabling enemies. I already knew what I wanted for myself.
Stick n’ Save Gloop Shooter
hand-sanitizing gel
burn cream
toothpaste
iodine
water pistol
super glue
Sleepy-Time cough syrup
instant coffee
McGuffin
We had gathered all of the necessary materials when fleeing the previous sector. All I needed a spare McGuffin to finish it. The device required some design upgrades so it sat on my forearm, but besides that, it was perfect. We’d have an additional source of healing when out in the field, and the “Sticky Gloop” would be excellent for setting traps or disabling foes.
Kitty would need to decide what would be best for Morpheus. I had considered adding a harpoon to the Charge Launcher and electrifying it, but considering my fighting style, it wasn’t ideal. On the other hand, perhaps the bike golem could benefit from such a tool.
While on our way back, I checked the comms link. Not to get in touch with Liam, but to check whether Pallav was within range. I couldn’t get through. He was either too far away or had found a way to disable the function. I certainly hoped it wasn’t the latter. Sure, he blamed me for Rajesh’s death—to be honest, I did too—but we’d left things on a positive note. Cutting each other off was certainly not the answer. I reckon upgrading the gauntlet and his power without consent had probably rubbed him the wrong way too.
