[Bullhead]
Sitting in the captain's cabin, Daniel relaxed as he watched the Bullhead move across the frozen wasteland. The white landscape stretched on without change, barely interrupted by a few dark rocks jutting out through the snow.
With one hand, he absently combed through his wolf tail, patiently separating strands of fur. He still hadn't managed to make it disappear, just like his ears.
"Ah…" he sighed, glancing at his system screen.
[Werewolf's Curse: 90.4%]
He frowned when he noticed there was still nearly ten percent left. He remembered what Rosella had told him, that once the curse was complete, he would have better control over his transformation. He would be able to make the tail, the ears, or any other trait vanish whenever he wanted. It sounded good, at least in theory.
But at this point he was already tired of having to brush it all the time. The fur tangled easily, and working the knots out was uncomfortable and irritating. On top of that, he couldn't sit properly. He didn't understand how faunus could put up with that every single day.
He had to sit slightly sideways to avoid crushing it, which left him in a fairly awkward position.
He shifted in his seat, trying to adjust himself while moving the tail off to one side. It didn't help much.
He had thought about asking Rosella for help. She would surely have more experience or at least some useful advice.
But he didn't. Rosella had locked herself in her lab as soon as they boarded the Bullhead, hauling in a large shipment of berries that he himself had created at her request. He hadn't seen her since.
He wasn't worried.
As a werewolf, Rosella had considerably high vitality and could work for long periods without getting exhausted. Besides, when she worked, she looked especially happy, focused, and energized. He wasn't going to take that away from her. Not from her, and not from any of the other girls. Each of them had their own thing.
Rosella had her chemistry.
GLaDOS had her machines.
He glanced up toward the ventilation duct. In the darkness, the faint gleam of a pair of eyes was barely visible. Sadako. She liked stalking him.
Finally, his gaze shifted again and settled on Aegis, who occupied the copilot seat with a scroll spread between his pincers, of course watching hunter tournaments.
Everyone had their hobbies.
It was then, thinking about that, that he realized something uncomfortable and important: he didn't have one.
Beyond surviving and getting stronger, he had no clear goal. No hobby. Nothing he truly wanted to do.
"What exactly am I doing with my life?" he wondered, sinking slightly into the seat as his gaze drifted toward the white horizon.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. He remained silent for a few seconds, starting to detach from his surroundings, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it.
"There's another one coming," Aegis announced, raising his voice to get his attention.
Daniel blinked, snapping out of his daze, and focused on the front window.
In the distance, he made out the pale silhouette of a Nevermore flying straight toward them. Judging by its size, it was about as big as a large car. Its trajectory left no doubt it fully intended to ram the Bullhead.
He didn't panic.
He stayed calm, watching as the creature drew closer. When the Grimm was close enough, the Bullhead automatically deployed its weapons.
Two projectiles shot out and hit the oversized bird dead on.
The body, or what was left of it, went into a nosedive and disintegrated the moment it struck the frozen tundra, vanishing into the snow while the Bullhead continued on its route without slowing down.
"AHAHAHAHA!! x2" Both Daniel and Aegis burst out laughing at the sight.
The Nevermore hadn't exactly been small, and against a standard Bullhead it probably would have succeeded, but this wasn't an ordinary ship. It was a military model designed to handle larger numbers of Grimm without issue.
Of course, no matter how big the ship was, they wouldn't stand much of a chance if they were attacked by a flock of griffons, a swarm of geists, or a pack of manticores.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized the odds of dying kept increasing the farther they moved away from the kingdoms and into uninhabited zones, where the largest, oldest, and therefore most dangerous Grimm undoubtedly roamed.
He quickly pushed those thoughts aside. There was nothing to gain from anticipating hypothetical tragedies.
He tried to remember what he had been thinking about before Aegis interrupted him, but no matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn't recall it. In the end, he just shrugged.
It probably hadn't been important.
Instead, he lowered his gaze to his hand, focusing on the prosthetic finger. It was perfect, durable, and practical… but too eye catching and bound to raise too many questions, especially from Ruby, who would never let the fact that he was missing a finger slide.
He grimaced, imagining her reaction and how annoying it would be to explain.
Not in the mood for unnecessary explanations, he raised his hand in front of his face and focused, activating an illusion that layered itself over the prosthetic, disguising it as a completely normal finger, indistinguishable at a glance.
"That should do it," he thought, moving the finger a couple of times to check the result.
Visually flawless. Of course, if someone touched it, they would probably notice it felt colder and harder than the rest, but he didn't care.
He went back to calmly grooming his tail since he still hadn't finished, letting time pass as the landscape slowly shifted beneath them.
Several hours went by before Daniel suddenly stood up from his seat.
He had spotted a small blotch in the snow, barely visible from the altitude they were flying at, easy to miss if you weren't paying attention.
Without asking for permission, he lifted Aegis out of his seat and placed him on his shoulder, then activated his shared vision ability.
His field of view expanded instantly, sharpening its focus until the object came into clear view.
To his surprise, it was a ship, one he recognized as one of the many GLaDOS had stolen during the machine uprising. The claw marks gouged into the metal made it clear it had fallen victim to the Grimm during its journey.
As the Bullhead moved forward, he spotted more wreckage from different ships scattered across the snow.
It hadn't been the only one.
However, he didn't worry. Losing a few ships was bad, sure, but when he checked the map he noticed they were already very close to their destination. Judging by the remaining distance, most of them had probably made it.
As if she had heard his thoughts, GLaDOS's voice rang clearly through the speakers. "We have reached our destination. Beginning descent."
Her words drew a faint smile from Daniel as he stood up and immediately headed toward the landing area, Aegis still perched on his shoulder.
He couldn't deny a certain sense of anticipation. He wanted to see the Mines of Moria for himself and whatever treasures might be hidden inside.
It didn't take him long to reach the designated disembarkation area, and of course, he wasn't the only one.
GLaDOS was already there, accompanied by a platoon of Atlesian robots standing in formation and ready to deploy. Sadako was there as well, having slipped out of the ventilation ducts and walked over to stand beside Daniel, remaining silent as she watched him without saying a word.
Rosella was present too, which surprised him slightly. She had come out of her lab to join the expedition.
And finally, there was GIR...
If he was being honest with himself, Daniel had to admit he didn't even remember that GIR was still with them during the trip. He had assumed they had accidentally left him behind in Atlas and no one had noticed.
GIR was simply there, standing still, looking around without contributing anything, which didn't exactly help him stand out.
Once everyone was ready, the Bullhead's doors opened, lowering a large ramp onto the snow.
For safety, part of the Atlesian robot platoon descended first, advancing in formation. It wasn't really necessary, though, since a full scan of the area had been conducted before landing, ruling out any Grimm presence nearby.
The rest of the group followed shortly after.
Daniel stepped forward first, sinking slightly into the snow as he surveyed the surroundings.
They were at the base of a mountain where, logically, the mine had to be located inside. But aside from that, he saw nothing.
That made him frown, confused. "Where are all the ships?" he wondered.
He activated his shared vision ability once more, expanding his perception and finding himself surprised by the result.
All the stolen ships were beneath the snow, carefully concealed. They weren't scattered or destroyed like the ones he had seen along the way. These were completely covered, arranged with a certain degree of order.
He could only assume the machines themselves had hidden them under the snow to avoid detection by Atlas in case another ship flew over the area searching for them.
As he analyzed the scene, he noticed movement.
One of the ships reactivated. The metal vibrated slightly before a hatch opened from underneath. Two robots emerged from it, quickly digging upward until they broke through to the surface.
As soon as they made it out, they walked straight toward GLaDOS, who extended her hand toward them. Her fingers transformed into cables that pierced into both of their heads, extracting the information they had gathered over the past month.
Information she hadn't been able to obtain before, since all the machines and ships had been out of communication due to the distance and the absence of CCTS towers in the area.
After a few seconds, the cables retracted.
"My scouts found what appears to be an entrance not far from here," GLaDOS said, pointing toward the mountain.
Daniel didn't understand what she meant by "appears to be an entrance," but he didn't ask.
He would most likely find out for himself once he saw it.
Without wasting any more time, they began walking toward the mountain.
The ascent was relatively short, mainly because Daniel could move straight up the slope, ignoring the irregularities of the terrain and maintaining perfect balance without difficulty, while GLaDOS, Rosella, and Sadako held onto him, letting him carry them as he climbed, using him like a pack mule.
The robot platoon, on the other hand, had to climb using a more conventional route, which slowed them down slightly.
Even so, they eventually arrived.
They couldn't use the Bullheads to land higher up due to the uneven terrain and the lack of a stable surface to descend onto without risking a crash. It would have saved them time, but at that point, they didn't care much anymore.
When they reached their destination, Daniel stopped. In front of them stood a solid stone wall.
He quickly let the girls drop to the ground without much care, more focused on what lay ahead. He studied the rocky surface, and there it was: the clear outline of a door carved into the stone, with unfamiliar inscriptions etched around the frame.
Out of simple curiosity, he activated shared vision again.
To his surprise, he couldn't see through the rock or the door. He wasn't sure whether it was due to the thickness of the stone or some strange property of the material interfering with his ability, but he kept staring at the wall a little longer, now even more curious.
At least until Rosella interrupted him.
She stood up, brushing the snow off her clothes, and approached the wall, pressing herself against Daniel with obvious excitement, wrapping her arms around his.
"I don't recognize this language," she said, turning toward Daniel as he traced the inscriptions with his fingers, calmly following each line. "Do you know this language?"
Daniel nodded without taking his eyes off the stone. "I know all languages, and this one is Elvish…"
Rosella's eyes widened slightly, impressed. She didn't doubt his words, but she wanted to ask what exactly he meant by "all languages." She didn't get the chance.
GLaDOS's hand pressed against her face and pushed her aside, separating her from Daniel.
"Yes, yes, very impressive. Now, what does it say?" she scolded, taking Rosella's place.
Daniel rolled his eyes at her attitude. "It says here: Ennyn Durin Aran Moria. Pedo Mellon a Minno."
He paused for a second before translating, to build suspense. "This means: the Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter."
Rosella and GLaDOS fell silent, processing the phrase. It was clearly a riddle.
Both of them began analyzing possible answers. Did it require a specific password? A demonstration that they were allies? The possibilities ran quickly through their minds.
Daniel, on the other hand, simply spoke. "Mellon."
At once, the runes glowed with a faint light that traveled from the top of the door to the bottom. The stone vibrated and, with a heavy but steady motion, the entrance opened before them.
Rosella and GLaDOS blinked, surprised.
"What did you do?" they asked, curious about how he had solved the riddle.
But Daniel just shrugged. "I just followed the instructions and said 'friend' in Elvish, like the door said."
…
GLaDOS covered her face with her hand. "Of course…," she muttered with clear disapproval, seeing that the door had been built by some idiot, most likely designed so that only another idiot could open it.
Resigned, she deployed several drones she had brought along with the robots and sent them into the mine. The small machines advanced quickly, scanning the surroundings while constantly transmitting data.
"Move forward," GLaDOS instructed.
From her palm, a hologram projected outward, showing the mine's map forming in real time, lines and chambers appearing as the drones advanced.
The group began to move, the robots marching behind them while maintaining formation.
As they walked, the corridor gradually widened, allowing them to move with more space between each other.
It didn't take long before they reached the first chamber, where they all stopped as they crossed the threshold.
GLaDOS released an additional small drone that emitted a powerful light, illuminating the entire room at once.
That was when they saw them.
Hundreds of corpses piled together and scattered across the floor, remains covered in dust, fragments of stone, and webs accumulated over time.
The surprise was evident, but there was no fear.
There was curiosity.
Especially from Rosella, who stepped forward to examine one of the bodies with scientific interest, crouching down without hesitation.
Daniel didn't need to get closer or touch them to analyze the scene.
From their height, proportions, and the fact that all the corpses had beards, he was certain they were dwarves, which made sense considering they were in the mines of Khazad-dûm, which translated to Mansions of the Dwarves.
What had surprised him was that the door had been written in Elvish rather than in the dwarven tongue. He knew they were different languages. Confirming it was easy thanks to his system, which notified him after analyzing the characters from one of the many books scattered across the floor and comparing them to those on the door.
The characters were different, but that only raised another question. Why was the door written in Elvish?
He considered the possibilities and chose the simplest one.
"They were probably allies…," he thought, reasoning that the entrance might have functioned as a shared passage between both peoples.
He looked around the chamber again, observing the number of books spread throughout the area. He was sure he could find the answer in one of them, but he would have to search later.
His attention shifted to Rosella.
With a sharp motion, she yanked an arrow out of the shoulder of one of the corpses, examined it briefly, then tossed it aside. She stood up afterward, brushing the dust from her hands.
"Based on the types of wounds I found on the bodies, I can confirm these dwarves died from arrows and impact weapons, like axes and maces," she explained, pointing out deep cuts and obvious fractures.
Daniel nodded, processing the information, which was more useful than it initially seemed.
He deduced that if axes and maces had been used, it was unlikely that elves were responsible. From what little he knew about fantasy, elves preferred lighter, more precise weapons.
"So it probably wasn't elves," he thought.
He admitted his knowledge was limited and that it was only a theory, but he doubted he was wrong.
"It looks like these bodies have been here for at least twenty years," Rosella continued, kicking one of the corpses. Dust rose slightly before settling again.
Daniel smiled with a hint of confidence. "At least we can deduce that whoever did this," he said, gesturing toward the corpses, "is no longer in the mines…"
"It appears one of my reconnaissance drones has detected a humanoid creature further ahead," GLaDOS interrupted, pointing toward one of the many corridors branching off from the chamber.
Daniel shrugged. "Oh… maybe I was wrong," he said without embarrassment.
Without wasting time, they headed toward the indicated corridor, following the projected map and GLaDOS's directions.
The group advanced carefully, the robots behind them maintaining formation. As they drew closer, Daniel's sharpened senses picked up clear sounds of biting and flesh tearing, wet and constant.
When they reached the marked location, the light of a drone slowly moved down the passage, illuminating a figure that could, at best, be described as an aberration.
Greenish gray skin. Glowing red eyes. Pointed ears. Shorter than an average person. Completely hunched over.
Noticing the group's presence, the creature lifted its head, perhaps surprised to see them. It stopped eating the body on the ground, which was clearly of its own kind.
Excited at the sight of fresh food, the creature let out a harsh scream and charged toward them, gripping what looked like a mace in its hand.
One of the robots immediately raised its weapon to fire, but Rosella lifted her hand, stopping it, and stepped forward.
GLaDOS, seeing Rosella's intention, ordered the robot not to shoot, and it lowered its weapon at once.
Rosella did not draw her sword. She simply waited.
The creature leapt at her, raising the mace. The instant it was close enough, Rosella swung her arm in a horizontal strike.
The speed was such that the creature had no chance to block or dodge.
Her fist connected directly with its head.
To everyone's surprise, she tore it off in a single blow.
The head flew several meters away, while the decapitated body took a couple of clumsy steps before collapsing to the ground, leaving the corridor silent once more.
No one spoke.
The group looked at Rosella, waiting for her verdict.
She looked at her fist, opening and closing it once before turning toward the rest of them.
"There's nothing special about them," she concluded calmly. "They're slightly more durable than an average person… but that's all."
Daniel approached the body, mildly disappointed.
He observed the corpse the creature had been devouring and confirmed they were the same species. They were not elves, that much was certain.
"Maybe a goblin?" he thought as he examined the body without touching it.
Though that wasn't really the important question.
What mattered was how many of those creatures were inside the mine, and whether they would end up becoming a problem.
"Why do you think it was eating one of its own?" he asked curiously.
"Most likely when the mine appeared in this world, these creatures were trapped inside," GLaDOS replied in a simple tone, stepping forward and pointing at the corpse's visible ribs. "It seems they ran out of food approximately twenty days ago," she deduced from the state of the body.
Daniel nodded, accepting her conclusion. "Do you think some of them managed to escape?"
He could already imagine the problem it would be if those things reached any town in Atlas and the chaos they would cause.
To his relief, GLaDOS shook her head almost immediately.
"Even if they managed to leave the mine, we are far too distant from the nearest settlement. To reach it, they would have to cross a frozen wasteland. If the subzero temperatures do not kill them, the Grimm roaming the tundra will—"
Her voice cut off abruptly, drawing everyone's attention.
"What happened?" Daniel asked, looking at her alertly.
GLaDOS slightly turned her head toward a specific corridor, focusing in that direction.
"It appears there is a large number of those creatures there. They destroyed the drones," she reported, confirming she was no longer receiving any signal.
Daniel looked at her with greater interest. "How many are we talking about?" he asked, trying to gauge the real level of risk.
GLaDOS walked past him toward the point where she had lost the signal, advancing with a steady stride.
"A few hundred, perhaps. I do not have an exact number, but they will not be a problem," she stated, barely turning her head to glance at him. "It would be best to eliminate them now."
Daniel saw no clear reason to object.
Without arguing, he and the rest of the group followed her, moving through corridors that gradually changed. The walls stopped being rough stone and began to show more refined surfaces, with precise lines and cuts, the result of careful craftsmanship.
After several minutes of walking, they finally emerged from the passage.
They all stopped when they saw where they were.
It was not a small chamber, but an enormous open space, supported by hundreds of pillars that rose at least fifty meters high. They were tall, symmetrical, and intricately worked, extending upward until they vanished into the darkness.
Daniel tried to make out the far end of the hall, but he couldn't.
"Why did they build these columns?" he asked, impressed by the scale.
"They are structural infrastructure," GLaDOS explained as she walked deeper into the hall. "Without these columns, the mountain would most likely collapse on top of us."
Daniel followed her, still studying the pillars as he walked, trying to imagine the weight they were bearing.
After several minutes crossing the hall, he remembered why they were there.
"Where are the creatures?" he thought, about to ask.
He stopped before doing so, catching a scent, then another.
In fact, there were many, blending together in the cold, dense air of the hall.
He wasn't the only one.
Rosella stopped almost at the same time, frowning as she searched for the source.
Both of them lifted their gaze when they found it.
"Took you long enough to notice," Aegis mocked, speaking with obvious amusement. He had detected them a while ago and had simply been waiting to see how long it would take them to realize it on their own.
Daniel's eyes widened in surprise as he focused on the ceiling.
Between the darkness and the cracks in the stone, there weren't hundreds.
There were thousands of those creatures.
They clung to the ceiling, motionless, watching them in silence with clear predatory intent, waiting for the right moment to move.
"Gaarrr!" the creatures screamed the instant they realized they had been discovered.
The mass covering the ceiling began to move erratically, peeling away from the cracks and descending down the pillars like a disorganized swarm of insects.
Daniel's initial surprise didn't last long.
He blinked once, processing the numbers as he watched them come down.
"That's more than a few hundred," he remarked, glancing at GLaDOS with mild mockery. "I'd say that's a few thousand."
GLaDOS shrugged as if the difference were a minor miscalculation.
None of the group seemed truly concerned as thousands of those creatures descended, many already hitting the ground and charging toward them with harsh screams.
Daniel remained calm.
He wouldn't lie, the number was impressive, but they were still thousands of creatures with medieval weapons against a platoon of robots armed with futuristic firearms.
The difference was pretty clear.
The robots wasted no time. They moved with precision, surrounding the group in a perfect circle. The moment the creatures entered range, they opened fire.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
Sixty assault rifles fired in coordinated bursts, not missing a single shot. The thunder of gunfire echoed through the hall, blending with the creatures' guttural screams.
The bullets hit dead on, tearing through flesh and crude armor with equal ease.
The creatures began to fall one after another, piling up on the ground, tripping over each other as they tried to advance.
Some responded by firing arrows.
When several shot toward GLaDOS, a force field appeared around her, deflecting them effortlessly. The arrows bounced off and fell to the floor without even grazing her.
Rosella dodged hers, stepping aside with a clean, precise movement without disturbing her posture.
Sadako sliced the arrows out of the air with her katana, the halves falling at her feet, showing that her skill with it was improving.
None reached GIR, and of course Daniel caught one with his shoulder.
"Ouch…" he complained, pulling it out without hurry and tossing it to the floor. The wound closed almost instantly, the skin regenerating as the fight, or rather the massacre, continued in front of him.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
After several minutes, the bodies were already forming heaps before them, stacking against the pillars and covering the floor of the hall.
The smell grew heavier and more repulsive, mixing with the smoke from the gunfire.
Daniel watched the scene, seeing how the creatures kept falling without ever truly managing to get close.
He sighed.
"Ah… this is going to take a while."
—//—
Author's Note:
Yay! This is chapter 100!
I'll be honest, I didn't expect to make it this far. It's been a journey full of lows and… who am I kidding, mostly lows, but I've enjoyed it.
I hope you liked it, because it cost me a damn lot, especially since I had to scrap the chapter I already had written and start this one from scratch. I don't know why it was so hard for me to finish, but here it is.
Anyway, I appreciate your attention and the power stones you're obviously going to give me… right?
In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter… See you next time.
Kisses and hugs. 🥵🍆💦🍑