CHAPTER 26: Killing in the Name...
The large glass doors at the front of the building opened to our approach.
My first instinct was to search for a motion detector, but it came up empty.
While searching above the door on my way in I noticed the tubes of light in the ceiling. Not fluorescent bulbs but similar in shape and brightness. Built into the glossy marble ceiling, the two strips of light ran parallel through the empty lobby, straight into the hallway.
Arthur growled alerting me, I was so fixated on the magic lighting that I missed the extra body enter the room.
“Welcome Arthur. Rick. Brenden. Please, follow me.” The newcomer said with a strong but soft voice.
A woman close to 7 feet tall stood in the center of the room just feet away. She towered over us with a slender athletic build and her light yellow skin was like that of straw wheat, contrasting with the pure white linens she wore. Her facial features were too sharp to be considered an elf of fantasy, and definitely too sharp to be human.
That, and she had wings.
Fucking wings. Pure white like that of a dove.
I attempted to get a read on her to see what the system had but nothing showed up.
“Where?” Brenden asked the winged lady.
I was surprised to hear his voice chirp up in the moment, but I let him take the lead.
“To see The Manager, of course.” The woman smiled.
We hesitated but followed her through the hall, doors were cracked open showing others of the same race working in an office setting. My mind boosted into overdrive as I parsed the information I glanced over.
The third room had 6 of the winged people situated around a tall circular table displaying interactive holography. While I peered in a women reached out both hands and spread them apart to zoom in on a cluster of planets. She rotated her hands and the image followed. She showed the others a planet she called Seraphax but the words floating above the planet read, “Kael’Thul”.
Wait, that’s no language I’ve ever seen… Apparently the system downloaded shit into my head without asking.
She zoomed in further showing a large fortified position on the Southern pole. The angel wannabes seemed to be going over operational tactics.
Before losing sight of the room I noticed the name and photo displayed under the image of the planet.
The 3D photo showed a hellish monster with ashy midnight skin.
Each spider-like leg looked like its own blade, each ending with a deadly tip. His elongated head sat on a muscular human-like torso and had 3 open eyes. Two eyes were an empty void where light refused to enter. While the third, top center, blazed with the intensity of the sun.
The name below, “Kaeldrix.”
Jesus… No wonder Roger was horrified.
They’re going over different attack patterns and tactics, there’s no good reason that I can think of to show us this. I mean, they’re obviously not dumb, they have to know the “Hells”, can control people, recruit them, and even see through them like they did with the Dissonant...
There has to be more to this.
We walked into a large circle on the floor at the end of the hallway. Brenden asked the question I think we were all wondering, at least I was, “How did you know our names Ma’am?”
“We know all of our lord’s children.” She answered matter of fact.
“And your lord is, whom?” Brenden asked.
The lady finally made eye contact, she smiled down at Brenden but said nothing.
The floor rose like an elevator, although, there were no wires helping us move along. It looked like a plain 10 inch slab of white marble to me. I looked up as the ceiling split open to allow our ascent.
We got a sneak peek of each floor. Most were regular office areas with cubicles separating the manic employees from each other.
One level that stuck out hosted open training arenas. Two of the winged creatures were sparring with spectators to one end, on the other side of the room was target practice, spells flew through the air destroying their moving targets.
The next floor was a place of worship, filled with candles, pews, and an alter holding a large bowl with a chalice in the middle.
We reached the top floor, a large almost empty room. From the floors to the ceiling everything was blinding white, clear conduits ran along the ceiling carrying an immense amount of Mana that lit the room to an uncomfortable level. The only windows were behind the desk at the far end of the room. Outside the golden arches blazed.
Sitting behind the desk was the first normal sized humanoid we had seen in the building to this point, but still not human.
Alienoid? No...
Not the time to wander, brain.
We could see the light blue skin on his shiny bald head from across the room. He wore a fit black suit, clashing with everyone else in the building.
He extended an arm, beckoning us to join him and sit.
As he made the gesture 2 chairs rose from the floor, between the chairs a dog bed appeared slightly closer to the desk.
The guide stepped behind us, “Please, sit. When you are finished step on this circle to return to the entrance.”
She vanished as the last word left her lips.
What kind of fucked up hippie cult is this.
“Alright, let’s get this over with.” I whispered, then leaned in to add, “Good job B-rend.”
We walked to the desk as a unit. The blue guy, who I assumed was The Manager, took a seat behind the desk.
“Welcome Arthur, Rick, Brenden. It is a pleasure.” His accent was oddly American, like he grew up in the same town, just miles down the road.
I got a good look at him as I took a seat, he definitely looked less human than he did from across the room.
The sky blue skin was something to behold, the light yellow was just as alarming but somehow the others looked natural, but the skin on this guy looked like some sort of carbon material.
“You’re some sort of artificial intelligence, right?” I asked looking him up and down.
“Yes, you are indeed right. My brothers and I were created to help the newly awakened with any burning questions they may have.”
“Any questions? Is there a 3 wish limit, kinda thing?” I asked.
“No, I am no Genie, and good thing because you would be all out of questions. There is no limit to the questions you may ask, but there may be specific information that I am unable to answer due to certain, restrictions.”
“How many are left? Humans. Off planet, then on.” I started with the most pressing I could think of and the one that brought me here.
“Off, 1,299,503,000. On, 190,863,461. There are 1,490,366,461 Earthlings left in our Universe.”
The numbers hit like a tank, I couldn’t breathe as I thought about the 7 Billion lost.
And for what?
My mind refused to accept the numbers it’d only been a week since the event.
Brenden just did the math as well, I could see it in his eyes as soon as the number hit.
I put my hand on his shoulder and whispered, “You are here. Stay with me.”
I took a moment, trying to check my emotions, but it was impossible.
I felt the anger of an entire civilization burning in my chest.
“How! How did so many die?!” I yelled at The Manager as his fake face attempted to look empathetic. I was beginning to see through their plan.
“Approximately 3 Billion passed due to the Transmutation of elements. Over 2 Billion on planet since the Rapture and Transmutation. The others have died valiantly in the war efforts.”
“War efforts? Transmutation of elements? Fuck!” I tried to keep calm but, I just couldn’t.
“I understand this is very upsetting. Our lord does not wish to lose any souls, but the Hells are a feral enemy.”
“You don’t understand shit Johnny Five. Who the fuck is your Lord?” I stood to my feet to look down on the robot.
“He is inside all of us. He is the creator.” The Artificial man said.
“A name. Enough of this religious bullshit.”
There’s always a wizard behind the curtain.
“He is the creator, he created humanity. It is his will that you fight for him. He is the Father of all and brother to only the few.”
“I want a name!” I slapped the one item off his desk, the Newton’s Cradle was clicking away, driving me nuts, “He sounds like just another mad scientist with an overblown ego. I have a hard time imagining a real God would let some of the shit happen that I’ve seen.”
“He is not the god spoken of by Christians or any other religion native to your planet, but some stories are based on his good deeds. He created human life. Do you think this magical system just appeared? No. It has been implanted in your DNA over 10 Millennia. Growing.”
I was getting annoyed that he wouldn’t give me a name, but at the same time I was curious how this system shit ended up in my head. So I asked, “Then how? How did this get into all of our heads?”
“It is the constant guiding force for humanities evolution. Like I said, you were created by him long ago for this war.” He paused tapping a finger on the desk, matching the tempo of the cradle.
I was about to kick his table into him but he continued his explanation, “Your DNA has always contained the Network and the ability to feel and use the Mana within the universe. It just needed to be awakened. The Hells found this planet, their intentions were to open Blitz Portals created by the Third. They would have wiped out all life on the planet within days. However, we were made aware of their plans. So to impede we Raptured as many humans as possible and disabled the Genesis Veil to give those who remain a chance to grow strong.”
The silence in the room was palpable as I tried to make sense of everything he said and ask the right question, but there were so many.
What the hell is a Genesis Veil? The flash when it all started, was that the Veil going down? I still don’t understand why that made the system activate. Always more fucking questions!
“You said it’s always been in Human DNA, well this guy sitting to my side that you keep looking at, he isn’t exactly human. How do you explain that? Guy also created dogs?” I asked trying to poke holes in his explanation.
“Ahh yes, Arthur. That was… Perhaps Creativity, or just a happy accident.” He smiled at my dog, a creepy robotic smile that looked anything but natural, “We are unsure at this time but we believe it has to do with an outside element. He is not the only animal to awaken, but he is the only one left, and the only to thrive.”
“Stop looking at my dog like that, it’s fuckin’ weird.” A long awkward silence followed my words.
I glanced to Brenden who looked completely shell shocked as the awkwardness hung in the air. I reached down to pet Arthur and calm myself.
Trying to remain calm I broke the silence, “So how does this Genesis Veil help? And why use it in the first place?”
“The Genesis Veil shielded the solar system from the Mana that covers the rest of the Universe. It also created a dead zone to hide Mankind from prying eyes, giving you time to evolve and eventually flourish. Our plan was to introduce the Genetic Network Interface once humanity reached its evolutionary peak, then slowly integrate your species with the rest of the Universe, as soldiers to end this war.”
“I don’t understand, how did the Veil going down make everything blow up and activate the Network. Also, how did this stop the use of the blitz portals?” I asked.
“The introduction of Mana is the cause of that. The Veil going down opened the boundaries of the... Milky Way, I believe you call it?” He asked shaking his head at the name.
He received sharp nods of confirmation before continuing, “This caused a sort of pressure breach, vacuuming in high amounts of Mana to saturate the galaxy instantaneously. This introduction changed core elements on a fundamental level. Even yourselves, as soon as the Mana breached the pores of your skin it activated the G.N.I.. Last, it prevented the use of Blitz Portals by creating contention, and starting the Revelation.”
“Why do this? Why create a machine that ends civilizations?” I asked, my voice still fiery with anger, “There had to be a different way...”
“His creation saved your civilization.”
“You still haven’t told us a name.” I pushed past his remark so I didn’t lose it.
“I am unauthorized to answer.”
“Got it, He who shall not be named,” I looked to Brenden, “Good enough for you?”
“Aye Sirrr,” Brenden grinned.
“No. Do not forsake him children,” The AI guy said.
“He’s not God. He may have created the human race in a lab somewhere millions of years ago. He may be level One Thousand, Transcendent ranked, or what the fuck ever, but he’s just another alien dickhead like the rest of you.” I finally stated my hypothesis then continued, “You may use the names Heaven and Hell. Shit, some of our lore may be based on true events or stories, but everything else I’ve seen proves that you’re all just a bunch of self-absorbed assholes.”
“View it as you will. It does not change what is.”
“How did Carlos know about you? What did you do to him?”
“We did nothing. His impure genetics formed with outside elements and caused his mutation to take the form it did, like the rest of the tainted. We only offered him a job.” He answered, sounding smug and dismissive.
“Don’t call them tainted again... There has to be more to this. The Karens outside were a literal mockery and stereotype of certain humans. What is the Revelation?” I started catching on to the sham.
His voice grew cold and detached, less human, “We are finished here. We have been instructed to tell you that he sees you and you are doing well. He is proud of your growth. Get stronger then come back here or see one of my brothers. We will give you our strongest squad and you will help end this war, if and when you grow strong enough.”
“What? What are you talking about?” I asked, my fists clenching as anger boiled over, “It was all a scheme. That’s why the doors were open on the first floor. You wanted to get my mind on the trio of emo demons. You want me to fight your fucking war for you? You haven’t taken enough from us?” I remained seated. Until I noticed, he wasn’t looking at me.
His eyes were glued to Arthur who remained sitting. Arthur cranked his head to the side and stared back at the man incredulously.
He was speaking to Arthur the entire goddamn time! Even when he answered my questions, he kept looking to him.
I removed Convictions Claw as I leapt across the table screaming in rage.
I removed the head from the robots body.
“Fight your own fuckin’ War and leave my dog out of it!” I shouted still breathing heavy, ready to kill every fake Angel on the way back down.
I looked down to see an arm through my chest.
The headless robot stood up, keeping his arm held out straight to lift me from my feet.
I reached for his arm to try to remove myself but in one smooth motion he threw me across the room in a perfect spiral as if I were an American football baby.
I traveled over the heads of my party until I hit the clean white flooring, leaving a blood trail as I slid into the center of the elevating pad.
I’d taken big shots before but the sneaky strike looked to pierce the area where my heart should be.
I should already be dead...
I was unable to move as the pad descended. Brenden ran to me at full speed with potion in hand.
I watched helplessly as Arthur lunged forward and ripped the blood soaked arm off of the robot then reached for a leg.
Arthur missed the leg as the robot connected with his ribs. A loud crack invaded my ears like a spike through my missing heart.
Brenden slid in above me as the ceiling closed. He threw a potion through the crack breaking it against my face.
Gotta work on that aim kid.
I removed a potion from my inventory and forced my arm to move through sheer will.
I grabbed two, chugging one after the other.
I watched as my body fought against an insanely high bleeding debuff. As soon as my health topped off it began rushing down again. All I could do was watch the magic potion try to heal the hole in my chest.
I kept chugging potions as I crawled to the spilled potion on the floor and used my wound to clean it up. The hole was smaller and the debuff was almost finished but I only had 2 potions left.
I waited until the last second then chugged the first. The hole in my chest was the size of a pencil but blood hemorrhaged with enough force to spray the ceiling above.
30 hp
15 hp
10, 5, 4, 3, 2 hp...
I drank my last potion while casting Retaliating Wind to add the health regen on the back. The hole finally closed but my health was still critically low. My titles were fully active as I felt the strength and health regeneration bonus flood my body.
I stood to my feet and hopped up one level just before the ceiling snapped into place. I had to figure out how to get up one floor without the elevating pad.
I appeared to be in a waiting room of sorts. There was one receptionist a few chairs and a door at the other end of the room.
The receptionist frantically rose to her feet. Her sharp features focused on my not dead body.
She charged, summoning a Pike out of mid air that looked more like a spear in her hands.
She pushed the attack as I summoned my shield, armor, and my own version of a spear, at the last second.
Her attacks met my shield creating a percussive shockwave that reverberated through the empty floor. The attacks never slowed, she struck again and again, keeping me on my back foot and forcing a fighting retreat.
My body shook with anger and fear of what was possibly happening above my head. I let it all out through my core.
I let the hate flow through my Mana and pushed it into my spear.
She pulled her pike behind her head, telegraphing her next attack. I parried the blow perfectly, rolling my body with the deflection as I moved inside and sent a flurry of jabs at her.
What I was expecting to be Wind Mana was also laced with furious Lightning.
A monstrous twister formed at the point of impact as she attempted retreat. The breastplate hidden under her loose white shirt the only reason she was still breathing.
She kept her footing but the twister continued on, ravaging her body and leaving behind scorched skin with burnt and ripped clothes. The twister continued its trajectory until it crashed through the windows at the other end of the room and dissipated.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
She looked down at the Assegai. I saw recognition in her eyes as she registered the Staffs previous owner.
“The Tempest.” She whispered and flew into action.
She fled for the back. There was some sort of pad on the wall next to the door, an alarm panel was my guess due to the urgency and panic in her movements.
I ran to cut her off but was too slow.
She turned and slapped her hand to the pad and my spear crashed through the back of her head.
She was still alive somehow so I pushed Mana into my spear and struck 3 more times in quick succession until her head was a mess of holes.
More nightmares...
The tunnels of light running through the ceiling dimmed and took on a red glow as I ran to the door at the far end of the room. There were no stairs or doors in The Managers office but I had to find a way up. The way the winged lady fought to keep me away from the door made me realize I missed something. I opened the door and there were indeed stairs that ran into the ceiling but there was another pad on the wall.
“Looks like I need a hand.” I knew what had to be done, and although it instantly made me think of a poor Gnoll NPC from one of my favorite books, I didn’t hesitate.
I ran back to the holey woman and sliced her hand off. It was definitely odd holding a hand severed from body.
It’s so cold and floppy. Ech...
I slapped the hand to the pad… Nothing happened.
I tried a few more times.
Smack! “Fuck!”
Smack! “Fuck!”
Smack! “Goddammit!”
I realized the pinky kept flopping off the grid, so I used my other hand to pinch the fingers in place as I clapped the hand on the biometric scanner, one more time. The ceiling above shifted as two metal plates opened from the center.
I summoned my Atlatl and a Javelin and waited for the slow moving entry to open.
Once the door cracked I heard a grunt and a whine from Arthur.
I stepped into the slow opening door, kicking and punching to force my way through faster.
When I popped up I saw the shiny robot head. It was glowing and flying from Brenden’s direction.
Shit.
The Manager was right in front of me and the head was traveling toward us.
I ducked back into the hole.
BAM!
My ears rang, unable to make out the distant yelling as my vision went blurry. I fought through the daze and forced my way back through the dented hatch.
The manager was in pieces but all of the small and large chunks crawled over the ground toward one location where they were reforming The Manager.
Nanotechnology? We gotta go.
I ran to Arthur and Brenden.
Arthur lie unconscious on his side but breathing. A sweaty, beat and bloody Brenden stood in front of him, an unmoving statue protecting Arthur with his life.
I slid to Arthur, “Potion! Brenden?!” I realized he was shell shocked so I stood up and slapped him on the cheeks looking into his eyes, “Hey buddy, great job but Arthur needs a Potion!”
His eyes slowly focused as I felt him brush my side with his hand. I looked down to see him holding a red vial. I quickly snatched the health potion and dropped to the floor. I propped Arthur’s head on my lap and poured the potion into his mouth.
“Hey! Brenden! On me!” I yelled trying to snap him out of it but he was still bloody and shocked.
“Squire to me! Now!” I deepened my voice and yelled in my own commanding Knights voice, he looked around and finally saw me.
Color returned to his face and he fully snapped back into reality as I lifted Arthur to my chest.
“Follow me, and get a potion ready in your off-hand.” I said as we ran around the reassembling Manager.
Brenden went toward the stairwell but I grabbed his shoulder, “No, the ladies, they’ll be up here any second. Take this, throw it down into the stairwell. Boom.” I said, handed him the piece of Spireglass Quartz from my inventory, “Be careful not to overload it before throwing.”
He took the rock and started pushing Mana into it, we saw heads start to appear at the bottom of the stairs as the Spireglass began to crack and change colors frantically.
The Manager was now closing in like a T-12,000.
I positioned myself between Brenden and Mr. Roboto and yelled, “Now!”
Brenden threw the overloaded quartz about to explode and it sailed into the opening of the broken floor hatch.
I grabbed his arm and triggered Retaliating Wind at the same time.
The Wind pushed The Manager deeper into the room, and Brenden the other way. I held on to Brenden with a death grip as we crashed through the window.
The Quartz finally hit something.
BOOOOM!!!
We were pushed further through the air by the shock wave of the explosion.
As we tumbled through the air I got a quick view of our flight route. We were sailing over the street toward the building on the other side of the road. I pulled a knocked out Brenden behind my own trajectory and kept a hand on him as I hugged Arthur tight and we began our descent.
I cast Retaliating Wind just before we crashed through the roof.
We collided with the floor, skidding through drywall and 2x4’s until coming to a stop.
I looked at my party screen, Arthur’s Health looked fine around 20% but Brenden was lower and the sliver of life looked like it was slowly dropping.
I gently placed Arthur on the floor then bashed through walls and rubbish looking for Brenden.
“Brenden! Where are you?!” I yelled while frantically searching for him.
I heard something fall in the conjoining room so I ran through the drywall headfirst to make my own entrance. The old house turned store had a confusing layout, and finding the right door could have cost important time. I found Brenden underneath the dusty antique furniture and wreckage of the ceiling.
A broken board pierced his lung while exposed copper wiring wrapped his neck tightly. I used my old survival knife to cut the wires and allow him to breathe. I tried to remove the board but he screamed. The gut wrenching noise made me quiver.
“B, drink a potion!” I said watching the life leave his eyes as he passed out.
I found the vial on the ground next to him and poured some into his mouth then slowly pulled on the 2x4 as I poured the remaining potion directly into his wound.
The potion was healing the organs and muscle but the nails attached to the board were ripping him apart at the same time.
“I need another potion... Grah, fuck! No, stay with me!” I yelled as I yanked the board out the rest of the way, tearing out chunks of muscle and lung.
I poured the rest of the potion into the wound, watching his health as the potion stitched him back together.
It stopped dropping but it was still under 5%, I placed my hand next to the hole in his chest and let the healing of Retaliating Wind raise it to 15% before I ran out of Mana. While healing Brenden I checked on Arthur using my HUD. He was stable and his HP was rising naturally, but he was still unconscious.
Okay, shit! I need to hide them and find something to kill, fast.
I ran to Arthur picking him up, my Mana was too low to cast Retaliating Wind again to heal the both of them
I carried Arthur back to Brenden and laid him down so they were close. I didn’t want to move Brenden without a potion handy in case I missed any shrapnel, so I stacked some broken drywall around them to make them blend in with the mess.
I jumped from the second story of the home into the street and screamed, trying to call attention to myself and bring out any nearby monsters. I saw something down the hill we walked earlier and started sprinting at it.
It was another mockery, this time of something we all held dear.
Love.
The creature appeared to be a married Man and Woman conjoined into one monstrous mass.
The creature stood 8 feet tall with long lanky arms and legs, a stretched out head with patches of long and short hair covering its misshapen pale face.
[Lover’s Quarrel—Level 18]
[Entangled Malformation]
I didn’t hesitate one bit as I closed in. I removed my sword and used Arcing Thorn Whip, catching the monsters leg. I yanked the handle and severed the leg.
The monster fell clumsily but caught itself with its arms.
“I love you honey.” The woman’s portion of the face said.
“I love you too.” The man answered.
The side that held the mans long toned arm with 2 hands in place of one reached up, covering the eyes of his wife. The woman’s arm hugged it’s own body.
Tears flooded my eyes and I screamed in outrage as I cut the mutation in half at the waist then took its head in one swift Z-motion.
As the head fell back I mentally clicked loot all.
[Ring of the Devoted]
Magic
10% Health Regeneration
10% Mana Regeneration
+2 Vitality Per Additional Party Member.
Once 2 separate wedding bands of a married couple, now united as one.
“Fuck! As soon as I need them they stop appearing!?” I yelled, trying to draw attention as I ran into the woods.
I stumbled into a Spriggan ambush. With my health regeneration and the life steal from the claw I was back to 50% HP.
My foot was snatched by a root that seemed to eat my entire boot the moment I attempted to remove pressure.
An overseer, 2 Skirmishers and a Beastmaster with a chipmunk sidekick, they averaged at level 13.
The chipmunk struck first.
I blocked with my shield and stabbed out with Blood Lust, dragging her along the stomach of the falling chipmunk and gutting it with a blast of blood to my face.
I coughed and spit the blood from my mouth while wiping more from my eyes.
While blinded the Overseer grabbed my shoulder and branches grew through my skin and muscle rapidly.
I cut the branches off at the hand then summoned my Necrotic Mace.
I swung at my foot, shattering the root to free myself. The necrotic poison traveled up the root toward the Beastmaster who set the trap.
I pushed Wind Mana into my Mace as I bashed the core area of the Overseer. The Spriggan rocketed backwards into a tree. Necrotic poison took hold, tainting its core as it screamed its dying breath.
The 2 Skirmishers worked as one to flank me. Whips gripped my left arm and right leg and their thorns bit deep, soaking the forest with my blood the more I fought. So I kept fighting.
My health went critical, but that was the plan.
My stats soared and I flexed every muscle in my body inwards, pulling both skirmishers off balance with one falling to the ground.
I threw my Mace at the Beastmaster, crushing his face and poisoning the rest of his body as his bark turned black and crumbled.
I summoned Conviction’s Claw and showed the Skirmishers my own Whip.
Charged with Lightning, my blade cut through the first, lighting it on fire. I turned and closed the distance on the Skirmisher as he got vertical. Two furious swings ended the fight.
I ran around looting until finally the Beastmaster and Chipmunk gave me the potions needed.
I ran with everything I had. Once I got close enough for the party view to activate on my HUD, I noticed Brenden’s life tick down, HP back to 5%
I jumped and squeezed my legs to my chest, making myself a ball.
I smashed through the outer wall of the home like a cannonball. I slid to Brenden’s side on one knee, tossing the drywall away. I immediately administered the healing potion to Brenden’s wounds then tipped some into his mouth.
I’m still pretty sure a health potion can’t drown someone.
I sat down and waited, diligently watching my Party Screen. His health raised to 60% with the potion, but a moment later it fell.
Shit, there must be something else I’m missing.
I moved Arthur away and slowly rolled Brenden but his health bar plummeted.
I stuck both arms under him and quickly stood straight up. I moved him to a cleaner area in the next room.
When I lifted him I found what was causing the extra blood loss. A broken floor board pierced his back in the area of his heart. With his health critical again, I poured half of the potion in his mouth then turned him over and poured the rest into the wound and watched it close before laying him back down.
I sat next to him and cast Retaliating Wind, keeping my hand on his shoulder. After a few minutes of Brenden’s health steadily rising, Arthur’s eyes opened.
I dismissed the spell and ran to check on Arthur, “Hey Bucky. We took a tumble but you seem to be doing better. I’m sorry I got us into this mess, I should have kept my mouth shut.”
Arthur’s health was back to 70% and climbing. He slowly pushed himself up and a potion appeared in front of him. He nudged it toward me with his nose.
“No pup, I’ll be okay, let’s save it in case Brenden needs it. He was injured pretty bad in the fall.” I said, nudging the potion back.
Arthur just stared, then nudged the potion again.
I took the potion and downed it, “I guess I should have let you make the move up there. It was just the whole nonchalant act, as if they did us a favor by getting 7 Billion people killed. But you aren’t just a dog anymore... I’m not your ‘owner’, and I sure as shit am not trying to control you. We’re a team, and I need to trust my teammates. If you want, when we get stronger we can visit a different Manager guy. Maybe that one won’t make googly robot eyes at you.” I felt like an asshole.
“Woof.” He sounded, defeated.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Expecting an answer somehow, then quickly realizing one wouldn’t come. “We got out of there alive, that’s what matters.”
“Woof Woof!”
I took a moment to think about what I just said.
“You thought I was dead?”
“Woof!” He nodded.
“Yeah, I thought I was dead too... But, I can’t make it that easy. Not... Not after everything we’ve been through. We have a long way to go. I don’t know if your gram and gramps are still alive, but I have to find out. Then, if you would like to join me Good Sir, I’m going to start my own war.”
He paused and I saw something different in his eyes that I’d never seen before.
It made every hair on my body stand on edge.
Anger.
“Woof.”