The generator room’s massive blast door sat open, unable to
be operated without power. From within came the generator’s constant crackling
and thrumming. If the generator is still operational . . . why are the
lights off? Gaster wondered as he approached the entrance. A pair of guards
led the way into the room, but what they beheld left them frozen in their
tracks. Mirauth and Gaster strode past them and took a look around.
At one end of the room was a terrific generator, beams of
electricity furiously arcing between its metal pillars. Several mysterious
robed men lurked nearby, but the true spectacle was what stood before the
generator: a huge five-headed reptilian beast, armored heads to toe in thick,
yellow scales. The hydra glared down at them as electricity continually shot
from the generator to arc around its body, but the beast remained unharmed.
Before anyone had time to process the situation, a figure
materialized in a cloud of black mist. He was a thin man, clad in a blue and
white robe, his face hidden behind a white beak-shaped mask. “So, you’ve made
it to the generator,” he began. “How surprising. I did not expect a team of
rich executives to be able to best my warlocks, but it is of no consequence.
Nihil shall not be denied.”
“I would appreciate it if you vacated the premises and saved
me the trouble of fighting you,” Gaster dryly replied.
“I’m afraid that what’s at stake is far too important for me
to do that. Soon the world shall tremble before our dark god, and all shall
fall into place. And besides, with this new pet of mine, you shall surely
perish. Turn back or face the wrath of Nihil’s favored!”
“So, you’re one of those,” Gaster sighed deeply as he
summoned a second pair of floating hands.
Mirauth whispered to the head scientist, “I’ll handle the
hydra. You take care of the crazy guy.”
Gaster nodded and one of his floating hands shot forward,
throwing a mighty punch at the fanatical figure, but it merely passed through a
dark cloud of mist. The man reappeared on the other side of the room with a
laugh.
The hydra let out a terrific roar as it stomped forward, and
throughout the room, cultists leapt from behind cover and engaged the guards in
a fierce clash. The cult leader held out his hand and chanted in an archaic
tongue. A demonic creature made from shadows rose from the floor at his feet
and dashed toward the head of R&D.
Gaster spat an arcane command word, causing the skull-shaped
cufflinks to fly from his coat into the air and magically enlarge into a pair
of life-sized, floating adamantine skulls. The mouth of each skull swung open
to reveal a rapidly-glowing ball of blue light which was suddenly released in
the form of a laser. The shadow creature was vaporized as the twin beams of
light shot through it. The masked figure took a startled step back before
regaining his composure and summoning an indoor hailstorm. Gaster thrust one
hand straight into the air, his skeletal fingers briefly enveloped in a blue
glow. Gravity seemed to reverse within this side of the room, sending the
hailstones, the cult leader, several of the insurgents, and a few of
SkullTech’s guards falling to the ceiling, but the scientist remained firmly on
the ground.
Mirauth stared calmly up at the tremendous beast before her
as she assessed the situation. All around her, guards were firing at the beast
with their arcane rifles, but they seemed to be doing little more than angering
the creature. One of the hydra’s heads opened its jaws wide and exhaled a
terrific beam of electricity. The executive leaped high into the air, the
lightning passing just below her feet and leaving a large scorch mark on the
wall behind her. Mirauth remained hovering in the air, held aloft by psychic
power alone. If the generator’s power does it no harm, and it attacks with
bolts of electricity, my stun spear shall be of no use. She pressed a
button on her weapon’s rubber grip, deactivating the electricity at its end.
She quickly readjusted her grip, now wielding the weapon like a quarterstaff.
Mirauth hovered quickly to one side as one of the hydra’s massive, fanged maws
snapped at her. Before the beast could attack again, it was distracted by a
stream of arcane projectiles from Verk’s prototype. As one of the beast’s heads
turned towards the goblin and prepared a blast of electricity, Mirauth slammed
her weapon onto the monster’s skull with all her might, jolting its head
violently downwards.
The blue-robed man suddenly seemed to split into four
doppelgangers, each indistinguishable from the others. Each copy of the fanatic
conjured a sword of ice in its grasp as Gaster’s floating hands flew towards
them. The first of the hands was impaled upon an icy blade and destroyed. An
instant later, the second hand punched through the leader of the insurgents.
The man’s form dissipated into nothing as the three of him that remained
laughed in unison. Two more hands were struck from the air and a second clone
vanished as it was struck by a blast from Gaster’s rifle.
The masked figure retreated slightly as his final copy was
vaporized by a blast from one of the floating skulls. He threw his frozen blade
through the air. Gaster leapt out of the way, but grunted in pain as he was
struck by stray shards of ice from the shattering weapon. He let go of his
gravity manipulation, dropping the cult leader back towards the ground. The man
was intercepted midair by the last floating hand, punching upwards into his
stomach as he fell and hurling him against a wall.
Mirauth brought her weapon down on the hydra’s head again
and again. The beast howled in pain as one of its other heads launched a blast
of electricity at its assailant. The head of finance did not have time to
dodge. At the last instant, she interposed the rubber-coated shaft of her
weapon, blocking most of the damage as she was flung forcefully against a wall.
The beast stomped forward, ignoring the hail of laser fire.
Verk took a couple steps back and continued to fire, the
prototype growing concerningly warm in his hands. “Log #279. The weapon is
beginning to overheat from extended use. I must explore alternative methods of
cooling. Will continue use and see how bad it gets . . . aaaaand its jammed.
Can’t talk. Need to survive hydra. End of log.”
The hydra opened its maw and unleashed a roar that shook the
room. Before the beast could close its mouth, Mirauth launched an amethyst
crystal down its gullet. Moments later, light flashed from within the
creature’s maw, and several amethyst shards burst out of its throat in a shower
of blue blood. The remaining four heads cried out in pain and rage as the fifth
fell limply to one side.
“Quick! Use fire to prevent it from regenerating!” Mirauth
yelled right before a pair of jaws latched onto her weapon and hurled her
across the room.
The masked figure teleported out of the way just in time to
avoid the twin energy beams of Gaster’s adamantine skulls. “Do us both a favor
and take your occult nonsense elsewhere, will you?” the scientist wearily
requested as he summoned a trio of levitating hands to replace those that had
been destroyed. The man gave no reply but to utter a short chant. A circle of
tiny stars appeared in the air before him. With a wave of his hand, he hurled
one of them towards Gaster. One of the floating skulls darted in front of the
projectile, the star bursting ineffectually against its adamantine form.
Gaster took a step forward and pulled the trigger of his
rifle, firing a trio of arcane blasts in rapid succession. The cult leader
teleported a few feet to one side in a puff of dark smoke. The man conjured a
whip made from electricity and swung it through the air, wrapping it around the
gun. There was a struggle, both men pulling mightily. With a grunt of exertion,
the figure yanked the weapon from the researcher’s grasp. Three floating hands
moved to counterattack but were bombarded by a series of shooting stars.
A mechanical clunk split the air. The combatants turned in
unison to see the generator powering down, the arcs of electricity turning to
mere sparks before vanishing completely. On the wall next to the machine, the
power switch had been pulled down by a skeletal hand. The hydra opened its
mouth to exhale lightning at its puny assailants. There was a crackle of
electricity, a small arc of lightning, and then nothing. Verk opened his eyes.
Relieved that he was still alive, he dashed forward. He pressed a button on his
mechanical arm, triggering a torrent of flames. The hydra cried out in anguish
as its vanquished head was cauterized by the flamethrower, preventing new heads
from growing in its place.
The blue-robed figure shot the last of his stars across the
room, vaporizing the hand that had pulled the lever. The man then turned and
took stock of the situation. “You win this round. But rest assured Nihil will always
get his way in the end,” he ominously threatened before vanishing in black
mist.
Mirauth extricated herself from the latest wall she had been
sent into, brushed herself off, and took to the air. She soared upwards,
delivering a devastating uppercut to one of the beast’s jaws. Keeping up the
momentum, she swung her weapon down, and struck the hydra’s forehead with
skull-shattering force. As the battered head slumped to one side, another head
attempted to close its jaws around the executive. In a flash, Mirauth shoved
her staff into its mouth, wedging its maw open as she retreated.
The hydra strained to destroy the weapon or dislodge it from
its mouth. As the monster bit down with all its might, dual beams of light
blasted its face, vanquishing it. Verk cackled madly as he set to work with his
flamethrower, cauterizing the recently slain heads. Having sustained too much
damage, and unable to regenerate its lost heads, the beast finally died,
collapsing to the ground with a force that shook the room.
Around the room, the last of the cultists lay dead by the
hands of SkullTech’s security forces. A guard quickly moved to turn the
generator back on, and in minutes, the power was up again, the lights finally
flickering back to life.
“M-Mirauth?” Verk stammered. “What are you? I have
never seen anyone give such a walloping to a beast like that.”
“I would show you . . .” she smirked, “but this room is
barely large enough, and I wouldn’t want to risk destroying the generator.”
Ì
Gaster sensed movement above him. He looked up and beheld
another of Soakosh’s mutated beasts. This one appeared to be a deadly
combination of a giant lizard and a great white shark. The beast peeled its
lips back, exposing rows of glistening, serrated teeth and blood-red gums. It
opened its maw and sprang at the scientist but was violently stricken from the
air in a blur of motion. The reptilian monster suddenly lay dead before him, a
cultist standing over it with his blade embedded in its side. Before anyone
could react, the man’s form began to shift and change, and in an instant, the
figure resumed its original form of Kothar.
“I have returned,” she dryly announced.
“I can see that,” Gaster replied. “What have you learned?”
“Soakosh has locked himself in his office with his surviving
guards barricading the hall. And, of course, he has provided exactly zero help
in defending the facility.”
“I suppose that’s to be expected of a man like him,” Mirauth
interjected. “It is rather unfortunate, however. Wendellor sees far too much
value in his expertise to replace him.”
“Well, anyway,” Kothar continued, “the invaders seem to have
several dozen men laying siege to the barricade. Their forces appear to be led
by a female dark elf with some ritualistic-looking tattoos. I overheard her
talking to a masked man in a blue robe who was spouting nonsense about somebody
called Nihil. From their conversation, I was able to piece together that their
names are Vadania and Perin, and that they are after Soakosh’s research notes.”
“Did you catch what they wanted the notes for?” Gaster
gravely queried.
“I believe Perin said something about a war,” Kothar
shrugged.
“This could be a serious matter, indeed. However, our foes
don’t seem to possess the forces for a war . . .” the vice president
thoughtfully replied.
“In any case, Wendellor must be informed of this,” said
Mirauth. “He will know whether it is worth bringing before the council.”
“Of course.” Gaster turned back towards Kothar, but she was gone. He sighed. “Why is she like this?”
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