As Charron drove she seemed to hit every bump in the road. At one point she hit a pothole and Sinclair flew up and hit his head on the roof of the Minivan. I laughed, and so did everyone else… We went and went and went and went until we crashed into a tree… we shouldn't have a child to drive us there safely. Vergilius forced us to drag the wreck to an auto repair shop. As we reached the Repair Shop, we saw its sign. The sign was bright and made me feel like I'm in Vegas. The repair shop was titled, "GASHER'S AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP!!!". "I feel like my eyes are getting assaulted, this was such a design travesty." Rodion said this while looking nearly nauseous. As we go inside we find 2 children working the front desk. As I look at the kids I ask myself, 'What's with all the kids recently'. But I realize I should just not mention it. As I look at the kids more closely I notice that they have motor oil on them… are these kids the mechanics?! I'm in shock and it seems everyone else was except Charron and Vergilius. A woman walks out of the back of the shop rubbing her hands with a rag to rid her hands of oil. She speaks, her voice was loud like she's trying to talk over a motor running when there were no other sounds, "Hey Mocha, Mochi why didn't you tell me we had new customers?!" The kids don't flinch at the woman's voice, unlike Sinclair. Then again Sinclair flinches at just about everything. The little boy with the nametag 'Mocha' speaks to the loud woman in a more timid tone, "Sorry big sis, they just got here..." The loud woman speaks back to Mocha, "When there's a customer you're meant to ring the bell." The little girl with the nametag 'Mochi' speaks up the way she speaks sounds more clean and refined, "Well dear sister it's not like you'd hear the bell over the motors and clanking in there." The Loud woman spoke while rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger, "You two are insufferable ya know that." I hear Vergilius let out a soft cough to remind the woman we're still here. The woman promptly pushes the kids aside and finally addresses us, "Hey there welcome to Gasher's Automotive Repair Shop! I'm Tessa but most people 'round here call me Tesla given I work on machines!" Rodion was the first to speak up to Tesla, "So, where's Gasher? I mean it has their name on the sign and hell, there's even a poster outside of him. Tesla's mood seems to sour slightly at the mention of the mechanic. "He… was our father, he went to get parts from a nearby town but he hasn't been back yet…" Her tone suddenly turns hopeful, "...but I'm sure he's fine!" The Little girl with the long black hair whispers to us. "He's probably dead." The little boy talks to her shocked that his sister would say such a thing. "M-Mochi!? Don't tell them that!" The girl turns to her brother and her eyes look hollow, devoid of joy and whimsy, "But I'm just telling them the truth?" Tesla doesn't seem to notice the two siblings speak instead focusing on us. "Hey, so whatd'ya need fixin'?" Virgilius 'guides' her outside… get it? Anyways Tesla follows outside only to see the wreckage that we dragged here. "What in the— What happened to it?!" I talk to her. "Oh you can tell, we got a new paint job how'd ya know?" Tesla gives me a subtle glare. "You know what I mean!" she continues "Did you just come out of Jurassic Park or something? How did the engine get to the trunk?! This was an absolute mess." She lets out a deep sigh. "Be glad you didn't bring this to anyone from the cult of Blood and Iron, they would have tried extracting all the iron from your blood by now for bringing them this disaster." Yi Sang asks Tesla a dumb question, "So can you fix it?" Tesla looked at him with disbelief and was frozen in shock from the idiotic question for a few seconds before finally speaking, "Dude I'm a mechanic not a miracle worker. I think you guys should just buy a new car, it would be cheaper than repairing this wreck." Faust asks a question, "Are there any cars nearby that we could buy?" Her tone was detached with little to no tone influxion. Tesla rubs her head, "No, sorry nowhere nearby sells cars." She pauses then gets a mischievous grin on her face, "Buuuuuut, I could make one for you. For a good price of course lets say—" she gets cut off by Virgilius, "How about this, you build us the car and we go find what happened to your father." Tesla's face seems to light up at the thought of finding her father that the thought of the words "what happened" didn't cross her mind and her only thought was "They can find dad!". "Of course I'll take that as payment, I'll get to work right away!" The cynical girl talks to her sister, "First it was the guy paying us with chickens, now we're not getting paid at all. Sister this business was going to crumble with you running it." Tesla glares at the girl, "Hey, quiet down you, dad's more valuable than money." Tesla turns to us and continues, "I'll have that car for you by the time you get back, I'll just use parts that I scavenged from the wreck here and see what I have to buy, see ya!" Virgilius drags us away, "Alright you'll be going to the spot that he was last seen, Faust you can take them there." Charron speaks up, "So will I be getting another Vroom–Vroom?" Virgilius turns to her and nods and pats the gray girl's head.
Faust leads us down an empty street. The area was cold. The snow seemed to have been cleared off yesterday as a thin layer of snow covered it. We trudged through the snow covered streets until we reached a town called Borris. We sent Rodion inside of a store to get info from the clerk. We waited outside for about an hour and now we're in the present. "How long was she gonna take…" I said in an annoyed but slightly worried tone. Suddenly Rodion finally comes out. "Guy's I brought gifts~!" She said, handing out numerous kindly bought gifts that albeit kind, looked rushed. She probably bought these because she felt bad for taking so long. I asked her, "What were you talking with the clerk about that took, ahem, an hour?" She responds clearly, it seems her confidence never left. "Well the clerk was an old man, and when I started asking him questions he got excited and started telling me more than I asked him. He had this way of stringing stuff together." The group lets out a sigh but we all get over it quickly. Yi Sang, a quiet one who doesn't speak often asks a question. "Within the continuous confines of speech that you experienced, did you extrapolate the meaning of which we journeyed here?" Rodion had a perplexed look on her face as to what Yi Sang just said and asked the group, "Can anyone translate for me?" Sinclair answered although he seemed as unsure of himself as ever, "Ummm I th-think I can. I b-believe that he's a-asking if you got the information you went in there f-for." His voice had a slight squeak as he finished off his sentence, almost like a mouse really. Rodion proceeded to declare what she had found out from the old store clerk. "Well he actually knew Gasher personally and apparently on the day of his disappearance, Gasher had visited this store first and told that old clerk there that he had told him that he was heading over to 6th street to visit an old friend." We then proceeded to search for 6th street but it seemed that Faust already knew for some reason. Faust led us to 6th street and we saw a house which was where we were at the time. The house was massive and has a dark aura around it, basically it looks like somewhere the Addams family would live. Rodion said, "I think I know where we need to go." Faust proceeded to take us to some cookie cutter house. "Fausty? Why are we not going to the house that Freddy Krueger would be creeped out over?" Faust responded promptly, "Because that was not the right place." She then added hesitantly, "Plus Faust doesn't like scary things like that" It was weird to hear any tone in her voice at all. We went up the path towards the house, the house looked too bright. The walls were painted yellow, while the roof was painted red… It even had a chimney. I'm telling you, it looks like it came right out of a child's drawing! Don went up and knocked on the door, "Come hither my jolly fellows and answer our questions of thee!" I wish she wasn't quite as loud but I guess I'll let it be. After there was no answer we sent Sinclair up with his halberd to chop the door down. We stepped inside the house and Don took the lead this time, I guess she's still trying to be a hero.
The house was bigger on the inside than out, looked like a drug den you'd see in a true crime documentary. We walk through the house with our weapons at the ready, my hand gently rests on the handle of my rapier. "Wait, does anyone here actually remember what Gasher looks like?" Sinclair would ask his voice more steady than usual. "Oh, I do!" Rodion said excitedly in order to show her ingenuity. She pulls out a poster that was on the wall at the repair shop. "Doeth mine eyes deceive me!? Dearest Rodion hath thou stepeth into the deepest dredges of villainy!?" Don Quixote yelled in pain at the atrocious act she had seen. I was holding back my laughter as I watched Don chew out Rodion. After a bit we were able to calm down Don who was nearly in tears at the indignity of what her comrade had done. We continue through the house, I'm looking at the poster Gasher was a large man, heavyweight you would say. He had a greasy beard and a navy blue beanie. He wore a Denim Jacket. Oh my and if you look at his beard again you can see crumbs in it. I stifled a laugh. I gazed up from the poster after hearing a gasp, we had found a staircase. We couldn't see the bottom of it. Sinclair looked spooked, Rodion looked as confident as ever, Don looked…. What's the word? Valiant? Yeah I think that's what i'd call her… Valiant.
We slowly descended into the darkness, a torch lit up beside us then one more and another then another until the whole stairwell was lit. We made our way down slowly and cautiously and as we reached the bottom we saw various mechanisms for torture and there was a large man, he looked at us and spoke in a booming voice that showed no remorse for our eardrums, It was the man from the village. "Well Well Well, if it ain't the war hero himself! Why do you look so shocked? Did you think a little bullet could keep me down?" We all drew our weapons at the iron clad man who showed no hesitation, we knew we couldn't get out of here without a fight as the man took out his hammer and nail… If you could even call it that.
The first the charge was Don her lance at the ready, She was knocked aside by the hammer and a nail was driven through her and then hammered down. The man charged down Faust and she managed to dodge to the right and stabbed the man in the side but because of the chainmail armor the stab was useless and she was knocked into a wall. I could hear her ribs shatter from the blow as she coughed up blood. The colossal man finally went for me. He raised his hammer and went to slam it down on me. I felt Kafka rustling in my hair as if telling me to fight. I sidestepped and drew my rapier. Yi Sang hit the man from behind, dagger which hurt his spine. With this window of opportunity I went to attack but the man leaped into the air, slamming down with such force that the ground shakes. Rodion leapt onto the man's back and began to whack at his head with her axe. But the chainmail hood the man wore protected him. Tired of the woman on his back with one hand he grabs her and throws her away, sending her crashing into a wall. I rushed at the man. He hit my arm with such force that my arm was ripped off. I charged forward despite that, the pain was searing. I take my form and I'm screaming my heart out until my vocal cords rip from the strain, I lunge piercing through the eye hole of the mask he wears but that only seems to dumb him down. I didn't hit anything major in his brain. I can't pull out my rapier, it seems to be lodged in his head. He knocks me away with his hammer. My entire body feels the impact and… I shatter. Sinclair seemed to be in a fight or flight mode, he chose to fight. Using his halberd he knocks the man over and chops his head off with several visceral swings, he was crying the entire time. Yi sang seemingly out of the shadows. He pours a vial of T.E.A.R.S. I feel better nearly instantly. I ran over to Rodion helping her up slowly, letting Yi Sang pour the vial on her. I walk over to Don while Rodion Comforts Sinclair. Yi Sang and I help pull the spike out of Don and when the vial was poured on her, her lifeless eyes come to life. Next we help Faust then we have everyone up. We sit down to rest.
"Why was that guy even there?" Rodion would sigh, like she's in some play. "My guess was that this was some sort of religious hideout for them." Sinclair said, answering her but still not the answer she wanted. The area would go silent. I was the first to break the silence. "So, uhhh, Faust?" Faust turned to look at me, her eyes betrayed no feeling. I speak to her, my tone showing nothing but confusion. "How was that guy so strong?" I felt like Faust would know the answer to my question. Faust would look at me for a few seconds before responding. "That was for Faust to know and you to find out." She was starting to get on my nerves. With her it was never a straight answer, and that was even in the oh so gracious mood to actually give a straight answer. "Hey, give us a good answer, little Ms. Genius." Rodion had her axe right at Faust's throat. "Hey Rodya don't do this, even if she won't give us a straight answer we need all the help we can get." I say to her trying to get her to back away from Faust so she won't make any rash decisions/actions. "Noble Rodion! Doth thou not fear the wrath of the noble Virgilius upon killing the conniving Faust?!" Don's outburst was appreciated but doesn't really help when it comes to calming a situation down. When Rodion finally takes her axe away from Faust's throat, Faust walks over to a corner of the room and makes a call on an old looking phone, something you'd see before the first Nuclear Fallout so it was most likely a burner phone. My theory was proven correct because when the call finished she threw it on the ground and with one good stomp crushed the phone. She didn't look happy, nor did she look sad. But from her face I realized one thing she looks like. She looks lonely. Now that I looked at her closer, her dread was nearly visible, but it was quite well hidden. "I have a personal contract with the company, now I asked them if I can tell you about what made that child of H&N so powerful and they said yes." Faust says this while sitting back down. What was strange to me was that she was saying 'I' instead of her own name like she usually does. Faust continues, "What made that child of H&N so strong was the use of E.G.O. which stands for (External, Grey Matter, Organ). Essentially it was the physical manifestation of the mindscape, it was typically based upon what gives a person their own sense of self. That sense of self can range from beliefs, personal values, to even emotional attachment. The stronger your will was within these values then the stronger your E.G.O. will be." The addition of this new information blew me away. Sinclair was the first to ask a question. "So since this 'E.G.O.' was the physical manifestation of the mindscape's belief, was it possible for people's views to enhance someone like a religious leader or even manifest a god?" Faust looked at Sinclair and nodded. "Yes, if people believe someone is strong they'll grow stronger, but it works vice versa. If people believe you are weak you'll be weak. This applies to personal beliefs as well. If you have confidence and pride in yourself then you will be stronger as a result." I have a question for her so I ask her, "Why did this happen, why can E.G.O. be manifested now?" I ask her and she gives a reply. "Well the 'Protens Orbis' was an artifact which controls reality, so why can't there have been another reality altering ability that changed our very own fabric of reality." I add onto this claim. "For something like that there'd have to be immense amounts of energy. It could've occurred during the first Nuclear Fallout or the 2nd Nuclear Fallout?" Yi Sang spoke his opinion, "Within the throws of war the only conclusion that can be met was devastation. We know not what shall happen but we forge on, knowing only one thing… our demise was surely imminent. — Yi Sang" I turned to Rodion, "Did he really just quote himself?" Rodion responds, "I think so Greg…" Sinclair would speak up to notify us of something, "I think we should keep heading down." "What do you mean keep heading down, we don't know if there's even another floor?" I say to him, my tone betrays confusion. "I snuck off while Faust was talking and found another stairwell…" "You found another? Geez how deep does this place go" I say in a slight sense of shock. "C'mon I'll show you the way." Sinclair led us round a corner and down a dark hallway the wall felt fleshy and when I pulled my hand back it was covered in blood, I froze up for a bit before I continued on, "Aye, buds, the walls are made of flesh…" My voice showed how creeped out by the whole ordeal. It reminds me of the bodies of my war buddies kinda… No, I gotta get that outta my head. Kafka the roach I kept on my shoulder was twitching. I could tell what it was feeling, it was disgust. We all stopped for a few seconds. "'Tis the walls o' flesh spoketh of only in one's Fixer tales, they art evil to the core of thy being." Faust would speak next, "This reminds Faust of the walls aboard the Warp Train." Rodion decided to give her thoughts to us, "Reminds me of the gamblers drunkenly laid out on the side of the streets after losing all their money in the casinos. The collection officers would come by asking for the gambler's tax, when the gambler couldn't pay they'd be shot executed on the spot and the street sweepers would come by at night to take their bodies to the crematory." That was a long exposition, even though she was speaking about a dark topic she had a grin on her face. After all this made her seem special, and Rodion loves feeling special.
It was finally time to keep walking. Turns out not everyone had something to say. The hallway seems long and neverending. We walked more and more and more and more. The walls started to seem nearly inviting like they were trying to console us. Or a better word would be comfort "I-Is it me or d-do the walls feel like they're speaking to us?" Sinclair had spoken expressing what he was feeling. The group stayed silent. Suddenly Yi Sang spoke up, which was uncommon for him. "Art is meant to disturb the comforted, and comfort the disturbed. — Cesar A. Cruze ""Is he saying we're disturbing?" Rodion asks, whispering to me. "We are disturbed, I mean just look at Don." Don was looking bubbly as ever. "It's unnerving how happy she is all the time." We walk a bit farther until we finally see a bit of light at the end. Finally we're going to enter the next floor in this messed up house.