After some backtracking, we reunite with Verni, Angie and Ru near the center of Sublevel 3.
"Hey, guys! You just missed the fun," Vernicia calls.
"Nah, we've had plenty of our own fun." I look around. "Jetta isn't with you?"
"Didn't she go with your team?" Rurin looks confused.
What…? "'You know what, we'll worry about that later."
"Well, don't forget to find her before we blow up the place," Verni says.
"Did you find any clues about the mages here?" I ask.
"One," Ru answers. "If they're the 'special personnel' we think they are, they'd be in the sublevel under this one. Problem is, we have no idea how to get to it."
"I see." I cross my arms. "We found out that our aeronaut bodies are bound together with magic. So supernatural stuff should come easier to us."
"Really?" Verni looks at her hands.
"I thought my fire stuff was from the portal," Ru mutters, "but this makes more sense."
"That's cool and all, but will I even have time to learn anything?" Verni wonders.
"Just trust your instincts! That's what I did." I take off one of my gauntlets and activate my vibroblade, the energy covering my hand like a razor-sharp glove. "See this? Apparently it was a spell this whole time. The gauntlet just makes it easier. Like training wheels." I hand Verni the gauntlet I removed. "Try it."
Verni hesitates for a second, then slips it on. "Okay… how do you turn this thing on?"
"There's like a spot where you put your fingers."
"Oh, got it." A blade manifests, rippling violet-blue. "Meh? Is this water?"
"Huh, same as Hal," Ru notes. "Different color, though. Weird."
"So it has to do with affinity after all," Zoë notes as Verni returns my gauntlet.
"Do you wanna try?" I offer it to her.
"Don't worry about me," she declines.
"Hmm…" Verni still seems to be thinking. Then she draws her black sword.
"What now?" Ru looks at her funny. "You sense something?"
Vwassh – her sword is now flowing with that same violet-blue energy.
"Ohh!" Ru promptly pulls out his energy pike.
"Don't! The flow of magic will break its internal components," Marc calls.
"Aww…"
Angie's hair starts to undulate, waving like a bed of black snakes. "People moving below, I sense they're mages."
"Mages! In that hidden sublevel, right?" I excitedly ask. "Where are the stairs, did you find any?"
"Nope. Not that we know where to look," Rurin says.
"Do we have time for another sweep?" Marc wonders.
I sit cross-legged on the floor. "Cover me."
"No worries, everyone on this floor is either dead or evacuated," Ru confirms.
"Cool." I close my eyes.
Running pre-launch diagnostics. Current altitude, thirty meters below ground level. No hostile presences detected nearby. I have to get out of here.
I float through the walls in ghost mode. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Should I just go straight down? Do I have to worry about getting stuck in bedrock? Probably not, right? I still don't see any stairs.
The next wall I slip through doesn't have anything behind it. Some kind of cavern? The walls are smooth and vertical, stretching up to a circular gate on the ceiling that's sealed shut. Some kind of central shaft, then? Reminds me of the shipment shafts in the Seaburgs. In any case, this isn't a sublevel.
As I turn back around, I notice stairs lining the shaft's walls, spiraling downwards. Stairs, in a shaft… that means there are doors somewhere around here, right? They'll be easier to find from this side, I bet.
Step, step – a man starts walking down the stairs, having come through a door up above. He's got dark hair obscuring his eyes and a shining orb in his hand.
I drift closer, trying to place his uniform. (A guard? No armor, no visible weapons. A researcher? They normally wear white coats,) I murmur. (Or is that orb thing a weapon? Hmm, kind of reminds me of Roy's orbs, but this one is quite a bit bigger.)
The man starts looking around, then raises his orb right in my ethereal face. "What the-? No one told me this place was haunted," he groans.
I move away from the blinding aura, but his eyes follow my movements. (You can see me?)
"I'm an orbal mage. My light reveals the unseen. Please don't curse me," he says.
(Where are you going?)
The orbal mage raises an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"
(I'm just curious,) I mutter.
"Ah, sorry. Must be boring, having died in a place no one frequents often," The orbal mage replies. "I'm just in a hurry, is all. Everyone else is at the bottom already."
(Oh. I'll leave you to it.)
As the orbal mage continues downstairs, I look back towards the door he came through. Sure enough, it's labelled SL-3. And just to make sure…
SHING!
(Ow.) I recoil from the harsh energy. (Yep, that's a barrier… way zappier than the one over Sirius Tower, isn't it? Sheesh.)
But then, if the barrier is only over the door…
As I suspected, the reinforced walls around the door are completely un-warded. Yeah, I've decided – being a ghost rules.
As I re-enter the hall in Sublevel 3, I see Marc and Zoë at the door already.
"You feel it too, right Mom? If we can just get through this barrier," Marc is saying.
"It will be difficult without a mage," Zoë notes.
"What? Mom, I'm a mage."
"Can you break it?"
"Y-yeah, probably."
(Hey!) I float up to Marc. (Turns out that secret sublevel is a huge shaft.)
"Wah! Kit, is that you? Where are you?" Marc calls.
Zoë looks at him, mildly confused.
(Right behind you,) I answer. (Once you get through the door, just take the stairs to the bottom. Also, the shaft is big enough to fly a ship into, probably for like shipments and junk.)
"What about you, Kit? How long has it been?"
(Don't worry about me, Marc,) I assure him. (It's now or never, yeah? All or nothing. One way or another, this ends tonight.)
Marc sighs, then activates his comm. "Aeronauts, there's a sealed shaft through the facility's center. See if you can find a ship that can breach it. Seems like it'll lead straight to the bottom floor."
"Got it," Vernicia's voice replies. "We just found the aircraft subgarage, so give us maybe five minutes."
"Mom and I are heading down. How's Kit's body?"
"Uhm… dead sleep."
"Not funny!"
"What?"
"Nothing. Sorry." He disconnects, then exhales. "I'm counting on you, Kit. We all are."
(Heh, just leave it to me.)
"Aha." Zoë slaps a fist onto her palm. "The fabled Ikiryō procedure."
"Y-yeah," Marc nods. "Did I tell you Kit can do that? She can do that."
I re-enter the wide shaft, surveying the area below. As I descend, I notice several people in the loading zone at the bottom of the shaft. They appear to be standing around some kind of glowing beacon.
In total, I count seven people. Seven mages? I recognize one of them as the orbal mage who was late.
"All right, spellmasters! Get the ball rolling; we've got rogue aeronauts inbound," a man off to the side says. There's a strange metal band around his forehead. "We all know what to do once the portal is stable, but we've gotta keep it that way until Mr. Toris arrives. Pardon, if he arrives. Any questions?"
A cunning-looking mage raises her hand. "About those aeronauts. If their bodies are magically suffused, does that mean…" Her fingers twitch, and shiny indigo needles jut out from them.
"Yep. But we need them alive, so don't," the main man says.
"Tch." The needles retract.
A blue-skinned mage with sharp horns speaks up: "Is qentic really that effective? I mean, I've heard the rumors, but…"
"Oh yeah. Super effective. Read Nikos's report if you want the grisly details," the main man replies. "Anything else? If not, start building up your power. I'll give the order soon, so be ready."
The seven spellmasters start to disperse, each one trailing different-colored magical energy. The beacon begins strobing in different colors.
I start moving closer to the main man still standing there. (I wonder… could he be Atticus?)
"Good eye," Atticus smirks, looking straight at me.
(Huh?!) I quickly move back, but just as quickly he grabs me by my neck.
Wait, my neck? I'm ethereal! Why can't I escape? How is he…?!
The spellmasters are also looking at us. A big, muscular mage points– "Is that an astral projection?"
"Looks more like a spirit," the blue mage says.
"Huh, I saw her earlier," the orbal mage recalls. "Didn't think she'd follow me."
"I see," Atticus mutters. "Are you perhaps… the aeronaut Torvalt tested his secret procedure on?"
(No way you're getting anything from me,) I retort.
"Based on that response, you seem to know about her, at least," Atticus notes. "She's the only living Gen 1 aeronaut we haven't retrieved yet. And believe me, we've been looking."
(I haven't chatted with her in a while, so I doubt I'll have anything useful,) I mutter.
"Something is always better than nothing," Atticus shrugs. "Maybe I'll hold on to you for a bit longer. You seem to know some other interesting things."
(Wait, no! I don't know how long I can… um,) I trail off.
"I was wondering that too, to be honest," Atticus says. "Torvalt's research has real potential. If not for Mr. Toris's paranoia… well, I digress." Something beeps on Atticus's person. "Aha, there's the signal. You ready, spellmasters?"
(What are you doing?) I nervously ask.
"You'll find out soon enough," he calmly replies as the spellmasters converge, channelling their energy into the beacon. Soon it begins to shine with myriad colors.
(Hmph. You'll be in for it soon enough,) I tell him. (Our plan is already in motion!)
"Oh yeah?" Atticus looks around.
(Just, um, give 'em a moment. You'll see.)
"Well, while you're here, how'd you manage to get in?" Atticus asked. "Did you manage to make friends on the inside? Or perhaps friends on the other side?"
(Huh? The other side of what?)
"You're a spirit and you don't know?" He raised an eyebrow.
(I'm not a spirit! This is my ghost mode,) I replied.
"Are ghosts not spirits?"
(Huh, are they? I don't really know,) I muttered.
Ka-ka-ka-kaBOOOM! A shockwave rolls through the facility.
"What the…" Atticus looks up – rocks are falling, huge ones! "Spellmasters, incoming!"
In a flash, the falling debris is blasted into powder. Through the dust, sunlight streams in from the massive hole that just opened up, partially obscured by an aircraft hovering overhead.
(Heh. There they are,) I grinned.
Atticus narrows his eyes at the aircraft, then looks back at me, annoyed.
"Okay, really? Stealing a bomber was one thing, but actually using it? Come on! If I didn't know any better I'd say you guys had a death wish," Atticus says, shaking his head. "You should know those bombs are an enhanced prototype. Not completely stable, and certainly not something a group of rebellious biotools should be messing with so carelessly. Heavens forbid it gets shot down or something; you'd take the whole base along with yourselves."
(It worked, and that's what matters. Now let me go,) I retort, trying to squirm out of his grip. Just how is he holding me?!
Atticus's gaze shifts. "Oh? But we've yet to welcome our visitor. Seems like he's excited to meet you."
(Huh?) I look around.
"You of the Adams family always have been the defiant sort," Atticus notes. "Well, not like it'll make a difference now. So tell me, 183-A. You met the aquanauts, right? Any idea where they went?"
(Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you,) I reply.
Atticus shakes his head, then his eyes shift again. "I heard that, Fusion boy. I can introduce you, if you'd like. White Knight, go say hi."
When did Marc get here? And Trav is here too? I guess he did say he was en route.
As they duel, Atticus looks back at me.
"Now, then. Where were we? Oh yes, you were displaying your lack of knowledge concerning the aquanauts," Atticus continues. "Really, I should have picked them up while they were still in the submarine mansion. This is just a pain now."
(They're not even a threat,) I reply. (You should try chatting with them. You'll see.)
"I suppose. But it's not me who's obsessing over this, mind you," Atticus points out. "Guess I'll just shelve that for now. Moving on, there's a certain exceptionally slippery earthmover we've been banging our heads over. Maybe you've heard of him? Jiminalius Hanks."
(That's his full name? Hehe, no wonder he just goes by Jim,) I snicker.
Atticus sighs, rubbing his metal headband. "Of course he wouldn't confide in you, either. What a pain."
(Well, if he's been giving you the runaround for this long, then it's no surprise he managed to sneak Cryos out from under your fat noses,) I gloat.
"He – what?!" His face contorts for a moment before returning to his usual suave composure. "Elaborate. This is an order."
So, he can be surprised after all. Though, judging from his subtly popping veins, things could go badly if I don't give him what he wants…
BANG!
Atticus suddenly falls over – was that a bullet? Someone shot him? Whatever it was, I'm finally free!
WHFF!
"Hah!" I jolt awake, then feel myself. I'm in one piece!
"You okay?" Verni asks.
"Uhm… kind of?" I rub my neck. "I feel like I just woke up from a nightmare. How did he do that?"
"Strange man, Atticus is," Angelina agrees. "Some kind of aura barrier, I sense he had one."
"He's way too dangerous. And he knows way too much," I grumble. "Well, I guess that makes sense, since he's like second in command or something." Then I tap my gauntlet. "Kit to Hal. Where are you?"
"Still with Master Lee," Hal replies. "Also, apparently Jetta was still in the cruiser when we headed in, and she won't let me hear the end of it. As if it was my fault. Ow! Quit that!" There's some scuffling, then Hal comes back on the line. "Also, Suum was safely relocated. The blast was you guys, right?"
"Yep. Get out of there as soon as you can," I reply. "We'll swing by later once we finish this place off."
"Angie! Our pals are back," Verni calls. "And they look serious this time."
Angelina checks on her chargebolt rifle. "Kit, fighting, can you do it? Three mages, they're attacking."
"Trying to stop us from dropping more bombs, yeah?"
"Disabling the Bunkercrush, I think their plan is."
"Oh, really?" I open the turret's entry hatch. "Let's show 'em exactly why that's a bad idea."
"We'll flank 'em then," Verni nods.
The orbal mage's orb shines, and fireballs rain from the sky, striking the Bunkercrush in several places and knocking all of us off our feet.
"Minimal damage," Ru calls from the cockpit.
"Launching counterattack," I reply, then jump into the turret. Calibration, check. Sighting, check. Ammo, check. Open fire!
POWPOWPOW! The barrage forces the mages to back off with a barrier, and Verni and Angie take the opportunity to jump out, heading for their flank. That's when I notice the shaft off to the side – no longer below us!
Then the muscular mage materializes a boulder and shoots it at us – KRACK!
The huge rock shatters on impact and dents the Bunkercrush's armor, pushing us further away.
"Keep us afloat, Ru," I grunt, recalibrating the turret.
"We're still good. Let 'em have it," he replies.
I fire off another round – this time, the muscular mage intercepts the shots with an array of crystals. Angie fires at him, but his crystals also deflect her shot, and now their cover's blown.
The orbal mage and the cunning mage fly towards them, and I fire at them but miss. Then, snap! The muscular mage in front of me vanishes, replaced by the cunning mage. Did they swap positions? Why would they—
FUSHEEN!
My vision turns white, and I nearly black out. A flashbang? My senses are completely addled! Maybe I did black out? I can't really tell.
I feel my way to the hatch and stumble out of the turret, rubbing my eyes. "Ru, she got me with some kinda spell," I call. No response. "Ru?"
A minute later, my vision finally clears. I'm the only one left on the aircraft.
"Ru!" I run to the cockpit, and see him battling the cunning mage on the ground below, tendrils of flame arcing from his back. And Verni and Angie are keeping the other two mages busy.
I look at the shaft, a hundred meters straight ahead. A nice, clean shot. Might as well go for it!
I quickly pilot the aircraft past everyone, descending into the shaft with the carefulest precision I can muster.
And now, a bluff. I activate the ship's outercomm: "All right, guys, I'm running out of patience. You think I won't cause collateral? I'll do it!"
As if on cue, I see Travis fly up the shaft towards me. I'd expect nothing less from my old battlebrained pal.
I deftly jump back as he smashes the cockpit's window.
"Yo, Trav," I say as he enters the cabin. "Having regrets about joining the losing team?"
"We haven't lost yet, foresights be damned," Trav replies, drawing his white sword. "You aren't going to drop the bombs. I'll make sure of it!"
I smirk, activating my vibroblades. "Think you can take me on?"
Trav matches my gaze, and his sword crackles with electricity – like what Verni did! "Heh… don't underestimate my cool new skills."
I lick my lips. "Electric, huh… interesting. Maybe this'll be fun after all."