"Lily!" Kyle dashed across the floor, skidding against the blood.
From across the hall, Gale dashed towards Ollie who laid motionless near the entrance wall. Blood soaked through his suit and a couple of needles pierced his shoulder and thigh. Skidding to a stop, a gun syringe materialized in his hand. He jammed it into Ollie's neck, and green light spread from the injection point, outlining the veins as the syringe did its healing.
Kyle quickly located the severed arm nearby, grabbed it, and positioned it against Lily's stump as it still bled profusely, causing her face to grow paler by the second. With his other hand, he pulled out one of his own gun syringes and plunged it into the stump along with holding the severed arm to the stump. Green light outlined Lily's arm as severed blood vessels and muscle fibers slowly writhed back togethter.
"Fuck," Kyle hands shook as he held the arm in place. "Stay with me, Lily. Stay with me."
Lily's body started shaking uncontrollably as more of the veins and nerves reattach. Her limbs all rattled against the metal floor; the sound causing disturbing resonance on Gale as he remembered the drumming of Marcus' legs on the wooden floor of Blue Haven's basement.
"She's going into shock!" Kyle shouted. "I'm using up my second syringe on her. Don't fucking die, Lily!"
Kyle didn't hold back her seizure. Instead, he stabbed another gun syringe accurately on her neck. The syringe worked immediately. Green light spread from the veins of her neck. Her shaking body slowed down until she stopped, but she was still not waking up.
"Pulse is growing weaker. She's not stabilizing!" Kyle called out as he checked her pulse. "Need another one!"
Gale materialized a second gun syringe and tossed it to Kyle, who caught it one-handed and immediately injected it into Lily's shoulder. The green glow on her veins intensified as more of the syringe's properties entered her veins.
A third gun syringe flew through the air. Kyle caught it and administered it without hesitation. Finally, Lily's eyelids fluttered, and she gasped in pain.
"Easy," Kyle said, holding her down. "Don't move yet."
Rachel walked over to where Clyde was who laid face-down on the floor, black-purple bruises covered all over his exposed skin. She turned him over gently, then pulled out her gun syringe and pressed it against his neck. The green glow spread across his body, sinking into the bruised tissue. She took out another syringe and stabbed herself with it and another hiss disrupted the silence.
Ollie coughed, blood spraying from his lips. His eyes fluttered open, focusing on Gale's face above him.
"Did we get them?" he asked, voice raspy. "All of them? In order?"
"Yeah," Gale nodded. "All twelve. Zero to eleven."
"Good," Ollie tried to sit up but winced. "Shit. How bad is it?"
"You'll live," Gale said. "How do you feel?"
Ollie coughed again. "Like I got hit by a fucking truck." He looked around the corridor. "Lily? Clyde? They okay?"
Across the hallway, Clyde groaned as he regained consciousness. Rachel helped him sit up, supporting his weight.
"How many syringes do we have left?" Ollie sat himself up against the wall.
There was 31 the last time they checked inventory. Rachel used one on herself. Clyde used one. Ollie used one. Kyle would need to use one on himself. Lily used three. Gale said, "we have 23 left."
"That's plenty," Ollie said. "Resources are meant to be used. Better to waste a few syringes than lose someone."
Rachel scooted over to where Gale and Ollie sat. "Pass me one of the bandages from the combat kits. Lily needs a splint."
Gale materialized a roll of medical bandages and handed them to Rachel. She took them and moved to Lily's side, quickly fashioning a splint for the reattached arm. The gun syringes saved her and her arm, but that wasn't complete recovery. The arm still hung limply at her side.
"She won't have full use of it for a while," Rachel tightened the splint.
"With her left arm out of commission, her effectiveness is halved. We can't use her as a scout anymore." Ollie said then looked at Gale. "Can you handle both scouting and vanguard duties?"
Gale was already doing both jobs anyways. Every time they entered a new area, Breath of the Void scoured their whole surrounding. There wasn't any reason to say no. "I'll do it. Everyone just needs to stay alive."
Kyle and Clyde scooted across the floor, joining the growing circle around Ollie. Kyle's shirt was soaked with Lily's blood, and Clyde's face still showed fading bruises.
"Can't even joke about this shit anymore," Kyle slumped against the wall.
"Good job, rookie," Clyde gave Gale a weak nod.
Gale smiled, though it wasn't a full win. Their whole group was in shambles after this fight. It was a pyrrhic victory.
"Gale, check the doors. See if we can see through the windows now that the sequence is broken." Ollie said, eyes pointing to the darkness beyond Rachel's fireball.
Pulling out the needle on his thigh, he put pressure on it until it stopped bleeding. He pushed himself up after and walked down past the broken faceless robot bodies towards the two doors about two hundred meters away.
Arriving at the two doors on the left and right, he peered through the right window first. The room was visible, no longer covered in pitch black. It was the same room with snaking wires and pipes. The floor was also covered in black dried up blood.
Crossing the corridor, he checked the left window. Two shattered cylinder pods stood inside the room, glass fragments scattered across the floor. The room was completely dry, just as Lily had described earlier.
Gale pulled out his phone and opened the walkie app. Pressing the push-to-talk button, he said, "The windows are visible now. We should be able to get out of here."
"Both doors clear?" Ollie's voice came through his phone's speakers.
"Yeah. Same rooms we saw before. Black pool in one, broken pods in the other."
"Sit tight. We'll join you when everyone can walk."
Gale leaned against the wall, waiting for the others. His leg throbbed where the needle had pierced it. It had bled again on the way over to the doors as well. Circulating his essence on his legs, the numbness fully went away and the bleeding stopped, but the soreness hasn't. It was better than nothing.
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Five minutes later, the group slowly made their way down the corridor. Ollie walked under his own power, though his movements were stiff. Rachel supported Lily, whose left arm hung in its makeshift sling. Kyle supported Clyde in the rear, moving slower than usual.
"We need to keep moving. Is everyone ready to go through the next door?" Ollie asked.
Rachel shook her head. "We should rest first. Everyone's injured, and we've already burned through too many syringes. Moving forward without recovery is asking for trouble."
"She's right. We look like shit right now. If this floor's safe, we rest." Kyle said.
"Nobody's in fighting shape. Not even the rookie," Clyde said.
Ollie looked down at his blood-soaked suit and sighed. "Fine. You're right. Gale, check the pod room on the left. See if it's safe to rest there."
Gale nodded and moved toward the left door. He pulled the door handle, and it swung open with a creak.
Stepping inside, he surveyed the room. Two large, shattered cylinder pods stood at the centre of the space. The pods themselves were massive; each big enough to hold three people his size. Beyond the glass shards on the floor, nothing else looked dangerous. No movement, no hidden compartments, just an empty lab with broken equipment.
Analyze.
[Experimental Organic Container Pods]
[Description: Used for creating or maintenance of organic life forms in artificial environment.]
[Function 1: Genetic Modification]
[Function 2: Physical Biology Modification]
[Function 3: Technological Implantation]
[Function 4: Origin Artifact Experimentation]
Gale put a hand on his chin and whispered, "Guide, what is Origin Artifact Experimentation?"
[Query accepted. Searching Vianne's Amazing Knowledge Base]
[Found]
[Origin Artifact Experimentation used for application of Origin Core output increase and or optimization. CESNV race known for such experiments; however, multiple known races are indexed to have had experimented on Origin Cores.]
"I thought only Dainv had Origin Cores," Gale whispered.
[Host is correct.]
That wasn't helpful, and by that short answer, it was the only one he's going to get unless he increases his Core Class.
"Gale, is it clear?" Ollie's voice came through his phone speakers on his pocket, interrupting his thoughts.
Pulling out his phone, he let Breath of the Void's tendrils spread out throughout the room first before answering. They touched every surface, seeking anything that could be a potential threats. There were also no watchers he could feel that looked at him. Nothing reigstered. It was just emtpy space and shattered glass.
He pressed the push-to-talk button. "It's clear. Just watch the glass."
Minutes later, the door creaked open wider as the others filed in. Rachel entered first, still supporting Lily.
Ollie followed, limping slightly but moving by himself, supported by a blue outline of his telekinesis. Kyle and Clyde brought up the rear, the latter still using leaning on his brother.
Rachel noticed the shattered glass covered floor. She eased Lily onto the wall beside the door, then turned to face the scattered glass. Extending both palms, she created small jets of fire that blew across the floor, pushing the shards into a corner.
"That works," Kyle helped Clyde slide down against the wall.
Gale moved around the space, checking corners and crevices. He materialized the tents from his space storage and set them up one by one until 4 of them stood up.
"Everyone should rest," he said as the last tent stood up. "I'll take first watch."
"You sure?" Ollie asked, already going in one of the tents. "You took on all twelve robots by yourself."
"I'm fine," Gale said. "My injuries aren't as bad as yours."
That much was true. At least he was able to fight against the robots while the others just took a beating.
Rachel finished settling Lily into a comfortable position, then turned to Gale. "Wake me in two hours for second watch."
Gale nodded, knowing he'd probably let her sleep longer. She needed the rest more than he did. 23 gun syringes. That was how much they had left, and it looks like there was still a long way to go.
Warm dim yellow light from the portable camp lamp filled the room as the group sat in a loose circle around the section of the floor by the corner that faced away the door. Each person chewed through the gray-brown nutrition brick paste with varying levels of enthusiasm. Clyde scraped the last bits bowl, making a face as he forced it down. Kyle stared at the ceiling, chewing emotionlessly and making it obvious he didn't enjoy the paste. Lily, propped against the wall with her injured arm in its sling as a sigil floated the bowl in front of her allowing her other hand to use the spoon.
No one spoke. The only sounds were the soft scooping of spoon against metal bowls and the occasional scrape of boots against the floor as someone shifted position.
Ollie finished his paste first, setting down his bowl. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked around at the battered group.
"So, Kyle," Ollie broke the silence. "Any comments or criticisms about how we handled that situation?"
Kyle swallowed his last mouthful and let out a long breath. "No, actually. That was perfectly sound tactics. I'm just... I'm amazed no one actually died."
"True," Clyde nodded. "Thought we were all goners for sure."
"Well, will you look at that," Lily said monotonously. "For once the twins aren't complaining. Must be the end of the world."
Kyle smirked. "Hey, I give credit where it's due. Rookie here saved all our asses."
Gale kept his eyes on his half-eaten paste in the metal bowl, uncomfortable with the attention.
Rachel leaned forward, looking past Gale toward Lily. "How are you feeling?"
Lily tried moving her left arm, wincing slightly. "Much better than before sleeping, but still not combat ready."
A soft green sigil floated above her injured arm, pulsing gently with light. Her eyes turned to Gale as she caught him staring at the sigils.
"It's a regen sigil. Helps me heal faster." Lily said.
Gale nodded, swallowing another bite of the tasteless paste. "Hey, something I've been wondering. How come you all were taught by witches? Lily and the twins, I mean."
Kyle snorted. "Ollie was taught by Witch Raven too, rookie. Don't leave him out."
"All four of them were considered special in North America," Rachel said. "Witch Raven took in Ollie and the twins while Witch Ashen took in the Blue Witches. Blue Witches in particular are experts in witchcraft, sigils, and rituals. The occult stuff."
"Witch Ashen approached us just as the Path almost forced us to join," Lily said. "She offered an alternative."
"Are the Witches not part of the Path?"
"They're a vagrant guild, but they work for money. There's six witches in total that can give the Path's arcanes a run for their money." Ollie counted them off on his fingers. "Witch Raven, Witch Ashen, Witch Nyx, Witch Thorne, Witch Moura, and Witch Ember."
Rachel sighed loudly, looking away.
"Each one has their own quirks and specialties," Ollie said. "Witch Ember is particularly close to Rachel's grandma."
Kyle grinned, pointing at Gale with his spoon. "Hey rookie, you want Witch Nyx to be your master with all that dark hunter shit you've got going?"
Gale's face heated up. How did they know about that? He cleared his throat and tried to sound casual. He made his voice lower, tried his best to force back the heat from his face, saying, "I'll think about it."
"You can think about it when we're back," Ollie said. "But for now, are you sure you've got the front covered? You took quite a beating too."
"I can cover the front," Gale said firmly.
While the others continued talking, Gale quietly opened his Dainv OS interface. Seven notifications waited for him:
[Marked Architect's Android Failure felled.]
[Extracting Origin from prey...]
[Origin Grain: 39]
39 Origin grains… that was a huge jump. He'd only had six before, meaning those twelve androids had given him nearly three each. His eyes widened slightly at the number.
Rachel nudged his shoulder, pulling him out of his dopamine hit. "What do you think comes next from this rift?"
"I don't know," Gale said. That got him curious. He extended his tendrils toward the end of the hallway. The tendrils phased through the walls, revealing what lay beyond: a big orb with probes sticking out of it. Nothing else seemed to be in the area except the orb and some computer looking panels alongside it. "It looks like most of the trouble is gone."
"Everyone ready to go?" Ollie pushed himself to his feet with a slight grimace.
"As ready as we could be," Kyle stood up as well.
Clyde got up next, rolling his shoulders. "Let's do this."
Rachel helped Lily to her feet who steadied herself against the wall.
"Thanks. I can walk though," Lily said.
Gale rose last, collecting the bowls and storing them back into his space storage. Weber materialized in his right hand, ready to hack at anything that moves.
"Vanguard first," Ollie said.
Gale moved to the front position, extending Breath of the Void's tendrils ahead of him. He pulled the door open, stepping into the corridor where the broken robots still lay scattered across the floor.
"Let's move," he said, and started forward.