22.
MechaNix
Eden had sensed the man around the corner three minutes ago, but she
still had no idea what she was going to do. Her mind was still a mess from what
had happened with Cliff, and she had no idea what she was going to do about
that either. What he had done felt completely unfair, and that made her indignant.
Thoughts about Cliff quickly left Eden's mind as the stranger made his
way out from the left corridor. His aura was a pall of lead-gray energy that cast
a dark shadow over his body.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and thick arms. Large bolts and screws
tattooed his metal armor, grafting large chunks of steel together. Where his right
fist should have been was a shiny silver sledgehammer, easily three times as wide
as Eden's body. He seemed to be scavenging the bodies of the dead that lined
the eastern hallway.
The armored being swerved abruptly. Small slivers between the metal in
his helmet revealed nothing but darkness where the man's face should have been.
He didn't have the large volume of psynergy that Eden had sensed from the
magician-assassin, but it felt dense.
Eden tried the diplomatic approach first, just as Cliff had taught her.
"Hello. Do you need help looking for something?"
The armored one loomed before Eden, saying nothing, then began to move
toward her. As the metal assemblage approached, Eden noticed some letters
inscribed on the top of the sledgehammer: 'TORNEO.'
"Nice to meet you, Torneo," Eden said. "My name's Eden."
Torneo raised the sledgehammer over his shoulder.
"Well," Eden let out a sigh. "At least he's slow."
Eden had already begun gathering psynergy into her feet, and as Torneo
brought his hammer down, she dashed off, squeezing in through the gap between
Torneo's massive right leg and the wall. Her opponent was still in mid-swing when
she arrived at his back. By the time he finished and began to turn around, Eden
was ready.
She pushed her hands into Torneo's back, allowing her psynergy to flow
out through his armor. A sharp, flat square of psynergy exploded from her straightened
palms, crackling loudly against the man's back.
Torneo was not flung across the room, but he did lose his balance, and
Eden thought she heard a yelp. As he wobbled forward, he swung one foot out in
front to try and steady himself. Lurching sideways, the monster whirled his
hammer arm around in an arc, trying to smash Eden and regain his balance.
Eden ducked. As Torneo's hammer crushed a panel of the wall into
pieces, she let loose a small orb of psynergy toward his leg. She doubted it
would do any damage, but if she could get him on the ground, it would make this
a whole lot easier. Luck was on her side, for as Torneo shifted his weight to pull
his right arm out from the wall, her blast struck the heel of his foot. Another
yelp echoed from within the metal, and he stumbled backwards. His arm slipped
from the wall and landed on the ground next to the rest of his body.
The armored shell of Torneo remained still and lifeless, like a heap of
garbage that someone had thrown away. After watching it for several minutes,
Eden turned her eyes away and stared down the passageways that she hoped Vance
or Cliff would be coming from. She felt spent, but also very excited. When Cliff
sees this, he'll have to admit how wrong he's been.
Drawn deep within her thoughts, Eden failed to hear the small creak of
Torneo's breastplate being
*************
removed as a short old man crept out of the armor. He’d lost most of his hair
already, and had no more strength in his bones, save for his dexterous fingers.
That was what had led him to invent Torneo: an enormous metal masterpiece that
allowed him to easily scavenge all sorts of interesting materials from other
dimensions.
His name was Rhoberrage Shizzurd, a retired inventor from the dimension
of Achitophel. Rhoberrage had a great quest: gathering all the materials he needed
to create the ultimate robot to which he could fuse his own body, so that he
could live forever. He had originally intended for Torneo to become that vessel,
but that required a trove of advanced materials. And so, he had come to
scavenge the battleground in the hopes of finding some rare parts to sneak back
home.
Then, he had made a humiliating tactical error. The girl had looked so
helpless, standing there like a lost animal. Her psynergy signal seemed so weak,
and even her attacks hadn't done that much damage. She was smart, though, and she
was quick. He made a mental note that his next creation would have to be much
faster, without a doubt.
Rhoberrage silently moved from the robot, clutching a dagger. He had
the element of surprise. He simply needed to quietly shove the blade into her
soft body
*************
twitched as Eden sensed a psynergy aura coming her way. Her eyes did
not move to Rhoberrage, but toward the two figures walking out from the western
passageway.
"Vance!" she called out, waving her hand enthusiastically as
she recognized her friend. "You're okay! I was starting to get worried."
"Hey, Eden," Vance called back, trying his best to look casual.
Eden’s eyes were drawn to the shadowy figure that walked beside him,
and her heart jumped into her throat. It was the man they had encountered in
Despair, the man who had scared Winslow enough to stop him...walking side-by-side
with Vance, as if they were partners.
As Eden watched Vance and Averyl approach, the nodes of doubt in her
mind began to consider dark thoughts. Then, she saw Vance create an orb of dark
purple psynergy and aim it right toward her. No... Her face paled. This
can't be happening.
"Eden, get away!" Vance shouted, as he tossed the blast.
Confused, but happy to get out of the line of fire, Eden twisted to the
side. She only caught a glimpse of the small, withered old man before Vance's
blast collided with him, sending him straight into a wall.
"Vance...I..." Eden scrambled for words. She placed her palms
on the ground, supporting herself as she leaned over and looked away from him. "You
scared me...I thought..."
"Hey." Vance walked up to her. "Don't get all weird. You
should be proud of yourself. You took out that huge thing out, didn't you?
That's better than I can say. I had to get this weirdo to help me." He rolled
his eyes and motioned to Averyl.
"I see..." the phantom murmured, as he gave Eden a strange
wave. "So you have feelings for that woman."
"Says who?" Vance retorted. "I was just helping her out."
"Ah. Of course..." Averyl mused.
Eden quickly backed up from the two. "Vance," she shouted,
"why are you with him?!"
Vance shrugged. "He followed me, and then he saved my life. What
was I supposed to do, say no?"
"He saved your life?" Eden stared at Vance in horror. "But
he's one of the Dark Zodiacs!"
Vance shrugged. "He doesn’t seem to care."
The tension inside Eden snapped. "Two of his allies tried to kidnap
me, and one nearly killed Cliff!"
Averyl grinned. "And...?"
"I don't trust you." Eden continued to glare the dark man.
"Vance, the main room is supposed to be up ahead. Cliff went alone to go check
it out."
"Why did he leave you here by yourself?" Vance shook his head.
"What an idiot!"
"I chose to stay here," Eden said bluntly. "I took care
of myself fine."
"Fine my ass," Vance said. "You would have died if it
wasn't for me!"
"And you would've died if it wasn't for him." Eden pointed to
Averyl. "And then we both would've been dead."
"Whatever," Vance said quickly. "Let's go catch up with
Cliff. He might need our help."
The two of them entered the northern hallway side by side, with Averyl
shadowing them.
"Why is he following us?" Eden whispered into Vance's ear.
"Who cares?" Vance replied loudly. "He does what he
wants, there's no use talking to him. Trust me, I tried it already."
Eden grimaced, hoping that Averyl wasn't watching her, and kept her eyes
pointed straight ahead. He doesn't just make my skin crawl...I can feel my
heart shuddering, too.
Next: Clefts in the Simulacra
