???: This one has a strong resistance to cognitive magic, sir. He's also the 24th of the series of the Arc familia. Quite the rare one. Multiple abilities in elements, strong cognitive resistance, and has an affinity for hexes. It's almost exactly what every army needs.
???: A great addition to an elite class. This one can't possibly be a failure. Keep this one for further testing. He might just be perfect to fit in with the others.
???: Understood platform director.
Nex: Arc! Wake up!
Arc: HUH!?
My body shot back up to reality! Another strange recollection. Wished I'd have normal dreams like the rest. Nowadays, all I have are memories of the past that I should've forgotten about. Now if only I could actually get some real sleep, my mental strength is waning. It's best I don't share what I could still remember to the Platform. Nex had shook my body awake to see that the coordinates had already been sent while I was asleep. Our watches were finally pinging at a new location. It wasn't that far off to where we were but there was something that I wanted to do first. As I got my bearings and brushed off the dust, I regrouped with Nex. He seemed quite excited to finally get some news from the others. I wanted to know if they were safe too. The rumblings from outside were still going on. It made me wonder if this was a good idea in the first place.
Nex: Let's regroup with the rest already! They're probably waiting for us already.
Arc: Yeah, but I just want to do something first. I want to visit Able first. I want to return its verification card before meeting the rest. I'm sure they're fine if they're able to send out their signal like that.
Nex: Weren't you supposed to be the no nonsense guy? We don't have time to go on a little trip for your little golem friend.
Arc: It might help us find Mother, he knew more about this place than any of us combined. So far we don't have a good clue yet besides what Terra set us to do. I also want to know something. This book I took. It's a planet named Earth.
Nex: So what?
Arc: You say it might be some kind of privately owned planet for construction but then why is it here? Written in it's very own language. Digital magic was already invented when planet ownership had already been institutionalized. Meaning there wouldn't be a need to record a construction planet using paper. It wouldn't make any sense. Even contracted land had already been uploaded into the universal storage cloud.
Nex: Where's this fascination even coming from? It's just some kind of random planet in the first place.
Arc: It's strange. But I feel like this is something we're supposed to know.
Nex: Forget it already! Let's go.
Before we could even react, security golems stormed the doors! They were now equipped with weapon modifcations that looked like they were set to lethal. Shit! They must've been closer than I thought. Me and Nex both dove for cover!
These security golems started to sound an alarm that was deafening. My instincts started to take over my body. I slammed my fist on the ground to shoot an energy bolt across the ground activating the hexes I had placed earlier. A giant air blast suddenly erupted that blew the ceiling off! Everything started crashing down some debri. Nex threw a lighter to me that he produced from his pockets. I took it then surged it with another power spike. With a swift motion, I used it to blow a flame to keep them away! The toppled security golems now took their ground now silenced. They stood there and started shooting pellets right at us using their gun modifications! Some zinged past us while others weren't even close. These things didn't have a clue where we were but kept firing anyway. I flung the lighter towards them then activated the hex. I reached over to the book and Nex's hand. A second later the lighter flashed a giant bright light that blinded everything! A ball of fire now exploded consuming everything around the area, burning the library. The explosion sound rang throughout the city, alerting the rest of the security golems to the area.
However, we were already long gone from the library. Nex had already teleported us back to an alleyway he had been earlier with Terra. I checked myself if I had any injuries as well as Nex. Luckily none of those pellets had hit us. Smoke was now seen from a distance. Most of those books are now lost except for this one. Nex's face was covered in ashes from the debri. With a quick wipe from my hand he looked fine. It looked as though Nex was now annoyed at me.
Nex: Did you really have to blow up the library?
Arc: I wasn't sure honestly. I just kind of went with my instinct.
Nex: Not only did you blow it up, you also burned it!
Arc: You were the one that threw me the lighter!
Nex: But I didn't know you were going to use it as a grenade! I thought you were going to use it as a flamethrower and that's it. A grenade on top of an air mine was just over the top even for you.
Arc: Argh, guess there was a bit of a miscommunication there. But I also did it to buy some time. They're going to have to rebuild it. Let's get going.
Nex: Did you also have to bring that book!?
I ignored that question and continued on through the alleyway. According to our watches, the team was actually quite close to where Able was. With quick air modifications on our boots, we were able to jump from building to building to make up for lost time. We made sure that each jump we made was careful. Not only was the whole security alerted but the whole city as well. Guardian spotlights were now active. Red beams of light that were shooting down making sure there weren't any organic life forms moving. Jumping from building to building was easy compared to scaling other places. There were ledges to grab onto before making the next jump. Though there were inconvenient jumps when security golems would start to check the roof tops too. Metal watch towers were now evoked up despite not being there just a couple hours ago. Talos was adapting. Eventually, we got close to where we had left Able till Nex pulled me down suddenly. I almost crashed the wrong way onto a building but I managed to get my footing on one of the ledges. A red spotlight had just suddenly appeared on the structure all of a sudden. It would have alerted the guardian. Nex held my sleeve tightly as he showed his displeased expression.
Nex: What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!
Arc: I'm sorry! I just wanted answers.
Nex: We can come back to Able or whatever it's name is next time. We have to meet up with the rest. They could be in danger!
Arc: Fine…
I just had to bear with it longer. After adjusting my direction to where the zone was, I kicked off hard to gain some distance. Nex was right behind me, making sure that he had a good view just in case. Despite being on red alert, the golem citizens still hadn't stopped what they were doing. Just as efficient in their security as their regular jobs. It's a bit sad to see how some of these golems just worked. Nothing else could bring them any purpose. After a couple more leaps, we've arrived at where we were supposed to be. However, there wasn't anyone around. The location was just an alley way again. No doors leading to inside a building. Just a dead end. Nex landed first, second to me. There were no signs of any of our teammates. My watch said that this is exactly where we're supposed to be. It was just a dark alleyway.
Nex: Where could they be?
Arc: I'm not quite sure. They should be here.
Nex: Switch over to tracking.
Arc: I did. They're here. But not even a sign of their watches being left behind.
Nex: Could they've been captured?!
Arc: If they did then they would've never turned on their location but instead an SOS signal. Part of protocol.
Nex: Then where could they be?
Arc: Underground…
Nex: Underground?!
Arc: They aren't here. Or maybe we're just above them? They must've found the area.
Nex: Then where's the entrance?
Arc: Probably being guarded somewhere else. So they must've gone on ahead and then sent it out. I can't just blow this ground up or it'll attract the locals. Our best idea now is to find the entrance.
Before we could even look around, security golems appeared in front of us again! How did they find us this time?! Nex jumped back to me while I got ready to use my magic again. They started to aim their weapons right at us again. This could spill our doom if I don't do something quick. Nex held my hand for another quick teleport but before we could do anything. The weapons started to rev up. But I was much faster, I reacted with precision. I slammed my hand on the side of the brick wall. After a quick surge, I moved the wall to crash down on the golems! The bullets sprayed all over the place! After a quick second, I pushed the manipulated dirt forward to topple them all down in one spot. Suddenly the red spotlight was on us! But before I knew it, Nex had teleported us again to another spot. This time it was the railways again. The place where we came from.
I turned to see if Nex was alright but he had already started to collapse. I grabbed Nex's back to make sure he wasn't going to fall on the ground. His breath was coarse. He was completely out of breath! It was starting to become uneven as time kept progressing. This was mainly because of the magical strain on his body. Teleportation magic takes a lot of effort to pull off especially for something quick like Nex's. Usually magicians would need to channel it but Nex was special. I quickly placed him on my back then moved towards the barricade. There were no security golems there from what I remembered. A second later I heard a big boom! It vibrated all over the metal parts of the hallway as well as creating some kind horrid screeching sound. It was like my ears were bleeding listening to it. Even with that deafening sound, my legs moved on their own to where Able was.
Nex: Find… them… please…
Arc: I'm already on it, Nex. Just rest up already. How many locations do you have left?
Nex: … 2...
Arc: When's the next time you can make one?
Nex: … Tomorrow… zzz…
Looks like our lifeline just fell asleep. All I could do now was just carry Nex till I caught sight of Able. It looked like it hadn't moved an inch since the day we left him. A surge of adrenaline started to go through my body making me go a bit faster moving towards it. The familiar blue golem then turned around and spotted us. It jumped as if it had been joyful at our return.
Able: Hello friend! Welcome back. Did you talk to Mother?
Arc: No, I haven't. We got into a bit of trouble. We tripped the alarms so we could try to find where it would defend to find the place. However, that didn't go as planned.
Able: Oh my.
Arc: That's why I'm here to ask for your help again. You know where mother is. Take us to her.
Able: There seems to be trouble. A guardian just dropped from the ceiling! I saw it from here! It was cool.
Arc: Able, can you help us out?
Able: Able? Is that my name? Woohoo!
Arc: No, that's what your designation was on your verification. Here, take it. You used to work at a library. You must've left a long time ago because the place was completely dusty.
Able: I don't remember, my memory banks have been shotty lately! But if you say so, friend! Thanks!
Arc: Wait before you give that to the border golem. Do you know anything about Earth?
Able: Earth! … I'm not quite sure. Some of my memory banks were taken by Mother!
Arc: What?! Why?
Able: I'm not sure. But I can tell you what it's like being a librarian!
Arc: No, we don't have time for that! Do you at least know how to speak or read the Earth language?
Able: Of course friend! I've been programmed with almost all languages readily available. Earth's language is named English! However, it has various forms and styles depending on the location. It is universally known by most of its inhabitants that language exists.
Arc: English huh. Interesting.
Nex: … Arc…
Arc: Right! Sorry, Nex. Take us to where Mother lives, Able. Only you can help us at this point. There's going to be a ton of security golems but I think we'll manage. Just take us there.
Able: Cool! A mission! Can I be a detective?
Arc: What the hell is that?
Able: Oh my.
Arc: Just lead the way but keep us away from the other golems.
Able: You got it friend!
I handed the verification card back to Able. After a click scan from the gold golem, the barricade started to close down revealing the escalator up ahead. With an excited jump, Able moved down to where we came from just a few days ago. Nex was still resting on my back, his breathing had started to come back to normal. As we entered the railway, an alert sound was issued! I turned back and the gold golem had its eye on us.
Able: Oh no! Did I do something wrong?
Gold Golem: Arrest the fugitive, Ev3 unit Able!
Arc: Fugitive!? How the hell are you a fugitive!?
Able just shrugged. This is bad! I knew this Ev3 unit was trouble! Never trust the locals! But this was our lead anyway. I held Nex tight as I prepared for another surge. Security golems were now starting to swarm us right below the escalator. This time in bigger numbers compared to the last one. I jumped on the escalator's side, readying myself for the worst to come. Right before I was about to jump, a mechanical hand grabbed me by the back of my shirt. Before I knew it, my legs were already off the ground! I looked up to see that Able had a grappling hook attachment on his left arm. A hidden attachment?!
Able: This brings back memories of when I cleaned windows! Woohoo!
I moved Nex towards my chest so I had a better grip of him. Able was able to swing us to one of the building rooftops then we continued on foot. There were no other covered areas to go to so we just kept running. I'd throw a couple air mines to boost us to higher buildings while Able grappled to wherever he wanted. Eventually the alarms started to die down on the surrounding area. I stopped to catch my breath and to see what just happened. That big explosion from earlier was the sound of a guardian crashing. It had dropped itself from the ceiling of the dome to where we were. If this didn't solidify Nex's weight pulling for the team then I don't know what will.
A huge uneven creator was all that was left. Construction golems were now busy fixing the mess that the golem left behind. There was more dust than usual in the air now. I wanted to rest from all this but this wasn't the place for it. We jumped back to the ground into a dark alley. Able spotted an underground stairway leading to some empty underground garage. Opening it up only to be met with scrap metal and oil everywhere. Seemed like it didn't have anything else besides a desk with a computer too. The only thing left to say was that there was a tiny window by the top of the garage door that let us see the flooring of the street.
I placed Nex by the pile of scrap with some soft tarps because there wasn't anything else I could do to make it more comfortable for him. But my job wasn't done just yet. This place might feel safe for now, but I knew I needed to find more information. I jumped on the metallic seat by the computer because I was just dead tired. Now all that's left is Able.
Able: You look angry, friend!
Arc: Stop calling me your friend. Why didn't you tell us you were a fugitive!
Able: What's a fugitive friend?
Arc: A criminal! A bad guy!
Able: I don't remember being a bad guy! But I do remember being a chef!
Arc: Argh! I should've just trusted Nex. I'm so stupid! Never trust the locals. At least say why you're a fugitive. What did you do to even get that in this city?
Able: I'm not sure.
Arc: Well whatever it was, it must've been bad because the whole city is looking for you.
Able: I'm not sure. I must be popular!
Arc: Just my luck…
Able: I can remember one of my jobs.
Arc: Of course you do.
Able: I was a hitman!
Arc: What!
Able: Is that bad?
Arc: It means you've killed people for money. But why would a Ev3 unit want money in the first place? In fact, how are you powered up?
Able: I'm not sure. We should ask Mother!
Arc: I can't trust you, Able. You've given me no reason to trust you.
Able: That's okay friend!
Arc: Yet, something bothers me. You saved my life. You didn't need to grab me and Nex. You could've just left. But you saved us anyway. Why?
Able: Because you're my friend!
Arc: I should've seen that one coming.
Able gave me a thumbs up while I just sat back on this uncomfy metal seat. Part of me wanted to trust Able but it was just too shrouded in mystery. It's air headed charm convinced me that Able wasn't capable of doing harm. Though in the first place, I shouldn't have lowered my guard. I wanted to make sure that Nex was fully rested before we made our next move. My heart is still racing because of that chase. I haven't had a good thrill chase like that in a while. Call me an adrenaline junkie but I know I shouldn't be joking about near death experiences. Looking at my watch, their coordinates haven't changed. That's a bit odd. They should've at least moved an inch by now. Strange…
I closed my eyes for another couple hours until my timer went off. Able was still standing on the same spot and Nex was still passed out. The next cycle was going to start up. I popped in another pellet to keep me going. I wonder what this computer is for? Is it some kind of transponder for information? Something for golems to download maybe. I touched the ancient keyboard to see if it was still active. The screen started to load up! This thing didn't even have facial security features or dermis activation. Whoever made these were surely stuck in the past. Luckily there was a port that I could hook my watch up to. Now whatever is in here, I could just download.
Able: What are you doing friend?
Arc: I'm not sure myself. But what does this computer do? You worked at the library and I saw something similar there.
Able: Oh this is the data dock! Golems use them to stay connected with the rest of the other golems! It's like a phone!
Arc: What's a phone?
Able: Oh my.
Arc: Is it like a modification that older generations used?
Able: It was used as a form of personal communication for humans. It was shaped like a box!
Arc: How primitive!
Able: Quite!
Arc: So this is how they connect to each other. Does that mean we could also use this to know the patrols of other golems?
Able: I don't see why not!
Able went up to the keyboard to do some typing. While Able was doing so, I think it was time to address some of my injuries as well. As I figured, my back had a major bruise on it from a few days ago. The pain wouldn't happen if I just stopped touching it! Golems were marching right near the streets. Definitely not the situation I expected to be in. Wonder how Terra and NItra are holding up wherever they are. I took some of the parchment that had my symbol on it from my pockets then activated it to create cold compress. Something to help just in case it started to swell. I shivered, placing a cold compress on my bruise but I had to do it. Seconds later, Able got off the computer.
Arc: Did you manage to do it?
Able: It should be able to be on your watch now!
As I checked, there were countless beeps on my watch. There were uncountable formations of golems on my rader! With the amount that I've seen, this was like some kind of full scale invasion force. How determined was Mother to keep us away? I haven't seen anything like this. This was definitely something that the platform should've known. A hidden city with its own militia. If they kept going, this whole planet could easily be taken by Talos completely!
Arc: Thanks Able. You've been mighty helpful so far, but it's still hard to tell whether you're a bad thing or not. What are you going to do right after you lead us to Mother?
Able: I'm not sure, but I'll have a party! And you're invited!
Arc: I'll be sure to consider it. Let's wait for our other friend to finish resting before we take our leave.
Nex still hadn't recovered from his exhaustion, except that was normal. His power limit was twice per day. Though it also depends on how far the distance is too. His breathing had been stable when we arrived. Now he's just completely asleep on top of that pile of scraps. Wished there was more I could do for him. I leapt out of the chair to lay down on the scrap pile as well. It was uncomfortable but when was anything comfortable for us? I wasn't going to sleep because unless I was exhausted I would never sleep. Guess I just got used to life being this way for us. People need me to be like this, for the sake of humanity. Or I would like to believe so. They told us that we were humanity's last hope to continue on. It's hard to believe sometimes that there's only a handful of us living on the Platform. Some never even get to see what life is like on a planet.
Sometimes I nag about the dangers of planets too much. I forget that there were good planets that we've experienced. The only thing that made them bad were the locals. Scum that doesn't even deserve a trial. But who am I to say who lives or dies. I'm only a glorified executioner after all. My eyes started to drop down on their own, I could feel my body getting lighter...
???: Wait! We can't leave Terra! She'll die if we leave now! We have to go back and save her Arc!
Arc: There's no use. She said to go without her! We have our prime directives!
???: Well I'm going back! She's part of the team.
Arc: You'll die if you go! There's no time for us to play hero!
???: At least then I'll have no regrets! I'd rather die trying to save someone important to me than run off. Would you say the same?
Arc: There's no stopping you, is there?
???: She needs us and if you're not going to then I will.
Arc: Please consider this one more time. You don't need to play the hero.
???: We're only kids, Arc. Playing the hero is what we do. I'm sorry.
Arc: ????!
Nex: Arc! Wake up!
It felt like a terrible parade just stepped on my back. That's the price I get for sleeping on pieces of scrap metal. Nex was on top of me trying to wake me up. It was almost like I was being awakened by a girl actually. I slowly got up then wiped my face with my hand trying to get this morning sickness off. Able was still on the same spot like some kind of sentry drone. Even with all that training and experience, everything still felt uncomfortable. It looked like Nex was finally feeling like himself again. I sighed a breath of relief as I started to stretch out into form. We could finally get the hell out of this place.
Nex: Were you having a bad dream? You were talking in your sleep.
Arc: It wasn't a dream. It was a flashback.
Nex: Oh, it was about …
Arc: Yeah, it was…
Nex: I'm sorry.
Arc: It's nothing to be sorry about. I just thought that I wouldn't remember any of it by now. I'm surprised that I still do.
Nex: It's hard to forget about. Even I still get glimpses. It must've been a strong memory for both of us.
Arc: I don't know what else to say, to be honest. But there's nothing to be sorry about. That's just another reason why I don't like sleeping often. There's no way in hell I would want to re-experience these things again.
Nex: I see…
After minutes of preparing, all three of us were ready to move out again. The coast was clear for now but there were patrols in almost every corner. Able was going to lead us to the entrance of Mother. Hopefully Terra and Nitra are alright.