Two fugitives crept down hallway after hallway, out to find the truth.
Anika Twile and Lars Von Cercher were an unlikely duo thrown together by strange circumstances and an unbreakable drive to solve the mystery. Maybe even bring justice down on the protectorate—did that promote Anika from citizen detective to vigilante?
Their investigation led them down many paths, none of which seemed related to the case that had initially brought them together. But that was alright. Anika knew they had paddled up shit creek, went straight over the falls, and were now waist-deep in poop lagoon at the bottom. A revolting metaphor that aptly described their current situation as they snuck through the maze-like halls deeper into the very core to uncover the protectorate's lies.
Anika couldn't decide if she was more nervous about being caught or learning whatever truth was hidden. She knew it was related to BioCorp, the biomechs, the war, and, well, the very foundations they thought Triahkel was built upon. But she also thought it involved the power they had witnessed from Urri.
And the barrier around the city. There wasn't enough charge to keep it going all the time. Something about that. It was related. She could almost see the connections forming, solidifying in her mind. Yet, the last pieces, the revelations that would make everything click into place, weren't there. But soon…
“We’re almost there. Two more halls. Be ready.”
Lars' voice was barely more than a whisper. It took her a few seconds to piece the sounds he made together.
Be ready. Anika wanted to ask, ready for what? But if she opened her mouth, she would undoubtedly hurl instead.
“Same two on duty, as suspected.”
Lars leaned around a corner, scoping out how difficult it would be to get through the first barrier. The empty antechamber magnified the two assassin protectors' voices as they casually chatted. A hair more relaxed than when Lars first met them.
“Too bad about the dice game, huh?”
“Yeah, I woulda enjoyed a drink and some gambling.”
“And a break from this damn place. You know why they are making us work overtime, Dax?”
“No idea, but I heard a rumour about a commotion at the gatehouse last night.”
“Huh, wonder what happened?”
Anika and Lars listened to them talk. They had to wait for the right opportunity. If they went storming into the room right now, there was little chance of them succeeding.
She tried to peek around the corner to see what was what, but Lars yanked her back.
“Stop that, they’ll see us!”
Lars whisper-scolded her. Because two disembodied heads looking around a corner were definitely more conspicuous than one. She compressed her lips into a thin, tight line, unimpressed.
“Here, take these. Try to avoid any deaths. If someone gets too close just stab ’em with it.”
She offloaded Urri, who lazily stretched when he left the bag he’d been napping in, and took the sedation bolts from Lars.
Anika agreed with him. There was no reason to go the lethal route unless that was their only choice. Most of the people working for the protectorate were innocent, thinking themselves patriots of sorts, the last line of defence between the Wilds and Last Stand.
“Shouldn’t I use a wrist bow?”
“Not a chance. You have no training with one.”
“You don't know that.”
She stubbornly placed her hands on her hips. Lars cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Okay, okay, maybe you’re right.”
Their quiet banter abruptly ended when they heard movement.
“I gotta piss, be right back.”
Footsteps grew closer as one of the two guarding the library entrance came down the hall.
Lars motioned her back further. Making space around himself and readying his bolt.
As Dax came around the corner, Lars grabbed him, putting him into some sort of reverse chokehold as he overwhelmed the protector through surprise and stuck the bolt into his neck.
The sedative took seconds to work into his system, but the tussle didn't go unnoticed. In the few moments the assassin protector resisted, his boots scuffled the smooth concrete floor. There was the dull, heavy thud of boots kicking the floor once, twice, and then nothing.
The sound of a weapon surging to life broke the lingering silence thereafter.
Phil drew a baton, shining with a deadly charge meant to incapacitate foes. The weapon crackled with menacing sparks contained within the matrix of charge encasing it.
Lars surged around the corner and shot his second, readied bolt from his wrist bow. It went wide of Phil, the assassin protector—not meant for close-quarters fighting like this.
Anika realized that was Lars' last sedation bolt. He had only prepared two for himself; one was sticking out of poor Dax's neck. The other was now wasted, having ejected all the sedative when the delicate needle broke against the concrete wall.
How would she break into the fighting, though? She didn’t have a wrist bow; she was supposed to jab it in someone if they attacked her. She also didn’t have any fighting skills. But Lars clearly needed her to save the day.
As Anika warred with indecision while elsewhere, protectors observing surveillance realized their guards were falling, and they began scrambling for a response that would come too late.
The fight had progressed in seconds. The protector, Phil, had been disarmed. But now, Lars was pinned on the ground. Phil failed to pin his arms, though. Lars, unable to throw the protector off, blocked with his forearms as the assassin protector tried to break through his guard, hit after hit.
Anika snuck up behind the protector, whose back was to her, as he whaled on Lars.
The few figures remaining in the surveillance room were yelling at the screen as if they could communicate with Phil through the video feed. Look behind you! But the protector's attention was entirely on Lars.
Mid-tussle, the body fell limply onto Lars, causing Lars to let out a sudden huff of air. He rolled the unconscious body off and stood, rubbing at his forearms.
“About damn time. Thought my arms were gonna shatter.”
She shot him a sheepish look. Her indecision could have got Lars hurt or even killed. And he was already injured; she didn't miss how he kept shifting his weight to one side to keep extra pressure off his ankle.
“I’m so sorry. I—”
An alarm drowned out her words. She saw Lars mouth expletives as he started patting down Phil.
“—I froze. What are you doing?”
Anika cupped both hands around her mouth, trying to project her voice over the noise. It was no use. The alarm was too loud. But he didn’t leave her in suspense long.
From a pocket in Phil's belt pouch, Lars pulled out a small remote similar, but not identical, to the one that controlled Theo’s barrier. Lars took the protector's hand and held a finger to the divot. The remote lit up with a green light.
The voltage barrier winked out, but a glowing inlay etched into the metal door remained. They hadn't expected a second barrier. Or was it just a design on the door? Yet, Anika could tell it wasn’t just for decoration. The material used for the delicate lines was a gentle, warm white, the kind that looked just slightly yellow. It also appeared molten, like a thick liquid substance, shimmering metallic and languidly flowing through the design.
That's where Urri came in. The small cat trotted up to the door and stood on his hind legs, placing two tiny grey paws on the lowest point of the inlay.
Anika used two fists to rub her eyes clear. The anti-voltage barrier Urri had made before was one thing. Strange but familiar in that it was clearly created from charge, and since Urri was biomech, he was more charged up than most and somehow able to harness that. This was beyond that. He was altering the very state of the substance.
“What’s he doing? Is he freezing the moving stuff?”
Lars and Anika watched, mouths gaping, as, starting from Urri’s paws and spreading out, the metallic substance began to solidify through the lines of the inlay.
Chaos erupted in the surveillance room. The very top of Last Stand’s protectorate command watched as a cat disabled their second most powerful barrier—the barrier that nothing should know how, let alone be able to, get past. It was constructed of old secrets, information passed down from one head protector to the next, secrets thousands of years old.
Anika, Lars, and Urri passed into the library, taking the barrier remote and closing the door behind them. This reengaged the various locks and blocked off the protectorate officials in pursuit. The ones led by High Protector Velric, who didn't have the foresight to bring the backup remote.
The Library and Records Hall was as unwelcoming as a facility could get. Horrible, too-white lighting made the room uncomfortable. Yet, due to the tall metal shelving, there were still many shadowed places.
The T-shaped room, where someone could pop out from behind any shelf, made Anika uneasy. She looked around, checking for signs of movement apart from themselves.
Lars led them straight through the middle of the room and left at the T, right to a gated barrier.
His description of the doorway had Anika expecting a cell-like barred door with a voltage barrier in front of it. But it was no cell door. This was made of metal intricately folded and shaped into a beautiful, delicate artwork of brassy material.
What looked like a voltage barrier was actually an intrinsic aspect of the metal. The charge-like layer radiated out of each arch and line of the gate. It wasn't simply an additional layer of protection. It was more like a super lock with two components.
“This is such a beautiful gate.”
She wanted to run her hands over the smooth metal. She reached out. But Lars smacked her arm back down.
“Don’t touch that! Use your brain. We need to disarm it first.”
Anika looked at Urri, hopeful but perhaps a bit too expectant. The cat stared back insolently and promptly sat down.
“Suppose that would’ve been too easy. Let's look around.”
Approaching the gate, Anika got as close as she could without touching it. True to Lars' words, it was hard to see through the charge coming off the thing.
The metal on the gate formed a symbol, but not one Anika recognized. But she noticed the same symbol heading a paper posted off to the side of the gateway.
“And what might you be?”
She plucked the paper off the wall and read the short passage.
There are four siblings in this world, all created together. The first runs but never grows weary. The second of the siblings eats yet is never sated. The third drinks but always thirsts for more. The final of the siblings sings a song never-ending.
“Huh. Well, now, that sounds like a riddle.”
———
“Hey, Lars, I found something! Does this sound like a riddle to you?”
She came over, waving a sheet of paper in the air. Lars read it over.
“Don't riddles have to have a question?”
“I don’t know the rules of riddle writing. But the symbol matches the one on the gate. Seems like a clue, yeah?
“It might be…”
Lars trailed off, turning the words over in his mind.
“Does that mean we have to solve an actual puzzle to get through the gate?”
Anika’s tone was highly uncertain.
“That would be ridiculous...”
But he kept looking between the symbol on the gate and the one on the page. They were definitely the same.
“More or less ridiculous than a cat who just put his paws on the door and unlocked them?”
Yeah, okay, she had a point.
“I think you're onto something. We need to solve the riddle. Any idea what the answer is?”
Anika scratched her head and shrugged in response.
“Sorry, Lars. I was never very good at riddles. Let's see if we can find any hints.”
“Who uses a riddle to guard things anyway?”
Lars grumbled as they broke off to search for more clues.
———
The surveillance room was in an uproar. Two of the four remaining people in the room were yelling at one another. One wanted to call in everyone, maybe even put the city on lockdown. The other disagreed and insisted on a quiet solution that wouldn't raise questions with the citizens.
The third person was yelling into the speaker of a communication device. High Protector Velric, on the receiving end, was being verbally ripped to shreds for not bringing the backup remote. Now, Velric was running back across command while being berated by his superior, who was observing the High Protector through the cameras and screaming into his ear.
The final person was quiet, ignoring the fools around him. He sat close to the monitor displaying the feed from inside the library—specifically, the one pointed at the gate. Yes, he was unhappy with this turn of events. It had the potential to ruin everything. But he was curious to see what the criminals would do next since he couldn’t stop them anyway.
———
“Anika, I've got some sort of lockbox over here.”
Lars examined a small rectangular box, simple and wooden. A thin, straight border was carved into the top. The faintest remains of the same symbol as the gate and page were painted onto one side of the box.
“Does it open?”
Lars jumped as Anika peered over his shoulder. How could she move so quietly?
“I just found it.”
He picked up the small box and gave it a shake. Something clinked around inside.
“Stop that! You can't just start shaking things. What if it's breakable? Is that what you do when someone gives you a present too?”
Anika's voice was full of feigned outrage.
“Dunno. Haven't gotten a present since my parents died.”
Lars regretted the flippant remark when Anika’s eyes took on a glassy, reflective sheen, like someone trying to hold back tears.
“That's so sad! Damn it, Lars. Okay, give me the box. Scooch over.”
She chided him with poorly masked emotion but didn't hesitate to elbow him out of the way. They were on a time crunch, afterall.
Anika placed the box back on its table and bent to eye level. She turned it this way and that. Scrutinizing the lockbox closely. Lars waited as she hemmed and hawed. Finally, she stepped back.
“I've got nothing. I'll keep looking around while you mess with this.”
She held her hands up and shrugged.
“Gee, thanks for all the help.”
Lars sighed and went back to fiddling with the box. Anika returned to the shelf she had been carefully picking through.
The box was hollow, and he heard something shaking around inside. But how to open it?
He finally noticed something as he tapped here and there on the box. The piece inside the thinly carved border shifted ever so slightly when he jostled the box as if it could move separately from the rest of the wood.
Lars’ fingers were too large to properly hold and pull the lid up, but the blade of his pocket would work perfectly. Wedging it into the crack, he started prying the lid.
There were small pops, like clasps releasing, then the top opened, and he peered inside the box. But all he found was another layer of security below the lid: a combination dial set into the wood. Each of the four dials could be rotated through a set of four choices, each with a different triangle on it.
🜃 🜄 🜁 🜂
“Hm. Got part of it open.”
He looked around but didn't see her anywhere.
“Anika?”
“What did you fi—”
She popped out from behind a shelf opposite where he had expected her to be.
“Gah! Stop sneaking up on me!”
“Oops, accident. What did you find?”
She stage whispered as if he would spook and bolt if she were any louder. Lars rolled his eyes.
“Looks like we need some sort of combination to open the rest of the box. But I have no idea what these triangles mean.”
“Oh, hold on…I think I do. Do you have the riddle? Can I see it?”
Her eyes lit up with recognition, and a smile crept across her face. Lars handed her the paper, and she went over it slowly.
“The first runs but never gets tired.”
She started rotating the first dial.
🜄
“The second eats but is always hungry.”
Anika adjusted the second dial into place.
🜂
“Third… drinks and is always thirsty.”
The third dial rolled into place.
🜃
“And the fourth, singing…”
🜁
The box made a clicking sound as she changed the final dial.
"How did you figure it out? What was the code?"
"I didn't know until I saw the symbols. They are the alchemical symbols for the elements! Water, fire, earth, and air."
A small tray popped out the side of the box. Inside was a key and another piece of paper. This one a small piece, rolled up and tied with a single strand of string.
Anika unfurled a small rectangle of parchment, fragile and yellowed, ancient. She read it aloud.
“I'm at the beginning of time and part of past, present and future. I'm part of history, but not of here and now. In a moment you'll find me, if you know what I am. Where you find me is the lock to open.”
“Hmm.”
“Okay, this one is definitely a riddle to find whatever the key unlocks.”
“Sounds right. But what do you make of it?”
She had no suggestions, so Lars copied the riddle into his notebook so they could read it at will without passing the paper back and forth. Anika sat with hers at one of a few tables. Lars thought better while in motion, so he ambled down the rows nearest the gate.
“Time, past, present, future, history, moment.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Lars spoke out loud to himself.
“What do these words have in common? They are all references to time, but that isn't the answer because it’s part of the riddle.”
He glanced up at the shelf in front of him, positioned against one of the walls. It was a collection of encyclopedias—nothing interesting.
“Here and now are in opposition to the rest of the riddle. Again pointing to the answer not being related to time.”
Somewhere separated by a few rows of shelves, a hand slammed a table in frustration, and a cat hissed in startled response.
“At the beginning of time. What's at the beginning of time? I don't know history that well.”
He looked up again, growing frustrated. The pressure was mounting. They were running out of time. Protectors would get in here eventually.
“Beginning of time. Beginning of—”
Lars trailed off as his eyes landed on one of the encyclopedias he was walking past. He read back through the keywords he had underlined in his notebook.
“T. Beginning of time. Of course. What a stupid riddle.”
He has already been right there! Lars removed volume 17, labelled “T,” and revealed a keyhole set into the back of the shelf hidden by the book.
“Anika, come here. I solved it.”
“Alright, awesome! What was it? What did you find?”
Her voice got louder as she hurriedly navigated the rows to find him.
“The answer was T.”
“Seriously? Isn't this room T-shaped too?”
“...Who thought riddles were a good idea?”
———
The Protector Superior, second only to the Custodian, was still yelling at poor Velric. The High Protector was now on his way back to the library with the backup remote.
The two arguing commanders had run off, one to order a lockdown, the other to try to stop her.
The Custodian, head of the protectorate in Last Stand, watched with rapt attention as one of the two people he now associated with migraines, Anika Twile, pulled the key from the lockbox out of her pocket and put it into the keyhole they had discovered in the bookshelf.
He would have agreed with Lars that puzzles were a ridiculous form of security, but the ones who created the system were from a much different time. No one alive today had the means of reprogramming it.
Each Custodian is told the history of their great library and the treasures and secrets hidden within only once in their life. Legend says those who created the gate enjoyed harmless little games and pranks, riddles being a part of that.
When Anika turned the key, the metal gate swung open. Yet the gate of glowing light stayed in place. It served as another level of warding capable of searching one's heart and mind for ill intent against the knowledge contained within. If the power found you lacking, it fried you faster than you could blink.
The Custodian didn't quite understand the difference between charge and the power that lived in that gate. Yet, he knew the gate was infinitely stronger and more dangerous than even the mightiest voltage barriers. Charge was thought of as akin to the electricity of old, just much stronger and more versatile. The power of that gate in the library, though…that was beyond what should be possible.
He was sure that once, the knowledge passed down from one Custodian to the next was more encompassing, but in time, parts were forgotten. Bits of the story were embellished, or things were left out entirely. He had spent much of his spare time throughout his tenure searching for those missing parts of the story.
———
Anika and Lars debated the merits of just trying to walk through the open yet closed gateway. Being obliterated was not on her list of life goals—not that she had an actual list. However, that particular activity would be a hard no if she did.
“We should search for more clues. Or maybe Urri can pass through and disable it?”
She gave the cat a sideways glance. But no, apparently, Urri only had one role to play, and he'd done his part. Now, he was content to watch as they did theirs or fried trying.
“I have an idea.”
The uncertainty in his tone was unusual. Different from his standard clipped responses, like he was constantly losing his patience with her.
Lars started dragging one of the metal tables over to the gate.
“Help me out here. Lift the other end.”
They carried the table and set it in front of the gate. Lars came around and started kicking it in further, inching it toward the light gate.
Anika covered her eyes until she heard Lars exhale loudly.
“It worked.”
He didn't physically smile, but she could hear it in his voice.
One beam of the secondary gate remained below the table, running horizontally a few centimetres above the floor.
Under the table, over the beam. Anika and Lars carefully maneuvered around the obstacles. Finally, they reached their destination.
Anika was awash with accomplishment as she realized they had passed all the puzzles.
“Great idea, Lars!”
She patted him on the back and noticed he winced slightly at the touch. Those cuts on his back must be tender.
Urri jumped on top of the table to follow.
“No! Urri—”
He walked straight through, no vibrating and creating a little protective barrier around himself; he just simply walked through the beams of light that made up the non-metal part of the gate.
Anika didn't feel quite as accomplished after that. Crawling around on the floor, trying to avoid beams of light for no reason, would do that. But they were here, no point dwelling.
Beyond the gate lie two rooms.
The first contained more bookshelves and filing cabinets. The second had displays—display cases, pedestals, items displayed on tables—a room full of curios.
What set the books apart from the ones in the main section of the library was the glow. Not every one of them, such as the books on Triahkel’s early history, but many were illuminated to various extents.
The first thing she did was pick out two easy-to-find books: one on Striport the year prior to the corruption and the first history book ever written on Last Stand. Lars and Anika had agreed that both texts would be valuable to their mission.
Her second task was to look for anything else that may be useful. But to her, everything glowing looked useful. It had to be glowing for a reason, right?
The cracked leather spine of a large text had a dull white shine. It was there and captured the eye, but only for a moment. It was clear there were even more valuable texts to look at.
Another had a heaving magenta luminescence. It tempted her greatly—almost dangerously? She resisted the book, dragging her heavy gaze away from it.
But one of the ancient illuminated texts called to Anika above the others yet didn't feel off-putting like the magenta book. This manuscript’s glow beckoned with an alluring orange, edging toward a vibrant bronze shade. It was a thick tome. The Gnomish Expedition to Triahkel.
She reached for the book. It hummed softly under her touch, and as she cracked it open, there was a brilliant flash before the glow faded away and the pages became readable.
The journey across the ocean lasted seven days. It was jolly and tumultuous in equal measure; for all it was a brief voyage. Upon arrival in the small port town of Kadhitra, the town folk welcomed the gnomes with immense exuberance.
The gnome expedition had reached Triahkel. Magic, history, and knowledge would flourish through these lands in the days to come.—
“Anika, we don't have time to read the book. Come on, I need a hand looking at this stuff.”
Lars broke her concentration. Her mind was reeling with terms she didn't recognize, just in the first few sentences: gnomes, magic. And where was Kadhitra? It had to be a fictional tale. But why would it be locked away, and why would it be glowing? Glowing equalled important; it was logic so simple it was practically human instinct.
Yet, Lars was right. They didn't have time right now. When she closed the tome, the glowing resumed. Anika tucked it safely away into her compression pack with the other books and moved into the second, larger room.
The first room wasn't terribly big. It took advantage of the available vertical space to cram as many books as possible in it.
The room Lars had scoped was larger. Two walls were lined with curio cabinets. The rest of the room had small pedestals evenly placed throughout with glass display cases on top. Each spot was filled with an object.
“Whoa. What is all this stuff?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
A gold necklace lay snuggled in a custom-made case. The black velvety cushion molded to the piece of jewelry. The pendant on the necklace was oval, and fine wires of gold encircled the centerpiece. The jewel itself was a pale blue, slightly grey. It resembled a glass orb with something smokey calmly swirling around inside. Occasionally, the gem would take on a lavender grey hue.
A whole shelf in one of the curio cabinets was reserved for a sword. Not the modern kind with sleek metal and lines of charge running up the blade that any protector would be familiar with. This weapon looked old, though it was in nigh perfect condition. The metal was a dark, matte gray. The blade had a slight curve and an elaborate hilt featuring a highly decorative filigree covering each part from grip to pommel to knuckle guard. The embossed grip looked like a nightmare to hold comfortably.
“There might be some nifty charged stuff in here. But none of it looks useful to us unless you’re some secret master with a sword?”
Anika wandered from one display to the next. Nothing was labelled, and though the objects ranged from beautiful and elaborate to curious and interesting or outright gaudy, nothing stood out to her.
“Maybe if we had more time to investigate the items, but I think you’re right it’s no good right now. We should get out of here before it’s too late.”
Lars stood in the doorway between the two rooms, taking a moment to write down notes as she finished looking at the items on display. She didn’t dawdle too long but she did want to see them all before they left.
———
Their escape did not go as smoothly as their entrance. The main door to the library opened as they left the gated rooms. Outside the library, they faced a small force of protectors—as many as could comfortably fit in the entry room without impeding each other if things came to an all-out fight.
Two humans and an unnoticed biomech cat, the size of a house cat, faced down at least ten protectors. And more guarded the hallway!
Anika screwed in a bottle of the flamespire potion and flipped the safety—just a secondary seal to prevent oxygen from activating the formula and making the weapon combust in her grip.
“Hold off on blasting them. I'm hoping we can get around them.”
She saw Lars pull the light-cancelling orb from his pouch and gave a clipped nod.
The protectors' expressions ranged from apprehensive to determined, varied based on which rumours, if any, they had heard of Anika and Lars' criminal rampage through Last Stand.
As suspected, but still a great relief, no B.E.E.P. reinforcements had been requested.
The two groups gaped awkwardly at each other for a few heartbeats. The Custodian, who had taken control of the chaos in the surveillance room, watched, momentarily more interested in what either side would choose to do if left without direction. But this wasn't the moment for observation of human behaviour. He snapped out of it and issued the order: Take them alive, if possible.
Lars acted a second before the protectors.
The light-cancelling orb was an interesting device. It sucked up any light except around the ball itself.
When triggered, the orb dispersed a sort of gas, as Lars understood it, that was so black that it absorbed all the light. It didn't take long to dissipate but was terribly effective while it lasted. The black was so all-encompassing that some—those more prone to fear of the dark—were traumatized for life after experiencing the void-like effects of a light-cancelling orb.
Few scenarios existed where the orb user wanted to be rendered sightless. So, to accommodate that, the immediate space around the orb that released the gaseous substance into the area was unaffected by the darkness. The particles were pushed away from the orb, clearing a small radius around it.
That meant when Anika and Lars made their way through the never-ending void, they only saw the protectors impeding their path when they were practically upon one another.
After the first run-in, they knew to arm themselves with sedation bolts. If a face popped up in front of them, one would instantly lash out with a bolt, taking the protector off-guard, then push past the collapsing guards.
Outside the veil of darkness, the protectors in the hall watched, growing increasingly nervous as they heard protectors trying to regroup, some clashing with one another, unable to see they were on the same side.
Then, a faint light broke through the black. It only shone because the light-cancelling orb was wearing off. However, it was still foreboding enough that more than one protector suddenly needed to visit the washroom.
The light rapidly grew brighter and larger. It became a multidimensional light, changing from reddish to more of an orange. Then, it transitioned to yellow, quickly followed by white, and settled on a lovely shade of blue with a tip of purplish red, where too much air started to diminish the flame's heat.
The first line of protectors in the hallway didn't realize it was a flame until too late.
A jet of fire blasted out of the darkness. Eyebrows and mustaches practically disintegrated before the powerful flame. The protectors that witnessed it broke and ran for it, crashing into the backup to the backup waiting just around the corner.
The third line of defence didn't see the oncoming fiery doom chasing the fleeing protectors around the corner. Still, they stood in solidarity with their fellow protectors by joining them in running away from the danger.
Anika, Lars, and Urri followed in the wake of protectors, keeping them motivated to flee with the streaming inferno. The two bottles of flamespire juice carried them safely down three hallways before sputtering out.
“Oh. Well, that’s not good.”
Her hand frenziedly felt around her pack, searching for something she knew wasn't there.
“No! No! No!”
“Calm down, we need to think.”
But there wasn’t time to stop and think!
The group of protectors noticed the diminishing heat on their backs, and some—too many—slowed. Turning around, they realized the danger had passed, and their targets were vulnerable, with two groups of protectors closing in from each side.
The first group was no longer held up by the light-cancelling orb. Most of them chased after their targets once they could find their way forward. A few had been overcome by the darkness, fear breaking their spirit. Those protectors would likely be relieved of duty—honourably… unless they knew too much and the protectorate needed to ensure information stayed hidden. The protectorate, the few individuals who pulled all the strings, would not allow such loose ends.
“What do you have left?”
“The Alucinatus elixir. And a few crack-bangs. I don't think those will help us…”
She glanced nervously at the group of protectors rallying and wiped a shaky hand across her sweaty forehead.
“Nope. I got a few bolts left and a smoke grenade.”
“So we try the darkness orb trick again but with a smoke grenade?”
That seemed to be one of the only options left.
“Problem is the smoke will affect us too. We’ll have to break through that group blindly.”
Footsteps echoed from behind them. The group blocking their way out was now facing Lars and Anika. Weary for any more tricks, they waited for the other protectors to arrive and block a retreat.
Lars pulled out the grenade. The protectors tensed. Seeing the movement and readying themselves for the impending attack.
Then someone shouted at them.
“Surrender, or perish? There is nowhere else to run.”
High Protector Velric taunted the cornered duo with malice in his eyes. He had a bolt trained on Lars, while another protector had one focused on Anika.
There was nowhere to go. They didn’t have voltage shields, and the mind potion would do them no good. The bolts would fire before a smokescreen could obscure them.
It was over.
Anika raised her hands in surrender—
And Urri stepped in front of her. No one had been paying attention to the cat standing there, vibrating in place, concentrating. But now, everyone watched as a charged barrier formed in front of Anika and Lars—just a small one, similar to the shield protectors sometimes used.
———
The duo was on one side of the barrier, Urri on the other. Anika’s face was one of pure horror.
It took Lars precious moments to figure out what Urri was doing, but then it clicked. He was buying them time to escape. Holding off the second group that had them pinned.
Anika cried out in alarm as Urri set himself in the path. The protectors in pursuit hardly noticed where the barrier came from at first. When three in the front fell for seemingly no reason they began paying attention to the threat that was Urri.
Lars almost wished he could stay and watch as the cat flung about smaller versions of the energy ball it had used on the bear, but he had no intention of wasting the extra seconds.
“Go!”
Lars' body lunged forward. Then, he stopped when he realized Anika wasn't moving with him. He looked back and saw her eyes locked on Urri.
He grabbed Anika’s hand, breaking her out of her horrified trance. Her head whipped around, and wide eyes found his before quickly looking back at Urri.
“Lars, help me! Urri!”
She ran at the barrier that shifted in sync with her such that she couldn't get around it.
Her scream was deep, guttural, raw. Lars swore he could feel her pain like a physical thing.
“Please, Lars, we need to get to him. Help me!”
Lars tried to pull her back, but she just banged her fists on the barrier. Small zings ran through her into his hands and up his arms where he had hold of her. She ignored the small zaps of pain as she tried to break the transparent wall between herself and Urri.
“Stop! I surrender! Leave him alone.”
Anika yelled at Velric and his group of protectors while Lars pulled at her. He didn't want to hurt her, but she wasn't budging.
“Anika, we have to go!
“We can't leave! Don't make me leave him.”
“You're going to get us killed!”
Lars tried to make her see sense.
“There's nothing we can do. Don't waste his sacrifice!”
“Sacrifice? Sacrifice! Not a chance.”
She grew frenzied, banging on the barrier with all her might. Screeching at Velric like a wild beast.
In the end, Lars dragged her away, screaming and flailing.
The smoke grenade flew through the air and detonated amongst the second group of protectors. They had been engrossed in watching their worst nightmare come to life, a presumably corrupted biomech monster.
Once the smoke from the grenade grew thicker and blocked her view of Urri, Anika's survival sense crept back in. She started moving with Lars rather than against him.
They barrelled through the floundering protectors. Shoving past bodies in the thick haze.
Lars' lungs hurt as he breathed in the dusty particles hanging heavy in the stagnant hallway air. There was no breeze to quickly disperse the smoke. It lingered, only stirred by the movement of bodies.
A protector wildly swinging a small boot knife around in alarm cut Lars on the cheek. Lars elbowed him, none too gently, in response.
He stumbled once as his ankle gave out beneath him. Pain smarted up his leg, but he caught himself and kept pushing on.
Another protector got a punch to the face, a sedation bolt in the neck, and a shove to clear them out of the way.
Then, the duo broke through the other side of the smokescreen, clearing the last group of protectors.
———
High Protector Velric had one order now: capture the corrupt creature alive at all costs. Lars and Anika had slipped through his fingers again, so his priorities were redirected. But he wanted to deal a blow to Anika and Lars in whatever way he could. So maybe he accidentally killed the monster instead? If the fight was chaotic enough they'd never know.
Luckily, the Protector Superior was aware of Velric's predilection for…retribution. So, he relayed the order to another person in a position equal to Velric’s. Dax, who shook off the last of the bolt's effects, could now rejoin the fight.
Unlike Velric, Dax, the senior most assassin protector, a position of authority in its own way, had discipline—likely due to the far more rigorous training assassins undergo. He had proven his capability and loyalty time and time again. And had, in turn, been trusted with some of the protectorate's more classified information.
Subverting Velric's attempts at taking the kill while also trying to capture the creature alive would be a challenge. However, Dax was confident in his ability to complete the task.
He jumped into action as the protector next to him crumpled. A battle in the halls of Central Command commenced. With only one small target against 13 protectors, the fight was primarily a jumble of bodies getting in each other's way at first to try and capture the target.
Until they realized their mistakes as bodies dropped like flies. You don't dogpile a cat.
———
Anika gave two more half-hearted attempts to go back for Urri before they made it out of Last Stand completely. Lars just pulled her on when she slowed. A rational part of her knew it would be a fruitless effort, so she let him urge her on.
The world passed, but she felt like it was moving separately from her. As though the very ground beneath was shifting, running the opposite way, but she wasn't moving at all.
Anika was numb—not the numbness that followed the bitter sting of cold. This was all-consuming. Down to her very core, her skin, emotions, and thoughts just vanished. If she focused, she would notice the metaphorical bottle she stuffed all the feeling in, the brittle wall holding a flood back. But she didn't want to focus on it—not now. Maybe not ever. Such was the dismal nature of her thoughts currently.
Only one question managed to break through the wall over and over. Anika tried to stuff it back away. But out it sprang.
Was it worth it?
Was Urri's life worth whatever they gained in the process? Only time would tell. For now, Anika thought the answer was no. It was not worth it. Which only numbed her further.
Her mind flashed back to the hall, unbidden. Was he still fighting there? The High Protector had such hate in his gaze. Was Urri still ali—she shook her head as if to dislodge the thought, refusing to entertain the notion. Maybe he'd escape right behind them and show up at the house shortly after.
———
They were packing, readying to flee. Most of the stuff wasn't even theirs, but Theo's was a goldmine of useful alchemical goods—firepower for the dangerous journey ahead.
Anika switched back and forth between finishing the sample regeneration and directing Lars on which potions and ingredients to pack.
“Case three starting from the digi window. Two shelves down, row seven.”
Anika had found time to begin labelling Theo's shelves in the week or so they had been here. She found the task relaxing, apparently. Lars didn't understand it but to each their own, or whatever.
“Got it.”
He quickly found the little jar of powder and had to admit, the labelling was helpful.
“In the apothecary cabinet, take the entire contents of drawers A8, G9, P3, and U11.”
She began brewing a bath. Not for herself. For the regenerated ingredient.
It was time. The previously lumpy mass of black-brown had turned white. Now, a solid crust encased a sprig of some unknown plant.
The regenerating ingredient was finished. They would finally reveal the catalyst that, with Theo's naive manipulation, launched this whole thing.
The moment was shadowed by Anika's despair, though. Before, she'd been excited to reveal the plant. Now, she went through the motions quietly, precisely.
“Anything else?”
He looked over his shoulder as Anika gingerly submerged the hardened product into the bath. She left it to soak as she assembled her pack and finished selecting things from the various shelves and cupboards.
“We're in a hurry. Isn't there a way to speed that up?”
“Some things can't be rushed.”
Her tone lacked all the usual pep. Lars knew she was struggling with the loss of Urri. But he had no reference for the relationship between human and pet, so it was difficult to comprehend.
He had never seen such…stillness from her. And when she did move unnecessarily, it was to touch the locket around her neck.
“Is there um, something I can do to help?”
Lars felt awkward asking, and even more so for caring. Unlike Atn, Lars had not done well in sensitivity training…at all.
“No–nope, all good.”
Her voice cracked, and Anika studiously avoided eye contact with him. He pretended not to notice and just nodded.
“Alright. Okay. That’s good.”
He realized at this point he needed to stop nodding his head. It was getting weird. She didn't bother replying, instead returning to the bath. She began fishing around in the solution with a large ladle.
For once Lars found himself on the other side of his own tactics—the sit quietly and wait for the suspect to fill the uncomfortable silence game. He searched for something to say.
“I'm relieved we didn't run into any mind traps. You still have the potion?”
“Mhm. I should move it to my pack. Might come in handy later.”
“Yeah…yeah, good idea.”
She scooped something out of the alchemical bath and carefully placed it on the tabletop.
“Ready to see what all the fuss was about?”
Lars approached as she poured some kind of rinse over the plant to wash away the last of the white crust.
What they saw was a plant like any other. It had a stem, a couple of leaves, and a yellow flower. Overall, it was unremarkable, except for one fact that proved it was important.
The whole thing was glowing yellow.
———
Like most alchemists in Triahkel, Anika or Theo could tell you glowing flora existed but was rare. It was only ever found growing wild and always had a faintly blue sheen to the glow, the colour most associated with charge.
The yellow glow made the plant unique. Anika pointed out similarities to other plants she had familiarized herself with. Still, she couldn't name this exact species.
“It's glowing so it must be important.”
That was Anika's professional opinion, which Lars found completely unhelpful.
“What is it?”
“Not sure. I'll run tests while we're on the move.”
Anika gathered the rest of the supplies they’d need, mostly reagents and other tools and compounds to analyze plant samples. Her pack couldn't hold everything, so she stuffed whatever else could fit into Lars' pack.
They were leaving Theo's. Leaving Last Stand. Trekking across Triahkel on a great journey of discovery. Following a vague note and history books. It felt a bit like a fool's errand. But the possibility of learning the truth about his parents’ murder, the goal he had worked most of his life toward, was worth the risk to Lars. How had the Von Cercher family become embroiled in the protectorate's schemes and lies?
———
On their way out, Anika looked at the digi-glass window and noticed something for the first time. It blended in with the other flora, not standing out in any particular way that made it more apparent than the rest. But it was undoubtedly the same plant she had regenerated and now held in her hands. A plant she had never seen before, it somehow felt familiar as she gazed at the sample—something she could feel in her bones.
It was a pleasant sensation. Anika had the oddest feeling that the plant she held soothed her the tiniest bit. A temporary balm.
But she got another feeling from it, too, a contradictory one. One she could only describe as distress.
———
Anika Twile wasn't the best alchemist; she was just an apprentice with much to learn. Her detectiving skills were subpar. She said almost as much with her hands as she did with her words. And her dearest companion in all the world was a biomech cat, and he had been stolen from her.
So she would read all the books she could find. Research everything possible on the mysterious plant. Travel across Triahkel to find Sabdur's homeland and learn all she could. Discover the secrets of something called magic and a people called gnomes. Uncover the truth. And then…she would return. To launch a rescue mission or seek vengeance for Urri she didn't know yet.