Lithia continued to hover above the ashy ground of Akan-Var, arms crossed, "Repeat yourself to me, again." She ordered.
Michael shook his head, "Look I don't know how." He told Lithia, "I don't know if all I gotta do is bite ya or what."
Lithia glared down at him, "What do you mean you don't know? Is it not as simple as a bite?"
Michael shrugged, "I ain't got a clue, you said you had a vampire friend right? Didja ask her?"
"I never wanted to become a vampire before, so I never sought to ask her that question." Lithia told him, crossing her arms.
"Haven't ya been alive since the dinosaurs?" He asked her, "You should know everythin' I thought?"
"The dinosaurs?" Lithia asked, "What do you mean by 'since'? Dinosaurs still roam the jungles of Florovis from what I have seen, the damn lizards just refuse to die."
For a brief instant, Michael's stresses vanished, his eyes widening as, for that second, he became a little boy again.
"Ya got dino's here? Are there T-Rexes?" Michael asked, genuinely curious.
"T-Rex?" Lithia squinted, "Is that an Outworlder species of dinosaur? Bah," She said dismissively, "It doesn't matter, they are inconsequential. Now, how were you changed, boy?" Lithia asked him.
"Uh…" Michael once again stumbled, "Well, the guy bit me."
"Are you trying to mock me?" Lithia asked sharply, narrowing her spiralling eyes at him.
Michael shook his head, "No I ain't, but I don't know if they gotta magic in something or not, or if I gotta like-" He hesitated, "Inject ya with vamp-venom or somethin'. What if I bite ya and nothing happens? Yer gonna turn me into a puddle if ya don't turn, right?" He asked her, "I ain't wantin' to be puddified lady, I wanna make sure you know that I don't know if this gonna work."
Lithia then put a finger to her chin, "I see. Well in that case, I will go and do some research first." She nodded to herself, "Consider my aid as a… down payment." She nodded to herself, "Once I return, you will grant me what I wish, do you understand? Do not think you can escape me."
Michael shrugged, "Alrighty."
He didn't give a damn about whether or not this crazy chick became a vampire or not, now that he thought about it. In fact, if she ever became a serious threat, couldn't he just drink her dry and be done with her when the time came to turn her? He'd need to keep that in mind, just in case. When she was just a piece of jerky, Lithia didn't seem all that big a deal, but now, there was something dangerous about her, terrifying even. She seemed more a threat then even the Long Lords had been, there was a sort of pressure in the air as she stood before him, a sort of quiet tension that, if ever burst, would result in his demise.
Or worse.
"To ensure that you do not go back on your word," Lithia told him, "You will need to swear an oath to me, and take my mark upon yourself. Go back on your word, Michael, and you shall be my slave for all eternity."
Michael frowned. There wasn't a chance in hell that he was gonna do that. If he was gonna get magicked into slavery, it wasn't worth it… but would he be able to even make it to the other side of the Great Bridge without her help? What if his mind broke and he ended up killing Cat in the process? His fangs felt like hot, pulsating spikes right now, if he didn't find something to feed on soon, he may just do something he would regret. What was the value of his life compared to Cat's? His shoulders slumped, not much, in truth- risking his soul for her would be worth it.
He needed to keep her alive, both to honor Nate's memory, and to protect a comrade. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
"Alright then, I swear-" Michael began.
"Ah ah," Lithia wagged a finger, "Drop to your knees first, and prostrate yourself before me." She smirked at him, "It will help remind you of your place."
"Huh?" Michael asked, feeling somewhat indignant.
"You place beneath my feet, of course." Lithia continued coolly, "You're far beneath my station, this isn't a deal between equals, it is a deal between livestock, and the Spiral Queen herself. Now take your place, on your knees."
His place? Michael's jaw clenched, his anger flaring, "And why the hell would I do that?"
He regretted it as soon as he said it. He knew that his impulsive smart-ass nature would get him killed one day- Lithia shocked him by letting out a laugh.
"Goodness me!" Lithia exclaimed, staring at him with a new hunger in her eyes, "I may have to change my mind about sampling you." She licked her lips, "I like when animals such as you are defiant of their betters."
'I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole' he wanted to say. He bit back his retort though, just staring up at her as she floated in the air. Animal was he? He wished that he could wipe that grin right off her face, but he knew better. He was stronger than ever, faster than ever and armed, but if Lithia was so inclined, she could likely turn him inside out with a thought. Thinking about saving Cat, he slowly eased down to his knees, glaring up at Lithia as he did so.
"Good." She gave a toothy grin, leering down at him.
He felt something burn itself into the nape of his neck, etching itself on the left side painfully. Michael grimaced behind his gas mask, eyes bulging as the hot agony made him want to begin convulsing. He refused to give Lithia the satisfaction though, not outwardly reacting though the agony was nigh-unbearable.
"Very well." Lithia sighed, looking around at the ashy ruins of Akan-Var one final time before turning back to Michael, "Go get in your little pod, boy. We'll have our fun another time, for now it's off to the Fiendwall with you. I'll find you again soon."
Michael rose to his feet, not looking back at Lithia as he went to the pod. If the gas mask prevented him from smelling Lithia, then it should also keep Cat's scent out of his nostrils. Once they reached the Faewood, he'd find some woodland creature to feed upon, hopefully animal blood would be good enough to sate him. He knew that he didn't have to specifically only drink humans, the fact he'd fed upon a goblin was proof of that.
He opened the pod door, seeing Cat stirring from her slumber, sitting up in her sleeping bag to stare wide eyed at him.
"Mike-" Cat began, raising a hand.
"Naw it's all good, I'm not crazy right now." He assured her.
He didn't feel upset seeing her act so fearful of him. Michael had warned her about him and it was a relief to see her treating him with caution, he was a monster after all. He stepped across the threshold, sealing the door behind him with a sigh.
"I cut a deal to get us outta here quicker." Michael explained, "Remember that piece of jerky from the caves? That annoying one?"
Cat nodded, furrowing her brow, "A deal with her? How the hell's that possible?" She asked, "From what I saw she wouldn't be able to move, much less get all the way up here."
Michael just shrugged, "She got better." He told her, "And she said if I turned her into a vampire, that she'd take us to the Fiendwall, where I first crashed."
"She wants to be a vampire?" Cat questioned, disbelief in her tone, "Well fine, whatever. If she can get us the hell out of here, then I don't care if she wants fangs. Let's get going." She said, rising from her sleeping bag.
Michael shook his head, "Naw, she's gonna take the whole pod there right now. She said to stay in here."
"What is she gonna magic us there? Teleportation isn't possible-" Cat began.
"It is here." Michael told her, "I think this magic stuff might just be real, Cat. I've seen too much and-" He trailed off as he thought of Hoplite.
"And what?" Cat asked, "You're starting to buy into this magic stuff? For real?"
Michael threw his hands up, "The hell else do you want me to say? People flingin' fireballs, teleporting around, elves and vampires?" He asked, gesturing to himself, "Yeah, I think it's friggin' magic."
Cat merely drew her lips to a line, either unable or unwilling to come up with a retort. Surely she must be starting to lend credence to the whole 'magic' thing as well. It was hard to accept initially, but damn it, magic was just a real thing here.
"We'll have to turn off our beacon when we get there." Michael told her, "Hoplite will be able to hear it and we can't afford him comin' by and takin' our stuff."
"But then how will anyone else find us?" Cat asked, shaking her head.
"We just gotta risk it for now." Michael shrugged, "I don't think anyone's lookin' for us anyway."
He let out a sigh as he walked past her and approached the cockpit, ignoring the ache in his fangs as he opened the door and sat in the pilot's seat.
His eyes widened when he saw that the Fiendwall was already directly in front of them, the breach in the structure looming on the horizon. Unlike last time, when it was sunny and clear-skied, the Fiendwall was now covered in darkness, heavy rainclouds overhead blotting out the sky entirely. Rain poured down from the heavens, slicking the ash and turning it to gray mud.
He'd expected to feel something that would have indicated their travel but- but this was something else. Hoplite had mentioned that the Harkcrystal had just teleported him up to the fancy Harkhouse or whatever the hell it was called. Hoplite had chalked that up to it being an unknown element or some form of tech, but with this, Michael knew it had to be magic. Lithia didn't have any bionics installed that could do this, not that such bionics even existed in the first place.
Naw, she had just magicked them straight over here, that was that. If magic really was real, then could what Hoplite have said have been true? His eyes fell to the dashboard as he considered. Hoplite wasn't a liar, he didn't bullshit anything ever… meaning that he either believed that what he said had been true, or it simply was true. He wanted dearly to believe that Hoplite merely thought that the claims against Jyn were true, but Hopps wasn't a moron that would fall for a lie easily.
Then again, if Jyn not being human was the truth, wouldn't that mean he'd fallen for that lie? Maybe it could be that he just never had the opportunity to think things through before. Hoplite's normally wouldn't have the time to process things like that, going from one intense battle to the next, frozen during any spare time they'd normally have.
When they weren't frozen, things got bad. 'Thawing' was what it was called, when Hoplite's became mentally unstable traitors. Yet were they actually unstable, or had they just figured out that they had been lied to?
"Mike?" He heard Cat ask.
"We're here." Michael replied, grateful for the distraction, "She works damn fast."
Cat stared out of the cockpit window and at the Fiendwall, shock clear on her face, "Didn't you say this was hundreds of miles away?" She asked.
Michael nodded, "Oh yeah, magic is pretty damn crazy."
"That Lithia is pretty damn crazy." Cat huffed, "Wanting to be a vampire, it's nuts… so did you have to bite her or?"
Michael shook his head, before explaining the deal that he and Lithia had just made with one another. Cat shocked him by slapping the back of his helmet.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Cat asked him, "She put a magic slave brand on you and you let her!?"
"I just gotta make her a vamp and I'm in the clear." Michael shrugged, "She's gonna find out how I can do it before we seal the deal. We needed to get here asap, Cat. I was gonna starve to death out there."
Or worse. He thought with a frown, "This needed to happen, alright?"
Cat glared a moment before letting out a sigh, bright brown eyes looking concerned, "You shouldn't do things like that, but I get it." She told him, "But don't make any more magical deals without talking with me first."
Michael exhaled through his nose, "What, you my magic lawyer now?" He asked.
Cat shrugged, "Someone's gotta be, you're too dumb to make decisions like that."
"Yeah yeah," He said dismissively, "Anyway, we're gonna leave the pod on this side of the wall. The people here aren't exactly my biggest fans, so don't say my real name in front of 'em."
"They don't know your last name, right?" Cat asked.
"Nope." Michael confirmed, standing from his seat.
"Then let's get going, Higgins." Cat smiled, tying her ear-length dark hair back into a knot.
"Sounds good, Ortega." He smiled, moving toward the pod door.
He needed to drink a bunny or five, maybe even a deer, but he needed to feed soon or he'd starve to death or go feral. Both of those weren't something he would allow to happen. Now, as for how he was gonna approach the Fiendwall…
Yeah, he'd just walk up like normal, tell them about Kazon probably being dead n' all that. They should let him through no problem as long as they didn't know it was Michael. And even if they did know it was Michael, what were they gonna do to keep him out? He'd just go right past 'em, it wasn't like anyone here would be able to forcibly keep him out, same with Cat. She could just fly over the damn wall, so even if they didn't want them to pass, the Fiendwallers really couldn't do very much to stop them.
Still, he'd rather try to do things amicably if he could. His plan went out the window when he opened the pod door, hearing the sound of gunshots in the distance, coming from the Fiendwall. Michael immediately bolted, drawing his Visus as he rushed across the ashy field and toward the breach. His vision blurred around him as he sped toward the gunfire, eyes wide as he ran, leaving Cat behind. She would no doubt be able to hear the gunfire and find a good vantage atop the wall to cover him.
Hoplite was in a gunfight with something, he needed Michael's help. Unlike last time he was here, the breach on this side was clear, obviously because whatever was happening on the green side drew the attention of the Defenders away from here. He blurred as he ran, passing through an empty camp before moving through the breach. Michael's eyes widened as he saw a group of Gali's Defenders get mowed down by gunfire, coming unseen from the treeline leading into the Faewood.
Were there Ternans there? Why were they firing on the Fiendwallers!? It didn't make any sense, these were human beings, most of 'em anyhow, but they were mowing down the Defenders like they were Final Kind. He spotted Gali behind them, raising his shield only for a bullet to pierce straight through the steel, his forearm, before finally exiting through his left shoulder. The mayor stumbled back with a cry of agony, but kept his footing regardless.
A crowd of panicked people began fleeing towards the breach and out of the camp, Fiendwallers all, not even seeming to see him standing right in the center of the broken wall. Tongues of Zodd were running the other way, straight toward the gunfire with a mad fervor, before being gunned down as well. What could have provoked this? Why were Ternans firing on these guys?
Michael's eyes narrowed as he began running toward the treeline. The shots fired were inaccurate, missing more times than not. Were that a squad of marines, they would be unloading everything in accurate, automatic bursts. The field woulda been cleared in seconds, but each bullet was seemingly fired semi-automatically. His eyes found the muzzle flashes in the darkness beneath the canopies, noting that the rounds were coming from the high branches.
As a mortal, he doubted that he'd have been able to make out the figures, but with his enhanced sight, Michael could clearly see the outlines of blurry figures, holding Eighth Arm equipment. There weren't many that wielded these weapons, perhaps three holding Visus rifles, but what was shocking was seeing who was holding them. Those tall, lean willowy frames could only belong to the Watchers!
Michael snarled, he wasn't sure what was going on, but those guns weren't theirs, and these people didn't deserve to get gunned down this way. Right as he was about to return fire however, a short, red-robed blonde figure emerged from the woods. For an instant, Michael had thought it was that twink bitch Terlin, but no. The figure put herself between the Defenders and Tongues, as well as the armed Watchers.
"Enough!" She shouted, the rain seeming to avoid her as it fell, "This was not what we were sent to do!" Her head then turned away from the woods to face the Defenders, "Where are they?" She seemed to whisper to herself, his enhanced hearing able to pick out the words.
Michael was taken aback by her appearance. She looked a lot like Terlin, but her features were softer, more feminine. Same fiery red eyes, with back-length hair that resembled spun gold. Same high cheekbones too, along with that irritating air of superiority he'd experienced back when he'd first met Terbitch. At least she's easier on the eyes. He shook his head, now was not the time for those kinda thoughts. She was probably from the same family, if not directly related to Terlin, the resemblance was too strong. Gali glared at her back, a pair of Defenders removing his shield to inspect the damage to his arm.
"Why have you done this!?" Gali shouted, "We do just want to stay here, as we always have!"
Another voice then rang out from the forest, deep and commanding, "Because you do not belong. You infested this place without our consent, we are merely clearing you off of our property. Refuse again, and all here will be slaughtered."
Michael's teeth ground against one another, so that was their game. The Harkhall got sick of their neighbors and decided to kick them out, or kill them using stolen Eighth Arm equipment to do so. It made his dead blood boil, his fangs aching as he stared up at the speaker, one of the willowy elves with a Visus rifle.
Terlin's sister or whoever she was had at least gotten in the way of the gunfire, she didn't want the Fiendwallers dead, but she still wanted them gone clearly, otherwise why would she come here? The Tongues slowed their charge as they stared back at the elf woman, clearly unsure whether or not to proceed with their assault now that the gunfire had ceased.
"I will repeat myself once again, human." The elf in the woods shouted, voice snide, "You are to vacate the Fiendwall, we care not where you go, as long as you do not pass through the Faewood."
"So you do be saying that we should flee into the Fiendwood!?" Gali shouted, "You will kill us either way!"
"That is not our problem." The elf laughed, "Just begone, or we will fertilize the Ashlands with your corpses, women, children and all."
"Don't!" The elf woman shouted, "This isn't right!"
Seemed she had a bit more of a soul than Terlin as well. If she got in his way though, he'd have to take her out like the others. If it could be avoided, then he wouldn't kill 'em, but they had to drop those guns first, they didn't belong to them. It was a shitty situation though, considering the terrain. Nothing to really take cover behind, and the enemy had superior positioning, but Michael was decked out in full Tungsteel and he was damn immortal now.
He stepped forward, the Defenders turning to stare at him with wide eyes. Hopefully they wouldn't be able to remember who he was with his mask on, but the armor could be a dead giveaway. If they called him out on it then he'd just lie about it, whatever.
"The weapons you have are property of the Eighth Arm of Terna, surrender them to me immediately." He ordered firmly, "Otherwise they will have to be confiscated by force."
The elf man laughed, anger stirring in Michael's chest as the elf woman turned back to stare at him with wide, crimson eyes.
"An Outworlder!" He laughed, "Begone from here, scurry back to whatever dark place you crawled out of, insect. Leave your weapon on the ground, Outworlder technology now rightfully belongs to the Bastion. Just because you hail from another world, does not mean that you're anything more than cowardly human trash."
Michael failed to control his tongue, "Callin' me a coward? Coming from the bitch hiding in the woods, that's rich." Michael chuckled, shaking his head, "Drop the guns or I'm gonna drop you."
"You think too highly of yourself." The elf countered, "You can die with the rest of them!"
The elf girl turned back to the treeline, "You can't!"
"Lady Belaine, has your millenia of isolation made you soft?" He asked, "You are not in command here either way, slaughter these ingrates, now."
Belaine glared back, "I will not."
"You would betray your brother!?" He shouted, "After he offered you the chance to prove yourself!?"
"We are elves, not monsters." Belaine replied, crossing her arms, "I won't let you murder these people, I will face you if I must. I must warn you, battling with me will mean forfeiting your very lives."
Damn, she was willing to kill these guys if she needed to?
"You heard the lady." Michael raised his rifle, "Drop the rifles, and get the hell out of here. Last warning."
The voice let out an irritated huff, "Such a shame, Belaine. I'll be sure to inform the king that you died a filthy traitor. Open fi-"
Michael fired his rifle before the Watcher could finish his sentence. The bullet flew through the air, hitting the bastard square in the chest, and sending him falling down to the forest floor in a heap, not rising from the ground. The woman Belaine stared wide-eyed at the fallen corpse, before back to Michael, clearly conflicted. Michael darted forward, shoving Belaine to the ground as a few bullets flew toward the both of them. He landed atop her before bringing up his rifle and popping the other two Watchers with well placed shots, two for each, grouped in their center mass. They fell to the forest floor like the other two, dead before they even hit the ground.
Michael rushed toward the forest as he saw other blurred figures approach the downed Watchers, not wanting them to take up the rifles again… and also because Michael…
Michael needed to feed.
He bared his fangs as he slung his rifle over his shoulder, crimson eyes going wide as he blurred up the hill and into the treeline. There were a dozen other Watcher's here, wearing color shifting cloaks. He'd have not been able to see them when he was human, but now- their outlines were stark against the forest. Lightning thundered overhead as he darted toward the nearest one, removing his mask as the Watcher tried to reach for a fallen rifle.
The Watcher's eye widened in terror as Michael grabbed him by the throat, his vision tunneling as his instincts took over. He darted behind a nearby tree, cracking the elf's neck before sinking his fangs into the Watcher's throat, the teeth stabbing straight through the cloak. Warm blood filled Michael's mouth, which he drank greedily, eyes wide as he enjoyed the unique flavor. Berries, well-cooked meats, vegetables- it was divine compared to the foul-tasting cave-goblin.
Three seconds of bliss before the well ran dry, and he tossed the elf aside, twin trails of blood leaking down either side of his mouth. He felt strong again, no- not just strong, stronger. He saw the barrel of a Visus enter his field of view, another Watcher having swiped up the gun while Michael had fed.
Damn it! He thought. His complacency was gonna earn him a bullet through the skull.
The elf may not be a practiced shot, but with the distance between them, it would be practically impossible for him to miss. His helmet was tough, but depending on the rounds loaded in there, it could punch straight through the Tungsteel. The Watcher pulled the trigger, and much to Michael's shock, he could see the bullet flying toward him as it left the barrel. It wasn't slow by any means, coming at him as fast as a baseball, at least to his eyes. Michael's figure blurred as he squatted down to avoid the shot, the bullet striking the dirt as he darted toward the Watcher, fist reared back.
He would knock this guy out n' drink him too! Michael then launched a vicious uppercut, intent on striking the Watcher right on the chin. The results were not… exactly what he was expecting. His fist struck the chin as planned, pulverizing it before sending the elf's entire lower-jaw spinning into the air, detaching from the Watcher's face with a wet ripping sound.
The jawless elf fell back onto the ground, dropping his rifle as his tongue lolled uselessly out of what remained of his mouth. He didn't have time to think about what just happened as other Watchers surrounded him, ten in all, drawing short blades like Lance had, albeit without the chains, thankfully. One of them wielded another rifle, procured likely from one of the other corpses.
He snarled, a few of them taking involuntary steps back from him as blood dripped from his mouth.
"It's a vampire!" One shouted, before Michael thrust his fingers through his throat.
He then spun, flinging the dying Watcher toward the one wielding the rifle, knocking him down before he went to work on the other elves. He tore them limb from limb, their weapons either unable to touch him or unable to leave so much as a scratch on the Tungsteel battle-plate. He drank the last one dry, eyes wide as he relished the new strength he gained from the fresh kill.
There had to be more out there, more elves to drink, he needed more- He blinked, coming back to himself before staring down at his bloodied hands, then back at the bodies. It looked like they had been mauled by a bear, limbs and pieces of their corpses missing, eyeballs hanging loose in skulls, long hair matted down by rain and blood.
"You must be Michael." He heard Belaine say from behind him.
Michael whirled to face her, eyes wide as he stared at the short woman.
"How do you-" He began.
"I've heard about your predicament." Belaine sighed, looking around at the corpses with a scowl, "This is ugly work, but necessary I'm afraid. My brother has gone mad with power, and these were no better than he."
"Eyes on." Michael heard a woman's voice say from his radio.
His eyes scanned the top of the wall, seeing that Cat was there, with eyes directly on Belaine, rifle aimed right at her.
"Copy." Michael replied, "How-" He took a second to wipe the blood from his mouth, staining the top of his gauntlet, "How do you know me?"
"Lance told me all about you, but listen, we don't have much time and I can't explain it all right now, but I need you to do me a favor."
"What? A favor?" He asked, "What the hell-"
"I need you to kill me." She said seriously, staring up at him with her arms crossed.