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Chapter 23
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Down we fell. Further and further downward. Boy… This was incredibly boring. I had thought we’d reach the bottom by n-
I used ‘WE’ again.
I and EVERYONE ELSE PRESENT fell. And it was a really long ways.
Diero was keeping himself busy angling his descent to catch some of the others. Cordax was trying to slow himself down on his own, which wasn’t really working, and Winger was having a panic attack - one of the fake ones, I mean. Renner was spending the entire time glaring death at me, clearly wanting nothing better than to keep kicking me in the face until there was no face left.
However, I had more important things to do that worry about some silver stooge’s midlife crisis. In the center of the large pit there was a tall tower with a black pillar of some kind in the middle, and a singular rail leading from it to the edge of the dome, where a large platform had been built into the side of the structure. I couldn’t see it too well, but there was something vividly yellow standing on the platform - someone.
That someone stood - too difficult to tell, but it seemed like he was watching us fall - and then he moved to snap his fingers.
Suddenly, I was on the platform. If that wasn’t surprising enough, so was everyone else, and significantly more alarmed than I was. All the force of the impact had been taken out- wait, hold on… Diero wasn’t here.
Diero rocketed past the platform shouting out some garbled message to his cohorts, falling until the extremely satisfying crunch from the inevitable impact sounded out. I chuckled in satisfaction at the thought of that stupid hat tasting the impact of a hundred stone skeletons, all grinning upwards in lifeless enthusiasm.
“Something-” Renner spoke, looking about nervously as he attempted to stand. “The air… We-”
“The air is incredibly radioactive.” The figure spoke, now quite clearly identifiable as being obscured by a yellow hazmat suit. “I am afraid that you have all been exposed to such a degree that physical recovery it virtually impossible. You have shattered the explosion dome and released the contents of this chamber to the outside air. This will kill or endanger a vast majority of people directly northwest of this location.”
“All of this seems extremely irrational.” The figure walked to an extremely large steel door and reached behind it, pulling out a bucket of paint. “I would have you all arrested if not for my presence here being technically illegal.”
“Who are you?” Winger said, beginning to quiver. What, was the thought of dying from horrible radiation that would likely rip you apart in the process too much for you? I thought you were better than that.
“Fifty.” The figure replied. “I was sent here by Ghid to fulfill a very important mission which, I hope you understand, cannot be hindered by your activity.” The figure lifted the paint bucket and tipped the contents over the edge.
There was an oddly close splattering noise, and the angry and now covered in white paint eye sockets of Diero peered over it, the brim of his hat crumpled from the impact. “Listen, banana-lookin’ bungler, give me two reasons why I don’t kill you for that and for all of them, too.”
“Diero, what’s-?” Renner seemed to be recovering from the shock that he would die in what was likely a matter of days.
In response to the extremely improper question, Diero hauled some large, grey object over the side. It was a Dreamer half-covered in white paint, which enhanced the identity of such an object. It was a physical duplicate of the one found at the old observatory, the one that resembled-
“GHID?!” Renner blurted out.
“If adding an S to that is the appropriate plural, then I would correct you.” Diero said, dropping the Ghid-shaped Dreamer back down into the hole. “Hey, Filthy! Gonna have to disrupt your plans with the whole painting thing. And you got paint on my hat.” He scowled more than I had thought possible. “So you’re totally gonna die.”
“I fear you misunderstand my purpose in being here.” Fifty spoke. “I can command any object, person, or what have you to any location anywhere. I have been extremely preoccupied over the last few months bringing all of these creatures to this location in order to be baked in the nuclear blast. That man Monopoly did it for me, although he also broke my window.”
Cordax shared a grimace with me. I definitely didn’t ask him to.
“No catch?” Diero said, seeing that Renner was writing something down and knew he had to buy time.
“It only works 50% of the time.” Fifty responded. “Hence the codename. I only snap my fingers and the results occur… Or they do not. It is impossible to determine the result until after the attempt has been made.”
As he spoke, he snapped his fingers once. Nobody thought anything of it at first, but the silence that followed made Diero concerned. “Was that a demonstration, or were you- what? What are you looking at?”
“The paint’s gone.” Cordax replied.
Diero ran his fingers across his hat and then his face. “Well now! Guess I misjudged you, stranger. Maybe you’re not completely irredeemable after all. Say, uh. would you mind getting all the radiation around here and in my pals to go to the moon, or something? They aren’t like me, they kinda… Die from it. And stuff.”
“I will certainly try.” he figure snapped his fingers, then again, then… Again, then again. “I’m not sure that it’s working. Perhaps it cannot be done?”
“Well keep trying.” Diero folded his arms impatiently. “Do it before something really bad happens to them from the poisoning or whatever.” He seemed completely oblivious that during this process, paint had been applied to all the dreamers, and now they had assembled a complete wardrobe identical to the one Ghid had worn.
“Diero.” Renner gasped.
“Look, I’m trying, okay?” Diero complained at his loving boss. “It’s just that this thing is situational and it may not work for a number of tries there’s something behind me you’re gesturing behind me I royally messed this up didn’t I?”
Turning about, Diero was face-to-face with Ghid. In fact, all of Ghid. There were hundreds… Thousands of him. The one in front had no eyes, only smoking black pits where his eyes should have been. Or more specifically, used to be…
“Boss?”
“DREAM WILD CARD!!” Renner bellowed, jumping up and grabbing at Cordax and Winger. “Tott, MOVE!!”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I was up, pushing myself to go as fast as I could, the party ahead of me squeezing through the metal doors, while Diero shot some more of the Ghids in the eyes. Then, with a snap from Fifty, Diero was gone.
“We have to run. We have to run!” Renner gasped, terrified. He set Winger down and pointed towards the hall ahead of them. “I don’t care how you manage- but run! Run and don’t stop!”
I pushed myself to catch up to Renner and tapped him on the side. “This is suicide! Fifty can just recall us back here at any moment. We have nowhere to run to.”
“Think again.” Renner said as Diero popped back into existence, blue flames flying off his body as he broke into a sprint after us. “But we need to find some way to deal with all these Ghids here and now before they escape. This is all some part of an elaborate plan to get free from the dark wall, what a stupid name that is.”
“Preach.” I said, raising my hand for a fistbump. It was not returned, possibly because I tripped over some kind of washing machine or something. We were now faced with a blank wall; did we take a wrong turn?
Diero snapped his fingers. “Do what you did before, again. And this time give me permission to kill that stupid Fifty or he’ll undo it!”
“Dream: WILD CARD.” Renner said, watching nervously as Diero’s eyes spewed forth blue flame. “Look lively, here he comes. ALL of him…”
The massive pile of Ghid lurched forwards, their eyes glowing in the darkness and letting out hissing noises of amusement. Given how tightly packed they were they had either taken their time in getting over here or they all got stuck in the door somehow. Hopefully the former, because otherwise that would just be sad.
Diero stood, confidently facing down the Ghid storm. He threw the wild card straight and true. The ensuing Ghids were caught in blue flame and disappeared, leaving a very alone Fifty standing in the hallway, completely flabbergasted.
“I know where you sent him.” He hissed. “I know how to get him back. I’ve never fail-”
He snapped once, and nothing happened. Then again. And a third time. He was staring down the barrel of a revolver before he got to try a fourth time.
“Just my luck.”
There has never been a more satisfying KraKOW in my entire life. Watching the pieces of that buffoon splatter across the room was so… Enjoyable. I felt so alive during it, like all the pain and inconvenience I had suffered up until then was worth it. It wasn’t, but a man can dream.
Here, let’s do it again but bigger.
Kra-KOW
Aww, man. That’s good.
“Are you alright?” Winger said, huffing as he approached. “Cordax kept on running, but I figured I should turn back and check. You… you actually got rid of them all! Way to go team, woo… Eugh… Man, I’m tired.”
“You CAN’T be here! You CAN"T!!”
“Again,” Renner complained, running off down the hall much to the dismay of Winger, who groaned in retort. Diero and I kept close at Renner’s heels, although half way down this hall we really should have turned on the last time he scooped me up and cradled me like a baby so he could run faster.
I’m insulted and humiliated by this moron on a regular basis and it’s a problem.
We rounded two more extremely tight corners and saw the glow of Cordax’s eyes lighting up the scene. Tears were streaming down his face as he kicked at the figure holding him by the arm - the knife had been rammed in his forehead, his grey rotted skin emphasizing the sinister grin plastered across his face.
No, not His. Her…
Two green eyes turned towards us. There was a deep chuckle. I tightened into a ball involuntarily at the noise, knowing what it heralded.
“LEAVE EILRACH ALONE.”
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