"Meliton's Key? Who's Meliton? The sidhe she kicked the ass of?" he asks as he gestures for her to follow and starts stalking toward the taste he's following once again. "You still got any more locked up?" he asks then, as he moves, expecting her to follow him without bothering to check if she is, past listening for her gears.
"He is..." She blinks at the two descriptions and churns them over. "Meliton is the guardian of pain, my creator. Called also Etienne, but that’s a name that came later." She doesn't sound happy about that fact, but it is what it is. The second question brings a pause and then she scampers to catch up again. "I...don't know. I was brought here and put in the ice when Nieve began the beginning of the end. I was created too late."
Chago goes quiet for a while as he mulls her words over. "There's a bodyguard trapped down here. I hoped it was Highpockets back there, but I tore that phoney troll's head off too easy. What's the bodyguard look like? What kith?" he asks as his head turns, tracking and moving. Hunting the device to free his mate.
Nieve? Could that be Genny back when she killed that sidhe and freed her herd, or is that someone else? Something else? Interesting things to consider.
"Here in the ice are the many and the one. Troll to guard the gate. Satyr to light the way. Sidhe to block the path. Redcap to bar the door. Knocker to call the dance." It's like the words have been programmed into her and she repeats them mechanically before blinking a few times. There's a soft whirring sound as her eyes refocus. "Nieve destroyed the Sidhe. Troll lies dead on the floor. Cap and Master remain."
"Nieve stomped the nocker into goo." Chago says. "We found him before she got poisoned. He's locked up in his mind, as dead as the sidhe." He tells her with a lick of his lips, despite what coats them still. "All that's left is the cap and you. You gonna light my way little satyr?" he asks with a gesture of one hand, while the other drops to gather the pouch of bone shards, hoping the older satyr wasn’t pulling a fast one to get rid of an unwanted intruder. "I need to get into the storage room."
She stares at him, her mouth working before managing to squeak out. "He's...gone? The carrier of pain is gone?" It's like her little brain has just stopped on this fact. "Oh...oh...good!" It's a little yelp and she covers her mouth with both hands. "I'm sorry...too loud...but...to dream of him gone."
"Too loud for what?" Chago asks. "You ain't got to worry about shit while you're with me, unless being loud is gonna bring the roof down, and I think me and Highpockets got loud enough to do that if it was gonna happen."
His question seems to shake her out of the happy daze and she reaches up, pulling the goggles back and resting them on her forehead. When she opens her eyes light spills forth, two beams into the darkness in a blue that makes it as though it is full daylight. "Forward."
His lips pull back in a toothy grin as he checks out the new light though. "Hell yeah. That's nice." he says with a nod, picking up his pace a little with the extra light.
"So... lemme guess... the 'cap is guarding the door I need to go through to get to the machine to clean iron from the blood, ain't he?" he asks then. "We're gonna walk right to him, right?"
"Of course." She doesn't nod, her gaze straight ahead. "All of the Master's machines were kept in the clean room...so that none might access them without his knowledge. The Redone is designed to let only those who come with the right passage through. None but the master has ever moved him from his place. He has killed and eaten many." She sighs a little. "I want you to succeed, but I fear for what is to come."
"Just get me there little darlin'. I'll take care of the rest. There ain't nothing gonna stop me from saving my girl." he tells her with the sort of assurance that few ever feel. Chago has absolutely no doubts though. "I got a plan." he adds with a quick snort of amusement. "Ain't no clockwork redcap gonna beat the real thing when the real thing got as much reason to win as I got. Just get me there, darlin'. You'll see."
She seems a little doubtful, but just reaches up and pats his leg before plunging forward. The path she leads him on is a maze. The saying a twist and turn of hallways all the same would be appropriate, only under her lights the hallways are distinctive and the correct choices brighter. It's a much easier way to go, though it gets colder with each twist and turn and more of a fight to stay on one’s feet.
Another turn and she slows, blinking, which makes the light flicker. She shivers even under all the fabric and there's a thick scent that rises through the air, blood, and ash. "Next turn will put us in sight."
Chago's movements are solid and steady, almost machinelike on his own as the cold bites at him. "Redcaps come from winter. We are the North wind. Cold will not stop me." he mutters under his breath, small clouds blowing out with each word. It becomes a mantra to set pace for his march as he drives forward.
When she gives the warning, he nods. "Hang back when you show me the turn, darlin'. You don't wanna see this." he rumbles as he presses forward.
When she indicates that next turn, he steps into the doorway, ready to go back to the lesser light of his bracelet as he growls. "Time to die, mula. You're between me and saving my girl." even before seeing what's there. His hands lift into a classic boxer's pose s he does, the flames lighting his blind side and making shadows dance on his face.
The little satyr steps back, fairly sure that he's right about her not wanting to see this. She clings to the icy stone, closing her eyes and waiting to see what will come next.
In front of the door there's a redcap, as promised, however this one is almost as big as the Troll was, and just as mechanized. The room is covered with ice and bones, and frozen bits of blood and guts. Apparently, anything that comes down here is lunch in a messy way. It pushes fully to its feet, gears whiring as it bares serated metal teeth and reaches for a club studded with pieces of sharp metal and barbed wire. "Dinner...is...served."
Chago's lips pull back from his teeth as he looks up at the monsterous 'cap-o-matic and then he takes a slow breath. The same calm that settled over him from the mantra to fight the chill lingers as he starts to rock on his toes and back. When he speaks, after the light from the saytr's eyes vanishes and only his bracelet remains, it could almost be for her more than the beast he faces. Fortunately, the timeless moment before a fight truly starts settles over them to allow the words to pour forth...
"I can fancy what you saw. Yes; is is horrible enough; but after all, it is an old story, an old mystery played... Such forces cannot be named, cannot be spoken, cannot be imagined except under a veil and asymbol, a symbol to the most of us appearing a quait, poetic fancy, to some a foolish tale."
His tone chills further as he begins to move forward, now for the beast before him.
"But you and I, at all events, have known something of the terror that may dwell in the secret places of life, manifesting under human flesh; that which is without form taking to itself a form. Oh, how can it be? How is it that the very sunlight does not turn to blackness before this thing?"
His steps quicken, his voice rising at last.
"I am this terror, and you are but a copy. I am fear. I am the winter wind. I am the faceless teeth in the night."
Then he leaps and lunges for the beast leaping into what a UFC match would call a superman punch, a jumping punch meant to look like a kick at first and ending up in a classic superhero lunging/flying punch position briefly. As his left, the one loaded with the pouch, drives toward the redcap automation's face he he shouts at last,
"I am REDCAP!"
It's pretty sure the RoboCap doesn't get nearly as much out of the statement as the little satyr does, or Chago himself. Brains were not high on the list of things RoboCap was given. Who needs brains to smush and eat all commers? The Cap squats lower, setting himself against Chago's rush. The club goes into action as soon as Chago's in range, and those metal capped teeth snap at the punch, intending to take Chago's arm off. He may have missed the fact Chago's hand isn't empty.
Unlike Robocap, Chago is quite smart, and quite willing to be stupid. Especially for someone he actually loves. She’s a first and he can’t let her go, no matter the cost. He roars out the fury that his monolog allowed him to rebuild and draws on both that anger and that love to fuel his surge. His left hand slams toward that gaping maw and as soon as his feet touch, his other hand swings for the club, trusting his Gauntlets to protect him from the sharp edges and the passion and power combined to either knock the club from the beasts hands or to break it off.
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The left though... that's another story. He's not taking time to consider how much of his arm might never be seen again if this doesn't work. As the fist passes those teeth, he squeezes the bag. Hard. With how tightly he wrapped it, it should split at the seams and spray those shards all through the cap's mouth and down it's gullet before the fist reaches the back of the beast’s maw. He keeps that fist closed tight too, hopefully trapping just a little of the bone still.
Just in case.
Well, things work and they don't all at once. The club takes a beating from the Guantlets and gets knocked back, however it also smashes Chago's arm rather nicely in the process. It's not broken, but it's going to hurt a lot for a while and be colorful as hell.
Then there's the other side of things. Chago's hand goes where few hands have ever gone before...at least not and survived the experience. The maw starts to close, intending to chew and swallow, but that's when the bone finds its mark. The bag splits without much effort and immediately the flesh melts anywhere even a mote hits. The hinges on the jaw try to snap shut at the same time as the beast begins coughing and...well...hurlage occurs, pushing Chago's fist out as other icky bits get ralphed up.
Chago recoils as the crud flies, his right arm held tight to his chest and only long years of wearing those Gauntlets lets him remember not to gouge himself. As Genny might say ‘fecking ow’. The left stays in that fist as he staggers away, protecting the meager bit of bone he held onto as he watches the ash do its work. "Die you bastardized piece of shit." he growls. "You ain't a redcap. You're just one more speedbump." He backpedals a bit more, to try and avoid getting more gack on him, as well as to buy reaction time just in case, while he decides just how hurt he is.
You know...it should have been more of a fight, but no one else who has ever faced the RoboCap has come with bone and knowledge all at once. What should have been a battle royal turns into a few exchanged blows and a LOT of gook all over the floor. Stupid gook.
Chago waits for the spewing to settle and the MechaMouth to finish melting, then he lifts his voice again. "Hey. It's done. The wicked bitch is dead." Isn't that supposed to be witch? Close enough for the 'cap. "Come help me." he calls to the satyr, bracing for all hell to break lose still.
He flexes his fingers slowly, trying to keep the injured arm loose for the time being. Not much else he can do for the moment. "I need to get this machine and get it back. Think you can help carry it?"
She creeps into the room, as though afraid of what she'll see. The light is still coming from her eyes and she blinks a few times, looking between Chago and the mess. "Oh my...what...ewwww...." Yeah, that's the most she can manage. Ewwww...
She creeps up until she's next to Chago, looking up at him. She opens her mouth to speak and then the ceiling above them gives a terrible creak, and water begins dripping down at an alarming rate.
Chago looks up and then nods forward. "Go. We need that machine and to get moving fast. Place is gonna thaw without him around, I guess. Saves me caving it in." he adds. Still, that left hand stays a fist, protecting the last bone. He then moves himself, committing to the route deeper in despite the threat above. "Let's go save her, darlin'. And then get outta here." And with her or without, he moves forward, snarling at the door as he nears it if she doesn't beat him there and open it.
She scampers ahead of him, reaching up to open the door, crying out in dismay. "It's locked." She looks back at him and ducks when he hits the door, since something like a little door isn't about to make Chago stop. Old and without the icy support, which is melting away, the door splinters inward showing a neatly organized workshop. He even labeled everything.
Well, kicking it open. He's not risking his hands right now. Kick and growl and stalk in. He gestures vaguely with his fist. "Check that way. I'll go this one. We gotta get this blood cleaner fast." Then he moves as he said, trying to remember where he saw it when he scryed the room.
Scrying memory is better than the little satyr kicking things around looking through stuff. She damages some stuff on the way, just in a pissy mood about this place apparently.
The machine is smaller in real life, but not overly hard for him to find. It's bolted down to the shelf, but not like that's a problem for him.
Bolted down is not hard at all. Not with things crumbling. Just takes a lot of care to manage it with his bad arm without hurting himself worse. As soon as it's free, he's heading for the door. "Hey! Light the way out. Fast!" he calls as he goes. In no time, they're running for the doors back out of the place. "What happens to you when this falls?" he asks as they run back.
She scampers ahead, though keeps looking over her shoulder at him, making sure he's following. It makes the light do weird things, but that's nothing too new. The ice is crumbling and taking the stone with it in large chunks now. She catches a breath and shakes her head. "I can't last without it. My gears are already stopping."
Chago nods slowly as he considers that and his left opens at last, letting the ash fall away. "Thank you." he tells her then as he hurries along, dropping the talk until he's sure he knows the entire rest of the way. Only then does he slow. "Darlin'... come here a sec." Yeah. Bad place to stop, but he's trying to look like he needs to pause briefly as he sets the machine down at his feet.
The little satyr skids to a halt, nearly getting creamed by a piece of wall as she does. She looks back at him, confused and wide eyed. "But...you're not out yet. I can hear them running above...no time." Though she does come back a few steps towards him, unable to deny the command. Obedience is what she was built for.
Chago nods. "I'll make it." he assures her as he reaches a gentle hand to her just touching her hair. "Sorry you gotta fall with this place." Then he moves suddenly, snapping the other hand out to grab her chin and jerk, snapping her neck. "Least you can go quick and quiet." He mutters after before bending to rip a little of the fur she wears and then grab the machine to run for the door. "OPEN IT!" he bellows as he approachs. "They're all dead and this place is falling in!"
The little satyr never sees it coming. Her job was to light the way, usually for her master who built the maze of corridors and shifting rooms. She makes a soft noise, an exhale of air and gears turn before she falls limp and silent.
In this place where everything is coming to pieces the frame around the door seems like the only thing stubborn enogh to stay in place. It leans, but doesn't break, held together by the magic from without even when the magic within is crumbling. It was built to hold the guards Chago fought, after all. The shout carries and an echoing shout can be heard from without as the magic is worked to release the door. It flies open just as Chago reaches it, a grumpy looking troll pulling it back and holding the way.
Chago's stride doesn't falter now. He knew the doors would be open, or he'd be as flat as everything else that's on the wrong side of that door, so he just went for it, hell bent for leather, as the saying goes. As soon as he's clear though, he's trying to stop before he can ruin anything Shova might have gotten ready and he's catching his breath.
Then he reaches for the bracelet to return, trying not to show how hurt he is as he returns it. "Far as I could tell, all his creations are dead now. I got what I needed. The rest... it's garbage by now. Crushed." While he explains, he carefully tucks the fur into his beltpouch, trying to not be noticed, and as a former pickpocket, Chago has very deft hands.
The sharp-eyed older satyr likely noticed, however, he figures whatever Chago brought out of the underground is his own business. He did what they couldn't, though the heavens alone know how.
"Soon this whole place will crumble, but for now we are holding it up for evacuations." He eyes Chago for a moment. "I'm not sure how you accomplished this thing and I doubt any gratitude will be shown you save this. Keep what you brought out, and keep the wristlet. It has more tricks than one which you may find useful."
Shova, for his part, has another map drawn. This one is a picture of home though the stars a connecting point. He's dripped metal into the corners and looks up as Chago gets out. "You made it. Good. I didn't figure I could go back at all if you didn't. That girl of yours would have killed me." Not mentioning that she might already be dead.
Chago nods to the grump satyr and then flashes a toothy grin before gesturing to the troll there as well. "Cause you brought guards and duty bound lunkheads." He flicks his single eye to the troll there briefly. "No offense, Tiny." Then it's back to the satyr, with his grin just growing wider. "They got their place, but sometimes you need one monster to kill another." Then, after putting the bracelet back on, he hefts the machine left-handed. "Besides, I had better motivation."
With that, he turns to Shova at last. "Good thinking. She ain't exactly the shy and retiring type. Don't think she would have been nice enough to kill you though. Not without dragging you back here again first." At least.
Shova shakes his head, muttering softly. "The two of you are just fecking scary."
Hah...apparently, he picked up the word from her too. "I think I'm ready to take us back. Home is always easier and there's some pissy trolls who aren't going to easily let us back out the way we came in."
"Ya think?" Chago asks with his grin going even more smart alec-y. "Maybe next time you won't hide us with glamour and we can avoid some of this crap." Wait a second... who started the trouble? He steps closer as he chuckles and nods. "Get us home, Shova. We got a satyr to save." he adds before the poor fellow can defend himself and then looks back to the grump goat.
"Thanks. That bone made the difference. Would have been a bloodbath otherwise. And thanks for this too. If I can't figure it out, you'll see me again." And it's said with the confidence of someone that simply knows both the grump will linger somehow and that the 'cap will be able to find him.
With that, Chago retuns his focus to the cantrip to take them back, ready to do his part to help, be it bleed or simply follow.
The grump gives a nod and a quick smile. It's the look which must have made him very popular with the ladies...and likely the lads too...when he was younger. "Bet I will. Tell Genny hello from Paul. This should make she and I even, and that's a good thought."
Shova sputters and only through the knowledge that Chago would prolly bite it off, keeps his tongue in his mouth, though he does mutter under his breath. "Bastage..." He looks to the sketch and this time it's only his blood required for the vortex to open. "You first."
Chago gives a nod. "Paul. Got it." he says before hopping into the vortex much like he did to get there in the first place, with his laugher beginning right after and continuing until he's drawn through. Yep. He heard the mutter.