The broken cultist doesn't have to answer. It’s clear to anyone who isn’t totally blind that this cat is on his way out and the door is hitting his ass hard.

He gurgles and moans through his strange, featureless helmet. It sounds like he's in agony.

I walk back over to him. "What? Got somthin' to say? Bit late for that, ain't it?"

He's trying to choke cough out some words, but he's in too much pain. His helmet is still intact, and I can hear him moaning and gasping inside of it.

I grab the helmet with both hands and twist it around. He moans louder, and it's not coming off.

The fuck is this freaky-ass armor, anyway? Dickheads probably think they're too cool to wear normal gear or some shit.

I ignore his whining and experiment with the front of the helmet There's a click, and it comes off. I toss it to the side, and the bald Limp Dick is revealed.

His or her face - hard to tell which - is covered in blood. Red is flowing their nose and mouth.

Seeing their face makes me drink in the fact that these are people. They're fucked up in the head, but they're still people. Got in lots of scraps on Earth, but I ain't never killed nobody.

Killing Thralls and the anteater dragon thing barely made me blink, but seeing this dude's face makes me feel a little a little heavy inside.

Then I remember something from my childhood - the one and only time I watched The Princess Bride with my parents. At the end of the movie, I told my them that I was happy for Inigo because he got revenge for his father.

But to surprise, they said that they didn't like that part of it. They me they told me that it's wrong to go out and get revenge. "Vengeance can't close wounds, it can only make them," Mom said.

Man, why am I remembering that shit now?

"P-Please-" He's shaking like crazy and taking deep, raspy breaths.

The dude must be in an absolutely unreal amount of pain. I look away and shake my head. "Shit, dude. That's how it is. If you fuck with people, they're liable to fuck with you."

"P-p-p." The Limp Dick tries to speak, but the words won't come. He's bleeding from his mouth. It's a miracle he's alive. "P-plea-"

"Hold on. I can't understand you, man." I kneel next to him and lean. Guess I should at least out their last words. "What is it?"

"Fo-fo-for-"

"What? I'm listening. What is it?"

"For-for-for..."

I lean in a little more.

"For Liberation..."

"What? Really, dude? Your last words are-"

I see a purple flashing light in his remaining hand. It's beeping.

"Motherfucker!"

I scramble to get away, but I don't get far.

There's a flash, and then a huge explosion. IIt doesn't knock me down, but I sure as fuck feel it burn and shred the shit out of me.

"Sonuvabitch!" I scream. But I don't hear my own words because my eardrums got nuked by the blast, too.

I look around. There's a huge crater where the Limp Dick used to be. The remains of his or her body are scattered all around, mixed with the dirt and rocks.

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"Arg, asshole!" I rage heal my skin and hair back and brush the dirt off of what's left of my jacket. The back of it is torn up, but the front is okay.

"Beautiful!" shouts Raelith from the entrance of her fort. "What was that explosion? Are there anymore enemies? I crave blood!"

"I think I got 'em all!" I say, rubbing my head and fixing my shades. " But don't come out! I'm coming in!"

She lets out a nasty growl and stomps back inside.

I take one more look around. Death and destruction in all directions. Trees are broken and uprooted. Fire and smoke are rising into the night air. ATVs, drones, and Limp Dicks are nothing but scrap metal and smashed meat scattered across the landscape.

"Fuckin' psychos. Teach you to fuck with us."

----------------------------------------

As soon as I get back inside, Domina and couple of her clones rush to my side.

"Master!" Domina the clones start dusting me off and mending my duds. "I was so worried for you! What was that explosion?"

"Which one?"

"That last one. We heard you screaming."

"Ah, just some Limp Dick who wanted to give me a parting gift. It ain't nothin'." I adjust my shades and turn to Raelith. "I'm more worried about you."

Raelith's armor is chipped a bunch, and she's got a few holes in her arms and legs. "This is nothing. The bleeding has long since stopped, but the little bits of metal remain inside. Your people use very irksome weapons."

"They ain't my people." My eye catches a big, gaping wound on the inside of her thigh, still wet with black blood. "Shit, doesn't that hurt?"

"It does, but not badly. It is the kind of pain I can relish."

"Well, we'll get Althea to patch you up - if we can make it to her in time." My chest tightens, and I start to feel a little sick. Every moment that passes, the less likely it is that we will be able to save her. And that's if the Limp Dicks haven't already fucked her up.

I turn to everyone else. "Are you guys okay? We need to get to Althea fast."

"Our individual and collective senses of pride are mangled, but we are well enough, Brisket," says Zazel.

I look around. Zazel, Domina, Del, and Raelith seem slightly shaken. They're sprinkled with scratches, patches of dirt, and at lease three different colors of blood. But at the same time, I can see something shimmering in their eyes. A spark of determination.

Pinky comes up to me eyes glittering and legs shaking. I scoop him up and give him loves. "Sorry, buddy. I never wanted you get wrapped up in the fighting."

He makes a little cooing noise.

The big catbird is curled in the corner of the room. He watches me calmly through the nocturnal glow of his eyes. Guess Del healed him. He deserves a big pile of jerky after going through all this shit. Wish we could've saved his friends, though.

"We are not terribly far from the tower," says Zazel, "yet we're not quite close enough to easily get there on foot - not to mention the area around the tower is certainly swarming with the enemy."

I motion to the catbird. "He looks alright all things considered, but I guess he's not up to carrying all of us over there."

"I'm sorry, Leader," Del says, " I healed his wounds, but I believe he's quite spent. It would be difficult for him even at full strength."

"Well, they'd probably just shoot him down again." I sigh. "Shit, I don't see how we're gonna get everyone over there. Maybe I should just-"

"I know what you're going to suggest," Zazel interrupts, "and it's not a good idea to leave us behind. If you were to go without us, we might be safer for a while, but if another force like the one we just fought shows up - and it almost certainly will - we may not be able to fight it off. We're getting low on mana, and we'd be sitting ducks. And there's no guarantee you'd be able to make it back to us in time."

"Yes," says Del, "and until we learn more about the enemy and their strategy, shoring up in Order's tower would be far safer than remaining exposed in the wilds."

Domina looks at the ground, folding her hands neatly in front of her apron. "I fear Lady Asphodel is right. And I don't think retreating is an option either, given how fast their machines are."

"Yeah, true 'nuff, but-"

Domina takes a couple of steps forward. "Master, let us help you. Don't you remember the conversation we had? We don't want you to sweep us aside. We care about you, and we want to help you and our world." She clears her throat sweetly. "And, if I may say so, Master, I think you have a bad habit of underestimating us. In my humble opinion, I think you should respect our power and abilities a little more."

I turn up my palms "I respect you guys, it's just I don't want you to-"

Raelith grunts. "She's right! We're not cowards, and we're not weak!" She sticks the head of her huge axe in the ground. "And you promised me we would fight in a war! It was one of my conditions for joining you in the first place!"

I throw up my hands. "Alright! Alright! I get it!"

"Does this mean you're going to let us come with you?" asks Del.

I sigh. "Yeah, I guess, but how the hell are you guys gonna cross miles of enemy turf without getting hosed? The catbird is out, and we don't even have the Thralls to cover us." I shake my head and sigh. "Man, we burned a whole goddamned month making those things..."

"Indeed. My closest gaggle of babies is still a couple of hours away." Zazel leans against a wall, stroking her chin. "But there's a solution here. I know it."

"And we must find it soon," says Dell, rubbing her arm. "The animals say an even larger group is approaching, and they're moving faster than before. They'll be on us in minutes."

"Shit," I grumble. "Okay, I'm gonna go buy you guys some time while you think of a plan. I'll come back-"

"Ha! We don't need to think!" Raelith strikes her breastplate with her fist. "I'm the Elemental of War!" She taps on her chest. "All the strategy we need is right here!"