Alliance

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  I have no reason to listen to the Head, as she has no authority over me, but I decide to do so because it is better to listen and get the facts first, rather than ask questions that may not need to be asked. Besides, there is something about the way the Head looks at me that tells me I will become scrap metal if I continue to interrupt Lanresia's story with my questions.

  Lanresia takes a deep breath and continues her story. “We don't know how the lizard creatures got in. We know they started in the lower levels, where the Energy Center is. They destroyed our generator, which caused the power to go out. Then they made their way up to the higher levels, killing anyone they ran into.”

  “How many agents did they kill?” asks the Head, taking a step closer to Lanresia, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “Was Kojama killed?”

  “I don't know the exact number,” Lanresia admits. She wipes sweat from her forehead. “And I don't know about Kojama, either. We tried to fight the monsters, but they were too strong and we didn't know what to expect. I managed to save a lot of agents, but there was so much confusion that I am not certain how many died and how many lived.”

  I want to ask who this 'Kojama' is, but none of the Foundation agents around me seem likely to answer my questions. Better to listen and learn what happened and ask later, if I get a chance.

  “What about the human Knight?” the Head asks. I notice a tone of concern in her voice. “Rii? The one you elves call Apakerec?”

  “Last I saw, he was in one of the medical rooms resting,” says Lanresia. “But I think he died, because that particular hallway he was in was where the worst slaughter happened and none of the other agents reported seeing him or finding his body. I'm sorry.”

  I search the mobile Database records for information on this 'Rii Apakerec,' and much to my relief, I find a file about this Rii. The mobile Database claims that he is a Knight of Se-Dela, but unfortunately, the mobile Database does not tell me much else about him. He must not be an important Knight, then, although how he ended up in the Xeeonite branch of the Foundation, I do not know.

  “It is fine, Lanresia,” says Konoa, still stroking her hand. “We know you did your best. Thanks to your bravery, you saved the lives of … excuse me, Head, but do you know how many Xeeonite agents have arrived so far?”

  “Thirty,” says the Head, “though more are still coming.”

  “Thirty lives, Lanresia,” says Konoa, looking at her with warm eyes. “If we could have saved Rii as well … but no matter. You've done as much as you can. Now it is time for you to rest.”

  “Not until she answers the rest of our questions,” says the Head, shaking her head. “Now, Lanresia, did you discover anything else? Do you know who sent those creatures?”

  “I don't know for sure,” Lanresia admits. The voice of her speaking snake glitches slightly, although it is barely perceptible and I doubt anyone other than myself caught it. “But I strongly suspect it was Reunification. They're the only ones who could possibly have tracked down our HQ and sent those evil beasts; the only ones, in fact, who would even try to do such a thing, seeing as no one else even knows about us.”

  “But how could Reunification have discovered the location of our Xeeonite HQ?” asks Konoa. He looks at the Head, like he expects her to have the answer.

  The Head shakes her head. “I don't know. Maybe there is a spy among us who leaked our location to the enemy, or maybe the Founder used some of his foul magic to find us or maybe they captured one of our agents and got that information from him. In any case, this is a terrible turn of events that even I did not foresee, because Reunification is rarely this direct.”

  “They must be getting confident,” says Konoa. “But why? Unless they are—”

  “Konoa, we will discuss this matter later,” says the Head, interrupting him before he can finish speaking. “For now, we need to let Lanresia rest. She has told us as much as we need to know. Our next course of action is to prepare for the next assault, which will no doubt be on this base.”

  “You think so, ma'am?” asks Konoa as he lets go of Lanresia's hand.

  “It is only logical,” says the Head. “I know the Founder. He is never one to do anything by half-measures. If he destroyed the Xeeonite branch, he will assuredly attempt to destroy this one as well, although when or how, I do not know.”

  Konoa's face pales and he glances at Lanresia. I understand his fear, even though I am unable to feel that emotion. Considering how badly the Xeeonite agents are injured from that assault, there is no doubt that a similar massacre can occur here if the Foundation agents are not prepared for it.

  Despite that, I still have questions to ask. Lanresia appears to have finished her story now, so I decide this is as good a time as any to ask the questions on my mind.

  “Lanresia described humanoid lizard creatures attacking the Xeeonite agents,” I say. I look at the elf, who now looks as though she can barely remain awake. “Lanresia, did these creatures look like humanoid Great Lizards?”

  “Yes,” says Lanresia, her speaking snake nodding along with her. “Why?”

  “I see,” I say, stroking my chin. “Then it appears that the lizard creatures that attacked me earlier and killed those Knights I was working with likely belong to the same species as those that attacked you Xeeonites.”

  Lanresia looks up at Konoa in surprise. “Konoa, what does this J bot mean? What's happened since I was last here? And, for that matter, why is there a J bot in our base at all? Is he a new agent?”

  “No, my love, J997 is not a new agent,” says Konoa. He glances at me, like he is not sure he can trust me. “He's … well, he's a guest, I suppose you could say, who was targeted by Reunification. We're keeping him here for safety reasons.”

  I hardly call myself a 'guest' of these people, seeing as I was taken here against my will and am not allowed to leave. If anything, I believe I am a prisoner, although one that they allow to walk around with more freedom than your typical prisoner, I suppose.

  Before I can correct Konoa's inaccurate description of me, the Head says, “In any case, J997 is most likely correct about the monsters that attacked him and the monsters that attacked our base belonging to the same species. After all, the monsters that had attacked J997 were working for Jornan, who is also an agent of Reunification. That still does not answer what those creatures are, however.”

  “Does it matter?” asks Konoa, who grabs at his hair nervously. “I heard Palos's description of the beasts. And if they managed to take the Xeeonite HQ from us, then there's a good chance they'll get us here, too.”

  “Unless we prepare for it,” says the Head, who in contrast to Konoa is quite cold. “We still have many good agents on hand here. As long as we do not panic, we should be fine.”

  “But why did they choose to attack now?” asks Konoa. “Are they that close to completing the Mission already?”

  “I don't know,” says the Head, shaking her head. “All I know is that we must prepare for the worst in case they learn of the location of this base.”

  As soon as those words leave her mouth, there are several hard knocks at the door that make us jump in surprise. Then the door bursts open and Rozan enters, almost falling over his feet, but he hangs onto the doorknob to balance himself.

  “Madam Head!” says Rozan, breathing hard like he just ran a mile. “Monsters coming through the Portal and attacking everyone!”

  “Monsters?” Konoa repeats. “What monsters?”

  Wiping the sweat off his bald head, Rozan says, “Large, humanoid lizards. Sharp claws, and some of them can breathe fire, too, the bastards.”

  “Then shut the Portal off,” the Head snaps.

  “We can't, madam,” Rozan says, shaking his head so hard it looks like it might pop off. “We think the monsters are using the Xeeonite Portal to force ours open, meaning we cannot turn it off from this side.”

  “By the Old Gods,” says the Head, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. Then she gestures at Konoa. “Go and help the
others. We need every able-bodied agent out there to beat back the invaders before they get too deep into the base.”

  “Yes, ma'am,” says Konoa, who bows at the Head and darts out the door, almost knocking Rozan over, before anyone else can say anything.

  “What about me?” I say, pointing at myself. “May I go help? I know I am not an agent of the Foundation, but I am in no mood to allow those creatures to overrun and destroy this place, and me with it.”

  The Head looks at me with skepticism in her eyes, like she does not believe me for even a second. I forgot how little the agents around here trust me, although I suppose the feeling is mutual, seeing as I only suggested to help because I do not want to be destroyed along with everyone else. I have no real care or concern for the agents personally; as a matter of fact, I suspect they may be criminals, if their secretive behavior is any indication.

  Then she sighs heavily and, pointing toward the open door, says, “Fine. Go and aid my men however you see fit. But don't you dare use this opportunity to make an attempt to escape through the Portal back to Xeeo, if that's what you are thinking.”

  “In truth, that idea did not occur to me until you mentioned it,” I say. “But you don't need to worry, because if Lanresia's report is true, then there is nothing awaiting me on the other side of that Portal except more of those violent, dangerous monsters that have already tried to destroy me once today.”

  ***

  Chapter 6

  The scene in the Portal room has changed significantly since the last ten minutes, which according to my internal clock is how long it has been since I was last in there.

  I notice that the floor is already littered with dead agents, some Delanian, some Xeeonite, although I cannot identify which branch of the Foundation they may have belonged to due to my unfamiliarity with both branches. Nonetheless, the sight of so many dead agents is not a good one by any definition of the word.

  More of those strange lizard humanoids are emerging from the Portal, growling and snapping their teeth, slashing their claws through the air. Some agents—Delanians, most likely, as the Xeeonites were in no condition to fight against these invaders—are keeping the lizard humanoids away from the doors, having formed a thin line against the ever-increasing number of lizard humanoids that emerge from the Portal and fighting back as hard as they can.

  Some of the still-living agents are using swords and axes to beat back any lizard humanoids within reach, while others—wizards and witches—use magic to douse the creatures in fire or shock them with electricity or harm them in other ways. Despite that, however, it is quite clear that the agents are barely holding their own against these creatures and will likely be overwhelmed soon without backup.

  Despite these grim odds, Konoa charges forward anyway (although that may be because he does not know how likely it is that he and his fellow agents will be overwhelmed soon). He does not even appear to have any weapons, which makes me wonder how he intends to battle these creatures without getting slaughtered like a lamb.

  My question is answered when Konoa reaches the back of the line and one of the other agents hands him a short, blunt sword. Konoa then steps up next to his fellow agent and the two begin slicing viciously at any lizard humanoids that get within their reach, although it is still plainly only a matter of time before the lizard humanoids break through and overrun the whole base.

  I should, perhaps, go and join them at the line. Scanners indicate my power source is still at 87%, which means I can fight for hours without worrying about breaking down, but that will be pointless because the lizard humanoids keep coming through the Portal.

  Therefore, if we are to deal with this issue once and for all, I must find a way to disable the Portal that the lizard humanoids are coming from. If I can shut it off, I can cut off the number of lizard humanoids to a manageable size, which will make them that much easier to deal with.

  And disabling the Portal may not even be a difficult job; while Rozan's report about the lizard humanoids on the other side forcing it open may be correct, the mobile Database has detailed records on how Delanian Portals work. By reading those records, I should be able to find a way to disable the Portal permanently from our side; assuming, of course, I can make it that far.

  Aside from the line of Foundation agents in my path, there are also the lizard humanoids themselves, who no doubt will try to stop me from shutting down that Portal.

  Nonetheless, I must try, because I am the only one in any position to do it. The doors behind us are closed and it does not seem like any other agents will get here in time to help, although even if they do, their help will not be very useful if the Portal is still active.

  Thus, I jump into the air and activate the jet boosters on my feet. The boosters send me flying through the air over the line of agents defending the base from the ever-growing army of lizard humanoids, while the lizard humanoids themselves look up at me in surprise, like they did not expect me to do this.

  I don't pay them any attention, however, because my optics are focused entirely on the Portal in the center of the room. As long as I can reach it, I—

  Flames shoot up through the air, enveloping me before I even realize what is happening. Scanners indicate that my exterior temperature is rising rapidly, too rapidly for my body to handle.

  I swerve to the right and emerge from the flames, but my body temperature is still too hot (though it is cooling quicker the longer I stay out of the flames). I look at the fire and see that at least six of the lizard humanoids are breathing the flames that nearly overheated my systems, probably in an attempt to melt me into slag.

  Then I hear the roar of one of the lizard humanoids and look in the direction I am flying. One of the humanoids is jumping at me, somehow having made the jump despite the fact that I am several feet off the ground.

  And it is too late for me to swerve out of the way, although I try to do so at the last minute. The creature slams into me in midair and we both fall to the floor on top of all of the lizard humanoids underneath us.

  The fall is abrupt, and before I can recover, the other lizard humanoids are around me, grabbing and biting at me with their sharp claws and teeth. It does not hurt me at all, but I doubt it will be long before they tear me apart like tin.

  So I activate the electrical barrier inside me. As soon as the barrier shoots out from my body, many of the lizard humanoids cry out in pain and retreat or, in a few cases, fall unconscious onto the floor, causing some of their fellow lizard humanoids to trip over them. Those who aren't close enough to be harmed by my barrier still retreat to a safer distance, watching me with intelligent reptilian eyes as if looking for an opening in which to strike.

  But I do not give them the opening they are looking for. Instead, I hop to my feet and, still keeping the barrier active, run toward the Portal, forcing the other lizard humanoids around me to scatter to avoid being electrocuted. That means that these lizard humanoids are much smarter than I originally thought, which makes me wonder briefly again what they are.

  A fiery wooshing sound is followed by flames appearing in my path, a continuous stream of fire breathed by one of the lizard humanoids. I skid to a stop because my sensors indicate that the fire is too hot for me to go through without sustaining severe damage to my exterior and interior.

  I raise my hand to unleash my finger lightning bolts at the lizard humanoids, but before I can do so, more flames erupt behind me. A second later, even more flames appear to my left and to my right, effectively trapping me inside a box of fire.

  Sensors indicate that all of these flames are too hot for me to try to run through. And because of the fire in my optics, I cannot easily locate the creators of the fire, especially with the flames drawing in ever closer and closer to me, giving me less room in which to maneuver.

  But this is not an impossible situation. I activate my boosters and soar into the air once again, safely escaping the flames, although as soon as I do so, more of those lizard humanoids leap through the air to
ward me, howling with rage.

  This time, however, I twist out of their way, allowing the lizard humanoids to fly past me. I then head for the Portal, from which lizard humanoids are still pouring, although there seem to be less and less because I see fewer and fewer of these lizard humanoids coming through the Portal.

  Then I hear a cry of pain and look over my shoulder. Back toward the line of Foundation agents holding back the monsters, one of the agents is stabbed in the chest by one of the lizard humanoids, causing him to fall down, which creates an opening in the line that the other agents try to fill, although they are already so thinly spread out that they fail to do so. The lizard humanoids break through, separating the two sides as the lizard creatures make for the doors to the rest of the base while the surviving agents fight harder than ever to keep the lizard humanoids back.

  But I still focus on the Portal. I cannot allow myself to be distracted by anything less important, even if it is more urgent.

  Soon I land on the platform on which the Portal is built. A lizard humanoid pokes its head through the Portal before I punch it in the face, sending the monster tumbling back to where it comes from. I hear the lizard humanoids behind me coming to stop me, which means I do not have much time to figure out how to shut off this Portal.

  According to the mobile Database records, Delanian Portals are powered by a built-in, continuously active power crystal that absorbs skyras energy from the environment around it. That means I need to locate the power crystal to shut it off, but at the moment I do not have the time to do so.

  Instead, I rush at the Portal and slam my shoulder into its ring. The Portal shudders under the impact, but still remains standing and active, although I intend to correct that by pushing against the Portal as hard as I can.

  Straining against the Portal, I check my power level to ensure that I am still at optimal levels. I am at 79%, which is still good, although unless I put all of my energy into pushing against this Portal, I may not be able to knock it down from its foundations.