"Liadanann, remember the plan." I sort of pointlessly told my neighbour as our cages opened up again. It seems like we were expected to perform once again for our captors, something they asked of us often. Yet, oddly enough, they had kept me in that cell next to Liadananns. Perhaps because it saved them precious goldhands?
That seemed like the most obvious answer.
"Yes..." my neighbour then gave as an answer while nodding her head. And like that, she was out of the cage without her thing going off. Unfortunately, however, we would both need it to go off if we wanted to get out of here. They had yet to implant a device like that on me, so this would have to do.
It was one of the only magic sources in this mess of a place, the other being the goldhands she kills so often... She has also so far been uncooperative in regards to letting me touch any of that stuff. I put a claw near her and she freaks out, she freaks out bad. And while the cut she made on my gut had settled down, I have gained a few more because of her.
Those thunder-gold blades were not to be messed around with right now. So, I needed to use what I have learned about her in order to get her to open up. I either needed to overpower her or trap her. I just needed to get those volts to surge into me as well!
"Undwote, stay away, please." I muttered while looking about at those who were watching us. Scientists who were on their breaks or actually working, that is what they were. Clearly, I have done something to grab their attention now. Or, maybe they're just bored, hoping my lopped-off head would entertain them.
And then it began while Liadanann waited before me. She screamed and collapsed while that device went off. Just as quickly, it would turn off again, much to my frustration as I wanted to reach for it! I wanted to feel that magic come into me and make me strong again!
I would need to wait on that magic boost, however, because now she was lashing out. With some restraint, which I was thankful for. But it was still a near-equal giant trying to bisect or decapitate me! Those blades weren't going to shatter on my shell after all!
"SORRY!" she cried awkwardly while trying to impale my gut onto her blades. It was nice that I could teach her some words, but what would have been nicer is... Well, I dunno, maybe not a potential gut with a blade in it? Maybe instead, she could stop trying to kill me?
"Opening. Opening. Opening." I repeated over and over as I frantically shifted my magic about. Freeing up stiff areas of my body so I could get them to budge in the right direction. It was a very risky process as I hurt myself just as often as she did. And, by the gods, was I thankful she was not sending many killing blows my way.
"Hey! Hey! Watch this!" I then heard someone from up above laugh out just before Liadanann collapsed again. And she was in pain, I could hear as her voice just snapped into choking. I was watching as she spasmed and convulsed while digging at the ground for mercy. She cried and cried but that machine kept on going.
"Thank you human cruelty." I said with utter seriousness as I leapt at her. Tightly gripping the collapsed creature I have come to know as a ddrai'och. And as I grabbed her, she began to lash out at me despite the pain she felt. She was in enough pain and must have feared what I might do.
She slammed those arm-mounted chunks of metal against me. Taking out chunks of my sides while I roared in pain whilst holding her. This lightning did indeed hurt but I could also feel it settling into my body. As such, her blades did less and less damage over time until I could not bare it any longer.
"SHIT!" I roared as I stumbled away from her with a loose and limber body. Clutching these bloody sides of mine tightly as she began to get up. The machine had turned off just after I let go. And while I was at her mercy, I watched with fear as she approached me.
Her tail was carving a canyon into the ground and her arms were going up and down. Those bloody blades drew ever closer to my crippled form. Until something I did not expect happened. She knelt down near me and began to attack the machine.
Setting it off once more but this time she screamed against me. Letting as much of it as she could surge into me until she just went limp. If she had just killed herself in the attempt to help me, then I did not know what to do. If she was alive, then I'd be happily taking her out of here.
"Come on you stupid bug! Take her spot as our champion!" one of the men from up top complained as he threw something down at me. And as it shattered against my head, I smiled. I did not even feel that and my body was only mildly throbbing now. Like how the dry throat was briefly happy with that initial chugging of water.
With this new confidence in me, I started to move my body a bit. Some stretching here and there until a snap echoed throughout the room. I had snapped the chain on these cuffs and was quick to take them off. Each one broke apart further until those magic restraints were off.
"No, I don't think so." I answered before I leapt up at them, much to their shock and terror. And just like that, they all began to run and panic, beating on the locked door that kept them in here. I did nothing to them, however, and I just made way for the exit. Letting the animal in whatever cage I knocked them over into kill them while I reached the door.
And with a slight bit of effort, I slammed that locked door into the wall it was mounted on. Crumpling it down nice and flat and forcing it out through the concrete. A choice that had bullets go against me time and time again with seemingly unending ferocity. At least, until the ammo drums and clips had to be changed...
"My turn..." I would say to them before I began to lash out at them. Craving their blood despite their status as my countrymen until I was left panting in an alarm-filled corridor. Yet, before I could turn back for Liadanann, goldhands would come. They would come and tackle me after shooting me up with more dangerous bullets.
Each one dug partially into my body while their punches made it tremble and shake. They went at it and at it until I mustered the effort to retaliate against them. And with one claw on the neck or head, I began to crush them in my grip. Slapping the last one down into the ground before I brushed myself off.
Dozens of pings sounded out around me as the golden bullets hit the floor. Once I was done dealing with them, I tried to find a new source of magic as well. Until I heard Liadanann's screams again, so I would instead charge back down to her. Going past her at first until I got back to her.
"YOU AIN'T GOING ANYWHERE!" one of the scientists screamed spitefully as something chewed on his insides. And in his bloody hand was the device used to control the machine on Liadanann. I would at first try crushing it to turn it off, but it only made it worse.
"Do not take this personally!" I begged of Liadanann as I gripped her again. Clutching onto the machine tightly and crushing it steadily until I could tear it off of her. Seething in pain on her behalf as it left a bloody mess as I took it off. It had all kinds of needles holding it into her breasts and lower parts.
"N-Nin!" she cried out like a baby as she reached out to me before crying some more. Her trembling body stopped me from doing anything else. Those metal blades were quite restricting as well...
"Hold on! Let me get these-" I began to say to her as I reached for the various blades. Only for her to stop me with tearful eyes and rapid shaking of the head. Then, she growled and glared intently at me and it became clear what she wanted. So I nodded slowly before then helping her up slowly.
Noting with peculiarity as she held on to me even after she secured her footing. At least, until she realised that her weapons were impeding my movement. Voices other than the screams of devoured scientists would catch our attention, though. And, just like that, my prey came before us with wide eyes.
"SECURE THE FACILITY! GET FIRE TRAIL'S CONTINGENCY READY IF NEED BE!" Iishar Ho yelled before she suddenly ran off. And the guards she left behind went absolutely nuts with the idea of shooting us dead. Liadanann tried to hide behind her weapons, but there were too many gaps and they hit her mutilated breasts. Each bullet that made it past evoked a pain-filled shiver from her along with whimpers.
And this would continue until I got up there and helped them die or killed them. Once I was done, my former neighbour would look longingly up at me until I helped her up. A rather awkward affair given her injuries and weapons. Then, she began to try and tap a machine of some kind.
I made a few gestures, "Open them all?" I asked alongside those movements. She would nod in answer and I mouthed an 'ok' before touching the machine. Slowly trying to figure out what did what until they were all opened. And like that, those monsters also started coming after us two.
At first, anyhow, once we got through that door again that I smashed open, they would run off. Charging down a hall until more screams and bullets could be heard. Some of these creatures would even collapse dead before they turned the corner. Goldhands quickly being sighted afterwards as they came along with larger weaponry.
"Oh, that's not good." I comment while taking Lidanann by the thunder-gold weapon. Taking explicit note of how their weaker pistols could still hurt me. These guns, though, they weren't pistols, they were most certainly not. Those things were bigger than the guns I have seen before.
And once they were set up, it was as if they actually brought a buzzsaw instead. One creature they had locked up, some kind of long thing with lots of thin flesh just fell apart! Those bullets went straight through it and deep into the wall behind it. A little cloud of dust formed alongside it.
Not as big as the one I made, though, as that one was made from an entire wall collapsing! That hole also helped us avoid the goldhands as it seemed to bring us into an office room of some kind. Perhaps an extension of the computer room I bloodied before I grabbed Liadanann? It was also about now that I wished we had a map...
"Where are we? Where are we!?" I would ask twice in frustration as we moved about the room. My clenched-up fists tested the strength of each wall until it became clear there were no more rooms.
"Fight!" Liadanann then said in Tobaballian of all things as she raised her weapons. Her tail lashed out at the innocent wall behind her whilst she tried to encourage me. But that would have to wait as now guns were firing on us again. Then, the area next to me just suddenly exploded with it burning my open wounds quite nastily.
"Fighting it is!" I harshly whispered for some reason before we charged at them. Tearing each goldhand apart one by one until we were in the clear. At least, briefly in the clear as more were coming. Liadanann, however, to my surprise, would lead the charge out of this place.
Her body may have some decent armour given to it by her weapons. But this was suicidal! Those bullets could hurt me, there was no telling what it might do to her completely torn up front! And as last time showed, those were not good at stopping bullets!
"Or..." I soon found myself trailing out as I looked about at her handiwork as she led us elsewhere. It didn't matter if she was exposed when she wasn't giving them time to respond! And surely we'd run out of goldhands to face soon, right? They were rare in Tobaballe!
And I have already seen her kill dozens in these past few moments alone! But then, we were both blown backwards by a sudden and powerful detonation. One that caused the building before us to collapse in on itself. The debris made it rather clear as well that we were inside a mountain, too.
"Nin?" Liadanann said worriedly as she began to adopt a more timid stance while inspecting her wounds. Wounds that she seemed to ignore briefly before she shuddered and winced.
"Alright, let's see..." I muttered with a blank mind. Not too sure what to do until I looked back at the dead goldhands. And, the echo of further gunfire made it clear more were in here. Perhaps there was also another way out?
In hopes of finding one, I began to guide myself and her towards another part of the facility. Going around in what felt like circles until I found a sign pointing at something useful. And I smirked as we went into the room as it was a ventilation facility of some kind. One with large and obtuse tunnels made to extract and bring in a livable airflow.
I could not get a good grip, however, the material for these tunnels and tubes was too weak. My claws just tore straight through them no matter how I tried to use my magic. It was, however very straight when it went up. So perhaps I could jump up or climb through another means?
In order to test the last idea, I punched a hole into the tunnel. Inspected the other side before shaking my head on the way out. The nearby walls were too far so I would not be able to just break it intentionally. So I needed a new idea and I needed it now...
"You find something?" I asked as Liadanann's curiosity had broken me out of my thoughts. She was looking around and was now fiddling with a toolbox. Somewhat in her hand, a crowbar which she soon dropped. But, maybe that was the idea I was looking for!
So, I began to draw out my knowledge of magic in order to try something. I began to create a very weak and fragile version of the spell I learned with Larishazza. The one that ultimately failed me against Salahma. And I adjusted it using my newfound knowledge of finer magic control which I had learned over these past few days.
Liadanann then said something in her own tongue which I did not understand. But, I was going to assume it was something like 'tool' or 'crowbar' as that is what I did. I had changed my magical extension into a giant crowbar. It was, though, still quite weak, so I had no idea about its reliability.
But, I was not in a position to be demanding perfection from my spells. So I stuck my arm up and stabbed it into the upper tunnel. Slowly and steadily dragging myself up while carefully putting my feet through the walls. Each step bordering on either just tearing straight down or being an unsteady step.
"Alright, your turn." I said down to my fellow escapee as I did that spell again from my new position atop a mostly concrete shaft. Urging Lidanann forwards before I then pulled her up, dragging her the rest of the way. And, ending up with her on top of me when her sudden reactions to pain worried me. I don't think I scraped her along the shaft, but she was quite bulky at the front.
She quickly got off, though, so it might have just been a more random kind of pain. Either way, we were now in view of another place. One with what I assume was a lovely view of the outdoors. One I would not particularly mind getting to right now.
Thankfully, the shaft was increasingly made of concrete, mountain stone and thick steel as we went along it. Then, when we finally reached the end, I let Liadanann have the honours of busting it down. She was happy, very happy and it looked like she was struggling not to cry. And I was very fond of that smile of hers, maybe because I got her situation somewhat...
Being trapped by another species not your own, one that was cruel and abusive... Deep inside a mountain surrounded by monsters. Yet, unlike my own experiences, someone was there to see it through. Liadanann would be going home without needing to sacrifice herself as I had to with that insect...
Yet, she did not run for it and enjoy her newfound freedom out here. She just looked at me while I became confused by other things. Was my magic so weak right now it did not trigger the whole explosion thing? Or was there something else at play here...?
"Hold... Hold on, no! Stay!" I said to Liadanann as I moved around the mountain until I could see another building. Staring intently at it as I watched goldhand after goldhand rush about it. They also had some kind of... I had no idea what they were, they were giant metal men or something, very blocky and sluggish...
And then I saw her again, Iishar...