by Pal, J
I took her words in, trying to figure out what she expected of me. Anna wasn’t wrong. I didn’t trust her, and I probably never would. The fact that she was trying meant something though. Anna’s artifact made her more powerful than Caitlin, and I put two and two together. If Anna wanted, she could kill us there and then. I’d only have a chance if I got my barrier up in time, disabled her with the Gloop Shooter, and then blasted her with the Sonic Shotgun. Timing would be critical in the confrontation. I doubted David or Kitty would have the resolve to pull off something of the sort, so if she turned on someone, I’d prefer it to be me.
“Have the others told you about what’s really going on with the Alvans?” I asked, changing the subject. Anna looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “It’s not your imagination. Everything before you entered the Hub feels hazy because it has a Telepathic Null Field around it. Your earpiece repels long-range telepathic waves too.”
“What the hell?” Anna froze, looking at me, alarmed. “You mean to say someone has been messing with our heads? I’m going to find Siren and—”
“It wasn’t Siren,” I said, interrupting her. “It’s the Alvans. Don’t you think it’s odd how almost everyone you meet is obsessed with the Alvans? How they either want to sleep with them or join their ranks? Don’t you think people have gone fanatical with the idea?”
“You can’t mean it’s the Alvans, right?” Anna asked. “That’s just mad, Matt.”
Caitlin laughed but didn’t join the conversation. “This might be hard to believe, but the Alvans didn’t just bring the system here but the monsters too. Our planet is the field for a massive survival game show.” Anna’s knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists. “How do you think I know about the power upgrades? How do you reckon we got this badass Hub? During the broadcast that started all of this, the world froze for several minutes. I didn’t though. A pair of them came down in a little ship to plant nests in the woods behind our old house. They were talking about the show too.”
Little goose bumps appeared on Anna’s skin. I couldn’t tell whether she believed me or not, but I continued.
“Liam and my friends didn’t believe me at first. Obvious hints from the System Assistants went ignored too. The Alvans had put something in everyone’s heads that got them the weakest possible tier of power. It kept them from seeing the truth too. I don’t know how it works, but they’re conditioned to ignore all the signs that give away the Alvans’ lie. Due to your time in the null field and now the shielding, you can reflect and see that Kyle’s behavior didn’t make sense.”
“Thank you for telling me this, Matt,” Anna said. “I don’t think you’re making this up, but it’s still a lot to take in.”
“It is,” I told her. “Take your time, Anna. It might take a while before I trust you. That much is true. At the same time, I know that you were under the effects of an alien mind hack. It wasn’t all you. After we take care of the centipede-people, we’re going to work on freeing the world from Alvan control.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to ensure the Hub’s safety and prosperity, Matt. I know that doesn’t mean a lot coming from a thirteen-year-old girl, but I mean it. If that means going against an alien species much stronger than us, so be it.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Farming McGuffins
The emperor’s and empress’s nests were the furthest of our targets from the Hub. With that taken down, our route took us through the crippled bosses towards home. Liam had mapped out the battle plan and believed we were hitting all the major platyhawk strongholds at once. There was a chance of young boss-ranked mating pairs already trying to set up new nests, and we didn’t mind. To some extent, it was for the best if they did settle and continue reproducing. Sure, there was a chance of the centipede-people getting to them before us, but we needed renewable sources of McGuffins.
Our first nest lived on the upper levels of an old factory. Since it was close to midday, the skies above it were full of flying and squawking platyhawks. They could most likely sense something was off. Now that we had taken down the giant nest, there were fewer of their kind in the air. Winnie and I took the lead while sneaking into the structure. Platyhawk eyesight would see a direct approach coming from a mile away, so we stuck to the narrow alleys. My lab coat’s camouflage ability let me turn every corner first without risking the squad.
When we finally reached our destination, Caitlin set two drone traps before we headed in. She left them dormant instead of active—they’d come to life only if anyone approached. That way, if they didn’t get triggered, Caitlin could pick them up on the way out. Then she’d have two extra drones to use until the energy source within failed. The exploding drones were better in this respect, since they could still function as grenades.
Since it was almost midday, most of the platyhawks were awake. They hung out in pairs of two or three, rough-housing or fighting over scraps of meat. Instead of attacking the beasts, I guided the team around them. Liam’s team intended to slaughter everything they encountered—the golems and David’s loud weaponry made sneaking around impossible—but I didn’t want to take any risks getting into a big fight.
My heart dropped when we found the boss. It was a larger female with more prominent bone-plating than all others of her kind. I’d bet that flight was no longer a possibility for her. Besides that, she had a swollen belly like the empress and several infant platyhawks climbing all over her. She reminded me of Mama. We had already killed her mate, and now she was all alone.
Letting the monster live wasn’t an option. We attacked her. Anna started us off by imbuing her body and bow with crimson energy. The light spread to her arrow as well before wisps of gold joined it. The colors swirled around one another. Our targets didn’t miss the bright display. They squawked and screeched. Caitlin made sure the queen didn’t escape by peppering it with frigid plasma.
I helped by firing the Charge Launcher’s basic projectile into the mix. The projectile wouldn’t hurt the queen, of course, but the arcing bolts of electricity did a good job of stunning the little ones and keeping them on the ground. The queen’s roar suggested that the blast had killed her children too.
Anna didn’t give her long to mourn. The bone armor around her bow arm grew and locked together. As soon as the limb stopped trembling, she fired. The projectile pierced the queen’s head before exploding. Shards of bone, biometal, and imbued energy shot in every direction, shredding all the platyhawks they hit. I stepped in front of Anna and Caitlin before activating the Sonic Barrier Projector. Little cracks spiderwebbed from every bit the shield blocked.
“Holy shit.” I gasped. “The emperor and empress would’ve gone down a lot quicker if we’d had David pimp your bow.”
“I reckon she’s a bit young for that reference,” Caitlin commented. “Bloody hell, Matt. We are too.”
“Memes never die,” I said, inciting simultaneous groans from Anna and Caitlin.
“It’s not just the new artifact,” Anna told us. “Today is the first time I’m properly using my power since upgrading it. Imbuing is all about balance and limitations. It takes time and practice.”
We shot down the few remaining platyhawks while talking. I couldn’t help but feel a new level of respect for Anna. She behaved well beyond her age. David occasionally displayed bouts of maturity, but the apocalypse had forced Anna’s development. If we ever befriended a former child psychologist, Anna would most likely require therapy. Then again, considering everything we had been through as a group, everyone needed someone to talk to.
The queen gave me two McGuffins, and Anna recovered one more from the nest core. I sent out a ping on the GPS so Liam would know we’d finished our first objective. As soon as the Scavengers finished in the stadium, they’d sort out the nest.
Caitlin highlighted something odd when leaving the nest. Her drones hadn’t triggered, but one of them had moved. A little scan showed its tracks as it rolled across the floor. We theorized something had awakened the sph
ere momentarily but left its range before it could react. Since shadows covered the alley, it was safe for the auranthers. It could be them or the locals. There was no way for us to tell.
After some thought, I sent Winnie to scan from the roofs. His upgraded physique let him slingshot around silently. The little bear golem returned within ten minutes and shook his head. That was the best communication we’d get out of the little guy, so we accepted the message and moved on. There was still another nest to take out before we could head back.
Liam sent out a ping not long after we left the first nest. They had cleared their objective too. I’d expected his group to take considerably longer since they were tackling bigger and more densely populated legs. I should’ve known better. David’s artifact had considerable destructive power. Kitty’s golems brought a considerable amount of pain too. Liam’s presence was almost unnecessary. He kept his eyes out for locals and provided suppressing power when necessary.
Perhaps after this confrontation, I’d upgrade his gun drone further. Its damage was severely lacking when compared to my latest creations. I made a mental note to broach the subject once we got back.
The second nest proved more challenging than the first. It didn’t just house a boss-class monster, but elites too. The king and his royal guard were ready for us. My suspicions regarding the creatures being intelligent were once again confirmed. They had prepared an ambush for us. On arrival, we found the king lying on the warehouse floor with his eyes closed. None of us fell for the ploy of course. It was well past the creatures’ waking up time.
Winnie went in first. As soon as he crossed the building’s threshold, a trio of elites leapt from the cracked ceiling. Instead of slingshotting away, Winnie stretched his leather arms and wrapped them around the closest beast’s neck. He pulled himself close and let loose a close-ranged sonic blast. The McGuffin had improved the golem’s roaring abilities. It didn’t have the Sonic Shotgun’s power levels but did a sufficient job of leaving the beast dazed.
The king didn’t waste time pretending. As soon as he launched himself at Winnie, Caitlin threw both exploding drones into the mix. Winnie slingshotted himself away just in time. The biometal spheres exploded, spraying shrapnel and burning boomjuice on the elites and king. It came as no surprise when the latter’s biometal glowed red. It was the plasma absorber and plasma charger at work. With it active, the boss monster didn’t need to worry about my fire. The elites, on the other hand, scattered.
One of the fleeing beasts tried headbutting Winnie, and his stuffed bear body went comically flat. Then ugly vibrating quills burst from his body, skewering the platyhawk’s nest. I didn’t need to watch the fight to know that it was doomed.
I left the boss to Anna and Caitlin and focused on taking down the new elites flooding out of the shadows. The Void Rifle’s freezing plasma shits proved a perfect counter for the Plasma Charger. Caitlin took down the creature’s defenses while Anna charged up her shot. Unlike the last boss we killed, the king was light and agile. The plasma charger’s effects continued to reinforce his body as Caitlin sapped its effects. Then she hit the king’s face, covering his eyes in a layer of frost. Panicked scrambling replaced the artful dodging and Anna killed him using two arrows. The first took out the right foreleg and the second drilled through his neck.
Once done, the girls helped me take out the much faster elites. Most of them fled once they saw their king fall. We didn’t chase. I earned another four McGuffins from the nest, bringing our total for the day to nineteen. Liam’s team would get a few more, and I planned on investing the bulk of it in the Hub. We had achieved self-sufficiency, and the defense was reaching a stage that I could be more or less satisfied with. Now we needed a decent transportation system to relocate the Hub or keep it on the move. Some long-range offense would go a long way too. Besides that, I wanted to use six McGuffins for upgrades and Creations. I was keen to learn what upgrades the System would give Technogogue next.
I had just pinged our location to let Liam know we were done when Caitlin’s breastplate started beeping. We froze, all of us looking towards the exit. Several crates stood in the way, but we could see a flashing red light as the drone alerted us of another presence. This time we had employed wire drones—in case the king tried to flee.
Anna knocked another arrow, leveling at the exit, but didn’t pour much energy into it. Perhaps it was a hiding elite trying to sneak away. The drone carrier’s beeping cut off abruptly, and the red flashing lights became a constant glow. Then its color turned orange, slowly transitioning towards yellow. It took me a moment to catch on before I turned on thermal imaging. The goggles only picked up a bright orange glow before the crates caught on fire. I saw the silhouette of a man in its midst and knew what it was straight away.
“It’s Arjan!” I exclaimed, immediately sending out a double ping. Liam would know what it meant. “Retreat through the ceiling!”
“What?” Anna looked at me, wide-eyed. I hoped she wouldn’t forget everything we’d discussed and use this as an opportunity for revenge.
“Use the artifact’s tether function!” I wrapped an arm around Caitlin’s waist, and she tried to push me away. “You don’t have any mobility tools. Let me help you.”
The crates exploded, sending shards of burning wood and molten slag flying all around the room. Caitlin yelped as a giant chunk bounced off her breastplate and ripped through her sleeve. She didn’t bother assessing the situation and threw her arms around my shoulder. I held her tightly around the waist and activated the Pogo Heelies. They carried me almost all the way to the ceiling, and my Grappling Belt helped us cover the remaining distance.
Anna followed us moments later. She didn’t need to climb the biometal wire. Instead, she held onto her bow and the wire retracted into the artifact, pulling her up. She grabbed onto the roof’s broken edge with reinforced arms and shoulders and pulled herself up. We needed to pressure David to make another artifact. Their powers were borderline magical. Sure, it would be another McGuffin drain, but that was a cost I’d happily pay.
“What now?” Anna asked, looking around wildly. Her eyes were wide, and the hair on her arms stood on end. Seeing the man who’d killed her brother up close had shaken her. I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her ability to hold herself together.
“I tried contacting Liam, but he hasn’t responded. Either they’re still engaged with the boss and he missed it, or they’re in a similar position to us.” The fire consumed the building below, and we heard cheering from the street outside. I peeked down to find a dozen people with spinal armor. The spike-throwing clown wasn’t among them. “I don’t know whether they’ve got any mobility powers among them or not. Should we try racing back towards the base?”
Caitlin nodded. “There’s too many of them. Helena said—”
“We can’t take a word that came out of her mouth at face value,” Anna replied. “Alien insects control them, remember?”
Caitlin reflexively rubbed her neck and sighed. “Do we take the side alleys again?” she asked.
“No,” I answered. “It gives them more room to outmaneuver us. We take the short and quick route straight home.”
A ball of burning garbage flew up from the street below onto the roof, landing a foot from me. Winnie scrambled away from the fire and onto my shoulder. The burning building’s heat had us sweating already, so we didn’t waste any more time. I pointed at the street we’d be taking, and Anna leapt from the roof. Caitlin begrudgingly held onto me once again before we followed. She pulled away as soon as we were on the ground and then we started running. It didn’t take long for the centipede-people to get wind of our actions and follow.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Pursued
When the centipede-people found our trail, Anna surprised us with a new move. She imbued the artifact with red energy and pointed it towards the sky. A biometal and bone pyramid formed around the arrowhead, and a crimson hue enveloped it seconds later. Then gold spiraled the pr
ojectile, making the structure vibrate.
“Keep going!” she exclaimed, pouring more energy into the arrow.
Anna waited until a pair of locals were ten meters behind us before releasing the projectile. She ran without watching it do its thing. I dared a peek over my shoulder when she caught up to us. Anna squeezed a button on her bow. The arrow exploded near its apex, raining glowing shrapnel on everyone below. The girls were already several meters ahead of me, so I didn’t waste time watching the craziness go down. The Pogo Heelies came to life, helping me catch up to them.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
“It was David’s idea,” Anna said, keeping up with me using her imbued body. “He called it Shrapnel Shower.”
“I wonder what video game he got that from,” Caitlin whispered through ragged breaths. Fire would only feed the Emberborn-power user, so she dropped two wire drones. They rolled around to the alley’s walls and clipped themselves in place. I paused for a moment and sprayed the floor between them with the sticky glue. I didn’t know whether it’d do any good or not, but we had to try.
It came as no surprise that they jumped us. We’d expected them to attack but didn’t think they’d bring a dozen along. I didn’t worry though. We weren’t far from the Hub, and Liam would catch up to us sooner or later. I sent him another double ping. This time, he responded with a single blip. My heart skipped a beat, thinking he was in trouble, then he sent one more.
“The map says they’re moving too!” I exclaimed, pausing to lay more adhesive gloop on the ground. A man and woman screamed behind us. The wire traps must have triggered. “I guess Liam wants to meet us at the base.”
“I don’t think I can make it that far,” Caitlin said, panting heavily.
