The Blackdash Saga

Rex_Blackdash 2019-07-12 22:18:42 UTC #1

This is my story.

Destiny: Book One

The Aethasian Role-Play Log

The Blackdash Saga Discussion Page

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The Blackdash Tales

Random Anything The Third

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:30:08 UTC #50

Chapter 1: The Heist

I watched as the Empire’s automatons patrolled around a parked storage transport. It wouldn’t stay that way for long, so if I wanted to get what I came for I had to act now. Transports didn’t come to No Man’s Landing often, so this was a rare opportunity.

Once the automatons weren’t looking, I sprinted to the rear doors of the transport and flattened myself against them in order to decrease my visibility. I placed my hands on each of the two handles, took a deep breath, and then pulled. The large double-doors swung off to the side. I hopped up to the transport floor, hardly making a sound. Then, I slowly crept inside.

So far so good.

The transport was filled with closed shipping crates labeled to almost every part of Aethasia. It was going to be hard to find what I was looking for...

"Perfect!" I exclaimed to myself as I flipped open the lid of a crate labeled "Snow Moors". I grabbed a shiny red apple with each of my hands. "The Empire really does provide for its citizens!"

I stuffed a couple of apples in each of my pockets, and then I grabbed more of the juicy fruit just for good measure. I turned around to leave and began walking towards the doors. I froze when I heard a voice behind me.

"Not. So. Fast. Where do you think you’re going?"

I winced. Caught again. Does the Empire ever give up?

"Well," I spun around to meet the voice. He was an autofficer. An especially persistent one at that, as he had apparently been hiding in the transport the whole time. "I was thinking of leaving this transport, and then I was going to head home..." I said, slowly beginning to inch my way towards the door.

"Not on my watch!" The autofficer said. “I am Autofficer William Burns, and you, Rex Blackdash, are going to an Imperial prison for the rest of your life!"

"Yeah, I would love to, but I have other plans right now." I replied.

I heard the autofficer walk towards me. “You act as If you have a cho-"

Without wasting any time, I lobbed the two apples that were in my hands at the autofficer’s head. He dropped to the floor, stunned. "Got to run!" I shouted behind me. I reached the transport doors and jumped out of the vehicle.

I was in such a hurry that I didn’t think to look where I was going. When I turned my head to see, I rammed straight into a group of unsuspecting pacifiers that were hauling a statue of Emperor Lucky. The pacifiers fell over in quick succession, dropping it onto the ground. The statue’s head broke off, and as I was running for my life away from the scene, I nearly broke into laughter.

I never thought I would see that. The automatons are defacing the Emperor now.

My thoughts were interrupted by Autofficer Burns shouting. "Don’t let him get away again!" The two Pacifiers that weren’t crushed by the statue picked themselves off the ground and began to pursue me.

They started by firing at me with their guns, but the shots didn’t even get close to connecting. Automatons weren't known for their accuracy. They only seemed to be useful for intimidation, really...and defacing the Emperor.

“HALT.” One of the automatons said in its monotone voice. “YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW, REX BALCKDASH. TURN YOURSELF IN, NOW."

_ Balckdash? That’s a new one..._

"Hey, you got my name wrong! It’s Blackdash, you mindless automatons! And don’t you forget it!"

The automatons paid little heed to my words, and they were somehow gaining. Did they get an upgrade? I didn’t know.

I turned left down a busy street, hesitating before running towards the mass of people. There had to be at least a hundred people there. That might have been the entire population of No Man’s Landing, I didn’t know. I slid between the crowd quite elegantly (if I do say so myself) while the automatons pushed people who were in their way over to the side. After a minute or so I exited the crowd. I looked over my shoulder and saw, to my relief, that the automatons were nowhere to be found. I smirked.

"Rex Blackdash makes another daring escape!" I yawned. That chase took more out of me than I expected. Maybe I should head home now.

I was going to do just that, but when I turned I hit something metal.

"HALT." The Pacifier said. "YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW, REX BALCKDASH. TURN YOURSELF IN, NOW."

I turned around to escape through the crowd again, but the pair of pacifiers from earlier were blocking my path. I had nowhere to run. One of the pacifiers grabbed my arm and began to walk back to the imperial base. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of this.

I spotted a winded Autofficer Burns, smiling at me through deep breaths. “You can’t... escape the Empire... or me..."

I spent the next few minutes in silence, pondering how I could escape. I noted that there were countless places that I could lose the automatons, but one of them was holding my arm tight, and the other two pretty much snuffed out any chance of escaping. Even with their bad accuracy, they were so close that it would be a miracle if I survived. And that was what I needed right now. A miracle.

And that is just what I got.

A high pitched sound reached my ears. I immediately recognized it as a gunshot. My head spun around to see that one of the two pacifiers behind me was lying on the ground, smoking. Hope was rekindled inside of me as I searched for the origin of the weapon. The pacifier holding me did the same. If I could read automaton’s faces, I could tell that it was perplexed.

Another gunshot sounded as the second automaton trailing behind me fell into pieces.

The remaining pacifier let go of my arm and aimed its built-in pistol above its head. I looked up as well to see a man falling towards the automaton with his sword directed towards the machine.

The Pacifier snapped off a shot at the figure, but the bullet went way off target. The man landed on the automaton, plunging his sword deep into its fog boiler. The pacifier stood staring him for a few seconds as its green eyes slowly diminished. It stiffened up as its head began to shake violently. The head launched off into the sky without warning as the automaton’s body clattered to the cobblestone.

I squinted as I watched the head fly up into the air before shortly clattering to the ground like the rest of the automaton’s parts. My gaze shifted to the man who had saved me. He just destroyed three Pacifiers! That was something that I had only dreamed of accomplishing.

The man turned to me as he ripped his sword from the automaton’s chassis. His gaze met mine as he sheathed his sword.

I took a deep breath. "Who...are you?"

"My name is Kieran and I’m with the Resistance. I was sent to recruit you."

I stood dumbfounded. Me? I asked myself. Why would this "Resistance" want me?

I voiced my thoughts out loud. Kieran sighed as someone would do so to a child that didn’t know anything. "You have been able to evade The Empire for many years now. The Resistance values that kind of skill. Just a few minutes ago did you not steal from the Empire?"

I frowned. "Does everyone know about that?"

Kieran ignored my question. "What would you be leaving behind that is so important?"

I hesitated. "Well...my house for one thing! I have memories there!"

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Memories?" He said, not convinced.

"You know...I’ve hidden from the Empire a lot there!"

Kieran crossed his arms.

I sighed. "I want to go home, not join this "Resistance" of yours. It sounds dangerous."

"And what you do isn’t?"

"Forget it!" I said finally. "If you want to do something, then escort me home!"

Kieran nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."

The first thing I saw in the distance was smoke. I gasped and sprinted forward, leaving Kieran’s side.

Autofficer Burns was outside of my home with an assembly of automatons. The man had a smirk upon his face. I clenched my fist. Why couldn’t that autofficer just leave me alone!

Autofficer Burns pointed towards my house again, and a bombardier launched another flaming cannonball into my already flaming house.

I winced as I watched my home slowly burn away and dissipate into ashes. I sunk to my knees as Kieran approached from behind me. I slowly nodded. "You were right. I have nothing left to lose." I lifted my head so I could see Kieran. "Take me to your Resistance base."

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Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:30:48 UTC #51

Chapter Two: Training

One week later.

I opened my eyes and immediately regretted it as the light from the window nearly blinded me. I sat up much quicker than I should have, ramming my head into the top of the bed. I clutched my head and gasped as I rolled out of my bed onto the rock-hard floor.

"Good morning!" I heard someone shout from outside. My door creaked open and a Resister not far off from my age entered. "How did you-...oh..."

The resister saw me sprawled across the floor, half unconscious.

"Are you...okay?"

I slowly picked myself up and dusted myself off. "You have no idea...what living in this room is like, Jaiden."

He nodded slowly. "You know what; I think you’re right, considering that I have one exactly like it."

I smirked. "It’s good to see you."

Jaiden was, I suspected, my only friend in the Resistance. We were almost inseparable. As soon as I came here, Jaiden was one of the first resisters to greet me and we became fast friends.

Jaiden’s calm demeanor quickly changed into something more serious. "We should go now if we want to make it to training on time. You know how Kieran gets."

I nodded. "Let’s go!"

Out of every Resister in this base, I had to be assigned to Kieran. He was good at what he did, but he also had to be the most difficult person in all of Aethasia! All he wanted me and Jaiden to do was train, and he didn't seem to answer any of my questions the way I intended. I ask him "What are we doing today?" He replies, "Training." I ask him "What are we doing tomorrow?" He replies, "Training." I ask him "What are we going to eat?" He replies, "Training!"

We made it one minute late, and Kieran scolded us. We apologized quickly and scurried to the side where we would be instructed.

"You can't be late in a battle; someday it may cost someone their lives!" Kieran said.

"Is everything I do wrong?" I shot back.

Kieran thought for a moment. "At the moment, yes. That is why I’m training you. You can be better than..." He gestured to me.

I frowned. "Yeah, I get it. Let’s move on."

Kieran began to pace like a true instructor would. "Today, you will learn about disarming your opponent in the most effective way," He tossed both of us a training cane, and then he drew one of his own. "Jaiden, come at me."

Jaiden raised his weapon and charged towards Kieran with a shout. I thought for sure that my friend would land a few blows to our instructor, but Kieran stepped to the side at the last moment and extended his arm. Jaiden only had enough time to widen his eyes as he ran straight into Kieran’s cane. My friend fell to the floor with a thud.

"Come on, are you even trying?" Kieran taunted. He turned his attention to me and smiled deviously. I frowned.

Uh oh.

"Rex, you’re next."

I hesitated, causing Kieran to sigh.

"If you do not come at me, you will need a cane."

I sighed as well, and then raised my cane to attack.

This is going to be a long day.

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Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:31:37 UTC #52

Chapter Three: First Assignment

I lay in my extremely small bed with about 500 more bruises. Kieran was not known for going easy.

I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" I asked. Another knock sounded, louder this time. I sat up, slightly irked. "I'm coming!" I get out of bed and walked (quite groggily, I might add) towards the door. I opened it and was met with my instructor. Even now I couldn’t get away from this person!

"Your first mission is today, remember?" Kieran said with annoyance in his voice.

"Oh, right! I’ll be right there."

Kieran shook his head and disappeared from the door.

When I was ready, I walked up to Jaiden and Kieran. I leaned over to my friend and asked in a whisper, "Are we the only ones going on this mission?"

"Yeah," Jaiden whispered back. "It’s supposed to be a stealth mission."

I frowned. My first mission was going to have three people on it. This was great.

A resistance member--presumably the leader of this base--paced in front of us. He cleared his throat and spoke.

"Kieran, Jaiden, and Rex, you three have been chosen for this infiltration mission. I have assigned you to this because it should be minimum threat to you, provided you stay undiscovered."

I chuckled to myself. Should be easy, right?

"You will be sent to recover an operative from an imperial base in No Man’s Landing. He has important information about a new automaton class, so it is imperative that we rescue him. Kieran, once you arrive, you will separate from the group to sabotage the factory--just in case."

Kieran nodded. "Shouldn’t be a problem."

"Wait--so the only person with experience isn’t going to be with us?" I asked.

The commanding resister looked at me. "You and Jaiden are going to rescue our operative. It shouldn’t be a problem. I will provide you with his room number, and all you need to do is get him and get out. Any questions?"

If there was one thing I had, it was questions.

"Uhhhh..."

"Excellent," The commander said. "You should leave right away."

The three of us turned and left the base. I was, to be honest, quite satisfied. I finally had a mission. A real mission. I was done being a common thief on the street. Now, I would help save Aethasia from the Empire.

I stopped in my tracks. "Wait, we have to go back!"

Kieran sighed. "What’s wrong now?"

"I don’t have a weapon. What if something happens to me? I need to defend myself!"

Kieran smirked, reaching into his jacket. He retrieved a training cane and handed the object to me. I blinked.

Not what I meant.

Once at the imperial base, Kieran stole a uniform and then left us so he could fulfill his mission. I fumbled around the base with Jaiden (occasionally dodging automaton patrols) until we finally found the operative’s room.

I knocked.

Almost immediately, the door slid open. "What took you so long?!" The operative said. "They suspect me! We should leave now, or else we’re all going to be c-"

"Calm down," I interrupted. "We should meet up with our third Resister in the factory before we go."

"Alright," he said, seeming to calm down slightly. "Lead the way, but make it quick."

I nodded and turned to leave.

"If you’re trying to get to the factory, I know of a faster way."

I spun around to meet the operative again. "Alright, you lead the way."

Eventually, the resister lead us to a set of stairs. I began to walk down first, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard clanking coming up from the bottom. I turned around to go back, but more automatons were pouring out of where we just came from. I looked back down to the bottom of the stairs to see an autofficer. It was William Burns.

"Not so fast," He shouts up to us. "You’re coming with me!"

All of us froze. The autofficer ordered two pacifiers to restrain us. The automatons were almost to us when I decided that I wouldn’t be taken without a fight. I pulled out my cane and charged towards the first one. With all of my strength, I swung my weapon at the automaton.

The cane snapped in half. What a piece of junk.

The automaton forces advanced on us again. I slowly retreated back to Jaiden and the operative. Just when all hope seemed to be lost, the automatons at the bottom of the stairs exploded without warning. I gasped! Autofficer Burns took cover as Kieran entered the room with his sword out. He motioned for us to come to him.

"This way, quickly!"

I shrugged off my surprise and ran down the stairs. Jaiden and the Resistance operative followed.

Burns frowned as he picked himself up from the ground. "I’ll catch you another day, it seems!"

"Don’t count on it," I shouted back as I followed Kieran out of the room.

"There’s little time to explain!" Kieran picked up his pace. "We need to leave right now!"

An automaton’s monotone voice broke through the speakers. "ALERT! ALERT! SELF DESTRUCT INITIATED. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"

I nodded knowingly. Kieran was good. Really good.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:32:13 UTC #53

Chapter Four: Boredom

One week later.

Boredom. Complete and utter boredom. After the destruction of the imperial factory, neither Jaiden, nor I had been assigned to anything else. Kieran was away on some mission at the Isle, so he couldn’t occupy our time. (He said we couldn’t go because we needed more training. Typical.) We were just left to do absolutely nothing by ourselves.

I sat in a chair facing some kind of printing machine. I stared at it intently.

Yes--I was engaged in a heated staring contest with a printing machine. (Get over it.)

Jaiden walked into the room and smirked. "Still at it, eh? Did you win?"

"Not quite," I said, careful not to take my eyes off the printing machine. "This is going to be a close one..."

Jaiden simply chuckled and carried on with whatever he was doing.

Knock

What was that I just heard? Was someone at the door? I tilted my head, breaking eye contact with the printer. It was worth it if I got at least a little excitement.

I stood up and walked cautiously towards the door, beckoning Jaiden to follow me. When I got to it, I grabbed the door handle and held on to my two broken cane-halves tightly, expecting anything.

I twisted the doorknob.

The door opened and a man who I did not know staggered into the room. He was clutching his arm, obviously wounded somehow. He fell to his knees, bearing a pained look upon his face. I grimaced, spotting the wound on his arm. I also spotted a Resistance badge. That was a great relief, and I relaxed my canes.

"What happened to you?" I asked the wounded Resister. He didn’t answer and instead motioned towards a gold and purple device on his right. I frowned and picked it up. The purple on the inside moved back and forth like a wave crashing against rock. What was this device? I had to get one some time...

The Resister grunted. "Once you’re done admiring my Aethermeter, could you maybe use it on my arm?"

"Oh, right!" I attempted to pry the device open, but it wouldn’t budge. "How...does this thing work?!"

The device opened up on its own however, and a purple fluid poured into the man’s arm. A few seconds passed, and the Resister relaxed as the pain slowly left his features.

I was stunned.

"Thank you," The resister said, now standing up."

"But I didn’t do that. Your... Your..." I struggled for the word.

"It’s called an Aethermeter." He said. "Frankly, I’m surprised you don’t know what it is. You are Resistance, aren’t you?"

"Yes...but I’m fairly new. I don’t have one of those yet."

The Resister chuckled. "You’ll get one when you’re ready."

Jaiden interrupted. "Why did you come here?"

"Surely you are at least aware that the Resistance organized an attack against the Isle."

We nodded.

"Well, the attack went worse than we expected, and I came here to get help. I know you two are young, but I’m asking this of you because we need all of the help we can get."

I looked at Jaiden, and he nodded back. "We will go to help."

The resister grinned. "Great! I wish I could come with you, but I need to gather others." He turned to leave. "The best of luck to you, my friends."

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:32:51 UTC #54

Chapter Five: Split Track

"Why is this boat ride so long?" Jaiden asked for the fifth time.

"I’m sorry!" I finally exclaimed. "The Resistance didn’t happen to have an airship just lying around, so you just have to settle with this. You can swim instead if you want!"

Jaiden frowned and looked over the edge of the boat. He was actually considering it.

I sighed. "I’m sorry. I’m just a little worried about Kieran."

Jaiden arched his eyebrows. "A little?"

I shrugged. "I’ve only known him for a short time, and he’s really hard on me when we train...But it feels like he’s becoming my friend."

"Friends? With Kieran? Is that even possible."

"I really don’t know."

"Don't worry," Jaiden put a hand on my shoulder. "He beat me when we fought, so I think he’ll be alright."

We both broke into laughter, and it somehow made the trip seem smaller. When I looked up, I saw an island in the distance. I shook Jaiden and pointed at it.

"I think that’s the Isle!"

Jaiden grinned, lifting up a sword. "Good. I’m tired of sitting in this boat."

I stared at Jaiden with a blank expression. My eyes drifted between him and his sword. And then back at him.

"Where did you get that?"

Jaiden shrugged. "Let’s just say that I have friends in high places..."

"You don’t happen to have two, do you?"

Jaiden shook his head.

I turned my head back to the slowly-approaching island. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this or not. I just found out about the Resistance only a few weeks ago, and now I was going to risk my life for them? That was something I had never done for anyone. I felt...compelled in some way though. Not like manipulation, but like purpose. Somehow, I wasn’t scared to fight for this cause. It was something I believed in. I stood up and clutched the two halves of my cane tightly as the Isle slowly got larger and larger.

The only thing we could do now was wait. So we waited and waited and waited.

And waited.

The boat scraped onto the soft sand of the Isle. Jaiden hopped out, followed by me. I landed on a wisp of sickly green fog, dispersing it. I wrinkled my nose. It smelled like something rotten, whereas whatever was in that "Aethermeter" smelled like freshly blooming lilacs. Why anyone would stay with the Empire was beyond me.

"This way!" Jaiden interrupted my thoughts. "I can hear gunshots!"

I hurried to Jaiden’s side, and together we entered the large maze of the Isle.

It wasn’t long before we happened upon a split track. I sighed. How did I know this was going to happen?

Jaiden scratched his head. "We could split up...?"

"I already know that’s a bad idea, but maybe you’re right. At least one of us can get to the battle that way."

Jaiden gave me a reassuring smile. "Good luck."

"You too."

My friend ran down the corridor on the left. I stayed and watched him go for as long as I could before he turned out of my sight.

I was on my own now. I readied my canes and ran down the corridor on the right.

I ran until I was too tired to do so, and even then I walked faster than normal. No matter what pace I was making, I still seemed to stay far away from the sounds of battle. After a half hour, I began to get worried. I didn’t know if I was going around in a circle or I was just one turn away from the Resisters. It didn’t seem like either of those were true.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I came across another split track. There was a metal door on the left, and I wasn’t sure if I should continue on or try my luck past the door.

I heard the clanking of metal feet coming my way. I looked ahead and saw a pair of troubleshooters on a patrol. They would see me unless I backtracked the entire way!

Or...

I ran to the door and opened it without hesitation. I tried to look inside, but it was pitch black. I couldn’t see what I would be walking into. I heard the troubleshooters much more loudly now. They were probably almost to me.

Without thinking, I walked into the dark room and shut the door.

All I could see was black mixed in with a faint green glow from dim lamps hanging around the room, as well as a green fireplace in the corner, but that failed to illuminate much. I staggered around until I rammed my foot into a table leg.

I merely winced; fearing if I made a noise, the automatons outside would hear me. So I just waited until the pain subsided. After that I waited another minute just to be safe.

I searched the room for anything that would turn the lights up until I flipped some kind of switch. Immediately, the lanterns got substantially brighter.

"There, that’s better." I looked up, wincing at the sudden light of the room. Once my eyes adjusted, I realized that I was staring right at a massive automaton head. I fell back, releasing a startled shout.

It was a massive automaton almost twice as tall as me, and much longer. It was completely silver and grey and had sharp metal teeth and claws, both of which looked equally deadly. To be honest, it resembled some kind of Aethasian lizard. (I couldn’t place the name of it at the moment.)

I half expected the automaton to gobble me up right there, but then I noticed that it was inactive. I slowly stood up and backed away from it, trying to quell my shaking. I turned my head to the nearby table and saw a blue paper with white diagrams on it. This must be the automaton’s blueprint... I snatched the paper and rolled it up in my hands, careful to make sure the automaton didn’t activate.

"What do we have here?" A voice behind the automaton said. I froze. "A thief?" A man walked towards me until I was facing him. He was an autofficer, judging by his attire. Just what I needed.

"You have something that belongs to me," The man said calmly. "And I want it back."

"And...who are you?" I raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Autofficer Griffin Blake," He said with the smallest amount of pride. "I was the one who invented this model of automaton." He motioned towards the metal figure beside him. "The Autolizard! It has a quite ingenious design, in fact. Because of the placement of the fog boiler, it is allowed..." Autofficer Blake trailed off. "Never mind that. Just give me the blueprints." He extended his hand out to me.

I lifted the blueprint roll over Autofficer Blake’s hand as if I was going to give it to him, but then I swiftly turned and threw it directly towards the green fire.

"What?!" Griffin reached for the roll, but it evaded his fingertips. The paper fell into the fire and lit up in an instant. "You fool! That’s fog-fire! I can’t put that out!" Still, the autofficer tried to grab the blueprint out of the fire. He succeeded, but that didn’t change anything. He watched as the paper slowly turned to ash and floated away. There was a moment of silence before Griffin lifted his arm, revealing a gauntlet. He pushed a combination of buttons on it, and the Autolizard slowly began to glow a sickly green. "You will pay dearly for that!"

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:33:54 UTC #55

Chapter Six: The Autolizard

I burst through the door and ran as fast as I could away from the Autolizard. If I found the rest of the Resistance, maybe they could destroy this automaton. I turned around and saw the Autolizard right behind me, so I threw the two halves of my cane at its head. Somehow, beyond comprehension, they snapped in half again.

My eyes widened and I ran like I never had before.

Luckily, I was able to make it to the main battle following the last path. It was going even worse than I thought. Maybe it was a mistake to bring this "Autolizard" here. The Resisters were surrounded, and they were fighting like it would be their last battle. It probably would be unless someone intervened.

I saw Jaiden taking cover behind a pile of automaton parts. Kieran--who was beside Jaiden--left his cover to fire his rifle at a bombardier entering the battle. The automaton fell apart even before it could get a shot off.

It was a relief to see that both of them were alright.

I heard a roar behind me, so I turned around and saw the Autolizard charging straight for me. I ran down a ramp and headed towards Kieran. That was when I realized I didn’t have a weapon! I ducked a swipe from a pacifier’s built-in dagger, and I rolled past a troubleshooter’s mortar. I did similar dodges until I made it to the same cover that Kieran and Jaiden were behind.

Kieran glanced at Jaiden, and then at me. He looked angry. "You too?!" I braced for the worst, but then Kieran’s anger slowly turned into a grin. "There’s hope for you yet..."

The Autolizard crawled out of the tunnel and began to scan the room. I suspected it was looking for me.

"Oh," I pointed at the Autolizard. "I forgot to mention that the Empire created a new automaton model that is very big and has sharp teeth, and it’s after me, and I just led it to you."

Kieran’s mouth fell open, and it seemed like he was searching for the right thing to say. Finally, he looked at me and frowned. "I take back what I said. There is no hope for you. None."

"We should retreat!" Jaiden shouted over the noises of battle. "That thing looks deadly."

Kieran paused. "We could take that thing."

Jaiden shook his head. "The armor looks too thick! We need to make an opening in the automatons and go! That new model is going to attack soon, and we will not stand a chance."

Kieran was silent for a good ten seconds.

"Well?" Jaiden urged.

Kieran slammed his fist into the ground and then called out, "Everyone! Pull out your Aethermeters and follow me!"

The Resisters around the room raised their Aethermeters into the sky, and Kieran did the same. A violet shield surrounded the Resisters, and together they sprinted through the automatons towards the nearest exit. Every automaton that touched the shield deactivated and cluttered to the floor. But no matter how many were destroyed, more came from behind us.

At the moment the Resisters entered the mines again, the shield deactivated. The Aether in all of the Resister’s meters were completely empty. It was worth it, though.

"They won't be far behind us!" Kieran said as the resisters ran down the corridor. "Stay behind me and don’t stop running!"

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:34:27 UTC #56

Chapter Seven: Cut Off

The group stopped in their tracks. Blocking the only exit was the Autolizard and Griffin Blake.

I frowned. How did they get here so fast...?

Griffin smiled menacingly. "So close..." He raised his arm and input a command to the Autolizard. The automaton slowly walked forward as if to intimidate us. We held our ground, and I could hear the Resistance members behind me ready their various weapons. Kieran did the same.

I awkwardly leaned towards Kieran. "Do you have an extra sword?"

My mentor sighed and gave me his. He then pulled out a second sword and readied it for the battle.

A resistor fired a shot from his rifle at the Autolizard, but it didn't seem to affect it. A barrage of bullets from pistols and rifles alike peppered the automaton, but it still came at us.

Kieran and I raised our swords and charged towards the Autolizard.

I didn’t get far before I tripped on a pipe. Just my luck.

When Kieran got close enough to the Autolizard, he slashed its leg with his sword. It did nothing, and the Autolizard retaliated. It swiped its tail at Kieran, but he jumped up, dodging the attack.

A resister fired his rifle at the Autolizard, drawing its attention. Kieran took this opportunity to engage Griffin Blake. The autofficer was surprised, and he pulled his short sword quickly in order to block Kieran’s aggressive attack. It only took Kieran a few seconds to overwhelm his opponent, and soon he had his sword at the neck of the autofficer. The Autolizard turned to Kieran in an instant and raised its razor sharp claws to strike my mentor.

I shouted out to warn him, but it was too late. The claw scraped across Kieran’s chest, and he screamed in pain.

"No!" I shouted as Kieran collapsed to the floor.

Everything seemed to go slow motion in that moment. Kieran looked directly at me and said through clenched teeth, "Run."

I closed my eyes, knowing that he was right. We had to escape while we had the chance, or we would all suffer Kieran’s fate. I opened my eyes and ran straight for the Autolizard. Once I got to it, I rolled under it and then continued to run outside. The other resistors followed my example and were soon breathing the fresh air again. I glanced behind me to see if we were being pursued, but to my surprise, Blake called the Autolizard off.

I saw Kieran lying on the ground, motionless, and I felt bad for leaving without him.

I’ll come back for you, Kieran. I promise.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:34:44 UTC #57

Chapter Eight: Progress

Kieran woke up with a start. He sat up, but immediately regretted it. He felt a pain in his chest, so he looked down and saw it was bandaged. His memories slowly began to flood back into his head. The attack on the Isle went much worse than he could have ever comprehended. He was in some kind of a cell now. How he got there, he didn’t know, but he recognized it as imperial-make.

It was odd that the Empire would help him recover. Though it was most likely they wanted him at full strength so he could endure the tortures they would unleash upon him.

All of Kieran's weapons were gone, even the hidden ones in his boots. The Empire was thorough, he would give them that.

Kieran heard someone unlocking the door to his cell. He looked up to see an autofficer. He scowled and stepped to the side.

"Get up, rebel! Autofficer Blake wants to see you in his private office." He barked.
Kieran frowned and stood up. It hurt a great deal, and he needed to support himself for a few seconds. The Autofficer grabbed Kieran’s arm anyways and pulled him out of the cell.

Kieran quickly jabbed the autofficer in the stomach. The imperial crumpled to the floor. Kieran was about to make a run for it, but four automatons were there aiming their weapons at him.

The autofficer stood back up and scowled again. "Try that again, and you will regret it. Now follow me before we waste any more time."

"Where are all of the Resistance bases located in No Man’s Landing?" Griffin Blake asked whilst pacing in front of Kieran.

Kieran smirked. "Which one would you be referring to?"

Blake sighed. "Very funny. All of them, of course."

"Of course." Kieran said.

Griffin waited for an answer, but Kieran didn’t say anything.

"That is it!" Blake said, running a hand through his hair. "Since you will not talk, I will make you talk!" One of Blake's automatons advanced towards Kieran with a syringe filled with green fluid. "I have been able to successfully liquefy fog, turning it into a sort of...truth serum. It can compel anyone to answer the simplest questions, for example: Where the Resistance bases are in No Man’s Landing!"

Kieran hesitated, but he still said nothing. He wouldn’t betray the Resistance. Willingly, at least.

Griffin sighed. "I wish it hadn’t come down to this, but you leave me no choice..."

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:35:06 UTC #58

Chapter Nine: Lockup

Kieran was tied up in a metal chair now because he had destroyed one of Blake's automatons. That was before he was injected with two vials of the fog serum. Now Kieran felt sick, and weak.

"This was supposed to work," Griffin Blake said to himself. "I don't understand..."

"I'm sorry...to disappoint..." Kieran said weakly.

Griffin walked closer to Kieran until they were face to face. "Even now you stay defiant. How are you resisting the fog?"

Kieran raised his head to meet Blake's gaze. "That is what I do... Resist."

Blake sighed. "I don’t like seeing you this way, Kieran. How did you fall from your ways so much?"

"I left the Empire because what I was doing was wrong...A friend helped me see that."

"I thought I was your friend!" Griffin quickly turned away from him and took a deep breath. As he looked out of the large viewport in front of him, he calmed down slightly. "You remember this airship, don’t you?"

"Yes... The Progress. It was my home once." Kieran said.

"Yes, and it can be again. I can reinstate you back into the Empire if you just tell me what I want to know."

Kieran thought about the offer for a moment, but only that. He refused to betray the Resistance, even if it meant he had to die.

"I will not tell you anything." Kieran said defiantly.

Blake looked resigned. "Ready a third injection."

Kieran woke up in his cell again. He felt terrible, but at least he was alive. He tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea came over him, making him slump back into a laying position. Kieran guessed that was what three doses of fog serum would do to a person. He tried to sit up again, but that was too much for him, and he fell unconscious.

Kieran began to recover his strength over the next few weeks. After the first few days he was strong enough to stand. Sometimes a pacifier approached him and offered him mushy green eggs. Kieran refused to eat it at first, but eventually he gave in and ate the distasteful food. He couldn’t exactly pick what he ate right now, so he had to get by with what he had. He wasn’t sure if he could survive much longer under these conditions, though.

One day, Kieran awoke to find something he never thought he would see. A red nail stuck on the wall inside of his cell. It was pinning a note to the wall, and a key ring was hanging around the nail.
Kieran sat up and tore the note down. He opened it slowly.

Do not lose hope.
SM

Kieran grabbed the key ring and unlocked the door. He poked his head out of the cell and saw an automaton lying on the ground, clearly deactivated.

Kieran smiled. This was his chance out of this place. His first stop was the armory. Once he recovered his gear he would go to the communications room. It would be hard to escape this place, so if he couldn’t leave, he would tell the Resistance where to look.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:35:43 UTC #59

Chapter Ten: Liberation

Back at the resistance base in No Man’s Landing, the remaining resistors sat around the table, plotting a counter attack.

"How are we going to rescue Kieran?" One resistor asks.

Another responds with "We could attack the Empire at the Isle with force and take Kieran back."

"We’ve already tried that!" I shook my head. "The Empire would have moved Kieran to a more secure location anyways. They probably want him alive for questioning. I suggest we split up and begin to search for him. We can cover more ground that way."

"Where do we start?" Jaiden asked.

I looked down. "I don’t know. We can’t give up on him though!"

"What if there isn’t anything we can do?"

I frowned and left the room before another word was said.

I opened the door and walked outside. I couldn’t believe that my own friend was telling me to give up. I wasn’t going to give up on Kieran because he wouldn’t give up on me if out positions were reversed!"

I sat down on a nearby bench and buried my head in my hands. What if Jaiden was right, and Kieran really was lost? How could I live with myself? I left him at the Isle when he needed me most.

I lifted up my sword. Kieran gave this weapon to me. It was the only thing I could remember him by.

Suddenly, a Resistance member burst through the base’s doors.

"Rex! Kieran is on the radio!"

I sat up and ran into the base, past the resister. The sound of Kieran’s voice reached my ears, and it gave me hope. I ran even faster, and finally I made it to the room with the radio in it.

"The Empire knows I’ve escaped, so I'll make this brief." Kieran began through the radio. "I’m on an airship, over the Snow Moors, it appears." There was a large pause, and I feared the worst, but Kieran’s voice broke through the radio once more. "Send help immediately. I'm not sure if I can take out everyone on this ship alone." And then I heard gunshots, and the transmission terminated.

I held my sword tightly and walked towards the stairs. Jaiden placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'm coming with you."

I shook my head. "It's too dangerous, I can't let you go."

"One: You're going, and it's dangerous. Two: I wasn't asking."

Once Kieran arrived at the radio station, he contacted the Resistance base.

"The Empire knows I’ve escaped, so I'll make this brief. I’m on an airship, over the Snow Moors, it appears."

A pacifier walked up behind Kieran. The Resister spun around, unsheathed his sword, and stabbed its fog-boiler. He turned back to the radio as if nothing happened.

"Send help immediately. I'm not sure if I can take out everyone on this ship alone." Kieran turned around just in time to see three pacifiers readying their guns. They fired, causing Kieran to jump to the side. The bullets flew past where Kieran used to be, and they instead imbedded themselves into the radio. It sparked a little and then went dead.

When Kieran jumped to the side, he didn't realize that he jumped into a separate room entirely. He tripped over a box and fell onto the ground. His trip took the lid off of the box, however, and sticks of red dynamite poured out onto the floor. A plan started to form inside of Kieran’s mind, and he smiled.

We didn't know where to look in the Snowmoors, so Jaiden mentioned someone who might be able to help us.

We walked into some kind of camp. It was hard to see because of the thick white fog hovering over the area. The camp had science stations and equipment everywhere. This guy must have been obsessed, or something.

"Hello?" Jaiden shouted.

There was no reply.

We walked up a few stairs and Jaiden shouted again. This time a figure turned towards us. I squinted through the fog. The figure was walking towards us now, and I could see he was wearing a gold armor suit with red, orange, blue, and purple cords hanging off of the back of it. (There were too many colors in my opinion.) The man also had a large ice-cannon of some sort. I wondered if it actually did something or if it was just for the look.

"Jefferson!" Jaiden said, extending his arms as if to give the man in the suit a hug. "Long time no see, friend!"

Jefferson completely missed us and instead stopped by a nearby science station. He placed a stack of papers on it. "I wouldn’t call us 'friends'. More like acquaintances." He said. "And I hope you don’t expect me to hug you."

Jaiden slowly moved his arms back. "So, uh, how have you been?"

Jefferson held up a paper and began to read it. "Fine."

I frowned. This "Jefferson" fellow was clearly not interested in conversation. I walked over to him and held out my hand. "Rex Blackdash." I said, smiling politely.

Jefferson ignored my hand. "Fascinating..." He said, continuing to read the paper. I wasn't even sure if he heard me or not. Jefferson left the science station and walked up to a table that held pieces of equipment on it that I didn't even know existed.

I followed him and continued to talk, attempting to break the ice. "Can I call you Jeff?"

"No," He replied pointing to his right. "Hand me that spanner."

I looked where he pointed and saw at least ten spanners lying on a table. "Which one?" I asked.

Jefferson sighed. "The big one."

"There are five big ones!" I shouted.

Jefferson turned around, apparently irked. "The colorful one!"

I grabbed "the colorful one" and gave it to Jefferson. He shook his head. "No, no, no! Not that one!" He left his station and walked over to me. "I’ll do it myself."

I scowled at Jaiden. My friend just shrugged and smiled. This person was impossible!

Jefferson returned to his table and began to work on some piece of equipment.

"Jefferson," I said in a determined voice. "We need your help."

"Doesn't everybody?" Jefferson muttered.

"Look, my friend is in danger! Have you seen an airship around your camp?"

The wind picked up considerably, causing me to shiver.

Jefferson stopped working and turned his head up. "Could you describe the airship you’re looking for?"

I huffed. "Haven’t you ever seen an airship before? It flies, and it’s probably big!"

The fog slowly diminished, blown away by the wind current. I was confused as to where the wind was coming from, but then I looked up and knew.

An airship slowly passed over the camp, blowing Jefferson’s papers everywhere. (Distressing him greatly, I might add.) There were large words on the side of it that read "The Progress".

Jefferson glanced back at me. "I think I found your airship."

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:36:58 UTC #60

Chapter Eleven: An Explosive Solution

The three Pacifiers entered the storage room, only to get obliterated by a stick of dynamite a moment later. Kieran chuckled, remembering just how fun it was to destroy automatons that way.

Kieran decided to move on. The imperials would have a harder time of finding him.

Moving through the corridors of The Progress brought back memories. Bad ones, of when he worked for the Empire. He had served on this airship under the guidance of Griffin Blake for many years before he finally realized how evil the Empire really was, and how evil it was making him.

Kieran shook his head. If I could go back and change what I did, I would not hesitate to do so.

Kieran made his way to where he remembered the engine room was, and then he set multiple sticks of dynamite under the engine, creating a timed explosive. Once the engine ran long enough, the heat would ultimately blow up the dynamite. A little trick he learned a while back.

Kieran guessed he had about ten minutes, maybe. He stood up and mentally plotted a path to the exit.

The airship was lowering rapidly, which either meant it was going to crash, or it was going to land. It turned out to be the latter. It landed just outside of Jefferson's camp, and a group of figures walked out of it. They talked for a while, and then one of them pointed towards the camp.

"Now is our chance," I told Jaiden. "Kieran is on that airship, and we can save him!"

When the imperials weren't looking, Jaiden and I charged towards the ship. We almost made it, but one of the autofficer’s turned around and scanned the snow. I had just enough time to jump into Jaiden, causing both of us to fall behind a snow bank.

"What is it?" One of the imperials asked.

"Nothing." Another autofficer said. I recognized his voice. It was Griffin Blake. "You have your orders." He said. "When I come back, I expect Jefferson and his camp to be destroyed."

Edit Requesting

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:37:34 UTC #61

Chapter Twelve: The Perfect Moment

Kieran could tell that the airship had landed.
That will make escaping much easier. He thought.
By the time he made it to the exit, he guessed that he had about three minutes left. The problem was that a group of automatons and autofficers were guarding the exit. Kieran quickly hid behind a stack of boxes. The autofficers were talking to each other, so he decided to peer over the boxes to spy on them.
"Why are we stopping here?" One of the autofficers asked.

Another one sighs. "Weren't you there for the briefing?"

A third autofficer, whom Kieran identified as Griffin Blake, placed a hand on his forehead. "Must I say this again...? We have orders to destroy Jefferson, as well as his camp, and research." Blake pointed in the direction of the camp. "We have found out that he has been working with our enemies. He must be stopped before he makes some outrageous new technology for the Resistance."

The other autofficers nodded in agreement. Blake lowered his voice slightly. "Even though we are supposed to destroy everything, I want Jefferson's research intact. Do you understand?"

One of the autofficers nodded, but the other one frowned. "Understood." They said in unison.

Blake smiled. "Good. My Autolizard will be accompanying you. Do not fail me."

Kieran's expression turned to fear when he spotted Rex and Jaiden heading towards the airship. They didn't know the Autolizard was here!

Blake looked in the direction of the two resisters. Luckily, they took cover behind a snow bank just in time.
"What is it?" One of the imperials asked.
"Nothing," Griffin Blake said. "You have your orders. When I come back, I expect Jefferson and his camp to be destroyed."
Kieran heard the Autolizard coming from the airship. He was trapped! He ran through his options. Either get attacked by the Autolizard again, or face a group of automatons with guns...

"There are too many of them to fight," Jaiden said. "We should go back to Jefferson's camp."

I look at my friend. "But we are so close, and besides, they’ll spot us if we turn back now. We should just wait until the perfect-"

To our surprise, someone ran out of the airship and stabbed an automaton's fog boiler. I immediately recognized him as Kieran. I exchanged glances with Jaiden, and then we exit our cover to assist Kieran. Since we caught the autofficers off guard, they were slow to react. Once they realized what was happening, they commanded their remaining automatons to fire at us.

All three of us took cover behind the snow bank this time. I smiled at Kieran. "I missed you."

Kieran rolled his eyes. "I see you’ve grown soft since I left. I’ll fix that later."

I smirked.

A loud roar replaced the gunfire. The Autolizard!

Kieran smiled. "Run!"

We left our cover and ran straight towards Jefferson's camp. Griffin Blake and the other autofficers pursued us.

A few seconds later, I heard an explosion behind us. All of us get knocked onto the snow from the blast. We lay there for about a minute, catching our breaths.

"What just happened?" I asked Kieran, breaking the silence.

"I blew up the airship." Kieran said nonchalantly. "I thought that was pretty obvious."

I laughed. "Is everyone okay?"

Jaiden smiled. "I'm good."

Kieran shrugged. "After what I’ve been through the past few weeks, this has been a walk in the park."

We lay there for about another minute before Kieran got back to his feet. "Come on, let's go. We have to warn Jefferson about future attacks." He turned around and began walking back towards the camp

Jaiden and I stood up as well. We looked back at the burning airship. Griffin Blake recovered from the blast. He was looking at the burning airship, most likely searching for the Autolizard, which was in the airship when it was destroyed. It couldn't have survived.

A few moments passed before we turned around as well and followed Kieran.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:38:04 UTC #62

Chapter Thirteen: A Word of Warning

The attacking automaton forces were destroyed as well as the Autolizard, and Griffin Blake would have to start completely from scratch because I burned the blueprints. This may have been the best day ever.

When we finally made it to Jefferson, he was apparently angry. When the airship flew over his camp, it blew his research papers everywhere. He had spent the past fifteen minutes recovering them, and he was still missing a few.

I almost laughed out loud. Yep, definitely the best day ever.

"I'm here to warn you about future attacks." Kieran said, urging Jefferson to reconsider his decision.

"No, I refuse to leave my research. It has taken me far too long to get to where I am now."

"But you could lose all of it if the Empire attacks!"

"True, but they failed once, and I don’t suspect they’re going to try again any time soon."

Kieran sighed in frustration and walked over to the edge of the camp. He stayed there for several moments before speaking. "We have to go now..." He murmured. I ran to Kieran's side and spotted something terrible.

The Autolizard was climbing out of the wreckage.

"That isn't possible," Kieran said. "I caved an airship on top of it, yet it still appears undamaged?!" Kieran turned to look at Jefferson. "We are leaving now with or without you."

"I'm staying." Jefferson said. Kieran sighed again, and then walks towards the exit of the camp. Jaiden followed closely behind.

I held my ground. This wasn't right. We couldn't just leave Jefferson here alone to fight the autofficers, and the Autolizard.

"I'm staying." I said defiantly.

Kieran stopped. He turned his head slightly back. "You’re leaving, and that’s an order." He said. I could hear the anger in his voice.

Still, I didn’t move. "No. We need to help him."

"No you don’t," Jefferson interjected.

Kieran sighed and turned around. "He’s stubborn. The Autolizard is going to destroy him and his camp."

"Maybe. But we can better his chances." I said.

Kieran thought for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright, we'll stay."

Jefferson wasn't overjoyed that we were staying, but even though he refused to admit it, he needed our help.

As Kieran went around the camp overturning tables for defense, Jefferson went around the camp setting them back up. Jaiden and I sat at the edge of camp, watching the imperials get closer to us.

We did that as well as laugh while listening to Jefferson’s protests.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:39:08 UTC #63

Chapter Fourteen: The Imminent Attack

"It's time." Kieran said as he walked up to me. "Get yourself behind one of those tables. Once the Autolizard arrives, we'll have a surprise for it." He smirked.

I stood up and brushed the snow off of my clothes, and then Jaiden and I walked in the direction of the tables. I spotted Jefferson recovering a few spanners from the snow, so I stopped. "Do you think we can win?" I asked him.

Jefferson tilted his head. "If the Autolizard is as dangerous as everyone says, then we don't have much of a chance... Stories are usually exaggerated, though." Jefferson paused for a moment and began to count on his fingers. After a few seconds, he spoke. "Three imperials and an automaton against three Resistors and a Mastermind. They don't have a chance."

I shook my head. "What I meant was: Do you think that we can win against Lucky, and take back Aethasia from him?"

"Oh! Well, in that case..." Jefferson took a deep breath. It seemed like he was about to give an inspirational speech about how the Resistance could win if it stuck together. Jefferson stayed silent for several seconds more before speaking. "I have absolutely no clue."

I frowned. "But you always have the answers, and you’re never wrong!"

"Hey, there's a first time for everything."

I walked past Jefferson and sat behind one of the tables like Kieran instructed me to do.

"Hey," Jefferson called after me. "Can you help me find my missing spanner?"

I shook my head quickly. "No way, not again!"

Autofficer Blake led autofficer Clinton, autofficer Gray, and the Autolizard into Jefferson's Camp. Autofficer Clinton suggested that they wait for reinforcements, but they didn't do that because Griffin knew that the Resistance would be setting up defenses, and getting reinforcements.

The autofficers were going to fight Jefferson and Kieran, as well as two other Resistance members. Their forces were evenly matched. This should be easy...

The imperials entered the camp.

The autofficers took defensive positions, but there wasn't any gunfire or battle cries. Actually, there weren’t any resisters at all. The camp was empty. The metal tables were overturned, and the wood tables were destroyed. Vials were shattered, leaving their contents on the snow. It appeared that the camp was already destroyed... Worst of all, Jefferson wasn't there. They could have left in such a hurry that they did this damage, but that was unlikely.

"I want every inch of this camp searched!" Blake ordered. "Don't leave a table...unturned..." He glanced at the multiple overturned tables. "You get the picture. Move out!"

Kieran and I were hiding behind the tables, ready to surprise the imperials when the time came. Both Jefferson and Jaiden hid on the other side of the camp. The imperials would be focused on Kieran and me, so Jefferson and Jaiden would be able to attack from behind. It was a flawless plan!

One of the autofficers walked towards the table Kieran was hiding behind. He stopped and inspected the table closely. "Something doesn't feel right..." He murmured to himself.

Kieran quickly took this autofficer’s confusion to his advantage. He jumped from his hiding place and attacked the imperial, but the autofficer's reaction was not expected. He placed his boot under a table leg that was lying in the snow, and then he launched it up into the air, grabbing it just in time to block Kieran’s downward sword strike. The sword struck the wood and got stuck. The autofficer then kicked Kieran away and recovered the sword for himself.

"I found the rebels!" The autofficer shouted.

Kieran frowned. "There goes our element of surprise..."

Griffin Blake walked towards a pair of tables and looked behind them. Nothing. The entire camp seemed to be completely abandoned. He spotted a container full of shattered glass vials next to another two tables. "This place really was destroyed, "He said to himself. "What happened here?"

Blake shivered. This was no place for an autofficer. It was freezing in this camp, who would want to live here? He knew he should have dressed warmer, but he didn’t blame himself. How could he know that his airship would explode in the middle of the Snow Moors?

"I found the rebels!" Griffin heard Autofficer Gray shout through the camp.

Autofficer Blake spun around just in time to see Jefferson's metal fist coming towards his face.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:40:12 UTC #64

Chapter Fifteen: The Battle of Jefferson's Camp

Kieran regained his footing. Now that he didn't have his sword, it would be a lot harder to fight the autofficer. Obviously.

Kieran un-holstered his pistol and aimed it at the imperial’s chest, but the autofficer advanced towards him too quickly. He slashed his sword across Kieran's pistol, knocking it out of his hands and into the snow. Kieran took a few steps back, and then grabbed a knife from each one of his boots.

"How many...?" The autofficer wondered.

I was about to leave my hiding place and assist Kieran in the battle when I spotted another autofficer sneaking up behind Jefferson on the other side of the camp. Jeff (yes, I decided to nickname him) would be caught completely off guard. I had to help him. I looked at Kieran, who was deflecting sword blows with his knives and spin-kicking the autofficer.

I nodded. He seemed to be doing all right on his own.

Once I found a good opportunity, I left my cover and ran towards Jefferson.

"That was awesome." Jaiden said, patting Jefferson on the back. "You really showed that autofficer."

"Hey, he was the one who invaded my camp." Jefferson replied while checking his glove for any damages.

"True."

Suddenly, a shout came from behind the two.

"Look out!"

Jefferson spun around to see an autofficer standing there with his sword raised. He was apparently startled by the shout. The momentary delay gave Jefferson enough time to sidestep the autofficer's strike. The autofficer recovered quickly, and then attacked again. The attack was poorly executed, and Jefferson was able to grab the sword from the autofficer's hands.

"Is that really how the Empire trains their recruits now?" Jefferson said, snapping the sword in half. The autofficer's eyes widened and he ran away as fast as he could.

I jogged up to Jefferson, catching my breath. "Two down, two to go. At this rate, we're going to win with no problems."

Jefferson dropped what remained of the sword. "Hey, where's the Autolizard?"

Kieran was at a disadvantage because he had knives and the autofficer had a sword. It was hard to block attacks with such small blades. It was probably better that Kieran had this disadvantage though because if he didn’t, the battle would have been over long ago.

Both men were getting tired, and after a few minutes of dueling the two agreed to rest for a minute. After that, they began again.

Autofficer Clinton ran towards the exit of the camp, and Autofficer Gray turned in his direction. "Get back here coward, our job isn't finished!"

Kieran took the opportunity to move his knives to Autofficer Gray's neck. The autofficer closed his eyes, realizing his mistake.

"I suggest that you leave with your friends." Kieran said. "Now." There was a silence for the next few seconds while the autofficer made his decision.

Finally, Autofficer Gray Spoke. "Alright," He began to walk away towards the exit. Kieran moved his eyes from him to the Autolizard, which was nowhere to be seen. He looked around from his position but still couldn’t see it. That was when a loud roar sounded throughout the camp. Kieran turned his head towards the rest of the Resisters. He spotted the Autolizard standing right in front of Jefferson.

That was when he felt the cold steel of a sword at his neck. Autofficer Gray had turned around when he heard the Autolizard!

"I suggest," Autofficer Gray said. "That you leave with your friends."

The Autolizard climbed up from the side of Jefferson's Camp and faced the three of us.

"What?!" I shouted. "It can scale walls now?!" This automaton was far too powerful.

I scanned the camp and spotted Griffin Blake. He was now standing up and massaging his face. Once he brushed the snow from his uniform, he straitened and took a step towards us.

"You Resisters have bested my autofficers and destroyed my airship! I have lost battle after battle against you! My superiors are not pleased with me." Griffin paused a moment, fear creeping into his expression. He quickly composed himself and continued. "You have bothered me for the last time!" He pushed a combination of buttons on his gauntlet. "No more!"

The Autolizard swiped its tail at Jefferson. The man in the suit was knocked into the air, and he flew to another part of the camp. The Autolizard then turned its attention to me.

I winced. Not wanting to have the same fate as Jefferson, I shouted for Jaiden to hear. "Run!"

Kieran watched in growing horror as the Autolizard attacked his friends. And Jefferson. There was absolutely nothing that he could do to help them.

Unless...

"Drop your knives." Autofficer Gray demanded. Kieran complied, releasing his grip on the blades. "Good," The autofficer smirked. "Do you have any more weapons?"

Kieran sighed, and then ultimately nodded. Autofficer Gray didn't look a bit surprised. "Throw them down into the snow in front of you." He commanded.

Kieran sadly nodded his head. He grabbed three concealed items from his jacket and then threw them into the snow.

Autofficer Gray slowly knelt down to look at the items. "Another knife? You do come prepared, don't you?"

Kieran shrugged.

The next item he noticed was a...spoon? "What?" The autofficer shook his head slightly and then threw the spoon to the side. He picked up the last item and inspected it closely. It was triangular, and about the size of a fist. "What's this?" He asked.

This time, Kieran was the one to smirk. "That’s a bomb."

The autofficer's eyes widened as he threw it away from himself. The bomb exploded, knocking both imperial and resister to the snow. Kieran was farther away from the explosion, so he recovered in a matter of seconds. He spotted Autofficer Gray lying in the snow a few feet away, motionless.

"Works every time."

Kieran regained his sword, his knives, and his spoon from the snow, before running back towards the battle.

I narrowly dodged another one of the Autolizard's sharp claws. I couldn't keep this up for much longer!

To my relief, the Autolizard stopped chasing me. I frowned and turned around to see Kieran running up a snow pile. The Autolizard was looking at him quizzically, and to be honest, so was I. Kieran jumped from the snow and landed directly on the back of the Autolizard. It roared defiantly and tried to shake its rider off. Kieran shouted something I couldn't hear completely.

"There-less-behind-head!"

I didn’t worry about missing what he said too much. He could just tell me again later if we got out of this.

Kieran raised his sword to strike the automaton, but he also had to lose his support to do so. Kieran lost balance, and the Autolizard shook violently. Kieran launched off of its back and into a research table.

I ran over to Kieran and checked to see if he was alright. I was relieved to find that he was just unconscious.

The Autolizard turned to face me and Kieran. Its mouth slowly opened and it began to glow a dim orange. My first thought was: "Did it break?" I soon realized what was about to happen, though.

I tried to drag Kieran to safety, but there was no time. A few moments passed before a stream of hot fire left the Autolizard's mouth. I closed my eyes and held out my hand, as if that would stop it from connecting.

Several seconds passed, yet nothing happened.

I opened my eyes to see something I didn't expect at all. A stream of ice was combating the fire.

After a few seconds, both fire, and ice stopped. Griffin Blake took a step back. "Impossible!"

Jefferson slowly walked towards the Autolizard. It was an unusually slow walk, so I wasn't sure if he was injured or just trying to be cool.

Griffin's face showed a mix of fear, anger, and amazement all at the same time. The Autolizard unleashed another flood of fire from its mouth, but Jefferson raised his ice blaster. The two streams met again, but this time they didn't end immediately. The fire did however inch its way towards Jefferson. Eventually it was almost to him.

I took the opportunity to drag Kieran away from the battle.

I saw steam pouring out of Jefferson's suit. It must have been really warm in there. Just when the fire was about to completely engulf Jefferson; he pressed something on his weapon, and the blue tube on his back began to slowly empty. It made a great difference. The ice crawled up the fire until it was nearly touching the Autolizard.

"No!" Griffin Blake shouted as Jefferson's ice began to climb onto the Autolizard. In a few short seconds, the automaton looked like an ice sculpture.

Everyone went silent.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:41:08 UTC #65

Chapter Sixteen: The Resistance Mountain

Now that the Autolizard was out of the picture, Griffin Blake had no defense against us. His only option was to surrender.

Kieran was still unconscious. I asked Jefferson to carry him to the nearest Resistance base, and he agreed as long as we promised not to bother him again in the foreseeable future. We accepted his offer without hesitation.

I was worried about Kieran. He hit his head pretty hard on that science table. I hoped that there was a resistance base close enough to treat him.

That was in Jefferson’s hands. Until he was ready to depart, Jaiden and I had to guard the prisoner.

Jaiden shifted his weight. "This guy makes me uncomfortable..." He whispered to me, motioning towards Griffin.

"Same," I whispered back. "We still have to keep an eye on him, though."

Jaiden gave me a weak smile. "I would still feel a lot safer if he was secured into a Resistance cell."

I looked over to see Griffin Blake staring at us. "You know I can hear you, right?" The autofficer said.

"I do now..." Jaiden said, nervously.

Jefferson walked towards the three of us. "I contacted a Resistance base nearby. They’re ready to take Griffin Blake into custody."

"Wait, are we just going to leave the Autolizard here?" I asked.

"For now, yes." Jefferson replied. "It obviously can't do anything in the state it's in right now."

"Alright," I said. "I don't like it, though."

Jefferson shook his head. "Hey, neither do I, but you don't see me complaining! I mean, how would you feel if three people you barely knew came into your home, destroyed your tables, research, and brought an extremely deadly imperial creation into your camp."

A moment of silence followed. I winced. Maybe we should have thought about the plan more. "Well, now you have a nice centerpiece..."

Jaiden smiled. "I'm ready to be done with this guy," He shoved his thumb in the direction of Blake. "I'm also ready to get out of the Snow Moors. It's freezing here!"

Jefferson looked at Jaiden. "About that..."

The four figures stood on a snow bank overlooking a mountain range in the distance. The largest mountain stood directly ahead. Jaiden laughed. "That is a mountain, not a base." He said. "What are we doing here?"

Jefferson nodded. "That’s a mountain and a base."

"You're joking, right?" I asked.

"When have you known me to joke?" Jefferson replied. "If you look close enough, you can see a pair of doors built into the mountain. They’re concealed by snow during blizzards, so it's nearly impossible to spot them."

I leaned closer towards the mountain. "... I don’t see anything."

"And nobody is supposed to. That was the point." Jefferson said.

Jaiden shivered. "I still wish that it was somewhere warmer. What’s wrong with a Resistance base on a tropical island?"

"This was the closest one that could both help Kieran and lock Blake away as soon as possible." Jefferson looked at Jaiden. "Besides, they probably have hot cocoa inside, or something."

I smiled. "I know it's cold, but wouldn't you feel safer if Griffin was with the Resistance as soon as possible?"

Griffin shivered. "If you were to ask me, I would say-"

"No one asked you!" The two Resistors, and Jefferson, said in unison.

"Fine, fine." Griffin raised his hands. "Not another word out of me."

We eventually made it to the base of the mountain. "What now?" I asked. "Do we have to say some kind of secret password to get in?"

Jefferson walked up to the doors. "Hardly." He knocked on the doors three times in quick succession.

I frowned. "Really? That's it?"

Jefferson shrugged. "It was easy to remember."

The door creaked open, and we walked inside. Four Resistance members armed with rifles stood guard, but none of them attacked. They must have seen that we had captured an imperial, or maybe they saw Jefferson. No, wait--Jefferson would have made them attack.

In a few minutes, the word that we were here had passed throughout the entire base. Around one hundred Resistance members came to greet us. They were overjoyed that we had brought them Griffin.

I noticed something about all of these Resistance members. It was unusual... They were all wearing fuzzy coats! I was freezing, and they wore coats?! That was so unfair. I wanted one! Where did they even get them?!

One of the Resisters spotted us and began to shuffle through the crowd towards us. When he arrived, he smiled warmly.

"Thank you for bringing us Griffin Blake. We have been searching for him for far too long." He glared at the Imperial. "It will be a welcome reprieve for our resources."

I was about to say something, but Jefferson replied for me. His reply seemed rushed, as if he was in a hurry to leave. "You're very welcome. While we were capturing him, however, one of our group was injured." Jefferson looked down at Kieran. "Do you happen to have a medical center in this base?"

"Yes we do, in fact. Right this way." The Resister walked down a hallway, and we followed close behind.

The Resistance members residing in this mountain were very generous. (And Jefferson was right. They did have hot cocoa.) Kieran was being cared for, and we were informed that he would make a full recovery in a few days. We also learned that the man who had helped us was actually the base's commander. His name was "Marcus". He was nice. I decided that we would become good friends the moment he gave Jaiden and me our own fuzzy coats. They were stuffed to the brim with animal fur. Marcus said that they found it literally everywhere.

Griffin Blake was locked into a cell. The Empire wouldn't know where to find him, now. Griffin was unnaturally calm when he was put into the cell though, and that worried me. He was probably just messing with us.

Everything else was turning out to be all right. What else could possibly go wrong?

Several hours earlier...

Griffin Blake stood at Jefferson's camp, staring at the ice-form of the Autolizard. How did it happen? Jefferson couldn't possibly be that... that... over powered!

Even though Griffin was surprised, he wasn't out of ideas. His new plan would work if he timed it just right.

Griffin looked in the direction of his "guards", Rex, and Jaiden. They weren’t really watching him, though. They were talking to each other, paying no attention to Griffin whatsoever.

"This guy makes me uncomfortable..." Jaiden whispered to Rex.

"Same," Rex replied. "We still have to keep an eye on him, though."

After Griffin made sure that they weren't watching him, he set his plan into motion. Griffin pushed a button on the gauntlet that he used to control the Autolizard.

Now all he had to do was wait...

Present time...

The night sky over Jefferson's camp was illuminated by an orange light originating from the Autolizard. The ice around the automaton began to melt away, and in a few seconds, the Autolizard was free of its icy bonds.

A small device ejected itself out of the Autolizard's back. The device began to spin slowly, and in a few seconds, it stopped. The Autolizard had just transmitted the location of Griffin Blake's control gauntlet to the Empire, and at this moment, Griffin's gauntlet was located safely inside of the secret resistance base.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:42:08 UTC #66

Chapter Seventeen: Mess

The next morning...

The Resisters had to put fur in everything that they used, because their furnace was known to quit on them frequently.

The coats, beds, and even the pillows were filled with animal fur. I wished that these resisters could export their fur to other bases. The Resistance wouldn't have to worry about being cold while fighting the Empire, at least.

I opened my eyes, half expecting to get blinded by the sun outside, but then I remembered that my room didn't have a window. As a matter-of-fact, the entire base was almost completely dark. There was exactly one light bulb in every room, and the lobby had candles lined up on the wall. I didn't think that candles were used any more.

I sighed and then left the extremely fluffy bed. I didn't want to, but I remembered that Marcus had called for a meeting to be held. I checked the time and found that the meeting was in one-half hour. I wanted to eat before I went to that meeting, so I had to hurry.

I got dressed, grabbed my coat, and walked out of my room. A blast of cold air hit me immediately. I shivered, remembering that the furnace had died again. I wondered when the furnace would be back up and running. Maybe I could ask someone later.

I made my way to the mess hall. It was practically full of hungry Resisters. Several of them were in a line waiting to be served. I shrugged and then entered in the back of the line.

The "mess hall" lived up to its name spectacularly, because it was a mess. It looked as if a food fight had just taken place moments before.

When it was my turn to order, I smiled at the chef. "What are we eating today?" I asked him.

The chef smiled back. "Soup!" He exclaimed. I could hear groans from behind me. He grabbed a bowl and poured an orange substance into it. I winced as clumps of whatever it was splashed into my bowl. He handed the full container of food to me.

"Excuse me," I said to the chef as he began to serve another resister. "What exactly is in this?" I pointed to the bowl.

The chef smiled and opened his mouth as if he was about to speak. He stopped himself and then frowned. "I actually don't know. It was my father's recipe. I'll probably find the ingredient list when I clean up my room a little..."

I stared blankly at the chef. "Then...how do you make it?"

The chef shrugged. "I just follow my gut, you know?"

I didn't want to hurt the chef's feelings in any way, so I just smiled and then thanked him for the...food.

I scanned the mess hall for an empty seat. I saw two men sitting together, chatting. There was an empty seat at their table, so I decided to join them. They probably wouldn't mind.

I walked over to their table and asked, "Can I sit here?"

One of the resisters, who had black hair, didn't even turn his head to look at me. "No."

Was it too much to ask for a seat these days?!

The other resister, a blonde haired man, smiled. "I apologize for my friend's rude behavior. You can sit with us." He motioned to the vacant seat with his hand.

The dark haired resister frowned as I sat down with the two. I set my bowl down on the table and dipped my spoon into the orange substance. I lifted it to my eyes, deciding if I should eat it or not... It actually smelled pretty good! I stuck the spoon into my mouth, and after a few seconds, I began to nod slowly. It wasn't that bad-

My eyes opened wide. It was the worst thing I had ever tasted in my entire life! I wanted to spit the soup out, but to my dismay, I noticed that the chef was looking at me with a smile upon his face. Hope was in his eyes.

I swallowed the soup with great effort. I closed one of my eyes halfway, and after a few seconds, I managed to give a thumsup to the chef. He smiled wide, and then went back to serving others.

The light haired resister smirked. "How is it?"

I nodded. "It was..." I was going to say "good", but I just couldn't bring myself to say it. "Unique...?"

The light haired resister laughed. "That was exactly what I said!" His laugh died down to a chuckle, and then he extended his hand for me to shake. "My name's Liam, and this is Jack." He pointed to his friend with his other hand.

I shook Liam’s hand. "I’m Rex."

"Nice to meet you, Rex."

Jack glared at me, causing me to frown. I didn't understand why he was so hostile towards me. We just met! And besides, we were on the same side. We had to work together if we wanted to beat the Empire.

I motioned towards Jack. "Why doesn't he even look at me?"

Liam opened his mouth to speak, but Jack cut in. "Because you could be a spy for the Empire. Right now, at this very moment, you could be engaging in 'friendly' conversation to get information from us."

I shrugged. "Well, I can assure you that I can be trusted."

Jack turned his head away from me. "That's just what an imperial would say."

I rolled my eyes. Some people were just impossible.

Liam shook his head. "Arguing isn't going to help anything, so you might as well stop it." He sighed. "We have to get to some meeting, anyways."

I perked up. "Hey, I'm going to a meeting as well!"

Liam smiled. "Well then, let's walk together."

I smiled, but then saw Liam’s full bowl of soup. "Hey, aren't you going to finish your soup?"

"Aren't you?" He replied with a smirk.

We both laughed, and after a few seconds, stood up and left the table. Jack followed us, scowling. He apparently didn’t want to be around me any more than I wanted to be around him.

"I'll be watching you." Jack squinted.

I frowned but then quickly dismissed his comment. "Hey, Liam, which way is the meeting?"

After a few moments of silence, Liam shrugged. "I don’t know. This place can seem like a maze some times."

"I guess we'll just follow everyone else." I said. Liam agreed. Once we were out of the mess hall, we found a large group of resisters going down a hallway marked "Meeting room -->"

On the way to the meeting, the Resisters got a little jammed in the small hallway. While they were attempting to make it through the equally small doorway, Liam and I chatted together to pass the time.

"Don't worry about Jack." Liam said. "He distrusts everyone, not just you. And it doesn't help any that you just arrived with an imperial." He cleared his throat. "And Jefferson..."

"How did he ever become your friend if he never trusts anyone?" I replied.

Liam chuckled. "Oh, he didn't trust me at first either. I used to be his enemy."

"You mean he was an imperial?"

Liam nodded. "Yes, he was. One of the best at his job, too."

"What was his job?" I asked.

Liam could tell I was intrigued. He looked at me as if he was about to answer my question, but then stopped himself. "I better not tell you everything right away." Liam smiled. "It makes you sit on the edge of your seat." He nodded towards the Resisters at the doorway. It was now empty. We were the last ones left in the hallway. "Besides, we're here."

I sighed. And it was just getting interesting, too.

We emptied into a large circular room filled with chairs. Most of the chairs were already occupied with Resisters. All of them looked exited, yet worried and afraid.

Liam looked at me. "It was nice walking with you." He waved goodbye, and then walked towards two open seats with Jack. I scanned the room for someone that I knew and
spotted Jaiden a few feet away. There was an empty seat next to him, so I walked over and sat down.

I didn’t see Jefferson, which was odd. "Hey, Jaiden?" I asked my friend. "Where did Jefferson go off to?"

"He’s heading back to his camp, now. He acted like the happiest man in Aethasia when he left."

I frowned and then thanked Jaiden. Even though Jefferson didn’t seem to care about anyone--and he probably didn't--it was still nice to have him around.

Marcus entered the room about a minute later. He stood at the center of the circular room, getting ready for his speech. He raised his arms to quiet the crowd, but it still took a minute. Eventually, the resisters quieted down enough for Marcus to speak. He took a deep breath and then opened his mouth.

"Most of you probably know what this meeting is about," He began. "But I'll inform you all again because we have some new arrivals at this base." He motioned towards me and Jaiden, and each of the Resisters in the room turned their head to us. I smiled and waved nervously as I shrunk in my seat. Marcus continued. "We have been talking about this for a few months now, but we finally have enough resources, Resisters willing to aid us, and a solid plan to pull it all off. This is less of a meeting and more of an announcement."

Marcus paused for effect, and in a few seconds he continued.

"It is time. All of the Resisters in this mountain will band together to take the fight to the Empire! We are going to attack the imperial factory near this location, and we will succeed!" The Resisters raised their fists into the air and cheered. Marcus shouted over them all. "Some of you may be worried, but I am here to put those worries to rest! The Scarlet Man will be with us, and with him, we cannot fail!"

Resistors all around the circular room cheered and shouted again. It took a minute for Marcus to calm them down again. "It will take at least a week to organize our Resisters and become completely ready. You have that time to prepare yourselves!"

I would help, of course. And the look on Jaiden's face told me that he would as well.

Once the speech was finished and most of the resisters had left the meeting room, Marcus approached Jaiden and me. "Are you two on board with this plan?"

I nodded. "You can count us in."

Marcus smiled. "Excellent! We’ll need all of the help we can get."

Six days later.

I walked outside of the base, taking in a breath of cold, fresh air. According to Marcus, we would attack the Imperial factory tomorrow. Like Marcus said, the base wasn’t far from here, so we wouldn't have to walk very far. (That was a relief.)

The base we were going to attack was called "Glacier Factory". According to the Resistance spies in that area, that factory created large amounts of automatons each day. The Resistance had no chance of beating the Empire with that factory still intact. We had to put a stop to those reinforcements. We would likely come up against more automatons than any one Resister had seen before, but we had a pretty good plan.

I walked away from the Resistance Mountain. All of this talk about attacking the Empire could be annoying at times. I needed to be alone.

I walked up onto a snow bank and sat down. I looked at the Resistance Mountain in the distance. The snow was falling gracefully, and if I had a camera, this would have been the perfect shot. It was a breathtaking view. I closed my eyes and smiled.

"It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" A voice said to my right. My eyes shot open, and I quickly stood up and drew my sword. I relaxed when I saw that it was just the base commander.

Marcus walked closer to me and brushed my sword to the side. "I hope you aren't going to use that on me."

I smirked. "What are you doing out here?"

"Same thing as you. Commanding a base isn’t easy, you know." Marcus sat down on the snow, and I did the same. We both closed our eyes and sat there in silence together.

When I opened my eyes again, I noticed something I never had before. I couldn't see anything behind the Resistance Mountain because of a thick mist.

"Hey Marcus, what's behind the mountain?"

"The ground is very unstable back there. Underneath a thin layer of ice is a large hole. We don't know how far down it goes. It would be best if you just avoided that place entirely."

I nodded. I think I might check that out some time...

Marcus stood up. "We should be getting back inside, now. It's getting colder out, and that could mean a snowstorm is coming."

"You're right. We have to get back to work, anyways." I stood up and walked with Marcus back to the base.

Today was the day we were going to attack Glacier Factory. It would probably become one of the most famous battles in the history of the Resistance, and I would be in it. Well, as long as I got out of bed before we began the attack.

The door to my room shook again. Someone was knocking on it.

"Are you even in there?" Liam asked from behind the door.

I pulled the fur pillow over my head. "No!"

"Oh, okay." Liam said. "I guess we'll just have to make history without you..."

"Good luck on that." I replied.

I heard a sigh coming from the door."You can sleep later. We need you to help us now."

That comment made me sit up. I've never really been needed before... I rather liked the feeling. "Okay, fine! I’m coming."

I couldn't see Liam through the door, but I guessed that he was grinning in my general direction. I attached my sword to my back, and a pistol to my hip. When I opened the door to my room, Liam put his arm around my shoulder.

"Took you long enough." He said.

I shook my head. Liam always had to have the last say, didn't he?

"Everyone is mustered in the main room. We should be getting there too."

I nodded. "I hope we don't miss them because of me."

"Don't worry about that,” Liam said. "I asked them to wait for us. I have a little influence here in this base."

I smiled. "Thanks."

When we arrived at the assembly of Resisters, they warmly welcomed us. Marcus was standing next to the base's double doors. He raised his hands and called out for silence.

"Today will be remembered by all Aethasians! Today is the day we start fighting back against the evil of the world!" Four Resisters on either side of Marcus pushed open the double doors.

Everyone gasped. Marcus frowned and tilted his head. "What's wrong?" He turned around to look out into the field of snow. Four airships descended towards the Resistance Mountain.

This day would be remembered by all. It would be remembered as the day the Empire conquered the Resistance in the Snowmoors.

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:42:59 UTC #67

Chapter Eighteen: The Plan

All were silent, but every Resister had the same questions. After a few moments, a man spoke up. "What do we do now?"

This man inspired others to ask their own questions. One Resister shouted, "How did the Empire find us!? What about our plan to take Glacier Factory!?" Other Resisters shouted similar questions, but there were so many of them that nobody could make out anything that any of them were saying.

I shook my head. Griffin must have found a way to contact the Empire! We had no chance against the airships waiting outside. It was all my fault! If I hadn't come to this base with Griffin, then these people would be safe! Well... they would be attacking Glacier Factory. That wasn't really safe, but at least they would be doing something for the cause. I ruined all of their plans, and now we were all paying for my mistake!

A Resister elbowed his way through the crowd. It was Jack. This couldn't be good.

When Jack got most of the Resisters’ attention, he shouted for everyone to hear. "How did the Empire know that we were hiding here? I have the answer for you!" Jack pointed towards me. "He told them! And the worst part is that he knows all of our plans, and he no doubt told our enemies! He was going to go along with us and sabotage everything we did at Glacier Factory!" Jack shook his head. "Why am I the only one that saw this coming?"

A Resister in the crowd walked in my direction. "You're right! We should lock him and his friend up until we can deal with them properly!"

The Resisters in the room began to shout their approval. I asked myself one question: Why was everyone so fickle?

Jaiden whispered in my ear. "Maybe now would be a good time to find a way to escape."

I nodded. "That's not such a bad idea..."

Some of the Resisters looked at me with anger in their eyes. They shouted things like "Traitor!" and "Get him!"

I took a step back. "Maybe we should leave sooner rather than later!"

Marcus slowly turned around to face the men and women under his command. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then spoke to the frenzied crowd. "In truth," He began. "I am just as afraid as all of you are, but that doesn’t mean we should turn on our allies. Our friends." The Resisters slowly became quiet so they could hear Marcus speak. They stepped away from Rex and Jaiden, most of them looking regretful. Marcus looked at the airships and then back at his people. "At times like these, it makes me wonder why I even joined the Resistance. But whenever I feel doubt about why I'm fighting the Empire, I look at one of your faces to remember the answer. Every day, I fight to keep Aethasia safe from the Empire. I fight to keep all of you safe. You are my family. You are my strength. You are why I fight the Empire every day. We can win this battle today only if we act together! Join me in our fight against the Empire! Help me defend our home! We are Resisters! We are servants of the Great Engineer!"

The Resisters took a moment to soak Marcus' words in. Liam was the first to take action. He took a step forward and slowly nodded his head. "I think we can do this!"

A few more of the Resisters nodded, and it wasn't long before some of them were cheering at their leader.

Jack scowled, but I could see that even he was moved by the speech Marcus gave just as much as everyone else. Maybe more. Jack turned around and disappeared into the crowd once again.

Marcus smiled. He had just rekindled hope in the Resisters. Now, all he needed to do was devise a plan.

One of the four Airships lowered towards the ground and an autofficer exited with an escort of two bombardiers. The only reason that the empire didn't blow us away with the impressive weaponry on those airships was because the autofficer was probably ordered to order us to surrender. That could mean that the Empire couldn’t afford to lose any automatons right now. That was good. Very good.

Marcus unsheathed his sword and began to draw in the snow that had collected on the ground where we stood. He was creating a map of the interior of the mountain. He looked at the Empire's airships, and then back to the map. He looked at the airships again, and then back to the map. He did this a few more times, and then he drew an arrow pointing towards "Us" and "Them". Some of the Resisters sat down, and a few even yawned. This might take a while...

Liam walked up to Marcus and lifted a hand to his shoulder. "It doesn’t have to be perfect, Marcus."

Marcus shrugged, "You’re probably right." He finished a few more details and then decided that the map was adequate. "I wouldn’t exactly call myself an artist, but this is a-" (He wrote this next part in the snow as he said it) "‘Pretty accurate map of the base.’"

Marcus began to put the Resisters into groups. "If the lobby gets overrun," Marcus said. "I want all of you to retreat to other parts of this base. At least one group should be in every room. If we’re going down, we're going to put up a fight. I also want two of you in our medical center and two at the Prison right away. We can't take any chances right now."

The Resisters nodded and took defensive positions around the Lobby. They all aimed their rifles, pistols, or throwing-sticks at the door. It would be a while before the Empire could break through the defense of this base. The moment the automatons entered the base, they would be attacked with gunfire and splinters alike!

Two Resisters ran to the Prison in order to guard Autofficer Blake while two others rushed to protect their wounded at the medical center.

The only Resisters without orders now were Jaiden, Jack, Liam, Marcus, and me.

"Liam," Marcus began. "I need you to take the secret passageway to sabotage one of those airships. I'll do my best to distract the Imperials while you do so."

Liam nodded. "I’ll do my best."

I frowned. "Wait! Go back. Did you just say secret passageway? You guys have a secret passageway? Where is it? Show me? I didn’t know about that!"

Liam smirked. "There’s a lot you don’t know about this base."

Marcus shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we can’t show you the secret passageway. I hope you understand. It's for security reasons."

I sagged. "Typical."

Jack tilted his head. "What am I supposed to do?"

Marcus smirked. "I came up with an idea while you were giving your speech earlier today. Since we aren’t sure that Rex and his friend can be trusted, I think that it would be best to assign them an escort."

Jack furrowed his brow. "I don’t like where this is going..."

"I think that you would be the Resister for the Job. " Marcus said, a smile breaking through his expression. "You gave me the idea, after all."

Jack’s eyes widened. "You can’t do this, sir! You’re going to need my skills somewhere else on the battlefield! I can go with Liam to sabotage the airships! You know we work well together! Or maybe-"

"No," Marcus interrupted. "I think I need you right here. You would obviously be the most observant of their actions. You have been ever since they got here, at least."

Jack couldn’t believe this. "There has to be another assignment that I could take! "

Marcus simply shook his head.

Liam was standing behind Jack at this moment. He burst into laughter.

Jack spun around to meet Liam. "I thought that you were supposed to be somewhere else!"

Liam raised his hands. "I’m going, I’m going."

As Liam walked away, Jack turned back to Marcus. "I don’t like this idea."

"Hey, neither do I." I interjected. "But we should all follow orders if we want to survive this attack. Like what Marcus said."

Jack glared at me before finally giving in. He sighed. "I’ll follow your orders, but don’t expect me to risk my life if he’s in danger."

The autofficer was almost to the mountain, so Marcus left the base to meet up with him and talk. The autofficer didn't know that it was all a diversion, however. Liam made his way to wherever the secret passageway was in order to sabotage one of their airships. The Empire probably hadn't expected that we would put up this much of a fight.

I was waiting inside with the rest of the Resisters. I wished that I could be doing more, but I knew that my place was here. The Resisters needed me.
Jack was always watching me. It was unnerving, actually. Whenever I asked him a question or tried to talk to him in general, he just ignored me. I wondered why it was so hard for him to open up to anyone. Or was he just having trouble with me...? I shrugged. Maybe Liam could tell me more about him if we survived this. Right now, all of our lives were in Marcus and Liam's hands.

As Marcus walked towards the autofficer, he thought about his plan. He hoped that it would work, but in truth, he suspected that they had a very small chance of winning. They were outnumbered and extremely unequipped for this scale of attack. They could deal with one, or maybe two airships. But four? They would need a miracle to pull this off. He was just grateful that all of the other Resisters-His friends-thought that they could win.

The autofficer and Marcus stood facing each other. Neither one spoke, but Marcus could tell immediately that this Autofficer was overconfident in his abilities. True, he had the firepower to take this base, but did he have the skill?

The Autofficer was the one that broke the silence.

"You are extremely outnumbered, out manned, and ill-equipped to fight the Empire. If you surrender, we might show your Resisters mercy."

Marcus didn't believe that the Empire would spare any of them for a second. But if they did, the Resisters would be sent to the Fogworks immediately. Marcus was going to pretend to think it over in order to buy Liam more time, though. He hoped that his friend could pull it off.

Behind the autofficer, a snow-covered rock slowly moved to the side revealing a hole in the ground. Liam crawled out and brushed the snow off of his outfit. When he was satisfied with how he looked, he slowly made his way to the airship. There were probably pacifiers stationed inside, so he unsheathed his sword. Just in case.

As Liam walked up the boarding ramp, he turned around and waved at Marcus. Marcus sighed and shook his head. Liam had to risk the entire mission so he could wave? Marcus began to rethink his decision to put Liam up to this task, but in the end, he knew that he was the most qualified for this job. He only hoped that his friend could pull it off.

Griffin Blake sat on the floor of the Resistance cell. He was freezing. Apparently, the Resistance didn't give their prisoners fluffy coats. That wasn't fair. He thought that the Resistance was supposed to be people who gave what they had to people who needed it more. Blake could say with complete confidence that he needed it more.

"Excuse me," Griffin asked one of the two Resisters guarding his cell. "Do you happen to have a spare coat on you?"

The Resister looked at Blake for a moment, and then looked away again. "No, I don't."

Another Resister nudged the first. She said, "Don't talk to the prisoner, Bob. We don't want to encourage him."

Bob sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Blake sagged. Now his only company wasn't speaking with him anymore. He felt like he was really connecting with Bob. Oh well.

Griffin had commanded his Autolizard to send a coded message to the Empire. They should have been here by now... Either they didn't receive the message, or they didn't care about it. It was hard for Blake to believe the latter. He had been a valuable asset to the Empire. They couldn't just toss him away!

Suddenly, the woman's eyes widened. "Do you hear that, Bob?"

Bob listened for a moment before shaking his head. "Hear what?"

"That drilling sound... It's getting louder."

Griffin perked up. "What did you say? Drilling?" He stood up and listened as well.

The wall behind the two Resisters began to shake. Not very much at first, but then it shook violently. The drilling noise was also much louder now.

"Take cover!" The Resister shouted to Bob. Just as the two Resisters jumped away from the wall, a Mega Drill exploded through it. It spun a few times either to intimidate the Resistors or to get the rock that was on its head off.

The Mega drill moved to the side, revealing a tunnel filled with hundreds of assorted automatons. Griffin smiled. The Empire's plan was to attack the Resistance from behind. They wouldn't know what hit them.

Edit Requesting

Rex_Blackdash 2021-09-07 21:43:58 UTC #68

Chapter Nineteen: The First Test

I felt a low rumble coming from behind us. I frowned because I seemed to be the only one to take notice of it. "Jack, did you feel that?"

Jack shook his head.

"I think it was coming from behind us... Maybe we should go check it out."

"You aren't going to get me to leave my post." Jack said, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll go by myself."

As I took my first step away, Jack grabbed my arm. "You aren't going anywhere. I have to guard you, and I am staying right here."

"But..."

"Marcus put me in charge of you, so we're staying."

He was probably right to not leave his post, but I was still worried. Did he not trust me that much? He could be putting everyone in danger! Or maybe I was just hearing things...

I shook my head. It was probably nothing. I needed to stay at my post anyways, like Jack said.

Autofficer Gray exited the hole that the Mega drill had created. He examined the room before stepping towards Griffin Blake. "Sir, we're here to rescue you."

Griffin took notice of the burn marks on the young autofficer's face. "I haven't seen you since Jefferson's camp," he began. "What happened to you?"

Autofficer Gray spoke as he unlocked Blake's cell with a key he retrieved from one of the Resisters. "I was overconfident. You warned me about Kieran, but I didn't listen. His skill with the sword is far better than I remember."

Blake stepped out of his cell. "Yes, I expected nothing less from him. Whatever happened to autofficer Clinton?"

Autofficer Gray held back from chuckling. "He was sent to the Fogworks. All he could do in a battle was run away. He even tried to run away from the Emperor himself."

Blake nodded. "I see... He had so much potential. Now it's all wasted. But at least he isn't completely useless, now."

An automaton walked over to Griffin and held out a weapon. "PISTOL." It buzzed.

Griffin snatched the weapon out of the automaton's hand. "Yes, I can see that..."

"While you've been... out of action," Autofficer Gray said. "Many things have happened. Two events come to mind. The first is: My promotion."

Griffin smiled. "Congratulations. You deserved it."

Autofficer Gray shook his head. "Yes, but the only reason I'm here now, and not with autofficer Clinton in the Fogworks is because of your teachings."

"Well, then I suppose I should be saying 'you're welcome.' Now, what was the other event?"

Autofficer Gray smirked. "The Empire has completed it's construction of a new class of automaton. So far, only a few are operational, but Glacier factory is almost ready to begin mass-producing them. We call them 'Infiltration and Intelligence Automatons.' We're working on the name...

"Interesting..." Griffin said. "Did you bring any of these with you?"

Gray nodded. "Yes, actually. Three of them." The autofficer stepped aside to reveal three of the IIAs.

Griffin was surprised by how they looked. They had the legs of pacifiers, their torsos were black, and if you looked close enough, you could see wisps of green fog coming out of them. Their heads were nothing that he had ever seen before. They looked as if they were based after pacifiers, but they were more round, and each head had a large green eye in the middle of it. He was also surprised to realize that the IIA's had claws in place of their arms.

Griffin's eyes widened. "Have they been tested in battle yet?"

Autofficer Gray shook his head. "Only against other malfunctioning automatons. This would be their first real test."

Griffin smirked "Shall we begin the first test?"

Liam sheathed his sword. There were no automatons waiting for him. He was as relieved as he was surprised.

Liam recalled where the engine room was. He would plant the bomb there. He chose that spot because it was the most vulnerable part of the ship. All Resisters that trained in sabotage were taught to find the most critical part of every Imperial airship and destroy it. He suspected that the Resister named Kieran had done so while Liam had been spying on Griffin Blake's Airship. That was quite an explosion he had created. It might have even broken Liam's record. He doubted it, though.

Liam made his way to the engine room without interference. He took a bomb out of a bag he had brought along with him. Liam smiled. This explosion might be enough to take out all of the airships. One of his friends had made it for him. He told Liam to only use the bomb if he needed a "really big boom".

He missed his friends.

As Liam got ready to place the bomb, he began to wonder why he hadn't seen very many automatons since he had boarded the airship. As a matter of fact, he had only come across around two automatons. Liam knew that two automatons, no matter how awesome they were, couldn't take a base full of Resisters. Something wasn't right here...

When Liam finished placing the bomb, he connected it to a remote detonator, and then ran straight to the main deck. As he feared, nobody, not even an automaton, was there.

"It's all a diversion..." Liam whispered to himself. "The Resisters think that the attack is coming from the front! I have to warn them!"

Kieran's eyes opened. He couldn't remember where he was exactly. The last thing he remembered was Jefferson's Camp, and this was not Jefferson's Camp.

Kieran remembered the battle in the Snowmoors. The Autolizard had managed to throw Kieran off of it's back, but not before he had seen something very interesting. Kieran believed that he had finally found the Autolizard's weak spot. On the automaton's neck, there was a vent where the Autolizard expelled it's heat. There was no armor protecting that spot. Kieran wagered that a good sword strike in that position would take the automaton down.

Suddenly, Kieran remembered Rex and Jaiden. What had happened to his students? Did they actually defeat the Autolizard? Kieran doubted that very much. He hadn't trained either of them that good. They all must be in another imperial prison! They had to escape somehow!

Kieran felt a pain in his head. He grimaced. Not again... He must have hit his head pretty hard at the camp. Everything seemed a little blurry, and Kieran was tired, but he willed himself to keep his eyes open. The blurriness slowly faded, and he could see that the ceiling was dark grey, sort of like the color of a mountain... This was all very confusing.

Kieran slowly sat up, ignoring the pain in his head. He scanned the room he was in. It was some sort of hospital, because there were other wounded people were in beds next to his. All of their shirts had a Resistance patch on them... They were all Resistance members?

Kieran slid off of his bed. "What's going on here...?"

"You should be resting!" A women's voice said urgently.

Kieran instinctively reached for his sword, but his hand grasped empty air. He looked around for some kind of weapon to use on the approaching figure.

"Hey, Calm down! I'm another Resister! Look, I have a patch!" She pointed towards her coat pocket. Sure enough, a patch was stitched on it.

Kieran saw the patch, but that didn't mean that she was a Resister. He examined her face for signs of treachery or ill intent, but he couldn't see any. Some people were good at masking their true intent however, so he would play it safe for now. "Where am I?" Kieran asked the Resister.

"You're at a Resistance base. Now, lay back down! You could hurt yourself."

"I feel fine," Kieran lied. "How long have I been unconscious?"

The Resister stuttered. "I-I don't know exactly. A few days at least. Maybe a week...?"

Kieran frowned. That long? What had he missed? "I came here with others. Where are they right now?"

"I would guess that they're waiting with the rest of us. Waiting for the Empire to make its move."

"The Empire? We're under attack? How many?"

"Four airships, but you shouldn't worry about that. You need to rest!"

Four airships? This base truly was doomed. "You're going to need everyone you can get, even the wounded!"

The Resister opened her mouth to argue with Kieran further, but she didn't because she knew he was right. She pointed towards a bag lying next to Kieran's bed. "Your weapons are in the armory, but the rest of your equipment is in there."

Kieran nodded. "Thanks."

When Kieran had acquired his equipment, he joined the two Resisters at the entrance to the Medical center.

Everything was quiet. A little too quiet. The silence was broken by a noise so small, that the three Resisters could barely hear it. It was metal hitting rock. Something was coming.