In the end it turned out it wasn’t particularly hard to find one’s way in the subterranean caves, as the walls around Soketsu were literally marked at regular intervals with signs pointing towards his destination. They even provided him lighting in the form of luminescent rods stuck to the wall over said markings.

[Soketsu]: "Awfully considerate of them."

[Kay]: "You don’t hear me complaining. It’s better than stumbling around in the dark."

[Soketsu]: "A fair point."

After almost forty minutes of wandering in the dimly-lit caverns (the scaffolding suggested they might once have been part of a mining shaft), he finally reached the end of the tunnels. In the natural cave walls stood a huge metal door.

[Kay]: "Now look at that…" Her partner spoke with an awed voice in his head, and he couldn’t blame her.

The door was almost three times as tall as him and its surface was polished clear like a mirror. He had never seen anything like it before, and for a few moments he was honestly baffled by the unexpected sight.

He had little to no time to marvel however, as the moment he got close to the entrance a bone-rattling noise shook the still air of the cavern as another quake ran through the ground under him.

He steadied his footing as the enormous metal door began to move. Huge, rune-like marks flashed in various colors and shapes underneath its seemingly solid metal surface, filling the cavernous chamber with a breath-taking play of light as the gigantic gate’s wings slowly swung open.

The other side of the gateway produced yet another unlikely sight to add to the chain of already baffling vistas. At this point Soketsu has gotten to the point where it only stopped him on his tracks for a moment.

There were rows upon rows of heavy machinery he couldn’t recognize, connected by an intricate system of conveyor belts and arranged in orderly rows under pale white neon lights. At first glance it seemed like one of the factories of old times, from before the Devastation, except that the place seemed way too clean for a three hundred years old construction.

[Kay]: "Soketsu… I think we might have stumbled onto something big."

[Soketsu]: "… Yeah"

It was the only response Soketsu could muster to his partner’s worried words. He took one final breath and crossed the threshold with a bold stride. As he did so the great wings of the metal gate behind him began moving again. For a short moment he considered whether getting locked in an unknown area like this was a good idea, but his train of thought was cut short by a nearby voice.

??????: "Welcome to m-SKREEEEEChhh!!!"

[Kay]: "Kyaaah!"

Kay cried out in surprise and Soketsu instinctively swung his weapon towards the source of the voice in response without even thinking. In retrospect he actually felt a little silly about it, but in the heat of the moment such thoughts would have been a potentially lethal distraction. The blade of his halberd bit deeply into something and he could feel it crashing to the ground.

[Kay]: "Wha… What was that?! It startled me!"

[Soketsu]: "Focus." The man chided his partner with a single word. "We can’t have you distracting me like that."

[Kay]: "Sorry, I was just…"

While the girl mumbled her excuses Soketsu quickly surveyed the area before focusing on whatever spoke to them a moment ago. It was obvious he didn’t hit a person; he was all too familiar with the grotesque sound of cleaving someone and this sounded nothing like it, but he was still more than a little surprised by the thing lying in front of him. On first glance it seemed nothing more than a big, semi-transparent slab of glass. On closer inspection he quickly realized that it was made of some kind of exotic plastic and underneath its broken exterior he could see the remnants of something that vaguely looked like integrated circuitry, except it was seemingly etched into the glass and it sparkled like diamonds for a few seconds, then it became dull like the rest of the panel.

He had never seen anything like that. He couldn’t even recall any stories about such pre-Devastation tech. The closest match would have been the things called ‘television screen’, but he had no idea why one would be lying around like that. As he further thought about he could feel a pang of regret at the back of his mind. He might have just destroyed some still functioning pre-Devastation technology. The scholars at the Order would fray his skin if they learned of this.

On a whim he reached down to touch the unusual piece of technology but his fingers were retracted before they could get even halfway there. There was another voice. Or rather the same voice but from a different direction.

??????: "That was absolutely uncalled for. Not to mention rude. Also, wasteful. Do you even have any idea how much one of those panels costs?"

As he turned towards the speaker he found himself face to face with another screen. It was floating in the air like it was the most natural thing to do with a familiar face looking down at him from its polished surface. The image was so crisp and lifelike that if he couldn’t see that there was no body attached to the head, he would have thought he was looking at the real man behind a window.

From the little he could see, Soketsu figured the man was fairly thin, though not to the point of being gaunt. He had a well-groomed appearance and his chestnut hair looked like it was recently cut and styled by a professional hairdresser. He wore a pair of wireframe glasses on his nose, and combined with the faint laugh-lines on his still youthful face it gave the man an air of affability.

The fact that Soketsu could even tell these details spoke volumes about the image quality and for a second Soketsu couldn’t help but marvel at the screen. He had seen the scavenged technology of the scribes and had ventured into pre-Devastation ruins as part of his duties, so he was exposed to more old technology that most, and at times like this he couldn’t help but mourn the wonders humanity lost three hundred years ago.

He didn’t dwell on it for long though. With a twitch he inclined his head and directed a not-at-all amicable smile at the speaker.

Soketsu: "… Pabloc, I presume?" He spoke while rising to his feet from beside the broken panel. His body language might have seemed relaxed, but his expression was focused and his eye periodically swept the factory floor for other threats even as he faced the rogue scientist’s image.

Pabloc’s lips slowly curved into an affable smile. It looked natural on him. He brushed away a tuft of his mid-long hair from the front of his glasses as he finally answered with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Pabloc: "Indeed, it is I. It has been a long time since we last met, Soketsu."

Soketsu: "…?"

[Kay]: "Wait, you know him?"

[Soketsu]: "No."

[Kay]: "But he knows you."

[Soketsu]: "It seems so."

[Kay]: "Is he your long lost brother? Separated at birth due to tragic circumstances and reunited on different sides of a conflict?"

[Soketsu]: "... You have been reading too many bad novels lately."

[Kay]: "Boo."

Soketsu took a deep breath and made an effort to uphold his polite façade.

Soketsu: "Excuse me, but have we met before?"

The scientist on the other side broke into a mellow smile while fidgeting with the collar of his white lab coat.

Pabloc: "You could say that, though it would be somewhat inaccurate. I am afraid it is a fairly long and complicated story," After a moment of thinking, he continued with a more casual tone. "Before you ask, yes, I really do mean that, I am not just trying to sound mysterious. It really is a long story and I reckon it would get uncomfortable for both of us if we tried to discuss it at blade-point. How about you put that pointy stick aside so we may sit down and talk things over like reasonable adults? I have tea and cookies."

[Kay]: "Hey! Who are you calling a pointy stick you… you four-eyed weirdo!"

[Soketsu]: "You know he cannot hear you, right?"

[Kay]: "I don’t care!"

Soketsu quietly chided his partner and turned his attention back to the screen.

Soketsu: "Sadly, I cannot do that. I have my orders and I cannot just stand down and engage in idle chatter," He paused for a moment and then added, "More idle chatter, I mean. However, if you really want to talk, surrender yourself and we may do so on the way back to the Cathedral."

Pabloc: "That would be… inconvenient. For both of us," The runaway scientist told him in response, and Soketsu couldn’t help but feel what he was sincere. Or at the very least he believed what he said. After a moment he continued, "How about just a temporary cease-fire? Just until you hear me out?"

Soketsu: "I’m afraid that is impossible. Even this discussion is more than I would usually allow. I have my orders and I intend to follow them without any further delay."

For a few tense seconds, the scientist stared right into Soketsu’s eye from the other side of the screen. In the end he let out a surprisingly disappointed sigh and shook his head.

Pabloc: "Too bad. I hoped to prove our resident clairvoyant wrong and settle this peacefully, but I guess I really cannot go against those pesky predictions. I hate to resort to violence, but..." The bespectacled man abruptly flashed an amused smile at Soketsu and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, what else can I do? Have fun."

With that said, the screen suddenly swung back with an audible ‘whoosh’. Soketsu tried to reach out towards it by reflex but he was suddenly hit by a spike of anxiety before he could utter another word.

Danger. Maybe it was a small shadow flickering on the edge of his vision, or a barely audible noise in the spacious hall, yet it felt like a sharp needle hitting his temple and he instinctively rolled to the left. It was but an unconditional reflex etched into his very subconscious by countless encounters with danger… but it was proven right once again.

[Kay]: "Kyaaah!"

He just barely got back on his feet when the air around him burst with the sounds of metal grinding on concrete. He could also feel the wave of displaced air hitting his temple and he immediately jumped back and distanced himself from the site.

[Soketsu]: "Ugh… What did I say about screaming in my head?"

[Kay]: "It wasn’t my fault! Tell the guy to stop startling me!"

Soketsu shook his head. Once he got over the first moment of shock he focused his attention upon the spot where he stood a second ago and he could immediately make out two silhouettes rising to their feet. They appeared human; though only from the corner of his eyes.

On closer inspection a number of things became much more apparent. First off, his attackers were vaguely humanoid figures painted red and blue respectively, each wielding two strangely shaped curved weapons that seemed too thick and blunt to be called ‘blades’. Their resemblance of humans was only superficial at best; they had wide shoulders and chests covered in metal plates angled to deflect incoming strikes. Their limbs on the other hand seemed almost comically thin in comparison, though their shins and forearms (or at least what would have been the shins and forearms of a human) bore the same armoring as their chest. They didn’t have hands, instead they had their weapons grafted onto their arms with a large ball-joint and they had reverse-jointed legs ending in bulky, three-toed feet.

However, most strikingly, they had no heads whatsoever. Instead they had three glass lenses where the nape of a human neck was supposed to be and Soketsu could almost feel their mechanical stares on his skin. When they fully rose to their feet they were only a little taller than him, so around two meters at most, but that was without a head so they appeared much bigger overall.

Even under the circumstances Soketsu had to admit he was downright awestruck for a moment. He had heard of humanoid machines from before the Devastation but he had never seen a working one, let alone two that moved with such fluid motions.

[Soketsu]: "I have to say, I really wasn’t expecting things to develop this way."

[Kay]: "Yeah, me neither." Kay paused, though since communicating in the mind-crossing was near-instantaneous, the time interval was purely subjective. "Do you think we would get a reward from the scribes if we brought one home?"

[Soketsu]: "Reward? What do you have in mind?"

[Kay]: "Books?"

[Soketsu]: "Go figure…"

In the meantime the newcomers theatrically whirled their blades. Their unnaturally swift and precise motions were accompanied by an eclectic series of buzzes, screeches and whirrs. Finally they stepped back in mirror unison to let the floating screen forth. Pabloc’s image positively beamed at Soketsu and gave two nods towards the mechanical warriors like he was in the room with them.

Pabloc: "Allow me to introduce you to Mr. Red and Mr. Blue, our security guards prepared specifically for you."

The Rover looked up at the scientist on the screen with a wry smile.

Soketsu: "Red and Blue? Really? Do you also happen to have a pet called ‘Mr. Cat’?"

For a second the scientist looked at him with a blank expression and then he suddenly snickered with a small and somewhat affectionate smile.

Pabloc: "That actually was not half bad as snide comments go. You have grown slightly more personable I see. Good. Now I am actually looking forward to our future discussions. I am sure they are going to be much livelier than they used to be…" The scientist sent another small smile towards Soketsu through the floating screen, though he got no response from him. "Still, we better get started. We do not have all day after all. See you later, one way or the other."

Soketsu readied himself and his opponents locked their mechanical gazes on him at the same time. For a second or two the air was filled with tension as the two mechanized swordsmen lowered their stances for what Soketsu was quite certain was going to be a predatory lunge. This also gave him ample time to consider his environment one last time.

While he was talking with the scientist, or rather while Pabloc was talking to him, Soketsu used the opportunity to make a quick mental map of the factory floor. There were three rows of machines in the hall, all of them connected by a web of stable-looking conveyor-belts running at hip-level. He was certain he could easily vault over them if the need arose, though he was also reasonably certain his opponents could do the same as well.

The huge industrial machines, which seemed to be individual stations of some sort of metal-working process, were large and firm enough to provide solid cover to hide behind. Of course that also meant that there was no guarantee they didn’t hide more enemies, but he decided to cross that hypothetical bridge when he got there. His primary concern was undoubtedly the two colored attackers he already knew about.

[Soketsu]: "We are going on the offensive. Increase the flow rate a little."

[Kay]: "Roger."

Soketsu smiled inwardly. His partner’s answer was curt and tense, but he could also feel the unwavering confidence she had in him. It made him feel lighter. Or maybe it was the extra viridian in his veins. One or the other.

He raised his weapon and charged. Kay’s halberd form was relatively short as pole-arms went, only about a meter and a half from the spearhead on the business end to sharpened thrusting tip on the butt, but it still had the superior reach compared to his opponents’ single-edged sabers.

If he only had to keep one of them at bay he would have had no trouble at all. Since there were two of them, said option was out of the question from the get-go and Soketsu decided on a more aggressive approach. His body subtly flushed with viridia as he threw himself at his opponents, focusing all his attention on the red one. While the two mechanical assailants were both inhumanly fast, the blue one appeared to be a half-step slower, just enough for Soketsu to get a few pot-shots at his companion before he could have closed in to back it up. In theory, at least.

Soketsu rushed ahead and pulled his weapon back for a ferocious thrust. Just as he was about to launch his first assault his eyes widened. The blue machine, which was a step behind its comrade a moment before, suddenly lunged forward and raised its right blade.

In a split-second decision Soketsu darted to the left, barely managing to get out of range of the vicious swing coming his way. Doing so however opened his side up for a counter-attack by his original target. The red one spun around and delivered a lightning-fast roundhouse-kick that should have completely unbalanced any human performing it. On the mechanical creature it looked downright graceful. Its three-toed feet connected with a metallic clang and it dug right into the solar plexus of the Rover.

The impact drove the air out of his lungs in a painful gasp but he jumped with the strike and so he avoided the worst of it. On the other hand it sent him all but flying and he tumbled over one of the nearby conveyor belts. He somehow managed to roll on landing more by chance than skill and got onto his feet on the other side a split-second later.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He let out a small curse under his breath and pointed his weapon against his opponents once again. His viridia-enhanced body was much tougher than that of a normal human’s, and while the ballistic mesh he wore under his outer garments wasn’t designed against hydraulic kicks, it still provided enough padding to blunt the worst of the damage.

[Kay]: "Are you all right?"

[Soketsu]: "Yeah…" The man spat on the ground and took a step back as the two automatons vaulted over the same conveyor belt with almost contemptuous ease. "I walked into that one."

He reined in the urge to curse again and instead just glared at the incoming attackers. He underestimated them and he pretty much gave them the first strike on a silver platter. He misjudged their speed and because of that—

At this point he froze mid thought as a chill ran down his spine. The two mechanical swordsmen walked towards him at a brisk pace, exactly in the same formation as the first time. Just like before, the blue one lagged behind its red companion by no more than a half-step, as if showing off.

Soketsu: "Son of a—!" He muttered under his breath as the realization dawned on him.

[Kay]: "What? What happened?"

Soketsu ignored his partner’s surprised questions for the time being and grit his teeth. He didn’t just underestimate them; they actively drew him into a trap by pretending one of them was slower than the other. These bloody things used tactics! Well, they were trying to use the same tactics again, so they couldn’t be that clever, but the ache in his ribs served as a sharp reminder to never underestimate them again.

He took a deep breath and lunged at his opponents again, vaulting over the same conveyor belt he flew over with a single leap. This time he didn’t rush in, only delivering a light thrust towards the red machine. As expected, the blue one spun into action again, raising its twin blades in unison. This time Soketsu was prepared, as he raised his own weapon in kind and caught both of the swinging blades on the staff of the halberd.

The machine was strong. Incredibly strong. On the other hand Soketsu wasn’t exactly a light-weight either, and he had enough viridia in his system to throw back his assailant before it could slide his blades down the shaft. It was for the best. While he was confident the gauntlets he was wearing could save his fingers in case his usual opponents were to try such tactics, he wasn’t so sure they would serve quite as well against these metallic monstrosities.

Either way, he was in no mood to test their craftsmanship under the circumstances, so he pressed on while his opponent was thrown off-balance. He swung his halberd, striking the reverse-joint in the left leg of the blue automaton with the butt end of his weapon while simultaneously placing it in position to guard against the follow-up from its red twin. The impact of the strike reverberated up the shaft and into his shoulder like he was hitting a solid wall, but it worked. The blue mechanical swordsman lost its balance and fell to one knee; though because of the way their legs worked it looked like the thing just fell onto its ass.

For a moment he wondered whether he should focus on the incapacitated foe after all, finishing it off while the opportunity was open. Unfortunately he had no chance to follow up on the idea as the red automation crossed its blades in front of itself as it charged in with a bull-rush. Using the flats of the blades as leverage it pushed Soketsu a good ten meters along the conveyor belt.

The man’s smile twisted into a ferocious grin in response. His goal was to separate the two attackers, even if for just a moment, so he had no objection to the situation. After bracing himself he pushed back against the assault and then immediately turned to the side and guided the still rushing automaton past himself and into one of the largest assemblers in the factory.

For the first time the mechanical swordsman let out a noise that somehow sounded like the frustrated howl of a beast even though Soketsu was certain it was only the groaning of metal grinding against metal. He took a half-step back and swung the head of his weapon against his momentarily disoriented foe. The blade bit into the armor just over the mechanized warrior’s cluster of visual sensors but it didn’t seem to get deep enough to actually penetrate it.

The Rover angrily clicked his tongue and took a step back, trying to increase the distance in order to take advantage of his longer reach, but the automaton seemingly read his intent and charged at him again, using one blade to push him while the other was drawn back to deliver a quick jab at a moment’s notice. Soketsu dodged the first such attempt, though the back of the saber nearly caught his ear on the back-draw.

In any other fight he would have welcomed an enemy rushing at him like that. It wasn’t the first time his opponent tried to use his own reach against him, and over the years he developed quite an array of countermeasures. Sadly most of them were not applicable against half ton metal monstrosities. Oh well, that just meant it was time to improvise…

Soketsu dodged one more of the jabs aimed at his head. Just as it sailed past his temple he eased his resistance against the red machine’s advance and simultaneously let go of his halberd with his right hand, only to immediately clench it into a fist.

[Soketsu]: "Extra viridian into my right!" He barked the silent order,

[Kay]: "Already on it!" Came the immediate answer at the same time as a new flow of power entered his limb.

With an ear piercing war cry he raised his plated fist and slammed it right into the glass lenses at the base of the automaton’s nonexistent neck. Then again, and again, each strike punctuated with one more howl of fury. On the third strike something snapped and the metal warrior let out a chirping sound as it jumped back. One of its lenses was cracked into an opaque mess and another was half-covered by a warped piece of its own outer casing.

Soketsu bellowed another war cry and charged the retreating opponent. It has been ages since he felt so exhilarated in a fight and he chased after the fleeing foe with the fury of a hungry war-hound. Then he suddenly froze. Something was amiss. It was big and blue.

The man’s eyes opened wide as he realized that he was so absorbed with his close-quarters struggle against the red automaton that he completely forgot about its twin. A quick glance to the side immediately told him that it wasn’t where he left it and he could already feel the warning prick on his temple.

Soketsu: "(Behind me…!)"

He threw himself to the side and swung his weapon at knee-level, hoping to strike his opponent at its already weakened joint, and it would have surely did so… if there was anyone there.

Still, the call didn’t go completely amiss. As he turned his head he caught one of the heavy industrial machines in the corner of his eye and he quickly realized that there was something wrong with it. Then the ‘wrong’ part kicked off from the top of the assembler and dived right at him, its dull, heavy blades scything in a wide arc like the claws of a giant praying mantis.

Without thinking Soketsu threw himself forward, hitting the cold concrete floor with a painful belly-flop and just barely managing to stay under the incoming blades. He turned a part of his forward momentum diagonal and managed to enter into a clumsy roll that nevertheless got him on his feet. For a split-second he had to wonder why the machine bothered with such a crazy maneuver.

He didn’t have much time to ponder though, as suddenly his vision was filled with something big, fast and very red.

Soketsu: "Motherfu—!"

He was just able to ward off the red automaton’s strike with his halberd, but it didn’t help him against the full body blow coming right after that and he suddenly recognized that his feet were no longer touching the ground.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he had to realize that his trajectory might have put him right next to the landing point of the blue machine, which was promptly confirmed by a viciously strong kick sweeping him right out of the air and sending him tumbling through the air like a ragdoll.

His short flight was abruptly stopped by an industrial machine just like the one the blue mechanical swordsman used as a jumping point before (or maybe it was the very same one; he kind of lost track of it while tumbling back and forth) and its hard metal cover let out a painful screech as it bent and twisted under the impact of the man’s body.

[Kay]: "Soketsu!"

[Soketsu]: "Ugh… I’m fine." The man hissed. Even with viridia coursing in his veins that one hurt a lot, but he was not about to complain to his partner just yet. "Looks worse than it is."

He shook his head and stumbled onto his feet, and a moment later he was already assuming a fighting stance like nothing happened, though at least some of that was just bravado.

[Soketsu]: "Damn, those things are though…" He mumbled inside his head as he leveled his weapon towards his opponents with a smirk that he didn’t even notice.

[Kay]: "I am readying the Imprints," His partner stated forcefully, but Soketsu only shook his head.

[Soketsu]: "Not yet. Those take a lot out of you and we need to preserve your strength. I’ve got this."

It was obvious that he was pushing the limits of his passive viridia infused body. His hands were still tingling with the aftershocks of the previous clashes and his chest kept stinging whenever he took a deep breath. Probably a cracked rib, nothing new.

There was one more thing that became obvious to him; while his opponents were wicked fast and probably the strongest melee combatants he had ever faced, he could have probably beaten one of those things without problem even in his current state. Two of them at the same time though? Not so much.

He assumed a defensive posture, a low stance with the shaft raised high and the tip of the blade pointed at his opponents in preparation to parry and counter. He focused his eyes upon the two mechanical fencers and grit his teeth. By that point his attackers should have been at his heels again, but instead he found them casually walking towards him with the familiar sheet of glass floating between them.

Pabloc: "Honestly, I am a little disappointed," The scientist grimaced at him and Soketsu suddenly wanted to punch right through that screen. "I thought you would have finished with these two by now," Suddenly the bespectacled man’s face twisted in a difficult to read expression. "Are you hurt, by any chance? Or otherwise handicapped? If you want to take a break before we continue, you can always drop by my office. I still have the cookies and we could still talk."

Soketsu: "No, thank you." Soketsu hissed through his teeth and once again wondered if the rogue scientist would feel it if he hit that screen really, really hard.

Pabloc: "Are you sure? Because you look really beaten to me. Beaten and weak. Like, weaker than the last time I saw you, and then you were missing an arm and about half your chest…"

Soketsu’s eyes darkened with a fearsome glare. He knew the scientist was taunting him, trying to get him off-balance… but such thoughts were soon drowned out by the slowly rising tide of frustration and anger in his mind. After a moment of silence he changed his grip on his weapon and spoke.

Soketsu: "Very well then!" He declared with a fierce glare. "I think I will get a little serious after all…!"

At the same time he directed a thought at his partner as well.

[Soketsu]: "Kay!"

[Kay]: "Yes?" The girl replied, audibly startled.

[Soketsu]: "Circulated infusion, one-third!" The man barked the order in his head. "And prep the sixth, just in case."

[Kay]: "Wait, didn’t you just say I should not do that and preserve my strength just a couple of seconds ago...?"

[Soketsu]: "That was back then. Things have changed."

[Kay]: "You are just being impulsive, aren’t you?"

[Soketsu]: "Kaaaay…"

[Kay]: "Don’t worry, I’m already working on it. Just give me the word."

[Soketsu]: "Thanks." The man took a deep breath, flashed a fierce grin at his opponents and curtly said,

Soketsu: "Word."

For a split-second a sensation that could be best described as a certain person rolling her eyes in his head washed over him. A moment later it was followed by a veritable torrent of viridia flooding his body, washing away all of his aches and pains and giving his eyes an ethereal green flare.

The very next second the halberd flew out of his hand, piercing the floating screen right in the middle like a giant nail fired from an especially angry nail-gun. The two mechanical swordsmen immediately adjusted their center of gravity and prepared to charge at him. They didn’t have the chance.

Soketsu launched himself at his assailants with a flash of emerald light and the howling of displaced air. He glanced at the two automatons as he skimmed between them. The huge metal warriors that seemed to be so agile before now only seemed to move at a snail’s pace. Their stance was all messed up, their weapons still not drawn to their ready position. They were easy prey for him now.

For a second he could hear a manic chuckle from somewhere, but it was inconsequential. His first target was the red one. It was already damaged. It should be easier to dismantle, he concluded. Then he could have all the time in the world to have fun with the blue one. All in due time…

He charged directly at the red automaton. The machine swung its right blade at him but dodging it was as easy as sidestepping a child’s punch. He weaved under the strike, grabbed hold of the thing’s outstretched arm and simultaneously braced his right leg against its chest plate. Then, with a furious groan and a savage grin he kicked as hard as he could.

The automaton’s arm popped out of its socked with an ear-splitting screech and it staggered back a few steps, seemingly confused about what just happened. For a moment Soketsu wondered whether a machine could even feel confusion on the first place, but then he shelved the question for later as he turned towards the leaping blue assailant.

He flicked his hand and threw the severed metallic limb at his charging opponent with contemptuous ease. It swatted the incoming object aside with its left blade and raised its right for an overhead strike, but the act staggered him just long enough for Soketsu to roll forwards. He grabbed hold of his fallen halberd mid roll, and the direct contact immediately filled him with another surge of viridia.

By the time the blue machine turned around to follow after him, Soketsu already rose to his feet and charged at it with the point of his weapon ahead of him. It had no chance.

He swatted away the blade it raised in defense and stabbed the tip of the spear into the exposed armpit of the machine. Upon withdrawing the weapon he used the piercing tip on the butt end to strike at the already weakened left knee of his opponent, then he drew back his weapon, his entire body coiling up like a giant spring, or the arms and strings of a huge bow, and the moment the blue automaton collapsed he released all that pent up energy into a vicious thrust.

The spearhead of the halberd plunged into the mechanized swordsman’s armor about a palm’s width under its lenses. Then the Rover pushed on, striking the automaton down onto the ground with pure, viridia-fueled momentum. It hit the ground like a sack of rocks, limbs flailing in vain as Soketsu landed on its chest as well, putting even more weight on the weapon and driving its tip a fair bit deeper.

Soketsu snarled and stomped on the damaged shoulder-joint of the machine before glancing up, only to find himself face-to-face with the one-handed red machine leaping at him. His lips parted to give way to a ferocious laugh bubbling up from the some dark corner of his mind. He didn’t mind.

Soketsu: "Ever 6!" He bellowed, his voice impossibly deep and resonant. "Razorlight!"

The moment the last syllable left his mouth the halberd’s head flared up with a searing light, immediately followed by the smell of molten metal and ozone. A blink of an eye later the weapon slid into the chest of the blue automaton with casual ease, eliciting a number of twitches and popping sounds in the process. Then, with a triumphant cry Soketsu lashed out at the incoming red machine.

The halberd slid out of the downed blue, parting metal and kicking up a small shower of sparks as it left its body. Then, as he swung the weapon diagonally upwards, there was something else among the sparks, a torrent a green-white flames following behind the head of the halberd and then spreading out in its wake in a diagonal, two-dimensional shockwave of torrid heat and pure destruction.

The wave hit the charging red machine and caught it in a clean line running from the lower abdomen to the opposite shoulder with angry hiss of boiling metal. The automaton flinched but its momentum carried it forward. The moment its leg touched the ground it simply slid apart, its entire body cleanly melted across… then the wave continued on, cutting right through the nearest conveyor belt, putting a huge molten gash on the large assembling machine behind it and even scorching the wall a good twenty meters behind that.

Following that Soketsu twirled his weapon over his head and then planted its butt onto the concrete floor with a thunderous boom. Then silence. A long, triumphant silence only interrupted by the irregular twitches of the trashed machines.

[Kay]: "That was a bit of an overkill…" The girl grumbled with a sulky voice.

The man let out a small chuckle, though he had a strange time realizing he actually had to consciously stop himself from smiling ear to ear to do so.

[Soketsu]: "Sorry, I just wanted to—"

Pabloc: "Wow…" From beyond the rubble another floating screen came into view and cut their inner conversation short… "I mean, wow!"

The scientist grimaced as he looked over the trashed mechanical swordsmen, the screen bobbing and tilting in time with his head-movement for some reason. At last he looked up at Soketsu and adjusted his glasses.

Pabloc: "That was actually fairly impressive." He paused for a moment and then gave Soketsu a puzzled expression. "Why didn’t you do that on the first place?"

Soketsu remained silent for a moment. The better question was; why did he actually do that at all? There was no reason for him to waste viridia like that. He could have easily beaten them with a tenth of what he used, and now that he thought back at it, an icy chill ran down his spine at once.

What the hell was he thinking?! He threw Kay! Getting more than a few meters apart was enough to completely sever the flow of viridia between them, so his number one rule have always been ‘Don’t let go, no matter what.’

Things turned out right at the end, but if he messed up he could have been stranded without viridia right between two of the most powerful opponents he had faced in years. Just what the actual hell was he thinking…!?

And then the realization dawned on him: he had no idea. The last minute or so have been one giant blur in his memories. Nothing like this happened to him ever since…

Soketsu: "Ugh…"

In the end he shook his head and glared at the screen instead.

Soketsu: "None of your business." Then, after a moment of frowning he added, "Just how many of these floating things do you have anyway?"

Pabloc: "Oh, I have a few," The scientist answered coyly with another affable and… somehow familiar smile. Soketsu shook his head again and took a step towards the screen.

Soketsu: "Then I guess you won’t miss this one," He said and then his fist lashed out with the last remains of his previous viridia-rush. It sent a radial fracture running through its glassy surface and it tumbled to the ground without any further ado.

Pabloc: "Now that was just uncalled for…" The scientist grimaced wryly on the flickering screen.

Soketsu: "I am coming for you," Soketsu hissed in response, spite coloring his voice to the point even he was surprised by it. The scientist also seemed to be taken aback for a moment before he once again reached for his glasses.

Pabloc: "Of course you are. And I’m waiting." With that the screen went black… then it turned back on and the man added. "And just so you know, I wasn’t kidding about the cookies and tea. See you soon." After those words and a knowing wink the screen went black again, this time for good.

Soketsu waited for a few seconds, intently staring at the broken device, then finally turned his back on the carnage and shook his head.

[Soketsu]: "Kay?"

[Kay]: "What?" The girl answered curtly, her harsh tone stopping Soketsu on his track in an instant.

[Soketsu]: "Is… everything all right?" He asked tentatively. He got no answer. "Kay?"

[Kay]: "You threw me," She answered flatly after several seconds.

[Soketsu]: "What?"

[Kay]: "You. Threw. Me." Kay repeated, her previously peeved voice slowly heating up to full-blown anger.

[Soketsu]: "I… Uh…" The man stumbled, his face getting uncharacteristically flushed. "It… seemed like a good idea at the time?"

[Kay]: "How did that ever—"

[Soketsu]: "Sorry!" He hastily interrupted before the girl could get any momentum. He knew that if he let her get riled up, he wouldn’t hear the end of it for weeks. Sometimes peace in the future required some sacrifices in the present. "It was a stupid thing to do, but to my defense, it worked. I promise it won’t happen again."

For a few long seconds the man was sure that if she had any eyes at the moment, Kay would have been looking him up and down with scalding disapproval in them.

[Kay]: "No more throwing?" She said at last.

[Soketsu]: "No more throwing." Soketsu answered firmly.

[Kay]: "Good…" She said, and then added ‘It was dark.’ in a mumble.

Soketsu’s eye opened wide and then he closed it in shame. Right, how could he forget it? While Kay was transformed into her halberd form she had no eyes. Or ears, if we were at that. Instead she was observing the world through Soketsu’s senses.

Which in turn, meant that if they got too far apart and their connection broke Kay was left completely isolated, without any way to tell what was going on around her. He suddenly took a sharp breath as another realization reared its ugly head: he must have inadvertently scared the soul out of her with that stunt! That’s it, he scowled. No more throwing for sure.

[Kay]: "So… You wanted to ask something?" Kay interrupted his train of thought. Her voice was still a little tense but otherwise there was no hint of her previous anger in there.

[Soketsu]: "Right…" He answered with a sigh of relief. "I just wanted to ask you to try and refine as much viridia as you can. I have a feeling that things are not going to get any simpler from here on."

[Kay]: "All right. I guess that’s it for going easy on me…"

[Soketsu]: "Sorry, I made a mess of that encounter."

[Kay]: "Lucky you had me to drag you out of it, right?"

Soketsu silently rolled his eyes. Fishing for compliments at a time like that was so… typical of her. He decided to let it slide, especially since he didn’t want to start another fight, but one of these days she really had to learn some modesty. Though in retrospect he had to admit that some praises might have been in order anyway.

[Soketsu]: "Indeed. And the Sixth Holy Imprint was perfect even without the full invocation. I am proud of you."

[Kay]: "Yay!" Kay exclaimed with a cheerfulness that was just a wee bit too loud to be one hundred percent genuine. Maybe ninety-six percent, plus-minus five.

Mulling over the percentages, Soketsu stood still for a minute or two, partially to give his partner a breather and also so that his body would have some time to heal up. The viridia coursing through his body not only served as a fuel to his superhuman abilities, it also made him very resilient against injuries and sped up the healing process. It couldn’t handle anything serious, but for bruises and small cuts it was better and faster than any field dressing.

Just those few minutes were enough to dampen the pain of his strained muscles and to help his breathing return to a stable rate. After even his heart-beat steadied itself and he could no longer feel any pain in his ribs, Soketsu casually shook himself and faced the exit.

[Soketsu]: "Okay, back to business. Please continue to give me your best."

[Kay]: "You don’t even need to ask!" Kay answered, this time her enthusiasm completely sincere.

[Soketsu]: "Good."

With that Soketsu strode over to the only door beside the entrance, no doubt leading to the inner section of the facility, and ever so cautiously continued his mission.