Alliance

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  I fire another finger lightning bolt at the invisible machine. Sensors indicate the robotic vampire ducks to avoid the lightning bolt and changes tactics in response to my assault. Rather than come at me directly, it is going under me, like a shark attacking prey on the surface of the ocean.

  My next course of action is logical: I cut off my boosters and fall toward the invisible machine. I still cannot see it, but my picture perfect memory has given me an idea of where its head is, which is all I need to know.

  In less than a minute, the invisible machine slams into my gut. The impact rattles my sensors for a second before they reboot. The machine is holding me with its claws and I can hear it trying to tear me apart with its teeth.

  But rather than let it do that, I activate my electrical barrier, which causes the machine to make another metallic roar. For a brief instant, the machine is visible again and now I can see its head more clearly, which resembles Kalcan's head, albeit with red eyes and a much larger mouth.

  That is fine by me, because I shove my arm directly into its open mouth, between its upper and lower fangs, and shoot a finger lightning bolt into its body.

  The resulting explosion sends me flying away from the creature, although I activate my boosters in time to catch myself before I can fall. As for the robotic vampire, it is no longer invisible; it is now a flaming ball of smoking metal that is falling into the pit below us. It soon vanishes from sight into the darkness.

  Scanners indicate that my body suffers little negative effects from the explosion, although my right arm is inoperable thanks to taking the brunt of the blast and my armor is blackened in many areas. Nonetheless, all systems appear operational, including my boosters.

  “Machine!” a familiar voice roars behind me.

  I turn in time to see Kalcan flying up to me. He stops three dozen and a half feet from me, his wings beating against the air rapidly as he glares at me. His lips are even redder than before, so fresh that they glisten even without the light of the sun shining.

  He wipes some of the blood off his lips and licks it off his finger before saying, “Looks like you destroyed my one and only Replica. Not that I am terribly surprised, seeing as it is experimental Xeeonite tech, but I admit to being impressed by the way you did it. Our technicians assured me that my Replica was completely invulnerable to most weapons, although I see they did not put much effort into making its interior as strong as its exterior.”

  “How did you know Palos and I were going to come back here?” I ask.

  Kalcan chuckles. “Easy. Palos is a Foundation agent, which means she is supposed to fight us and try to stop the Mission at every opportunity. As for you, I know how duty-bound you J bots are, so I surmised that you would return to arrest me as well. Having said that, however, I did not expect you to try to destroy the crane, although good try nonetheless.”

  “You murdered Palos,” I say. “That is a crime punishable by up to a century in prison for vampires and a death sentence for any other species, according to both Xeeonite and Delanian laws on this matter.”

  “Laws,” Kalcan sneers. “You think Reunification cares about the law? We are above the law. Our Mission is holy and must be achieved no matter how many foolish witches—or robots—we must kill to do it.”

  “No one is above the law,” I say. “Not even we J bots are exempt from its binding.”

  “I don't care,” says Kalcan. He bares his fangs. “You may not have any blood for me to suck, but that does not mean I cannot still turn you into scrap metal, especially when you are damaged from my Replica's explosion.”

  Kalcan vanishes before I can even react. In fact, when he vanishes, I cannot even sense him with my sensors. This does not make any sense, as it implies that Kalcan has no skyras energy. But if that is the case, then how is he able to accomplish so many of his magical feats?

  All I know is that I must finish what Palos started. I have no time to waste fighting Kalcan. The base of the crane appears to have been melted enough that I can topple it myself, if I put enough effort into it.

  So I divert all of my extra energy to my boosters and immediately go flying toward the crane. I go so fast that, even though the workers are shooting at me again, none of them even come close to hitting me. I hear Kalcan screaming at me from behind me, but I do not slow down to let him catch up.

  In one minute I land on the ground. Power level is at 50% now, which is more than enough for me to do what I need to do next.

  I glance at Palos's corpse briefly, which is surrounded by the broken rings, but do not dwell on it. Instead, I aim my good arm at the work she has already done, which is the melted base of the crane, and divert all energy to my left arm. Power flows through it as I charge for my most powerful finger lightning bolt yet.

  I hear more screaming and look over my shoulder. The dwarfish workers are running toward me with their guns, while Kalcan is flying toward me as fast as he is able to flap his wings. I calculate that I have only three seconds before the workers get within shooting range and four before Kalcan arrives.

  So I turn my attention back to the base of the crane and fire a finger lightning bolt at its base. This lightning bolt, however, is more like a lightning explosion than a bolt, because it causes an explosion that is only slightly smaller than the one caused by the Replica. The explosion throws me back onto the ground next to Palos's corpse.

  Shaking my head, I look up in time to see the crane teetering back and forth, creaking loudly all the while before it finally falls to the side. It lands directly on the office building, which must have had some sort of flammable fuel in it because it causes another explosion that temporarily blocks out all other sounds in my audio receptors.

  The destruction of the office building distracts the dwarves running toward me, making them go to put out the fires that have started because of it. They might also be going to look for any survivors, but that doesn't matter because I will be long gone by the time they put out the flames and rescue any survivors.

  But then I realize that Kalcan is still coming at me. He does not look even slightly fazed by the explosion of the office building or the falling of the crane, although the murderous anger in his eyes is obvious even from a distance.

  Rising to my feet, I check my power level again. That last blast from me took out a large chunk of my power: I am now at 35%. Enough to help me fly away, but not enough to help me fight and defeat Kalcan.

  When I get to my feet, Kalcan lands opposite me and, before I can activate my boosters and escape, lashes out with a punch so fast my optics do not even pick it up. The blow crunches against my lower jaw, sending me staggering backward as Kalcan advances on me.

  “You … stupid … robot,” Kalcan hisses, the anger in his voice barely restrained. “You have gotten in Reunification's way one too many times now. I am done holding back. I will tear you apart into so many tiny pieces that even the best Xeeonite mechanic will be unable to put you back together.”

  This time, I think there may be some truth to his threat. I am too weak and damaged to fight him. I barely defeated his Replica, and that is when I was not damaged badly and had more than half energy. Any fight between him and me will inevitably end in his victory and my destruction.

  Then I almost trip over something small and round. Sensors show me that it is one of Palos's rings, her gray teleportation ring by the look of it. Even though the rest of her rings are shattered, this one appears still to be in one piece.

  And if it is in one piece, then it may be my only hope of survival.

  I raise my left hand and fire another finger lightning bolt. Kalcan, as usual, dodges, but as he does so, I bend over and grasp Palos's gray ring in my hand. Sensors indicate it is half full of skyras energy, but that should be more than enough to help me escape.

  Unfortunately, I have never used a skyras ring before, a fact which occurs to me as soon as I stand back up with the ring in my hand. Kalcan must have noticed what I grabbed, because he laughs at me.

  “D
id you just pick up one of Palos's rings?” says Kalcan. “What are you going to do with it, throw it at me? Robots can't use magic, you know.”

  Once again, Kalcan speaks the truth. The vast majority of robots on Xeeo are unable to harness the skyras energy within these rings, even though skyras energy is what fuels most of us. I do not understand why, although the dominant theory among Xeeonite scientists who study such things is that we robots lack the emotions and imagination necessary to access the energy inside the rings.

  “You pathetic, walking pile of scrap,” says Kalcan. “Time for you to die.”

  Kalcan launches himself at me. I squeeze hard on the ring, but nothing comes of it no matter how hard I try. It feels like nothing more than a useless piece of metal and stone to me, which means that my fate is indeed sealed. My only regret is that I will never be able to reconnect with the Database and share all of the new information I have learned over the past day.

  But then, without warning, the ring glows in my hand. I look down at it even though Kalcan is still flying at me. It is shining just like someone is using it, which makes no sense because I do not know how to use skyras rings at all.

  I have no time to dwell on it, however, because soon my whole world vanishes well before Kalcan reaches me, and I am gone.

  ***

  Chapter 11

  My surroundings are black nothingness for only a second. In the next, I find myself standing inside the cave that Palos and I had been in earlier, the one where we planned out our attack. Yet it now seems that I am alone in here, without Palos, the female arctic vampire from before, or anyone else.

  “You are not alone, J997,” says a feminine voice behind me that causes me to whirl around to see who it is.

  Standing at the back of the cave is a woman in silver robes with a large swollen back that is familiar to me. Sitting beside her is another familiar man with a scarred face, as well as a female elf with a speaking snake curled around her waist. The man and the female elf are holding each other, likely to keep warm due to the coldness of the cave.

  “The Head?” I say. “I did not know that you survived the attack.”

  The Head nods. “It was a close call, I will admit, but I did it. Reunification struck hard and fast. I only abandoned our base when it became clear that it was a totally hopeless fight.”

  I look down at the man and the female elf. “And Konoa and Lanresia as well? Did anyone else survive the attack?”

  Konoa shakes his head. “I don't think so, although there was so much confusion that I might be wrong. As far as we know, however, we're the only three survivors of the assault, sadly enough.”

  I look down at Palos's ring, which is no longer glowing, and then look up at the Head again. “How did I use Palos's ring? Robots cannot use skyras rings. This makes no sense whatsoever.”

  The Head gestures at herself. “That would be me. I can activate skyras rings from a distance. So when I sensed that you were at the site of that Reunification pit and were in danger, I activated Palos's teleportation ring to get you out of there.”

  “I did not know that was possible,” I say.

  “For most, it is not,” says the Head. “But I am a little different from most wizards, witches, and Sages.”

  “How did you do it?” I ask.

  “I will tell you later,” says the Head, although something in her tone of voice tells me that she will not. “For now, I want to thank you for disrupting Reunification's actions here. It should buy us enough time to regroup and retaliate before they can complete their Mission.”

  “Us?” I repeat. I point at myself. “Does that include me?”

  “Of course,” says the Head. “For all intents and purposes, I consider you as much a member of the Foundation as the rest of us now. You still can't go back to Xeeo, at least not right away, so you might as well stick with us.”

  “Especially in your current condition,” says Konoa, looking at my damaged body with worry. “I'm sorry, but you look like a walking scrap heap at the moment.”

  “But I—” I say, before the Head interrupts me.

  “You saw how cruel and vicious Reunification is,” says the Head. “How they will do anything to complete their Mission, including murder innocents. Is that not enough reason for you to work with us?”

  I consider the Head's reasoning. While I want to go back and report to the Database with all that I have learned, I also want to apprehend Kalcan and bring him to justice for Palos's murder. This is not simple revenge; rather, it is what I am programmed to do. And I must admit that the idea of Reunification succeeding in its Mission, with the most likely result in the deaths of billions, does bother me quite a bit.

  If nothing else, I can at least stay with the Foundation's surviving members long enough for Konoa to put me back together.

  So I nod and say, “All right. I will work with you three for now to defeat Reunification and arrest Kalcan for his murder of Palos. What is our first move?”

  The Head smiles. That is when I notice a folded up piece of paper in the pocket of her robes, an old-looking piece of paper that seems familiar to me, but before I can look at it more closely, she stuffs it further out of sight.

  “First, we need to have Konoa repair you,” says the Head. “You can do that even here, right, Konoa?”

  “It will be hard without all of HQ's resources,” Konoa admits. “But I think I can do it if we can go to Xeeo sometime and get the spare parts and tools I need there.”

  “Excellent,” says the Head. “And after that, we will search out the field agents; that is, those who were not at either the Delanian or Xeeonite bases during both attacks. If we are going to defeat Reunification once and for all, then we will need the help of every agent we can find.”

  ***

  Continues in:

  Two Worlds #3:

  Allegiance

  Chapter One

  With a hood cloaking mine face, I walked with a quickened pace through the streets of mine tiny and quaint hometown, Old Ways, located in Northern Se-Dela, far to the south of most major bustling cities and towns in this part of the country. It had been six years since I last stepped foot in this town and I had never intended to return here again, but the Mission required that I do so and I dared not go against the Mission, no matter how uncomfortable its requirements may at times be.

  'Twas a quiet little town, Old Ways was. Of course, it was early morning, with the crisp cold morning air and the sun beginning to rise in the distance. Still, when I glanced up at the sky, I could see the prison of the Old Gods, also known as the moon, fading out of view. I prayed a quick prayer to the Old Gods to grant me the strength I would need for what I am about to do.

  As the morning was still young, I saw no other people as I walked through the village. None of the villagers were awake; even the animals slept. I spotted an old guard dog slumbering deeply on the front porch of a house, the creature not stirring even one inch when I passed it by. It had a bone 'tween its paws and might have been dreaming of wide open fields and playful children, though I knew not for sure, because I was not a dog.

  I, too, dreamed of things. I dreamed of the day when the worlds would be one again. Dreamed of the day when the endless bickering and fighting among the peoples of Dela and Xeeo would cease. Dreamed of the day when the Mission would be complete and I and mine fellow Reunification members could rest at long last.

  Most important of all, I dreamed of the day when mine siblings and me would be reunited, when we would put behind ourselves the petty arguments and silly disagreements that had ruined our relationships betwixt ourselves. As the mansion in which I grew up loomed closer and closer in mine vision, I was about to make that particular dream of mine a reality.

  The mansion up ahead—tall, foreboding, and seemingly empty, although I knew that it still had within it at least one inhabitant—towered over every other hut in the village. Whereas most of the little houses here were tiny, with perhaps two or three rooms at most for a family of thre
e or four, this mansion had three stories, with several balconies upon which I had spent many summer days as a youth sitting on, watching the prison of the Old Gods rise in the distance as day became night or playing games like flip coin with mine siblings when our parents had expressly forbid us not to.

  Even so, I fingered the handle of the skyras sword sheathed at mine side. I normally was not one to use Xeeonite technology of any sort, for 'twas unnatural and unwieldy in comparison to Delanian magic and equipment. Still, mine beautiful sister Kiriah had insisted I bring this blade along with me in case I should need to defend myself, although I saw no reason for it, seeing as I was not here to fight anyone.

  Nonetheless, I allowed Kiriah to give me one such weapon, for after so many years apart I did not wish to ruin our brief time back together by denying her one of her requests. Besides, it reminded me of the sword I once wielded as a Knight of Se-Dela, although unlike that silver blade, this one was much lighter and allegedly superior due to its laser blade. Having not yet had a chance to test that theory, I knew not whether that was true; perhaps I would train with the sword after I completed this mission.

  Soon I was climbing up the steep, narrow dirt road leading from the village up to the mansion. 'Twas not a terribly difficult climb, to be sure, as I had gone through much worse since leaving this place long ago (although due to a bout of amnesia afflicting me, I can barely remember most of it). With the sun rising in the east, I saw more and more of mine old mansion the closer I approached it.

  It appeared to have been well-taken care of, for the windows reflected the rising rays of the sun as sparkling as ever, while its blue coat of paint looked as fresh as a woman's powdered nose. Most of the upper windows were shuttered, although that was clearly due to the fact that it was once night time, for even the shutters looked as beautiful as ever.