Now, Earth
The fishmen had underestimated Tessa's resiliency.
She woke much sooner than they had planned for.
She ripped the jellyfish-like creature that covered her face. The tube that had gone down her throat was beyond uncomfortable and disgusting. She had no idea what that was about and had a couple of guesses. Some worse than others.
Better out than in, as her uncle had loved to say whenever he overate and wanted to gross them out when they were kids.
She was being carried on a fishman’s shoulder like a sack of rice.
There were more fishmen around her.
She grabbed the fishman’s neck and twisted her body around until she was behind it.
Tessa was stronger than the fishman. She squeezed and twisted her arms until she heard the crack.
The fishman went limp.
She threw the body into a group of fishmen to her right.
Tessa scanned her surroundings in a split-second.
She was in a cave. It was dark, except for some bioluminescent things, for lack of a better word, growing on the rocky ceiling and walls. The air was wet and she could hear rumbling from somewhere above.
She didn’t have any weapons.
She couldn’t feel metal anywhere on or near her body.
The fishmen were armed and surrounded her.
What did she have?
Superior strength and toughness. Better reflexes and reaction times. Years of training and sparring with her father, who was stronger than any fishman. With Miss Gozen, who was more skilled with weapons.
She was trapped in a small space with the fishmen.
That was another edge.
“Mistakes were made,” Tessa said. “You can surrender now. If you apologize and tell me how to get out of whatever bullshit this place is then I won’t kill you.”
The fishmen warily readied their weapons as they pressed closer.
“Or not,” Tessa said flatly. “I haven’t had sushi in a long time,” she sneered.
Tessa attacked.
Fists and feet flew. Elbows and knees struck hard.
The fishmen’s natural scale armor were useless against Tessa’s force.
A few lucky blows cut her, but it didn’t matter.
The fight was over.
Tessa stood triumphant. Covered in dark, almost black blood.
A pool of ocean water, judging by the smell, sat at one end of the chamber.
“Crap, I’m under water,” Tessa muttered. If she was lucky than she was in some kind of sea cave system on the shore somewhere. If she was unlucky then the cave system was below the seafloor.
Tessa inspected the chamber. The only other way out was a tunnel that appeared to gently slope down. Being underground was disorienting.
“No other choice.”
Tessa armed herself with fishmen weapons and gathered some of the bioluminescent lichen or fungus or whatever. She didn’t know. They looked and felt weird enough that she’d bet fifty-fifty that they weren’t part of Earth’s natural world, but arrived with the spires. At least they gave her enough light to see by. Her natural night vision would be useless in pitch black darkness.
“Bullshit,” Tessa said. “I’m going to wreck the fishies for this.”
The tunnel loomed before her like a giant serpent’s mouth.
Tessa hesitated a second before forging ahead into the deep, dark depths.
----------------------------------------
A harrowing ride in a convoy of three stolen cars. Wounded men and women cried and grunted with pain as medics tried to see to their injuries with a mixture of magic and mundane first aid.
There was no visible pursuit, but everyone felt the dread pressing over them like a heavy blanket.
Detective Ordonez’s Skills told her that there was a tangible entity behind it. Impossible eyes of deep, dark blue watched over her shoulder. She could almost see them, but even the slightest attempt to look back made her want to curl up in her bed, like she was six again and still scared of monster lurking in the dark and dancing in the shadows on her walls.
“You okay?” Jake said.
The big, young man was hunched over in the seat next to her. He was unconsciously making himself look smaller. That’s what her instincts told her. He was petrified, but trying to put on a show.
“Gates, I’m fine,” Detective Ordonez said.
The convoy drove south at breakneck speed until they came to a screeching halt.
“What the hell!” Jake snapped at the driver.
“It’s not my fault!”
Detective Ordonez looked ahead. The cars in front had stopped. She got out of the car despite Jake’s protests. Her magical science leg was exponentially better than a regular prosthetic, but it still felt off. She limped up to the lead car as Jake hurried to catch up.
She saw what had stopped them.
A thick wall of mist was several blocks in front of them. The mist rose up at least five stories judging by the buildings it had enveloped.
Staring at it made her sick to her stomach. She saw them in the mist. The same eyes. It forced her to look away.
“I can feel magic.” Jake held up a smartphone toward the mist. “Give me a second… scanning.”
“What is it, Gates? You’re looking a little green,” Detective Ordonez said.
“Makes me sick to look at it.”
Numbers and letters scrolled across the surface of Jake’s smartphone. Detective Ordonez couldn’t understand them.
“Yeah, definitely magical in nature,” Jake said.
“No shit. No mist this morning. Sun was out all day.”
The driver of the lead car rolled down her window. “Do we go through? Or find another way?”
Detective Ordonez chewed the inside of her cheek as she watched the setting sun to the west. Nightfall was minutes away. She had a feeling that things would get worse for them if they were still in cultist territory at that point.
“Um… boss?” Jake gingerly tapped the detective’s arm.
Detective Ordonez blinked. Night had fallen. She had been in the grip of her Skills trying to find the best path. She was unsuccessful.
“So… what’s the plan?” Jake spoke with forced lightness.
Detective Ordonez didn’t have a good one.
A man cleared his throat.
Weapons swung as one toward an alley to their left.
A tall man, skinny like a scarecrow stepped out of the shadows with hands raised. “I don’t know if you remember me, bu—”
“Bennett.” Detective Ordonez recognized him immediately from their shared experience with the Midtown Mauler, Flo, the thought brought a pang of pain, so she buried it. “I heard you’ve been missing for about two years now.” She watched him through the dual lenses of her Skills and skills. He stood with more confidence, but seemed to be the genuine article. Though, one never knew with spires bullshit.
“Yeah. What was supposed to be a one night, maybe two, thing turned into a whole ordeal.” Bennett looked around nervously. “Listen, I’ll tell you all about it, but we need to get off the street. You don’t want to be out. Especially not this close to that.” He pointed at the wall of mist that seemed to be flowing closer to their position. “You’ve got injured. We can get them patched up.”
“We?”
“There’s a resistance.”
----------------------------------------
Veronica stood outside the interrogation room. Her right hand clenched around her staff. Her left around Tessa’s kanabo. She had refused to sit down.
Her mind drifted back to what she and her Aunt Nila found when they had reached the place where she had left Tessa behind.
A dead giant monster and dead fishmen.
The only sign of Tessa was her bloody weapon.
Veronica had wanted to go after the stupid fish cult right away.
Aunt Nila convinced her. And by ‘convinced’, Aunt Nila grabbed Veronica’s arm in a vise-like grip and practically dragged her back all the way to the watch headquarters.
“Your sister will be fine,” Gene said.
“Yeah, she’s a badass. Probably gonna smash those fools,” Johnny added
Veronica ground her teeth. She was wasting time waiting around while people talked about what to do. She knew what to do go. Go to the fish cult and smash them with the fists of justice. Her fists.
Being surrounded by idiots made it even worse.
“Guys, back off, give her space!” Mads snapped at the young men.
Idiots, except for Mads, she was cool.
Everyone else moved down the hall a bit, close, but not too close.
Veronica pictured zapping all the cultists and fishmen. Really destroying their brains. Then she’d hit them with her staff and Tessa’s kanabo until they were all the way dead.
Veronica’s head snapped to the door. She had heard the handle turn before her mother appeared.
“Oh, my baby,” Megan hugged her.
Veronica stood stiffly. She wasn’t going to cry. Not while her sister was in trouble.
“Let’s go already,” Veronica said.
“Soon,” Nila said as she patted Veronica on the head.
Veronica frowned.
“We need to wait for sunrise. Won’t see the wyverns coming in the dark.”
“I can see them,” Veronica challenged.
“You can see them better when there’s light,” Nila said flatly.
Watch Commander Lawrence came out last. “God, I need a shower after talking to that psycho.” She gestured toward two watch members waiting nearby. “Take her to the holding cell.”
The cultist woman looked pale and drawn. The tentacles she had sprouted from her back had been chopped off. Whether they’d grow back or replaced in another way was an open question.
The cultist looked at Veronica as she was dragged by.
Veronica felt a shiver go up her back. It felt as if there was something else looking at her through the cultist’s eyes.
“You sure about this?” Watch Commander Lawrence turned to Megan and Nila. “We haven’t gotten word from Remy or Hanna. Sacramento hasn’t either, but that’s not a surprise with whatever it is the cult is doing to block our communications.”
“We can’t wait. We’re getting my daughter back,” Megan said.
“Alright, I can’t go with you and we’re shorthanded as it is. I can spare those guys,” Watch Commander Lawrence jabbed a thumb toward Mads and they boys, “if they’re willing. And maybe a couple of others. All volunteer of course. I can’t order them to go into the most danger they’ve ever faced. You understand?”
“We just need an SUV. Any other help would be a bonus.” Nila’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“You’ve got it,” Watch Commander Lawrence grunted, “I’ll authorize emergency ammo. I’m putting my people in your hands, Chen. Don’t waste their lives.”
The watch commander left without further word.
“I’ll ask the kids if they want in,” Nila said. Leaving Veronica and her mother.
“Mom, what’s the plan? It sounds like you guys already have one.”
“Demi has some kind of interrogation Skill. We know where the cult keeps the people they kidnap. We’re hoping that we can catch up to your father and he can help us get Tessa back, along with the others.”
“What if we can’t?”
“Your father will have smashed through their defenses. Nila thinks that since the cult will be too busy trying to stop your father then we can sneak in. I’m not too clear on how this sort of thing works.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Veronica saw the shape of the plan. She nodded.
“We’ll get Tessa back before they can do anything bad,” Veronica comforted her mother.
----------------------------------------
Hanna walked down a surprisingly crowded street. She had a plastic storage case in one hand and an easel carrying bag over one shoulder. She felt vulnerable in just designer jeans and a shirt. The armor had to go since she needed to blend in. She had left the pieces along with her greatsword hidden in the abandoned clothing boutique where she got the clothes. The thought brought a scowl to her face. The idea that she had to trade her gear for clothing she’d normally disdain was irksome.
A handsome young man smiled at her as he walked the opposite way.
Hanna almost bared her teeth at him.
She was on edge. Alone in enemy territory was not how she had envisioned spending the last day and a half. Fighting wasn’t an option. Escape was even less likely. She didn’t have a lot of options left.
Paint and brushes jingled in the case as Hanna jostled her way through a tight cluster of people waiting outside a restaurant. She had taken the time to partially empty each tube of paint before tossing it into the case. She also rubbed a bit of paint on some of the brushes. It’d pass a cursory check.
The easel bag over her shoulder was another matter. The second one looked inside her game was up. The longsword was unmistakable.
Leaving her greatsword behind was one thing, even if it did hurt like choosing which child to leave on a sinking ship.
However, there was no way she was going to go willingly unarmed. Live or die, she’d do it with a blade in hand.
She tightened her hold on the comforting weight over her shoulder.
The scenes she passed were surreal.
People ate at sidewalk cafes. Browsed through shops. There was even a damn yoga studio. Men, women and children went about their day without an apparent care in the world. There were babies in strollers. A rarity back in Davis and Sacramento. She even saw a couple of dogs on leashes.
It was as if the apocalypse that started ten years ago was already over for San Francisco. The only sign was that at least a majority of the people carried a weapon and there were armed guards at every open establishment.
The latter, along with the armed men and women patrolling the street and stationed at corners made Hanna’s heart race faster whenever their eyes fell on her.
Hanna eventually made her way out of the busiest streets and into a quieter area. Shuttered buildings, but no sign of monsters. On the surface the cult was doing a good job running their city. She wondered how much sacrifice it took and if it was human. Did the people enjoying their safety know?
Hanna tensed as she approached an open alley on her left. She widened her route and stepped out onto the street. No cars meant she didn’t have to stay on the sidewalk. She quickly scanned the alley as she walked by. Nothing.
The next building’s signage was for a boutique real estate agency. Whatever the fuck that meant?
Hanna got back on the sidewalk. She didn’t want to spend all her time out in the open.
The door snapped open.
Hanna threw the storage case at the dark shape and had already slipped her hand around the grip of her sword when she was bodily pulled into the dark office.
She drew her sword as she turned being thrown to the ground into a smooth roll. She came up ready to strike.
“Wow! That was pretty awesome! So smooth!” a blond, young woman smiled brightly.
“Wait. We don’t want to fight,” the same Japanese woman from the foundry said. Her flinty eyes bore into Hanna’s.
“What do you want then?” Hanna leveled her blade.
“We’re not okay with human trafficking,” the blond woman said.
“Anyone violating girls and women are on my kill list,” the Japanese woman snarled.
Hanna considered her options. These two were weredogs. She didn’t like her chances in a two on one.
“Okay.”
“Great! I’m Karen, please call me Kare, like care.” The blond woman smiled and held out a hand.
“Rino.” The Japanese woman’s eyes remained hard.
“Hanna.”
What choice did Hanna have?
----------------------------------------
Remy awoke to an old woman smiling kindly down on him from her chair. She wore a strange robe of the deepest, darkest blue. Its surface seemed to move and undulate like ocean waves. He felt wrong just looking at it. He forced his eyes to focus on the old woman’s face.
“I apologize for the unpleasantness. Unfortunately, our disagreements neces—”
The woman didn’t have time to scream.
Remy was up off the bed and had her pinned to the wall with his hand around her neck before she blinked. Her toes scraped the floor as she struggled to find purchase and take the pressure off her neck.
“Disagreements?” Remy growled. “That’s a ridiculous way to refer to open warfare. I’m going to loosen my grip just enough so that you can tell me what I want to know. I just want to remind you that a squeeze and a twist of my hand will end you if I even think you’re about to cast a spell.”
The old woman choked.
“Blink twice if you understand.”
The old woman complied
Remy did as he promised.
“Your daughter!” The old woman gasped.
Remy’s hand twitched.
The old woman whimpered. Tears trickled out the corner of her eyes.
“Go on,” Remy ground out. He was teetering on the edge of blind rage, but he held back.
“We have your daughter. The oldest one. Her safety is contingent on your cooperation.” The old woman looked him square in the eyes. “Let me go or else she will suffer a fate worse than death.”
Remy glared, but relinquished his grip. He stayed standing where he was. Almost nose to nose with the old woman.
The old woman edged past him and moved to the door.
“You are not in control here. I had hoped for an amicable arrangement, but it seems you need time to accept your proper place.”
“If you do anything to Tessa,” Remy said flatly, “I will kill all of you.”
“Her fate rests entirely in your hands. Cooperate to our satisfaction and we will let her go free… if she desires. You might find that she’d rather live here. We are the shining city by the bay after all.”
“What do you want then?”
“Later. I’ve come to you too soon. Perhaps a good night’s sleep will find you in a more amenable mood.”
The woman left and shut the door. She didn’t bother locking it. He doubted that they could’ve kept him in one place if he didn’t want to stay. They’d managed to chain him another way. Tessa. His baby. Dark thoughts flashed through his mind. What happened to Megan and Veronica? What fate was in store for Tessa?
A chime sounded in his head. He ignored it. He had enough of the spires.
He sat back down on the bed. He wasn’t planning on sleeping. He could go days without it.
Remy’s head hit the pillow twenty minutes later.
He dreamed of an eternal ocean. Impossibly deep and dark. The waves and currents spoke incomprehensible things. At the center was an immense whirlpool that stretched out to infinity.
He fought the currents.
Regardless, they drew him in.
----------------------------------------
Now, Threnosh World
Frequency stared at the holographic projections floating in the center of their research chamber. Graphs, charts along with their own notes affixed where applicable.
Their helmet was retracted and revealed standard Threnosh features aside from an uneven gray skin tones and ear holes covered by a thin layer of skin. Thus, they were deemed Defective upon their birth from their creche.
The word had lost all power and meaning for Frequency. They had purpose. They had fought and defeated monsters that only primes and elites dared face. They had proved themselves worthy.
Frequency was deaf. It was only through their power armor that they could hear.
Thus it was a bit of a paradox that they sought silence in the middle of the problem only they could solve.
The truth was that the strange sounds that permeated Orchestral Meridian were difficult to listen to once they were isolated from all ambient noise. They made Frequency uncomfortable in a way that they couldn’t comprehend. Sounds were just waves in the air, vibrations. There was science to them, yet all their auditory protections failed.
Honor had strongly suggested that there were things beyond science.
Was this an example?
The reports noted an unknown organism of humanoid shape, if not size. Salamander had come to the conclusion that this organism was involved in Honor’s disappearance.
The readings they had taken indicated a definite connection between the unidentified sound and the organism. Now, the question that Frequency sought to answer was whether it was the source or a mere conduit. They had several ideas on how to counteract or neutralize the sound and they relied on an accurate answer.
Frequency was close. They had spent many months solely focused on this most vital of Tasks. Success meant finding Honor, PJ15 and Brightstrike, not to mention the Universal Points.
“I need more points.” Frequency’s speaking ability had come a long way over the last several years. There was no longer a noticeable impediment.
The audio inputs in their power armor picked up the vibrations of approaching steps out in the corridor and turned it into tactile sensations imparted on their body.
“Helmet on,” Frequency said. Their helmet smoothly slid into place and enclosed their head. They rejoined the world of sound. So vibrant and so full. A small smile quirked the sides of their lipless mouth.
The door slid open with an almost imperceptible hiss. Frequency heard it clearly.
“Subcommander Solemn Coast 963. What news?”
“Prime Custodian 3 has authorized your request.”
“Good.” Frequency needed points. The quickest way was to defeat one of the secret bosses in the zones they controlled. The only problem had been the inexperience of the current crop of special candidates. Without Honor or experienced T-Men to babysit, as Honor had called it, the task was too dangerous for the newbs.
“My squad will provide assistance,” Subcommander Solemn Coast 963 said without expression.
“The experimental weapons along with my presence will create a high probability of success,” Frequency said. “The newbs have been progressing well. They will perform up to our standards.
“Acknowledged.”
Frequency’s auditory systems were more sensitive than perhaps anything else in the Threnosh world. The subcommander’s words were spoken without expression, as was the way of standard Threnosh.
Frequency still detected concern in the subcommander’s voice.
“Trust in our gear and training,” Frequency said.
The subcommander saluted and departed the chamber.
Frequency returned to their research. They were close. They just needed a few more things from the spire.
----------------------------------------
Caretaker wasn’t upset. Not exactly. At least that was what they repeated in their head.
Their request to wind down their involvement in Cold Plains City had been denied by Prime Custodian 3. Only Whoosh had been allowed to join the operation in Orchestral Meridian.
Caretaker had much rather taken control of the search for Honor, PJ15 and Brightstrike.
As it was the prime tasked them with acting as the liaison to General Zanya as they tried to establish a workable plan for the cragants to perform their desires as mercenaries. An unfamiliar word to the Threnosh. Honor would’ve been a useful resource in this matter.
They also needed to locate Shira. There were signs that their teammate didn’t perish against Zalthyss. The signs were concerning. More to the point something must’ve been wrong for Shira to not simply report back to base.
Be that as it may, Caretaker would’ve trusted Kynnro and Dralig to lead the team in the search.
The door to Caretaker’s command space slid open.
“Yes?”
“Threnosh command has rejected Malendrax’s and Silver Wolf’s biological body for re-purposing. They also rejected their trueskins,” Kynnro said.
It had not occurred to Caretaker that their Defective status would hold even in death. Perhaps it should have.
“Did command provide guidelines for their disposal?”
A slight frown creased Kynnro’s smooth brow. “You have jurisdiction in this matter.”
Caretaker sensed that Kynnro was upset. They didn’t quite understand, so they did what Honor taught and looked inward to listen to the voice in their head.
Malendrax and Silver Wolf had been good teammates and subordinates. They fought well and without hesitation. They obeyed orders to the best of their abilities. They fought side by side with Caretaker. They died pursuing Caretaker’s plans. They died so that the Task could be completed successfully. They died for their team.
Caretaker followed this chain of thought with amazing rapidity.
“Their existence must be remembered,” Caretaker said. Though they were at a loss as to how that could be accomplished. Their predictive algorithm was silent on the matter.
“I do not know, but I know something must be done. I would ask Honor for his thoughts when we recover him,” Kynnro said.
“Meanwhile we can preserve their bodies and store their trueskins,” Caretaker said.
“I will see it done before I depart to join the team at Orchestral Meridian,” Kynnro said flatly.
Caretaker’s eyes widened an imperceptible amount for a split-second. Such was their surprise. They had not given any orders to that effect. “You are not assigned to Orchestral Meridian.”
Kynnro’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Frequency will need my support.”
“Your presence is better served locating Shira.”
“I believe that Shira will return when they are done with whatever Task they are on.”
“Negative. We do not know the truth of the situation. Probabilities dictate an active, aggressive search,” Caretaker said. Their predictive algorithm had been adamant on this.
Kynnro was silent.
Caretaker looked on without expression.
“Acknowledged.”
Kynnro left the chamber and left Caretaker to their plans.
----------------------------------------
Then, Threnosh World
The insects secreted an acidic gel that ate through PJ15’s wings. Hundreds of small holes became bigger as the wind whipped through them.
The only positive thing was that the insects expired upon releasing the substance from their abdomen.
PJ15’s flight still grew unstable.
“We must get closer to the ground,” Brightstrike said into the comms. “Before we crash.”
External speech was difficult if not impossible at their current height.
“I concur,” PJ15 replied. They angled themselves down and shut off their boot jets.
They wobbled down an immense artificial canyon. Empty structures filled both sides.
When applicable Threnosh built their cities to make use of every space, vertical as well as horizontal. The canyon was one of the main arteries that allowed their aerial vehicles and drones to reach the sublevels.
PJ15 and Brightstrike were terribly small against the gaping black void.
“Wings are losing coherence. I cannot re-form them while in flight. We must land soon.”
“There,” Brightstrike pointed to a large opening to their left, illuminated in enhanced vision mode.
PJ15’s landing was rough. Their wings gave out with about twenty meters to the landing platform. Fortunately they had enough momentum to barely make it.
They threw Brightstrike at the last moment. Before hitting the metallic surface hard and sliding across on their front.
Brightstrike rolled with the landing and emerged with less damage.
PJ15 rose on wobbly legs. “Troubling,” they said as they processed the assessment their power armor fed into their faceplate. “This will take time to repair.”
Brightstrike had their own problems. Their power armor had already been damaged from the fight with the Inheritors. “Your trueskin repairs itself. I do not have the same option. We will need to find a maintenance bay to bring me up to minimum combat standard.”
“Perhaps we should avoid combat. Our goal must be to return and bring word of Honor’s fate,” PJ15 said.
“Agreed. However, I expect that our enemies will pursue.”
They took a moment to consult the map of Orchestral Meridian uploaded into their systems.
“We are many levels down and many kilometers away from our foothold,” Brightstrike said. “There is a lot of area for more corrupted and Inheritors to ambush or chase us down.” They projected a small three dimensional image of their surrounding area from their gauntlet. “These are the nearest maintenance facilities. Repairs first. The longer we wait the probability of an encounter with the enemy increases.”
“Acknowledged. It is unfortunate that there are no drone manufacturing facilities or drone stations in this section. Supplementing our weaponry would increase our success rate,” PJ15 said.
Brightstrike looked at the indicator for their power armor’s weapon energy stores. It was blinking red. “Inferior weaponry will not be necessary once we locate a recharging station.”
PJ15 didn’t share their concerns. They were junior to Brightstrike. The more experienced one took command unless otherwise directed by one higher in the chain of command.
PJ15 wasn’t certain that they’d find the repair facilities functional. Even if they did the technology was nearly ten years old. The facilities they had reclaimed on the surface of the city had to be upgraded to make them compatible with their spire-made equipment. Hardware and software were both issues.
At the least they knew that the recharging stations worked without issue. They’d need Brightstrike’s hard light weapons if they encountered enemies.
“That one is the closest,” PJ15 pointed to one of the repair facilities on the map.
“Let us go. We cannot waste time,” Brightstrike said.
PJ15 led the way as they walked deeper into the pitch black depths of the city. Brightstrike limped behind.
Orchestral Meridian was once an exemplar among the cities of the Threnosh. Now it was a dead place of monsters and worse things.
A loud chime sounded.
Only the two Threnosh heard it.
----------------------------------------
Now, Threnosh World
Mother’s song was everywhere. It flowed through everything.
Until a discordant note suddenly disrupted it for an instant.
Cal woke up.