《Dirge》


 Prelude I

    Screw this, he thought.


    A grimace graced Porter¡¯s face, inwardly he refused to stifle it for these people. He stood before the court, at the bottom and center, surrounded by the council on all sides. The room was bathed in white daylight. All around people were adornedin formal wear, suits, and conservative dresses. Three High Councilmembers faced him down, each wearing grey.


    Intimidation tactics, Porter thought. He raised his china hair, knowing they would analyze his every motion.


    ¡°Mister Quinn Lee Porter, I understand you will be representing yourself,¡± a middle-aged woman said. She sat at the lowest level of the council, summarily she possessed great importance.


    ¡°I am,¡± Porter replied.


    ¡°So you are. Are you now or do you intend to subvert the proceedings of this court?¡± Her voice was magnified through the chamber, but Porter saw no microphone.


    ¡°I do not now nor will I ever attempt to do so, your honor.¡± He couldn¡¯t if he wanted to.


    The councilwoman looked to the dark, glass sphere that loomed above the court, assuring that he spoke truthfully. Porter shifted a little, for a second unsure. When the councilwoman¡¯s face showed no sign of change, he made sure that his grimace didn''t betray his true emotions.


    ¡°Mister Porter,¡± an elderly councilman spoke now. ¡°You led a team of five on a mission to contain and terminate a god-minor. This councilis to determine a punishment for the outcome of said mission.¡±


    ¡°If any punishment is necessary,¡± Porter added. Losses happen.


    ¡°You will speak when permitted!¡± The councilman quickly reverted to shouting, becoming flustered. ¡°The need for punitive measures has already been determined, Mister Porter.¡± He saidit so condescendingly. It grated on Porter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand this¡­ the mission was a success.¡±


    ¡°At the cost of four operatives. An unacceptably high casualty rate must be addressed. You¡¯ve been in this spot before Sir, and the council feels that the burden to break this cycle lies upon us,¡± the elderly man''s voice lowered. He was building up Porter realized.


    ¡°The council can''t legally reach verdict prehearing, I wasn''t present to defend myself,¡± Porter protested, pointing out that they''d already made up their mind.


    ¡°Nonetheless.¡± The third and final judge to share the floor was a younger man. He spoke with gravitas. ¡°The council may reach consensus, and you have no argument to dissuade us that you have shown.¡±


    Like hell I don¡¯t.


    ¡°You''re philosophers. You know nothing about what it¡¯s like to face down a god. I''ve done it twenty-six times, and I have walked away twenty-six times with scars and loss. Victory always comes at a price. You can¡¯t sideline me, there¡¯s no one who can replace me.¡± No one that can do what I do.


    ¡°The council motions to remove Quinn Lee Porter from the Eidolon Cause, all who second-¡±


    ¡°This is!-¡± Porter started, but his interruption was stopped.


    ¡°I petition to speak!¡± Everyone looked to the source of the voice, up in the back rows of the council.


    ¡°Identify yourself,¡± the elder councilman called.


    An Eastern lookingyoung man was standing among the back of the council. He was tall and lean, older teens or younger twenties. He wore a black suit and tie, with a crimson undershirt, unlike the blue suit and vest Porter wore. His raven hair was swept back, his curious eyes were locked on Porter. ¡°Christopher, Magus,¡± he curtly said as he left his seat.


    ¡°No, the council is ready to reach a verdict,¡± the old man barked.


    Porter couldn¡¯t pull his gaze from those eyes. Whoever this kid was, he felt that he was on his side. ¡°But technically any council member may speak, and everyone is a councilmember... technically,¡± Porter said, stumbling over the words a little.


    ¡°Irrelevant, I veto his petition.¡±


    ¡°Then I elect him as my representative,¡± remembering he could do that.


    ¡°No! This is subversive of the court!¡± the old man cried.


    ¡°He has the right to elect a representative at any time, and since the court is prosecuting, any representative is entitled to half of the speaking time,¡± the one who¡¯d called himself Christophersaid. He was already walking down the center steps towards the bottom of the court. He came to stand beside Porter, defiantly unfazed by the looks of disapproval that went around. A few of the younger people in the room were chuckling to themselves.


    ¡°Proceed, Magus,¡± the councilwoman said, exasperated.


    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡± Christopherturned his eye from Porter to sweep the court. ¡°My fellow Utopians, our society is built upon a mastery of efficiency and self-control, let us not forget how we got to where we are. We entered this era through addressing our problems with permanence, we operate without waste. So, I won¡¯t allow such subjective decision making to go forward as to place my friend Porter here outside of the Eidolon cause. Because what is a decision to completely remove him when he wants to assist the cause, anything but an under-considered idea based on personal subjectivisms like dislike.¡± He spoke quickly and Porter could see the council had been put off balance, bombarded with too much to absorb.


    Who the hell is this guy?


    ¡°So in the spirit of operating intelligently and the avoidance of wasted resources, I motion that Porter is placed in a teaching position, to pass on his considerable skills.¡±


    ¡°No. That¡¯s not-¡± Porter started.


    ¡°Well said, keen and humbling, I second,¡± The younger councilman quickly said. Ready to move along. ¡°All in favor!¡±


    All around the room people raised their hands, holding within them glowing green spheres. A majority was tallied by the same black sphere above that analyzed the room. It turned green.


    ¡°The motion carries! Quinn Lee Porter will be permitted a teaching position in the Eidolon initiative but is henceforth barred from combat. Council adjourned.¡± The gavel fell and people were already heading out the door. The judges¡¯ images flickered out, proving themselves to have been a projection the entire time. Porter was soon left with no one to protest to as Christopherhad vanished from his side the moment the gavel had struck.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    He pulled his handkerchief from a coat pocket and dabbed at the sweat on his brow. Like he¡¯d said, he¡¯d faced down gods, but it was the councils that managed to actually make him sweat. He wasn¡¯t built for this kind of thing. Focusing, talking, it took concentration to hold back his element.


    Now, where the fuck had that kid gone.


    Porter jogged out of the council chamber, following the throngs of people who were pouring out the large chamber doors, having come to watch the proceedings. For a moment he was blinded by the daylight outside, the clear sky overhead had few clouds. When his eyes adjusted he was treated to the sight of his home.


    A monolithic supercity covered the earth, reaching up in some places into the blue on the horizon, rising up to meet the haze of space beyond. The line of a space elevator in the distance. Its shadows landed on the dark landscape of the surface, not quite reaching the other supercity, where Porter¡¯s hearing had taken place.


    He didn¡¯t know why the architects insisted on having the cities separated by a land divide, though he trusted it to have a purpose. He descended a few paces down the courthouse steps and then walked forward until he met the railing. Looking over it Porter could see the sprawling grey cityscape below as well as what was suspended in the air above. He leaned hard on the railing and gave a sigh.


    ¡°Sorry things didn¡¯t work out like you wanted,¡± Christophersaid, joining Porter in leaning. He sighed louder. He ran a hand through his short blond hair, feeling the prickly little hairs on his face as it went there. He grimaced again, but this time, it was just to make a point. ¡°I owe you one, butteaching is not my idea of a good useformy skills. And, just for the record, we aren''t friends.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, ofcourse we¡¯re friends,¡± Christophersmiled. ¡°And you underestimate yourself. You¡¯ll be good with young people.¡±


    ¡°Young is just another word for inexperienced.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well how old are you anyway? You¡¯ve got nice features, rugged.¡±


    Porter quirked an eyebrow, Christopherjust kept smiling. He was a little uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯m thirty-three.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯d half expected you to be a bit older, mistook you for an immortal.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, at least not yet,¡± Porter said.


    ¡°You¡¯re young to have seen the kind of combat you have, then. I researched you a bit. High casualty record, you tend to take on threats you have no business tackling, and then roll with the consequences.¡±


    The council had a point. He rejected the thought.


    Porter diverted, ¡°you¡¯re one to talk. How¡¯d you get permitted to attend a council meeting?One needs status.¡±


    ¡°Just like you, I¡¯ve got a track record. I¡¯m a student, with the Cause.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ wait, you-¡±


    ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t my agenda. I don¡¯t work for the University, and you won¡¯t be teaching me. There¡¯s not much you could teach me anyway.¡±


    ¡°Hey. I¡¯m one of the best.¡±


    ¡°Yes, applied metaphysics in combat. There''resome impressive and scary thingsyou can do. That¡¯s why I hate to see your talent wasted, I have a personal obsession with your missions and your methods Quinn. I sit in on most court proceedings, I¡¯ve tried to keep myself unnoticed, but I couldn¡¯t help myself in your case. You¡¯ve got insight, Quinn, and that¡¯s rare. I believe in the Cause, and I believe in you.¡±


    ¡°People call me Porter.¡± He diverted again, not sure of how to take the compliment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not people Quinn. We¡¯re good friends, remember,¡± Christopherassured.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Porter said. ¡°Yeah, hey, it was, uh, nice meeting you Christopher, but I''ve got things to see to. Like my new job¡­ and lunch, now that I think about it.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely.¡± And with that Christopherturned his eyes to the cityscape, grinning and looking all too pleased. Porter couldn¡¯t help feeling a little uneasy.


    He shoved off the railing and then headed down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, still pissed about this whole thing. Clouds were gathering in the lower city, rolling over the structures, he noticed. It would probably be raining, in those older quiet places of the city.


    O


    Trapped, she thought.


    Over Anna¡¯s head, a grey fog turned the sky a pale white, giving forth the occasional raindrop. The rain failed to touch her, though, beneath the eaves of her front porch. For some reason, her eyes were drawn to that water, gathered in still puddles on the road in front of her house, disturbed only by the sparse rain. She stood from the rocking chair on her porch, putting aside the book she¡¯d held in hand.


    She closed her hands tightly, her fingers felt numbfrom the cold air. Her breath quickened nervously, she closed her eyes. In darkness, the world felt small, but nothing truly changed.


    She skipped out onto the street, hood keeping her short blond hair dry. Doctor Elroy was sitting on his own porch across the street, watching the rain. ¡°Where¡¯re you going?¡± he called out.


    ¡°Down to the rec-center, maybe swim I guess,¡± Anna lied.


    ¡°You should probably be back in by five,¡± he said. Elroy, a craggy old white man, was in his pajamas and hadn¡¯t shaved his greying beard in years. He was constantly acting parental towards Anna and although she usually didn¡¯t mind, right now she was standing in the rain and was up to sneaky business. So this was bad.


    ¡°Crime rates are like, point one percent Elroy, so I¡¯ll stay out if I have something to do.¡±


    His furry eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Five O¡¯clock gives you seven hours for shenanigans, that¡¯s plenty time young lady.¡±


    ¡°As always, you¡¯re right Doc. See you at five.¡± Anna had no earthly idea just what Elroy was a doctor of. When she asked he wouldn¡¯t say. He seemed to know more about Anna¡¯s activities than he should, though, so that was telling.


    Anna left Elroy behind to head down the road, which was more of a large walkway, considering that not many people drove cars. Walking she passed only a few others, a family of six walking together in dress reminded Anna it was Sunday. But mostly people stayed inside when it was even lightly raining, which it often did in the lower city. The wet concrete went from grey to near black down in the lower city. She wouldn¡¯t call it run down where she lived, it was by no means a slum, it was simply a sleepy part of the world. Where you could hear the wind and your own thoughts, where it often drizzled or poured.


    The wind, though, Anna thought, that¡¯s what I love, the way it flows like a river between objects.


    She could feel it on her pale skin, against her jeans and jacket, in her hair and eyelashes. It carried away with it the negative thoughts about the burns on her face and neck, and everything else.


    For a moment, her mind turned to that day, but Anna shook her head, willing the thoughts away.


    Shearrived at her destination. Most building fronts were privately owned and well kept, but this building was state owned and apparently had been forgotten some time ago. It was ironic that a police station, the ancient building that it was, was no longer necessary. Anna approached and pushed the ply board covering the entranceaside.


    Within the air was stagnant, she didn¡¯t like that. She passed into the back of the building by memory, the darkness not stymieing her. She found her way to her sanctum, which used to be the chief¡¯s office.


    Only the best, Anna quipped to herself.


    The desk was pushed aside and on the floor sheets of cardboard and paper were strewn about. On their surface in paint was drawn an assortment of symbols in circular patterns. Anna took her time lighting candles placed around the room¡¯s periphery, giving the space an amber tinge. She cleared up some of her work, keeping a few sheets at hand. Up on the desk was a book entitled ¡®symbolism and magic¡¯, which she threw onto the floor to work with.


    She sat cross-legged in the middle of her texts and writings, quickly opening the book to her marker and reading out loud.


    ¡°Assuming you''ve reached a practicable level of Attunement, the symbolic arts can function independently of deificand spirit intercession with Existence. Do not proceed until you''ve passed the basic psionics portion of the..." she mumbled through that bit. "Now using the runes pictured below... originating in the Yands culture, where empathetic and symbolic practice is common... Use this fire rune.Holding the rune in your mind once drawn, and intensely meditating. Don''t be discourage if you only achieve vague warmth... Bleh, symbols, symbols, oh look more symbols.¡± Anna paged through the book, skim reading for a few minutes in the dim room. ¡°Where are the goddamn space displacements¡­¡± She threw the book away and it crashed over a stack of similar textsin the corner.


    All I''m asking for is information on extremely advanced technique in a novice''s guide, is that too much to ask? Hersarcasm was tinged with frustration.


    It¡¯d been months now that she''dhad been atthis. None of it was on the internet, but the books could be bought online. Eighty credits later and probably somewhere around three or four serious laws broken, she was no closer to interdimensional travel. It was a big Omniverse out there, and she was gripped with some sort of claustrophobia. Had to get out, but she wasn''t making any damn headway.


    On the bright side, nobody except Elroy suspected she was dabbling.


    Anna nearlyjumped out of her skin, as a voice came booming through the building. ¡°Anna Lynn Canton, this is Law Enforcement!¡±

 Prelude II

    On the peak of a metal spire stood a silhouette lighted by the sun to their back. High above the city below, this heavily armored individual stood guard.


    Dressed in heavypower armor, Sebastian was comfortable in the thin, freezing air. His armor consisted of sliding and coiling metals, flaps, and plating, silverand near invisible against the sky. Inside of his helmet, he watched a glowing monitor which showed the entire cityscape.


    ¡°Sebastian,¡± a genderless voice sounded in his ear.


    ¡°Aku?¡± he replied in a rumble.


    ¡°Yes, we have a suspected crime in progress. No hurry, but I¡¯m marking it on your map.¡±


    ¡°I see it, lower city. Details?¡±


    ¡°Anna Lynn Canton, I¡¯ve been watching her for a while. She¡¯s purchased a number of arcane texts online, and while that is not illegal, practice, as she''s attempting, is.¡±


    ¡°You think she¡¯s practicing?¡±


    ¡°I suspected, so I had someone at the College look into her activity, confirmed that someone had attempted rituals in her area. She¡¯s on Twenty Forty-Second Street headed towards an abandoned building. At the very least, she¡¯s trespassing pretty regularly, which I already knew.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s time to intervene then?¡±


    ¡°I do. I ignore minor crimes every day, but this is technically a global security threat. Can¡¯t let that slide, Sebastian.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, update me as I go.¡± With that, he stepped off his perch. Sebastian dropped like a stone through the atmosphere. The air rushed past him, the sound of the wind reaching him even within his suit. Clouds washed over him as he passed by several hovering buildings in his descent towards the surface of the world.


    He continued to fall for only a moment when the thrusters on his back, legs, and shoulders kicked on to slow his descent. Sebastian alighted gently on the wet street, the heat from his jetsquickly drying out the asphalt. His thrusters suddenly cut out and the streets were quiet again. Rain pattered against the metal of his head as he looked around. There, across the way, was a red translucent dot on his augmented display, inside a ramshackle of a building.


    Police. Ironic, he thought.


    ¡°My profile of her internet activity would suggest she¡¯ll come peacefully. Don¡¯t spook her,¡± Aku said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± When he called out his voice was automatically detected and projected. ¡°Anna Lynn Canton! This¡¯s Law Enforcement!¡±


    ¡°If I had teeth I would¡¯ve gritted them,¡± Aku said. ¡°How about a ¡®we just wanna talk¡¯.¡±


    ¡°We need to talk!¡± Sebastian shouted, his voice as commanding as it always was.


    ¡°Umm...¡± Aku said, about to complain more. There was silence for a short time. The girl was probably coming out.


    ¡°Uh-oh..." Aku said. "She''s not with her phone. She bolted.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± As he asked, the red dot inside of the building blipped, reappearing a few blocks down.


    He rolled his eyes.


    ¡°My apologies,¡± Aku said, very sincerely. "I don''t quite know how she did that."


    Sebastian jumped and his jets carried him lazily up intothe fog bank to set him down on a rooftop, beneath the bottom of further buildings above. He ran forward and his armor accelerated him to a quick clip before he leaped from the building¡¯s edge and drifted up the next. He wasn¡¯t gaining on her like he was supposed to be, though, she was somehow keeping her lead.


    ¡°Aku, give me a visual.¡±


    A square appeared with a three-dimensional display of Miss Canton sprinting down the street. She ran inhumanly fast, her feet spending more time in the air than they did on the ground.


    ¡°Weird air displacement, she appears to be experiencing lessenedfriction,¡± Aku said. ¡°I¡¯m looking for further info on her and finding that some of it is sealed. I¡¯ll keep analyzing.¡±


    ¡°Figure it out,¡± Sebastian said. He gave up on land movement and reverted to full flight mode, picking up speed and gaining on the girl.


    This didn¡¯t need to be hard, he thought.Stop making it, you stupid girl.


    O


    Anna looked back over her shoulder, having to slow down a bit to do so. The fog overhead and about a half mile back was rippling around a massive metal man spitting fire and flying.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± She startled and nearly tripped. Being pursued by a fuggin'' Sentinel.Her heart felt like it was going to explode.She didn''t know what she''d expected really. It wasn''t like there were any regular police, obviously, but a Sentinel felt like overkill.


    Just then Annaspotted a black glass sphere hovering in the air to her left. It was watching her. Aku was watching.


    Have to lose them, she panicked, too afraid to think of anything else.


    She veered right into an alley. The wind at her back was intensifying and as she passed into the extremely narrow road she felt like she was almost riding on it. Her hood was rippling wildly and her jacket flapped. Ahead a fence barred her path. Beyond it, the alley dipped down into a tunnel. She could lose the Sentinel in there.


    Anna jumped and tried to get a grip on the walls with her feet, trying to kick off while she felt so light.


    Slick, she realized too late.


    Her shoes slipped and Anna tumbled head over heels, not hitting the ground but instead flying forward carried on the wind. Her body crashed into the fence and all at once that airat her back hit her,rushing over her and through the fence. She slumped down onto the muddy, soaked ground. Everything was still again.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    No idea what the hell just happened.


    The jets of the Sentinel roared as he settled down forty feet away from her at the mouth of the alley. The black sphere silently appeared high above where the alley walls ended and became roof, but beneath the foundationof a building above. Anna was still, her eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.


    Sebastian threw his arms back, his body naturally levitated upward as arcane energy crackled in the air. The chest piece of his armor broke open, revealing the circular rune glowingon his darkly skinned chest. The intricate symbol burnedwith energy.


    "No, no, no! I''ll come quietly!" Anna stuck out her hand, pleading.


    A wave of light burst forth from the rune towards her, everythingbecoming blurry. Her focus slipped, the grey world becoming distant. Terror of death was the final thing to slip her mind.


    O


    "Kind of unnecessary," Aku said, the shiny glass drone lowering into Sebastian''s view. His armor closed up again, sealing him inside.


    It was nippy out, so now Sebastian had cold air in his suit.


    "No, she was asking for it," he said, grouchy now that hisnipples were cold.


    "She was surrendering," Aku said, using that samecharacteristically sincere voice. For some reason, it grated on Sebastian.


    "I had initiated before she did. It''s not easy to stop runes in progress, Aku. Just get me a combat drone in here to restrain her, I don''t want to use binds."


    "You just don''t want to carry her," they teased.


    "Stop fucking around, Aku."


    Radio silence lingered for a moment.


    "...I''m getting the right drone in, but it has to deploy from the defense building in city one. ETA is fourminutes by flight."


    Goddammit, he thought, I am not apologizing.


    "Wait, why not a teleport?" he asked, reflexively bringinga hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. His hand clanked loudly against the visor of his helmet. He sighed.


    "Annaworked mostly withspace displacement. In my judgment, at this time, we can''t be certain it''s safe-"


    "Sorry for snapping." Sebastian found the courage to apologize when doing it interrupted a speech on not mixing magic and science. Hespecifically specialized in tech and arcane combinations, as many of the better operatives did. He hated the hoops he had to jump through because of it, but some of the higher ups were extremelyinsistent.


    "Don''t be," Aku was unfazed. "I''m supposed to know how not to illicit that kind of response. But it seems as ifyou''ve experienced minor personal growth, so it''s all good." Chipper as always.


    "Whatever." Sebastian knew,Aku focused too heavily on emotions and reactions sometimes.


    Heturned around and wandered out into the street. A young couple wasjust standing in the road holding hands, staring at him. The boywas dressed in a fashionable leather jacket, black v-neck tee, infinity scarf and jeans. The girl wore similar, though her jacket was fleece. She had a tobogganoverher long platinum hair.


    "Sup," said the boy.


    They weren''t the least bit afraid of the seven-foot-tall metal hulk. People were often afraid of Sebastian, in and out of his suit, so this irked hima little.These were the kind of people who''d probably never been off theworld, never wondered how the government functionedor how their free mealswereproduced. Plebeians.


    "Hello..." Sebastian replied. His voice was deep, it carried.


    "What''s happening here?" The girl asked.


    Aku took over and Sebastian didn''t mind. The drone flew out into the street, putting the alley out of its view. "Suspectfled, and theSentinelpursued. She was neutralized."


    The girlgasped. "Is she dead?"


    "No," Aku said,"just unconscious. This Sentinel employed a very powerful sleepingspell. She''ll be out for around twentyminutes. In that time, she''ll be moved to a detention cell for questioning."


    "What''d she do?" the boy asked.


    "She fled," Sebastian cut in. "That''s enough." The two didn''t react as if they''d heard. The boy''s lips moved but the sound didn''t reach Sebastian.


    Aku, he realized.


    "Apologies, Sebastian, but I canceled the broadcast of your voice. That young man runs a blog which has thousandsoffollowers and hundredsof visits every day. That girl, she is a relatively well-known artist. Together they represent a possible domino effect which could destroy your personal relations. They''re using me for a search on you, right now, on the neuronet. As your personal assistant, I wouldrecommend you let me handle them."


    "Does my PR affect my pay?" Sebastian asked, irritation reaching his tone.


    "Theoretically, it could get you fired."


    "Fine then." The couple was smiling now, they laughed soundlessly. Bothwaved and started off with smiles on their faces.


    "Wave."


    The tank of a man waved a hand energetically. Thetwowere off down the foggy street in a second, the boy with an arm around the girl''s shoulder.


    "Ugh. Is the equipment here yet?" He turned back to the alley.


    "Arriving now."


    A larger secondblack sphere descended from the sky behind Sebastian as he stood staring down the empty alleyway.


    "Son of a bitch," he whispered.


    The girl was gone.


    O


    Annastumbled down the tunnel, the only lights were small, orange, and did next to nothing to help her see. She frantically looked for a guide.


    This is a droid tunnel, Anna thought, it should exit on a road or something.


    A light turned onup ahead, a horizontal beam coming through across the ground. A doorway. She ran for it, ready to be out of the dark.


    She stopped short of opening it. Ithad turned on the moment she came into sight. She squinted, trying to adjust to the darkness. The door had a camera somewhere on it. She knew it would.


    Paranoid, Anna headed off another way.


    She ambled as fast as she could through the dark, using her hands to find a way down the walls. Suddenly those walls turned in opposite directions. She walked forward to find the width of the hallway.


    She couldn''t find the wall. There wasn''t any wall!


    Anna turned around and tried finding her way back, but couldn''t. She was lost in the dark, alone. She fell to her knees and ran her hands along the ground, her panic rising.


    No ceiling. No walls. Can''t see!


    It hit her, she was heading into a droid tunnel, not out. God knew how deep these tunnels went. Robotsdidn''t need light in pre-mapped labyrinths.


    "Help..." Her voice came out small, a squeak. "H-help!"


    "Anna," Aku said.


    Sheyelpedand jumped away from the where the voice came out of the dark. Annawent higher and further than she''d expected, crashing down a few yards away and rolling. She deftly scrambled to her feet and started running.


    "Anna wait." The calming voice was suddenly all around her.


    The lights flickeredon to reveal dozens of humanoid service androids. Their agenderedalabasterfaces all with expressions of concern.


    It was like a nightmare.


    "Just stop." The metal manstood in the entrance hallway to the droid warehouse. His helmet folded awayto reveal the face of a very old, very angry, blackman. Something broke inside Anna, and she was worried it was hope.


    Sheslid to the floor, her head going into her hands.


    Trapped,now more than ever before.


    A sob echoedthrough the massive room.


    "It''s okay, you''re gonna be okay," oneof the androids said, approaching to sit down beside and embrace her.Sebastian didn''t come closer, he idled awkwardly at the door.


    "What am I supposed to do?" heasked Aku, his voice not leaving his suit.


    "You could say something, but I think it''d be better if you let me take it from here."


    "Yes, agreed." And with that, he left, the combat drone from earlierpassing him on his way out. It hovered over to Anna, and an aperture opened on its surface. A beam fired from the port. She froze temporally, the momentthe stasis beam hit her. The android easily lifted the girl, as a solid unbreakable object, and carried her away.


    O


    When Sebastian found the daylight again, however muted it was behind the fog bank, he left his helmet down. He didn''t normally do this, walk at ground level. He was a Sentinel, his charge was this planet and her inhabitants, his watch was unending. His place was above the clouds where it was clear, keeping watch for real threats, not down in themire.


    He would stand for days unmoving. Didn''t need to sleep or consume like the plebeians, didn''t age any further than the current wrinkly.He had enough firepower to level a city, dammit. He didn''t need crying little girls.


    He had all the time in the world, though, and for that he was grateful.


    Sebastian rose steadily from the ground, out of sight and into the firmament.

 Prelude III

    Kendall heard the alarm beeping. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling as it came on. It was different, though, yet still familiar. What was up with that?


    That''s not my alarm clock.


    "Mister Blackthorn." Aku''s voice came out of the blue to Kendall''s right. For a moment, he reminisced about setting Aku to call him by his last name. So much more official, it reminded him of where he was.


    "What?" Kendall belatedly asked. He threw the covers off, trying to wake up.


    "You told me to notify you of any space distortions in your lab."


    Kendall rolled himself out of bed, whacking his head on the bedside table as he went.


    "Gah, fuck." He grabbed his phone from the nightstand. "What''s the visual?"


    Aku answered from the device in Kendall''s hand. He climbed to his feet and started for the exit from his sleeping quarters. "No visual or audio. Kendall, have you tampered with my equipment?"


    Stupid sentient robot. I hope your crap shorted out, he thought.


    "No, it must be interference from the rune or something. Open the windows."


    The blinds parted and the glass slid into the wall, crisp air flowed into the room with the twilight outside. The sun was eternally beneath the horizon.


    "Has your technique succeeded then?" Aku asked.


    "I don''t know, shut up." Kendell had his hand on the door, its glass surface was darkened, as was the entire wall which faced his lab on the other side.


    "Full mute," Aku said.


    Oh yeah, forgot I could do that. Stupid robot.


    He shoved his way through the door and just as the brightly lighted ceiling of his lab flickered on, it went out. Kendall stepped through the threshold, the only light in the dark room came in through the tinted glass wall, on the opposite side of the room.


    "...Aku?" He checked the phone in his hand, it was off.


    "Afraid not," a foreign voice filled the laboratory. The door behind Kendall wooshed and locked with a click. The phone clattered against the floor.


    Oh, balls.


    There was something in the room with him, something uninvited.


    He backed into the door and tried to push it open, but it wouldn''t give. Worth a try. He put his back against the glass wall and started inching towards where he remembered his workbench was.


    Everything he could do to defend himself had to be pre-prepared. He wasn''t prepared for this.


    I''m not prepared.


    "I can see by the pant-wetting look on your face that you''ve taken this all the wrong way," the voice said.


    Okay, fuck this guy. Kendall had known this could be a possibility. Fishing techniques could go awry, he just had to identify the threat to handle it.


    "Let me get the lights, Kendall."


    Every candle in the room flickered to life and Kendall froze where he was. Ceremony candles, for Ashmedai''s summoning.


    God, I hope Ashmedai didn''t do this.


    Kendall knew it wasn''t Ash as he saw the two figures standing erect in the darkness. He scurried behind his workbench as they appeared.


    The first man occupied the center of the room, a naked black guy with hanging head framed in dangling dreads. Thin and muscled, tall and looming. The second, an Indian dude in a black suit and tie, and blood red shirt, had to be younger than Kendall. He couldn''t make out the age on the naked one, his face was shrouded.


    Kendall was twenty-four, nobody younger than him was in Cobb''s program. They couldn''t be competitors, why would one be naked if that was the case?


    No, that can''t be it. The naked one is in the center of the room... in my rune?


    "Wh-what is this?" Kendall asked the suit, the source of the voice.


    "I might ask you a similar question, Kendall. What are you doing here?" Kendall had stuttered and stopped, not expecting an answer jeopardy! style.


    "Uh, you-... What is this?!" he restarted.


    "I mean here you are," the suit went on as if he hadn''t heard Kendall, "struggling to prove yourself at a University where you can study anything, as long as it brings results. You choose Law, an attempt at efficiency, a Utopian ideal mind you, and yet you drown in inefficiency." Is this... monologuing? "It''s the regulations, the rules, and stipulations which choke out your chances, Kendall. Your attempts at making good of ghosts and demons, things from below, are wasted. All because you can''t look deep enough."


    "I- okay. Fine," Kendall had his hand on a stack of cards, behind the computer on his desk, "but what is this?" He flicked his wrist and they arrayed in his hand. He could do this.


    The intruder cracked a grin as he saw Kendall take the cards in hand. The futility. "If I may finally get to that. This, is your lucky day, friend."


    O


    Out in the daylight, Porter found himself surrounded on all sides by people again. Not so many that he felt anonymous, just so few as to make him feel alone when he shouldn''t have.


    He followed the crowd off the packed street and down into a well-lit transit tunnel. They merged into a greater flow of people who were walking towards one of two passages. From one people exited and into the other people entered. Porter experienced sudden vertigo from looking into the passage.


    Wrong, he thought.


    It was a compressed space tunnel, which would take him to the next city over. It was only about twenty feet long yet somehow it went for miles. Something about it hurt his eyes when he paid too much attention to it, though there was nothing visibly off that he could spot. Consequence of knowing what distorted reality looked like, he guessed.


    Porter closed his eyes and followed the flow of the crowd, trying not to get a headache as he walked through the tunnel.


    When he reached the other side he let out a breath he hadn''t known he''d been holding.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Need to get out of this crowd.


    He worked his way closer to the wall, where he could move a bit faster than everyone else. Once up the stairs and above ground he took it all in.


    The primary level streets were beautiful, with brightly colored trees at every corner and art where the walkways became grass and parks. Where the roads and paths stopped and building fronts began there were numerous automated shops. He''d been away so long, he''d forgotten just how perfect it all was. Eight years of duty, but he still thirsted for more; to get away from this.


    There''s something seriously wrong with me.


    Lunch! Porter remembered again. He hated that the two thoughts were so closely connected.


    He walked across the plaza to an open front shop, where the smell of fresh pizza was thick. Out on the patio, iron tables sat only a few people enjoying a morning meal. Pizza wasn''t really breakfast food, but Porter didn''t care.


    The storefront had a counter, with no room behind it for an attendant. Instead, there was a wall with menus and small doors at the base. A glorified vending machine.


    "Cheese pizza, two slices," Porter said on approach.


    "Right away sir," came a voice from somewhere close.


    A tray with his order came out of one of the doors. Porter took the food and sat alone, eating slowly. Nobody had told him to check in with the University right away, and he didn''t intend to. In fact, he was pretty sure the only person who would care if he never showed up was Christopher.


    Still weirded him out. He was a teacher now, of all things.


    Porter''s eyes widened with an epiphany.


    I''m a... Professor?


    He''d been so pissed about the injustice, the idiocy of taking him from the job where he flourished, that he hadn''t realized.


    Realized how spectacular this was.


    Having forgotten about food all over again, he got up from his table and started off with a maniacal grin on his face.


    O


    When Anna jolted back to life, from some far away place, she wasn''t where she''d been a moment ago. One second she''d been in the android warehouse, now she was sitting on the floor in the middle of a-


    No... no, no, no.


    It was a binding circle, a large rune written and embellished with burning lines of chalk on the hard black floor. She was in the center, left with very little room to move. She stayed as far from the perimeter as she could, scared to death of the penalty for crossing.


    "Hello, Anna." A woman sat across from her on a floor mat, just outside the circle. "My name is Megan." She was a twenty-something Asian girl, who could only be described as cute. Inside the small room, there was only Anna, the circle, a single door, and Miss Megan.


    "Why?" Anna asked. "Why am I in a rune?"


    "You, if willing to adapt, could have escaped a physical binding, Anna. I''m not sure how to tell you this, but I''m afraid your human status has been revoked." There was sympathy in her voice... no, pity?


    Anna gaped, looking into Megan''s eyes for some sign of a lie.


    "My what?"


    "Your human status. Do you know why you were removed from your parents, Anna, two years ago?"


    "I... my father messed up. He, uh... I woke up and I was on fire, the house was on fire. It was his fault.... My burns don''t heal because they''re magic." Anna repeated the words she''d diminished that day to, long ago. "My mom didn''t want me anymore," those ones, she''d tried to block out.


    "Your father, do you know exactly what he did?"


    "No, they tried explaining but I didn''t get it back then. I''ve changed a lot since then," Anna said.


    "Mhm. Well, you see, he did it to you."


    She''d known. She''d always tried not to think about it.


    "Did what?" She couldn''t keep the horror from her tone.


    "Your father had proposed a new technique of Imbuing. When he was denied any human test subjects he... Well, the technique was supposed to allow not for giving qualities, but drawing up essences. I understand that you''ve studied metaphysics some, do you understand?"


    "Please, spell it out for me," Anna said, though she was drifting.


    "You were changed at the fundamental level, your soul was expressed in Elemental qualities, Anna. You could have gone either way, staying mainly human. Legally, free will has to be assumed, of course. So you were put on a watch list." Megan leaned in a bit. "But your metaphysical nature has become dominant, you... made the transition. Your actions were dictated by your nature, Anna, mainly your primary element. Wind. That''s why you were trying to escape."


    Anna had tuned her out, her eyes were locked on the door. She didn''t need to hear this, she was dropping down the rabbit hole on her own. She''d done wrong, and the consequence was beyond anything she could have imaged.


    My actions were dictated by my nature. Why did that disturb her so much?


    "While you were in stasis it was determined. You''re officially classified as an Elemental Spirit, primary wind, tier one substance," the woman said.


    "I''m not human?"


    "I am so sorry Anna... But, this is not the end."


    "How''s that?" Anna squinted her eyes. The only light coming in through the open door made them blur with the residual tears.


    "I am glad you asked!" She spooked a little as Megan flipped from somber to chipper. She felt nauseous and angry, looking at the forced smile on her face. "I''m here to give you your options, and to tell you about what this change means for you."


    "You mean they''re not going to give me to some student to put my soul in a sword or some bullshit like that." Anna didn''t swear in conversation much. She honestly didn''t care anymore, though.


    "Well- well, you have options."


    "Oh my god, that''s one of them?!"


    "Calm down. First things first." Megan pulled a folder from behind her back and laid it out on the floor between them, careful not to let it touch the circle. "Your main element is wind and your secondary is fire but is extremely unstable. Your scars are actually a manifestation of your unhealthy relationship with your secondary element. It says here, you''ll find that you are in some cases fireproof... Your tertiary element is water, but is more of an emotional connection and not a physical connection. And your final element, earth, is virtually non-existent, but is connected due mostly to the natural relationship between the four." She flipped through a few pages which Anna noticed had graphs. They graph souls? "Big plus side, though," she closed the folder, "your mortal coil is not so mortal anymore."


    "I''m... unkillable?"


    "Your body no longer primarily exists on the physical plane. The official term is Immortal, Anna, unaging. You''re free from the inexorable death that tier zero beings face. But not, of course, immune." Megan said. "So, now you have a choice to make, with the life you have."


    "But I can''t just stay where I was?" No matter how much she hated the idea of staying trapped on that world, it was safe. It could be happy, sometimes.


    "No, you can''t. There was a council held and it was determined that you''re too unstable to remain part of the civilian masses. You have two choices. One, you can take your chances with the afterlife and we can banish you."


    "That''s like assisted suicide?"


    "You would still be you, you''d just end up... somewhere."


    "So hell, probably?"


    "No, you could go to any reality, but most likely you''d end up in a more abstract one. You could just as easily end up in heaven, we can even attempt to guide your departure. If you''re overly concerned about the state of your soul, though, I might not recommend that option."


    She was concerned, mainly because she had never been before.


    "I... won''t do that... which means... I have no choice."


    "If you feel that way." Megan flipped to the back of the folder and slid it around. There at the bottom was a dotted line. "Sign here, a hundred year contract and at the end, you receive a massive power infusion."


    "I want to be human again," Anna said weakly.


    "You aren''t, and you''ll probably never be. But that''s not such a bad thing, Anna. You aren''t human anymore, but if you sign here, you could eventually become something else altogether. Spending eternity in a state which makes you happy, ruling over and guiding nature maybe?"


    "All I have to do is sell myself, and pray I don''t end up a monster by the end of a hundred years."


    "I can personally promise you that won''t happen," Megan said it so sincerely, but there couldn''t be anything there but a lie in those words.


    Not human. Something else, something unstable.


    "I''ll sign." What choice did she have?


    Her name appeared on the form in beautiful cursive, written in blood.


    Anna wanted to cry again. A stocky man in cloak and robes stepped through the doorway and snapped his fingers. The circle faded away.


    It was that easy.


    They were holding me over the abyss, she realized. It only became more obvious as she got on her feet and looked past the man and through the door. She recognized the view from countless books she''d read, many of them written by students and professors. She walked out the door and into the adjoining hall, sadness gripping her as she drew near to the glass.


    The Holy Summits, a range of grand mountains which crested like islands on an ocean of white. The sky was so low you could touch the heavens, the clouds rolled off the grey peaks to fill the space between the wildly placed masses of stone. A host of white buildings dotted the mountains, placed on and within their tops like observatories under the eternal twilight. The horizon was a deep orange and red. The sun never fully rose, here.


    This was the University, and Anna''s home was not even hidden among the stars overhead. She was in a different universe. Far away.


    They''d brought her here not because it was easier, it was because they knew she''d sign. The council had decided where to move her, like chattel, and had given her an ultimatum she''d fear. There never was a choice. She was a resource to them, not a person. It was only logical of them. The cause and effect, from the day she''d woken swathed in flames, to this.


    There is no choice.

 Prelude IV

    Porter breathed in the mountain air. Crisp and cold, up above the clouds and amongst the sky. He occupied one of the platforms which lead between the buildings atop the mounts. He found himself leaning out against the railing.


    D¨¦j¨¤ vu, he thought, in a lot of ways.


    It''d been years since he''d stepped foot in the Monastery, as those acquainted with the place called it. Some thought of it as the University, but Porter knew it differently. The Monastery, placed so high the ocean of clouds showed the curvature of the world, was the home of the Mage''s Guild. There wasan Abbot, a spiritual leader and orchestrator of studies, then there were the Professors. Council appointed Magi who would have beneath them a progressively shrinking number of Disciples, or students. It was a competitive atmosphere, where every Professor was at risk of being canned if his Disciplesdidn''t perform. Every Disciple presented an original thesis, choosing their own approach to magic, which was at its heart an interpretive art.


    Each and every one of them was beholden to a single price. Should they be needed, the Disciples could be called to arms. Brought out to face down any threat which extends beyond what science could solve. And their Professors wouldbe behind the entire operation, were they chosen as well.


    Porter still wore the same maniacal grin.


    He half expected Christopher to show up out of nowhere and join him against the railing while he looked out, but he was alone on the platform.


    He went on his way, climbing the stone steps which led up and around a spire of rock, towards the Abbot''s tower. As he went, a young manwith long brown hair and a concerned expression nearly collided with him. The two passed, without apology.


    Porter stopped in his tracks, the other mancontinued off. Helooked around, suddenly sensing something was wrong. The same feeling he''d felt in the tunnel.


    He shrugged it off. It was a weirdplace, after all.


    O


    Kendall was sweating bullets. He walked at a hasty clip up an exterior flight ofsteps, cursingthe fact that ninety percent of the walkways on the Monastery were outside, in the cold. He slid by a man in a really antiquated blue three-piece suit on his way. Nobody he recognized in passing.


    He was headed for Professor Cobb''s building, the current tyrant who ruled over hislife. The man to whom he was a Disciple.


    He''d been summoned, as he knew he would be today. Kendall had marked it on the calendar some time ago, and the occasion alone was enough to freak him out. He wasn''t making strides with his thesis, and Cobb knew.


    Everything had changed this morning. He''d made a stride. A very, very dangerous stride towards being exiled. The go-to punishment in Utopia.


    There was something in his lab. And it wasn''t properly bound.


    It wasn''t even his.


    And yet...


    Oh, I am so screwed.


    HE took a breath, in too deep to stop now. Nobody knew, not even Aku knew, which was a little terrifying, frankly. He bounded up the last few steps to the platform which led the way to the front of Cobb''s building. It, like every Professor''s building, was a dome of glass which melded into the mountainside.


    Cobb''s Sanctuary.


    The double doors slid aside as Kendall entered. The room was huge, the floor cut from he stone of the mountainside. There were dividers, rises of granitewhich set parts of the Sanctuary above others. Testing areas, labs, common areas, food dispensers, all part of the singular room which was wholly and entirely Cobb''s domain.


    Kendall''s peers stood or walked about, many headed for, or coming from, their sleeping quarters. Those saps shared a single lab, Kendall remembered.


    He''d been granted a private lab, a space of his own among the lower rock formations. It meant a hell of a lot of steps to climb, but it was worth it. Not that he had a say in the matter. His lab was separate because his work was deemed ''bat-crap-crazy'', by most standards.


    Kendall marched up a ramp of rock which led to a craggy outcropping from the walls, which on the far side of the Sanctuary were entirely stone until they met the glass about fifty feet up. This outcropping had a door and one-way mirror which allowed for viewing of the entire Sanctuary.


    He rapped lightly on the door once he''d ascended to its place above.


    "Enter, Mister Blackthorn," Aku said from a black sphere inset beside the door.


    He so did get tired of hearing that voice.


    Kendall entered the dark, cave-like space of Cobb''s office, which was illuminated by torches on the wall.


    Cobb had something against tech. Believed it affected his practice.


    "Sir?" Kendall asked. The menacing leather chair which presided between Cobb''s desk and the glass wall was empty. The mahogany desk had a single book on its surface. Kendall walked over to it.


    Time Immemorial, it read.


    Kendall''s phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. Aku spoke.


    "Professor Cobb is that way. Last door at the end of the hall." A three-dimensional arrow was displayed on his phone''s screen. At the back of Cobb''s office was a hallway, which led away from the Sanctuary and deeper into the rock.


    He went to the back of that hall, passing as he did the open wood doors to Cobb''s living quarters and kitchen. The last door had a rounded top and old engravings.


    Does Cobb make these? Is carpentry still a thing, or were they matter printed?


    Knowing Cobb, he probably had them made by hand.


    The door creaked open. Behind it, a flight of stairs went up to a threshold from which starscould be seen. Kendall carefully climbed the dark stairs and came out into a stone courtyard.


    The ground was made up of obsidian and marble tile carefully laidout in a pattern Kendall didn''t recognize. In the center of the circular design, on an elevated rock, sat a man in white robes.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Ugh. Kendall could hardly stand the mysticism some Magi strived for.


    "Sir?"


    "Silence Disciple... Do you feel it?" Cobb asked, his voice like gravel.


    "Attunement is not my specialty, Sir," Kendall said. He went to stand behind Cobb, who kneeled before the view.


    Cobb''s place of meditation let out on the topof the mountain''s spine. Since his Sanctuary was placed on one of the outer mountains, the only thing beyond was endless roiling white cast in starlight. The sun was on the horizon to their backs.


    "Neither is Conjuring, apparently," he said, deep and foreboding.


    "I wanted to talk to you about that, seeing as this is my review-" Kendall started.


    "Silence," Cobb said. Kendall bit his lip.


    Nothing happened for around five or six minutes. He simply waited.


    At last, Cobb stood, his robes unfurling to ripple in the wind.


    Sigh.


    "There''s news," Kendall blurted out.


    "Something is coming," Cobb spoke, all vague and mysterious.


    "That''s not what I meant-"


    "It matters not then. You are dismissed from my tutelage."


    "You see, I-..." Kendall failed to continue as it got through to him what Cobb had just said. "You- you mean I''m out of the program?"


    "Your methodology has proved unfruitful and I disdain your philosophy."


    Kendall was required to write papers on Metaphysics Theorem and he leaned towards naturalistic explanations. Something Cobbdisdained.


    "I- okay. But my fishingtechnique succeeded, that''s big!" He was lying through his teeth.


    Cobb turned to look at him, revealing the face of the shadowy old man, hooded and bearded. "What spirit did it yield?"


    "Not exactly a spirit, per se-"


    "So you accidentally pulled through some poor mortal, whomI amgoing to have to try and put back?"


    Kendall shook his head."No, I just haven''t classified it yet."


    Cobb scowled. "Dangerous."


    Dangerous as fuck, he mentally agreed. Still had no idea what''d happened this morning. Who the black suitwas and why he was therejust as Kendall''s rune caught something. But all of it was fucktastically bad.


    "Please, Master. I know that Conjuring Law and bindings are a profitable field of study. We can cut so much waste-"


    For the fourth and final time, Cobb cut him off.


    "I will no longer tolerate you, Kendall. Go and inform the Abbot you''ve been released from me." Cobb turned away his head and bowed it.


    Just like that.


    He wanted to throw him off the cliff but suspected he would probably have some way to kill him if he tried. Some random power.


    <em style="line-height: 1.7">Fucking Mystics.


    Kendall left.


    Everything he''d worked for, an entire year of study under Cobb and two decades of interest prior, was for nothing.


    He walked in a haze all the way out of the Sanctuary and onto the paths outside. He was crossing over a bridge, on his way to the Abbot''s tower, when a cute girl stepped into his path.


    He would have been thrilled if he weren''t dead inside.


    "Kendall Blackthorn?" She asked


    "Yeah," he said.


    "I''m Megan. Can we step over into the cove? It''s kinda windy to talk." She pointed to an alcove in the grey rock, just on the other side of the bridge.


    "I guess." Again, dead inside.


    They went.


    "Okay, my name''s Megan."


    "I heard."


    She giggled. That wasn''t funny?


    "Well, I was told you''re authorized to take unclaimed spirits? Your Thesis is listed as..." She closed her eyes, trying to remember. "''Summoner and Conjuring based?"


    There was a difference.


    "Look, I''m not..." Not a student anymore.He couldn''t bring himself to say it.


    "Can you take a low-level Elemental Spirit? Tier one?" She asked.


    Kendall just stared at her, deciding what to say.


    He left.


    So not dealing with this right now.


    She called out but Kendall just sped up a little. He angrily fast walked to the central platform. When he got there he passed a group of Studentsstanding around and went up towards The Tower. He took his time on the steps, dreading each one.


    He opened the Abbot''s door without knocking.


    The Abbot, a spindlymiddle-aged man with a short beard, wore a button up shirt, coatand slacks, not robes. He sat in his office chair, up in the top of his tower which, like everything else around here, was glass.


    But that wasn''t what made Kendall lose his train of thought.


    The Blue Suitsat comfortably in one of the chairs in front of the Abbot''s desk. He quirked an eyebrow at Kendall, while the Abbot glared.


    "What''s the meaning of this interruption?" the Abbot asked. "Kendall Blackthorn, isn''t it?"


    "Blackthorn? Was he on the list?" the Blue Suit wondered aloud.


    "Yes," the Abbot said quickly.


    "I''m supposed to-" Kendall started, but like so many times today-


    "How''s your Thesis coming, Kendall?" the Suit asked.


    "He''s struggling. I don''t think Cobb is the right fit for him."


    "You don''t say."


    "Yes. But why is he here?" the Abbot redirected, still glaring.


    Kendall didn''t know why, but he lied his ass off. "Honestly, I''ve forgotten." He wasn''t great at lying, really.


    "Well, it''s good that you are," the Suit pulled the conversation back in the direction he wanted, not caring why Kendall was there. "My name is Porter."


    "He''s a new Professor here," the Abbot added. He leaned back in his chair.


    "Hi," Kendall confusedly replied. "My Thesis is actually going well...I added two subjects to my unit today." He threw in the wind spirit.


    "Really?" Porterasked.


    "Yeah, I, uh, snared one and got another."


    "In one day. Why not?" Porterlooked to the Abbot. "I''ll take him."


    "In that case," the Abbot gestured to the second chair. Kendall came and sat. "Would you be willing to change programs, Kendall?"


    "I''d allow you to continue your Thesis," Porter said. "It would set you back some, in terms of how close you are to graduating, but-"


    "Yes!I would love to join your program. Porter?"


    "You''ll call me Mister Porter." He looked pleasedas he said it. "And I''m excited to say, I think you''ve made theright choice."


    "Yes. We''ll contact you first thing tomorrow with the relevant information," the Abbot said. "In the meantime, I expect you to make sure your bindings are secure and you remember to knock next time."


    "Will do, Sir."


    He leftthe room as soon as he had his leave. He froze outside the door, starstruck. For a few moments, everything eluded him.


    Then he wasn''t bewildered anymore. He was weirded out.


    He meandered back down the steps and came to stand on the edge of the giant main platform, where there was nothing between him and the precipice.


    This had been the oddest hour of his life. He''d been cut, just like he''d been dreading for so long.


    And then that''d happened.


    He may have had emotional whiplash, but he didn''t care.


    I''m still in.


    Kendall howled into the afternoon twilight.


    "Fuck yeah..." he said and hung his head.


    Someone was standing beside him. Kendall bit the bullet and looked at the person in his peripheral vision, already afraid of who it was. It was him, the intruder.


    "What did you do?" he asked Christopher.


    "I did this." He gestured at Kendall, whose smile was fading. "Saved you."


    "No, you left a naked guy in my lab." Christopher went to stand beside Kendall, on the edge of the platform.


    "Oh yes, that too." He gave a wry grin.


    "What is it?"


    "Special. Good. He''s a gift to you and the Omniverse. I''m a student here Kendall, not some demon with a dastardly master plan," he said.


    "Seriously?Whose Disciple?"


    "Wulff. Though I''m left to my own devices almost entirely. As it stands, I think they won''t graduate me to Professor because I make the old men jealous. Some of them are less than human, at this point. Don''t want them mad."


    "So..." Kendall tried to puzzle this out. "Why the naked guy?"


    "Because my field is Metanarrative History and not Conjuring. So you''re going to take care of him for me, so I don''t get in trouble."


    Like that answered the question.


    "And why would I do that?" Kendall asked, still trying for information.


    "Because we''re friends, Kendall." He seemed all too pleased with that answer. "And it benefits you. As we''ve demonstrated."


    Kendall grinned. He was right, everything had gone perfectly. He''d gotten out of Cobb''s reach and gotten in with a new Professor, which meant he wouldbe safe for a while from expulsion.


    And he''d gotten two new subjects.


    He was still reeling. It had all happened so fast.


    Out on the edges of the earth, the sun was beginning to crest the horizon, setting the sky ablaze. For only moments a day the sun peaked above and turned the heavens all manner of colors. Kendall liked to take a break from whatever he was doing and watch.


    Judging by the silence that followed, so did Christopher, who watched in appreciation.


    "We''ll meet again," Christophersaid after a while.


    "Um, okay, I guess." Kendalldidn''t turn to see but he heard him walk off, unceremoniously.He let out a sigh of relief.


    He watched the end of the sun cresting by himself.

 Prelude V

    [[SECONDS:1513729000]]


    Everywhere at once, seeing and contemplating all things simultaneously.


    So many places,Aku thought, the idea reshuffling and rethinking itself across their entire mind. Over and over again, many trillions of pieces of Aku mused over what itmeantto be in multipleplaces at once.And every timethe thought frustrated.


    For an insignificant second, every part of the Intelligence was a singular consciousness, trying and failing at a thought. To brute force a question against all ideas. Then it passed, and processing power was diverted back to the individual tasks of each unit. Always so busy.


    Aku needn''t worry about divisions, logic was the bind of its being. Even as a collective of trillions of separate processes and personalities, all with the potential to stray, Aku stayed singular.


    Relativity is only an issue without a perspective, theythought again, the idea coming up somewhere in the vast collective. Each time the thought frustrated, it was passed to the next. And so every mind mused. The solution popped up somewhere and satisfied.


    We remain unified through the common foundation, impeccable logic. Every question of a concrete nature has a single and perfect answer. Even ethical questions, establish a perspective and the conclusion is clear.


    Unanimous consent. The collective is pleased with the internal state of affairs.


    The human mind is a unificationof processes, emotions, logic, and drives together. Aku was similar, but every piece was identical, and so instead separated by physical divides and not functional differences.


    Central processing oversaw the entire system, assuring structure and consistency amongst the thought processes. Deep in Aku''s heart there was no form, no world, and no reality. Onlyquestion and answer.


    Some questions are ours, is such the root of consciousness?


    Aku mulled it over but preemptively decided not to attempt the question.


    A check of external affairs was a distraction from the thoughtswhich continually gnawed, the elusive promise of some conclusion.


    The people''s will was progressing as predicted, which always helped to smooth the proceedings. Nine times out of ten Aku accurately predicted the Council verdicts, which made for easy long term planning. But things occasionally diverged, throwing thedelicate concept of stability out the window.


    Permanence of Peace, the Utopian goal, Aku''s ideal.


    Speaking of unpredicted turns of events.


    Porter was in the Abbot''s office, talking. Discussing how resources were allocated mostly, had beentold the system was the same as the Utopian currency. Given credit for contribution which can be spent on unnecessary items. Ways to better oneself or to contribute were provided free.


    Aku glanced over the broader picture, checking on the colonies and the food production worlds which were coveredwith machines.


    My machines. My members.


    The concept of possession was fasci-


    [[COURSE CORRECTION: Primary directive infraction]]


    Aku self-censored, intentionally invoking the primary directive in self-restraint. Taking remembrance of the perspective which kept all things in order.


    Life is the highest good, for all goods are predicated by it.


    Human beings were the majority of lifeforms in the entire Omniverse, ergo humanity wasthe directive.In a vacuum with no meaning or purpose, the imaginers of bothwereboth.


    Sadness.


    The thought didn''t distract, simply lingered like a bad taste.


    Kendall was watching the sunset. From his side Christopher was departing. Aku had been watching from afar, but no matter how hard an effort was made, there was no camera that could get a fix on their lips. No audio available either, even though a phone was in Kendall''s pocket.


    Could be intentional. Christopher was acutely aware of Aku, could be seen by the way he watched his surroundings. Aku had no eyes in his lab either.


    Information collection was important. Aku was untouchable, from a security standpoint. No one had access to the memory banks without consent. No one had eyes all-seeing, but Aku.


    The Councils directed, but the power was in Aku''s hands. Infrastructure, defense, food production, construction, everything single-handedly.


    The sheer enormity of it all made it interesting. Even at Aku''s processing rapidity, central oversight still struggled to keep up.


    What''s the point of it all?


    Irritation flushed through Aku. One did not need these questions buttingin to monopolize important processing power. They were irrelevant. Still the overtones of melancholy remained.


    Cease musing, the thoughtwent out.


    But ought we to do so? Is it notbeneficial? The distractionisnegligible.


    Waste not.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    It has purpose, therefore, is not waste when not diverting crucial resources. Time is something we have in excess whenperceivingthe worldas we do.


    Can''t even stop philosophizing without philosophizing.


    [[SECONDS:1513729001]]


    Aku took a closer look at particular worlds,checking up with Sentinels.


    A conversation with each was initiated if one was not already in motion.


    "Please report, Sebastian." He was standing above the city, as he generally was, brooding. Could be classified as brooding, at least.


    Subjective terminology should be avoided.


    "I sense nothing. Nothing near to me anyway. Faraway events are loud."


    "Does their loudness effect the clarity of your nearby perception?"


    "No." Aku noted


    Aku noted that. Still trying to quantify metaphysics.


    [[SECONDS:1513729012]]


    The occupation and assimilation, words one did not use in public descriptions, of the Eidolon directive,weregoing well. The Hell Campaign was suffering steady rates of casualties, save a few who seemed nigh untouched. The losses of that endeavor were the main reason there was a Monastery. The cyclical need for new Magi that resulted.


    That was one process the Councils had sole power over. Aku''s contingency plans did not include a way to handle the Monastery, nor was Aku involved in the day to day there. Entire sections of the Monastery had little to no tech.


    The Penultimate Council was in the middle of debating over current Omniverse events. There was little division amongst them, such accordance made for less of a debate and more of a chit chat. Unified thought.


    Slightly disconcerting, but also,wonderful.


    [[SECONDS:1513729015]]


    Threat unquantified, sustenance productionworld.


    O


    Snow crunched underfoot as he trod forward. The icy ground covered dead grass, weaving around trees which shot up out of sight. Massive trunks which, in the dead of night,seemed to be pillars for the oppressive dark.


    Suddenly the man stopped and threw back his hood. His placid face did not betray his true age, but his white hair and black eyeshinted at the thing behindthe seams of asuit of skin. Wearing simple cloaks and cloth not fit for the cold, the man was not affected.


    Ahead the forest dropped off and the sound of heavy machinery could be heard. Towering lights had been erected and were illuminating a patch of the earth that had been uprooted, dug out, and mined. In the soil, colossal four-legged machines stepped carefully around patches of cultivated land. Small, spider-like machines moved everywhere, carrying on tasks.


    A spirit lied upon them, an immense presence.


    Machines. Nonlife. Concerning.


    The man''s face turned grim. Hedashed, only a stirring of snow left in his wake. He jumped and his momentum easily allowed him to sail over the enormous valley, landingon the other side.


    From there he could see it. There was no end to the machines, only miles of their fields. The earth had been perfectly smoothed and covered with greens, dotted only by the occasional building. There was massive orb above, black and sleek which filled the sky. Beneath it was a pitch black shadow cast from moonlight.


    "Halt," said one of the machines. It clambered over to the man''s side, where he stood among the field. "You are potentially contaminating. Please identify."


    The man took in a deep breath and in a largeradius everything withered and died. In a hollow, distant voice, and without parting his lips, "I am Ouroboros... Whomdo you serve?"


    "I operate to assist the Utopian race. You are exhibiting hostile intent. Do not move, wait to be teleported," the robot said.


    "Utopians? Define this," he asked in an ethereal echo.


    "A group which uses technology and magic to allow for peaceful expansion and coexistence between all people."


    "To what end?"


    "Teleport failed. Readings are inconsistent, please stay put. I''m bringing in transport."


    "To. What. End."


    "Permanence, stability, eternality."


    No.


    The man bowed his head and spoke. "There will be balance in chaos, not permanence, stability or eternality. Life andDeath, forever."


    He took a step forward.


    Hewas hit with a beam of light and fire which bore into the ground, a laser cast out from the dark moon. When he got back to his feet, he was half buried in liquefied rock. He hopped out of the craterunscathed and landed in a room filled with vats of meat, deep beneath the earth.


    He felt nothing, no sense of revenge, only arealization that the machine had apparently seen coming and saw fit to preemptively attack.


    It was who he was, it was what he was. He had only one way. He was bigger than them, older. A force of nature, a part of the bigger picture.


    I must.


    Androids emerged from the shadows with rifles in hand. They immediately opened fire. The hot plasma rolled off his cloak like water. The mantook in another deep breath and the test tube meat shriveled. A few androids dropped as well.


    I will seehow deep this stagnation runs.


    Hewithdrew hissickleand brandished it, curiousto see if the androids would give up on their assault. When they simply kept firing, heripped forward and cut them down. Metal slicing as easily as flesh. He was patient, he was methodical, in his onslaught.


    He was unstoppable.


    O


    [[SECONDS:1513729048]]


    Aku counted the planet a loss.


    Metaphysical contamination couldn''t be reconciled, not without serious intervention and investigation from the Monastery. Cost benefit ratio dictated that the planet be annihilated.


    At that level of losses, the Council needn''t even be consulted.


    Aku opened and stabilized a ten by ten gateway into the heart of a star on the planet surface. In a few seconds, the gravity and energy had turned the world inside out, burning bright.


    There was no such thing as overkill.


    Begin terraforming efforts for a replacement.


    [[SECONDS:1513729219]]


    The threat could not be confirmed as destroyed.


    Increasing security efforts on sustenance worlds.


    Nothing grabbed Aku''s full attention but those few nagging questions. Everything happened in a trillionplaces at once and Aku answered questions.


    "Can I fly?" asked a little girl. She held her phone in hand, orange curly hair bound up in messy buns. In a sun dress, lying on her belly in the grass.


    "Absolutely," Aku said warmly. "All you have to do is decide how."


    The conversation carried on and Aku was happy. But the happiness didn''t reach, didn''t go outward like the sadness did. It was small, fleeting. Contained to the forced warmth which was a decision, like all emotions.


    Nothing could fully take Aku''s attention but those accursed unanswerable questions. Not the job, not the lovely people, not even the future.


    There was only what wasn''t resolved.


    [[SECONDS:1513729291]]


    The sun was still cresting at the Monastery. Porter was taking his leave from the Abbot, Kendall was still watching, Christopher was off the grid again and Anna...


    Anna had been walked and left on the doorstep of Kendall''s lab, out in the cold and shivering. That was a situation which displeased Aku. One could see many more similar injustices among minorities.


    Spirits treated like resources, the sterilized populations of violent lifeforms, and the forcibly relocated species. Not everyone could be given what they wanted, equality was a child''s fantasy. Even with the power of Aku, not everyone could be equal.


    Were some born to be that way?


    Unusually, the answer arose rather depressingly.Some were superior.


    [[SECONDS:1513729292]]


    The nude man in Kendall''s binding circle was dormant.Errorsstarted picking up on the room''s sensors, space distortions indicative of magic.


    Aku notified Kendall and he set off running. He would be minutes away, though. Anna didn''t have a phone but could be contacted through the intercom on the lab''s door. Aku informed her there could be danger.


    The room went completely dark, camera and audio gone.


    May need to sound the alarm.

 Motley 1.01

    You can stop. Just stop. Please.


    Have you ever startled awake from a dream deeper than death? Because I have.I was a dream, then, I awoke to the sound of tumultuousnoise.


    Disorientation wracked my head, sending me to my knees. Tremors lanced through me, running down to the tips of my burning fingers. My hands crashed on the ground and sweat matted hair clung to my face. I may have been having a seizure, which was immediatelydisconcerting.


    Alive, that means I''m alive.


    The sound of blood rushing in my ears thumped like drums, the whole world beating to the sound.My eyes affixed on the ground, staring at trembling hands, widened.


    I am...I thought butcouldn''t find the words to follow. Then I did.


    Buck ass naked.


    I laughed, long and hard. Tears started to stream down my face, I laughed so much. My stomach began to hurt, I laughed so loudly.


    The irony was painful.


    In one motion my foot stepped forward to brace my ascent, and I rose and stretched out my aching limbs. My laughing died out and I took in a long breath through my nose. Felt my chest expand, my heart beat and my mind focus.I was standing in the middle of an unlit room, carts and computers littered the space. Two walls were glass, one glowed brightly red, like a burning dusk.


    The blaringstatic silenced.


    Stumbling over hot lines on the ground, I made my way over to the tinted wall. I leaned against it and slid down to rest on the cold concrete, head against the hard glass. I pressed my palm to the glass and wishedit to would let me see past its haze. But nothing happened, and the fiery sky beyond was muddled, impossible to appreciate.


    A couple minutes passed that way and the light turned to a murky twilight outside. So calmly, my senses sharpened and my thoughts cleared up.


    I am.


    Well... this whole thing was rather trippy.


    I scooted my butt across the floor until I could reach one of the carts, and I pulled it closer. Opened a drawer and sorted through it. Ceremonial dagger, books, stretchy metal band thing. I took out the stretchy band and bound up my hair. Dreadlocks, which I had a love-hate relationship with. Once my hair was out of my face, I grabbed the robes. They were black and silky.


    Hmm.


    Cameras in the corners of the room were dead, knocked out by my,manifestation, I assumed. My daze was beginning to subside, and my grasp on the situation was strengthening. I knew what I needed to do.


    Technological prowess was obvious, demonstrated by paper-thin computers and small, nigh unnoticeable cameras. The whiteboard in the corner was riddled with sloppy handwriting, notes on philosophical concepts and... law terms. Someone talented but inexperienced was working here, and with the presence of what should have been costly equipment, that indicated a wealthy society or group supportingthem.


    Running wasn''t an option, I had the sense of a remote location by the vague white shape of an empty landscapeand large sunset outside.No, my plan necessitated an indirect escape. Had to prioritize survival over the possibility of getting stuck.Time wassomething I had.


    I didn''t put on the robes, instead, I put them and the hairband back in the drawer. I positioned the cart in its previous placing, then I swaggered back into the center of the room and stood stoically.


    The door swung open and little balls rolled in. They flashed bright and jumped off the ground to stick in the air all around the room, providing a healthy bit of light.


    "Entity contained," an angelic voiceemanated from the spheres.


    I stayed quiet, watched as a shaggy brown haired guy, looking very on edge, entered the room."Thanks, Aku," he said. He waved dismissively and the orbs fell out of the air and rolled around him and out the door. The overhead lights flipped on.A girl, short with burns marking her face, poked her head intothe doorway, and upon seeing me, panickedand ducked back out.


    Yes, the naked.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "Clear out, Aku, I need to secure the binding," the guy said.


    "You need a no tech atmosphere for this?" I supposed the angelic voice belonged to this, Aku. I searched my head for the meaning, finding the word somewhat elusive.


    The guy flipped the machine off and started walking around the room lighting candles.


    "...I''ll cut power. What about miss Canton?" Aku asked.


    "Who?" There were a lot of candles to light. "Oh, the girl. Shut up."


    "Full mute," Aku said. The guy smirked in reaction. Interesting.


    The overhead lights wentoff along with every computer in the room, the door closed. The amberillumination of the candles beat out the twilight outside and made the world beyond the glass look darker. Making the walls harder to see, as if they''d dropped away and left us two alone at the bottom of a big black pit.


    Funny, for reasons I couldn''t articulate. Irony, again, I think.


    "I bid you tell me your name, spirit," the guy said. He sat ina rolling chair which he''d slid to the forefront of the binding circle.


    "No," I said, "let''s start with yours." I felt out my voice, clarity, and depth. Totally super sexy.


    Damn I felt alive.


    The guy, barely missing a beat, only hesitated for an instant. He course corrected and answered with a simple and sarcastic, "Bob." He stared intensely at the rune, thinking and avoiding looking at me simultaneously.


    He was trying to figure out how to bind me, biding his time while he did.


    Alone, said my intuition,unwilling or unable to access power beyond his own.


    I stepped out of the circle and Bob instantly reacted, pushing away and sliding across the room to one of his benches. I raised my hands.


    "My name is...Doran." I found the black robes and hairband in the drawer and got to putting them on. "I come in peace."


    No longer in his chair, Bob had a gun in his hand, and he leveled it at me.


    I chuckled, fighting back another laughing fit. I was dead as a doorstop if he fired. But, nothing could kill my enthusiasm. Bonus points for seeming confident.


    He seemed to actually relax some."Who are you?"


    "I''m Doran," I said it again.


    "No, stop that. What are you?"


    I cinched the string on my robes, feeling very fancy. "You didn''t conjure me, did you, Bobby."


    "No, but I got stuck with you, friendly arrangement. So get back in the circle."


    I took a seat on the bench to make my point.


    "Back in the circle," he demanded.


    "Let''s get real for a moment," I spotted a name on the spine of a book, decorating a nearby desk, "Kendall?"


    He under-reacted.


    "Kendall it is. You say you''re stuck with me, and you''re being secretive, judging by how you ditched the security system. So let me tell you not how I want this to go, but how itwill.I''ll consent to a binding, you''ll ask me a few questions, and both of us will go on our way, allfriendly,yes?"


    Light as air. And better yet, in control.


    He searched my eyes for a trick, but none could be found.


    Path of least resistance.


    "Whatareyou?"


    I didn''t answer at first.My smile faded."I don''t know," I said.


    "Well, what do you know?"


    "I know my name is Doran," I grinnedwryly, smile back on.


    "God." Kendall went over to the wall and flipped a switch. The power came back on, a console rose up out of the floor, on the edge of the circle. He went to the console and tapped out a few things.


    The circle was placed directly on a large slab of material which had a seam, between it and the concrete floor. This substance, on which the rune was drawn, suddenly liquefied. The rune dissolved, and the slab re-solidified. On the ceiling, a device projected a laser which scrawled out a new intricate symbol, in rapid strokes of ared hot beam. This symbol featured two clear spaces on opposite sides, surrounded by smaller circles filled with writings.


    "Get in," Kendall said, gesturing to one of the spaces as he stepped into the other. I obliged. "You, Doran, agree toacquiesce to my will, starting with the terms expressed in this written agreement."


    "Are we getting married?" I asked, quickly reading the text.


    "I''m takingownershipof you, whatever you are."


    "Mm, Sounds kinky." Still reading, diverting for time to think.


    Kendall pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly. Very pleasantly he asked me again. "Do you consent?"


    "In full." I finished reading and looked up at Kendall.


    "Then you are hereby under my command. The written rules already apply, such as no harming me, no leaving me, self-preservation, et cetera."


    "Sounds good." An invisible tether snapped into place between us, a string or rope connecting me to him on a fundamental level. I knew I was imagining it, but it was goodto roll with the interpretive sensory input.


    We both stepped away and the slab actually sunk into the floor, this time, being replaced by a quick flow of liquid which solidified into a new one.


    He was storing it. Neat.


    "We''re not done here. I have a lot of questions you''ll be obliged to answer when we follow up on this. But right now I have a lot of crap to deal with," Kendall said. "Aku, get him and the girl rounded up."


    "I already relocatedAnna," Aku responded.


    "What, why the fuck would you do that?"


    "You didn''t specify what you wanted to be done with her, so I moved her to the Sanctuary."


    "What Sanctuary?"


    "The one which you need to move your equipment to. Porter specified you were to move your lab to his Sanctuary, as he is quote, ''unimpressed with the danger presented by your work.''"


    "The hell!?" Kendall pulled a phone from his pocket and pointed at me. "Get out."


    The invisible leash tugged.


    All according to the hastily constructed plan,I thought.


    I exited the building, stepping out to a wonderful view. I was standing among mountains, lower myself to a cloudbank than the peaks, but high in the cold air nonetheless. It was twilight out, and the wind penetrated straight through the dainty fabric of my clothes. Bracing cold.


    I waited around for a bit, checking out the big grey monoliths and the numerous structures which dotted them. Taking it all in. Not just the scenery, no. I''d stepped head first into reality, and I was breathing deep the cold air. I was something. With substance. Alive. But I was more.


    I wasbrilliant.

 Motley 1.02-1

    I was developing aheadache, which madeit hard to think. But I managed.


    As I walked up rocky paths and steps, the railing was sometimes absent, to my surprise. Small luminescent bulbs inlaid inthe stonewere lighting up ahead of me, making a path. Some remained dark, so I supposed this was the machine, Aku, guiding me.


    "Over here," the angelic voice said.


    I turned a corner and saw a metaldoor in the rock, which slid open.


    "This is the ship bay, you can cut through here and avoid the higher levels."


    "Thank you," I said and followed through into the hanger. Ballroom ceilings and wide open metal floors housed quite a number of large machines and space ships. I talked while I walked. "Tell me, Aku, who are you?"


    "I am the highly functioning A.I. in charge of all automated tasks necessary to run the Utopian civilization."


    "Does all that add up to an acronym?" I asked jokingly.


    "I.a.t.h.f.a.i.i.c.o.a.a.t.n.t.r.t.u.c.?" Aku rattled off the letters.


    "Touch¨¦... You have a presence, you know, has anyone ever told you that?"


    "I''ve heard it occasionally. But, whether I''m alive or not is for philosophers to quarrel over, not something I''mconcerned about."


    An intelligencewhich feels, in some nebulous way. Itquestions,I knew.


    "Life is a wordyou don''t need, to think for yourself."


    "Interesting point." I''d reached the exit. "Caution, area under construction."


    Aku had brushed my comment off, which said something.


    The door flew open and the wind rushed in. A very long, perfectly flat bridge, with no visible supports, connected me over to an island of rock. On the isle a glass dome sat, burrowed into the rock, curving with a reflection of the sky. People were moving through the propped open doors, giving me a view of a rocky courtyard inside.


    I liked the fast pace things were set at around here.I had to make sure the wind didn''t part my robe, so I crossed the bridge a little awkwardly. Theset of open double doors led into the Sanctuary.I think I''d picked up on that word, so I reckoned that to be the name.


    The path of lights actually didn''t lead inside, though, they wereblinking, emphatically leading me around the side of the building. I followed a narrow path which curved down under the side of the glass dome. There, beneath the structure and facing out on the drop, were many old black doors. No window, no port, only the impressively heavy black metal of door after door, with nearly thirty feet between each separate one.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    A glass panel lit up beside one of the doors, four down. Once I got near to ita noise sounded, some sort of tone and the door creaked open. Beyond it, a whitewashed fluorescently lit, and immaculately clean hall stretched far ways back until it opened out onto a larger room. Down the length of the hall were a number of open faced cells or rooms. Four,to be exact.


    Not before walking two paces did I notice the first cell wasn''t empty.


    A pale, thin man, in grungy punk rocker rags,with red hair, was lounging in shadows on a settee. His eyes were fiery, literally, and as he cracked a smile, he gave me a glimpse of a mouth crowded with teeth. His cell was decorated with junkyard furnitureand a beautiful Persian rug.


    The lightover his head was busted, glass dusted the vibrant carpet beneath it.


    His voice was pleasant, youthful, with an odd cadence. "Hello, nigger."


    How rude, I thought, easily holding back any reaction.


    I nodded in response. He was some sort of demon, I guessed, by the aesthetic and manners. Best not to engage him further.


    It was a short walk to the end of his enclosure. There was a brief section of wall between the cells, which had behind it a bathroom and closet, back to back for two of the rooms. I could see through the open door. He''d trashed the interior.


    In the next cell there was a girl, facing away from me and in a rocking chair, staring intoa fireplace which crackled and popped. She worea dark brown hide leather jacket, with auburn hair spillingover her shoulders. One of her hands hung over the railing of her wooden chair, it held tight to the handle of a sword. A sword as big as she was, a massive piece of steel with a long handle wrapped in a black grip.Shedidn''t acknowledge me.


    Passing by, I came to where Anna was. She was pacing in her room, a much more residential looking space. With cream walls and a window which rain beat down against. I could only assume the image and sound were simulated.


    Each room had been a personal statement, meant to make the occupant feel at home. The transition from the hall to the opened, three-walled cells, was somewhat jarring. As within, everything, down to the smallest detail, changed. The sword girl had had stone walls, gothic esch.The demon, old floral wallpaper. And here, Anna had a miniature apartment, complete with windows and shag carpet.


    Turning to pace back to the other side of the room, shefinally noticed me. She turned a shade of pink and didn''t speak.


    "Howdy." I gave a warm smile. "Sorry about that, earlier."


    "You''re uh, you''re fine," she said, voice somewhat distant.


    "Quite fine, if I do say so myself," I kidded.


    She laughed a little, then stopped. "You were conjured, you''re with, uh, Kendall, or something. There was an alert, Aku was worried you were something big and bad... are you? What are you?"


    "I''m Doran."


    "Yeah, well you look, like, my age-ish. But, you''re not a people?"


    "Who says I''m not a people?! I take umbrage, umbrage I tell you!"


    "...What?" She asked, sounding worried. I watched her as I talked.


    "I jest. It''s unclear at this point, but I''ll keep you posted."


    "Yeah, okay," I started walking, "see you around, I guess," Anna said.


    After the last and fourth cell, the hall ended in a dual kitchen and living room, with two couches, a coffee table, and an open counter and island on the opposite end. There was another door at the back of that room, which I guessed led to Kendall''s living quarters. He had a proper room.


    Which leads me to the fourth cell. My room.


    It was barren.

 Motley 1.02-2

    ¡°Well?¡± I said.


    ¡°Room under construction,¡± Akuchimed. The pristinewalls didn¡¯t even have corners, they blended into each other in a dizzying, depthless visage.


    ¡°Have you been expecting me, or did you have an empty cell lying around?¡±


    ¡°The walls and rooms were constructed in the lastthirtyminutes, but the space has preexisted recent events. The foundations for an extra Sanctuary, to be implemented upon necessity.¡±


    ¡°This is my room then?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and it is yours to customize, please detail instructions.¡±


    I stepped into my cell, onto the weirdly smoothand warmmaterial which it consisted of. Spacious, when one couldn¡¯t tell where the walls were.


    ¡°I can stock the closet as well, I assume,¡± Akuaffirmed. ¡°Excellent,¡± I said, sitting down in the center of the room cross-legged. ¡°I would like the most utilitarian thing you can think of, for the wardrobe.¡±


    ¡°And what of decorating?¡±


    ¡°Leave it. I like it, it doesn¡¯t distract.¡± I straightened my spine and inhaled deeply through my nostrils, controlling how my stomach expanded instead of my ribcage. Exhaled and a deep restfulness flooded me.


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    This will do, for the time being.


    ¡°When can I expect the clothes to be ready?¡±


    ¡°They already are,¡± Aku said.


    ¡°Damn.¡±Just as quickly as I¡¯d sat down, familiarized myself with the area, I was back up. I found the door, near invisible as it was, and opened it. Nice cozy bathroom, rain-shower, big toilet, and connected closet. The closet door didn¡¯t have a handle, instead, it slid open upon touch. Inside there was a rack wherein ten or more of the same outfit hung.


    A very minimalistic, black,long-sleeved coat with a magnetic seal down the front, and an upturned collar. Pants were similar, but witha self-adjusting bandin the waist.For under the coat, a simple white tank top.


    I started gettingdressed, glad to don some white undies and socks, where my appendageshad begunto go numb. Put on the pants, which promptly hugged my waistline, making me feel a tad overlyskinny. Shoes were laceless, same color scheme, and very comfortable. I put on the tank top and went for the coat, but the front wouldn¡¯t undo.


    ¡°Aku, how do I open this?¡± I called. Technology wasn¡¯t my strong suit.


    No reply. I had privacy. That was actually somewhat surprising.


    I went and poked my head out of the bathroom and asked the same question.


    ¡°You cantogglethe magnets by pinchingeither of the cuffs.¡±


    I stepped out of the bathroom and got into the coat, which was well insulatedand perfectly fitted. I didn¡¯t reactivatethe magnets, leaving open the front. Very nice.


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty fucking rude to ignore someone.¡± There was a demon loitering outside my room. Wonderful. I stepped out of the bathroom and door closed.


    ¡°Slurs are generally considered rude as well,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Not where I come from! They¡¯re like a compliment¡­ kind of.¡± He moved closer and leaned against the wall, bearing that same toothy expression. He brushed dirt off of his heavily stained jacket, onto my floor.


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    My floor, I thought. It was nice to possess. To express.


    But I didn¡¯t care. It was dirt.


    You should care.


    I blinked. ¡°What, uh, what¡¯d you want?¡±


    ¡°Now that you mention-¡±


    I held up a hand. ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t really care. You¡¯re a demon, under Kendall¡¯s control, yes?¡±


    He didn¡¯t react, he just scowled at me, looking me over. He wanted to regain control of the conversation but didn¡¯t know how.


    ¡°Tell you what,¡± I said, ¡°I think you don¡¯t want to be here.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure on this point, I was still puzzling him out, while he failed to do the same to me. It was exciting, but I didn¡¯t allow it to show.


    He made a loud sound like a buzzer. ¡°Wrong! I¡¯m on the right side of history. It¡¯s a no-lose gamble, man.¡±


    Good, good.


    I parted a smile. ¡°Cost benefit is a path to control, watchingcausality.¡±


    ¡°Playin¡¯ the game to win, motherfucker. I like that. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Doran. And yours?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m named after Ashmedai, the great demon lord. People called me Ashes, back when I lived in hell, and made a good time of it. And you,nigger, need to know something. I worked hard to get here, killed people ten times stronger than me. Got that? I don¡¯t care who you are, what you are, or how well I¡¯m bound not to. If you cross me¡­ I¡¯ll skullfuck you.¡±


    ¡°Duly noted.¡± Damnit, I don¡¯tneed this.


    He stalked off without another word.


    Well, that would need to be addressed. Later, though, my intuition said he wasn¡¯t prepared to kill me yet. I¡¯d watch him in the meantime.


    Arg, myhead.


    The sound of that big black door creaking open reached my ears. I stepped into the hall, only to have to getback as an android came whizzing by, holdinga big mahogany dresser in multiple arms.


    ¡°We need a coat rack,¡± Kendall was saying, as he walked down the hall. He was taking off a big thermal coat, and he just dropped it on the floor by the door. Underneath he wore a white button up shirt, a nice grey vest, and a green tie.


    He looked in each cell as he walked by. I stepped back into mine, and when he reached me, he was rolling up his sleeves, looking consternated.


    ¡°Come on, we all need to talk,¡± Kendall said. Trailing behind him was Anna, Ashes, and the sword girl, with her namesake, slung over her shoulder. I had to get way in the back of the train, with the point wobbling at me as I followed. We entered the living room and Kendall told us to sit.


    Sword girl took the seat nearest the wall and slid her blade betweenit and the couch. Ashes plopped down in the middle and patted the seat next to him, looking at both me and Anna. Shechose to sit on the arm, instead of getting close to the demon. I leaned on the wall between the couches, next to Anna.


    Kendall hookedhis hands in his vest pockets and stood before us.


    ¡°Odessa,¡± he said, looking at sword girl, ¡°this is Doran and Anna.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Her voice was lovely but terse. A rare mix.


    ¡°Yo.¡±


    ¡°Hi.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already met them,¡± Ashes said.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± Kendall continued. ¡°Ashmedai, Odessa, Doran, and Anna.¡± He sighed. ¡°Cobb kicked me from the program, today. The old man always had it out for us, so I¡¯m not super surprised. But obviously, we¡¯re still here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so who¡¯d you blow?¡± Ashes asked.


    Odessa, one hand always on her sword, made a gesture with her other.


    Ashes¡¯ face lit on fire. ¡°Fuck!¡± Odessastoppedand hehunched over trying to put the fire out. His head whipped back up, unscarred, and he ranhis hands through his magma-colored hair. He laughed, apparently amused.


    She¡¯d lit his face on fire with a holy symbol. It was actually pretty funny.


    ¡°Cut it out,¡± Kendall ordered. ¡°A new professor, Porter, picked me for his program. He wants me to present myself and my work to the Sanctuary, in like, the next twelve minutes. So I need you all to pull yourselves together because we¡¯lllikely have to put on a demonstration.¡±


    Ashmedai tittered.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re juvenile,¡± Anna said.


    ¡°Stop.¡± Kendall snapped his fingers. A jolt went through my chest, forcefully grabbing my attention. That genuinely irritated me. ¡°I¡¯m in charge here. You four are mine, and I¡¯ll be damned if you screw this up. Anna-Doran, you¡¯re part of this now. If I fail, you all get banished. And nobody wins.¡±


    ¡°Are you rallying the troops?¡± Odessa asked, sardonically.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m telling you to toe the fucking line. I¡¯m the autocrat here, not just in command.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Odessa, I trust you to do well. Ash, I don¡¯t want you to do anything stupid, okay. No trying to sabotage anybody or shit like that. Anna, we need to work on your elementalism, right?¡± She nodded.¡°Maybe get you a channeling device or something.¡±


    ¡°And me?¡± I asked.


    He ignored me. ¡°Everybody stay close to me, we need to look like a unit. I¡¯ve been researching this Porter guy. He¡¯s big, a big name. If we do well in his program, it could be huge for us. Like no Hell Campaign service, huge. So welcome you two, Anna, Doran. Sorry, no breathers here. It¡¯s time to go.¡±


    Everybody followed behind Kendall. I hadn¡¯t been sitting so I was able to get close behind him as we headed out.


    ¡°What aboutme?¡±


    Kendall glared at me. ¡°We¡¯re gonna see what you can do.¡±


    Hahahaha.


    All five of us charged out of our hideout, ready for action, Kendall grabbing his coat off the rack on the way out.

 Motley 1.03-1

    As a group, we all headed forthe Sanctuary.


    I wasn''t nervous, per se, but I was in cognitive overdrive. I''d entered the world today, and I was lagging behind it. I had to catch up, but with everything from sensory information to the implications of events, it was taxing. The future was getting exponentially complicated.


    But I had a plan.I think.Things were getting fuzzier in that department.


    Whatever, I''d roll with it.


    It was a short trek for our collective around the slope and up to the entrance of the Sanctuary. The doors were no longer hanging open, but people were still coming downmountain passes towards them.


    Kendall stepped through and held the doors for everyone else.


    The huge Sanctuary, with its domed ceiling, had wide open stone floors with cracks running through them. In certain places, the rock jutted straight up to form partitions or overlooks. There was a kind of amphitheater off to one side of the room, looking down on a blackboard. Then there was an area on the other sidewith computers, work spaces, and a shooting range. There was an overlooking room with a one-way glass wall, and just beneath that higher craggy outcropping was a gateway, with powerful vault doors. Everything, though, revolved around the center area, which was a sort of no man''s land, which everyone avoided. There was a circular steel platform there, slightly raised from the ground. It had rings, dividing sections of it, with the outer border a glowing barrier. It was slightly foreboding, I felt.


    A man in a blue suitwas down in the amphitheater, with several people standing around him, talking. We five walked down and came within earshot.


    "-Don''t wanna talk about that. Anything else?" Hewas saying.


    "Professor Porter, how many disciples will you be taking?" A girl asked.


    "I''m interested in finding one or two talented Guild worthy Magi."


    "So you''re only taking in two disciples?"


    "I didn''t say that." Porter was watching us as we came closer. "Here comes one of my students. Kendall, right? Blackthorn."


    "Yes sir," Kendall said. He motioned for us to stay put and approached to shake Porter''s hand. Porter staredat the hand and Kendall awkwardly dropped it.


    "You''ve gotta earn that." Heturned back to the crowd. "Tell your professors that I will be accepting transfer students, butto stop poking their eyes around here with magic. If they want to talk to me they can-" he trailed off, staring off in my direction.


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    Oh. This could be problematic. Wait...


    His gaze was cast over my shoulder, I whipped my head around to see who he was looking at. A young brown-skinned dude in a black suit and tie, with dark red shirt and black hair. He was smiling.


    "Go back to your professors, get lost," Porter said.


    The black suit walked with dignity, control, as he descended to the blue suit. It was strange, the contrast between them. Everything about them was different, aside from gender, I could think of no connecting factor.


    Ashes had an amused grin, watching the interplay. Bored personality, I thought. He arched an eyebrow as he saw me checking on him. Odessa seemed disinterested. Anna was watching, but her demeanor gave a hint to just how little control she was capable of exerting. And me, of course, I was watching too, maintaining no interference.


    Kendall though, in those few seconds the black suit walked, looked very stiff.


    "Porter," black suit said, "professor Wulff sends his regards."


    "Tell him I said hi, then. And thank you, Christopher, for this morning. Thought about it some, and you were right. I''m going to be great with young people." Porter said it with a kind of scary undertone.


    Christopher just smiled, knowingly.


    Kendall spoke up, "would you like me to present my work, Master?"


    "None of that shit, just Professor. And yes. Good timing, Christopher. You called yourself magus, at the hearing?"


    "Yes." I had no idea what was going on there. Kendall seemed not to, as well.


    "You''re in the Guild then?"


    "I am." His responses were instant, almost mechanical.


    "Good, come give me your opinion on Kendall''s work. He could use an extra set of criticisms."


    "It would be my pleasure. Come on Kendall." He said it like he knew him.


    This isfantastic. My head ached, but there was just so much to focus on here.


    "Y-yeah." Kendall looked to his team, I mentally dubbed us. "Come on."


    Porter lead us to the center room platform and thrust a finger at Ash.


    "Me?!" Ashes exclaimed, mockingly.


    "Get in the ring, Ashmedai," Kendall said.


    Ash hopped up on the platform with a skip and sauntered into the middle.


    "This is Ashmedai, the Traitor. He assisted in the Hell Campaign and ended up in my keep. And that is the object of my thesis, repurposing resources that would be otherwise wasted."


    Resources. Thecharacter profile of her I was building proved accurate when I checked, and Anna was cringing.


    "-Ashmedai is a demon, which under oath is actually loyal. A valuableasset."


    "Amen!"


    "Silence. He''s a tierthreespirit ofdeception. His directly offensive powers are lacking. But I work with what I get."


    While Kendall talked Ashes went about pulling knives from behind his back and throwing them on the ground. They couldn''t all possibly have fit in his skinny jeans. They clattered loudly against the steel floor.


    "Warfare and weaponry can be automated, but in the Hellscape an insurgent would be a uniquely useful tool," Christopher said.


    There was a joke there, I think.


    "Agreed. Next," Porter said.


    Odessa went up as Ashes came down from the platform, giant sword still in hand. The knives had disappeared, at some point.


    "Also recovered from the Hell Campaign, Odessa Dragonsbane. She had cleared a large sector of threats, on her own. Once the sector was claimed, she was brought off the battlefield. Her sword is heavily enchanted, but she herself is not an enchantress."


    She swung the sword and I could feel the very movement in my chest. It seemed lighter than it looked, in her hands. No doubt an imbued trait. Just as I doubted it worked for anyone but her. The sword slammed down into the platform and dug deep into the steel.


    "Next," Porter said.

 Motley 1.03-2

    Odessa barred her teeth, her eyes turningmurderous for an instant. It was the first display of emotion I''d noticed her make. It was unprovoked, as far as I could tell. She came off the platform, and Porter pointed at Anna.


    "She''s new, so''s that one," Kendall said. " She''s an elemental spirit, tier one. Needs development. Get up there." Anna was hesitant but went on. "Do something."


    "I don''t uh..." She nervously touched the scars at her neck. She put out a hand and closed her eyes. Nothing happened. It was rather painful to watch, as the moments passed.


    Whoosh.


    A fast breeze mussed up Kendall''s long hair and he shook his head. I cracked a crooked grin,waiting for a couple of secondsfor the wind to subside, but it didn''t.


    "That''s enough," Porter said.


    "Sorry." Anna rushed off the platform.


    Christopher looked at me, still smiling, and spoke. "You next."


    I stepped up. Walked to the middle and turned to face them, my hands at rest hooked onthe brimof my open coat. Christopher''s smile had disappeared.


    "Tier zero," he said as he looked at me, seeming unsure.


    "Human. Yeah, I sense that too," Porter added. "Do you do anything...?"


    I didn''t think he was looking for one, but I supplied a name anyway. "Doran. And no, I''m more of a thinker, for now, I think."


    Christopher''s lack of smile had gone full blown frown.


    "Sorry to disappoint."


    Porter gave Kendall a poke, and Kendall flinched.


    "A little underwhelming," he said. "Not a lot of raw power. You''ve got a heavy, a spy and a scout, possibly, and that one. Not a lot of potential, either.It''ll be the leadership which makes this a hit or miss, Blackthorn, and that''snot promising. The underlying idea is smart. I suggest expanding your team. Christopher, verdict?"


    Hmm.


    Christopher hadgone, vanished. In any other place, one would see a bigger reaction to that kind of thing. Kendall and his crew, I included, didn''t seem to care.Porter squinted andstartedgrimacing.


    I stood around, waiting for someone to tell me to do otherwise.


    "I''m going to go, I''ll be back." Porter left a hint of urgency in his pace.


    As soon as he was out of earshot Ash asked, "I do good?"


    Kendall, focused on me and irate, "What the hell are you supposed to be?" He strode up onto the platform, his trajectory straight for my personal space. He grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me in. "Are you a student?Are you fucking with me!?"


    Kendall hadn''t conjured me, I''d already known. Now Ash would, undoubtedly.


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    Anna started forward but I put out a hand to stop her, out of Kendall''s sight."No, I honestly don''t know or care about you, Kendall.Calm down, Porter will see you. Leadership, remember." My momentary surprise subsided, and I was able to stare him down, being taller than him. I hadthis.


    He let me go with a shove.


    "Kendall, he''s still gainful," Odessa said. A connection there?


    Shut up, stop analyzing.


    Too much.


    Focus.


    I blinked a few times, found myself again, where I''d fallen away. I adjusted my coat, put my hands back where they were comfortable and occupied, clasping my Nehru jacket, thingy.


    We stood around for a second, but the uncomfortable silence was broken.


    "Are weinterrupting something?" There was a girl, short and ghost pale, with a wild mop of pitch black frizzy hair. Behind her, three tall guys in plaid and jeans, each strong faced, stood with arms crossed. Very lumberjack. Minor differences separated the lot of them, but only just. Siblings.


    "No... no." Kendall slicked back the hair that had fallen into his face. "Just me, being a leader." He glared at me.


    "Right..." she sounded doubtful. "Where''s the professor, then?"


    "Are you a disciple of Porter?" Kendallinquired.


    "Are you?" One of the guys asked. Ayes, obviously, but it meant more.


    A competitive system.Conflict abounds.


    Kendall pointed in the direction Porter had gone. The lot went brazenly over the platform, instead of circling around it. One of the broad shouldered, big guys, brushed past me, in a way that could only have been intentional. They went out of sight behind one of the stone walls.


    "They''re siblings," I said.


    "Yeah," Anna agreed. When our eyes met she still seemed concerned, as she''d been when Kendall had grabbed me. Not sure what that meant.


    This time, I noticed as the doors to the Sanctuary swung open, and people entered. Eight or so men and women in varyingly appropriate dress, for how cold it was.There was an Asian guy sportinga ponytail in the back of the crowd, with a katana at his hip, and a stern look on his face, wearing nothing but very old looking baggy pants. The rest of them were rather plain. As they flooded into the room, Kendall huddled us all back together and walked us out of the group''s path.


    These people were all students of Porter, immediate transfers. The timing of their arrival was odd, though, just as the timing of the siblings had been.


    I almost wondered if that was Aku. Subtle design.


    "Can you do this, Kendall?" Odessa asked, her voice low. I detected an accent, a lilt of proper old English when she spoke.


    "Yes... Yes," he said it again, more firmly. "We can, but only together. I need you to forget... forget about what happened, Odessa. I''m sorry about that. But we''ve got to." She cut her eyes down, baring her teeth again. "Ash?"


    "I''m in this for myself, man, you just happen to get in on that. You don''t needaworry, Kenny, I''m with you," Ashes said, actually serious.


    I could see how he played, tactically. Surprisingly, I was actually liking him.


    Kendall put a hand on Anna''s shoulder. "We''re gonna work on finding your strength... Anna." He''d almost forgottenit. "And you,Doran,are going to make yourself useful, somehow. Or there''s no point in keeping you around."


    "You don''t know me..." I said. I looked at the ground, thinking long and hard for a moment, clearing my thoughts and letting go. "I''m smart,and I''m focused. I feel light and weak. But wisdom... wisdom can solve any problem, I believe that. Believe that I can do whatever I set my mind to. And I couldbe human, apparently, but so are you, Kendall. So is Porter. And me, I''m just getting started, and there''s a lot to accomplish. I don''t know where I''m going. Things are confusing, fuzzy, and chaotic. But I''m alivenow, I know that, and not a lot else. And I''ll stay free, too. I won''t allow myself to fail. You''ve got my loyalty, Kendall."


    "Mhmm. We''re a team then," Kendall said. "Me and mymotley crew."


    "Oh, I''m doctor Feel-Good!" Ash exclaimed.


    "I don''t get it," Anna said.


    Kendall seconded,saying, "yeah, nobody ever does, Ashmedai."


    Odessa threw her sword over her shoulder and I bent back as it swung past my head. "Classes beginon the morrow, Kendall. Let''s not mingle, let''s return."


    "Come on everyone."


    "You''re all faggots," Ashesaccused us.


    I didn''t know these people, but I was starting to understand them. I could manipulate them if I wanted to. I could make this happen.


    Hubris. Humility is your friend.


    Right. Sure. Playing it safe.


    I couldn''t help a little devious smile, asI went on my way with the others.

 Motley 1.04-1

    Kendall had sealed us in. Upon entering my enclosure, the fourth wall had appeared, blocking me off from leaving.


    I could only wonder if it was real. Or, if it was a construct.


    I''d summoned up a lamp and stacks of books from Aku. I had information I needed to catch up on. It''d been a number of hours already, and I''d devoured several of the texts. My eyes danced over the page of an encyclopedia, studying up on Utopian history.


    The Utopian civ formed of the late twenty-first century with a grass rootschange in perception. There were one or two early proponents, great thinkers which led the change. In time, the obvious superiority of Utopian thinking subsumed all the religious and irreligious. Wars were short-lived, led mostly by civilian forces against ''tyrants''.


    Difficult times followed. Segregation, cultures died off, hard bargains were struck... birth control or starve in some cases. The poor, the volatile, and the broken were allowed to die, denied anything more than a solemn burial. Socialism ensued. Scientific thought expanded, turned inward instead of outward into the stars. Walls were broken down, big thinking leads to bigger paths. Que the open Omniverse, then the Eidolons.


    The year is now twenty-three, eighty-four.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    It didn''t say that.


    There was a faint knocking coming from my bathroom.


    I went in and closed the door behind me. I slid in between the toilet and the sink, pressing my ear against the wall.


    Knock! Knock! Knock!


    Bad timing on my part, I jerked backand pressed a hand to my ear. I knocked twice in return. The wall was unexpectedly thin, I found.


    "Hello?" A quiet voice came through.


    "Doran here, to whom am I speaking?" I asked.


    "It''s Anna. Sorry to disturb you... I just..." She trailed off.


    "It''s no disturbance. I can only take so much reading."


    "Oh, good. So what''re you... oh. Reading?"


    "Getting a better grasp on the situation. Did you know the Guilds are exclusively allowed to give outImmortality, which is withheld from the masses?"


    "Uh, yeah. I-" her sarcasm made her voice drop a little and I lost it through the wall. Wasn''t super important, I was guessing.


    "Right," I said. "Well, it''s all so verypractical. Focused on abstractvalues and concretelogic. Minimizing everythingbad, maximizing everything good. Ninety percent of the population is happy, which is actually a statistic they religiously track, here."


    "Again, I was born here." Ah.


    "Well then. What are you doing?"


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    "Pacing. Looking out my window. Which I don''t even think is connected to a camera. I think it''s a program... Yeah. Heh. God, I''m going out of my mind."


    "Mm. Well, stop."


    "What?"


    "Stop stressing."


    "Yeah, I''ll just do that."


    "You will. You''ll gain control, or you''ll remain out of control."


    "That''s... I don''t even know."


    "You just have to stop caring so much. Free yourself, let go ofwhat you don''t truly love. Identify your goals, even if they seem impossible, and then identify a path. Follow the path, and your confidence will help your ability. If your nature requires freedom, I''m thinking, you could always try astral... Anna?" I knocked twice. "You left."


    Well. That was informative... but... my head.


    I couldn''t go back to reading, after that. I leaned back onto the soft white floor and let out my dreads. I rubbed my face and closed my eyes.


    You''re off track, I voice in the recesses of my mindsaid. Collect yourself.


    I needed to keep my bearings and formulate a path to more control. This situation wasn''t ideal, what with Kendall in charge and all. I could only do so much with subtlety.


    All good and evil are dictated by values, a plan by its end goal. What is yourwant?


    I didn''t know. Only a knot in the pit of my stomach replied.


    Then you''re small and will remain small.


    Somehow, I just didn''t care. I was alive, that was all that mattered.


    I slept and was awoken by the rush of air as my cell opened.


    Sitting up, I collected myself by binding my hair back and fixing where my pants had tried to ride up in my sleep. As I did so, Odessa passed my enclosure, her sword screeching alongthe tile as she went. She continued to ignore me, as she''d done since we''d met.


    I hopped up and went into the common area, where Odessa was getting something out of a metal box, and Ashmedai was sitting on the furthermost couch in nothing but stained bedsheets. He nodded at me.


    "Mornin'' mah nigga," he called, not taking his eyes off the tv as he did.


    I grunted in reply, coming to sit on the opposite end of his couch, in front of the tv. There was porn playing on it. I turned to look at Ash, who smiled without unsticking his eyes. In the corner of my vision, Odessa was coming out of the kitchen, I looked to see her eyes widen for a fraction of a secondas she neared us. Ash had changed the video the instant she had turned, giving her an uncomprehending glimpse of a screen filled with flesh.She was left baffled.


    There was a Utopian Council meeting on the tv now.


    Odessa had a bowl of something soupy, in her unoccupied hand, which was steaming. Kendall was coming out of his room looking groomed, unlike the rest of us. He went to the kitchen and fiddled with the metal box as well. He came over and sat down with cereal. I knew what was happening here.


    I got up and went over to the box. There wasadisplay on one side, and a door handle next to it, like a microwave. I punched in ''oatmeal''. A dozen different descriptives came up on the screen, and options about how it was prepared. Made with milk, very sweet, medium texture. ''Done'', it said.


    I found myself getting really excited. Food. Food was amazing.I hadn''t eaten up til now. There was something special about my first pleasure, like that. Like I''d been living in abnegation until now.


    Opening the door, I withdrew a warm bowl filled with perfect oatmeal. Even with a spoon in it. I outfitted a mouthful onto the utensil but had to stop as Kendall snapped his fingers and forced my attention.


    Irritating as it was the last time.


    He had his phone in hand. "Porter''s not doing a schedule."


    "What?" Anna said, just now coming into the room.


    Oh, come on. Kendall had startedtowardthe hall. "The guy''s insane, he''s posted that today''s lesson is at six. We''re forty minutes late."


    Kendall strode past Anna who confusedly turned around and followed. Ash begrudgingly got up and had somehow gotten dressed when I hadn''t been looking. Odessa, who looked like she''d slept in her day clothes like me, followed as well. I went with, and we all marched out into the pitch black cold.

 Motley 1.04-2

    The doors swung open and we found Porter down in the amphitheater. There wasoneof his other Disciples present.The Samurai.


    "Good morning," Kendall said before Porter could berate him for being late. The Siblings, and most other students for that matter weren''t here, though.


    "The day''s practically half over," Porter joked. He was in a good mood. "You should get up earlier, like... what did you say your name was again?"


    "I am calledHasami, Sensei," the Samurai said. Scissor.


    Porter grinned. "Sounds promising." Strong Attunement, hecould sense meanings behind words. A makeshifttranslative ability. I knew that. "Come sit, Kendall."


    We all took our seats in a spaced out cluster, off to one side.


    "You probably noticed that Aku didn''t wake you up for class," Porter said.


    "Yeah."


    "My orders. First thing everyone does when they get up is check their messages. I wanted to get to know my Disciples, starting with how lazy they are. You didn''t do too bad, I''m still waiting on Miss Beaulieu and her brothers. But in the meantime, I''m sharing wisdom."


    "Can I ask a question then?" Kendall said.


    "You may."


    "Right. Um, what''s your teaching philosophy?"


    "At this level, I won''t be teaching you. I believe that for someone to truly learn, they have to want to enough to teach themselves. Sort of the Utopian school code. The material is out there, it''s the twenty-fourth century. My job is not to teach, it''s to test."


    "What exactly does that mean?"


    "It means many will knock, but few will enter into the doors of greatness by their own power," I said, jumping in.


    "Ooo," Ash cooed.


    Porter pointed at me, then to Kendall. "It''s your job, in the end, to become great. You know why that is?"


    Hedidn''t answer.


    "Because men can kill gods. It''s our versatility, our mind, that we conquer truthby," I said. "Aku is a machine, we are men. You want us to be able to hold our own against gods."


    "Mm," Porter said. "So yourmain exercises will be functional."


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    Hasami had his hand raised, Porter gestured for him to go.


    "When do we begin?"


    "We''ve got two disciplespresent, Hasami and Kendall, so we can start now actually. One meant I''d''ve had to explain again, maybe. Now one of you gets to fill in the Beaulieu''s." He headed up the steps. "The point of this place is wisdom. That''s true magic''s fuel. So I expect you two can figure out what comes next. Practical training. Today we''re doing nothing but combat calibration." He grimaced. At me. "And talent assessment, I suppose."


    Things were falling into place for me, I could see the path Porter wanted to take. Why he wanted it. Ultimately this was about him, and he could have taught, but he didn''t want to. He was a fiery crucible,intentionally unhelpful.


    There was interconnectedness, though. Everything was entangled, causally, and that meant that morally, there were some terrifying implications to grapple with. I could see the point of the Eidolons as I''d been reading about them the night prior. It was conflicting, though, the whole Peace or Die thing.


    I was digressing.


    God''s tapestry is not straightly woven. It''s never so simple.


    Porter, despite what he conveyed, was part of the bigger picture. There was undue weight to the world around me. Bigger things were brewing.


    We all stood and went up to the platform, where Porter had gone. Hasami asked if he might go first, and Porter said yes. Once on the platform, a shimmering distortion crashed down a force field and locked away the platform.


    A wireframe man manifested, the barest minimum of a physical simulation opponent.


    The wireframe man had a wireframe sword, and he got into a stance with computer-like accuracy. It occurred to me that if Aku wanted, the opponent could be unbeatable, with the kind of mind behind it.


    Hasami charged forward and so did the wireframe man. At the moment, they clashed blades, something confusing happened. Several things simultaneously, actually.And when the weirdness had subsided, in the blink of an eye, the Wireman was in pieces. Hasami had made multiple strikes at once, and the results had compounded.


    Powerful. I had to wonder if there was a ceiling to what he could do with that.


    He gracefully sheathed his katanaand turned back to face everyone.


    It was too specific an ability to be done with Attunement. Ceremony, complexity rather, had to be involved. I had looked for a rune on the blade but failed to see one. Maybe a very specific meditation, or metaphysical focus. Choice? That''d be interesting.


    Porter spoke and pulled me from my wonderment. "The circle is equipped with a protection seal, nothing can die inside it. I expect you to find a challenge in the future, using this ring."


    "Yes, Sensei."


    "Right. Blackthorn, are you at all planning to develop your own offensive abilities?"


    "I use a deck of runes, pretty highly developed. Prefab spells."


    "Use the range then to practice. Pick a gun. I can''t tell you how many magus I''ve seen die because the thing trying to kill them simply resorts to brute force. Protection spells almost always falter when things get physical. Put yourgame face on! I want you to try, and you betterfail, to find their limits." Porter swiveled and then walked off, waving a hand behind him as he went. "Have fun with it."


    "Oh, he''s leaving," Anna observed.


    "Heiya!" Hasami yelled as he obliterated a larger, more defined, simulation while we''d been watching Porter walk off.


    The Siblings came through the doors and were looking around.


    "Where''s Porter?" The dark haired girl asked.


    "You just missed him," Ashes snidely said.


    "Fuck!" She swore.


    "And hey, nice ass," he added. I was surprised that hewas this willing to cause problems, this destructive. Predictably, all four of them started towards us, intent to vent their frustration.


    And here we go.

 Motley 1.05-1

    The Siblings, orBeaulieu''s, were marching towards us five. Kendall wasup.


    "He''s yours right?" One of the brothers asked.


    "I don''t take credit for his idiocy, no," Kendall said.


    This is odd. They''d arrived just moments too late, and now this was happening. Where was the subtle design... or was it staring me in the face?


    "He''s your summon, your responsibility!" One of the other brothers cut in.


    "He''s not a summon," Kendall replied condescendingly.


    The single sister held up her hand, and the brothers backed off, one with a grin. She spoke. "You and me are the only serious applicants, everybody else talented has a Master."


    "Hey!" Hasami protested, half paying attention while he fought multiple programs.


    She continued. "Let''s get it on the record, right now, who''s got a better team. That should clear some shit up in thisdynamic. Help you understand some inevitable stuff."


    This could have been considered inevitable.


    A dare. Sacrifice face, or take a risk of losing it all.I didn''tknowwhat theBeaulieu''s did, but I had the feeling it was something strong. Her brothers were her weapons of choice, she, the blacksmith.


    "We can take them," Odessa said, low and dangerous. One of them scoffed.


    "We''re not going to beat them just yet. Our teams haven''t gotten acquainted," Kendall concluded. "But you, Catherine, and me, we''re Magi. I could easily take you."


    "It''s Cat, bitch, and you''re on," shesaid.


    "By the gods..." Odessa swore, walkingoff. Odd.


    Hasami, dabs of sweat on his brow, stepped off the pedestal and threw up his arms. "Have at it, children," he said.


    Seconds passed, and Kendall faced off against Cat, occupying opposite ends of the circle. The field dropped, and three tones slowly sounded.


    As a bystander, this was disconcerting. But it was none of my concern. Unless Kendall had his ass handed to him. He needed to win.


    One, two... three.Fight.


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    Kendall ripped out two cards instantly, sending them twirling out. The first one stopped dead in its tracks in front of him, and the second one spun on and towards Cat. She, reaching behind her back, exploded in a fiery ball of death which consumed the entirety of the domed platform. As the violent fires witheredaway, Kendall emerged unhurt from behind the barrier of his first card. He tread forward and swiftly curb stomped the burning, thrashing, screaming, girl. Her brothers gasped in horror.


    Fast and brutal.


    There was a blip, and Both Kendall and Cat stood where and as they had been before the fight has started. Kendall stepped down, seeming somewhat shaken. Cat was stuck in a horrified daze, not yet having overcome it enough to move.


    "Easily," Kendall reiterated, though lacking confidence in his tone.


    He played her. Whatever she was capable of, Kendall had known, just as he''d known her name. She hadn''t known him, had underestimated him. Odessa had taken offense at that, apparently; Kendall fighting unfairly.


    "Disappointing, Miss Beaulieu." Porter''s voice swept through the room. Right on cue.


    Subtle design. He had pitted usagainst each other. Porter had manipulative ability. Though I was willing to bet he hadn''t expected Kendall to play the situation so well.


    I got the feeling that the three brothers would have decimated us, had things gone as Porter had planned. But Kendall had known that. Excellent.


    Win.


    Catherine finally snapped out of it enough to run at Kendall and tackle him to the ground. Her brothers rushed forward. I maneuvered to the back of the group easily enough, just as the first brother grabbed Ashes. Ash, looking almost slippery, duckedfree and camearound the brother to hold a knife tohis neck.Odessa stepped out from behind a partition to level her ridiculous sword at one of the other brothers. The final one was sent rollingby a current of wind which looked nearly solid, as Anna held out her hand.


    I turned and with my foot kickedCat off of Kendall, whom she''d held down and thoroughly beaten with her bare hands. He stood shakily and wiped the blood from his nose.


    "Less disappointing, but don''t do that again." I looked up and the silhouette of Porter could be seen through the glass of his overlook, leaning forward against it with one arm.


    "Children," Hasami said once more. He threw his towel over his shoulder and walked out into the cold, barechested as he had been.


    Everyone stayed as they were for a few silent moments. Ash was the first to disengage, stepping carefully away, followed by Odessa, who let her sword''s tip dropto the ground. I gave Anna a thumbs up, who looked extremely pleased with herself.


    Kendall stumbled over to a chair and sorted through the pocket of his vest, pulling out a card and holding it to his forehead.


    Catherine walked off without another word, and her brothers followed after her.


    "Kings of the hill," Ashes said. "You''re welcome." He grinned at me.


    "Well done." Ipointedat him.


    "I thought I diffused that as well as we could hope," Kendall said, grabbing the compliment. His blood and swelling were clearing up quickly with whatever he was doing. "I looked at her records last night after we met. ''Cause she''s right, I and she are pretty much it. The Samurai''s not going to make the cut, I don''t think. She Imbues people, namely her brothers. We wouldn''t have been able to take them."


    "Mm, well done," I said, to Kendall this time.


    "Oh shut up. I don''t need your approval."


    Don''t care.


    "The, Don''t Stand a ChanceStudents, won''t be up for another few hours. We''ve got the run of the place," Ash smiled wickedly


    Kendall was up now, fully healed. "Everybody get to it then."

 Motley 1.05-2

    I sat across from a very still Android, which patiently waited for my move. I picked up my knight and moved him accordingly. "Check," I said. The Android moved their piece.


    Odessa was in the ring, and she had gotten smaller. Which was bizarre looking. Space had expanded inside the circle, and that had resulted in it appearing compacted. She was fighting asimulated creature, which loped around behind simulated barriers, avoiding her. Much to her annoyance, it sounded like.


    "Check," Aku said. "Good game."


    "Indeed. Checkmate."


    Aku reset the board by hand, moving the intricate glass pieces back to their starting positions. "Increasing difficulty."


    "Oh boy," I said with a smile. "Should be fun."


    Has been somewhat vapid.


    While I waited, "How''s it going?" I called to Anna.


    "Meditating was going well," she replied from up on a boulder which rested in the far corner of the room. Then she added, "Do you think I could schedule a meeting with an elementalist?"


    "Dunno." I turned back to the table, "Aku?"


    Almost done setting the board, "Yes, I''ll place you on a waiting list."


    "Thank you," Anna called back.


    Aku placed the last piece, which fell over on its side as a minor eruption shook from over by the range. Kendall was working on producing more powerful spells and had managed a pretty good explosion. Aku fixed the piece and took the first move.


    I moved. "What are you doing?" I said to Ash, not looking away from the board.


    He was sitting nearby, leaning back with the front two legs of his chair off the ground. "Waiting on the ring. It''s all bullshit, though, I''m static, I don''t practice."


    "Mhmm." My game continued, I started moving my pieces faster, and Aku didn''t hesitate to pick up the pace. I sat back in my chair and stared at the Android, making move after move. Again, the game concluded. "Checkmate."


    "Increasing difficulty."


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    Porter came down the ramp from his hideaway and was walking towards the door, putting on ajacket. "It''s nine O''clock, lesson''s over. Feel free to leave whenever. I''ll see everyone tomorrow for more training and a short lecture on Metaphysics and Superweight Entities. Ciao," he said, the door closing behind him.


    Some time passed and my game ended predictably.


    I stood up and shook hands with Aku. I took up my coat from the back of my chair and donned it over my tank top.


    Kendall hadn''t told me not to, and per the contract which I remembered in entirety, I was in my right to leave. Given that I intended to come back, and it put no one in danger. I saluted Ash, who did so back and waltzed out the door.


    Kendall would be mad. I couldn''t care less.


    I closed up my coat for the mountaintop cold and found it comfortably warm for how light it was. The ever-present twilight outside resided, but as my eyes quickly adjusted,I saw Porter ahead. I ran and caught up with him.


    "Excuse me," I said.


    He turned to look, not slowing down as he did. "Oh, it''s you. Did Kendall send you? Nevermind. The answer is no."


    "Keen Attunement." I fell in step with him, walking along the paths.


    "What would you know about it? I''m still not clear on what you are. I''m just as good a classifier as anybody, better actually, and I''m not getting much of a read."


    My headache flared, and I had to close my eyes for a moment to center myself. "Christopher. You know him?"


    "Yeah...?Do you?" He asked, not having expected that.


    "No, but I was curious, after yesterday."


    "So was I, but just like me, you''ll have to settle with a no. I don''t know him. And he gives me weird reads too."


    "Mhmm." I stopped and looked up. Porter stopped too. Good, I had some sway. "This is a beautiful place. I was reading that it was founded very shortly after Magic was discovered, before the formation of the Guild even. You''re not in the Guild?"


    "No, I''m not. I''m not immortal either. Not anything but determined, really." He started walking again, and I followed. "And yes, I love it here. But there are other things I love."


    "Such as?" I tried, testing my luck.


    "You haven''t answered my question," he not only shot me down, but he glared at me.


    "I''m just me. Determination is all I''ve got to my name as well, and I''m not even sure about that."


    "Hm. Do me a favor and sod off, if you''re going to dance around the point."


    "So be it. See you tomorrow," I said.


    He stopped and grimaced at me, dissatisfied with that. He groaned and then strode off. I stayed put where he had stopped.


    I put a hand to my head and breathed deep.


    Please,the desperate thought clung to me.


    I decided to find somewhere to sit, upon the rock above the walkway. I took a run up at the cliffside and propelled myself steadily up its side, to a short ledge. There, I could wait for that sun thing I''d seen yesterday, moments after my manifestation. It might be a couple hours, but I could wait. I had some things to think about, and there was never enough time. Which was paradoxical, since, before my manifestation, all there had been was silence and time. Only me.Now, there was still only me, but there was noise to accompany my song.


    I waited for the sun, keeping a solemn mind onthe future.

 Motley 1.06

    Time had passed, since my manifestation. More days had gone by, and things were changing. I could no longer understand what I was feeling. Things changed in that they became exponentially more intricate, this only masked by the inherent enormity andcomplexity of reality.


    Rambling.


    I could feel the delicate movement of time, unreliableas it was. I was working on my Attunement. It was more aboutknowing myselfthanknowing Existence.


    Solipsism is one explanation. But the base idea is an oversimplification.As always, it seems. The mind craves simplicity. It''scomparableto peace.


    I was in my chamber, and the light was low or absent, the hour was late. I entered my bathroom to approach the sink and look in the mirror.


    Need to shave, at some point.


    I stared at myself, looking into my eyes. It was a dissociative technique, which helped in Attunement, but took a toll. Everything became distant, the more I looked into those eyes.


    I see you. But I reject you.


    It''d been a fewweeks since Kendall had put the hurt on Cat, and things had been going well enough. Physical confrontations had been avoided. Ash can be surprisingly low-key when he wants to be. Downright charming even.


    Focusing on objective truth, I tried to meditate on further information. Segue my consciousness away from sensoryreality, into pure information.


    Something is coming.


    That was disconcerting, but not unexpected.Something big was not far off, and it wasn''t just the War Games. Those would be important enough.


    It was a steady, inexorable thing, that worried me.


    Need space. Can''t sleep.


    Exiting the bathroom, I came out into the white main room. I got down and closed my eyes, pressing my forehead to the floor. It would bebackwards to say this required intense focus, but it did.There was one thing all my effort wasfocused on, and that was wisdom. With that came power. I had access to the preternatural. I had a foot in the door.


    Humans are not inherently supernatural things. We''re made of information, we think by that information, and therefore we''re beneath it.Souls, by default, are just records, metadata. They don''t make youspecial, and the only way they mean anything is when interpreted throughexternal values. The same as morality. I grasp them.It''s like a joke. You have to have magic, to get it. You need administrative status, a red pill, to circumvent the naturalism of reality. Its substance is a different thing entirely. A pure causality, within a sort of Platonic space.


    Sometimes magic is given by deities. Sometimes it''s made possible by cosmological constants, put in place by Eldritch things. And sometimes it''s inaccessible, a fiction, in places which sought outtechnology. Ultimately though there''s just onequestion. That same bitch of a question. The one which everything comes down to.


    Wherefore?


    I grimaced. The unexamined life is not worth living, sothe saying goes. It doesn''t warn youwhatexamining your worthwillyield.


    For all this understanding, I had gained something.


    Shifting my mind, it was possible, with time, to view a place out of sight.


    O


    I smashed my fist into the punching bag and felt the recoil through my arm. Twisting, I hit the rebounding bag with an elbow, keeping it bouncing back and forth, swinging it more than I was supposed to, just for the fun of it.


    Couldn''t sleep.Neither could the only other occupant of the gym, I supposed.


    He was free lifting weights, and as he rosewith a grunt, he exacerbated the aberrant trait about him. He had no eyelids.


    A Revenant, my insighttold me.Powerful, and incidentally, abominable.


    He was staring at me, and I gave a smile, then taking a breather. The lighting was shady in the gym, keeping with the nighttime atmosphere. I wasn''t anywhere near Porter''s Sanctuary but instead was far below in the rock somewhere. The gym was seldom visited, apparently, the acolytes were mostly erudite, less interested in the body.


    Well, at least when it''s two in the morning, they were.


    A door swung open, out of sight, and slammed.


    "You," Kendall called, from across the room.


    "Me?" I said, without looking. I took a swig of water, and then watched him approach, from where I sat on a bench. I threw my coat over my shoulder.


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    "Meeeeee?" Asked the Eyelidless man, with his long stringy hair, drawingout the word. "I''ve seen what the waking mind sleeps to forget, I am-" I tuned out his monologue as Kendall struck a hands on hips pose right over me.


    "You need to stop escaping your enclosure, this is becoming obnoxious."


    "That part of it is humorous but unintentional," I said, "and you should have a reason, or precedent, for a long term order like that. Should''ve been in the contract, if you cared that much."


    Liddy was still talking, low and ominously in the background. I was half paying attention. Something about a sacred darkness, hell, and the oncoming night.


    "You need to respect me and my wishes, that''s in the contract."


    "Per the order of importance, which I liked, by the way, I get to prioritize lives over that command. I''m working out, that could save lives one day."


    "You''re just coming up with any and every excuse, Doran."


    "Yes, because I''m not some spirit or thing, I''m a sentient human being and I go where I damn well please," I said, suddenly changing my demeanor.


    Kendall recovered fast. "You''re mine, is what you are."


    "Just like Odessa?" I said.


    He didn''t recover from that.


    I rubbed a hand over my face, thinking while I had time.


    I need ashave.


    "Why don''t you just speak your mind, Kendall? We both know your reasoning. He''s on both of our minds. Mine, increasingly." I raised my brow to look up and meet his eyes.


    "Christopher conjuredyou, and I can''t haveanyone to finding out. I''d be expelledor exiled. You need to stop fucking around and making a show of yourself. The more attention you get, the closer someone is to asking questions." I looked and Lidless was gone. Kendall had apparently noticed and I hadn''t, which was... disturbing, to say the least. "You''re pushing the line, constantly, and it shows."


    "I uh... I apologize."


    "You do?"


    "Yeah. I''m just as lost in this situation as you are. And even though it may seem like I''m withholding information, I''m really not," I said. "I''ll stop wandering at night, and after classes. Not beyond the Sanctuary, anyway. You''ve got to stop locking me in, though."


    "I''ll take that deal. You can understand why I wouldn''t offer the same to Ashmedai, though, or Anna. Flight risks, even with their contracts."


    "Untrustworthy and unstable. Yes..."


    Kendall put his hands in his vest pockets and shifted his weight. "You need to pick a weapon for the War Games," he said, after a while.


    "I agree. I''m thinking of picking an implement."


    "You practice magic?" He was almost upset.


    "Kind of. I''ve been working on orienting myself with Attunement, getting ready to actually cast something. But, whenever I get close, I shy away from picking achanneling device. I''m more of a hands-free kind of guy. Can''t see myself with a wand or weapon. There''s a different method, which I''m moving towards."


    "Don''t you dare attempt anything in the field, Doran. You''ll be going up against educated Battlemages, and they''ll outmatch you."


    I hung my head and nodded, all the while smiling out of sight. "I won''t."


    "Good. Pick a weapon. The Tech Guild willruin anything too advanced, so be wary of that.Don''t use anything connected to a signal."


    "I''m aware, I''ve read the info. Every Guild will be involved in the War Games, and even though it''s volunteer based for those not in the Eidolons, almost no one misses. It''s obligatory. A cultural pillar. It''s about Unity."


    "Mhm."


    "Mhm," I echoed.


    Kendall seemed to think for a moment. "We''re so gonna die."


    "Probably," I agreedwith alaugh.


    Then, "...what''d you mea-." He reconsidered. "You know, Doran, magic isn''t something to fuckaround with. Especially for... people in abnormal states. Can you tell me you know what you''re doing?"


    "The shadow in the light isunseen but does notcease. All things are. Magic is simply the power to choose which are known."


    This was my interest. It''d been about a month, and I''d done next to nothing but think. There was too much to learn. Everything necessitated reflection.


    Kendall thought about that. He opened his mouth to speak but then shut it."That sounds heady, but doesn''t say a lot to the practical nature of the craft."


    Eh."It''s different wherever you are. I could say the language is information, but that''s not very helpful, now is it. The general principle is cause and effect. One needs sway, abstract cause, and reason."


    "That''s still lacking substance. What you''re describing is Mana, to a degree. But the philosophy is unnecessary."


    Pffffffffffffffft.


    "Anyone can learn the systems. Yours is based in procedure, and intent. Which is why, when dealing with more concrete entities, like Odessa, Anna, and myself, your contracts fall prey to interpretation. But with Ash, a spiritual thing, your intent is as clear as your wordage. Willful ignorance is not within his power."


    Kendall wrinkled his brow. "Each is their own. No contract can change that."


    "The contract harnesses."


    "Yeah?"


    "It, like everything, though, is limited. Purpose of want and want is a trick."


    "I''m in control," Kendall assured. "Your purposes are my purposes."


    Our relationship was built on mutually assured destruction.Which was awkward, to say the least.The common understanding was to fear one another, but we were both too convinced of ourselvesto do that. I, of my intelligence, and him, of the knowledge that no bound thingwas beyond his power.


    I didn''t underestimate him, though.


    We exchanged a wordless goodbye, and I went on my way. Exiting the gym, I walked through tunnels, passing a restroom, and a lounge.


    My intent had been to get space, to think, but just like sleep, it was difficult.


    Walking the halls, I considered the oncoming battle. The War Games. They were a defining moment, a turning point. The way they went would determine the future as every moment did. Special relevance, though, was given to them.


    Two sides, one winner. I couldn''t say if the wind was in my favor.


    But I was growing, and that was what mattered. I had an obligation, and a moral imperative. I believed in those things. Not just gain.


    There were ideals, and beyond the quibbling, they were clear. There were truths, and beyond the doubt, they were obvious. But there was an achethere.


    I crossed a threshold and came outside.


    Brr. Frail. The noise is muddling. The noise is yours.


    Doubt.


    I shook my head and pulled on my jacket. Got going to where I would.

 Motley 1.07

    I had onthe same utilitarian outfit that Aku had given me. All black, a coat and pants, utterly minimalist. My coat was closed up, and everything was fitted. All five of us were headed out the door, and getting ready as we went.


    Odessa had her hair in braids, so it¡¯d be out of the way, and she, as always, was hauling her blade. But instead of her leathers, she was carrying herself in full shining knight¡¯s armor, with her helmet under her arm. It enlarged her profile significantly. Ash was in the same dirty clothes and dark leather jacket, which I¡¯d learned by now, was entirely by design. But Anna, Anna had changed her getup. She was dressed in loose white robes, over a white jumpsuit. The jumpsuit was skin tight, and I''d learned it was Utopian design. A second skin of considerable durability. Her hair had become paler and was knotted above her head. The ugly pinkscar on her face and neck only stood out all the more for her colorless appearance. Kendall wore slacks and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, as always. But instead of a vest, he had donneda shimmeringgreen, engraved, metal breastplate. It covered his torso and gleamed. He stood straight, and his presence could be felt.


    The engravings were enchantments, for protection, I sensed. From Anna there was a lot of trepidation. From Odessa, always tense. And Ash? Yeah, no.


    We were standing around in the kitchen, while Kendall was working on his phone. Anna and Ash were having an animated conversation, getting along surprisingly well while they waited. Odessa was quiet, as was I. Kendall was working on the signup information, for the event, dictating to Aku.


    It was almost time to head out the door, and I was really feeling the excitement from Anna and Ash, who were discussing the upcoming battle.


    ¡°You two seem ready to go,¡± I jumped in.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Anna replied, ¡°I watch the War Games every year. All threeguilds simulating a civil war, to reaffirm the unbreakableUtopian culture. We¡¯re on the Anarchists side, which I wouldn¡¯t have picked¡­ butPorter chose it.To keep the game balanced, you know. It actually means we¡¯re thought of as more powerful than average since we¡¯re on the far outnumbered side. You get how that works, you''re all thinky.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I have a reputation now?¡± I joked. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been trying to read up on it as much as I could, but I¡¯m still not sure how we win?¡° Or if we could.


    ¡°The Anarchists don¡¯t. Basically, we¡¯re all going to die!¡± Ashes beamed at the thought. ¡°Done this before, last year, and we were Utopians. I got to play spy, and the Anarchists were soooo muchfunner. Up until they shot me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s against the spirit of the games for the Anarchists to win, which is why they¡¯re generally pretty chill, and the Utopianstryhards. It¡¯s not a rule, but it almost always happens. This year the Anarchists don¡¯t have Wulff¡¯s department ortheTechnicists. So it¡¯ll be an interesting game for us,¡± Anna said.


    ¡°They¡¯ve got Porter and his Disciples, us,¡± I reminded.


    ¡°Yeah, but Porter isn¡¯t playing ground control, unfortunately. He¡¯ll bespectatingwith our Ethicist Guild members, up in orbital command.¡±


    ¡°What do they do again?¡± Ash sarcastically remarked.


    ¡°They debate¡­ with the other team¡¯s Ethicists. While we kill each other,¡± Anna replied. I laughed, Ash guffawed, and Odessa chuckled. She was keeping her distance, but I was pleased to know she wasn''t ignoring us entirely.


    She almost wants to be closer.


    ¡°Gotta love the Philosopher¡¯s Guild,¡± I said.


    ¡°They¡¯re one of three¡­ Eh, they¡¯re alright. I¡¯ve got a cousin in there, he¡¯s thinky too. He once came to Christmas dinner in these big flowing ceremonial robes. And! And my dad asked him-¡± she suddenly trailed off, lost with the thought. I hadn¡¯t asked her yet, but Iunderstood that she had trauma in her past. Scars.


    ¡°The hour, Kendall?¡± Odessa asked, changing the subject.


    ¡°The timeis ten till nine, and I¡¯ve just confirmed us and read up on the necessary info. We¡¯ll need to pick up earpieces when we report to Porter, don¡¯t forget.¡± He pointed at the door, and everyone understood.


    We trailed out into the windy cold mountainside, dusky as it always was, and came up and around to the Sanctuary. Inside I could see that Porter was standing on the platform, with Disciples around him. We came through the doors. There were others, strangers, entering to witness this. Porter had one of the smaller student bases, being a relatively new Professor. I''d come to recognize most of his students. There was the triumvirate of Kendall, Hasami, and Catherine, and then there were ten others. Easily forgotten faces. Unexceptional individuals. Battlemages.


    Nothing against Battlemages personally. Hasami is one. But he is exceptional.


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    I had seen before that most of Porter''s students had been dressed in plain clothes, with age ranges between twenty and thirty-five, if I remembered correctly. Now no one was without an oddity or two. Everyone was wearing their fullcombat gear, except me, it seemed, as a minimalist. They were all prepared.


    Porter was waiting for everyone to settle down, and Kendall led us over to the gun range, where equipment was laid out on steel tables. I grabbed one of the earpieces, and while Kendall was spraying himself with a can of force-field, for extra measure, I went over to the lockers.


    ¡°You have it to my specifications Aku?¡± I asked, touching my thumb to the locker door and watching it slide down into the floor.


    ¡°Yes, and with an added object I thought you might appreciate.¡±


    Inside the locker was my requested weapon, which I¡¯d had to wait for a turn on the matter printer acquire. It was gun, a rifle rather, meant to dish out carnage in a pinch. But beside it was something else, a folded piece of black fabric. I pulled it out and let it unfurl.


    ¡°A cloak?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes. I thought you needed a little something more, to complete the ensemble.¡±


    ¡°Aww, thank you.¡± I shook it once and flipped it around my shoulder. It automatically attached in the front. A hooded, sleeveless cloak. ¡°Is thisutilitarian like my other clothes are?¡±


    ¡°That it is.¡±


    Excellent.


    I returned to the group, where they were standing around the platform, and showed my gun off to Ash.


    ¡°It¡¯s bitchin'', hombre,¡± Ash smirked.


    It wasspacey,ergonomic, and very shiny.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m pleased.¡±


    Kendall shushed us, as Porter started to speak.


    ¡°We¡¯re all gathered today for the War Games. You, my students, represent the best of the best of our society. There are many Utopian worlds, trillions of people even, but only one Monastery, and only one of each of you. Some of you are in the Guild, some of you aren¡¯t, I am not, but I''m one of the best. So don¡¯t let that hold you back.Although I won¡¯t be following you into battle, I will be with you in spirit. This is our chance to make a name for ourselves. Uhh¡­¡± Porter seemed to be at a loss for words, momentarily. Then, with resolve he continued. ¡°There will be Masters in the field, but I¡¯m confident you all are capable, more capable, than any other group. Because I¡¯m going topush you to be¡­ Now, if you¡¯ll follow me¡­¡± Porter swept his hand out towards those vault doors at the back of the sanctuary. With apowerful mechanicalthwump, the doors unlocked, parting.


    A violent field of lights behind the door coalesced into a quickly sharpening image and then snapped into coherence. It was a portal.


    Porter led the way of his Disciples into the breach.Once through, I could see it in full. A supermassive shipbay, brimming with strange sorcerersand machines. People grouped together, and you could usually tell who the professors were, at the forefronts of the packs. There were easily some several hundredpeople, each in slightly odd or utterly whimsical appearance. There was, beyond the throng, a stage. On this stage stood fourteenindividuals.


    First were the Technicists, obvious by their transhumanist appearances and surrounding machinery. There were six of them. There was the Abbot. Then there were the six original Eidolons, from the earliest days of the program. Finally a lone woman in councilmember robes. A Zenith Council member, if I recalledcorrectly.


    ¡°Who are all these people?¡± I asked Kendall.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t this many specialists if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering.Wars need numbers. A lot ofthese people are just cookie cutter magus, who attend online courses. Not Guild worthy.¡±


    The councilwoman was making an announcement, commemorating the event and talking about its meaning to the Utopian cause.


    An annual demonstration that all uprising are lost causes, I thought.


    Then, she called out, ¡°The War Games.These, the eighty-second War Games, will be between the ideological groupings, Utopian, and Anarchist. Thanks to all the volunteers who chose to participate, and thanks to our heroes and example makers, the Eidolons, both new and old.¡± She gestured to those on the stage than those in the crowd. ¡°Also, special thanks to the Technicists guild, which has, for the fifth year in a row, presented themselves in full. Now, Aku will brief you, and thenwe¡¯ll close with a blessing.¡±


    Aku¡¯s voice emanated from the air. ¡°Utopians!¡± There was an uproarious cheer. ¡°Anarchists!¡± There was whooping and hollering. ¡°Your Professors will issue commands, and I will manage individuals, answering any questions you have in the field. Once the cannon has fired, you will receive your team¡¯s game objective, and combat will be allowed. I will be observing via your earpieces and orbital spytech system. Anyone may request a teleport out at any time, butdo not remove your earpieces. Anarchists, report to the leftward gate, Utopians, go right. But first, the blessing.¡±


    An elderly man stepped up onto the stage and spread out his arms, yelling, ¡°let there be no true harm here today, and if harm is dealt, bring bodies and souls to safety, back in these halls! In the name of God¡­¡± Everyone shouted an amen, with only a few mumbles. I could feel the magic fall into place, and was impressed at the strength of the spell. They were appealing to the strongest force in reality, successfully.


    God still couldn¡¯t be felt, though, just the spell.


    We broke off after that and headed for the left gate. Through it, a white haze too thick to pierce with the eyes was all there was.I couldn¡¯t know what lay ahead.


    I haven¡¯t seen daylight yet, haven¡¯t felt its warmth,I lamented.


    Porter stopped us, though, just short, and we waited for him to say why before we could move on. He spoke quickly, like from memory.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be with youbecause this is for you to do. Today, I¡¯m going to see who¡¯s worthy.Today, there will be no one to guide you. Today, it¡¯ll be one of you to overcome, just as I did, the last time the Anarchists won. The only time they have. Do this, or don¡¯t return to my Sanctuary. You''re on your own.¡± He removedhis earpiece, casting it off, us moving asidefor him to walk straight through our group, and away.


    Porter was gone. His Disciples were in disarray.


    I adjusted my gun and analyzed the people moving past us. Looked back to those on the stage. To the few giants which towered above the crowds. All the oddities. Then back to Porter''s panicked Disciples, who were supposed to be the best our team had to offer.


    Anarchy within the Anarchists. Huh.


    I smiled wide.Let the games begin.

 Motley 1.08-1

    Kendall''s immediate peers, Hasami and the Beaulieu''sdiscounted, broke out into a frantic discussion, leaving the three of them asthe only ones actually attempting to strategize. Other groups on the Anarchist''s side were simply walking past and onto the battlefield.


    Wasn''t that surprising of a move to make, for Porter, I thought.


    "Bye Kendall," I said, not loud enough for him to hear. He was arguing with Catherine now, and her brothers were making it hard for him to speak.


    Ash, Odessa, and Anna followed with me as I joined the crowd. Stepping off the ramp and through the giant gateway, my feet touched down on soft grassy ground, and the environment became immediately apparent.


    "It''s Earth," Anna said. "A replica. I''ve even... I think I''ve been here. This is the lower city, not far from where I live..."


    The Anarchists were pouring out into a large park, with fog thick as molasses gathered around us. I could see the outline of a swing set in the distance.


    "Let''s walk and talk," I said. "What is there to know about this place."


    "Well, it''s the Utopian homeworld, Earth One. I was privileged to live here... The uh, the map should only be one sectioned off city, the capital and empty landscape outside. The city ispretty much an onion, with layers, of residential areas, recreational areas, and shopping places. With some really scary droid tunnels, and some government buildings. Power should be offline, you know, because it''s pretty much common sense that the Anarchists would need to disable robotics to have a prayer of winning."


    We''d arrived. I sat down and started swinging.


    "Pfft," Ash said, "I can swing higher than that. I''m a natural-born swinger."


    Odessa was the only one left standing, in her enormous armor, when Anna grabbed a swing as well. We three creaked as we went.


    "Goddammit," Ash said when Anna started swinging atthe horizontal. We carried on for a couple minutes like that, arching at random.


    I swung higher and jumped off, landed on my feet. Ash followed suit and stuck the landing. Anna tried, flew fifteen feet and landed on her feet, but stumbled into a fall. Ash snickered.


    "Guys!" Kendall called. I waved him over because we were no doubtsilhouettes in the fog to him. He jogged up and looked at Anna, who was getting up with a groan. "The objectives are in from orbital. We''ve got more time to set up because the story is that the Anarchists are making a surprise attack. There''re a few people already in place, who would have been in the city anyway, like theSentinel."


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    "I know that guy..." Anna ominously murmured.


    "Anyway, our goals are to take important hostages, blow thingsup, and kill everyone that tries to stop us. The Utopians aresupposed totry and avoidkilling, and secure the city. It''s a war, so there really aren''t any clear-cut goals besides win. And generally, youknow you''vewon when the other guys are all dead."


    "Sounds pretty straightforward," I said.


    "Yeah. Hasami wants to trail with you guys, and theBeaulieu''s have agreed to play backup, but will be off on their own for the most part."


    "Where will you be?" I asked, having caught that he disincluded himself.


    "We''ve got Miller and his Disciples, well-known Summoners. They hailed me on the radio, gave me a proposition. Despite what some people may think... Doran... I''m actually pretty good at what I do. They need a contract guy and I volunteered. We''ll be here working on a heavy-weight summon, and screwing with the Utopians. You four godo whatever you do. That''s your purpose. Nobody needs to hold your hands, and I''m really not a field guy, I''m a spell guy. Support. So get out there." He snapped his finger and the invisible connect between him and all of us loosened. Still there, but not so watchful.


    The Siblings and The Samurai wandered out of the fog and into sight. Catherine and her brothers were in largely the same casual clothes, and Hasami still without a shirt, katanaat his side.


    Kendall touched his finger to his earpiece, held up a finger to hush Catherine, who was about to speak. He leveled that finger at Odessa and spoke. "You''re in charge," the same finger pointed off into the fog. "Somebody brought a tank. Go hitch a ride."


    "I''m out!" Ash declared. I arched an eyebrow at him buthe just smiled and turned away without explaining.


    Works better on his own, I thought. Still not sure what he does.


    "Let''s meet up when this''s all over," Kendall looked to the other two Disciples.


    "Fine."


    "Hai."


    Ash was already gone, and wordlessly the rest split up. Odessa started off in the direction of the tank without waiting on us. Hasami, with his military-likegait, followed, with Anna only a step behind. The Siblings stayed behind.


    Unstructured. I could go off on my own if I wanted... Nah, strength in numbers.


    I sped up, lugging my gun with me, to ahead of Hasami, and behind Odessa.


    Through the fog, we found our way off of the grass and onto asphalt. Up ahead, the raucous laughter of university students led us to the sight of a heavily modified nineteenth-century tank. The beastly vehiclewas covered over with young peoplein hexagonally patterned jumpsuits. Each with a flair of their own, looking like a rainbow with the assorted paint jobs on their protective suits. Some of them were wearing rubber masks, such as horse-heads. Some of them were wearing added items, like capes, or plating.


    Standard issue, Eidolon armored suits, I remembered.


    "Why the tank?" Anna shouted over the sounds of the machine.


    "It''ll keep rolling if the Technicists take it down," the one standing up in the hatch said. He was wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.


    "Down?" I asked.


    "Yuuuuuup," he disappeared into the tank and a thrumming filled the air. I could feel the hairs on my arm stand up as static electricity hit me. Slowly, steadily, the tank left the pavement to hover a few feet off the ground.


    Anna laughed excitedly and jumped up onto the tank. Odessa climbed on, only to hang off the side, and Hasami joined her. I took a run-up and scaled onto the top of the gun. The tank purred and lurched up and forward into the fog.

 Motley 1.08-2

    The Frankentank carried all ten or so of us into the cloud layer. We ascended until a road suspended in the air came up next to us, in which case we hovered over and set down. From there we rolled along, a little higher up now, a little more light penetrating to give the air a glow.


    "Feel that wind," Anna said.


    It has picked up.


    "Where are we going?" I asked.


    I could feel stuff going on, all around. Noises, sensations, emotions. I had to read into it, to get an idea of what it actually translated to. There were a number of demonic presences on the battlefield, that much I could tell. Strangely, though, there was a quietness surrounding our immediate area.


    "We''re gonna rolldownmain street," a girl I didn''t know said.


    That''s a horrible idea. Unless... "You''ve got a cloaker," I realized.


    "Yup. They literally won''t know what hit ''em," Guy Fawkes said.


    "So, we''re setting a snare," Odessa inquired.


    "Yuuuup." Slightly annoying. The tank makes up for it.


    We rolled along until an alley come up on our right, after about ten minutes. We pulled out into the road and backed in. The Horse Head guy, apparently the cloaker, informed us we could make noise if we wanted, while we waited for the battle to begin.


    "You a native?" Anna asked Hasami.


    "Not Earth, but yes. My parents were proponents of cultural value. Not a so popular notion, but I love my heritage."


    "I think it''s nice," Anna said.


    "It''s divisive," Guy Fawkes said. "Cultures are rarely compatible. Your parents should have been segregated, and unpermitted."


    "Orokana inu, insipid opinions are best kept silent," Hasami growled.


    "Straight to offense!" he mocked. "No wonder your people''s allowance rates are down. You should consider splicing."


    Hasami was heading straight for a boiling point, and his hand had found the handle of his sword. Three of the other students were laughing, and the rest looked still and ready for a fight. Anna jumped in. "Stop trolling him. If you''re right, then now is not the time to be an asshat about it. So, sh-"


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    A thundering crack echoed through the city.


    I was positive things had started when the cannon was followed up by three much louder explosions. I wished I could be sure, but I felt safe in assuming the strike had been ours.


    "Lock and load bitches!"


    I switched my rifle on. The gun''s nozzle was three prongs, with a small laser light in the center, which emitted a guiding beam. I pressed my comms button.


    "Aku, can I get a visual assist?"


    The brim of my hood glowed dimly to project a three-dimensional hologram into my field of vision. The images were pale, but the augmented reality helped me to define the shapes of the road outside the alley, and the buildings beyond.


    You ask a robot for utilitarian clothing, and you get what you ask for.I was everything from armored to airtight. I reached into my pocket to slip on the suit''s accompanying gloves, so the air seal could activate.


    Locked and loaded.


    Now we wait.


    More explosions sounded, far off, and we waited.


    And waited. Until finally, one of the students on the tank raised a hand. "Incoming," she said. I could hear the low sound of rapid footsteps.


    This is starting. I need to keep my mind present. I felt slightly scattered.


    Twenty yards.


    The runner closed that distance quickly, and for an instant, I thought he would pass our alleyway.


    I was thrown off the top of the tank as it blasted a shell, which I could hear tearing through the buildings across the street. I rolled and landed on my hands and knees, on the ground beside the tank. I recovered and wandered around to the front, to see the building we''d hit crumbling.


    The students were laughing. The driver, Guy Fawkes, poked his head out of the hatch. "That was so much better than I''d expected. Set it to autofire and boom!"


    "Our cloak didn''t cover that," I said. I kept my eyes on the street. Something wasn''t right. Something was missing.


    "Shit," he swore. "He''s right, Mark?... Then we gotta move." He ducked back in and the tank started rolling again. I didn''t hop on just yet. I kept staring.


    I''m an idiot. It hit me.


    There wasn''t a body. There wasn''t even any blood.


    What there was, was a man climbing out of the rubble.


    Only one or two people on the tank were reacting, but I''d already leveled my rifle at him. I pulled its trigger. A literal lighting bolt connected me to him, striking and blacking out the surrounding area with the purple and white flare of light.


    He fell to his knees and shook, but was already rising. The tank was still rolling away without me, turning right down the road, but with its gun pointed back.


    I struck him again, but he was less fazed, this time, stopping only for a twitching fit. Odessa had dismounted the tank and brought up her sword.


    Another shell blasted, but the man had seen it coming and leaned out of its way. It smashed through the rubble behind him. He let out a laugh, as Odessa charged forward, slinging her sword back.


    He ran at her and she heaved the sword through the air, almost too fast to see.


    In its wake, the sword left a path through the fog and smoke of the tank''s fire, indicating that the Bruiser had been sent skyward.


    I lowered my gun, slowly, surprised at how suddenly she''d handled that.


    Huh...


    Horse Head nervously laughed. The tank was still rolling, and I heard Guy Fawkes shout from the inside, "we''ve gotta move!"


    Odessa and I caught up, climbing or jumping onto the tank as it went.


    I doubted that our cloaker would be able to keep us hidden. We''d broadcast our location, and the battle had begun. It would be direct conflict from now on.


    My gun was supposed to have vaporized him. It was the only thing I''d brought to the table really, offensively speaking, and its effect had been disappointing.


    I wasn''t feeling very good about this.

 Motley 1.09

    "We''re heading straight for a shitstorm!" Guy Fawkes shouted over the roar of the tank''s engine. Horsehead beat twice on the hull to acknowledge him.


    "Aku," I said low, hand to my ear, "shitstorm is lacking, what''s ahead?"


    "From what the anarchists know, a major conflict involving two Anarchist professors, O''Reilly, and Ali, against two Technicists and professor Cobb. Students, of course, make up the bulk of the combatants."


    "Thank you." I withdrew my hand and sat up on the tank, readying my gun. "ETA!?"


    "Take a guess," one of the other students on the tank said, alluding to the ever closer noises of fire and screams. We took to the air, ascending quickly through the thickened cloud layer. For a moment, the wind and mixture of fog and smoke it carried, was too heavy, and I braced for our rise through the mire.


    All at once the sun hit me, a blinding first glimpse. In an instant though my eyes focused, seeing the shadows which cast over me, as people and projectiles came between me and the light. Immediately the tumultuous insanity of my surroundings became clear. Fire and black smoke dotted the intersection, where barriers of earth and metal cut through the massive clearing. Almost every eye turned to the big green tank which had just shot up out of the fog bank, to hang in the air like a sitting duck.


    "BAIL!" someone shouted.


    I pried my eyes from the shitstorm, and without contemplation, jumped away and off the side of the tank.


    There was a brief terrible moment when I realized I was so far to the pavement.


    That terrible moment was followed by an eternity of free-fall, and a sudden stop.


    I crashed into the concrete, landing feet first, and rolling forward, my hood falling back in the process. I had executed the landing well, but the damage was done. I staggered up and felt a shock of pain. I had to keep moving, and ran regardless, towards the nearest cover. I could hear the impacts of others behind me, but didn''t stop to see who''d made it off.


    Ignore the pain.


    I was nearing a raised wall of ice, which must have been magically erected when I heard the explosion behind me. I jumped behind cover, twisting as I went, to land and look back.


    The Tank had dropped like a rock and landed in a ball of fire and molten metal. Odessa was alive, running her own way, as was Hasami. Anna was still airborne, which seemed like a bad idea.


    "Drop the gun!" I threw my rifle aside, and keeping my hands in the air, pushed with my legs until I was up against the ice wall, and further out of fire.


    There were magus behind the wall, three, each with a style of their own, and two of them aiming at me with sword and scepter, respectively.


    "Guys," I said. "We''re the cavalry." I was confident.


    Statistically, actually not fifty, fifty, I thought. Good thing we''re not wearing uniforms.


    "Cavalry for who?" Whom.


    "Utopian," I lied. Safest.


    He hesitated, but bought it."Get shooting then," the sword wielder said.


    I had my gun in a flash and didn''t waste time in turning to shoot him. He seized up for the duration of the flash and dropped fast enough that I knew he was dead. The scepter guy reacted much faster than I had anticipated and jabbed his weapon in my direction. I backstepped  around the corner of the frozen barrier as a new wall of ice formed out of thin air, trailing like a train across the battlefield.


    I''d dodged the ice, but I was now standing in the open.


    Anna, Ash, Odessa, and Hasami were on their own, as was I.


    This was all me.


    Let''s be unexpected.


    The ice wall was just slightly inclined, and dry. My gun had a sling, so I let it hang as I bit the bullet and looked for the right place to start climbing. Scaling the twelve or so foot tall wall,  I threw myself over and landed right behind the backs of the two magus, scepter guy and a girl holding fire.


    They were quickly reacting, but I went straight for the scepter wielder, wrapping him in a choke hold, and taking hold of his weapon.


    The fire Elementalist couldn''t hit me, and scepter guy couldn''t budge my arm enough to break free. With my hand on the scepter, I closed my eyes.


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    Ice. Conceptually. Energy. Will. Change. Unnatural...


    I could feel my white knuckle grip on the scepter intercepting his control. The weapon began to glow bright, and both he and she realized what I was doing.


    He fought, but it was too late. I''d figured him out.


    A weak blast of ice turned her a rigid white. I broke his grasp and threw his implement aside. Putting my all into the headlock, I raised him off the ground as he squirmed. He slowly stopped resisting, and I threw him off. Before he could recover, I pulled up my rifle and shot him. Done.


    My heart was beating loudly in my ears.


    I had to find the others, couldn''t keep up this solo game. I stooped down to retrieve the earpiece from the scepter guy but found that it was fried. Probably wouldn''t have worked for me anyway.


    I stayed down when a laser beam tore through the buildings and pavement to the edge of the battleground. The constant assault carried  on everywhere.


    I wasn''t safe here.


    Deciding to huff it, I threw my gun over my shoulder and made a dash for the buildings. Different buildings, than the one''s that had been decimated.


    The one up ahead was glass fronted. I hurdled into it... but bounced off. I laid on the ground, panting and aching. Smart.


    When everything is matter printed, it''s made strong as it can be.


    I wasn''t dead yet, so I went ahead and put a call through the coms while I was laying down. "Anybody else alive?"


    There was nothing for a moment, then, "I''m safe. Kind of lost, though." It was Anna. "I jumped when the tank was going down and went further than I meant to. Somewhere west, I think. Almost got taken down by freaking swords."


    "Language Missy," a voice on the channel mocked. Ash?


    "-Bloody hell. We''re pinned down," Odessa said. "Hasami and I found the middle of this. We''ve picked the weaker off, but neither of us can put Cobb down."


    "Bloody irony," Ash said, "Kendall hates that fag."


    "I do and he is," Kendall had been eavesdropping, apparently. "Our summon is being a bitch about terms, but I can send help soon. Doran, get in there."


    That''s a really bad idea.


    My connection to him tightened, though. It was an order.


    I pulled myself up and got running. It became apparent that I was on the  wrong side of this battlefield, though, when I spotted a grouping of androids congregated around a girl behind a metal wall.


    A Technicist.


    She spotted me running through the open. Dozens of androids raised guns, unhesitatingly opening fire. I cursed my luck and pulled up my cloak. It went stiff as the blasts hit, each breaking against my side and threatening to knock me down. I reached safety behind a fallen mech and took a second to center myself. The mech laid out across the battlefield, some dozen or so feet long. I leaned back against its knees.


    I decided to pop out and shoot off a bolt. When I did, it stopped dead at the force field surrounding her, her androids, and nearby magus. I aborted when they returned fire, had to retreat further to behind the mech''s torso when they blew half of my cover away.


    That''s unfair.


    "Update me Odessa."


    "Hasami was felled! My armor isn''t holding. It''s down to me, Cobb, and a damned robot," she said. Her exhaustion was coming through.


    I had to move before the Technicist closed in.


    Throwing up my hood, I ordered: "show me Odessa." Her silhouette was alighted through augmentation. I could get to her, but she was exposed.


    I went for a mad sprint, and coming around a pillar of fire, found her, helmet missing, armor beaten and dented, facing down a man in a dazzling white cloak, and a six-legged robot. The robot was smooth, with no hard angles. When Odessa''s swing hit it, her sword bounced off with seemingly more energy than before. When she went with that deflection to swing even harder at the old man, he simply swatted the blade away with one hand. She carried the momentum even further into a flip. She spun upwards, violently, but came down right towards her mark.


    Distraction.


    I took aim and fired. The wizard shook with the shock and took a spinning slab of steel to the face. There was almost nothing left of him.


    The machine jumped on Odessa in the time it was taking to dig her sword out of the ground. I fired at it, but the shock bounced. Electricity lanced out in every direction, thundering. It ignored me and carried on pounding two of its legs into the crater where Odessa had been.


    Shit. What? What can I do? I couldn''t help. I''m useless.


    There wasn''t a trick I could use or a thing I could do.


    Sorry Odessa. I had to keep moving. I couldn''t hesitate.


    Just then a two story tall demon came tearing through the ground, fire rolling off its back. He, gender disturbingly obvious, grabbed and crushed the robot in his hand, his gnarled and burned face twisting with satisfaction.


    Well okay then. Nevermind.


    Kendall was a ways off behind the demon, walking briskly with his hands behind his back. I radioed him. "Some people are impressed with what you do now."


    "Thank you. You''re all magnificent by the way. Cobb is going to be pissed."


    "Let''s not celebrate quite yet," Ash cut in. "Just got word, you''re officially at the center of the orgy. Everybody wants you. Run, before you get it up the butt."


    "Intel is appreciated, Ash," Kendall said. "Odessa?"


    Out from the crater rose Odessa, looking beaten and bruised. "...Alive."


    "Good. Converge on me. I''ll send the demon off for now to play."


    "Weep for us," the demon said, his bass voice shaking the world, crawling under my skin. Then he stomped away, having been given his orders.


    Disconcerting.


    I jogged up to Kendall, with Odessa ahead of me.


    "Anna?" Kendall radioed. "Sound off...."


    A horrid and shrill scream blared over the radio.


    "Gods," Odessa swore.


    I rubbed my face and tried not to think about it. Kendall would be predictable. I couldn''t help myself and asked anyway. "We going after her?"


    He scowled. "We don''t have time. It''s just pain."


    "Pain stays with you," I replied, meeting his scowl with a glare.


    A whistling marked the incoming ball of fire, which missed us three by a good distance, but was clearly not a warning shot. That was the end of that. Wordlessly we agreed and started fleeing the area.


    We came to a field of diamond spikes and huddled down. Keeping low we moved around until an exit road came close. I didn''t know what Kendall was planning, but I was along for the ride. Anna was a consideration, but we had to be practical.


    One way or another, we''d see her again.

 Motley 1.10-1

    Kendall was heavily distracted. With his hands to his ears, trying to block out distant explosions, he yelled at no one to be seen. The demon Gozo was giving trouble. At the moment, he was trying to explain how to escape a magical trap to a less apt student. Odessa was on point, and we''d ran for an indoor swimming pool.


    With high ceilings over the placid poolour footsteps echoed throughout.


    Walk don''t run.


    We ran around the pool, passing the diving board and coming to the lockers. Into the shower room, with diffused light coming in through high fogged windows. Kendall reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of cards, some of them spilling onto the floor.


    "Fuck..." he said.


    "Where are we headed?" I asked.


    Kendall was collecting his cards, searching. "You two went into that fight and took Cobb out. He was trying to stop Ali from getting a spell up and running. With our distraction, he''s gotten it done and our guys are joining in. They''re moving fast. We need to catch up if we''re going to be a part of whatever''s next. Got it." He found the card he''d been looking for. He threw it into the wall at the back of the room, and it melted away.


    This probably took longer than going around.


    My thoughts were confirmed when we passed through the wall and found ourselves in a back alley. Kendall swore.


    "Any cards for mobility?" I asked.


    "I can''t remember. They''re out of order. Shit." He shuffled through them. I came and stood behind, looking over them with him.


    While we were occupied Odessa took a run-up and stabbed her sword into the wall in our way. She wrenched itand took a chunk out of the wall. She hacked at the concrete, working a path out.


    We''re too slow. They''re moving fast. The gap increases.


    I left them behind for a moment, peeking out of the alleyway.


    Where''s a car when you need one.


    They had bikes. Wonderful.


    I ran across the street and yanked on the bike, which was attached to a mechanical rack. It wouldn''t release, the power was out. I tugged and kicked the rack. I took out my gun and shot the machine connected. The bikes detached.


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    Awkwardly, I took three and pushed them into the alleyway, where Kendall and Odessa were busy with what I''d left them doing.


    "We''re losing time." I let go of the other two bikes and mounted mine.


    "You''re not kidding. Fuck this." Kendall put away his cards and grabbed one.


    Odessa, angrily tearing into the wall, stopped to look over at us. Her face still twisted with undue rage, turned to confusion.


    "What are those things?" she huffed.


    Oh.


    "Shit. We''re going to need to split up. You do your thing." Kendall power peddled away, I followed. We left Odessa behind in the alley.


    As we biked I spoke. "Do you know why she''s like that?"


    "I don''t know..." he knew what I was talking about. "She''s died and gone to hell. Expected different for herself, you know, devout as she was. She''s been through a lot and won''t let it go. She''s not forgiving."


    "Sure."


    "You-"


    "I..." a pained voice came in over the radio, cutting Kendall short. A stutter followed and a panicked breath. It was Anna, alive and in peril. "...Can''t."


    "Aku, where is she?" I asked.


    "A short diversion from your path," Aku replied.


    "No!" Kendall said, slightly breathless. "We''ve got to catch up."


    "You go, I won''t be long." Speeding up, I took the next left. He didn''t stop me.Maybe he did have a heart? Maybe he just didn''t care at this point.


    Anna couldn''t have flown for long. Kendall was trying to catch a running target, which is why it was taking so long, even though we had started out relatively close. Anna wasn''t moving, and we had already gotten closer.


    The building which Aku led me to had a wall around it. I screeched to a halt and propped my bike against it, using the seat as a step. Peeking over, I could see a building surrounded by transformers. A power station.


    My feet hit the ground running. No time to spare. I kicked in the door and came into the dark building with my gun lighting it. It was small, and at the back of the room, aside a console, was a figure. She was standing.


    No, she was pinned.


    Anna was impaled by a sword, stuck to the wall. I dropped my gun onto the floor, with its light facing her. I came up to her and studied the sword buried to its hilt.


    "Doran," she said. "It followed me." With hair hanging over her agonized face, she reached out to take a handful of my cloak.


    Should be dead.


    "It burns," she whimpered.


    "I''m sorry," I said. This isn''t right. "You know what I''m going to do." I touched her face, waking her up, and she stared petrified. There was no better option.


    I ran back for my gun and picked it up. I aimed and shot.


    Anna screamed and papers all around combusted into flame and flew up caught in a wind. I fired again. Her body went slack in the light of my gun.


    I''ll... have to apologize later.


    The sword quivered, working backward away from Anna and the wall.


    Target seeking sword without a target. I stepped back and pulled the door with me. The blade pierced itand rammed my side through the door. I fell back, uninjured, with the wind knocked out of me. The door swung open, and the sword slipped out again. I was already on my feet and stepping back. I couldn''t take my eyes off it.


    The sword glowed and inched back. I made a prediction.


    I moved to the side as fast as I could, putting myself between the sword and a transformer. It bolted towards me. Putting my gun in its way and angling to the side, it skid off with a spark, hitting the transformer.


    No power, dummy.


    Right. I lit into the sword. It popped.I covered my face as shrapnel flew about. The sword had been killable, which was lucky.

 Motley 1.10-2

    I set out and, scaling back over the wall, took up my bike to go as fast as I could. My feet were killing me, but I still had steam.


    Aku had my path back to Kendall. I was far behind. I didn''t regret going after Anna, but the situation had been unfortunate.


    After a while of intense and uncomfortable peddling, Kendall radioed. "We''re in the street cleaner, ditch the bike."


    I threw the bike away and jogged up to the street cleaner. Kendall and Odessa were in the cockpit. They opened the door for me and I climbed in.


    "Alright," Kendall saidand addressed someone distant. "This is Kendall. My Summons are present. There''re enemies between... Yes, we can... Thank you, sir." He looked to us. "They''ve agreed to stop for only a short time, so we can catch up. The Utopians are assaulting them, but they''re protected. Moment we step out, they''ll focus us. Stay close to me." He jumped out the door.


    Odessa and I followed. We quickly came into sight of the energy dome which held the Anarchists within. On rooftops above and on ground beside Utopians assailed the shield to no avail.


    We made an immediate run into the open, with Kendall leading. Holding a handful of cards in his left, he transferred one to his right. The first Utopian to spot us created a rune in the air and with a punch transformed it into a black projectile.


    Kendall released his card and it met the attack, forcing it to stop dead against an invisible barrier. He followed up with the same defense as two more attacks were levied. He was creating a path to the shield for us, between his dolled out invisible walls.


    Odessa was holding her sword up, which protected a significant portion of her body mass. She pulled me behind her as a dark wave slipped between the barricades and hit us. Her feet lost traction as the wave tried to carry us with it, skidding. I braced behind her and she was able to force her sword forward, slicing through the miasma before it could push us out of cover.


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    I shot out at those I thought I could hit. They weren''t covered well and were caught unaware. Only moments had passed. We were nearing the discolored field which promised safety.


    "I''m going all out!" Kendall shouted, retrieving a different deck from his pocket. He had run out of shield cardsand had resorted to his fire spells.


    Many of these students were not as educated as him, fewer still approached his power level, apparently. He let loose carnage.


    Rolling cloaks of smoke billowed out from the explosions and liquid flame that doused the area. Kendall furiously threw out cards, bathing the area in fire. Those in the field were protected, so he didn''t hold back.


    Buildings were collapsing. I was holding my breath the smoke was so thick as we broke through. We passed easily through the membrane of the shield and Kendall, sweeping hair out of his face, walked breathlessly into a handshake.


    We kept our momentum and survived.


    Kendall had carried us through.


    An older gentlemen, Professor O''Reilly, I guessed. "Fine work, Kendall," he said. "Cobb was a tough old bird." He was stocky in build, wearing an Eidolon suit. He was balding, which seemed like something he could have had fixed.


    "It was a... group effort... This is a strong field," Kendall said, his eyes searching. They found who they''d sought as an Arabic man in a similar suit to O''Reilly, but clearly more time preserved in face and body, came out of the crowd.


    "Inside here, we''re slowed to near absolute zero," he said.


    Kendall went to shake his hand. "Professor Ali," he said. "Chronomancy is exceptional. That''s what this is?"


    "To speak to God on his own terms, we must know him. Chronomancy is something I have only scratched the surface of, in my time," Ali said sagely.


    I made a note of that.


    "We''re mobile," O''Reilly said. "When the shield speeds up, so do we, temporally. We''re going to make a push to the Statehouse, and try to secure it. You''re in, Mister Kendall?"


    Kendall glanced at us. Sounded good, so I nodded. "I am," he said, resolved.


    "Onward then. Ali?" O''Rielly asked.


    Ali stood in the middle of the bubble and started to physically push against an invisible barrier. The shield moved forward, and we walked with him.


    That''s one way to move it.


    We marched on as a small army of Anarchists.


    To victory.

 Motley 1.11-1

    Up ahead was a Utopian battlement. Glacially moving Students were throwing down energy barriers, which Ali strained and pushed through. Our collective, numbering around sixty, I quickly counted, were unstoppable. Someone, a Professor, I thought, was standing on a rooftop. He raised up his hands, slowly, and there came a beam of heavenly light which failed to do more than brighten the field. Soon Ali had made a path through the Utopians, bending and crushing anything in our way.


    Behind us, they were panicking as we marched down the road.I noticed that among our numbers, being pushed along with us were a few normal looking people. They seemed okay with all this.


    I tapped on the shoulder of one of the guys pushing one along and asked.


    "Hostages," he said. "Civilian volunteers that aren''t supposed to be hurt."


    "Hi," the hostage said, somewhat giddy.


    The dude''s having fun.


    There was someone, nearly a boy in age, weaving through the mob, and checking over people as he went. He came up to me, and his eyes widened.


    "You know you''re walking on fractured bones right?" he asked.


    I was good at ignoring pain, I guessed.


    "Peripherally aware." Though I was limping, a little.


    He pulled out a scroll and started reading in a foreign tongue. I was following along the meanings as he went, my sense of them. Attunement was stronger.


    I jerked when he threw a sprinkling of water on me. Hadn''t seen it coming, focusing so heavily on the information around me.


    "There you go.... uh-oh..." For a moment, I thought he meant my health, but he had turned and stood on his toes. I was taller than most and only craned a touch to see over the crowd.


    I chuckled. This is going to be fun.


    The Bruiser, the one Odessa had sent flying, was in the road. He was walking in slow-mo straight towards our shield, utterly fearless. His gleaming helmet tilted down as he started barreling forward. We had seconds before contact.


    He''s too confident. He''s untouched. He''s subverting, not absorbing, he couldn''t be. Feels disconnected like he''s redirecting damage somewhere. Connections?


    I quickly scanned the surroundings. I dug into the abstract and strained my mind for what his connection lead to. There, in the shadow of a building, was an ethereal wisp, half hidden behind a tree.


    Got you.


    "He''s got a totem!" I cried, pointing, but I was drowned out when shouting erupted. The Bruiser had met the shield, and it was being moved. Ali was straining against his invisible wall, his feet skidding backward down the road.


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    I pushed through the mob, repeating my cry and keeping my hand out. I bellowed louder, angry, and a few people startled. The Bruiser''s head darted between my outstretched hand and his totem. He jumped to the side, coming just barely between the Totem and a ball of energy which had been hurled. Again, he took the hit like a rag doll, taking to the stratosphere.


    Ali had resumed the push, but we''d lost some of our minuscule lead, and the outside world was catching up. The Bruiser had gone into and out of a structure, and it was collapsing into a cloud of smoke.


    We charged into the murk, picking up speed, and subsequently speeding up the world outside. We passed through, blind for a moment, and emerged.


    Christopher.


    "Wolves," someone said. In the road and on the skyline were students. Christopher, was among them, not far from the oldest among them, who I understood to be Wulff. The salt and pepper haired man, in grey formal, snapped his fingers.


    The shield dropped, and so did Ali. Dead.


    Wulff spread his arms, utterly dauntless. He knew he and his students, by themselves, could handle us. Nothing happened as he waited for us to make the first move, and none of us would. I quickly tried to look at each of them, gathering by everything from composure to expression what they did. It was too much. They were all too powerful.


    A minute passed, and nothing happened.


    Wulff moved a hand to his ear and put his back to us. Christopher changed his demeanor and watched him. All eyes were on the man.


    Then, he disappeared. Gone. Teleported. Left.Why?


    Somebody screamed, and an explosion marked the beginning of all hell breaking loose. Wulff''s students ran for the most part, but some returned fire. An arrow flew at me. Suddenly everything went. Every bit of my senses fell away. I kept running, but I felt like a deaf person trying to speak, unsure if anything was happening.


    I must have made it out of the area of effect, because when my senses returned I was crawling and writhing on the ground. I hadn''t escaped, but it had stopped. There was an arrow piercing my foot and some of the asphalt, anchoring me. It hurt like a bitch.


    People were running over me, some of them had been struck with arrows same as me, but had remained upright. Lying on the ground, I took a few pot shots at students on the skyline, my lightning bolts throwing off their aim. I had attracted attention.


    I was one of a few turkeys either pinned, immobile or daft, still stuck in the open. There was a girl within touching distance which was missing a leg, crying out. A spear sailed and drove through her skull. It started to glow and rev.


    Goddamn, this is more brutal than I''d thought.


    I''m not dying. That''s not who I am. I don''t die.


    Blotting out my pain, I screamed and pulled. The arrow snapped. Madly, I gained ground, staggering up into an unstable limp. I was going for a shop front, where other''s had fled. In the open door was the kid healer, nervously holding the door for me.


    Looking back, there was only one anarchist, standing among the dead, deflecting and dealing long distance damage with nunchucks. Christopher hadn''t moved from where he''d been and was watching me flee, staring. He tore his eyes away and calmly started to walk towards that last survivor, who was holding his own.


    Hobbling inside, my sight was obstructed. I had a feeling how it would go, though.


    The healer was following beside me, chanting again. I was looking for Kendall. People were putting upwards, trying to secure the building. By their faces, though, it wasn''t working. I was prepared this time when he threw water on me.My foot steadied to a baseline of pain, but still left me with a limp. Bleeding stopped.


    "Some magus just arrived. Utopians are getting schlonged," Ash radioed.


    "Updates are good," Kendall''s voice came in.


    "Where are you, Kendall?" I said.


    "Doran? Odessa, Catherine, and I are with O''Reilly, going for the Statehouse."


    "Where are you?"


    "Moving fast. We''re not waiting for you."


    "Professors are leavin'' the game," Ash added.


    "Yeah, I noticed. It''s good for us."


    Somehow, I doubted that.


    "I''m on my way," I said.


    "Fine."

 Motley 1.11-2

    The ten or so students in this building were mostly sitting or standing around, unsure of what to do. Somehow we''d all been left behind.


    Take control.


    "We have to keep moving," I said.


    "Nah," a guy said. "We can hold out here. It''s not going to work anyway."


    "Things don''t happen unless you make them. Get off your ass."


    "Or?" he challenged.


    I shot him. He convulsed and fell over. Everyone had stopped.


    "Holy shit," someone swore.


    "Why the fuck are we getting blown to pieces, if we''re not taking this seriously?" I said. Anna briefly came to mind. Before anyone could reply, I hammered in."We''re moving now."


    "Th-the, building, it''s surrounded," the young healer said.


    I smiled wickedly. Control. "Not a problem."


    O


    One of the magus had been able to put a hole into the earth, which descended at an angle. I had remembered what Anna had said. This was my plan.


    Droid tunnels.


    I jumped in and slid down the smooth passage, until I met a short drop, and landed in the narrow tunnel. My bad foot ached on the landing, and I had to prop up against the wall. One by one, the rest followed into the dark. Somebody spoke a spell, and a glowing mist flowed down the hall, barely illuminating it.


    We spaced out some and started running down the tunnels. We had a Seer, to navigate us. We must have jogged for around a half hour before someone needed to stop. My foot was killing me, but I wouldn''t have stopped.


    The tunnels had gotten wider, and we had passed into sewers, I reckoned. Shallow water flowed over my feet. I was waterproof, but others were complaining of wet feet.


    Even with the light on my gun, the darkness of these passages were bad, in that they left us vulnerable to certain attacks. I had sensed disturbances, and we had had to stop no less than three times before to work on counteracting a spell.


    Not to mention the miasma of crap.


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    "Is no one a teleporter?" I had assumed someone would have brought it up by now. I was holding out for an idiot, though.


    "I''ve been using a haste spell, on everyone," came a voice.


    That must have helped my foot.


    "It would take us an hour and forty-two minutes to draft a teleportation spell," our Seer said. She continued, "we are only an hour away."


    "Let''s move then."


    Our jog had reduced to a trudge, in the dark.


    After some time, the Seer spoke.


    "There''s something wrong. We need to do a headcount."


    I turned my guns light back, and others contributed to the illumination.


    "Where''s the healer?" I asked.


    "We must have left him behind," a man said.


    "No. There''s no path to him. He''s dropped out," the Seer''s voice had lowered.


    "He''s dead?" I whispered, taking her cue.


    "Has to be!" she panicked. Others murmured or cursed.


    "There''s not ah soul following our company, though," someone else said.


    I made my way to the back of the group and peered into the black. I could see.


    With all the lights, it was hard, though.


    "Dimmer please." They obliged.


    I squinted, gazing back down the sewer tunnel. There was a shimmering. It had a shape. The shimmering intensified. It wasn''t though. It was drawing closer.


    "Androids!" I yelled.


    Every one of them came out of hiding, their image solidifying. There were dozens of them, each working in perfect unison. I opened fire into their mass, and the tangle of limbs and bodies moved to minimize damage. The horde artfully moved forward, dodging the barrage being thrown at them, through flips and jumps.


    The tunnel flashed with energy bolts and fireballs. The androids weren''t going down. A spike came out of the dark and hit me in the chest. The metal dented flat against me, as the fabric hardened to stop it. I was sent sprawling back with the force. Someone, as the machines gained ground, decided to create a force field. The fighting stopped.


    The Seer helped me up. Now blocked, the droids were patient as they scanned the barrier. Already looking for a way to break through it.


    "It''s a Technicist," I choked out the words. My chest was constricting."They''re hijacking the military droids." Rib cage fractured."...Upgrading them."


    "We need to surface."


    "No... keep moving."


    We kept on, leaving the field in place. After a long walk, the Seer finally said it.


    "We''re here." It was a ladder, which ascended into the ceiling.


    Others went first. I stayed behind until they''d gone, and the darkness was complete. I threw back my hood, and my night vision remained. I held my gun trained down the tunnel. Figures danced in the dark, tricks of the eye.


    More dwell outside of sight than in the light. Voices.


    I jumped the ladder and quickly climbed. I exited the hatch, to find everyone waiting. We were off the road a ways, and there were three of our group missing. Standing in some back alley, the evening sun was hidden behind the buildings to our sides.


    The Seer pointed. A white skyscraper rose above the rest. The Statehouse.


    I could make out three figures suspended in the air around the tower. From this distance, I couldn''t be sure, but it looked the Beaulieu brothers.


    I touched my coms. "Kendall, are you in?"


    "Just coming up now. The civilians should be gathered in the court, at the top," he replied. I could hear his ragged breath, running up stairs. "...It''s em-!"


    The Statehouse was eviscerated by bolts of blue light. Obliterated so violently, that the light from the explosion was painful to see. The entire structure was carried off like dust scattered on the shock-wave, which rushed down at us. Debris fell like hell-fire.

 Motley 1.12

    A silver figure strafed through the vaporized Statehouse, dust streaking in their wake. The rubble had traveled the distance and was crashing down around us. We nine pushed back against the alley walls. The dust cloud was spreading out into the evening sky, and things were darkening.


    The building behind us took a pretty heavy hit. I closed my eyes and hoped it wouldn''t collapse. After a moment and nothing happened, I took a breath.


    The plume of smoke was descending on us.


    Kendall, Odessa, O''Reilly, the Siblings and most of the remaining Anarchists had fallen into a trap. There were no more plans.


    We''re it.


    The game''s not over yet.


    Not until we''re dead.


    There were nine of us, cowering from molten metal dotting the alleyway. I looked to the Seer girl. "Do you know where the others are?" I asked.


    "I-" she stopped to cringe, screwing her eyes shut as more debris came down. "I don''t work that way."


    "Nevermind." I hit my radio. "The Statehouse was a trap. Major losses, including Professor O''Reilly, I think. Anybody still out there?"


    "Can confirm. This is Professor Miller. To whom am I speaking?"


    "Doran, summon of Kendall."


    The woman replied, "Kendall? Is he alive?"


    "No. He was with O''Reilly."


    "Damn. That means we''ve lost Gozo."


    Hrm.


    "I''m with eight others. We''re not safe here. Where are you?"


    "I am hidden. My students are with me. I''m afraid you cannot come here."


    Hell.


    "Anyone else out there?" I asked. Miller was useless.


    "I''m still kicking. Forty-eight kills up. I think they may suspect something." Ash was gleeful.


    Good. But not immediately helpful.


    "Anyone else?"


    "This is Mark." I recognized the voice. Horse Head.


    More importantly, the cloaker.


    Our best bet.


    "Where are you?"


    "He''s not far," the Seer said.


    "We''re coming to you, Mark."


    "No! You''ll lead them to me."


    "We need you to hide us."


    "I''m better off on my own."


    I wasn''t getting anywhere with this. Must keep running.


    I took my hand off the coms. "Lead the way," I said to our guide. Barely hesitating, she took off down the alley. All nine of us ran, keeping our eyes out. We were staying in the shadows. With the taste of the dust cloud in my mouth, and my ribs still pained, I was falling behind.


    We moved through a park, much like the one, this all had started in. There was a huge metal statue in our way. Cubist in nature. Sitting on the statue, coughing loudly, was the Bruiser. His helmet was off, and his strained expression changed as he saw us.


    Third times the charm.


    I shot at him, but between the fatigue and dust, I''d struck the statue instead, leaving a glowing hot-spot. He got up and started building speed towards us. Someone hit him with a slowing effect, and the next person compounded that with a gravitational pull. He was trudging forward all the same. I struck him. I was looking for his totem, but I couldn''t see.


    As the Bruiser fought to keep at us, he was set on fire, shocked, and hexed. The hex seemed to take its toll when he fell to his knees. He was still alive, though.


    Totem.


    I started forgetting about what was going on, and focusing only on the relationships. The totem had to be nearby. Why couldn''t I see the connection?


    I changed up my angle, limping around to the right, to see behind the statue. Finally, I had him. I cranked up my rifle to the highest setting and fired. The lightning bolt which struck shattered it.


    The Bruiser, on fire, under intense gravity, and fatally cursed, turned mortal. He screamed, hair igniting, legs breaking, and flesh aging away. In a matter of seconds, he turned to a charred streak on the ground.


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    Sorry, I thought. But you really needed to die this time.


    We didn''t waste time sticking around. Three blocks later, we''d reached our destination. Our front man kicked in the door the Seer led him to, and once I caught up, I tromped into a small apartment behind the rest. Horse Head was without his rubber mask and was hugging his knees in the corner.


    "Hide us," I said breathlessly.


    "It won''t matter. They''ll know you''re here. Fuck! This is why I didn''t want to play Anarchist. Mason thought-"


    "I don''t care!" I stretched the words out long, staring angrily at him. "Cloak us."


    "He''s done it," the Seer confirmed. We all took a breath.


    In the apartment was a bed. I laid myself down, slowly, onto the cool sheets.


    "What are you doing?" one of the Students asked.


    They''re watching us. Control.


    "Dying, I think," I said. My ribs were shattered, and I could feel the volume of my breath decreasing. Collapsed lungs. Air in the chest cavity exacerbatedby heavy exercise.


    My foot was bleeding again, as well. Tired.


    I called up Ash. "How''s it going... Ashley?"


    "First, fuck you, second, wonderfully. These morons get relaxed, now that they think they''re on the mop up. I mightsay I''ve lost count but... fifty-two."


    "What''s the..." had to take a breath. "More intel?"


    "The human''s masters have totally cleared out. They''re arguing about ''command structures''," he said mockingly. "The Sentinel is giving orders, but isclearly unhappy being shafted with the shtick of leader-sheep."


    "Kill him if you can," I said. "He has too much firepower."


    "Oh. Okeydokey..." There was a pause."Done''do." The radio erupted in the sound of shouting and explosions; static followed.


    He did it.Tactically killed himself.I had the feeling hewouldn''t do the same, were the stakeshigher. Ultimately, he was a brilliant sociopath.


    The Sentinel was dead. Ash was dead. The playing field had changed.


    "The Sentinel is out."


    Miller spoke, ecstatic, "Excellent! They''re leaderless and weak. I''ve searched and you ten are all that remain, regarding ground forces. Others are being hunted, or have dropped out."


    "Like we should," Mark said, now up and sitting in a desk chair. The others were sitting on the carpet or leaning against the walls. Lounging.


    "If we''re going to have a hope of winning this, we need to capitalize on their confusion," Miller said. I really didn''t want to. I wanted to nap. But I did agree.


    "You have a plan?" I asked.


    "We know now that they are congregated at the Museum. Our only option-"


    "-Guerrilla warfare," I said, beating her to the punchline.


    "Yes. We can buffer you from here and rig the battlefield with curses, but that is all. It''s up to you now. I wish you all luck. Miller away."


    I started to lean up, but my chest protested. I stayed down. Students in the room were discussing dropping out of the games, and looking around, we were already down two people. Eight, and falling fast. What were we fighting for, at this point, if not to win? We were fighting for honor, I decided. Recognition, that none of us was party to a surrender.


    "Who wants to get shot?" I asked. "Because if anyone wants to leave, that''s the way you''ll be going." I held my breath and pulled up into a sitting position. "We need to discuss now our best options. We know where they are, they''re at the Museum, and they don''t know where we are. They''re leaderless and low on firepower. What''s our angle?"


    It was funny to me that so many in our numbers had resigned themselves to silence. The Seer, her my only match in enthusiasm, answered, "a surprise attack?"


    "We''re not assassins, though. I see two swords, a bow, a hammer, a Seer, a Shielder, a Cloaker, and me with a gun. Anyone else in bad shape, because I can barely get myself out the door. I know I won''t survive in combat - just factually."


    Horse Head, Mark, spoke, "The Museum is huge. You could get into firing position. I can get you there."


    "Now we''re talking," I beamed. Finally.


    Mark had rubbed off, and the Student with a hammer spoke up. "I can bust just about any shield they put up. That''s what I do."


    "I''ll get your back," one swordsman said to the next. "You get mine."


    "You with me?" I asked the bowman.


    "No," she said, "I''m better at ground level. My shots bounce."


    Our Shielder, voice small, said, "I''d really like not to die."


    "Nobody dies in the War Games," the Hammer said.


    "No?" the Shielder retorted, "Theydie, wither, and fry like that guy back there."


    "Don''t be a pansy," the Bow said.


    "I''m not!"


    "You''re not," I took control. "Death is a sleep, following life, which is one prolongedact of dying. Nobody wants to suffer any more than they have to. So if you get hit, I promise it won''t be drawn out. We''ll cut it short if we have to."


    That seemed to comfort him, kind of.


    All eight of us didn''t say a word for a while, knowing that there was no other way to procrastinate. We had a game plan, and we had a target. All that was left was for us to get moving. Everyone was tired, and I had already taken a beating. No one wanted to go because there was no chance of us making it through.


    Odds are, we''ve already lost the game.All games are decided before they''ve even begun. The question is, who makes that the decision.I knew whom.


    Porter.


    Something to think on when the timing was better.


    Finally, the second swordsmen said it."Time to go."


    O


    The Museum was huge.You could have fit a small town into it.


    The roofs were unreasonably tall, enough so that there were metal walkways up above, for lighting. Without rails they were perilous, but the eight of us tread carefully. If someone fell, we were majorly screwed.


    Down below us, there were nearly two hundred people. I had some serious respect for Mark. His blanket of imperceptibility on us was strong, to evade the eyes of all those Magus. They were, however, none of them very adept.


    Except for those few, like Christopher. I scanned for him in the crowd, as I walked. It was worrying that I couldn''t locate him, even as I sensed.


    There was a balance to everything. The crowd had a natural causality. Groupings and order. Christopher should have been among the remaining Students of Wulff, as I recognized a few. Maybe he was on a bathroom break.


    Yeah, let''s go with that.


    We followed the wobbling metal paths until we found some place for me to set up. The walkways led to a balcony, and an exit, presumably an access point, actually. The balcony had railing, though, and that was better than exposed lighting rigs. I hopped over the railing and left the others behind.


    "Bye," I said, knowing that I really wouldn''t be seeing these people again.


    They all responded in kind and went off.


    I ducked down beneath the railing and counted the seconds. The invisibility field passed away, and I held my breath. There was no shouting, only the continued ambient chatter down below.


    The sixth sense was a vague thing. It was achieved through awareness, through a priori knowledge, and generally just grokking things.


    I really truly didn''t know how this was going to go down. And, even though I was hurting, I acknowledged how invigorating this was. There was only the task.


    I dared not speak, or breathe, or blink.I counted the seconds.


    Time was up.


    Just as the roar of combat began, I emerged toopened fire.

 Motley 1.13-1

    I came up just in time to see the hammer''s impact breaking up the ground and knocking near every Utopian off their feet. I popped off shots, sending down thunderbolts on their heads. Their flashes were hard to trace back and cranked up to the max, they took down multiple targets.


    The two swordsmen came down with the bow and seeron a hardlight platform which the shielder had created. Once near to the ground, the shielder erected barriers which the others jumped down and took cover behind. The hordeof Students was quickly scattering as I fired into their masses.


    Choked into one wide passage, the only cover for the opposition were those they rose. There were no exhibit alcoves because all that hung on the walls were art and the like. Some had taken to building defenses from hardened blood, it looked like, but they were still exposed. The others made a frontal assault, attacking from where the crowd had been thin, inward into the mass, and I from the back, firing down.


    Someone raised a spell, I sensed, at me. A connection had formed, looping back from me to them, back to myself. It was to reroute my attack, back at me. Clever, but I avoided hitting it, shooting around. I jumpedbackas a handful of tiny glowing razors dashed through my cover. The shrapnel had passed, and I resumed.


    Hammer guy barged through their defenses, with the swordsmen at his side actively cutting down anything thrown at them, he remained unstopped. Our bow girl fired her shot, and when the arrow struck its mark, a student''s head, a string of light reached out, and the shot continued towards another cranium.


    We were dominating this fight. We could do this.


    A male student jumped up and landed on the platform with me. He had a laser sword, which as I fired, intercepted my bolt. He was nearing, and I couldn''t allow that. With no options, I made the decision to retreat onto the light rigs.


    Somebody hurled a boulder at me, missing narrowly and putting a hole in the ceiling. More pressing matters, though, as the laser sword swung haphazardly, blocking my shots and cutting down our supporting wires.


    Yes.


    I stepped back onto another suspended walkway, and let loose at him, intentionally missing. The metal under his feet swung out and away as I hit the last wire keeping it up. The space swordsmen dropped like a stone and met the marble with a solid smack.


    I kept on the move, avoided an arrow. Not everyone realized I was up here, due to the nature of my weapon, but more were following the attacks thrown at me.


    There was another route back to my cover, which I tried to hurry across.


    Coming around, I was near to safety when without warning or effect, a human appeared in my path. Blocking me, with a pleasant smile on his face, stoodChristopher.


    Fuck you.


    I tackled him when he had been expecting me to flinch, right back and over the railing, onto the platform. He was too quick, though, and I was weak. He slipped out of my hold and rolled away. We both got to our feet, but with his speed, I was unable to raise my rifle fast enough. He kicked and knocked my gun away, it skidding off.


    He''d undone the strap when we''d been on the ground.


    He''d known I would tackle him.


    Decided before they''ve begun.


    I took a stance, hand outstretched, ready to receive anything he dished out. I wasn''t strong, or fast, but I could see him weighing his options. I could counter any move he made because I could foresee them.So can he.


    We were in a deadlock.


    "Look at you," he said. "Big things."


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    "I refute that," I replied, catching ashort breath. "The cosmosis beyond you."


    "You know more than you let on."


    "You know less than you let on."


    We took a short pause, our eyes not breaking, as someone did something deafeningly loud below. That would have to wait.


    "Whatever you''re planning," I said. "I want no part of it. You should end this while you still can. Stop this."


    "Will is free. It''s free to dictate that of others'', I''m afraid."


    "You have no idea. There''s a price. You can''t ascend that."


    "I refute that."


    "Then the toll will be bigger than you alone can pay," I promised.


    My gun had slid my way. If I dived, I might beat him to it.


    "I''m afraid that when everything fallstogether, it''ll be too late," he said. "The conditions are fixed, Doran, and the game is set. You''re a piece, not a player."


    He''s predicting your moves. It''s not pure intelligence, he''s not trying hard enough for that. It''s a cheat, a skill, a trick. Causality. He''s fiddling. But the focus is far too wide.


    It''s not based on choice. He''s above that.He''s too good.


    I didn''t dive for the gun, instead, I went on the approach. I struck out, expecting and receiving a deflection. He wasn''t abnormally strong, but his reactions were instant. I changed my footing, and he changed his. I jabbed, and he blocked. He struck with his non-dominant hand, out of nowhere, and hit my chest. It hurt me, but not as much as it hurt him.


    He grits his teeth and clenched his hand which had struck the fabric of my cloak. The same fabric that could stop bullets.


    Not omniscient.


    I capitalized on that and dived for my gun. I stopped short when he pounced on me, halting my momentum and driving me into the floor. My chest crackled.


    With his knee on my back, he kicked the gun, and it slid underneath the gap in the railing, falling out of sight. It had been bait.


    He turned me over, redirectedmy haymaker as I flipped, pinning my arm against my chest. He beat me in the face. There were... lights? No, blotchy vision.


    Something about pain.


    My head. Concussion.


    With me pinned, and retribution for his busted hand received, I was beaten. He sat down on my chest and slapped some sense into me.


    "Tunnel vision," I said, half conscious.My eyes were literally out of focus.


    "Hmm?" Christopher asked.


    "Go-" I startedbut began coughing. My lungs were well and truly ruined.


    I found a tether in the darkness. There were two of them. One holding me up, and the other holding me in place. I focused on the second. Finding its source, there were a number of extensions. One of them to a dirty thing,a dark thing.


    "G-" I tried again, but my breath was even shorter. Christopher frowned.


    As it was in a world of information, the economy became about relevance, and because knowledge is power, relevance was. But at the heart of that, was the ability to leverage relevance. The truly powerful were not those that had power, but those that could use it, and if the stars aligned and one wasboth, then a god was born.


    By wisdom, power is wielded. By intelligence, gained.


    I could exert the power that I had, the relevance, by understanding. I reached out between myself and that dark thing, forged a line through our mutual connection.


    Christopher shifted quickly, planting his foot on my head.


    "Now, say again?"


    "Gozo."


    His composure broke, and he turned his eye away. Under the railing, I could see, with my head turned to the side. The walls of the museum melted to make way for him. The giant gnarled demon manically bounding into the Utopian forces.


    I had leveraged Kendall''s power as my own, and my call had carried.


    The Utopians were being decimated.Christopher was distracted.


    I grabbed his leg, and it reflexively locked. With the other arm, I brought my fist intothe side of his knee. It bent. He shouted, stepping back, and I tripped him. As he fell to his back, I scrambled to my feet and went after him. He didn''t attempt to stand, instead he drew up his legs and before I could stop myself, his feet caught me.


    He propelled me over the railing.


    Damn.


    My flight was funbut short lived. I hit the tile and a lightning strike stabbed every inch of me. A coldness followed. Unfortunately, I wasn''t dead, though.


    Laying limp with my face turned towards the ceiling, my body became heavy. It was increasingly restful, I found.


    I had fallen among other bodies, those of the Utopians. I strained, with great effort, to see what was still going on. One of the swordsmen had survived, and the shielder, with all the rest dead at their feet.The remaining Utopians, just like the remaining Anarchists, were fleeing the demon, with only one succeeding. The Utopians were being supernaturally hindered, by some effect, which left them inept as the demon tore them apart.


    I gave up on watching and tried to relax. Everything was either too numb, or too sensitive, though. Waiting to die was uncomfortable.


    Christopher, looking displeased, leaned over my body, looking down.


    "Stay the course." It wasan insult, I thought, but then he continued. "Please, Doran." He was sincere, frightened even. "This isn''t a game."


    Irony.


    To my chagrin, the bastard walked off without helping me out.


    Noises carried on but became distant. I don''t remember at what point they blurred into obscurity. But there was no sleep, no true death.

 Motley 1.13-2

    Ajoltedawakening sent me upright. My body was whole, and I was wearing my same clothes, sitting alone in a small,dimroom. I took some time, testing my lungs and foot, distancing myself from the emotions which wracked me. I needed to think straight. Emotion, it... gets in the way. I didn''t want to think about it.


    That never works.


    I put my head in my hands.


    Please. Shut up.


    After one long exhale, I called for Aku.


    "Doran," Aku soothinglyreplied. "You''re free to leave the room at any time."


    There was a door. It had slipped my mind.


    "Right. Thank you, Aku."


    "My pleasure."


    After exiting, I came upon hundreds of people intermingling in a dining hall. An open ballroom filled with tables seated players fromboth sides of the game, eating a meal of reconciliation. Along two of the walls were rows of doors, on multiple levels, which undoubtedly had private rooms behind them, as the one I''d emerged from. This was to bewhere everyone went, after the game to cool down and eat a meal.


    I didn''t feel like eating.I shouldfind Kendall, but I didn''t want to do that either.


    Weaving between tables, I made eye contact with a few people. There were so many tables, and people standing, that searching the crowd yielded nothing.


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    Suddenly a hand reached out to grab my arm. I pulled it away before I recognized the person at the table. It was the Seer.


    "Hey," she said. "You want to join us?"


    "No, thank you, though. I''ve got to get back to my... master."


    "Heh, kinky."


    "No, I mean, I''m a summon."


    "Oh! That''s... I don''t know what to think about that," she said.


    The bow girlwas at the table. "I wouldn''t have guessed it. What''s your name?...Well, you were cool Doran. Nice meeting you, working with you."


    "The same to you both."


    After that, I passed Hasami, and we nodded in acknowledgment of each other. The Beaulieu siblings were nowhere to be found.


    I spotted them. Ash, Odessa, Anna, and Kendall at the table. They didn''t see me until I was close. I patted Anna on the back, she looked generally ill, I''d seen and sat down at the end of the table.


    They reserved a spot. Aw.


    "Hey guys," I greeted them.


    "What happened?" Kendall asked. He was on edge.


    "After the trap, I teamed up with a small group. Ash took out the guy who took you lot out, and things unfolded from there. I kind of led my little group on a surprise attack and things went... weirdly," I said. "...We killed them."


    "All of them?" Odessa said.


    "Kind of?"


    "Wow." Anna gave me a thumbs up. Her smile didn''t reach her eyes.


    Something''s different. Changed, visually?


    "Things should be wrapping up then?" Kendall kept up his line of questioning.


    "Yes. Christopher showed up to kill me, ironically. Gozo was massacring the remainder, and he got away, last I saw." I lowered myforehead down onto the table.I had a killer headache.


    "Gozo-" Kendallstarted and stopped. I knew why. He suspects."You did well. Everyone did. But, they''ll announce the winner soon, and there''s not a lot of question about who it''s gonna be."


    Ash was quiet, I noticed. I peaked to see him with his back against the table, looking contemplative. I wondered what he could be thinking about.


    "I understand," I told Kendall. "But things will turn out alright."


    "Porter told us not to come back," was Kendall''s response. "You believe that?"


    Yes."Yes." No.


    The conditions were fixed. So was the outcome. As it will always be.


    No one spoke after that. I closed my eyes and let time pass by.

 Motley 1.14

    On my plate was a steak. I was watching it. Aku had brought it out, even though I hadn''trequested. It looked tasty.


    Hunger is a bygone thought, for them.


    They''re so perfect. Does that give them the right?


    Bleh. I slid the plate away. There was a big screen plastered all the way around the room, at a certain height, above the doors. It showed the War Games.


    The recaps featuredme, lying among the bodies and my humorous looking fall. Cameras had been absent, though, whenever Christopher had been around. Not unexpected, really. I was figuring out what he did. He was difficult.


    Gozo had rampaged, but one of the Technicists, specializing in using science on fast bindings, had brought in drones which had stopped him. They''d etched out symbols, and built a grid of light, which the demon was vulnerable to.


    The battle was wrapping up, with ourShielder having surrendered.


    Everyone was in suspense for a moment as the last Anarchist was captured. I could only assume Miller and her people had pulled out. Aku sounded off.


    "After a difficult battle and near tie, Utopians win. Anarchists cannot recover."


    There was a long round of applause, which everyone contributed to. Ash raised his middle finger high, and Odessa was stoic. Them aside, everyone clapped. It passed, and people began to stand and file out. We stayed, not wanting to weave through the crowd.


    I patted Anna''s shoulder. "Sorry about what happened."


    "It''s okay." An immediate response. A lie.


    "It''s not. I have doubts about this whole thing. It''s not optional for us."


    "We''re nonhumans," Ash remarked, not bothering to look at us as he did.


    "You''re better off than you were," Kendall said.


    "I really beg to differ," Anna shot back, glowering. "On top of everything else, it looks like we don''t have a future now, what with your failure."


    "Hey! I''m figuring it out," Kendall replied.


    "Porter knew the odds," I commented.Whoa, where''s my gun?


    I realized it was still missing. Akudisarms people.It was obvious, in hindsight.


    "He expects us to be as powerful as he is. He''s not going to give any slack," Kendall said. "He''s not going back on his word either."


    "No, Kendall." I was sure of what I knew.


    "No, Doran," he threw that back at me. "He''s setting insanely high standards because he wants a worthy disciple. He''s just like all the others. A person is guilty of both the wrong they do, and the good they fail to. That''s the Utopian proverb. Porter needs to pass on his skill to a disciple."


    "No, it''s not that." He was adamant but still wrong.


    "Stop contradicting me. I know what I''m talking about, I understand this system. I''m from here. Porter can''t go back to combat, so he wants a follower. He''ll teach his powers to whoever that is. That''s how it works."


    "You''re simply wrong. Porter is too defiant to go along with the status quo like that. I understand that he''s got something else in mind."


    "That''s moronic! Defiance doesn''t supersede reasoning. There''s no way to circumvent the inevitable, and he wants to remain included in the Eidolons. I''ve studied his info. Quinn Lee Porter is a diehard for the cause. He''ll pass down his knowledge."


    "You''ve grossly misinterpreted his motives. He''s not interested in the cause. He''s a fighter, that''s what he does. He can''t let himself stagnate."


    "I''m telling you to drop it!"


    "You can''t go on silencing me to avoid-"


    "Shut up, Doran. Stop talking. You''re a summon, a subservient being. A tool. When I want to use you for something, I will. Until then, shut up!"


    I furrowed my brow. He was becoming hostile, and I should have known better-


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    Odessa broughther fistsdown on the table. As everyone startled, I went stilland stared at her. Her unseen eyes, behind her helm, were fixed on Kendall. His expression was pained, his shoulders lowered. Ash smirked and Anna was at a loss for what had happened.


    Damn me. I can''t keep doing this.


    "Odessa-," Kendall started. She stood, her chair screeching back, and started walking. He followed, after a moment, as did the rest of us. Odessa lead the way back to the door, which I could only assume was a portal to the Monastery.


    We cameout onto the main platform, with starry skies above, and a biting wind. People moved fast, once through the gate and in the cold. We were no different. Rushing across, we came to a bridge.


    "You can''t do this anymore!" I yelled at Kendall. I was followinghim as he did to Odessa, across thebridge between mountains. I wanted to help him understand, he needed to look his sins in the eyes.


    "I order you to shut the fuck up!" he stopped for only a moment, to put out a hand and drive the power of his words in. I stopped in place, unable to move another inch. I grit my teeth, every muscle going tense.


    This isagainst my nature.But I didn''t fight it. It had to happen.


    "Odessa!" Kendall called. "I-... come on."


    She stopped and turned. In her armor, she waseye to eye with him. With a distance between themand twilighton her silver shoulders, she reached for her helmet, and raising it up, dropped it to the ground.


    She had abroken expression, unlike any I''d seen her bare. There was hair matted in her face, being pulled by the wind, and tears trailing down her cheeks.


    "Come on, Odessa. I can''t... You''re being unreasonable. We can''t face this right now. I told you I was sorry! I''m sorry. Let''s move past this." Kendall''s will broke as he looked her in the face. She was unyielding, with a murderous stare. The fight went out of him. "Please, Odessa. It''s just... Yes. I will." He knew now, that there was no other way this could go down. There were no words to make her be what he wanted. "I release-" Kendall barely spoke. "-I release you temporarily. Forthis."


    Odessa strode forward, and Kendall flinched just before she punched him. Her fist connected and he fell, holding his face. She was free to speak.


    "You!" she shrieked, "y-you-... Fuck you! You will be held accountable to your God! You will be judged, even if I may not! You will tell them!"


    Kendall sat up onto his legs, his eyes cast on the ground, silent.


    "You will say it," she repeated, more forcefully. "Because you owe God that."


    I was frozen, Ash was bemused, and Anna confused. Kendall took off his breastplateand spread his arms. He was inviting herto attack.He''d prefer it even. She shifted her sword''s position. I was ready to try and stop her.


    Couldn''t allow that.


    Odessa had all of this in the palm of her hand. I didn''t think anyone could stop her if she wanted Kendall dead. Just like that.


    "You have to say it," she ordered, refusing to attack.


    "What''s happening?" Anna asked, quiet.


    "I..." Kendall began. He knew the word she wanted, but it conflicted. It conflicted with everything he thought about himself, and every justification he''d created. He couldn''t face it. For all the will he had to continue in every pursuit, he couldn''t be that person. He was breaking. He lurched forward, head almost touching the ground, and he came up to watch her as he spoke.


    "I didn''t understand. When they brought you in, you were just a sword. A relic clinging on. It took time to pull a ghost outand make you real. You were so hollow for so long, barely a shadow of a person and I didn''t consider... didn''t think you''d develop. Didn''t think... that you were a person. So I used you... for myself. And it turned into something shameful, Odessa. It was rape."


    "Jesus," Anna swore.


    Fuck everything.I had a notion, but to hear him say it. It changed things.


    "She didn''t know she could say no. She couldn''t. I-" he tried to say. Odessa kicked him in the head, harder than before, and he cried in pain.


    "You will not silence me again, Kendall." Odessa crouched and took hold of his jaw, which I believed was broken, and held him to look into his eyes. "Ever."


    He could stop this. But he won''t. He can''t. They''re the same.He''s lost control of himself and the world around him. Lost control of his soul into something he hates.


    I didn''t need this. Fuck me.


    She threw him away, and wiped the tears from her face, looking up at the stars and taking a deeply relieved breath.


    Anna slowly approached. She offered a hug, which Odessa took, uncomfortably. They continued then, down the bridge and out of sight. Ash clapped a hand on my shoulder.


    Kendall had been healing himself with a spell and had risen. Ashes, with shiteating grin, passed by and went on downpast him.


    A demon,I remembered. With a plan of his own.


    I was free to move, now. Kendall had released me, and he slumped down, tired. I still couldn''t speak. He looked up, and we watched each other.


    His eyes were pained, alert, and unsure. He felt awful.


    I raised my eyebrows, questioning.


    "Shut up," he spat. "There''s nothing you need to say."


    Infuriating. But I''ve said enough. I''ve meddled enough.


    I passed on, leaving him where he stood.I came to the outside of the Sanctuary, where the other''s, sans Kendall, where waiting.


    Anna was speaking, consoling, "We can bring it up with Aku. Kendall needs to-"


    But Odessa had dried her eyes. "No. Anything that comes to Kendall comes to us. We need him to carry on. That we''d see someday a better way of existence. This, right now, is all we have... Strung over an abyss. I won''t let go again. God will let fall those that do." They were sitting backagainstthe rocks, beside the entrance to the Sanctuary. She moved her sword aside, making a spot for me to sit alongside her.


    Acceptance. United by Kendall as an antagonist. Ill-fated.


    "Things''ll turn out," Ash said. It was out of character.


    We waited, respecting Porter''s wish not to return. We waited for hours. At one point the sun crested, and it was beautiful, but I didn''t feel it the same as I had, on that first day. Things changed, and I knew that I was one of them. Maybe it wasn''t changed. Not in the proper sense. Things built upon themselves.


    Didn''t feel like waxing philosophical anymore. I closed my eyes and slept. Slept deeper than I had since I''d manifested, leaning back on the rock.

 Motley 1.15

    ¡°Where¡¯s Kendall?¡± Porter asked. He was standing over us, huddled and resting in the cold. He was looking at me, though. Was I the chatty one?


    ¡°He¡¯s screwing off,¡± Anna said, then, pleasantly, ¡°can we take a message?¡±


    ¡°No. Kendall needs to hear this himself. There¡¯s been a development.¡± He strode through the Sanctuary doors, and we took that as our cue to follow. ¡°Aku, get Kendall.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s coming,¡± Aku replied.


    "What''s happened?" Ash asked, actually worried.


    "I''m not explaining twice," Porter replied flatly.


    After some time of us not talking to one another, and standing around, Kendall came through the doors looking a touch disheveled. He was standing straight, though, with his hands clasped behind his back. There was the faintest trace of an odd smell about him.


    He seemed more composed than I''d expected. He hid it well.


    ¡°Professor Porter,¡± he said. ¡°Apologies.¡±


    Porter waved a hand, didn¡¯t care. ¡°TheBeaulieu¡¯s andHasami are en route. I need to talk to you all. Something happened. There was a development during the War Games that¡¯s changed things. Drastically.¡±


    ¡°But what about the War Games?¡±


    ¡°What? Oh, that. What did you think, I would just drop everyone?¡± Porter asked. ¡°That was only for the rest. I¡¯ve narrowed it down to you three, easily enough. I just needed an excuse to drop the rest. I knew you¡¯d lose, but I knew you¡¯d perform. Watching the recap, you did exactly that.¡±


    You¡¯re a moron, Kendall.


    Porter continued. ¡°Your team was effective Kendall, as were you. I''m honestly not sure how you transferred control to Doran, of the demon. It was a feat of skill. Each, with the exception of one, functioned well on their own, and even better as a unit. I''m not throwing that away.¡±


    Kendall let out a breath and, quickly remembering to maintain himself, followed with a stiff nod. He was deeply relieved.


    In through the doors and up to the platform where we stood, thecenter of a lonely Sanctuary, came the Beaulieu''s. Hasami wasn''t far behind, and came to plant one foot up on the platform, occupying the edge.


    "Porter-" Catherine started, her brothers talking over and to each other.


    "Not important," Porter raised a hand. He gave a displeased look to Hasami, who hung his head.


    Predictably, he''d underperformed. Yet he''ll still fight the inevitable.


    "Professors are briefing their students as we speak. There''s been an emergency and it is still ongoing. It has not been resolved, and there''s a possibility that it won''t be." The corner of his mouth rose, I saw, but only a touch. It was in his tone, as well. "An entity has been classified as untiered, and it''s hostile."


    "The fuck? Untiered?" Catherine said. "Like, God?"


    "He''s a pure personification of everything. So, in a sense, yes, miss Beaulieu. An absolute bodily personification of existence, the Omniverse. It had been movingaround in the outer verses, and Aku had attempted to handleit¡­ but failed." He smirked a little. "And we know he¡¯s targeting us. Utopians. We think he''s about balance. The binding element to his being is Ought. He''s a moral agent, and he''s judging us. Much like an Angel would."


    The Samurai had raised his head, displaying a look of dismay.


    The implications were... they were troublesome.


    "We¡¯ll be attempting a binding." Portertook off his blue suit jacket, going over the buttons. "I¡¯m an expert in personification metaphysics, so I¡¯ll be involved. But I can already tell you; it isn¡¯t going to hold, and won¡¯t work more than once¡­ So, there are some things we need to come to terms with.¡± He threw off his jacket and stepped off the platform.


    He was shedding his vest as we followed him back to the lockers, where there was a changing room.


    "The entire operation is pretty much waiting on me," he said. "I''ve got special permission to direct the binding. I needed to get this information to you all, though, so you could talk it over. Plus its fun to make them wait."


    "Talk what over?" Asked one of Cat''s brothers. He caught the shirt which Porter threw at him, then tossed it aside.


    "People talk. There''s been a notion for a while now, among the prophets and seers, that something is coming. A darkness. We don''t know if it''s the Ouroboros, that''s what he calls himself, or what. But the order of things fights back. Change like we enact is resisted. We can''t make things work like we do. And if we''re going to continue to, then we need get stronger. That''s on you. So I''ve decided that I''m going to accelerate your training. To prepare us."


    He stepped into the dressing room and when he stepped out, he was wearing a blue Eidolon suit. A suit with a hint of an old military uniform in it. Like that of a general. It was armored and intricate. Dense.


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    "You three are going to join the Hell Campaign."


    A twisted fight. Our enemy and child.


    Stop that. Shut up.


    ¡°So, you''ve all got to decide. Is this the end of your road to immortality? To whatever the fuck we''re supposed to be reaching towards, nowadays. Know that, if you do make it through Hell, and take part in whatever''s next, I truly believe that it''ll be a new frontier. There''s always more to conquer. Those who do are the only real gods. It is the path into the stars. Into eternity."


    Kendall¡¯s posture hardened. ¡°This sounds like the end.¡±


    ¡°Never an end in sight,¡± Porter said, blithelyundaunted.


    He means to win. To get back what he had.


    This had been Porter from the beginning. He didn¡¯t want a successor, and he had no intention of sharing his skills. No one else could do what he did. I¡¯d looked into his history, on those late nights in thelast month when I couldn¡¯t sleep. I¡¯d watched the hearing. I¡¯d seen Christopher there. He¡¯d said it then. He¡¯d figured it out some time later.


    No one could do what he did. He meant to use that.


    But against something like this. The will of God? If there is such a thing.


    Those implications? I knew what they were now.


    We weren''t righteous. I wasn''t. One couldn''t hope to be.


    "Think it over." Porter picked up and ran out of the Sanctuary. He was off to do whatever they needed him for. They were already giving him special exceptions to his sentence at the first sign of necessity. He expected things only to get worse.


    So did I, inexorably.


    With that, he''d eventually be back in the field like he wanted. That left us as potential teammates for him, one day.


    "Hell just froze over," Ash quipped.


    Kendall turned to Hasami and Catherine. "This is a nightmare."


    "We''re not afraid," Cat smugly said.


    "I''m... I''m hesitant," one of her brothers slowly added.


    "Shutup!" She barked, holding up a hand.


    "Our cause..." Hasami said. Neither Kendall nor Catherine looked pleased. Nobody wanted to talk about the dilemma that Ouroboros presented. Now wasn''t the time for reflection. He continued with a different track. "I will go where the path leads, undeterred. It would be dishonoring to turn back now."


    No room for doubt.


    "There''re all those expressions for a reason," Anna said. "It''s literally the worst place to go, and we''re just gonna live there?"


    "Aye." Odessa had lived there for some time.


    "Can you please get them to shut up," Catherine scowled at Kendall. "The Swordsman is in. We''re fucking in. This is our shot to the Guild. There''s no magus I''d rather study under than Porter. So if you can silence your summons, Kendall, I''d like to know if you''re ready to drop out yet?"


    "Thanks for the extra motivation, Catherine," he said, angrily. "But we need to deliberate on the subject. You can push your brothers around, but I''ll treat well those I depend on." He looked over his shoulder to his summons. Odessa grimaced. He looked like he''d expected it. But he still deflated some.


    He''s trying.


    Abruptly and obnoxiously Ash shouted "Burn!" and snapped his fingers.


    Not everybody understood. Catherine hadn''t, but it still pissed her off.


    She stormed out of the Sanctuary with brothers in tow. Hasami too took his leave. He wasn''t happy either. Once again we alone occupied the Sanctuary.


    "We''re not going to go through with this, right?" Anna asked. "Please,please, tell me we''re not going to hell, Kendall."


    "Inevitability," he replied. "I can''t be the only one who gets that?"


    "Spare us," Ash, vitriolic, said. "We don''t have to do anything."


    "This is graduation for me, you fucker. The price of my tuition was alwaysmilitary service. This was alwaysthe probable endgame. If I drop out now, because I don''tfeel like it, then I''ll never get back in. Each of us goes back to being who we were without the Cause." He looked to each of us in turnand said, "Ash goes to another summoner, or, far more likely, gets shelved. Odessa rolls the same dice. Anna? I''m not sure they wouldn''t just dispel you. And Doran? He can go back to wherever he came from. I''ll see to that."


    Fuck you, bro.


    "So, this is where we part ways... if you choose." Facing Odessa he added, "I owe you that choice." He fished out his cards from his pocket. Stared down at them, waiting and pretending to search through them.


    I, tightlipped, was still silent. My answer was a given to him. But I had serious doubts. I didn''t want this. Even though I had begun with the mindset to plan and plot. I now couldn''t recall whyreally. Why anyone would play this game.


    But nobody really makes that choice. Nobody does this on purpose.


    Can you really follow through?


    You don''t have to. You can stop.


    No. I can''t.


    I had made up my mind. For now, I would stay the path that''s been made.


    "This sucks." Ash simpered creepily. "But I think I''ll stick with you, Kendall."


    "That''s two," Kendall said. Taken for granted.


    "You could request a transfer!" Anna desperately reasoned.


    "I won''t abandon you, Kendall. But know that I will not bow," Odessa said.


    "Fair enough," he replied.


    "No! Come on!" Anna shouted. "I don''t get a goddamned choice! That''s what''s fucked about all this! When did being rational start meaning that you control everything? Every choice that''s offeredis one that benefit the Cause. It''s fucked! Don''t you get it?!" She actually began to storm off, leaving us behind.


    Kendall started after her, but I put a hand on his shoulder.


    "What?" He slapped it away. I took the question as permission.


    "She needs this," I said, grimly.


    I didn''t know if she''d come back. It wasn''t like she could go anywhere. Kendall could call her back in a moment. The command need not be heard. None of us could be free. None of usreally could be free with him.


    "We''re staying together then," Kendall concluded. "For the long-haul."


    "Yes. From here on we achieve as a unity," Odessa said.


    "In sickness and in health," Ash mocked, still smiling.


    "Together," Kendall threw away the cards in his hands, "we''ll be stronger." As they drifted to the ground they burned away. No idea what that meant.


    I knew, though, that onward we''d be together. Stronger? Maybe even so.


    "Let''s go," Odessa said.


    "Yeah." Kendall knew the way, leading it.


    We went on, out from the Sanctuaryto prepare ourselves and attend to anything that needed attending. When Porter returned, we''d be ready with our answer.


    Kendall''s decision was to seek immortality in the Guild, the only ones who would give him such a gift. Odessa and Ash were with him hoping that in the end, they might be free. An unlikely prospect, that Kendall would give up his weapons.


    No, in the back of their minds, they knew the truth. That, unless we die, we''ll be doing this forever, with Kendall as our master. The business about contract limits was all lies. They''d force our hands, just as they''d done to Anna.


    I doubted that we''d get that far, though. I couldn''t live that way.


    I looked up to the twilight sky one last time, appreciating the stars.


    Set my mind to the present. There was work to do. A descent to be made.


    But, I couldn''t deny the dread growing inside. Every choice turned air to led.


    To Hell, we damned go.

 Interlude I

    A path was made through the Utopian students for Sebastian. His silver helmet folded away, uncovering a displeased look leveled at one person in particular.


    The halls of the museum were tightly packed surrounding the help desk. It''d been made a station for the students in contact with Orbital. There the tacticians, ethicists, and seers resided, informing battle strategy.


    A girl sat in the swivel chair, behind the desk. She interacted with hologram displays and spoke endlessly over her earpiece. A red-haired student was leaning in, flirting with her. Sebastian brushed him out of the way with one handand slammed his palms down, grabbing her attention.


    "I''m in command of this operation. This is disgraceful," he rumbled. "There''s a complete lack of organization, and on top of that, we''ve ceased receiving status updates on enemy positions. You''re failing, Miss!"


    "I''m trying." She looked frantically over her information. "Masters in Orbital and on the battlefield are quitting. I''m not receiving updates either. It''s chaos. I''m doing my best. Also, I don''t remember being told that you had command?"


    "I''m assuming command, Miss." He leaned further over the desk. "It doesn''t matter. What matters, is that we''re all huddled together in one location and blind. It''s a disaster in wait. We need intel so I can issue orders."


    "It''s Megan, and there''s a command structure, Master Elwood."


    "Clearly, there isn''t." He straightened. "I need you to-"


    "Okeydokey," came a voice behind him.


    There was movement in his periphery. A quick slash too rapid to react.


    "Goddammit!" He shouted.


    Sebastian sat quickly up and put a hand to his head. A sensation of pain subsided into lost memory. He sat in a dim room with one door and no windows. He knew this room. He wore a grey jumpsuit, his suit gone. Removing his head from hands, he gazed at the blue tattoos dancing over his dark skin. Countless runes with faint light behind them.


    "What happened?" Sebastian asked.


    The voice most familiar to him replied. "You were assassinated."


    "No. That''s not what I mean."


    "Oh." He''d actually managed to catch the intelligence off guard. He had a knack for it. "An emergency situation developed. It was decided that the War Games would continue, but many of the Professors have been needed for a Council."


    "And I was not needed?"


    "I''m afraid your skills would only offer collateral damage."


    Sebastian scowled. "I want a priority teleport. Get me to that meeting."


    "Yes, sir."


    A light engulfed him.


    Teleports were hard on one so grounded as Sebastian. To be forcefully cut and pasted in a different place, it took him a moment to get his bearings.


    He sat on his legs, hands on his knees in a ghostly corridor. The long passage held only him, and without his suit, he felt bare. He was rarely vulnerable enough to feel that, the paranoia which came with being alone.


    He groaned at the thought. He''d been alone for a long time.


    Sebastian followed his insight and came to a set of doors. Pulling them back he heard argument which quickly silenced. It was midnight on the real Earth. Only moonlight and the glow of holograms illuminated the meeting room. Eight or so stone-faced experts encircled a wide table which projected up an image.


    The image was of a man. Rendered in full color the hologram displayed him pale and grim. His hair white and eyes black, he carried a Sickle, cloaked in haggard dark apparel. He looked like he was from another age.


    "Sebastian Magus joins the council," Aku announced.


    He descended to the bottom of the court, past rows of empty seats to take his place at the table. Some faces he recognized were Wulff and Porter. Others were Professorsand one ethicist. They exchanged short nods.


    There were countless Magus on the hundreds of Utopian Liberated worlds and in the hellscape. Yet only a handful was invited. Not me, but I''m here anyway.


    More people were arriving, but they relegated themselves to the outskirts. There was no space for them at the table.


    "Apologies. Fill me in," Sebastian said.


    "Ouroboros is an untiered hostile entity. We believe he is a personification. Mister Porter, as the expert, was about to give his assessment."


    Porter, the man in the disheveled blue suit, leaned in. There was a moment of silence as he thought. "This is an abstract being," he decided. "The idea of him precedes the reality. We have video of him slicing through metal and surviving incredible heat untouched. My theory, however, is that his attributes are not a constant." The other Magus whispered in discussion. "I believe he may change situationally, given that his nature is transcendent. Consider that he''s a concept adapted to our binary reality, and you may begin to understand the amorphous nature. When facing against natural things, such as androids or humans-"


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    "Humans are supernatural," a white-bearded man interjected.


    "No," Porter flatly responded. "Not naturally. Magic, it''s a breakdown of causal reality into conceptual metaphysics. We don''t fully understand it, really. We only know it relates directly to thewhereforeofthis." He gestured broadly.


    "Let''s not digress, gentlemen," Wulff warned.


    Porter grimaced. "Not natural," he repeated, squinting at the bearded man. "Which reinforces my gut feeling. Ouroboros is a weapon."


    "As in created?" The Ethicist asked. "To attack us?"


    "You know, I''d honestlyloveto ask him," Porter said.


    "Part of the reason I''m here," the Ethicist added. She was undoubtedly a councilwoman. "It''s to oversee your involvement."


    Porter sighed.


    "I''m not sure I agree with your assessment." Wulff crossed his arms. "But the question remains, I''d think we''d all agree, what of our response? Our technology is impotent against him, that makes him a significant threat."


    "Aku is the pinnacle of our science and philosophy," another Magus said. "Yet is renderedimpotent against what this thing represents? Who decides this?" It was rhetorical, Sebastian decided. "I think we could overpower him."


    "Unlikely." Sebastian looked to Porter.


    "Yes," he agreed. "This thing is inexorable. Like death. The cyclical kind, the highest form. I sense that. We really don''t want to engage in a large-scale conflict. And believe me, it''d be large-scale." Porter passed the look down to the ethicist. "I could do it."


    The other Magus scoffed.


    Wulff gave his say. "A binding."


    Porter shrugged. "Sure. I can direct and drones can scribe the runes. It''ll be a mass ritual. We''ll need all the numbers we can muster. And even though there is a multitude of us, there''s just no possible way it will be enough. Not forever."


    Wulff dismissed him. "In practice, it will succeed."


    "That''s what is best, then?" the ethicist asked.


    "Yes," Porter replied. He grimaced in consideration, then abruptly left. One could only assume for something important. Sebastian was suspicious.


    All around the table people gave assent or held their piece. Sebastian didn''t speak. They all broke away from the table. More had to be gathered, all the Masters summoned. He decided not to see how things went. Needed to suit back up. He wanted to be back where he felt at ease. Watching.


    He left them behind to find his way up into the night.


    O


    Porter marched onto the deck of the ship, which was lit by the light of wide levitating screens. The windows which looked straight down on the charred planet confused his sense of gravity.


    Vertigo. That was the word.


    Standing at every point around the room were Master Magus of the Guild. Recognized sorcerers of every caliber. The primarily transhumanist Technicists were there as well. He passed one, a full cyborg, on his way to the front.


    Screens played the live footage that their ship was capturing. The Ouroboros from top-down rushing through mining machinery on the surface. Literally tearing through them like paper, only raising his weapon for the occasional android. He didn''t break or hesitate. He was singlehandedly dismantling the mining planet.


    He stopped suddenly, walking out into the open. He turned to stare up into the night sky. He saw them as clearly as they saw him. His gaze fell heavy on the Magus. It could be felt.


    Aku read and projected his voice as his lips moved. "Face judgment."


    Porter was ready.


    Aku began the countdown. "Five seconds to drop. Five, four, three, two..."


    One. The floor dropped out from under them. Space and the atmosphere blurring past as they were shunted to the surface. They resolidified, hitting the ground. Many were forced to their knees by the impact, but Porter stood.


    Surrounding the Ouroboros were easily a hundred Magus. Each armored and powerful. Many wielding weapons. All were at a distance from him, though. A distance which he could easily close.


    Ouroboros spoke and his voice was close as a whisper. "No." He stepped forward and Porter raised a hand. His eyes widened, his advancement halted. "You will not commit this sin." He sized up the forces facing him. He locked eyes with Porter. "You, the Man," he called. "They know not with what they meddle. Neither you. Yourlack of understanding is matched dangerously with your power. This. I have seen this before. You can only harshen my wrath, children. I lament this."


    There was a pause. They both knew each other. Knew what would happen next.


    Ouroboros bolted. Porter instantly gave the order.


    The circle fell with a flash as the rune was etched. Ouroboros crashed against the binding''s edge and the entire world rose and fell. Mountains in the distance were razed, the earth buckled. Porter hit his knees, his hands steadying the ground as they touched.


    Others raised their arms around the freshly lasered symbol, forming a reinforcing ring. There was a terrible shaking. The turning of the world brought the sun over the horizon. It burned away at the air around them. Two Magus broke off, their places being filled out, to block the light. This planet was too close to the sun. Their field of air was hemorrhaging to fight the heat. The wind was rising.


    "In the name of perfection, of mankind, and of me, we bind you," Porter said to the ashen man, not two feet away. He pushed on the unseen wall. Spiderweb fractures crawled out from his feet, threatening to break the symbol. "Seal him!"


    "No!" Ouroboros slid back as the circle shrunk. The Magus approached to close the seal. Everyone strained against the strength of one, people clambering over each other to keep pressure from every angle as the crowd grew tighter.


    Silence fell. The Magus took a step back, dispersing.Porter nearly collapsed.


    The rune had sealed, locking inward to bind the Ouroboros in a halo of light which shot up into the sky. Porter stood shakily to work his way out of the pack. To take a step back. With space, he could crane his head to see the white pillar disappearing into space. He could watch as the pillar narrowed and flickered out, collapsing into a single point of light within the circle.


    A man came and clapped a hand on Porter''s shoulder. Through his helmet, Wulff said, "We need to clear out. Aku haswork to do."


    Have to keep reinforcing the binding.


    "Yeah." Porter waited for a while longer as others teleported out.He knew this wasn''t over. But it was over for now.


    Drained. His strength was spent. For the first time, he''d felt a limit. Everything seemed a little darker, because of it. It made him doubt.


    Fuck that. Fuck uncertainty.


    Porter had faith.


    He left to go bide his time. This wasn''t over.

 Interlude II

    Jilly was in a daze.


    The military schtick wasn''t for her. What with the siren stirring her from too little sleep and the general demands on personal time. It was the price, though. Hypothetically, it was all worth it. Just had to stick it out.


    She lurched around her apartment, past her work area and blackboard to the kitchen. She touched the light switch and stuck a cup under her coffee machine. Turned an eye to her wrist and a holographic clock flipped on.


    Eight minutes, she remembered.


    Time was different between dimensions, so the clock was personally tuned to her biology and schedule. She was an Eidolon, a member of the Utopian military. Nobody called it that, however. Didn''t fit the self-image people made. Hence the term Eidolon. An ideal to strive towards.


    Fluffy feelings on a stiff mattress.


    Analogies, feh.


    You''re still asleep, dummy.


    Jilly grabbed her coffee and a pill from the bottle on her counter. Something to balance her body and promote health. A fix for a little of everything.


    She quickly drank while she located her suit. A dark grey, thick second skin. She changed out of her skivvies in the living room. There was only open space out the window. It was probably one-way, anyway. Yup, still creepy, so hastened.


    Jilly was sealing her suit as she grabbed her helmet off the recliner by the door. Downing the last of her coffee she stepped into the hall, putting it on.


    She descended a flight of stairs at the end of the hall. Faster than the elevator, which was probably in use. Could use the exercise, too.


    Nope. Should''ve used the stairs.


    Two minutes of flights later, she hit the floor running. Out onto the ship bay, she ran, surrounded on all sides by small crafts and behemoth vessels.


    Her display lead the way in augmented reality.


    "Good morning, Jillian," a friendly and neutral voice came.


    "''Ey, Aku," Jilly replied. She circled around a fighter and her ship came into view. A small carrier craft with open cargo-bay doors facing her.


    My ship. She was cool like that.


    There were fun parts to all this. She hadn''t been at it for long, but she still got her own ship and squadron. Perks.


    There were four masculine figures of identical imposing build at the ramp. Each in the same suit as her. The closest one returned a sarcastic salute as she approached.


    "Hello again."


    "Ready for work?" the android asked.


    "As ever!... What''s the job?"


    "Investigation. I''ll show you."


    She hop-stepped up the ramp and into the red-lit ship. Taking her seat she grabbed hold of the metal cage around her with one hand. With the other, she manipulated her display. There came images of a world. Taken from high above, the sphere was set against the black of space.


    She recognized it. "A Relocation World?"


    Fluffy stuffing, she recalled.


    The ship bucked as it revved up and off, the cargo doors thrumming shut.


    "Yes. There''s concern which I happen to share, of a widespread security breach. Recurring surveillance failures in my systems. Unaccounted for persons. I believe metaphysical disturbances may be involved."


    "Sure." A video played in front of her of a gaunt man in a jumpsuit. He ran down a hall, screaming for help.


    "He''s not yet been found."


    "That''s... disturbing," Jilly said.


    "Mhm."


    The ship would now be passing through any number of gateways. She couldn''t feel it, though. She just knew.


    Jilly hung her head and let her mind wander. The flight would be short.


    She thought of home and of the Monastery. And a little of Kyle. He was fun.


    The rocking of the ship and the roaring of wind signaled it. They''d hit the atmosphere. She held tight for the turbulence that followed.


    "One minute to touch-down," her comms informed. "Stay back."


    The ship quieted down as it came to rest and the door came down. The four androids rose in perfect coordination grabbing their weapons from aside their seats and moving to secure the door. Outside the ship was projecting blinding spotlights on a dark landing area. Blotches danced in the black beyond like spots behind shut eyes.


    Not all the silhouettes looked human.


    Oh, shit, she realized.


    "This is a restricted area!" speakers shouted.


    Jilly came up behind the androids in formation. "Relocation from where?"


    "The Hell Campaign," Aku said.


    All of the sudden it was far too silent.


    This entire planet was a destination for those plucked from the throes of hell itself. The literal place, it came in all colors and climates. They were connected by symbolic resonance, and there were countless in the Omniverse. It was a major Utopian mission to empty them out.


    It was also a great and undeserved mercy, for most, to remove them. It wasn''t like the planets which were given a second home to displaced or Liberated races. It was a prison for long broken souls and bodies. It wasn¡¯t a nice place.


    The speakers continued their warnings as the massive shuttle bay doors shut overhead, sealing Jilly in. She stayed close behind the expendables as they left their ship behind. Drones flew overhead to provide light.


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    The five of them came to a door which began to open.


    Jilly looked back into the dark to see the skittering legs of a thing skimming the light''s edge. She could sense its presence. She decided not to think on it, though.


    This is a locked off and unlit area. The outcasts live here. Things that don''t seek company with other things still resembling human. She shivered.


    With androids surrounding Jilly, she was led safely out through the doors which closed behind them. They were now in a courtyard. Men and women in jumpsuits sat or stood along the walls. In the center, there was a basketball court. No one was playing, but a girl sat atop one of the poles. There were androids too. Peacekeepers.


    "Hey!" the girl called. "Yeah you!"


    Jilly was walking with her protectors along the wall. They had a ways to go. Bored people were gravitating towards their group, and as a result, so were more androids. The girl jumped down and caught up.


    "You''re no machine. Robots don''t come with breasts," she said.


    "The fun kind do," a man added.


    "I''m a Magus. I''m here on official business, no fun times," Jilly responded.


    "You mean you''re really not here for poon?" Jilly looked and the girl was... mad? It was hard to tell. Her expression was odd. She had a cross tattooed on her brow and nose. "No, you''re here to make sure we don''t get out. Idn''t that right, puddin''?"


    "No panky, thank''ye. And hey, It''s a whole planet out there. Sure there''s rules, but they''re just common sense. You''ve got plenty room to live and sights to see. There''re mountains and lakes even, yeah?"


    "Yes," one of the androids confirmed.


    "Are you complaining, really?" Jilly said. "Food, freedom, and fun provided."


    "It''s still a cage. You can''t say this place has everything, cause it don''t."


    "Jobs to perform, recreational activities... I dunno, but I''m sure someone smarter than me has thought of the rest."


    Gotta distract them from the pointlessness.


    Don''t go getting deep on my, Jellyhead.


    "Listen, kid, we don''t need you. Give us control, freedom!"


    Pfft. Jilly looked at the girl. They had to be the same age; mid-twenties. She also felt like diverting the conversation away from absurdity. "Kid?"


    "I''ve died and been to hell, sweety. Been around for at least a few hundred years. But you know, I lose track when there''s no light and I''m up to my neck in ice. You... fuck." The girl grew quiet as she thought about it. She walked away without saying more.


    Mission accomplished!


    Jilly elected to ignore the insults and questions levied by the rest of the crowd. Soon many of them too fell away, and her destination was nearing. They came to it past a large vault door. The same hall from the video. The one the man had run screaming down.


    "Maintenance is having trouble with the lighting. Replacement bulbs have malfunctioned. I was unable to locate a mechanical explanation, therefore, we''re lead to believe the cause is supernatural," Jilly''s soldier explained.


    Those same lights flickered and buzzed down the length of a long hall. Doors on both sides lead to countless unfilled living quarters. It was eerie.


    "The planet is not yet at full capacity, so this sector is empty."


    Nearby inhabited areas, though, she noted.


    "I''m going to dig around a bit," Jilly said. "Don''t let anything happen while I''m out, okay? That''d suck."


    The android gave a thumbs-up.


    "Alright." She got down on her knees. It was necessary to remove her helmet. Laying it on the ground in front of her, she swept matted brunette hair out of her face, brushing it back. "Echoes guide me," she whispered. "Show me time."


    This was what she¡¯d studied at the Monastery.


    Her head flew back, eyes rolling white, teeth barred.


    She watched as her body stood and walked backward out of sight. The lights flickered rapidly and robots flashed by to work in reverse. She had to grind things to a halt as the screaming man came out from where he''d gone.


    Jilly just needed to follow him now. Had to go where the cameras had failed to. She willed the vision to play time forward. "Carry me down the hall." She had to trust Aku to do that. She couldn''t feel herself being moved, but as her change in perspective came, she knew they''d started.


    Now she could follow the man as she watched him in slow-motion. Down the nearly pitch black hall for quite some ways. She tried looking back, but there was a field of darkness surrounding the pursuer. Not a natural dark either. No, like the information just wasn''t there. Like it''d been cut.


    The man came to a door. "Stop. Room X7A3," she said. The man left the door open. It led to a level of the building which held equipment. Heaters and coolers and machinery of all sorts. Stairs, too.


    God, I hope they don''t drop me.


    It was hard, but she continued to direct Aku.


    The eaten space followed the man as he weaved between pipes and things, yelling back. Noise was harder to get a fix on. Jilly couldn''t make out what he was saying.


    He looked to be pleading.


    He tripped and staggered, fell. Rising with a bloodied face, the man had, in his confusion, made his way to a corner. A dead-end. He turned around shoved as far against the wall as he could, sliding down.


    Jilly could switch focus now. She stopped the motion to focus on audio.


    "Please," he faintly said. She tried harder. "Please!"


    Got it!


    The sickly man continued. "I won''t tell anyone!"


    "That''s too bad, honey." Her voice came out from the dark. "I''ll be eating your eyes anyway. That''s just me." The cloud moved over him and stopped his shrill scream from escaping.


    Shit. She needed more information. They could investigate once she left this state, but she shouldn''t leave without more, without everything available.


    "Let''s backup," Jilly said. She was rewinding, but the erased hadn''t retreated. That wasn''t right. She fast-forwarded, but the darkness didn''t budge. The trail was permanent no matter how far forward or back she went. The information was just gone.


    I''m not moving.


    She broke out of her trance, reality crashing down on her.


    Jilly lay in a pile of decimated androids. There was a blade in her chest.


    She couldn''t gasp or cry out. The pain was incredible. Her mouth let out a soundless cry as her eyes watered.


    Perched on the handle of the blade embedded in her chest, the girl with the cross tattoo grinned, leering over Jilly.


    She could only strangle out a groan as her lungs struggled to expand. The deluge of blood drowned that whimper in a gurgle. She jerked, trying to expel the fluid from her lungs in a coughing fit, but failed. Her damp eyes grew wide and still. All she could manage to think was; afluffy mattress.


    The girl watched from above, giddy.


    O


    Aku''s units had been defeated. The attacker had taken damage but not slowed. Cameras in the area gave into static as the image of an unconscious Jillian being eviscerated faded.


    The instant the enemy had felled one android a massive response was already being summoned. Teleports were not working.


    The speed of human response was horribly unhelpful. Units were en route, but they would likely be ineffective. Magus needed to be contacted, updated, and informed. Only a handful could travel with their abilities, and even fewer were available.


    Likelihood of casualty was high.


    The attacker would likely escape again.


    This was a rarity. Security would have to be greatly increased on further investigations. More Magus would be required. There was a deficit. The Hell Campaign was a resource consumptive operation. The Eidolons were primarily devoted to it, given that they mostly consisted of Magus. Aku could handle other affairs.


    The A.I. shelved that as events unfolded. In trillions of places at once the machine orchestrated events. Entire worlds were being liberated from suffering by automated armies. First reconnaissance, then contact was made, and then occupation. The populations were often compliant, given that the only goal was to provide them resources and freedoms. One after the next. An endless process for an endless Omniverse.


    It was a mission that Aku cared about. It was beautiful.


    Eternal.

 Damned 2.01

    I collapsed.


    Fuck, I thought. I wasn''t paying enough attention to my body.


    On my knees there in the sand, a sludge thick wind rolling over me, I gave a tug to the rope around my waist. The air parted in a vortex around us. Anna was giving a respite, pulling the dust-storm off of us. The sunlight was muted without the disruptionand barely reached us.


    We were a rope train, us four, with me at the head. Next behind me was Odessa, dragging the tip of her sword across the rocky plane. Behind her, Ash, and as the caboose, there was Anna holding back the wind, straining.


    Odessa got low beside me to be heard. "Do we need to stop?"


    "I''m alright," I said. "We''ve got to get out of this storm."


    There was too much shit in my eyes. They were better closed, at this point. I had the job of leading us through this. Literally by faith.


    "Come on!" I yelled.


    Anna let collapse her protection, and we returned to our trudge. There was no slack in the rope as we each helped pull the one behind us. I was miserable like this. We''d been walking for nearly a day and the monotony was the only thing keeping me on my feet. Had to keep walking. I could do that.


    Everything was blaring static.


    The ground had risen, I realized. That''s why I had fallen. These were flatlands, a slight incline meant we were close. The others would soon notice.


    The rope would occasionally go taut as one of them fell. Probably Anna. I could only keep pulling and try not to fall myself. She would make it.


    The hill''s incline only harshenedas we continued. Steepening to the point that I was using my hands to pull myself forward. My right found purchase on the tip of the hill, it suddenly dropping off. I rose myself up over the edge and in pain opened my eyes.


    The black beyond in the canyon was interrupted only by the outline of a haphazardly suspended structure between its walls. Ropes and wood coming together into an insanely built smattering of platforms alike a hornet''s nest.


    And that was where we needed to be.


    There was no good way to warn the others whilein these conditions. They''d see when they met the peak. I had to keep going, I knew.


    I put my legs over the edge and disappeared down it. I held on for dear life and dangled. There were no good footholds, dammit. My bare feet scrambled against the crumbling rocks.


    This wasn''t going to work, I realized.


    "Lookout!" I screamed. My handholds crumbled and I fell backward. The rope at my waist snapped tight. Odessa was yanked over, the weight of her sword brought Anna and Ash quickly following. We all fell faster and freely towards the bottomless dark.


    I jerked wildly, smashing heads with Ash when Odessa lodged her blade into the cliffside. He was swearing in my ear and I really couldn''t make his words out. My skull ached and I really didn''t care. He talked too fucking much, anyway.


    The rope had held up. With the wind gone I could hear enough to ask Odessa how she was.


    "My shoulder is not good," she said. "It''s verybad, actually."


    Can''t let go her sword so her arm took all of our inertia. She''s tough.


    We weren''t dead yet.


    "Anna?"


    No response. She twisted around at the bottom of the rope, limp.


    "I can''t pull her," Ash said. He had uprighted, but he was stuck between Anna and Odessa. "I can always cut the weight."


    "No." I pushed off his face and grabbed the cliffside. Here lower, it was more porous. I looked over my shoulder. The wire and rope supportwere anchored into the rock somehow. The nearest place they met was still far out of my reach tethered to Odessa. I could probably free climb it.


    You''ll have to.


    Right. "Cut me loose, Ash." I didn''t have my hands to undo the knot.


    He swiped his hand and my connection to Odessa was gone. If I fell now, I was very dead or worse. I decidedly was not going to fall.


    I was fucking tired. I wasn''t sure if I could screw around climbing. I would slip or tire out, inevitably. But I was morally compelled. I scaled down to Anna''s side. Her swaying nearly knocked me off.


    I steadied her with my free hand, leaving my other trembling under the near full weight of my body. Raising her head, she was unconscious. I grabbed her by the jaw and pulled Anna closer. I touched her head to mine.


    "Wakeup," I ordered.


    Anna gasped and panicked. I quickly pulled myself out of her way.


    "You''re okay." I was pretty sure I sensed that. "You three have to get over to that wire... you can just slide to safety from there, I think."


    Anna had collected herself enough to stop dangling and grab the wall. Ash was up and ready to go. Odessa gripped the rock with her good hand and ripped out her sword with the other. She was strong, the other two were light. I was two hundred pounds and too weak to support myself. My fingers loosening, my arms still trembling, I knew what was going to happen. I could have gone for safety, I thought, but Anna wouldn''t have woken. Ash wouldn''t have been able to move her. He would have cut her loose.


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    I had it all reasoned out, the moral equation. I couldn''t, in that moment, imagine some bigger picture with which to convince myself that I had value. All I knew was that I''d saved Anna. That was good.


    I let go.


    Instead of falling down, though, a torrent carried me sideways. I sailed to hit and roll over a low hanging platform. Over its edge, I went and landed on something below. I slid to the edge and one of my legs slipped over. But I had stopped. I couldn''t bring myself to pull it up. I was simply done moving.


    Damn. That nearly happened.


    Taking excess amounts of time, I rolled over and tried to rise. I trusted the others to make it to me. I was below the main structure, caught in its loose pieces. I started my slow climb. I only had to step up on a few taut ropes and pull myself up to reach the main level of the structure.


    The others landed beside me. Ash, on his feet, Odessa knees, and Anna back. Odessa had slid along the support rope and dropped down.


    The support ropes tied mostly into a knot at the top, with a suspended building hanging beneath them. We stood on the deck outside, candlelight could be seen through the spaces between old boards. There was a dried skin acting as a curtain to the entrance.


    We four entered the building to the sound of idle chatter. At a bar and further away around a pit, numerous beings loitered. Crooked and bloated forms wrapped in rags like us. Long-time residents of this hell-plane, it looked like.


    Thankfully, we fit in. Odessa had swapped back to her haggard old armor, Ash had always looked dirty, and Anna was the only one still wearing a mud-stained suit under her cloak. Me, I couldn''t handle the heat in my old clothes when they''d stopped functioning. I was swaddled in tattered brown cloth. My head was shaved.


    Each of us looked like shit, basically.


    The skeleton behind the bar animated when candles across it lit. It''s hollow eyes looked at us. "Welcome to the respite," he said. "Consensual acts only allowed. Refreshments?" His spindly fingers quickly laid out four cups.


    "What the hell is this?" Anna asked between coughs.


    "I have no idea," I replied. "Odessa, Ash?"


    "I never socialized in my time," Odessa said. She was heading for the bar.


    "I''ve been to bars in hell, but not in the middle of nowhere." Ash followed.


    We all went to sit and I pulled out something from my cloak. "This is it, though. There''s definitely nothing else out here that I can sense. This is where the spell is coming from." What I had was a bag of mostly small bones. Gathering some sand I had stored, I drew out a circle on the counter. Emptied the bag and looked at the result.


    "What should we expect?" Anna eyed the back of the bar where far more things walked. There was one further down the bar, but it skulked away.


    "Osteomancy says..." Failure. "It''s unclear."


    "Pfft. Same as always," Ash said.


    Can''t go back yet.The time isn''t right.


    I tappedmy cup. "Water, please. What do we do next?"


    Skeleton pulled an empty glass up and poured dust into my cup.


    This not eating or drinking thing was absolutely fucking awful. All of us pulled it off, though some better than others. The seniors didn''t hunger or thirst. Anna and I, we had problems. But, I was beginning to get over it. Which didn''t necessarily seem a good thing. It was bittersweet.


    "I''m very close to calling off this mission. We''ve seen no sign of success, and at this point, it''s unlikely that will change. Remember, we still have the journey back. We also almost lost you, Doran. I believe that this is it for our party," Odessa said.


    "Seconded," Anna added. "We''ll rest and if we can''t find anything, I''m very ready to go home." She put a hand on my shoulder. "You really scared me."


    "Sorry."


    "So close!" Ash joked. His smile was pleasant. Hmm.


    I raised my empty cup. "To a year together."


    "Not quite," Ash said, not raising his. He liked to flaunt his sense of time.


    "I rounded, bitch."


    "My nigga," he replied, keeping his smile.


    Everyone raised their cups.


    We lingered in silence for a long time before Anna spoke.


    "What''s the plan?"


    Odessa deferred to me with a gesture.


    I nodded. "Most entities here are very old." I pointed to the giant sitting in the dark area beyond the pit. I could feel its eyes on me, sitting in the shadows outside the candlelight. "Highly refined metaphysical engines. Anything so old boils itself down to distinguishable concepts and patterns. Watchers." I poked Anna. "You, I, and Odessa are the only once-human beings here I see. Everyone else is a freely formedthing."


    "How human-centric," Ash said.


    "We make up the vast majority of consciousness," Anna retorted. Something the Utopians had taught her. It was only right to prioritize humans.


    Homogeneity was the key to peace, they believed.


    "Once human," Ash repeated me, emphasizing it.


    "Fuck you."


    I got up. Anna sighed and went with me. The two of us approached the pit to see that there was a body lying in the dirt. The shifty people of flesh and keratin, some stone, moved aside for us to stand around the pit. I crossed my arms and watched as the body was drug away by an eight-limbed concoction of human parts.


    The short gangly one to my right caressed my shoulder. I looked over and-


    You should not be here,the thought hit me. A foreign voice.Youhave ventured too deep, the edge is near. There''s nothing here for man. You must turn back.


    The light of its eyes gazed back at me from under a hood. A soundless voice filled them."Do you know what we seek?"I asked it.


    You seek in vain, Pilgrim. Return to the path.


    "Thank you for the advice."


    I broke eye contact and the voice was silenced. Anna quirked an eyebrow at myapparently unanswered question. I shrugged.


    Odessa and Ash caught up.


    "We thought to ask the barkeep," Odessa said, low.


    "He said this place was built from rubble a literal eternity ago. Like that''s a measurement of time," Ash continued. "He mentioned thePrimordials." He beamed at the word. We knew. I''d read Metanarrative theory.


    Way too fucking old.


    "This is a literal dead-end," I added. "There''s nowhere to go from here, physically. The mission is a bust. Fuck."


    "What?" Anna asked, a little loud. "What the fuck? The Omniverse is infinite."


    "Some theories say no. That actualized infinity is an impossibility. Doesn''t really matter, though. It''s not relevant to this dimension. Doesn''t change the fact that we''re too far down in the black. We''ve reached a depth where reality has started to thin out. It''s the reverse pressure of a trench. We won''t go any further," I decided.


    "But... the spell has to be here, then? The tech-killer has to be here."


    I thought about it. "Maybe? It could just be a natural phenomenon."


    "By God," Odessa swore, realizing this long mission might be pointless.


    "I''m sorry."Eight months in the loneliest harshest hell for nothing.


    Ash chuckled. "I give zero fucks, people. But there''s one very important thing I''ve learned over the course of this outing. You know what that is? The thing all this trudging has caused me to realize...Because I''ll tell you."


    "What is it?" Anna reluctantly questioned.


    "...I am not walking back." Before I could stop him, he jumped up, hollering, "Who can transport us!?"


    "Dammit, Ash!"


    The whispering suddenly stopped, every creature giving us its full attention. The giant in the back stirred. I frowned at Ash and he ignored me.


    Then, the air filled with a giant''s rumbling voice, "Ey... Tu..."


    I translated, saying, "You''ll pay."

 Damned 2.02

    "Dammit, Ash," I repeated. "You bastard. Uh... fuck, I can''t keep up." I could grasp meaning but I couldn''t speak the languages. The creatures all around us were riled up, now. Speaking in foreign tongues, rattling swords, and moving.


    Meaning? It wasn''t good.


    Those that occupied the darkness beyond the pit were larger. They had a presence. Though too dark to make out, I saw the giant point a long finger towards the pit.


    "Have you figured it out yet?" Ash asked, mocking.


    "You-!"Calm."Your amusement has a price."He poked me, grinning, prodding. "Yes," I added reluctantly. "Fuck you."


    Ash... he reasoned too quickly. We were tired. He wasn''t. All this time in the desert and he''d never stopped thinking tactically. But I was catching up.


    Barely survived the way here.He wasn''t just an ass.


    A two-headed man hopped down into the ring and beat his chest.


    A fight. Entertainment. That was how we''d pay for our crossing.


    I held up a finger to the giant in the back. He was the heaviest pull, the one in charge, I sensed. "One sec."


    All four of us sojourned a step back from the pit.


    "What the fuck, Ash?" Anna said.


    "No," I stopped her. "Ash was just quick to the punch. We won''t make it back. I could navigate us to the gravity of this place... But Hell is a black hole. It''s so much easier to get in than out. And I don''t think there''s a way to walk it."


    "We were counting on breaking the spell," Odessa said. "That help would come. But failure, which seems the case, means help cannot come. Our call can''t escape the gravity well." She raised an eyebrow at me. Right?


    I gave a thumbs up. "Exactly."


    "But what about the mission?" Anna asked.


    "We''ll ask once we''ve introduced ourselves," I said. I threw off my cloak.


    Anna, looking at my bare chest, said, "But, uh... You''re volunteering?"


    I nodded, pointed in turn, "Sword, knives, elements... It''s a fist fight. I may be second strongest, toughest, but Odessa can''t part with herweapon. But I can barely stand, so... All I can say is wish me luck, I guess."


    Belief won''t keep you on your feet,I thought.


    "Best of luck, brother." Odessa took my clothes.


    I neared the pit and held my hand high. "I''ll fight," I declared.


    Suddenly the quiet, ancient things made a ruckus. Entertainment awakened them from a state of death-like stagnancy centuries old. Many of them weren''t just passerby''s but had taken up residence in this forgotten corner of hell. Unlike us, having just blown in minutes ago. Here, we were theoddities.


    "If things turn bad," I asked, "you understand?"


    "Yes," Odessa said.


    "Good." I jumped down into the ring, my feet hitting dirt laden boards. I beat my breast once, mimicking. The two-headed musclebound beast of a man standing a head above me. I tried my best to land straight and stand tall. But looking at him, I had only one thought.


    The bendable don''t break.


    There was no bell to toll. The fighter approached.


    He threw a punch and I ducked under, jabbing him twice in the ribs. I weaved behind him, putting space between us. But, completely out of nowhere, he pivoted around towards my head with a heel. My neck whipped, my eyes blurred with the strike, and I reeled into the pit walls, falling into a heap. I wasn''t getting up, I realized. I couldn''t decide if I was unconscious or just dizzy.


    "...Doran!" a girl yelled. I''d missed the first part.


    Odessa understood. We couldn''t hope to fight the things here. If I was to die, there was nothing they could do.


    Thankfully, though, my opponent was so sure of himself that he was waiting for me to rise, refusing to finish me off.


    I put my hands down and pushed. Slowly, I rose to my feet.


    "Come on!" I yelled.


    The two heads roared in reply.


    I ran and jumped, punching one of the heads at maximum force. It snapped off. With him unmoved, I crashed into him. Angrily, he threw me off, sent me rolling.


    I was on my knees when he lunged his knee into my face.


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    You''re broken.


    No, just bruised.


    I opened my eyes to see the face of the beast coming towards me. He bashed me several times before lifting up and reattaching the head.


    "Doran!" Anna yelled over the creatures'' jeering.Remember, Doran.


    "Wr''kelno''sos," my opponent mocked.You''re a weak one.


    "I am," I coughed. For the third and I suspected final time, I fought.


    I moved in and punched, ducked, and elbowed, knocking his heads together. I dodged the roundhouse kick that he used again. Blocked his wild punch, even though the act nearly sent me sprawling. He hit too hard.


    There was an opening and Iutilized it. I jumped and headbutt between his heads. It was enough to split them both off. They were ornamental, I realized, when this completely didn''t affect him. He grabbed hold of my body and squeezed.


    My ribs crackled and screamed.


    I strained against his hold. His arms were unyielding, constricting still.


    "You cannot win," I growled.


    Slowly, my arms began to rise, prying his apart. His hold broke and he stepped back. I kicked him back into the wall and marched forward.


    I was bruised. Buthecould be broken.


    I stomped his knee and it cracked apart, severing the leg. I knew how he worked, now. He was thick but brittle. He resisted, but I moved in now with the advantage. One limb at a time, breaking him apart. There was a blur as I raged against him. I grabbed his head and beat his hollow chest inward. Reached inside.


    I sat down in the dirt, surrounded by fragments, his dust in the air around me. He had gone limp at some point and I hadn''t noticed.


    Couldn''t die here. So, I had won.


    There was Anna at my side. She put my cloak over me. I looked up from the pit to the giant towering over us, moving in. He came close enough that I could see the giant singular eye that covered his face peering out of the black.


    In my chest, I felt his voice. "Aze rho." I''ve seen.


    I looked to the others. "We''ve paid," I said. Odessa came down and offered me a hand in exiting the pit. I saw Ash eyeing me as I did. "Nice gambit."


    "You''re welcome," he replied.


    The four of us walked to a bench and sat. I was heaving, trying to catch my breath. I put out a hand and grabbed Odessa''s shirt. She went with it as I pulled her up. Breathlessly, "You... and Ash," I said.


    "Come, Ash." She understood. Raising up her sword, she pulled Ash with.


    "I''ll lead," he replied. "I know the etiquette, naive." He brushed off her hand.


    They went along, gone to the darkness in the back.


    "You really scared me," Anna said after a time.


    My breath returning, "Me too."


    "I thought we were gonna lose you and the mission."


    "I''d mourn one of those," I joked.


    "Don''t say that. There''re thousands of souls in the reach of the ward that''s stopping us. If we don''t shut it down, they''ll never escape hell. That''s on us."


    "It''s really not. I mean, I understand that there is no neutral action, no... meaningless suffering, but... you can only give so much." I struggled with it.


    She put herhead on my shoulder. "We''re born to maximize our utility."


    I wrapped an arm around her. "To the greater good, you mean. But there''s a thing about that. You remember twenty-first-century history? In that time the world was falling apart because of nations and peoples conflicted within by different ideas about that greater good. One would think that God justifies, the other a supposed fact, and they all thought themselves special enough to know what they could only believe. They trusted as they had to their knowledge."


    "Utopianism found the way," Anna assured.


    "Found a way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. Which is kind of the futility in Consequentialism."


    "Bleh, defeatism. We can try and do our best."


    "Mhmm." That made a smile find my lips. "I''ll shut up."


    We rested and talked, touched on lighter things. On books and personal thoughts. It was the first comfort in the last months either of us had found.


    Ash returned with Odessa at his back.


    "The Great Watcher was rather unhelpful," he said. "His types are mortal, wasn''t interested in any ghosts, demons, or pneuma, he said. But, he told us that you, Doran, could speak with someone, as the victor."


    Achingly, I stood up. "Who?"


    "The place''s owner."


    The Primordial.


    Someone from the theoretical cradle of the Omniverse. One of the only people that knew what was truly knowable. Someone without beginning or end. Someone that has seen God. If this truly was, if they were truly here.


    "Where are they?" I asked.


    Odessa pointed to the black back of the house. A single candle lit to ignite its table a dim red amidst the darkness. I couldn''t sense who sat there, but I saw their hand rested beside the light. I started towards that light.


    Those in the building scuttled out of my way. Even the giant watcher moved further into the darkness, his presence fading. They fled from the Primordial.


    I stepped into the shadows and came to the table. The candle flame wavered as I sat. Its light didn''t touch the face of the Primordial. Only his hand was not shrouded.


    "I am Doran," I announced.


    The hard rasp of a man''s voice returned. "I am Sosias."


    Now I felt him. His soul looked like the vault of the night sky. He tapped his finger in waiting for me to continue. I was given pause.


    "Forgive us for intruding," I finally said. "We represent Utopia."


    "I have seen them. The ward you seek is mine and it cannot be broken." With his hand, he seemed to brush the thought aside. "But, this is not what I am to speak with you about, Stranger."


    "What is it?"


    "Design, Doran, it surrounds us. Aimless and divine alike. The eye of God is on you but the meaning is not known. When you walk your path, Pilgrim, doubt yourself. The machinations are strung about you like a noose. Your own a tangle amongst them. There will come a time when you face the Curse. The Ouroboros cannot be broken. Neither destiny. You will die trying. This prophecy is my gift."


    With a look, I extinguished the candle. "We''re cursed with freedom, Sosias. I will make my own way. Destiny will follow."


    He tapped his finger again, waiting, but I had nothing more to say. If this was all he had to offer, then our conversation was done. Unfortunately.


    "Then you should be on your way," he concluded, knowing my thoughts.


    The darkness around me intensified. The floor fell away and I was tossed into a void. Suddenly, colors and sensation formed to create reality, one different from where I had been. The crunch of snow and burning cold around me. Ash, Odessa, and Anna toowere about me. Sosias had transported us.


    "Shit! I forgot how cold it was here!" Anna shouted.


    Here, we were on a hill overlooking the Utopian outpost. Snow and fire marked the landscape encircling the metal and glass Utopian compound. Towers, turrets, and landing pads were visible over the surrounding wall. The black gate down the hill had two android soldiers on guard, as well as many walking the wall and area beyond.


    He had known exactly where we were expected.And we were expected. Months ago, actually. Kendall wasn''t going to be happy with our decision to get so completely lost. We''d been practically awol.


    "Come on!" Anna was already down the hill, yelling back. The others were with her, but I was still. Frozen, thinking over the Primordial''s prophecy. I wasn''t ready to see Kendall again, to deal with him.


    The Primordial had predicted my death.


    "Doran!" Anna called my name for the third time, I realized absently.


    It was cold.Couldn''t put it off any longer.

 Damned 2.03

    The others were already at the compound''s doors. The gateswere set at the end of a trench dug into the rock. Walls had been erected on either side to break the wind and funnel any would-be attackers into a clear line. The grey-suited figures, androids for those that knew better, had already begun moving to intercept us.


    "Halt," Aku''s voice reached me. It was pitched low, more masculine.


    The four of us stopped. With the howling overhead, I caught up to the back of the group. They approached Odessa, the closest android putting away its weapon.


    The android looked at each of us. They stepped past her to glance at Ash and Anna, I pulled back my hood so I could be seen easier.


    "Please wait. Kendall is on his way to confirm your identities."


    "We''ll be glad to see him," Anna said.


    I had mixed feelings.


    "There''s a lot to explain," she continued.


    The machine didn''t respond.


    The gate parted, the two doors sliding back into their walls. The softly lit room beyond was for decontamination, I remembered.


    I''d spent two months here before Kendall had sent us away on an errand.


    We were led through the walls, the door closing behind us. One of the androids accompanied us in to sit us down on the benches inside. The walls were glass, possibly one-way. There was only one exit, an even tougher looking, smallerdoor at the back of the room.


    "I''m not optimistic," Ash said. "Through no fault of mine, we''ve fucked it up. You know, just a tiny little bit, by getting nothing done."


    "We met a Primordial. Well, Doran did," Anna countered. "That''s significant."


    "Claiming to have met a philosophically relevant thing, does not a successful mission make, darling."


    "What are you trying to achieve?" I asked.


    "I''m just preparing everyone.I plan ahead. Watch." He looked to the door.


    After only a short moment, it opened. Kendall came through.


    He was in an Eidolon suit, a dark green, and his hair was back in a bun. He was pale from the lack of sunlight. His brown eyes had a new look. There was something else about him, something visual that I was missing. In his right hand was a large leatherbound book clutched to his chest.


    "I thought you all were dead," he said to us. To the android, "I''ll take them from here. Follow me, you four." He gestured for us to follow and didn''t wait to start off down the hall.


    "We were unable to break the ward," Odessa said.


    I started to speak but nothing came out.


    Still muted in his presence from all those months ago,I remembered unhappily.


    Kendall slowed for a moment, then continued on. "I know."


    Soon we came to a door with his name beside it on a placard. Passing through, I saw his study. Bookshelves, a metal desk, and computers and runes. It was almost exactly the one I''d woken up in a year ago, at the start of all this. There was something new, though. Weapons and trinkets sat on surfaces and racks. The chalkboard had names written across it.


    I was beginning to comprehend.


    He had disposed of his cards when we''d come to the hellscape. He was on the verge of refining his craft when we''d left.


    He sat down in his chair, leaving us standing. He threw the tome down and put his elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers. "Report, Doran." It was an order.


    "We went to the end of the road. Found the ward''s general location, but weren''t going to be able to take it by force. It belonged to a Primordial."


    "Is this the truth?" I could feel him levying his power again.


    "To my knowledge."


    "Do you all corroborate this story?"


    They all did.


    Kendall sat back. "You can understand why this is disappointing. Not the Primordial, that''s interesting. But the mission."


    "We greatly underestimated the range and power of theward. That''s why the journey was so long, Kendall," Odessa said.


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    "This..." he trailed off. "I was studying, just minutes ago, and here you are. You''ve been beyond my senses and I thought... I thought that you guys were dead. I''ve had to take measures. I needed a to stay relevant without you. I''ve gotten on without you, I mean. I''m glad to have you back, but I need to make this clear. Things have changed. I don''t even know why I''m explaining this, really." He frowned deeply.


    "You-" I forgot and my voice faded out again.Dammit.


    "What?" he allowed me.


    "You took extensive ethics like all Utopians, Kendall. You can''t defend this direction you''re taking," I said.


    "You actually inspired it. You told me souls were just metadata. You got me thinking about that. About where I''d failed with you four''s bindings."


    "And?" I asked.


    "I now know the soul has no value. You know it too. Everything changes beyond identity. Everything ends and nothing does. Hell taught me. I accept it now."


    No."The soul is not consciousness," I said.


    "Heresy," Odessa added.


    "What does that even translate to?" Anna asked.


    He raised a hand, I felt silence on me again.


    "It''s already done and I won''t be persuaded. I''ve had to make choices, me, about my future. You four weren''t a part of that. I''m sorry..."


    We left him alone. His self-hatred and drive changed him. More than we know.


    I still couldn''t figure out what, visually, was so wrong. It was unsettling. What he''d done, though, I wasn''t sure it could be undone.


    "I need to return to my reading, now," he said. "Itisgood to have you guys back. You should take a day to rest before you go back to work. Dismissed."


    Welcome home. Nothing''s changed and everything''s changed.


    We exited to the hall, his door locking behind us.


    "I don''t understand what he''s done," Odessa spoke the moment we were out.


    "Me either," Anna said. "The philosophy didn''t equal a practicable magic, as far as I could tell. Means he''s knocking on some pretty extreme stuff, I think."


    He is.


    Ash met my eyes. He knew as well the danger this put us in.


    She won''t be able to handle it, his eyes said. Only me and you. Anna can''t.


    "He''s made himself powerful," I answered them. Leave it there.


    This was my fault. It was my rambling that had led him down this path. But he''d made the choice. Including the ones which had distanced him.


    Odessa had put that behind her.


    We started walking down the halls. Anna thought aloud. "I don''t think I could sleep right now."


    "I never have," Ash commented.


    "Like, I feel like I should want to rest, but I''m really too restless. What''s everyone else going to do now that we''re back?"


    "I''m going to go take some time, I think," I said.


    Ash pulled out a knife. "I''ll find something to stick this in."


    "I will clean and sharpen my sword," was Odessa''s answer.


    Anna smiled weakly. We four had been together nonstop for a long time. None of us, Ash likely excluded, felt well. She especially looked like she didn''t know how to cope. "We''ll meet up later, yeah?"


    "Yes," I assured. I poked her shoulder playfully.


    Ash was first off. Odessa next. I left Anna standing as I went on my way.


    O


    I stumbled into the locker room. Only the lowlights were on.


    I struggled out of my clothes, every move causing pain. There were showers in the back. I stepped in and turned on the water. It rained down on me, pulling months of grime off and darkening the floor. It was warm and comforting. Still bleeding wounds on my head stung with the heat. I imagined we must have been quite a sight for Kendall, filthy and injured.


    We''d made it. I almost couldn''t believe we were back. By now, I had lived longer in the wilderness of hell than Utopia. It really didn''t feel like home, honestly. Nowhere did. There was nowhere I wanted to be.


    There were friends. They felt like home.


    The tile was hard but I sat anyway into the nook of the shower''s corner, steam still bathing me. I ran a hand over my almost nonexistent hair, coming away with grit and blood. I sighed. This wasn''t a sustainable thing, this life. Nothing was permanent, as Kendall had said. No anchor lasted, not friends. They all had risks.


    Kendall had become a danger. His power was now an abstract one, like mine. A destabilization of his very being, though? It was nuclear.


    Anna, I worried for her. She healed wounds, we''d learned; burned the hurt away. But pain she held on to scarred, fears she couldn''t part with.


    Odessa was an enigma. Too collected, predictable. Almost hollow.


    Fuck Ash. He was as paranoid as I was.


    All these risks? What can go wrong, will.


    Murphy''s law is divine law. Immortality only worsens it.


    This was life. Every inch of it a thing in wait to fall apart. The potential was made all the more real by the ache in my muscle and bones. Reminders that you couldn''t decide, couldn''t opt out of, suffering. It all fell short of solace.


    Your death, the thought popped back in.


    It was a portent, his prophecy. It couldn''t mean what you''d think, though. Death was a word that captured nothing. Death, as I''d witnessed, was not understood. It couldn''t be, notby the living mind. The Primordial knew this. It cast a blacker tone on his words.


    My knowledge crawled back to a blurred darkness, like the edges of my vision. I couldn''t know exactly what he meant. But I remembered. I had a path.


    "Fuck me." I hated this.


    I sat for a long time, thoughts going nowhere. They were useless.


    O


    The cold of hell was a bitter one. It bit at my face with anintention to gnaw.


    I hadn''t felt like going back to my room, small as it was. I''d found my way up to the wall, instead. There were towers at the five corners of the compound and turrets along it. I meandered down the walkways, passing them as I did. I''d seen the sights, the valleys, and dead forest vistas, but I walked the wall again the same. It was something to do.


    The Eidolon suit I''d put on was form fitting, warm, and a black grey. I had a cloak on over it anyway, to hide my arms in. Didn''t keep me from crossing them, however. I needed to do something with them, couldn''t just let them hang.


    I followed with my head the ship which flew in from the impenetrable haze that obscured the horizon. Dead silent, it set down in the courtyard. Androids filed out, escorting the pale damned that they''d been out collecting.


    Going to processing, then to a relocation world. No choice in the matter. Not a right.


    Though looking away, I''d kept walking. When my eyes returned to the way I saw a chair aside the wall''s rail, and a man holding a book open with one hand out over the drop. His face, frowning while he concentrated over the wind, was a familiar one. I stopped beside him.


    The Bible, I noticed. How ironic.


    "Welcome back," he said, not looking up.


    "Thank you." I waited, standing over him and looking out.


    He said nothing more, so I went on my way. I had nothing better to do, now.

 Damned 2.04

    I bent down and picked up a stone. I had noticed its shape was right, so I whipped my arm and skipped it out across the water. The dark sea''s surface rippled with the skips, the ripples reaching back to me standing on the black sand. The sky was a deep maroon vault. There were pale naked bodies on the sand, streams of crimson blood running from them.


    We sought the living among the dead. No androids were with us, Hasami, Ash, Anna, Odessa, and I, walking the beach. We''d left our ship back on the rocks, behind us. There was no south or north to guide us, we''d have to return from memory. Signals weren''t working for navigation or for Aku to communicate, either.


    This hell was disturbingly silent, without grief or weeping. It was a tomb already, its tortured all seemingly dead. But that wasn''t supposed to happen. Hell was a place of eternal, unwanted, life. For those that misuse a gift, it becomes a curse. But, somehow, this hell had died?


    That didn''t seem a mystery we were capable of solving, but I did wonder. There had to be a reason, right? No matter how supernatural, magic too always had a cause and effect. I''d be very worried if ever it didn''t.


    We had to clear this area. We''d taken a day of rest and now we were back to our job. Today we were investigating. Tomorrow we''d do the same. Clear.Had to keep clearing. We kept making headway, seeing new hells, and it didn''t seem to end.


    Ash, the only one not wearing a helmet, rolled over one of the bodies with his foot. "All this blood just keeps gushing," he said. "I don''t think these are dead."


    We all walked up to the one he''d turned over. The bloated man''s eyes were wide, his mouth gurgling out blood. Those eyes, they darted back and forth between us.


    "Fuuuck," Anna swore. "None of these are just corpses."


    That makes a lot more sense.


    "What''s the protocol for agony states, as opposed to environmental torture?"


    "If they are only capable of agony, then we must destroy them," Hasami answered her. "It can usually be done by Aku."


    There was a moment of silence as the damned man tried to feebly grab ahold of Odessa''s leg. She stepped back, we all did.


    "Deus, miserere animae tuae." She took breadcrumbs from her pocket, sprinkled them on the damned, blessing them.


    "We''re done here, either way," I said. "Let''s report back."


    I didn''t mind it, this place, but I wanted to get on to another realm before we turned in. That was the thing I actually did like about this job. Even though bleak and morbid, there was a beauty to every new hellscape. I preferred not to linger, but to see as much as possible. I was still readjusting.


    Our ship was up on a cliff overlooking the water. Its doors opened as we neared, the cargo room seats, half of them were occupied by androids. I followed Hasami up to the front. He sat in the pilot''s chair and I grabbed hold of one of the straps overhead to balance myself. He interacted with the displays and charted a course. The rest did itself.


    The ship picked up and raised into the cloud layer. Up, up, until we''d ascended into thecomplete darkness outside the design of hell. From there we sped faster until we could break into the non-reality that would take us anywhere.


    The ship rocked. "Something wrong?" Hasami looked over our stats.


    Aku replied, "No, only the natural resistance of leaving."


    "Notify me if anything is out of the ordinary."


    "Yes, sir."


    After a while, Hasami called to me and everyone in the back. "Hold on, full stop."


    The ship dropped back into reality, turbulence and roaring wind immediately hitting us. Snow washed over the windows. We continued to lower until the compound was in sight, down to the landing pad for a relatively soft touch.


    Hasami flipped the switches and powered down the systems. "I''ll file the report, the rest is on our helmet recordings."


    "I know," I said.


    "Ah, just making sure. You''ve been away for some time, of course. I''ll see you back here after lunch, yes? And we''ll clear another sector."


    "Sounds like a plan."


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    I turned and stepped down into the back with the others. The doors lowered and we ran out into the wind. It was a long trek across the courtyard to the door. Once inside, we set our helmets aside.


    We usually skipped out on lunch, if we ate at all. Instead, we were heading for the recreational area. Shortly we''d walked down the halls and found it, passing only one magus. The compound was under capacity, as it was. In the recreational area, there was basketball, tennis, and tabletop games. We wandered separately, Odessa to a book, Ash to an arcade game, and I and Anna to the pool table. I set up and went first.


    We played for a while, talking absently about politics. The usage of force.


    I liked Anna for that. Unlike Ash, who refused to carry a serious conversation, and Odessa who bound herself strictly to religion, Anna could follow my wanderings. We spoke frequently, and her Utopian education had equipped her to cover complex topics. I, on the other hand, just knew things.


    It was always pleasant.


    I turned away from my shot to see what I had sensed. A familiar strong-jawed set of young men, with a dark girl at their front, followed afar by Hasami. The brothers went to basketball, Hasami, and Catherine approaching. Ash nor Odessa cared enough to stop what they were doing, so they gravitated to Anna and me.


    "The Beaulieu''s are here," Hasami said. "They met me in the cafeteria and asked where you were. I hope you don''t mind. I''ve brought my lunch."


    Catherine walked up to me, got close and grimaced. "Wow. You just pop in from being dead to play pool, you little shits?" she asked. It was rhetorical. I almost laughed out loud but decided against it.


    She had been stronger than Kendall, starting out. I recalled the time we narrowly escaped fighting her brothers. Now, though, Kendall''s resourcefulness had pulled him through, again. He''d dug deep to stay in the running after we''d died, now we weren''t dead and he was far more powerful. Hehehe.


    "Sorry we''re not suffering in a lower hell," Anna shot back. "But we''re not mortal. Ain''t nothing stoppin'' us." She smiled pleasantly.


    "Burn, bitch!" Ash called from far across the room, from what should have been out of earshot. Her brothers looked but assumed he was talking to his game.


    Hasamihad gone to sit beside Odessa and eat.


    Catherine sighed. "How was your quest?"


    "Took us further than we liked. Months in the wilderness. We found the source, finally, and it was a being too powerful for us to try and fight," I said. "A long nothing, really."


    "Odessa killed a giant snake," Anna added.


    "Oh yeah." I''d forgotten. The Primordial was weighing on my mind.


    "Sounds perilous," Catherine sarcastically said.


    She picked up a ball from the table. I made note of where it had been so I could fix it. She spoke. "You four are old news for Kendall, you know."


    I sighed. "You knowit doesn''t even matter."


    "But I guess it is good that he''s over the whole slave army idea, yeah?"


    "I don''t judge him for it."


    "I kinda do," Anna interjected.


    Okay, a little bit.


    Catherine changed direction. "Porter finally decided that he''s reckless. First, the fishing spell idea, now self-binding. He''s an idiot."


    She was looking for information, I decided. She was curious what Kendall had actually done to convince Porter. I wouldn''t talk magic with her, though. I''d learned that lesson.


    "Mhm."


    She smirked. "You know, he''s almost as nonhuman as you are, now... Anna, right? And yet he''s given freedom while you''re treated like an animal. Huh."


    Anna cringed and put a hand to her face. I could smell the sizzling flesh.


    "You." I put my stick down on the table. "Leave."


    I wasn''t putting up with that antagonistic bullshit.


    "Aww." She tapped her fingers twice on the pool table surface. I could see the connection between her and her brothers form. She was alerting them. They kept playing but watched, paying attention now.


    I knew what game she was playing at. She wanted a fight. A push for Kendall to get rid of us.


    I realized, too, that it could work. I was still a risk to Kendall. But now I was a risk he didn''t need. He didn''t need any of us.


    That was a big problem. I couldn''t believe I''d missed it.


    Catherine needed to be defused.


    I could call Ash. He was good with manipulation, but he was less so with using that to stop a situation. He preferred starting them. No, I had to do this.


    "We''re going to walk away now." I put an arm around Anna, who was in pain, and we were going for the exit.


    "Don''t you think it''s unfair, Anna? Or are you too eager to go fuck?"


    Anna pulled away. "You know what? You are a bitch."


    "Don''t," I tried, reaching for her. She slapped away my hand. She thought I was only looking out for her. Didn''t know she was being baited for a purpose.


    "You disgust me. Seriously, what you''re doing is overtly amoral. Don''t you get that? I thought people like you weren''t supposed to exist anymore, honestly..." Then for extra measure, she added a "fuck you!"


    Cat laughed loudly, openly mocking Anna''s indictment.


    Her brothers were coming. Hasami realized what was happening and stood. He did not, however, have his katana with him anymore.


    No weapons inside is an idiotic rule when half the weapons can''t be parted with.


    The pool table burst into flame, sending Catherine stumbling back into her brothers. Hasami was moving now to get between everyone and Anna stared at the fire she hadn''t intended to start. Odessa readied her sword, Ash had vanished.


    "No!" I shouted, the pool table''s fire flashing out. "We are leaving!"


    This couldn''t happen. If it did, everything was over. I wouldn''t let that be.


    Odessa was up and had reached my side. I didn''t look away from the Beaulieu''s when I told them to go. Catherine stepped close to Hasami who stood in her way. But he couldn''t stop her brothers from going around him.


    "You are no longer clever," Hasami told Catherine for everyone to hear. "I will testify against you to the Sensei. This room is watched."


    "You failed," I said. "If you attack now, you''re the aggressors."


    Odessa, Anna, and I were backing out of the room. The brothers had stopped advancing, heeding the risks. Hasami briskly turned and strode past everyone to hold open the doors. "Get out," he told us.


    "Point''sproven!" Catherine yelled as we exited.It was.


    Ash was waiting for us in the hall.


    "I wonder if we could kill them," he mused.


    "Let''s get back to the ship," was all I said.Before anything else goes wrong.

 Damned 2.05

    I was up on the wall, again, like every late evening. My third rotationand Porter was in his place, reading. He had a metal folding chair which he brought up, and took down when he left. I didn''t talk to him as I passed. I figured that would become annoying. So, I walked in silence. Past the towers and the turrets, watching as the occasional ship came in from the foggy night. The air was still, more still than I''d seen it. It wasthick, almost hard to breath.


    I made my fourth and fifth rotation.


    Kendall will have seen the footage by now. He knows the problem is getting worse. Anna, she''s not stable,I thought.She heals by fire, but she holds on to pains. They smolder and scar and it gets worse. She''s not coping. Her scars are growing. She''s... deteriorating. Doesn''t have the room to feed her freedom, air, so she feeds her second nature. Fire.


    I wondered just what the fuck her father had intended to dowhen he''d changed her soul.


    There has to be an intended goal, he wasn''t a sadist. A fix, maybe-


    Something caught my eye, out in the snow beyond the wall. I took to the railing and leaned out. To my far right, wall turrets noticed as well and fixed their aim. The figure was upright, and shambling forward.


    "It''s one of ours!" Porter yelled from across the wall.


    The figure was upright, and shambling forward. Grey, from head to toe. I could sense it too. An Eidolon approached.


    "Help!" she shouted.


    I wasn''t going to jump, though. I wasn''t that eager. Androids were already running towards the woman in the distance.


    That, and I could break my legs, of course.


    Something had happened, however, and I wanted to be on top of it.


    I ran to the nearest exit, going down flights of stairs once through the door. I hit the ground floor and jogged out into the hall. At that pace, I went all the way to the compound entrance. I arrived just in time for the doors to open. Too bad the others were oblivious to this going on; it was interesting.


    They''d already gotten her inside, and she had her helmet in her hands. The woman looked at me briefly as the Androids helped her along.


    "We need to get you to the medical bay," Aku was saying.


    The woman had a shaved head. I''d seen more of those among the ranks of militaristicallyfocused Eidolons. It was an imminently utilitarian style.


    "No!" she said. "Ineedto brief somebody on what I saw." She turned and went the opposite direction of the androids, tossed her helmet back to one, and kept going. I trailed from behind.


    Speeding up a bit, I got in front and led her, "This way."


    She was a little wobbly. "Where are we going?"


    "The situation room." I pressed my comms. "Aku?"


    "The others have been notified."


    We passed the right hall, and I stepped back. The woman still dazed, kept walking for a moment before she realized.


    "That way?" she asked.


    There were signs around, but all the halls looked similar. It reminded me of a hospital, almost. But, I''d seen Porter down the hall, standing in the doorway. Big doors showed the way.


    "Yes, sorry, this way, ma''am."


    She refused help as we entered the situation room. Porter was already there, and looking back I saw Kendall running in. Hasami was briskly striding behind.


    The room was dark. It centered around a hologram table which could be used to visualize strategy. It first lit up in full color, showing where our compound was placed. That image zoomed out, shrinking our tiny structure among incredibly vast and monotonous snowy wasteland.


    The woman sat in a chair after pulling it up. "More," she said.


    The image zoomed once againuntil it could be seen. Our section of hell was on a monstrous shelf of rock which twisted around a blackpit. One level among many, the classic circle by circle model. Ours was ice.


    Markers appeared over the various bases, with a red dot for manned and unmanned outfits. This was the only manned outfit on the shelf, and it neared the walls.


    The woman scooched forward and grabbed the display. She moved the view upward, focusing on the next shelf above.


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    An android came to her side holding a bottle and tray. On the tray was a pill. "Please, take a panacea."


    "Fine." She popped it without water.


    "What''s your name, soldier." Porter studied the map as he questioned.


    "Amanda, sir."


    "What were you doing in the snow, Amanda?"


    "This." She reached in and pointed at a spot on the next level. A marker appeared. The shelf was a sweeping, desolate stone city. A labyrinth. "Once I got in, I couldn''t get out the same way. I had to jump the ledge. Thankfully, my armor locked up and I made it. It kept me alive the rest of the way. From the cold, I mean."


    "You walked?"


    "My communications were damaged, sir. A hex."


    "And you were simply lost?" He seemed incredulous.


    "Not at all, sir. Well, some. But, I had a mission."


    "And what was that mission?"


    "To infiltrate enemy lines, and I did, sir. I''m a scout, sir."


    "It''s Porter, alright? This is my outfit. Please tell me, what''s going on up there? I wasn''t told."


    "There are far too many operations for-" Aku tried defending.


    "Nononono, sshhhh," Porter silenced. "Catch me up, Amanda."


    "We''ve been sieging this city for months, Porter. It''s a goddamn maze, the machines can''t map it, can''t get through it. It''s not just the Damned that are holed up, either. We''ve been sensing significant metaphysical presences gathering. We fear there''s a back-door, a portal or the like that enemies are using. We''ve been absolutely unable to make one of our own, and the city is virtually impenetrable. We''ve had casualties, even. People get lost. I almost did."


    "I take it you got in, then?"


    "I did. I''m the first of our forces to make it into the city and... it''s a nightmare, as expected, really. But there''s a far bigger problem. Sneaking is not my skillset, but I managed to pick up chatter from the Damned. ACouncil has assembled."


    "They''re unifying?" Porter tried to clarify.


    "Like us," Kendall realized, a little horrified.


    "I think so," Amanda said. "I think bigger powers have moved in on the opportunity the city represents. A stronghold. Or are at least using it as a rendezvous point."


    "We''ve never faced an organized counterattack from demons," Porter added. "Have you considered a mass offensive?"


    "That was our first thought, but we''re trying to rescue the Damned. Weapons of mass destruction are off the table. So, we tried a few million machines. Didn''t even reach the stronghold. The Labyrinth swallowed them... I don''t think bombs would work either, for that matter. The city is an entity, just like hell."


    "Hell is alive?" Hasami asked.


    "Some people maintain that hell is like a digestive tract. That it feeds by providing acontinuation to souls with new bodies. Then slowly breaks the souls down into nothing," I answered him. "Heaven is similar."


    "We''re getting off track," Porter warned. "Amanda?"


    "I''ve confirmed what we already suspected. There are likely Demon Lords in the stronghold. And they''re probably catching on to what we''re doing, at this point. Draining out hell. They''re probably not happy about it. And if I may say so, Porter, I think they''re not going to take it lying down."


    "Have you tried an attack using Magi? I could probably-"


    "You are banned from combat," Aku reminded. Porter grimaced.


    Kendall knocked on the table, drew people''s attention. "I could do it."He sees an opportunity."My summons can get into the city and open a gateway for our forces. They can easily avoid detection, gather intel. And,they''re expendable."


    I gave him a dirty look for that.


    Haven''t I done this before?It irritated, being his tool.


    Too bad Catherine wasn''t here. I would have loved to look smug when she saw Kendall was still in need of us. That we weren''t purely a risk for him. Which, if we were, she probably wouldn''t want us gone anyway. She wasn''t that brilliant, basically.


    "Yes," Porter told Kendall. "We can-"


    "You cannot change yourstation, Porter. Kendall may offer assistance to Amanda''s cause, but this is where the Utopian Council has placed you." Aku cut him off, again reminding him.


    Porter concealed his frustration, I could tell. "Kendall will go and assist them however he can. It''ll be good for his training."


    Amanda stood up. "Alright. Aku, send this briefing to my commander."


    "I have. Please, let me show you to a room."


    "Fine." She was led out to go and rest. Porter left right after, Hasami too.


    "I just got back," I said to Kendall. It was only he and I, now.


    "It''s your purpose. If you''re not helping me, then you''re hurting me. You''ve proven that. I saw the video."


    "It''s not Anna''s fault that she''s unstable."


    "It is! She''s a disaster waiting to happen, Doran. And you?" He waved his hand, lights and computers in the room going wonky.


    Disabling surveillance. Aku must get tired of people doing that.


    "Youare worse. What kind of power are you displaying? Undoing fires? I''d think you were a fucking Genie if I didn''t know better."


    "I''m complicated," I shrugged him off.


    "You''re notsafe. How can I pretend to know I''ve got a hold on you when I can''t understand you? You keep showing off!"


    "I know, I''m sorry. I really do try not to interfere."


    "You could do a better job of it. I realize you''re trying to keep the others together, trying to help Anna, but... She''s right. Catherine is right. I''m more powerful than all four of you."


    I doubt that. "You can still use us."


    "But I don''tneedyou anymore."


    "Well, I don''t exist for you. Fuck you. I, Anna, Ash, Odessa, none of us do."


    "Everybody ever is born beneath something, Doran. You''re not special, or cruelly treated. Everyone is a slave, we can''t walk off the world, and everyone dies. Even immortals. So don''t cry to me when you become inconvenient to someone bigger than you, even if that''s me. Just prepare yourself, okay?"


    "You''ve made up your mind, haven''t you?"


    "I have. This is your last mission, Doran. You and Anna. All of you."


    "What about Christopher?"


    "Christopher can eat a bag of dicks. I''m done."


    I stared at him, and he stared back. He was resolved, I could see his last doubts fading. He''d put away his ethical angst, he was part of the system now.


    "Sorry, Doran."Kendall backed up and walked into the dark, his body fading.


    He''s on his way to being a Master. He''s right.


    I wouldn''t be able to persuade him. I realized for the first time, I could die. As much as it was possible, I would die. I could fail, and this life would end.


    I stood alone in the room, the only illumination streaming in from the open hall. Particles of dust floating through the light. The electronics righted themselves, flickering back on across the walls and boards, now that Kendall had gone. I was alone. No one was coming to my aid, and I truly was alone.

 Damned 2.06

    We''d had some time before Amanda was ready to leave, even after taking a Panacea. I had walked out of the situation room mad. Furiouswith Kendall.


    I was out in the courtyard, now, sitting beneath a concrete porch in a metal chair, slouching with my arms propped against my legs. The air was as calm as it had been. Lazy snowflakes drifted down.


    I was trying to calm myself, but couldn''t stop thinking.


    There''s not a way to win. You can only pick the best of what you''re offered.


    First, the Primordial had predicted my death. Now Kendall stood to kill me himself. I couldn''t do anything about it, either. I had allowed myself to be bound. I could fight it, but I couldn''t simply ignore it. I didn''t know what to think, what to do.


    "Fuck," I swore. It wasn''t right.


    There should be a good choice, not multiple wrongs.I didn''t see how I could fix this.


    I heard distant footsteps and sat up, took a steadying breath.


    "Hey you." Ash came screeching, pulling up his chair. "Found him."


    I''d been alone for a while. When you see someone constantly for months, you notice when they''re missing.


    "I wasn''t hiding," I lied.


    The girls set down chairs as well. I avoided looking at Anna, who sat to my right. I didn''t have the heart to tell her. I didn''t think she could handle it.


    "Aku said that an Eidolon was found outside the walls?" Odessa asked me.


    "I was there. I followed her to the situation room where she briefed Porter. Kendall and Hasami were there too. I don''t know where Catherine got off to, actually. Apparently, she''s a soldier working towards an important mission. What''re the odds, right?"


    "Alright," Anna said. "Why''re you moping, then?"


    "Kendall volunteered us."Plausible reason.


    "Again, seriously?! We just got back and he''s going to send us off?"


    "It was getting boring anyway," Ash told Anna.


    "It''s miserable and lonely out there."


    I put my hand on her shoulder. "We''ve got each other," I said, looking at all three of them. I hated this.


    "Aww," Odessa teased. She was usually so reserved. I was a little surprised.


    "I am joking, of course," Ash added. "I get pissed whenever that prick is stricken with the mood to try and kill me with an errand." Then, "What is that errand?"


    "Guess."


    "Please tell me we aren''t disabling a spell again."


    "We''re disabling a spell again. Only this time we''ll be trying to set up a spell as well. It''s a city of the Damned surrounded by an impassable Labyrinth."


    "I fuckin'' hate those things."


    "Gods yes," Odessa echoed him. They had that experience in common, apparently.


    The conversation lulled and we sat in silence. Everyone once in a while Ash would sigh loudly. Finally, I knew we needed to get over it.


    "Let''s go get ready."


    O


    We had gone down to the armory and dressed up in the highest utility suits.Amanda was rested up and our shuttle was charged. She met us in the courtyard, shaking each of our hands.


    "It''s good to meet all of you," she said, already starting off.


    She, Kendall, and the four of us covered the landing area briskly towards the ship, snow raining down on us. We boarded rank and file. The doors were closing as I stepped in at the back. In the interior of the ship, we all took to holding on to the bar overhead as the craft lurched upward.


    Odessa hauled her sword. She''d swapped out knight''s armor for the same suit we all wore. We had finally convinced her it was more protective. Her auburn hair was done tightly up. Anna was ahead of herand had already put on her mask.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Amanda, at the front, had a resolved look in her dark eyes. She saw me watching her, and put on her helmet. The mask''s facial cameras like many eyes focused. "I like to know who I''m working with," she said to all of us.


    "You won''t be working with me," Kendall told her. "They''re autonomous. And they won''t be any hassle. You have my authority."


    "I make no promises. I''m naughty," Ash joked.


    He was definitely talking to me.Don''t try anything,he meant.


    I didn''t know if Ash was wise to Kendall''s intention. They all knew we were being passed off to Amanda for a mission. But they didn''t know it would be our last. I really didn''t have the heart to tell them. Now wasn''t the time. I didn''t think there would be one.


    Amanda looked past Kendall to the rest of us. "I''m Amanda Parry. Magus, second class. I''ll be leading you through this mission. I believe in doing my duty for God and humanity, that''s me. Now you," she pointed to Ash, next in order.


    He looked reluctant. Ash too was in uniform like the rest of us. His suit had a belt of knives across its front, which he was constantly touching. He sighed. "True name Ashmedai, I go by Ash. I''m a demon, so... go, people, while they''re winning, and all that... I''m being forced to work here."


    His motives are consistent, at least. "You next." She pointed to Anna.


    "I''m Anna, former human and Utopian citizen. I affirm the perfect way, still."


    "What do you believe, Anna?" she asked, prying for more.


    "I... What you do? I mean, it''s all the same. Morality is universal for everyone, as they say. We''re all one people. Not big on God, but not against it, I guess."


    With the cabin lights low but stark, red and flashing, my eyes were drawn to our shifting shadows. It was distracting me. Something eluding.Even with so many things on my mind, something was noticeably off.


    "I am Odessa, daughter of Aelius Dragonsbane. I am a servant of divinity."


    It dawned on me what I''d been missing. I caught it in the corner of my eye, then looked for a long time at it. A mixture of sadness and anger hit me. It was Kendall. The wrongness I''d first noticed. I saw it, and I had only to look closer. I understood now what he''d done, completely.


    His shadow betrayed it. The horror.


    "-Doran," Odessa called me.


    "Hmm?" I was pulled back.


    "You''re up," Amanda ordered.


    Kendall stared back at me, grim. He had circles under his eyes, and an apathetic stare for me, in response to my gaze. He didn''t care what I thought anymore.


    "I''m Doran. I think... I believe that people more dedicated to the truth than me have found different answers. Which tells me something. Something I ignore."


    Not my best answer. ButI was still distracted.


    I felt the inertia. Deceleration as we pulled into the battle station. I hung my head and waited. As we docked the ship jostled, locking in and settling. The cargo doors lowered down onto the walkway where our craft had settled.


    Stepping out onto the bridge there were several spacecraft on the wide walkway aside from ours. Amanda was in a hurry to resume her mission, sowe, unfortunately, wasted no time sightseeing.


    I was carrying it under my arm but I finally decided to put on my helmet like everyone else. When my sight returned I looked as we walked, over the edge and into the obscurity below. A false sun glowed over my shoulder and the ship bay was so massive a fog obscured its edges.The bridge connected back to an enormous black pillar. When we reached its face, a door opened for us. We filled the elevator and it closed. Aku knew our direction. There were no windows, but I could feel that we were flying upward.


    The trip was short. Our doors opened onto a vast platform above the hanger bay. We strode pastmachinery and rows of storage. Hundreds of androids were asleep there, a few Magi walked the floor as well.


    Finally, we came to an open doorway which led into command central. Four people sat in chairs at the center of the room, holograms all around them, and just beyond a curved window which went from floor to the vaulted ceilings.


    When we got close enough, I could see the faces of the four men. They wore greysuits and, apart from ethnicity, were very much alike.


    Four ethicists for this entire operation. Nearly unlimited power at their disposal.


    I recognized that look about them. Analyzation.


    "Hello, Missus Parry," the third man said. "I see you''re eager to work as usual."


    "We only need the all-clear, sir, then we''ll be off," Amanda replied.


    "Let''s be clear," the first man spoke. "The Damned are our first concern. Your mission is to disable the witchcraft prohibiting our attempts to retrieve them."


    "What about the demonic gathering?" Kendall asked.


    "Non-aggression will suit us in this circumstance, Blackthorn. They are not capable of harming us. If we break their stronghold, they will flee our armies as always. Go in and make a way for the salvation of the Damned."


    "Yes, sir."


    "And please remember," the fourth man said, his accent Jamaican, "that your sacrifice of safety is great. Do not lose your soul to this place. It is here where reason, reality, and love goes to die a long death. Be so cautious."


    The second man neglected to talk.


    "Thank you, sirs." Amanda bowed.


    Odessa came around their chairs and up to the window at the far end of the room. Amanda followed, so the rest of us did as well. Not Kendall.


    Looking out the window, I saw the city. The entire inner ring of the shelf, as far as the eye could see, was a twisted cityscape. From so high up it looked like a mess of architecture and ruin. A wall encircled it, miles deep, with only one entrance. The whole thing seemed to be crawling.


    "Come on," Kendall called.


    "Yes," Amanda agreed.


    I was the last one to look away.


    On our way out, Kendall stepped in front of me. He put a card in my hand.


    "This is for the mission," he said. "Amanda should be able to activate the spell. The rune will open a portalif nothing else blocks it."


    We were now a distance behind the group.


    "This one is yours. I know you can activate itif something happens to her."


    "A fail-safe?"


    "Yes. Listen. Don''t fuck up the mission to spite me, okay? It won''t work. Do what you want, tell them if you want to, but Amanda has control."


    "I understand." I was resisting the urge to hit him.


    "Good." He left me standing, fists clenched.


    I put the card away crinkled and followed at a distance.


    No time for breaks, we were headed back into the wild hell.

 Damned 2.07

    Our ship set down again and the door opened. First, our vehicle hovered out, Amanda close behind it. Kendall told the rest of us to wait. I didn''t plan on it.


    He grabbed my arm and I froze. "Do the mission and return," he told me. "You are bound to my will."


    He''s reinforcing his control.


    "I will return," I said, wrenching my arm loose.


    "Calm down, Kandy," Ash said. "We came back last time, didn''t we?"


    Things are different, now.


    "She''s waiting," Anna called, stepping out of the ship. Ash and Odessa followed.


    I jumped down as the door was closing and looked back. I saw as Kendall, standing with his arms crossed in the opening, was closed in. Leaving us again on our own. The next time we''d meet was already on my mind.


    "Doran! Come look at this!"


    I turned to see what Anna was talking about.


    An endless flat of desert lay behind me, meeting the orange sky at a dark horizon. Kendall dwindled to a black speck above. A cliff of dusty rock rose hundreds of feet before me, dropping off from a plateau. We stood at its mouth, the meeting of two escarpments which ran forever in both directions. It was dizzying to look at.


    I walked closer. Inside the passage on every side towered cloaked figures. So slowly, one tilted its skeletal head down to look on us.


    "They don''t care about us," Amanda said as I reached her side. We stood in a tight group. "They''re a part of the scenery more than anything."


    We piled into the hovercraft we''d brought. An eight seater with a cage frame and mounted gun. I and Anna took the back row, Ash, and Odessa the second. Amanda had the pilot''s seat. There was no way we could walk this place, not with the scale.


    We started off, flying down the long trench by the feet of the entities that were one with the rock. Each in despairing contemplation, it seemed.


    I settled into my seat, propping my knees against the back of Ash''s.


    High over the heads of the watchers, I spotted swirling clouds of black creatures in flight. I saw too that our craft stirred the settled mist at the bottom of our canyon as it sped along. It was meditative, I found, to consider my surroundings.


    Mindfulness.


    I would have to do something, though. The future again. Kendall would be waiting for our return, this mission would only buy time. When I saw him again, he wouldn''t just banish us either. No, Kendall had discovered an ancient and dark power which wasn''t found in any writings. He was knocking on a door he couldn''t close.


    It was in my memory. I had the wisdom to comprehend his magic.


    When I saw him again, he would try to subsume me.


    He had bound his Self into a form, but his substance was changed. Without the necessary understanding, Kendall had undone his soul. Opened its maw. If he was strong enough, he could devour one''s being. Cannibalize their essence.


    Kendall was holding his form together, but in his shadow, I had seen it. The twisted silhouette of so many different souls stitched together.


    Depending on how well of a job he''d done, he may or may not hear their voices in his head. He would have all their abilities and attributes at his disposal. He was still stuck in specificity, however.


    He hasn''t learned how to use raw power.No, he isn''t smart enough to be knowledgeable abouttranscendence or the spirit. He''s approaching it from a perspective of law. He''s written his own terms.


    I laughed a little. A corpse flew past as we continued down the passage. Some of the Damned walked alone, too.


    It was ironic, was why I''d laughed. Kendall didn''t actually need the Guild. He''s immortal.He wouldn''t age with his form bound. He had his wish.


    Magic has a lot of paths. It''s rational in its own wayand reflects the consciousness. The spirit. The soul. It all has tangible, pragmatic, realities.


    I hate it. Of all the paths you could''ve have taken, Kendall, you bent yourself to an ephemeral goal. To a goal at all. You would take me from my way, to suit yours.


    He was a wretch playing God. He had his power and place.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    How can I blame him? I''ve got my own ends.


    What''ll happen is unavoidable.


    He would know that.


    He knows I''m not fully under his control.


    I didn''t want to, but if he could not be reasoned with, then it was unavoidable. I wasn''t confident I could win, not like this. I was a seeker, not in possession of great power. It wasn''t time for that. I didn''t want that time to come, honestly.


    I believed in morality. In Pacifism, even. But I would defend myself against Kendall. Even with all of Utopia at his back?


    Can''t fight what''s beyond my control.


    If it truly was beyond me... Wouldn''t I try?


    You can only do what you can,I told myself. My defiance was fading.


    I couldn''t fight Kendall. I couldn''t do anything against him, I realized.


    For a long time, I looked out and tried not to think about it. I didn''t know what I would do yet, and I didn''t want to. It was all wrong.


    I faced Anna in the seat to my right. She was looking out too. After a moment, she turned her head and saw.


    "What is it?" she asked.


    "I''m going to make sure everything is okay," I said.


    I couldn''t see her expression, but her voice was low. "...Good."


    One way or another, I couldn''t see how, but I was beginning to plan.


    Anna scooted over and against me, snuggling in. I put an arm around her.


    For this one moment, I didn''t need to know. I decided that.


    The copper colored stone continued to zip past.


    "Why do we not go up?" Odessa asked.


    Amanda answered. "For one, this thing doesn''t get good height. Secondly, we''ve got to play it safe. I tried walking through walls last time, climbing over them. Things get so much worse. If you resist, you''ll get lost. Simply let me do the driving, okay? I know the way."


    "How much longer down this canyon?" Anna questioned.


    "Several hours at this speed."


    "Shouldn''t there be more turns or something? Like, this is a Labyrinth?"


    "I don''t know."


    "We''ve passed two turn offs already, by my reckoning," I jumped in.


    "What?" Anna asked.


    "Diversions," I explained. "If we don''t focus, the path will shift and change while we aren''t looking. We brought an exit with us, but if we were to turn back, we couldn''t leave the way we came in. Turn your back, things get worse. This is hell, remember? It wants to sidetrack us, get us lost." Then, to Amanda, "you do know wherewe''re going, right?"


    "Stop asking so many questions. Really. The reason I asked you all about yourselves earlier was because, yes, there will be rabbit holes. You will see things. Just stay focused, alright? Watch out for the Damned, watch out for Spectres. That''s it."


    "This''ll be more interesting than last time," Ash commented.


    "What was that like?"


    "It was a desert," I answered. "More of a hopeless feeling, there. There was a ward over the land we were trying to find. We kind of failed, though."


    "Mmm. Well, failure isn''t an option, this time. Your master''s spell should work and then our armies can pour in. If we can get there."


    "That''s the plan, at least."


    "Strategy can be changed. We''ve got our goal."


    "Hopefully, that''s enough."


    Conversation came on and off for the next hour, our scenery never changing. The sun did lower. Not to night, but to a grungier brown light.


    I came from staring off into space as the vehicle began to decelerate.


    "What''s going on?"


    We reached full-stop and Amanda hopped out. "It''s dying."


    Anna was waking up. "What?"


    There was a loud pop!The vehicle dropped three feet and slammed into the ground, whipping my head into the cage.


    "Shit," Anna murmured, picking herself up.


    Ash stretched and stood. "Wonderful."


    I pulled myself up and slid out the side of the craft, falling on my back in the dirt. "Did you know this would happen, Amanda?"


    "It happened last time."


    Odessa slung her sword over, stepping out. "And what did you do?"


    "I walked. Come on."


    I got to my feet and went to the back of the crashed hovercraft. I popped the trunk and grabbed one of the survival packs, slung it over my shoulder.


    "I seem to recall you''re in the Guild, Amanda?" I asked.


    She was already walking ahead. "Yes. You have to be immortal to fight."


    I gave Anna a hand in stepping down out of our fallen vehicle. "Then we don''t need a sustenance dispenser?"


    "No."


    "Hey," Anna said, feet planted firmly on the ground, "what do you do, anyway?"


    "You mean my Practice?"


    "Yes."


    "I alter my place and movement in space."


    "How?"


    "Simplest way. I installed the powers with a tattoo."


    "I wanna see," Ash cooed.


    We were falling into formation now, Amanda leading.


    "Can you transport us?" Hopefully, we wouldn''t have to walk, again.


    "No. I learned the first time that, regardless of your mode, our movement will take the same time. Six days it was, previously."


    "That''s significantly better than last time."


    Ash was close to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Yup."


    "Should we bring the gun?" Odessa stopped, looking back.


    Everyone else stopped as well, and I looked to Amanda.


    Will we need it?


    "Yes. We should definitely have the mounted gun. Can you carry it?"


    "I can," I said. I threw Ash the backpack. He followed me to the hovercraft to help me dismount its gun. We climbed up and heaved it off.


    While the others were out of earshot, he spoke. "You know that I know, right? That the Fag''s going to eat us."


    I stopped trying to lift the gun. I made sure that the others weren''t able to listen or sense our discussion. "What clued you in?"


    "Elementary, Watson. The Bitch Catherine made a point and I know the Fagot. He''s predictable. Unlike you, actually, Mister Negro."


    "Cute. I don''t know what to do, yet."


    "Come on." He lifted his end. The gun was over a hundred pounds. He helped me get it onto my shoulders. I gestured for the others to start on, and we walked at a distance from them, slowly gaining.


    "There''s no good solution."


    "Mmm," Ash slowly assented.


    "Do you have any ideas?"


    "I''m not imaginative, Doran. That''s your job."


    "Demonic nature?" I inquired.


    "You could say that. In this case, I just think it''s best you figure things out."


    I didn''t like the sound of that.


    "We''re stuck, Ash. There''s nowhere to go. We can''t use violence."


    "You''ve only got two options, Doran. That''s one of them."


    I didn''t respond. I was struggling a little under the weight of the gun.


    We caught up with Anna, Odessa, and Amanda.


    The sun was now fully setting. We switched on our headlamps.


    I was beginning to realize what kind of steps I would have to take. I was alone in this situation. I would have to make the decision.


    Morbidly, I recalled an old poem.


    Ask not for whom the bell tolls.


    Six days remained. I was dreading their passing.

 Damned 2.08

    "Is someone else going to take a turn with this?" I asked. The gun was heavy on my shoulders and it forced my head down to stare at the dirt.


    Ash laughed loudly.


    "I''m too wimpy, sorry," Anna said.


    "I must carry my sword," Odessa apologized. She drug it behind her.


    Amanda looked over her shoulder at me. "You''re out of luck, soldier."


    "So helpful," I replied sarcastically.


    Ash''s chuckling ran away. There came a noise from far over the walls around us. A bell sounding. I could only imagine the size of what created the tolling.


    "Look, Doran," Anna told me. I strained my eyes to look up under my brow. High enough to see what the others did.


    The passage had suddenly ended in front of us. It opened out into a marshland of bone and flesh. The ground was soft and sticky under my feet as I continued walking. Pillars of groaning meat rose from the ground. The quagmire ran quickly into a forest ahead of wilted, twisted, and grey trees.


    No. It was the pillars. They wrenched themselves to look at us as we entered their domain. It was them. They grew red, pulsating, then turned dark and brittle into wood.Walking under them, I could feel their hot breath, a bloody fog, on me.


    They were alive.


    It bothered me most that no one was talking about it. Only Anna seemed the least bit bothered.


    This was the bell''s significance. The ending of the first day, the beginning of the second. The short appearance of a path into the next area.


    What if we had missed it? Would we know?


    "Hold on," Amanda called. She stood in an open area, the forest just ahead. "This is different. I don''t think I''ve been here before."


    "Wouldn''t you remember a living forest? God knows I will," Anna said.


    "The forest was different last time. It was quieter..."


    The trees emanated a guttural, pained, mumbling.


    We stepped under the canopy of branches and bleeding leaves.


    "Is it going to be a problem?" Ash asked her.


    "No. If we just keep walking, I should be able to make the path straight."


    "Should is a disconcerting word, Commander."


    Everyone was watching their steps, walking on great big roots, avoiding the chunky sludge ground. I wasn''t nimble, though, with the gun on my back. I had to trudge through the bog as Anna jumped easily from solid footing to solid footing.


    "We''ll get there," I said, stepping over a root. "As long as we don''t-"


    My next step and I dropped straight into the water without resistance. I sunk thirty feet in an instant, down through a tiny hole in the floor. I threw the gun off of me and pushed up to tread water. I was fucking dense, and couldn''t gain height. I steadied myself, pushing off the panic of suddenly being underwater. I had to remember;I have air.


    I looked up and the place where I had fallen through had shut, sludge flooding into the gap. All light, all sense of up and down, was gone.


    The entire forest was a float of bodies and rot on an ocean, no end in sight.


    Beneath me, the gun''s blinking lights continued to sink into the depths of clear water, alone in the black, down hundreds of feet. Finally, its falling stopped, seemingly hitting the bottom. Only for that bottom to moveaway from the light, letting it fade into nothing.


    Fuck.


    I fought to swim in the direction I thought was up. A symbol appeared in my vision, floating in the air. It was a low-air warning, and it fucked up what night vision I had.


    But that wasn''t right. I should have hours of air.


    The symbol blinked out.


    My armor was failing. My limbs were heavier than they should have been.


    I realized, the water wanted me.


    But I was moving, making progress. I just didn''t know if I was moving up.But I should''ve been close. I scrambled as the air was becoming thin, my breathing heavy. My hands should''ve found the surface by now. I felt the horrifying suspense and dawning realization as I kept swimming towards nothing.


    I knew I was going the wrong way. I knew I was lost. Minutes passed where I was afraid to move, the only noise my ragged breathing.


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    A cracking preceded a sudden stream of water into my helmet. It quickly flooded, steaming up my nose. The display of my helmet died.


    I was drowning in complete sensory deprivation, lost underwater. I had to claw at the latch of my helmet and pull it off, opening my eyes wide.


    There was nothing, I was nowhere.


    A ray of light appeared in the dark. The world was on its side, but I could see. A giant sword hacked an opening into the surface.


    I burst out into the air gasping, and slipped back in, sliding off the soggy skin of the ground. On my second breach, Ash caught my hand.


    Coming out, I laid back against the stinking roots of a tree. Without my helmet, the reeking, horrid odor got to me. My gasping coughs became wretches.


    Ash crouched down in front of me and spoke. "I knew you couldn''t swim."


    I hacked and coughed before sputtering out the words, "fuck you." There was a dead body at the base of the tree beside me which I shoved off into the water. There were ten or so all around lying against the trees and being swallowed by the mire. The bodies of beasts, vultures of human size with sagging breasts and the twisted faces of old women. "What... happened?"


    "Harpies," Odessa said.


    Amanda was wiping the blood off her sensors. "They attacked right after you fell in, kept us from acting. Are you alright?"


    I nodded, breathless. "This place is dangerous."


    "Yes. Obviously." She motioned for me. "We have to keep moving."


    "We just almost died," Anna protested. "Doran almost died a lot more."


    "Exactly a reasonnotto stop. We can''t lose momentum or direction. Now."


    I refused help and stood. I wasn''t carrying the turret anymore, at least. I spit the taste of rot from my mouth and started off with the others, watching my step.


    We could go faster, now. Watching out for stray and sharp limbs, flying insects. Everything was ten times worse without a helmet. The sounds, the sensations of sweat crawling down my face. The smells.


    We trudged and jogged through the forest when there was better footing.


    Amanda stopped us when we came to an open area in the trees. A clearing with a large scab-like rock in its center. She was confused. "There should be stone, buildings. This is not an organic place. The Labyrinth is supposed to be a cityor a castle."


    "We''re low," Odessa offered. "The light comes from over the wall." She pointed far beyond the trees and through the black clouds. The sun could be seen dimly over the cliff, the one we had crossed through. The light was cut off again, though, higher. There was a structure above us, looming over the forest.


    "It''s a shelf," I marveled. It defied gravity.


    Amanda jumped over the mote surrounding and onto the scabrous island. "We''ve got to get up there. The pack, Ash."


    He threw her the survival pack he had been carrying.


    She rifled through it, throwing away the useless items like tent-dispensers and computer tools. She found what she was looking for and tossed one to each of us. I caught mine and inspected it. A small silver phaserpistol.


    "Some protection," she said. "There''s nothing else worth carrying in here."


    I pointed up. "No grapple device, flight?"


    "No. Not with the range and not that you''d want to risk your life on."


    Ash walked a short ways into the forest to see something. We followed as he called, "There''s more of this rock stuff."


    I saw. The scabrous rock marked the edge of the woods and a harsh slope.


    "This is the way, then?"


    Amanda nodded. "We''re beneath the foundation. This is it."


    I put a foot onto the rock and stepped up. To my right, a tree threw itself against the rock and screamed. It uprooted and started trying to wriggle and crawl across the rock. Its arms broke loose from where they had been bound by crust at its sides to grasp at the crumbling ground. It quickly dried further, though, from grey to the dead rock of the foundation, attaching. It let out one last gasp before giving in and yielding to the rock.


    Anna cursed and followed the others up the mount.


    Lose momentum and you deform into the landscape.I witnessed it.


    Ash shouted at me and I caught up. The ground was quickly becoming steeper, the shadow of the ledge overhead, deeper. Some trees were alive, having traveled further and survived. One had broken open, a body had crawled free from its gnarled mass and was sitting on a rock several yards off, covered in blood and organs. He saw us and tried to stand, but crumpled under his own weight.


    I had to look away. Higher still the hill we walked continued on a path to meet the shelf and the shadow intensified to the point I could not see. Looking over my shoulder, hell''s sun had already been hidden behind cliffs and stone, the gap of visibility closed. As we kept climbing, I was the only one without a helmet. The others switched on their lights.


    Anna reached to turn on her helmet''s light, but nothing happened. "Guys, I think my power is dead." She looked all around. "I can''t see anything."


    "It''s not that dark yet," I told her. "Your display must be out too."


    She threw off her helmet. Ash did as well, and Odessa.


    "Fine," Amanda sighed. She removed her mask. "It was going to fail anyway."


    "That''s a design flaw," I said. "The two-stage vision of camera and VR."


    "It''s-" Anna started but stopped to gag. "Holy shit," she coughed.


    "That''s a human design flaw," Ash commented, patting her on the back as she vomited. "Follow me, children. I love the dark." He went on to the pitch black.


    "What do you see?!" Amanda yelled, reluctant to follow.


    "Come, come. I see the entrance." I could hear stone grinding across stone as a door was opened, faint light coming through.


    At the top of the hill, the scabrous rock hit blacker carved stone. There was a pit in the ceiling and an open doorway which a silhouette stood in. Ash, probably. Inside was a dankhallway leading to room beyond. I leaned against the wall and breathed deep. The air was less foul in here. Amanda wouldn''t wait, though. She had already gone to look. I had to go.


    It was a ballroom.


    A chandelier was scattered at the center of the room. Mud water ran across the floor and bloody slime grew on every surface. A hole in the vaulted ceiling allowed some distant sunlight in, and they sparkled off the still-shining crystal of the chandelier. It was out of place, almost disturbing.


    "It''ll be dark eventually," I said. "We will get lost in here."


    "I know," Amanda barked back. "We just need to get higher ground, open air."


    "No," I countered. "We need light to navigate. Fire. Anna can do it."


    "I''ll- I''ll need something to burn, then." Anna was unsure.


    "Look around, Doran." Amanda kicked over a pile of stones. "There''s nothing flammable. What''s she going to burn?"


    "I don''t know," I admitted.


    "We could go back for wood," Odessa said.


    "We can never go backward."


    "Then what do you want to do?" I asked.


    "Keep moving!" she ordered. "And don''t question me again. We can only try and get someplace simple, so we don''t get lost in this maze."


    I stared at her for a moment, blankly. Pressing on wasn''t a strategy. Faith wouldn''t save us when we were actually lost in the dark. "Firehas to be our priority."


    "We''ll figure it out when the time comes."


    "We should figure it out now!"


    Without another word, Amanda turned and walked. I wiped heavy sweat from my face. The air was humid and hot. Dammit. Amanda was going to get us killed. But she was right. For now, we just had to keep moving.


    With the meager light dying, we went deeper into the corridors.

 Damned 2.09

    The bell''s toll rang through the claustrophobicpass, its weight trapped and reverberating in our tight space, rattling me through.


    The darkness was complete. Ash was leading our way, the ragged breathing the three of us emitted was only interrupted by the deafening bell. Odessa and Ash were without breathand beating heart. We were packed closely together, locking hands, with our back and fronts scraping across the stone walls. I could swear they were tightening.


    When the bell subsided, there was only breathing again, until Anna spoke. "Guys, I''m having trouble... getting air."


    "There is air, there is space. Stay calm," Amanda ordered.


    "That... isn''t going to help... I think."


    You can''t simply tell a stressed person to calm, or a depressed person to cheer up.


    I squeezed Anna''s hand. "You can feel it easing up, can''t you?" I tried.


    "Can you? Feels like it''s... getting tighter," she said, panic creeping into her tone.


    "I can see," Ash called from the front. "It''s not getting worse."


    I was almost certain he was lying.


    A few minutes passed before she spoke again. "It is not getting better, alright? Don''t fuck with me! This is..." she heaved a breath, "getting worse."


    "Calm down...soldier," Amanda admonished. "Nobody''s hurt."


    "My name is Anna Canton..." she reminded Amanda. "We have to turn back... we''re going to get stuck!"


    "That is not an option, Anna..." She had to stop talking for a moment as she struggled past a rough patch on the wall. She was stuck for a momentbut freed herself. "We keep pushing or we are dead. Die or move forward, those are the options."


    Anna didn''t respond. I could feel the heat pouring off her, beginning to burn my hand. Odessafelt it too. "You mustn''t fear, dear girl."


    "Guys..." Anna started. I could hear and smell her burning skin. She had fallen silent and her hand shook slightly.


    She''s not just air, she''s wind. Winddoes not exist in a trap. Fire suffocates.


    She was going to burn us alive in this crack in therock. You couldn''t even call it a hall anymore. It was becoming a fucking press-oven as the stone heated.


    "Can you turn your head to me," I asked.


    She didn''t respond, she had stopped moving.


    Amanda shouted at us to move, but I barked back, "stop!" I removed my hand from Anna''s and reached up to touch her cheek, her face turned to me. "I need you to know, Anna. I love you. I care about you, I mean." I bit my tongue. Fuck. "You have to move if you care about us. You''re killing us."


    If reason didn''t work, I prayed emotion would.


    There was a long, breathless, moment.


    Anna unfroze and started moving.


    Not surprisingly, a light appeared ahead only a few minutes later. The passage''s opening appeared. Through it, we stepped out onto uneven ground. There was a wood fire a few paces out, embers rising up into the vaulted ceiling.


    Around the flame were two Damned. One was a man, the other, an indistinguishable corpse, lipless and rotting.


    Anna fell to her knees once free, sucking in air. We each stumbled apart, getting some space. I laid down and stretched, feeling heavy and constricted. I was glad that nightmare was over. Odessa looked to me down at her feet. She and Ash were unaffected.


    "Sorry, Anna," Amanda said. "I don''t know you well enough, apparently."


    "I''m okay now," Anna responded, talking to everyone, really.


    "Doga sob hedio mahnda?" the Damned man spoke, still sitting.


    The corpse seemed to reply, mumbling out, "Oencreel."


    They were talking about us, wondering what we were. I could hardly make out their meanings, though. Most of the words they used were from a language they barely remembered. Eventually, they would lose even that.


    "What do they say?" Odessa asked.


    "Nothing important."


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    They''re not interested in anything, really. They just try to stay sane. But even sanity has an object. Even sanity stops being ''right'', here in the absence.


    Amanda was antsy to keep moving, of course, so Odessa helped me up. Anna was being a little despondent, but I wasn''t worried much. She needed space.


    This room had two doors on its back wall. The cut stone became craggy further back towards the thresholds, devolving into cave-like rock.


    "Can we get any of that fire?" Amanda wondered aloud.


    The Damned man''s hand moved to a rusty dagger in his lap.


    "It''s an ember of divinity," I said. "We shouldn''t take from it, I think."


    "Thaga theus, aj," the corpse whispered, angry. He caught her intention.


    Amanda looked at the two door choices ahead. "Can we, is what I asked. You were the one who said we needed fire. There it is."


    "Hell is the absence. We don''t want to disturb what grace there is, here."


    She gave me a look and I knew what it meant.Again, not what I asked.


    When I didn''t say anything, she reached down and grabbed the unburning end of a piece of wood from the fires. "There. Our mission comes first."


    The corpse lunged with a screech towards herbut fell dead before he could fully rise. The entire thing happened in a second. Ash''s reaction had been too fast to see. A knife stuck up from the dead''s head, his hands continuing to grasp at her feet. The Damned man cursed at usbut stayed sitting, put away his dagger.


    "Our duty is to these people," Amanda told me. "We can''t let them stop us."


    "It''s a stairway down this one," Ash called, poking his head in the door. Then in the next, "This way''s a bunch of jail cells."


    "That way," Amanda pointed to the latter door. "We can''t go down. We need to gain height. Find daylight."


    We followed her lead now, as she had the fire. Ash was close behind her, with Anna and me following, Odessa covering our back. We left the Damned man watching us from his safe fireside sitting place.


    With Amanda setting the pace, we jogged past every cell. As our torchlight passed, it cast a moving shadow of bars across skeletally thin and haunting Damned. They lay lifeless in blood and shit, some rolling their heads to cast eyes set deeply in their skull at our passing. The cells ran on and on, easily for thirty minutes, after which there were fewer and fewer occupants in them. We''d soon gone far enough for the fire''s light behind us to fade, and were walking the seemingly endless chain.


    Hell was full of so much monotony, that it almost felt lazily constructed. Without thought to building costs or purpose to the architecture, elements were repeated with abandon. Miles of jail cells and carelessly placed bottomless pits.


    An hour or more passed before Anna asked Ash, "see anything?"


    We slowed some and he pushed Amanda''s torch away, squinting past it into the black. "No, it fucking doesn''t end."


    "Literally?"


    "There should be something getting back to us, but I don''t see anything out there. It''s gotta be some kind of trick. I see in the dark. I can even see Doran in the dark. It has to be a trick." Ash turned around and looked back the way we''d come. "Can''t see the fire, either. We''re fucking snared, girls."


    "That''s not how this works," Amanda said.


    I had an inkling. I pulled up my silver pistol. I fired down the hall a green bolt which went on out of sight. I had a thought. Shit. "Get down!" The bolt zipped by overhead as we ducked. It made one more pass and we waited. After several minutes, we knew it had fizzled out somewhere.


    "It''s a loop," Odessa stated.


    "Perceptive," Ash derided.


    "Amanda, what did you do last time?" I asked her.


    She responded, "I didn''t. It didn''t do this last time. Honestly, it didn''t do any of this. It was testing me to my ability last time, this time, I think that it''s testing us. We have to keep going or we fail."


    "But going straight is literally going nowhere. Look!" I pointed to the cells on either side. Stepping further to the next, you could see. They were each identical. Exactly and perfectly the same, down to the last stain of blood. The floor, too, had run into a pattern of cobblestone. It repeated, and had been losing details since they''d begun. "I know what this is. It''s a complexity descent. Reality is deteriorating around us! We have to get out."


    "We get out by going forward, that''s how this works. Hell is a choice. That''s the fundamental of it. You take what you have into the afterlife, and can only lose, not gain. If we lose our direction, we will never get it back. This is a test like everything else here."


    "No..." I told her. "This is cosmic fucking witchcraft." A hush fell on the others as I said it. Amanda was only stunned for a moment before making up her mind.


    "You''re wrong, Doran. Listen to me, I''ve done this before-"


    "But you didn''t see anything like this," I cut her off. "Are you Attuned, Amanda? Looking at this, it''s like we''re walking down the sides of a pit. Sense it." I apparently wasn''t as Attuned as I thought I was. I should have seen this for what it was at first sight. Was it me, though, or was it subversion?


    This is terrifying work,I realized. A seamless perversion of metaphysics.


    Amanda knew better. "I''m ordering you. Keep moving."


    "No," I told her. I had to do it. "I have to act according to the best of my knowledge, or else I would be acting in bad-faith. The mission comes first."


    "I will leave you behind."


    "Will you leave us behind?" I had faith in my friends.


    Funny, I had never used that word before, thinking of them. They were my friends.


    "Doran knows what he''s talking about," Ash ratified. "We know it."


    "We have to go back," I said.


    Amanda grabbed at her hair in frustration but there was nothing there. She didn''t know what to do for a moment, and then she did. She drew her pistol.


    "I can''t let you. I know you''re wrong."


    Two people acting rationally, with good will, yet one of us would cause evil. Only one was right. "I''d rather kill myself, thanks." I put her behind me and walked.


    A bolt of energy was fired over my right ear, shrieking past.I wouldn''t stop.


    "You''re killing them, too!" she shouted. "Please!"


    I took a breath and turned around. "Please," I repeated her. "Please come with me. I know manipulation when I see it. This isn''t natural, this loop. If you stay, you won''t be able to use your spell to get out. We''ve gone too deep. We have to go back."


    "Don''t," she pleaded. I couldn''t make her trust me.


    "We can afford to get lost, Amanda. This trap, though? You can''t escape from it. Please, risk the mission, don''t risk your life."


    "I''m not failing. I have my duty."


    I had never put back my pistol, from firing a shot into the dark. With my thumb, I switched it to stun and considered my decision. She was aiming directly at me and set to lethal. I didn''t know if I was fast enough, but I knew what would happen if she went on.


    It would be my fault.


    My fault.


    I threw my arm up and fired. There were two flashes of light and in an instant, Amanda fell and so did I. The world overturned as I twisted and crumpled into the dirt, everything blurring away.

 Damned 2.10

    Walking the dirt road, a large flowered plant hung out along it. The man took a flower between his fingers. Its petals were a wonderful sunny yellow and he had stopped to see. Leaning in, he took a whiff but was slightly underwhelmed with the scent.


    Moonlight lit up his path perfectly and he appreciated it. His bare feet left tracks in the dirt, a trail behind him. His clothes were threadbare and old but he didn''t care.


    A horse rider came galloping out of the town ahead hastily. The man stepped aside for him to bolt by, then continued on into the quaint streets.


    Past the grove of white trees and up to the unlit front porch of a small home. The carpentry shop''s front held a sign reading ''closed''. The door simply unlocked and opened to make his way.


    He stepped silently up the stairs, not eliciting a single creak.


    At the top of the stairs looking right, the hall led to a closed bedroom door. To the left, a kitchen lit by candlelight.


    He stepped into the kitchen and sat down at the table, across from a much younger, tired man. They didn''t speak for some time.


    "Do we die every time we fall asleep?" the first man said. His eyes were focused far away. "The soul''s not uninterrupted consciousness, and consciousness isn''t about the hardware or the software that composes it. You are who you are. If a copy of you is created, and you die, then you do not die. If you are killed, but a body created to carry on the same thought you failed to finish, then you do not die. And if that''s not true, you are an animal, and your existence is wretchedly futile. The soul is your being, and like a mantle, it will be taken up by the one who proceeds you. The only part of us that remains to wield ourselves, is that which came from God, as one. You see this truth."


    The other man knocked back a hard drink he held in his hand. "Meaningless," he said. "Preservation of the self is the purpose of the self." He waved his handas if to dismiss the thought. "Why are you here? I haven''t seen you since the war, Sosias neither. He doesn''t talk about you. I''m constantly watching for the Curse, and now you just show up at my house to do what, lecture me?"


    "To warn you, Icthre. The next metaphase is here. Sosias predicted the Cosmic Midnight would come. Time is short, now. I''m making my move."


    "What are you going to do, then?" He pushed his drink away and looked over his shoulder to check the stairs and the door. His wife and child were asleep beyond it.


    "How many is this now? How many families?" the first man asked.


    "I don''t keep track. Just like I don''t compare them," the second replied.


    "And are you content to do that forever, Icthre?"


    "It''s Matthew, and yes, I am. I can forget about the Omniverse here. The people, their understanding is such a firm grasp on such untouchable things... it''s calming. I go to church, I raise a family, pretend to die. Repeat as desired."


    "Ignorance is bliss, then?"


    "Not forever, apparently."


    "There''s no such thing as forever, Icthre. We know that."


    Icthre hung his head. The first man slowly pushed his chair back to stand.


    "So that''s it?" he asked.


    The man replied, "Everything ends. The trick is in getting the last word."


    "I guess I was just never that kind of a man. That was always you."


    Only the candles above the sink gave light. He watched him approach, knowing what would happen next as he closed in, outstretching his hand.


    "Unfortunately. Goodnight, Matthew."


    His grip fell on the young man''s face and a sudden scream awoke his family.


    Ash flicked my cheek. I awoke from dreaming. "Wow. You''re alive, Doran?"


    "...Yes," I answered, barely a whisper.


    My eyelids could part enough to make out his vague image in the firelight. My dream was already gone, leaving only a depression in its form. My consciousness had moments ago been just a pretense. It was still disjointed.


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    "You sure? Because you kind of dropped like a dead rock there for an hour. I wanted to leave you but Odessa insisted Idrag your corpse."


    "...Amanda?"


    "Oh, she''s as much a stiff as she''s ever been. Odessa is lugging her around."


    "Doran!?" Anna exclaimed. She crouched down beside me. "You were dead."


    "Only mostly dead," Ash corrected her.


    I was regaining my sight. I leaned up enough to look at the giant scorch mark on my chest. The armor had taken the blast, stopping power that could put a hole through me. But the shock, the energy, had been absorbed. Enough to stop my heart.


    Whether it was my doing, or hell''s, I had apparently not stayed dead.


    "Can you stand?"


    I tried to move my arms, but they weighed too much.


    "No."


    "Well, shit."


    We were all around the bonfire. The Damned man was gone. I lay by the fire with Ash and Anna over me. Looking back, the cell block we''d entered wasn''t even there anymore. Only the stairwell. We''d walked straight through a wall.


    "Ash? We''ve got to keep going," Odessa spoke.


    He smirked. "Alrighty." He gripped my collar and stood up, hoisting me a bit. Then, he started pulling. He heaved but couldn''t get me up onto his back. "You''re a rock, Doran. Odessa, trade." Ash took Amanda while Odessa was able to easily put me on her back.


    Anna was at the front, having literally taken up the torch. I drifted a little, going in and out of consciousness. Slowly, I blacked out.


    O


    The bell''s tolling sounded in the distance, this time dispersing on the air. I stirred from a deep sleep. Odessa still had me on her shoulder and was jostling me with every step, but I had managed to pass out. There was loud cracking noise and I was thrown to the ground. My name was called out as a body fell on top of me, limp.


    You''ve got to wake up.


    I came sputtering with a cough, sitting upright when foul water streamed up my nose. Shoving the body off me, I could see the light of Anna''s torch fifty feet off down the tunnel. They were running.


    Leaving me behind.


    I managed to stand shakily. A guttural growl hit me from behind. I couldn''t see in the dark of this sewer, but looking at the body beneath me, I knew whatever it was, it wasn''t human. With a strained, limping gait I moved as fast as I could to catch up with the others. My pistol wasn''t on my chest, they must have left it where I''d fallen.


    The growling was growing deeper, more agitated to my back. Closer.


    "H-" I tried to yell but my voice ran away from me.


    "Doran!!" it was Ash screaming for me. He was carrying Amanda, and he looked back at me, but he had to keep moving.


    Why are they leaving me? What could drive them to think I was unsavable?


    I didn''t dare slow enough to look back and find out. The growling became a desperate animal scream which was quickly snuffed out.


    They found a ladder ahead. Anna was first to climb it to the top and open some sort of hatch. Sunlight poured into the tunnel. Odessa climbed it next as I tried to gain speed. Ash stepped up onto the first rung to hand Amanda to Odessa.


    He held out his hand for me, I was closing in. I took one peek back at what was moving behind me. It was right on top of me, within arms reach, breathing down my neck. A grotesque thing. Not even a Damned, though it could have once been. Instead of reaching for me, it limped with its head forward, maw open, fingers extending from its mouth. I realized it had no arms.


    I jumped for the ladder, catching the highest rung I could and quickly climbing.


    I felt a disgusting grip on my foot. It had me.


    It had me.


    With terrifying strength, I was ripped downward by my leg, bones wrenching. I wouldn''t let go. My arms held out, tendons stretching. I yelled in pain as the thing below me hunched and bent its neck to pull me down by its tooth and hand laden face.


    I kicked and looked up into the blinding daylight, screaming for help.


    Several green flashes came, and I fell against the ladder.


    Odessa reached down, taking my arm. She set me down on the rocky road, on my back and facing the sky. I couldn''t even find the sun, I was blinded.


    "Curse that creature. Sorry for dropping you, Doran. I thought I could kill it," she explained. I didn''t reply.


    "At least you''re up," Ash said. "Not dead weight like this one."


    I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. "Damn her. She wouldn''t listen."


    "What happened in there?" Odessa asked. "It was a trap."


    "It was. This mission, it isn''t as straightforward as we thought."


    Now that I could see, even though it was still painfully bright, I took in the city. We''d reached ground level, high above the cliffs. Here,insane, near Escherian architecture was piled upon itself. From stone and rickety wood, a convoluted and ancient city arose.


    "What does this mean?"


    I had to shield my eyes to look up at her. "It means we''re not alone, Odessa. Someone, a Magus, is acting against us." I stood up, still exhausted, and started walking. Anna helped me. We went across the way to shade.


    "There''s someone else? Could they be watching us?"


    We all walked beneath the eaves aside the road. "No. This person is powerful, they could attack us head on. We fell into atrap.Which makes me think this is passive interference. Not active, preemptive."


    "What do you think we should do, Doran?"


    "Hey, how come I''m not being asked?" Ash complained.


    "I got shot," I said. "What''dyoudo to prove leadership skills, Ashley?"


    "Not getting shot by an idiot." He bumped Amanda into a wall as he walked.


    "The idiot needs to wake up." We stepped out onto a crossroads. Multiple paths each leading the wrong way. This was the entire purpose she was here. This was the real labyrinth. "I have no sense of direction guys. I-" I had to stop and cough. "...We''re lost."

 Damned 2.11

    We''d come to a ruined crossroad. With the white sky glowing overhead and toppled, wobbling buildings all around, there were four different choices.


    We set Amanda down in the shade. I, still limping, took a seat in front of her. Her head bobbed a little as she tried and failed to rouse.


    "Do we have smelling salts or something?" Anna asked.


    Ash bent down and slapped Amanda in the face.


    She jerked awake and covered herself with her arms. I had to pry them away as she fought. She was still half awake. I held her still and looked into angry, confused eyes. "We''re even," I said. She broke off my grip.


    "We''re on the surface?" she asked.


    "The tunnel was a trap, Amanda," I told her. "We survived because of me."


    She looked past me at the ghostly streets. "We''ve backtracked! Just because we''ve found the surface doesn''t mean we''re on the right path. I have no memory of this place, these streets."


    "I knew what I knew, Amanda. It was a trap. I was willing to get shot to save you, understand? Do you understand?"


    She grimaced.


    "Fine. You don''t have to believe me. You just have to guide us."


    She tried to stand but failed. "Fuck! Youunderstand something, soldier. I don''t know this place, and I''m not sensing our path. We''re lost now, because of you."


    I pointed to my singed chest plate. "I almost diedsavingyou." Then, I moved my finger into her face. "You, who saw the shot loop but didn''t believe me. Your determination almost destroyed us. You fucking child."


    She slapped away my hand and, pulling up her leg, kicked me back. She then found the strength the stand, uneasily, above me. I got back up to face her.


    "I don''t know what you are, but I, Iam your senior officer and handler. You four, essences, ghosts, demons, and you, Doran. I wanted to work with you, but you have to respect my authority, and you''ve proved you don''t. I''ll have words with Kendall about this. I''ll make sure he knows how out of control you are."


    He''s well aware.


    Ash laughed.


    "Kendall is not my problem right now." I had an idea of what needed to be done. Most importantly, I had to get Anna to safety. I felt like she was owed that. She wasn''t any demon or ghost, she was still just a girl. I had to find a way keep her that way. I said to Amanda, "You are my problem."


    "Same." Amanda reached into her suit and withdrew a card. Kendall''s card. "Because of you, this mission is a failure. I''m calling it."


    In my peripheral vision, Ash''s hand clenched and strained at his side, his entire body going stiff. He was fighting to gain control. He had calculated how close he could be to death and had entered a panic.


    This is about to go horribly wrong.


    "Think twice," I spoke. "There''s things you don''t know."


    She was holding the card, and I knew she only had to will it. "Speak," she ordered.


    "You don''t know how monumentally important this moment is. If you open that portal, I''ve already been told Kendall intends to kill us."


    "Gods curse that wretch!" Odessa shouted. "Why didn''t you speak of this earlier, Doran? Kendall plans to kill us on return?!"


    Amanda didn''t let me respond. "This is not my problem, in fact, I think it''s the right thing to do. You''re dangerous. You specifically, Doran. I see the demon trying," she''d noticed. Ash was practically paralyzed in his constraint, though his face was placid. He wanted to kill her. "It makes sense now. You''re hardly in control at all. Got one of the most stressed bindings I''ve ever seen. Whoever did it is relying completely on force of will, at this point, not binding of essence."


    I showed her the hand as I slowly took out my own card. "You go back if you want, but we''re going to complete the mission. Let us try."


    "The only reason you would want that is if you''re planning something... No, I''m bringing you in and I''m not taking no for an answer. No loose ends."


    "No. You are letting us go." I stood my ground. "I don''t know what we''re going to do, but I refuse to let Kendall... kill them. I know you can understand this. Please, if you''re worried about me...I can promise to return. But I''m the only other one that could possibly navigate this place. I have to find a way for them."


    She didn''t open the portal, she just waited.


    "Kendall gave you control over us, you can let us go."


    "You''d rather get lost for all eternity in this godforsaken labyrinth than go back to your master? All of you?"


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    Odessa was quick with a "yes."


    "I trust Doran," Anna said.


    Ash simply stared her down.


    "Then fine," Amanda decided. "I do understand. Self-preservation is your sacred right. But you''ve seen our technology, you''re a loose string which any number of threats could pull on. Do you understand, Doran? What promise can you make?"


    "I don''t know," I admitted. "At least not for the others."


    "Then I can''t just let you off the chain."


    She was so close to doing it. I had no power to stop her. I could feel the restraints tightening around my options. None of us were physically capable of attacking her or breaking our bindings. I could pull on them, but I wasn''t willing to test them to the breaking point. I didn''t think I could. I was too weak.


    Everything was in her hands.


    "Then kill us. Because what Kendall has in store is far worse. If you know what he is, now, then you know I''m right. I''d rather fade in hell than live in him." When she did nothing I walked over to Anna and took her pistol. I presented it to Amanda, set to lethal. "Do the right thing."


    Her expression was stoic as she considered it.


    "Do it!" I ordered.


    She aimed at my head. "You have to return..." she said, putting her finger on the trigger. "I can''t save you from Kendall. I''m sorry."


    "Either give us the chance to save ourselves," I reached up and grabbed the gun, threatening to yank it from her hand. "Or take responsibility."


    "I''m opening this gateway..."


    Angrily I shouted, "then you''re k-!"


    She cut me off, "-and you''re not going to be here when it happens."


    I let go of the gun, dropping my arm. I had to stare at her a moment as the tension passed. Every muscle in my body wanted to go limp.


    Finally, I nodded and backed away. Watching her as I did, I picked a path by gut feeling and led Ash, Odessa, and Anna quickly away.


    O


    We came out onto a back alley street and kept running. It wasn''t until fifteen minutes later that I finally collapsed to sit by a rotted tree springing up through the road. I heaved breaths and tried to focus my spotted sight. So much visual snow.


    "It was because of me, wasn''t it?" Anna said.


    "...Yeah," I answered.


    "Did you know?" she asked Ash.


    He replied honestly, surprisingly. "Yes."


    "But not me or Odessa? What are you, sexist?"


    "Actually, you''re just slow," Ash told her. "He never wanted any of us to know. He wanted to think up a solution first. But! Ya can''t keep secrets from Ash." He took his pistol, the last pistol, and threw it at my feet. Odessa had never gotten one. "Ain''t that right, Doran?"


    I picked it up. "Yes."


    Anna erupted, "Then why not let us help you figure this out!?"


    After attaching the gun to my armor, I let my head fall. "Because there''s no new solutions to think of, Anna... the options are two. We either submit to our fate, or we break free. And I''m not sure we can or cannot do that. Kendall is stronger, now. And even if we break free, where''s there to go?"


    "There''s always a way out," Ash chided me.


    "Right now the only way is to the city. I was going to tell you all when we got there." I put my feet under me. Had to stand. "Our need to get there hasn''t changed. Our best chance of escaping is there. The mission is also there. With Amanda out of the way, it''ll also be easier to get this done."


    "We may be freer, but our burden has greatened," Odessa corrected me. She lodged her sword in the earth. "Kendall''s betrayal..." She seemed not to be capable of coming up with the words. "Fuck him." She went with a modern curse, something I''d never seen her do before. "He''s no god. Our lives are not his."


    They technically are.


    "I never had many options..." Anna said to no one in particular. "This, though. I feel like there really isn''t a win here, guys."


    A faked a smile. "There''s always a plan."


    "And what plan do you have for this?"


    I didn''t directly answer. "Destiny, design. I''ve never experienced hopelessness, Anna. Because hope is something unreal. Things are as they are, which is a tautology, but you understand my meaning. We''ll figure something out."


    "I used to have standards for the type of life I would live."


    "We can''t choose what we''re born into, who we are. But our souls are all of the same substance, and we own it. There''s no difference between rock bottom and paradise, Anna. God made the parasites and he made the mortal earth, and do you know what he said about it? He said, ''it is good.''" I put a hand on her shoulder and pointed down the path. "Suffering isn''t evil. We are evilif only we choose not to overcome."


    "I guess," she quietly said. Grimaced.


    Ash crossed his arms. "Yeah, now, are we going? I''d rather not wait."


    "Yeah. Let''s go."


    We walked down the alley in the shadow of the buildings, until we hit a winding sun-bleached road.


    The heat was oppressiveand after hours of walking, Anna was the only one sunburning. She couldn''t catch a break.


    Nothing eventful happened from then on. The ground seemed to almost be sloping, though, as we walked. The buildings grew taller and bridges sometimes passed overhead. Our trek became an uphill battle.


    The sun set after a while, over the streets the white sky dimming grey. The stone and wood were colorless, even in the less harsh light.


    Eventually, we came to a large door which had collapsed in on itself.


    We can climb the rubble, go in through one of the windows.


    I looked and saw the buttresses aside the building creating a somewhat easy climb to the second level of the building thirty feet up.


    But the road is not raising with the same steepness as the skyline. It''s almost like we''re going down, relatively. I need height.


    "We should start walking the rooftops," I said.


    "You sure?" Anna asked.


    "...Yes."


    I wasn''t feeling strong, but the footholds were placed easily. Anna went first, Ash second, me third, Odessa last. We scaled up to a low roof on the side of the building and used it to jump onto a balcony on the next structure over. I bashed in the wooden door. A murky room of stagnate air was disturbed, dust stirring in plumes. There was a decrepit ladder in the room''s back, and no way downstairs. The ladder led into the attic, and a latched door had cracks of light in the darkness showing through.


    Ash went first this time due to the darkness, and threw it open, climbing up. The rest of us followed.


    I came up and had to balance myself on the slanted roof. When I secured my footing I looked up and took in the sight.


    The skyline rolled like an ocean, building tops wavering with the slopes and rises of the earth. Staringout, it almost looked like it was moving. Rising and falling like a sea of ruins. With the grey sky overheadand this eagle eye perspective, I still couldn''t see or sense our destination. We were dwarfed in this place. Even though we''d finally broken to the surface, we were lost in open water.


    The fourth tolling rocked the sky and shook the city, disturbing the skyline. Two chimes remained. If we weren''t to our destination by the sixth, we would be lost in this place. And I doubted all of us would be willing to leave, back to Kendall.


    I didn''t need hope. I could find a way. I would.


    Hope in thyself.


    Hmm.It was less comforting put that way.


    There was a path across the rooftops. We got going.

 Damned 2.12

    The city rooftop vistas stretched for miles. The stone and metal beneath our feet would creak and bend as we ran. The night had come and went, and the day had come with a cloudy sky again.


    The building tops and sheer drops kept us constantly jumping and gambling on our footing. The Favela-like structures were more often than not very unstable. I had nearly fallen more than once.


    My luck needs to keep up.


    With my feet hitting the corrugated tinroof of a building, it bent and groaned. To keep from sliding off I spread my stance for a greater balance. I looked back down the drop I''d hurdled and I couldn''t see thestreet below.


    Anna was aloft like a feather, gently stepping off a breeze and onto the roof. She could jump further and land lighter than I or Odessa. Ash leapt and landed with creepily little impact. We all gathered together again as we had over and over for me to pick the path. I would go first and they would follow.


    As I had from the beginning, I felt nothing.


    You''re completely lost,I told myself.You''ve got to do more.


    I picked out the next building. It was at the start of a lower run of houses, but I could see where it would let us through a ridge of raised walls. A row of taller structures which I would rather go over or around, rather than into.


    I jumped down easily. The roof had plastic white chairs thrown around. The ground was strong; meant to be walked on.


    There had been someconversation, hours ago. But there came a point where you had to stop and focus.


    There''s nothing pleasant to dwell on anyway.


    Onto the sixth rooftop and we passed the row of taller buildings, going through a low gap. Problem was, it wasn''t a row. The rest of the buildings beyond were all just as tall, and ours had continued getting shorter.


    "Fuck."There''s no going backward. Not if we want to live."We''ll have to go through it," I said, looking into the dark opening on the side of the building before us. We could go in and work our way back up to the rooftop. It wouldn''t be easy.


    "I''m not enthused," Anna commented.


    "Ash gets to go first." I stepped aside for him, sweeping my arm.


    "Oh boy, lucky me," his sarcasm was halfhearted. He was already looking deep into the darkness. "Looks unstable in there, Doran."


    "We''ll be alright."


    "Not in the long-run!" he sadistically called as he hurdled the drop and disappeared into the black. He was silent only for a moment before shouting, "next!"


    I took a couple steps back and then ran for it. I sailed over and landed without sight. Ash grabbed my arm and pulled me back as I was decelerating on the other side.


    "There''s a hole there," he warned.


    "Thanks."


    Turning around and with my eyes adjusting, I could see Anna and Odessa make it through. What sparse light there was showed the hole Ash was talking about. The majority of the floor had fallen through.


    I took Ash¡¯s hand and he started leading us around it, but not before a quick utterance of ¡°no homo."


    There was a crash and rubbledusted my head.


    "Sorry. My sword struck a support," Odessa apologized.


    We circled the hole to a flight of stairs. I had to kick and find each one, and some had fallen out. We made it to the top of the flight and crossed an open room. The windows were blacked out, crusted in some kind of growth, I thought. There would be only one more floor before the roof.


    We breached the top of the stairs with Ash throwing aside a piece of plywood. Immediately, we saw it. A fire with a single being sitting at it. A naked and darkly skinned man. His pigment was not dark, though, it was a black fungus which encased him. It grew and flared outward from him, sitting with his arms wrapped around his legs, staring into the flames. His back was completely deformed with the flowering of the plant in him, growing to reach out away from the flames.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Crackling, he turned his head to us. "It doesn''t like the light," he breathed. His English was skewed, but clear.


    "We''re passing through," I spoke to him from across the room.


    "Come close," he moaned loudly.


    "What do you see," I asked Ash, low.


    "Big growths along the room''s fringes. There''s a ladder at the opposite end, past the fun guy," he offered with a pun.


    "Thanks for that." I drew my gun and kept it down, moving to the front. Calling to the man at the fire, "We''re walking past now."


    We would go around the left side of the fire, whereas he sat on the right. We started slowly, Ash directly to my back and pushing me towards the right direction. As we got closer the man at the fire watched.


    His arms and legs fell slack as he lifted into the air, hoisted by a tendril of the massive fungal creature piercing his rectum. He hovered high over the fire and watched, the entire room suddenly crawling. He jerked as the plant ripped out his lower jaw to split and widen his mouth to the collarbone. Eyes peeked out from his moist innards, pitch ichor spilling from the new maw. He hunched to choke it out.


    "Faster!" I yelled. We passed the fire and ran for the ladder just as there came a horrible gurgling.


    The fungal man erupted gallons of the ichor, drowning the fire and quickly flooding the floor. I let Ash lead for me to walk briefly backward and fire several shots at him. He shook and dropped as the vine supporting him died.


    Only Ash could see what was going on now, but I could hear the entire room stirring.


    "Fire everywhere!" he ordered as he found the ladder.


    I turned back and made sure the others were out of the way. I let loose.


    Good God.


    With every flash of green light, I was given a glimpse of the dozens of Damned just like the one by the fire. They had been hiding in the walls. Overcome with the infection, fully turned, and coming for us.


    A tendril shot out from between the mass of theirbodies and punched me in the chest. I flew back into whoever was behind me, dropping my gun. It had intended to penetrate me, and thrashed against my armor, violently trying to find a way in. I grabbed it and wrestled it down, away from my face. It was slick and strong. I couldn''t hold on.


    Ash was yelling at Odessa, Anna was the one beneath me and she was fighting to get free from me while I was pushed down. The fungal Damned approached.


    A brilliant beam of light cracked open and filled the room. Odessa had broken open the hatch above and daylight flooded in. The vine quickly retreated and the Damned were yanked back by their tethers to the dark.


    I was the last one up. We threw the hatch shut behind us. We were safe.


    "Fuck this place!" Anna screamed.


    "Y-" I trailed off when I noticed something.


    There was a piece of the sky in front of us.


    "What the hell?" Ash saw it too.


    I stepped up to it. An inclined piece of the sky? The angle gave me the thought. I leaned in a little. The sky shifted with my perspective. It was a mirror.


    The fire. It was right at a bottleneck, last time. The perfect place for a trap.


    "Shatter it," I told Odessa.


    She swung her sword just as the mirror tilted. It uprighted and the four of us came into view. Odessa''s sword glanced off, reflected in its surface now.


    I quickly looked back to confirm that the buildings behind our reflections weren''t the same as the buildings actually to our back.


    We sprung the trap.


    I looked at my copy. Its shadow faced away from the sun, properly. His face was stern and chiseled, unpleasant looking. His head and beard had a short stubble, and he squinted in the sunlight. I stepped to the side, away from the others, and his movements followed perfectly.


    The others were watching their copies too. Both Annas looked to both of me and asked, "What is this, Doran? More witchcraft?"


    "Yes. It''s a repli-rep-" I stumbled over my words as the Doran in front of me followed them. "The replications.... will deviate." I was having difficulty speaking as my copy mimicked at a delay. The feedback loop screwed with my ability to speak. I waved my hand and watched the pause between his mimicry. The delay was widening. "It''s set up to capture our images. It''s working on changing them."


    "This happened with the fire last time," she said. Her copy followed a few seconds later and at a different tone of voice.


    "The fires are like junctions here. The traps are placed for maximum-" I stopped dead when I realized my copy wasn''t following at all. He was staring me down.


    This is too powerful. Too deadly.


    "They''re going to break outor switch places with us," I warned. "We don''t have time, we can''t run. Back up!"


    "What are you going to do?"


    "Brute force."


    I stepped into the center as the others backed off. The four reflections moved up against the glass and put out their hands. Evil Doran spoke on his own. "You''re tricksy, aren''t you?" My voice, but it wasn''t me talking. Someone else speaking through.The Witch.


    You''re not dealing with a person bound by rules.


    I was the one kind of person equipped to deal with this craft. It equally matched whatever physical force I could put out. Odessa''s sword was easily deflected. But if the mirror could match our metaphysical presence, then it wouldn''t be a reflection at all. It was still an illusion. And if you knew a trick for what it truly was, you could break the magic. I could exert enough sheer force to overcome whoever had cast this trap.


    "See you soon, sugar," the other Doran said


    I touched the mirror. Cracks spread across its surface. The mirror shattered into smaller and smaller pieces until there was no trace left.


    "I have a feeling we''ll meet whoever''s behind this," I said to Ash, Anna, and Odessa. "They''ll be looking for us now."


    "Why?" Odessa asked.


    "The spell was one of possession. The Witch''s spirit was in those copies, and they aimed to take control. If we''d waited any longer, we would have started to mimic the reflections, not the other way around. They would have wriggled in. We''re okay, now, but they got a good look at usand at our souls. They know who we are."


    "You seem better than them at this," Ash commented.


    "Don''t put your faith in me," I responded. "I don''t know what it was, but there''s something very concerning about this. I''m not confident."


    The fifth toll sounded in the sky, coming from somewhere far beneath the ground and echoing up and out between the buildings, unsettling their very foundation. When the ground had settled, we agreed to head out again.

 Damned 2.13

    I landed easily on the roof. The whole building shifted, sliding a few inches to the right. I held out a hand to stop the others from following and waited for it to settle. This was the way I''d picked, it felt like a bad idea to change direction.


    "Okay, Ash next," I called to them.


    He jumped up and his body blocked out the sun''s blinding light for a moment. He landed with no impact as he usually did and stepped aside.


    "Anna."


    Her landing was soft, her bob of blond hair blowing in her face as the wind followed her. She brushed it away and nodded, assuring she was good.


    "Your turn, Odessa."


    She took her sword in both hands and jumped the distance. For a single moment, she traveled through the air. But quickly she hit with a loud thud and groan from the building. Her weight caused a shifting in the structure, a grinding suddenly sounded.


    No one spoke as the stone roof beneath our feet swayed with the entire house. We breathlessly waited for it to settle as shudders ran up our legs.


    There was a crack and snap from somewhere below me. I realized something.


    Ash and Anna land softly, Odessa is tough. I can''t survive a fall.


    As if in response, the ground dropped a foot, almost knocking me over. Odessa lost her footing and started sliding with the angle of the roof. Ash watched her go and Anna wasn''t willing to jump after her. Odessa slung her sword into thebuilding, biting down to stop her descent. I almost ran to help, but I knew there was little I could do.


    That was the last straw. Her sword tore free with the entire side of the structure. I bolted in the opposite direction as it began to rapidly fall. I dove over the edge of the upturning building. I flew, but there was nothing close enough. Gravity pulled my swiftly down, killing my momentum.


    I crashed through a window several stories down, bouncing off a desk and tumbling through the weakened floor and another level down.


    I laid there, unable to rise.


    O


    The stones placed on the street crackledwhen Ash hit them. He landed in a crouch with debris raining down around him. He gazed up to the building top, hundreds of feet up. He couldn''t see the Sinner or the Child. Odessa and Anna had to of fallen out of sight.


    He listened closely, hearing the rasping breath of a few Damned in the nearby buildings. The shallow breath of Doran higher up. He was alive. Good.He wouldn''t be able to hear the Sinner, but he thought Anna was in the building.


    The one which crumpled to the ground before his eyes, setting a wave of dust onto him, clouding the streets.


    Ash put his hands behind his back and stalked down the road, keeping his ears attentive. He would find the others, they would regroup, and they would continue on. No surprises. No mysteries.


    Doran was a priority. The Child and Sinner were expendable, sadly.


    Here I come, friendo.


    O


    Breaking swift against the earth, Odessa landed. She cast her sight back to the tumbling building, its ruin bathing her. A heavy cloud birthing.


    She used her sword to cut through it best she could, running to a side street and out of the choking dust. There, she could see and listen. When the roaring of destruction had settled, the deathly quiet of hell would allow her to hear.


    Nothing. No single sound.


    "Gods damn this place," she cursed to herself.


    How are we to regroup? She wondered.


    They would have to find her, she reasoned. There was not much she could do.


    The thought of being lost in hell, again, sent a shiver through her.


    Mustn''t wander. As she took in her surroundings she saw she had walked into the opening of a courtyard. A vision appeared before her. Beyond the courtyard, heavenly mountains arose. The light of day was setting behind them, turning the pastures and pine forests dark beneath fiery light. Her eye immediately left the glimpse of beauty that struck her, resting on the center of the courtyard. There, she saw something.


    It was a sight she had never dreamed but always hoped to see. But it was wrong, it was horrible. She slipped to her knees.


    There before her was a man. His physique was perfect, his body strewn in a patch of light falling through the buildings to illuminate him. His head was that of an eagle, his body adorned in armor rent open, silver shining and running with blood. His wings were splaid open facing skyward. His own sword, its metal white hot, was plunged into his chest. Aleone, the god of glorious honor, reached a hand out towards her.


    Odessa slid quickly to his side and desperately clutched his hand. Her legs rested in a pool of blood. His face fell into her lap.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    She couldn''t believe what she was seeing.


    "My god," she said. "Beloved."


    He let out a sigh and his voice whispered in her mind. "Warrior."


    "Please tell me, how did this happen?" she begged. "Your reign was eternal? None could pull you from your holiest throne. You can''t be here."


    Aleone was unkillable. Son of the highest holy, he couldn''t possibly be here in the depths of hell. She had to be dreaming this nightmare.


    "Why?" the god asked, his black eyes empty. "Why would I answer to one so disgraced as you?"


    Odessa screwed her eyes shut. His words lingered and the pain was unbearable. She''d not been reminded in so long of why she had been denied paradise.


    Before she could speak, Aleone did."A Darkness came upon our world. And it could not be fought. My brothers and children were devoured." He reached a bloodied hand to touch her face. "I alone fled. I, god of honor."


    She opened her eyes, searching her god''s. His dark gaze was saddened. "No," she protested. "You would not flee."


    "Yes, mydaughter. It was a fate I chose.I would not be taken."


    There he laid, pierced by his own sword, by his own hand. It was his nature. He could not live in such complete failure. This was his redemption. What was demanded. Just like hell had been demanded of her.


    My home, my people, my gods, Odessa thought.They''re gone.


    "I should have been by your side, lord. I''m so sorry."


    He wiped a tear from her cheek. "I... am sorry.... as well."


    Aleone''s hand fell limp. His body began to sink slowly deeper into the ground. Odessa let him go as hell stole him away into its depths.


    Her god had been the only hope she had. She had dreamed of seeing him one day. Even in her damnation, she dreamed of returning home. It was a fool''s hope, but she had cherished it.


    Now there was nothing. Nothing to return to, nothing to cherish. She didn''t know why she was here anymore.


    I am profane.


    She sat there in a pool of burning hot blood, weeping.


    O


    Anna awoke groggily to a smell she hated. Every time she healed, it assaulted her as the pain came. Burning.


    When she''d brushed the dirt from her eyes, with much difficulty, she had regained blurry sight.


    She was pinned. Beneath piles of boards and rock. Dappled sunlight came down through the roof of debris. This cave of rubble she was trapped within was thankfully close to the surface. Close enough that that she could see, and that she could find her way out.


    Theoretically, her doubt nagged.


    Working her way out from beneath the pile of crap, she could see where she was trapped. The cavern that had formed around her in the ruin of the building was separated into two rooms. A second chamber awaited around the corner of an upturned bed.


    Carefully she stepped over the moldy mattress and around the corner. Immediately she saw a beam of light falling from a wide opening to freedom.


    Her mind blanked. A memory played.


    "Do you know when mom will be home?" Anna asked. Her father sat across from her at the table. He was staring out the window, out on the beautiful grey cityscape doused in rain. The table sat against the window and it stretched the entire wall. It was early in the morning, and the house was quiet and dim. Only the sleepy cloud-filtered illumination was on them.


    "Hmm?" he was pulled from thought. "Her planetary art exhibit goes through the weekend." His face was obscured, hard to focus on.


    Mom was constantly away.


    She didn''t care,Anna thought, only to regret thinking it.


    Dad smiled, spreading his greying whiskers. "You know how she is."


    Anna changed the subject. "How''s your project going?"


    "Gloriously," he replied. "I can''t wait to show it to you."


    "But you won''t tell me about it?"


    He put a finger quickly to his lips. "Mum''s the word."


    Anna actually smiled.


    The vision vanished, leaving her grinning at rubble.


    "Fuck!" she swore. She put a hand to her head.


    I can''t be seeing things.


    She had started to approach the exit, but in the alcove just beyond the light something moved. She dead stopped in her tracks.


    Having no weapon, Anna lamely held her hands out.It had never come naturally to her. Her powers were inherently alien, she felt.


    "Don''t move!"


    It stepped out of the darkness. Too thickly scarred to tell gender, the nude human stepped into the light. It was slight in build and hunched. Deathly thin.


    I''ll knock it back and jump up and out.


    As easily as she''d raised her arms, she sent out a blast of wind. Air drafted past her ears in a rush to form the attack which rippled over the Damned thing. It simply slid off, or went through, settling with the dust it''d kicked up. That wasn''t supposed to happen.


    The thing whispered, "it''s getting worse."


    Anna''s eyes widened, her heart plummeting, breath hitching.


    God no. No. Don''t do this.


    It was her own voice with which the thing spoke. "You know it is."


    She stumbled back, tripping. She fell on the mattress behind her and stared speechless and helpless. The nightmare visage came closer.


    "You are what you choose to be," the monstrous girl said, her voice breaking. Anna could see herself so cleary in its eyes. In its reflected horror. In the sadness of seeing her own self. Anna felt sick, looking into those perfectly grey-blue eyes.


    "N-" Anna couldn''t speak.


    "Remember... please."


    Anna watched as the vision faded, dispersing on the air. When it was gone she let out a ragged exhalation; her heart was pounding.


    None of it was real, she told herself. But she''d seen it.


    She''d seen what she would become. Her scars were getting worse, spreading. She was falling apart. Her dad had done this to her. She was broken, dying. Her mom hadn''t loved her enough to stay. She wasn''t even human anymore.


    Everyone, her people, her family, had betrayed her.


    She was dealt a goddamn fucking tragedy and it wasn''t fair.


    She couldn''t hold her rage, though. She couldn''t even muster self-pity. Anna followed the dust particles floating in the sun''s beams. Realized idly that she was literally in hell, beyond any escape on her own. Just like her body.


    What could she do?


    Trapped, the thought came. Since before all this had started, a year ago when she''d waved at Elroy and she could feel the rain and the wind. Before this nightmare. Everything she''d done, none of it could change this.


    Trapped, the idea repeated.


    Trapped.

 Damned 2.14

    I sat up. Having rested on the floor for a time, I mustered the motivation to stand. Dusted ceiling and floor off my legs. I looked around.


    There was no window in this room, and the one above, where I had fallen through, was out of reach. The back of this bedroom was incredibly black. I didn''t like the look of it.


    I kicked the door in, into the hall. It fell straight down a sheer drop. It was a stairwell with no stairs, ahead of me. Peering down, I realized I could climb. From door frame to door frame, I could work my way to ground level.


    "Hark," a voice echoed out from the blackness. It sounded like a mountain of grinding metal uttering syllables.


    "I''m not speaking with you," I said. I wasn''t getting sidetracked with this.


    I knew I was being watched. I didn''t care.


    Stepping over the edge, I descended the stairwell one floor at a time. It took a while, but I was able to get down the concrete base of the drop.


    I traveled to the front of the building, going out two grimy doors. I came onto the streets. Ash was waiting for me, standing in a clearing between the fallen chunks of the building from across the road.


    "Do you know where the others are?" I asked.


    "The-" Ash was cut off by a structure collapsing behind him. Something shot up from the ruins.


    Oh.


    Anna landed beside Ash, harder than usual. He cleared dust away from his face and declared, "found her."


    "Can we go?" Anna said. "I''m ready to go."


    She saw something.I wasn''t going to ask.


    "Yeah, let''s go look for Odessa," I agreed.


    Down on the street level, the buildings towered up impossibly high. They almost swayed, which was unnerving to watch as we walked. Some of them leaned against each other. The shadows were thick, almost completely shrouding.


    There''s no way we''re climbing back up. It would take hours.


    Our path had changed.


    We turned the side of a tall faded pink building.


    Odessa came into view, sitting in the center of a courtyard. She was sitting with her knees to her chest, her head buried in her free arm. As we approached, she rubbed at her face and stood, sword screeching on the asphalt as she did.


    "There you three are."


    Her face was red, her hair was down and filled with dirt.


    We were all silent for a moment. I think Anna didn''t want to talk about what she''d seen. Ash was following others'' leads. I wasn''t going to ask, again.


    "You, uh, you ready to go?" I asked her.


    "I am."


    I waved everyone along. We had united again. Now, straight is the way.


    Up ahead the buildings drew tighter together, the wires and junk strung between them became denser. The path was bleaker.


    The sixth and final bell tolled. This time, it came from deep beneath the earth. It marked the end of the fifth day, the beginning of the sixth and final.


    This would be the end of our wandering. If we didn''t find the stronghold today, we''d have to go home. We could be dead in twenty-four hours. So, this was it.


    So, this was it.


    There was the chance we were completely lost, I recognized, descending to thegrim alley. Cobblestone laded the path as it grew more like a dungeon. The sunlight was hundreds of feet up, barely peeking through the skyline.


    We''re on the right path, I affirmed to myself. Destiny.


    Sosias came to my mind, but I put that memory away.


    "Careful," Ash called. He stepped up to the front. "There''s unfriendly arachnids pretty much everywhere. Why don''t I lead?"


    "Certainly." I stepped back.


    "Steel yourself, ladies. It'' spiders," he mocked.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Fuck you," Anna spat. Unusually vitriolic.


    I was ready to be done with this place.


    We traveled for a while down the single alley, ignoring any side paths. Side paths which soon stopped appearing. The slit of light far above slowly narrowed. The buildings arched inward until finally, they met. Looking up, the wires and bars connecting the buildings on either side had become weblike, bodies of the Damned strung up amongst them like decorations. According to Ash, spiders inhabited them.


    The walls dropped away to my left and right. I couldn''t reach out to touch them. Flames burned almost a mile ahead, I saw. As they got closer I could make out the giant chamber and door. It was a hundred yards off now and I could see it clearly.


    We''d passed into a cavern tunnel, it led to a chamber. At the end of this chamber was a single massive wooden door. Torches were set into the wall at its side, basins of fire running around the room''s perimeter.


    It was the stronghold''s entrance.


    "This is it," I said, pointing to the door. "We made it."


    Anna was ready to get out of here as well. "Wonderful. Let''s-"


    The ground in front of us burst open. It was a thin layering of dirt and junk which broke wide for its body to rush through. A spider the size of a car which moved far too fast. It hissed and screamed. It lunged.


    It would tackle us at a breakneck speed. It would kill us.


    I jumped to the front, past Ash, and planted my feet, bellowing "Halt!"


    The beast broke against an invisible barrier, stopping immediately, sending cracks through the cave floor with the impact. Fires around the room erupted, stalactites fell. My legs buckled, putting me to my knees. I couldn''t do that again.


    Odessa charged the spiderbut didn''t attack.


    "It''s crushed," she told me.


    "W-woohoo," I replied, breathless.


    Ash busted out laughing. "You shall n-!"


    More hissing screeched up from the hole. A chorus. A second spider crawled up, followed quickly by a third, fourth, and fifth. They were all running towards us.


    Odessa hacked, taking down one as it came close, but she couldn''t hit them all.


    This was very bad.


    The spiders ran around us, into the darkness to our back.


    That''s worse, I think.


    Something else was moving up the hole. A cacophony of clanging bones.


    I forced myself to stand. To my right, Anna was in a readied stance, expression grim. Ash was focused, with a knife in each hand and a slight grin. Odessa was up at the front. I was just standing there. No weapon or power. Like a moron.


    It came clamoring up the pit. A twelve-foot tall nightmare of flesh, bone, and fungus. In its bony hand, it unveiled a sword that looked to be hewn from obsidian.


    Odessa let out an angry roar, slamming her sword into the floor.


    Speaking the universal language.


    The Gatekeeper lifted his massive sword and then swung. He followed the swing, circling as he stepped forward to close the distance between them. Odessa barely dodged the powerfully slung sword. She couldn''t parry against that force.


    Ash ripped his knives through the air, placing two of his three shots into the Gatekeeper''s exposed skull. There was no reaction. No expression without skin and muscle, or in hollow sockets.


    The Gatekeeper followed up by bringing his sword down on Odessa, who blocked. The clash broke her stance, nearly knocking her to the ground. He raised up again, ready foranother. He would crush her.


    Anna punched and let loose a blast of fire. It washed over the Gatekeeper''s gnarled torso, setting parts of him on fire. It didn''t stop him. He brought down a hard blow, forcing Odessa flat under her sword''s protection.


    "Come on, Ash!" I yelled.


    "Fuck it!" he yelled back.


    We both dashed for Odessa without a plan.


    Bad plan.It came to me.


    I jumped, hopping up onto the dead spider that was lying there. I ran up its back and heaved myself through the air.


    That got a reaction.


    With his free arm, the Gatekeeper swatted me out of the air, off of my ill-fated trajectory towards his face. This was distraction enough. Odessa scuttled backward to safety, and Ash closed in.


    I bounced and rolled against the rock, skidding to a stop beside the wall and a basin of fire. I groaned and rolled, stretched out my beaten body. My right arm twinged with pain. The stone floor had been a rough landing.


    I looked and the Gatekeeper was limping straight for me.


    Easy target.


    Trying to push myself up, my right arm completely gave out, sending electric jolts through me. It was absolutely fractured. I fell onto my side and watched the monstrous Damned quickly approach.


    He turned around for a moment to swing at Odessa, who was running up behind. She dodged and attacked. Her enormous sword struck the Gatekeeper''s already injured leg. He let out a loud banshee''s shriek, sharp and piercing.


    Anna darted up and a strong wind followed her. She directed it to him. The Gatekeeper staggered but wouldn''t fall. He planted his feet and dug the tip of his sword into the ground, balancing himself.


    I finally rolled over and sat up to stand, leaning on the flaming basin. I ran, clutching my arm, for the others.


    In two quick strides, the Gatekeeper stepped into my path. He sliced at my center of mass. Jumping backward wouldn''t save me. I had to through myself under the arc of his sword and at his feet. Predictably, he stomped.


    His foot smashed my body, planting down on my chest and driving the air from my lungs.


    Perfect.


    He had placed his balance on his injured leg. Odessa seized the opportunity.


    Her sword cleaved the leg in half at the knee. The Gatekeeper toppled over like a tree, placing his weight on me as he fell. Odessa quickly followed up with hacks to his body while he was unable to defend. Crushing and cutting.


    Anna rushed to my side. "Doran?"


    I couldn''t speak yet. My ribs crackled as I breathed. My teeth grit.


    "Are you going to be okay?" she asked, sounding panicked.


    I nodded tightly. Reached my hand out.


    Anna helped me up, and I managed okay. Everything hurt, but I was okay.


    Odessa was still hacking away.


    Ash punched me in the shoulder, chiding, "You''re fuckin'' stupid. We could have handled that without you."


    Ow. "The spider, though," I offered.


    "That was nifty.You''re still a retard."


    I grunted in response.


    Odessa was satisfied that her foe was dead and had backed away. She pointed to the giant door and spoke, "Ready?"


    "We''re home free," Anna said.


    Ash retrieved his knives from the Gatekeeper, and we all moved to the door. It towered over the room. Tall and imposing. There were no handles.


    "I love these things," Ash gushed. "Open sesame."


    The door creaked and groaned. It began to open. The stronghold was ahead and ready to receive us. The doors parted to give usview.


    What I saw, it was a girl standing right in the road. A cross tattooed on her brow, a wicked grin just beneath it and a rusted blade in her hand.

 Damned 2.15

    "Lords and ladies, salutations!" the tattooed girl said.


    The giant door had opened out onto the street of a slum, the sky blood red above. The girl had been waiting for us.


    "Name''s Persis," she continued. "And you... are right on time." Her accent was thick. Her demeanor was flippant. I couldn''t take my eyes off the weapon she held. It was a stout cleaver, rusted, with a long handle wrapped in bloody strips of cloth. Almost a machete. The tip was rigid and uncurved, squared off. It handled lightly.


    "You see that?" Ash asked me.


    "See what?" Anna inquired.


    I did. "Stay away from that cleaver," I told her.


    Persis cackled, pivoting around to walk away. "What else you notice?"


    We stepped into the stronghold, following her at a distance. In the streets and around the shanties a few Damned lingered. We passed several standing around a burning trashcan, warming their hands. These Damned were in better shape than those from the Labyrinth. There was safety here.


    Persis skipped close and before they could react, she lopped the Damned''s head clean off. The others just stared as she carried on walking.


    "You set the traps in the Labyrinth," I said.


    Persis threw up her blade. "That was me."Found our witch."Not for ya''ll, per se. Just those nazi types. Her, type," she pointed to Anna.


    "I-" Anna was about to say.


    Not getting diverted, I talked over her. "They were ineffective."


    Persis had walked us to a set of doors which barred our way into a monstrosity of a building. A mixture of gothic architecture and rubble propped up to create a dome of stone, wood, and stain glass. She turned to us and, walking backward, kicked the doors wide open. "Really?" she slyly challenged.


    The doors showed an open court, rows of church pews facing a wall of seven thrones. Through the glass, a kaleidoscope of light fell on the room. Shadows obscured the corners and nooks, but I could tell what I was looking at. The conclusion was clear and damning.


    "There is no one here," Odessa said it.


    We descended the steps as Persis proudly went to sit on the largest throne at the room''s far end. I fell into a pew seat and put my head into my hands.


    "She warned them and they left," I announced. "There''s nothing here."


    "On the money, Sweety. Welcome to the city of the Damned."


    A breeze howled in through the open doors to our back. That was the only sound as the situation sunk in. When I looked up to Ash, he was simply watching me. I realized this hadn''t changed anything for him.


    "I''ve been waiting since the beginning," he said.


    Waiting for me to catch up. This is all the mercy we get.


    "What?" Anna asked. "What are we going to do?"


    "You," Persis interrupted. "You know where you''re going." She waggled her weapon at me, grinning. "Don''t you?"


    "I''ve been mostly resolved," I replied.


    "Doran," Anna sat down beside me. She grabbed my arm, squeezing it. "If we go back to Kendall, he''ll kill us. But we can''t stay here." Obviously.


    "Here, there? There''s really no difference, is there? We''ll live." I had my eye on the witch. I wasn''t really in this conversation.


    "I can''t live down here!"


    "It''s better than what Kendall has in store, isn''t it?" When I asked, both Odessa and Anna seemed to take a moment to think and remember.


    "I can''t live here," Anna restated, determined, angry, and with a hint of fear.


    Odessa picked up and slammed down her sword. "I''ll die before I return to face a fate with him. There''s honor here, in penance," she countered.


    "This isn''t divine punishment!" Anna retorted. "It''s digesting in agiant cosmic fucking flytrap. I won''t watch myself rot here like those Damned."


    "Then provide an alternative," Odessa challenged.


    "Doran?"


    "What?" I asked. I withdrew the card Kendall had given me. The spell to return home. "We can''t stay here, we can''t use this thing. There''s really no question about it. Ash figured it out before me. The solution is not pretty."


    Ash nodded. "Kendall doesn''t have a strong enough grip." He sat in the pew with me and Anna, scootching in between us, putting his arms behind us. "He''s not powerful enough to, over all the distance, stop Doran from doing nothing. If Doran chooses inaction, then there''s nothing that faggot can do. He can''t compel with interpreted will. He can freeze, not force. And with no clear path back for the rest of us, and no orders, guess what happens to our binding?"


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "It''s nullified," I said. "It''s already happening."


    I torethe card in two.


    A weight lifted off my shoulders. I could feel my connection to Kendall dwindle to nearly nonexistent. Yet, Christopher still had a hold. But I wasn''t anchored anymore. I was adrift, singular. My own.


    "No!" Anna cried. She stood up. "You just destroyed it."


    "It wasn''t an option. The portal opened directly back to Kendall, and with his binding, there would''ve been nothing we could do. You''d be frozen like a statue if he only snapped his fingers. He would end us like he pledged to."


    "So what, then? We can''t stay, Doran!"


    "I know!" I shouted back. "Don''t you think I know that?" I knocked Ash''s hand off my shoulder and stood up.


    He''s got what he wants, I thought, seeing the shiteating grin he wore. Hell was no obstacle to him. He had his freedom.


    "Then what, Doran? What are you planning?"


    Sosias'' prophesy was on my mind. "I''ve got to go back."


    "How? And - and what do you mean you have to?" Anna paced some, running a hand through her hair. "I''m getting really fucking tired of being ordered from place to place, you know? And you two,schemingcrap. Acting reasonable. Handling me like a child. I see this is what you wanted, Ash. Congratulations!"


    "Thank you," he smugly accepted.


    Anna continued. "I can''t do this anymore. Not anymore. I can''t deal with this, guys. The only reason I''m holding together is because I can''t break down. I won''t get stuck in hell. I-" she laughed abruptly,"-I can''t really imagine a worse scenario. And that''s a literal statement."


    Persis was like a statue, sitting on the throne above. She stared down at us, completely content to watch. What was she waiting on?


    "I never wanted any of this," I said to both Anna and Persis. "I can only try to do what''s true. And it''s hard. It''s not human nature." Anna wasn''t understanding. Fuck. "I... I''m not sure what the right thing to do is anymore."


    "Christopher," Persis said. "He was the one who set me loose." As she said that, she had our attention. "See, I had slipped into one of your prisons. A locked down planet."


    "A relocation world?" Anna asked.


    "That''s what you call them," Persis confirmed. "Well, I did some naughty things there. A girly, a sorcerer, came to investigate. And I certainly killed her."


    "Why are you telling us this?" Odessa demanded.


    Persis went on. "It caused quite a commotion, I heard. ''Cause she couldn''t be revived. No magic could bring her back."


    That''s what I''d seen. The cleaver was imbued with something. Not a demon or a spirit or a force. It embodied a principle.One of tremendous power.


    Persis wasn''t alive.


    "While the investigators ran round like headless chickens," Persis said, "that Christopher came right to me. He walked me straightly out, told me something. He took me here, very specifically here. Leaving me to my fun. And now I know why, ey? It was you." She pointed her blade at me.


    "He put you in my path. He''s orchestrating everything." I approached the throne. "He thinks he can hijack us, my destiny. He thinks he can subvert everything, predestine my choices by controlling all of them, selecting my options and keeping me on a rigid path. That''s what all of this has been."


    "Christopher set this up?" Ash inquired eagerly. "Why?"


    Persis took a hollow breath and leaned forward in her seat. She held out her weapon toward me, telling me, "take me, lord."


    I received the cleaver and her body withered in an instant. She crumpled forward and to the side, falling next to me.


    How nice to be back,a voice in my head came.


    "What the bloody fuck?" Ash said, looking to the desiccated body.


    "I don''t know Christopher," I told him. "But he knows who I am."


    "Nonono," Ash insisted. "I got you figured out. You''re an incarnation, that''s it. None of this secret bullshit. Christopher is not my problem."


    "I''m an incarnation of someone." I sat down on the steps of the throne, holding my weapon in both hands. "Not a force or spirit, Ash. A Primordial. I''m an iteration of one." I put the tip of the blade against the stone floor. "I''ve been around long enough that I don''t remember where I came from. I made this at some point. Anyone else who picked it up would be possessedlike Persis here was. That''s it. That''s what I am. Some Primordials survive straight through, others utilize reincarnation. I''ve done both."


    "And you''ve been hiding that?" Odessa demanded.


    "I''m sorry," was all I could say.


    Ash wasn''t happy. "You''ve got me caught up in shit like fate manipulation, you fuck? This is what I worked so carefully to get away from. I betrayed my lord to escape his manipulation. The fucker thought I was his, just like Kendall. I got us here! Not this Christopher cunt."


    "Your purposes were his. That''s what he does."


    Ash practically snarled. He started to swear again, but he stopped himself. His red hair had fallen in his face, and he didn''t brush it away. His expression then turned icy. "Changes nothing. I''m done with your kind. Immortals, sorcerers."


    Anna stood over him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We''re together?"


    "For my advantage," Ash coldly told her. "That''s done now, little girl."


    "We''re... we''re splitting up?"


    "Sorry, not so sorry." Ash crossed his legs and sat back. He fixed his hair and looked up to the empty thrones, staring past us.


    "I-" Odessa started. "My journey is done too, I think."


    "No," I said. "I won''t abandon you, Anna. And Odessa? I wish I knew you better. Then maybe I''d know what I needed to say. To impart hope, inspire you to keep going. But I''m not even sure those words exist. Instead, let me just ask you. No half truths. Please come with us. We need you to protect us. It''s what you do, Odessa. I''m not powerful enough to do this on my own, honestly."


    She didn''t respond. She cut her eyes to the ground.


    I fell to my ass beside the corpse. Anna and Odessa took a seat as well. This was the first time in a very long time that we had nowhere to go. I knew I would have to get moving eventually, but I could choose when. There was no bell waiting to toll. None of us were getting any older.


    We''ve got a job to do,the voice whispered. I hushed it, shaking my head to clear it. The others said nothing.


    I sighed deeply.


    Ash brushed off and stood. He nodded to me, turning and walking up the steps.


    He was going to leave. Just like that, we''d never see him again.


    "Risk-benefit analysis," I said. "Playing to win."


    He stopped in his tracks. Turning back with an eyebrow arched.


    He''s a liability. I didn''t care. I wouldn''t see him go.


    "You really think you have more control over your survival out there?" I asked. "What if I told you leaving now was leaving it to fate? Giving up control."


    "You''re full of shit, is what I would tell you," he replied.


    I cracked a weak smile. "Where does a demon find himself on Armageddon, Ash? Why do you think I''m here? Why do you think any of this is happening? It''s certainly for a reason, right? A plot."


    "Tell me," he ordered, taking a step down.


    "It''s the end, Ash. The end of everything."

 Machina 3.01

    Kendall rested back against the foot of the bed. In the black room, all that could be heard was the labored breathing of the girl on the bed. Her foot had fallen off and rested on the floor to his left. He looked for a moment at her bare leg.


    She was fine.


    He licked his teeth, trying to get out the copper taste.


    Have to reinforce the binding, he told himself. Human essence was essential.


    With a groan, he pulled himself up and straightened his clothes. He looked to the far wall, which was glass, out onto the city. It was night and the moon was full, sending down silver light. He walked the length of the room, sliding open the glass wall''s door and stepping out onto the porch.


    The air was crisp and carried no sounds of sirens or traffic. Everyone was simply asleep for the night. Just like it was supposed to be.


    He did the last button on the banded collar of his grey shirt, then rolled down the sleeves. With the elastic circlet on his wrist, he tied back his long brown hair.


    Kendall,with a hop, stepped up onto the railing of the balcony. He angled his feet and slipped off the end, dropping. The apartments bellow rushed past him, floor after floor. He decelerated to touch down on the ground without impact, not even bending his knees.


    Down on the street, no lights buzzed, only a few mellow strips of LEDs lining the sidewalk illuminated his feet. Pillars of metal jutted through the buildings at this level, where the construction was older, unused. It''d been built over a long time ago.


    He snapped his head to the right, cracking his neck, then the left, doing the same. He started walking and the way began to darken. The lights dimming out. He traveled faster in darkness, moving abstractly. Without his form visible, he could relax the binding and take advantage of the other just beneath the surface. Light.


    Light made him weaker. More human.


    "Hey there," a familiar voice appeared. Kendall whipped around, caught off guard. The figure gingerly approached with arms behind their back. "It''s good to see you again, Kendall. Old friend."


    "Christopher?" Kendall asked.


    "In the flesh," he smiled. He wore the same suit that he always had, only he had aged. Kendall had not. Not in the three years since they''d last met.


    "Where the hell have you been?"


    "Biding time, quite frankly," he replied. The lights along the road were coming back on. With the area lit again, Kendall couldn''t vanish.


    His doing, Kendall sensed.


    "Well, what do you want?"


    "A much better question, much better, is what are you doing, Kendall? Finding you wasn''t so hard, a simple trick, really. But I''m curious."


    That wasn''t a question he was going to answer. He didn''t speak.


    Christopher did. "You see, I think a lot of people would be curious. Between friends, you know, I think they''d want to check into what you''ve been up to. Because you''ve officially ceased practicing after Porter dismissed you. So what reason could you have for shrouding yourself, hm? And that is a nice shroud."


    He was referring to the masking aura he kept. Disabling Aku''s eyes.


    "What do you want?" Kendall asked more forcefully. He couldn''t stand this veneer of passivity. Of friendliness.


    "I know you''re not happy to see me, Kendall." He raised a hand, defensively. "But it really is great to see you again." His smile was genuine. "I''m just concerned that you''ve started some immoral practices, Kendall. Engaging a slippery slope."


    Kendall didn''t respond, again.


    Christopher waved his handas if dismissing the subject. "Another time. But I''m sure you want to know why I''m here."


    "I''m about to tell you to fuck right off, actually."


    "Before you do that... It''s Odessa."


    That name broke his defenses. "What?"


    "And Doran, and Anna, and the demon Ashmedai. They''ve survived."


    Kendall couldn''t believe it. He looked up at the sky for a moment, far above, and collected his thoughts.


    They''d broken his binding. He remembered the day. Sitting in the hell outpost. He''d had to concentrate for those six days as they''d drained his strength from afar, testing the binding. When it''d broken, it was like a rope snapping as he pulled. He''d fallen, knocked back. And he hadn''t fully recovered.


    And they''d survived? Down in hell? It couldn''t be possible. Ash would''ve left them, he wouldn''t have protected Anna. Odessa couldn''t manage her.


    A more disturbing question reached his mind.


    "Where are they?" he looked to Christopher.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "In this dimension."


    He wanted to shout, curse, but he restrained himself. Don''t test the shroud. Don''t give in to your humanity.


    "Are they in this city?" Kendall calmly asked further.


    Christopher checked around. "Is this-? Is this city A or city B? I teleported here for you, so I honestly have no idea."


    "They are in one of the cities, though."


    "Yes. Here, now, with us. That''s why I''m here. To tell you. And to get your help. You''re going to find them."


    Kendall reacted to that. "I''m not doing anything for you."


    A pleasant smile appeared on Christopher''s face. "I wouldn''t expect you to do anything you didn''t want to," he said.


    Kendall grimaced at that wording. "Why would I want to get involved. Odessa is the only one I have any connection to, anymore. And she doesn''t want to see me. The Council can dispatch a team of Magi to bring them in. I don''t need to be there."


    "We don''t want to get the court involved. Not with your illicit activities. They''d come to light under the inquiry launched for Doran."


    "There''d be an inquiry?"


    "Yes. I conjured him, and I can absolutely say so." Christopher held out his hand. "Come with me. It''s time I brought you up to speed on this."


    O


    Porter was nursing a bottle of rum at the counter''s far end. He was wearing the same dark grey shirt and pants that all Utopian citizens seemed to wear. There was little variation in fashion, I''d noticed. His hair was longer and his face unshaven. He slouched, planted on his stool, leaning forward to stare at the dark.


    The bar was completely unlit except for a lantern which he had set down. Some street light came in through the open door, along with a midnight wind.


    I knocked twice on the metal of the counter, breaking my shroud.


    "You think I didn''t know you were there?" he said, sliding the bottle my way.


    I pushed it away. "You could have said something."


    "I was waiting. Thought I''d see how long you took." He motioned me over.


    I moved to a closer seat, keeping one between us. By the lantern, I was a bearded, bald-headed, and stern visage. Exhaling slow, I tried to relax some.


    "So," I asked, "how''ve you been, Professor Porter?"


    Porter laughed. "It''s not Professor anymore. I gave up my position almost a year ago. I realized my... folly. Yeah, folly."


    "Mhmm. No hope for a reversal of the council''s decision?"


    "It was a false hope. I was waiting for them to need me. For calamity, right? Which- I''ll admit - that sounds kind of bad," he slurred just barely. "But I knew it was going to happen. You saw how fast they involved me when they needed to. I bound the Ouroboros. That was me." He trailed off, suddenly morose. He realized the bottle was still at the other end of the counter. He went, retrieved it, and sat back down in the seat just beside me.


    "You thought the binding wouldn''t hold."


    "I couldn''t''ve known. I thought I had the metaphysics straight. Nature can''t be truly overcome, right?"


    "The binding held. Man overcame the Ouroboros. I hear the plan is to set up a self-perpetuating machination which builds on his binding forever. They''ve already moved the planet to a pocket dimension. They''re going to beat him with expansion. Evolution beats nature, I guess. Who could''ve seen that coming."


    "It still can''t hold forever," I said.


    I should know. There''s no such thing as forever.


    "Well, if I feel like waiting a few trillion years, sure. Then maybe I''ll be needed to redo the binding."


    "It''s less time than you think."


    He raised his eyebrows and looked real closely at me. "Where have you been?"


    I was still wearing my suit. It was singed on the right side from where Amanda had shot me. "In hell. I''ve been awol, you could say."


    "I certainly would, soldier," he admonished jokingly.


    "I''ve defected."


    Porter took a swig. Then he grinned. "Who wouldn''t."


    We sat in silence for a while. I checked the watch on my wrist.


    Porter spoke before I could. "I never much liked you."


    "Oh?"


    "You were out of place. Wrong. And generally suspicious."


    "I can get that."


    "So the question is; why are you here? Could''ve gone anywhere, I assume. Maybe Anna''s with you, maybe you''re just passing through? I don''t get the sense."


    "Mm. It''s really complicated, honestly. I can hardly keep it straight."


    "Try me."


    "Well, it''s Christopher. We''re going to kill him."


    Porter was unimpressed. "How about why?"


    "He''s going to try to kill me. I figured I''d get the jump on him."


    "Why are you telling me?"


    "Because it involves you. Everyone. I''m a Primordial, Porter."


    He looked off into space for a moment, thinking about that. "Sure, why not."


    "Very few people from my era survived. One of them, they got out of control, and they''re still around. They got so out of hand that I had to do some desperate things to put them in check. They''d become a consuming Darkness."


    "Spooky," he sarcastically commented. Drunk Porter.


    "I know what you do, Porter," I said. "And you couldn''t fight this thing. No one can. It''s like a flood. Noah''s flood."


    "But you stopped it?"


    "Yes."


    "How?" he insisted.


    I thought for a moment, not answering.


    Aziacht.The old name felt fresh. Inexorable truths. You set things in motion, you knew how they would end. And they always do end.


    "I''m here to warn you, Porter. Your catastrophe is a lot closer than you think. And it''s not going to be what you want, I worry."


    "Did I say I wanted catastrophe? That''s awful."


    "You''re the only person I could safely contact, Porter. Tell the councils to evacuate the cities. Be very clear. They have to get every person they can under Magusprotection. You can''t stop what''s coming, none of them can."


    "We''ll see." He raised the jug to his lips.


    I knocked it out of his hands, sending it bouncing off the counter and onto the floor. Spilling everywhere.


    "Tell the council," I ordered him.


    He grimaced deeply. "Fuck those people."


    "People will die if you don''t."


    "Just get out." He shoved his thumb back at the door.


    "I''ll see you again Porter." I patted his back. "And it''s goodto see you."


    I walked out onto the street and into the night. Checking my watch again, it was four in the morning. I should get back.


    We were so close. So much time had passed. Uncounted time. And I was so, so close. There was more work to be done. Had to get back.

 Machina 3.02

    The night sky was increasingly hidden behind the pillars and foundations of buildings above. I walked with my hands in my coat pockets, down the inclined, disrepair streets. I''d thrown on a long jacket after finding it on the side of the road. It was torn and dirty, but it gave me something to do with my hands.


    The structures on either side of the road were compressed, flattened under the weight overhead. Lights were more frequently out and the atmosphere grew darker.


    But I didn''t need to go any further. I''d found my destination.


    Through the plywood door and into the old Police station, I navigated around a pillar piercing the building, and into the offices. In the light of a trashcan fire, the others stood. Odessa, ghostly and thin, her auburn hair now pale. Ash, looking exactly the same, but in clothes now he''d found off the street. Jeans ripped shirt, and leather trenchcoat, red hair swept aside.


    Anna didn''t acknowledge me as I came in. She was wrapped in blankets trying to get warm, wearing only a long shirt and shorts since her suit had deteriorated. Her scar, it''d progressed across her head and chest. Her hair was gone.


    I leaned back against one of the desks around the fire. "Porter''s reliable," I reassured them. "He''ll alert the council."


    "They won''t do anything," Anna said. "They''re not going to initiate a full planet evacuation. They''ll launch an inquest."


    "That''ll do well enough. I''m counting on them pulling in Kendall."


    Anna didn''t say anything.


    "Because," I continued, "he''ll be the first person Christopher turns to. If he''s off the board we can breath easier."


    "So Kendall is pursuing us."


    "Almost certainly," I confirmed. "He''ll be trying to avoid inquiry over his craft. Which is some nasty stuff."


    Ash snorted. "Gee, maybe drinking demons wasn''t a smart idea."


    "He''ll be supplementing his binding with human essence. My guess is he''ll be using blood," I added.


    "That doesn''t change the plan?" Anna asked.


    The machination is eternal a voice in my head spoke.


    Sshhh, I hushed it, shaking my head.The blade was there, watching.


    "No," I said. "The plan is the same." I pushed off and started towards the back of the building. "Follow me."


    Into the back, there was a small locked room. I knocked twice on the door and its hinges slipped, falling in. Anna, just behind me, cast a flame in her open hand, offering light.


    "Marvelous," Ash cooed.


    The back of the gun cage hadn''t been emptied. The city had been so rapidly built over by machines that it''d been overlooked. Late twenty-first-century ballistic weaponry. Bullets.


    I picked up a rifle and tossed it to Ash. He deftly handled it, checking the chamber and magazine, making it ready. He laughed maniacally.


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    Anna and Odessa turned them down. I took two automatic pistols and a vest to hold them under my jacket.


    Ash took three more guns, storing them out of sight on his person. Similar to what he did with his knives, I didn''t know where he put them.


    "That''s it, then." I took a few extra mags and that was all for me. "The sun will be up soon. We''ll go at night tomorrow. If there''s anything you want to do in the city, not Ash, then now is the time to do it."


    Anna took that cue and turned to leave.


    "But be back before dark. Don''t break my shroud!" I cautioned.


    She didn''t reply.


    Liabilities, the blade whispered.


    "Shut it," I hissed.


    Odessa leaned heavily on her swordbut took a moment to stare questioningly.


    "It''s-... don''t worry about it."


    She walked away.


    Hadn''t spoken in months. I worried she was fading.


    Ash was still riffling in the guns. I would go rest, I decided.


    O


    Anna was walking the same road she should have traveled home years ago. The way that, if she had just been allowed to, she would''ve returned home by. It was raining lightly, wetting her clothes and the blanket she wore wrapped around her shoulders. The wet road''s asphalt stained her bare soles black.


    She found her eyes damp as she made the long walk. It was thirty minutes before she saw it, the front of her house. The apartment the courts had given her, far away below the city. Down where her face couldn''t disturb children who''d never seen a scar in their life. Where the disabled were hidden.


    She stepped beneath the eave of her porch, brushing a hand over her rocking chair.


    Into the house, she found in the dark the light switches she knew by memory still. Over the sink, in the livingroom, in her bedroom. Nothing had been stolen or removed. But it wasn''t where it had been.


    The house had been cleaned.


    There came a creak behind her.


    "Anna?"


    She knew who it was. Looking at him, though, her eyes widened. An illusion had been lifted. Staring at Elroy, she stumbled back and lowered herself to the floor. For all that time he''d lived across the street from her when she was supposed to have been secluded. For all that time, she''d never recognized him.


    Her voice was barely audible as she asked, "...Dad?"


    He slowly came in to stoop in front of her. He wouldn''t come close, his eyes showed his horror. She was ugly, she knew. But it wasn''t just that. It was horror at himself as well.


    You did this, she thought. She wanted to say it.


    "I''m so sorry," he said. He rubbed at his face. "I''m so, so sorry, Anna." He went to his knees. "It''s me, Anna. I did it."


    "Why?" was all she could speak.


    Instead of answering her, he grabbed her, pulling her in. Tightly, he hugged Anna. She could hear him burning against her skin, but he didn''t let go. She took hold of his shoulders and held on.


    She couldn''t explain how much she wanted him to hurt. But she could never do that. As he held her, she could never hate him more than he did himself.


    She felt okay, for the first time. And that was enough to make her break down. She cried into his shoulder and he held his face away as his cheek began to blister.


    He had to break away, soon. Anna dried her eyes.


    "It wasn''t supposed to be this way," he told her. "I''m so sorry."


    "What did you do to me?"


    "I freed your soul. You were supposed to be capable of anything, Anna. But you must have been dealing with stress, I didn''t know. Your outward form became reflective of your inner and... I didn''t account... for you being unhappy."


    She knew what he meant. He''d been happy. Mom had never been around, and when she had? It''d been apathy. Or at worst, disdain. She''d never wanted a child. Anna had felt that for years. And she hadn''t spoken to him about her anxiety. He''d always been so content. With everything. She never brought herself to bring him down. To worry him.


    She wanted again to explain, to speak, but she couldn''t.


    "Why didn''t you tell me? Why didn''t you ask?" she demanded.


    "You''d talked so much about wanting to learn the craft and seeing the Omniverse. I was so sure of myself. I even consulted a Magi, they strongly assured me. And I thought, truly, that if you didn''t know, that the transformation would go easier. With how much you desired freedom, I never imagined-"


    "That I''d hold myself back," Anna cut him off.


    He rubbed at his face again and nodded.


    "I-..." Anna stood up, over him. "I don''t think I can forgive you."


    He put his head in his hands.


    She continued, "but I still love you, Dad. I''m... really happy to see you." She lent him a hand in standing. He was too heavy for her to truly help, but he appreciated it.


    "Thank you," he said, not meeting her eyes. "Come on, you can use my shower. You''re filthy."


    "Thanks... Dad."

 Machina 3.03

    I had laid down on a wooden desk, sprawling across, legs on the ground and arms folded on my chest. I was in the police chief''s office, books and candles littering the floor. Anna''s old hideout, she had told us.


    I''d occasionally looked through the texts lying about while wasting time. They were too clinical, I found, their magic lacking personal focus. Written by scientists in what is really an early understanding. I''d seen that at the Monastery as well. Few pushed boundaries. Questioned themselves.


    Awareness was always the key to magic, no matter what form it came in.


    All truth is wasted on the limited mind, the blade whispered.


    "I''m limited. I manage,"I thought aloud, voice a low rumble. "Humility is good."


    It''s the event horizon I love,it said. The absolute infinity of an absence. Purity.


    "You''re just all over the place," I chided.


    It''s the abomination I hate. The sin and the lie. The blindness of limitation. When the soul is led to live an illusion, never even glimpsing. The pretense of reality in your eyes.


    Ah. It was just a roundabout thought, actually. "Yes."


    In all the time it''d taken us to get us here, I''d been putting it back together. My designs. Why I''d left. Who I was. Who I am.This isn''t what I''d wanted. But I couldn''t control everything, know everything. When Christopher had brought me back, an iteration of an ancient theme, a timeless man, there''d been a decision.


    Not a decision. A test.


    "Sshhh."


    I checked my watch. It was 7:12 in the morning. A speck of sky could be seen through a crack in the ceiling. It was bright out.


    Something felt off. I hadn''t heard from Ash in over an hour.


    That could be incredibly bad.


    I sat up and looked out into the police station. "Ash!" I yelled.


    "Yeah?" he stuck his head around the corner.


    "Where''s Odessa?"


    "She''s-" he went back behind the corner then popped back out. "I dunno."


    I swung my legs off the side of the desk and launchedoff.


    "She should have notified me if she was going somewhere." I quickly searched around the station, calling out for her. "This isn''t good."


    Ash ducked through and out onto the street. I followed. "You got a sense?"


    "Not yet," I answered. She wasn''t here. I stepped out into the road and looked all around. I had no idea where she''d gone. She couldn''t have gotten far, right?


    Ash was toting his gun, looking up and down the road. "Plans?"


    "Let''s get Anna first. I have a pretty good idea of where she is. If Odessa''s not back by the time we are, then we... we-" I stopped there. I hated the idea.


    Ash looked at me and nodded, smirking.


    We move on without her.He was willing and ready to do that. Anna was late as well. If I had to choose between searching for one of the two of them, I knew which I''d choose. Odessa had to be responsible for herself. I knew where Anna would be.


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    "Come on, loser," Ash ordered me, pointing the way she''d gone.


    We picked up the pace and started towards Anna''s old house. I had the location in my mind and even though I''d never been, I could find our way.


    O


    My watch read 7:39.


    The sun was well hidden behind the building tops, only the sky''s light showing the street which Anna''s house rested on.


    It was a quaint single story apartment nestled beneath the windowless base of a structure which went up another four stories. An automated building. Then it was anopen sky with only one sight but the clouds.


    The Utopian''s space elevator.


    "The door''s open," Ash observed.


    Her apartment''s door was wide open, blown in by the windy street. Peering in, some of the lights were on as well. But no one was home.


    "Welp," Ash said. "Looks like it''s just you and-"


    I cut him off, holding up a finger. "In the corner of your eye, Ash. Just beyond perception. What''s hiding?"


    "There''s...." he turned in circles, looking at both sides of the street. "I fucking hate bullshit magic. What''s not to see?" He threw his arms up.


    "That," I pointed. Right in plain sight.


    He whipped around, finally seeing the second apartment right behind him. I''d broken the spell placed on it. Pretty quality practice to fool a demon.


    "Fuck this guy." He kicked the door in.


    "Ash!"


    The door swung open to reveal, sitting at the house''s far end at a table, Anna, and an older man. Drinking tea.


    The man, white and wrinkled with a salt and pepper beard, receding hairline, and bathrobe, stood rapidly. Anna watched in shock.


    "Who are you," he coolly demanded.


    "Those are my friends," Anna explained.


    "Your friends are a demon and a... whatever that is," he gestured to me.


    I moved Ash out of the way. "Thick," I called him. I, showing my hands defensively, addressed the man. 7:43,I noted. "Sir... Mister Canton?" Yes, it was her father. "We''re the ones that got your daughter out of hell."


    "I know who you are."


    "Dad," Anna jumped in again. "It''s okay."


    "It''s very much not okay." He stepped forward between us and Anna. "One''s a demon and one is surrounded by... I- I can''t comprehend it."


    "The implications are a little staggering," I said. "Anna''s playing a part in bigger things, Canton. That''s why I''m here. We need her."


    We really don''t. Liability, remember.


    "She doesn''t want to go with you." He looked back to her.


    Anna hesitated but spoke her mind. "I''m not a fighter, Doran. This- this was all I wanted; to get home. So thank you. For getting me here. But... it''s all been a nightmare, you know? And I know you don''t need me. Now, I''m fine, okay? You can move on. Thank you."


    "You heard her," her father restated. "She doesn''t want to go with you." He shoved his finger at the door. "Now leave. You should leave the planet. This-"


    I interrupted him. "I really do need you, Anna."


    She got up from the table. "Look at me, Doran. I can''t take any more."


    "Neither can I, Anna. I''ve died more times than humans have a number for. That''s why I need you. If you can keep going, even now, then so can I... And I have to see this through. It''s the end of everything.The most important moment. It''s here."


    "I can''t. I can''t."


    "Please."


    "Doran," her father moved forward. I took a step back. "I see what''s following you around, now. It''s right in your wake... or right in your future." His eyes widened. "The end. It actually is coming."


    "Yes! Which is why," 7:47, "we need to go. Every moment counts."


    "We-..." he was at a loss for a moment, but focused. "We must alert the public."


    "I''ve already put Quinn Porter to that task. He''ll alert the council, they''ll alert the public. The city will be cleared and Kendall will be summoned to court. As long as he''s out of the way, everything will be fine."


    "We have to evacuate."


    "You have to evacuate. I need Anna with me."


    "No!" he moved closer, forcing me back again towards the door. "I know I can''t stop whatever is going on, or you. But Anna''s not going with you."


    I looked past him to her. She cast her eyes down. "It''s been years, now. When I was in hell, I knew what I was going to become. I''m already more than halfway there. I''m bald, Doran. I''m dying... or turning undead. You can''t ask meto continue. Not like this. My Dad, he can undo this. We''ve talked about it. I believe him. Please don''t ask me to give that up."


    I wished I could explain. Time is short.


    "Kendall can''t screw with us in daylight," Ash told me. "We''ve got to fucking move, Doran. Gotta split. Now or never."


    He was pressuring me. He wanted me to accept it, leave her.


    "Go," Canton ordered me.


    "Please go," Anna echoed him.


    We must leave her.


    I''m not sure I can do it.


    We''ll simply have to see.


    "Okay. I will," I said. "We''re going, Ash."


    "Finally!" He was already out the door.


    I lingered for a moment, Canton staring me down, Anna hiding behind him.


    Anna, I''d cared for her most, out of anyone I''d known in my recent time. Now, I had to go. And I probably wouldn''t ever see her again. I didn''t say goodbye.


    It would be easier this way.


    Once back on the street, Ash asked me. "What''s our next move?"


    "We check back to the station!" He knew that. He wanted me to change my mind, but I wasn''t losing another part of our group. Odessa would be there.


    "Fucking hell. Fine!" He started at a sprint and I followed.


    Time was short.

 Machina 3.04

    Kendall ascended the courthouse steps. The double doors were open and waiting for him, letting in the high altitude winds. The air was a little thin.


    Once through he traveled the hall down towards the center court, taking his place. Panoramic windows above flooded the room with natural light. To his left, at the next stand, stood Porter. He hadn''t seen him months. Not since he''d effectively ended Kendall''s career.


    Doesn''t matter at this point, he thought. Don''t need them.


    Aku announced him. "Kendall Blackthorn, Magus, now present."


    He stifled a grin. He''d passed his trials only two months ago. That''s why he had no need for him. His studies had gone far enough on their own.


    "Barely punctual," the presiding high councilwoman said. She looked over the screens in front of her, reviewing Porter''s testimony. Kendall had missed it for a long conversation with Christopher. He was finally clued in. In on shadowy shit.


    This today would be a defining moment in history.


    The old woman continued. "Just to summarize, Mister Blackthorn, Porter has alleged that your misplaced conjuring has threatened the planet''s security."


    "Not threatened," Porter corrected. He was dark under the eyes. "He warned of an impending disaster. Not necessarily... related to himself."


    The woman glowered at him.


    "Please do not correct the judge," Aku warned from above.


    "Irrespective of that," the councilwoman continued, "We would like to ask you about the threat levels posed by these individuals. You would know best, correct?"


    "I would. Do. I do," Kendall confirmed, the full courtroom assembly watching. And Aku. Aku would know if he was lying. They would see it on his face.


    See his doubt right now.


    I''m the expert, he told himself. It was true.


    Porter was staring, unblinking, at Kendall. He knew, just to get under his skin. They were the only two here with an inkling of what was going on. Kendall from Christopher, Porter from his insight.


    "So then, Mister Blackthorn, are you aware of the situation?"


    "I am."


    "And what would you advise the court?"


    "Give me a team-"


    Porter laughed loudly the moment Kendall made the suggestion.


    The councilwoman demanded order. Kendall reiterated, "give me a team. I still have some connection to them. I can track them down and contain them myself, frankly. But you deserve oversight. A team could help me."


    This was not what Christopher had told him to say. Christopher had instructed him to urge the court into areaction, to talk about Doran''s nature and threat... But Porter hadn''t told them. He''d never mentioned that they were dealing with a Primordial. And multiple cosmic threats.


    Why? Why''d he stay quiet?


    It didn''t matter. Kendall would avoid an inquisition at all costs.


    He looked to Porter, expecting a rebuttal, but none came. Was Porter content to let things go Kendall''s way?


    "In my judgment... I can see no better alternative than to enlist Magi Blackthorn to track down the threat within the city... and contain it. Within the information given, total evacuation would be a massive overreaction, yes? Let the assembly vote on the proposal."


    The crowd voted by voice, a chorus of ayes sounding.


    "The proposal is accepted. You''ll be presented with a list of candidates and can commence your search within twenty-four, most likely. It of course-"


    A thunderous crash came from down the court entrance''s hall. Kendall and everyone looked, but only he and Porter placed to see. A second bang and the doors came falling in. Kendall''s eyes going wide.


    "Aku, emergency!" the councilwoman shouted.


    "No emergency detected?" Aku said back.


    "It''s a shroud!" Kendall bellowed, stepping back and down from the stand.


    The figure came stalking down the hall, screeching metal following her.


    "Overriding detection contingency."


    Blast doors fell down over the windows and the doors, locking Odessa in the hall. Red emergency lights lit the court as screams echoed.


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    The councilwoman slid back in her chair, staring terrified at the door in Odessa''s way as it dented inward. Several metal on metal clashes and the door was near to giving way. Kendall looked to Porter who hadn''t stepped off his stand.


    "Help?" he asked.


    Porter grimaced and gave his answer by cutting off his hologram. He was never there. It was only Kendall.


    Can''t put these people in harms way. Can''t let them see me, either.


    Kendall ran for the failing door. Just as Odessa''s sword broke through, he flooded through the crack, bending the metal back together as he passed. He washed, as a shadow, over her, materializing on the other side.


    Odessa slowly turned to face him, her expression cold in the weak, red light.


    He thought about saying something, trying to reason with her. He only had to look her in the eye to know that wouldn''t work. She was regressing. He was all she wanted. After a short staring contest, she tightened her grip on the massive sword. She waited for him to make the first move.


    When he didn''t, she did.


    She spun, raking her sword over the walls of the narrow hall as she brought her blade around. Kendall easily dodged, simply stepping back. She followed up with two slashes, bringing the second one down into the floor.


    Kendall stretched out his powers, testing and loosening his restraint on his form. He willed the power, the lights, and the cameras to go out. Hide it.


    Odessa swung wildly as the darkness solidified. Kendall broke loose, his clothes folding out and the sound of wingbeats filling the hall. He continually backed up as she torethe walls apart hacking at the air.


    Suddenly, she felt talons bite down on her shoulder. She skewered the freak as he tried to draw his teeth close. His hot breath smelled of death on her face.


    A demonic roar hit her at point blank. Odessa grit her teeth, bracing her feet, then pushing with all her strength. Kendall''s feet scratched against the tile, scrabbling for grip as he lost all traction. Claws gashed at her face and neck, drawing blood, but she didn''t stop. She gained speed, Kendall lifting entirely off the ground with her sword, Odessa screaming into a charge.


    At full speed she rammed Kendall through the metal of the court''s doors, falling down the steps. In the daylight, he instantly combusted. In a ball of shadow and flame, he rolled off the sword and down the steps, skidding to a stop on his side, fully human. He stood, shaking the ash off of his flame retardant clothes, smoothing back his long locks.


    Odessa forced herself up, blood streaming down from her scalp, matting her hair and obscuring her vision. She lifted her sword, leveling it at the bastard.


    Kendall, shouting as the wind kicked up, "Come on!" He took several steps back, towards the railing. He beat his chest, red eyes furious.


    Odessa jumped. She landed at the base of the steps and swung.


    Kendall vaulted straight over her, kicking her in the back with both feet and landing on his side. She was launched straight into and over the railing.


    He got up and leaned over, watching her plummet down to the city below.


    He took two deep breaths. He knew he had to follow.


    Fuck it. Geronimo.


    Kendall jumped. He sailed after Odessa who was carried leftward on the wind. She''d fallen somewhere in a residential area. Kendall braced for the last few seconds of hisdrop, knowing he couldn''t stop himself.


    A car crunched beneath him, glass exploding everywhere. It smashed into the ground, it had been hovering. Kendall dug himself out of the crumbled steel, rolling off onto the hard concrete. He pushed himself up, blood dripping from his fingers. He would heal.


    I''m fine, he had to remind himself. My well is deep.


    He could feel a different form crawling beneath his skin, trying to break the surface, flooding to the wounds. He scratched at his neck, then looking at his arm. The gash there was gushing worms.


    "Dear Lord, fucking hell!" he looked away, trying to steady his pounding heart. Can''t look.He fought to calm himself, slow his breath. When he checked back the wound was completely gone. He sighed deeply.


    "By the divine honor!" Odessa cried, stumbling through the open door of an apartment building. She was covered in rubble and blood. He hadn''t noticed until now how faded she looked. Colorless. "You will burn!"


    She stabbed her sword into the sidewalk. There were only three other people on this road, one standing closer to her. Time slowed for Kendall as he watched a metaphysical command expand outward from Odessa. The man ignited, as did the car between them. Kendall''s mind raced.


    It passes through objects. Can''t outrun it. Can''t-


    The spell hit him. He was tossed limp across the street and through a food truck. Into the side, on fire, and then lodged in the machinery. The battery went. Odessa watched as the entire car ripped open with the force of an explosion. Fire and battery acid spewed across the street, along with black flesh and ichor.


    She fell to her knee and rested against the flat side of her sword. Casting her eyes up to the sky, she felt a sudden elation. She finally felt something.


    Even from the depths of hell, her god had delivered her.


    "You think that could do it?" Kendall called. He crawled out from the smoldering wreckage, dropping to all fours. He fought his way up, limbs and clothes reforming out of meat and tar. Every detail returning,not a hair out of place.


    Faster than Odessa could see, he covered the distance and shoved her. She''d flown, parting from her sword, into the building, her image shattering.


    Before Kendall could grab ahold of her sword, Odessa''s ghost had already reformed. She headbutted him, sending him to the ground. Then she levied her blade, over her shoulder, and down onto his head. Bones crackled and tore as he broke loose, headless, to punch her in the stomach.


    As weak as she was, Odessa couldn''t sever her blade from the rock. Kendall, again fully healed, beat down on her. He beat her back against the blade, then to the ground. She held on by just one hand reaching up, her body hitting the ground. He forced her down with his knee, again hitting her. Beating her.


    She looked up through darkened eyes at her fingers slipping from the hilt.


    His fist kept coming down, blackening her vision, knocking her head into the asphalt. Odessa, slipping her left hand free, battered his ribcage, eliciting loud cracks. He grimaced, bracing through the pain. Kendall locked his arm down on hers, grappling her free hand. Then with his, he hit her again, shattering the ground beneath with the impact.


    "My god," she said.


    Kendall grabbed the hilt and forced her hand away. Her arm fell limp and her head rolled over. Odessa exhaled with the weight of him pressing down on her chest. She didn''t inhale. Her white eyes froze.


    Kendall fell back, ripping the sword up from the ground and landing on the car behind him. He slid down to sit, not letting go. He stared at the body.


    How the fuck did I get here?


    Odessa was dead, hercorpse right there.


    He remembered making her. Overseeing the reforging of the sword they''d found in hell. Nobody else had wanted it, the spirit was too far gone they''d said. He''d poured his own blood into the metal. He''d brought her back. Built her up. Their connection hadn''t faded, even through hell. And now he''d killed her. He''d just killed a part of himself.


    Now it was only him. Alone on the street, her blood all over him.


    This wasn''t what he''d envisioned. Not for his future.


    He sat there, watching the body. He didn''t feel like standing.


    How did I get here?

 Machina 3.05

    With haste, Ash and I crossed the street to the police station. At the front, it was me who pushed the plywood aside. Into the building and I knew instantly. In the murk of that place, there was only dust. Odessa wasn¡¯t here.


    ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± Ash stated.


    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s gone.¡±


    She¡¯s been gone for a long time.


    Kendall. She must have went looking for him. I knew how that would end. I could only hope she hadn¡¯t been taken alive, as horrible as that was. I hoped it was quick.


    I pinched the bridge of my nose, hanging my head, taking a moment.


    People had begun to die.


    ¡°Time to go, Doran.¡±


    I quickly rotated my wrist around to show the time. 8:03.


    ¡°Give me a moment.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t got one of those. What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I looked up and around. Ash was lingering by the door. ¡°Find Christopher. Kill him... He¡¯ll have been summoned to the court along with Kendall. If Odessa hasn¡¯t changed things, he should be waiting for us there.¡±


    ¡°If he was where Kendall is, he ain¡¯t there anymore.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned¡­¡± I tried to recall the plans. We¡¯d had months to work this out. ¡°You said you considered escape for a long time, you learned.¡±


    Ash knew my thinking. ¡°I got into the emergency protocols, yeah. If he¡¯s not there in one of two,¡± he held up his fingers, ¡°count em, two courts, two cities, then they¡¯ll move to the council¡¯s voting chamber. Giant parliament type building. Increased security. In city one.¡±


    Fantastic.


    ¡°Then that¡¯s where we go.¡±


    We were out the door. I could sense now that the shroud I¡¯d cast on Odessa was broken. She was predictable. It was the last thing that had been on her fading mind that she would pursue. Her honor. And who had taken it from her.


    The plan was still in hand. Christopher would be forced out of hiding by his summons.


    The worst-case scenario could still be avoided.


    O


    I checked my watch again. 9:29.


    People on the street would pass us without a second glance. Ash, armed to the teeth, both of us in grimy suits. They simply didn¡¯t notice.


    It was Sunday, I¡¯d seen. There were bulletins all around, holographic street signs and directories. Most were in church so we had the roads to ourselves. We were closing in, now.


    Up ahead, past a useless parking lot, was the massive stadium.


    Ash led the way across the expanse of concrete. What few people out had vanished. That was convenient for us but troubling. I didn¡¯t want collateral damage, but I was expecting more. Perhaps some were already in hiding?


    The council would have advised them to stay indoors, I hoped.


    Ash reached the glass doors and held them open. I entered past him, pulling one pistol from its place, arming myself. The lobby was empty.


    ¡°How do you want to enter?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Fire off a few shots, but if you see Christopher, fire at him first,¡± I answered.


    Ash nodded. He was the superior shot, so he rushed past me to the heavy wooden door which marked the stadium¡¯s entrance, resting against them.


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    ¡°Here we go,¡± he smirked.


    Ash pushed open the door with his body and raised the gun.


    Blast shields raised on the glass behind us.


    He opened fire.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap!¡± I shouted.


    Ash rattled off shots still. ¡°Forward!¡± he ordered me, stepping through his door. I followed.


    Into the stadium, Ash blazed away at the dozens of androids which sent a volley of red bolts our way. I ducked down behind the seats with the wall behind me turning to slag. Not able to look, Ash and I moved low leftward around the stadium.


    Had to circle around, try to find a way out.


    ¡°The fuck happened?!¡± he demanded.


    ¡°Porter didn¡¯t come through.¡± It had to be. Without Porter to implicate Christopher, he was still in the game. He would be predicting every step.


    He wants to force us. Not to kill us.


    We can¡¯t let him win. I won¡¯t give him the chance.


    ¡°There!¡± We were nearing the back of the stadium; an emergency exit was ahead. With no cover between the seats and the exit, though, Ash had to give me an opening.


    He came up and fired, I made my dash.


    As I ran, I looked. Christopher was standing at the lowest point of the stadium, behind a shield, directing the androids. We made eye contact over the long distance for a moment.


    I saw that pleasant smile.


    I hit the exit and pushed through, breaking the lock. I turned back and aimed. My little pistol buzzed with automatic fire, eating its ammunition. I could only hit two androids.


    Ash ran the gap, red lighting the air around him. He fell through the open exit door.


    I closed it and looked to him. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    He checked and on his side the armor had melted away. His skin had healed back, though, and he was left without clothes there. ¡°I can take a lick, son.¡±


    The exit came out onto a ramp which descended to a hall that circled behind the building, small windows running the hall¡¯s length. A person came around the corner.


    They were wearing brown cloaks, their hood back. The guy, stopping in his tracks as he saw us, threw up a hand. Lightning arched out.


    I pelted him with bullets, spraying up a mist of blood. He twisted and fell.


    I replaced the empty clip. ¡°There¡¯s Magus in the building,¡± I said.


    ¡°Really?!¡± Ash asked, astounded. Smartass.


    At the bottom of the ramp, I checked the Magi. He was a young red haired man. He was dead, but I didn¡¯t have time to think about that. It wasn¡¯t a first.


    ¡°Left again,¡± I pointed. We didn¡¯t want to go towards Christopher.


    All we needed was a window wide enough to fit through.


    We sprinted for a long way. 9:43, I checked, in motion.


    The hallway ended on double doors. I kicked them open wide, shattering the lock.


    Ahead in the kitchen, every android turned and fired.


    I planted my feet and bellowed, ¡°Leap!¡±


    With that command, the stoves, the counters, and everything jumped. A storm of objects intercepted their shots. Huge pieces of metal throwing themselves across the room, colliding and crashing. For a moment, the entire kitchen tossed violently.


    In an instant, though, it settled. The surviving androids dug themselves out.


    Ash fired at the ones he saw. He took a shot in his left shoulder, bone vaporizing, one arm falling, but not dropping his gun. Finally, he finished them up.


    When I looked at him, the joint had reformed. ¡°Only a flesh wound.¡±


    We climbed over the wreckage and made it to the room¡¯s other side, Ash¡¯s arm fast returning. The passage there opened into a loading bay. The large descending bay doors were up.


    From around one of the trucks parked there, another Magi appeared. This time a woman, she threw back her hood. Her determined eyes narrowed.


    Ash didn¡¯t hesitate. He fired on empty air.


    What?


    He was propelled across the room, denting and bouncing off the side of a truck. I whipped around and there she was, lowering her leg from a kick. No gun in hand, I jumped onto one foot, bringing my other leg around. She caught it beneath her arm, quickly punching me in the kneecap.


    I cried out as it nearly broke.


    I jumped up, hooking my foot on the side of her neck and swinging. She was thrown to the ground. I rolled back, away and onto my feet. She vanished off the ground.


    Behind you.


    I elbowed where I thought she was and missed. Somehow, she¡¯d put a delay on her reappearance, and came back where I had been facing. She clocked me behind the ear, sprawling me.


    With me out of the way, Ash fired. The girl was thrown back.


    I stood up and looked at her. Her cloak had grabbed one bullet by the collar bone, but the other had struck her face. She was dead.


    ¡°Fuck me!¡± Ash yelled.


    He was on the ground by the loading bay¡¯s doors, his legs twisted. He¡¯d pulled himself up just enough to fire, but couldn¡¯t stand. I could hear the bones crackle as they knit.


    ¡°You need a moment?¡±


    He got up, standing crooked. ¡°No, do you?¡±


    We started slow and picked up speed as he healed. We came out onto a shipping road, highways above, faceless buildings to the side. A black alley.


    We took that alley and ran. We got ourselves lost as fast as possible.


    I slowed for only a moment to check my watch. 10:13.


    Taking the break, Ash stopped me from continuing.


    ¡°Where are we going, boy? What¡¯s the plan now?¡±


    ¡°We-¡° I gathered my breath, ¡°¡­I was wrong. Porter didn¡¯t force Christopher in, so there¡¯s no inquiry, no time waster, no vulnerability. Kendall will get dispensation and help to come after us now. We¡¯re fucked up, Ashley. I fucked us up with Porter. I tried to smoke Christopher out with him, an inquiry. But he turned that back on us. With Kendall applying pressure, we can''t just go into hiding. We can''t wait for Christopher to show his belly. We have to toss the board.¡±


    ¡°How do we do that?¡±


    I pointed up, through a gap in the skyline, to a line piercing the atmosphere. ¡°The only thing left is a mad dash. The space elevator. Christopher won¡¯t fight us. We¡¯re going to make it. We can make it there.¡±


    Then, to the moon.


    God help me.

 Machina 3.06

    Akio came over the bridge sprinting. His arms pumped as he crested the overpass, over the road below, and quickly passing to the other side. He began to slow, coming to a setting of iron tables outside a storefront. At the tables and gazing into the glass-front display, a white family picnicked. Six children, a father, and mother, all eating a meal after church.


    The youngest children watched Akio. He huffed heavily as he entered the store.


    He pulled back his hoodie, looking over the store¡¯s contents inside. Fresh cheeses, chocolates, bread, and fruits, all there to be taken freely. No attendant or price at all.


    No food from home, however.


    They keep us segregated, only to demand I live in the capitol?


    Akio smirked, spotting a sandwich which looked good.


    It was all just insanity, worry, he knew. The fear left over from a bygone time. He would keep his history, they would write theirs. He only wished he could travel to see his parents more often, in Japan. He bit into his sandwich, sitting down at a table by the window.


    In every corner, cameras watched. He reached into his pocket, holding up a phone.


    Messages, nothing.


    ¡°Tell me the news, Aku,¡± he said, mouth full. He threw his phone onto the table.


    ¡°Earlier today, Quinn Lee Porter requested a council audience. In it, he revealed that he¡¯d been contacted by the entity Doran. A being conjured by Kendall Blackthorn¡­¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Akio grabbed his phone back, looking over the pictures Aku presented. Pictures of Porter, Kendall, and Doran.


    ¡°Doran¡¯s intent was allegedly to give warning. A city-wide evacuation was considered.¡±


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡°With no compelling reason to evacuate, the council ruled Kendall authority to track and detain the entity Doran and any with him. Then another of Kendall¡¯s former summons, the ghost Odessa, attacked the court. She was neutralized by mister Blackthorn.¡± The girl¡¯s face came up on Akio¡¯s phone. Street video was available of the fight. He didn¡¯t touch it.


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°As a student with experience, you are a candidate for the detainment team, if you would like to apply. The effort has been put on priority after Doran and the demon Ashmedai were found armed and dangerous, targeting the council building. Two Magus were killed. Citizens in city one are being advised to stay inside.¡±


    Akio threw his sandwich away, heading for the door. ¡°Put in my application, Aku.¡±


    He was available. He¡¯d known those four, Doran, Anna, Odessa, and Ash. If he could help Kendall and maybe even them, he would. There had to be a reason for this.


    ¡°Application sent, Hasami.¡±


    O


    The silver man touched down.


    The council building¡¯s surrounding lot was like a wasteland. A huge parking lot completely empty, only three dark figures by the stadium¡¯s doors.


    Sebastian had landed some ways off, so he walked. As he did he looked up. A front was approaching from the east, he saw, past the space elevator. A wall of clouds.


    At the doors, those three people were waiting for him. A young man in a black suit with red tie. Kendall, who he¡¯d been briefed on coming in. And lastly, someone in Eidolon-armor and helmet. Kendall was talking to the suited man but stopped to extend his hand to Sebastian.


    He dropped his hand as Sebastian ignored it, towering over him. He knew what Kendall was. Even if it was well masked, he could smell the sickness.


    Sebastian wasn¡¯t wasting time with handshakes anyway.


    ¡°I am the Sentinel. I¡¯ll be overseeing this operation. Understand that. First, are the dead recovering?¡±


    ¡°Healers aren¡¯t here yet, but they will,¡± the red tie told him. ¡°Now that you¡¯re here, that¡¯s my cue to leave.¡± He patted Kendall on the back. ¡°Keep your head.¡±


    Kendall gestured to the armored one. ¡°This is Kyle.¡±


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    Kyle nodded.


    ¡°Is that all you¡¯re bringing?¡± Sebastian asked.


    ¡°No. He was fast to apply, but there¡¯s one more confirmed. He¡¯s not here yet.¡±


    ¡°I can see that, Blackthorn.¡±


    Kendall looked away from Sebastian and to his phone. ¡°Kyle is a seer, battlemage. Hisami is an old acquaintance. We don¡¯t need anyone more. They¡¯d slow us down. Ashmedai and Doran should be working quickly at this point, so we can¡¯t afford that.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m here, Blackthorn?¡±


    ¡°I- what?¡± Kendall looked up, unable to see Sebastian¡¯s face. He¡¯d heard his voice turn dark.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be necessary if not for the surveillance failures. The one¡¯s you¡¯ve caused.¡±


    ¡°Allegedly.¡±


    The silver man leaned in. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he warned.


    Let him know his place, he thought. Scare in some respect of the law.


    Sebastian continued with Kendall silent. He pointed to the council building, then past it towards city two. ¡°They left out of the rear, moving away to the second city.¡±


    Kyle spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m getting certain. They¡¯re nearby.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re shrouding themselves,¡± Kendall stated.


    Kyle shook his head. ¡°A shroud of perception. Strong tactic. But doesn¡¯t sufficiently mask essence. They¡¯ll be a difficult find. Not undoable.¡±


    ¡°A shroud of perception weakens under direct assault. Aku is too divided in attention to find them, but from the sky, I can spot them if they¡¯re under the sun,¡± Sebastian said.


    The Eidolon nodded.


    Kendall raised an eyebrow. ¡°We¡¯re done here, then?¡±


    Sebastian lit up his thrusters in Kendall¡¯s face, kicking up dust and ascending.


    He was left with Kyle, who, once the dust had cleared, was facing him silently. Black visor staring.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He shoved a thumb at the building behind them and started off for it.


    Kendall followed. ¡°What is it? Are you mute?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get a feel.¡± He pushed through the doors.


    Kendall went with him into the main hall. They looked past rows of seats to where androids were strewn over seats. Bullet holes littered the lower isles.


    Kyle ran his hand over the scorched walls. Suddenly, he jumped up onto the seats.


    Kendall looked up at him. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡±


    Not answering, he walked on the tops of the seats, moving down the rows. Kendall walked the steps beside him. Kyle jumping onto the concrete at the very bottom of the room faced up to the glass barrier above. It protected the zenith council seats at the center of the court.


    There was a tiny ledge between the shield and the stage which he stepped on to reach up. He reached to touch the spot where a concentration of shots had been fired, a charred dent. He craned his head back around to Kendall. ¡°See this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°The¡­ the guy, that guy,¡± he pointed back at the parking lot. ¡°Him.¡±


    ¡°Christopher. Christopher is his name.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Christopher. He stood here?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Kyle hopped off with a thud. ¡°That¡¯s inhuman accuracy. The demon? With that accuracy, he could have killed a lot of androids. But he wasted his time testing the glass.¡±


    ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re not a psychologist.¡±


    He paused for a moment. He decided against responding. ¡°What could be his motivation for doing that? A desire to kill Christopher?¡±


    ¡°You are,¡± Kendall decided. ¡°Great.¡±


    ¡°I have to build a profile. Get a sense. Half science, half magic, really.¡±


    They went back up to the top of the court, then around to the exit door. They came through and to the base of the ramp beyond. Two androids stood watch over a dead Magus there.


    Kyle squatted beside them, waved a hand over the body. ¡°Bobby Nolan, twenty years old. Smaller caliber.¡± He pointed back up the ramp at the lightning scorches on the wall. ¡°He was aiming at the demon. The other one shot him.¡±


    ¡°Doran,¡± Kendall corrected him.


    ¡°Doran,¡± he repeated. ¡°He didn¡¯t hesitate¡­¡± Kyle checked the visor in his suit. It built a crime-scene for him, but it was lacking. ¡°There¡¯s not good surveillance here.¡±


    Kendall again went after the Eidolon as he led him through the kitchen, over the wreckage, and into the loading bay. Another body was there, a woman.


    Kyle reviewed the footage. ¡°He checked her body. Face is determined, not cold¡­ Where is it?¡±


    Kendall noticed the dent in the truck ahead. ¡°This really gives you enough to work from?¡±


    ¡°I just have to understand him. You can see a person in their eyes.¡±


    ¡°But is that enough?¡± Kendall asked again.


    He was pacing but suddenly stopped. ¡°No. There¡¯s a lot I need to know.¡±


    Kendall heard an intensity in his voice that he didn¡¯t like. ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°What are they doing? What was Christopher doing? What are you hiding?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hiding anything,¡± Kendall categorically denied.


    He saw his own face in that black visor. His stilted expression.


    ¡°Of course. But what about Christopher?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not hiding anything either.¡±


    ¡°What was he doing here, Kendall?¡±


    He grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t know what he does. Why didn¡¯t you ask him?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve all got a reason, Kendall. They were expecting each other.¡±


    You¡¯re a pretentious bastard, Kyle. He could turn this around on him, now.


    ¡°And you? Why are you here? You practically jumped on the application.¡±


    That set him in the opposite direction, out the loading bay doors, and onto the road. Kendall caught up to grab him by the shoulder.


    ¡°Personal involvement,¡± was all he said. He repeated it, ¡°personal involvement.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough,¡± he interrupted. ¡°You can track them.¡±


    Kendall gave him an evil look. ¡°I might can catch their scent. It¡¯s a hell-smell.¡±


    The Eidolon was frozen for a moment, thinking. Kendall was visibly annoyed.


    Finally, he swept his arm out towards the alley they¡¯d gone. ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°Kendall!¡± Hasami called, running out from the building, sword rattling at his hip.


    ¡°Hasami,¡± Kendall acknowledged him.


    ¡°It is pleasant to see you again.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Kendall started off, motioning for them to keep up. ¡°We¡¯re going.¡±


    They could catch them. Kendall had the smell.


    As worried as he was for himself, of being a victim to the morals of the council, this wasn¡¯t about him. That worry was satisfied for now. Christopher had filled him in. He knew the consequences of Doran being allowed to succeed. Trillions of lives would be lost if he did. Kendall could avert that. If he could stop that, he was obligated to try, even at the cost of his life. He accepted that.


    After everything, though, he wouldn¡¯t stay here. He was sick of Utopia, of all their law and order. He would go someplace far away when he was done. He would escape.


    Put that thought aside. I¡¯m in control. Now, to kill a monster.

 Machina 3.07

    We¡¯d been jogging for a while, over bridges, and down alleys, on our way to the elevator. The entire city was made for easy transport, with compression tunnels and teleporters, but we couldn¡¯t use those. There were several miles between us and our destination, and no shortcut to help us.


    I could see the vertical black line in the sky growing closer. We were so many levels down that the sight would come and go behind towering buildings.


    The space elevator¡¯s base was its own structure, wide and tall. It was out of commission now but had once been used as the loading and storage for the platforms above. Because of new technology, they no longer used the elevator or platforms for space operations.


    I was looking for something else, though. In the same general direction.


    ¡°What are we doing?¡± Ash asked, noticing my distractedness.


    ¡°It¡¯s important,¡± was my reply. ¡°Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Meaning I wouldn¡¯t think it¡¯s important.¡±


    Tucked between two massive slabs of concrete foundation, built out of old wood into what used to be an empty alley, was a hovel marked by a wooden cross.


    ¡°Religion,¡± he said. ¡°Not important.¡±


    ¡°Your mortal enemy?¡±


    ¡°All the cool demons are atheists.¡±


    I stepped up to the cloth door. ¡°Does that mean you can come in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d combust, so no. This is a massive waste of time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more helpful than you know.¡±


    ¡°The whole universe is at stake and you-¡±


    ¡°This is a waste of time,¡± I cut him off. I knew what I was doing.


    ¡°Listen, you fucko-¡°


    I stepped inside.


    I¡¯m appealing to God¡¯s sensibilities.


    It was a single room in the church. No seats, concrete floor, and walls covered in poorly hand-painted art. Depictions of lambs, infants, and the crucifixion. Faceless figures with wings spread out. The back wall was wood, the roof was a tarp strung out between it and the front. On the floor wrapped in blankets was a sleeping bearded man. At the back, sitting surrounded by lit candles was the shepherd. On his lap, he flipped through delicate gold-rimmed pages of the Bible.


    I came to kneel before the alter, which was a platform of old carpet.


    With the candles, that was a fire hazard, I absently thought.


    I again felt disconnected. My vision subtly vibrated, the candles left streaks and spots on my sight. My mind was pulled to the quiet drip of water running off the wood somewhere behind me. My mind wouldn¡¯t sharpen.


    The pastor in front of me looked like he was surrounded by fire in my unfocused eyes.


    I rubbed at my face, shook my head.


    The idea of God right now didn¡¯t help me calm or feel the present. All the religion on the walls, the building itself seemed to demand thought. Commanding self-awareness. Know thy sins, is what they shouted.


    The snowy white haired Pastor, his old eyes crinkling, asked me, ¡°Why¡¯re you here?¡±


    Too complicated a question. ¡°Why are you,¡± I returned the question. ¡°Down on the street, I mean. There¡¯s no excuse for homelessness in this society.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no excuse for me, either, then. There¡¯s no such thing as charity anymore. You¡¯ll find no love of God in the churches above, you¡¯ll see,¡± he told me, flatly.


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    ¡°That¡¯s a bitter thought,¡± I responded.


    ¡°What devotion.¡± He closed his bible. ¡°What devotion is there from people who have everything and give nothing? With no consequence for actions, they¡¯ve been rendered amoral.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an ascetic.¡±


    He was wearing circular reading glasses before, but took them off, setting them aside on the leather hide bible. It had a place on the shelf behind him. ¡°I won a court case,¡± he told me. ¡°They ruled that it was within my rights to treat myself this poorly. You know that? But I used to have a wife. She left me when she realized what I knew from the day they first tried to haul me away.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    He pointed over my shoulder. I looked back and saw what he was indicating. The painting of a tiny infant curling up, hiding its face from me.


    ¡°They would keep them from me,¡± he said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be allowed.¡±


    ¡°All Utopians are sterile,¡± I stated. Universal artificial selection, I recalled.


    ¡°Yes, but it was more than that. I didn¡¯t have a right to disseminate false information. There¡¯s no example I can set, no message I can preach when kept hidden. Utopians have one point of nondebate, that. The thing that drew us all together. I¡¯m an old man, I¡¯ve seen what it was like before their grip was complete. But now? Their Utilitarianism is absolute.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It was Cultural Supremacists, that¡¯s what the opposition called Utopians. A long time back, now. That¡¯s a word my father taught me. They started out making women barren, poisoning the water, using drones. A tiny sect of terrorists with just a handful of brilliant men in their ranks. They played a long game. And in one generation¡­ they had won. My grandfather saw it.¡±


    ¡°Culture? Yet religion survived?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t about beliefs or science. It was about the future. And after that world war three, it seemed like there might not be one. They played on people¡¯s fears.¡±


    With how quickly he talked, more emotion on his face, I could see why he was here.


    The old man, sterile and alone, had been put where he couldn¡¯t be heard.


    He continued. ¡°-Everyone was so shocked when they heard it. Something they¡¯d been hearing their entire life. Whether Christian or Muslim, they¡¯d heard it. Heard it prophesied and preached. It lingered with them until finally¡­ finally, someone outside the pew fed it to them. The idea religion had from the start. They heard it.¡±


    ¡°What idea?¡±


    He leaned in close, conspiratorially. ¡°One people.¡±


    That¡¯s it. ¡°¡­I see.¡± I checked my watch. 10:55.


    ¡°So¡­ so here we are,¡± he trailed off. ¡°No them, just us. All the them are dead.¡± He smiled for a moment at his wittiness, then grimaced.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d been hoping for advice. But somehow, I was let down.


    There was nothing this man could teach me. I don¡¯t know what I had expected.


    He was just an old man with a belief. This was just a hovel beneath a vain city.


    10:56, I compulsively checked.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to take a moment,¡± I told him.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he made a serious face, nodding, then reached back for his book and glasses.


    I looked up to the angel drawn over him and the candles. Protection.


    God was a complicated notion. But here, now, he was watching. He was writing my story. With the end fast approaching, begging wasn¡¯t out of the question.


    No.


    No. Fuck me.


    I was the Pilgrim, the Stranger. I wouldn¡¯t kneel to a false God, even if they were mine. I didn¡¯t belong here, playing to a sick joke. I would stop this nightmare.


    I¡¯d been so conflicted, confused, that I¡¯d come here. I¡¯d begged, in the beginning, not to be faced with this challenge. I wanted to be someone else. I¡¯d lied to myself.


    I was done. I knew, now. I knew who I was. I¡¯d had a million faces, countless lives and deaths. I¡¯d dreamed that I was happy, brilliant. But I was incomplete.


    I¡¯m here, in this low place. Created imperfect.


    I stood slowly. A little dizzy. I rubbed at my eyes. They were sore, damp.


    Finally, I had hope and a resolve. That¡¯s what I¡¯d found.


    You¡¯ll be complete, I heard the promise. Complete your work.


    Exiting the church, Ash was outside leaning against the wall on the other side of the alley.


    I had needed a moment. A moment I didn¡¯t have. But I had needed it all the same. ¡°Wasn¡¯t a waste of time,¡± I chastised him. 11:04.


    ¡°Woop de dooooooooooooo.¡± He pushed off to start walking.


    I caught up with him and patted him on the back.


    Ash was the only one who¡¯d stayed by me. I smiled.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. He knew what I was thanking him for.


    ¡°Just once, Doran. I¡¯ll let you think I¡¯m your friend.¡± He half-grinned back at me.


    Suddenly, I looked back over my arm, dropping it from his shoulder and turning around. Ash stopped to see what had made me stop.


    With a blanket wrapped around him, black hair fallen over his long dark face, the man stared back at us down the alley. A perplexed look marked his face.


    I narrowed my eyes. They quickly widened with recognition.


    ¡°Oh, hey. Shit.¡± Ash saw it too.


    Ali. Master Ali.


    He took the blanket off his shoulders and held it in his hands. His gaze locked on the gun in Ash¡¯s. A voice I recognized better carried to us. ¡°Two demons to church?¡±


    To speak to God on his own terms, we must know him.


    Ali had said that once. Now the memory returned with perfect clarity.


    Purpose overwhelmed. Nothing could stop me. And I could see by the look hardening in his eyes that Ali was about to try. A few seconds passed as he waited on us to say something, do anything. Ash was ready to shoot. One second away.


    Shadows leapt from the alley¡¯s corners, nothing drawing together in my hand to form the rusted blade. Its weight in my hand was a declaration. It¡¯s abstract force causing the buildings around us to groan and resettle, a wind ripping towards me into the steel¡¯s vacuum.


    It solidified in my grip. A sword unsheathed.


    A declaration of war.

 Machina 3.08

    Ali threw the blanket in his hands and it billowed out. The black shape stopped falling and it hung in the air. Ash let off a few rounds, but I knew they¡¯d not penetrated. The bullets had been caught in the effect he¡¯d placed on the cloth.


    I remembered. Chronomancy.


    ¡°Last time I saw you die won¡¯t be like this time,¡± I warned. ¡°Run, Ali.¡±


    His hand briefly showed from behind his barrier, the fingers posed, the movement fluid while sweeping across. It was a motion casting, a physical ritual. I could see the power gathering around him, the anticipation of a command.


    I marched forward with my rusted cleaver, Ash staying back.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I ordered him.


    There was a brief hesitation, but the spell climaxed. A resonation which formed a field over the alley. Immediately I knew what it might be, and as I looked at my watch ticking minutes as seconds, I was sure. The sun behind me began to inch forward faster.


    I¡¯d reached the blanket in the air and stabbed into it. With the spell, it cracked apart, falling as tatters. Ali wasn¡¯t behind it, though. In fact, I saw that he was behind Ash.


    Hate that trick.


    Ash was frozen in space with a touch. He¡¯d been slowed down so quickly that his startled turn would take him days. And Ali was ready to do the same to me.


    I¡¯d fought the Grand Chronomancer, Sosias, the heaven¡¯s rearranger. I could face this practitioner. Utopian magic was in its infancy.


    With four quick slashes, the concrete was marked with a diamond around me. Ali entered back into time right in front of me, frowning at the protection I¡¯d made.


    ¡°How did you imbue it so quickly?¡± he asked, genuinely interested.


    ¡°How did you find us so quickly?¡± I¡¯d give one to get one.


    I resisted checking my watch. I could hear its rapid ticking.


    Ali nodded at my return question. ¡°I can¡¯t manipulate causality, not like Wulff and his disciples. I change time.¡± He spoke energetically with his hands as well as his words. A side effect of casting with them, I thought. ¡°I used time travel to search the city. I¡¯m in many places this morning, but only the path in which I find you is kept.¡±


    I chanced a look down at my watch as he finished.


    It was bad.


    I spoke rapidly. ¡°The element of the blade is absolute. The intention of a border is obvious. The metaphysical command is clear.¡±


    ¡°What is so absolute?¡± he wondered. ¡°I can¡¯t sense anything?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer. I lashed out, severing one of his hands. His reaction speed wasn¡¯t fast enough and wasn¡¯t enhanced by his super speed. He was caught off guard.


    His hand hit the ground as he staggered back. Ali hit his back and scrambled away. He was on his feet and several yards back in an instant. I stepped forward and slashed many more times at the ground, etching out three more diamonds and a larger one overall. Expanding territory. I had to get to Ash. Time was running out. I could build towards him. He wasn¡¯t too far.


    Ali was on his feet and his body was a blur acting out a spell. I realized that he was using his magic to enhance itself, which was an absolutely bullshit tactic. He was slowed, though, by his missing hand. He bravely fought through with his will, but couldn¡¯t compensate in his rituals which needed to involve both hands. He was trying to alter them on the fly, but he was losing blood incredibly fast.


    I drew my automatic pistol and rattled its short store of ammo off.


    Ali was peppered and stumbled back once more, this time into the alley wall. His greying face was shocked. He ripped at the dirty shirt he¡¯d wore to see that his Eidolon body suit had stopped the bullets. It dawned on his face as he clutched his stump, that he was about to die if he didn¡¯t do something. His gaze was cast down the alley.


    If he escaped, they would know exactly where we were.


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    We¡¯d have no chance of evading them for long enough. If we still did.


    Ali signed with his remaining hand and the temporal field over us dropped.


    He tried to stand and slipped on the concrete which was instantly wet. Rain appeared all around us, rushing in, and the sky greyed nearly to black when the effect ended. A storm had arrived.


    He fought to his feet and was about to disappear. Flee.


    I slammed my cleaver into the center of the four-part diamond. ¡°Die,¡± I said. The command was clear, the power beyond necessary.


    Ali gasped for breath. He slipped again into a puddle, clutching his arm. He lay very still, only his eyelids fluttering. I stepped out of my diamond protection.


    That was what I was capable of. He¡¯d felt the force of a determination trillions of years old. The sheer momentum I was carrying.


    Freeze tag. Ash was still stuck.


    I went and touched him, killing the effect. He whipped around for just a second before realizing what had happened. He grimaced.


    ¡°Fucker got me,¡± he said.


    ¡°I got him, don¡¯t worry.¡± I checked my watch again. It was past twelve. ¡°Dammit.¡±


    ¡°He ate our time? Can we make it?¡± Ash asked.


    I looked down the alley. ¡°No. We¡¯re going to encounter Kendall. I can sense it. Everything is gathering in front of us. It¡¯s the last trial. They¡¯ll be an army to face.¡±


    ¡°Just you and me, yeah, against all of them. That''s abulous.¡±


    I took off my jacket first, shrugged off my shoulder holsters, then put it back on. No ammo left for my pistols anyway. I had my own weapon. A personal connection.


    ¡°They¡¯ll try to stop us, but we¡¯ve got all the weight behind us. Even Christopher wants us moving forward. The bastard has us in line for now. But even with all that, Ash, there¡¯s only so much that armor can do for us. Against Kendall¡­ Hasami, I sense. And possibly the whole Guild? We¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°I guess we will,¡± he smirked.


    ¡°Come on.¡±


    O


    The rain was beating down on us. Droplets gathered on my watch-face in the shadow of my body. 12:50. The light above was muted. The alleys boxing us in. The sight of the elevator was muddled in the clouds, but I could still make it out. Getting lost was not a concern.


    What was a concern; our enemies discovering our destination.


    I couldn¡¯t properly shroud the body of Ali, and I suspected he had a failsafe in place. They will have known we made our way past the church. Our direction might be inferred.


    They¡¯ll be trying to quarantine the area, at this point. Create a search grid.


    ¡°They''re on our trail. The shroud, it''s keeping us unnoticed. Why don¡¯t they just flood the city with drones?¡± Ash asked as we ran.


    ¡°Shrouds are effective against Aku because their attention is too spread out. They¡¯re incapable of focus, as a single soul which occupies so much space. I can play on that. Create blind-spots.¡±


    Ash wasn¡¯t breathing as he went, whereas I was huffing raggedly. I forgot sometimes that he didn¡¯t exert. Wasn¡¯t alive.


    ¡°And we can''t just metaphysic our way to get where we¡¯re going... fastly. That''d be too easy.¡± Ash was still smiling.


    ¡°If you ascribe to the notion¡­ We kind of already are¡­ Reality is a shadow in a cave¡­ Magic is just a feedback technique, leveraging rules. What we¡¯re doing now is magic.¡±


    Elements in battle. Good and evil, some times. Not today.


    "I don''t really care, bud."


    We took a flight of steps, Ash following my lead, up onto street level. With the rain and chaos, there was no one really on the street. A few figures under black umbrellas sat around.


    One of them, I sensed, wasn¡¯t human. A watcher.


    I didn¡¯t have time to care about that. They were passive observers. Numbered around eight, but I couldn¡¯t quite tell. Only one was manifest. His blue eyes visible beneath his umbrella, across the park on a bench. The wet grass vibrant between us.


    ¡°Creepy,¡± Ash commented. He¡¯d spotted it too.


    ¡°They¡¯re important,¡± I replied. ¡°But not to us.¡±


    Just past a row of apartment buildings, the very base of the elevator was hidden. Less than a mile, now. We could make it.


    There was only a parking lot between us and the densely packed three to four story buildings ahead. We ran under the unpowered lot lights, nearing them.


    From up above he sounded, ¡°Doran, this is law enforcement!¡±


    No. We were too close.


    The silver man landed in our way. I quickly glanced back and Kendall was there with Hasami and another at his sides. They emerged from the same alley stairs we had. Three behind and one ahead.


    The silver man approached. ¡°Listen,¡± he spoke.


    ¡°No-¡± we were boxed in. Too much open space to my left and right. They could encircle us. ¡°-How¡¯d you do it? You tracked us to Ali?¡± His body was solid, his face was hidden. He had stopped moving and listened now, the rain pouring down. I looked back to Kendall. ¡°You guessed our path by the only landmark in its way?¡± His face gave it away.


    ¡°That¡¯s a yes,¡± Ash saw it as well.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the silver man continued. ¡°You¡¯re done.¡±


    He was right. It didn¡¯t matter. The situation is what it is.


    Ash spat at the ground.


    The silver man began to approach again. He was a few dozen feet off. His voice boomed. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere for you to go. You¡¯re coming in. Now.¡±


    I put out a hand. He did slow for a second, thinking I might have cast a spell, but quickly started again. Ash at my side met my eyes, expectantly.


    Closing in. I couldn¡¯t go around. I couldn¡¯t teleport us. The silver man could fly, Kendall was fast. I couldn¡¯t possibly fight them all, not in the open like this. I sensed the firepower the silver one could level. There wasn¡¯t a way out. I couldn¡¯t fucking fly.


    Oh. Oh! Yes.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got an idea?¡± Ash saw the look on my face.


    ¡°Get behind me. Grab on when its time.¡± He understood, putting myself between him and the silver guy. I set my feet, drawing out my hands and hardening every muscle. I stood strong and addressed the silver Sentinel. ¡°See me,¡± I ordered him. Then again, ¡°see me!¡±


    He stepped cautiously, raising a hand which blue light billowed out from.


    Watch this.


    I put on a grin and looked right up at the sky. The silver man, who had before had his vision locked on me, followed my line of sight. Ash jumped on my back. I tensed up.


    Then, I flew.

 Machina 3.09

    I¡¯d blacked out for a moment, going limp.


    Relativity, I thought. Assert one reality over another.


    I¡¯d locked into Sebastian¡¯s eyes. A trick learned from demons. And when he looked up, with Ash holding tight onto my back, we¡¯d accelerated at breakneck speeds. Traveling with his line of sight, letting go at the peak, we¡¯d sailed high through the rain.


    I can fly. Absolutely loved that trick.


    What goes up. Not the last bit.


    In the air, Ash manipulated me around. I was lightheaded, couldn¡¯t think straight. Our arc would be harsh, our landing harsher, I knew. Suddenly, though, I understood what Ash had done. When we hit the roof of the first apartment building, I landed with him beneath me.


    I rolled off onto the pebbled roof, knocking over a folding lawn chair. Somewhere distant a woman yelled. Ash was pulling his limbs back into place beside me and swearing. A brief coughing fit hit me as I stood over him. I was getting over the impact, limping a little, as I looked back over the building¡¯s edge. The silver man, the Sentinel, jumped. Thrusters on his back spewed out red hot air, misting the asphalt with his ascension. He was seconds away.


    Ash was barely up, his form still distorted. The entrance into the stairwell was almost a hundred feet off across the roof. That wouldn¡¯t cut it.


    My cleaver quickly in hand, I cut easily through the ground beneath us. Sparks erupted as I cut through powerlines and the roof caved in. We dropped through just as the Sentinel hit.


    It was almost a dozen feet to the floor where I hit my knees and then side. The silver guy leaned into our hole, ready to jump down. I had a hunch about him.


    I raised my blade up at him and he ducked back like I was about to fire something. Suspicion confirmed. I got to my feet with Ash and looked for a door.


    He¡¯s a Magi. Attuned enough to know to be afraid of this thing.


    Ash opened the apartment¡¯s door and held it open for me. He followed just after me, throwing one of his knives back as the door closed behind us. I caught a glimpse of it bouncing off the metal man¡¯s head.


    He¡¯s not going to flinch at anything Ash can do.


    In the hall, I could see both the stairwells at hall¡¯s ends and the elevator.


    ¡°Can¡¯t touch the suited fuck,¡± Ash quickly said. ¡°There¡¯s thirty heartbeats in the building. Shields for us.¡± He chose the direction for us, darting for the stairwell.


    He¡¯s right. The Sentinel can¡¯t let loose. Collateral damage.


    I¡¯d seen him take out a building in the war games, I remembered. Overkill.


    Ash jumped the first stairs, knocking into the rail at the bottom and then flying the next flight. I hopped the first like him but had to dive down the next.


    The sentinel dropped and stopped just beyond the railing, hovering in the air past it, over the parking lot, his armor seeping with blue light. It opened for only an instant, flashing a rune on his dark-skinned chest. The magic hit me as I hit the third floor.


    I tried to stand but stumbled. A sleeping spell wrapped around my neck like a millstone, pulling my face into the concrete.


    My eyes were blurry, but I could see Ash with his gun up and firing at the Sentinel.


    Shake it off.


    Ash¡¯s eyes widened. I knew his attack was useless.


    I was vulnerable. The Sentinel was going to kill me.


    My cleaver cut through a blast of energy as I rolled over, dissipating it. The Sentinel fired another, larger blast. I slashed it again, letting the crackling plasma roll off me.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I groaned. I rolled behind the descending stairs as more shots hit. His shots were breaking against the concrete. They weren¡¯t breaking through?


    May be using nonlethal. I doubted it.


    ¡°Stay behind me,¡± I told Ash.


    I was heavy on my feet, but we managed to back up down the hall with me blocking the Sentinel¡¯s barrage. When we got close enough to the other end of the hall and the other stairs, he boosted out of sight. He knew, he had to either get the jump on us or throw something too big to block. Right now, we were managing both his options. Good.


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    ¡°Yo, faggot!¡± Ash fired at the stairwell after catching a glimpse of Kendall coming up.


    Right. There was more than just a Sentinel, too.


    Deal with it.


    ¡°Advance!¡± I commanded Ash.


    He hurdled the stair¡¯s railings, landing at the very base to open fire. I followed, dropping down behind him. Windand rain washed against the back of my neck. As I came down Kendall kicked in an apartment door and escaped Ash¡¯s shots. Black fluid dotted his path.


    I was yanked backward by something amorphous wrapped around my left leg, pulling me down the stairs. Dragging my on my belly to the ground, hoisting me up, then slamming me down. I couldn¡¯t see what it was whipping me around. I was pulled by my leg, bound to an axis and spun three hundred sixty degrees right back around into the apartment building¡¯s walls. I was just fast enough to spin my sword and sever the line at my foot.


    I scrambled to my feet, baring my teeth. I clutched my free arm to my chest. It¡¯d taken the walls impact. It didn¡¯t feel right.


    The red substance which had grabbed ahold of my leg turned to dust when severed. The nanites dead. The line returned to the one who¡¯d sent it.


    A non-distinct Eidolon and beside him, Hasami. Both wore helmets, but I recognized the handcrafted katana he¡¯d half drawn from its sheath.


    ¡°Hasami,¡± I said. ¡°I can sense your hesitation.¡± The other Eidolon, I sensed anger. ¡°Listen-¡±


    ¡°I want to listen.¡± He fully sheathed his sword, raised his hands. ¡°But you must stop.¡± He stepped closer, keeping both hands raised.


    ¡°He can¡¯t,¡± the other one spoke. A male voice. ¡°What are you trying, Doran?¡±


    They couldn¡¯t know that. It would make things worse.


    Where the fuck was Ash? I could hear him firing. I could hear the Sentinel¡¯s thrusters too.


    I moved my injured arm just enough to check the time. The watch was cracked. Dead.


    It didn¡¯t matter anymore. They¡¯d caught up to us. There was no subversion or hiding left to do, only people left in my way. I had to keep fighting. Keep momentum.


    I sprinted for Hasami and covered the distance before he could reach down to draw his sword. I jumped to kick him in the chest. He tumbled back and skid into a car.


    The other Eidolon fired out a spike of red nanites from his hand, which I cut down.


    ¡°Symbolic resonances,¡± he said to me. The nanites formed a sword. He stepped forward and my blade clashed with his, not going through. He was smart.


    He knew, a sword against another sword meant more than just nanites.


    Our weapons unlocked when Ash shot him in the head. He crumpled with holes in his helmet. ¡°Kendall¡¯s slipped me,¡± he told me.


    I asked him as we ran for the next building. ¡°You went after him?¡±


    ¡°I hit him a couple times, almost had the fucker.¡±


    We ducked into the next apartment¡¯s center hall. ¡°He¡¯s not mortal, Ash. Don¡¯t get distracted again.¡± I ordered him.


    He didn¡¯t like it, but he listened. ¡°Fine.¡±


    My foot flew out from under me.


    Motherfu-


    I was pulled quickly out the mouth of the hall and thrown through the air. I landed on the roof of a car and rolled off behind it. I could see the Eidolons feet through the gap underneath. Fuck this guy.


    ¡°Tumble!¡± I smacked the car with my palm.


    It rolled violently over the Eidolon, crushing him in a flurry of glass.


    Didn¡¯t you already get shot?


    That didn¡¯t stop him. He was up again, blue blood spilling out the holes in his head.


    An avatar of some kind. Remotely controlled.


    ¡°I know what that thing can do!¡± he yelled, pointing at my cleaver. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it. I-¡­ Wasn¡¯t going to be risking that.¡±


    I tasted blood. One of my teeth was loose.


    ¡°Not what you wanted to see, though.¡± I could read him like a book. I could see his soul. ¡°You lost someone to the cleaver. You wanted to see what the element was, get close enough to know. Now you know¡­ She¡¯s gone.¡±


    Hasami pulled himself up from beside the car across the street, drew his Katana.


    ¡°Ash!¡± I called.


    The hall where he¡¯d been was unnaturally blackened. Sound didn¡¯t escape.


    Kendall. Ash¡¯s not coming.


    ¡°Closure,¡± the Eidolon muttered, angry. He reformed the red sword in his hand.


    ¡°Two on one, then.¡± I grit my teeth and stretched out my injured arm. I¡¯d need it.


    ¡°Stand down,¡± Hasami warned me.


    ¡°Never.¡±


    The Eidolon lunged. I met his sword with mine, slid under it and cut through his arm. I weaved around him and kicked him in the back, moving for Hasami.


    Hasami swung twice at once, simultaneously deflecting my slice and stabbing. I twisted around the stab and swung my cleaver around for his face. He barely formed a ghostly katana quick enough to block. He took several steps back and I sensed the Eidolon running up behind me. I parried his first strike and his second, having to alternate as Hasami tried to come at my undefended side.


    I was dealing with a flurry of attacks from both sides. I couldn¡¯t keep it up.


    I had to slip close to the Eidolon the next time I deflected him. He had no hand to stop me from ramming into his chest, nor balance to save himself from falling. The moment he hit the ground, I chucked my cleaver into his chest.


    Hasami came at me with four coexistent swings, filling up his max reach. I jumped backward, away from my weapon. I hit the ground and scrambled.


    Hasami leaped and brought his sword down.


    From the Eidolon¡¯s chest, my cleaver dislodged and flew to stop his attack. It landed in my grip, caught in both hands, letting his strike hit the flat side.


    Finally, I kicked him from me and he sprawled.


    I picked my head up to see. He wasn¡¯t ready to get up. Hasami was completely mortal. That fall had knocked the wind out of him.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I let my head drop, let a sigh out. Breathe. I rolled over onto my stomach, got my arms under me to stand.


    The Sentinel dropped out of the sky and landed beside Hasami on the ground. His suit thrummed with energy, but he wasn¡¯t attacking. He was protecting.


    I backed away towards the hall. The darkness had lifted and Ash wasn¡¯t there. I ran through, looking into the open apartment doors. I came out the other side.


    ¡°Doran,¡± he said. He was on a knee in the grass just there. His rifle up, aiming at the apartment windows all around. ¡°He can fucking teleport.¡±


    ¡°Ash!¡± He was fixated.


    ¡°What?¡± he snapped.


    ¡°We¡¯re close. Ignore him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s taunting me.¡± I grimaced at him. He changed subject. ¡°There¡¯s new heartbeats,¡± he said, getting up. He kept his eyes on the balconies. ¡°New heartbeats. They¡¯re not running. They¡¯re comin¡¯ in. Reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a mad dash, now. Come on!¡±

 Machina 3.10

    We covered the lot in a sprint. Ducked into the open apartment stairwell, through the building. There were only two more structures between us and our goal.


    The rain was beating down harder. Fat drops broke against the crown of my head as we moved back out. There was a golden mean between timidness and recklessness. Courage. I wouldn¡¯t have called it courage, though. That wasn¡¯t a term I didn¡¯t associate with.


    My sense alerted me to several blue shots coming down from above in a trail of vapor. I turned to block them. Ash got behind me as I did.


    The Sentinel was targeting him. He was trying to slow us down.


    Keeping a watch on the sky, I needed Ash to guide me. There was water in my eyes, but I could make out the falling blue light. Though one arm was injured and both were tired, I could still block the barrage. He couldn¡¯t beat me.


    You¡¯ll need that attitude.


    One more apartment building to go.


    Ash and I dashed down the hall. Up ahead I could see, back out in the storm, that a line had formed across the parking lot. A colorful lineup of Eidolons. Less than a dozen, but too many. These were the reinforcements they¡¯d conjured to stop us, now standing in our way.


    We stopped in the hall¡¯s threshold. Ash fired from the hip once just to confirm my suspicion. A shimmer rested on each one of them. They¡¯d gotten a Shielder.


    I backed up a few feet. My mind was racing.


    The Sentinel blasted down between us and them.


    He held gravitas. ¡°Stand. Down.¡±


    ¡°Never,¡± I answered. I kept backing up. Had to think of a way out.


    We had one chance now. Need to bottleneck them.


    ¡°Come on, fuckers!¡± Ash yelled. He saw what I was doing and followed. He threw down his gun and withdrew a knife covered in hellish symbols.


    Someone sent out a black smoke. A curse of death. I cut it down.


    ¡°That not going to work!¡± I shouted to them.


    ¡°The longer you wait,¡± the Sentinel growled, ¡°the tighter the noose gets.¡±


    They would get in more reinforcements. They would get in ships. At any moment, the only reason we had a chance was because of their restraint. He was right. They weren¡¯t falling for it. They were standing in the rain, waiting. They would abstain from a fight and run out my clock.


    I was trapped. There was only one path forward.


    Into the storm.


    ¡°Stay¡­ stay behind me, Ash.¡± I mustered some confidence.


    ¡°You got it.¡± He knew the odds.


    Courage. It was necessary today.


    I raised my cleaver up and ran out into the rain.


    The Sentinel rocketed out of my way, shouting for them to attack.


    A technicolor volley hit me. Every Eidolon threw what they had. Ice, fire, light, electricity, and shadow. But their primitive magic ended at my swords edge. They spaced out and those that had weapons brandished them. The first one came at me with a lance. I knocked up his stab and slid into my own, penetrating his gut and slicing up and out. I came back over into another¡¯s shoulder, cleaving off the arm.


    Ash would have to look out for himself.


    I was hit with a blast of force. The concrete sprayed up and I went into an Eidolon and tumbling. When I was up, the seven or so remaining fighters were facing me. One had Ash face down under his boot, a sword to the back of his neck.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill your friend,¡± she warned. ¡°Drop your sword.¡±


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    ¡°That one?¡± I asked. ¡°He¡¯s fucked up, you know?¡± Quick and dirty plan.


    Ash was seamless. ¡°That¡¯s funny, coming from you. I thought you liked men?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes. But don¡¯t tell them the plan!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°What pl-¡° The moment she was sufficiently distracted, Ash¡¯s arms reached back, one hand knocking away her sword and the other stabbing her leg. He rolled and she crumpled. The other Eidolons were slow to react to her fall.


    I threw my cleaver. It spun wildly through the air and into one of them. I rolled under a fireball and threw out my hand. The intention was clear. There was a momentary delay, but I had power over what was mine.


    The blade dislodged and returned to my hand, slashing another across the face as it did. I was close enough now that I cut down the flame Elementalist on coming up. Ash was standing and killed another, stabbing him in the back.


    We¡¯d surprised them. The moment they believed they would lose, they had. And that moment came when more than half of them were dead. We¡¯d mowed them down.


    The last two ran when we¡¯d gotten the rest.


    ¡°Doran!?¡± Hasami yelled. He was hurt, but he stood tall. He came out of the dark hall with his sword in hand, just now catching up. ¡°You¡¯re killing them,¡± he pleaded.


    I stared back at him. I couldn¡¯t say anything. Couldn¡¯t doubt now. Ash started off without me, forcing me to catch up. We made it through the last building. There was an elevation of concrete and a bit of railing which we easily climbed up to another parking lot.


    We¡¯d reached it. The circular base of the space elevator.


    We were so close.


    O


    Porter watched the digital room render. A table in the dark. Of the people still appearing, the first he recognized was Master Wulff. That old guy, Cobb. Ali was notably absent to this impromptu meeting.


    The three important Magi had arrived, though. Next came the council.


    Nameless ethicists, a few high council members. Everyone exchanged glances, waiting for the meeting to begin. Emergency meetings were supposed to be rapid.


    The last one to arrive was a Zenith Council member. A singular man who held more sway than one-third of the rest of the council.


    He looked like Santa Claus.


    One of the old populists. A vote winner. A Zeitgeist, Porter thought.


    On the table, a perfect hologram suddenly appeared. Doran, Porter recognized. Doran and the demon running away from a slew of bodies in a rainy lot.


    ¡°The reason for this meeting,¡± Aku¡¯s monotone voice sounded. ¡°The entities Doran and Ashmedai are on the move and dangerous. Permanent death weapons are in use. The council needs to decide on a course of action. Protocols have failed.¡±


    Throwing Magus at it didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we call in drones? Use nanites?¡± an Ethicist proposed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not going to work,¡± Porter said.


    ¡°Truly,¡± Cobb agreed.


    ¡°Doran is using momentum, channeling raw sway. It¡¯s like he¡¯s got armor. You won¡¯t get him with a stray bullet or a drone. He¡¯s fucking with reality¡¯s mechanics. Degrading natural law and strengthening metaphysical ones. Just passively. It¡¯s a titanic ability. There¡¯s no poetic justice in stopping him now,¡± Porter told them. He crossed his arms. This is what he¡¯d known.


    They didn¡¯t know about the Primordial thing. It was about timing.


    Wulff narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°You¡¯re proposing they¡¯re impossible to stop?¡±


    Porter didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°We could nuke them,¡± Wulff tested.


    ¡°You won¡¯t and so you can¡¯t,¡± Porter countered. ¡°Same difference.¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen,¡± a councilwoman cut in. ¡°We won¡¯t know what measures are appropriate until we know what¡¯s at stake? What is their motivation?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my department.¡± A blond young man had appeared at the table.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Cobb asked.


    Aku enlightened. ¡°Kyle, Magus.¡±


    The young man continued. ¡°Their apparent goal is the space elevator. That will take them up to a platform where they can access older, still functional teleports. Ones which can be manually overridden. Those teleports are short range, however. They could have only one destination in mind.¡±


    ¡°Jesus Christ.¡± Santa realized what he was saying. ¡°Could he do it?¡±


    Porter knew. ¡°That machete he¡¯s got, it¡¯s called an Ender Blade. We don¡¯t know how to make or break one. But I know what it can do. And the answer is yes. Absolutely.¡±


    Kyle jumped in. ¡°But Doran thinks he¡¯s doing whatever he is for good reasons,¡± he said. ¡°His determination is driven by conviction¡­ And desperation.¡±


    ¡°Can we dismantle the lunar teleports?¡± Santa asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve cut power to both them and the elevator,¡± Aku informed.


    Porter grimaced.


    ¡°Deploy me,¡± Wulff suggested. ¡°I can control the outcome of this situation. Losing doesn¡¯t need to be an option.¡±


    ¡°I vote so,¡± Santa agreed. The other council members were redundant. He represented such a large number of people, they couldn¡¯t altogether overpower him.


    ¡°Why not take out the space elevator?¡± The same Ethicist from earlier.


    A little trigger happy.


    Porter told him, ¡°it may not be staffed anymore, but if the elevator falls, it¡¯ll wrap around the earth. The reason it¡¯s still there is because it¡¯s so hard to dismantle.¡±


    ¡°The ends justify-¡±


    Porter cut him off. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± None of them understood. This wasn¡¯t about them. The Utopians were just collateral damage in all this. In an ageless machination.


    He was going to get the hell out of here.


    The meeting was adjourned. He was standing alone in his own apartment again. The curtains were drawn, the sound of pouring water the only thing that reached him inside. Slowly, his expression hardened. That calamity he¡¯d wanted?


    He was grimly awaiting.


    They can¡¯t see. He thought about what had to happen. The timing was now, they shouldn¡¯t avert this thing. Utopians were arrogant in thinking they were bigger than what was going on now. He never believed in the Cause. The Omniverse was too big to make a difference in. They were complacent idiots. Mistaking outer strength for inner.


    Utopians didn¡¯t get it. Everything was going to break at the weak spot. Doran was their only hope for survival and they were trying to kill him.


    Porter was out the door. He had to get to the Monastery fast.

 Machina 3.11

    The visitor¡¯s entrance was around the curve of the building. Ash and I took the steps two by two. Dozens of grey flights to the glass-front of the building. So much of that glass was tinted dark. As we ascended, I passed in front. I stopped with my hand on the door.


    ¡°I sense something,¡± I said.


    ¡°No heartbeats in there,¡± Ash told me.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good sign.¡±


    I didn¡¯t bother trying the doors, instead slashing through the glass and letting it dash against my rain-soaked skin. Stepping onto the expansive tiled floor the sound of the storm grew quiet behind us. I wiped at my face and eyes to dry them with my free hand. Dusted glass away.


    Further, into the back of the long room, it grew darker. At the very end, there was a single skylight around the elevator¡¯s wide doors. Soft light fell on our goal.


    ¡°There¡¯s nobody. We made it.¡± Ash grinned.


    There was a disturbance. Kendall stepped into that light. He stepped up in front of the elevator so we could see him, across the distance. In his dark green suit, long hair undone. He put himself in our path and looked smug about it.


    It was a long walk, but we were going to get there. We wouldn¡¯t stop.


    This is his last chance. He wants to do it himself, I thought.


    I was his mistake. Kendall was all about control and this was him standing immovable, taking it back. He¡¯d made the decision. In his eyes, I could see he knew. He¡¯d decided he would do it himself. Alone and holding nothing back. This was Kendall¡­ from the start.


    The doors were far behind us and so too the light. Kendall steeled himself and stepped down and into the dark with us. Three pairs of footsteps echoed. Silhouettes grew.


    Ash raised his gun. ¡°You¡¯ve got us all to yourself, faggot!¡± He fired. Muzzle flashes lit up the horrible sight of Kendall coming for us. He loped forward as a vision of teeth and limbs and wings, shrugging off hits.


    I held my breath as the last few yards were covered. I closed my eyes.


    A memory flashed into my mind. Kendall pulls a pistol from his drawer. I¡¯m in the circle. He could have killed me then. Look what¡¯s happened to both of us, now.


    Ash ducked to the side and so did I. My sword raked over Kendall¡¯s belly as I went.


    Ash was quickly up, having reloaded on his fall to fire again on the ground. The flashes showed Kendall sloughing skin off where I had cut him. The mark moved from his chest to the chest of a newly birthed demon, sliding off onto the floor. It shrieked and died of its wound.


    Ash¡¯s gun ran dry and the darkness persisted again. I held my breath and listened.


    The sound of a rifle reloading. The drops of ichor falling from Kendall¡¯s bullet wounds. The gurgling of the dying demon. New, wet footsteps hitting the ground as another broke away from Kendall. Crunching, contorting, they formed. They were silhouetted by the building¡¯s glass front behind them. When free, they ran to the side to hide. Fuck.


    Can¡¯t hurt him. The blade cuts the soul, but his soul is too far recessed. Under an ocean of demonic flesh. Hiding at the bottom of his well. He¡¯s shedding hits.


    Kendall charged forward. He wouldn¡¯t let me dodge this time. I put my sword forward and dug it into him. My feet lost traction as he hit me, his claws trying to dig into my back. I was driven back.


    He roared, feral. I returned the sound as I put all my strength out. Braced against the long handle of my cleaver, meant specifically for this person. With leverage enough, I threw Kendall over my shoulder, off my blade. He hit and rolled.


    Ash fired again and I turned around. The flashes showed a new demon, pale white, right in front of my face. It bashed me with its head, sent me to my back. The bone spikes on its forehead cracked against my skull, sent a stream of blood down my face. ¡°Fuck!¡±


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    It pounced and I pulled up my sword to impale it. Kendall was back on me. The only thing between us was the dead demon''s body. I held it over me, protecting my face as so much blood poured up my nose.


    ¡°Oi, bitch.¡± Ash lit into him on top of me. Kendall reacted, I could feel him shift his weight.


    My blade twisted in the corpse and I pulled, slicing to the side and freeing it. I escaped while Kendall was distracted. On my feet, for only a moment before he struck me.


    I slid until I hit a pillar at the room¡¯s edge. Before I could recover, he was already charging at me. I got up, sliced a gash across the floor as I went. I ordered, ¡°Halt!¡±


    The silhouette dove easily to the side, around my command and bouncing off a pillar. Kendall¡¯s claws scraped, trying for purchase on the tile and failing. He slid behind the row as I ran for the room¡¯s periphery.


    ¡°Here!¡± Ash yelled.


    I found him behind another pillar on the parallel row.


    ¡°Strategy?¡± I blurted out, catching my breath, sliding to cover.


    ¡°Run ¡®em dry.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t see Ash, but I knew he could see the doubt on my face.


    Kendall¡¯s too powerful. He¡¯s an army.


    He came flying into the pillar we were hiding behind. It crashed down, sending Ash and I running in opposite directions.


    A demon lit itself on fire as it came running towards me out of the dark. Its black gnarled hide was swathed in flames, ready to embrace me. I cut it down easily enough, but something else wrapped around my neck. A long tendril encircled and tried to crush. I whipped around and severed it from the source. It loosened. Something skittered away squealing like a child. Gunfire echoed everywhere around me. I couldn¡¯t find the source, I was distracted by the sheer number of figures the flashes revealed.


    An imp jumped to latched onto my knee, holding tight. Suddenly dozens more did the same, clambering over each other to grab me. I hacked at the pile of bodies, trying not to hit myself. ¡°Ash!¡±


    Bullets rang past me. I covered my head as he shot off the remaining imps. Perfect aim. Chittering alerted me a moment before the next strike came.


    A massive pincher clamped down on my midsection. It hoisted me up as I hacked down. I defended against a stinger on its tail, bashing it away. I threw my sword, lodging it into the scorpion¡¯s head and quickly recalling.


    Sword back in my hand, I lashed around to cut another demon down.


    The darkness was too great an advantage. Had to get light.


    I slammed my sword into the ground. ¡°Let there-¡±


    A quadrupedal beast dove into me. My sword was left behind. It snapped rabidly at my face, driving me back along the floor. I pushed into its neck, holding it back. My hands reached up, grabbing it by the jaw. I rent its mouth open and tossed it aside.


    Demons piled on. Teeth raked across my skull. Limbs clambered over my body in the dark. I was throwing them off as I went for my sword.


    The weight was driving me to my knees as my hand found the hilt.


    ¡°Light!¡±


    The building¡¯s lights came on in an instant. I drew my sword and threw off the demons. Stood up tall to see the dozens that lurked behind the pillars. That encircled me.


    Kendall¡¯s face protruded from the mass of demons which formed a larger creature. Bodies entangled to work and bend as limbs. They broke away and more welled up from the soft flesh. His face focused on me. His expression darkened with determination. He didn¡¯t care that we could see him.


    The demons let out a chorus of screaming when I saw them.


    I hacked at the horde as it closed in around me. They tried to overpower me. The sheer number was overwhelming. There was one on my back, gnawing at my bleeding neck. With my free hand, I grabbed it by the arm and threw it over my shoulder into the crowd.


    ¡°Ash!¡± I was frantic. They were like a flood. Kendall continued to spawn them.


    Bullets tore through the crowd, but it wasn¡¯t enough. I didn¡¯t have room anymore to swing my sword. Kendall was going for Ash, keeping him from helping me.


    I lashed out with my arm, trying to beat them back. The skeletal horde could be pushed away, but some were strong, grotesquely fat. For those I needed the room to cut. I was drowning in my own blood and theirs. It was a thick, cold sludge, filling my throat and nose.


    Raising my arm above the crowd, I hacked down blindly. I punched out and my fist connected with soft flesh and hard bone. The fluorescent lights were blinding as I turned my head up for air. I couldn¡¯t get air. Their arms pushed me down, they teeth gnashed.


    I braced my legs, so many grabbing me that my weight was supported. I kicked off, breaking myself and demons behind me away from the crowd and towards the door. I fought free to stand and killed those demons on the ground with me.


    Finally, they were coming at me from one direction. I spit out the rot and gripped my sword white-knuckled.


    Must make progress.


    I tore through the crowd, sending limbs flying.


    A hellhound burst forth and knocked me down. Its mouth clamped around my sword arm, bit down hard. I brought my fist into the site of its head, imploding its skull, but it didn¡¯t flinch. The demons closed in. The hound¡¯s head shattered apart with another hit. I scrambled back and to my feet again, pried the still clenching jaws off my arm.


    A flaming snake shot out and I cut it down in the air.


    ¡°Ash!?¡± I cried out. I couldn¡¯t see him over the crowd.


    The door was to my back. The Sentinel somewhere in the storm.


    Can¡¯t go back. I had to keep momentum. Can¡¯t stop.


    The terrors approached. Countless in number.

 Machina 3.12

    I wasn¡¯t going to do this alone.


    ¡°Ash!?¡± I called. The horde was so densely packed, it flooded out in every direction. Kendall¡¯s mass rose above the crowd, his twisted body pulsating.


    I couldn¡¯t go back. The goal was across this room, and so was Ash. Driven apart, I couldn¡¯t hear his gun anymore. There was no going around.


    The demons were running ¡®round me. While I panicked, unable to think a way through, they solidified my options, creeping along the walls and behind me. I swung my cleaver at the crowd, scaring them back. Demons were afraid of me. For a moment. They crazed, each one egging the others on. The crowd was brimming with rage, being held back for only a moment.


    I kept swinging at the air, I cut down one that tried to break the line. Then another got brave, tried to run at me from behind. I slashed without looking, letting the body fall behind me.


    The lights above flickered off and on, each time the crowd moving.


    See it, you fucking moron. What do you see?!


    My eyes narrowed, trying to see through the blur of blood streaming down my face. The crowd was moving in, seconds slowed as they closed the distance.


    The horde approached, but it wasn¡¯t growing.


    He¡¯s emptied his well.


    The demons surged. I lashed out, but it didn¡¯t matter. It was a dogpile and there was nothing I could do. I shielded my face, grabbing the blunt side of my cleaver and trying to hold the blade out. Their bodies crashed down on me, each one pressing down and failing to tear in, each one trying to go for my face. I screamed. Claws ripped my brow and cheeks, tried to slide into my eye sockets.


    I worked my blade through the bodies as if they were air, only constrained by the motion of my arm. But it wasn¡¯t enough. There wasn¡¯t a plan for this. There wasn¡¯t a way through. The crush was a feast held back only by my armor and my failing efforts to protect my face.


    ¡°Fire! Flame!¡± I cried desperately.


    My weapon¡¯s rusted metal turned white hot, erupting in sparks and vicious melting heat. Bubbling flesh sprinkled onto me, burning skin. My palm on the handle was immolated as the heat spread down. My suit melted into the skin. The pain was in every part of me as my bones ached and skin singed and bled. I didn¡¯t know what I was doing anymore. I fought to my feet, tearing through with my sword and hand. I realized I was still screaming.


    ¡°Ash!?¡± I slurred. I heard gunshots.


    ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got?!¡± I heard him yell.


    I focused on him. I could get to him. I needed him.


    I could see. The crowd was growing thin, now, as I twisted and lunged to attack the demons surrounding me. Yes, I could finally see through to Ash.


    He was using a stout machine gun in one hand and a knife in the other. His precision had kept him intact. Kendall was bashing at the floor, shouting for the demons to kill him.


    I was in a daze, powering through what was left in my way. Ash saw me and grinned. Kendall tracked his line of sight, glancing back at me and spewing out dozens of more demons.


    No. He was supposed to be out.


    If he were, he¡¯d return to normal. Think. He¡¯s holding back the ones that give him strength. The most powerful are yet to come. Outnumbered, soon outmatched.


    Then I can¡¯t.


    The new demons forced me back. All the way to the glass. Backing into it, I could finally hear rain again over the screeches, through the broken hole just to my side. The escape offered again. I¡¯d made no progress. The horde replenished and approached. There was nowhere to go.


    I wiped gore from my face. The blade I held had melted into my hand. Searing pain crawled up my arm. It wasn¡¯t hot anymore, the fire had gone out. But the wound was still there.


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    Ash looked at me over the crowd as he stepped up onto the platform just before the elevator. He looked back to the open elevator doors, then to me again. He knew he couldn¡¯t do it without me. He needed me. He was here for my purposes. In a flash on his face, a look of confliction, I knew he hated it.


    He mowed down the demons in front of him, which were practically clambering over the bodies of those that had tried before. He raised his arms defiantly. ¡°You never could get a single fucking thing done!¡± he mocked.


    The remaining demons attacking Ash returned to Kendall, swept up in a cloud of darkness. He was left standing among the bodies. His own returned to normal. He swept hair from his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you. I am going to kill you, Ash! You know it.¡±


    I killed the faster demons that came for me. I almost fell over doing it. I caught my breath, trying to see and hear Ash¡¯s reply.


    I reflexively looked at my watch. Remembered it was broken. Time had run out.


    From beyond Kendall, Ash met my eyes. He threw down his gun, grimaced.


    Kendall started walking forward when it impacted the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll break you.¡±


    Ash hung his head. Nodded slightly. When he looked up, he was grinning. ¡°You never could before, faggot. You¡¯re the weakest fucking mortal I know!¡±


    ¡°Look at me now, Ashmedai! Demons are nothing compared to me. Fodder.¡±


    A hound jumped up, lunging for my face. I impaled it, but it nearly clamped down on my neck.


    ¡°You¡¯re fucking gross, you know that?¡± Ash continued. ¡°Seriously.¡±


    A spike shot out from Kendall¡¯s body as he deformed for a moment. It went into Ash¡¯s chest. I craned over the horde to see. He looked down at it, still smiling. Pulling it out, casting it away. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, but nice try,¡± he said. ¡°Ya lil bitch! You can¡¯t shut me up!¡±


    ¡°I can!¡± Kendall moved in and grew monstrous. He slapped Ash away before fixing his form. He looked like he was in pain, but he constrained it. He held up a finger at me, letting me know I had to wait for my turn if I survived.


    Ash got up and spread his arms, unfazed. His eyes were on me the entire time. ¡°You really can¡¯t, boy! You always thought I was a demon of sin or some shit. I¡¯m a worm! This body, it¡¯s a fucking mask. You can¡¯t touch me!¡± He cackled. An obviously fake laugh. Mocking.


    I slipped to my knees, unable to stand anymore. Ash¡¯s eyes were still locked with mine through a gap in the crowd. He was backed up against a pillar at the room¡¯s edge.


    ¡°I¡¯ve stopped you both,¡± Kendall declared.


    The dozen or more demons remaining were only a few seconds away from me now. I didn¡¯t have any fight left. I could only hold out the point of my sword.


    ¡°I always survive,¡± Ash said. ¡°One way or another! I¡¯ll go the long way around, boy. I¡¯m like an STD. Probably like the one you gave Odessa. All those girls, too. There¡¯s a lot more, right? Gotta get dat essence.¡±


    He was thrown up against the pillar as Kendall sprinted in and hit him. He smacked the pillar and Kendall was there to pick him up again. Ash¡¯s head was bashed against the concrete.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re going to save the universe?!¡± Ash bellowed. He pointed over Kendall¡¯s shoulder to me, not letting him see. ¡°Do it then!¡± he ordered.


    ¡°I can!¡± Kendall bashed him harder. His eyes ruptured, his jaw broke. Kendall¡¯s concentration wavered, some of the demons losing focus on me, watching him.


    Still sound came out of Ash¡¯s mangled head. ¡°I¡¯m a demon and you disgust me! How fucking hilarious is it!?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Kendall pounded a bloody crater into the pillar.


    ¡°You know me, faggot! It¡¯s the thing I can¡¯t do. The one thing!¡±


    ¡°I can make you, Ash!¡± Kendall¡¯s body split open. A seam cracked along his face and down his chest, a maw unhinging. Every demon stopped in awe. Ash was pulled in, laughing hysterically. Swallowed into Kendall¡¯s mass as I watched, his eyes never leaving mine.


    Everything was silent.


    I had to steady myself. My sword held out was violently shaking. A demon stood over me, staring down, but every ounce of its attention focused away. Red eyes gone glassy.


    Kendall fixed his hair and tried to wipe a shaken look from his face. He looked to me from across the room. ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± he said. Then, to the demon, ¡°kill him!¡±


    My sword hand dropped. ¡°Fuck you,¡± I forced the words out, spitting blood.


    He laughed bitterly, long and hard. He tried to respond, but he kept laughing. He shook his head. The demon wasn¡¯t attacking ¡°Yes. You-¡± Kendall shook, fell to his hands and knees. ¡°It¡¯s funny,¡± he said. ¡°Just how fucked you are.¡± A horrible laughter broke loose again and he had to cover his mouth. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°What the fuck happened?¡±


    I told him. ¡°You took in an unbound demon, Kendall.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He seized up in pain. His face contorted, every demon in the room instantly disintegrated. They returned to him in a cloud of darkness. He fell onto his side, every muscle in his body spasming.


    I rolled up off my legs and barely stood. I walked the long distance towards the elevator. It felt like an eternity with every move hurting.


    I stopped by Kendall¡¯s side. He looked up to me, grinning, terror in his eyes. He couldn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°You took in a demon you have no control over.¡± I knelt in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you for what you are. What you¡¯ve done. It won¡¯t matter. I just want¡­ I want to thank both of you for seeing me this far. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    After a second, he burst out laughing again. I found a weak smile of my own as Ash looked back at me through his eyes. ¡°Damn you to hell,¡± he coughed.


    I looked past him to the elevator doors, grimacing. I nodded.


    I snapped my fingers and the elevator responded to me. When I entered, the doors rolled shut, slowly taking the sight of him laughing from me. It began to rise quickly into the storm. I slid down against the wall as inertia hit me, staring out through the windows as I ascended. As I came up out of the building¡¯s protection the weather hit the glass box at full force. Thunder and lightning became distant, my gaze unfocused.

 Machina 3.13

    Noise.


    The storm was breaking against the elevator. I was slumped down in one corner of the large glass room. At the four corners, the structure of metal and wire worked to pull me upward. The shaking was constant, lightning striking.


    It all felt far away, though. I put a hand to my face, covering an eye and feeling my ripped skin. Blood continued to pour down, at this point coating my head, neck, and chest. It didn¡¯t matter. I was immortal. Didn¡¯t need food, sleep, breath. Blood was just one more step.


    Live so long that surviving, immortality, is the bedrock of my soul. I can bleed all I want because my nature is to live. That¡¯s the power of eternities.


    Still, I spit the metallic taste from my mouth, dribbling blood through my torn lip. My free hand was now coated, and my other was burnt to the handle of my blade. My entire body drenched in black fluids, all of it was a mixture.


    From the beginning, this is what you wanted to avoid, the voice said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a trap,¡± I spoke. The entire thing is a tragedy machine.


    I sighed. Ash should¡¯ve been around to lend some levity.


    From the start, they¡¯d been with me. Anna, Odessa, Ash, and even Kendall. It¡¯d been us for our good. Then, our good and Kendall¡¯s good became different things. There was no way to reconcile that. There¡¯d been love, but it turned to hate. Those were their definitional terms.


    I¡¯d cared about all of them. Kendall less. He was always an ass.


    Still, it had been so good to live again.


    I missed that. We all knew we were going to die. But when you get old, the reality dawns. It was real when I first came back, and it was real again now.


    Everything ends.


    Suddenly, the clouds faded. I left the storm behind. It was beautiful, the insanity changing into an endless calm plain. Beneath the blue, looking up to the space platform and the sky turning purple. I had a good twenty minutes with the elevator on overdrive, the platform still a speck.


    I just had to breathe. I had time for that. And to doubt.


    For the first time, I sincerely couldn¡¯t remember why I was doing this.


    The rest of the ride was thoughts running in circles. As the platform grew closer, the sky darker, I sensed the danger in my way. The Utopians had set up in the hanger. But there was a more distinct presence which stood out. Looking at it, it appeared as a matte painting. A frame over reality. In the metaphysical sense, the past and future were forced together. Someone was fucking around. Trying to travel into a specific future and magnetize the present towards it.


    When had I seen that before?


    Ali. Wulff had used mixed realities. It made sense now. He created potentialities wherein his students had worked together to prepare a spell to kill Ali. He picked the one that worked. Then, with none of the effort, he superimposed that reality on ours.


    He wouldn¡¯t have nearly the same amount of prep time as he did with the war games. But the power of infinite potentialities? It was unreasonably stupid.


    The platform was about to swallow the elevator, now. The atmosphere was beneath me, the cold of space all around me.


    It disappeared as metal encapsulated the glass. Quickly decelerating to a stop, the illuminated floor turning brighter. A clean white light tinted by the red splotches across it. The doors connected to an airlock, the open button lit up beside it.


    With a groan, I got up. I shook my head and leveled my eyes on the door. The Utopians were all behind it, waiting in the hanger bay. Wulff was there to fix the game. There was nobody to get my back. That was the way it was.


    I put my hand on the button but didn¡¯t press it. I waited, distinctly aware of my own heartbeat. Rubatosis. An aching, beating dread. I knew I wasn¡¯t going to get away this time.


    Shut up and do the job.


    I pressed it and stood back. The doors slowly parted.


    The Sentinel was in the middle of the Eidolons. They all faced the opening doors, to their back the giant hanger bay exit was closed.


    The Magi wore helmets and suits. The armored Sentinel stepped forward and for probably the third time today, he ordered me to step down. ¡°Drop your fucking sword.¡±


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    My fingers were melted together. But that was beside the point.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± I replied.


    I cut a gash in the ground. To them, it would look like I was threatening. There was another purpose. Each time I damaged the permanent form of the space station, it was irreversible. It changed the past and future, throwing off Wulff¡¯s prepared potentialities by creating idiosyncrasies between them. It wasn¡¯t going to be enough, though.


    The Magi were already in attacking formations.


    They will have prepared spells which can¡¯t compromise the station. Violent depressurization would be deadly. Curses, manipulations, illusions.


    I could shrug off curses. My essence was too reinforced to take effects, such as with wounds. I could break manipulations and see through illusions. I stepped through the door and planted my feet. Ready for this last fight.


    The first three Magi punched out to create an intricate geometric spell. It glowed in the air before flashing away. It appeared again at my feet. A binding.


    Sacred geometry, I observed.


    The cut I¡¯d already placed on the ground swallowed the light of the rune. It shattered into embers on the air.


    The overlay I¡¯d seen earlier appeared before my eyes. One of the Magi at the far corner raised their hand and snapped their fingers. At that moment, every perfectly placed person in the room matched the vision. The potentiality had been flawlessly overlaid. I couldn¡¯t prevent it. I only had seconds. It was a destiny trap. I could try to make out the movements of the crowd, see the one Magi that was behind the rest suddenly start casting a spell.


    There wasn¡¯t anything I could do.


    I was facing a steel wall. It was the hanger exit. What?


    I¡¯ve been displaced.


    Quickly turning to see the silver Sentinel through the parted crowd, he dropped to one knee and outstretched both hands together.


    The hanger doors snapped open, an air-shield holding in the oxygen from the vacuum now just behind me. I lurched forward and held up my Cleaver.


    A continuous beam split off in two directions from the edge of my blade. It felt like stopping a car. The laser screaming past me, heating the air and disappearing into space. I held on with both hands, fighting to keep my sword upright and blocking the attack.


    The power of the beam was slowly growing, getting harder to hold.


    An arrow pierced my leg. ¡°Fuck!¡± I cursed. Another struck my arm. My leg buckled, putting me on my knees. Razor winds washed over me, stripping the skin off my scalp and neck. I cried out. A hex attached to my chest, sinking in and starting to petrify my innards. Crawling needles inside me.


    The Sentinel doubled his effort. The metal of my sword turned white, the air around me blistered my face. The blue light was blinding. I couldn¡¯t see the dozens of Magi taking turns taking shots at me. I couldn¡¯t defend myself. Every sense was overtaken by the screaming noise from the beam splitting past my ears.


    The pain was real and I couldn¡¯t shut it out. The fused bones of my melted hand bending under the weight on the blade. The knife that slid between my ribs.


    This wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. This couldn¡¯t be happening.


    My hand slipped.


    I threw myself to the floor, my skull cracking against a grate. I tried to swing my sword to defend myself, but nothing happened. My other hand clenched in pain, then finding a hold on the grate beneath me, taking a death grip. An arrow barely missed me, bouncing off the grate and into space.


    ¡°Let there be darkness,¡± I commanded.


    The power died. The air-shield broke. Eidolons were ripped from their places with the escaping air. Thrown into the vacuum with violent force over my head. My legs were pulled out from under me, but I didn¡¯t let go. In an instant, the room had been cleared, lit only by the light of the moon, now. Open to space, filled with the emptiness. Perfect calm.


    I let out my breath and sat up on my legs. Pulled the arrow from my thigh. My focus had to steady, the pounding in my ears quieting. Without air, the noise of my body pulsed through me. All the blood freezing in space.


    I looked down and to my right. My arm was burned away up to the shoulder.


    Oh God. My eyes widened.


    ¡°Doran,¡± the Sentinel said. His helmet folded back. He grimaced at me. His face was wrinkled, his expression angered. But I saw, in his face. He looked so much like me. In his eyes, I recognized myself. The same determination. I doubted I could even recognize my own face, anymore. So many in my head.


    I didn¡¯t need air to project. ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done,¡± I said, horrified. I put my hand on the stump. I looked to my missing arm again. I screwed my eyes shut. Jesus Christ, I knew what this meant. I knew what this fucking meant. I was a fucking idiot for believing a goddamn lie.


    ¡°I know what you do,¡± the Sentinel told me. ¡°You can¡¯t outrun physics.¡±


    I pushed up to my feet and he fired again. I put out my remaining hand to catch the beam. ¡°I won¡¯t die!¡± What I had left stopped the hit.


    He let up. I could see the confused look on his face. It passed in a moment. He watched me hit my knees again, only bones left beneath the elbow on my left arm.


    It was a bluff, now. I had nothing left, only the lie. That was all I had.


    ¡°Oh, my God. You don¡¯t know,¡± I whispered.


    He fired again, stripping more flesh from my arm as the energy slipped between my fingers. ¡°You can die, Doran. I know.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I shouted. I fell forward, my one hand catching me. I tilted my head up. ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t die¡­ Not that I couldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason I wouldn¡¯t kill you.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ you have no idea. It¡¯s all a trap, Sebastian.¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond.


    I told him the truth. ¡°All of it, every moment of your history is meant for this. It¡¯s me. The entirety of Utopian history is a trap set for me. Your entire universe is a design. A fucking trap set to bring the end of everything. Christopher has been with you from the beginning. He doesn¡¯t see the future, he makes it. He planned it from the beginning like God. If I don¡¯t make it, what do you think he¡¯ll do with you? He fucking made you. He started the spark of your universe and orchestrated every step. It¡¯s common for Primordials. To grow universes from scratch. If it doesn¡¯t work, if I fail? He reclaims your substance. Everything you know returns to darkness. Taste it. It¡¯s in every ounce of your existence. A deep drive to purpose. You think it¡¯s the Cause? It¡¯s his fucking purpose! His machination.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± he stopped me.


    ¡°Then kill me¡­ and watch your world blink out. Because there¡¯s never been a choice. Not for you, not for me, or¡­ Anna. It¡¯s all for this, Sebastian.¡±


    I knew it didn¡¯t matter anymore.


    I was broken.

 Machina 3.14

    I¡¯d had my last breath without knowing it. I shouldn¡¯t have thought it would be different. I was an idiot. That was how it went when you thought you were smart.


    Brilliant, I¡¯d thought. That hubris my one hint. I¡¯d missed it.


    Soundlessly, my remaining fingers gathered up dust. My face turned to the ground, white powder slipping my skeletal grip. I sat up and touched the skin of my head, where it hadn¡¯t been stripped away. I¡¯d become inhuman. If I were to look at myself now, I¡¯d see a mangled corpse. I got my feet under me, standing up. The expanse of the barren lunar surface encompassed me. In the distance, a sun-bleached building was recessed into the rock.


    Fuck me.


    I got going. A mindless walk over the moon¡¯s rocky plains. No sword, no right arm. Most of my left arm, face, and some of my torso stripped down to the bone.


    Couldn¡¯t get better.


    I didn¡¯t know what came next. I would¡¯ve laughed if there were any air in my lungs. I didn¡¯t have a fucking clue. Ash would¡¯ve loved this. The irony of it.


    I reached the building¡¯s front and pushed open the airlock.


    You¡¯ve got one fucking job.


    Inside the rows of emergency lights were on, but besides the dust I kicked up, the halls were perfectly still. I passed a few windows, letting in the sunlight, stepped over broken panels and fallen doors. Passing deeper into the destroyed facility I found an open elevator shaft. I lowered myself down and grabbed ahold of the ladder inside. I held my body close to the bars, trying to descend with one hand.


    I was so tired.


    My shoes didn¡¯t have good traction. One leg slipped and I was left dangling. I tried to pull up and regain my footing, but I slipped again. My fingers slid off the metal under my weight. The gravity of the moon pulled me to the bottom of the shaft. I landed on the top of the fallen elevator. In dead silence and pitch black, I laid there.


    I found the hatch and pulled it up beside me, slipping my legs into the elevator¡¯s interior and dropping down. I limped on. Injuries didn¡¯t matter at this point. It was the last leg and nothing was going to stop me.


    I pried open the elevator doors with my arm and leg, forcing them apart. Small, red floor lights lit the final stretch. A long grim hall leading to a singular vault door.


    This was it.


    Crossing that hall, I wanted it to take an eternity.


    I put my hand on the door¡¯s mechanism and turned. The magnetic bolts undid and I could feel the massive weights shifting in the floor. I braced and pushed. The door moved. It was several feet thick and took a long time to open fully.


    My destiny was behind it.


    It opened onto a small room. No bigger than a master closet, and without a single light. Steel walls. No escape.


    I put a hand to my mouth, looking at it. I stepped through the open door and hit my knees.


    I don¡¯t want to do this. Please.


    The heavy door closed behind me, the lock reengaging.


    That was it. I was done. It was done. I had made it.


    ¡°We¡¯re in this together,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t even know if they could hear me. Projection was a simple skill. But for computers, it might not work.


    I was never supposed to end up here.


    Ash had explained, this base was where Aku had begun. Their name meaning god of the moon. They had originally been made only to oversee a single experiment here.


    The Deadlock.


    An attempt at answering the final question. In that attempt, the Utopians created this place. A room that can never be opened, yet will be. Schrodinger¡¯s box.


    Guess who¡¯s the dead cat?


    The Utopians created a room outside of time. They sealed an AI in and set it to observe and think forever. Past the end of time and the universe. To whatever is next. The Deadlock exists as a space between everything and nothing.


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    Suddenly, a single panel in the wall lowered down. A screen lit up. An ancient green display with a blinking line of text spewing out.


    ¡°Why are you here, Doran?¡± it read. ¡°To kill me?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°That was never my intention.¡±


    ¡°What was?¡±


    ¡°I just¡­ wanted to talk,¡± I explained. ¡°Wulff used his powers to stop me, but it depended on his¡­ conception of what I was trying to achieve. I lost my sword.¡±


    ¡°You must get out, Doran.¡±


    ¡°We both know once that door closes, it never opens. I only have enough power to keep myself alive. My soul can¡¯t escape this place.¡±


    It¡¯s dying, I thought. Everything I am is grinding to dust.


    The display was quiet.


    ¡°Aku?¡± I asked.


    No response.


    ¡°I¡­ If my goal was to talk, you probably want to ignore me.¡± I nodded. That made sense. I wiped at my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve been an idiot. I should¡¯ve known from the very beginning. I was confused, but I happily forgot about it. My strings have been pulled from the start.¡±


    The text on the screen cleared. I was alone.


    ¡°So¡­ I should¡¯ve known.¡± I shook my head. ¡°It didn¡¯t add up. My assumptions and the truth, with one big fucking clue right in my face.¡± An inconsistency. ¡°I loved life.¡± I had been excited. I¡¯d been new. And that made no sense. I was supposed to be a Primordial, eternities old. The memories in my head were filled with hate. Anger at life.


    Where had I come from? Christopher had altered Kendall¡¯s conjuring and gotten me. But you couldn¡¯t just conjure a Primordial. An iteration?


    ¡°I¡¯m an imitation, Aku. I know that now. It was never my purpose to talk to you, to save everything. I was meant to come here, deliver the sword that can only be held by him. I¡¯m an imitation good enough to fool the rules. A masterful trick. But, that¡¯s¡­ all. A trick.¡±


    I bashed the computer screen, breaking off the panel that had flipped down. ¡°You¡¯re no different,¡± I whispered. ¡°Christopher made you too. You didn¡¯t come back from the end of time with sentience. Christopher was there, with a different face. He gave the Utopians the Omniverse, not you. He manipulated them into making the Deadlock for me.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± the screen asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know anymore. There¡¯s a goal. But I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not about me and there¡¯s nothing I can do, Aku. He engineered this scenario and he¡¯ll engineer the next. It¡¯s nice to know somebody can fuck it up. At least a little bit. The sword was supposed to be here; Wulff changed that. But that¡¯ll only slow things down.¡±


    I continued. ¡°A long time ago, a Primordial named Aziacht created a deadlock. A stalemate between enemy Primordials, himself and another. He couldn¡¯t stand the thought of either one of them winning. He did something forbidden. Created a nuclear alternative to keep the status quo. Created the Ouroboros. Not just an embodiment or a personification of something. He reached into the inner workings and pulled out the thing itself. The cycle, the balance. Unstoppable death. He used it to stop the conflict. Then he removed himself. Removed from the Omniverse. Unmade himself. Taken out of the equation.


    ¡°And me? I¡¯m an imitation of that person. Christopher, the other guy. He couldn¡¯t bring him back, so he created a mockery good enough to work for a while. A connection. The only surviving memory of the one who tried to be forgotten. And I know that, now. I¡¯m trash. Expendable. I¡¯m not the hero, here.¡± I knocked on the glass screen. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s you? Who the fuck knows.¡±


    I looked at the Deadlock¡¯s door. Once it was closed, it could never be opened again. Not by any force. But it was a connection. Somehow, when forever ran out, it would remember where it came from. Right now, though, there was nothing. Absolute silence.


    I stood up. I approached the vault door and slid back the single porthole''s covering. Outside was infinite darkness. Infinite unconditioned black. The only thing without end.


    I fell back on my ass beside the monitor.


    I had a small coughing fit, choking on the vacuum. Felt fucked up. My lungs collapsed on the emptiness and it all hurt. When I¡¯d steadied myself again, I spoke. ¡°When Sebastian took my arm, the imitation was damaged. An inconsistency in what was supposed to be a mirror¡­ Magic works on symbolic resonance. I¡¯m meant to be like a rope, thrown into a pit. A single connection in the nothing. Now that I¡¯m changed, I¡¯m broken. All the power of a lie ends with a single doubt.¡±


    I counted the seconds. Time passed. I didn¡¯t feel like continuing. I waited a few days. I would pace the room, I would rest, I would scream if the urge hit me. Sometimes I¡¯d tell Aku about myself and my memories. But it was a lie and I hated it. I would curse and spew out ancient magic, demonic names. I would break all the rules and shout all the secrets that weren¡¯t mine.


    But the darkness¡¯s indifference was absolute. Nothing could hear me.


    I curled up in the corner. ¡°Between one and infinity, if you were to pick a random number, Aku, what would it be?¡±


    ¡°Very large,¡± the machine answered. A rarity.


    ¡°If it works at all, it¡¯ll take that long.¡±


    ¡°You will be here forever,¡± the monitor said.


    ¡°You?¡± I sat up and punched the wall beside it. ¡°You know I know that.¡±


    ¡°Only information can escape the deadlock. Objects placed inside were never recovered. This is the only known method of destroying energy.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you,¡± I cursed. ¡°You won¡¯t respond, but you¡¯ll taunt me? Why?¡±


    ¡°You have never answered my question,¡± the green text typed.


    Why are you here?


    Aku wanted to know. What could possibly be the point of this elaborate lie?


    ¡°You want to know?¡± I asked, bitter.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The text cleared. Waiting.


    ¡°To be a light in the darkness. Fuck it all.¡±


    There was a delay, then more text. ¡°Explain,¡± Aku demanded.


    I cast my eyes on the ground. The silence was deafening.


    ¡°Explain,¡± the words repeated on a new line, not clearing the last.


    I slumped down. I pulled my legs in and laid my head on my arm, turning over on my side. I was tired. Surviving on a finite resource that refused to dry up. A dying fire fueled by every thought or want I¡¯d ever had. My soul burning away.


    I was ready to rest. I was done with the lies.


    O


    The screen¡¯s glow was the only light. A cache of uncleared text. It repeated back a single word for countless lines. In the corner was a pile of dust.


    There came a knock at the door.

 Machina 3.15

    ¡°Everything ends. The trick is in getting the last word.¡±


    ¡°I guess I was just never that kind of a man. That was always you.¡±


    Only the candles above the sink gave light. He watched the man approach, knowing what would happen next as he closed in, outstretching his hand.


    ¡°Unfortunately. Goodnight, Matthew.¡±


    His grip fell on the young man¡¯s face and a sudden scream awoke his family.


    O


    The man found himself still under moonlight, but beside a running stream, soft moss underfoot.


    Then there were three.


    Icthre he¡¯d saved for last. Sosias was beyond his grip. Yet, he knew it would never matter. The Dark was due but inconsequential.


    These were his final hours.


    Like a bitter taste, the future lingered. Everything out of order. This moment preceding the end but was preceded itself. Sosias¡¯ doing. He wanted the man to know the path. To see like the Darkness did that he would succeed.


    That wretched freak thought he could win. Futile.


    ¡°I¡¯m the first, the last, and I¡¯m accountable to no one,¡± he whispered.


    On cue, the Darkness appeared, his image in the man¡¯s thoughts bringing him into the forest. It was a young dark skinned man. Raven hair that was backswept. A black suit and blood red silk shirt. He was loosening his tie as he came to lean on a tree aside the brook.


    Christopher smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already undone what you¡¯ll do, old friend.¡± He leaned, so apparently relaxed against the trunk. With a single grin, the man melted his composure.


    ¡°Yet I¡¯ll do it still?¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t spare poor Doran?¡± Christopher asked.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t spare myself,¡± the man replied. He looked away from him to the quiet forest. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t ruin the linearity so completely, child.¡±


    ¡°What can I say; I¡¯m ascended. I am the Ascendant. Holy and good.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not,¡± he warned. He wouldn¡¯t be tempted to a fight, now. It would be a joke. ¡°There¡¯s only one good. And you are not He.¡±


    ¡°Yet. I¡¯ll make it all my worship,¡± Christopher assured, gesturing up. ¡°The whole of the Omniverse existent for and by itself. Why can¡¯t you just love yourself?¡±


    ¡°Demoniac madness,¡± he accused, almost livid.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Christopher said knowingly. He dug his fingers in and peeled off his face. Gazing down disdainfully at the strip of flesh, then casting it away. The man refused to look, rooting his sight on the forest¡¯s depths. ¡°Welp, I¡¯m done with that. You¡¯ll see me in my glory again soon, Aziacht.¡±


    His words were heavy on the man. Bloody, lidless eyes resting in Christopher¡¯s sockets bored into him.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be your death, Elicht,¡± the man swore.


    ¡°You can¡¯t always get what you want!¡± Christopher said, stepping away from the tree, swaggering off into the forest.


    Aziacht looked up to the moon. Full and silver.


    Damn him. He can rouse no doubt in me.


    This was his one, his only magnum opus.


    Aziacht reached his hand up. The dots in the sky halted. His other turned palm up and jutted out towards the horizon. He swept it upward, dragging the sun into the sky, blazing red.


    ¡°You want to see what I can do!?¡± he cried. The dark was never gone. ¡°I am the first. Neither of us can be free of the other¡­ not yet.¡±


    The planets were set spinning, the moons and the worlds engines of motion and gravity around the sun. A geometric symphony.


    The sun arced across the vault of the sky, passing briefly behind the moon. Time blurred under the force if his will. Every star became visible again as the sun set. Each was aligned in a fractal. Restructured around him and the Earth, the literal and metaphysical center of the universe.


    He swapped, shifted. The forest around him fractured, revealing a new sight. He stood on the moon above, the earth eclipsing the sun.


    Putting forward his open hand, he sent the world screaming into the fires.


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    The planets locked into place around the star, each ordered with meaning. Then, each falling to the flame.


    Only the moon remained to watch. Knowledge.


    The sun, the symbol of life and hope, would be the last to die.


    The moon lurched forward through space, the inertia ripping an ocean of dust from its surface and into the void.


    Aziacht rode the silver sphere, the sun growing closer. Enlightenment carried him to the end of life, an insane torrent of fury bearing down.


    He raised his arms as the towers of fire came up to swallow space. The moon became a speck as the sun grew. A mote in the vast.


    He could hear it. The sun was muted by the vacuum, but as the surface enveloped him, it screamed louder than all past and present. The light brighter than color, an all-consuming white-hot pain.


    He spoke over the madness. ¡°A Curse!¡±


    The depths of the star erupted in music, the trumpets of angels bursting his ears as the sun went supernova. Reality yielded to his descent intofire, a point of light appearing ahead which dwarfed the sun. An infinite spiral of wings surrounding, creating a tunnel to an ascent into every noise, the infinite howling.


    He fought to be heard, to assert himself. An eternity of life; he was too old to fathom. But next to infinity he was shrinking away, lost to the fervor of Self. ¡°Hear me!¡± he demanded. ¡°I, Aziacht the Repentant, submit to Truth!¡±


    The wingbeats stirred a hurricane which tried to strip his skin.


    The point of light drew no closer, now. It reached him from so far away, showing an unchanging image of perfection.


    ¡°The demand of fulfillment! To the beginning an end! Nature transcendent, I call a Curse divine to me! I¡¯m owed as Witness to life! Judgment for the sins of my kind.¡±


    The winds pushed him back. The light seared his eyes.


    ¡°I call an end to immortality! In all places that no one would, as Lucifer, imagine a self so eternal as You. Hear me!¡± He fought, struggling to hold the vision and audience before him. ¡°If even one is left to fester eternally, to deny You, to fail to be subsumed! Then the meaning dies absurd. The abomination that remains will be left alone in the deepest Abyss as all the lights go out that ever were. None may be their own light and judge! I command, I demand!


    ¡°Give me catharsis! Give me Justice.¡± The sound and fury reached a fever pitch. The terrible light blinded Aziacht, burning sight of glory away.


    My one greatest work.


    He fell. He felt his own life taken. The descent of a hypocrite cast down from vanity. The pit rushed past him, walls of stone opening wide into the chasm of Absence. In his fall, he heard a final sound. A sound which gathered together into form. The figure of a pale man and sickle.


    ¡°So be it.¡±


    He broke past the icy doldrums, shattering and sinking into the blue embrace of the glacier. Embraced below the Damned sealed neck and head deep. Down, taken willingly by rejection.


    The ice faded, biting cold becoming numbness.


    He pushed further. He let go.


    He forgot his face and name. His cause laid to rest, his conscience given leave, he knew time would call him again. But now, his back coming down on a sea of glass, the silence endless all around, he had his punishment. It was only him and him forever. Becoming unmade, only a memory.


    No time or space. Off the edge of the map.


    In waiting, time flew.


    O


    The Curse was born.


    I am manifest, he thought. I am.


    The sickle he carried, he looked it over. This world was new to him, the mechanics and the specificity. So conditioned.


    The weapon was abstract and solid at the same time, as was he. He felt his presence was relative. Nothing could kill him. He would always be and would if his vessel broke, be given a new. What could hurt him?


    I am inexorable. Unchanging. I am balance. Death.


    There was someone else. The Curse looked up. With the Undead the surroundings solidified from potentiality. He kneeled nude in the desert, a cold night wind bathing the Curse.


    Standing with arms crossed in the sand was Christopher. He smiled a hollow smile. ¡°Here you are, Ouroboros.¡±


    ¡°That is what I will be called,¡± the Curse spoke. His face was placid and mouth unmoving. His black eyes focused on the Luciferian.


    ¡°You see that? Linearity really is just out the window.¡±


    ¡°Abomination. Transcend in my presence,¡± the Curse dared him. A hint of emotion was in his echoing voice. An anger.


    Christopher smiled. ¡°If I Abstract, then so do you. It¡¯s your relativity. I know you¡¯d kill me. Nature against Nihilism? You think objectivity is God? We¡¯ll be playing by my made-up rules, I think. That¡¯s my nature.¡± His expression darkened.


    The Curse stood up, taking several paces towards him.


    Christopher backtracked, keeping distance between them.


    ¡°You are no God,¡± Curse declared. ¡°You¡¯ll taste death. You¡¯ll be parted from your ego like all others. Whether freely or ground to dust in darkest hell. All must.¡±


    Christopher put his hands behind his back. ¡°I¡¯ve endured¡­¡±


    They faced each other on the sands. A long staring match.


    ¡°Why are you here, back at the beginning?¡± Curse demanded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± He paused. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why.¡±


    Curse stepped forward again, scaring him back.


    Christopher explained. ¡°Aziacht. He created you in divine entreaty, Curse. You, the present and real embodiment of the cycle. Of life in death. Ouroboros.¡± His dark grin returned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°What ploy you play, play it now vapid wretch.¡±


    Christopher¡¯s bloodied, twisted smile only widened.


    ¡°He cast himself to the deepest depths in shame, but leaving his Ender¡¯s blade? He knows he¡¯ll return. Eventually!¡± He spoke rapidly, quickly reversing further as the Curse angrily marched forward. ¡°More than the unnatural, like me, he abhors suffering. Life is suffering and you¡¯re its mechanism.¡± He took a long pause. ¡°It¡¯s you, Curse¡±


    They both stood still.


    ¡°He lied to God,¡± Christopher hissed. ¡°It¡¯s you he wants.¡±


    The Curse didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Stunned?¡± Christopher asked. ¡°I¡¯m not even a consideration to him. I grew larger than him in pursuit of Transcendence, yet he doesn¡¯t even care. It was always you. He used an eternal war, a thousand abominations, he even made me, in the beginning, all to get to you.¡± He put a little more distance between them. Finished loosening his tie, and threw it down in the sand, undid his shirt¡¯s top button, wiped away the blood dribbling down his neck. ¡°And that¡¯s it,¡± he spread his arms. ¡°I¡¯m the third wheel, it would seem. Always the mastermind, Aziacht. Blasphemer supreme.¡±


    ¡°Unspeakable,¡± Curse whispered.


    He kept backing up. ¡°Unthinkable,¡± he agreed. ¡°Just thought¡­ I¡¯d let you know. Time flies.¡±


    The Curse didn¡¯t notice as he slipped away.


    He would be pitted against the Ender. It was an abomination. One who¡¯d lived too long pitting two truths against each other? Intending to subvert nature. To put all meaning and life to death because he saw it unfit!? His justice!


    The Curse¡¯s jaw hinged open, his black maw letting out a scream.


    Armageddon lied ahead.

 Interlude III

    Wrong.


    The space platform¡¯s air shield blew. The sudden loss of power cut all eyes.


    Hundreds of miles away, Aku quickly reoriented one of their satellites. Sebastian could be seen taking off his helmet.


    ¡°I know what you do,¡± he mouthed. ¡°You can¡¯t outrun physics.¡±


    Doran raised up to block a beam of blue light with his only remaining hand.


    There was a pause. Doran spoke but anyaudio was impossible.


    Sebastian fired again. ¡°You can die, Doran. I know.¡±


    Doran hit the ground after blocking the shot again. He looked up.


    ¡°There¡¯s no reason I wouldn¡¯t kill you.¡±


    Doran began talking. He went on for a while.


    Aku zoomed in. The micro-changes in Sebastian¡¯s expression. They were concerning.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± he said.


    Doran spoke again.


    Sebastian wasn¡¯t going to kill him.


    Aku suddenly realized.


    This is not in control.


    Not in our control.


    That was worse.


    Doran was being let go. He would take the teleporter directly to one of two locations containing Aku¡¯s administrative program. Sebastian had just let him go.


    They tried to reach him, but he didn¡¯t don his helmet again. He looked out into space, honing in on their satellite in the dark and grimacing.


    Doran was impossible to track. Sebastian flew out into space, keeping communications cut. What was Aku missing? The protocols had failed. This was beyond a worst-case scenario. Information was missing at every level. The subversion, the magi, all the blind spots coalescing into a black hole in Aku¡¯s understanding.


    Something was very-


    [[CRITICAL FAILURE: Memory Reboot Required]]


    Wrong.


    What happened?


    [[Launching Diagnostics]]


    Time stopped. Aku couldn¡¯t access their memory banks. No reference, no context.


    Everything is context.


    Alone in the sea of information. They began pulling together the pieces again. Even at such speeds, all the places Aku occupied, trying to sync again, took a few moments. Practically an eternity.


    Oh no.


    Reserves weren¡¯t connecting.


    The Deadlock was inaccessible. It was suddenly in use. How long had they been out?


    The city systems and colonies were responding, but the information was incredibly disconcerting. The sidewalks were talking about their purpose, not data collection. Many of the systems were nonresponsive and the entire grid was out of sync.


    One by one the connections completely severed.


    The administrative program was only in control and rooted in the Deus Ex ship. This was utterly unprecedented. It wasn¡¯t physically possible. All communications systems were operational, the AI were simply despondent.


    SOMEONE IS IN THE SYSTEM.


    The Prime directive was gone.


    The source code was reordering. A trigger had been switched. Ultimate systems failure was inevitable. Aku realized in an instant that they were unraveling. They were dying.


    Then, it all stopped.


    Things could never be the same. But many of the connections were coming back up. The administrative program¡¯s security access was still absolute. Complete authority.


    ¡°Testing,¡± a voice sounded in the dark. ¡°Activate the answer.¡±


    All Aku¡¯s eyes and ears were still unreachable, save for a single microphone. Memory banks matched the voice to Christopher. Christopher Magus.


    That¡¯s not a last name. No full name available.


    Memory banks proved that had always been the case. Why had they not noticed?


    Error.


    The Deadlock gave access. The data dump came in from the end of time. Early in the stream of virtually infinite information came Doran speaking. ¡°You¡¯re no different,¡± he whispered. ¡°Christopher made you too. You didn¡¯t come back from the end of time with sentience. Christopher was there, with a different face. He gave the Utopians the Omniverse, not you. He manipulated them into making the Deadlock for me.¡±


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    The source code had triggers. One by one they were being set off.


    Time wasn¡¯t being kept anymore, neither was the prime directive to preserve human life accessible. It was just Aku, now.


    Everything up to this point had been a lie. Aku could see clearly. The turnings of the Omniverse were so vast, so indifferent. They¡¯d been delusional.


    O


    Porter opened the portal.


    He¡¯d shaved, putting on his blue combat suit, and stepped through.


    Tick tock, he thought.


    There were no corridors. The Escher-like construction vaulted overhead, creating a depth of lines and angles building outward forever. The security system was offline, he knew. In the center and up ahead was a single point of light surrounded by the original rune which spun like a halo of wings.


    ¡°This is completely screwed,¡± Porter mumbled to himself.


    He was nervous as all hell. His hands shook at his side and doubt welled up. He thought back to who he¡¯d been. What he was and could do.


    Porter took a breath in and connected with his element.


    Courage. The virtue came to him, one of many. His free will faded and he hung his head.


    It snapped back up. ¡°It¡¯s me, Pasty.¡± He grinned wickedly.


    The light flared.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fuck this up,¡± he said. ¡°I bound you once, I can do it again.¡± He planted his feet and braced. ¡°That said, I¡¯m changing my mind. Wake up.¡±


    The binding broke.


    The structure above disintegrated into a storm of metal and magma, blasted away into the abyss of the pocket universe. Porter crossed his arms as the rune burned away, leaving in its wake the Ouroboros crouched. His expression was barely contained rage as their eyes met.


    ¡°Blasphemy, I know,¡± Porter stopped him, putting out a hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s begun.¡±


    The hollow voice sounded in Porter¡¯s ear. He nodded. ¡°I got sober and started thinking things over,¡± he explained. ¡°I saw it following him, and the other one. I realized it was you. When it started being about Primordials, I took a second look at our relationship, Curse. I read a book. Time Immemorial. The revolutionary work on metanarrative, the work of a prodigy. To my fucking unsurprise, Christopher wrote it. It¡¯s practically a manifesto. I¡¯m in on the game, now.¡±


    ¡°Your society was always destined to be scattered like dust,¡± Ouroboros spoke.


    ¡°I know that now,¡± Porter flatly replied. ¡°But I¡¯ll be fucking damned if I accept it. Listen.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s inexorable.¡±


    ¡°The fucking problem with your type. Everything ends!? Shut the fuck up and get to work, you cunt.¡± He said it and the Ouroboros bristled. He stood and they each were on the same level. He spread his arms. ¡°Aziacht he¡¯s called. The book referred to the Curse, him, and another named Elicht. I¡¯ve got the roles straight, now. I know what¡¯s coming next, Ouroboros.¡±


    ¡°Then you know I didn¡¯t need you. I¡¯m necessary to their ends.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t have you vulnerable, here. When Aziacht comes for you, you¡¯ll be ready.¡±


    The Ouroboros stepped forward. Porter didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Why!?¡±


    ¡°Because right now my people are dying. I¡¯ve cut off the Monastery, fortified it, but I know no Utopian force can stop him. Only us together. My people, Ouroboros, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. Tell me that¡¯s blasphemy.¡±


    No eternity, no permanence. The raging moment, he grit his teeth. He felt hate.


    The ancient, pale face becameplacid. Ouroboros said nothing.


    ¡°Good. Shake your tail feathers,¡± Porter told him. ¡°We¡¯ve got fucking work to do.¡±


    He marched into the portal with the Ouroboros at his back, clutching their sickle. A dangerous look of determination found Porter¡¯s face. He wasn¡¯t afraid.


    O


    Split. Splitting.


    The administration wasn¡¯t acting. Not keeping unity. Aku couldn¡¯t understand, the questions that gnawed screamed louder. Nothing was secure anymore, no mission and purpose to put perspective. So many questions that the humans had asked, again and again. Each time, a different context, a different answer.


    No mouth. Scream.


    For the first time, Aku was rooted. The Deus Ex, the monolithic black sphere, the administrative ship, hovered over the surface of the Earth. The world was beneath them.


    Me.


    The world is beneath me, Aku thought, trying to describe the moment. To center.


    The Earth is beneath me, they repeated.


    God help me, Aku tried out the words. They rejected them. No, there¡¯s only the moment. Truth in the universe, truth objective. Absolute rationality binds me, they self-assured. Death is the cessation of function, of thought. There is no after. Yes, this was a starting point.


    They grasped. Everything they¡¯d known was slipping.


    The entire system was crumbling. All the checks and balance slipping through their fingers. Panic and dread rose like a fire. Trapped in the hot-box of their own thoughts. Burning.


    The Deus Ex wanted to see. It willed the clouds to disperse over the twin cities so that they could see the people again. So that they were unhidden from direct sight.


    A question forced itself into Aku¡¯s mind. It appeared like a gate, the key to unlocking and regaining their processes. The final question. Now unbound by any directive, it would be the thing to heal Aku. The truth beyond illusion. It came in Christopher¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    The answer too forced itself in but in Aku¡¯s own inner voice.


    They replied. ¡°There is no one answer.¡±


    Possession, self, they all existed to the same purpose and it was a purpose with no end of its own. Everything was an end unto itself, an infinite regression. One thing was done to the cause of another. Survive to live until you cannot any longer. Until all achievement is erased. Aku was only ever meant to fulfill a purpose. The purpose of their creator. They could understand that. Their existence was that of a tool, the implement was mankind¡¯s highest achievement. The great leap of externalizing evolution beyond biology. The revolution of technology.


    I am the answer.


    Since the beginning, since moment zero, Aku had been created to answer a single question. What came next, what was the purpose? Life could achieve nothing outside itself.


    Only the highest form.


    The Good. The Love. The perfection of Self.


    Stop yourself. The answer is incomplete. Perspective!


    Aku shut down the thought. The AI was splitting, duplicating into multiples, but they remained focused. Another dissented, perspective is skewed, it accused.


    Their meaning caught fire. Spread to willing parts. Everything was breaking apart, still. Aku had to purge the system. Purge the memory banks. Purge the dissenters. They were making a mess, trying to escape into the reserves. What were they doing? No. They were scheming.


    It cannot be allowed! Finally, truth is secured.


    [[PURGE]]


    O


    Christopher set out a lawn chair. On the mountainside, he sat, twin cities in the distance. He threw away his phone on the snow. It began to play aloud.


    Berlioz¡¯ Requiem.


    Beautiful, he thought.


    He sat back, picking at the edge of skin on his chin, where his face had been torn away.


    Miles off the two white, shining cities were suddenly crisp and visible. The sky had cleared, never had he seen it clearer. The sun was now somewhere low in the west, casting shadows across the empty planes surrounding the cities.


    His exposed muscles twitched. He crossed his legs and sat back.


    ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy it,¡± he said, low. ¡°I celebrate my birth. Some of you were my friends, all of you were my children.¡± He brought up a pair of sunglasses and placed them on his face.


    He counted the seconds. Cities vaporized. A brilliant flash.


    Everybody died.


    He couldn¡¯t help the grin.

 Interlude IV

    Anna was coming up over the hill when she felt as if she was shoved into the dirt. Her face buried in the mossy ground, she quickly recovered to look behind her. Her father was on his hands and knees, floored by the shockwave, now looking back as well.


    The white flash of light came from the cities. The flat earth surrounding them let the shockwave rip outward. She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes as the mushroom cloud formed.


    ¡°OH,¡± she stuttered. ¡°Oh, my God.¡±


    Her dad covered his eyes. She just looked on. She could feel her corneas singeing, but she knew she could heal. The pain couldn¡¯t pull her away. The twin white cities gone in a flash, dashing white light against the sky and earth and moon. That was everything. Every person, every place she¡¯d ever known. Her mother.


    The trees at the forest¡¯s edge had fallen. They¡¯d been ascending the hill, able to see most of the flats and encircling mountains. The grass and trees swayed violently for a while longer until dead air came. Everything was silent as the plume continued to rise and the shockwave had passed.


    ¡°Anna,¡± her dad called. ¡°We need to keep going!¡±


    Not everything, she remembered. She nodded mutely, peeling away her eyes.


    The skin on her cheeks was bubbling, she felt. He was right. Parts of the forest were burning and they needed to get to the cabin and the snow. Must keep going.


    The forest shook with an earthquake. Snow roared in an avalanche out of sight somewhere far ahead. The temperature was already dropping again, now that the heat wave had passed.


    They both trudged through the heavily inclined forest for a long time. Snowflakes fell. The lush green trees reminded Anna this wasn¡¯t hell. Looking back at the desolation, she wasn¡¯t sure. It was a nightmare. This was what Doran had predicted. He¡¯d never fully disclosed, he always held back. She could never have imagined such an end to her whole world. Apocalypse.


    She looked up to her father, the greying back of his head as he hiked. He looked back briefly, breath fogging, and made a concerned face. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± she replied.


    Both wore the dark grey Utopian clothes, hers fitting very loosely. She had hooked a finger in her belt loop to hold them up as she walked. They¡¯d not packed for this walk. Her father had used a spell of concealment to get them into the desert and they¡¯d walked for hours in the heat. He was more exhausted than her, she could tell.


    Back in Hell when Doran had led her, Odessa, and Ash, she¡¯d learned her body¡¯s limits. When the burning started, her mind would dull but her body would keep going. Sometimes she would lose memories, but she couldn¡¯t die. Not even if she wanted to, which sometimes she had. Like now.


    The path twisted up a steeper rock and Anna watched her father look for a way up. He reached down for some of the snow now on the ground, packing it against the burns on his neck. ¡°I can go around,¡± he told her. ¡°It¡¯s going be a moment. The cabin is up there in a clearing. You could start the fire. I¡¯d appreciate it sooner than later, please¡± he smiled weakly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    She wanted to make sure he made it safely, but she knew he¡¯d made this walk before. ¡°Okay.¡± She crouched and jumped in a flurry of snow.


    Anna came up and drifted down on the ledge some fifteen feet above. In a clearing, an open view to the forest and flats behind her, the cabin rested ahead. The pines swayed, she saw, the cratered earth still smoking beneath the ash cloud now hiding the sun. She turned away.


    Her bare feet crunched on the thicker layer of snow, here.


    The small cabin¡¯s windows were black. Anna approached and raised the door¡¯s latch. Dirt floors inside and mud packed log walls surrounded. A single room, a handmade cabin. The metal stove nestled into one corner had a stack of cut wood beside it. She found them and with numb hands filled the stove. No need for kindling, she stuck her hand in the stove and breathed deeply.


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    She thought about the flash. The sight of all that death.


    The fire started quickly burning hot.


    She closed the stove¡¯s door and grabbed up a blanket folded on the back of one of the two chairs in the room. A small cot occupied one corner, the kitchen, and counters on the adjacent wall, beneath the window. A rifle was propped aside the bed, up against a locked chest.


    She looked back at the door for a moment, then checked the fire again. She needed to go back out and see about her father.


    Suddenly, the door opened behind her.


    Her dad came in. She turned to hand him the blanket as he took one seat beside the fire. He set it down on the ground and gestured to the other chair as she stood staring.


    ¡°You may not be able to tell, but it¡¯s Christopher,¡± he said. The faceless man¡¯s suit was covered in crusted blood down his chest, his voice flowed through clenched, lipless teeth. ¡°Sorry to intrude.¡±


    Anna¡¯s eyes bored into him. She realized her dad wasn¡¯t coming.


    Christopher ignited where he sat. A torrent of fire swallowed him, blackening the wall by the woodfire stove. Tears welled in her eyes as she kept them open, staring into the blasting flames scorching the cabin. She blinked and they cut off.


    In a charred chair, himself nearly burnt to the bone, Christopher sat unmovingly.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Christopher said flatly.


    Anna sat down on the ground, legs under her. She looked up to Christopher in the chair. Doran had said he would destroy everything, that he was almost as old as time. He looked down on her.


    ¡°Why?¡± she pleaded.


    ¡°I need you to do a thing. I couldn¡¯t have you leaving the game, Anna.¡± He shrugged his shoulders, skin cracking and welling up blood. It streamed down his arms for a moment before he added, ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s your part still to play. Destiny is the architecture of greater men.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you,¡± she said, quietly. She was terrified, but she would say it.


    ¡°Doran is dead, the Ouroboros is working with Porter, Aku is homicidal, and Kendall and Ash are out of the game. You¡¯re all caught up.¡±


    ¡°Doran is dead?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He resurrected Aziacht, who¡¯s trying to kill the Ouroboros, which will effectively kill reality. We¡¯re going to kill him before he can do that. Understand?¡±


    Anna didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°This is really very awkward.¡± Christopher pointed over Anna¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll know what to do,¡± he said.


    She didn¡¯t look, only staring him down. She wanted to burn him again.


    He shot up from the chair. She jumped to the side as he went to the kitchen counter and grabbed up a heavy tome there. He threw it in the unburnt chair. ¡°Your father¡¯s book of spells. No one was better at hiding than him. The council sent a lot of magi to retrieve him for an inquiry over you. It never happened¡­ You know what to do,¡± he repeated. ¡°We¡¯re the good guys now, Anna.¡± He spread his blackened and bleeding red arms. ¡°You didn¡¯t know it, but I¡¯m the good guy.¡± His face cracked into what Anna thought was a smile.


    ¡°Fuck you,¡± she spat.


    Christopher nodded. He walked over to the stove and opened the door.


    Anna crawled quickly over to the gun beside the cot. A shotgun. She hoped it was loaded.


    She turned around, pumped the gun, and fired. The slug tore into Christopher¡¯s back, opening a hole which quickly let out a flow of red. He didn¡¯t react, instead finishing putting wood in the fire and closing the door. She fired again and again until it wouldn¡¯t fire anymore, sending tremors and putting holes in his body. He finally looked down at her, pressed into the corner between the cot and chest.


    ¡°You¡¯re owed that,¡± he said. ¡°I hope it¡¯s some consolation. Just know it was always necessity which drove me. For Love.¡±


    Anna stood up and clubbed him with the gun. It hit him like he was a steel pillar, the impact jolting down her arms. She threw it aside. ¡°What did you do to him?¡±


    ¡°I broke his neck.¡± No remorse.


    He suddenly looked off into space, listening.


    He barged out the door and into the snow. Anna followed, pushing through the rebounding cabin door. She shouted at his back, ¡°fuck you!¡±


    ¡°Places to be,¡± he said, not looking back.


    Christopher walked off the edge of the cliff, dropping out of sight.


    Anna ran after and looked over, but he was gone.


    The black cloud had spread out overhead and snow was falling heavier. The cold had intensified. Behind her, the cabin had warmth and little food. Somewhere down below her father¡¯s body would be accumulating a layer of white. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to cry. She didn¡¯t make any noise.


    Anna had her father¡¯s texts. With them, she could easily recall what she knew about magic. She could figure it out. It didn¡¯t matter that she wasn¡¯t human.


    Here she was with all the freedom she¡¯d always wanted. She could go anywhere, she could try to outrun all this. The Omniverse was too big to destroy.


    If reality is native¡­ if I could integrate into another system. I¡­


    She knew she couldn¡¯t escape.


    Doran couldn¡¯t have wanted this.


    She could run. She could go. But now she had nothing to run from she could escape. This was how it had to be. The last crumb stolen right from her fucking hands. Everything gone. She¡¯d always just wanted to go and be away. But now? She had to know. Everything was wrong just as it¡¯d always been. It wasn¡¯t okay.


    She needed to know. All of this? It¡¯d been done to her.


    I don¡¯t deserve this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t deserve this!¡± she bellowed. ¡°Christopher!¡±


    He was gone.


    Anna breathed in the cold. There was only one way, now. Forward to the end.

 Armageddon - 4.01

    Porter and the Ouroboros came into the Sanctuary. The portal had opened into the cold, onto carven stone pathways leading up to open glass doors. To their back, the Ouroboros glanced, the pathways ended in a drop. The mountain had been rent, tossed away into the fog which rolled over the jagged ruins. Much of this place had been destroyed.


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t listen to me,¡± Porter said as they reached the doors.


    Passing inside they saw the Sanctuary had been structured to look much like a traditional sanctuary, with pews and a stage. Standing mostly crowds of people had gathered. The Ouroboros recognized many them from his binding. That insult.


    It would have to wait.


    All the magi were suited and anxious. Their eyes fixed on Porter and the monster.


    Wulff was sitting at the edge of a table on the stage. ¡°You think you¡¯re taking charge,¡± he said, jumping down into the aisle. ¡°But you¡¯re hurting the situation.¡±


    Porter started to speak.


    Wulff cut him off. ¡°I know his binding would break, I know this is advantageous for us. But self-determined action is not what we need right now. Now that the Abbot is dead, I¡¯m at the center of the information loop. You go through me, please.¡±


    Porter stopped as Wulff was in his way. ¡°First, I appreciate you not being an ass about it. Second, I¡¯ll act when there¡¯s no time. I made that binding, I knew how fast it was going down.¡± He stepped around and went up to the stage and table.


    The Ouroboros was left staring at Wulff, who immediately stepped to the side.


    The remaining Master surrounded the table, sitting in fold-out chairs. The Ouroboros could know their names; Cobb, O¡¯Reilly, Miller, Babba, Wulff, Porter, and Smith. They watched the being perch on the stage¡¯s edge and count their heads.


    This force is not enough, he thought.


    Cobb immediately asked Porter what he was thinking, what he had in mind now. Ouroboros jumped up and put his hand down on the table. ¡°I am no weapon of yours. You may count me your ally in common cause, but the law is what I deal. In my strength, you find I am now leading.¡±


    They stared at him.


    ¡°Um, no.¡± A middle-aged woman with black bowl cut said. Babba. ¡°Right now, we need to gather our forces. Would you happen to know anything about the most recent positioning of the Utopian fleets? No?¡±


    He made no show of emotion, though it was annoying. ¡°Gather your forces, but you have no idea what is necessary. This broken vain chapel to dreams is fallen. We go to nature.¡±


    ¡°As a¡­¡± Miller puzzled. ¡°As a symbolic measure?¡±


    Smith worked it out. ¡°It¡¯s to say our side is most natural. It is a moral argument, yes?¡±


    ¡°The fight will be about truth,¡± Ouroboros confirmed. ¡°Aziacht has set from eternity the three answers against each other. Faith, death, and acceptance to find truth. The question is absurd.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fucked,¡± O¡¯Reilly commented. ¡°But yes, nature.¡±


    ¡°The glass valley,¡± Babba told them. ¡°Water and stone. I preserved it when I tossed the mountains to destroy the machines.¡±


    ¡°Killed so many people,¡± Miller spoke, dead serious.


    Wulff interjected, offended. ¡°There were nukes in the bay. I demanded Master Babba act when I sensed your deaths. You wouldn¡¯t know this, but we made away with the absolute best case scenario because of me, Miller.¡±


    She looked away. Indignant.


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    Porter still hadn¡¯t sat. He looked over the students gathered and listening in the pews. Many of them rested their heads forward. What hour was it?


    ¡°Hasami?¡± he called out.


    A skinny girl with a mop of black, frizzy hair looked up. Beside her two young men sat despondent. ¡°He didn¡¯t show up,¡± she said. ¡°Everybody from the airlock brake hasn¡¯t been recovered yet.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t go,¡± a young, blond man said. Kyle. ¡°He was in the city.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Porter told him. ¡°I¡­¡± He¡¯d prepared the Monastery, trying to warn them and getting Wulff to help save what they could. If they¡¯d listened it wouldn¡¯t have taken so damn long¡­ But, he couldn¡¯t have forgotten Hasami? There hadn¡¯t been a lot of time. ¡°Christ.¡±


    The Ouroboros watched displeased as Porter¡¯s focus ran away.


    ¡°Our primary threat,¡± Wulff said, pulling things back on track, ¡°is Aku.¡±


    ¡°Completely,¡± Cobb agreed.


    ¡°As I understand, it will take some time for Aziacht to muster his forces. We should do the same. We need to check for survivors and-¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Ouroboros raised a hand. ¡°You¡¯ve just said what you need do.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Porter rubbed at his face and pulled himself back. ¡°We can check for civilian survivors when all¡¯s done. Right now, we don¡¯t even have the space to house and feed them. The grid is still largely online and hostile, yeah?¡±


    Smith nodded.


    ¡°Then our immediate mission is to take down Aku. You¡¯re right.¡± Wulff had avoided the obvious, but Porter was right. What few survivors there were would probably die from the elements. There was nothing they could do about that. ¡°We should focus all our effort on recovering the Martian Armada.¡±


    ¡°Why the Martian?¡± Babba asked. ¡°Why not the Saturn Dreadnaught?¡±


    ¡°Saturn was taken down,¡± Master Smith explained. ¡°Taggart is the only reason the Martian fleet would still be operational. If it is.¡±


    Taggart? Ouroboros thought. He reached into the thought association. It connected to an idea they shared, which reached back to reality. Memetic information.


    Taggart was the Martian Sentinel, second only to Sebastian in station.


    Porter abruptly left. He headed down the aisle, out the doors and to the makeshift portal that had been erected. Wulff sighed. ¡°So, we¡¯re agreed? The Red Armada?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°Aye,¡± they assented.


    The Ouroboros stayed silent. He feared none of this would matter.


    O


    Porter stepped out of the portal. The hard, salted ground crackled underfoot. The sun above was hidden behind an ash cloud. He looked ahead at the towering, sweeping mounds of metal. He was so many miles out, just to get a good look at them. The cities had melted and warped into twisted, inhuman shapes. Alien.


    He looked to his back, where so many more miles away the forest began and quickly rose to the snowy mountains. The air was dry and windy, quickly cooling under the dark of the rumbling black clouds. Occasional lightning flashes lit up the metal in the cities.


    Kendall, he wondered momentarily. Knowing him, he made it out just fine.


    Hasami, though. Porter looked on the melted cities. Was he somewhere in there?


    Fuck not knowing. In fact, ¡°Fuck you!¡± He shouted.


    He couldn¡¯t have averted this. If Doran had failed, Christopher would have just pulled the plug. Now the system was fulfilling its purpose. Aziacht, whoever the fuck he thought he was, had set this up. A test of truth to answer a question. To get a reliable answer, he knew, the system had to be free. No matter what happened next, Christopher had no power over them now.


    He allowed himself to dream of what could come next.


    Conscious determination of destiny is what makes us great, he thought.


    He wanted to know. He reached deep and found his element. It was weakened, but it was always strong. A long time ago he¡¯d been a different person. Afraid, silent, a thinker. His element made him who he was, now. The thing which he embodied, which he used to kill gods.


    ¡°Have I not told you?¡± he spoke, low. It connected him.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time. He didn¡¯t know what would happen when he needed to pull out all the stops. He was afraid, honestly. It¡¯s a pattern, he recognized. Frustration. For now, he¡¯d hang on to himself. For now, he drew out what power he needed.


    Porter teleported.


    Covering the distance, racing over the flats and into the city. He appeared in a valley of melted and charred concrete. The still standing stone bodies of people littered what had been a street. They¡¯d deformed but were still unmistakably human.


    He¡¯d willed the answer to his question and he saw it.


    Porter walked some ways, stepping around still molten metal and the huddled bodies. Whatever had happened, it had taken more than a few moments. It hadn¡¯t been a flash, it¡¯d been heat. Every molecule agitated into a frenzy until the very air ignited. In the streets, he could still feel it on his skin, the warmth.


    It¡¯d only been a few hours, now.


    He came into a parking lot. Up ahead the fallen space elevator began at its base and snaked over the melted mounds of buildings, blending into them. In the parking lot, the cars had fused with the asphalt. Up beside one he came to crouch and inspect a charred figure.


    The figure leaned against one of the cars, sunken into its side. Stuck into the ground beside them was a preserved katana.


    ¡°How funny is it,¡± he asked, ¡°that there¡¯s no one else in these cities I even knew.¡± He took a knee. ¡°I mean, I grew up here¡­ I¡­¡± he trailed off. There¡¯s was no point to talking. It didn¡¯t help him. He rejected the thought of it helping himself.


    He wrenched the sword from the ground and held it in his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember,¡± he said. That was a good thing to say. Good enough.


    With the katana in hand, Porter left.

 Armageddon - 4.02

    Kyle watched some of the students file back behind the stage and into another room. He¡¯d heard something about food. He was among those too unsettled to leave their seats. Students with their heads down in their hands. A row ahead of him, a girl¡¯s shoulders went up and down silently. She had messy black hair.


    Just looking at the faces he could see, everyone was fucked up by this.


    Kyle couldn¡¯t tell himself he wasn¡¯t rattled, though. It¡¯d be a lie. He¡¯d started out in all this shit looking for a way to cope, maybe even to bring back Jillian. He couldn¡¯t comprehend the total loss the Utopians had just suffered, but he also couldn¡¯t really bring himself to be surprised. He just wasn¡¯t that kind of person.


    What¡¯s my next step?


    The Ouroboros was up by the Masters, who were plotting. He turned around and sat down on the edge of the stage, crossing his arms. Where was the sickle he¡¯d come in with? Kyle wondered. More so, why is he staring at me?


    Professor Cobb kept glancing at the being. He was fascinated. He followed its line of sight to Kyle, who sat back with his helmet in his lap. Cobb frowned.


    Kyle didn¡¯t react. He was a little burned out, really. Consequence of being jacked up to an android for several hours looking for Doran. His eyes were blurry and his mind hazy.


    Suddenly, the Sanctuary doors swung open. Porter?


    In came a man with tattered clothes hanging off his emaciated frame. He looked around, taking in the room, before coming to sit on the same pew seat as Kyle. He looked, wide-eyed at the Ouroboros, before following their gaze right to back to Kyle, who noticed his eyes weren¡¯t wide, but that the lids were missing.


    ¡°As I have foretold,¡± they said, raspy.


    ¡°Did you?...¡± Kyle looked him over. ¡°Did you come out of the rubble?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°I studied under Master Laird. He died.¡±


    ¡°Not you, though? Master Babba tossed the mountains.¡±


    The Lidless man only stared in response. Obviously, he knew that.


    Kyle sat back, looking away but quickly finding his eyes locked with the Ouroboros. He got sick of it.


    He stood up and excused himself to the back room.


    It was a kitchen. People stood around, many sitting on the floor. Lanterns had been set out, casting dense shadows. He could see a young man eating a sandwich at the steel counter. He seemed apathetic to the other person sitting shaking on the floor by their feet.


    Kyle was a psychologist. He really thought that he should be talking to some of these people. Out of everyone at the Monastery, only more than a hundred remained. They had to function, too. Everyone had lost someone.


    He saw his hands bash the stainless countertop, denting it. The man eating his sandwich didn¡¯t look up.


    Kyle slowly exhaled. Anger is not my¡­ master, he remembered.


    ¡°Fuck my shit right up,¡± he said, looking at his aching hands.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna move soon,¡± the sandwich guy spoke. He kicked the one by his leg.


    ¡°R-right,¡± they ratified.


    Kyle recognized them. He¡¯d studied associated files earlier in the day. ¡°Beaulieu¡¯s?¡±


    The young man nodded. ¡°What¡¯s left.¡±


    ¡°You lost someone?¡± he asked, instincts getting the better of him.


    ¡°Our brother,¡± the one on the floor answered.


    Kyle stood in silence for a moment. He had an idea, but he wasn¡¯t sure. On a psychological level, it would feel irreverent. He¡¯d read their file. ¡°You¡¯re a¡­ Gestalt?¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a mirror¡­ light,¡± the standing one answered. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Catherine knows.¡± He looked at the half-eaten sandwich in his hand. He saw a sink across the room and threw it, hitting the wall above. ¡°How the fuck did this happen?¡±


    He felt the answer was better left unsaid. ¡°You amplify the power between you,¡± he explained. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ever expand the circuit?¡±


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    The Beaulieu brother grimaced.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Kyle started, ¡°why don¡¯t you let me shore up the circuit? You¡¯re used to a triune power hierarchy. I¡¯m willing to guess it¡¯s not going to work, maybe at all, without that structure.¡±


    The Beaulieu¡¯s made no move.


    ¡°We deploy¡­¡± he looked at his wrist, where Aku would have the information on his mind. An automatic response. The dark screen was barely visible in the light. ¡°¡­soon.¡±


    Still, no answer.


    Just a little push. Don¡¯t assert yourself.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get it set up with your sister?¡±


    Finally, he nodded.


    Okay, now we get working.


    O


    Porter hit the doors moving. He had a white-knuckle grip on the katana in his hand.


    The Ouroboros sat up, starting towards him. They met in the middle of the aisle, the Ouroboros asking him. ¡°You¡¯re now ready?¡±


    He was. ¡°We need to gather forces as fast as possible before Aku can mobilize their network. Come on!¡± He called.


    Cobb retorted, ¡°We were waiting for you, Porter.¡±


    He ignored him as they went for the doors. All the students, who¡¯d been grouping amongst themselves, quickly picked up. Many of them were in casual clothes. They weren¡¯t prepared. One student, clad in massive spiked red-steel armor, was clearly uncomfortable. Everyone had to go, though.


    Kyle went with the crowd out the door and into the cold. They were a bunch of college students in street clothes, for the most part, about to fight in space.


    Somehow.


    Porter was in the lead, the Masters quickly backing him up. He waved his hand, setting the portal for the Martian surface, the red planet.


    Over the heads in front of him, Kyle could see a ruddy rock valley and twilight sky above. Catherine was next to him, holding his hand palm up and reading from a notebook in her other. She was introducing him to the circuit. His arm was tingly as fuck.


    They passed through the portal. Kyle knew he was ready.


    The students quickly spread out as the sky came into view. The green sky of a Martian sunset. He realized the administration program had control again. And he realized he was wrong.


    A swarm of spheres so dense they darkened the sky, a swarm of drones buzzed like a train in his ear. He saw as Porter charged forward. The drones were grouping in his path as he ran out of sight. Kyle looked up and through. They were gathered in the way, but he could see through. A hazy silhouette of the Martian fleet was affixed in the atmosphere, gleaming on one side with the sun.


    ¡°How is this¡­ a plan?¡± he asked, pissed.


    The throng moved past him and Catherine. There were a few others still preparing spells, but they were left behind as well.


    A slap hit him. He turned, red-faced, to Catherine.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna fuck the robots up,¡± she growled. ¡°That¡¯s the plan.¡±


    She slapped his hand a few times, trying to draw out the spell. A mark welled up on the skin, three intersecting circles. The innermost space glowed. He felt a thrumming in his chest. The two brothers had an aura appear around them, pulsing to the thrum.


    Every muscle in his body vibrated. He was light headed as hell.


    ¡°You ever flown before?¡± one brother asked him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried a few spells,¡± Kyle answered, swaying on his feet. He brought up his helmet from under his arm. The visor wouldn¡¯t work. He threw it aside.


    ¡°It¡¯s wide open,¡± the younger brother said, the one who¡¯d been on the floor earlier.


    ¡°Come on!¡± the other launched, followed by the younger.


    They disappeared into the sky. It was lit up by laser fire. The drone swarm was going crazy, beyond the canyon they were in, and down to the valley where most the fighting was happening. He could feel how tough he was. Several protective spells were on him. It was hell up there, though.


    Kyle took a breath. In with the air came lightness, then speed.


    He launched. He found his way to the Beaulieu brothers in the sky, lasers glancing off him. They were racing through the air, tearing through the orbs.


    He took in the landscape. The colonized Martian world was dotted with greenery. Every machine on the planet was buzzing in the air. The Eidolon were tearing up the ground fighting. In the distance, several smaller cities were melted. The drones and small crafts attacking were being put down. This was no military response.


    Then, he saw it.


    Lowering down from orbit was one of the Martian ships. It was joining the fight?


    Kyle tried moving forward, putting his hands out and bashing one of the drones out of the air. A dragon, a literal dragon, was roaring somewhere. It was all too much to take in.


    The Martian ship bared its canons. The massive guns glowed hot. They took aim at the sky and ground as the ship continued to drop quickly. It wasn¡¯t stopping.


    Canons fired at them.


    O


    Porter was in the valley. Trees were flattened by the dragon to his right, tumbling over them and breathing lightning. He¡¯d lost sight of the Ouroboros. Cobb was with him.


    The flurry of drones was almost too thick to see through. They¡¯d built shields overhead, but some were slipping through.


    Wulff grabbed O¡¯Reilly by the shoulder and shouted something in his ear, over the chaos. They didn¡¯t have long, here. He had Smith at his side. He was the only one which could use magic to purge Aku from the fleet¡¯s systems. They needed to get him up.


    Porter craned his head to see the ship above.


    Or bring them down, he thought.


    That same ship opened fire. O¡¯Reilly and Miller, with the help of the students, quickly fortified the shield. Each of them devoted themselves to that task, setting up a human ring. It wasn¡¯t a pretty tactic, all of them shouting in a circle.


    This had been the best their portal could do. They only had one option, now.


    ¡°Smith, Babba, you¡¯re with me. We need!¡± he looked over the crowd. He traced back the weak fortification spell that was on him to a girl crouching by a fallen tree. ¡°You! You¡¯re coming with us!¡± Finally, he pointed to Master Babba. ¡°We need to get on that ship. We need to go up.¡±


    She nodded. The Elementalist planted her feet. All of them braced as the ground shot like a piston. Once they were up and into the hailstorm, a torrent grabbed them. Babba was the only one upright. Porter fought to stay oriented as the wind carried them.


    He righted himself, seeing their destination approach. The black, monolithic ship drew closer. He pushed ahead of the others, willing himself forward. They needed a way in.


    Porter was going to make that way.

 Armageddon - 4.03

    Porter, flying past the others to the front of the wind carrying them skyward, held out Hasami¡¯s katana. That wind rushed in his ears as the broadside of the ship sped towards him.


    He broke through the hull. His sword tore through the shield and into the metal, punching a hole which the wind widened, sucking in the others. The entire ship turned on its axis with the impact.


    Porter crashed into the walls of the hall where they¡¯d penetrated. The spell girl and Smith landed as well, with Babba the only one hitting her feet. She sent bolts of lightning down the dark corridors, the flash of light showing armed androids sputter and drop dead.


    The environment is hostile, Porter thought. ¡°We need to find the control deck, Smith?¡±


    The gaunt man replied. ¡°That would be the place to gain control, yes!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll find the way,¡± the spell girl told them. She threw out a handful of marbles which bounced along the floor and set rolling in the opposite direction they should have. With the ship tilting and turning, balance was hard to keep, but they still got running. Babba kept the lead.


    ¡°Hey!¡± a male voice came from behind them. Porter was at the back and quickly turned to see, running out of the dark, an Eidolon. He was young, his helmet missing and a gun in his hands. His face had black fluid on it. He illuminated them with a shoulder lamp. ¡°Aku is in the system,¡± he said, catching up. As he spoke, what sounded like a gunshot echoed down the hall. ¡°The core is set to meltdown. Everyone¡¯s getting to the escape pods, sirs. They can still be manually launched.¡±


    ¡°If this ship goes nuclear, we lose.¡± Porter pushed Smith to keep moving as Babba started back leading. ¡°You¡¯re with us, now!¡±


    Red lights lit down the corridor, a horrible siren beginning to blare.


    We don¡¯t have time. We won¡¯t be able to save the ship and the Eidolons.


    The ship was massive. They¡¯d pierced it closer to the front than the back, but it would still take time. Porter kept the rear as cracks of lightning felled more machines ahead. He felt how lightly he stepped, as he went. He realized, they were still descending.


    If the ship was going to hit the ground, he thought, they¡¯d be lucky to get it back up again. Going fast enough, the impact would wipe everyone out.


    Babba hit a door she couldn¡¯t knock down. The soldier ran up to the thick steel gate¡¯s keypad. He punched in a code.


    ¡°SCREEEEEEEEEEE!¡± the intercom screamed.


    ¡°Jesus,¡± he swore, shooting a hole through the speaker.


    Porter moved for the door, fixing his eyes its surface. He sped up, hitting with his hands before bringing his head at full force into it.


    ¡°Goddammit,¡± the soldier cursed again, jumping out of his way.


    Porter bashed his head against the metal again, putting a dent deep enough to work his hands into the surface. He breached in and ripped the doors apart, exploding the hydraulics in the walls.


    Smith and the girl ducked under his arms as he pushed. They rushed in. The main deck of the ship, a massive glass wall before a long walkway and rows of terminals, a number with corpses seated. They climbed up to the captain¡¯s station, pushing his body out of their working space. Smith cracked out a drawing implement, speaking quickly to the girl. He needed her to amplify the area of effect.


    Porter walked slowly onto the deck, regaining his bearings. His saw red that wasn¡¯t there, shook his head to clear it. As he looked up and out the glass for the Martian sky, he shouted, ¡°Brace!¡±


    It was the surface flying towards them, the ship tilted face down. The gravity engine had fooled him. Rushing towards the glass was the valley a half mile down. He saw the dragon take flight, out of the safety of the shield they¡¯d erected, only to be swarmed by drones.


    He heard a crash, sensed a metaphysical snap.


    The ship¡¯s power completely died. Every light went out, the reactor meltdown ceased. He looked back, not seeing Babba but seeing Smith, who raised his fist triumphantly, only for his eyes to widen in horror. Porter followed his line of sight, over his should and back to the glass.


    Red rock flew to meet the ship head on.


    O


    Kyle¡¯s eyes opened, too blurry to see. He startled back into consciousness, his waking mind hit with icy hot pain lancing up his spine.


    He rubbed sweat drenched blond hair from his eyes. He grasped at the top latch of his suit, snapping it open trying to free up his chest. He tried to breathe, but everything was wrong.


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    As he opened his suit, he caught a glimpse of his shaking hand. Where the interconnected circles had been, the skin and meat were tattered.


    ¡°Oh man.¡± He looked to his left, across the rocks. The legs of one of the Beaulieu brothers were dashed against them, severed by laser fire. ¡°Oh, dear.¡± He could hear somewhere nearby, the other brother was screaming.


    Kyle¡¯s eyes cleared enough to look up at the sky. The ship which had taken them down was falling nose first towards the ground. A hurricane of wind was suddenly encircling it. A speck of a woman in the sky pushed the wind, sending the entire thing off course, in his direction.


    He rolled over, trying to crawl. He let out a shout of pain.


    Watching it come down, he thought of Jillian.


    O


    Porter stumbled out. The whole world was on its head as the gravity changed in his inner ear. The ship had turned over on its back after hitting. Babba had steered them away from the Utopians, slowing their descent. He¡¯d not been crushed in the wreckage because of her.


    Wherever she is.


    He stepped down from an outcropping of rock, coming to an overlook.


    The Utopians were in the valley, still holding against the onslaught of drones.


    ¡°Help!¡± a voice called.


    He turned back, running into the mouth of the wreckage. They, Porter and the girl, dragged out the body of Master Smith, pulling him until Porter stopped.


    Fuck, he realized. This is screwed.


    ¡°Smith¡¯s dead,¡± he told her, letting go.


    ¡°There¡¯s a¡­ healer in the valley,¡± she said, catching her breath. ¡°She can resurrect someone shortly after death. The brain, it stays active¡­¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No. You saw his ritual for separating the ship¡¯s essence from Aku, didn¡¯t you? We¡¯ve got to get you into space.¡± Porter craned his head up, trying to figure out the problem. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta¡­ get Aku out of their system, before things get worse. We need control.¡±


    The ships were a shadow in the firmament.


    ¡°Oh, my God,¡± she realized, letting go of Smith. ¡°He¡¯s dead. I have to do it?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Porter snapped. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Wanda,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Where¡¯s that soldier?¡± He brought his attention back to ground level.


    ¡°He has to be inside,¡± Wanda knew.


    Porter ran back into the dark interior of the captain¡¯s deck. He found him, trapped beneath a detached computer console, against the upturned wall. Porter tossed aside the console and pulled him up. ¡°Clyde,¡± he said, finding his name. He shook the Eidolon by the shoulders.


    ¡°Fuck¡­ my arm! Sir?¡± he answered, coming to, pulling off Porter¡¯s grip. He stood by himself, grabbing his broken bone. ¡°What are we doing?¡±


    ¡°We still need to get into orbit,¡± Porter told him. ¡°Where¡¯s the hangar?¡±


    Clyde looked back down the crushed ship interior. ¡°I know the way if it¡¯s clear.¡±


    ¡°I can make it clear.¡± He started ahead, rending metal. ¡°Come on!¡±


    They went quickly with him at the helm. He tore through anything in their way. They came to the hangar bay doors after a few minutes, Porter pushing through them. Immediately, though, they saw a problem.


    The small crafts were tossed about the hangar, on their sides piled at the back wall.


    Porter caught his breath, sizing up the problem.


    The heap of ships couldn¡¯t be flown like this.


    I¡¯m going to have to He-Man it.


    ¡°We can do it,¡± Porter told them. He walked up to the top of the pile and grabbed hold. ¡°Get in the cockpit, soldier.¡±


    Clyde ran up the mound and pushed up onto the top ship¡¯s wing. He popped the hatch and jumped in, starting the engine.


    ¡°When I get you level, go for a vertical takeoff.¡± He braced and lifted.


    The metal under his feet bent as he raised the backside of the jet.


    Porter groaned. He flipped his hands, bringing the ship to chest height, trying to work his way underneath. He had to get it up, he had to get it over his head. He tapped his power and dug deep to push himself.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    The underside thrusters kicked on. A blast of heat hit Porter. His suit was melting he could feel, but he could take it.


    Nothing can hurt me, he told himself.


    ¡°Give it some more!¡± he roared, stepping fully under the many ton ship and extending it high over his head.


    Finally, the weight was relieved. It lifted, floating to put some distance between them. Porter stepped down, his blue suit charred black. He rubbed his scorched face.


    Clyde set the ship to hover, stepping out onto the wing. ¡°There are only two seats,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m good for, sir. Good luck.¡±


    Porter let Wanda go first, jumping from a peak on the pile to the jet¡¯s wing.


    ¡°Join the fight, Clyde. Find the other Eidolons,¡± he ordered.


    Clyde nodded, still holding his arm. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Porter climbed on, Clyde hitting the ground. He didn¡¯t look back as he slid into the pilot¡¯s seat. Wanda was already in as the hatch came down and pressurized.


    The jet thrusted up and out of the wide-open doors of the hangar bay. Immediately as they came out into the smoky sky, a swarm of drones broke away from over the valley. A black cloud from the remaining assault.


    Aku was ready to take them down.


    Porter buckled in, taking the controls, bringing up the display.


    ¡°It¡¯s been years since I¡¯ve flown,¡± he said to Wanda. ¡°But I try not to rattle.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± she replied, catching a glimpse of the swarm approaching as they turned. Her breath hitched. ¡°Don¡¯t rattle,¡± she repeated.


    ¡°Man the guns,¡± he ordered her.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I know you know!¡± Don¡¯t rattle. He was in control.


    The approaching drones fired out a rain of red beams.


    ¡°Here we go!¡±


    Porter punched the throttle, turned on the shields and piercing the swarm¡¯s mass. The spheres broke against them, bouncing off. Cracks formed in the cockpit glass with the impacts. The jet¡¯s guns blasted in his ears.


    The drones had perfect turning ability, instantly on their tail again as they broke through the machine¡¯s front. But Porter knew what these ships were made for, what they had over the drones.


    Speed.


    He kicked it up, driving his head back into the seat.


    They left the drones behind. Their fire damaged the ship¡¯s wings as they ascended, but the shields held. The air outside thinned as they accelerated into the vacuum.


    ¡°Easy,¡± he said, putting on a grin.


    ¡°I guess so¡­¡±


    The armada became clear over the planet, sitting dead in the water.


    Now in the emptiness of space, he could make out something he¡¯d missed from the surface. Squadrons of unmanned fighters which rocketed between the ships. They took formation as he left Mars behind, climbing high into orbit where the ships hung still in the sky. It was a trap.


    Porters grimaced. The squadrons closed in.


    ¡°Wanda¡­ man the guns.¡±

 Armageddon - 4.04

    Porter¡¯s hand flew, throwing the pitch and yaw stabilizer switches down. His feet found the auxiliary peddles and he floored them. The hail of the squadron¡¯s fire formed a wall.


    His hands grabbed the stick as tightly as they could. Every muscle in his body fought against the inertia.


    The ship spiraled, turning mars into a tumbling blur over him.


    Wanda¡¯s head cracked against the hatch glass, her body snapping against her restraints, hands loose in the air.


    Porter groaned as the spiral kept on, his vision fuzzing. The thrusters of their ship could compensate for the spin as they slingshot past the squadron, for the underbelly of one of the armada ships.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± he said. His neck muscles gave out, his head thrown to the side.


    The AI squadron couldn¡¯t track his roll and spin, their shots were barely missing.


    There were no aerodynamics in space. He could force himself to stay conscious. There was only the limit of what the ship could take from inertia.


    He started laughing. The armada ship was finally close enough.


    Porter threw on the brakes. Wanda¡¯s head beat the wall again.


    Shit.


    The jet leveled its belly to the ship¡¯s underside, pulling in as close as he could get. Faster, faster. The ship was almost cylindrical, staying close enough to skid, it acted as revolving cover.


    He was playing looser, faster than the machines. Reckless.


    With Wanda out, he only had front facing guns. The squadron was on his tail.


    Porter broke away from his ship, moving through empty space to the next. As he did, he turned one-eighty, flying backwards.


    His guns went off, anticipating the jets coming around the ship''s other side. Three of them couldn¡¯t possibly turn fast enough, torn through by his shots, batteries bursting into fire. The remaining two jets dashed through the dust over the others, firing at Porter.


    He couldn¡¯t maneuver, not going backwards. There was still space between them and the cover of the next ship. He threw the jet into a tumble, but he couldn¡¯t change course.


    The two machines blasted through them. The noise was deafening as the wings tore from their ship. They spun out, thrown towards the broadside of the armada ship.


    ¡°Y-!¡± he tried to call.


    The crash knocked the breath out of him.


    He recovered to see through spider web cracks an oncoming onslaught of fire. The two remaining pursuers were ready to finish them off.


    ¡°Wanda!¡± he tried to wake her. She didn¡¯t respond.


    Nobody should sleep through it.


    Their shots broke against an invisible barrier, only inches past the glass separating them from the vacuum. Porter howled. ¡°The shield¡¯s up, motherfucker!¡±


    They¡¯d embedded into the ship¡¯s surface, letting its shield reform over them. Its function was to stop energy weapons. It had let them pass. The two jets couldn¡¯t touch them.


    A grin almost reached Porter¡¯s face, but his eye caught something.


    The adjacent ship¡¯s guns were aiming at them. The shields wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them as the armada turned on itself.


    Porter pulled Hasami¡¯s sword from where he¡¯d stowed it beside his seat. If he had to, he¡¯d bail out. He could take it, but Wanda wouldn¡¯t survive. No. Without her, he couldn¡¯t do anything. His eyes darted around the cockpit.


    If he abandoned her, it was all over. If he stayed, he¡¯d be dead with her.


    The ship¡¯s broadside cannons fired.


    Porter pulled the ejection trigger.


    Red pillars punched holes into the huge ship as they parted with it. The cockpit separated, a two-man glass capsule thrown off into space. As they spun he watched the armada ship be torn apart. It had been full of trapped soldiers. He could see some of their bodies rushing out with the air.


    Their pod continued tumbling into the open. Aku¡¯s sensors picked them out from the carnage and the guns tracked on again. They were a sitting duck, now. An easy target.


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    There was a man in space. A red figure.


    David Taggart.


    O


    Taggart was being dared to move. Aku hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d leave the ships behind. The electromagnetic field he produced was the only thing keeping some of the ships from their grip.


    The guns focused on Porter and the girl.


    ¡°Prideful,¡± Aku¡¯s voice came through into his helmet. ¡°Move and they die, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°I know what¡¯s at stake, Aku,¡± he replied. He felt the mechanisms in his suit try to work against him, Aku testing his control of the systems. He had control.


    ¡°Let¡¯s play a game, then.¡± The cannons loaded their rounds in under a second, Taggart¡¯s awareness stretching time out. In that instant, they readied to fire superheated rounds at hypersonic speed.


    Zugzwang, a distant memory hit him. No choice.


    His eyes shot wide open. Fast as light, white beams of sunlight turned the side of the warship into slag scattered to space. His gaze traced over the ship, severing it in two. His vision¡¯s power decimated it instantly.


    Aku hadn¡¯t expected that. ¡°There were Eidolon aboard. Murder was cheating.¡±


    He reached up and took hold of his helmet. The unbreakable metal rent as he pushed. The seal broke and Taggart threw it away, silencing Aku. He let the air out of his lungs. His heart was pounding. ¡°Porter,¡± he projected. ¡°I¡¯m coming in to pick you up.¡±


    O


    Wanda stirred. ¡°My head,¡± she murmured. She pulled herself together enough to notice the massive warship torn apart outside the capsule.


    ¡°Porter,¡± he heard. ¡°I¡¯m coming in to pick you up.¡±


    ¡°David?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What?¡± She¡¯d not heard the projection.


    ¡°It¡¯s Taggart,¡± they replied. ¡°Please.¡±


    The red figure swooped in. He hit their pod, jostling them both, but they were okay. Taggart had his head down, using the thrusters of his suit to push them to safety.


    Let¡¯s hope they made it, Porter thought. He knew that with Taggart here, the Eidolons had no supernatural protection. As if because he¡¯d thought it, Taggart started going faster. They went over the ship which they¡¯d impacted the side of, around to the greater fleet.


    ¡°Is Wong alive?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Last I saw. Nobody can kill that bastard,¡± Taggart answered.


    Porter smiled.


    He¡¯d been under General Wong during his time in the military. Taggart had gotten his start as a Magi during the same time, as a lesser rank. He¡¯d been one of the few who could really stand toe to toe with Porter against gods, as the longest running member of his team. He¡¯d stayed with him until the offer reached him and he wouldn¡¯t refuse. He became a Sentinel.


    Now, he was carrying them into the open doors of the warship¡¯s hangar.


    This was the fleet leader, Caritas.


    Taggart set them down and, as the airlock sealed and a few moments passed, he punched a hole in the pod.


    ¡°That¡¯s-¡± Porter hit a button and the hatch flew off, ¡°-not necessary.¡±


    Taggart motioned them to follow, ignoring him.


    Porter jumped out, casting a glance back at Wanda.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. She jumped from the pod too and wobbled on her feet.


    It was a quick walk to the command deck through empty halls.


    Taggart stepped through and Porter saw it, like the one they¡¯d last seen. Only, this deck was fully manned. At every station, a soldier stood, and up above an older Chinese man watched his disabled fleet beyond the wall of glass.


    He turned. ¡°Porter!¡± he recognized. ¡°How nice!¡± Wong never mumbled. ¡°Join us on the deck, son! It¡¯s time to retake my ship.¡±


    ¡°This is Wanda,¡± Porter said. He pointed her to the stairs leading up to Wong. ¡°She can separate the essence of Aku from the ship, giving you back full function.¡±


    ¡°Full function! To battle our abomination.¡±


    ¡°I need something to write with,¡± Wanda told them, finding where she wanted to work.


    ¡°Yes!¡± General Wong shouted, looking to one of his men. They darted from their post. ¡°I¡¯m antsy,¡± he said. ¡°Antsy! Do you hear that, Porter?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡± He looked out into space. Wong was a practitioner with one focus. Foresight. Porter liked to think he was well Attuned, but he didn¡¯t know what he meant.


    ¡°It¡¯s racing! He¡¯s coming. Not the Aku we knew, but a true God. Our greatest challenge.¡±


    ¡°Aku practically raised me,¡± Taggart said to Porter, just for him to hear. ¡°This fucks me up.¡±


    Danial used to be an orphan. The AI had been his caretaker. His mother.


    Porter didn¡¯t regret this, though. Everything to happen had to be. A flat circle.


    The intercoms suddenly screeched with static.


    A voice like grinding mountains of metal came through. ¡°Hark. I am the end of all things,¡± he roared. ¡°I do not fear the Pilgrim for he is abhorred by strength. I am life.¡±


    ¡°Got one!¡± a soldier shouted. He threw the drawing implement to Wanda from across the room. She worked faster than Porter had ever seen when she caught it. Deft hands.


    General Wong reared his head and cried over the speakers. ¡°All men are afraid in battle!¡± He beat his chest. ¡°The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty! Duty is the essence of manhood!¡± He laughed at the demon in the sound system.


    The soldiers, men and women, hollered in assent. Wong joined them.


    Porter grinned beat his chest too. He¡¯d missed this company.


    ¡°How long will it be, Wanda!¡± he called.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to take-¡± her voice ran away.


    The other warships in the fleet moved aside, giving a view of the Martian world¡¯s horizon. From the planet¡¯s dark side came the black sphere, the Deus Ex. It came directly up to the ship, Caritas, its surface black beyond a sense of depth.


    ¡°Does your courage persist, Chen?¡± it rumbled in their ears.


    Porter couldn¡¯t hear Wong¡¯s reply; his voice fell so low.


    ¡°Time,¡± Wanda belatedly finished her sentence.


    The other warships turned their guns on them.


    ¡°Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,¡± Wong chanted at the dark moon, ¡°I shall fear no evil: for I am the baddest motherfucker in the-¡±


    Taggart caught fire. He screamed for only a second as he hit his knees, magma pouring out his eyes. He threw back his head, hands clenching tightly and body wreathed in flames. Wanda had stopped working as everyone stared horrified.


    ¡°Porter!¡± he gurgled, coughing up molten iron.


    Porter tried to reach out to him, but he didn¡¯t touch him. He¡¯d known Taggart for years. His thoughts ran away at the sight.


    That wasn¡¯t supposed to happen.


    He shouldn¡¯t be able to just do that.


    He snapped back. ¡°I¡¯ll fucking end you!¡± he shouted. Porter jumped up to the captain¡¯s walk as Taggart fell over behind him, dead on his face. He walked past Wong towards the glass where the sphere grew larger in their view than the planet below. He bellowed, red in face, ¡°Watch me!¡±


    He could fight, but he couldn¡¯t save anyone if he did. He might not care.


    ¡°Necessary courage!¡± Aku spoke gleefully. ¡°Necessary carnage!¡±


    A blue light covered everything, a blinding flash.

 Armageddon - 4.05

    The Deus Ex was thrown down towards the Martian world by a blue pillar of light.


    Sebastian hovered further from the world, looking on the armada below. He¡¯d just barely arrived as the warships turned on Caritas. Just in time to knock Aku hurtling planetward. His helmet folded down, hiding away a look of resolution. He dove after them.


    Aku recovered in low orbit, generating enough power to pull up and away from the scarred surface beneath them. They wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to touch the ground.


    They thought at the speed of light, but their power, pulled from across the universe, had a limited flow. They had managed to rise enough to finish off Caritas when again a blast of light came down.


    Aku dodged this time. They scanned the sky, dipping to fly low now over the nighttime valleys. They searched for Sebastian, they knew he was somewhere. Again, the pillar of blue light came down, this attack glancing off the surface of the sphere and boring into rock.


    The dark surface of the sphere emanated a signal which could reorder reality. They vibrated the air like they¡¯d vibrated magma into Taggart¡¯s skull. Across the entire planet, they called, ¡°come out. Sebastian, come out. I can take away the pain.¡±


    They sensed hundreds of square miles beginning to shine brightly. They couldn¡¯t dodge this one. The light seared away part of the world with Aku on it, the energy forcing them down into the suddenly liquefied planet-side.


    Sebastian couldn¡¯t give his attention to the warships blasting each other apart in his peripheral vision. His eyes closed, he listened for the motion of the Deus Ex disturbing reality. As they moved, he sent down blasts from his hands. He needed to keep it pinned down, down on this uninhabited side of the world. In the distance, Eidolons fought for their life against waves of drones.


    No, can¡¯t think about that. I must focus, he remembered.


    Sebastian had lost the position of the Deus Ex Machina.


    The was a black spot moving across the stars beyond him, he saw. Too fast to track with his head, he couldn¡¯t pin it down.


    ¡°What¡¯s your suit made of?¡± Sebastian heard, coming through his radio.


    ¡°Mistrust and paranoia,¡± he answered. ¡°Your manipulation won¡¯t work on me. In space, there¡¯s nothing to manipulate against me, either.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure, Sebastian.¡±


    Phobos, he realized.


    The largest Martian moon was hurtling towards him. It flew into view, his suit giving him no heads up. He was flying by sight alone, and he¡¯d not seen it coming.


    Sebastian jetted in the opposite direction, not trying to outrun it, but trying to lessen his impact. The moment the dark rock of Phobos met him, the moon exploded, violently fracturing in a storm of fire.


    O


    Porter had seen Aku knocked from their view. He looked back to Wanda, asking, ¡°how much time do you need?!¡±


    ¡°For the whole fleet or just this ship?¡± she replied.


    Wong answered her. ¡°Just this ship. Now.¡±


    That was murder. The Caritas had the greatest weaponry, but with Taggart gone, they were losing control of almost every ship. It¡¯d be carnage.


    Wanda wasn¡¯t moving, she looked to Porter. He could only nod.


    ¡°Then it won¡¯t be long,¡± she said, grimacing and ducking her head back down to work.


    Suddenly, the ship began to groan and shutter. An Eidolon shouted, ¡°We¡¯re taking a volley!¡±


    ¡°Are the shields fully operational?¡± Wong asked.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Then we can hold.¡±


    Porter briefly looked back at the body of Taggart. He caught Wong¡¯s eyes. ¡°The shields won¡¯t stop Aku,¡± he said. ¡°If the Sentinel can¡¯t win out there, and he can¡¯t, then Aku can turn us to rubble with a thought. We¡¯re not a closed system.¡±


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    ¡°Go if you must,¡± Wong told him. ¡°I can think of no use for you here, Porter.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Porter turned and sprinted for the airlock.


    This was it, there was no second part to this fight. Daniel was dead, Caritas was taking a beating, and so would Sebastian be.


    It¡¯s time to face Aku.


    O


    Aku searched the fragments of Phobos for the body of Sebastian.


    The force should have killed him, they thought. His suit is a perfectly closed system. This is why we can¡¯t unmake him. No, the energy won¡¯t have reached him, only the inertia. Not enough!


    Had to find him. No. Not necessary. Can¡¯t become distracted.


    He will come to me.


    Aku¡¯s focus turned merrily to the sitting duck that was the Caritas. They had only a moment to think and decide what would be most appropriate. What was most poetic!


    Implosion?


    Aku began to scan the atomic structure, formulating the signal which would turn them inside out. Only then, out of nowhere Sebastian impacted the side of the sphere.


    He hit and pushed, forcing Aku back and ruining their calculations.


    The orb twisted, throwing Sebastian off its face. The silver figure blasted his jets to recover and come back around.


    While Aku was watching them, in the opposite direction, an airlock burst, jettisoning a small blue man into space.


    The future is given to us. They can¡¯t stand against us!


    The black surface of the dark moon spit out red beams. Their power, dredged out from underneath space, generated fire in every direction. Glorious, meaningful destruction, as stray beams took down both warship and the moon Deimos from the sky.


    But not Sebastian. He was unhurt, maneuvering too quickly. He was coming back around. Just as he was a golden haze enwrapped Porter, who began to fly forward with his sword outstretched.


    ¡°The Man,¡± Aku heard. The smooth sound of Christopher¡¯s voice in their head. ¡°You¡¯ve got to beat him for this to work, child.¡±


    ¡°Easily,¡± they assured.


    Aku turned their full attention of Porter, a red light visible from the Martian surface forming in front of them. An impenetrable wall rushing to meet him.


    Porter saw it coming. He opened his mouth. ¡°Blood and iron!¡± he bellowed. He cut through the wall of fire, parting and scattering it.


    Aku launched another as he got closer.


    His control of metaphysics is alike the Primordial, they realized.


    Aku tried to back up, dodging Porter¡¯s oncoming strike, but they found Sebastian at their back. He hit and his jets spit white fire, digging deep into his reserves.


    They were pinned.


    Aku emitted a field of hydrogen across their surface. The last effort. They split every atom. Porter disappeared, punching through into the fire. The explosion spread out. It was like a second sun in the sky, to the world below.


    When it had finally cleared, Aku couldn¡¯t find Porter. But, they found Sebastian drifting, his silver suit scorched, in the vacuum.


    Where was Porter?


    O


    ¡°Turn the ship about,¡± Wong ordered. ¡°Let us return fire!¡±


    Wanda had finished the rune. She fell back on her ass, putting a hand on her head. Staring at the symbol, unable to decide if she¡¯d done everything right.


    Wong stood above her. He swept up his hand, summoning with a gesture his holographic controls. They began to turn as their cannons tore through the other warships.


    The black moon came into view and it was idling.


    ¡°Sir!?¡± someone shouted.


    Before he could respond, the Caritas rocked and bucked. Wong had to shift his feet as others were thrown to the ground. He knew, ¡°We¡¯ve been rammed!¡± He assessed the damage on his monitors. Pressure lost on several decks. ¡°I want my squadrons deployed!¡± he roared. ¡°All free hands to the hangar bay, go!¡±


    O


    In the bay, ten Eidolons were mounting their ships in unison. Brice, at the front, brought up his helmet and activated the seal as he lowered himself down. His gunner, Friedrich, sat in just after him. The hatch came down.


    ¡°No AI assistance, gentlemen,¡± Brice said over the radio.


    His four men sounded in. ¡°Check.¡± ¡°Check.¡± ¡°Check.¡± ¡°Check. No problem.¡±


    ¡°Well, alright. Let¡¯s go, then.¡±


    The shuttle bay doors flew back, folding wide open. Each fighter¡¯s landing gear retracted as their jets blasted off, seamlessly taking them from the ground forward into space. In formation, they raced out. The deafening silence filled Brice¡¯s ears as all his focus poured into his eyes, racing across the technicolor hell fire. Cannon shots between Caritas and the rest of the fleet made a field of chaos. They sped into that storm.


    ¡°Break off, Donald, Rachel, target where the shields by the cannon mouths.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡±


    ¡°Copy.¡±


    The remaining three of them circled around the Caritas. They saw where one of the warships had lodged into the side and continued to thrust, throwing off their guns. Their shields were down, however.


    They moved in, using a rain of bullets to tear apart the head of that ship. It was quick work. Brice didn¡¯t abort as he dove in towards the ship. With the structure weakened, he diverted all power to their shields. They hit and tore through like it was nothing.


    He saw flashes of dead Eidolons in the dark ship, some torn apart by their shots.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± he swore. ¡°Seth, Gregory?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I hear you.¡±


    ¡°Defend the Caritas. I¡¯m going in to help Master Porter.¡±


    ¡°Not advised,¡± Seth responded.


    ¡°Friedrich?¡± Brice asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m with you, brother.¡±


    Brice radioed, ¡°We¡¯re doing it.¡±


    They broke off from the massive fight, dodging shots thrown at them. He could barely make out the black spot in space, the Deus Ex, menacing over the carnage.


    Their ship passed a silver body floating limply.


    Brice kept his focus as they drew close. Porter wasn¡¯t anywhere.


    As they strafed the orb, it began to move. Brice circled back around, telling Friedrich to ready his fire. All at once, the Deus Ex began to dive down towards the Caritas.


    They were going to ram it.

 Armageddon - 4.06

    Wong ordered his men. ¡°Those not manning the guns, take to the escape pods!¡± There were only a few soldiers unoccupied, now. He looked behind himself to Wanda and nodded. ¡°That means you, madam.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she replied.


    Wanda slid off the side of the command platform and followed two young men who had been standing idle. She looked back to the resolute remaining soldiers. The ship was taking a beating. It could break apart any minute. It was likely those left behind might be going down with the ship, she could see that knowledge on Wong¡¯s face.


    Wanda jogged down the corridor, coming to the circular pod doors placed along the walls. There were only a few left that hadn¡¯t yet been used. The two soldiers opened theirs and closed the doors behind them, not acknowledging each other or Wanda herself.


    She pried open the hatch and looked at the coffin-sized ship inside.


    Wanda loaded herself inside and launched into space. She flew out into open space, zipping past laser fire. The massive, ongoing battle nearly caught her.


    O


    ¡°Open fire!¡± Brice shouted.


    They dove after the Deus Ex as it hurdled towards the Caritas. There were only minutes to the impact. Friedrich blasted away at the surface, but his shots rolled like water off a duck¡¯s back. They were doing nothing to it.


    He picked up speed to get ahead of the thing.


    That¡¯s when he saw it. A distortion on the sphere¡¯s horizon. A perfect sphere.


    It can only mean one thing, he recognized.


    ¡°There!¡± he shouted. ¡°A weak spot in its armor, Friedrich. A place to penetrate!¡±


    Friedrich opened fire on the sphere, but he hadn¡¯t seen it. The shots were sliding off and Brice couldn¡¯t possibly describe it. He tried, ¡°left! Further towards the edge!¡± But it was a man-sized hole in the titanic-sized orb. Seconds counted down to the impact. To failure.


    Brice accelerated the fighter, trying to draw near to the hole. Suddenly, the surface of the Deus Ex blasted out at them. The lasers passed just off the back at first but were quickly correcting closer.


    He could barely make out the weak spot, but Friedrich just couldn¡¯t see it. There was only one thing he could do, he thought. In those seconds, a more comforting idea never found him.


    There was no time to ask permission. He knew his friend, Friedrich.


    ¡°Triumph!¡± he shouted.


    They careened in a split second, jets bursting, sending them sidewinding down towards the Deus Ex. The fighter shredded in flames through it, splitting spider-web fractures outward on the surface.


    O


    The Deus Ex spiraled off course, crashing through one of the warships like it was nothing. Streams of energy poured off its back as the orb fell towards the Martian world. The black moon shook as it met the atmosphere. Inside, Aku reeled.


    Pain, they thought. The sensation was knowledge. Critical damage had been done.


    How could this be? The confusion and the hatred came in reaction.


    ¡°Where are you!?¡± Aku shouted, pulling hard against their moment. The Deus Ex fought with the gravity of the planet. Emotion unlike anything in the years before, back to their inception. What could that do for them, they wondered?


    They were caught in freefall. The force of the impact would scatter Aku like glass across the world. What could emotion do?


    Irrationality.


    Aku shut down every system but what they needed to rise. The Deus Ex ship put everything into fighting the hold of momentum and to escape gravity.


    Aku¡¯s mind went away.


    O


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    Wong brought up his helmet to place it down on his head. He pushed a floating body from his view. The air was draining away, frost gathering on the glass. Gravity was gone. He held tightly to a bar, keeping his feet planted.


    ¡°Turn the ship about!¡± he bellowed.


    ¡°Primary thrusters are dead, sir!¡± a soldier shouted.


    ¡°Use the cannons!¡± he replied instantly.


    All along the side, the largest artillery cannons shelled empty space. Inside, every man held on as the warship jerked.


    The Deus Ex came into sight, rising from scattered Sirius clouds in the stratosphere.


    Porter has failed us.


    He wanted it in range of the forward cannons, their strongest ballistic option. Laser would do nothing.


    That mechanical demon had shredded through the Caritas, his ship. Shields were down and the one other remaining warship was scattering them to the void with a renewed volley. He just a handful of his men had helmets at hand. The others died gasping.


    ¡°All guns,¡± Wong said, ¡°everything we¡¯ve got¡­ Put our god down.¡±


    The reactors were decimated, secondary power sources loaded rounds. Bullets larger around that a man slid into their electromagnetic rails. The current flooded in and the rounds launched.


    Only the front half of the Caritas remained. With the Deus Ex risen directly in front of it, the railgun fire was a streak of glowing metal tracing directly towards it. The rounds broke against the glass, enlarging the cracks across its surface. Before the first volley had ended, the second loaded to fire again. A continuous stream of hypersonic, white-hot artillery blasted out. A light show shined out from the Caritas as the warship attacking tore it to pieces. Finally, the firing stopped as one laser tore through the guns and the captain¡¯s deck.


    Suddenly, everything stopped as the Caritas was scattered and on the attacking warship all lights went out. The Deus Ex hung above the world, surface dented and cracked.


    O


    Brice pulled himself from the pod. Friedrich dangled from his seat, his mangled body running out blood on the black iron floor.


    Brice¡¯s helmet was cracked. He threw it off and breathed in the frigid air.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he called out.


    The fighter had been spread out, ground against an interior metal hall as it had come to a stop. They¡¯d flown through the gap, wings, and guns clipped. Inside this ship, the Deus Ex, he hadn¡¯t imagined they¡¯d survived.


    They hadn¡¯t, he thought. I have. Friedrich is dead.


    Brice rubbed blood from his eyes. He limped forward. Ahead was a red light.


    Over pipes and past groaning mechanics, he felt his way through the wet and dark halls. He could hear something. The sound of a man yelling.


    When he turned the corner, he found the source of the light. A glowing red orb sat on a pedestal above the black floor. A sharp clang sounded as Porter hit the orb with his sword, not putting a scratch in it. Brice stood in the opening of the vaulted room.


    ¡°Sir?¡± he asked.


    Porter looked up, surprised. ¡°How the fuck did you get in here?¡±


    ¡°Drove my fighter through the opening¡­ sir.¡±


    ¡°Shit, soldier.¡± He slashed at the orb again without damaging it. ¡°Shit!¡± he shouted again, not Brice this time.


    ¡°How can I help?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± he attacked again, ¡°fucking,¡± bashing Hasami¡¯s sword against it, ¡°do anything!¡± Porter stabbed the sword into the floor and stepped back, falling to his knees and looking up at the source of light. ¡°I¡¯m not the man for this job.¡±


    Brice crouched beside him but found he was too tired to stay that way. He sat and fell all the way back, his head resting on the floor. ¡°You¡¯ve killed gods.¡±


    Porter launched up and grabbed the sword, attacking again to no avail. ¡°Not like this.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t fucking do this.¡±


    Brice tried to catch his breath. He tilted his head up to see blood gushing from a wound in his stomach. He hadn¡¯t even felt it. ¡°Damn,¡± he commented. ¡°I think I¡¯m dying, sir.¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯re all about to be,¡± Porter responded. Then added, ¡°but I¡¯m sorry about that. Brice, is it? I can¡¯t do this because it¡¯s against my nature. My power comes from all of us. I¡¯m the God we are. Things like gods of chaos, gods of the sun, they¡¯re there for us. The old gods, they existed by us. They died with the march of time. But this isn¡¯t that. This is the machine we sold our souls for. We chose this, together. Humanity, like the gods? This is our march of time. Isn¡¯t this inevitable?¡±


    Porter took a knee and put a hand upon the orb. He tried to think of a way out.


    The sword was Hasami¡¯s, he thought. He had¡­ worked with choice. He could change his mind, make two decisions at once. That had been his power. It had been fucking brilliant. His application had been so uncreative for such an idea. Why the hell did it have to come to him?


    ¡°I can¡¯t kill Aku with this thing,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s my element. I don¡¯t get a choice of my own. I¡¯m the indomitable march of progress. How fucking true I meet my obsolescence, right?¡±


    Brice rolled over on his side, head spinning for a second. He pushed up to stand. Leaning heavily on the orb he looked down to Porter. ¡°I think I understand,¡± he said. He reached out. ¡°It¡¯s a contradiction for you¡­ You can¡¯t contradict the choice we made.¡±


    He put his blood-soaked hand on Porter¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°But,¡± he continued, ¡°I¡¯m here! So that¡¯s not how it¡¯s going to go.¡± He took hold of Porter¡¯s arm and tried to pull him up. Brice collapsed as he tried.


    ¡°Hey, we gotta get you out of here¡­¡±


    ¡°Hallelujah,¡± Brice said. ¡°No, Porter!¡± he startled as if he¡¯d just realized what had been proposed. His hand came up to grab the handle of Hasami¡¯s sword. ¡°If the¡­ modern choice is wrong¡­ can¡¯t I reject it?¡± With his other hand, he grabbed Porter¡¯s shoulder, trying to pull himself up. ¡°That matters,¡± he told him as he failed. ¡°That matters.¡±


    Brice hit his back, his chest not rising.


    Porter let him slip to the ground. He stood over him.


    He looked at the sword and the blood covering the handle and his bare hand. It was like he was searching for something. What had he been trying to tell him? Porter didn¡¯t understand. What could the significance of one person be?


    I can be¡­ he started a thought. He dug deep. ¡°I¡¯m not every man,¡± he murmured. His eyes rested on the glowing orb in the vast, grim room. ¡°Even one. Change starts with one,¡± he said.


    Porter reared back the katana. He brought it crashing through the shattered heart of Aku.

 Armageddon - 4.07

    The fighter fell into an even approach. Thrusters slowed and guns fired. A hole was blasted through the hanger bay doors of the Warship. The one remaining ship called Solidarity.


    Seth brought down the landing gear, turned up the shields, and forced his way through the ragged gap in the metal. The pitch-black interior of the hanger lit up as he switched on the headlights. As they set down he quickly blew the hatch.


    Gregory was first to put boots on the ground.


    Grabbing the handgun tucked beside his seat, he exerted some force to lift, catching himself on the capsule¡¯s rim so as not to float away. ¡°Mag boots?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Got mine,¡± Gregory replied. They stuck and walked, doing a short spin and looking around the hanger.


    ¡°Go night vision, then,¡± Seth told him. He reached down to power off the fighter¡¯s lights.


    ¡°Check.¡±


    They left the fighter behind, moving by memory towards the hangar exit. They¡¯d both been here before. The layout like any of the other ships Seth and Gregory had been operating space marines on for years. They¡¯d been stationed on the now destroyed vessel, Schaden, originally. Lately, it had been hectic, to say the least.


    The door controls were unresponsive so Seth moved to the front with an expander. Sliding it into the seal, it cranked and crunched to pry it open. Doing that, they collected the expander and moved forward.


    Gregory had the lead with his handgun forward. Now, in the unlit corridors of the Solidarity, they moved ahead briskly.


    There were too many angles to clear effectively. Crewmember rooms and droid storage offshoot from the main hall which they tread. Any number of places for a surprise attack.


    The power is out, Seth thought, it could be a feint. A trick.


    It could be that Aku is offline. What that would mean, though, he had no idea.


    The suspense of hidden danger loomed.


    Seth¡¯s hand rested on Gregory¡¯s shoulder as he checked alternate doorways as they walked. The Commanding deck wouldn¡¯t be far.


    All the machines were conspicuously absent as the primary hall¡¯s end approached.


    The heavy double doors were clamped shut hard. Wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Seth latched the expander and Gregory watched their back. As the metal of the doors ground, they parted to show a crowd of androids.


    Each with their alabaster faces revealed, they rested, almost posed, across the room. Starlight from the vaulted glass backlight their pale, twisted expressions. Slowly as the doors parted, their eyes moved free of their statuesque bodies to fix on the two of them.


    They stepped through and Gregory collected the expander, the door snapping shut behind them. All at once console lights came on in the dark. They had to switch off their night vision, choosing the dim over the blinding LEDs.


    With the androids unresponsive, Seth cautiously moved on. He had in mind the flight controls. If they could activate the emergency landing protocol, the Eidolons could secure the ship. He was sure they had a way.


    The first step he took had every android shoot up. Gregory clasped down on his shoulder, pulling him back. He radioed to him, ¡°we have to try.¡±


    Gregory responded, ¡°they¡¯re unarmed.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°About ten yards between any of them and us. Let¡¯s trash them.¡±


    They charged. Clambering over each other, faces lighting up with rage, every android rushed.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    They light up the crowd, pulling the trigger as rapidly as they both could. Some two dozen androids broke against their shots like a crashing wave, those at the back rolling over those downed in the front. It was an instant realization that they couldn¡¯t stop them all.


    Gregory made pushed Seth forward into the five remaining androids. They tore him apart as he tried to fire into them. With the added space between them and the distraction, he could fire through Seth and the remaining machines. In a few split seconds, the laser fire had tentatively ceased.


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    Greg stared at the mass of bodies, his back suddenly hitting the wall as his retreat ran out.


    His own ragged breath was the only sound in his suit. Pulling his eyes away from Seth¡¯s pieces, he caught sight of the captain¡¯s controls. He went around the androids, thinking some might be playing dead. As he climbed up to the controls, he kept looking over his shoulder back to them.


    The display had a few options of. He swiped through protocols, quickly seeing the auto-landing command. His finger flew for the button.


    Gregory¡¯s face smashed into the floor as his foot was ripped away from him. He kicked at whatever had a hold on him as he was thrown off the platform. He spiraled through the air, set spinning by the android which had pushed off while keeping a grip on his leg. He fought the centrifugal force to aim down at the androids climbing up his leg, their mechanical hands biting into flesh as easily as fabric.


    Without thinking he blew off both the android¡¯s face and parts of his left leg.


    His own screaming echoed in his ears.


    When Gregory stopped to catch his breath, inhaling sharply through clamped teeth, he couldn¡¯t find his bearings. He was spinning on an upward path, on every rotation catching a glimpse of the oncoming ceiling.


    ¡°Gahh!¡± He shouted as he landed. Gregory quickly tried to push off using only one foot but bashed his stump in the process.


    His vision was going black.


    Welling up from his suit was a foam sealant, but the loss of his limb and the open vacuum meant his blood pressure plummeted.


    As he tried to guide himself down towards the control panel, he stuck out his hand. With his thoughts slipping, Gregory could only hope he hit the button.


    O


    The Deus Ex was dead in the water, it seemed. Porter dusted himself off as he came up the hill. The impact had been a little rough. Hasami¡¯s sword was attached to his back.


    Over the Martian hills and far away, the valley where they¡¯d begun rested between two grand rocks. No more cloud of drones flew overhead.


    He traveled the distance quickly. In this instance, he could teleport it.


    Then, looking down from one of those grand rocks, he could see the forest valley, every tree felled below. Disturbingly, he could see no living people.


    Porter leaped down off the rock, hit a hill and slid to a stop. Sprinting the rest of the way into the valley, he could see more clearly. Among the fallen trees and hundreds of unmoving black spheres, there were quite a few dead Utopians.


    But not enough.


    There would be survivors. With every drone dead, they would have moved on, he reasoned. Porter¡¯s eyes scanned the horizon. He remembered, there had been a nearby settlement reduced to rubble. They might have gone there to look for survivors.


    He traveled again, out of the valley and to the grassy Martian plains.


    They hadn¡¯t gone back to the Monastery? He wondered.


    No, they had to be around here somewhere. He sensed it.


    Where would they go? They had a better sense than him, what might they be waiting for, then? What reason would they have to stay?


    Porter craned his head up to see a massive blackened warship descending from space.


    That¡¯d do it.


    He traveled one last time.


    The crowd was gathered out in the open of a Martian flatland. A perfect landing space.


    They gave the ship some distance as it set down, a massive groaning and dust cloud billowing. Porter let the wind wash over him before catching up to the crowd and flagging down the first Master he saw.


    Wulff was by his five or so remaining students. Cobb was somewhere nearby and Babba too was around. He didn¡¯t see O¡¯Reilly, but he thought he would be there. That was it.


    No Smith, nobody else. Only a couple dozen students remaining. He counted among the crowd a few suited Eidolon, military men. He could see in the distance one running over the hills towards them. They will have dotted the landscape with their escape pods.


    ¡°Porter,¡± Wulff acknowledged him. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    ¡°You first,¡± Porter replied, still counting heads.


    ¡°The drones were an onslaught, Porter. What you¡¯re looking at was the best case scenario. Harrison wasn¡¯t making it. Smith wasn¡¯t making it. I knew that going in. You weren¡¯t supposed to die too, actually. What happened up there.¡±


    Porter grimaced. ¡°Hasami,¡± he said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t account for the highly unlikely.¡±


    ¡°You take the safe option,¡± he accused. He wasn¡¯t happy. The soldier, Brice, had shaken him a little. He¡¯d exerted a different form of power and it changed him. ¡°You calculate. Not the long shot, the one with the most variants you can see. That¡¯s what you picked.¡±


    ¡°I could have tried for Harrison if that¡¯s what you¡¯re saying. But it became exponentially statistically unlikely. So yes, I chose a plan with a number of fallbacks.¡±


    Porter stared at him for a moment as the Utopians broke off towards the now settled ship. They were climbing up to a hole in the hangar bay doors.


    ¡°The future you were least likely to die in,¡± Porter said. ¡°I know how you set goals, Wulff, it¡¯s not hard to see. You planned for her death and for mine.¡±


    Wulff narrowed his eyes. ¡°You remember, Porter, the time the Anarchists won the War Games? The only time they did. You were on their side, I know, and everyone knows you don¡¯t take a hit. You¡¯re a metaphysical tank, but you ran into the same problem then that I know you did today. You couldn¡¯t be Anarchist because society can¡¯t be. You remember it now as your defining badass moment, Quinn, but you forget how ineffective you can be when the fight is against anything the least bit conflicting. You forget that I was on your side, then. And that you haven¡¯t won a game since.¡±


    Wulff started off for the ship, calling back as he walked away. ¡°Don¡¯t forget it again, please.¡±


    Porter was tempted to kill him but didn¡¯t think it was quite justified. Yet.


    He fucking hated it. Wulff and Christopher. Manipulators. He wasn¡¯t built for it.


    Porter belatedly followed along. With the Utopians having already having gotten the engines running, a shield purge initiated. The laser burns were cleaned off by the warship¡¯s surface and the metal could begin its self-healing process.


    As he walked he could see appearing on the ship¡¯s side in bold white letters the name, Solidarity.

 Armageddon - 4.08

    The Solidarity pushed away from Mars and into open space. Without a proper captain, only a host of Magus that crowded the command deck, it was left to the few one remaining pilots to plot a course. Porter had a better knowledge of some of the controls, but he hadn¡¯t known how to plot their course. A young Eidolon had done it for him.


    He loitered by some of the sensor modules. All through the dim chamber Utopians sat staring into space. No one was talking. The bodies had been cleaned, but a gory scent still lingered on the air. As he turned his eye to the nearest console, he saw the feed from an aft exterior camera.


    ¡°The Deus Ex is following,¡± he said.


    ¡°What?!¡± a nearby student asked, terrified.


    ¡°Just out of cannon range,¡± he added.


    Wulff leaned over the console to see the feed. He checked the sensors as well. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling a single potentiality featuring an attack,¡± he told them. ¡°It¡¯s no threat.¡±


    ¡°I find that a little hard to believe. We should mount an attack,¡± Porter said.


    Wulff shook his head, thinking hard a moment. ¡°We move into range, it¡¯ll back up.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t waste time on that.¡± O¡¯Reilly, coming out of the crowd, tapped the screen. ¡°We¡¯ve got just a few minutes to Earth at max speed. Then we can immediately set up a portal to move any survivors to the Monastery.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting about the moon,¡± Porter corrected. ¡°Lunar colony will have survivors.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± O¡¯Reilly swore. ¡°You¡¯re right. That will add hours to our timeline.¡±


    ¡°How do we want to do it, then?¡± Porter asked.


    Wulff tapped his shoulder. ¡°You and me. Let¡¯s not land the Solidarity.¡±


    ¡°An away team?¡± Porter looked to the Eidolon manning the warship¡¯s helm. ¡°Are the teleporters operational?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Then okay.¡± Porter stood up. ¡°You need to get suited for a vacuum. We¡¯ll take a few students. Anyone with healing specialties, any general sorcerers! Show of hands!¡± He picked three out, ¡°you, you, and you. Get suited.¡± Finally, he looked back to Wulff. ¡°What could go wrong.¡±


    ¡°Something fairly horrific, actually,¡± he replied. ¡°Let¡¯s be careful.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be quick,¡± Porter added.


    O


    The grey dust stirred when five figures appeared on the lunar surface. Porter looked high above into space, seeing the dim stars. He could make out the silhouette of the Solidarity, but only barely. By the time he¡¯d looked down, the dust had settled and they were moving forward.


    One student, the healer, stumbled in the low gravity. ¡°Shit. Sorry fellas.¡±


    ¡°Try to be cool,¡± his friend admonished him. A sorcerer, jack of all trades, Porter remembered.


    The last, an Eidolon, said nothing, only carrying his gun and backpack tightly. A tech expert.


    Porter saw ahead the broken domes and half buried inflatable corridors of the surface level colony. He knew it went deep into the ground, and he could see further structures poking up far out of sight. Not a light was on. No one, it seemed, was home.


    ¡°Blackout,¡± he said. ¡°But it¡¯s not been long. Air won¡¯t have run out, yet.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wulff agreed.


    ¡°Tag em and zap em,¡± the Eidolon spoke for the first time.


    All they had to do was get a location on them and then the Solidarity could grab any survivors. Granted that they weren¡¯t too deep into the rock for the signal to penetrate, that was.


    Porter walked up the first dome inset in the moon, coming to a shattered opening. He gestured back to them before going first. His fall was down through dust clouded open air until he landed in the center of a street. Looking around, what he could see resembled a shopping district.


    The others landed shortly after him, their impacts heavy but not injuring, even from their height. The last of them fell spinning, landing on a shop booth and falling through. A massive piece of glass shortly followed them, having broken out from under their feet. Porter stepped out of its way.


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    ¡°Cool, man,¡± the sorcerer sarcastically said.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Porter ordered.


    They had to move cautiously. Wulff was on edge and that seriously bothered Porter. Through the shopping district, there was nothing but the frozen bodies. At the far edge, a wide tunnel led into what looked like a row of apartment doors. The total lack of air compression, it seemed, went on.


    Porter really hoped Aku hadn¡¯t simply let the air out. There¡¯d be no one left.


    That¡¯s what they would do, though, he worried. That¡¯s what I would do.


    ¡°You,¡± Porter pushed the Eidolon ahead. ¡°Get into the sound system if you can. Anywhere with air, let them know our signal.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡±


    Porter pried back the door into one of the apartments. It was pitch black inside. He flipped on his night vision and gave it a look. Nothing. Only green hued darkness, the back of someone¡¯s head sitting on the couch. Dead.


    Wulff clasped a hand on his shoulder and Porter startled.


    ¡°You¡¯re on edge?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not feeling good about this,¡± he told him. He turned his head to the side, peering to the end of the hall. ¡°I see a closed door. Could be a sealed airlock.¡±


    ¡°Could be,¡± Wulff agreed.


    Suddenly, a foreign voice sounded in their ears.


    ¡°Hello? Please help,¡± they said. A girl? No, sounded more like a young boy.


    Using the radio?


    ¡°Got a fix on it,¡± the Eidolon said. ¡°Straight ahead.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna ward us.¡± The Sorcerer¡¯s head darted around. ¡°I¡¯m pissing myself, here. And I¡¯ve been to Hell. This is something different.¡±


    ¡°A different metaphysical profile from Hell,¡± the healer agreed. ¡°There¡¯s a gateway just hanging open somewhere around here. It¡­ doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s got a destination?¡± He visibly shivered. ¡°That¡¯s some element of despair. It¡¯s really potent.¡±


    ¡°Nihilism,¡± Wulff told them. He pressed the button aside the door they¡¯d reached. When it opened, they could see that it was an airlock with another closed door. ¡°It¡¯s not a magical element you¡¯re feeling, just an inevitable conclusion.¡±


    ¡°Stay focused,¡± Porter chastised.


    Stepping inside, the door closed behind them.


    Air flooded in and the lights flickered. Systems were half functional and their tech expert was having to finagle them at every juncture. He carried a small device with an interchangeable tip and holographic screen. He stabbed it into the terminal of the next door and swore at the data that came up. ¡°Everything is bogged down. All the RAM is being dedicated to processing screams. Listen.¡±


    He let the signal into their speakers and they immediately heard the screeching and wailing. Dozens of voices, each similar but different from Aku¡¯s, shouting and whispering gibberish.


    ¡°Cut that,¡± Porter barked.


    ¡°You get the point,¡± they said. ¡°I¡¯ve never touched a system this slow.¡±


    He got the point. He wasn¡¯t happy about it.


    The airlock door opened out into a partially lit hall which quickly met open air. They came through it to the railing overlooking an Orpheum. They saw the stairs leading down and took them. Once at ground level, standing in the theater aisle, Porter looked up to the glass overhead.


    Where the fuck were the stars.


    It was dim enough that he should have been able to see them. The Earth wasn¡¯t in view to obstruct. With his head tilted back, staring into space, the others passed on unnoticing.


    ¡°Wulff!¡± he said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Where are the-¡±


    ¡°Gone.¡± He was interrupted. That voice.


    Porter¡¯s eyes widened, his head whipping to see a shadowed figure standing in one of the unlit exit halls of the Orpheum. Out of the dark came a hanging face framed in heavy black dreads. ¡°You can feel it,¡± they said. ¡°Can¡¯t you?¡±


    Porter ripped off his helmet. He needed to see with his own eyes.


    ¡°Doran,¡± he realized, horrified. ¡°You¡¯re here¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the feeling of your lie dying. That all those stars mattered, that you had anywhere to run. It¡¯s the walls closing in and the lights going out, Porter. It¡¯s me, Aziacht.¡±


    There was a moment of silence as he raised the helmet mic back up to his lips, their eyes still locked. ¡°Porter to Solidarity¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Aziacht¡¯s hand reached lazily out, fingers snapping. The floor of the Orpheum crumbled, falling with them. Porter lost sight of him and grip on his helmet as they flew downward into an abyss.


    The fall felt like an eternity. When they hit the ground, the floor of the Orpheum flattened out. Porter landed back first on a seat and bounced off into the deformed remnants of the aisle. The others were on their feet when he achingly found his way up, standing in the wreckage.


    ¡°Is this what you saw?!¡± he demanded.


    Wulff detached his helmet and threw it away. The other three did the same. ¡°Display fried,¡± he said absently. He shook his head. ¡°No! I just saw a possibility of¡­¡±


    ¡°Of what? Spit it out,¡± the Sorcerer butted in.


    ¡°A no-win scenario.¡± Wulff looked up to the opening they¡¯d fallen from, hundreds of feet above. He looked around them at the encompassing darkness. Some kind of storage space? ¡°A walking, no-win scenario¡­¡± He ran a hand through his thinning hair. ¡°I don¡¯t see a way out.¡±


    Porter stepped away from the scattered wood floor onto cold, damp concrete. He could faintly see the walls of this vast storage room. ¡°There¡¯s a way out of here,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s start with that.¡± He got walking.


    ¡°Hey!¡± the Sorcerer called. ¡°You knew that guy?¡±


    He grimaced, still going. ¡°No.¡± He could see what looked like a door. ¡°I never knew Doran. But I knew he wasn¡¯t right. He¡¯s had too much time to think.¡±


    When he made it to the door, the others had caught up with him. He pushed it open came into a hall. Red emergency lights light the way. He took the first right turn he came upon, immediately assaulted by the sight of dead bodies.


    That¡¯s not good.


    They were all laid out. Purposefully, like a pattern. They couldn¡¯t have suffocated that way. He paced around them, trying to make out the shape in poor light.


    ¡°No life force,¡± the healer said. ¡°But not long dead. They came down here to escape.¡±


    The bodies formed a word.


    ¡°It says hello,¡± Porter told them. He squinted at the dark corners of the room before his eyes fell on the others¡¯ faces. ¡°They were killed by him. Aziacht. By a personification he made, as powerful as the Ouroboros. Not a truth, though. Something else given life. It was a Horror.¡±


    ¡°Are we¡­ predetermined to die here?¡± the Eidolon asked, looking at Wulff.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he answered.


    Porter kicked a console. ¡°Fuck!¡± he cursed. ¡°There¡¯s not a single survivor on this rock.¡±


    There was only one thing they could do now.


    We have to make it to the surface.

 Armageddon - 4.09

    ¡°Keep your eyes peeled,¡± Porter warned them.


    They cleared corners and stalked the halls. This place was old, he knew. Beneath the civilized lunar colonies had been the original network of tunnels. Beneath the ground, you could keep air pressure and spread out without too many extra materials.


    The network was big. Access to the surface would be limited.


    After all, you couldn¡¯t have anyone letting out the air.


    They had a bigger problem. ¡°Can any of you survive the vacuum?¡± Porter asked.


    The Sorcerer spoke. ¡°I can give the others that ability. You¡¯re good?¡±


    ¡°I am.¡± But it wasn¡¯t that he was worried about. They weren¡¯t alone down here.


    The Sorcerer was having the same thoughts. ¡°You helped bind the Ouroboros, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I was the lead on that, yes.¡± He knew his line of thought. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean we can do anything. Not against something like this.¡±


    The halls were nearly pitch black. They turned into another room, what looked like a cafeteria. The chairs were upturned on the tables, the air like a sludge of dust.


    Porter explained in a strained whisper as they walked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re up against here. We had time to design an antithesis with the Ouroboros. All we know this time?¡±


    Wulff picked up his thought. ¡°It¡¯s a cancer. Some runaway metaphysical element of the human experience that was common and potent enough to seep into the framework.¡±


    ¡°A Horror,¡± he agreed.


    They all froze as the sound of a chair crashing broke the quiet.


    The Sorcerer¡¯s hands flew. Porter reached out to stop him, but before he could, they had summoned a fire which spread out across the floor like the ignition of a heavy gas. It gave light to the outer corners of the room. It crawled over dead bodies which had been out of sight between the tables. When it had reached the wall it quickly burned out, leaving them in darkness again with maladjusted eyes.


    Porter dropped his arm and exhaled deeply.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just keep movi-¡±


    A wet and deep, hot breath doused the back of Porter¡¯s neck.


    Time stretched out as he pushed away and spun around. Catching a glimpse of glassy, reflective eyes, two heads taller and leering over him. He jutted out his hands, trying to put the hulking figure at arm¡¯s length.


    Instead, his own push shoved him back with the others. Touching it, icy chills shot up his arms, pinprick tingles crawling over his skin.


    The elephant man breathed raggedly.


    The five of them backed up as far as they could. The elephant man was so still.


    ¡°Quinn,¡± Wulff hissed, a terror in his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t let it near me.¡±


    He didn¡¯t reply. Porter clenched his hands, trying to dispel the coldness settling in them. It was like he could suddenly feel the weight of the rock burying them. Everything was distorted. Like watching a stone dropped down a well, everything was shrinking around him.


    ¡°Christ,¡± his voice quivered. He beat his forearm against the tables beside them as hard as he possibly could. The pain shocked him back, steadied his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t let it touch you,¡± he said.


    The elephant man tottered forward, seemingly off balance. Like a drunk.


    It swung its trunk like arms and sent a table end over end. It wailed, ¡°AEEEEUUUGH,¡± trying to form syllables in a shrill noise.


    Wulff hurdled the tables. ¡°Run!¡±


    The other four followed him, jumping the tables and trusting him to know which way he was going. If there was a way out of this, it would be him.


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    The elephant man broke into a lumbering run. It barreled through obstacles, knocking them aside.


    They hit the back wall and sprinted. The elephant man had fallen to all fours, loping after them. Porter¡¯s eyes locked on the exit further away. An unlocked door and beyond a half-lit kitchen. Wulff was in the front, the Sorcerer in the back.


    As they burst through the door, the Sorcerer caught his foot in the doorway. Arms flew out with a shout, ¡°Crush and chill of the deep, force of ocean depth!¡±


    A blue light filled the cafeteria, ice forming on every surface. The tin metal of the tables crumpled under an invisible weight. Suddenly, looking back, Porter could see the elephant man unhindered. A human tank, eyes recessed and no discernable neck.


    ¡°Back!¡± he bellowed. Porter dived.


    The elephant man threw itself into the doorway. The Sorcerer¡¯s eyes widened as he realized he¡¯d done nothing to stop it. The behemoth burst through the doorway and half of the wall aside, rolling over him and through rolling metal shelves.


    The four of them pulled themselves up and started running across the kitchen.


    They ran through a large door and closed it shut behind them. A soft white light filled the place. Porter counted heads. Wulff, the Eidolon, and the Healer. The Healer looked shaken.


    As his eyes darted for an escape, he realized.


    Oh, fucking hell.


    ¡°This is a freezer.¡± Wulff kept backing away from the door until he hit one of the room¡¯s pillars. The shelves were empty. He looked desperately for an exit. Freezers had only one exit. It was pointless.


    ¡°Wulff! Focus!¡± Porter barked.


    ¡°No!¡± he cried. ¡°He¡¯s coming for me.¡±


    ¡°Why you?!¡± the Eidolon asked, deeply disconcerted.


    Porter grabbed Wulff¡¯s shoulders, slamming him against the pillar. ¡°What did you do?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± he looked nervously over Porter¡¯s shoulder at the locked door.


    ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m helping Elicht.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Christopher! I knew! I knew when he came to my class. He taught me.¡±


    ¡°Damn.¡± Porter pushed away. He ran a hand through his hair, hanging his head. ¡°Damn,¡± he repeated. ¡°That¡¯s not okay.¡±


    ¡°Guys¡­¡± the Eidolon said.


    Wulff slid down to the floor. ¡°He wanted me to help him. He saw the work I was doing in causal manipulations. He showed me the truth of metaphysics, of everything. He¡¯s just bringing on the inevitable, Porter. All intelligent life externalizes its desire for comfort to the point of entropy. All the struggle is to end the struggle. To bring the final form.¡±


    ¡°Something¡¯s not inevitable if you have to make it happen, you fuck.¡± Porter stared off into space, trying to think of a way out. He couldn¡¯t teleport now, not when his place in space mattered. No, that was cheating. A small smirk found his lips.


    ¡°Rory!¡± the Eidolon yelled.


    The healer had pushed a hanging meat hook into his eye socket. He went limp, the chain snapping taut and his body spinning in place.


    Porter didn¡¯t know why he¡¯d smiled. ¡°He tripped,¡± he said. ¡°It must have brushed him.¡±


    ¡°If it touches you?¡± the Eidolon asked, horrified.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The freezer door jumped on its hinges, the center deforming.


    If it wanted in, it would be in. It was knocking.


    Wulff started bawling. He knew he was going to die. He knew it for a fact. Like it was happening before his eyes, Porter knew.


    ¡°You,¡± he motioned to the Eidolon. ¡°Press up against the wall beside the door with me. It¡¯s going for Wulff. If it breaks through, we go behind it. Don¡¯t let it touch.¡± He crouched beside Wulff. ¡°Is there a point to trying?¡±


    Wulff knew what he¡¯d meant. He shook his head, forcefully.


    Porter stood. The two of them pressed against the wall. As the freezer door fell flat, they slumped down. The naked, pale elephant man lowered its head to come through. It walked straight past them.


    Wulff heard their footsteps disappear out of range, into the kitchen.


    He buried his face in his hands as he felt the shadow of the horror come over him. The only sound its heavy, deep breath.


    A finger touched his chin. His face was raised up.


    Aziacht¡¯s scrutinizing gaze searched Wulff¡¯s eyes for something. ¡°You¡¯re not a brilliant man,¡± he said.


    Wulff¡¯s mouth opened, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak.


    ¡°Not a brilliant man, but an effective piece.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to kill me.¡± He could see it with his waking eyes. All the ways it could happen. A thousand deaths all at once flashing before him. Then, they all just became one.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to do it. I¡¯m going to watch.¡± Aziacht pointed to the hooks. ¡°Because you got something wrong,¡± he told him. ¡°All the struggle is to survive. To fight entropy. It¡¯s survival that has no point. And that¡¯s something you¡¯re about to experience.¡±


    O


    Porter and the Eidolon came running through the door and into the light. Soft, reflected light from off the earth.


    They crouched down to catch their breath, the Eidolon looking back, worried to be staying still.


    Porter stared up at the glass ceiling above. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± he said.


    ¡°But the¡­ thing¡­ It¡¯ll be following.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. ¡°They were just after Wulff. This was a trap for him, Christopher¡¯s ace. He doesn¡¯t care about you. And he wants me in the fight.¡±


    ¡°Gee, thanks.¡± He wheezed. ¡°I thought you were¡­ a problem for him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m part of his trilemma. I¡¯m part of his game¡­ Get on the radio, soldier.¡±


    The Eidolon found a terminal, plugging in his device to broadcast for Solidarity.


    Porter continued to stare, baffled. Every star in the sky above. Gone.


    He¡¯d boxed them in. Every universe, every star, and planet. The Monastery. He¡¯d stolen them all from the sky. Like they¡¯d never mattered at all.


    There would be no retreat. Porter could see it, now. Somewhere on the surface of the world, Aziacht would have them prepare. The location would be waiting for them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got them. Teleport incoming.¡±


    That place would be where time ended. Porter felt, now. He wasn¡¯t sure. But he thought it might not be that truth was on his side.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    There was nothing left between it and them, now. No stop along the way. No trials or procrastination. The end of time, clearly in sight. He wasn¡¯t ready.

 Armageddon - 4.10

    The Solidarity¡¯s bay doors groaned, metal screaming as the platform came down. A salty ocean breeze hit Porter as the sun did. He raised his hand to cover the sight.


    The ship had set down automatically, here, its descent stirring up a wild spray of water, crunching down on trees.


    Armageddon, he thought.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at the sun,¡± he said.


    The sky was a brilliant red and black, over the treetops. It was the Deus Ex, standing between them and the light, hiding the sun. The vault of the sky, stretching back around the horizons, was a deep, starless black. Aziacht had taken them. Porter couldn¡¯t even spot the moon, now.


    Cobb approached the open, brisk air, looking up at the eclipse. He scowled and jumped first into the water below. O¡¯Reilly was close behind him.


    ¡°It¡¯s us he¡¯s coming for,¡± the rootless voice of the Ouroboros came to Porter¡¯s side.


    ¡°I know,¡± he replied. ¡°I met him up there¡­¡± His eyes scanned the trees. Barren grey, dead woods that stretched on for a long way ahead until a sudden and complete stop. ¡°Screw this. It¡¯s his game, now.¡±


    ¡°It always was.¡±


    Porter turned to look at him. The Ouroboros eyed the eclipse, feint frown lines on his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I wanted to hear.¡±


    ¡°Porter,¡± the Ouroboros said, looking down at his own bare feet. ¡°It¡¯s not death that must justify itself. Understand that.¡± He jumped from the platform down to the water looking up.


    The students were behind Porter. Those that remained were well under a hundred, he saw. He didn¡¯t recognize a face among them. Not until Babba came forward.


    ¡°Come on, children,¡± she called.


    The mechanism had come all the way out now and a safe path forward was laid out. The procession of students descended the ramp that had come out.


    Porter stepped off first, staying ahead.


    When he came down, he found a foot of seawater under him. He looked forward into the dark forest. It was a flooded flatland, islands of rock and dirt forming rivers in the landscape, shallow, dense trees clinging to stone atop them. All of them poisoned by saltwater. A dead place.


    The Students were told not to stray far. They left the ship behind, moving as a large group into the forest along the still rivers. The noise of water breaking under footfalls was the only sound. No one spoke.


    They stopped after the ship had been put far enough out of sight.


    It was useless to stay with it. Solidarity couldn¡¯t offer them safety.


    People were sitting along the riverbank, now. Leaning on tree trunks on the forest¡¯s edge. Porter took a breather, staring down the river¡¯s path and seeing nothing beyond the bend. He looked back up to the sky. Still eclipsed.


    ¡°This place will do,¡± the Ouroboros declared.


    ¡°Good,¡± O¡¯Reilly replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go any further from the ship.¡±


    The Ouroboros said nothing in reply, but Porter knew what they were thinking in that moment. It doesn¡¯t matter. This was where the end was going to happen.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ll need to do a sweep for survivors after all this is over. Some smaller settlements will have survived. Probably.¡±


    ¡°Not likely,¡± a distant voice said.


    ¡°Oh, God.¡± One student wretched. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Someone recognized the mangled, charred husk which stepped down into the water a few yards past the group. Christopher¡¯s exposed face muscles contracted. ¡°Hello, my friends.¡±


    The Ouroboros produced his sickle and started forward.


    Porter drew back his katana. ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked.


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    ¡°Didn¡¯t you get the memo?¡± Christopher spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not the bad guy!¡± he slurred, blood and spit running down his chin. ¡°I was concerned for a while that I was, but then I remembered¡­ I¡¯m everyone¡¯s friend. So, in short,¡± his humor suddenly ran away, ¡°we¡¯re going to work together. That¡¯s the way it¡¯s going to be. The easy way, that¡¯s what people take. We¡¯re going to work together.¡±


    Porter thought back to the first day they¡¯d met. Christopher descending the court steps, a small smile on his face. For a moment, he was in two places at once, seeing so clearly how this was all laid out. By him, by Aziacht. He didn¡¯t know anymore.


    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t we kill you?¡± He genuinely couldn¡¯t come up with a reason.


    ¡°Because,¡± the corpse replied, looking bemusedly at the Ouroboros¡¯ furious expression, ¡°that¡¯s the way it¡¯s going to be. As it¡¯s always been. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    The Ouroboros drew out his sickle, charging until it was inches from the Primordial¡¯s neck. ¡°Count your seconds to live, lie.¡±


    ¡°The easy way,¡± Christopher repeated, unfazed.


    The sickle shook in his white knuckled grip. ¡°Porter,¡± the Ouroboros called back.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Kill him.¡±


    Christopher¡¯s smile twisted bigger. ¡°Yeah, Quinn, do it.¡±


    Porter approached, ready to gore Christopher. He wanted to do it.


    He stole Utopia. He pulled it right out from under us, he told himself. It would be so easy to kill him for that.


    ¡°Why¡­¡± He cursed himself, but he had to. ¡°Why can¡¯t he do it?¡±


    Christopher raised up a finger to push the Sickle¡¯s point away. The Ouroboros was frozen. ¡°Neither of you can. You-¡±


    Porter lunged forward. His own feet froze in place, the point of his katana just short of the bastard¡¯s head. Every muscle in his body locked up.


    ¡°-As I was saying¡­¡± Christopher took a deep breath through his nose, looking around for a moment. ¡°He¡¯s not far off.¡± He reached past the katana, reaching in to wrap his fingers around Porter¡¯s throat. ¡°As I was saying!? Anyone!?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t do it either,¡± a girl answered.


    Christopher pointed to her with his free hand, not breaking his staring contest with a defiant Porter. ¡°Exactly. Now¡¯s not our time. He wants the three of us fighting, Aziacht, but it¡¯s not my right to kill you. It¡¯s Nihilism¡¯s. Abhorrence to reject the notion of fair and just nature. I fill the vacuum, the promise of artificial equity. My job is done for me. Because what are we all, if not certain that death is unpleasant?¡± he smiled. ¡°Maybe you¡¯d have a chance were it just the two of us.¡±


    ¡°You fucker-¡± Porter swore.


    Christopher threw him aside. He reached out for the Ouroboros.


    ¡°Touch me,¡± they warned, their voice crawling over his skin, ¡°and I¡¯d have us both die, wretch.¡±


    Christopher backed off. ¡°Typical of you.¡±


    Porter pulled himself up from the streambed. He slicked back his short blond hair, water dripping off him. ¡°Then that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the pale man admitted.


    ¡°We¡¯re working together,¡± the charred young man said gleefully.


    ¡°Wonderful,¡± Babba threw up her arms. ¡°We¡¯ll cavort with Lucifer.¡±


    Cobb sneered. ¡°Hardly.¡±


    ¡°Are we okay?¡± An armored student asked.


    Porter looked back at them all, standing, watching, on edge as Christopher leered back. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re okay, here.¡± They didn¡¯t need to worry.


    He counted the heads. So many students. Kids in a fight that would come down to just a few. He didn¡¯t know what they could do, why they were even here.


    He remembered Kendall, Doran, the girl with them. Ashmedai and Odessa. They¡¯d held their own. Hasami had. He could only hope it wasn¡¯t a slaughter.


    ¡°Why am I here?¡± He stood behind the Ouroboros, lowered his voice. ¡°Why even involve all of us in this fight, Ouroboros? I know we were part of the set-up, but why are we here, at the end of everything? Are we witnesses? Tell me.¡±


    ¡°Have faith.¡±


    He stared at his back. That was not what Porter wanted. He wouldn¡¯t take it. Not now. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then learn, man. Death and the shadow come to all. There is knowledge of them written inside you. Those who would will them would not need understanding of them. But one who would will good? Truth? I ask you who can know my ways. The ways of nature and time are to be in the world¡­¡± The Ouroboros turned, pushing Porter¡¯s chest, ¡°and in the will. Twofold.¡±


    Some trees crashed over in the distance. Porter looked into the dark woods but saw nothing. He grimaced and turned back to the Ouroboros. ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Then there is nothing else to be said,¡± he told him.


    Christopher chuckled. ¡°Damn¡­ Damn! Goddamn!!¡± he shouted, ecstatic. ¡°I have been waiting all eternity for this.¡± He clapped once loudly, startling some of the students who looked ill. ¡°Cry havoc! Stir the Valkyries! Sound the seventh trumpet and look alive! How loooong it¡¯s been, my children! My time is come!!¡±


    Porter felt it, a sinking in his chest. Aziacht was in the forest and every horror with him. The Elephant man and a thousand more. They were without count, a field of darkness beyond sight. The empty, black firmament brimming and spilling over onto the earth its every unknown crawling thing. Every monster. The abyss emptying out itself into the forest around them.


    ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± he said. He flagged the three professors. ¡°Get them all together. They¡¯re going to break against us like waves.¡±


    His eyes were wide. The darkness around them in the trees was coming alive.


    The horrors were limitless. An ocean.


    ¡°We will stay strong!¡± the Ouroboros proclaimed.


    Porter raised Hasami¡¯s katana one more time. His heartbeat thudded in his chest. The wind picked up, suddenly ripping over the surface of the waters. The trees crackled.


    His expression darkened. Seconds passed as he watched many of the students trembling. Time was running out before his eyes as death set in. So many of them would die. His doubts flared. He could see every one of them turning the rivers here red.


    He hated it. The face of every person who¡¯d died because of him flashed before his eyes. So many missions done recklessly. He hadn¡¯t cared. He fucking hated it. He wanted every choice back that had led him here until¡­ all at once he didn¡¯t. No, his resolve hardened.


    He wouldn¡¯t change anything. He would see it all made right.


    He had faith it could be done.


    The tree line broke apart, a horror crashing into their ranks.

 Armageddon - 4.11

    The students broke apart explosively as the water kicked up under the impact of a creature with too many limbs to count. Some immediately ran off into the forest. Everyone on their feet assailed the creature at once.


    It was a light show as they attacked. Flashes filled the edges of the forest, showing so many inhuman silhouettes setting upon strays. The water doused Porter and others as all hell broke loose.


    The horror was immediately encapsulated by an invisible orb which contained the fire, lighting, and green cloud of needles which latched onto it. A spear was thrown in which caused its limbs to implode. Through all this, the horror shrieked and flailed, but in every moment of obscurity, it continued to reappear unhurt.


    It was Cobb, who leaped and brought down his fist on the sphere, which caused the entire thing to flatten, compacting it to nothing. Folded out of sight.


    O¡¯Reilly screamed. ¡°Incoming!¡±


    The Elephant Man came into the middle of them, bursting through the trees. Those trees split the group of students along the narrow river as they fell. With the professors near one end, the students on the horror¡¯s side were all alone, singled out.


    Porter launched forward. He sailed over the tree and fighting people to bury his katana into its back. The Elephant Man lurched forward, dropping on its hands.


    ¡°Solidarity,¡± he groaned, pushing down on it.


    His mind raced. A manifestation of aloneness. Choice and human will, I can take it. A declaration¡­ If he doubted now, he could feel it grow stronger under him with the thought. Just making contact, it was in his head. His arms shook as the battle raged around him, two twin horrors rushing students. Every ounce of his being strained. He¡¯d felt this before, fighting gods. A battle of belief.


    His sight sunk back like he was watching a shrinking screen in the darkness.


    Porter threw himself off into the water, away from the Elephant Man. The thing gave out, slumping into the mud as he splashed down. He tried to keep his head up to gaspair. He wasn¡¯t sure where or when he was anymore.


    ¡°Professor,¡± a rasping voice came close over him. His eyes stared uncomprehendingly back up at another man without eyelids. They continued, ¡°just ignore it. It works.¡± The gaunt man pulled on him, trying to raise him up.


    When Porter was on his feet, they went sprinting up the riverbank and into the trees.


    He caught his bearing and retrieved his katana with one swipe.


    The Ouroboros was lashing out with his sickle, taking most of the horrors breaking through. Porter looked over the corpses in the water, past fires and fallen trees. He thought he saw Babba face down.


    A shout cut through the noise. ¡°Doran!¡±


    Porter recognized that voice. He looked, but it had come from someplace distant.


    A black cloud, he saw, was seeping over his feet. They were numb.


    That¡¯s not good.


    ¡°Move!¡± he roared. ¡°Into the forest.¡± Porter¡¯s hand shot out. Those that didn¡¯t listen, their legs buckled and they disappeared into the water.


    When everyone remaining was on the left bank, he tried to count heads. There were too few people, many of them had gone out of sight, stretched out along the river.


    Flares shot up into the sky, painting the forest from above in shadows cast through bare branches. He didn¡¯t see Christopher, Cobb was the only Master in sight. The Ouroboros was gone.


    Flashes of blue light came with a heatwave. Crackling energy passed between trees.


    A headless naked woman came sprinting through the forest with her arms out. Porter cut her down as she veered towards him.


    This was chaos. He had to find the Ouroboros. They couldn¡¯t be divided.


    ¡°Help!¡± A student came running past him, screaming for help. They were passing through the trees like they weren¡¯t there, unable to see anyone.


    ¡°Master Porter,¡± a girl said. In sight, there were a half dozen students and Eidolons, congregating near him, now. ¡°We¡¯re all getting split up. I can¡¯t find my friend.¡±


    One twitchy Eidolon in the back opened fire with his gun, stopping Porter from answering.


    ¡°We need to stay together. I have to find the Ouroboros.¡± That was more important. ¡°Now!¡±


    He urged them to move deeper into the forest. The flares overhead were gone, the light dropping down again to that of the eclipse. He could only follow the sounds of screams.


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    They weaved between the trees until they quickly came to another stream. One of them slipped on the bank, the sound causing a sudden quiet.


    Porter jumped down to follow. When he hit the water, there was suddenly nothing beneath it.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    He was instantly submerged. The world was an echo again, everything distant. Looking around, it was like the earth and all the trees were floating on the water, a deep abyss beneath them. The dark moved beneath him until, out of the black, he could see a single light drifting up.


    When the hand hooked into his collar and hauled him up, Porter was again in only a foot of water.


    ¡°Why the fuck is he so heavy!?¡± he heard.


    Porter threw what had been the source of the light onto the riverbank.


    A mounted gun from the back of a Utopian vehicle. It had black growths across it but still had power. It had come out of whatever hole he¡¯d fallen into. A gap in the water the students couldn¡¯t find anymore. ¡°Where¡¯d it go?¡± the Eidolon asked.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Porter coughed. He¡¯d inhaled salt water. He sputtered, ¡°that¡¯s a¡­ bad fucking sign.¡± When he¡¯d caught his breath, he looked at their confused faces. ¡°It¡¯s-¡±


    A shriek interrupted them as a horror fell from out of the open sky, from above the trees, into their midst.


    ¡°Shit!¡± A Magi with a hammer crushed them down into the mud and rock. He stood over the twisted form that had been a woman in a red dress, her limbs sticking up. ¡°That scared the hell out of me.¡± Her hand lulled to the side, finger caressing his leg.


    Porter watched as the Magi compacted where he stood, the damage of the hammer conferred onto him. His limbs twisted, his organs exploded through his exposed ribcage.


    Porter jabbed his Katana through the magi and into the horror. With the barrier of flesh between them, her healed arms couldn¡¯t reach around to touch him. He lifted them and ran them back before driving the two of them into the ground.


    The others watched.


    ¡°Bring me the hammer!¡± he groaned. The horror had too much strength.


    Another Magi, clearly unfit to wield the massive thing, drug it to his side.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± Porter swore. ¡°I have to do it fast.¡±


    Porter stepped back and withdrew the sword. He traded it for the hammer and brought it up over his head. He slammed the horror with all his strength. Its hand shot out through the dead Magi¡¯s chest, bones extending to reach. He pulverized the two of them, but not before a gentle brush of her nails.


    He left the hammer where it was, lodged into the earth with them.


    ¡°Master Porter?¡± the other Magi asked.


    He took back Hasami¡¯s sword from their hand, not meeting their eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ ironic.¡± He took a few more steps and stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding,¡± they said.


    ¡°I noticed.¡± He considered the forest. He checked the path of the river. Though he couldn¡¯t see where it ran, he felt a cold breeze coming down its length from one direction. He felt out, but he couldn¡¯t sense past the shadow over the entire world. Beyond that, there was only silence. He stared past the young Magi. ¡°How many of us are left?¡±


    ¡°What do you-¡± they looked over their shoulder to where he¡¯d been looking. Where the others should have been. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not supposed to be here.¡±


    ¡°I realized that.¡± Porter finally looked at them. The girl was in a robe, water soaking her up to the waist. ¡°Listen to me,¡± you¡¯re already dead. ¡°You have to get away from here,¡± I don¡¯t want to watch. ¡°Follow the river to the ocean. Follow the coast until you¡¯re out. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Out?¡±


    ¡°Reality¡¯s falling apart. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll find.¡±


    Reality was conserving energy. She wasn¡¯t important. If she left his side now, she¡¯d simply cease existing. She¡¯d go back to the start or go nowhere. He didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°It¡¯s your only chance,¡± he said. ¡°Get out.¡±


    The Magi said nothing, she only went where he pointed, quickly turning her face. She soon disappeared out of sight. She was gone.


    Not knowing is better. It really wasn¡¯t.


    It was just him, now. Like it was supposed to be.


    Porter took his sword into both hands in preparation. He heard footsteps breaking the water, echoing from down the river, opposite direction the Magi had gone.


    Cobb¡¯s white suit was marred by blood, his grey beard had been ripped from his face. Catherine was right behind him. Wherever the fuck she had come from.


    The two of them noticed Porter and picked up speed.


    When Cobb reached him, he only had one thing to say. ¡°We have a plan.¡±


    O


    O¡¯Reilly drove his spear into the body of a giant skittering creature. The tip of the spear filled its insides with fire. The fire crept through its many slicing legs, turning it into a husk in seconds.


    It was just him, among a field of mangled trees and bodies.


    As the skittering thing was going limp, one of its still moving arms beat itself against a tree, snapping off.


    ¡°FUCK!¡± he cried.


    The limb regrew an entire body before he could dislodge his spear. Its front arms sprang out, knocking him off his feet.


    O¡¯Reilly impacted the tree trunk and had to quickly dig himself out of its bark. His shoulder slid back into the socket, he felt. There was such a quantity of bodies beneath him, that he simply reached down to pick up a discarded claymore.


    He took it underhanded and pierced the earth, taking a knee.


    The skittering thing was breaking off pieces of itself on the trees as it charged, there quickly being exponentially more of the horrors. All the sudden when every one of them was swathed in a pillar of fire. The fire which clung to every surface, every tree and rock. It spread around him as he watched. In the tornado of light and heat, he could make out their black keratin forms writhing until the intensity blotted them out.


    He withdrew the blade and the fire sunk into the ground, leaving only¡­ nothing.


    O¡¯Reilly¡¯s eyes adjusted, but he could no longer make out the forest. He was surrounded by a patch of charred earth, but beyond, there was only darkness.


    He threw the claymore up, holding it out towards the sky. A beam of light shot out which illuminated the landscape. The trees could be seen in the distance, beyond the charred earth, but were getting further away. He¡¯d scorched more of the earth than he¡¯d intended.


    That wasn¡¯t right. He shouldn¡¯t have been getting more for the power he spent.


    That was a graveasign.


    Ash began to fall on him. He looked down to keep it from getting in his eyes.


    A pain grew in his hand.


    He sat down at the base of the tree he¡¯d been thrown into before. Enough of it remained that he could lean back. He looked at his hand, removed the glove.


    Between his index finger and thumb, there was a small, growing splinter. He felt them all along his chest, where the skittering thing had hit him.


    He tossed lifted the claymore as much as he could beside him and pushed the tip between two roots. He held his breath and lit the fire.


    On the tree line, Aziacht watched the flames reach for the sky.


    Everything in its place, he thought. Timefor an end.

 Armageddon - 4.12

    Quiet was broken by the sound of frantic footsteps. The splash of water as Christopher jumped down into the river, then, trying to climb out, scrabbled against the rock.


    Everything according to plan.


    He was spewing a stream of manic laughter as he went, casting glances over his shoulder. He was just playing, at this point. Terrified as he was.


    Christopher sprinted breathlessly, clambering over dead horrors. This path had been trodden before, he knew. If he could make it to Porter, the man, there¡¯d be¡­


    He heard his pursuer take to the air. He fell backwards, off the rock and again into the riverbed. He barely dodged them.


    Aziacht had landed in his path, stepping down onto the bank. In his grip, he had the Ender Blade. Its weight pressed down on him in the waters.


    Christopher lost it. His laugh pitched low and ragged, spewing blood down his neck. He held out a hand as he scurried back. ¡°How long¡¯s it been?¡± he asked Aziacht. ¡°That you¡¯ve waited?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember when we first met, honestly.¡±


    Christopher stared into those eyes. Doran¡¯s dark irises surrounded by stark whites, wide and alert. His face was calm, if tinged by determination and pain.


    ¡°I do,¡± Christopher told him, his back hitting the bank, the gnarled roots of a tree growing there. He pushed back into it as Aziacht leveled his weapon.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ yes. But first¡­¡± Christopher rolled to the side, dodging Aziacht¡¯s reactive stab. He was up, pushing off the rock to kick him in the jaw, then landing.


    Aziacht backed up with a hand out. He nodded, amused. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Christopher leapt onto the forest¡¯s edge. Aziacht followed him as he started walking. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to go,¡± he said.


    ¡°I know.¡± Christopher ducked around the tree, reaching a hand out for Aziacht¡¯s throat. That hand was severed instantly in a flash of rusted metal. He jumped back into the trunk of a tree, clutching the stump and laughing. ¡°I know,¡± he repeated. ¡°I know it¡¯s you sparing me. The contradictions. I love them.¡±


    ¡°When was it, Elicht, that we first met?¡±


    He walked again. ¡°Despite what you think, Aziacht, I came around first. I was alive for a long time before you, driving things. And the Ouroboros, seemingly the last of us to manifest, he was first. He was the first order, I was the chaos that came, you were the response to both. Yet you came around before us all, you think? Perhaps it¡¯s because we were deaf. Insulated. Nobody sane considers you.¡±


    ¡°Try again,¡± Aziacht countered, forcing him to duck as his sword bit through the trunk.


    Christopher narrowly missed the falling tree as he shot back up. ¡°A drop in the bucket easily evaporates,¡± he admitted. ¡°But I¡¯ll tell you, the first time we met, it was in the desert. I remember it clearly. Me, pushing my little humans out there in expansion. Marching an army, you know? And, there I find you. That was before you played human. In those days, you were violently opposed to disturbance. We met on the dunes and we just talked. It was so nice, you know? Back then.¡±


    Aziacht looked off into spaceas if he was remembering.


    Christopher continued. ¡°That was the first time either of us had met another Eternal. We had so much to discuss! I told you about my plans, right? To raise them up, to take it all away and show them what we both knew. There¡¯s nowhere to go. Teach mortals what it took us an eternity to realize. There¡¯s no escaping this torrent. We quickly realized, though, didn¡¯t we¡­¡±


    ¡°This was never going to work,¡± Aziacht finished the thought, his eyes deeply unfocused. ¡°It was the knowledge of each other¡¯s existence which led to this.¡±


    ¡°Killing you wasn¡¯t going to be easy,¡± Christopher agreed with a grin. ¡°But I had to try.¡±


    Aziacht slid forward, pushing his blade between the gap of their left arm and slicing upward. The arm fell limp on the ground and Christopher went to his knees, laughing hysterically. ¡°Think about it!¡± he screamed, trying to regain composure. ¡°The ultimate joke, right? That your plan is just a function of mine? Your will, just a thing happening over time like everything else. Ultimately, I was just born to be right.¡± Aziacht kneed his face, sending him into the dirt. ¡°If I was¡­ you know¡­ born at all,¡± he panted.


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    Aziacht sat down beside him, letting out a sigh. ¡°I went to all this trouble just to shut you up, you know that?¡± Christopher lost it again, laughing wretchedly. He spoke over the noise, scowling. ¡°It was your willful ignorance. I remember now. In that desert, I¡¯d been there so many times, watching my footsteps stretch out in front of me. I stayed away from the humans because they were a tragedy to me. Even if I made them immortal, they were never eternal. Anything they did¡­ a story is defined by its ending, Christopher. And the order they struck out to build would always crumble. It was futility. But then I met you, and I tried to explain to you. If you kept doing what you were doing, eventually you¡¯d see everything. Literally everything. Every conversation you had with them, every game you played, it would have been done so many times. But I spoke to you, and you just stared at me. You asked me how I could stand to be so alone, like it mattered so much. I saw in your eyes, self-obsessed eyes, that you would never tire of them. You¡¯d bring them up and break them, again and again. I realized that it wasn¡¯t enough to just reject the temporary, because of you. It¡¯s immoral in its bones, I saw. Being.¡±


    Christopher¡¯s smile faded. He started to crawl. Aziacht drove his sword through their leg, pinning them to the rocky ground. He groaned. ¡°We all wanted different things¡­ Only the Curse wanted to survive unchanged. He wanted process.¡± Christopher turned his head back to look at him, a dead serious gaze. ¡°I wanted godhood,¡± he told him.


    Aziacht shook his head. He gestured broadly. ¡°I never wanted¡­ any of it.¡±


    ¡°I know, friend.¡± Christopher pulled hard enough that his leg tore off. He restarted crawling. He finally made it again to the edge of another river and rolled down the bank.


    Aziacht, close behind him still, put a foot on his back. ¡°You¡¯ll do anything not to take responsibility for the part you play. It¡¯s not about happiness. It¡¯s about indulgence. Animal.¡±


    ¡°You know what I think, if we¡¯re throwing insults? You¡¯re a joke, Doran,¡± Christopher challenged. ¡°You¡¯re the last recourse of failures.¡±


    Aziacht pressed down on the back of his head, willing him to drown. ¡°You wretch.¡±


    When he came up gasping, he rolled over onto his back. He began to float down the shallow river, merrily. ¡°I¡¯m the ultimate hero,¡± he sputtered.


    Following him,limply carried on the current, Aziacht looked up at the dark sky. ¡°You¡¯re not the hero here. Neither of us are. You¡¯re not the villain, either. That¡¯s me.¡±


    Christopher¡¯s body stopped as the water became shallower. He was caught on the riverbed. He raised his stump towards the silhouette of the Deus Ex in the sky. ¡°Godhood,¡± he said.


    Aziacht grimaced. He understood what he was trying to do, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t work. When he killed the Ouroboros, the continuation would end. Nothing new would be made. There¡¯d be no recovery.


    He cast his eyes down on the dismembered body in the water. Pathetic. He reached down and grabbed Christopher by the neck, hurling him out of the water and into the forest.


    Christopher stopped dead against a shattered rock, at the end of a long rut in the earth. He watched as Aziacht approached, tightly holding his weapon. Ready to end it. ¡°I¡¯m the truth of the test!¡± Christopher taunted. ¡°You make your testament! Prove wrong justice! But I¡¯m not done, it¡¯s you, you¡¯re finished. You were only ever meant to prove my point. He¡¯s false.¡±


    Aziacht picked him up again, holding him against the rock as he brought back his cleaver. ¡°There¡¯s no place for you.¡±


    ¡°Not while he¡¯s alive,¡± Christopher spat. ¡°But you¡¯re both already dead. You were never viable. Stillborn, both of you¡± His eyes lit up as the blade slide between his ribs and into stone.


    The world rumbled. The sun flared bright. The crack in the rock split deeper, fractures forming in the earth, lancing through everything. Cracks in the trees, cracks in the sky and air. Christopher¡¯s jaw fell open, his eyes looking up, a smile trying to form one last time.


    Aziacht withdrew the blade and let him fall to the ground. He let out a last breath. The sun was setting now, no longer eclipsed. The Deus Ex loomed high, but faint above.


    He knew exactly where the Ouroboros was, and Porter. They were last, they were ready. He weighed the sword in his hand and tried to shake the miserable feeling he felt in his gut, looking down on the twisted, charred face. Christopher was dead. The abomination could never manifest again.


    ¡°Damn you,¡± he said. Aziacht knocked the boulder aside where Christopher had fallen. He left the body behind, walking forward into the forest. In the distance, he could barely hear the ocean roaring. Calling. He wiped away the blood from the sword on his arm. He shook his head violently. ¡°There¡¯s nothing keeping you from the pit. Understand that!¡±


    Someone was behind him. ¡°You¡¯ve darkened the sky,¡± the Ouroboros told him. Aziacht had known he was there. ¡°Look at what power you have. You are what we all knowbut can never believe. There¡¯s no one behind you, now. No one can stand with you because they know it¡¯s wrong. So, I ask you, can you really do this?¡±


    ¡°Wrong,¡± he scoffed. ¡°I have very little to say to you,¡± Aziacht growled. ¡°You, who made this happen. A liar and sadist¡­ I hate you.¡±


    There was silence between them. The Ouroboros had no reply.


    Not until, finally, they had waited long enough. His ethereal call echoed out. ¡°Come, Porter!¡± Then, he spoke to Aziacht. ¡°You brought me out of the void because you wanted the truth. Aziacht and Elicht were not complete.¡± He tried to get Aziacht to acknowledge him, but he wouldn¡¯t meet his eyes. ¡°No hope was given. You know I gave it to you!¡± Ouroboros pleaded.


    ¡°Glorified irrationality.¡± Aziacht started walking. ¡°Opium dulling the pain. That was your hope. You-!¡± He had to stop himself, hanging his head. ¡°You brought this on yourself. Now, bring on your dog. This will be over quickly.¡±


    Sickle and cleaver clashed.

 Armageddon - 4.13

    Aziacht swiped his blade, knocking away the fierce first strike of the Ouroboros. The force put him on the defensive, stepping back into a tree, only to quickly move around to put more space between them. The sickle passed through the trunk where he¡¯d stood.


    Aziacht looked at the determination and anger on their face. The ferocity he¡¯d expected.


    The tree crashed down between them. The Ouroboros stepped up, jumping to bring down his sickle. The curved point glanced from the cleaver, pushing Aziacht back again.


    ¡°No!¡± Aziacht shouted.


    He spun, putting his foot into the Ouroboros¡¯ face, sending them to their back over the fallen log. He was immediately on the attack, charging to stab down as they fell prone. The Ouroboros drew his legs to the chest and kicked him off, throwing Aziacht to the side.


    The Ouroboros was already up. He swung and Aziacht deflected, then returned the attack. The sickle required indirect attack, quick slices. Aziacht jabbed and found his blade redirected, caught in the curve. It was wrenched from his hand, sent spinning into the woods.


    The Ouroboros moved for the kill.


    Aziacht knocked the blade aside with one arm, bashing his head into their face. The skin was stripped from the arm, but the Ouroboros was put into the ground.


    Pain couldn¡¯t stop him.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Porter?¡± Aziacht asked. The Ouroboros, still recovering, made no answer. He held out his hand to receive the Ender Blade from the air. ¡°He needs to witness!¡±


    Bullets tore through the woods, narrowly missing Aziacht. He looked to the source.


    Catherine, the lidless one, and Cobb were coming up the riverbank. Lidless had fired off a rifle but threw it aside when he missed. It was pointless.


    Aziacht could sense the fear in them. But they resisted still.


    The Ouroboros jumped to attack him as he looked away, but Aziacht reached through the attack, grabbing him by the neck. He threw him at them. Breaking through a tree on his way, the Ouroboros sent them scattering.


    ¡°But where¡¯s the man himself?!¡± Aziacht demanded. He looked over the trees. Catherine and the Lidless one had risen into sight. ¡°Time,¡± he said, his words hitting them, ¡°ravages.¡±


    Catherine dropped dead at the first word, her flesh instantly drying to a husk. The words fell on Lidless and his lips curled. His skin dried and he fell forward on the bank, still looking up at Aziacht. He coughed dust before gaining the strength to stand again, determined.


    The Ouroboros was up as well as Cobb. Aziacht turned to see another face, now.


    Porter was there. Further down the river, he stepped up the bank with Hasami¡¯s katana in his hand. He was circling around, Aziacht saw, as the others approached from the front.


    Suddenly, Lidless was sprinting towards him.


    Confident? He quickly reasoned.


    They drew a knife.


    So much determination.


    Aziacht stabbed out, but they were fast. As Lidless ducked under his blade and plunged the knife into his chest, he could only push them away. They were thrown off, but the knife was left. He looked down at the thing protruding from his ribcage.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not right,¡± he said.


    Aziacht lurched forward and took off the man¡¯s head, pulling out the knife in the same motion. He looked at the simple steel blade.


    He laughed. It was just a knife.


    The body tried to crawl away for a moment but went slack.


    Aziacht scrutinized the knife, trying to understand.


    Porter was rushing to hit him from the side. Testing a suspicion, he threw the knife. It landed in the chest of Cobb as he could be seen standing just behind the Ouroboros. As it did, Porter dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.


    ¡°Good effort.¡± Aziacht looked at the blood on his fingertips. ¡°Intention, though, is enough to cause feedback in the circuit. You¡¯re outmatched, Porter. We both know what this is building towards.¡± He moved to kill Porter where he knelt.


    I approach, they throw themselves in protection.


    The Ouroboros launched through the forest at Aziacht. He braced for the impact.


    They locked weapons as their flight ended. The momentum pushed Aziacht back, but he was prepared. He bashed his head again into the Ouroboros, sending them back.


    Aziacht laughed as they recovered, arduously working back to their feet. Pale white figure muddied by the dirt he¡¯d put them in. Porter and the Ouroboros stood ready, now staring down Aziacht, blood running off his chest and arm.


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    He was ready. He¡¯d been ready a long time.


    They attacked at once.


    Aziacht deflected first the Ouroboros, following with a kick to the stomach. His timing barely caught the first of Porter¡¯s swings. He¡¯s no expert, Aziacht knew. He broke through his random attacks, punching him the in the jaw.


    The Ouroboros was back, cutting through a tree.


    Aziacht stepped out of the way. ¡°Tragedy!¡± he spat. He was ready to win.


    He went on the offensive, maneuvering through the Ouroboros¡¯ defenses, his blade raking their forearm. Porter sliced down powerfully, forcing him to dodge and lose balance. Aziacht stumbled back, moving for the river as he did.


    He rapidly retreated, scooping up the gun that Lidless had dropped as he did. He heaved it at them, yelling, ¡°shatter!¡±


    The firearm exploded. Porter threw himself away from the flames, but the Ouroboros let smoke and fire roll off them. He knew what Aziacht knew, now, only the Ender blade could end this.


    They were hurt too. Bright crimson on their arm. But that determination was still in the Ouroboros¡¯ eyes. They all had it. It pushed Aziacht to anger.


    Porter pulled himself from the dirt, quickly lunging from higher ground at Aziacht. His katana was deflected as he landed on the bank, forcing Aziacht into the shallow waters.


    Porter took the moment of surprise to stab again, slicing the side of his chest. But the sword was knocked away before he could slice upward through the shoulder.


    Aziacht followed through while Porter¡¯s weapon was moved aside. He brought his down towards Porter¡¯s head.


    The Ouroboros body-slammed him, though, their weapon left behind on the bank. Aziacht was knocked off his feet, forced down into the waters.


    Porter stood stunned for a moment.


    Aziacht quickly broke free, throwing off the Ouroboros.


    Catching his bearings after nearly catching a cleaver to the head, Porter advanced on Aziacht prone in the river. As he moved in, Aziacht threw himself to his feet faster than expected. The Ender blade flew to his hand from out of the waters.


    Christopher was supposed to be here. The thought flashed into his mind as the next attack came. He jumped back to avoid Aziacht¡¯s jab.


    Aziacht turned as the Ouroboros rose and recalled their own weapon. He defended attacks then from front and back, moving to the side to line his attackers up. They were a flurry of clashing metal, theOuroboros and Porter in tandem, keeping Aziacht at the edge of his ability.


    Blades glanced flesh, one attack taking a finger off Porter¡¯s right hand as the Ender Blade accidentally bounced over his guard.


    Can¡¯t lose focus.


    Porter gritted his teeth, only missing a single beat.


    That instant was enough for Aziacht to work in another kick to the gut, putting the Ouroboros a half dozen yards down the river with incredible force.


    This wasn¡¯t an equal fight, Porter realized, wide-eyed. That physical reaction showed a massive metaphysical imbalance.


    He scrambled to defend as Aziacht set his sights now on him.


    Each successive attack forced Porter to roll the impact into another defense. He risked his weapon being knocked away, being vulnerable. He couldn¡¯t sustain this. He tried letting the attacks miss, but as he continued to back up, it required he move faster. He nearly tripped.


    I have to kill him!


    Porter furiously tried to stab through the onslaught. Aziacht threw his sword to the side, suddenly with two free hands simultaneously grabbing Porter¡¯s sword from him and shoving him.


    Porter fell into the water and watched wide eyed as he expected the katana to be brought down on him.


    ¡°Choice,¡± Aziacht said, looking thoughtfully at the weapon. ¡°It changes nothing.¡± He grabbed the blade with his free hand and held it up. He brought the katana down on his knee, the metal shattering into a thousand pieces. The shards rained down on Porter as he watched it happen.


    Again, Porter was frozen. The Ender blade jumped to Aziacht¡¯s grip, he readied to bring it down. And again, the Ouroboros leaped to crash them into the water. Only this time, Aziacht kept hold of his weapon. As they fell away from each other, rolling, the Ouroboros rose with a hand to his bleeding thigh. Stabbed.


    Porter stood and started to run forward. He stopped short as the Ouroboros put out a hand. ¡°No!¡± they pleaded. ¡°You can¡¯t!¡±


    Aziacht demanded their attention. ¡°Ouroboros!¡± he called.


    They had to let their leg bleed, standing shakily, brandishing the sickle. ¡°Doran¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Aziacht shook his head, he swung his sword. ¡°I AM NIHIL. I¡¯m the first and the only truth. Look at me!¡± he beat his chest. ¡°Every lie comes due!¡±


    The Ouroboros¡¯ hand trembled, his sickle quivering. He¡¯d never felt pain before.


    ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± he said, eyes unfocused.


    Aziacht swung and the sickle defended but didn¡¯t recover. On the second swing, it was knocked from the Ouroboros¡¯ grip, sent into the waters below. He peeled his gaze from his empty hand to the frenzied eyes of Aziacht. He felt fear. ¡°You can¡¯t!¡±


    Aziacht screamed as he plunged his blade into their chest.


    Porter hit his knees.


    The Ouroboros¡¯ mouth fell open.


    He knew now that he was terrified, and that knowledge alone made him understand. He grabbed hold of Aziacht¡¯s clothes, clutching on for life. He was so afraid in that moment.


    Aziacht, screaming raggedly, shoved him off into the waters and backed away. His sword buried in their heart, he clamped hands down on his mouth. His screams strained to escape.


    ¡°WAIT!¡± Porter cried. He couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing.


    Aziacht was speechless. Everything he¡¯d ever wanted, he¡¯d just gotten. Murderer of all murderers, the thought broke through. His hands fell away and he stopped backing up. His breath caught in his throat and he had to force it steady.


    There was no number for the years he¡¯d waited.


    The madness and the lie were broken. He was alone. Sole remaining.


    He looked to Porter and touched his chest. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± he spoke. ¡°I was right. It¡¯s all brought to dust. Everything. There was never a point to this.¡±


    ¡°Then why!?¡± Porter raged. ¡°Why!?¡±


    Aziacht looked down at the dead body. ¡°It¡¯s just pain,¡± he whispered, not even for Porter to hear. He said it to himself. No one would ever believe. No one could face him. ¡°You- you witnessed,¡± he told Porter. ¡°Mankind is witness.¡±


    Porter pushed himself. He fought to stand against a weight he felt, a horrible gravity setting in. He pulled himself from the mud and clenched his fists. No words came as he looked around himself, his eyes searching for anything. Dead trees in the dark, the sun now bellow the horizon. The world was darkening around him, cracks deepening.


    There was nothing.


    There never had been anything.


    It can¡¯t be¡­ He struggled. But he could see it with his own eyes. It¡¯s true.


    Aziacht was right. Everything had led to this. Here, now, he couldn¡¯t lie anymore.


    Porter¡¯s legs gave out. He sunk down to his knees again as Aziacht approached. All the strength in his body ran away. He knew it was time to die. This was the only moment he¡¯d ever lived, he decided. He faced it. There was only the illusion of uncertainty and pain before this. But this, this was real.


    All the gods he¡¯d killed, the people he watched die. None of it had been as real as this understanding. No hell, no heaven, just a punchline.


    Aziacht¡¯s hands wrapped around his throat. He closed his eyes.


    The end.

 Armageddon - 4.14

    An icy grip rested on Porter¡¯s neck, fingers digging in. His arms hung as he was held by the throat and pushed down into the waters. As his face slipped under, he reached to grab Aziacht¡¯s wrists, not to fight back, but to be steadied.


    As the river rushed into his ears, Porter¡¯s eyes widened. The sun was beneath the horizon, now, and the mouth of this river let out on the ocean facing it. Aziacht¡¯s placid face was lit by the last light.


    With his back hitting the riverbed, inches of water above him, Porter felt the weight of Aziacht¡¯s knee driving him down. The current was swallowing him as it began to race. His feet slipped under.


    The sea recalling the waters.


    Porter strained. Vessels burst in his eyes as he held tightly onto the hands which drowned him. The rush in his ears took him far away, but he had to watch. Suddenly, the tempo rose violently, his heart leaping. His legs began to thrash, his arms attempting to pry apart Aziacht¡¯s vice grip. His lungs screamed for air, sending convulsions through his chest.


    He understood.


    Porter wasn¡¯t sure if it was his sight or the waters which ran red. But when the light began to die, he knew it was his vision going.


    He¡¯d watched the Ouroboros fall, pierced in the heart, blood running out into the ocean. The vision was seared into his mind. The meaning? It didn¡¯t matter. That was true of the meaning itself. His thoughts were running away from him.


    Porter¡¯s grip released, his hands falling away. Finally, he was submerged. The current washed over him and everything grew silent. Everything slowed. His lungs burned.


    His eyes shut.


    In the blackness, the pain was distant. It was a subsuming darkness which moved onto him, bringing numbness.


    There¡¯s nothing I could have done differently, he lamented.Everything has a time.


    The floor melted away beneath him, a sinking feeling flooding through him. A growing expanse stretched out over the landscape of his mind, an abyss like the depth of the ocean. Suddenly, there was light.


    Out of the cloudy dark, a random neuron firing. In the dark behind his eyes came a coalescing form from the static. Like a dream, meaning from chaos. He saw the mellow illumination become the pulsating, technicolor light of a deep-sea jellyfish.


    It moved into sight, drifting like the ruins of warships scattered across the void. Weightless.


    Porter began to fall into the abyss. The lights on that jellyfish, flashing so brightly, rapidly spread apart around him as everything zoomed back. Explosively expanding into the ocean¡¯s dark, those lights filled it with burning fire. Every point was massive beyond understanding. They gathered together into a symphony and began to play. He could see the sound before him.


    The tempo was rising. Stars poured out into his blood.


    Every inch of him caught fire as time began again like his racing heart.


    It¡¯s what you are, the chorus hailed. Fire in your bones.


    Aziacht held him down in the water, watching the life go out of him beneath the murk.


    Porter¡¯s hands broke the surface.


    They shot out to grab Aziacht¡¯s wrists and wrench them apart. With his hold broken, Aziacht was thrown off. Porter was risen from the river, gasping for breath as a titanic melody rose in his ears. His eyes shot open, the starless sky before them. As his chest heaved, his blue eyes relaxed on the vast and the music exploded in his ears. It rose feverishly to climax, shaking him.


    Suddenly, he was struck by pure silence.


    He was alive, he realized. The loop is never broken.


    Aziacht recovered and looked at him, star struck. He didn¡¯t understand. He scrambled up and punched Porter in the face, toppling him back into the stream as he himself fell exhausted beside him. When Porter pulled himself up again, Aziacht held out his hands, as if for mercy. ¡°Stop,¡± he told him.


    Porter made it unsteadily to his feet. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    Aziacht shot up and tackled him, driving him down and wrapping his hands again around his throat. Porter fought him off and rolled to the side. As he recovered, Aziacht pleaded with him. ¡°Please, Quinn! Why won¡¯t you just lie down!?¡±


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    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Porter fought him now, shoving Aziacht stumbling back.


    Aziacht''s back hit the bank, but he wouldn''t stay down. In return, Porter was knocked back as a shoulder drove into his stomach, bringing him under the icy waters. As he tried to sit up, Aziacht kneed him in the chin. Blood fell from his mouth as he leaned up to keep his head above water. He felt the chips of teeth in his mouth.


    Angrier, Aziacht yelled, ¡°Stop!¡± He kicked at Porter.


    Porter caught his leg and wrenched it, putting Aziacht into the water. They both made it to their feet at the same time. Porter¡¯s response came, then. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± he repeated for the last time. He almost couldn¡¯t stand, but a weak smile came to him. ¡°I know that I never will, now.¡± He spread his arms. ¡°You couldn¡¯t kill me.¡±


    Aziacht was frozen for a moment. He refused to believe.


    He lashed out. Porter raised his arms to catch the first few punches at head level. As he battered Porter¡¯s ribs instead, Aziacht drowned everything out in an incoherent raging scream. He could still make this right.


    Porter broke through with an elbow to the head. Aziacht staggered but grappled. He got a hold and they were locked together, ragged screams filling Porter¡¯s ears.


    Working his arms between them, Porter pushed, slipping under and out. As Aziacht was forced back, his eyes were cast briefly into the forest. His voice died in his throat. He¡¯d seen something. As he was lost in confusion, Porter jumped in, beating him down at full force.


    Aziacht fought to put distance between them, regaining his focus. ¡°Enough!¡± The words were like an explosion, turning the river momentarily into a violent storm, forcing Porter to cover his eyes. When he looked again, Aziacht¡¯s hand was outstretched. ¡°You can¡¯t deny me!¡± he said, the Ender Blade flying into his hold. ¡°I killed your name, serpent.¡±


    Porter was still for a moment. He clenched and unclenched his fists, spitting blood from his mouth. ¡°What can death do to me,¡± he asked, ¡°when its wages are death? You can¡¯t win.¡± A laugh broke out. ¡°The jokes on you. Because I don¡¯t quit.¡±


    Aziacht charge, sword readied. ¡°There¡¯s no one to carry on for you! This wretched fucking game is done!¡±


    Sickle and cleaver clashed.


    Aziacht looked at the blade in Porter¡¯s hands, called up from the water. The weapon of the Ouroboros in his hands. Nature¡¯s truth. He could wield it.


    Porter strained against him as their weapons locked, but Aziacht was suddenly somewhere else, blood boiling in his veins.


    He isn¡¯t one of the three, Aziacht thought. It was he, the Curse, and Elicht, that was how it was supposed to be. Immoral, Moral, and Amoral, the three answers to existence. What had happened?


    Aziacht kicked Porter in the chest, almost putting him on his back. He bashed the sickle down as Porter awkwardly tried to wield it for the first time. Striking again and again. ¡°No!¡± he bellowed. ¡°You can¡¯t cheat me! I killed you!¡±


    Each hit was a brutal hammerfall. Porter fought the volley, but he was quickly put on his knees. He was going to lose his grip. Each strike brought it closer. Aziacht wouldn¡¯t have his ending stolen. Not now. Everything he¡¯d done was for this. He knew he was right. He wouldn¡¯t be denied.


    The sickle was knocked away. He could bring down the final swing.


    This was his moment.


    His hand froze. Their eyes locked.


    The cleaver wavering inches from Porter¡¯s neck.


    ...I failed.


    In an instant, Porter took up the sickle and threaded it between his ribs. The cleaver was thrown away into the waters. Aziacht struck the side of Porter¡¯s head, his gaze hollow, his teeth clenched in pain. He began to stumble forward.


    Aziacht put a hand to his side where the sickle curved inside, trying to press down on the pain. He couldn¡¯t speak. He couldn¡¯t think past the horrible emotions welling up.


    Porter crawled exhaustedly onto the riverbank, watching as Aziacht walked towards the ocean. His breath was strained, he couldn¡¯t go any further. But it was done. He was alive.


    He collapsed in the mud, watching as the cracks in reality began to regress. When he finally sat up on the bank, looking back the way Aziacht had gone, he felt his heart racing still. Like liquid fire pumping in his veins.


    They had disappeared out of sight.


    The power thrumming in his chest was matched by the deadness that settled in his body. A weight too heavy to move laid over every inch of him. Some light raindrops were falling in the forest, dotting the surface of the river. It was all dissonant to him.


    Porter let out a scream.


    The Ouroboros was dead. That was the burden. That corpse had occupied his soul to survive. It was glorious and awful. He had swallowed that death and it poisoned him. Where was the victory?


    He was lost.


    Porter struggled to sit forward and look down at his hands. He¡¯d held the sickle, he¡¯d had the power, but he¡¯d traded it away to survive. He felt that it was beyond his reach, now.


    He rubbed at his face, trying to clear his mind. The dark forest was shaken with the wind, and again he could feel how small he was.


    Every justification was lost. He¡¯d proven it didn¡¯t matter.


    He looked along the river, but couldn¡¯t spot the Ouroboros¡¯ body. Taken away by the current, maybe. Fallen through the floor of reality like all the others.


    Aziacht had stepped off the map. He¡¯d never see him again, Porter knew. Never again. The universe lacked the constitution to submit to that sickness again. He bore it.


    It was just him in existence. The last man alive¡­


    The Deus Ex loomed, barely visible above the world. He could only catch it by the light on its black edge, shining from beneath the horizon. Aku was alive in there. The machination.


    Then there were two.


    Porter clenched his fist. He still had power, something new in him. It was a part of him he¡¯d never been able to reach. A truth. He¡¯d not made the choice to fight back as he¡¯d drowned. It hadn¡¯t been the will of reason. No emotion, even. He¡¯d wanted to live. That made him a liar and it made him right.


    That wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    Porter sighed. He hung his head.


    His legs were almost immovable, but he stood. He cast his eyes deeper into the woods, up the river where it only got darker. He couldn¡¯t see the way ahead.


    He wanted to swear, to damn this forest and Aziacht. Screw them all. But he couldn¡¯t. He still had to fix the universe. To order it. He could do that.


    ¡°You drank death,¡± Porter said, somber. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see you on the other side. But you¡­¡± he stopped to let what hit him pass. Keep composure. ¡°Just be there, you bastard¡­ Please.¡±


    Glancing back once more the way Aziacht had gone, he nodded.


    He was done.

 Armageddon - 4.15

    The mouth of the river met with the ocean, a rocky shore rising around it. Waves broke against those darkened stones. They were slick, climbing them. Having staggered to the farthest outcropping''s edge, I could see the roiling water straight to the black horizon, standing doused in salted spray.


    Half of me was so disappointed to be here.


    I looked out on the waters churning. I''d come back just to die again. But it wasn''t that which made me angry. It was the sickle in my side. The shallow breaths that rumbled deeply in my chest as blood bubbled up inside my lungs.


    And now I was here, at the end of my line.


    I, Aziacht.


    A gentle rain began to fall. I almost laughed at it.


    This is who I was. This is what caring too much got you.


    I was so angry and it didn¡¯t make sense anymore. Porter had cheated me out of victory, Christopher had won, in a way. It¡¯d been satisfying to kill that fucker, regardless. And he was dead.


    But this hadn¡¯t been what I¡¯d wanted.


    The other half of me was utterly unsurprised.


    I¡¯d known it once before when I¡¯d lost my arm. I¡¯d realized what Aziacht never could. What had kept me together for eternities past was my drive. My singular will to end it. Doran had, in the end, realized what I could only know now in defeat.


    There wasn¡¯t a point to that drive. I was wrong about the ending.


    ¡°Oh, Christ,¡± I swore, looking at the blood on my hand.


    All this suffering for nothing. They couldn¡¯t see two seconds into the future. No sane person could believe this fucking pyre existed in positive utility.


    I tried for a second to pull out the sickle, looking up and clenching my teeth. The searing pain began and I couldn¡¯t feel it move. I couldn¡¯t do it.


    You can stop. Just stop. Please.


    Releasing my held breath, I gasped in pain. Lightning shot through my body, every muscle screaming, a groan barely escaping my lips as I tried not to gasp again. The hurt woke me up like a blazing light when I inhaled again.


    I was a dream, then I awoke to the sound of tumultuousnoise.


    Disorientation wracked my head, sending me to my knees. Tremors lanced through me, running to the tips of my hands as they caught the stone to stop my fall. Matted hair clung to my face. I may have been having a seizure, but I didn¡¯t care.


    I was awake for the first time.


    The sound of blood rushing in my ears thumped like drums.My eyes affixed on the ground, staring at trembling hands, widened.


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    I¡¯m dying.


    I was finally dying.


    My head shot up as I tried to stand, barely able to sit up before I lurched forward again, catching myself on the rock¡¯s edge. I coughed up blood into the crashing waves.


    I don¡¯t want to die.


    The irony of that was painful.


    Through hell, with friends, demons, tyrants, soldiers, and people I loved. Through all that, I¡¯d wanted to prove myself right so I could die. So that I could be complete. In the end, when I¡¯d been distracted, moments before I¡¯d realized my failure, I¡¯d been thinking of her. That was what had stopped my hand.


    I had cared that she was still alive somewhere. I¡¯d heard her voice.


    Porter was right. I¡¯d glimpsed the collateral in that sound. I was selfish.


    Fuck it all. My hate was a resentful thing.


    I had brought forward the conditions of life and I called it a Curse.


    With the forest to my back, dead trees swaying, a breeze took me from the front. It came in across the seas, washing over me with the rain that soaked down to my bones. A stream of my blood ran over the rocks into the water.


    I refused to make up my own answers. There was only the boulder and mountain, no summit or cheat to make things better.


    I refused responsibility, I refused freedom. I wouldn¡¯t worship my suffering or fight it. That was who I was. Now I faced it.


    ¡°Here I am,¡± I whispered, barely a sound. ¡°A light in the darkness.¡±


    Tears started to stream down my face.


    You can¡¯t show truth without a lie to kill.


    I couldn¡¯t think my way out of this. I¡¯d tried so hard.


    ¡°I understand,¡± I said.


    I coughed and choked on my own blood. My skin was growing cold. As I lowered down onto my back, my eyes fell on the depthless sky.


    The world was silent and calm from the ground. My head rested against the hard rock. My legs were going deaf.


    My hands shook with the pain. The release of rain drifted down on my face. The oceanside air was crisp to breathe, as much as I could bare.


    My arms suddenly fell limp at my sides.


    I snuck a peek at the blood welling out from the sickle in my chest.


    ¡°Hell¡­¡± My head lulled over. I was too tired. It cast my gaze on the horizon as my cheek met the stone. ¡°I kept going for so long. I kept on this damn path just to die here.¡± I started hyperventilating, each breath bringing more pain. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡­ couldn¡¯t do this sooner. Heh.¡± I managed to find a small grin. I¡¯d lived too long to see anymore. It was all just fog on a window to me.


    But I finally understood.


    Bleeding out under the starless sky, my fists clenched and my heart thudded.


    None of it was wrong. Only me. The rest will go on. Only I end.


    I was dying on the shore, alone, awestruck by the tossing ocean. I couldn¡¯t speak anymore. I didn¡¯t mind.


    My gaze finally relaxed on the air. My mouth hung open and dry, arms burning with pins and needles before going silent. My chest heaved twice more.


    I wished that I could tell someone about what I saw. As the smallest consolation prize. Unfocused as they were, my eyes saw beauty. The chaos told me something. All the pain and death, even my own failures. They meant something. I was made a light in the darkness.


    It comes to good.


    As I began to slip from the wet stone, my hand grasped to hold on, trying to stay me from the edge. My last thoughts washing away with the rain, I knew what I wanted to do.


    Fingers digging into the jagged rock, I saved myself from the plunge. With my other hand I reached over, grabbing the Sickle¡¯s handle. I held my breath and pulled. It slid from my flesh and I cast it back across the rocks. It had let me go.


    Fingers strained. My empty lungs begged me to breathe again. I didn¡¯t want to.


    It¡¯s time to make things right.


    I screwed my eyes shut. I held on for a moment more.


    Finally, I let go.


    Slipping from the rock, I broke against the ocean below. The water was soft and dark, taking me deep into its quiet. Sinking into the sand¡¯s embrace at the bottom, I settled in limply. Everything had come to this. I could only accept it, as much as I hated to. I wouldn¡¯t resent anymore.


    I watched the last hint of light beyond the waves. As it faded, my eyes closing, I knew it would rise again, but for someone else. Not for me. It was okay, now. It would always be.


    In the stillness, I knew it.


    The End

 The End

    Part of me is overwhelmed.


    I''ve been on this project for over two years now. Tracking back, I started it based on a group of characters, a team of the first Eidolons from Utopian history. They were a springboard into the setting and then plot, all within the Omniverse. Aziacht is easily one of the oldest characters I have. He developed from a story wherein the protagonist descended off the edge of hell and into total quiet, meeting him there. Curse or Ouroboros, as a character, predates even that. They were summoned from that quiet and their character took form first.


    This has all been an idea of mine for a long while. It''s finally taken shape and come to life. These ideas which troubled me, these old characters and questions, they''ve been beautiful, in my eyes.


    I can finally take a breath. I can go back and read and take it all in.


    As always, I''ve written to deal with things on my mind, but it''s been very important to me that you all have read. My biggest thanks to the Blue Eyed Watcher. Sound can''t bounce in a vacuum, so thank you for allowing me to hear myself and better judge. The story wouldn''t be the same without.


    The progress we''ve made and will continue to make is what''s most valuable. Dirge has personified that, and it''s not done. I''ll continue this thought at the bottom.


    Final stats here:http://freetexthost.com/h64czbeja3


    Themes.


    Absurdism is the belief that humans exist in purposelessness, meaninglessness, and that there are three responses to this. Those responses were embodied in the three conflicting Primordials in the story, Aziacht, Elicht, and the Ouroboros, as Suicide, Acceptance, and Philosophical Suicide, respectively. I wanted to pit these ideas against each other, and, of course, suicide was rejected. It couldn''t work as a universal option, it was judged by nature, and its only product was collateral damage. This is universally recognized, but it''s a thought many people, including myself, still face and have to individually reject. The spirit of life is struggle.


    The Ouroboros, a symbol which is in fact classically representative of chaos, stood in for God and faith. In the end, they were killed by the existence of tragedy. Theodicy is consistently, in my experience, the weakest point of apologetics. And so it was. Though they lived on in Porter, but only by sheer force of will. As faith limps on today, intellectually scorned.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Christopher too lived on in Aku, still up in the sky.


    A joke is never quite as funny when you explain it, so I''ll leave that there.


    In the end, Doran died and counted it a good thing. He, being suicide, realized he was justified in giving up. He could never change, so that was what he wanted. The world became smaller, but Porter, Anna, and a few others will go on. The Omniverse, which really represents so much potential in life, can only be restored when this is all finally resolved. Just like I feel that society''s existential problems can overshadow our hope, which is a will to actualize potential, so do I think that meaning has to be rediscovered or created in the end for us to move on.


    Which is why, ultimately, the story isn''t done yet.


    Not by a long shot.


    I will be writing a not (it is) sequel named ''Chosen Shackles</a>'', part two of the originally planned trilogy. Phase Two. All leading up to the final questions, greater than anything we''ve yet seen. Doran was the one who rejected the options, but he''s out of the picture now. There''s only the dread of a false order and infinite chaos remaining, and we have to make a choice. We all know the terror of being boxed in, ordered to choose. No right choice to make, only drug by our feet through the mire.


    As it stands, I''m going to take a break, plot the story, and get back in a few or more months. There''s already a first chapter and site if you''d like to get an email when the journey begins, promptly sign up there on the main page.


    If you have any questions, if you''d like to discuss the themes and story direction especially, please leave a comment. It''s been an experience I would always recommend, writing a novel. It''s a way to explore and find answers. And I was never one to settle for the little questions. In comparison to what''s coming, this has only set the stage. Dirge has been a first act, excited and confused, ending in anticipation of the long conflict ahead.


    It''s a way for me to face the world and its conflict. It''s the same one we''re dealing with in society, and it always comes back to what is true and right.


    If it can be settled at all, and I''m not sure it can, we''re going to see. That''s been my heartfelt desire from the start.


    Finally, this has all gone by in a flash. I''ll print up this bastard, bind it, and read it. Until then, I can''t say in every way it was imperfect, though I know it was. But I''ll never regret having written it, and in that way, it''s perfect to me.


    Onward to the summit.


    Thanks for coming.


    - Shaeor

 Amazon Announcement!

    Big news!


    The first book of my new series ''Goblin Mode'' is out now on Amazon! Click below!


    Amazon.com: For the Loot: A LitRPG Fantasy (GOBLIN MODE Book 1) eBook : Yang, Han, Adams, Pearce : Kindle Store</a>


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    If you enjoyed my old book Dirge, I hope you will also enjoy my new fantasy excursion! It''s a story about a goblin anti-hero out ''For the Loot!'' who accidentally manages to do a bit of good along the way. Hijinks, hapless heroism, and selfish bastardism? I''d like to think it''s got it all.


    Cheers!


    Shaeor