"What did you do to..? Me?"
"Nothing."
Blame it on your surroundings.
He rises to his feet, his force field shutting off. "Disappointing. A minor manifestation of the Butcher Entity. Is the maltusian trying to bond with this battle station's central intelligence?"
"Not according to him. Ever killed a maltusian?"
Nice, not even a moment's hesitation pinging it as a battle station. Though that would be like calling a supermodel 'plain'.
He jerks his head my way.
"On Qward, that would be a marriage proposal."
Dangit, OL! Blundering into romantic lines without even trying, still? At least he can't
start any other relationships while he's with Jade.
He raises his right hand, a qwa bolt forming in an instant-. And then falling apart, the energy being drawn upwards into a device mounted in the ceiling.
"That's never happened bef-. No matter." He strides forward with his hammer at the ready. "I will-."
Oooh. I think I get what happened to him when he walked in: The facility leeched all his energy away, and it's taken this long for him to
recharge.
He shudders, dropping to one knee and staring ahead.
"How could-?"
...And now he knows where he is, and
what he's inside.
Draan grins through bloody teeth. "You don't remember it, qwardian? Given how well you've internalised the Anti-Monitor's creed, there can't be that many weapon systems that have such an effect on you."
"The Void Hound. It's… Here."
HEh. Probably a religious experience on par with finding the actual Ark of the Covenant. Qward's
greatest weapon.
"It has been for some considerable time. Your master gave it excellent disguise systems."
He… Stands, pushing the weakening Orion back even as he keeps the axe in his chest.
Guess it makes a handy conduit for touching Orion's soulstuff, and draining it of
Rage.
I fire an energy beam at his face. It hits… For about a fraction of a second, then it just… Stops, a few millimetres away from his skin.
"You can't touch the Ophidan here, can you? She would be a threat."
I suspect
that would get the Butcher's attention. While they aren't as absolutely hostile to each other as some of the Entities, they still get on about as well as two giant emotional monsters
normally get along. (Picture your favourite Kaiju battle here.)
Orion collapses to his knees, and Draan causally checks the levels in the troughs. That's an obvious approach. But-.
I make eye contact with Jade and try to surreptitiously offer her the Mother Box.
If nothing else, she can try to run, and get word out, assuming people haven't noticed Turi shuddering and rolling over as what's within wakes up.
"Nearly done."
Assimilate troughs.
Probability of success...
Low.
Thick beams of orange light flash out, striking-. A force field, which causes my constructs to fade away. Alright, crumblers-.
"Do you really think that primitive technology will work?"
"It usually does."
Earth Bullshit™, baby. Their track record speaks for them.
He releases his left hand's grip on the axe and uses it to shove Orion over. Orion drops, falling onto his back and struggling to move. Then Draan pulls the axe out of his chest and holds it up to examine it, blood still coating the blade. It takes a moment or two, but his robes mend themselves and the wound appears to close.
Jade takes the Mother Box from me as Draan fixes me with a stare, his eyes glowing red.
Let me guess: He's thinking 'Nice balance. I'll keep that design in mind.'
"You have no idea how right this feels."
"I removed my own ability to desire things when I separated myself from the Ophidian."
Though you
did take it back later, once it was safe to. Not hardly the same thing here.
"Could you maintain it for a billion years?"
"No, but humans aren't designed to live as long as maltusians. We experience time differently."
I can just picture a Maltusian sitting there for
days, watching the sky as it rolls from day to night, and then get up like they took a five minute break.
Jade scuttles around the room to-. No, wait, why are you giving that to Kalmin? Draan doesn't look at her, but I don't think for a moment that he isn't aware of her.
"I'll let you out in a billion years and see how you feel."
We aren't
quite at the Godzilla threshold yet, but honestly, Kalmin
might be able to do something with Mother box to help.
He tosses the axe aside as he turns away, striding out through a newly-opened door in the far side of the room which closes securely behind him.
Oh dear.
Sheesh. The inevitable Unwinnable Boss Fight to give you a taste of their tactics and methods. Hopefully OL learnt enough that the inevitable rematch will go his way.
I get a purple healing ray out of subspace and start shooting Orion with it.
"Kalmin, where are we?"
...And why do you look like you're having a religious experience?
"We are inside Erdammeru. The Void Hound. An AI controlled battle station of colossal power. Ranx might be regarded as a cheap knock-off, though I suspect that its original specifications might have been similar."
He pokes the Mother Box.
Ping.
"
Watch where you're poking those fingers, sirrah
!"
Well... That's a
worrying evaluation.
Kalmin grunts and raises his right hand, the qwa-energy that had been dismissed raining back down and reforming into a bolt. He checks it for a moment, then nods in satisfaction.
"Is it powerful enough to destroy maltus?"
Let's assume that it can at
least glass the surface. Even if it can't crack the mantle,
that much damage will not make the locals happy.
"Possibly. I only know it from very old legends which I could never fully investigate."
"How do we stop it?"
Not
easily, I suspect. It's more than likely capable of
killing Maltusians, and anything
else is just fodder compared to that.
"Kill the organic creature directing it. Or the beast-mind itself. Otherwise, unleash a wave of destructive energy powerful enough to atomize it."
"Would qwa-matter work?"
...Assuming it hasn't developed countermeasures against it. Which is probable. It's creators probably wanted to make it
unstoppable, after all
For a moment he looks… Lost.
"Not if what the maltusian said is true. If the Anti-Monitor built this, for… Whatever reason he saw fit, his gifts will not avail me."
I think we can guess the
reason: Killing stuff.
"And you couldn't kill Draan because..?"
"He is the ship's controller. Until that relationship is broken-." He growls quietly. "Without my full workshop, there is little I can do against him."
And even
then, it's a coin-flip?
"Have you finished with the Mother Box?"
"No. Its sensors aren't being disrupted by Erdammeru. I want to listen as maltus dies."
...
Dude.
Jade snatches it back, then brings it closer to Orion.
Ping.
"
Thank you, dear. Now, Orion, Sweetie, let's have a look at you..."
"Aaaaaaaaah…"
He's looking a little healthier, but his face and clothing… Hasn't changed back. If it hasn't changed back…
The Rage may have warped his metaphysique. Whether it;'ll wear off remains to be seen, I bet.
"Mother Box? Is Draan still… Connected to Orion?"
"Ping."
"
I'm not sure. But I do know he stole all
of his rage."
"Stole it? But it's still Orion's, right?"
"Ping."
"
Theoretically? It was
all mixed in with his Godname..."
"You were helping Orion suppress his rage, weren't you?"
"Ping?"
"
...Where are you going with this?"
"Can you help him remember it instead?"
"… Ping."
"...
What."
