Track 06: Nemesis

A knight stands between me and death. Her hair is being haloed by light and the Vessel’s attack. I am captivated by the look of her, my knight in shining armor. Or at least what looks like a comfortable ivory, coveralls provided by The Dominance. The shield looks like sheet metal hammered into shape with cord tightly wound around her forearm. On her left arm, there’s a gunmetal gauntlet holding her shield. For her sword, a shining wrench ready to strike out at the A face of shining determination. She’s my hero. And I know her. Gabrielle stands between me and death, and she looks breathtaking.

I shake loose the shock of seeing her here and like this and I move in front of Neon, hoping they will be okay. Two Dark Blade chakrams are in both of my hands. Shining a black light over all the area around it drinking in the surrounding light. Gabrielle shakes her shield and acid slides off. She smiles back at me.

“You ready?”

I nod, letting them fly asElontra keeps sending spurts of acid back at us and G just kept teching hits. With each deflected shot, the shield glows pink, gaining power and saturation. My projectiles scour deeply in her tail and shoulder. Ocean blue blood seeps out slowly. Elontra lets out a painful hiss. She darts in under Gabrielle’s guard and I send two more CDs at her. She tries to bat them away with her arm and that’s when I trigger the Echo. Because both hit my second one, digs deep into her arm and I see bone.

Guard

Ability Type: Damage Mitigation

Dream Cost: 3

Level 1: Brace for incoming attack. You can assist in helping increase the defenses of you or your squad. You add an 1d6 damage mitigation to the next attack that hits.

Elontra howls bloody and piercing. I drop the Beat, believing the battle is done, and that’s when I’m fooled. She turns to me, distending her jaw to bite down on me. I flinch, closing my eyes, waiting for her to sink eight inch fangs into me. It never comes. As I open my eyes to look death in the face and all I see her fangs held fast on me while my glows around with pink energy. somehow Gabrielle protected me.

We wasted no time. Gabrielle slams her with her wrench and the back of her head, while I give an upper cut under her jaw. The Vessel’s eyes go wide as her fangs go through her own bottom lip. Gabrielle follows through, slamming her and pushing her away from the two of us.

Her arm holding limp at her side, hemorrhaging and the look of the look of pure, venomous rage. “I will end all of you.” She touches her acid pistol, seeming to change a nozzle. And levels it ready to fire and out of the corner of my eye. A streak of neon light races past me. Instead of a hummingbird, Neon is a raptor, finding the perfect angle and finishing the scientist. A light blade arcs out, taking her arm in one fluid motion.

Vessel Elontra backs away as we corner her. “This isn’t supposed to be… Disruptors or not, you’re all just monkeys! You aren’t supposed to be this powerful.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s over 9000? Blah, blah, blah…” Neon says, advancing slowly.

“And monkeys really? That’s kind of a microaggression.” I say. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“ I say we just pop her.” Gabrielle says. Smashing her fist into her palm together, a lopsided grin on her face.

Elontra, in full fear and fright, taps a few buttons on her chest piece and explodes in green smoke. We cover our mouths from the smokescreen. When the smoke fades, we see she’s vanished.

“Did we win?” I ask, still holding the weapons ready to throw at a moment’s notice. Searching the battery room, we didn’t find her anywhere.

Neon slumps on a server, crashing his body against it, sliding down until he’s siting with his knees are at his chest. “That sucked!” He whines.

“You can say that again.” I stretch, trying to relieve the tension in my body. I look over to Gabrielle. “This wasn’t where I expected to see you.”

“Where were you expecting?” she says.

“Hopefully, a late night rendezvous in the hallway followed by a plan to get waffles or a proper date in this out of the way place, I know that has the best snapper.”

“That does sound pretty good.”

Don’t put me in this. Kohl says levity coming through the connection. Firewall meet Neon and I can see you’ve already met The Composer.

“Firewall, I’ve got to admit you are a whole badass.” Neon praises. “They way you got in there with your shield. What model is your arm? I don’t know that many that can survive combat like that.”

“Model?” I ask.

“Yeah, it’s prosthetic. I got in a car accident when I was young and I lost it.” She says, looking at her left arm. The lines I saw ages ago making more sense as articulation points.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I thought it was a gauntlet or something.”

“Cause I didn’t tell you.” She gives me a sad smile. “I don’t feel ways about it anymore, but some people do. ” She shrugs. “I won’t let it stop me and I won’t let people stop me. I’m the most bad ass person you know, not because of my arm or because I have a sob story… It’s cause I’m a fucking tank and you’ll need to get behind me if you’re gonna survive. Plus, this isn’t my original. The one you saw me with that night got damaged.” She winks. “Come on, we gotta break out our buddy.”

Just as we were high on defeating the evil scientist, another scream tore through the building, only this time it tore through our brains. I hold my head and shut my eyes and even still my HUD scrambles and glitches behind my eyelids.

You have been hit with a psionic scream. Your connection with your DreamCrafter has been severed. This notification has been shared with everyone in your party.

Composer, you have been separated from your DreamCrafter. We, the Minority believe you have the hallmarks to be a leader of your party. If you continue to show promise, we believe you could gain the Leadership skill as opposed to the default skill we would have given you other wise.

Believe in yourself and push past your doubts and realize the true power of The Composer.

Good luck, we believe in you.

We now had a name to put to the scream, Aquilan. This wasn’t just a cry of anguish, this was an attack on us. She was proving we couldn’t escape even if she didn’t know where we were yet.

Running down the stairs and we made our way finally towards the ground floor. As much as I want to talk to Firewall about how she got captured and what happened to her, I just keep thinking that we need to get out of here. The vessel was definitely a big deal here and after we killed the husband, I can’t imagine we’re on Aquilan’s good side. Kohl hasn’t said much about her and when I asked for some clarity, he just said we need to get out while the getting is good. He says the longer we’re here, the more dangerous it gets. Aquilan isn’t the most dangerous person here. And after dealing with Elontra and that Nightmare thing… I can’t help but think he’s right.

This whole place feels like a horror movie. The glimpses I get of what they’ve done to people here it’s unsettling. Seeing the work areas is one thing. The sweatshop Neon and I found was criminal. I want to save them all. Kohl said we have to wait, wait until we get stronger so we can take this place over. I went from not knowing the Dominance existed, to understanding quite clearly what they have in store for humanity. I made sure to take videos every time I ran into a group, not just so I could remember so we could get an idea of who is here in case there’s people who are missing people.

We’re not exactly quiet as we make our way down. The solar battery taken from the engineering wing bobs up and down Firewalls’ back. Strung up with some wire. She says it’s a good idea to keep. Actually, she said, I have plans for this thing and cackled, actually cackled. I think she might be a mad scientist. Whatever she is thinking up in gonna be bad news for nearly anyone on her bad side.

Down, down past the surgical theater, back into depths of the ECU, places you never see. I’m not even sure the regular maintenance gets down here.

“I wonder if we’re in the bowels of the island.”

“Not yet. That’s a lot deeper. I’ve been down there.” Gabrielle says “The music integration?”

That’s the thing about Electric City even before Sunspot records took over the billionaire who built it wanted to create a whole new Harlem Renaissance but, in The South. Each street would have a soundtrack and each borough would have a genre even so much that directions would be given out based on it. You’d hear things like “Take a left when you hear that wicked baseline” or “Keep going down a few blocks and if you hear that old cat crooning, you’ve gone too far.” It was magic when I first moved here. And it’s still magic. To know she had a part in the psylink integration, my already high esteem for her skyrockets.

As we reached the door that Kohl led us too there was a feeling drawing me in. I take a deep breath, wondering where this apprehension is coming from. Like somehow, I know that if I open this door, I won’t ever be able to close it again and I’ve agreed to something. I have no way of knowing how long, how long or how violently this will change my life. I don’t know how the others are feeling, but similar feelings of contemplation must have been a mirror for what my has to look like as well.

“On three?” I say the other two nodding. Even Neon, who normally seems impulsive, doesn’t want anything to do with this.

“One,” Firewall says as she readies her shield and shifts the battery on her back.

“Two.” Neon gets in a runner’s stance, the colors swirling and strobing on the heels of their kicks.

“Three.” I reach out my hand for the knob and turn as my stomach drops.

There’s a dingy room with stainless steel tables, drenched in blood and viscera. Chunks of flesh, miscellaneous flesh without any real nod to who or where they’re from. Something like someone had put multiple people through some kind of wood chipper here. I’m not some crime scene investigator.

“What the fuck?” Neon says. “Holy crimes scenes, Mix!”

Firewall sets down the solar battery and shoulders her way in. She touches her goggles and starts scanning the room. “Some of this is old and guessing by the splatter patterns, someone has been bringing people here and hurting them very badly.”

“You mean torture?” I say, my voice caught in my throat. “Did they torture Kohl, too?”

“It must be all the DreamCrafters.” Firewall says, her tone coming out detached. Trying to intellectualize the pain. She might have been doing this the whole time. Compartmentalizing it until this. I put my hand on her shoulder and she turns to me. The look on her face is stone. It slowly melts until tears start welling up in her eyes. The look on her face breaks my heart, and I envelop her in a hug. This close, I can hear her sobs and I try my hardest to keep it together for her, for the team.

“Wait, what’s that sound?” Neon says.

We both stop and Gabrielle pushes me away, not unkindly, and we both listen. It comes so softly at first, I’m sure I don’t hear it. It seems so out of the place in the hell hole we’ve found ourselves in. Such a small hopeful calling in a room drenched in misery and pain. We couldn’t help but smile. Looking at each other for reassurance for just a moment, we rush deeper into the room. In the back, in a dark corner, is a tiny cage and sitting there was a cat with fur as dark as the abyss with speckles of stars and eyes that look like mini nebulae. It meows at us and somehow I know that’s Kohl.

“Kohl?!” I blurt.

Neon rushes past and me. They kneel down at the cage, cutting it open with a finger-sized blade on the end of their index finger. They reach in, scooping up Kohl in arms.

“He’s so cute!” Neon cheers. “Oh, but he’s hurt.” Taking a closer look, wounds all over Kohl were obvious.

I am not cute! Kohl objects.

“Honestly, my guy, you’re pretty cute.” I say.

“Objectively cute,” Gabrielle joins in.

You need a twist up. Kohl roasts me.

“That’s cold, fam!” I chuckle

The expression on Kohl’s face gave the distinct impression they weren’t happy, but I mean, look at him. He didn’t try to get out of Neon’s arms, though. And Neon was nuzzling the poor man? with their full face.

“Were you always a cat?”

We can talk about this later. We still have to move. Kohl says Aquilan is still after us for killing her partner. And we don’t want to meet the other.

“The other?” I say, surprised. “Aquilan… is polyam? Seriously?”

If a cat could roll its eyes, Kohl did the equivalent. He lets a huff out in our heads A Triad in this connotation is a specific union of power to the Dominance. It’s sacred in both a union of power as well as the uniting of species. The Sleeper wasn’t Sulikani, and The Executioner isn’t either. Now can we please get out of the bloody charnel house that was the torture room for the people of my station?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

As we move under the University, we quietly hang together. The order is Firewall in the vanguard, Kohl and I in the middle and Neon is taking the rear. When I told them how we should proceed, it actually went over pretty well. I never imagined they would listen. The longer we’re together, the deeper I feel them in my mind.

Even Kohl follows along behind me. He winces as he walks along the ground. You can see the wounds that stand out in his pitch black coat. Ugly red lines criss-crossing his body all over. Vessel Elontra was going to move on to him next. She was gonna force him to awaken the DreamRunners so she could kill him like the others. Kohl tells me they have gotten pretty good at killing both of our people.

As we turn into the largest room in the undercroft. High ceiling with four concrete tunnels peeling off in other directions. Myriad machines were working away with the sounds of machines working away to do… something. The hell if I know. I didn’t even know spaces like this even existed. Firewall says places like this exist so that if any of the systems for Electric City go down, then there would be back up. That we’d all be surprised how much is controlled by unseen machines.

The other, much bigger problem in the room took precedence. A hulking titan in white armor with green accents stands between us and the tunnel out. They radiate menace and a stoicism so powerful it’s like a gravity, weighing down on our whole bodies. There is something in their gaze that feels like death has come to meet us.

“Hello Children of Terra and The Waves,” a dangerously even masculine voice comes from a white-armored man. The tension in his voice sounds like a coiled snake. “I wish I had the pleasure of chasing you down myself but, my love requested she send the lessers.” The barely contained anger almost makes it worse. “I am Gracus, The Executioner. I will give you this moment to choose a god and pray to them to bring you to your afterlife safely.”

“I-“ Neon says but gets cut off.

“I am talking.” The weight gets even heavier and my knees almost buckle. “Now I don’t want you to grovel. Your kind seems to have a knack for such a thing… No, the time for begging is over. You will only take one swing of my axe each.” Gracus says, drawing each of his axes that matches his color scheme perfectly. The deep green coating the blade. “So take it easy, get comfortable. This will be your final resting place.”

That has to be in the running for the most casual way someone has ever been told to die. I mean, I wouldn’t know it hasn’t happened to me very often. But I think I’ll place this firmly in my top ten.

“Gracus, darling,” a voice calls from overhead. “They’re mine.” She descends on a platform of air. Walking down from on high like a queen descending a grand staircase. She is just as majestic as she is deadly.

Aquilan takes her time to see us, making sure we took every inch of her in. She was tall even from here, I can tell. Seven feet and change. Her smooth sea foam skin sparkled in the gloom. Pearlescent eyes shine with poorly disguised hatred. Her long glacier white hair flows behind her like she was underwater, each lock a hair having its own floating pattern. Each of her fingers end in a pitch black nail. Pointed ears and beautifully gaunt face etches cheekbones and a small sharp nose. She wears a long white gown that left her legs free to maneuver and wouldn’t look out of place in a fantasy movie. Aquilan is the dream of every person who always chooses to date the elf princess in video games. She is beautiful and terrible to behold.

“Fuck.” We all say. There are different inflections and, of course, Kohl says it in our heads, but we know just how fucked we are in this moment.

“Composer,” Her voice is smooth and melodic. “why not enter my service? There’s so much I can teach you.” She finally rests in the air at 10 feet and hovers there, peering down at us imperiously. “The end of your people doesn’t have to be the end of your freedom. Take it from someone who did it the other way around.”

I can try to get around him, but there’s no one to get help from. Thank god for that nano or I would have been fucked. Neon says telepathically.

We don’t know what either of them can do. The psychic scream could just be the first of them. With the pressure Gracus exerts, it feels like one of my abilities, which seems a bit unsafe to use here. Firewall says, watching the two of them.

I’m at a loss here. The thing I couild have hoped for was that we wouldn’t run into either of them. At least not yet.

Not exactly a vote of confidence from the big guy, but we have to do something. I take a deep breath. I put I calm myself down and really tap into the world around me.

I press play, flipping my headphones on, piping the music through my body and our telepathic connection, my body becoming the speaker for the room to hear. Tank by The Seatbelts plays that sweet jazzy intro that everyone knows from Cowboy Bebop. The crash of horns and everyone gets into position. The bass comes in to law down the business and keep us on track. Gabrielle gets in front of me, raising her shield in front of her face. In her other hand, she plays with her pink psydeck on her arm, typing in some code. Pink sparks take out the lights, giving us just a few minutes of pure darkness. The Blackout ability really giving us some cover. The energy of the percussion adds another layer as Kohl leaps into Neon’s arms as they take a runner’s stance. As they start making circles around us.

Blackout

Ability Type: Technic/ Control

Dream Cost: 3

Level 1: Shut down the lights and the electricity in the room you're in. The lights will turn off.

Requirements: Hacking

The Vocals come in to tell the audience what’s up as I slide deep away into the darkness. I begin creating dark blade CDs that can’t be seen in the dark. I take cover where I say one of those massive machines. Hoping the sound of the machine and its size will keep me safe for a moment.

I see a glowing light, presumably where Aquilan is creating an energy attack to send directly towards Neon, the only one of us she can see. Just as she winds back to send it forward. Gabrielle’s Shield glows pink and Aquilan’s eyes in her hand go to send a blast of energy at her instead. Not just her head turns, but Gracus does as well. His iron body making a smooth turn towards her outstretched shield. Her Intent ability forcing them to focus on her gives Neon and Kohl just the chance they need.

Neon slips by Gracus, letting their package get away. Kohl runs as fast as he can out. We know that if he can leave, then there is a chance for him to awaken others and either come back for us or avenge us. Now he’s free. We can move forward, we just have to survive. Neon races around to gain momentum and tries to aim two of their light swords at the base of Gracus’ spine.

Intent

Ability Type: Control/ Psychic/

Dream Cost: 3

Level 1: You force the attention of a unit with your intent. You roll Power against this unit's Will and if you win the unit freezes for this round and the next round they must attack you with single-minded determination.

Requirements: None/ Genesis Ability

I sent as many of my dark blades toward Aquilan as possible and just when I thought they were about to connect, dual whips appear in both her hands and she deflects all five of my chakrams at the same time. I can feel her eyes on me even in the darkness.

“When you find out what you can do, in reality, Composer,” In a flash, the lights come back on and her eyes bore into me. “You will realize how futile this was.”

Once the lights came on, an energy pulse came from The Executioner freezing Neon in motion and lifting them off the ground with that same force. As Neon floats up to Gracus’ chest height, which is probably up to my head, his back hands their body into the wall where they bounce off it.

“Neon!” I cry out. I don’t care that it gives away my location. I don’t think that’s import right now.

“See, it’s all fun and games until I get serious, right?” Aquilan taunts. “You might not understand yet but, don’t think I’ll let you forget again. You. Are. In. Over. Your. Head.” She punctuates each word by cutting into Firewall’s shield. Her razor whip cuts deep furrows into Gabrielle’s empowered shield. Pink sparks fly off as the whip turns what was a stout handmade shield into a wrecked and twisted piece of slag.

Put myself between Gabrielle and Aquilan. I create a sword of a pure darkness and sound to catch the whip. The sound that reverberates between them creates a crash that I can feel as my sense of hearing rips away. I feel the moment my eardrums burst. The blood trickling down my ears.

You have temporarily lost your physical hearing magical senses, still intact. Receive medical attention and your health will be restored. You have lost 6 health. 5 remaining.

The notification ticks away at the bottom right of my vision. The predatory look on her face as she sees my dark blade spluttering and cracking under her strength. She overpowers me in seconds. The bright music of Tank giving away to the ceaseless dirge of her magic. A song without life or hope, just despair, draws me in and begs me not to look away. It is a sound of unyielding sorrow, and it has come to swallow me whole. The lament of a people at the end of their lives knowing their fate.

I pull from my ancestors and I hear the music of slave spirituals, the music my people sung to let people know how to escape and useful knowledge as they’ve gone along. The music of a lament but, also hope, of ingenuity A song to bridge the gap in the strength of The Sea Witch and a newly awakened composer. With so much emotions I sing out, strengthening my blade and bringing it back from the edge of shattering it. It gives me just enough to get away. To disengage.

Just as I get some space, the brilliant swing from Aquilan hammering into the floor. Spraying rock and dust everywhere. The look on her face as she surges out of the debris was monstrous. Gone was the placid beauty of a queen dealing with things beneath her. Now the Sea Witch was on full display. She meant business now. And that was the perfect time to hit her with Two Dark Bladed CDs to the face.

Black blood falls like tears from her cheek. She halts in motion, surprised like a tiger learning it’s somehow mortal. Her hands shake as she reaches up to touch in shock. Fingers wet with blood. “You got a little something on your face.” Her eyes flash at me and just as she’s about to take a step toward me, a rocket smashes into her face.

Firewall’s Stats so far

Level 1 (Rank 1)

HP: 12

Dream: 11

Will: 1

Reflex: 1

Creativity: 2

Talent: 3

Power: 2

Durability: 2

Firewall’s Abilities So Far

Skills:

Construction

Knowledge:

Hacking

Utilities:

Blackout

Intent

Special Attacks:

Guard

Firewall’s inventory

Wrench (Tier 1)

Sheet Metal Sheild (Tier 1)

Custom PsyDeck

The Composer’s Stats So Far

Level 1 (Rank 1)

HP: 11

Dream: 11

Will: 1

Reflex: 2

Creativity: 3

Talent: 2

Power: 2

Durability: 1

The Composer’s Abilities So Far

Skills:

Undecided

Knowledge:

Magic

Utilities:

Siren

Enchanting

Echo

Special Attacks:

Shot

Damage 5-16

The Composer’s Inventory

Beats (CD Chakrams)

Damage 4-10

Meteormaker 67: 0/10