189 (III)

Anticipate [I]

"But the Ascendants," Adam said as he continued looking for flaws, "they can recapture us. They can. Well, they definitely want to recapture you and me both. We're risking a lot dealing with them. But... Oh, gods damn it, you're right. Shit options all around. Fine, talk to her. But do you have a plan to get out?"

"I've got a few," Shiv replied. "I'm going to leave a temporal anchor here and blink back."

"No, not here," Adam interrupted him. "I'll find you somewhere else. We don't stay in one place for long. The risk is too high. Here's what we're going to do in order of operations. First, we're going to find out where the mana core is. Second, we're going to try to triangulate where the Ascendants and their Avatars are, if they're all together or if they're scattered. After that, we strategize. If you're going to talk to your grandmother and if you want to seize Cripple's Avatar, we need to do that first. And we need to make it fast. At the same time, as soon as you're done with that, or if it goes awry, you need to get to the core immediately. And then compromise it. Otherwise, you will re-center the Ruling Council's attention on us. And we can't afford that."

"Right," Shiv replied. "I know it's bad, Adam, but the way I'm thinking about it is this. If we have Cripple's Avatar with us, the Ascendants might not be able to do whatever they were going to do against him earlier. And we'll be able to contact them at any time if Udraal gets too much to handle. I don't think Cripple's going to be that fond of his own people after what they just tried. It might be close to turning."

"Right, there's logic there," Adam said, "but we don't know if we can fully trust Cripple, or if Cripple's still itself right now. The other Ascendants might have done something to it already. The part I'm more worried about is your grandmother."

"Yeah, maybe don't call her that all the time now," Shiv said, feeling the bitterness pounding inside his chest. "But she's still going to be useful. She seems to have history with Udraal, so maybe she can tell me something. He revealed a bunch about her, so maybe she can give me something about him, something that we can use."

"That's..." Adam hummed. "Maybe. There's no guarantee there, either."

"No guarantee for anything anymore," Shiv said. "The world's going to be coming after me."

"Us, you mean," Adam said.

"This doesn't need to be your life, Adam."

"I'm not going to let anyone kill you."

"Ah, can't stand the idea of living without me now, huh?"

"Can't stand the idea of someone else getting the ten Legendary Skills," Adam shot back.

Shiv snorted. "Hey, that's pretty good. I'll make a bastard of you yet, asshole."

Silence passed between them. Then Adam spoke once more. "There is something else I want too. Something selfish."

"You want your armor and bow back?"

"Yes," Adam said. "I don't think I want to leave my things with the Ascendants. Especially not something gifted to me by a proper goddess."

Through their connection, Shiv could sense a notification appearing.

The Composer smiles upon you.

"Got it," Shiv replied. "And I have a feeling that Cripple might just be able to tell us where your stuff is."

Adam sighed. "All the more incentive to follow through on this mad idea."

***

Where Shiv was individually and psychologically calculative, Adam was structurally and strategically brilliant. It didn't take him long to locate the mana core.

But immediately, they knew it was going to prove a problem. It was surrounded and warded by 36 cubes. All of them were interlocked around the others, and all were festering with wardens. Spells crawled across the surface of those cubes, preventing any telepathy or spatial magics from spilling through. Functionally, this meant that if someone wanted to access one of these cubes, they needed to enter directly through one of the exterior doors.

Said exterior doors were made from Orichalcum, but it was further reinforced by some manner of glistening silver material that neither Shiv nor Adam had ever seen before. To make matters worse, Adam caught sight of a crawling darkness coiling around the core. Harlock the Midnight was present, and his presence was felt throughout the area.

Shortly after Udraal had left, the Abyssal Lord had cast a massive spell that seemed to shroud the cube Shiv and the others were in from Harlock's awareness. The spell was created from several interconnected rings that cycled faster and faster, but slowly the mana empowering it was fading. Furthermore, if they wished to move outside, they were going to have to get past Harlock's notice. Or at least distract him. Adam came up with a solution to that relatively quickly: Golems.

There was nothing stopping Adam from firing Necromantic arrows into a series of Golems Shiv created, so long as Shiv had time and focus available to restock his vitality. Harlock had been burned earlier; Shiv remembered hearing the Ascendant scream. Burning him a few more times might force him to retreat from the area, but it would definitely draw his attention as well, and they could exploit that. After they created an opening, however, they needed to move fast.

This is where Five came in. He knew the general layout of one of the inner guard cubes. Beyond being a structural hardpoint, they were also literal hardpoints as well. Even if someone managed to breach the exterior of the cube, the insides were built more like a fortress, with multiple checkpoints in the form of protective spells, dense walls, elite wardens, and more. A direct assault would be costly, and if one cube failed, it would simply be moved out and replaced by another. The mana core didn't need thirty-six cubes to protect it. The outer structure could shrink until there were only eight. Hence, if they wanted to make a raid on the mana core, they needed to do it fast or find a way to bypass it altogether.

Stolen novel; please report.

"How about we just blast our way through?" Shiv suggested. Everyone turned to look at him. "I drain some more vitality, I create a bunch of golems, and then, after Adam briefly burns Harlock, we send the rest of the golems in, and he keeps shooting them. We blow a hole through the cubes."

Adam tilted his head. "It could work, but that silvery substance..."

"I don't know what it is," Shiv said. "But I don't think it can take one of my soul detonations."

"That's an assumption," Adam replied. "And this is one of the most defended places in the Republic. Assumptions kill here. Nonetheless, it is an option, but I want to work on a few other avenues first."

"Yeah, those being…?" Shiv asked.

"The Avatars and Ascendants will be trying to track us down. Udraal has led the bulk of them off on a wild chase, and they will likely not be able to respond to matters happening across the rest of the prison." Adam's eyes were glowing then, and Shiv realized he was jumping from point to point using his Seer of Horizons. "I think that we could use a recruitment drive. There are a great many more Legendary tier prisoners here, aren't there?"

"Yeah," Shiv said. "There were. Well, we already got about 80 Master-Tier orcs and 32 more Heroes."

"Not nearly enough," Adam said. "We need something properly overwhelming or a way to infiltrate."

Five cleared his throat. "Well, if you need someone to slip in, I might be able to provide some options." All heads turned to the Aviary agent, and the Gate Lord nodded at him. "If you manage to find me a high-ranking automaton warden, I might be able to perform a bit of persuasion."

"That is in progress," Can Hu declared. Shiv saw a chain of ones and zeros spilling out from the Penitent's eyes. "The local automata need to improve their Firewall skill. They have also unwisely chosen to develop the Radio Frequency skill. I will see several diverted to our vicinity. You may have your pick."

The wolf-man's jaw dropped open, and Shiv wasn't far from making such an expression himself. Truth be told, he still wasn't over the shock of seeing Can Hu mostly restored. What a restoration this was. The Penitent was more focused and far more powerful. But ultimately, it was the now-banished fragility in its actions that made it seem so imposing.

"You... You're a Penitent," Five breathed, having recognized something in Can Hu. A note of awe entered his voice as he bowed deeply before the automaton. "New Albion remembers its debts. Always."

Can Hu regarded the wolf-man. "So you say. Now let's see if your words prove true, Raven. Make use of your skill. Find us a vulnerability. I shall do the same." Can Hu shifted, and as it did, its body made no noise. No wails came from its joints, no screeches from its chassis grinding against itself. There were still a few dents and cracks lining its armor, but overall, Can Hu was a Pathbearer reborn. And it was mostly thanks to Udraal. That brought a note of bitterness to Shiv. But right now, he wasn't going to be a choosing beggar. He was going to take what he could get.

"Pathbearer Adam," Can Hu said. "I recommend that you assume the pilot's position within me. You are deprived of your armor, and you lack Magical Resistance. My interior is the safest place for you at present."

The Gate Lord just blinked. "I... Can Hu, I understand that you have been restored somewhat, but I don't think there is a need."

"Get inside the pilot's seat, Pathbearer Adam," Can Hu said more forcefully. "Please, do not be foolish. I have need of additional firepower and Toughness, and you have need of redundancy."

Adam blinked once more and almost swallowed. "Now?" he squeaked.

"Yes," Can Hu replied. "We are on an active battlefield. The best time for you to assume the position was an hour ago, when we first met." As Can Hu finished addressing Adam, it turned to Shiv. "Pathbearer Shiv, I apologize if this induces any jealousy. My apology is muted since I see you are still wearing that mistake."

"It's a good piece of armor," Helix called from nearby.

"And you are a piece of meat that turns to a function of physics when struck by a projectile moving at sufficient velocity," Can Hu declared.

"Holy shit," Shiv said. "It's like your spine regrew as well."

Can Hu's optics, ringed by curved lengths of metal within its sockets, turned to dots. "Do you disapprove of my present demeanor?"

Shiv waved it off. "No, it's fine. It's, uh, I'm just glad to see that you're feeling better."

"It is in part thanks to you," Can Hu said. "I will be eternally grateful." And then the Penitent looked at the knife Shiv was holding. "And I will express my gratitude in another manner towards you, should we survive this endeavor."

Shiv looked down at his Orichalcum blade and nodded. "Looking forward to it."

Adam did as Can Hu asked. He approached the restored Penitent and gasped as it opened up. Where the Penitent had been little more than a skeletal frame, barely holding together before, now it was a multi-limbed behemoth, sprouting six guns, dense but cracked titanium plates, and thrusters that allowed for flight.

Shiv suspected Can Hu wasn't nearly as durable as Adam was right now, but with the Gate Lord's Physicality, they might just work together with a whole new level of synergy. Can Hu's insides were altered as well. Instead of it just being some kind of rig for a Pathbearer to lie upon, there was a full capsule there, with padding and a protective window that could be lowered over their body.

As Adam lay in place, the window came down and quickly pixelated. It turned opaque before Shiv, and he found himself unable to see Adam. A few moments later, the rib plates that lined the outside of the Penitent closed, clasping like closing fingers. Can Hu's eyes flashed as its helm came down and sealed in place over Adam's head.

"Pilot integrated," Can Hu said. "Skill improvements applied."

"Skill improvements?" Shiv asked.

"Penitents gain boosts to all their skills when they have a pilot inside them," Five explained from the side, still seeming somewhat awed.

"Pretty godsdamn neat," Shiv said. He considered Uva. When they found her again, maybe she could serve as a pilot.

"This is just uncanny," Adam's voice echoed out from inside Can Hu. There was a crackle to the Gate Lord's words, but aside from that, he came out loud and clear. Can Hu held up a hand, looking at it, and Shiv realized it was Adam performing the action. He had control of the second set of hands Can Hu had, those resembled human digits, with guns sticking out from the wrists. The guns looked awkward to Shiv, and he wondered why the Republic automata didn't develop such projectile-related skills.

Just then, a heavy tremor shook their cube. Everyone looked around in worry, and Can Hu turned its head leftward, staring up at the corner of the lobby. Shiv didn't know what it was looking at, but then Adam spoke once more.

"Udraal's on the move," the Gate Lord said in a hushed tone. "I… I think he just shattered an entire portion of the prison."

"He what?" Shiv said.

"He just erased a fourth of the bloody Nadir! It's… it's just gone. It's fading into motes of Animancy. Gods, how many people did he just kill? Wait, wait! I have eyes on her."

"Veronica?"

"Yes. She doesn't seem to be with the other Ascendants. She's... I lost her." Adam growled in frustration. "She's teleporting too often."

"What about Cripple?" Shiv asked. "You got eyes on it?"

A moment passed, and then another. And then, as ten seconds dragged on, Adam shivered. "Yes. It's in the field as well. But it's with the other Ascendants. They're all going hard after Udraal. It's going to be difficult to separate it from the others."

Shiv frowned, and then his features flattened. He turned his head to the side. "Kura. I need your help. And also, I need to borrow your Chronomancy skill again."

The elven Chronomancer frowned. "What is your plan, Deathless?"

"Your time clones can swap places. I need one to get a hold of Cripple while my Vitae Golem distracts and confuses the other Avatars. You up for helping me kidnap a god?"

Kura said nothing for a beat.

Then gave a feral grin.

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