《Journey to Elvander》


 Journey to Elvander

    The alarm went off with a loud, blaring annoying god-awful sound. Deacon shifted over from side-to-side trying to fight back the sound with his grunts and yells. He blindly threw his pillow at the alarm clock hoping to knock it on the ground away from him. The pillow only got on top of the clock, muffling the sound.


    Good enough.


    He rose from his bed like a vampire barely waking up from his ten century long slumber, but without the fangs or taste of blood. His hands rub his eyes to recover the blurry vision while he yawned loudly. The young man looked over by his glass door and saw that rain was still heavily pouring down. Deacon enjoyed the noise of the rain, but the muffled alarm clock reminded him that he wasn''t running on his own time and quickly rushed to the bathroom to fix his appearance.


    His toothbrush rubbed against his mouth staring boringly at his mirror; he knew that he was going to the same place that he''s been going to for the last three years and what was going to happen before he set foot in there. Routine was poison to him; it killed him slowly as each day passed. He hardly complained about it though since it paid his bills. He was trying to be as quick as he could to avoid being late for the second day in the row he didn''t even shut off the alarm clock when he passed by it to make himself a pot of coffee.


    "Oh man." Deacon looked over to his alarm clock. "Can you shut up for one second?!"


    The tired man stomped over to the bane of his morning and pulled the cord off the wall plug. His face gave a smile of satisfaction while he tossed it on his bed, which consisted of a mattress, a blanket, and a pillow. His bills didn''t allow him a frame, or a pillowcase for that matter.


    Deacon rushed to his recliner where he had his work clothes laid out and ready for him to wear. The outfit consisted of black slim jeans and a black T-shirt that said I heart Code in a fun style typography. Within five minutes, he was dressed and prepared to get to his job, rain or shine.


    #


    He stood outside of his glass door under the heavy rain. He sighed heavily and pulled over his yellow poncho as he stepped down his stairs to the street where he looked toward his garage. His car was parked inside with the hood opened and partially covered with a tarp; it had seen better days and Deacon knew that. Unfortunately, the car''s next better day wasn''t going to be today.


    He ran to the bus stop along the corner of his home in front of the corner store that sold his favorite red bean bagel. His pockets were strapped for the week thanks to his budget and his last purchase of the Raging Uppercut season pass. The purchase itself set him back about fifty dollars. He regretted every second of that purchase, but enjoyed every single minute of that show.


    The rain beat down his poncho while he waited for the bus, which would looked like it was almost at his stop.


    "I made it." Deacon told himself with a smile.


    The bus approached cautiously to the bus stop and hissed until it made a full stop. Deacon allowed the other commuters to exit before he made his way inside. The inside was filled with elderly ladies holding their shopping bags of groceries and mothers holding their children on their laps to leave space for the other riders. Although it looked hectic with the variety of people inside; it gave Deacon a peaceful feeling that he only found inside Tyur, his hometown.


    He placed two dollars inside the slot and retrieved his bus pass then proceeded to sit in the side of the bus next to one of the mothers. Her baby stared at him with her big eyes and saliva dripping down from her chubby cheeks matched the dripping frequency of the rain outside of the bus. Deacon gave her a smile and a silent wave as he put his headphones on to listen to his lo-fi playlist. His struggled to make his eyes stay open since he didn''t want to fall asleep and miss his stop...again. He nodded his head, but pinched himself awake while the baby next him continued to stare at him.


    "Next stop is Baldur Plaza." The bus driver said over his P.A. system.


    "Bye cutie." Deacon lightly pinched the baby''s cheek then quickly pulled the stop line and rushed to the exit of the bus.


    The rain began to drop lighter than before, but still soaked the sidewalk that he was standing on. Baldur Plaza was decorated with a variety of shops ranging from souvenirs to books all the way to electronics in the form of the Repair Hub, a small store that specialized in selling used electronic devices and repairing phones, tablets, and other everyday devices that may need some tender, loving care. The place of business for Deacon. The store was located at the other end of the plaza; the opposite side of the bus stop. His phone said he was still about ten minutes early to make his shift. He started to make his way to work while the rain tapped on his poncho then seeping into his shirt. He shivered with the cold water, but he was close by the shop to bother complaining about it.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Luckily, he didn''t have to deal with the customers which gave him the benefit of having an easier day than his co-workers who had to talk the people into why purchasing a refurbished tablet was better than getting one at some mega-market. Deacon obviously knew that it was just the price, but those guys milked the pros a little too much for his taste.


    His personal opinion.


    #


    The door to the shop chimed as Deacon entered for his shift. Children were already running around and playing on the video game consoles that stood around the store like monoliths, except more entertaining. The televisions that weren''t playing the latest hit video game had the news with the subtitles scrolling below the monitor. The headlines were the same as the week before and the week before that.


    "Looks like Elvander may begin to suffer without any form of a fuel source." The female reporter stated.


    "You may be right." Her male companion agreed with her. "Shadow Cannon has been a force of destruction along the coast of Elvander, leaving a wake of fire and death wherever they land. Now with their primary fuel depots being siphoned, it may begin to mark the end of the once-prospering nation."


    "Damn." A female salesperson sighed from behind the counter, "It''s starting to look like this war is going to end before it even started."


    "I don''t know." Deacon shrugged, "Didn''t we have this kind of scare last year? People are going to the fueling huts buying as much as they can before we run dry. Sounds like a conspiracy to me."


    "Only you can see the ''positivity'' into things!" His manager''s breathless voice shouted from the stockroom.


    "All I''m saying is that I''m not going to feed into this panic when nothing is going to happen to us."


    "You do know that they will be releasing giant robots to attack the other surrounding countries, right?" The salesperson said while she rang up a customer for a gift card.


    "Yeah," His manager emerged from the back with a large box, "Like us!"


    "You guys are putting way too much thought into this ''war''." Deacon clocked in through the counter''s computer to start his shift. "Now pass me those phones, so I can actually look busy."


    #


    The final minute to five finally arrived allowing Deacon to punch out and call it a day. He rushed to the bus stop and met with it to get home. The rain continued its way down to the street while Deacon''s footsteps stomped on the puddles when he made his way to his stop. The brakes hissed and the doors opened giving him access inside. He handed over his bus pass to the access machine and sat by the exit close by the driver to make a quick getaway to avoid getting any more wet than he needed.


    He looked out by the road while the bus began its departure and saw some of the people stockpiling on water, fuel, and toilet paper; it looked like they expected the worst especially what they saw on the news. Rampaging machines, bombs, executions, and that was only this week. Deacon felt it was only Elvander''s problem since they were the ones who needed to make a power move when Shadow Cannon threw up their taunts.


    Deacon shook his head in disbelief and slipped on his headphones to listen to his playlist while he took a short nap. He left one cup off his ear, so he can pay attention if his stop was coming up. The calculated time he came up with gave him a twenty minute window to close his eyes.


    The bumps on the road kept waking him, but he attempted to power through since he didn''t get a chance to catch up on his sleep all thanks to his season pass. After a few minutes of rumbling, he finally closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.


    "We''re now arriving at Pinecone Corner." The bus driver announced through the P.A. with her siren-like voice.


    "Yay." Deacon sighed and stood up from his seat to get out of the bus.


    Outside of the bus, the rain was reduced to a light drizzle and the street lights began to turn on for the night. He knew he wasn''t going to make it home before the sunset. The young technology repairman power-walked up the hill to his home just at the peak.


    He ran up the steps, took off his poncho, and kicked off his shoes by his glass door entrance. His hand reached for the door handle then turned the lock to slide it open to get in. The house was quiet and dark from the spots the sun couldn''t reach while it sank below the horizon. The young man walked to the fridge to pull out a beer that was stashed in the very back of the fridge followed by throwing his work clothes back on his recliner where he sat down to watch TV.


    The networks all began to show the breaking news about the Elvander/Shadow Cannon war, but Deacon didn''t want to waste his time with it; he cycled through the television until he found a comedy show about chefs trying to compete for the same love interest. A played-out concept, but he was a sucker for them.


    He sipped his beer and leaned back on his seat to enjoy the rest of his evening. The same thing he did every other day. He didn''t expect anything more out of it.


    Boom!


    A loud bang alerted him from outside. He wanted to ignore it, but his curiosity took the bait making him hurry to his glass door where he saw a bright, fiery object falling down from the sky. Deacon''s eyes opened up wider as the object got closer to the ground. Deacon decided to break his routine and see for himself what that mysterious fireball was. The orange light that emitted from it soon disappeared once it reached the ground. A loud explosion was muffled from the distance, but it was obvious that it came from the direction of the strange falling object.


    Deacon ran down his stairs while he put on his poncho and grabbed his keys. His steps paused once he reached to his garage.


    "I really hope you can survive this short trip." Deacon looked over to his car.

 Machine Graveyard

    Deacon''s car sputtered down the highway toward the dense forest where he saw the falling object crash. The trees were high and filled the area until it blocked the sun causing an instant darkness; at seven o''clock it was pitch black. The only thing that aided him for light was the car''s headlights.


    He veered off the road into the grass that surrounded the forest. The car kept firing off a loud noise from the exhaust and any animal in the vicinity will instantly dart off away from it, obviously thinking it''d be a gun of some kind.


    A faint orange hue shined from the dark forest among the dense trees, but thankfully the flame seemed to be subdued preventing any wildfire from happening.


    The curious man parked his car by the "entrance" of the forest to make the rest of his trek on foot to avoid any accidents. He stepped quietly toward the crashed object with his smartphone flashlight shining the path in front of him. As usual, it was littered with scrapped cars and other automobiles that people decided to abandon after they were beyond possible repair.


    The place where machines were left to die.


    Each step grew closer to the orange hue and every inch made the light brighter than when he first arrived to the site.


    A loud screeching noise caused him to hide from whatever was there. Deacon''s heart began to pound hard against his chest almost like it wanted to turn tail and run away from the sound.


    "What the hell was that?!" Deacon tried to catch his breathing as quietly as he could to avoid detection from whatever was beyond the trees.


    His phone rang with its chime that notified him about getting a text message. The innocent sound was louder in the woods than it was in his living room. He quickly drew out his phone to silence it, but the message that appeared gave him pause. His face was shown through the light of his screen as he stared at his phone with his eyes and mouth wide open.


    The message read: Who is there?


    "Who saw me?" Deacon crouched to blend in with the trees as well as he could.


    He sent back a message asking for his name.


    Nothing. Things began to horrifyingly turn.


    Again, the sound of metal screeching gave Deacon the chills while he tried his best to avoid the person or thing that was there.


    "What did I get myself into?" Deacon whispered to himself. "I should''ve just ignored it and went to bed."


    Another message buzzed into his phone: Help me.


    "Help you?" Deacon read the message then narrated his reply, "I don''t even know who you are. How did you get my number?!"


    He waited for a response; the paranoid young man looked over his shoulder to avoid any unnecessary surprises.


    Another message appeared: Walk toward me.


    Every fiber of his being wanted to turn the other way. Just run as fast as he could then drive off forgetting every single thing that has happened so far. That''s what he thought about; instead he followed the message and assumed it was from the crashed object. His footsteps quickly marched to the object in order to see who needed his aid.


    Another metal screeching sound woke the birds that were nesting above the trees. A large group of wings flapped quickly to escape from the disturbance. The screeching was slower than the other noises before it. The smell of burnt wires soon began to emerge from the trees.


    "Is it a ship?" Deacon wondered. "Definitely has to be a ship."


    His guess was soon discovered to be wrong when he found the origin of the shooting star that crash landed on his routine.


    A message buzzed again: Help me.


    The screeching noise sounded again followed by two red lights.


    "Oh damn, oh damn, oh damn!" Deacon quickly retreated back to the trees to avoid the red eyes. "It''s one of them! Those Shadow Cannon soldiers!"


    His phone buzzed again, but the scared young man chose to ignore it while he thought through his options. Nothing looked good to him; each review of his scenario resulted in him getting killed in some way that he would rather not repeating out loud.


    He let out a sigh then slowly walked out of the trees toward the machine.


    "Are you the one sending me these messages?" Deacon held up his phone.


    The robot nodded while it held its arm over its chestplate. The impact may have did some minor damage to it, but something else gave it the gaping hole that it was now tending.


    "You do know that you''re bad guy, right?" Deacon slowly walked up to the large robot. "Helping you is pretty much a death sentence.


    The robot whirred softly and nodded again.


    Deacon''s phone buzzed: I won''t tell if you don''t.


    "Humor. This robot knows humor. Just my luck." Deacon scoffed, "I can''t believe I''m going to ask this, but can you show me your wound?"


    The machine slowly moved its hand away from the sparking hole in its chestplate. The hole wasn''t clean through the robot, but it still looked bad enough to cause any future issues that could affect its basic motor functions, such as exterminating an entire city.


    "Well, I don''t know what you got into fight with, but looks like it won." Deacon said while he shined his phone''s flashlight around the hole to see what was salvageable. "There''s nothing I can do about it right now without my tools. Do you mind waiting here? Then again not like you have a choice."


    The robot nodded with an affirming whir.


    Deacon''s phone buzzed: Please hurry.


    "Well, I''ll try my best. Just try not to blow anything up." Deacon sighed. "If I help you, will you leave this town and not kill us?"


    Another message got to his phone: Yes.


    "Alright then. Just give me about an hour." Deacon checked his phone to make sure he was right about his trip estimate.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    #


    Deacon arrived back at his house with his car sputtering to a complete stop and headlights lighting up the garage. He rushed to his workstation where he had some various tools from his projects that he never bothered to complete like a vacuuming robot, some app that would keep tabs on a pet, and a motorcycle that ran on social media likes. The only things he felt that were needed was a USB cable, a plasma saw, a miniature welder, and some splice connectors to aid him with the wounded robot.


    "Damn." Deacon grabbed a bag from under his workstation. "I really hope this is all I need."


    Hopping back into his car; he sped off toward the forest to see what he was able to accomplish with his limited materials.


    #


    The sputtering car stopped once again at the forest where the robot still sat with its hand holding the wound. Without wasting anymore time, Deacon exited the car and ran to the machine with his tool bag in tow.


    "Alright I need to connect this plug into your hard drive, where do you have it?" Deacon pulled out his USB cable from the bulky bag.


    The robot whirred then pointed at the back of its neck where the port was located.


    The young man connected the USB port to the hard drive and his phone to view the contents on it to diagnose any issues that occurred when it got wounded.


    He looked at the main folder that said "Project Ragnarok", a name that didn''t give him any comfort, but opened it nonetheless. Using his fingers, he scanned through the various folders and libraries to locate any code that can give him a sign to where the damage was mostly popping up.


    "Well, Mr. Ragnarok," Deacon sighed while he looked at his phone. "You look like someone had a field day with you. You''re code is so buggy thanks to your friend who shot you."


    His phone buzzed: Ragnarok?


    "Yeah, that''s what it said on your source code. Basically it means ''End of the World'' in the Norse mythology."


    Another message: World... end?


    "Yeah, I guess Ragnar can work. Sounds less... world end-y."


    Ragnar shrugged in a half-agreeing tone.


    "Luckily for you." Deacon pulled out his plasma saw. "All you need is a band-aid."


    Deacon searched for some scrap metal around the forest and with the wide selection of cars it wasn''t going to be much of a challenge. Holding his plasma saw and showing a large smile, Deacon began to cut off pieces of automobiles that he felt made the cut as a patch for his patient.


    After close to an hour, he managed to grab himself a vast collection of would-be patches for Ragnar. He dragged each of them back to the machine and laid them out on the ground for him.


    "Take your pick." Deacon used his flashlight to show Ragnar the selection of metal, ranging from the rusty, dystopian look to the polished white perfection.


    Ragnar took his time to make his pick, but soon chose a bright red matte look to compliment his gunmetal shell.


    "Alright then." Deacon pulled out some splicing connectors to put back the wiring that was split apart from the damage. While he peeked inside he noticed a high-caliber bullet lodged inside the wound. After some use of his elbow grease, he managed to pull it out.


    The bullet was about as wide as his palm and as long as hand. The shooter meant business when he fired at Ragnar. The wiring was soon organized after another hour of trying to match the pair of damaged wires, easily making his whole night complicated.


    "Now hold this over the hole." Deacon pointed at the red panel that Ragnar had picked with his other hand holding pair of goggles.


    Ragnar followed the order and planted the panel over his wound while Deacon welded it on to the chestplate. The light was bright enough to light up the surrounding darkness with some quick strobes of brightness. Deacon''s hand moved slowly as he moved his miniature welder to get every inch of the panel attached to the chestplate.


    "Good as new." Deacon smiled. His goggles blocked his eyes, but he was exhausted from the work. He reached for his phone and cable again to make sure the hardware in Ragnar''s chest was working with the code written in his hard drive.


    The phone screen loaded with the folders that he originally opened and saw some of the buggy code vanishing when he compiled it again. That would''ve been the end of it, but more messages appeared on the console saying that some of the functions were not being read.


    Deacon grew curious and tapped onto the console message to pull up the folder. The code read well, but most of it was missing. Whatever was there as Ragnar''s main function was erased. The missing code wasn''t affecting Ragnar or its basic movement, so Deacon was okay with leaving it be.


    "Alright looks like I''m finished here. You remember our deal, right?" Deacon unplugged the cable from the large machine''s head.


    Ragnar stood up from the ground and stood up easily towering the young man. The height looked like an easy twelve feet. The robot looked down to stare at Deacon leaving him with an uncomfortable feeling.


    "I''m going to assume that you remember our deal." Deacon nervously chuckled. "You know, the one about you not... killing... us. Bye."


    Deacon quickly walked to his car and reversed out of the forest then sped off back to the highway that led to the city. He looked at the rear-view mirror and saw the two red eyes still fixed on him as they grew smaller from the gaining distance.


    "What a creepy robot." Deacon said to himself with a shudder going through his body. "The last thing I need is this guy sneaking up to my house in my sleep ready to kill me."

 Joy of Sleep

    Deacon laid on his mattress tossing and turning for the rest of the night trying to get the whole ordeal out of his head. He couldn¡¯t shake the heavy guilt that he may have helped the enemy destroy his hometown.


    The bed looked like a disaster area whenever he tried to find another comfortable spot. Bed sheets were kicked around, the blanket was hanging off the mattress, and one of his socks found its way on the floor while he wore the other one. His night was tough, but at least he was in the safety of his own home.


    Deacon noticed a tapping noise coming from the area of his kitchen window. ¡°What was that?¡±


    The sound stopped for a few minutes allowing him some peaceful sleep before more interruptions decided to make him wake up.


    His eyes were heavy and with the darkness of the room he wasn¡¯t enjoying the moment¡ª to put it gently. He spun himself to the edge of the bed then slowly leaned himself off to attend to the disturbance.


    More light tapping noises echoed through his studio home. He didn¡¯t have to go through hallways or other doorways to get to the kitchen; all he had to do was stand up and walk a few steps to make it.


    Deacon slowly peeked over to the street in order to see what was keeping him awake. The image of Ragnar appeared in front of him.


    ¡°Oh no.¡± Deacon looked at the familiar figure standing below his window holding a few pebbles in its large hand.


    The giant machine somehow ventured away from the forest and followed Deacon home then decided to wait outside for him like if it was a stray cat that the young man fed one time only to see it swing by his house every day.


    ¡°Shoo!¡± Deacon waved Ragnar off with a low, hushing yell in order to avoid waking up the neighbors. The last thing he needed was for them to see him harboring an enemy of the world.


    Ragnar only returned a puzzled look and a confused whir followed by another pebble thrown at the window.


    ¡°I just wanted to sleep.¡± Deacon leaned in defeat by the window giving a loud sigh. He walked outside to get at a personal distance with the war machine.


    Ragnar stood still waiting for his new friend to exit the house.


    ¡°You got a lot of nerv¡ª wiring to be here!¡± Deacon scolded the titan.


    Ragnar whirred again.


    ¡°Can you just at least get in the garage?!¡± Deacon pointed it toward the garage where his car was parked and covered with the tarp from before.


    Ragnar¡¯s heavy steps thudded loudly while its metal joints screeched. It was clueless to the ruckus it was creating and crouched to get into the garage due to its large size.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a dog!¡± Deacon ran up his stairs to get his sleep. He didn¡¯t want to waste anymore time trying to talk some sense into Ragnar and felt that it was something that can wait.


    His phone buzzed with its screen shining the dark home.


    ¡°An annoying dog!¡± The young man felt like crying at that point.


    The message from Ragnar read: Can you help?


    ¡°I really hope he didn¡¯t do any damage to the car.¡± Deacon scoffed. He walked back outside before he could even get to his bed.


    ¡°This better be good!¡± His steps were heavily making contact with the wooden stairs, creaking as he descended.


    Ragnar sat in the corner of the garage staring outside. As a machine, it didn¡¯t need sleep, but its curiosity may have done some unwanted results.


    Deacon tried to hold his scream when he saw his car scratched from where Ragnar crawled through to get to the corner of the garage.


    And from where he pointed.


    And sat.


    ¡°Why?¡± Deacon attempted to hold back his anger. ¡°All I needed was a few hundred dollars to get it repaired!¡±


    His phone buzzed again: Help?


    ¡°Oh yeah, sure!¡± Deacon waved his hands up. ¡°Let¡¯s ignore the fact that you demolished my only car!¡±


    Ragnar reached for its chestplate to release the internal latches that were hid inside its chassis. A short hissing sound emerged from its interior; the chestplate began to open slowly as a blue glow emerged causing Deacon¡¯s face to shift from an angry expression to a shocked look.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°What am I looking at?¡± Deacon walked toward the glow.


    His phone buzzed: Fuel cell.


    ¡°From where? For what? Why do you even have something like that inside you?¡± Deacon had a lot of questions, but he didn¡¯t know what answers he really wanted to know.


    Ragnar sent a response: Elvander.


    ¡°You stole it from Elvander or you¡¯re taking it to Elvander?¡±


    Another response: Both.


    Deacon examined the fuel cell to make sure it wasn¡¯t some kind of trap that was created by Shadow Cannon. The blue energy were composites of the Shell mineral that was only found in Elvander. If squeezed with heavy pressure, it would release a gas that would encase the mineral in a blue light. The country of Elvander was known for its near-limitless energy resources. No one there had to pay any energy bill of any kind, maybe a tax but that was as far as it went.


    Well, that was as far as Deacon knew from the articles he read.


    ¡°Is that why you got shot?¡± Deacon asked.


    Ragnar nodded in affirmation.


    ¡°That¡¯s heavy. That must explain the massive amount of empty spaces in your code.¡± Deacon scratched his head. ¡°Did Shadow Cannon even build you?¡±


    Ragnar let out a puzzled whir followed by a text message: I don¡¯t know.


    ¡°I guess there¡¯s more bugs in your code.¡± Deacon sighed. ¡°Well, there isn¡¯t much I can do for you at this point and if they shot you over that thing you¡¯re holding; what makes you think I¡¯m going to have a better chance if I¡¯m helping you? So good night.¡±


    The young man walked back upstairs to his living room and headed over to his bed. He threw himself onto his blanket and pillow to officially end the fiasco.


    His phone buzzed: Representative.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! He¡¯s relentless!¡± Deacon groaned. He sat back up to answer the text message. ¡°What do you mean representative?!¡±


    Ragnar responded: I cannot be seen in Elvander alone.


    Deacon responded as to why did they even have Ragnar go in the first place without a representative. His phone¡¯s keyboard clacked away as he angrily typed his response. All he wanted to do was sleep, not become some kind of babysitter for a giant robot that seems to be a glutton for punishment. The only thing that was on his schedule was to sleep in for his day off while the television played re-runs of some show he didn¡¯t like.


    That was living.


    Ragnar replied: My escort is not here.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± Deacon read his text response aloud.


    Ragnar sent another message: I do not know.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Deacon groaned.


    None of the things that were going on at that moment made sense to him. Why did someone send a rogue Shadow Cannon war machine to steal a prized fuel cell without an escort to get to him? That whole thought just sounded off.


    Deacon stood up from his bed to go back outside in the early morning darkness. He was still mad, but now knew that it wasn¡¯t going to help anybody in this scenario. His staircase creaked as his feet stepped back down toward the garage.


    Ragnar¡¯s red eyes looked out to the entrance. It whirred softly as it tilted its head when it saw Deacon standing in front of the garage.


    ¡°So who exactly sent you?¡± Deacon asked. ¡°Someone altered your code, but I don¡¯t know what to make sense out of it.¡±


    Ragnar messaged: Help me?


    ¡°I¡¯m not going with you on this suicide mission, especially when I don¡¯t even know which side you¡¯re working for.¡± Deacon protested, ¡°But. I will let you stay here until you get your battery charged.¡±


    Deacon pulled the tarp away from his car then popped the hood open to reveal the interior. His main focus was the battery; he grabbed the jumper cables that were in his back seat to hook them up onto the battery terminals.


    ¡°I don¡¯t exactly know how much juice you need, but this should get you up and running for your trip.¡± Deacon climbed on Ragnar to connect the other ends to its neck to charge the large robot¡¯s battery.


    His hand turned the key to turn the car on in order to connect the cables to the terminals allowing the current to transfer to Ragnar.


    ¡°I know I¡¯m going to get an ear-full from my neighbors, but I guess this is pretty important for you.¡± Deacon sighed over the sound of the car¡¯s sputtering engine running.


    The sleepy young man tossed the tarp over Ragnar to hide the machine from prying eyes while he tried to get some sleep in. For extra privacy, he closed the garage door about seventy-five percent from being closed to keep the noise at a minimum.


    ¡°Now if you need me and I hope you don¡¯t. I¡¯m going to be asleep inside.¡± Deacon exhaustedly yawned.


    Ragnar whirred under the tarp that was hiding its head.


    For what felt like the hundredth time, Deacon walked back inside his home then tossed himself on the bed while he stared at the window where the street light shined. The ambiance was already something he was used to and it always helped, but after all the moving back and forth with Ragnar it made him not able to catch his much-wanted sleep.


    His hand moved slowly to his phone and scrolled through his apps until he found the news. His thumb pressed it open to look at any articles, specifically about the war between Shadow Cannon and Elvander. To his surprise, he found what he wanted, but much worse than what he expected.


    Shadow Cannon launched a full-scale attack on a small town called Hazlan, they didn¡¯t have enough resources to even be a challenge to the terrorists. The preferred weapon they used were what they were calling Golems.


    No losses on Shadow Cannon¡¯s side, but the small town of Hazlan was lucky if it would still be found on the satellite.


    Deacon¡¯s guess was that the Golems operated on a hive-mind protocol which basically meant they all shared the same code and followed the same orders. Ragnar was still in the forest when it happened. The coding that was inside Ragnar¡¯s hard drive was completely erased causing the hive-mind network to be inoperative.


    ¡°What if they¡¯re looking for the missing fuel cell?¡± Deacon whispered to himself. ¡°They only shot Ragnar down without going to search for him or any remains. Hazlan is around the border of Cille.¡±


    He gently dropped his phone onto the floor by his bed then reached for his television remote to watch something to get his mind out of the chaos he was reading. His thumb kept pressing on the channel button cycling through different networks until he could find something that was capable of distracting him.


    The channel that was working for him was doing a show about a chef finding true love in his kitchen. Not something he would be watching, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The show was running a twenty-four episode marathon which would last a few hours if it counted the infomercials that ran at that hour.


    ¡°I guess this is looking to be a romantic-comedy kind of day.¡± Deacon got up from his bed to lay on his sofa to watch the show. He hoped it would get him bored enough to make him sleep.

 Border Jumpers

    Hours passed since Deacon first started the marathon. The television was still on with the volume still blaring an infomercial about a drone that can pick up the mail and your kids while you watched them on your phone''s screen.


    Deacon hadn''t slept a wink since he came back inside the house. He looked over at the clock on his phone, which showed him eight thirty in the morning. His eyes were covered with a shade of black from his lack of sleep and his constant eye rubbing.


    "That drone looks so awesome." Deacon said to himself with a monotone voice from his exhaustion. "Only eighteen payments of sixty bucks, what a steal."


    He sat still on his sofa trying to avoid any sudden movements, so he could regain the blood flow to his legs after sitting down for the entire marathon. He walked to the kitchen area of his house and pulled out some cereal to eat before he started his internal debate about helping Ragnar.


    The cereal poured onto the bowl along with some milk then he ate it by the sink, looking out of the window toward his garage to see if Ragnar would pop out. The car inside was still humming as it ran on whatever reserve of fuel it had left before it croaked.


    "Elvander is like days away." Deacon chomped on the cereal. "I''m also pretty sure that the national guard will be keeping an eye for these Golems, all thanks to the news yesterday."


    Deacon''s fingers tapped on his counter while he pondered his decision. He ran through different scenes that he wanted to be prepared for or at least try to avoid altogether. This wasn''t something he had in mind, but the possibility that the entire world rested on that choice didn''t make it any easier.


    With a loud groan, he threw his empty bowl into the sink, grabbed his phone, and ventured off toward his garage to face the mechanical Golem that was now in his temporary care.


    He walked to the side entrance of the garage to meet with Ragnar and get some more answers before he made his decision. He opened the door slowly to make sure he wasn''t walking into any surprises like his car beingon fire or something to that effect.


    Ragnar was still, not a single movement from the towering Golem. The tarp still covered its head and the car was still running; although weaker than before.


    "I see we''re still in one piece." Deacon fully opened the garage door.


    Ragnar whirred.


    "Answer me this." He pulled the tarp away from Ragnar''s body to show its head.


    Ragnar whirred in an agreeing tone along with a nod.


    "What''s important about that fuel cell? Besides its near-infinite capabilities."


    Ragnar sent him a message: Defense power.


    "To power Elvander''s defense?" Deacon tried to piece the message. "So this is the last piece of fuel they have and without it they can''t protect themselves without it?"


    Ragnar nodded.


    "So this is already a losing battle. Shadow Cannon already has a surplus of this stuff, what is one fuel cell going to do for them?" Deacon argued.


    Ragnar shrugged.


    "I guess whoever hacked you left out that piece of information as well." Deacon scoffed.


    He already had his mind made up and prepared to call it quits. He reached for his phone to look at any app notifications and realized he left his news app open.


    An update from the article was posted saying that the amount of casualties from the invasion was over five hundred including children.


    "These people are monsters." Deacon gasped.


    Ragnar whirred in anticipation while it unplugged the battery cables from its neck.


    The phone chimed again with an option to view the video of the article. Deacon tapped on it to play it, expanding the screen to view it in its "Full Screen" setting.


    A figure wearing a gas mask over his face to hide his identity was staring at the camera, ready to give his speech.


    "As you know, the people of Hazlan was just a test run for our newest toy, the Shadow Cannon Golem." The figure''s voice was distorted to a deep growl. "No one was spared. Churches, the hospital, the orphanage, we laid waste to that poor excuse of a town and that wasn''t the full potential of our power."


    "This guy can''t be serious." Deacon watched in horror.


    "Think of it as a message, not just to Elvander, but to the rest of the world. We want the whole pie. If you feel the need to stand up to us, please do so. We insist, but understand this you fools. We are the ones with the muscle." The video ended abruptly.


    The whole clip left a bad taste in Deacon''s mouth and realized that a lot more was at stake than an Elvander grudge match against Shadow Cannon. The people who he knew, the people he won''t ever know, even his own life, they were all at stake in that figure''s game. That monster held all the chips and no one was prepared to call his bluff.


    "How long will it take us to get to Elvander?" Deacon turned to Ragnar.


    Ragnar held up its fingers to count, but gave up followed by its now trademarked shrug and whir technique.


    "Sounds about right." Deacon said sarcastically. "Let''s wait when the sun goes down and we''ll make our move. That''ll give me time to pack a few things before we go for our ''little road trip''."


    Ragnar prepared to stand up in the small, confined garage space.


    "No, please don''t!" Deacon pleaded. "I''ll come back outside for you when its time to go."


    Ragnar gave him a thumbs up along with a happy whirring sound.


    "Don''t thank me yet, we still need to find out how we''re going to avoid the eyes and ears in this town." Deacon put his hands to his waist. "You''re not exactly popular around here... or anywhere for that matter."


    #


    The sun soon dropped below the horizon allowing Deacon and Ragnar a chance to get out of the border without letting out any alarms and having the national guard know that Deacon was harboring a deadly weapon. That was an instant deal breaker.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Deacon grabbed his black hoodie with his scarf around his neck to hide his face while he signaled Ragnar to sneak out of the garage as quietly as it could. The task proved impossible with its joints creaking and grinding even with the slowest of movements.


    "You are just a walking catastrophe, aren''t you big guy?" Deacon sighed. He quickly walked to the garage and helped pull Ragnar with as much effort he can produce.


    The duo managed to get out of the small space after some time struggling. Deacon was out of breath while Ragnar stared blankly at him.


    "Just shut up." Deacon tried to catch his second wind. "Let''s go."


    Ragnar''s footsteps were loud and barely cracked the ground below them.


    "Quietly."


    A message chimed on Deacon''s phone: Sorry.


    #


    They soon found themselves hiding amongst the pine trees that surrounded the outskirts of the city. The fact they managed to avoid being seen was a miracle since Ragnar still hadn''t figured out how to step lightly for the entire walk.


    "Okay, so all we need to do is find a way to avoid those guards. I''m thinking I can build a distraction lure to get their attention away from the entrance. We just need a good ten minutes to execute the plan." Deacon explained his plan to his new partner, who just gave him a thumbs up.


    "Good talk."


    The guards were heavily armed and ready to take on anything that they perceived as an instant threat. They wore armored masks that covered every angle of their heads along with their body armor that looked like it belonged to a tank. The assault rifles had their safeties off ready to fire at a moments notice; each of them meant business.


    "On second thought." Deacon swallowed his fear, "We don''t have to climb the wall right?"


    Ragnar sent a message: We can fight.


    "Yeah maybe you can with your armored body, but I''m just a bullet''s dream." Deacon said. "Besides, don''t you think its bad enough that they already see you as an enemy."


    Ragnar used its eyes to scan the border to see for any other soldiers that were keeping watch around the area. Its vision switched to a thermal view to get a better grasp on who was hiding in the dark areas around the wall.


    A message chimed: Fourteen.


    "Fourteen what? Soldiers?" Deacon asked.


    Ragnar nodded.


    "Not exactly good odds for us. Let''s go around the side and see if we can find another way out. If we''re lucky, they probably left a gate open for their patrol vehicles.


    The pair sneaked through the trees trying to avoid making any noise that can announce their presence. The leaves below their feet crunched with every step and with the combination of the silence around them just made the sound even louder. Deacon''s face winced every time he heard Ragnar''s foot drop to the dirt since it wasn''t really built for stealth. That was uncomfortably fortunate.


    "Look over there and see if we have an opening." Deacon pointed at an vacant part of the wall where he didn''t see any patrol cars around it.


    Ragnar activated its thermal vision again to mark any obstacles that will block their path to the other side. So far the coast to Ragnar was clear giving the young hooded man a signal to go forward.


    The pair scurried to the road below the pine trees and waited by a large rock to avoid any snipers or any cameras that were scanning the zone.


    "Okay let''s go!" whispered Deacon.


    They ran to the base of the wall section in front of them, but Deacon was surprised by what he saw what he thought was a perfect chance.


    "What the freaking hell, Ragnar?!" Deacon pointed at the wall. "Where''s the gate that was supposed to be open?!"


    Deacon saw a flashlight aim toward his direction causing him to duck for cover to avoid being detected and most likely killed.


    "It''s no use. We''re going to have to go back and figure out a different way to get around this place since Elvander is toward this direction."


    Ragnar walked away to try to find a way to cross the wall, but its large frame made it challenge to go around undetected. At least, Deacon was at a safe distance to escape in case things got a little too crazy.


    Ragnar looked at a camera that was facing away from it. It let out a small whirring sound and lightly tapped on the camera. Its eyes turned from red to blue as it gained access into the security cameras'' feed server. The technique managed to give Ragnar a way to cover the whole base in less than a minute.


    "That''s so cool." Deacon whispered to himself in amazement.


    Ragnar released the camera and sent a message to Deacon''s phone: No way.


    "You''re kidding me! Well, I''m out of ideas." Deacon read the message.


    Ragnar walked toward its partner and began to escalate its walk to a full-on sprint. Deacon grew frightened by the sudden change in speed and braced for impact.


    Instead, Ragnar grabbed Deacon and opened its shell to allow him inside as the towering machine jumped over the wall with minimal effort.


    "Oh my¡ª" Deacon couldn''t get any words out due to his shock.


    Ragnar was in the air way over the height of the colossal forty-eight feet wall. Deacon couldn''t see what was going on from the inside of Ragnar''s shell. He really hoped for a screen, but apparently Shadow Cannon had to cut back on their production budget.


    The machine landed onto the ground outside the border of Cille and opened its shell to let Deacon out, who was still clinging onto dear life in the internal grip handles.


    "Why didn''t you tell me you can jump like that?!"


    Deacon climbed out of Ragnar''s shell to get a better view of the land in front of them. Their journey began at that moment.


    "I guess it''s too late to say I have to go pee." Deacon looked to Ragnar.

 Shadow Cannon

    The cell was dark, damp, and confined. The water from the rain outside dripped from the ceiling of the tiny space splashing in front of a figure who was sitting on the hard, uncomfortable floor. His face was covered with welts, bruises, and dried blood; whatever happened to the man was recent. His army outfit was tattered and covered with his blood along with dirt from sleeping on the floor for so long.


    He weakly lifted his head to look at his tiny window, no wider than a foot to avoid any escape attempts unless he learned how to shrink or lose some weight to squeeze through.


    "I hope he made it." The man whispered to himself.


    His door creaked open giving him a small slit of light aiming at his eyes.


    "I already told you guys that I''m not talking." He coughed in pain while he tried to tense his body up for what was to come.


    "We really don''t care what you told us." A gruff voice emerged from the door. "If our leader says to keep you alive, then that''s what we''ll do. So if we were you, we''d be extremely grateful that he''s keeping us alive this long."


    "Then you should know that I''d rather be dead than help you." The prisoner scoffed.


    The two terrorist members who stood outside of the door entered with their guns drawn at the man while they picked him up to drag him out of the room and into the hallway.


    The corridors were just as disgusting as the cells, but at least he got to stretch his legs in the open air. The prisoner''s eyes shifted to the other cells where some of the people were looking at the verge of death. He knew that even if he helped those monsters, he''d be joining them anyways.


    He tried to shake his hands loose from the other men''s grip, but his energy reserves ran low from just trying to breathe. Every inch toward their destination was a step away from surviving and he didn''t want to go down without a fight.


    The weak man used every bit of power he can gain to plant his feet onto the ground and stiffen himself to break free of the terrorists.


    "Are you kidding me?" The gruff voiced man scoffed. "You''re really trying to get yourself killed as quick as possible, huh?"


    The gruff man''s partner used his rifle butt to strike him on the head to knock him out to make the trip as easy as possible.


    "These rebels are getting pretty stupid." The partner said with his scarred lip giving a smile.


    "They know its becoming a losing battle and you know, ''desperate measures''." The gruff man scoffed as they continued to drag the unconscious prisoner.


    After a few more minutes of dragging his body, they threw a black bag over the prisoner''s head and tossed him into a black van with his hands tied up to avoid giving any clues to where they were heading to.


    "I don''t know we have to play babysitter with this guy." The scarred lip man clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    "Would you prefer to take his place?" The gruff man started the van then turned the headlights on to begin driving to their destination.


    "No way!" His partner scoffed.


    "Then shut your mouth and let''s get this thing done."


    #


    The van turned into an underground parking space where it was filled with the same model of the van and same paint color. The lack of people in the vehicles couldn''t say if they were gone for the night or they were inside the building that the parking space was connected to.


    The hooded prisoner groaned lightly while he tried to regain his balance inside the moving van. The tinted windows, dark interior, and the black hood around his head made it hard to look where he was at and whatever training he had didn''t prepare him for what he was experiencing.


    Fear.


    "We''re home!" The gruff man parked the van into a vacant spot. His partner got out of the vehicle then opened the rear passenger door to pull the prisoner out.


    His "rest" helped give a much needed boost and tried to blindly fight back.


    "This crazy bastard!" The scar-lipped man tried to get a grip on him, but was quickly kicked in the face with the hooded man''s barefoot. The terrorist hit the ground with a bloody nose while the gruff man pointed his gun at their prisoner''s head causing him to rapidly calm down.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Pull another crazy stunt like that and I will not hesitate to pull this trigger." The gruff man barked. "Do you understand?!"


    The hooded man took deep breaths and said nothing; his anger stated enough of a point for him.


    "Get the hell up!" The gruff man yelled at his fallen partner.


    The wounded man dazedly stood up using one hand to prop himself up and his other to wipe the blood that was oozing out of his nose.


    "Embarrassing!" The gruff man shook his head. "He was blind and he still knocked you on your ass."


    "Whatever!" His partner grabbed the prisoner''s other hand to finish their escort mission.


    "Better hope he doesn''t see you with all that crap on your face or he''ll definitely teach you lesson." The obvious alpha of the duo said.


    "Damn it." The bloody-nosed man looked at himself through the reflection of the van''s window to clean himself up to look presentable to the man they had to meet in the next few minutes. If brutal men like them were afraid of that one man, what did that mean for the prisoner who already had no chance of walking out of the building alive?


    He was dragged through a set of doors into another hallway albeit a lot cleaner than the previous one he had to stay in. The entrances that filled the hall were closed with a glass window peering inside them for the occupants of each of the rooms. His legs gave in to the lack of energy he had while they pulled him through the corner of the hall.


    "You better hope you can find the right words to pull out of your stubborn tongue." The scar-lipped man sneered.


    "Or he can rip it off, your choice." The gruff man smiled.


    The duo pushed open the dual doors in front of them into a clean room that was painted gray from top to bottom, a neutral color to prevent people psyches from acting up in with their different reactions.


    "If it isn''t the man of the hour." Another voice emerged from the room.


    A well-suited man dressed with the finest black threads money can buy sat on a chair in the middle of the room with a table in front of him.


    "Reves Severs." The prisoner winced. His head could barely lift up to see the man who sat in front of him.


    "Mr. Truce Gilead." The suited man smiled. "I''ve heard things about you. Wonderful things."


    "Really." Truce scoffed. "Can''t say the same for you."


    "Hm." Reves smiled and pointed at the chair in front of him with his open hand. "Please take a seat, you look exhausted."


    "You have no idea." Truce was pushed toward the seat and the gruff man''s hand shoved him to the seat.


    "Now, as you know," Reves fixed the collar on his suit, "We had a little hiccup here in my basewhile we did inventory of the fuel cells that were in our stockpile; we couldn''t help but notice that we had one that may have been overlooked. Do you know about it?"


    "Not a damn thing."


    "Funny, that''s the same response you gave to my interrogators," Reves sighed, "I truly admire your loyalty. I really do Mr. Gilead, but the way you played with my loyalty is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth."


    "Mr. Toomes." Reves looked over to the gruff man.


    "Yes sir?!" Toomes responded with his gruff voice standing straight with his posture fixed.


    "How do I feel about bad tastes?"


    "You are really unenthusiastic for them, sir!" Toomes responded to his leader''s question on point.


    "I have to admit. I felt stupid after letting you slip by my ranks unnoticed for so long and I should correct that, but not until I get my answers. Now Mr. Gilead, my patience is running thin and I feel that I will not be able to extend my courtesy anymore." The leader of Shadow Cannon stood up and with his head nodded a signal to the pair of goons who dragged Truce inside the room.


    The two men grabbed onto their prisoner tightly refusing to give him a chance to escape.


    "Now where did you hide my fuel cell?" Reves stood in front of Truce. His demeanor was calm and haunting even before he began his method of interrogation. "Don''t worry if you decide to lie to me. I''m going to hurt you either way."


    "You can check behind your ass." Truce angrily spat on Reves''s shined shoes.


    "Now, now, Mr. Gilead," Reves shook his head. "I could''ve taken an ''I don''t know'', but that''s just disgusting. Hold him tight boys."


    Reves delivered four punches to Truce''s head then pulled up his head to make sure he faced him.


    "Were those supposed to be punches?" Truce chuckled.


    "I kind of figured a man like you would be able to laugh off the abuse, but I don''t mind moving to drastic measures. Do you like knives?" The terrorist calmly asked his prisoner.


    "They already got my message and they''ll be coming with enough force that it will take them millenniums before they find every molecule of your skeleton!" Truce shook in fear.


    "I always disliked knives. I used to alway cut myself when I was a little boy and my parents always made sure to keep me away from them even when I wanted to spread jam onto my toast." Reves laughed while he pulled a large tanto blade from his suit pocket. "I still remember their faces when I came up to them with a bloody apple. Oh man, they were so pale that day!"


    "Get away!" Truce tried to slide back from the knife, but the two goons behind him kept him in place.


    "Not until I get my answers, Mr. Gilead." Reves waved his knife in front of Truce''s face with a calm look on his face, "Now do you want to walk out without your fingers or toes? Dealer''s choice. Are you right or left-handed?"


    Before another word was spoken, a member of Shadow Cannon''s intelligence team rushed into the room to share his findings.


    "We''re missing a Golem!" The intel specialist told Reves. "We did the nightly diagnosing and we came up with one missing."


    "Oh, Mr. Gilead, you sneaky fox." Reves smiled. "Where did it last ping its location?"


    "It was over the border of Cille before we lost signal. We believe it was shot down." The intelligence officer deduced.


    "Any sign of the fuel cell?" Reves stood away from the weak Truce.


    "Nothing yet, but I can send out a scavenger crew to check out the wreckage." The officer replied.


    "Yes, please do that and let them know I''ll be joining them." Reves fixed his suit and walked with the officer to the exit.


    "What do we do with him?" The scar-lipped man looked over to Truce.


    "As much as I loved his company, Mr.Yusef," Reves didn''t look behind him as he made his exit. "Kill him."


    "Yes sir!" The pair quickly took to the command.


    "Do it respectfully! I don''t want to dishonor the man!" Reves made his exit to get to the bottom of the missing fuel cell mystery.

 Sweet Potatoes

    Deacon and Ragnar walked beside each other in the great wide plains between Cille and Elvander. By airplane the time was less than four hours to arrive, but on foot was a different beast altogether. The sky above them began to turn a pitch black hue while the stars began to sparkle in their arrival. The view was something, different from the city skyline that littered the sky with their own lights.


    Something about the natural view gave Deacon a sense of calm, just like the rain from the other day. The green grass extended a few miles down the path from where the pair was standing.


    A sound emerged from the vast empty space. The noise came from below the duo and close by as well.


    Ragnar looked over to Deacon.


    "Don''t give me that look!" Deacon turned away clutching his abdomen, "I haven''t eaten in the last two hours. I''m surprised that I''m still even standing up. We need to find somewhere quick before I start going feral."


    Ragnar stopped in its steps and began making computing noises. Deacon looked over to his traveling partner in confusion.


    "You better have a good reason for stopping." Deacon sighed.


    Ragnar sent a message: Valiant Diner. Three miles.


    "Oh sweet, you have a GPS." Deacon smiled at his phone screen. "Now carry me."


    Ragnar whirred and held out his hand to give the small young man a boost to ride on its shoulder.


    "I feel like a god!" Deacon laughed maniacally atop Ragnar.


    The dark path in front of them began to show some light from the street lamps that littered the area. A sign of civilization and maybe food.


    "How is it looking Ragnar?" Deacon tapped on the robot''s side of its head. "Do you see anything with those eyes of yours?"


    Ragnar pointed at the town that was still far away with the naked eye, but to the machine it was only inches away.


    Deacon''s stomach growled again making Ragnar whir in shock.


    "Well, I''m sorry, but I can''t make it stop." Deacon winced. "Can''t you like fly again?"


    Ragnar replied: Damage. Battery.


    "Oh yeah, didn''t think about that, looks like we need to make pit stop as soon as we see Valiant Diner."


    The two saw a sign from afar that read: You are now entering Livica, the home of the Sweet Potato Chili!


    "Oh that sounds good." Deacon smiled.


    Ragnar responded with a cheerful whir.


    #


    An hour passed as the pair arrived into the small town of Livica. Deacon had climbed down from Ragnar to stretch his legs. The closest town available to them as they tried to take a short break on their trek. They passed through small local markets that sold various trinkets like blankets, souvenirs, and sweet potato paintings. The town was a complete opposite from the tall buildings and city buses that Deacon was used to. No traffic and it seemed like everything was basically at arm''s reach if they needed to pick up something.


    "I wouldn''t be surprised if nothing is open at this hour." Deacon looked around the road for an OPEN neon sign or maybe the indoor lights were still on that would let them know that their business was sought after.


    Ragnar used its internal GPS to guide Deacon to Valiant Diner, a place that would supply the both of them with something to recharge their batteries, literally and figuratively.


    "How far are we from it now?" Deacon looked up to Ragnar.


    Ragnar replied: Around the corner.


    "Not bad, buddy. Not bad at..."


    The parking lot was filled with motorcycles, mostly painted with black and shining with heavy chrome. A large neon sign with the words Valiant Diner in red shined at the pair.


    "By any chance, did your GPS mention anything about it being a biker bar?" Deacon stammered.


    Ragnar shook its head to give a no.


    "Looks like its the only place open in this ghost town." Deacon''s stomach gave him a tug toward the diner. "Let''s just order the food, get your battery juiced up, and get the hell out. Agreed?"


    Ragnar nodded.


    They walked toward the entrance; every step they got closer to the diner, the louder the rock music blared without any concern for the surrounding homes. Most likely, they were in the diner as well. Loud yelling was muffled with the music, but just enough to understand that some not-so-nice words were being thrown at the various patrons of the bar.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Maybe I can wait until we get to another city." Deacon was prepared to change his mind even at the cost of his hunger.


    Ragnar reminded him: Battery.


    "Alright, alright! Don''t get so pushy!" Deacon swallowed as much fear as he can stomach and marched toward the so-called diner to get themselves settled.


    The two quickly dashed to the back of the diner/bar to find some kind of energy source to hook Ragnar up in order to regain some of its energy.


    "Looks like we''re going to have to make do with that generator."


    Ragnar looked at the giant contraption and gave an uneasy whir.


    "I don''t think they''ll mind as long as we don''t get too much." Deacon gulped.


    Ragnar opened up its chestplate in order for Deacon to pull out his bag and search for the jumper cables to juice up the robot.


    "Okay while this runs I''ll go in and grab a bite." Deacon talked Ragnar through the plan. "I shouldn''t be there too long. Try to stay out of sight and be... a good boy?"


    Ragnar''s large fingers gave him a thumbs up in agreement.


    Deacon let out a loud exhale to prep him for the second obstacle of their journey.


    Hunger.


    At least for him, it wouldn''t be something that would get him into a load of trouble on his part as long as Ragnar stayed out of sight and the food came to him quick.


    Even if it was a biker bar.


    #


    The young visitor entered the bar trying not to make a scene. He was only there to get a burger and get the hell out of dodge as soon as he paid his tab. The former proved to be impossible since everyone''s eyes shifted to the entrance of the bar almost as if the smell of fresh blood had dispersed into the air around them.


    A group of bikers scoffed at Deacon then finished drinking their beers with their eyes fixed on the young man. The gangsters looked rough with scars and tattoos decorating their bodies; the only thing that covered them was their vests they proudly wore over them. Patches of the charters, areas, and other kinds covered their vests like badges of honor. They talked amongst themselves, but still gave a side eye to Deacon, who was walking in clueless to their words.


    Deacon managed to find a vacant barstool among the flying fists and beer bottles that crashed onto the walls behind him.


    "Do you have a menu?" Deacon calmly asked while chaos ensued around him.


    "No sir," A tough-looking bartender stood in front of him with his neatly-trimmed mustache and bulky muscles towering over him. His hands were occupied with a glass that needed cleaning, "We only serve burgers, wings, our famous sweet potato chili, and..."


    "And?" Deacon grew curious.


    "Beer." The bartender let his hopes down.


    "I''ll get a burger and can you put some of the chili inside?" Deacon didn''t have much of a choice at that point, so why not make the most of it.


    "Sure can." The bartender tossed his hand towel over his shoulder. "Do you want anything to drink?"


    "Sure, any kind of lager is fine by me." Deacon smiled.


    "Local good?" The bartender grabbed a tall glass from his inventory.


    "For sure!"


    The bartender placed the glass under a tap to pour some local brew that made Deacon''s eyes shine in glory. He then used a non-serrated knife to slide the foam out and put it in front of Deacon.


    "All I ask is to not make any trouble." The bartender''s voice sounded serious, but the craziness in the bar gave Deacon a mixed-feeling about it.


    "Yeah, no problem." He quickly took a sip of beer.


    As he waited for his burger to arrive, the group of bikers from earlier decided to make a quick visit to the stranger and sat next to him. They outnumbered him by three extra heads; then again for Deacon any amount of people was considered an unfair advantage.


    "So I take it you''re not from around these parts, are you?" The leader of the group smirked. His hair was shaved on one side and wore a pair of sunglasses over his head. The man was no younger than thirty, but had the confidence of a teenager.


    "No I''m not," Deacon sipped his beer. "Just here for a quick pit stop before I head out again."


    "Where you from stranger?" A lackey from group asked.


    "...Tyur." Deacon hesitated to answer.


    "Tyur?" The leader sounded puzzled. "Never heard of it? Are you lying to us?"


    "It''s on the border of Cille." Another member confidently answered.


    "Ex-- Exactly." Deacon stared at the man in amazement.


    Tyur isn''t exactly a popular city, but then again, Cille was not a really popular country to begin with it usually was used as a transport hub whenever some of the countries feuded and didn''t want to deal with each other personally.


    In other words, a middle man.


    "How did you know that?" The leader asked his friend.


    "I majored in Geography." He answered.


    "Is that so? Well, alright then." The man turned away from his cohort and back to Deacon, "Did you pay a visitor fee when you crossed the border?"


    "I''m not sure that I can say. I guess my friend paid." Deacon''s face gave an uneasy twitch for digging himself into a grave.


    "Oh, a friend?" The leader smiled. "See, I think you''re lying to me because we always collect our fees upfront."


    "He don''t look too familiar." The third member who sat on the other side of the stools added his own comments.


    "I say you''re right." The leader stood up from his stool. "You see, we always wait by the border to ensure we get every visitor''s fee, but I don''t remember seeing your face, let alone your friend''s."


    "Listen guys, I don''t want any trouble." Deacon slowly reached for his phone inside his pocket as the bartender came by to deliver his food.


    "Enjoy your chili burger."


    "He will after he pays his fee along with interest for dodging it." The leader grabbed his chain from his vest pocket to wrap it around his right fist. He wasn''t looking to ask again.


    The third biker lunged at Deacon to hold him tight to prepare him for his boss''s chained-up fist.


    "I''m sorry!" Deacon cried out.


    "Sorry for what?" The leader smirked as he raised up his fist.


    "I wasn''t apologizing to you," Deacon nodded at the bartender, "I was telling him."


    A large crash emerged from the entrance of the bar.


    Ragnar stood by the destroyed wall that used to house the front door. The robot was a titan amongst the variety of heathens that were in the bar.


    "Ain''t that a Shadow Cannon''s robot?!" The leader turned to Deacon, "Are you a Shadow Cannon?!"


    "No, I''m just here for the food." Deacon quickly grabbed his burger and slid away from the thrown bodies that Ragnar juggled. The robot grabbed the biker''s leader by the head to throw him behind the bar toward the spirits that were kept on the shelves. The bottles shattered all over the biker leaving him cut up and defenseless. The other three gang members already found themselves on the floor bloodied, bruised, and knocked out.


    The giant machine waded through chairs, tables, and knife-wielding maniacs to get to Deacon, who got on top of the bar to piggy-back on Ragnar''s shoulders while it continued to lay waste to the diner.


    The duo hurriedly proceeded to the exit to avoid any other repercussions from the owner of the establishment.


    "We''re so sorry about the door!" Deacon yelled apologetically to the bartender and pointed at the fallen bikers, "Put it on their tab!"

 README

    They left the small city in a riot, the people of Livica all wanted a piece of Shadow Cannon even if it was just one Golem. The pair didn¡¯t seem all that bothered by it; they got what they needed, recharged batteries and a burger.


    ¡°This chili is not that bad!¡± Deacon happily exclaimed with his mouth full. ¡°This sweet potato recipe is pretty good!¡±


    He sat on Ragnar¡¯s shoulder with one arm around its head and the other clutching his half-eaten burger.


    ¡°I just didn¡¯t think we would run into problems so soon.¡± He continued. ¡°Those guys were crazy.¡±


    Ragnar whirred in agreement.


    ¡°You know, for a killing machine,¡± Deacon swallowed his burger. ¡°You pulled your punches pretty well. Not a single body.¡±


    Ragnar shrugged.


    ¡°Modest. Nice, you must get all the mechanical ¡®ladies¡¯ excited.¡± Deacon smiled, finishing off the rest of his burger.


    Ragnar stayed silent, either because it didn¡¯t catch the joke or just didn¡¯t want to talk anymore.


    Deacon took the silence and sat quietly on Ragnar¡¯s shoulder, allowing the titan some peace to get some good mileage into the journey. The night sky sank the area into a dark hue away from the patch of lights they had when they entered Livica. Aside from the occasional critter scurrying through the grass, Ragnar made sure that nothing with fangs and claws got too close.


    ¡°You know what¡¯s funny?¡± Deacon broke the silence again.


    Ragnar sent a message: Jokes?


    ¡°No! Well, I mean, that¡¯s one thing, but what I mean is that if Shadow Cannon did happen to build you, why did they leave so much code out?¡±


    Ragnar paused its steps to think about the question. It still couldn¡¯t figure out its origin or its original purpose. Something interfered with its ¡°thoughts¡± whenever it tried to remember. All Ragnar knew was to deliver the fuel cell and make sure it was installed to prevent Shadow Cannon from attacking Elvander. A piece of the plan was gone due to the missing representative; now it had to drag an innocent bystander into the war, so far he¡¯s been a good sport even after the previous kicking and screaming.


    ¡°You knew to pull those punches, you weren¡¯t out to kill anyone. You acted against your programming.¡± Deacon tapped on Ragnar¡¯s head with a thoughtful sigh. ¡°You still don¡¯t know the name of the person that sent you, do you?¡±


    Ragnar shook its head side to side.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious. Let¡¯s stop right here. I must¡¯ve missed something while I was doing your repairs.¡± Deacon climbed down from Ragnar¡¯s shoulder.


    The young man tapped on the robot¡¯s chestplate to get it to open it to pull out his bag that had his plug to connect to the hard drive.


    Ragnar knew the drill, it sat on the ground to give Deacon an easier chance to access its files. Deacon hooked up his phone to the USB wire from the bag and jammed it into Ragnar¡¯s hard drive port behind its head.


    ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, Shadow Cannon¡¯s programmers were organized enough to leave comments on some of the code.¡± Deacon scrolled through the variety of folders that opened up parts of Ragnar¡¯s source code.


    He found a folder that was overlooked when he was doing the diagnostics at his house. His finger tapped it open, giving him access to the contents that were stored in the folder.


    ¡°All this won¡¯t mean a thing unless I can find a¡ª here we go!¡± Deacon located a file that said README. A simple file, but to programmers it usually meant a lot of information that can help them when they tried to do installations or debugging.


    The file opened and loaded onto the phone¡¯s screen giving him a good look on what was in the code.


    To his amazement, it was dated a few years ago. It was Project Ragnarok in more detail, basically it was to build a unit of robotic Golems to help guard cities, handle heavy construction, and recover large vehicles from wreckages. The opposite of killing, demolishing, and burning cities to the ground. The irony in its name.


    The documentation stated that it made small changes to some of the lines of codes in files ¡°Shell Cover¡± and ¡°Boom_Boom¡±. The folders were located in the same directory as the README file and gave Deacon a good place to search for the changes.


    The ¡°Shell Cover¡± file had some comments that said that the defensive tactics were switched to offensive while the threat terminating function was activated to always active, which meant Ragnar had to shoot to kill on sight of anything that deemed a threat.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Your source code was altered even before the other functions were erased. By the looks of it, you were supposed to be killing people left and right, but then the code here says that it was disabled.¡± Deacon was surprised by his findings. ¡°The documentation isn¡¯t even Shadow Cannon¡¯s, they were too lazy to make any changes to it. All I have are codenames and redacted info, none of that¡¯s helpful.¡±


    Ragnar sent a message: What am I?


    ¡°Not a killer. Far from it, in fact. I don¡¯t know who did the source code, but all I know is that they had better uses for you and the others and none of it involved coldly, burning cities to the ground.¡± Deacon began to unplug the USB cord from Ragnar¡¯s hard drive and put his tools away into his bag. ¡°The real mystery is how did Shadow Cannon get a hold of you when you were supposed to be a top secret project to begin with?¡±


    Ragnar shrugged.


    ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± Deacon kicked a rock away from him. ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on, we¡¯re not going to get to Elvander if we keep stopping for every little mystery that needs to be solved.¡±


    The pair began walking their previous path to Elvander and with the new information in hand, Deacon felt a little safer being around Ragnar, knowing it was created to be a bodyguard of sorts.


    A faint noise sounded from behind them. Almost as loud as an engine, but silent enough to not cause a disturbance in the area. Deacon looked behind his shoulders first to get a good look for anything that was out of the ordinary. His eyes were limited to just whatever he can see. Ragnar decided to give its eyes a try with its high-zoom capabilities, it might have a better shot at looking for whatever was behind them.


    Its head stopped at an angle of its turn then with its large fingers pointed out into the distance, but Deacon still couldn¡¯t see a thing.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He whispered to Ragnar.


    Ragnar messaged: Ship.


    ¡°What kind of ship? Like a cargo airship or maybe like an airplane?¡± Deacon nervously asked.


    No. Ragnar sent his response, picked up Deacon, and began to sprint away from the oncoming ship.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s think this through, Ragnar!¡± Deacon tried to get some clarity into what Ragnar saw. ¡°Who is it?! The Elvander Army?!¡±


    Ragnar beeped with a tone of urgency: Shadow Cannon.


    ¡°What?!¡± Deacon tried to regain his balance to climb on Ragnar¡¯s shoulder to get a good view.


    From his perspective, he saw a black ship with minimal lights to avoid getting seen by other forces that could attempt to shoot them down. Ragnar¡¯s superior eyesight was able to bypass that little trick to get a good look at the oncoming ship.


    ¡°Look! There¡¯s another forest just up the path from here.¡± Deacon pointed ahead of Ragnar. ¡°If they are looking for us, the trees can give us a good hiding spot just until they pass us.¡±


    Ragnar knelt on the ground with its full speed to create a drifting motion to get a sharp turn into the dense forest. It pushed the trees with its strength to clear up a path for them and continued to walk deep inside to get a good lead from the ship that was still far away from them. The trees glowed from the lightest of touches giving off a bright blue light. The sight made the pair pause from the action of escaping a possible warship to absorbing the view as much as they can.


    ¡°Okay, this should be a good spot for set up camp, just until the first sight of sunlight.¡± Deacon took deep breaths to get his adrenaline down and his heart rate to a more manageable pace. ¡°I wonder why they¡¯re already by here.¡±


    Ragnar responded: The diner?


    ¡°Yeah, I think you¡¯re right about that. I think we¡­ er¡­ well, mostly you, were a little too heavy on the combat there.¡±


    Ragnar sadly whirred.


    ¡°On the bright side, no one died, so good job on that!¡±


    Ragnar¡¯s tone changed to a happy beep and gave a thumbs-up gesture.


    The titan used its eyes again to look out through the dense trees to see where the ship was heading toward, but a sudden change of direction threw the machine off.


    The ship¡¯s course went from their general direction and made a large u-turn toward Livica, where the pair had that little meeting with the bikers from before.


    Ragnar sent Deacon a message of his findings: Leaving.


    ¡°Where are they headed?¡± Deacon stretched his body to get comfortable.


    Ragnar replied: Chili?


    ¡°Damn, those bikers might still be around and are probably still going to be mad about the whole fee thing.¡± Deacon worried. ¡°Should we just leave right now?¡±


    Ragnar shook its head in disagreement and sat down to keep watch while Deacon slept for the night.


    ¡°Took the words out of my mouth.¡± Deacon yawned.


    #


    Inside the Shadow Cannon airship, Reves stood by the cockpit while the pilot continued his way around the countryside.


    ¡°Is this where you intercepted the call?¡± Reves stood directly behind the pilot. It was obvious the man grew uncomfortable with his boss standing at a close proximity from him, but what could he do in his position?


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± The pilot uneasily replied. He cleared his throat hoping that his fear wouldn¡¯t show in his voice. ¡°I heard someone mention a man and a robot destroying the bar and assaulting the customers while they stole food and beer.¡±


    ¡°Sounded like a hell of a party!¡± Reves smiled. ¡°Good, then if they are on foot with that much trail of destruction following behind them, they shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find then.¡±


    ¡°It says it¡¯s the home of Livica¡¯s famous sweet potato chili.¡± The pilot added.


    ¡°What kind of monster would do that to chili?!¡± Reves went from a calm expression to one of heavy disgust. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to have to make an order while we do some investigating.¡±


    ¡°Looks as if the targets aren¡¯t in the surrounding area anymore.¡± The pilot read his scanner.


    ¡°Hmm, looks like they were a little faster than us, but that¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s see what we can get from the bar and move on. I really don¡¯t want to stay there anymore than I have to.¡±


    The pilot changed the ship¡¯s course to land by Valiant Diner to get some questions about their missing Golem and whoever was in cahoots with Truce. The terrorist leader didn¡¯t want to chalk it up as a coincidence, but maybe, just maybe, Truce had set up a contingency plan in case he was captured by Shadow Cannon and was forced to give up the fuel cell. Reves always refused to underestimate his enemies since it helped him come up with his tactics to cover all openings in his plans.


    ¡°So who is this other guy and what are they trying to do with my Golem and that damn fuel cell?¡± Reves walked out of the cockpit and to his seat to wait for their landing. In front of him laid his handgun, a .50 caliber pistol that was made to leave people speechless whenever he drew it out of his holster. The gun never failed him to get his answers, but when it did, that¡¯s why they invented triggers. He pulled back the slide to get a bullet into the chamber and holstered it, ready to hit the ground running.

 Heres a Tip

    The ship loudly hovered over the demolished diner that sent the distress call about a robot and a human wreaking havoc through their path. Shadow Cannon managed to intercept the call originally for the surrounding ally armies to respond to and decided that they would use the new information to make a surprise visit to the place.


    The turbines underneath the ship blew away the dirt, rocks, trash, anything that littered the ground below them to make their landing. Car alarms blared loudly as the ship got closer and closer to the street.


    #


    Inside the bar, the bikers that wanted their non-existent fee barely woke from their beating that Ragnar laid on them when they were caught off-guard. The leader of the group stumbled on his feet while he tried to regain some balanced footing to deal with the noise outside. He almost felt like he was suffering from a hangover. His head was beating inside like a drum, the loud noise disoriented him, and he couldn¡¯t remember much before his blackout.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± He yelled over the noise to the bartender who was still cleaning up the mess.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Why don¡¯t you go find out?!¡± The bartender frustratingly yelled back.


    ¡°Forget him.¡± He said to himself while he used his hands to send a crude expression. He fixed his vest, pulled up his pants, and readied himself for whatever was outside that was causing the noise.


    His boots were heavy and any given day would¡¯ve made loud thumps on the ground, but the turbines outside drowned them out. The biker figured now would be a great time to reclaim his superiority, no matter what was outside, big or small.


    His face looked confused, but curious about what was going to be on the other side, maybe the large robot brought some more of its kind to finish the job. The noise outside began to slowly ease into a low, humming noise and then to a complete silence.


    The leader slowly stomped toward the front door to see what he can do in case it was more robots. Before he reached for the door he was greeted with a heavy smack toward his chest causing him to fly backwards toward the floor.


    ¡°Is this where I can get the chili?!¡± Reves foot was coming down from the kick to the door.


    ¡°Sorry, we¡¯re all out. As you can see,¡± the bartender showed him the damage, ¡°We¡¯re closed for renovations.¡±


    ¡°Shame, I was willing to pay top dollar for this Sweet Potato concoction you proudly announced on that sign outside.¡± Reves walked over the fallen biker leader.


    ¡°I think I can whip something up.¡± The bartender changed his tune.


    ¡°Attaboy!¡± Reves sat on one of the stools that wasn¡¯t ripped from its post and placed his left elbow on whatever was left of the bar¡¯s counter. His nicely tailored suit wasn¡¯t exactly the kind of style one would see in a place like Valiant Diner.


    Two familiar men entered the bar as well. The gruff voiced Toomes and the scar-lipped Yusef who followed their commander to trace the destruction the robot and its human friend left in their wake.


    ¡°I assume it was the missing Golem?¡± Toomes looked around the damaged floor where pieces of furniture scattered around like a desolate wasteland, only with more burgers and beer.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± Yusef crouched over the Geography major, who was still unconscious or faking it to avoid any more pain to his body. Either or, Yusef lifted the fallen biker¡¯s head to examine him for any wounds and dropped him back on the ground, giving a large thud.


    ¡°Maybe they know about what happened in here.¡± Toomes turned to Reves, who was still waiting for his food.


    ¡°Really? I thought they were just having a sleepover.¡± Reves kept his sight on the kitchen¡¯s entrance.


    A quiet groaned emerged from below them almost as if the undead were trying to rise up. Reminded them of the Kaiser epidemic of 218X, where the sky grew polluted in the country of Kaiser when they didn¡¯t keep track of what was coming out of their Disease Control Center¡¯s exhaust vents and causing an infection of a good thirty million people leaving them to walk amongst the living as flesh-eating zombies, aiming to kill anything and anyone in front of their paths.


    Thankfully, Elvander sent out their rescue team to flush out the toxins that polluted the air, quarantining the country, reverse-engineered the disease, and giving away the antidote to aid Kaiser. One of the benefits to being an ally for a medically advanced country like Elvander.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming from the guy you kicked boss.¡± Yusef turned his attention away from the Geography major and to the leader of the bikers.


    ¡°Bring him to me.¡± Reves ordered the duo.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Toomes and Yusef picked up the man and dragged him to the stool next to the Shadow Cannon head while the bartender brought the chili.


    ¡°Hope you enjoy it.¡± The bartender gently laid it in front of Reves. Before he can say another word, Reves pulled out his handgun to make sure he understood the grave nature of their visit. The bartender tried to make a run for it, but Yusef vaulted over the bar to keep the scared man in place.


    ¡°I believe you two know why I¡¯m here.¡± The suited man placed his gun on the bar to free his hands to eat the bowl of chili.


    The spoon was steaming, but he didn¡¯t mind it; he slipped the spoonful of chili into his mouth and chewed. The muffled sound of his mouth moving up and down could be heard from the uncomfortable silence.


    ¡°Are you from the insurance company?¡± The bartender nervously asked.


    ¡°What kind of insurance company do you have that brings a¡­ nevermind.¡± Reves leaned back from his stool to swallow the chili. ¡°You, biker man, do you know?¡±


    ¡°Is it about the robot that came in and destroyed the place?¡± The biker leader weakly answered with his own question.


    ¡°Oh so you do know what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Reves happily chewed his chili.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t want to pay their fee, so they decided to just destroy our bar and make a run for it.¡± The leader angrily slammed the counter. His face was bloodied from the assault, but his temper was nothing short of wounded. Especially when it came to missing an opportunity to make some money.


    ¡°A fee?¡± Reves wiped his mouth with a napkin that was next to his bowl of chili. The residue of the chili smeared over the cloth like a woman getting rid of last night¡¯s lipstick.


    ¡°Yeah, a border fee,¡± the leader tried to use his ruse again. ¡°It¡¯s something that anyone that crosses the checkpoints have to pay before they set another foot into this little slice of paradise.¡±


    ¡°I see the robot hasn¡¯t knocked the stupidity out of you just yet.¡± Reves chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not here to play any games, kick the shit, or pay imaginary taxes. Do you know who I am?¡±


    ¡°Why should I give a damn? The thing that your after and that pansy-ass that was with him could¡¯ve killed us! So someone needs to pay!¡± The biker leader gritted his teeth and turned to face his crew who were slowly beginning to come to their senses.


    ¡°Who was the pansy-ass?¡± Toomes stepped on one of the rising bikers to prevent him from getting up to prove their superiority was beyond their reach.


    ¡°Do I look like a damn FaceNet?¡± The biker leader spat on the ground below Reves, who took it in stride while he took another bite of the chili.


    ¡°Barkeep?!¡± Reves yelled over the biker at the same time, he swallowed his chili. ¡°May I have a milk? On the rocks. I always wanted to say that.¡±


    The terrorist leader let out a smile of getting to say something like that.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± The biker leader leaned a bit back.


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong with me, well¡­¡± Reves paused for a second, ¡°Other than I have a missing Golem, someone who¡¯s working for the enemy is smuggling him to who knows where, and I have an idiot who even though knows that I have a gun on my person is still being stubborn about sharing his findings! Now please tell me what I need to know before my patience begins to run thin. And you really don¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of my impatience!¡±


    ¡°Fine, I will tell you, but only for a price of three million ursas.¡± The leader smiled with his bloody lips.


    ¡°Ursas? Toomes, what is that?¡± Reves looked over to his associate.


    ¡°It¡¯s the local currency for Livica and its surrounding cities.¡± The Geography major blurted from the ground.


    ¡°Hm, who is he?¡± Reves looked back at the leader of the outlaws.


    ¡°He¡¯s a Geography major.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± The Shadow Cannon boss nodded his head in amazement. ¡°Thank you good man. Well, I don¡¯t pay fees. Let alone in weird, alternative currencies.¡±


    The bartender came back with a glass of milk and placed it in front of the terrorist leader.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Reves pulled the glass toward him, ¡°Do you know who I am talking about?¡±


    ¡°Those two ran out the¡­ well¡­ whatever was left of that door and ran out toward the west the last I saw.¡± The bartender nervously responded.


    ¡°West?¡± Reves thought about what was in that direction, ¡°Did they say where they were going by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, they just wiped out my business and left as quick as they came in.¡±


    Reves drank his milk.


    ¡°Thank you for aiding Shadow Cannon, your assistance will not be forgotten.¡± Toomes and his gruff voice gave them the update on who they were.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± The bartender gasped, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me I was going to help terrorists!¡±


    ¡°Really? I had a gun.¡± Reves picked up his pistol and quickly aimed at one of the biker¡¯s crewmates who was still regaining his strength.


    Boom!


    A gunshot sounded and a bullet zipped straight through the man¡¯s neck. The man fell back on the ground faster than he got up. Lifeless with blood spilling out of his wound and covering the wooden floor of the bar.


    ¡°Well, I really should be thanking the barkeep. He helped me more in the few seconds he was actually around than you did, Mr. Biker.¡± Reves fixed his suit and made his way toward the exit, which was nothing more than a wall with a hole in it.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know!¡± The leader pleaded.


    ¡°Mr. Yusef, please tip the barkeep, a generous one. Don¡¯t be stingy.¡± Reves waved him off with his pistol.


    Yusef gave out a sigh while he pulled out his wallet to pay for the bill and left a him a two-hundred piso tip.


    ¡°Is that attitude I hear, Mr. Yusef?¡± Reves holstered his gun.


    ¡°No sir, I¡¯m merely practicing my breathing exercises.¡± Yusef nervously replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, I hear it helps you relax and focus while under intense pressure. I should really start picking it up.¡±


    ¡°You totally should, Mr. Shadow Cannon, sir.¡± The biker nervously tried to avoid getting himself killed.


    ¡°Now now, no one likes a suck-up.¡± Reves stood by the exit. ¡°Now about your fee.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t even worry about that, it was just a joke! I do that with all the new faces.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t.¡± The other crew members disagreed. They were facing their own coward of a boss, so they didn¡¯t care about the outcome.


    ¡°Jeez. Mr. Barkeep, I suggest you close up shop for the night and go with your family or cats¡­ family of cats? I really don¡¯t know, but just go.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The barkeep quickly took the tab money and ran out through the back.


    ¡°Now, before I leave I just wanted to let you know all about something called respect¡­¡± Reves pointed his finger up to the ceiling and gave an awkward pause.


    Everyone waited for the evil future world leader for any kind of words of wisdom. Their eyes opened and they were all ears hoping to get some great advice.


    ¡°I got nothing,¡± Reves walked away, ¡°Kill them.¡±

 Bandwagon

    The forest was silent and the sun rose above the trees to cover them with its rays. The density of the plant life didn¡¯t allow the light to enter inside the forest except for a few stray beams. One of the beams managed to make its way to Deacon¡¯s eyes. Even though they were closed the brightness managed to bug him until he rolled over.


    He laid on top of Ragnar¡¯s shoulder and the side of its head; it wasn¡¯t the most comfortable spot, but he had no other options.


    Although, the silence was soothing. Something made him want to open his eyes, but he looked around with his groggy vision and saw nothing.


    ¡°I almost feel like I¡¯m in horror movie or something.¡± Deacon sniffled then snuggled himself back to sleep while Ragnar continued staring into the forest waiting until Deacon was up.


    Deacon listened to nothing but the sound of the moving tree branches, birds singing, and the wind howling peacefully around him. The white noise was something that would make the most severe insomniac fall fast asleep. But not Deacon, who was already behind on his sleep schedule for days.


    He quickly opened his eyes to get over the haunting feeling and again he saw nothing. Just the falling leaves that floated on top of him.


    ¡°Ragnar, do you see anything?¡± Deacon sleepily asked.


    The Golem gave him a message and continued to stare away: No.


    ¡°That¡¯s so weird.¡± Deacon slowly closed his eyes hoping to catch whatever was the source of his uneasiness.


    The young man began to breathe away into another slumber. His exhaustion prevented him from even staying awake for anything urgent or otherwise. His clothes were the only things that kept him comfortable on top of the steel armor that made Ragnar. Cold was an understatement and made Deacon live out his dream of sleeping in an igloo.


    Only if that dream existed.


    Deacon imagined himself spending his free days in his bed, sleeping off a hangover while playing reruns of some reality TV show that didn¡¯t interest him only to serve as something that would keep him occupied until it was time to drink again.


    That¡¯s what he looked forward to every week and damn it¡ª he enjoyed it. If someone had told him that he would be instrumental to possibly saving the world from a possible world-ending catastrophe, he would¡¯ve laughed at their face and say how that person hasn¡¯t seen his personal record in his schooling days. Some days if he was drunk enough, he would take a shower and suffer from reliving his memories of being called into the principal¡¯s office because he exploited a zero-day on the school¡¯s new grading software. He wouldn¡¯t have gotten caught, but after attacking twenty-two different programs¡ª it was bound to happen. Then he hacked into the court office¡¯s system and posted that his community service hours were fulfilled and called it a day. High school was a different time.


    His face soon felt a gentle puff of air hitting his cheek. Warm and a bit moist, not exactly nature¡¯s touch.


    ¡°Ragnar, when did you learn how to breathe?¡± Deacon opened his eyes and quickly yelped in shock.


    It wasn¡¯t Ragnar since Deacon was laying on him; it was a masked person who perched in front of him. The masked person¡¯s build was average, almost athletic. Movements were ninja-like and no sound was uttered behind the mask. Six eyes illuminated from the mask, either the person¡¯s face behind the cover had six actual eyes or it was used as an intimidation tactic.


    Either way, the intimidation worked.


    The masked mysterious figure had a large sniper rifle strapped around the person¡¯s back. The gun looked as if it was ripped from a tank and then converted for personal use. Whatever this person was hunting, it wasn¡¯t elk or rabbits.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± Deacon slid down from Ragnar¡¯s shoulder.


    The masked person¡¯s eyes shined toward Deacon and then did a backflip from the robot¡¯s shoulder landing down in a ninja pose.


    ¡°With those eyes, I¡¯m surprised you missed this.¡± Deacon whispered to Ragnar.


    Ragnar messaged: I thought it was a squirrel.


    ¡°Of course you did!¡± Deacon scoffed at the remark.


    ¡°I should be asking you that,¡± The masked person¡¯s voice sounded feminine, but a tough as nails feminine like if she¡¯s seen her share of battles and dragged corpses like suitcases wherever she went. The masked woman drew out her rifle and aimed it at Deacon, ¡°Shadow Cannon scum.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, whoa! We don¡¯t have to shoot anybody!¡± Deacon tried to get her to put the giant rifle down, but she wasn¡¯t having it.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s what they said,¡± She sounded angrier than before, ¡°Then you burned them to the ground! Now give me whatever you have and kneel down and face away!¡±


    ¡°Okay, I see this is not going to end well.¡± Deacon nodded at Ragnar.


    The Golem lunged at the masked person, but she fired off a round that barely missed its armor. Ragnar¡¯s speed was a little faster than before thanks to its recharged batteries. He pinched the masked person¡¯s shirt and lifted her up while taking the gun away.


    She helplessly swung her feet to escape, but her legs dangled in the air easily showing the height and strength disadvantage between the pair while Deacon watched it unfold. He began to get the hang of having Ragnar as a bodyguard, but the fact that he needed to use him as one proved to be a little disheartening. Since again he didn¡¯t think he was going to bump into any violent obstacles of any nature. Now here he was staring at a barrel of a heavy-caliber sniper rifle while the gunwoman angrily kicked at the heavily-armored war machine to let her go.


    Ragnar didn¡¯t know what to do about it and just looked over at Deacon to figure out what was the next thing to do besides hearing her yell expletives.


    ¡°Let me go you hulking piece of¡ª¡±


    ¡°Why are trying to pull with that giant cannon?¡± Deacon stepped by the masked person, hoping to get some answers as to why she¡¯s hellbent on putting a bullet between his eyes.


    Ragnar pulled the feminine-voiced bandit¡¯s mask to reveal her face, her skin was a light brown and her hair was black except for the red tips that hung in front of her face. Her eyes were angrily slanted, but the hazel in her eyes stood out even when she had the scowl written on her face.


    Attractive? Just depends on the person that was looking at her¡­ and if that person was alive to tell the tale.


    ¡°I¡¯m not answering to the likes of you! Or this tin can!¡± She desperately tried to squirm out of its grip and managed to slip out of her coat to fall on the ground. She couldn¡¯t recover fast enough and Ragnar merely held her back up, but this time upside down, hoping to get her balance thrown out to prevent another run at Deacon¡¯s life.


    Her body swung back and forth, toward and away Ragnar. Her face stayed at a blank, angry expression with her arms crossed. She refused to look at the both of them, even if she was at their mercy. She didn¡¯t give a damn.


    She then decided to quickly glance at Deacon and then turned toward Ragnar¡¯s whose patched chestplate got her eyes opened and her expression went from anger to disappointment.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± She yelled out pointing at Ragnar while still upside down.


    ¡°What are you talking about?!¡± Deacon stood below her. ¡°You¡¯ve seen Ragnar before?¡±


    ¡°Ragnar? You named this bastard!¡± The girl angrily continued pointing at the robot.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of a long story, but we¡¯re not asking about my story. How do you know Ragnar?¡± Deacon asked again. ¡°Not like you got anything else to do, besides hanging around.¡±


    She didn¡¯t appreciate the pun or his question for that matter. Letting him climb down from Ragnar was another regret.


    ¡°Hazlan.¡± The girl simply said.


    ¡°What about it? He wasn¡¯t there.¡± Deacon argued.


    ¡°The Hazlan militia shot this thing down.¡± The girl said.


    ¡°Is that why the city got destroyed?¡± Deacon grew curious about her answer. ¡°In retaliation for shooting down their weapon.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I was there when they saw this¡­ Ragnar.¡± Her face showed disgust. ¡°For all we knew, he was a spy!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! He was trying to escape from Shadow Cannon!¡± Deacon revealed.


    ¡°What do you mean?! You expect me to believe you?! A stranger I just met whose robot bodyguard has me hanging upside down!¡±


    ¡°To be fair, you tried to attack me first.¡± Deacon said.


    Ragnar nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Great.¡± She sighed. ¡°You trained it. Can you let me go first?¡±


    Deacon nodded at Ragnar who in turn dropped her as fast as it picked her up.


    She let out a grunt as soon as she made contact with the ground below; she used her hands to pat off the dirt and stood up to make her case.


    ¡°Hazlan has been a small town that stayed away from the conflict. The militia had brought in an experimental weapon that was created by their ally, Elvander. Now when they saw¡­ that hovering over the city, they had to make a decision to shoot it down or not. They knew the consequences of doing it and sacrificed their lives to protect us. But that didn¡¯t seem to help when this thing¡¯s friends came in to wipe us out. My dad stayed behind to fend them while my mom escorted me away from the border to make sure I didn¡¯t witness the destruction. All I had left was this prototype rifle and a vengeance that will not go away¡­ until that thing and their leader is dead!¡± She aimed her rifle at Ragnar.


    ¡°Show her, Ragnar.¡± Deacon signaled at its chestplate.


    Ragnar quickly opened up its chestplate to reveal Elvander¡¯s fuel cell that it was attempting to smuggle out of Shadow Cannon¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you shot down.¡± Deacon explained. ¡°It was trying to deliver the fuel cell to Elvander, but now its stuck with me because it got wounded.¡±


    ¡°How the hell were we supposed to know?!¡± She protested.


    ¡°Not like it matters,¡± Deacon sat down on the grass below, ¡°it needed a human escort to get to Elvander.¡±


    ¡°So? Where is he?¡± The girl sighed trying to stifle her anger. ¡°Aren¡¯t you his human escort?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Ragnar said that he never saw him or never made it out of wherever it escaped from. I¡¯m not sure which one.¡± Deacon sighed. ¡°I saw him fall crashing down outside of my house and I ended up patching the wound. So now I¡¯m babysitting this big guy until we get to Elvander.¡±


    ¡°Was this before or after it said it didn¡¯t work for Shadow Cannon?¡± She tried to get to the bottom of it.


    ¡°Before? It doesn¡¯t matter now. I took the gamble! Besides, I¡¯m just a phone repairman and Ragnar is just¡­ Ragnar.¡± Deacon answered.


    ¡°Well.¡± She put away her rifle. ¡°The enemy of my enemy is my friend, I guess. I¡¯m Ashe. My last name is not important to acquaintances.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Deacon Maynard, and I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not going to shoot me.¡± Deacon extended his hand for a handshake, ¡°So I take it you will be joining our little bandwagon?¡±


    ¡°By the looks of it, you don¡¯t have a gun or any sense of combat skills. Plus if I get a better chance of killing their piece of crap leader then I might as well roll with those odds.¡± Ashe began to walk past the duo.


    ¡°Thank you? I guess?¡± Deacon looked over to Ragnar who just shook its head in shame and followed the girl that was almost going to shoot it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be like that, Ragnar!¡± Deacon followed them out of the tree line of the forest.

 Battle in the Tall Grass

    Deacon, Ragnar, and now Ashe rushed on the road hoping to get some kind of distance to get out of the tree line from where they were camped out to carry on Ragnar¡¯s mission of getting to Elvander to deliver the fuel cell that was smuggled out of Shadow Cannon¡¯s headquarters. Now with Ashe¡¯s giant rifle, they had power from a distance, but Deacon has yet to see how her aiming was so it was all assumptions for him.


    The flat road began to look more endless than before. At this rate, Elvander was starting to look more like a Shangri-La than an actual country.


    ¡°Have you fired that thing before?¡± Deacon broke silence.


    ¡°Yeah, enough times to say that I can handle anything.¡± Ashe proudly inspected her rifle.


    Deacon gulped nervously since he barely dodged a bullet from the same gun she was happily holding.


    Shouldn¡¯t have asked. Deacon thought to himself.


    The road ahead was surrounded by tall grass on both sides; almost began to look like a miniature forest, almost like a spawn of the previous forest they just got out of.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± Deacon sighed at the long walk.


    ¡°You never crossed the border, have you?¡± Ashe scoffed.


    ¡°Nope, never. First time. Is it obvious?¡± Deacon felt like a kid trying to convince his parents as to why he has a bottle of liquor inside his backpack.


    ¡°We¡¯re in Washir, a pocket-country.¡± Ashe sighed.


    ¡°Pocket-country?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we call a country that isn¡¯t big enough to play with the big boys and is usually last pick when it comes to World Wars. This war, they haven¡¯t been picked yet.¡±


    ¡°So then, Ragnar is fine here then?¡± Deacon looked at his giant partner.


    ¡°Consider Washir, a neutral country until they get picked by either Shadow Cannon or Elvander.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to handle politics, I guess.¡±


    ¡°No kidding.¡± Ashe smirked.


    ¡°How many cities does Washir have?¡±


    ¡°Three.¡±


    ¡°Explains the last pick.¡± Deacon chuckled, but Ragnar whirred, not understanding the joke. Deacon¡¯s smile was cut short thanks to the robot¡¯s lack of a sense of humor and cleared his throat to try to smoothly avoid the awkwardness.


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t a comedian?¡± Ashe sarcastically asked.


    Deacon cleared his throat again, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on this road and we¡¯ll get to the capital, Ether then we can take the hyperloop to Elvander.¡±


    ¡°A hyperloop? Are you sure?¡± Deacon looked at Ragnar, scanning its height. ¡°Is there a height limit?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we can put the big guy in the cargo hold.¡± Ashe turned to examine Ragnar as well.


    ¡°Luckily, I have some cash.¡±


    ¡°You crossed the border wall, so that would mean you¡¯re from Cille, right?¡± Ashe connected the dots.


    ¡°Yeah, how¡¯d you guess?¡± Deacon asked.


    ¡°Someone with your looks definitely screams ¡®Cille¡¯.¡± Ashe answered with full-impact honesty.


    ¡°I¡­uhh¡­ Thank you?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t a compliment.¡± Ashe¡¯s honesty struck again.


    It¡¯s okay, just words. Deacon winced in silence.


    ¡°They won¡¯t accept Cille Dollars here.¡±


    ¡°What? Why not? That¡¯s all I have on me!¡± Deacon¡¯s day just kept getting better.


    ¡°First of all, they¡¯re called Cille Dollars, very lazy.¡±


    ¡°Second?¡± Deacon tried to take the hits.


    ¡°No demand for Cille Dollars because well, Cille.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± Deacon tried to stop the abuse, ¡°Where is a currency exchange? Please hold the hurt feelings.¡±


    ¡°The hyperloop has one, but we¡¯re looking at another two hours before we can reach the city.¡± Ashe paused in her steps, ¡°Can¡¯t Ragnar fly?¡±


    ¡°He could, but since it got shot down. The actuators that actually pumped the pistons to spin the inner turbines and control the boosters in its legs are damaged.¡± Deacon explained with a heavy exhale.


    ¡°Meaning?¡± Ashe waited for a response, she didn¡¯t accept that entire sane reasoning as an answer.


    ¡°No.¡± Deacon sighed again, ¡°No. It. Can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping it was going to be like a deus ex¡­ machine.¡± Ashe smirked.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°That was a horrible pun!¡± Deacon scoffed with a smile. ¡°I guess you¡¯re the comedian. Did you actually try to build that up or did it just happen?¡±


    ¡°Whatever, you just have a bad sense of humor.¡± Ashe scoff followed after Deacon¡¯s.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m taking stand-up comedy lessons from the person that tried to kill me, very funny.¡± Deacon shook his head.


    A faint engine sound was muffled through the distance. The noise probably required some kind of superhuman hearing abilities to catch a whiff of it.


    Ragnar paused its steps and turned around to see what was the faint sound coming from. Luckily, Ragnar wasn¡¯t human, it used its eyes to scan the sky to see what was heading over their direction.


    Another ship similar to the one from the previous day was scanning the area below them to continue the other ship¡¯s job.


    The titan robot picked up its pace to grab onto Deacon and Ashe to dash toward the large grass, hoping to lose the ship.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± Ashe asked over the sound of Ragnar¡¯s heavy stomping.


    ¡°Trust me, just let it do its thing.¡± Deacon nonchalantly placed his elbows over Ragnar¡¯s fingers while it continued sprinting deep inside the large grass. The ship hovered around their area, almost like they were hearing the heavy steps from the Golem.


    #


    A heavily-armored pilot and three passengers who were equipped in the same armor carrying heavy assault rifles.


    ¡°See anything down there?¡± The pilot asked one of the teammates.


    ¡°Not a damn thing,¡± The soldier who sat next to the pilot turned to the others, ¡°does anyone have thermal?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I do!¡± Another one of the soldiers pushed a button next to his visor. A low hum coming from the visor meant the thermal vision was activating. ¡°Open the hatch. What exactly am I looking for?¡±


    The thermal wearing soldier made his way to the opening.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The pilot sighed through his full-face covering helmet. ¡°I guess whatever looks like its supposed to be shot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they said it was a Golem.¡± Another soldier opposite from the thermal scanning one added. He lifted his helmet to scratch his bottom lip trying to remember if that was the mission. Or if that¡¯s what he thought he heard.


    The thermal view gave the man¡¯s sight an easier way to detect whatever was below them. The grass gave a blue hue signifying a cooler temperature.


    ¡°No movement.¡± The soldier updated his team.


    ¡°I¡¯m going in deeper.¡± The pilot began to steer the ship toward the right side of the grass field.


    A small sound of snickering came from behind the shelf.


    ¡°What the hell¡¯s so funny?!¡± The pilot tried not to break his concentration.


    After a short pause from the soldiers, the one next to the pilot broke the silence, ¡°That¡¯s what she said.¡±


    The soldiers broke out in a louder laugh.


    ¡°Grow up.¡± The pilot shook his head and scoffed.


    #


    ¡°They¡¯re getting closer!¡± Deacon looked above the tall grass, hoping that Ragnar¡¯s large frame wouldn¡¯t give out their location.


    The loud turbines of the ship began to blow strong gusts of wind in all directions, probably a way to spread the grass apart to make their manhunt easier.


    ¡°I see them!¡± A voice could be heard coming from the ship. An armored soldier was hanging by the open hatch with his gun aiming down at the field.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Ashe climbed on Ragnar¡¯s shoulder with her rifle scope over her right eye and the soldier in her sights. For that split second they stared at each other through their crosshairs.


    She fired a round at the ship hoping to get the soldier before he fired a shot of his own. The round missed the soldier, but hit the hull, leaving a good-sized hole on the ship.


    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± The pilot yelled over to his teammate. ¡°Do they have a missile launcher?!¡±


    ¡°That was a bullet.¡± The thermal equipped soldier said with some of his voice shaking in fear. He almost became a new coat of paint for the ship in that moment.


    Elvander weaponry was nothing to sneeze at and it looked like Ashe was a good shot even under pressure of being hunted by a Shadow Cannon ship.


    ¡°I missed!¡± Ashe clicked her tongue with disappointment ringing in her tone.


    ¡°Missed?!¡± Deacon looked surprised, ¡°Looked like a direct hit!¡±


    ¡°Unless you see a body falling out of that ship,¡± Ashe squinted at the ship, ¡°I missed.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess you missed then?¡± Deacon gulped. The last thing he needed was to question someone holding a gun that managed to leave a bullet hole the size of a basketball into a large ship completely ignoring its armor.


    Ragnar sent a message: I am beginning to feel fear toward this female.


    The ship began to lower itself until it planted its landing gears onto the ground while the soldiers prepared to exit.


    ¡°Ragnar, we¡¯re going to have to flank them once they get out of the ship.¡± Ashe came up with a quick plan.


    Ragnar whirred in agreement.


    ¡°Where does that leave me?¡± Deacon worriedly asked.


    ¡°I hope you can fly a ship.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡± Deacon climbed down from Ragnar, ready to run toward the landing ship.


    Ragnar and Ashe hid in opposite directions to get the jump on the soldiers who were slowly creeping inside the tall grass. The armored men weren¡¯t sure how dangerous the other two are, but Ragnar was already too much for them to handle.


    #


    ¡°Don¡¯t stray far from the ship.¡± The pilot warned his partners while he had his assault rifle extended in front of him.


    ¡°I see something running through the grass. Looks too small to be the Golem though.¡± The soldier still had his thermal vision on.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the¡ª¡± The third soldier¡¯s words were cut off by a bullet in the neck. The force of the bullet sent his body sliding across the dirt and slamming him against the body of the ship.


    ¡°We got a man down!¡± The second soldier rushed to his aid, hoping the armor saved him.


    Ragnar used the distraction to dash behind the pilot and grabbed the thermal vision equipped solder and took him inside the tall grass. It happened so fast, the soldier didn¡¯t have a chance to yell for help.


    The pilot turned around to face the noise, but saw nothing. Only the grass moving, the soldier wanted to assume it was the wind but his missing teammate made him think otherwise.


    ¡°Where did he go?¡± The pilot walked back toward the ship, but before he reached the entrance hatch. A loud bang along with the ship rocking from the impact caused the pilot to go check the other side. To his shock, he saw the missing soldier pinned against the second soldier who was trying to help the now-dead soldier.


    The lone survivor ran toward the direction where the man was thrown and hopefully he could confront them before he was also killed. His footsteps quickly stomped through the moist ground getting further away from the ship. The one thing he said not to do.


    ¡°Damn it, come out and show yourself!¡± The pilot looked around the tall grass trying to keep his ground. The noise from the turbines being activated made him turn around. His ship was being hijacked and he practically gave them the keys. His view was now blocked by the large barrel of Ashe¡¯s rifle.


    ¡°You know, you guys didn¡¯t leave any survivors when you attacked Hazlan and I think its only fair that we do the same.¡± Ashe¡¯s finger slowly slid to the trigger, ready to fire.


    ¡°He¡¯ll know what¡¯s happened when we don¡¯t check in.¡± The pilot kept his cool, but also placed his gun close to him in hopes of a last attempt attack. A loud footstep appeared behind him making that plan impossible. Even if he managed to kill the girl in front of him; the Golem behind him will make quick work out of him.


    The lone soldier now defeated dropped his gun and knelt on the ground.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I found the manual! I think I got the hang of this thing!¡± Deacon announced over the radio.


    ¡°Thanks for the ride.¡± Ashe said with a smile.


    She squeezed the trigger and the bullet zipped through the pilot¡¯s chest. The force crushed him to the ground and he laid lifeless while Ragnar held onto Ashe to jump on-board of the ship. The speed of the ambush surprised Deacon who felt powerless compared to the other two when they gave the soldiers a run for their money.


    At this point, he should already get used to the violence.

 Ghosts

    Reves stood outside of a burning armory building. He had some other business to take care of by there, but it looked like it took a turn for the worst with Reves executing the people inside the small country of Washir. Soldiers ran through the buildings arming bombs and throwing flares to get the maximum amount of damage possible.


    ¡°Are you sure they will go through the hyperloop?¡± Toomes asked his commander.


    ¡°Unless Chase Team managed to capture them, they will go through here to get to Elvander.¡± Reves opened up a bag of chips from his suit pocket.


    They were cheese-powder covered chips that were supposedly healthy for the heart as well as low in calories, but he didn¡¯t care about all that. He was just a fan of cheddar.


    ¡°Are you sure they will even be alive?¡± Toomes asked.


    Reves crunched on a chip for a minute before he gave him a sigh, ¡°I really don¡¯t care. Alive or dead, those guys are trained to get things done. Besides Washir¡¯s neutrality was really giving me a headache, might as well have just gotten that done in the meantime.¡±


    The crunching continued away for a few more minutes while Reves examined the destroyed area of the pocket-country. He poured the rest of the left over crumbs into his mouth and tossed the bag on the ground while another explosion appeared on his left side from another bomb. His combed hair became disheveled from the force of the blast, but he calmly fixed it back to its well-groomed state.


    ¡°We need to clear the store!¡± One of the soldiers yelled over to another group.


    ¡°Are you sure?! It looks empty!¡± Another soldier walked toward the store.


    ¡°Make sure you take the inventory.¡± Reves said.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The soldiers yelled out as they entered the store.


    ¡°I hope they save the snack cakes.¡± Reves sighed to himself.


    ¡°We found another survivor!¡± Another soldier from a different company brought a restrained man in his late-thirties to Reves.


    ¡°You people are like cockroaches. I kill one and four more takes your place.¡± Reves scoffed and then thought a minute about his remark, ¡°No wait, a hydra. Analogy still works.¡±


    His soldiers nodded and shrugged in agreement.


    ¡°You are a damn monster! When Elvander finds out about this, you will pay!¡± The man angrily gritted his teeth.


    It¡¯s funny, my dad used to sell his vegetables in this very country. I always hated coming here. The place was too small and never had much to do. I¡¯m pretty sure the hyperloop wasn¡¯t around if I remember correctly. Hmm, if you told me that I¡¯d be back here as an adult, I would¡¯ve called you a liar.¡± Reves smirked with a short chuckle.


    The man stood silent as the Shadow Cannon ruler looked him in the eye. His thoughts weren¡¯t absolute and he always kept people on their toes even after he made his thoughts known. He was sane as a chess player one moment and then psychotic the next. No one knew if that was actually his mind working or a strategy to get his enemies off-guard.


    ¡°Yeah, good talk.¡± Reves lightly tapped on the man¡¯s cheek and turned away to check on the progress of the armory looting. ¡°Throw him in the freezer of that store before you set it up in flames. Let¡¯s see what kills him first, the heat or the cold.¡±


    There was his psychotic tendencies in full-effect again. He put his hands around his back and looked at his masterpiece; a masterpiece painted in chaos on the blood of its civilians. The endgame of the man wasn¡¯t one of reason, maybe he just liked the way it felt to be the most feared being on the planet.


    He turned to face the store where the lone survivor was being dragged by the heavily-armored soldiers. The amount of warriors he had didn¡¯t compare to the vast size of Elvander, but with their possible allies getting taken out, it may even the battlefield when the time came to go head-to-head in the war that has yet to come. Maybe there was a method to his madness.


    The man¡¯s screams were being muffled by the explosions that surrounded them and even if they were heard, no one was going to be able to answer that call. Reves successfully eradicated another city before Elvander even had a chance to check the news. At this rate, Shadow Cannon will have enough control of the continents and their enemy will have no choice but to bite the bullet or give up. Either way, the ball was in Reve¡¯s court with the defensive team all calling in sick, giving him the chance to make his shots with no opposition.


    ¡°Sir! Sir!¡± Shadow Cannon¡¯s intel officer ran up to Reves with his voice yelling in an urgent fashion.


    ¡°Calm down, you almost gave me a heart attack.¡± Reves calmly said. The intel officer couldn¡¯t tell if it was a joke or he actually did scare the man.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The intel officer tried to get his breathing under control.


    ¡°Now go ahead and tell me the news. Did they find them?¡± Reves had his hands over the officer¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Chase team never checked in.¡± The intel officer gulped his nervousness.


    ¡°Because they were busy cleaning the blood of our enemies?¡± Reves tried to make the news work in his favor.


    ¡°I mean, their visor signals went offline. You know the things that connect to their vitals, meaning¡ª¡±


    ¡°No vitals. Holy crap, they killed them.¡± Reves gasped, ¡°No, no that¡¯s good, that means they¡¯re going to have to take the hyperloop! We got them right where we want them!¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± The officer tried to break the rest of the news as gently as he could. His eyeglasses began to get blurry from the sweat pouring out of his pores.


    ¡°Please stop with the pauses! Out with it!¡± Reves squeezed the scared man¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°The ship was taken.¡± The officer winced.


    ¡°Of course it was.¡± Reves scoffed. ¡°Did they at least send us something that can help us?¡±


    ¡°We were going to get a transmission, but he was cutoff before he even said a word.¡± The officer said, ¡°The best thing we got was their last transmission, but with the ship taken¡­ I don¡¯t know how far they could¡¯ve gone.¡±


    ¡°I know exactly where they are headed, but I would like to see how far they are from getting there.¡± Reves let go of the officer¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let me know when you got those coordinates.¡±


    The terrorist leader walked away while he fixed his suit¡¯s collar then walked toward the burning armory. A loud explosion emerged from the ruins, possibly from some of the warheads that were armed and ready to be launched at a moment¡¯s notice.


    A few of his own men were caught in the chaos, but Reves stood still welcoming the shockwave of the sudden explosion. That was the price of business, if that¡¯s what they could call it. No money was being made, deals weren¡¯t being done, and only one side benefited from it.


    ¡°What do we do with the dead soldiers?¡± One of his men ran by his side hoping to save as much of his team he can.


    ¡°Get them and load them up in the ships. We¡¯ll give them a proper burial after we finish up here.¡± Reves cleared his throat. A psychopathic leader like him was already numb from the countless corpses in his days, but he didn¡¯t want to use that as an excuse to make his men become as heartless as he was. That made them vulnerable; it was something that made them want to be alive the next day, so they damn well had to make sure they were on their tip-top shape so they could go home in one piece. The moment they felt indestructible was when carelessness happened and in his army, that was a fatal flaw he didn¡¯t want.


    He had seen countless dictators think themselves as gods only to be gunned down while they were out shopping for their favorite shoes or they were poisoned inside the bathroom. They all had that untouchable belief when they were alive and to Reves, it was as bad as being suicidal because at least he had control of when he wanted to pull the trigger.


    ¡°We hit the motherlode!¡± Another soldier appeared behind him with a pallet jack of snack cakes, especially Reves¡¯s favorite cream-filled sponge cakes.


    ¡°Oh sweet spongy goodness!¡± Reves knelt down to the boxes of cakes with a big smile across his face. ¡°Put these beauties inside my ship and the rest you can distribute among yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± The soldier pulled the pallet jack toward the ship.


    They were high in calories, but Reves could work it out during the week. His body wasn¡¯t chiseled, but his body fat index wasn¡¯t high either. His suits still fitted him well and he didn¡¯t want to gamble when it came to indulging in food, but sponge cakes were his weakness and if he had to exercise for hours on end, so be it. That was a sacrifice worth doing.


    ¡°We found the coordinates!¡± The intel officer ran up to his leader holding his tablet with a satellite image on the screen.


    ¡°Good, give me them.¡± Reves began to make his way to his ship.


    ¡°It looks like they were last seen entering Jil¡¯s airspace.¡± The intel officer showed Reves the screen to get a better idea of the location.


    ¡°They are getting closer by the second and with that ship it¡¯s going to be damn near-impossible to catch up to them.¡± Reves sneered, ¡°Please tell me that we got something else we can use to catch these damn rebels.¡±


    ¡°I was just downloading some of the footage from their visors. I didn¡¯t think we were able to do it since, you know, it¡¯s a new technology for us, but I think we got the hang of it.¡± The officer smiled while he scrolled through the tablet¡¯s files to locate the videos.


    He played a clip of the soldier that was thrown by Ragnar. His last few clips involved him standing by the pilot before getting dragged inside the grass. The footage then bounced around until he reached the other side of the ship and it held up the soldier while his camera faced the machine. For that moment, they got a good look of Ragnar and its traitorous face. Then the moment passed with the soldier getting thrown toward his teammate.


    ¡°What a monster.¡± Reves said quietly, ¡°Play the next one.¡±


    The next one involved the thermal scanning soldier looking down on the ground with his scope aiming at a figure that was covered in a silhouette of green and red. The face of the person couldn¡¯t be seen, which bugged the young terrorist leader.


    ¡°I can remove the thermal if you like.¡± The intel officer scrolled through the settings.


    ¡°You can do that? Yeah, do it.¡± Reves stared at the video.


    The thermal colors were soon removed and he got a crystal clear video of the person that was taking a shot at the soldier. A young woman whose eyes were looking through the scope of her Elvander made rifle before she took her shot at them. Reves facial expression went from curious to shock. He looked as if he saw a ghost and his calm, collected state was fading quick. His hands snatched the tablet and his footsteps hurried toward his ship while the soldiers finished up loading the snack cakes.


    ¡°Do you know who this is?!¡± The intel officer yelled out to Reves.


    ¡°All too well.¡± He quickly boarded the ship and stormed to the cockpit with the tablet in hand, ¡°Take me to these coordinates.¡±


    Toomes and Yusef managed to get to the ship before their boss made his quick exit.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, sir?¡± Toomes asked with a touch of curiosity in his voice.


    ¡°I need you to send another team to these coordinates. I don¡¯t want a single survivor in that ship!¡±


    ¡°Not a problem, sir!¡± Yusef reached for his radio.


    Something rubbed Reves the wrong way and it had something to do with that girl. No one wanted to question it, but this mission soon felt a little more personal.

 Crash and Burn

    The stolen Shadow Cannon ship cruised through the air trying to hide inside the clouds to avoid any other nasty surprises that could take them away from their mission. The sun was already up in its full potential with its rays reaching over the horizon. Below them was an ocean with small islands scattered throughout the water. A few didn¡¯t stand out, but one had a large skyscraper sticking out like a flag announcing their status above the other islands. On the other side was a large piece of land that had a lot more large buildings that made the island look like it was a piece of urban utopia that just floated away.


    ¡°There it is!¡± Ashe pointed out from the cockpit toward the coast of another country. ¡°That¡¯s Elvander!¡±


    ¡°Whoa, it looks bigger in person, well, from the sky.¡± Deacon looked over the city in amazement.


    The skyscrapers were high, cars sped through the highways, ships docked to their ports, and didn¡¯t look like they were putting the war as a priority. Did they even know that they were missing a fuel cell that powered their defenses?


    ¡°We¡¯re about an hour and a half or so from reaching the border. At this rate, it¡¯ll be smooth sailing.¡± Ashe calculated the distance between where they were now and Elvander.


    After the trouble Deacon had, he was surprised that they were at the final stretch and it looked easier than what he expected, even for something that was as important as that fuel cell. He couldn¡¯t help but let out a smile that seemed to creep out Ashe, who he only met a few hours ago. He couldn¡¯t forget Ragnar who refused to look at him with that smile. Deacon didn¡¯t care; he managed to get to Elvander even before his days off were over. A trip that seemed to take days on foot was cut short all thanks to Ragnar and Ashe¡¯s quick thinking to steal this very ship he was sitting in and now piloting.


    ¡°So what are you going to do after we get to Elvander?¡± Deacon asked the young woman across from him.


    ¡°I¡¯m hoping to get them to help me rebuild Hazlan. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s even possible without survivors. I know it¡¯ll suck returning to a place as the only person who lived to tell the tale of Shadow Cannon¡¯s massacre. What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I wasn¡¯t even supposed to be here in the first place. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess.¡±


    ¡°So why did you even bother helping Ragnar? He was obviously a weapon who fought for Shadow Cannon.¡± Ashe¡¯s left eyebrow rose trying to get him to spill the beans as to why he decided to betray the world by aiding the robot. ¡°What made you put your trust in him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess I can say that I just trusted him; its weird because he could¡¯ve killed me at any moment when I was there, but instead he begged me for help.¡± Deacon tapped on Ragnar¡¯s arm in a friendly manner, ¡°And in turn, he trusted me to not turn him in, so we relied on trusting each other even if it was for the moment.¡±


    ¡°So what now? You two are best friends now?¡± Ashe snickered.


    ¡°I mean, I never really had friends, well, good friends. They all chucked me to the side whenever they were done with me or they met someone new that piqued their interest, but Ragnar literally took bullets for me, no matter how many times I tried to push him away. Does that answer your question?¡± Deacon looked over to Ashe.


    ¡°That¡¯s cool I guess, I never met a giant robot before, but then again I didn¡¯t play with live grenades either.¡± Ashe¡¯s comparison was fair, but so far that robot has proved to be a great ally against Shadow Cannon and their quest to return the fuel cell to Elvander.


    ¡°Joke all you want, but at least you can get your revenge and I can get home in time for¡­¡± Deacon¡¯s words paused. He didn¡¯t really know what he was going home to. The same routine with romantic comedy marathons and infomercials while he drank his boredom away. He stared at the pockets of Ashe¡¯s loose-fitted pants, nothing caught his attention in particular, but his eyes fixed on the pattern of her pockets while he thought about himself going home to nothing.


    A metaphorical nothing while Ashe would go home to ashes and blood. The two were incomparable, but it made him realize that he was doing the biggest thing in his life and all he cared about was going home to enjoy his day off. He was about save the world, but his dishes raced in his thoughts. Nothing was as bad as Ashe¡¯s pressure as the only survivor of Hazlan.


    Meeting Deacon and Ragnar was the perfect opportunity for her to get the revenge she needed on Shadow Cannon for killing her family, her friends, and her peace. The moment happened quick, but it played constantly in her head with great detail as if she caught the whole thing on camera. She wrapped herself with her coat and sat next to Deacon, giving out a sigh. Her fingerless gloves placed her rifle down in front of them; she was ready to be vulnerable for that instance. Her light hazel eyes looked over at Deacon.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°What if I can¡¯t get them back? I got lucky bumping into you two, but what if that¡¯s as far as my luck goes?¡± Ashe grew some doubt in herself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think like that.¡± Deacon tried to wave off her doubt, ¡°You didn¡¯t get this far on just luck. You survived for a reason and maybe that reason is to stop Shadow Cannon.¡±


    Ragnar agreed with its whir.


    ¡°Who knows? Elvander might even give me a chance to stay there among the elite for being their savior.¡± Ashe¡¯s worried look morphed into a sense of pride.


    ¡°You may be right.¡± Deacon looked at the monitor that kept track of any other ships that were in the sky to avoid getting into a crash. ¡°Just be¡ª¡±


    Deacon stopped his sentence when he saw another blip on his radar that showed another ship behind them. He instantly thought that they were being followed by just looking at the speed of the ship that was catching up to them.


    #


    ¡°We see them in our crosshairs, what do you want us to do, sir?¡± The pilot of the ship turned to the suited figure who was standing behind him. His calm demeanor was haunting, but this moment his anger began to show itself when he saw the ship.


    ¡°Take it out. Disable it. I don¡¯t care. I just want that ship smoking before it hits the ground.¡± Reves patted the pilot on his shoulder and made his way to his seat to wait for the results of his order.


    ¡°You heard the man! Fire when ready!¡± The pilot yelled out to his crew, who were all wearing the Shadow Cannon military armor, just like the previous soldiers who were wiped out by Ragnar and Ashe. They reached for buttons and typed in codes to activate the weapon console and arm their guns to take out the hijacked ship.


    The pilot looked onto his screen and waited for the crosshairs to lock on to Deacon¡¯s ship. By then, they would¡¯ve figured out what Shadow Cannon was up to and began to make any evasive maneuver that they can come up with due to their limited flight skills. The pilot grunted in frustration while he tried to keep his aim true, but the ship ahead of him was erratic and unpredictable. It was a possibility that their absence of flight training could be their advantage. Maybe the lack of fundamentals gave them a chance to escape with their lives.


    The pilot made another attempt and finally got a bead on them when his crosshairs glowed from a white to a blinking red; he had an instant hit.


    ¡°Target locked.¡± The pilot raised his hand to signal them to shoot.


    ¡°Fire away.¡± Reves cut in to speed up the process.


    The soldiers couldn¡¯t argue with the order and began to pull their triggers to fire their guns. The view soon began to go from a clear screen to a monitor filled with smoke when their bullets made contact with the hull of the other ship. The trail of smoke soon lowered below Shadow Cannon and sped down toward the ground.


    ¡°Target destroyed.¡± The pilot called it early.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not count them out just yet. I want that fuel cell recovered, but if that¡¯s not possible then destroy it.¡± Reves looked over to his men with a stare that sent chills down to their spines.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± They all agreed with his next plan of action.


    #


    Their ship was smoking inside-out and the alarm saying that the damage was critical kept blaring louder and louder. Everything increased the pressure of their fall and made their choices harder to make with all the distractions coming up one after the other.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to make it if we just stay here!¡± Deacon tried to find his balance while the ship tipped over like a wounded whale.


    Ashe slid toward the cockpit to see where they were going to hit. To her surprise, it was going to make contact with the island and its large skyscraper. The part they were going to hit wasn¡¯t going to matter; the impact alone was probably going to kill them.


    Ragnar had to think faster than them, its mind was pretty much a computer anyways. Fear didn¡¯t click on the machine, but it did see the fear in the humans and that was enough to understand the situation they were in. Using its strength, it climbed toward the exit hatch of the ship then began to tear the door from its hinges. Ashe looked over to Deacon, who was already set up to catch her when she jumped from the entrance of the cockpit toward the hatch.


    The ship rotated on its opposite side, Ashe was now above Deacon, but they adapted to make the change, but Ragnar only had one chance to catch them both before they hit the island.


    ¡°After this, we are officially friends!¡± Ashe shouted at the pair.


    ¡°Sounds good!¡± Deacon readied himself to catch her, ¡°Now jump!¡±


    Ashe counted to three in her head and dropped down from the cockpit toward Deacon, who used every ounce of his power to prevent themselves from falling down toward the hatch early. Ashe grabbed some footing thanks to Deacon and the duo jumped from the seats to Ragnar who was already waiting by the exit.


    The Golem jumped to get them, but managed to catch Deacon while Ashe bounced off its shoulder with a strong impact.


    ¡°Ashe!¡± Deacon yelled out as he saw her lifeless body falling and spinning uncontrollably.


    Ragnar put Deacon inside his shell and dived toward Ashe, hoping to reach her before the ground did. Their speed was intense and almost fatal if they collided, but Ragnar had to take the chance.


    ¡°Use your turbines!¡± Deacon yelled out from the inside of Ragnar¡¯s shell.


    Ragnar knew its batteries weren¡¯t going to make the full-flight, but it understood what he meant. Its turbines activated and let out a quick burst of speed allowing them to catch up to Ashe. The Golem then wrapped its arms around Ashe to prevent any form of collision to harm her then flipped over to use its turbines again to create a speed resistance to slow the impact and hopefully survive the fall. The boosters in its legs sputtered, but gave enough power to pull off the resistance.


    ¡°Open this thing!¡± Deacon used the shell as a way to shield Ashe and himself from the impact. Ragnar quickly sealed its chestplate then used its turbines one more time to slow itself down before they hit the ground.


    Ragnar crashed through one of the top floors of the island¡¯s skyscrapers, breaking walls and crashing through office spaces while it rolled through the floor until it can catch some footing. Ragnar¡¯s legs dug deep into the floor to slide into a halt.


    Deacon climbed out of the shell with an injured Ashe still knocked out from the hit.


    ¡°What are we going to do?!¡± Deacon turned to Ragnar.


    Ragnar looked over to the windows and saw the Shadow Cannon ship hovering close by the building where they landed in.


    Ragnar whirred with a message: Fight.

 Fair Fight

    Deacon pulled Ashe to a safe spot inside the building where they had crash landed while Ragnar looked over to the window to see how far Shadow Cannon was from their current location. Ragnar reached into its chestplate to give Deacon the fuel cell for safekeeping while it jumped out the window to take care of their attackers. The smoking remains of their own ship hoped to provide enough of a distraction for them to escape.


    Still, Deacon wasn¡¯t as strong as Ragnar, so he needed every moment he can get to make sure Ashe and himself weren¡¯t caught in the crossfire. He struggled to pull Ashe toward the staircase, but the next challenge was going to be how he was going to get her down the steps safely without sacrificing anymore time.


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t there be an elevator?!¡± Deacon sighed to himself with Ashe¡¯s limped arm in one hand and the fuel cell wrapped under his other arm.


    Ashe¡¯s eyes were closed, her breathing stable, but her face was banged up with a cut above her left eyelid from where she impacted with Ragnar¡¯s shoulder. She was going to live, but she isn¡¯t going to be happy with her circumstances.


    Deacon took a deep breath and began to slowly bring her down the staircase while trying to keep her head from hitting the steps. He winced every time he took a step down knowing that any wrong move will probably make her concussion a lot worse than it needed to be. He kept mouthing apologies as if she was able to hear him, but it was probably to make him more comfortable moving her through the staircase while she laid in front of him unconscious looking as if she was sleeping off a hangover; she¡¯s going to wish it was a hangover.


    After some time struggling to juggle Ashe and the fuel cell he finally managed to reach the floor below. Deacon quickly gave up and settled into finding a safe hiding spot in the current floor he was in. He gently put the fuel cell on top of Ashe then grabbed both of her arms then slid out of the staircase then through the hall of office spaces until he could find something that can serve as a safe zone for her and the fuel cell until she can wake up. He looked to a closed door that didn¡¯t have a window on it and seemed out of the way from the other doors, it was perfect to keep her out of sight until Ragnar was able to clear out the area from Shadow Cannon; the times he¡¯s seen Ragnar fight gave him some confidence in its abilities to take care of them.


    At least he hoped.


    #


    ¡°Anything?¡± Reves asked his crew.


    ¡°A damaged Elvander rifle, but other than that¡­ nothing.¡± Yusef held up a busted up piece of Ashe¡¯s rifle. The rail of the rifle was bent out of shape while the barrel curved in an odd fashion. The gun wasn¡¯t going to shoot anything ever again. At least the trigger worked, or whatever was left of it.


    Toomes stood over the rubble of the ship and looked toward the coast of the island to see any stragglers, but just like his partner, nothing except for some scared bystanders standing in the wet sand.


    The other soldiers scanned the other parts of the crash site for any other pieces of evidence. One of them looked up to the sky, ¡°Maybe they landed in the ocean and probably drowned. There¡¯s no way they could¡¯ve survived this.¡±


    ¡°You really think I¡¯m going to base my entire peace of mind on ¡®probably drowned¡¯?¡± Reves walked deeper into the rubble. ¡°They avoided a biker gang, took out a team of highly trained killers, stole our ship, and you think they would¡¯ve just drowned?¡±


    ¡°I mean, they can¡¯t be alive from this.¡± The soldier argued.


    Ragnar hid behind the some of the pieces of the ship, staying still until it found a way to strike hard and fast.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re right because if I turn around and see a giant robot, you better wish it kills you first!¡± Reves quickly turned and saw nothing, but the giant building that made the island stand out, ¡°Wow, I guess I was mistaken.¡±


    Ragnar quickly dashed and took out the soldier behind Reves. The sound of its legs making impact with the ground made the other men turn to face it, but saw nothing. The soldier Reves was speaking to was gone in an instant.


    ¡°Did you see that?¡± Toomes asked the other soldiers.


    They all nodded a no, they were all caught off-guard as well.


    Yusef knelt down and picked up the missing soldier¡¯s gun located away from the Shadow Cannon investigation area. He noticed a large shadow hovering his head and looked up. His eyes widened in fear once he saw Ragnar¡¯s red eyes glowing, looking right at him.


    ¡°Holy¡ª¡± Yusef¡¯s mouth was covered by Ragnar¡¯s large hand and then was thrown with heavy force down to the ground. The loud thud scared the birds around the trees causing them to fly off in a quick, frantic escape. Blood oozed out the man¡¯s mouth from the impact and a large cracking noise came out of his body. Yusef¡¯s eyes were open, but his breathing wasn¡¯t heard, his chest wasn¡¯t compressing, and his pulse was noticeably absent. The man just looked at the sky, lifeless.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Reves looked at the sky, noticing the birds fearfully flying from the noise. He signaled the other men to go toward the noise to see what was there. The three remaining armored soldiers didn¡¯t want to make their hesitation obvious, but carried out the order nonetheless; by the looks of it, they were dead men either way.


    They drew their assault rifles and slowly crept toward the sound of the impact. They all had their backs to each other to make sure they weren¡¯t caught by surprise.


    ¡°Oh man, is that¡­¡± The pilot looked over at the body of Yusef, who was dead with blood staining his mouth.


    ¡°We need to split up and cover these grounds, that thing has to be here somewhere!¡± The other soldier raised his hands and gave them a signal to begin moving out. Their weapons stayed in front of them with the barrels facing toward whatever they were looking at. They didn¡¯t want to leave any stone unturned even if it was insignificant. Ragnar was out there and it was too fast for them to catch up.


    #


    One of the soldiers found himself alone entering the city grounds where the people evacuated thanks to the ship crashing into the coast. He quickly turned around with his rifle drawn, he scared a few people, but saw nothing that spiked his attention. He continued walking through the city center hoping to find the robot that was taking out his team.


    Ragnar stayed in its hiding spot by the souvenir shop behind the lone soldier and waited for his perfect opportunity to strike. His large size made it a challenge to take care of things quietly, but so far, so good on his part. The sheer strength that Ragnar possessed meant he didn¡¯t need to come up with a strategy to take them out and the machine was certain the bullets in that rifle wasn¡¯t going to do any damage. Ragnar¡¯s legs creaked when it lunged causing the soldier to turn around and instantly fired off a few rounds, but the robot¡¯s armor easily deflected them away then its large fist charged at the soldier to send him flying a few feet from where they were standing.


    The man laid on the street groaning in pain that was far too unbearable even for his standards. He¡¯d live to breathe, but it wasn¡¯t going to be painless. He just hoped some backup would arrive on the double before the Golem finished the job.


    ¡°Damn!¡± The soldier winced and began to slowly crawl away from Ragnar who was already heavily stepping toward him. He looked over to the horizon to measure the distance he had between himself and the crash site, but a large familiar shadow stood over his view. The soldier sighed and turned around to face his killer.


    Ragnar stared with its red eyes and reached over to him with both hands.


    #


    ¡°Did you hear that?!¡± The pilot turned over to face the noise of the gunshots. ¡°Where¡¯s Henry?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± One of the other surviving soldiers looked behind him, ¡°I thought he was with you!¡±


    ¡°It was your damn idea to separate!¡± The pilot angrily shoved his teammate.


    ¡°Get your hands off me!¡± The soldier shoved back, ¡°You and I know damn well we don¡¯t have a chance against that thing out here! Now get yourself together!¡±


    ¡°Is there a reason for this little quarrel?¡± Reves stood by the team, watching the whole scenario unfold from afar.


    ¡°No sir, we just lost another man, that¡¯s all.¡± The pilot answered quickly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good, is it?¡± Reves looked over to the city. ¡°Yusef was a good soldier, a little off, but a good soldier nonetheless. Now we¡¯re down three men and no results, do you want their deaths to be in vain?¡±


    ¡°No sir, we¡¯re coming up with a plan as we speak.¡± The pilot stammered through his words in a nervous tone.


    ¡°Save it, I got something here that will level the playing field for us. I really hoped I could¡¯ve gotten this done with some human touch, but I guess that¡¯s out of the question. Mr. Toomes, get me my phone.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± Toomes quickly marched toward their ship, but not without looking over to his dead friend to pay some last minute respects before he continued on.


    Reves looked out to the city and noticed a set of broken windows on the skyscraper, but none of the floors were affected. He squinted at the sight while he processed the new information.


    A screeching noise emerged in front of Reves and his team of soldiers. The terrorist leader saw the familiar sight and gave it a welcoming, sinister smile; it was a look no one could get right, but Reves had it on lock.


    ¡°The prodigal backstabber returns!¡± Reves mockingly opened his arms for a ¡°hug¡±. ¡°I have to admit. You really gave me a headache with this little game of hide-and-seek! I really hope it was worth it!¡±


    Ragnar whirred and stepped closer to Shadow Cannon with the full intent of taking them all out with its unmatched force.


    Reves bravely stepped closer as well with his fine tailored suit untouched by the elements that surrounded him. He knew there was going to be a fight expected, but as usual the man had something up his sleeve.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the fuel cell, Golem?!¡± Reves asked with his tone changing from mocking to anger.


    Ragnar whirred with an angry tone.


    ¡°I see, I guess we¡¯ll have to resort to extreme measures for an answer.¡± Reves looked over to the skyscraper where Deacon and Ashe were hiding. ¡°It¡¯d be a shame if something were to happen to your friends.¡±


    Toomes arrived with his leader¡¯s phone on one hand and quickly handed it over.


    Reves smiled with his thumb on the app icon waiting for his perfect chance.


    Ragnar didn¡¯t want to wait for Reves to strike Deacon and Ashe, so without hesitation the Golem charged with full speed toward the terrorist. It jumped to take care of the trouble once and for all.


    With full expectation, Reves tapped on the app icon and an identical sight appeared between Ragnar and Reves.


    Another Golem.


    Shadow Cannon¡¯s Golem quickly blocked Ragnar¡¯s fatal attack and delivered its own counter-attack, sending Ragnar flying toward the city. Ragnar violently skidded and struggled to use its hands to dig into the street to slow itself down before it caused anymore damage.


    ¡°Looks like you met your match, Golem!¡± Reves gave the fallen machine an arrogant smile while his own Golem stood by him like a shield, ready to guard his life by any means.

 Oblivion

    Punches were traded by the two Golems, at even strengths, it seemed like a match that would drag for an eternity or until their batteries gave out. Ragnar took a few punches before throwing the enemy Golem out of the area toward a fountain in the center of the surrounding skyscrapers.


    ¡°Level that building until we find that damn fuel cell!¡± Reves commanded his men with a wave of his hand.


    ¡°Right away sir!¡± Toomes led the soldiers to the ship to locate some heavy weaponry that can make the job swift and chaotic. They pulled out grenade launchers, C4s, and enough ammo to keep doing the job until it was done.


    ¡°Make sure you leave nothing standing, that fuel cell is our top priority.¡± Toomes told the soldiers.


    They all nodded in agreement and loaded up their weapons before they proceeded to the building where Deacon and Ashe were stowed away in. The guns clicked open and grenades were loaded into their barrels then clicked back. Armed. They were going to get the maximum damage possible and collateral damage was imminent.


    ¡°What about the Golem?¡± The pilot asked Toomes.


    The loud, violent sounds of the Golems¡¯ punches echoed through the island announcing their battle. The booming made Toomes stop his response and used his finger to see if the team also heard what he was hearing.


    ¡°Sounds like it¡¯s under control. Now let¡¯s move it!¡± Toomes handed the pilot a belt of extra ammo.


    ¡°Sir yes sir.¡± The pilot gulped and followed Toomes toward the building.


    #


    Deacon looked over at the window across from the storage room he was keeping Ashe in. He saw the team of soldiers charging toward the building he was inside of. His peace of mind was quickly dissolved into a metaphorical pile of ashes and if he didn¡¯t think quickly about an escape, Ashe and himself were going to join those ashes.


    The empty office building soon went from a zone of silence into a battlefield once the sound of explosions in the first floor quaked the upper levels.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Ashe weakly asked as she struggled to sit back up. She looked at Deacon with her hands wrapped around the fuel cell.


    ¡°Shadow Cannon found us and now they¡¯re trying to level the building.¡± Deacon shortened the story to get her up to speed.


    ¡°Building?¡± Ashe looked around the storage room she was in. ¡°So we didn¡¯t get to Elvander?!¡±


    ¡°How hard did you hit yourself?¡± Deacon was shocked by her lack of memories from the crash.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my gun?!¡± Ashe quickly got up, hoping she was just laying on it, but no rifle in sight. Her one line of defense was missing; she hoped that it would get them out of the building safely, but now it looked like their chances of getting out went from ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a great chance¡± to ¡°Do you prefer to get shot in the face or blown up?¡±


    ¡°Can you walk?¡± Deacon helped Ashe get her balance.


    Another explosion was heard, but louder than the last one. They were getting closer to their level and it was a matter of time they were going to be seen.


    Ashe limped a bit, but only due to her sense of balance still being a bit off from the hit. Other than that, she was able to manage, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good.¡±


    ¡°Great, let¡¯s get the hell out of here.¡± Deacon sighed and ran up the stairs to the floor level they had entered with Ashe following. Blood was dried up on her face, but she didn¡¯t have time to clean up. She took every moment she had to escape.


    More explosions echoed through the building and the creaking support beams that held up the upper floors began to give in to the structure¡¯s falling weight since the grenade launchers weakened them until it was prepared to cave in.


    Deacon and Ashe kept trying to evade capture, but the tile below their feet started to sink into the void of smoke and fire. The pair avoided some falls and jumped over the chasms that were barely being opened. The only options they had were to get higher ground, which may also sink at any moment or fight through the fire in the lower levels.


    #


    ¡°This is a big building.¡± One of the soldiers spoke out after a whistle. They went through a bunch of floors, but still had more stairs to climb to make sure the entire place was ready to fall.


    ¡°The order was very clear,¡± Toomes reloaded his grenade launcher, ¡°this building needs to get leveled to make sure there are no survivors.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯d just think that with this amount of explosives, we would¡¯ve been done already.¡± The soldier complained again.


    ¡°Got to hand it to these people. They know their building materials.¡± The pilot chuckled.


    ¡°Save the laughter until after we do this job.¡± Toomes led the troops up more flights of stairs. They welcomed the destruction, but their mission was just as risky as Deacon and Ashe¡¯s. ¡°Are the C4s planted on this floor?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The pilot responded.


    #


    Deacon and Ashe jumped onto a cracking platform of the level below them, but the area began to tilt causing the pair to slide down to the floor below that one. The motions were fast and they had to think quicker than the destruction appeared. Ashe slid on her feet down toward a bathroom and used her limited footing to catapult herself to the door with the fuel cell still wrapped tightly around her arms. The force she used managed to break it open to get her in.


    ¡°Deacon!¡± Ashe waved at him to get to her position.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Deacon wasn¡¯t sure if he was going to be able to make it but took the chance anyway. He slid on his leg, but he catapulted too late. His hands grabbed onto the ledge of the bathroom, but his speed caused him to pull himself down to the floor below Ashe.


    The duo was split between fire and soldiers.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to wing it!¡± Deacon yelled at Ashe, hoping to get her to leave without him and try out her own route to escape. Deacon was lost at what he was going to do. He mustered up his strength and began to run through the quaking floors and fiery halls until he reached the destroyed remains of a staircase. He vaulted over the rubble and got through the stairs, running down floor after floor after floor before he stopped when he heard some explosions getting louder. Some footsteps began to get louder and Deacon had to hide somewhere inside the already crumbling floor level.


    ¡°What happens when we destroy the fuel cell?¡± The pilot asked Toomes while they climbed up the stairs. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we like¡­ go up in flames?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s only one. The explosion won¡¯t kill us as long as we keep our distance. Besides you should worry about the fall from the weak support.¡± Toomes pointed at a cracked beam. To prove his point further, Toomes delivered a powerful front kick to fully split the beam.


    Deacon used the loud crashing noise of the falling beam to make his move toward the staircase, but the floor gave in causing him to trip and let out a loud yell.


    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Toomes looked at the direction of the sound and ran toward the fresh hole that Deacon fell through.


    ¡°Hi, guys!¡± Deacon waved above him to the soldiers and with a short pause, he quickly stood up and sprinted out of the oncoming path of gunfire and grenades. His eyes widened in fear and his feet moved quicker than he would¡¯ve never imagined. He focused on his breathing to get him through the floor until he got into a safe zone to hide again.


    The distance between the squad of soldiers and Deacon began to grow, but only enough to avoid any potential bullets¡ª he wished the same for the bombs. He raced down the next level and a feeling of the burden began to lessen once he saw the familiar glow of the fuel cell and Ashe meeting him.


    ¡°How did you get here so fast?¡± Deacon looked surprised.


    ¡°I got lucky.¡± Ashe was breathing heavy from her running.


    ¡°Wish I could say the same.¡± Deacon looked behind his shoulder to see the soldiers rushing down the steps.


    The pair became trapped and they ran out of options.


    ¡°I think this game of cat and mouse has gotten annoying, don¡¯t you think?¡± Toomes aimed his gun at the duo and loaded it to blow them into oblivion.


    #


    Ragnar gave the Shadow Cannon Golem a flurry of powerful punches to its head causing it to stagger backward, allowing a powerful tackle into the building where Deacon and Ashe were in. The enemy Golem grabbed its footing and countered Ragnar¡¯s attack with a throw of its own, causing Ragnar to fly through the walls. Loud sounds of crushing metal and pieces of walls hitting the ground boomed through the building.


    The Shadow Cannon Golem walked over to Ragnar and delivered a punch to the chestplate, driving its way into the patched wound and grabbing the interior of the hole for a good grip to hold Ragnar over its head then slamming the robot onto the ground shattering the floor design. The attacks were relentless and Ragnar¡¯s wound was limiting the motor functions that allowed it to attack. The enemy Golem got atop of Ragnar and delivered multiple hammer fists causing parts of Ragnar¡¯s head to become dented.


    Ragnar whirred weakly, but quickly reached for the Shadow Cannon Golem¡¯s neck, crushing it with whatever force Ragnar had left in its reserves and used its leftover power to throw its opponent toward the ceiling, but it was expected and Ragnar¡¯s throw was countered with the Shadow Cannon Golem¡¯s own throw sending Ragnar through countless floors while the enemy Golem followed suit with its powerful jump.


    Ragnar crashed through the last floor, cutting between the soldiers and Deacon and Ashe.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± Toomes yelled out.


    ¡°Ragnar?¡± Deacon was surprised by his friend¡¯s appearance, but grew worried when its body was badly beaten.


    Ragnar stumbled out of the hole and charged toward the soldiers, but Toomes delivered a grenade blast from his launcher causing Deacon¡¯s Golem to shield himself from the attack, but the force was strong enough to send Deacon flying out of the window.


    ¡°Deacon!¡± Ashe yelled out his name, but it did nothing. She was seeing her new friend fall to his death and she was powerless to prevent it.


    Ragnar weakly turned to face his falling friend with its body smoking from the grenade blast. The Shadow Cannon Golem arrived at the floor and grabbed Ragnar by its head then throwing him out of the window as well. Ashe was left alone to fend for herself with the fuel cell in her hands. Toomes, the soldiers, and their Golem stood in front of Ashe, who was outnumbered by numbers and strength. She had no choice, but to surrender to them.


    Deacon looked above him and saw a shadow over his body. He instantly recognized the shape and welcomed it. He really felt that the last moment of his life was going to happen, but Ragnar used its final amount of power to grab Deacon and rotate itself to absorb the full impact of the fall as Deacon climbed into its shell.


    The ground shook with a giant wave of force surging through the area.


    Toomes looked over at the ground with a smile knowing that one of their troubles was finally over and to his side, the other trouble was close to getting sorted out. The Shadow Cannon Golem held onto Ashe on one arm and the fuel cell under the other, waiting for its next order.


    ¡°The traitor has been taken care of and the fuel cell has been retrieved.¡± Toomes radioed in.


    ¡°Meet me down here.¡± Reves¡¯s voice was heard on the radio.

 Brave and Stupid

    Reves stood by the fallen Golem and Deacon with a smile on his face. He watched Deacon climb out of the robot¡¯s shell, seemingly unscathed by the fall; Ragnar was still moving, slowly, but moving nonetheless.


    Its joints creaked slowly, struggling to get back up on its feet after the assault it had suffered from Reves¡¯s own Golem. The wound in Ragnar¡¯s chest was exposed and ready to open even wider with any kind of force it received.


    ¡°You two are either really brave or really stupid.¡± Reves scoffed, ¡°Why in the hell did you guys decide to try to stop me on your own?¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re a monster, plain and simple.¡± Deacon struggled his way out of Ragnar¡¯s shell.


    ¡°A monster?¡± Reves took offense. ¡°Why? Because I killed thousands of people for no apparent reason? Or because I figured that my own government was more powerful than the current joke we have now?¡±


    ¡°The fact that you have those as reasons really proves my point.¡± Deacon smirked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if that point matters when I get the fuel cell and leave Elvander with nothing.¡± Reves snapped his fingers to signal his Golem to walk up to him with Ashe and the fuel cell in tow.


    ¡°Let me go Reves or I¡¯ll kill you and then¡ª¡± Ashe yelled out at Reves, who only returned a smile to answer Ashe¡¯s empty threats. She couldn¡¯t do anything in her current situation. He had combat-trained soldiers and a large Golem on his side while she only had Deacon and a weakened Ragnar.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you still retained your spunk, kid.¡± Reves spoke to her with a familiarity that left Deacon confused. He wasn¡¯t sure about the connection and grew more worried about his own situation.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Ashe yelled angrily as she tried to shake herself off of Reves¡¯s Golem¡¯s grip. The machine applied minimal force but was enough to keep her pinned.


    ¡°You look confused.¡± Reves turned to Deacon, who looked like a deer caught in a headlight. ¡°I assume she never told you her last name. Didn¡¯t you, Ashe?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say another damn word, you sonofa¡ª¡±


    ¡°Severs. Her last name is Severs, same as mine,¡± Reves turned to Ashe with an arrogant smile. ¡°I guess she was ashamed to be associated with the name of a ¡®terrorist¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Dad should have disowned you!¡± Ashe gritted her teeth.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Reves sucked the air through his teeth, ¡°but he¡¯s dead just like the rest of Hazlan.¡±


    ¡°How can you just say that?!¡± Ashe screamed at her brother.


    ¡°I just gave your friend here my reasons.¡± He pointed at Deacon, he didn¡¯t care much about the consequences of his words or actions. He was a psychopath out in the world for destruction by any means. His own family was just another target to wipe out. A means to an end.


    ¡°This world doesn¡¯t need all these diplomats,¡± Reves gave his speech, ¡°no votes, no speeches. This world needs a leader, someone who is willing to take the weeds out. Someone who is willing to dip his feet into the chaos.¡±


    ¡°Someone like you.¡± Deacon said with fear in his voice.


    ¡°Your buddy gets it. Maybe he¡¯s not as stupid as he looks.¡± Reves pointed at Deacon with his hand.


    ¡°Then you better hope you kill me first!¡± Ashe continued to struggle out of the Golem¡¯s grip, but still nothing.


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Reves chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you. Your friend, yes, but not you.¡±


    Deacon¡¯s eyes began to tear a little. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he was back into the violence. He should have just realized the first sign of trouble when they were in Livica and then the ship. The whole trip was one big calamity and Deacon still tried to do right by the people of Elvander and to Ragnar, and now Ashe.


    He failed. He failed and he now had to watch Reves stand before him and snuff him out like if he was nothing. Worthless, like a plastic bag or a pebble that was stuck in a person¡¯s shoe.


    ¡°Ragnar!¡± Deacon whispered to his fallen friend.


    Its eyes barely responded and the red light was flickering, a sign that Ragnar was prepared to power off at a moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°What I¡¯m going to do for you, Ashe will probably make you wish you were dead. I¡¯m going to rise from the ashes of the world and you will be witness to it all.¡± Reves walked closely to Ashe.


    ¡°What did I ever do to you?¡± Ashe¡¯s eyes began to tear up a bit like Deacon¡¯s.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Nothing. Hazlan did enough. You were busy ignoring the corruption while they shoved their deceit down your throat. Maybe when you see me pull this off, you will soon see the method to my madness.¡±


    ¡°It just sounds like you¡¯re just trying to justify your mass murdering spree.¡± Deacon said.


    ¡°Yeah, I expect to hear that from you!¡± Reves never understood why people questioned his intelligence and just assumed everyone around him was imbeciles in need of some guidance. Reves was out of touch with his actions and was quick to say that the only way the world can sort itself out was with him, a mass murdering lunatic, taking the reins of society and becoming its unofficial leader. Reves, the leader of the world, sounded good to his ears, but the only things in his way were Ashe and her friends as well as Elvander, but with the fuel cell in his possession he can make a power move against Elvander without any power source giving them a defensive edge.


    Reves snapped his finger again at Toomes so he can take the fuel cell from the Golem and stow it away in his ship while he figured out what to do with Ragnar and Deacon, who seemed like annoyances than threats now without the fuel cell. He looked at the burning building and then to the pair and then back to the building.


    ¡°Throw them inside and let the building bury them. I don¡¯t like the idea of wasting another bullet.¡± Reves walked to his ship with his squad of soldiers following close behind.


    Toomes clutched onto Ashe tightly making sure she couldn¡¯t get out of their grasp.


    The Shadow Cannon Golem stepped to the pair and held them each with one hand then dragged them toward the skyscraper, which looked as if it was going to fall at any second.


    ¡°No!¡± Ashe yelled out, but her words were ignored, ¡°Let them go, you bastard!¡±


    Deacon struggled, but his strength alone wasn¡¯t enough to get loose of the Golem¡¯s grip. The only thing on his mind was his death and looking at Ashe, who was being taken away just made the feeling worse. His only hope of escaping laid almost lifeless from its beating. Deacon swallowed his fear and faced the fact that this moment was going to be his last; the last thing he wanted to do was to leave the world with tears in his eyes.


    The enemy Golem tossed Ragnar through the glass entrance first and then Deacon followed. The loud crashing noise of the glass would¡¯ve raised an alarm in the building, but the fire and falling debris were muffling the sound. Deacon¡¯s face was bloodied from the pieces of glass he fell on, but he still managed to crawl to Ragnar to provide some type of aid for the machine.


    The Shadow Cannon Golem looked over Deacon and Ragnar a second and made its exit back to Reves¡¯s ship to allow the building a chance to finish the job.


    Before Deacon even knew it, they were alone surrounded by fire. He quickly rushed to any exit that he can get to, but was quickly cut off by the heat. The searing pain on his skin was unbearable, his thoughts weren¡¯t able to be completed as he was busy trying to keep his breathing normal and avoid the smoke.


    ¡°Ragnar!¡± Deacon yelled out to his friend, ¡°You need to get up buddy! We¡¯re not going to make it!¡±


    He tried to move some of the fallen pillars, only for the weight to be heavier than what he had imagined. His palms began to pulsate with the pain of the hot support beams. No matter what, his desperation made him not want to stand still; the worst thing he can do to himself and Ragnar was not trying. Minute after minute was another failed attempt.


    He shoulder charged the doors, but the debris on the other side blocked it from opening fully. He tried to build a makeshift ladder, only for the fire to reach it before he did. Deacon was defeated. He knelt down and tried to accept it. His hope was lost and his chances were slim to none.


    A familiar screeching noise appeared behind him. That spark of hope was ignited and a confident smile appeared on his face.


    Ragnar stood in front of Deacon with the remains of its power, he grabbed onto Deacon and placed him inside its shell. Deacon didn¡¯t know what to make of the situation, but he was fully aware that Ragnar would be able to make an escape without an issue now that it was functional again.


    Ragnar¡¯s arms waved through the fire and effortlessly cleared the obstacles in front of them. The Golem was intent on getting Deacon out of there. Its walking speed began to increase into a jog and then to a full sprint to quickly bulldoze the walls and used its powerful jump to get onto the next floor with relative ease. Deacon smiled away as he watched Ragnar get through the burning building with minimal effort.


    ¡°You got this!¡± Deacon cheered on Ragnar while he stayed safely inside the shell. Ragnar¡¯s remains of its powerful armor kept the heat away from Deacon, which was a big relief since he spent the past few minutes trapped in a literal hell.


    Ragnar managed itself out of the fire and saw a ray of sunlight shining through the tattered remains of an office¡¯s window blinds. It quickly turned to face the window and charged toward it.


    Deacon prepped himself for a bumpy landing once Ragnar got through it.


    Ragnar dived through the window, easily shattering the glass into tiny pieces and fell a few stories down on the road below. The loud noise of Ragnar¡¯s body meeting the asphalt along with the sight of the burning building gave the population of the island something of a spectacle; they couldn¡¯t make any sense to what they were seeing only that their only landmark of the island was up in smoke.


    The Golem weakly turned to its back and opened up its shell to allow Deacon out to get some fresh air away from the pollution that was suffocating him earlier.


    Deacon took deep breaths and smiled at his second chance at life. All thanks to Ragnar.


    ¡°You did it buddy!¡± Deacon turned to face Ragnar, but his expression changed from relief to worry.


    His friend¡¯s red eyes weren¡¯t shining anymore. They were off and no sign of its battery¡¯s humming noise made his darkest thoughts a reality. ¡°Ragnar! Wake up, you¡¯re fine! I know you¡¯re fine! Ragnar!¡±


    People gathered around Deacon and the fallen, lifeless Ragnar trying to see what the whole thing was about. The first thought in their heads was Shadow Cannon, but seeing the weeping Deacon made their accusations fall flat in an instant.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this to me, Ragnar! You just saved my life, you can¡¯t just leave it!¡± Deacon wept more heavily. He shook Ragnar¡¯s still body, hoping to wake it as if it were asleep. They only knew each other for a few days, but he bonded too deep with the Golem. He never thought he would cry over a machine, but here he was thanking him and bargaining with any kind of deity that would be able to bring Ragnar back to life.


    Deacon knelt down and his tears kept tapping on Ragnar¡¯s head. The only thing that remained in his mind was Ragnar¡¯s mission.


    ¡°Elvander.¡±

 REDACTED

    The wall towered over the network of highways, where the cargo transport trucks and other civilians drove for their daily commutes. The Elvander army walked back and forth on top of the wall keeping their eyes fixed below them for any signs of trouble with their weapons drawn, ready to strike at any given moment.


    A figure appeared by the bridge above the highway with a large object being dragged behind him.


    ¡°Who the hell is that?¡± One of the soldiers used his binoculars to get a better view of the figure.


    The binoculars showed a bloodied, weak Deacon pulling a lifeless Ragnar through the bridge toward the border of Elvander with a makeshift wagon that still couldn¡¯t support the full weight of the Golem.


    ¡°Is that a Shadow Cannon member?¡± Another soldier asked.


    ¡°I doubt it, the Golem isn¡¯t moving and the guy looks like crap.¡± The soldier with the binoculars responded with his eyes still fixed on Deacon.


    Deacon looked at the top of the wall and noticed the soldiers watching him closely for any suspicious activity that may require some form of action on their part. He wiped the sweat from his brow and moved closer to the wall¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Hold it there!¡± Another one of the soldiers used the wall¡¯s speaker system to halt Deacon¡¯s steps while the other soldiers aimed their rifles at the young, bloodied man.


    He just avoided one near-death experience for another.


    Deacon took in a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here for trouble!¡± Deacon yelled out with his voice shaking from either exhaustion, frustration and/or anger, ¡°My friend here is no longer functioning and Shadow Cannon kidnapped my other friend! I just need some help to get her back!¡±


    ¡°How do we know you¡¯re not a spy?¡± The soldier asked through the loudspeaker.


    I¡¯m cut up, dirty, sweating, and I¡¯m asking for help!¡± Deacon sighed. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure that I wouldn¡¯t be taking the front door if I was a spy!¡±


    ¡°Stay right there!¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Deacon muttered angrily to himself. He stood by the entrance to the country hoping to get some assistance and some way to get Ragnar repaired. He wasn¡¯t sure it was possible, but at this point, he didn¡¯t care for possibilities.


    A loud creaking noise snapped him out of his thoughts and a beam of light from the gate¡¯s entrance began to open wider. Deacon wasn¡¯t sure what was going to happen to him once the soldiers finished opening the doors. He was either going to get access or die right there and he got excited for nothing, so he kept his face straight enough to not let them see his emotion.


    The soldier with the binoculars looked over to Deacon with one hand holding the large steel door and another hand signaling him to enter.


    Deacon smiled the biggest smile he can physically manifest and used the remaining amount of his strength and stamina to pull Ragnar with him. The wheels he grabbed from some random shopping cart back at the island squeaked with every inch that Deacon pulled it, but he didn¡¯t care. The mission was almost done, but he soon realized that without the fuel cell¡ª it was all for nothing.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?!¡± The soldier yelled out to Deacon, but what he really meant was why he was taking his sweet time when they¡¯re trying to avoid a Shadow Cannon attack by not leaving their front door open and yet here we are waiting for this weird sweaty guy to make his decision about entering.


    ¡°I need to get to your capital!¡± Deacon answered back. He rushed to the entrance with Ragnar laying behind him.


    ¡°For what?¡± The soldier began to pat Deacon down for any hidden weapons or other contraband that he may have on his person.


    They were standing in a cold, white hallway where nothing decorated the walls except for the lining of the bricks that made up the border wall¡¯s foundation. The bright white lights exposed every nook and cranny that the hall tried to keep away from view and made Deacon shield his eyes, almost like staring at the sun.


    ¡°I need to talk to the person in charge and I need to get this big guy fixed.¡± Deacon pointed over to the lifeless Ragnar.


    ¡°That Golem? Why should we help Shadow Cannon by repairing their weapon?¡± Another soldier remarked. His scarred face showed that he was serious about his words, but Deacon didn¡¯t have time to argue or feel intimidated. He needed his demands met if he was going to pull off this last attempt of a plan that can save Ashe and possibly the world¡ª if it was done right.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°That Golem is the reason why I¡¯m here in the first place.¡± Deacon made his thoughts clear. ¡°Its mission was to get a fuel cell to Elvander to power up its defenses against Shadow Cannon when they come in for an all-out attack.¡±


    ¡°Who told that Golem to do it? We sure as hell didn¡¯t send out one of our own to do it.¡± The scarred soldier scoffed. His attitude was starting to get to Deacon.


    But he stayed silent.


    Ragnar didn¡¯t even know who made it abandon its post to deliver the fuel cell or changed its programming. The Golem was kept in the dark about its own self, let alone the fuel cell.


    ¡°Let me call it in, Troy.¡± The binocular soldier nodded at the scarred soldier and lifted his radio through his battle vest. ¡°Come in, Home Time, come in, over.¡±


    ¡°This is Home Time, what¡¯s your sixty? Over.¡± A man¡¯s voice appeared on the radio.


    ¡°I got a guy here at the Goose Neck and he brought in an unwanted guest. Over.¡±


    ¡°Did he say what he wanted? Over.¡± The voice asked.


    ¡°Something about a fuel cell? Over.¡±


    The voice stayed silent for a good minute before responding, ¡°Be right there, over and out.¡±


    None of that sounded good for Deacon.


    The group of soldiers along with Deacon walked through the hallway. No one said a word; the only sound was from their shoes beating on the floor and the loud squealing noise from Ragnar¡¯s wagon as they marched through the corridor to some unknown section of the wall¡¯s interior.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Deacon grew worried about the lack of communication.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Troy answered with his attitude-filled voice.


    Deacon gulped on air and continued following them. The walls were still bare even as they kept going further through the hallways.


    They finally stopped in front of a door painted with the same color as the interior walls as some attempt to camouflage itself.


    ¡°Wait in here and someone will talk with you.¡± Troy the scarred-soldier opened the door for Deacon to enter.


    Deacon kept his lips sealed and pulled Ragnar with him into an empty room, furnished with a large desk and a few seats; it had an interrogation room atmosphere.


    ¡°Who am I waiting for?¡± Deacon stood by the desk, confused and frustrated by the lack of answers.


    ¡°Just take a seat and wait.¡± The binocular soldier stood by the door with his team.


    Deacon planted himself on one of the chairs and watched the door close shut, leaving him alone with his thoughts.


    Time passed for a few moments before the sound of the doorknob turning woke Deacon from his power nap. A pale older man in a suit and tie walked into the room alone without the previous soldiers to keep an eye on Deacon. The man sat across from Deacon by the table then looked over to Ragnar with a look of curiosity. He then reached his hand over to Deacon for a handshake.


    ¡°I¡¯m the head of defense for Elvander, my name is Roy Freeman.¡±


    ¡°Deacon Maynard.¡± Deacon returned the gesture.


    ¡°Where are you from, Deacon Maynard?¡± Roy asked as he leaned back in his seat.


    ¡°I¡¯m from Cille.¡± Deacon wasn¡¯t sure if he was being interrogated as a suspected member of Shadow Cannon or was actually going to get help from the mysterious man.


    ¡°You¡¯re a long way from Cille, kid.¡± Roy looked over to Ragnar then paused before he spoke again, Tell me, what do you know about Project Ragnarok?¡±


    Deacon¡¯s face showed surprised to Roy¡¯s question. That name showed up inside Ragnar¡¯s programming and nowhere else unless something was going on that¡¯s been kept in the dark by Elvander¡¯s top people.


    ¡°Depends.¡± Deacon enunciated lightly with his response, ¡°What should I know about it?¡±


    Roy looked back at Ragnar then let out a deep sigh, ¡°Golems are really fascinating when you look beyond the lines of code and wires.¡±


    ¡°Ragnar mentioned an escort.¡± Deacon cut to the chase.


    ¡°Yes, we were expecting one of our allies¡­ and Ragnar,¡± Roy drummed on the table, ¡°but I assume the agent never got out of the Shadow Cannon base.¡±


    ¡°So that was Project Ragnarok?¡± Deacon asked.


    ¡°Project Ragnarok is¡­¡± Roy thought about what he was going to say. ¡°Or more like was a top-secret experiment that we worked on with the help of our allies to make use of the Golems that were located on the Isle of Heathens.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that they were never built?¡± Deacon asked. ¡°So you found them on some island?¡±


    ¡°Sounds crazy, but when we discovered these creatures. We thought about the true potential of their abilities.¡± Roy took a deep breath, ¡°Machines with free will.¡±


    ¡°So if they have free will, how is Shadow Cannon using them to, you know, kill?¡±


    ¡°We had learned that they had a natural source code, written in a customized language that was the Golem¡¯s own. The thing about code is that it can be edited¡ª¡±


    ¡°By anyone.¡± Deacon interrupted.


    ¡°Yes exactly. So we made sure that they kept their code intact and kept the peace with the Golems in order to have them on our side when needed.¡±


    ¡°So how did Shadow Cannon end up with them?¡± Deacon grew more curious about Ragnar¡¯s lineage.


    ¡°We worked a deal with the Golems, which was they fought with us and we¡¯d equip them with state-of-the-art Elvander technology that would serve them greatly in the battlefield and outside. The only thing was that in order to get them equipped was to have the Golems in our facility.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s when Shadow Cannon attacked and stole them.¡± Deacon was anxious to get to the bottom of the story. ¡°Why are you telling me all this top-secret stuff?¡±


    ¡°Because we tasked the agent with giving one of the Golems¡¯ free will back. So¡­ Ragnar was never programmed to trust anyone, he just did. He trusted you enough to ask you to help him. So we have to trust you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but how is that possible without a living Golem or a fuel cell?¡± Deacon looked over at Ragnar, his friend. He felt more comfortable about the fact that Ragnar wasn¡¯t pre-programmed to pick him as a friend.


    That was all Ragnar.


    ¡°The thing about these bio-mechanical creatures is that they run on a power source, only known to them. We don¡¯t even know what it is or if it¡¯s even possible to recreate it. We do have a generator that will maybe give this guy enough juice to kick death in the ass.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying we can revive him?!¡± Deacon smiled and stood up from his chair in anxiousness to get the thing done.


    ¡°We can try and hopefully we can test out Project Ragnarok with him. I think he¡¯ll be pleased with the results.¡±


    ¡°As will I, Mr. Freeman.¡± Deacon kept his smile, ¡°As will I.¡±

 Subtle

    Inside the Shadow Cannon ship was eerie, dark, and almost empty. A few footsteps echoed around the sleeping chambers. The remaining soldiers slept inside their quarters, hoping to land in their base by the time they woke up.


    Reves didn¡¯t want to sleep; he sat in the brig with his sister, Ashe, who was locked up. Her face was mostly covered in dirt and sweat as well as the blood from her previous ship ride, which dried into a dark red, almost black color. Reves looked at her trying to figure out an approach to talk to her.


    ¡°I never thought it¡¯d be you who would do something so stupid.¡± Ashe broke the silence instead.


    ¡°Nothing stupid about it, Ashe.¡± Reves cleared his throat, ready to preach, ¡°We spent our lives being little guinea pigs to uphold the standards of law and order while they screwed us over behind our backs.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t explain the killing! Still doesn¡¯t explain Hazlan!¡± Ashe¡¯s voice grew angrier.


    ¡°Times are changing, Ashe.¡± Reves stood up from his chair and walked to the cell where Ashe was locked in, ¡°Hazlan was just a place that couldn¡¯t get with the times.¡±


    ¡°That was our home, Reves!¡± Ashe¡¯s eyes began to tear up with rage.


    ¡°It still is.¡± Reves said, ¡°I¡¯m just making it better than it was and you can be a part of it.¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?!¡± Ashe scoffed.


    ¡°You can become a ruler of the new Hazlan. No elders, no ancient laws that do nothing, but hold their people back. Now it¡¯s time for someone better.¡±


    ¡°And you think that this world would prefer a madman?¡± Ashe scoffed.


    ¡°Why not? Other countries have been fine with a madman in charge.¡± Reves smiled.


    ¡°You better hope that killing dad was worth it because when I get out of these damn chains, you¡¯re dead!¡± Ashe tried to lunge at her brother, but the chains held onto her tightly, restricting her movement to just aggressive jerking.


    ¡°Dad was dead the moment he let those old shits banish me!¡± Reves protested, ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time alone to think about it. I expect a yes by the time I return.¡±


    ¡°If I say ¡®no¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll finish the job I started at Hazlan.¡± Reves left the brig with the threat freshly lingering in the air.


    #


    Deacon stood by the entrance of one of the capital¡¯s main buildings. The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon while Deacon continued to wait outside.


    ¡°How long is this meeting supposed to take?¡± Deacon said to himself, growing impatient by the second.


    Another moment passed before Roy exited the building with a walk of pride.


    ¡°Good news?¡± Deacon turned to face the man.


    ¡°I hope you know your way around power tools.¡± Roy smiled.


    ¡°What did you tell them?¡± Deacon followed Roy down the stairs to a car that was waiting for Roy.


    ¡°The truth.¡± Roy paused down the steps to face Deacon, ¡°You saw Shadow Cannon and now we need to get a prototype battleship in play before they have a chance to strike.¡±


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have a ship, Mr. Freeman.¡± Deacon¡¯s voice of concern made Roy want to wince.


    ¡°Yes we do, Deacon,¡± Roy nodded slowly to make sure he understood the subtlety. ¡°You are the engineer we contracted to have the workspace to yourself in order to construct us a state-of-the-art weapon, right?¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± Deacon wasn¡¯t sure what he was agreeing to, but he could trust the head of defense for one of the largest superpowers in the world. If not him, then who?


    ¡°Attaboy, now ride with me,¡± Roy opened the back door of his car to allow Deacon inside first while Roy¡¯s driver stood at the ready, prepared to take them wherever they needed to go.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Deacon asked. ¡°Is it where Ragnar is?¡±


    ¡°William, take us to the Factory.¡± Roy nodded at his driver.


    ¡°My pleasure, sir.¡± William allowed the two men inside the car before closing it and walking to the driver side. The driver sat in the car and began to pull away from the building to get to the location that his boss said.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°So what exactly are we going to be doing at this ¡®Factory¡¯?¡± Deacon kept trying to get his answers, but the fact that he was in a covert mission meant that most of the information he was asking for was on a need-to-know basis. Basic protocol.


    Deacon wasn¡¯t used to that. He didn¡¯t even think he was part of some top-secret mission like in the spy movies. This was all on his day off from work. He wasn¡¯t even sure he was going to make it back to his shift in the next two days.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s a lot to take in, kid.¡± Roy looked at the worrying Deacon, who was doing a poor attempt at playing it cool, ¡°This was not what I had in mind either, if I may be honest. I was hoping for a trained soldier, but instead, I get you, no offense.¡±


    ¡°None taken¡­ I think?¡± Deacon sighed. He couldn¡¯t agree with him more.


    ¡°I already took the liberty of getting the area prepped for our arrival. Ragnar is getting set-up and will be ready for our first attempt at reviving him.¡±


    ¡°What about my friend who Shadow Cannon has?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her.¡± Roy patted Deacon on his shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s get your other friend up and running and then we¡¯ll work on getting your other buddy out of their clutches.¡±


    ¡°I hope this works, Mr. Freeman.¡± Deacon leaned his head on the window of his door, ¡°I¡¯m getting just about tired of all this near-death crap.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you wouldn¡¯t make it in politics.¡± Roy looked over at his driver as they shared a quiet laugh while Deacon spaced out at the view of Elvander¡¯s road.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Deacon continued looking outside of the window, ¡°Politics.¡±


    #


    Ragnar laid on a work bay, all lights on its exterior were off. Not a single dim light shined, no sign of life showed on the Golem.


    ¡°Is this stuff going to help?¡± Deacon had his hands inside Ragnar¡¯s interior trying to fit some cables into its power source to give it a jump. ¡°That armor feels too light.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, my guys did a great job making sure the Golems¡¯ movements were not restricted while they were protected. That¡¯s just fine Elvander craftsmanship.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I think the clamps are on secure enough.¡± Deacon let out a few grunts to make sure none of the cables slipped out when it came time.


    ¡°Okay, I have another meeting in about an hour, but I¡¯ll leave you to it. I got some engineers on hand in case you need help.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡± Deacon grunted as he picked up another piece of armor for Ragnar. The impact wrench he used whirred loudly when he tightened the bolts to secure the armor in place. The sound of the bolts getting locked up bounced through the almost empty workstation. Elvander engineers stood by waiting to be called into aid Deacon, but he never did. Maybe he just wanted a more personal touch to repair Ragnar.


    After a few hours of scraped knuckles and sweat-inducing labor, he managed to complete Ragnar¡¯s new armor set. Deacon looked closely over the Golem to make sure he didn¡¯t miss any sections or bolts. Satisfied, he took a few steps back and looked over to the engineers with a sigh of relief for completing the job. He was close to getting Ragnar back and close to getting Ashe out of the Shadow Cannon¡¯s ship.


    ¡°Alright, guys!¡± Deacon put on his supplied safety goggles, ¡°Let¡¯s get him juiced up!¡±


    The engineers flipped a switch located on the back of the bay. A red energy surged through the cables starting from the source and finding its way into Ragnar. The lights in Ragnar¡¯s system stuttered between on and off.


    ¡°Okay, cut it!¡± Deacon waved his hands at the engineers and ran up to Ragnar to see the results of their work. He looked for any sign of life like lights or sounds of its motor running, but to his disappointment, nothing was activated.


    ¡°Looks like we need to do some more troubleshooting.¡± One of the engineers sighed.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go back to square one and see what we missed. Maybe if I can look¡ª¡± Deacon¡¯s words were cut off by the familiar sound of screeching metal. His head turned to the engineers who stared at the source of the sound with gaping jaws.


    A loud thud made Deacon take a full turn to view the spectacle.


    Ragnar stood in front of Deacon and the engineers in its full glory. Its new light armor covered its old wounds and gave it extra reinforcements against any form of assault.


    Ragnar whirred and looked at itself to admire the new, updated look.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, buddy.¡± Deacon smiled.


    #


    Ashe waited until she faced her brother again, but being locked inside the brig made it feel like days when only minutes passed by. She had no choice but to bide her time until she got her next opportunity. Just one perfect moment was all she needed.


    ¡°Meal time!¡± One of the soldiers announced his presence with a plate of military rations and a cup of water that looked like it had a little touch of iced tea powder, giving it a light brown hue. Very delicious.


    The soldier placed the tray of food just outside of her reach; she would need to stretch herself out a few inches to reach it. She stared at the tray and then to the soldier.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to feed me?¡± Ashe asked the leaving soldier.


    ¡°Sorry, no can do. I¡¯m sure you can figure it out.¡± The soldier scoffed then chuckled.


    ¡°So you¡¯re just going to let your leader¡¯s sister starve. How would you think he would feel about that?¡± Ashe shook her head to express her disappointment.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯d care.¡±


    ¡°Is that right? Are you sure about that?¡± Ashe clicked her tongue, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he told you to feed me, not torture me. So I¡¯m pretty sure he still cares enough to want to keep me alive.¡±


    The soldier sighed. She made a good point and the last thing he needed was to hear Reves call him a moron or worse¡ª make him an example for the others. He turned back to the brig holding cell and pulled his key card to unlock the door. He kept his gaze on Ashe to make sure she didn¡¯t try any funny business then knelt over the tray to get a ration for her to bite.


    ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t bite me or I¡¯ll make you regret it.¡± The soldier said before he fed her the ration.


    ¡°Cross my heart.¡± Ashe¡¯s made sure her sarcasm was obvious to the man.


    He brought the ration close to her mouth to make sure she could get a good bite but was greeted with a kick to the knee to bring him down to her abdomen and then wrapped her legs around his neck to make sure he was under her control.


    ¡°Now what you will need to do is let me out or I¡¯ll slowly pop your neck until its completely dislodged from your spine. Make your decision quick.¡± Ashe whispered to the man¡¯s ear.


    He quickly thought about it and decided to let her go.


    Or so she thought.


    Her chains were off, but the soldier quickly slammed her to the ground and placed his gun to her head.


    ¡°Did you really think I was just going to let you skip out of here?¡± The soldier slowly squeezed the barrel of his gun to her head.


    Before she could have a chance to retaliate, a loud explosion emerged from the center of the hull.


    ¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Ashe and the soldier turned to each other in confusion.

 Opportunity Knocks

    The soldier tried to rush to check the loud noise by stepping over Ashe. His gun retreated from Ashe¡¯s head, giving her some relief and something she wanted¡ª an opportunity. She wasn¡¯t sure what the noise was either, but she hoped it would make her escape easier. Ashe quickly used her now free legs to trip the soldier back onto the floor then used her elbow to land a powerful strike on the back of his neck. A loud popping noise came up from his body and he laid lifeless. She stood up and let out a relieving sigh, realizing her freedom was close.


    ¡°Looks like you won¡¯t be needing this anymore.¡± Ashe picked up the high-caliber pistol and checked to see if it had any ammo in the clip. She ran out of the brig with the soldier¡¯s gun drawn in front of her. The other guards¡¯ attention would be stuck dealing with the explosion.


    ¡°Call for reinforcements!¡± The pilot¡¯s voice yelled throughout the ship.


    ¡°Must not be good.¡± Ashe whispered to herself about the ship¡¯s sudden breach.


    Another guard ran to the brig¡¯s direction, but Ashe quickly ambushed him from behind the corner of the corridor; she pistol-whipped the unsuspecting guard and put a bullet into his head. The gunshot wasn¡¯t exactly quiet, but it seemed she was in the clear. She continued on her way to locate an escape plan since Reves had his remaining men search for the breach and now with reinforcements on the way she wasn¡¯t going to waste any time than she needed.


    A few loud footsteps grew louder and louder getting closer to her location. She knew it was the Golem that Reves activated to deal with the intruders.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going well. I¡¯m not going to be able to deal with that guy alone. I still have a chance to slip by and maybe I can avoid fighting it altogether.¡± Ashe quickly dashed away from the oncoming threat and proceeded through an alternate path.


    The shadow of the Golem revealed itself to be Ragnar with its new armor and Deacon following close behind. The new updates returned Ragnar its flying abilities and used its upgraded speed to chase down the Shadow Cannon ship.


    ¡°Do you think Ashe is still alive?¡± Deacon looked around the corridor of the ship.


    Ragnar whirred and shrugged.


    ¡°Glad to see your attitude stayed intact.¡± Deacon peeked through the corner, but as expected it was empty except for the dead soldier that Ashe left behind.


    ¡°Yeah, I think he answered my question.¡± Deacon knelt down to inspect the body. He shivered from being uncomfortably close to the lifeless body with blood oozing out of the wound left by the bullet. Deacon noticed a gun still in the holster of the now-dead soldier¡¯s holster; he slowly reached for it then pulled it out from the soldier¡¯s possession, loaded and ready to fire.


    He never handled a gun let alone a military-grade weapon that he was now holding. He just hoped that the adrenaline would kick into high-gear allowing him to squeeze the trigger easily at his targets. At least, that¡¯s what he would imagine his adrenaline would do.


    ¡°We need to find her and get out before the reinforcements get here.¡±


    An alarm rang out giving Deacon a sudden chill down his spine. His instinct was to look out one of the ships windows and view if his worst-case scenario had appeared.


    ¡°I spoke too soon, Ragnar.¡± Deacon saw another ship unload a few more soldiers and Golems into the already growing vacant ship. ¡°Let¡¯s hope Ashe has better luck than us.¡±


    A loud, deep beeping noise appeared from behind the duo. It sounded familiar and made Ragnar turn around as quick as its improved chassis would allow. There in front of him with all its infamous glory was the same Shadow Cannon Golem that defeated Ragnar in their last battle. Now looking for a rematch against Deacon¡¯s friend.


    Ragnar sent Deacon a message: Go find Ashe.


    The Golems walked up to each other and then began to increase their foot speed until they began to sprint toward each other. Deacon took Ragnar¡¯s word and escaped the scene before the rest of Shadow Cannon got to their position and saw him as a sitting duck.


    ¡°Get him, Ragnar!¡± Deacon threw his words of encouragement before running off to search for their friend.


    The Shadow Cannon Golem shoulder charged at Ragnar, but the improved speed allowed it to dodge its opponent¡¯s tackle and counter with a throw of its own. The whirring noises between them were soon drowned out with the sound of their punches connecting to their bodies and faces. Ragnar¡¯s new armor managed to shake off a few punches, but the relentless fury of the Shadow Cannon machine still made Ragnar stumble a few times; it only proved effective for a few seconds before Ragnar regained balance and kept his footing against the raging Golem.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Ragnar whirred to the enemy Golem.


    The Golem aggressively communicated back to Ragnar along with some pointing gestures to make its point.


    Ragnar whirred back in response, but its electronic words went unheeded.


    The enemy Golem charged again and Ragnar readied itself with its fist up by its head in a defensive stance. The Shadow Cannon¡¯s robot delivered a powerful punch, but Ragnar strafed then returned a punch combo causing its opponent to fly off the ground of the ship then slamming into a wall of the corridor. Ragnar picked up the Golem and delivered another two punches before kicking it through another corridor wall.


    The damage was done.


    The Shadow Cannon Golem was down and out. Not a single motor made a sound and Ragnar could relax itself to locate Deacon and Ashe.


    A soldier¡¯s throat cleared to get Ragnar¡¯s attention; the winning Golem looked to the side and gave a sad sounding whir. Another group of Golems stood by the soldiers, ready to pounce on the lone Ragnar.


    It shook its head in disbelief and raised its fists for a new rumble.


    #


    Deacon found himself inside the ship¡¯s engine room, still trying to find Ashe while Ragnar dealt with the heavier trouble.


    ¡°Ashe!¡± Deacon shouted for her to see if she would answer. The lack of a response gave Deacon enough of a reason to search further inside the room. The loud humming noise of the turbines made him have to yell out Ashe¡¯s name even louder to avoid being drowned out.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to find her here!¡± A deep voice yelled over the loud turbine noise.


    ¡°I really hope Ashe just has the flu. Why else would her voice be so deep?¡± Deacon turned to face the owner of the voice.


    The man, Toomes, stood by the entrance blocking it with his large, muscular frame and an assault rifle aimed right at Deacon. He was looking for an overkill, most likely as personal retaliation for his partner, Yusef.


    Deacon didn¡¯t have a hand in Yusef¡¯s death, but to Toomes, it didn¡¯t matter; his job was to eliminate him either way. The disadvantage fell on Deacon¡¯s lack of combat experience and without Ashe or Ragnar to back him up¡ª he was as good as dead. His escape was blocked and the engine room being constricted as it was made his fear weigh down heavily on him.


    Toomes cocked back his rifle and began squeezing the trigger, unloading his clip toward Deacon.


    The scared man dived behind one of the rapid-spinning turbines to avoid the hail of gunfire. The pistol he was holding dropped to the ground by his frantic motion. Bullets ricocheted around the room; a few bullets managed to get through the interior of one of the engines causing it to go haywire and sparks to fly off the damaged engine. Toomes slowly made his way toward the engine turbine to hunt down Deacon, who was still trying hard to hide from his view.


    ¡°Is this guy crazy?¡± Deacon stayed behind one of the functioning turbines and slowly peeked out to make sure Toomes didn¡¯t catch him off-guard. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he would be able to avoid the madman inside the tight space, but with any luck, he could make a quick dash to the exit.


    ¡°Got you!¡± Toomes popped around the corner with his rifle¡¯s barrel aimed right at Deacon.


    Deacon tried a last-minute attempt to dodge the barrage, but his speed wasn¡¯t enough to avoid one of the bullets; a round found itself burning through the flesh of his left calf, searing in a newfound pain. One that he hoped never to discover in his lifetime.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Deacon looked at his bleeding wound. He¡¯s going to kill me.


    In an act of desperation, he crawled as quickly as he could, leaving behind a trail of blood. He was scared, his heart pounded relentlessly and the pulse in his head echoed its tempo.


    Before Toomes could finish the job another gunshot sounded and blood spurted on the floor of the engine room. The man grunted in pain as he looked at his bleeding arm caused by the mysterious gunshot. He looked at Deacon, who still couldn¡¯t handle the pain. He turned to see Deacon¡¯s gun still laying on the floor, still not fired. Toomes then turned to face the entrance of the engine room where he saw a familiar form facing him.


    ¡°How in the hell did you get out?!¡± Toomes gritted his teeth at the trigger-pulling mystery person.


    Deacon turned as well clutching onto his bloody leg and to his relief, it was Ashe with her gun aimed at Toomes with the barrel still smoking from the last gunshot. He saw the anger in Toomes and Ashe so he took it as a cue to roll out the way as the pair traded bullets in the tight, compacted engine room.


    Ashe quickly fired a few shots at Toomes, who slid behind another turbine to avoid getting hit.


    Deacon crawled toward his own gun while Toomes was distracted with a trained combatant somewhat of his caliber. He winced with every inch he got closer to the gun then stretched as far as he could to pull the gun toward him.


    ¡°Get the hell away from that!¡± Toomes yelled at Deacon while he turned his gun¡¯s attention toward the wounded man.


    Ashe charged toward Toomes and fired a few rounds at his leg to stagger him then followed it with a flying knee to his head to send him toward the floor.


    ¡°Need a warm up?¡± Ashe smiled at Toomes, who was wiping the blood from his bottom lip.


    Toomes didn¡¯t give her a response; he instead charged at her with a taste for blood. She quickly pulled up her gun to fire at him, but she was quickly caught by his brute strength. Toomes slammed her down to the ground with his hands over her neck, squeezing the air out of her.


    ¡°You see this, kid!¡± Toomes smiled with a bloody grin, ¡°This is what separates the men from the¡ª¡±


    Two gunshots rang out and Toomes¡¯s grip loosened from Ashe¡¯s neck. Deacon looked over his iron sights of the gun while he tried to calm his breathing. Toomes slumped over Ashe as the wounds on his back bled him dry.


    ¡°Get off!¡± Ashe pushed the lifeless Toomes away from her and stood up, rubbing her neck. She looked at the body and then to Deacon who was still staring as well.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ashe asked the shocked Deacon.


    ¡°Yeah, I mean¡­ What am I supposed to say?¡± Deacon sighed and wiped the sweat from his eyebrow.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to say something corny.¡± Reves¡¯s arrogant voice appeared from the entrance of the engine room, ¡°Like I guess you can say he¡¯s been fired or at least we gave him a shot.¡±


    The humor Reves found in the darkest of things gave Deacon the chills, but not as much as Ashe got. That was her flesh and blood, her brother.


    ¡°I gave you a chance, Ashe.¡± Reves looked at the dead Toomes, ¡°But I guess you really want to join dad.¡±


    ¡°Wish I could say the same to you!¡± Ashe aimed her gun at her brother. The Shadow Cannon leader.


    ¡°I won¡¯t make this easy for you,¡± Reves pulled out his tanto knife. ¡°I promise.

 Family Affairs

    Ragnar grabbed onto a pair of enemy Golems by the head and tossed them throughout the ship while a group of Shadow Cannon reinforcements opened fired at Ragnar; the rogue Golem¡¯s new armor stood against the bullets treating them like pestering gnats that buzzed around people on a hot summer day. Another soldier fired a grenade launcher toward Ragnar, who was already fighting another Golem, striking its back. The damage was minuscule with Ragnar retaliating by throwing the Golem toward the soldiers, instantly wiping them out.


    Ragnar clearly became more powerful and was above being equal with its Shadow Cannon counterparts. It quickly cleared its path by swinging the soldiers like rag dolls that lost the stuffing that weighed them down.


    ¡°We need to retreat!¡± One of the surviving soldiers yelled out before Ragnar dragged him from the legs then brutally slamming his body to the floor.


    Another Shadow Cannon Golem managed to throw Ragnar toward a wall, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop it. Ragnar answered back by unleashing a flurry of punches to the attacker before laying a haymaker to knock it down.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± The remaining soldier stumbled in fear as Ragnar prepared to finish him off.


    #


    Reves lunged at Ashe with speed so quick that if she were to blink¡ª it would be fatal for her.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ashe? Too fast?¡± Reves whipped his blade through his hand. ¡°Tell you what. I¡¯ll slow myself down even more for you.¡±


    Ashe had trouble getting closing to Reves. Each time she even tried to fire her gun, Reves would slip through the air to get at her. He already managed to slice her a few times; once on her abdomen while most of the other cuts were on her arm from her blocking.


    Deacon looked at the battle as it dragged from the engine room to the corridor. He crawled to follow them, slowly pulling himself to stand.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Deacon winced standing up while using a wall to prop himself up; his leg continued to be a problem and he faced the fact he wasn¡¯t going to be any help to Ashe in his condition. He sighed and looked over at the two siblings fighting until a quick thought entered his head.


    ¡°The fuel cell!¡± Deacon quickly limped his way to find Elvander¡¯s hope of defense. He couldn¡¯t fight, but he can at least locate a glowing canister.


    #


    Reves grabbed onto Ashe¡¯s arm and delivered a powerful knee to her stomach, letting her drop down to her knees. He used that moment to throw a roundhouse kick to her head, her gun escaped her hands and slid away from her. His attacks were ruthless and precise, just like his personality.


    Ashe coughed violently from the attack making her struggle to stay standing. Her mouth oozed saliva and blood as she tried to catch her breath. She hunched over trying to gather herself.


    ¡°You should have just taken the damn deal!¡± Reves kicked her over and crouched by her.


    ¡°Then what?¡± Ashe picked herself up, ¡°You stab me in the back?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Reves swiftly¡ª and literally, stabbed Ashe in her back through her shoulder, ¡°this is me stabbing you in the back.¡±


    Ashe yelled in pain as Reves pulled the blade out from her new bleeding wound. She kept trying to breathe and take the pain as she could, but it was unbearable and she grew weaker each second she bled out. Her vision became blurry and her movement became slower. Ashe was starting to become a piece of flesh ready to be slaughtered¡ª by her brother.


    ¡°Get up.¡± Reves stood in front of her with his knife still dripping her blood. ¡°You killed Toomes with no problem, but I guess that was just a fluke¡­ or he was just a lot weaker than I thought.¡±


    Ashe smiled a little, ¡°He said you trained him.¡±


    Reves sucked the air through his teeth. ¡°Funny.¡±


    The Shadow Cannon leader charged at her again, but Ashe rolled toward his legs to trip him, dropping his knife toward her. The two looked at each other for that split second and quickly dived for the weapon. Reves tried to swat his sister away, but Ashe was relentless. She grabbed onto Reves¡¯s neck with her left arm while using her right to push his head to knock him out to get the upper hand in the fight.


    Reves refused to make it easy and threw her over his shoulder. The loud impact of her body hitting the floor echoed through the corridors of the ship.


    ¡°When I kill you, I¡¯m going to dismantle that damn robot for a blender and then skin your friend as I hang him off a meat hook!¡± Reves began to grow frustrated with his sister, who kept evading death like an unpaid bill.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    She quickly thought about what Deacon was doing and hoped he was able to figure out something that would aid them.


    ¡°Then you¡¯re going to have to do a better job of killing me then.¡± Ashe winced as she got up bruised and bloody.


    Reves scoffed and walked toward her once again, squeezing his hands tightly together to show her that he was serious about finishing this fight. Ashe limped over to him, ready to go.


    The siblings traded punches, one after another, just hitting whatever they could reach. Reves grabbed on Ashe¡¯s neck to shove her toward a wall, limiting her movement then punched her a few times in the ribs.


    Ashe managed to shove her arms down to prevent the last group of punches from cracking her bones. Reves threw her back on the ground, but his sister rolled away to make a quick recovery. She looked around at her surroundings to find something that she can use to her advantage.


    There you are! She thought as she looked at the handle of Reves¡¯s knife. Her eyes then shifted to her brother, who didn¡¯t seem to know what she was looking at, but he didn¡¯t care¡ª he already won the fight.


    #


    Deacon found the entrance to Reves¡¯s quarters; he had a possible chance of finding the fuel cell. He limped his way to the bed that was fixed on the opposite side of the room. The vision of the terrorist leader was not what he had in mind.


    ¡°This is just disgusting.¡± Deacon looked at the piles of junk that littered throughout the room, ¡° How can someone dressed so well be this¡­ disgusting.¡±


    Deacon sifted through the empty food containers and laundry along the path toward the bed. Every inch he crept a dim glow was glowing brighter along with Deacon¡¯s smile as he crawled on the floor to get under the bed.


    #


    Reves held up his sister by the collar of her shirt, ready to take her life in one more swift, powerful strike. Ashe quickly reached for the tanto knife and shoved it deep into Reves, who let out a gasp, loosening his grip on her. She held onto the blade handle as tightly as she could to keep him at bay.


    ¡°You stabbed me!¡± Reves¡¯s mouth began to trickle blood.


    Ashe pushed him against the wall to deliver a few more punishing blows to his ribs then pushed the knife deeper into his abdomen.


    ¡°I did, didn¡¯t I?¡± Ashe allowed Reves to slide down to the floor while he struggled to breathe. The sound of his breathing was getting weaker and slower.


    ¡°You¡¯d think that it¡¯d be you in my position.¡± Reves chuckled weakly then coughed in pain. ¡°Thankfully, I made preparations.¡±


    ¡°What would that be?¡± Ashe knelt down to hear her dying brother better.


    ¡°I hope you like fireworks.¡± Reves let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying, but I¡¯m going to get that fuel cell and your little terrorist cell will have to go back to square one,¡± Ashe stood back up. ¡°if they¡¯re lucky.¡±


    ¡°I found it!¡± Deacon raised the fuel cell over his head with excitement.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Ragnar?¡± Ashe asked, looking at Deacon.


    ¡°Do you hear beeping?¡± Deacon put the fuel cell back down to his waist while he looked over to Ashe with his eyes widened.


    Reves sat on the floor, no longer breathing with his hand clutching a red-light blinking explosive.


    ¡°Bomb, run!¡± Ashe sprinted out of the corridor with Deacon following close behind.


    The pair ran through the ship trying to find Ragnar who was still possibly busy fighting off the other Golems.


    ¡°Ragnar! Ragnar!¡± Deacon yelled out, but no answer. The duo kept running as fast as they could; taking a sharp turn around turning the breached section of the ship.


    ¡°Over there!¡± Ashe pointed out to the main area where Ragnar was still punching away at the remaining enemy Golems.


    ¡°Ragnar!¡± Deacon yelled again successfully getting the Golem¡¯s attention, ¡°There¡¯s a¡ª¡±


    An explosion rang out causing the ship to tip the rear over.


    ¡°Not again!¡± Ashe looked over her shoulder to see the bodies of Golems and soldiers rolling down to the back of the ship. She used the rails of the corridors to prevent herself from falling while Ragnar got on the floor and prepared to slide down to retrieve Deacon and Ashe.


    Ragnar began its descent to find land on an anchor point to exit the ship before it crash lands.


    Ashe jumped toward Ragnar who clutched onto her and waited on a rail until Deacon found a good spot to jump off.


    ¡°Can you make it?!¡± Ashe yelled out to Deacon.


    ¡°No!¡± Deacon answered back, but stepped back to set himself up, clutched onto the fuel cell tightly, and then dived off the ledge toward the hole of the ship passing Ragnar and Ashe. He overshot his leap.


    ¡°Deacon!¡± Ashe looked down at the open sky where Deacon¡¯s figure grew smaller as he continued falling.


    Ragnar and Ashe looked at each other then nodded.


    The Golem clutched onto Ashe and dived after Deacon, hitting a speed that was far too fast for Ashe to handle causing Ragnar to put her inside his shell. Ragnar¡¯s afterburners activated to speed down faster toward Deacon.


    Deacon turned around mid-air to smile at Ragnar who continued speeding down toward the atmosphere. Quickly getting closer to its friend.


    Ragnar reached its hand to grab Deacon¡¯s hand then used their momentum to glide safely at a comfortable speed in order for Deacon to get onto Ragnar¡¯s back.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe I¡¯m afraid of heights!¡± Deacon yelled out to Ragnar. ¡°Where¡¯s Ashe?!¡±


    ¡°In here!¡± Ashe¡¯s voice was muffled from the inside of Ragnar¡¯s shell.


    Deacon chuckled a little before handing the fuel cell over to Ragnar to finish up the rest of its mission.


    #


    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s going to happen now that we have the fuel cell?¡± Deacon asked. The trio had landed in a small town called Ursan to cool their heels from the action they had just experienced.


    ¡°Can we stop by somewhere to eat after?¡± Ashe yelled through the interior of Ragnar¡¯s shell as she climbed out. ¡°I was held hostage, killed my brother, and possibly saved the world. I want some damn bacon!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re handling Reves¡¯s death better than I thought you would.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m actually a mess, but my adrenaline isn¡¯t done pumping. So my emotions are a mess of depression and excitement.¡± Ashe¡¯s face was a mix of relief and disgust for herself; the tone of her voice sounded she was going to be fighting with herself in the days to come.


    ¡°Look,¡± Deacon tried to break through the grief as best as he could, ¡°I know we only just met, but if you need a place to stay¡ª¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I don¡¯t know.¡± Ashe sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to be a bother.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s cool,¡± Deacon said, ¡°You can get back on your feet and from there the choice is yours with what you want to do for yourself afterward.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, but first.¡± Ashe made an eating motion with her hands.


    ¡°Yeah, I agree.¡± Deacon looked to Ragnar, ¡°Elvander is just a short flight away and from there¡ª¡±


    ¡°Bacon!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ bacon.¡± Deacon smiled.

 End

    ¡°Breaking news, we¡¯re sorry for interrupting your latest program,¡± a female news anchor began her update, ¡°Elvander has finally struck back against the terrorist group called Shadow Cannon. They managed to send in their troops to the individual cells and eliminated each leader in a swift, tactical attack. The large massive headquarters has been destroyed by Elvander¡¯s offensive systems causing infrastructure damage that will give the country of Trinity a chance to rebuild their homes above the wreck of Shadow Cannon¡¯s buildings and training grounds.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to a watchful eye, a massive cache of Elvander fuel cells were discovered before the destruction and are now on the way to being processed for their return to Elvander, ready to power up the country for decades to come. All while they figure out what they will be doing with the Golem army that Shadow Cannon had used for their attacks. The President of Elvander was in the press conference to address the people¡¯s concerns.¡± The male anchor shifted his seat to allow the footage of the press conference to play.


    ¡°We are working with our allies to reconstruct the cities that were destroyed by Shadow Cannon¡¯s heartless attacks. We have reprogrammed the Golems and they will be working closely with us to help bring life to the tragedies that happened. We will not be decommissioning them as we believe that they¡¯re lack of free-will was not the cause of their actions, but instead followed the corrupted motives of Shadow Cannon and their leader. The culprit behind Shadow Cannon has not been found and we¡¯re assuming he died in the attacks. When we have a body, we will update you all. In the meantime, you can all sleep well and no longer worry about the monsters that roamed our lovely planet. Sleep well that homes are being rebuilt, that lives will begin anew. Sleep well knowing that you have people willing to sacrifice their lives to make sure yours are unharmed. Elvander has your side.¡± The President fixed the microphone in front of him and prepared to leave, ¡°Thank you for your questions and bless you all.¡±


    ¡°The President had stated that reconstruction for the countless countries that were affected has begun as of his exit of the press conference. If you are looking to volunteer, you can call the number below or visit the website to file an application to join Construction for Civilians as they begin in Pyru with the first batch of Golems landing in a few hours to unload the heavy materials.¡± The male anchor then passed the news to his co-anchor.


    ¡°Just as the President has said, sleep well knowing that you longer have to worry about that terror group that had haunted us for so long. Thank you and once again we apologize for interrupting your¡ª¡±


    ¡°That is crazy!¡± Deacon¡¯s female co-worker turned off the television, ¡°How did they get so close to being defeated and then out of the blue they managed to give those terrorist bastards hell?!¡±


    ¡°Spies, it¡¯s got to be spies!¡± Deacon¡¯s manager jumped in with his own hypothesis. ¡°How else did they manage to get their fuel cells back so quickly?!¡±


    Deacon smirked a little bit while he continued unscrewing a phone¡¯s faceplate to locate some repairs. His face was cut, bruised, and yet, he never felt better. The number of things he experienced in those few days satisfied him enough to avoid talking politics and conspiracies. He saved the world with his new friends.


    ¡°What do you think happened out there, Deacon?¡± His manager turned to him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Deacon shrugged, ¡°Maybe one of the Golems went rogue on them.¡±


    His co-workers paused for a minute before breaking up into laughter.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°How can advanced machines like them break free of their basic orders?¡± Deacon¡¯s other co-worker argued while he stocked some of the second-hand video games.


    ¡°Maybe you should ask one the next time you see one, Deacon.¡± His manager joked.


    ¡°Ha.¡± Deacon¡¯s sarcasm emerged, ¡°Maybe I will.¡±


    Deacon shook his head with a smirk and continued removing bits and pieces from the phone he was working on. It felt weird to him. He just sat in the back room. He was satisfied with the disbelief. Maybe it was better that way and he wouldn¡¯t have to be looked at as the hero and live up to other people¡¯s standards.


    Just his own.


    #


    Deacon sat in his routine bus waiting until he got to his stop and readied himself to call it a day. The other passengers in the bus kept a smile on their faces with the news of Shadow Cannon¡¯s downfall. They whispered to themselves about their own opinions about how they felt the war was stupid, to begin with. They echoed Deacon¡¯s original thoughts. The thoughts from before he knew the cost of being just a bystander.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they just use their large cannons?¡± One of the riders said to her friend, ¡°They didn¡¯t have any emergency plans for this kind of thing?¡±


    ¡°I bet if Elvander had their own robots they wouldn¡¯t have dragged this thing any further than it did.¡± Her friend added.


    Deacon just tried to block the conversation out of his ears and reached for his earphones.


    The small city of Tyur began to rain again. Nothing unusual, just the season. The whole thing made him feel like he never left. He just didn¡¯t bring his poncho this time.


    That was as much excitement his day was going to have as of this moment.


    #


    The bus reached his stop and he stepped down to a puddle of mud.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Deacon looked at his mud encased shoes with a loud sigh. He looked up the hill he had to walk to reach his home and with the rain beating down on the road, a hero¡¯s welcome. His shoes squeaked with each step he made up the hill¡¯s sidewalk.


    After a few blocks up the hill, he finally reached his house where he saw a familiar figure hanging out on the porch smoking a cigarette.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the humidity killing you?¡± Deacon asked with a smile.


    ¡°Not really, it¡¯s pretty fresh out here.¡± The figure revealed to be Ashe, returned a smile of her own, ¡°It¡¯s no Hazlan, but I think I¡¯m going to like it out here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. Have you seen Ragnar?¡± Deacon walked up the stairs to his home.


    ¡°He¡¯s been in the garage trying to fix up his little space.¡± She flicked the ash off her cigarette.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that!¡± Deacon rushed to the garage where Ragnar was last seen.


    The garage to his surprise was empty. No sign of the Golem and his car looked in the same shape as before. Deacon decided to take a closer look and saw the engine still in its oil-covered state. He didn¡¯t know if Ashe was playing a joke on him to get him riled up or Ragnar left him another unwelcoming surprise.


    A few loud footsteps came from the outside of the garage.


    Deacon turned to face Ragnar who was holding a large hammer.


    ¡°Told you!¡± Ashe¡¯s voice yelled from the outside.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Deacon said to Ashe while he approached his large friend. ¡°What do you got there buddy?¡±


    Ragnar replied with his message: Tired of being alone outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t exactly have the time to¡ª¡± Deacon looked at Ragnar¡¯s makeshift extension to his house with awe.


    ¡°I know. I made the same face.¡± Ashe walked into the garage flicking her cigarette outside.


    Ragnar built its own living room to stay close to Ashe and Deacon. The walls were already up and secure. Ragnar was already in the process of installing the floor with something strong enough that wouldn¡¯t crack whenever it walked into the new room.


    ¡°Is that what all that noise was about?¡± Deacon turned to Ragnar.


    Ragnar nodded with a prideful whir.


    ¡°Well, I guess I can¡¯t be mad at that. That¡¯s pretty awesome.¡±


    ¡°Now we¡¯re like a happy family!¡± Ashe jumped in joy, ¡°All we need is a dog!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not push it that far.¡± Deacon patted Ragnar on the leg, ¡°Good job, buddy. It¡¯s looking great.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to give that dog a maybe.¡± Ashe pushed the topic.


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to go inside and ignore you. Please tell me you bought more beer.¡± Deacon sighed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject, Deacon!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even have a job!¡± Deacon continued.


    Ragnar looked at the pair and shook its head then continued its construction projects.


    ¡°They sound like annoying dogs.¡± Ragnar walked into its new room.