by Skyler Grant
"Shall I kill the feed?" I asked.
"Leave it dearie. I am busy counting debts," Magpie said.
There was something cold in her words, certain.
The ships had begun to move and they weren't headed towards me. They were headed towards Crystal.
19
I knew that Crystal was aware of the Wolf fleet. It was she that had first alerted me to their presence after all.
What I had to decide was what I was going to do about it. I could ignore the issue, it was clear that is what the video feed was really all about. It was a warning to all the other districts not to interfere in what was about to come.
It seemed that the Professor's strike on me was the start of a trend. Up until then I'd mostly seen probing of defenses, partial commitment of forces that didn't expend major resources. Based on the ships that Wolf was sending he was making a serious play to take Crystal out and didn't want any others to interfere.
I'd agreed to follow Crystal's lead so that we could rescue Anna and Sylax but that commitment was only as strong as my willingness to follow through on it.
I didn't think I had a choice but to do so. If Crystal fell my best hope for rescuing Anna would go with her.
I opened a line to her and she answered at once.
"You see where they're headed," Crystal said.
"The Wolf has an appetite for the weak. Is this why you refused my call for support earlier?" I asked.
"You had it handled Emma and yes, I had some idea that this was coming. The Wolf isn't going to find me as easy prey as he imagines. I'm actually going to need you to hold back," Crystal said.
That was a surprise. Wolf had the strongest navy once taking the city, it was a bit of a surprise he hadn't contested Sylax for rule but now that she was out of the picture Crystal really had nothing to compare.
"Another plan from the fine mind for consequences that brought us Sylax?" I asked.
"I have it handled Emma. I could use explosives, the ones you used to take down airships in the past," Crystal said.
Those had used the spawn of my bioreactors and they actually fed on biomatter to amplify their explosive force. Given airships tended to be filled with living beings they were quite effective.
"I have six ready. I can get you more with a little time," I said.
"Six will do. Send them along power access conduit eighteen, I'll have someone meet your agents," Crystal said.
I dispatched a few drones for the transport and a few more for their defense. I assumed that Crystal picked a route she thought was safe but it was getting hard to tell what was safe in the city.
"On the way," I said.
"Good. Now shortly into the battle I am going to start throwing a lot of flak at those airships and he'll call on an alliance we aren't supposed to have. Jade is going to send a lot of her agents, perhaps even come out herself. When she does, I want you to hit her district with everything you've got and capture its core," Crystal said.
Crystal was using herself as bait. Perhaps I had underestimated her. It was a dangerous plan, bold, but with her bearing the brunt of the risks.
"You realize I won't be able to actually claim it," I said.
"Beat Jade's forces and do it in her core and you'll be able to compel her loyalty. It is just like you had a compulsion core. If we can seize her then we'll have three districts in our alliance. With a majority we can take the city," Crystal said.
This was all news to me. Crystal knew a lot more of the rules that governed a city like this than I did, which wasn't a surprise given how long she had been around.
The airships were passing into Crystal's airspace and dragons were soaring up to fight them. Fiery breath was meeting energy shielding and energy blasts. The shields should have been more than capable of holding out against an assault like that but after only a few gouts of flame they were flickering away.
Crystal has modified her dragons, she must have. Instead of typical heat breath she had modified them so that their breath dealt extra damage to energy shielding. It probably made it absolutely useless against the ships armor.
A puff of flame hit a ships hull and left it unmarked in passing. Theory confirmed.
Turrets rose from her district and began to spill shell casing as rounds fired off towards the ship above.
These were not helpless against the armor. The ships began to absorb kinetic damage far sooner than they could have anticipated which was exactly what Crystal had planned.
I focused my sensors upon Jade's district. If there was an alliance there Jade would be getting her marching orders right now.
And there they were, a party of green nimbused figures rising from the district to streak off towards the battle.
Perhaps the bombs I was providing for them, or perhaps they were to finish the ships off after Jade stopped the guns. Either way I had my own battle to worry about now.
Crystal's plan was solid was I was going to follow through with it. Since I'd last met Jade in battle I'd done a lot of planning.
With my new growth vats I was able to replicate the Professor's energy weapon designs that he'd designed for Sylax's clone army. I even had a few troopers that I'd upgraded with the telekinetic ability. While they wouldn't have passive defenses I could set them to actively provide defense for my forces.
Combine that with proper battle armor and they'd be an unexpected and unpleasant surprise for Jade.
I only wish I could take the giant beam cannon with me. It was still out of commission after the big fight unfortunately, otherwise I might have tried mounting it on a vehicle. I took along a supply of sonic grenades and sent my forces on the way. It felt good to be going on the offense.
20
Given the damage I'd already inflicted on Jade's forces and the fact her heavy hitters were already heading off to support Wolf I hoped that this would be an easy fight. I was certain I wouldn't get a better opportunity.
My weapons were good but I wished I had some of my old allies. Hot Stuff would have been ideal in a situation like this, unfortunately she was still a prisoner of Wolf.
Jade's district looked like nothing so much as if a quadrant of the city had already been bombed into oblivion. Blasted walls and collapsed roofs with a few leather clad individuals clustered around bonfires.
Just because it was the apocalypse didn't mean that one couldn't have standards.
In the center of it all was a floating slab of rock with a massive arena built atop it. Perhaps she viewed herself as some sort of gladiator. Given the recent video feed she wasn't alone in her liking of this particularly horrid bit of architecture.
Fortunately her very disorganization and the ruins of her district made stealth easy, that and the fact that every one was looking off in the direction of the battle which was lighting up the sky.
Unfortunately careless didn't mean completely inept and while my teams managed to infiltrate the district up to the arena undetected, once there they found the guards to be awake.
If I was going to capture this district I wanted to make it as quick as possible and do as little damage as possible, not that I was sure I could do any worse than the local residents already had.
I had my agents take up positions where they could get shot and in an instant four beams lanced out to take guards in the head.
The attack did not go unnoticed. My drones were physically picked up and dragged through the corridor to crash hard into the floor.
"About damned time," Jade said, the woman levitating in mid-air in a nimbus of green power. "I knew that Spider was up to something. What I didn't know is that she had you as her little lapdog. You're weak and you're a coward but I guess I can't expect too much more from a machine."
"You're the one coming when the Wolf whistles. Decided to trade one sadist for another?" I asked.
While she was busy making insulting banter I was busy observing the surroundings. The floor of the arena was covered with weapons, layers upon layers of swords, knives, axes, and clubs.
They were all weapons that would be useless against Jade directly but that which with her abilities she could fling at will.
I had an idea forming but it was risky. It would be better to solve this with the weapons I'd brought with me.
Candice snapped off a shot from a beam pistol, a sword flew up to intercept the round and crashed to earth with the steel glowing.
"He's the best hope of seeing that the bitch stays down. Don't get in the way of that and maybe you'll get to survive," Jade said.
"So your ally is under fire and you've just been sitting around waiting for someone to show up? Any flashbacks to your birthday parties growing up?" I asked.
Jade frowned and a dagger rose into the air to plunge into Candice's shoulder driving her backward.
"Why are you on the wrong side here? Is it to get your little pet back? Don't tell me it is actually the human pulling your strings," Jade said as a host of weapons levitated in the air and began to swirl around my assault party.
It was going to have to be the backup plan. It all hinged on the fact that I'd observed that even corpses tended to maintain some degree of the powers they were imbued with. I'd have to time this carefully.
"So you think it is failure chasing after you and not you chasing after failure?" I asked. "I'm still laughing Jade. In all creation I only get one joke and it is you. You're still the saddest and funniest little thing I've ever seen."
"You think so. Let's cut your puppet's strings," Jade said.
It was time.
I quickly accessed Abigail's stats and upgraded her with energy manipulation. Ratticus had used his ability before to neutralize electricity, but right now it was magnetism I was interested in.
The blades under telekinetic control plunged towards my forces and I put everything I had into Abigail's new power channeling it into magnetic attraction.
The angle of the blades altered ever so slightly and instead of converging on every member they instead converged on her. I leapt my fiery mole to help intercept the blades as well. While he did not incinerate nearly so well as Hot Stuff it was enough to keep my team functional. Abigail didn't even get out a cry before she was minced into a fine slurry.
I didn't waste any time once she was, activating a teleport and upending what was left of her directly over Jade.
"What the fuck," Jade said as blood and viscera suddenly rained down from the sky coating her body. On the ground below the weapons trembled drawn by the powerful magnetic field now coating her.
Jade raised a hand and green energy cascaded out, coating the ground below.
"You think it is that easy? I control them," Jade said.
It was true, she was more powerful than the magnetism but it was also drawing her full attention. I still had multiple drones on their feet armed with beam weapons and they leveled those guns at her.
"You're suddenly attractive. A new sensation, I'm sure. Yield or burn," I said through Candice.
"You wouldn't dare," Jade said.
"Must we go over this again? You're funny Jade. I want to keep you alive for the sheer comic relief of your existence. Give me a reason though and I'll laugh at your death instead," I said.
Jade frowned but after a moment nodded, "Yield. Get this stuff off of me."
Jade truly wasn't the smartest in the bunch.
"You're a telekinetic, get it off yourself and pull your people back. Let the Wolf deal with his own fire," I said.
Jade was engulfed in a green glow and the slurry peeled off of her to drip onto the ground before. I'd have to regrow Abigail later.
You have forced a district leader to yield
They will now behave as if under compulsion in regards to your orders. Furthermore you have gained access to reports and surveillance from their district.
Jade was under my command then. Excellent.
"I think you'll find it a bit late for that," Jade said smirking as she looked towards Crystal's district.
I checked the camera feeds. Half the Wolf fleet was still in the air and the district below was in flames.
21
I opened a line to Crystal. Unlike last time, this time it took a bit for her to answer.
"I hope you have good news," Crystal said and I heard the sound of fire crackling in the background.
"We have a new member. Things don't seem to be going your way," I said.
"Sending you a visual," Crystal said and I got an incoming video feed.
Werewolves were walking through the streets of her district but these were different than the others I'd seen. These ones were on fire and didn't seem phased by it. They'd succeeded in acquiring Hot Stuff's ability somehow.
"You didn't see that coming," I said.
"Obviously. They've gained the ability of your former crew person, do you think she is cooperating with them willingly?" Crystal asked.
"They shouted to the world they have no issues with being cannibal rapists, it obviously isn't beyond them to gain access to her virus by forcing themselves on her. She is also so strong I'm not sure any of them would survive the attempt," I said.
Hot Stuff tended to burn even hotter when she got angry. I wasn't entirety certain anything in this world could get that close to her if she didn't decide to allow it.
"Well they found some way to get access to her powers. They unlocked their old form as well," Crystal said.
"The hybrid shape was your creation?" I asked.
"Of course, but Sylax had me remove it a long time ago. They were too powerful. I'm not sure how Wolf unlocked it again without my consent," Crystal said.
That was two powersets that Wolf may have gained some access to without the owners granting him the authority.
"We have to put him down," I said.
"I agree. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one he hit," Crystal said.
I was provided with another video feed. I recognized the manicured lawns and ancient stone buildings as being the Professor's district. There as in Crystal's district fiery werewolves roamed free as the buildings burned.
Roots sprang up from the ground, blue and covered in frost and bound themselves around the Wolves running free in Crystal's home. Thorns pierced flesh and where they did a ripples of dark energy pulsed and flesh died. Fire or no the werewolves were now being butchered.
This persisted for a few minutes before the airships overhead began to pull and back away.
I doubted they would be gone for long. Crystal was weaker now with most of her district destroyed, far weaker than she had been.
"I've called a meeting with the others. Zora, Crash, Flicker, and Ophelia. We meet in Ophelia's district in one hour," Crystal said.
I wished that she had picked a better meeting spot. Still, one had to make do with what they could.
Nobody except for Ophelia wound up attending the meeting in person.
Crystal was represented by a perfect likeness, except one that seemed to be entirety made of some sort of living snow. Even her garments were made of tiny snow crystals which held up even under my best magnification settings. I was impressed.
I attended as a mechanical drone. Zora had a drone of her own, although hers represented a full sized hologram of her in flickering green. Crash had a video feed of the heavy-set man lounging back in some massive throne surrounded by screens while Flicker was represented by a tiny floating sphere of pitch blackness.
"Thank you all for attending," Crystal said. "It is no mystery why I am calling this meeting. With Sylax missing a majority of us are required to appoint a replacement city head. Wolf is aggressively pressing his case for the position. I don't think any of us want that to happen."
Zora's hologram gave a lazy smile as she looked over those gathered, "That is where you're wrong. I've already signed on with Wolf and that means that in addition to the Professor he has three. You all know Crystal won't last and if she did she'd bring back Sylax."
Ophelia drew a pistol and with a single round caused Zora's drone to explode in a cascade of sparks. "We came h
ere to hear your pitch, not his. Pitch."
"Emma and Jade are with me. Together we simply need a majority. An alliance of five of nine and possession of the central district is enough to claim control," Crystal said.
"For those of you who are poorly programmed copies and thus incapable of simple arithmetic, that means we simply need two more," I said.
"Don't help Emma," Crystal said with a strained smile.
The hovering black sphere pulsed a moment and a modulated female tone said, "Do you intend to rescue Sylax?"
"Bit curious on that one myself," Crash said. "Lady is a whole lot of crazy and we're better off without her in charge."
Crystal's snow golem learned forward, "If we take control we take control. It will be in charge, not Sylax. Yes, we intend to rescue her but no, I will not be returning control of the city to her afterward."
This was news to me. It seemed the sort of thing she should have shared with her closest ally, but then Crystal did seem to enjoy keeping her secrets. It was one of her better qualities.
Was it actually possible? Because I'd seized a district despite not being very fond of me Sylax had in a sense been stuck with me. A city operated by strict rules. I had to conclude that Crystal might just be speaking the truth.
Crash grunted, "She's going to be pissed."
"My problem to deal with and I'll keep the rest of you safe," Crystal said.
"We think you can't even keep yourself safe," Ophelia said.
"I made Sylax. Give me the power of this city and I'll make those who supported me into so much more than they are now."
I rather liked what I was now.
An antiquated looking telephone on the table rang loudly and Ophelia picked up the handpiece to listen to a few words, "On my way." Setting the phone down she looked around the table, "Wolf just launched an attack on this district. I'm in, if you can defend me."
Wolf was wasting no time.
"What the hell, I'll make five," Crash said.