Around the same time, Tod and Ashly heard the creatures roar something long asleep crackles to life beneath the ground through corridors and rooms. Within the most protected area there holds a giant metallic coffin.
*BOOM*
With the very walls vibrating from some explosion something starts to speak into the room, sounding not to be either feminine or masculine with only a few words being understandable.
[ENERGY-STORAGE-CO#PR%@ISED]
[COMENCING-EMERGENCY-PROCEDURES]
Slowly life and sound start to spread throughout the room with everything glowing to life, the sound of electricity and machines powering up all around.
[RELEASING-#&$-0]
The coffin soon follows suit with it humming to life, its metallic surface becoming translucent showing a blurred figure inside. The now translucent coffin rises up and rightens itself upright, the coffin then makes a clicking sound followed by large amounts of steam billowing out.
*shah~*
The coffin starts to open up, hidden behind the layer of steam a figure in a clean white shirt and pants can be seen slowly leaving the coffin with unsteady steps, followed by the strange voice speaking once again.
[ADAM-SUCCESSFULLY-R%#@%!?]
Adam gradually starts to properly awaken, being seen to slowly flex and unflex their whole body, from their toes to their neck. Taking a big breath Adam starts walking outside of the steam towards a glowing table to interact with it placing his hand into a socket on the table.
"System what's the situation," Adam speaks his first words towards nothing, but quickly hears a reply in a feminine voice in his mind.
[Shelly welcomes Master after the long sleep. The situation seems to be irregular with the condition of the sanctuary seeming to have been severely damaged during the hibernation period with most systems being destroyed, having only the bare minimums being supported.]
"Hmm," Adam stands still thinking over the status of the sanctuary and about how it should have been safe with it using purely mechanical techniques to create instead of magical sources. Thinking about how it got this serious without waking him up he asks for more information.
"What was the reason for not being awakened sooner?"
After a few seconds, Shelly answers.
[Unknown, for some reason this area of the system was disconnected mostly and made more secure from the rest, it seems we were only awoken when the system identified an energy problem that would cause issues for the pod.]
"Something doesn't feel right, this was made to be the most hidden and secure sanctuary we have, while I was resting to prepare for the last part of the war we shouldn't have been found. Atleast if we were found we should have been able to defend ourselves until I was awakened," while moving his stiff and slow body he thinks of the possible ways this could have occurred, thinking of the one most possible, although he hoped it wasn't.
"We were betrayed by someone, She-" before being able to complete his words he feels a shockwave from above followed by a loud roar able to pass through multiple floors to his room.
"Shelly are we still under attack," asking the first question which comes to mind.
[Unable to verify as lifeforce sensors and visuals are destroyed but the possibility is high.]
Hearing the possibility of enemies or allies still being around he rushes towards the door in an attempt to open it but fails.
"Shelly reroot pod power and any reserve power to the door and make the easiest escape route to the surface and make sure energy is prepared for me."
With Shelly quickly rerouting power to the door and finding the fastest route towards the possible enemies or allies Adam rushes outside the room and straight away observes the dusty and empty corridor covered in moss.
"Everything seems off, it just looks strangely different other than it being covered in dust and moss."
While sprinting past room after empty room Adam continues to hear the destruction and apparent battling above him, "I need to get there quicker," being unsure if he would make it in time he decides to quicken himself.
Continuing to rapidly move he asks Shell to find him something, "Shelly take me to the nearest available power source," quickly receiving the needed directions he moves towards the power source. After continuing to run past a few more rooms he sees what he is looking for, a massive outlet able to easily fit his arm into.
Smoothly placing his arm into the socket he asks Shelly to top him up. In a bright flash of electricity Adams's arm is engulfed in currents that quickly absorbed into his arm, seeming to work without a problem, until.
"Argh."
Adam quickly removes his arm from the socket it being considerably charred, confused by what happened he asks Shelly if there is a problem with the socket.
[No there appears to be no issue with the power socket or the energy source.]
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Wondering what could be the problem he starts to really wonder how his body was even damaged by something as simple as electricity, and that's when thinks he gets it.
"Shelly hologram of my body's status, now."
Next to the power socket, little beams of light were released from the wall to create a replica of Adams's body, atleast that was what he was thinking would appear.
In front of Adam, he sees a young-looking figure. The figure has shoulder-length silver hair to match their silver eyes, the pupils of which seem similar to a camera's lenses closing and opening as his eyes focus and unfocus. The boy's age seems to be around 12 with his slightly chubby face, with the skin on his face and not charred arm looking to be of a metallic material.
Shocked Adam keeps looking at every nook and cranny of the hologram, it starts to make sense to him why his body had felt so stiff and clumsy, and why everything looked weird, he had never seen the corridors from his shorter stature.
Adam tells Shelly to check his memories to see if there is anything wrong because he believes there was foul play, "This isn't my original body, Shelly check my memories before entering the hibernation pod," he says.
[Checking... Checking... Error. Large portions of memory have been degraded or completely deleted, along with the memory of entering the pod, suggesting that there may have been memory erasure or manipulation.]
"I don't think it would have been any of the 6 but I can't place my hopes on it," Adam says. "It seems to be that we were really betrayed, my body and memories have been altered and ruined."
*Roar~*
Hearing a muffled roar Adam thinks quickly if he should really move to the surface or possibly escape, he thinks for a few seconds until he starts running.
Adam thinks to himself while running, "If I don't find out what happened, then it will be worthless to escape by myself even if it would be the safer alternative," and he continues to move towards the sound while assessing his physical condition and making any strategies he can think of in case he runs into an opponent or an adversary."
___
Shortly after Adams's release from his hibernation pod, two figures can be seen rapidly dashing towards the centremost building which looks safe and secure, other than being surrounded by now obvious piles of bones.
*ROAR~*
"WHAT IS THAT IT IS MASSIVE, HOW DID YOU NOT SEE THAT WHEN WE ENTERED!" shouts Ashly as they rush past Tod. "Like seriously you could have looked harder before entering you are the brains of the squad in the first place," she says while moving her legs with quickness and trying not to trip over any bones.
Rapidly following them and speeding towards them from the entrance is a massive furred creature, looking to resemble a black wolf, but the size of a big grizzly bear. The reason for using the word 'resemble' is because of the tens of black tentacles all over its body tearing through anything which gets in its way helping it to jump past and around any obstacle.
"Please shut up, unlike you long legs we Dwarves need to run with shorter legs, and I can barely prevent myself from tripping over these bloody bones with all your yelling," Tod pleads to Ashly while cursing his race most common feature and envying Ashly's long legs.
"Oh Aether I don't want to die because I for once went along with what Ashly wanted," Tod regrets and prays, "Please oh holy Bedite if you really existed and became the God of Dwarves if you save me I'll become a devout follower and do whatever you want, even give you all of my rock chick legs I love so much."
While Tod was praying to his father's God of Smithing and Protection of the 7 Guardians Ashly was running her brain at max speed.
Although Ashly appears to be spontaneous and crazy on the inside she is the opposite, well atleast not nearly as much as others believe. Ashly is more calculative than most but found it was easier to act dumber and reckless to protect herself from others when she was young.
The only people who would probably know the true her would be her parents and Tod, although he acts like he doesn't know her true self, this is why even when she seems to do something stupid or crazy he will follow her believing she has a plan.
This time is different, although she was somewhat prepared that was until she got to the massive entrance, that's when her spontaneous self got the upper hand on her, although she had prepared the basics such as being ready to fight she didn't think from the looks of the ruins that there would be an actual monster here, especially not one as crazy.
While running she hears Tod make a sound behind her and her heart skips a beat, "Why does he have to have such sloppy legs, I always tell him to practice more with being agile."
Turning around she sees him laying on the ground frozen from fear and the monster right on his hills, quickly recalling what she had been planning while running she goes into action. Rapidly moving towards Tod she arrives at his feet to grab his arm and uses her arms and legs together to quickly throw him to his legs which awakens him from his fright straight away.
"Sor-" before Tod can even apologise Ashly stops him.
Quickly preparing her stance and mind she explains the plan to Tod, "We are almost to the centre, but that 'thing' is gonna catch up to us before we do that so let's do this," she then proceeds to quickly tell him the plan which he agrees to, now all that's left is to put it into action.
Without wasting time she begins immediately moving her fingers and hand in a circular motion, then begins to fluently speak mystical words of magic, "B'gik Fzx'lw". After voicing those words the motion with her hands starts to glow and create symbols inside the circle she had created, followed by the wind surrounding her array of symbols.
Within seconds a big gust of wind was blown out from her hand, not towards the monster but towards the dirty and dusty ground instantly creating a cloud of dust and debris to shield themself from the monster's sight.
Following Ashly's example, right after she gets behind Tod he too starts to do a similar hand motion. Instead of Tod's hand moving in a circular motion he moves it in a square shape, this is then followed by him speaking the mystical words "Vxe'wo Bx' z". After symbols start to form in his square in seconds the earth around him starts to shake and move, quickly moving onto the metal path and creating a wall of earth behind the cloud hoping to slow it down.
Quickly running after Ashly who had once again gotten ahead of him Tod starts taking out a small bottle from a small leather pouch stitched into his armour which is placed near his sparker and begins to pour it while running. He makes sure to flail it behind him to make sure it covers as large a surface as it can and then stops running and turns around once done pouring it all.
*Crash*
Hearing the loud song of the creature slamming into the wall he sees it easily start to break with parts of it already falling apart, hoping it will block it for a few more seconds he starts moving his hands once again but this time creating multiple squares instead of just the one, slowly he gets ready but then his heart stops.
Looking towards the wall he had made he found that it had stopped trying to break it, that would be something to be happy for if what he saw above the wall wasn't a black-furred beast covered in multiple tentacles waving around, and staring directly into his souls two pitch black voids.
With shivers running down his spine, he calls out to Ashly, "READY!" as he turns his head away from the monster to look at her he finds she isn't there, hearing it thud onto the ground behind him he flinches.
Shouting with a little more than slight panic in his voice he yells, "ASHLY! This better just be a part of the plan your demonic soul decided not to tell me and not that you ran away or else I will haunt your ass."
Praying that with them being so close to the centre now she just didn't think fuck it to run off by herself to escape he stands his ground, praying that their years of what he guessed could be called friendship, or bullying would prove his thoughts otherwise.
Deciding to stay with the plan, which he guesses has already changed, steadies his voice to ready to yell the mystic words, hearing the beast's loud thump with every step it takes his heart starts to shake but he stands his ground ready, then he hears it and he smiles.
Coming from behind one of the buildings he hears a familiar voice, "GO!" hearing this voice he instantly begins to finish his spell "Ydzwg Vxe'wo Bx' z" Instantly Tod begins to feel large amounts of pain from his chest feeling like his blood is draining from his body but he continues casting, rapidly large amounts of the earth all around him begins to move, quickly forming multiple giant spotty earth walls surrounding the creature right in the middle of the spilled liquid.
With walls quickly forming around it encasing it fully in an earthy cage with fist-sized holes throughout it the beast quickly tries to break it and escape by smashing the wall with its tentacles. Before the beast had the chance to break free Tod with his pained chest takes his sparker from his hand and sparks a little trail of the liquid at his feet.
Instantly the liquid goes up in ablaze of flame quickly catching the rest alight too, this causes the cube to be filled with smouldering hot flames, scorching the monster, but seeming to only be fueled by the pain it starts to attack the walls quicker and harder. Worrying that it will break free he looks towards a glowing figure atop a destroyed house.
Surrounding Ashly's hand is a circle full of symbols exactly like the last spell she cast, but this time with a larger circle. With a wide toothy grin, Ashly yells to the creature, "If that isn't hot enough then allow me to add some air to fan the flames," followed by her speaking the same mystical words, "B'gik Fzx'lw" a vastly greater blast of wind than the last shoots out from Ashly towards the beast, going through the holes in the wall to give the fire more life to its flame.
*ROAAAR!~*
Covered by a veil of flame and earth all the two can hear is the screeches of death made by the monster on the verge of death, but following the increasingly loud roars, Tod starts to notice the earthen cage starting to quicken its speed of collapsing, hoping to not let it escape he starts pouring more of his aether into the spell to help repair it and strengthen it, but falling to the ground clenching his heart he can't continue, without his help it starts to fall apart even more with the beast claws and tentacles flailing trying to escape.
While it starts to quieten Tod hears the cage fall apart, and slowly looking up he sees the void-like eyes in front of him, staring into his soul once more, then he passes out from the straining pain of his chest to fade his consciousness to black.