Project Deicide

[Siren77]

“Trusting and believing in someone does not mean you will follow them blindly, without acting on your own. Because trust is something that goes both ways. We’re a team now, we’re equals. You are not above me and I am not above you. So when I say I trust you, I expect an equal amount of trust to be given. Otherwise we’re damned to fail from the start of this.”

It was only at the end of her rant that Kenzo finally got some insight into her hesitance, and why she feared leaving this place. She didn’t want him killed, which made perfect sense given the trauma she’d experienced in witnessing all those close to her being murdered in front of her eyes. Hell, he felt the same in not wanting her to meet a similar fate.

Taking a deep breath, his eyes fluttered shut for a moment as he collected his thoughts. Slowly they’d reopen, and he stayed his anger as best as he could.

“You don’t get a choice in the matter. Like it or not, we’re in this together. I don’t care what delusions you have of the sanctity of my life, I’m willing to fight to my last breath if it means avenging my friends and proving they didn’t die in vain. And I know deep down you feel exactly the same. You claim to know who your teammates are? Then start acting like it.”

Being a team meant acting as one. Treating one another as equals, just as he’d said. But it also meant not coddling one another and focusing too much on keeping one another out of harms way. This destiny of their was dangerous from the moment it began, and it wouldn’t change. They all knew the risks, and decided to fight anyway. So why now was he subject to this treatment?

 

[icarusburning]

His words pissed her off, and she dropped the idea of being any kind of calm or nice. He didn't know her, he didn't know what she wanted. She didn't care about trust, and especially didn't want to give it away. For almost her entire life, she'd been a pod leader. Her mission, she had been told over and over again, was to protect her teammates. She wasn't the strongest of them. She wouldn't be the one killing the God or taking the glory. She was there to observe, assess, react. Command others around and make sure that they ended up in one piece at the end of the fight. Her teammates took priority over her. She'd already failed once, and the guilt was still sitting like an elephant on her chest. She had survived where no one else hadn't, and she was never going to do that again.

"I don't give a fuck about the Gods!" she screamed, a dam breaking as she yelled, "It was never my mission to kill them and it still isn't now. I don't care about avenging anyone, either! They're dead, and dying in their names isn't honorable or righteous. I'll go to the goddamned Gods with you and fight tooth and nail and keep you alive but my job has always been, and always will be, to keep my team alive. You can hate me and you don't have to trust me, but I'll play my part until the end."

She hoped her message was clear: she wasn't going to give him the trust he wanted, and she didn't need it in return. His view of a team was different than hers, and she wasn't planning on changing to meet his ideals.

Ofelia was causing a scene, and she was acutely aware of it as the townsfolk peered out at the bickering duo. The children had finished playing, watching them with wide eyes from their half-hidden spots in the forest. Ofelia hardly cared as she glared at Kenzo, eyes threatening to water up and her nails digging into her hands.

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo would say nothing to interject, letting Ofelia’s thoughts run free was her tongue lashed out with the harsh words she’d undoubtedly suppressed for some time. As she spoke, it became more and more apparent to him that he was wasting his breath. These ideals were not merely something fleeting, devolved from the trauma they’d experienced. They were a mentality deeply engrained within her own stubborn mind from the start of the project. And it would take a force greater than Kenzo to change that.

So, he’d turn his back to her, and begin to take his leave.

“Then you have already have failed, because clearly your conviction and discipline are misplaced. And as it stands in my mind, we have already failed. Because without trust, there is no hope for us. So why bother fighting together when there are more convenient means of suffering?”

Kenzo’s mind was a wreck as he walked away. All the variables at play were tossed around in his mind as if in a torrent. Ofelia claimed that she’d fight alongside him, but if she was prepared to put his life before her own, then he wouldn’t have that burdening him. She’d only get in his way of giving everything he had.

He’d fight alone, even if it meant dying alone.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia just couldn't understand why Kenzo thought that his ideas of trust were so important to him, so much so that he'd say they failed because she didn't have it. Why did it matter if they trusted one another? If Ofelia could keep him alive, wasn't that enough?

Ofelia had never trusted her team in the way that Kenzo was demanding of her. She put her faith in them, sure. Hoped that they'd do the right thing. But she was always prepared for them to mess up. Always ready to fix their mistakes or call out a new order. It mostly worked, she had thought. Wasn't it better to doubt? If she assumed that they'd be fine, then she'd only be setting her team up for failure. Kenzo's definition of trust hardly made sense to her. She hung her head as Kenzo walked away, irritated to no end. She didn't know what he wanted from her.

Ofelia turned when she heard the noise of some soft footsteps approaching her. She whipped around to it, seeing a woman, a mother of one of the children, approaching her slowly, as if Ofelia was a frightened animal.

"Do you know where the kids were playing?" she asked, words quiet and nervous. Ofelia stiffened up, eyes darting around.

"They were in the forest," she said, "They hid when I began shouting."

"I can't find them," the woman shook her head. Ofelia didn't need any encouragement - she ran into the forest, in the direction that they had gone.

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo needed some time in isolation, which wasn’t uncommon to those that once knew him. During times of great frustration or deep concentration, the electric adept found it best to let his mind be alone for a time as to let his mind organize itself. Typically it was about strategies, or the personal weaknesses of his own mind and body, and how he could improve upon them as to be a better asset to his friends and allies. His bedroom was often a good setting for such an occasion, as it was guaranteed that he wouldn’t be disturbed.

But now he was far from any sort of typical circumstance. These were not the typical ailments of his mind that clouded his head with a storm. It was an entirely different state of disarray that had its familiar aspects. Disagreements within a team were common, especially with bloated Egomaniacs like Samson. But Ofelia’s stubborn attitude was a new kind of beast for him to fight, especially under these dire circumstances.

Not only this, but the reprieve of guaranteed isolation was gone from him. The most Kenzo could do was return to their hut and pray that no one would disturb his thoughts. Alone he’d sit on his cot, his hands fiddling together. Over and over again they’d turn, with his fingers sliding over every callous, scab, and scar in search of something to pick at. Meanwhile his brain thought at a rapid pace of where he could go from here.

He didn’t want to abandon Ofelia, as he very much still held the sentiment that she was a teammate to him. But with her outlook on the mission and her priorities thereof, she’d only get in the way of what he sought out to do. At the same time however, he knew that alone he’d be a sitting duck. Without someone with a dedicated training to strategy and observation, he wouldn’t be able to follow the formula of receiving and carrying out orders. He’d likely get himself lost or worse within the first few days of departing.



There didn’t seem to be a right answer about it all, though difficult situations rarely did. After giving it some thought, he decided to give it a couple days longer at the very least. That way he hopefully wouldn’t make any rash decisions, and at the very least would have ample time to further recover before subjecting himself to the elements once again.

With some minor peace restored once more, Kenzo could finally let his mind rest at ease. His gaze finally shook from a blank stare at the wall opposite to him, and glanced about the room just in time to see one of the adults poking their head in the door as if searching for someone.

“Oh! There you are, please you must come quickly!” The mans focus was frantic.

“What’s wrong?” Kenzo questioned as he stood and approached the doorway.

“I saw our children be taken away by some metal monster! It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before in Obatala’s creations. It was new, with chrome armor that shone bright in the sun. But.... I didn’t see any flesh on it. It appeared to only be machinery.”

“Did it resemble anything?”

The man shuddered, and his voice lowered to a hushed whisper, “A Demon.”
—————————

Kenzo wasted no time in departing from the hut. He figured Ofelia had heard similar word of the children disappearance, and he made no attempts to find her knowing she would’ve likely headed into the forest alone. He planned to rendezvous with her so they could potentially catch up with the beast and free the children.

It was difficult to find at first, as the Metal Demon the man described to him hadn’t wandered to close, but eventually Kenzo would find a path of carnage in the foliage that cut through its dense atmosphere. Pacing himself, he dashed ahead to hopefully catch up with Ofelia. Eventually he could see her figure running ahead of him, so he’d pick up his pace until he was right alongside her so that he could mirror hers.

“What have you heard?” He’d question, his gaze drawn to the continuing trail, hoping to see their target but seeing nothing other than the forests shadows.

He knew Obatala enjoyed experimenting and playing with his human specimens. But to abduct children in such a manner? It was absolutely despicable, and disgusting. Kenzo could only pray that they were all still alive and well whenever they caught up to them.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia heard the screaming first. The children, no doubt, and their cries only spurred her on. She stumbled through the forest until she found a path of broken branches and flattened leaves, an obvious sign of something large. She didn't need to run much further to see the culprit: a massive metal creature, with red eyes and horns protruding from his head. He wore a fake, toothy grin, looking down at Ofelia with a mocking expression. Ofelia noticed that the entire body of the beast was metal- no flesh in sight. The creature had the children in his hands, plural because he had far too many arms, and Ofelia was charging at him before she could count. The beast let out a scream that sounded like plates of metal scraping against one another before he swung down with his horns, catching Ofelia by surprise and hitting her into a tree. She sputtered as she crashed into it, her body melting and bending with the force. She fell to the ground with a cough and staggered to her feet, ready for a real fight, when the beast turned and ran.

It was fast, far faster than Ofelia would have guessed. She dug her heel in the ground and took off after it, trying desperately to match its pace. But its machinery was far superior than her flesh, and it pulled ahead and away in no time, out of sight and into the jungle.

Ofelia was still running when she heard footsteps catching up from behind her, Kenzo quickly coming to her side.

"The metal abomination took the children," she told him between gasps for air, "It's fast, we won't be able to catch up on foot. If we can find a stream, I can move faster to pursue it." She took a deep breath and paused her talking for a moment to think. Obatala's workshop was supposed to be far from where they had teleported to, a few days journey. While Ofelia didn't know exactly where they were on a map, it would take the mechanical monster a day or two to reach Obatala at the speed that it was going. It wouldn't need to stop, either, as it wouldn't need sleep or food. Ofelia was certain that, if she followed it in the water, she'd be able to match its pace. She was human but she could go a day or two without sleeping or eating. Kenzo, on the other hand, would take much longer. He couldn't run for days on end and he'd be slower than Ofelia and the beast. Not to mention that he'd need time to rest and eat.

"You should head back to the village," she said, "I'll be able to catch up and fight it, but you'll take too long. I can return in a week or so with the children."

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo grumbled in response to Ofelia’s words, clearing making no attempts to obey them as he continued running alongside her. He wasn’t about to turn tail and run, not when he could help. Even if he wasn’t the fastest, his strength would atleast help them contend with the beast. And what’s more, it was likely heading back to the lab it was created in, which meant it would lead him right to Obatala. Now was the perfect chance to pursue and destroy the Mad God.

“I’m not going anywhere, you can’t expect yourself to fight it on your own.” Kenzo began picking up his speed as to begin moving on ahead of her, “Find your stream. Slow it down if you can, I’ll try not to be too far behind.”
He wasn’t giving her an option in this, and he was done listening to her orders. As of right now there was still a great deal of spite in his chest, and chip in his shoulder that made him feel he had something to prove. He wanted to prove he could be trusted, and he wanted to prove that he didn’t need to be protected or kept alive by anyone but himself. And he was hellbent on earning that.

The metal abomination was clearly not some fodder machine from back at the facility. If Obatala sent it alone, it clearly has his faith of being self sufficient. A one unit army even. If the size and shape was truly comparable to a demon, then Kenzo believed this to be true. No matter what Ofelia said, he knew she needed his help. As did the children, and he wasn’t about to let any more youth suffer fates similar to his own.

Building up speed, Kenzo found a comfortable pace to run for a long while at. It was no different than the days on the treadmill. It was all about pacing, but still pushing the limits. His endurance was still lacking, but he’d be damned if he didn’t atleast try.

Along the trail of carnage he ran, doing all he could to try and keep up.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia shot Kenzo a glare but her mind was elsewhere, not in the mood to argue. Her brain was working overtime already on a new plan. She hadn't wanted to give herself away as an adept to the machine yet, in case Obatala was watching, but it seemed she wouldn't have a choice. She'd find her water, speed like hell, and do everything in her power to keep it from getting to Obatala's base. If she could just slow it down enough for Kenzo to catch up, he could finish it off.

What would she do if he didn't? He was probably right about her not being able to take it alone. She would just have to save the kids, she told herself. Just get them to safety and point the way home and pray that she made it out alive.

No. That's not when Kenzo had wanted her to think. He didn't want her to be paranoid or doubtful. He wanted her to trust him to do his part just like he'd trust her to do hers. It felt uncomfortable, throwing aside the ideas of failure. But for the moment, she did.

Kenzo was already pushing far ahead of her, but Ofelia stopped and stared at his back for a moment, her fists clenched, before she yelled after him, "I believe you! And I'll die if you're wrong!" She didn't wait to hear his answer, turning into the forest and bolting, a new fire raging at her heels. She needed to find water. She needed to go faster. She had her mission, and she needed to succeed.

 

[Siren77]

As Kenzo pushed forward, Ofelia’s words rang out in the air which caused him to chuckle. Even with her negative comment at the end, it was still progress that lit a fire in his chest.

“Trust me, I’m not wrong.”

With that said, Kenzo picked up the pace just a little more, with newfound adrenaline coursing through his veins. Those words may hold little value to some, but it meant everything to him. In this moment, she was setting aside what she’d consider her ‘better judgment’ to trust him. And that trust would not be betrayed. His mind was made up, Ofelia would catch up to slow it down, and he would be right on her take to fight alongside her and save those kids.
—————————

Kenzo pushed himself as hard as he could, all the while being cautious not to burn out. He knew he’d need energy to spare if he wanted to fight that thing. This time he wouldn’t have a whole team to cover him while he rested, and he wouldn’t put that sort of expectation on Ofelia.

*”Strategize your movements, pace yourself! Little moments of rest go a long ways, as opposed to running yourself ragged.”*

Dovar’s words echoed in Kenzo’s mind clear as day. Only a small snippet of the vast amount of advice his Pod leader had given him over the course of their years training together. It’s just like Althea had said, they were always with him. Everything he’d learned through them would always be engrained in his muscle memory and reflexes. Even in death, they wouldn’t fail him.

It has been some time, to the point that Kenzo could see the end of the jungle through the trail of carnage he followed. It gave him a breath of hope, knowing that as long as he hadn’t been too far behind it, it would be in his sights. As long as he knew where it was, he could sprint to catch up just as Ofelia would hopefully be beginning her initial assault. Then they could fight together to save the children.

But then he broke the tree line, and entered into the plains of the African grasslands. And he saw nothing. Not even for as far as the horizon would allow him did he see any sort of figure trucking in the distance, or even hear the sharp grating of metal. It was gone, and without a trace at that. The trail continued on through the forest, and connected with grassy plains. It could be seen for a good while, but then all at once it simply ended.

It was gone, and Kenzo couldn’t even fathom how. Had he been too slow? Were his efforts not enough to keep up with it? He wasn’t sure, but he needed to rendezvous with Ofelia if she was close. The small river that cut through the grasslands almost parallel to the ended trail of the Behemoth was close, and if she saw what he did, she too would see that their target had vanished.

“Ofelia?” He called, “Did you see where it went? The trails just.... gone....”

 

[icarusburning]

It didn't take long for Ofelia to find a stream, and she was zipping down it towards her target. She only occasionally peered out to see the land in front of her, watching for the metal monster.

After a few moments, she found herself dragged to a halt when she entered the grassy plains, realizing that the trail that she'd been keeping a close eye on had ended suddenly. She pulled herself half out of the water, looking back the way she came. The monster wasn't there, and a frantic look at the trees and forest have her the same conclusion: it wasn't here anymore, as if it had vanished into thin air. Kenzo was nowhere in sight, though the river continued on in front of her. She could keep following and hope that the creature was in that direction. But she didn't want to leave her teammate behind.

She shot back towards the forest, finding the spot that the path ended. She paced around for a moment, staring up at the trees and ahead at the plains. If it hadn't gone forward or up, there was only one other way to go. She took a deep breath before melting herself down. She hated going underground, but she let herself sink into the soil. It was a trick that she had figured out a few years back, but had refused to use it. She couldn't see and coming back up was suffocating, as her muscles were only surrounded by dirt and rock. If she sunk too far, she'd never be able to pull herself up again.

Ofelia careful maneuvered underground, only reforming bits and pieces of skin to feel for anything strange. Being blind terrified her and she was ready to climb back up and declare it a failure when she brushed against something smooth and cold. Pushing herself towards it and forming more nerves, she found that whatever it was was flat and large and stretched out for a while in all directions.

With this discovery in mind, she creeped back towards the surface, her muscles aching as they fought against the soil for space.

Above ground, she reformed her head first, eyes blinking open and gasping for air. She heard someone calling her name, and wiggled more frantically against the soil.

"Kenzo, over here," she called back, shoulders beginning to rise from the ground, "There's something underground, though I couldn't see it. It's big and probably what we're looking for."

 

[Siren77]

Ofelia called out to Kenzo shortly after, prompting then Adept to job over to the source of her voice. She didn’t sound injured, which was a relief, but her voice certainly sounded strained. He of course wouldn’t understand why until she came into view, noting more than a head and shoulders slowly rising out of the ground. Kenzo’s eyes widened with a deep confusion, never knowing it was possible for Ofelia to do that. But then again, there was a lot he didn’t know about her.

What only confused him more was what she said next, promoting him to kneel on the ground next to her and scrape at the ground with his right hand.

“Something big and underground? What do you...” it finally clicked what she was referring to. A secret tunnel of sorts, which made sense is his head as to why the behemoth was able to disappear so suddenly. “Ah, I see now.”

Kenzo stood and walked back over to where the trail had gone dead, kneeling there instead. The ground looked undisturbed, which made him question how it could’ve been possible. It had to have been some kind of intricate machine that pulled the ground with it as it opened, or something to that effect. But how could they get it open? There was no handle, no means of inputting a passcode. All there was was this patch of ground where the behemoth once stood...

It had to be electrically operated. With how obsessed Obatala was over replacing flesh with metal, surely the engineering of this place followed similar patterns in design. Kenzo charged a bit of electricity, keeping the current low and holding it just an inch above the ground. Nothing happened, so he slowly let the energy build, with its frequency of power slowly amping up. For a time his efforts still seemed to be in vain, until the electricity in his hand started to crackle and lash out to connect with the ground as if drawn to it. The surges became more frequent, with sparks even rising from the ground itself. Something was definitely beneath, as Ofelia had said, and it looked to be coming close to opening. Further the energy builded, until one final zap cracked off against the ground.

The mechanisms beneath the earth began to move, with the large section of ground where the mechanoloid once stood beginning to separate from the rest in the shape of a large square. The square lowered, then split in two to hide just a few feet beneath the earth. A dark void beneath greeted them, shrouded in a dull blue light that sounded off with an electric humming.

“Well, looks like we found our entrance.”

Kenzo offered his hands to Ofelia to help lower her down. Regardless of whether she accepted his help or not, he’d jump into the hole just after her.

 

[icarusburning]

Kenzo's digging helped as Ofelia pulled a hand out of the earth, the leverage from it making it easier to tear the rest of her body away. She was pulling her feet out as Kenzo began administering shocks to the ground. It took her a moment to realize what he was doing, the realization hitting her that of course Obatala's inventions would rely on electricity, the very element that Kenzo controlled.

She stood back as he worked, watching as the ground began to crackle. For a moment, she was glad that she wasn't still underground. She wouldn't want that energy running through her.

She rushed to Kenzo's side when the ground began to shift, opening up in front of them. She gaped at the mechanics of it, eyes wide as she stared down into path it had created.

Without pause, she grabbed Kenzo's hand, jumping down into the tunnel. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the new darkness. The lights were reminiscent of the facility, with the sun completely blocked out. For a second, Ofelia thought that she would see the same blood-stained walls and corpse-lined halls, but it was empty and unnaturally clean.

"We should move quickly," she said to Kenzo, who had jumped in beside her. She paused for a moment, realizing that their positions from earlier were now reversed: Kenzo would be faster, and Ofelia would slow him down. If they wanted to reach the children sooner, it'd make sense for Kenzo to run ahead without her.

Ofelia didn't want to be left behind.

But the kids mattered more.

"Run ahead, you'll be there quicker. You may not catch up to the machine in time, but you can sneak the children out and send them back this way. I'll catch up with you as soon as I can," she told him, looking to tunnel ahead of them, that seemed to stretch on forever. Was it the right thing to do, to send him ahead? Or was she only asking him to run to his death?

 

[Siren77]

It was becoming a typical reaction in regards to Ofelia’s plans. A subtle head shake to momentarily reject her plans. As much as he could see the reasoning behind her plan, it didn’t sit well with him to divide as she wished. This place had dim visibility as it was, anything could sneak up on them in this sort of setting. If this place served as a means of transport for Obatala’s abominations, there was bound to be something wandering around down here. Kenzo wasn’t too keen on taking that risk for either of them.

“As much as I want to save those kids, it wouldn’t do us any good to divide our already slim numbers. The last thing we need is one of us getting pinned down and captured.” Kenzo looked with pursed lips down the tunnel. “I don’t want them laying a hand on them, but they’re too far ahead for us to stop that now. If we can’t catch up and cut them off, then I don’t see a point in separating. We should keep moving together, keep our strength in numbers.”

What’s more is they likely wouldn’t all be in the same palace. Most of the adults from the village described their time in Obatala’s lab as that of pure isolation, with minimal interaction from any of the other test subjects. They’d be scattered in their own holding cells, and Kenzo wasn’t sure if one of them would be sufficient to free them all before being caught. They were better off together, he just hoped that Ofelia saw it that way as well.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia grit her teeth, turning back towards Kenzo. He was wrong on this one, and she knew it. There was an awful feeling in her chest, a feeling of having to choose between who she was saving. Stay with Kenzo and keep him protected? Or urge him to continue on, at his own peril, to get the children. She knew the answer, and she made up her mind. She didn't want to see the children mangled and robotic, like their parents. The thought of letting them down horrified her, and so she stood her ground.

"They're in danger. The time I waste could be deadly for them. Just go and, if nothing's happening to them, lay low until I arrive. But I'm not letting them get hurt because I'm too slow!"

Once again, Ofelia was reminded of how useless she was. Just like how she wasn't as fast as Kenzo, she hadn't been strong enough to lift Paulina. She continued to fall short in every category that mattered, and she questioned whether or not she was really worthy of being considered part of Project Deicide. She couldn't protect everybody and she only ended up dooming others because of it.

Ofelia felt the tell-tale sting of tears in her eyes and she turned away, beginning her run down the tunnel. She didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Kenzo.

"We don't have time to waste arguing," she called while running, "Go and I'll be right behind you."

 

[Siren77]

It seemed Ofelia had her mind made up. She wanted to keep those kids safe, even at the cost of her own safety. But, Kenzo had to realize he was playing a double standard in this moment. He expected her to trust him to do his part, yet in that moment he insisted on staying with her instead of trusting her judgment and that she could do her part as well.

Her abilities were unique, making her almost untouchable as far as he could tell. All she needed was a steady source of water and injuries wouldn’t be a problem for her. If something did find her, he knew she could hold her own. She demonstrated that back at the facility during their escape. She’d be okay, and he needed to trust in that.

Even if he was still against the idea, Ofelia began to jog ahead, relaying instructions to him as he went. Chuckling and following right behind her, he’d jog along her side.

“Alright, I’ll do my best to get there before any of them can be touched. Take care of yourself, and if anything goes wrong, call ahead and I’ll be right back to help you. Good luck.”

That said, Kenzo took off at a dead run down the hall, his soul burning that he might intervene in these children’s capture. He wasn’t sure what to expect in Obatala’s facility, but he’d try to be ready for anything. With any luck, he’d be able to sneak his way in undetected. Getting in a fight would only send more units his way, and prevent him from getting to the kids.

So he’d need to be quick.
—————————

For a time, all that filled Kenzo’s senses were the sound of his shoes as they hit the ground, the buzzing of the blue lights that cast dull luminescence on the metal hallway, and the fatigue of his muscles as he forced himself to keep moving. It was almost impossible to keep track of his progress, as well as the amount of time that had passed. It was a long ways to Obatala’s domain, but this highway of sorts atleast made the trip far quicker. But he still didn’t know how far he’d come and how much longer he had to run.

Along the way, there’d be the occasional tunnel that would intersect with the one he traveled. Except they weren’t as tall or even wide, leading him to believe that the tunnel he traversed was a main route of sorts. He’d keep a keen eye as he ran past the intersections, listening and watching for anything that might be passing through. For now though, nothing else seemed to be there with him. The branches for more frequent, with more openings appearing to his left and right as he ran along. Sight was no longer an option as he couldn’t watch them all, so sound was his only true ally in this. He’d keep his head on a. Swivel though, glancing back and forth in a state of paranoia.

His pace was beginning to fail, and he knew he couldn’t keep pushing much longer or he’d be subject to immense fatigue that would inhibit his ability to act should he come across any danger. He had to slow down, bringing his pace to a brisk jog that sat well with him, so onward he’d push.

Eventually, he’d begin to hear new sounds as he jogged along the tunnel. Not that of anything approaching, but rather sounds of mass conglomerates of machinery moving about. The only thing he could compare it to was the electric generators from the facility, except the sound was distorted in comparison, sounding more like a low rumbling beast than the loud siphoning of energy. He wasn’t sure what it was, but as of now it posed no threat to him.

Joining the new additions to the once consistent trail was a glimmer of white light being seen in the distance. It jolted his heart as soon as he realized it was there, and his mind jumped to the conclusion of reaching the end of his tunnel and arriving at the facility. But there’d only be one way to know for sure, he had to keep going.

Kenzo caught his second wind, and gradually picked up his pace until he was covering ground just as fast as before.

‘Almost there’ He’d tell himself ‘You can still save them’

After just a little longer, Kenzo soon reached the light at the end of the tunnel, and came to a stop just before it. Edging his way to the mouth of the tunnel, he’d peek around the corner to the right and looked around the room the tunnel led into. It was empty, save for a set of double doors at the opposite side. The room was made of the same dull colored metal the tunnels were composed of, save for a large platform in the middle that was a pure white. A gap of a couple inches separated the dull metal and the white platform, which Kenzo could only assume meant it went down. That must be how the creatures Obatala created were able to get to the tunnels.

Unless it didn’t go down, but up. Kenzo scanned the roof for any changes, and saw nothing. It was hard to tell at this point. With how seamless the doors were able to open on the surface, it could potentially do the same here. He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t entirely care. He could only hope that nothing arrived any time soon to block Ofelia’s means of entrance.

 

[Siren77]

Spoiler: Hallway Reference

Kenzo made his way through the double doors, stopping just at the entrance to take in the atmosphere and look for hostiles. The hall was fortunately empty, allowing the adept to breath a sigh of relief before stepping inside. The hall, much like the platform, was a pure white metal that harbored bright lights in its ceiling and walls. It wasn’t too bright, but bright enough that all shadows and every inch of darkness was cast out. It was strange. The hall split to the right and left, connecting to a series of other halls. Even from first contact with this part for he laboratory, Kenzo could tell it’d be easy to get lost in the place.

He’d have to pick a direction and stick to it for now, and hope that he could find some sort of map or interface with information. The only fucked up bit about this was the lack of humans in the facility. Everything was automated, and Obatala only relied on machines that cared for the subjects when he wasn’t working on them, as well as maintained the facilities various mechanical apertures. This meant maps and such were pointless, so he likely wouldn’t find one. A terminal was his best bet.

Kenzo went right, liking its direction better than left, for no reason other than mere word association. Quietly he’d stroll, keeping an eye out and checking behind him every once in a while in case something saw him. He’d eventually have to turn left after the hall came to an end, with nowhere to go except the turn. He seemed to be on the outside of whatever floor he was on, with the hallway repeating. Down a long ways he could see a blip in the wall where he knew a familiar set of double doors likely awaited him. It’d be another entrance to the tunnels. It was clear he needed to work his way in, so he doubled back to the nearest left turn that worked further inside, and followed it.

The hall was still identical, and appeared to stretch just as long as the one he’d just seen. The floor seemed to be arranged like a grid. With various terminals and computers all around that had no means of being accessed. Whatever servants Obatala had likely had a unique means of interacting with them. Kenzo would have to look elsewhere. Further inwards seemed to be his best bet, so he worked towards the center.

Eventually he found a hall that took him to what he assumed to be the center. It was a darker room, with tons of monitors. From his position he didn’t see anything inside, so he advanced. Upon entering, he’d arrive at what definitely looked like a central room. Four openings lined the four walls, with each corner housing podlike machine. Elevators maybe? There was a desk in the center of it all where the additional monitors all sat, likely where one of his machines was supposed to stand post and survey the floor. But the seat was empty. Whatever was here had left, but likely would return.

And return it did. One of the pods opened without a sound, and a robot resembling a human stepped out into the room, with its heads immediately stepping to look at Kenzo.

Spoiler: Obatala Drone

“Intruder sighted.” It spoke with a deep automated and gravely voice, “Initiating emergency pro-“

Kenzo didn’t give it a chance to finish, charging in and slamming his electrically charged fist into the machines chest. He clearly rung its bell, as it let off an irritated buzz as its head collided with the Wall. Not giving it a chance to recover or finish what it had started, Kenzo grabbed its head and swung it into the wall again. It staggered to try and stand, but was met with Kenzo firm grip as he twisted and pulled its head off. Electricity sputtered and the sounds of machinery powering down echoed in the room.

The Adept kept the machines head, and pulled off one of its arms as well. If only the machines could interact, then this thing had just given him the keys. Using its arm like his own, Kenzo used its limp hand to flip through the various pages the terminal could access. It was all logistical stuff, but no real control over it. It truly was a security desk of sorts. There wasn’t a map, atleast not one he could find. But fortunately, a diagnostic tab for the ventilation system showed a rough outline of the facility.

From what he could tell, he was on the middle floor of the facility. Two floor went further underground, and two floors went further up above the surface. He couldn’t tell what most of the other floors were, but the floor above the security deck showed a lot of repetition with the rooms, all of them organized in blocks. Just like a jail. That had to be it. There was no telling how the blocks were set up or what Individuals would be where, but he’d figure that out when he got up.

Taking the dismembered head and arm of the machine, Kenzo activated one of the elevators and stepped inside. It was a little cozy for his tastes, the machines were much smaller than he was. But he fit none the less. They likely weighed as much as he did so there wasn’t any issues there. Queuing the lift for the second floor, Kenzo watched as the door slid shut, but the elevator didn’t seem to move. It was effortless, and quiet, but the indicator for the floor he was on moved showing that it was ascending as intended. It was fascinating.

The door slid open, revealing a similar room as before, except there was no desk, only the darker room with four elevators that led into halls made of the dull great metal from before. A faint thumping could be heard, but Kenzo didn’t pay any mind to it. The map from earlier showed the the floor was arranged in four different cubes with a large hallway that occupied the the bulk of the space, with the cells being smaller in comparison. He wasn’t sure why there was so much room in the halls, but he wouldn’t question it.

The cubes all at the center where he was, with the hall running along the outside, and the cells being in the inside. There was no labeling or anything, so it was a series of guesswork. Kenzo picked one of the four halls and made his way through it.

Spoiler: cell block

Think it a combination of these two pictures!

The majority of the cells were empty for right now, but it mainly looked that way because there was so many. Clearly Obatala had ensured there was ample room for future test subjects, likely after whatever madness he conducted here expanded. There was some uneasy intentions about the place that made Kenzo sick to his stomach, but he ignored it as he navigated the large hall he’d just entered.

Conveniently, after walking for a short time, he’d find the cells where the children were being held. None of them spoke, all silent in fear with wide eyes. Kenzo counted them all. Two of them were missing from their numbers, and his stomach sank. From what he could tell, it was Njeri and one of the boys. He was already too late to help a couple of them, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it right now.

“Are you all okay?” He whispered.

They all nodded their heads, still silent. The thumping from earlier growing louder. Their heads all turned in its direction.

“What is that?” He questioned.

“The spider...” Mata whispered, terror filled their voice. “You have to hide!”

Kenzo could hear the stomping footsteps growing louder, so he darted as quickly and quietly as he could back to the entrance to the hall that would take him back to the central room. Peeking around the corner, his curiosity got the better of him, as he wanted to see just what this thing was. And he’d immediately regret it.

It wasn’t a pure machine like he’d initially thought. This thing was one of Obatala’s horrors, and by far the worst he’d seen. Like the child had said, it was a spider in concept. Eight long and machanical legs slowly pounded across the metal ground. They were spindly, and clearly very sharp on the ends. It was attached to a larger body that had a mechanical frame, with flesh connecting between it that almost looked like it was pulsating.

It’s head was mostly metal, save where the eyes on a normal spider would be. In place of eyes, eight heads all jutted from its face, and they weren’t just there for show. They were *moving*. Some looked to be gasping for air, while others whited out and seemingly lifeless eyes darted about the room. He could even hear one of the heads groaning as it stomped along the ground. A couple were missing their jaws, others one or both of their eyes. They all looked to be similar in age, except three. Two were elderly, and were two middle “eyes” on the bottom row. And it’s top right eye was that of a child, looking similar in age to the kids in the cells.

There was also a tail of sorts mounted to its rear, with a set of twin barrels. What sort of firepower it possessed, he wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t about to find out. Kenzo retreated into the hall back to the central room before The Warden would get the chance to see him. He wouldn’t be able to free the kids, not with that thing patrolling about. He needed help to be quick enough, or they’d be in serious trouble. So he had to sit and wait for now, hoping that Ofelia would make it in time.

If any of those other droids arrived on the floor, he was prepared to dismantle them like he had the last one. He wasn’t letting any of the kids get taken away. After seeing that abomination, he would rather die than allow it.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia was happy that Kenzo listened. She was.

She told herself that like a mantra as she ran. She didn't go nearly as fast as Kenzo: she had lost him in a matter of minutes. And she felt herself tiring as she ran, her endurance on land being abysmal. Time seemed to crawl by and she wasn't sure how long she was taking, but she was glad that Kenzo would be getting to the children sooner.

She was exhausted. Her abilities weren't meant for such long activities, especially as she felt herself getting dehydrated. She really was only a one-trick pony, and that trick included evasion. Everything else, she was fairly awful at, and even years of training wouldn't put her up to par alongside the heroes whose abilities assisted their strength. Kitty used to be able to run on the treadmill for hours and hardly break a sweat.

Ofelia found herself desperately wanting to stop for air or to seek out a source of water. But she feared that, if she stopped now, she wouldn't be able to start up again. So she pressed on, panting and ignoring the pain in her chest. She could make it. She could do it. She just had to keep going and get there on time.

She hadn't noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks until one splashed against her arms, and pressing a hand to her cheek revealed that it was soggy. God, she'd been crying far too much in the past days. She brushed aside the water from her eyes, but some meaner, crueler side of her brain taunted her. Go ahead and cry, it said, harsh and grating, cry because you're weak. Because you couldn't save anyone and you never will. Because you're not fit to be an Adept, not meant to be killing the Gods.

Ofelia knew all of that. She didn't stop running, but she didn't stop crying either.

When the hall began splitting off into separate tunnels, Ofelia thought she was going to lose her mind. She threw glances over her shoulders every few moments, the fear of something emerging from them and chasing after her sitting heavy on her mind. And when the hum of some distant machinery started up, she really thought that she was going insane, as the grating, screeching noise filled her ears. What was it? How close was it? Was it dangerous? Was it after her? Or maybe it was after Kenzo. Or maybe even the children.

Then, a light at the end of the path caught her attention. Ofelia knew it instantly: she was within reach of the facility. She was going to start coming face-to-face with Obatala's monstrosities. She shivered at the idea, but didn't slow down. Whatever hell was in there, the children were facing as well. She could tolerate it for them.

It took a bit longer until she reached the light, and she slowed to a stop as she approached the doors that indicated the start of the facility. She was panting, tired and dehydrated, but she peered through the doors. There was a painful while room beyond, with nothing dangerous in sight. She slipped through, ready to melt herself down if need be. She didn't see anything that could hurt her, but then the layout of the room hit her: it split. She looked to the right and the left, seeing identical hallways, and she realized that she had no clue which way Kenzo had gone. There was no trace of the other, and she felt her stomach crawl into her throat. What to do? Risk making the wrong descision when Kenzo needed her? Or to just search for the children on her own and disregard Kenzo's path? She looked back and forth between the halls, panic rising in her as she clawed for any hints.

Then, she spotted the grates on the ceiling. Vents. Of course. Ofelia was small, she could move around them quickly and without detection. It would be quicker than watching her back in the hallways, not having to worry about enemies spotting her.

Ofelia took a few steps back, running, jumping, and grabbing the grate that covered the vent. It was sturdy, holding her weight, and she pulled herself up, melting down to pass through it. She was in the vents in a matter of moments, half water and half flesh to move quicker. Passing over different vents, she peered through them, getting views of lab rooms and the same polished white halls. The first time she spotted one of Obatala's drones, she clamped a hand over her mouth, watching it tap away at a terminal for a few moments. It didn't seem to recognize Ofelia or her presence from her spot in the vents, but Ofelia still stayed absolutely silent as she passed over it.

When she found a room with a destroyed drone, she knew that she was on the right path. She squinted through the bars to get a glimpse of the robot, who was missing its ar, and head, and peered at the terminal that was still turned on. It was displaying what appeared to be some kind of map, currently zoomed in on the top floor. Ofelia figured that it was where Kenzo had headed and was ready to shoot off to find it. Right before she did, another drone entered the room, spotting its destroyed comrade on the ground. It stood for a moment, processing it, before its fake voice filled the room.

"Intruder suspected," it beeped, and it didn't manage to choke out the next words before Ofelia swung down through the grate, her knees holding her upside-down. Her still-forming arms snatched the drone's head, twisting it and letting water drip into its wires. It let out a garbled beeping, convulsing before collapsing. Ofelia wasted no time pulling herself back into the vents, taking off to look for a path into the upper floors.

She found some vents that went straight up and wiggled her way through it, finding herself in a slightly darker and more winding vent system. The paths diverged a lot more often, slitting off into dead ends or longer paths with more diverging dead ends. She was on one of these dead ends when she peered through the vent grate and saw a child beneath her, huddling against the wall. She instantly recognized him as one of the village children, and she slowly began to trickly into the room. Before forming, she peering around the room, seeing the walls of the small cell block, facing another cell block with a horrified little girl in it. She solidified, the boy looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Hey," she whispered, opening her arms and letting him rocket himself into them, "You're safe, I'm going to protect you. I won't let anything hurt you." She shushed and cradled him, freezing when she heard the sound of clicking footsteps and the hissing of something inhuman. The boy stiffened beside her, burying his head into her stomach.

"The spider is back," he mumbled, voice muffled, "You have to hide, it'll spot you!" Ofelia let go of the kid, moving closer to the bars to see what he was talking about. Her eyes widened when she spotted the monster, and Ofelia lost her shit.

"Stay here," she told the boy, "I'll be right back." With that, she got a small running headstart and melted between the bars, launching herself directly at the creature.

"Hey bastard!" she screamed, all tact and strategy gone from her plan as her rage compounded. The monster turned to see her but it was already too late, as Ofelia grabbed his leg and vaulted over it, landing herself on its abdomen. It let out an awful screech of metal and human voices, but it didn't faze Ofelia. If this fucker thought that it would be able to lay a mechanized leg on any of the children, it was severely mistaken. She pried open two panels on its back, clinging to it desperately as it tried to shake her off. Its tail began smacking towards her, batting at her like a fly, but it only passed right through her body.

"Shoot, you moron!" she cried, "Shoot at me, and see what happens to your insides." The beast listened to her, firing off a few shots from the weapons on its tail, only for them to fly through her and into its own body. It let out another horrifying scream, especially as Ofelia began dripping water into the wounds.

"That's what I thought," she hissed, slamming her half-melted hand into its machinery, ignoring the pain that came right after as the electricity coursed through her. The beast managed to throw her off with a violent shake, sending her sprawling across the floor. When she recovered, she found herself staring up into the faces on its front, each staring down at her with dead or gouged-out eyes. She looked between them, horrified by the blood and gore that seeped from them and the pain that their expressions wore. Were they alive? Did they understand what was happening to them?

There was a child among them.

Ofelia stared at the little girl, who stared ahead, eye glassy and almost lifeless. Ofelia would've thought she was dead if not for the sudden motion of the eye, pointing to look at her. It was the look of someone in pain, someone hurt, someone who was numb. Ofelia was still reeling when a leg smacked into her side, sending her back across the floor again. It didn't hurt, but as she stood, she couldn't bring herself to attack, her eyes wandering back to the girl and her agony. The spider struck again, this time stabbing at her. Out of instinct only, Ofelia ducked out of the way, but not in time to avoid a swing from the other leg. It went through her stomach, painlessly, the machinery of it letting out a hiss and spark as her water fried it.

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo wasn’t aware of Ofelia’s arrival until the sounds of the clanging machinery grew wild, and he could hear her voice crying out in anger. For whatever reason she’d jumped into action against the fiend, which he hoped was with good intentions. As of now they’d lost their element of surprise, and Kenzo was unsure of what kind of other abominations might find their way up to join the battle. They needed to dispose of the damn thing, free the children, and get the hell out of here.

Dashing out of the central room, Kenzo sprinted into the cell block he’d just been in before, only able to look on as Ofelia battled with the creature. For a time it looked like she was going to subdue it on her own in her rage, but that thought was soon fizzled out as his partner was thrown from the creature with a violent shake.

Then she didn’t do anything.

Ofelia only stood there as the creature approached, and hardly moved when it struck at her. Kenzo panicked for a moment when he saw it’s leg stab through her, but was relieved when he saw no blood, only water. Nevertheless, the monster attacking her still set him off, and he’d barrel in with a growl.

Kenzo’s right shoulder buried itself into the creatures side after a mighty jump sent him to its level. Enough force was exerted to send the creature reeling, which was backed by the electricity that cracked around his body. The energy effectively aided in his attack, and shielded his own body from the bulk of the impact. After landing, Kenzo stood strong just in front of Ofelia, glaring at the creature as it attempted to regain its composure.

The heads all looked in pain, their faces scrunched up like someone who’d just been kicked in the groin. But in time the spider clattered to its base, and the heads turned to look at the new foe that had just joined the fray.

“They are not human...” murmured one of the elderly heads.

“This is not good...” Said the child’s head.

“They should not be alive...” Whimpered the eyeless head.

“They must be killed...” growled an adult head missing an eye.

“No, they must be captured...” mumbled one with both eyes.

“Yes...” the child spoke again

“The master will be pleased...” Said the other elderly head.

“The master might reward us...” said the first elderly head.

“The master might free us...” the single eyed adult said with choked laugh.

“This is good...” spoke the child.

The creature began walking towards the pair, its sharp limbs ticking along the ground. It’s tail fired off a few shots that Kenzo bobbed and weaved between. They were some sort of plasma based projectile that moved rather slow in comparison to bullets. He’d continue advancing, eventually getting in range for the Spider to swipe at him. He ducked, feeling the close shave of its sharp prongs as it passed, before jumping up on top of its body similar to how Ofelia had just moments earlier.

Kenzo charged up his electricity, before planting his hands down in the metallic frame of its body. Charged by the water residue Ofelia left behind, the electricity sparked wildly throughout the Spiders body, causing it to scream as some of its fleshy body pieces burst asunder in the wake of the wild energy coursing through its body.

Spoiler: Scream Sample

Thrashing violently, Kenzo was kicked off the Spider, and thrown into one of the walls adjacent to it. The wind was knocked out of him, and he barely had time to move as two of the Spiders limbs swung down in an attempt to slice him in pieces. The faces looked angry when he looked at them, except two of them were no longer moving or looking. They truly looked dead this time around. His electricity must’ve fried their brains in the process. It was the two that were missing their jaws that were now limp, leaving the others to growl and hiss as they approached once again.

Kenzo stood to move next to Ofelia, ready to fight once again. With the Spider in full view, he could see the extent of the damage he’d caused. Beneath some of the flesh he’d burst, he could see mechanical organs of sorts that moved similar to a human. One looked to be a heart of sorts, pumping the blood that kept the machine alive. He also took note of a split running up the front of its body behind its head. Where their spinal columns branched was revealed, displaying the mechanical vertebrae that fused it all together down the line.

For the first time looking at the thing he wanted to throw up. How could something like this even be created? Why would Obatala go through such lengths to torture eight souls in this matter? Kenzo’s motives began to shift as he questioned these things, no longer having the intent to brutally murder this abomination, but put it out of its misery.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia snapped out of her stupor when another body crashed into view, barreling into the monster. Ofelia gasped when she recognized the man.

"Kenzo!" she cried, elated to see the other alive, "Are you-" She was interrupted by the mechanical beast, whose heads began to hiss and moan. She froze up again, staring at them as they spoke to one another. Their words were pained and each word sent a bolt of nausea through her stomach. They wanted to be free. They were willing to take on two Adepts in the hopes that Obatala would grant them mercy. For a moment, Ofelia wondered if it was worth it. Would their torture end if she gave herself up? Could she help them? Could they still be saved?

Kenzo stopped those thoughts immediately as he ran back in, charging the monster. She watched with wide eyes as he fried the creature and it let out an awful screech that filled the air. She cringed, eyes shutting and hands going to cover her ears. When she looked back, she saw Kenzo being thrown against the wall, nearly getting hit by two appendages.

The monster was in even worse condition, its body splitting apart, more flesh visible through the seams. It was damaged, hurting, and wanted to catch that. Its hits, which wouldn't have hurt her, had almost impaled Kenzo.

It had to die, and Kenzo had to stay safe.

Ofelia melted down her arm, slamming the water from it into Kenzo. Forming a half-bubble in front of him, it would protect him and keep him out of the fight. She had it press against him, urging him backwards and away from the danger. She wasn't going to let this thing hurt Kenzo or any of the other children.

"Just stay there, I got it," she called to him, running at the creature again. It was learning, as it didn't give her a chance to grab its legs to get on its back. The strikes came quick, slamming into her and receding just as fast. None of them actually struck her, only passing through her. But she couldn't get close enough to get in a clean hit. She needed to grab something.

The last time she'd used her jelly form, Kitty had died, and she was painfully aware of that. Still, she turned her body into the mush, more solid than her normal water form. The monster didn't notice, as it struck as it normally did. Ofelia grit her teeth as it impaled her, the pain numb from the water but still there. Still, it would cause no damage, and when it went to pull its leg back, it was stuck. Ofelia grabbed onto the wires and hydraulics of it, holding tight as she let her body go soft again. The monster's leg tore back with a jerk and Ofelia held on, getting swung up into the air effortlessly.

The wires snapped under her hand, the leg suddenly twitching as it was disconnected, and Ofelia clung to the metal with only one hand. She was dangling right above the monster's head as it fired shot after shot from its tail into her, only for each and every one to go right through. Ofelia yanked at the creature's leg with her free hand, pulling off a piece of metal. She threw it down at its face, the metal imbedding itself into one of the faces, which let out a pained yell.

 

[Siren77]

The face Ofelia embedded the shrapnel in screeched on its own, with the others even wincing at the harsh sound it made. It’s dark red, almost black, blood spurted profusely from within its skull. Plenty of the stuff, which had drenched Kenzo and Ofelia’s clothes, already littered the ground from the bursting of its flesh earlier. It stunk like a rotting corpse, but that was a consistent theme with the abominations that retained some of their flesh. But now the foul stench ran deep, and was overwhelming in the moment. Kenzo could only fight the urge to gag as he looked on, protected behind Ofelia’s bubble while he recovered.

The head that was pierced was the volatile one missing a singular eye, which now hung limp alongside the two others that had been fried earlier. The Spider continued thrashing violently as it had before, trying again and again to slice apart Ofelia for that pain she had caused it. But every time it’s metal prongs only eased through her body, causing no damage to be seen. She was like a cockroach, weathering it’s attempts to destroy her and still scuttling about like the pest it was.

Kenzo knew that Ofelia would be safe so long as she remained in her watery state, but there was still the concern he felt in his gut for her. With the barrage of slices and stabs she endured, he wasn’t sure how much water she was able to retain in the process, and he wasn’t about to sit idle and find out.

Feeling recovered enough, Kenzo pushed forward behind the bubble towards the danger. It still fought to keep him back, but it posed little force with its mass. He’d move slowly, looking for gaps in the Spiders attacks as its limbs thrashed through his teammate. At last he saw an opening, and charged forward with a blazing speed, forcing the bubble back into Ofelia as to restore more of her support. Once done, electricity crackled in his hands as he turned about face and blasted a field just in time to halt the Spiders next wave of strikes. The creature growled as its limbs stopped, and tried to continue forcing its way through. But Kenzo wouldn’t allow it, and instead let the field before him destabilize, causing a mass wave of energy to burst that blew the creature backwards into the wall.

There was the sound of a sharp cracking as the Spider collided, with its middle two limbs on its left side breaking at the joint that connected to its body. The metal it was composed of was exceedingly fine, but such intricate machinery was bound to break if exhorted enough. Undoubtedly this thing was not battle tested given its lack of strategy. Then again maybe it was, it just wasn’t prepared for Adepts. If it did interact with humans, hacking and slashing its way through them might have worked. But Ofelia and Kenzo had ample experience in combat, and were prepared to adapt their strategies and enforce their will upon it.

The Spider attempted to stand, with those two broken limbs failing it. It’s weight distribution was fucked, lacking support on its injured side now. Briefly it looked like it could hold its weight, only to collapse once again. With its animalistic instincts taking over, its body thrashed and swung at nothing where it could, and its tail fire wildly around the room.

Kenzo dashed backwards towards Ofelia, putting his back to her and quickly forcing some distance between them and the Creature.

“I can’t get close.” Kenzo growled, carefully eying the shots as they flew through the room. “We need to deactivate its weapon.”

For now he was out of ideas, and could only hope the prior Pod Leader could think of a plan.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia didn't realize that Kenzo was charging until she felt her water return to her body, no longer pushing against her. She turned towards him, ready to yell at him to stay back. She had it under control, and she didn't want the crazed robot to hurt him. But she had seen his approach too late, and he was already sending electricity towards the beast. Ofelia let go, falling to the floor and hurrying back a few steps before the beast could strike her again with its increasingly frantic legs. As Kenzo's electricity forced it into the wall, she looked at the cells. None of the children seemed injured, but she was getting more and more worried about them. With the creature not even attempting to aim anymore, its shots could easily hit them.

She needed to get close enough to break that gun and she wasn't sure if charging would work again. It was swinging its legs back and forth and Ofelia knew that even she may not be able to get through its barrage of bullets and strikes. Kenzo backed up in front of her and she frowned. She didn't want him to get hurt, either. Quickly, a new plan formed in her head. Kenzo's electricity was clearly causing massive damage to the machinery, though he wouldn't get close enough to attack with the same force that he once did. But her water was a perfect conductor for him. She just needed to sneak in, throw a line of water to Kenzo, and hold on tight to the monster.

"I'll put up another shield for you," she said, "I'll throw you a line and send electricity through it. We'll fry the damn thing's circuits off."

With that, she ran away from him, jumping and hooking her hand around one of the vents in the ceiling. As she was pulling herself up, she let her leg melt away and block off Kenzo from the rapid firing of the monster, keeping him safe. She wouldn't need the leg anymore as she shimmied through the vents, working her way to the other side of the hall. She flattened herself against the vent wall when the monster fired a random shot into the ceiling, but ignored it to keep moving.

There was no vent above the monster, but she trickled through the crack between two sheets of metal, reforming upside down. She seemed fairly unnoticed as she formed, looking for a weak spot on its body, somewhere with something important that she could grab hold of. Her eyes caught on a network of metal and organs that was cracked and open to the elements, likely from Kenzo's earlier attack.

She didn't have much time to ponder it, as the little girl looked directly up at her, and Ofelia realized that she must've dripped on the beast. The girl screamed, and Ofelia jumped into action. She dropped onto the beast, letting the wall that stood between her and Kenzo fall away at the same time that she formed her arm into a rope, throwing it at him. She didn't wait to see if he caught it, her other hand reaching for the monster's organs, gripping the metal and flesh contraptions.

"Now!" she screamed, bracing herself for the impact.

 

[Siren77]

The plan was fairly simple. It could best be described as the same plan Ofelia had before to shield Kenzo and take care of the Spider herself, only this time it was far more inclusive to, and a means of weaponizing the pair of their abilities. Water was the perfect conductor for electricity, and having a partner entirely made of the stuff provided possibilities that Kenzo had never thought of until now.

In his head, he’d praise Ofelia as a genius as she left behind another orb of water to stay the plasma bolts, and he’d impatiently bob around in place and try to amp himself up for the immense amount of energy he knew he needed to expend. There was a brief concern of injuring her, but he tried not to think much about it. If she thought she could take on this task, then he wouldn’t question it and would trust her.

As he continued to prepare himself for their final assault on the creature, he’d anxiously glance around as the beasts tail fired wildly. A few of the stray shots made contact with the bubble before him, and others railed against the cell doors. For a time he thought the children in danger, but the cell doors seemed to be built for such emergencies, with a shield of sorts repelling the chaotic energy. He could breath just a little easier after seeing they wouldn’t be harmed, and focused back on Ofelia.

Everything happened so rapidly. First the child’s head screamed, looking up at the vent where Ofelia was hiding. Then his partner jumped down and threw a steam of water towards him. And out of sheer instinct, he’d take ahold of it, and channel as much electricity as he could muster in an immediate fashion. The water worked perfectly, as the electricity flashed so wildly that it even arched back into Kenzo’s own body. It hurt and made him feel just a little numb where it struck, but he continued powering through it.

As expected, the Spider could do nothing but feel the pain as the brilliant blue current of electricity shocked its systems and fleshy body. Their bloodcurdling screams only sounded out for mere moments, before being silenced as their vocal cords were fired beyond repair. The only sound that filled the air was the humming of Kenzo’s electrical current. The adept kept the power running as long as he could, but eventually flattered, falling to a knee as the electrical current sputtered out. Panting and heaving with labored breath, Kenzo struggled to retain focus for a time, but gathered enough strength to loom up.

The creature was still moving, but barely. No longer did its limbs thrash, and no longer would it’s tail fire. The only movement was what remained of its flesh connected to its body, with the rest littering the walls and floor alongside its putrid blood. Two of the heads still moved, clearly struggling to breath and retain their life. It was the child and one of the elderly heads. They still clung to life, and the sounds of their electronic heart weakly throbbing could be heard as it was now exposed. It was defeated, but not dead.

Kenzo felt his heart swell with an unstable anger as he stood, growling lowly as he slowly walked over to the Spiders crippled body. This rage was not towards the creature, but the one who’d so intricately crafted its living hell. A means of torture such as this was beyond cruel, and Kenzo swore a vow in his heart that Obatala would endure a fate far more painful.

Standing by its side for a moment, Kenzo looked to its tail that still stood erected against the wall. Glancing between its sharp end, and the exposed and failing machinery of the creature, Kenzo put two and two together before leaping up to the tail. Grabbing ahold of the mechanical weapon, he’d cry out in anger as his muscles flexed and forced the tail down in his descent, shoving it into the Spiders own body, deep into the intricate machinery of its artificial heart.

The two living heads would only briefly gasp, before falling silent alongside the rest of its body. Kenzo would continue panting from exhaustion and the rage that had overcome his soul, his hands flexed into fists as his eyes stared blankly into the creatures corpse.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia bit her lip as the electricity ran through her, channeled through her body. The parts of her body not being used for the rope melted as she was unable to maintain most of her physical body, the pain coursing through her nerves. Still, the creature was screaming under her told her that it was working. She held tighter, attempting to dig her hand in deeper into its body. She winced as she grabbed more metal, steam coming off of her skin as some of her flesh began evaporating. It burnt. It hurt. She couldn't feel anything except for the fire that was raging through her flesh.

The electricity stopped suddenly and without warning, and Ofelia collapsed. Her entire body went numb as she attempted to collect the parts of herself scattered around, but for a moment, all she could do was taking in gasping breaths and try to keep herself from melting into the floor.

Her mind screamed at her idleness, attempting to push her back to her feet. Check if the monster is dead! she told herself, Check on the children! You have to see if Kenzo is alright! The fear of Kenzo being injured struck her like a bolt and she craned her head up, barely able to move more, to see him. Her vision was blurry and she could only make out shapes and colors, but the form of the larger man moving towards her was unmistakable. He was alive, and he was healthy enough to keep moving. Ofelia let out a pained breath, happy knowing that she hadn't failed again.

A horrifying moment later, she realized with a gasp that the creature that she was still half-draped over was still alive. It's organs were still shifting in her hand and it was squirming beneath her. Ofelia let out a shriek, throwing herself away from it, launching her hardly-formed body off and onto the floor. She pushed herself against the wall, trying to create some distance. But it's legs wasn't moving anymore and it tail was done firing. After a moment of panic, Ofelia realized that it wasn't functioning any longer, only fighting for the last shreds of life it could hold on to.

Kenzo reached over the creature, and with a shock, Ofelia realized what he was doing. The creature was dead, not going to attack them anymore, but Kenzo wanted to finish it off. He was going to kill that little girl.

"Wait!" Ofelia screamed, but it was already too late. Kenzo had plunged the creature's tail into it's own body. Ofelia stared at the heads, watching as they fell limp with the others. She stared for a moment before looking to Kenzo, her eyes wide and breath labored.

He had done the right thing. Those poor souls weren't really alive anymore, not in that form. They were dead the moment that Obatala got his hands on them. Kenzo and Ofelia were too late, they wouldn't've been able to save them if they had wanted to.

"We're going to kill him," Ofelia croaked, voice only loud enough for Kenzo to hear, "He's going to pay for this. For everything he's done to us and the people he rules over."

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo shared the exact same sentiments as his partner, with the both of them clearly outraged over the few horrors they’d witnessed in Obatala’s lab. The Spider was only one of many experiments, for the God of Machines had ruled for quite some time now, undoubtedly prolonging his life in forsaking most of the flesh of his own body. The electric adept would never know everything the God had done, but he didn’t much care to find out. All that mattered is that him and Ofelia put an end to it. Obatala would pay with nothing short of his life.

One step at a time though. First they needed to complete their initial objective in coming here.

“Rest, I’ll get them out.” He’d say softly to Ofelia, then turned and approached the cells.

The stolen head and arm of the droid he’d destroyed earlier were retrieved, and one by one he’d go through all of the cells and opened them up for the children to leave. Once all of them were accounted for, save for Njeri and the other boy that currently wasn’t there, Kenzo approached his teammate once again.

“We’re missing two. Obatala got to them before we arrived. Let’s evacuate these ones, and if you can still fight, we’ll rescue the other two.”

The electric adept was ignoring the pessimistic thoughts plaguing his mind. There was a hint of doubt that the children still lived or were unharmed. After seeing what Obatala had created with the life of a child among seven others, he no longer put it past the mad bastard to do something similar with his new test subjects. But it only made the fire in his heart burn brighter.

‘He’ll pay’ he told himself. ‘If a single one of them was harmed, he’ll pay.’

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia took in a deep breath, leaning back against the wall and watching Kenzo with tired eyes as he began going through the cells, opening their gates. She collected herself together, assessing the damage to her body. She was mostly intact, more than she had thought. While her body had hurt when Kenzo's electricity had run through her, she hadn't actually lost all that much of her water. Her muscles ached as she rose to her feet, notably skinnier than before. She collected the children around her, hugging them close and checking them over for any injuries. They all looked tired and bruised, but otherwise unharmed. She felt some tension leave her body as she realized that they were left alone until Kenzo mentioned missing two of them, and the horror returned to her bones.

Who knew where those kids were, and what they were facing. Ofelia was suddenly faced with a horror that was worse than any mechanical spider that Obatala could throw at her. Her eyes flicked back to the monster that lay dead beside her, looking into the dead eyes of the little girl. After a moment of staring, Ofelia turned back to the children, motioning them all closer in some strange paranoia. She pulled one of them up, lifting him onto her hip and turning to look at Kenzo again.

"How are your powers? You used a lot of electricity, can you continue? I can tuck the children in the vents to hide them, we don't have enough time to bring them back to the hall," she spoke fast, frantic to get her plan into motion, hardly listening for Kenso's responses, "You can stay behind if you're not healed up enough. Actually, do stay back. I'm in fine condition and it'd be best to keep back to protect the children." She didn't wait for Kenzo to reply, looking to the vent above her, dislodging the grate on it and preparing to lift the children into it.