by Prax Venter
“Agreed,” Abby said, peeking over her droid’s shoulder.
“I’ve been thinking?” Verrelle said, sliding over to a part of a wall with what looked like glowing outlets- either to dispense power or interface with other hardware. “Can we reattach this scavenged device to the runic machines here in the walls instead of your chest? Is it- um, compatible?”
Angel stopped what she was doing and turned to face the Blazar princess. A burst of inspiration washed outward from the Lunar Power Droid before her dim pixelated eyes squinted from her smile.
“She thinks it’s might be possible,” Mark said, relaying the burdened bot’s emotions. “Do it. If we can put that thing down and get you back, I’m all for it.”
Angel flashed out a worry about a weight that he couldn’t really translate then she turned back to the panel to continued slowly typing.
“I have to do it,” Learis said. “The structures I mean. The music from this device is the only object capable of shattering the… buildings. The word is frustrating, I don’t know what they are, but I feel like I should. They are like roots but in the air. They speak silent waves outward and hear everything. God whiskers.”
“Sounds like an antenna,” Sasha said.
Learis nodded. “Yes. Communication ear-tree things.” She gazed dully into middle distance, and Mark could tell her mind was desperately spinning in place as it tried to sort out all the new parts.
He knew a little about being force-fed someone else’s memories.
“Mark,” Jezebel said, looking over again. “Angel says that the magnetic field would be too strong for her to handle if she went with. She will stay here and take the time to figure all of this out. She’s estimating days.”
“We’re safe here,” Princess Verrelle said from Angel’s other side. “I think I am picking this up too- it’s like a puzzle. I’m good at puzzles. I will assist Angel.”
Mark nodded. “Perfect. Learis, Amina. Figure out your new powers while Abby, Jez, and I scout this new prison dimension with smashable antennas. Sasha, fuck up anything that tries to fuck with our friends. Let’s get to work.”
- 18 -
The short scouting mission found that the Runic Bard’s prison dimension was a continuous metal nightmare of rusted cubes, stairs, and open-air ledges. There was no ground as far as Mark could see in any direction and this sopping, metal expanse of simple architecture all uniformly connected in surreal ways. Warm globs of what he hoped was water continuously fell from a sky of brown-gray mist, and the place smelled stagnant, but it didn’t seem dangerous. Low-level, vibrant green bugs carrying perfect spheres of mist on their backs were the only living or moving thing they saw.
The crossover point deposited them off-center in a huge, rusted room with four iron formations that did indeed appear more like bonsai trees than antennae. After a glance, Learis confirmed that the knee-high structures were their target.
Confirmation aside, it was clear that these four ‘god whiskers’ were positioned around where the orb would be if these two dimensions were layered over each other. Another mirror. It also occurred to Mark then that they had not yet discovered what awaited them on the Wrongside at the Orb’s location… There was no specific reason to go see other than curiosity. Only another thing to add to the end of their to-do list.
Angel needed to hold her position, and she’d estimated a day or more of research before attempting to mess with the protective magnetic bubble she continuously generated. The Blazar Princess threw herself into absorbing as much as she could, and it made total sense for her to wait there too while a strike team went through to knock out the quest into this new slice of reality.
It didn’t make sense to send in the whole team at once, so Jezebel and Abby also stayed behind in Lagos.
The abyssal horror loved water but didn’t care much for the rain, so she was happy to stay back to help defend this important control point. Her plan was to practice with Telekinesis while everyone else worked at deciphering the ancient magitech. Out of all the AI women bound to his digital heart, the reformed Mini-Boss was the best at swimming with the natural flow of the virtual universe. It was less self-awareness on her part and more innate talent. He could see her complex mind agilely accept every possible advantage as if she were water finding the simplest way to the sea.
That left him, Sasha, and the goddess-imbued team of new superheroes, Learis and Amina.
If the four of them ran into anything bigger than the poodle-sized aphids crawling over the abandoned structures, they could always retreat and regroup.
Mark watched now with his magic eye and listened with his normal ears as Learis held her new legendary instrument up to her white-furred mouth. Each sensitive whisker quivered at different frequencies before she sent out a blast of colored sound like a sonic blow-dart.
The gleaming tree sculpture vibrated violently before shaking itself to dust, and a gentle rumbling then shook the ground in response.
It shook everything.
Sasha’s tail snapped once. “That felt like something moving far below.”
“Yup,” Mark said, summoning a magic sledgehammer. “It’s always gotta be more complicated.”
“The banished demigod stirs?” Amina asked, her earless head turned downward.
“I don’t think so,” Learis whispered, watching as Mark ineffectually bounced his solid energy off the deceptively sturdy antenna. The disintegrating structure around them creaked and groaned from his aggressive movements, but nothing else happened. The structure remained untouched and nothing stirred in the deep.
With a look of sorrow mixed with disgust, Learis lifted her instrument and blasted the iron bonsai to flakes of rust that fell to mingle with the others.
“The whole place is him,” she said after the rumbling stopped. “This is a dimension that didn’t form properly. There are… countless other malformed bubbles of reality like this one. And they are using it like a prison for a mistake they cannot destroy.”
Icy worry struck Mark from Amina as her new Enthralled Lagomorph gazed off into nothing again. The Awysai leader just took a chance and bonded herself to this new person who now sounded completely different after her contact with the goddess of sound.
“Hey,” Sasha said sharply, and Learis snapped to look at her.
“So, had you ever played something like that before? An instrument I mean.”
The soft rabbit-woman smiled. “Yes. All Lagomorph have some skill with wind instruments. It’s why I picked this up in the first place.”
“I heard those type of things takes a talented mouth,” the succubus purred.
Amina put her hand on her thick hip. “I can attest to the talent of Learis’s lips and tongue,”
“Speaking of which,” Learis said, pointing at her Collector. “Earn me some essence points to spend on my new abilities. Do that, and I will honor you with a personal concert, Chieftain.”
Mark’s link to Sasha reverberated with her plan to make Amina see that the curvy rabbit-woman was still there, and he waited motionless as the two looked into each other’s eyes. The cresting worry from Amina that she’d made a horrible mistake dissipated, and the two forged another link to the chain that now bound their hearts.
“Excellent,” Sasha said, her spade tip high and swaying.
Mark sent a smirk to his manipulative succubus before he turned Commander again.
“Let’s dig into this, Learis. What are these?” He moved his finger between the remaining two inter-dimensional antennae still standing within the dim box of rusting metal. He continued as the rabbit woman padded over to one. “Why is everything like this- abandoned and built like someone dreaming of a city? What else can you tell us about this place and this Runic Bard demigod hivemind?”
Amina waved a three-fingered hand. “It would do everyone good to speak this information. Speaking aloud can bring order to internal chaos.”
Learis nodded. “I’m just going to do my best with how everything sits among my thoughts. This pla
ce is a primordial reality that didn’t form properly. There is a leaking of sorts. It’s akin to the rules of existence failing.” She walked out through a slanted doorway in the rusting sheet-metal to stand out under the weary light passing through the low, dirty clouds above. Mark shielded his good eye as he searched for what caused the unsettling ambient light. He didn’t find one. Learis stared out into the bizarre shapes welded together in one convoluted junkyard spreading outward for miles until the filthy mist obscured anything further. She continued.
“The ancient mind who is banished here was many things- a musician, a scientist, a philosopher, and a psychopath. He studied magnetism, not only between metals, but with emotional lust. I can visualize how his devices were enchanted to vibrate the air- it is a clever way to create artificial sound, and I understand Angel’s device more. He designed autonomous machines that could craft their own individual compositions and sing intricate melodies based on the mood of its owner. His wealth grew.
“With power, fame, and an unmatched confidence, The Runic Bard caught the attention of the gods themselves. He did not plan on attracting She Who Sings, yet his cold personal ambition drove him to despicable heights of violation.”
Sasha’s tail hung limply between her chrome thighs, and Mark reached over to squeeze her against him. She carefully leaned her horn on his shoulder as her thin tail wrapped around his leg. Even though they were both way beyond what Sasha had done to him, there was no changing the fact that she would always feel horrible for doing it. Their bond was an expressway of bare intent and unending love. Learis turned around to face the others standing under the drizzle with her.
“With his prestige also came access to the Orb and its un-understood powers. He used it to copy part of a very private goddess. My ancestor looked where he wasn’t given permission, and he touched what he knew was forbidden.
“He’d been discovered in moments, but the arrogant mortal had already transcended into some abomination of magnetic force and unthinking desire for expansion. This dimension… this metal, has extraordinarily little material that can be controlled by the diffuse remnants of his mind. The protruding antenna we seek come together through monumental force of will and over unimaginable periods of time. If we destroy enough, the imprisoned entity will need centuries to build them up again. There are a countless many scattered through this dimension but destroying about two dozen near to this point will suffice.”
“So, no sleeping giant?” Mark said, moving back inside the stagnant-smelling structure they started within. “We won’t have to fight this Runic Bard ourselves in some freestyle musical duel at the end of this?”
Sasha shot her fist into the air. “I can play the cymbals!”
“No,” Learis said. “Even with many of the Prime-level gods working as one, the violator had stolen enough to ensure his existence among them. Consequentially, banishment.”
“Could they banish Maliah to such a fitting dimension?” Amina asked as they all gathered around one of the antennae.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Learis said with a glance to her Collector.
“That might not be a bad idea,” Mark said, rubbing his chin. “It might be easier to trap her than to erase her, but we need to find out more. I suppose we need to do more before the Crystal Heart gods will finally get all the way off their asses and help us win this thing.”
“I feel helped,” Learis said, shifting her eyes to his. “And I still find it hard to believe that every wonder I’ve seen is fake. I do not feel that this is all a game.”
Mark sighed. “Something can be both a game and not fake, but it’s not really important right now what you believe. If we stop Maliah, you will be given the opportunity to see for yourself.”
“I have a proposition,” his succubus said, and everyone turned to her. He saw the twinkle in her stunning blue eyes as she held out her palms. “This place is a game, and we are standing in a dungeon. We have a quest to find and destroy exactly 24 ‘objectives’, and I predict we will defeat a powerful final enemy before we can successfully leave.” She paused to cock an eyebrow. “If I’m right, the wager is that you keep an open mind about the situation. If I’m wrong, I’ll let Mark be your sex slave for one night.”
Mark chuckled as Amina and Learis shared a glance.
“Whatever,” he said with a wave. “It might take a while to find all of these- Hey, what about those?” He lifted a finger to indicate the vibrant green insect currently scrabbling in through a rusted-out hole high up in the wall.
It hissed at them when its many black eyes noticed they existed, and then it turned around to skitter back out under the rain carrying a ball of mist between stubby wings.
“I don’t know that either,” Learis said, shaking her head. “I was given no memories of these creatures. I don’t think they are supposed to be here.”
He shot Sasha a look, who flashed him a fanged smirk.
“Okay,” he said. “Keep tootling at these and we’ll take it nice and slow. Whether Sasha is right or not, we will play this smart. Any boss monsters or banished demigods show up, we back the fuck out.”
Learis brought her deity-imbued instrument to her lips and sent out a multihued burst, shattering one and then the other. The ground rumbled with each, but no more or less than the others before them.
Mark turned to Sasha as they stepped back out into the rain. “You are positive you will be able to find our way back here? This place is an M.C. Escher’s wet dream.”
“Please,” she said, her shorter blonde hair lying flat from the rain. “If Learis can be born playing the flute, I can be created with flawless direction-sense.”
“What is an Empty Escher?” Amina asked.
Mark and Sasha took turns explaining the artist, his mathematically surreal works, and how they might have even inspired the programmers who built the systems that failed at forming this incomplete dimension.
Learis was mostly quiet, but he could tell she was contemplative as they casually discussed what the “real world” was like.
Their footsteps on the rusted sheet metal echoed softly as they moved in a widening search pattern around the endless structure. It creaked and groaned under their movements, and rumbled when they shattered a node, but it appeared this was going to be a walk in the rusted park.
That was until Amina said, “Something new,” with alarm in her voice.
Mark turned to the muscular salamander watching the opening and saw a humanoid bug creature with four scythe-like arms standing tall on the twisted walkway beyond. Its primal intent to murder anything in its territory flashed across Mark’s mind before the creature snapped open its plastic, black wings and sent a barrage of white energy at the Awysai Chieftain.
Amina already had started deploying her armor, so she stood strong against the magical barrage, but he heard her grunt as it struck her chest. To Mark’s all-seeing eye, the creature was using the strange atmosphere itself as a weapon.
The initial attack ended, and the mantis-like creature blinked, puzzled that its prey was still standing. It took one step forward on a long insect leg before Sasha squished her breasts into Amina’s back and thrust her arm out over her shoulder.
“Bang,” she said with a twitch of her perfect hips before a bolt of crackling energy evaporated the creature.
The new Collector sucked in a breath as she felt the first rush of essence enter her body. Mark’s higher level meant the monster’s defeat earned about 3% of his total, but he could tell it was way more for Amina. After a few pounding heartbeats in the still silence, it became clear that there was only the one.
Amina turned around and said, “There are foes, and they hit hard.”
“Then I’ll take the front-” Mark said, and Amina held up her hand.
“No, you are the Commander of this group. I am a Warrior with a defensive role. I should be the Guardian.”
Mark shrugged. “Have it your way. I guess this dungeon has sonic bugs. Not what I expected for a cosmic bad boy
rock star who can control metal.”
Learis sighed. “Yeah. I… don’t know what these are. I’m okay with that, though. Getting all these new memories made me so sure of everything. I now realize how disconnected I was. Seeing something new here is refreshing, even if it tried to kill us.”
“Back on the plus side,” Mark said, holding out one of his palms, “us Collectors collected a bit of essence from destroying it. There’ll probably be more.”
“I thought I felt something through her,” Learis said, her eyes narrowing on her new mate. “Like a delivery of joy from your soul, Amina.”
“Congratulations!” Sasha said as she threw her arms around the grinning Awysai Warrior. After the quick embrace, she spun on the bunny-girl. “And just wait until she laps that bald slit of yours again. Let’s find more bugs to squish so we can fill the Chieftain’s tank to bursting. Please tell me I can watch your first transfer!”
“Down, girl,” Mark said then held his palm out to Learis. “You two lead us forward then. We’ll back you up. Nice and slow.”
The group of two Collectors and their Enthralled continued the expanding box pattern, and the unique shapes of the landscape never gave Mark the sense of disorientation, despite the immensity of it all. They’d scrubbed away a total of eight magnetic antennae and as they now marched under the misty sky along a narrow walkway with no railing, he had a clear sense of how to get back to the dimensional pinpoint leading back to Lagos.
“Look,” Amina said, and everyone turned to see several of the smaller insects converging on the spot they just cleared. Then, movement from below drew his magic eye as four of the larger mantis types came crawling up the vertical wall below their path. For this first time since they got here, Mark considered ordering their retreat.
“Learis,” he shouted instead, and she followed his pointing finger. “Blow them away.”
She nodded and brought her new instrument to her lips as Mark planned their next move. If these things were swarming, it was time to go, but the way ahead still looked clear as he summoned a long spear. Amina followed his lead at the front of the group and shaped her energy into her familiar staff as all four of them stepped to the edge. The party’s Bard took in the imminent foes hissing up at them. She then closed her eyes, before wagging hips as she began piping out an aggressive melody. Even her stubby tail poking out of her leather-wrapped backside began popping side to side like a metronome.