Shurikit, I'm sorry…
I feel like I was constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That portal, Atticus's role in all this, Toris himself – we're still missing so many pieces!
Ugh, my mind is a mess. I need to collect my thoughts.
As Mom and I run down the stairs to the bottom of the shaft, Angelina activates the comm. "Marc. The special sublevel, you there yet?"
"Yeah," I reply. "Well, en route. Brute forcing the ward took longer than expected."
"Hurry, you should," Angie states. "With Kit, something's wrong, I sense."
Crap! I knew she was pushing herself. "Is she still alive?"
"Yes, her body. But, um, her spirit…" She pauses for a moment. "I sense it. Somewhere below, it's been trapped."
"Trapped?!"
"Remain calm," Zoë tells me. "Shurikit is resilient in both body and mind. And spirit."
"I've primed the Bunkercrush's first payload," Vernicia's voice comes in. "Just say the word, and we will rain hell on everything below. Or break open the shaft, at the very least."
"Right." I close the comms and keep moving.
I recall the Bunkercrush's schematics – An armored aircraft loaded with high-powered force incendiary bombs designed to, well, crush bunkers. A single bomb run with one Bunkercrush can destroy an entire fort with two or three racks, and the one the aeronauts commandeered (stole) has six! What's Torblan trying to do with that kind of firepower?
"Marc. Look below," Mom points. A strange, rainbow-colored light is shining up the shaft. They really are trying something! And if Kit is stuck there too…
"Armor up, weapons out." Mom starts to slide down the stairs' rail.
I tap on my comm. "Status?"
"We're above the shaft," Ru reports. "Ready to drop on your call."
I scan the area – Mom and I are now at the bottom of the stairs, behind some giant crates near the side walls of the shaft. I can see the light between the crates, but not the people, so they shouldn't be aware of us either. "Okay, drop the bombs."
"One rack, or all six?"
"Erm…" Actually, how tough is the seal over this place? If it's a bad guy fortress, I imagine it would be hard to penetrate… "Let's call this a test run. One rack," I decide.
"Confirmed. T-minus ten seconds."
Okay… regardless of how much damage it ends up dealing, best case they'll be distracted enough for us to take them by surprise. The two of us brace against the loading zone's wall—
Ka-ka-ka-kaBOOM!
"Whoa!" The explosion blasts the seal to smithereens, sending shockwaves all through the base and causing large hunks of debris to fall down the shaft. Through the dust and falling rocks, late-afternoon sunlight streams in from above.
I quickly reactivate my comm: "That was ONE rack, right?"
"Yep. Sure packs a punch," Ru replies. "Six racks suddenly seems excessive."
"A lot stronger than I remember," I mutter. "New formula maybe? Anyway, we're in the loading zone, so don't prime any more until we confirm Kit's safety."
"Got it. I await the good news."
After I close the connection, Mom glances at me. All grown up now. Fighting for his love. Enough to make a soldier cry. Hm, but I won't.
I refrain from saying anything. I mean, it's not like she's wrong. But I can't for the life of me tell if Kit feels the same way, and I can read her thoughts!
Afterwards, I resolve. I'll tell her after.
As we sneak behind the closest crate to the center of the loading zone, Mom's temperament shifts – I feel that her mind has gone completely still.
"Well, now! Stealing a bomber was one thing, but actually using it? Come on! If I didn't know any better I'd say you guys had a death wish," Atticus says, shaking his head. I instantly recognize his voice from our numerous audio-only conferences, but this is the first time I've seen his face. "You should know those bombs are an enhanced prototype. Not completely stable, and certainly not something a group of rebellious biotools should be messing with so carelessly. Heavens forbid it gets shot down or something; you'd take the whole base along with yourselves."
Something wriggles in Atticus's hand – some kind of fluid, faintly glowing thing?
(It worked, and that's what matters. Now let me go,) it says. Shurikit!
Atticus's gaze snaps towards our hiding spot. "Oh? But we've yet to welcome our visitor. Seems like he's excited to meet you."
I retreat farther behind the crate, realizing my mistake – seems like he's psycho-adept as well. Just my luck.
"You of the Adams family always have been the defiant sort," Atticus shakes his head. "Well, not like it'll make a difference now. So tell me, 183-A. You met the aquanauts, right? Any idea where they went?"
(Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you,) Shurikit shoots back.
Mom taps my shoulder, then projects: [Someone else is here. You see him?]
I quickly scan the area and notice a familiar silhouette – an aeronaut! Maybe it's the one that left Kit's team?
"I heard that, Fusion boy," Atticus calls. "I can introduce you, if you'd like. White Knight, go say hi."
Mom raises another projection: [He doesn't sense me. Go.]
I really need to learn how she does that. She's basically immune to telepathy.
As I run towards Atticus, the aeronaut White Knight slams into me from the side, then nails me with a kick that sends me skidding backwards. Meh, nowhere near as powerful as Kit's kicks… wait, why am I disappointed? That's a good thing! I quickly retaliate with a void blast, but he jumps out of the way.
"Too slow, haha! Hey, you're the emanator, right?" He asks as he hovers in the air.
"Come over here and find out," I challenge. Maybe I can just scare him—
"Hells, no." Atticus flicks his free hand. "If he was, we'd have been buried ages ago."
White Knight deflates a bit. "Oh. Bummer." I'd pay to see a guy who can level an entire city in one go.
He's looking away – now! I launch a void bomb that blasts him into a crate with a SHABWOOM.
He hops to the floor, looking fine. Of course, it's NOW that I notice he's wearing enhanced battle armor. "Whoa, still pretty strong. This'll be fun!" About time I found someone on Kisha's level.
"Sure," I sigh, charging more energy.
I have to be fast, but White Knight is faster. Will Kit's spirit really be okay like this? I can't get to her with him keeping me busy. The first time, I recall she flatlined after ten minutes, but apparently she's been practicing… even so, hasn't it been way too long?
"Now, then. Where were we? Oh yes, you were displaying your lack of knowledge concerning the aquanauts," Atticus continues. Try as I might, I still can't get anything from him. "Really, I should have picked them up while they were still in the submarine mansion. This is just a pain now."
(They're not even a threat,) Kit's spirit protests. (You should try chatting with them. You'll see.)
"I suppose. But it's not me who's obsessing over this, mind you," Atticus replies. "Guess I'll just shelve that for now. Moving on, there's a certain exceptionally slippery earthmover we've been banging our heads over. Maybe you've heard of him? Jiminalius Hanks."
(That's his full name? Hehe, no wonder he just goes by Jim.)
Atticus sighs, rubbing his metal headband. "Of course he wouldn't confide in you, either. What a pain…"
(Well, if he's been giving you the runaround for this long, then it's no surprise he managed to sneak Cryos out from under your fat noses,) Kit casually says.
"He – what?!" Atticus's eyes widen, and his mental guard drops a tiny bit—
***#mistake##WORTHLESSINVESTMENT###priceofMYsupportis###squanderingFOOLS###**lostcause—
Atticus's composure returns. "Elaborate," he calmly requests. "This is an order."
"Whoa, never seen him make that face before," White Knight observes. "Is Cryos like a big deal?"
BANG! A bullet nails Atticus in the head, causing him to lose his grip on Kit's spirit. As he falls, she immediately disappears.
Atticus hits the ground with a whump, but there isn't any blood. His weird metal headband seems to have deflected the bullet, but at least it knocked him out.
"What the?! Was that a sniper?" White Knight flies in the direction of the gunshot's source, but Mom has since disappeared.
I run behind a crate and activate my comm. "We just freed Kit. How is she?"
"Her color is returning," Rurin replies. "She should be fine. Maybe a bit stiff, but fine."
"Good. Prepare the remaining bombs."
"Priming."
Then I make my way to the mages on the other side of the loading bay, some of whom are still pouring magic into that rainbow thing.
"We're losing energy," the orbal mage says. "Come help us!"
"No! Don't drop the barrier yet," the blue-skinned mage commands. Are those horns of hers real? "That bomber is rounding back; we'll be dead if it drops another payload!"
A female mage covered in scars speaks up: "Their sniper is still down here somewhere. They wouldn't risk hurting an ally, would they?"
The cunning mage casts a glance upwards. "I dunno about that, I heard they're crazy. Like, slasher-tier."
"Can't we just throw it at the bomber? Portal that instead," the muscular mage suggests.
"No, really bad idea," a mage with long green hair and a green dress interjects. "It's hard enough getting to the Otherplace; the last thing we need is its resources getting destroyed. We can't risk it!"
The muscular mage starts doing stretches. "Head-to-head it is. Who's coming with?"
"I'll do it," the cunning mage decides, then points at the orbal mage. "You too, Croe."
"What? Ugh, fine," he sighs.
"The rest of us, portal," the green mage says, and they promptly join her in surrounding the rainbow thing. I guess that's a portal? I've never seen one before now.
As the three defending mages fly up the shaft, I meet Mom behind another crate, just as planned. "I've evaded the aeronaut soldier. He should still be looking over there," she reports. Disappointingly easy. I thought his speed would be an asset.
"Okay, let's head back up and end this," I decide, reaching for my comm.
"I think not," Atticus says. When did he–?!
SHABANG! We're blasted into the open, right in the middle of the loading zone.
"Cryos… as I live and breathe," Atticus remarks. "That attempt on my life wasn't very sporting of you. I'd have handled things a bit differently if I knew you were also involved. I know how much your family means to you."
Mom rises to her feet, rifle leveled at him.
"Oh, wait, I heard you prefer your true name. Zoë, yes? Far more befitting of a woman of your poise," Atticus calmly says. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was flirting with her. No way, right?
"Cryos is fine," Mom states.
"Well, if you insist," Atticus shrugs. "Come along, then. I promise I won't bite."
Mom doesn't move, still aiming her rifle at him.
"Well, take your time." Atticus walks past us to his mage minions. "Spellmasters, report! What's the holdup with the portal?"
"It's the bomber, boss," the blue mage calls. "I've already foreseen this facility's total destruction by its hand. We've sent three up to try and delay it."
"Curses," Atticus mutters. "What about our most valuable assets?"
"I've confirmed that the protoforms escaped already," a bald mage reports. His clothes are covered in pockets. "For some reason, all the researchers and crew are gone too. Even Melania left, and she practically lives here."
"Makes things easier for us, I suppose. Though I kind of wonder who issued the evac call… meh." Atticus taps his bearded chin. "Lower the barrier's energy, keep the portal stable. I've got a few questions for Cryos here. Things might change depending on what answers I get."
The green mage looks over at us. "That's Cryos?"
"Cryos is a woman?" The scarred mage also looks surprised. "And she has a son…"
Mom remains silent, but her rifle soon lowers.
"Glad we're on the same page," Atticus nods. "Now then, Cryos. Your metastasis pod was specially refitted for long-term containment and sealed in a location only Joseph Adams and myself knew about. How did Jiminalius find you, let alone free you?"
"I don't know," she replies. Why would I? I was in a fog the whole time.
"Ah. Of course you don't," Atticus says. "Riddle me this, then – where did he go? What is he planning?"
"I get nothing out of this," Mom retorts. I miss my husband.
"Cryos, my dear, no need to be so cold," Atticus replies. "I assure you, I only want the best for the biotools."
"I'm a biotool?"
"Strictly speaking, no. But if we're talking by-the-book data listings, then… yes."
"You're contradicting yourself."
"Don't sweat the details. The point is, I'm not out to hurt you or your son, or the other aeronauts. And hey, none of you have flare sigils either!"
"Shurikit…"
"Oh, 183-A? Please. As long as her body remained unharmed, she was in no danger whatsoever." He thoughtfully strokes his beard. "That power of hers… Torvalt really was onto something."
"I still don't trust you."
"You don't have to! Most people I work with don't," Atticus shrugs. "I'm always the fall guy in major projects like this one, so I'm used to it."
"You're oddly reasonable for a madman."
"Madman? You wound me, Cryos." He shakes his head. "I didn't come up with this plot, you should know. I merely fund and support Mr. Toris's ambitions. That's always how I've done it."
"But why?"
"Mm… it's a long story, but I suppose I can indulge you a bit. I rarely get opportunities to simply talk, after all."
Mom seems at a loss, but I can't tell for sure – her mind has gone still again. "I… guess we can talk a little," she reluctantly agrees.
~
Atticus and I both suspected Kit was bluffing when she made that threat, but White Knight took off towards the Bunkercrush before either of us could say so.
I guess it's better than what he was trying to do at first. This guy really wanted to test my limits in combat for some reason. Something about potential? I suspect he just read that somewhere.
Is he just lonely? Considering that Kit's main description of him is "battlebrained," maybe fighting is his way of sharing or expressing his feelings? I could be overthinking it. His thoughts were basically the same as his words, after all.
Soon the aircraft shifts and vibrates in the throes of intense one-on-one combat.
"Uh-oh." The green mage stands up. "If the bombs destabilize–"
"Hold a moment, Harin." Atticus narrows his eyes at the aircraft. "They aren't primed yet," he mutters. "We'll be safe for as long as the bombs remain inert."
"I dunno; my foresight is still showing the same outcome," the blue mage says.
"Stay the course, spellmasters." Atticus turns to me and Mom. "Now then, back to business. We've still got time to hash things out, I think. Not much, though."
"Didn't we make it clear already? We won't bend to your whims any longer," I retort.
"Some clarifications first. First of all, these "whims" ultimately aren't mine. Hells, I didn't even source the protoforms," Atticus states. "Mr. Toris handled all of that and only approached me to secure funding and manpower."
"How many people have you funded?" I ask, now curious.
"Meh, NDA. Goes both ways, you understand." He raises his hands, feigning helplessness. "Though I might be persuaded to change my mind if you open up a bit more. I mean, I've already told you so much."
Mom draws her ice gun. "You can't fight, can you? Perhaps I'll show you a bit of incentive…"
"Whoa there! No need to get feisty, Cryos," Atticus backpedals. "Say what you will about my methods, but violence is rarely one of them."
"What about the flare sigils? Needless deaths have occurred because of them," I tell him.
"Well, see, that was just part of the contract," he replies. "I set them to detonate if that contract was breached, but Mr. Toris somehow figured out how to remotely detonate them himself. I can only assume that's what happened with Torvalt and Markovell."
"So, Joseph – I mean, Dad…"
"Breach of contract. He probably blabbed or something, knowing full well what would happen next."
Mom levels her ice gun at Atticus's face. "I'll… kill you where you stand."
Atticus lets out a dry chuckle. "It would be easy, wouldn't it? I can't tell you how many times I've heard those exact words whenever things went south. I'm just an investor, though. Easiest one to blame, right? Something like a "shoot the messenger" type deal."
The fading light returns, and everyone looks upwards again – the Bunkercrush has exited the shaft.
"Seems White Knight succeeded in his task," Atticus nods.
"The portal's ready too, boss," the bald mage reports. "Is Toris still en route?"
"Hmm, I'll have to give him a call," Atticus mutters. "He's prone to sudden changes of plan. Give me like a minute…"
As Atticus steps away, the pit in my gut grows deeper.
~
"Boss, the bomber's back," the bald mage shouts.
"I don't think we can't wait any longer for Toris," the scarred mage says.
"Can't believe that crazy girl," Atticus sighs. "Open it now! Everybody in!"
"Huh? Us too?" I point at myself and Mom.
"If you wanna live," the bald mage replies, then jumps into the portal with a WHOORF.
The scarred mage moves toward the portal, then stops to draw her weapon. "Aeronaut inbound! Boss–"
"Gotcha," Vernicia shouts, tackling Atticus at top speed. They both skid into the portal – WHOORF.
"The bomber is falling! Go, go," the blue mage shouts, grabbing the green mage and the scarred mage by the arm. WHOORF!
"Crap!" Mom and I jump in as the Bunkercrush plummets down towards us – WHOORF!
###
FROOHW—
My eyes open.
What the…
I close them again – maybe I'm just unconscious, and this is a dream.
"Not a dream," I hear Atticus reply. "If you could just… release me, 183-I—"
"Shut up! You aren't going anywhere, you bastard!" Vernicia still has him in a tight headlock.
Looking around, I still can't seem to make sense of where we are. The land looks like land, but the sky is rainbow-colored instead of purple, and the nearby forest's trees are glinting and shimmering like they're made of silver.
Mom is also looking around, but she's more enamored by the pretty colors than confused. Good for her, I guess?
"Phew," the bald mage sighs, standing up. "Portal closure confirmed, no interspacial damage detected."
"Interspacial??!! Where are we?" Verni demands.
"We're all stuck here, so it won't make a difference if you let me go," Atticus tells her.
Verni glares at him, clearly not convinced. I suppose he can't explain anything if his neck's slashed… Bluebell, scout the area.
Then she changes her grip so that she's holding his arms behind his back. At the same time, a tiny mote of blue light rises from between Verni's wings and darts into the silvery trees.
"That'll do, I suppose," Atticus mutters. Then he says, "Spellmasters, sound off!"
"Armix here," the scarred mage calls. "My stuff has just been buried under a zillion tons of rock."
"You brought your stuff to HQ?" The bald mage looks befuddled.
"I was moving! And HQ is usually the safest place for valuables…" She throws Verni a pointed look. Damned aeronauts. Walking disasters, the lot of 'em.
"Sheesh. Bad luck I guess," the bald mage replies. "Anyway, Rueno here. We're safe for now." Not gonna mention my locker. Maybe I can get Phonis to dig it up once we're back.
"Harin here," the green mage calls. "I'm wondering if our harvesting facility is nearby."
"Well, if that's the silver forest…" Atticus thinks for a moment. "We might be close. Hopefully."
"Ranne here. I wonder if your hubby's okay," the blue mage says to Harin. "I rather liked talking to him." I'd steal him if he wasn't so loyal. Maybe I can drag them into a threesome…
Harin closes her eyes, her green hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. "I… can't tell from here. He is alive, though. Maybe he escaped with the other mechanics." I've seen how you look at him. Demoness whore.
"Psycho-aptitude?" Mom asks.
"Empathy link. It runs on his side of the family," Harin explains. "Zoë, was it? Sorry, I mean Cryos."
"Hmm… you can call me Zoë," Mom decides.
"Yeah, okay," Atticus cuts in, now walking free. "Just the four of you, then? We should still be fine."
"HEY! You stunned me, you bastard!!" Verni flies at him with her black sword raised, but Rueno stops her attack with a barrier and Harin traps her in an earthbind, immobilizing her entire body. This doesn't stop Vernicia for long, though – with a violet-blue flash, she cuts out of the spell, her sword aglow with watery energy. "Atticus! I won't let you get away!" First him, then Toris! Finally!
"I'm not running." He puts his hands on his hips, looking exasperated. "Listen please, if you're able. We're on the other side of the portal without a beacon, and without a beacon, we can't return home. You got all that? Do I need to repeat myself?"
Verni sheaths her sword, her bloodlust finally fading. "So… this place is another world?"
"Right! On! The! Nose!" Atticus spreads his arms. "This here's a zone you've never known! Another time, another space, yet no time and space at all! Welcome, noobs and veterans, to the secret realm of wishes and dreams – the Otherplace."
"Dumb name," Verni mutters. Kind of cute, though.
"We didn't come up with it," Armix shrugs. Kind of cute, though.
"We're going back, right?" I ask. "To our world, I mean. You said we needed a beacon?"
"There's one in my facility. But since we didn't have time to calibrate the beacon, it sent us somewhere random," Atticus replies. "There's no telling how far away it is, so let's get moving."
The mote of light returns to Verni's back. Aw, what? Just stay with me then. I bet my vibes can buff you up.
"I'm gonna get some eyes in the sky," Vernicia decides, rising into the air. "It'll, um, make things go faster."
"Fascinating," Atticus replies. "I mean, good idea. I'll leave aerial recon to you then, 183-I. Ahem, Vernicia."
She narrows her eyes at Atticus, then quickly departs, shooting off over the shimmering trees.
"You saw it too?" Rueno rubs his chin.
"Yes… the Otherplace's energies must be disrupting its concealment," Ranne figures. "Never thought I'd see one with an aeronaut." I've always wanted to eat a faery. I heard they're like little berries.
"You. Blue mage," Mom says. "Ranne, was it? Are you… from here?"
"No. I'm a demon," she replies. "I thought the horns were a dead ringer." My skin too, no? Maybe she hasn't heard of the Demosphere.
"And you…" Mom starts staring at Rueno.
"No, I'm human. Just a bald human," he disclaims. Sheesh, and she's a biometal super soldier? What's with this gap?
"Oh." Mom backs off. Maybe the scarred one is also human. She looks human.
As we start walking along the edge of the silver forest, my mind goes back to that moment.
The moment before we jumped into the portal, and the Bunkercrush was falling,
I had reached out with my mind. To see if Kit was going to be okay, and maybe also…
No, no. It's too late. I know what she did.
And there's no way she survived the explosion.
I wish I knew how she felt in those last moments. Was she thinking of anyone? Maybe thinking of me? There's still so much I wanted to tell her.
But now, she's gone.
"Marc?"
I thought I still had time…
"Marc. Talk to me," Mom is saying. I snap back to reality(?).
"Sorry." I realize I'm crying and wipe my face. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't as human as I am. Like the aeronauts."
"Where did this come from?"
"I'm… gonna miss Kit," I sigh. "There are so many things I never got to tell her. She was bold, tough, mean, cute… and… I had a feeling she was willing to give me a chance."
"Hmm…" Mom wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Do you envy their detachment? Their ability to let go?"
"Well, when you put it like that… I dunno."
"First loves are always the hardest to move past, aren't they?"
"What, you had more than one love?" And here I thought she only had eyes for Joseph.
"In my adolescence, I would often spy on the earthmovers in the trial grounds," Mom confidently recounted.
"Does… that count as being in love?"
"Um… I… think so? Yes!" Confidence is key. Remember your training!
"Hahaha!" I fail to hold in my laugh, and inexplicably, the pain seems to escape with it. "Thanks, Mom. For some reason, that made me feel better."
"Of course, Marc. I'm here any time you need me," she affirms. Successful momming confirmed. Maybe I am a natural at this.
I really will miss her. But even now, I'm not alone.
"Rest easy, Kit," I whisper. "Heaven, limbo, wherever you are… I'll make sure we finish this."
I promise.