Chapter Text
"Have you heard? The robot settlement's gates have been closed off."
"I've been hearing noises coming from inside the gates!"
"Noises?"
"What's the point of closing it off? The restrictions to the Overworld have just been uplifted! If that ain't a timing.." Another lady chimed in, breaking into the conversation, while various baskets of fabrics enveloped her arms.
I overhear the gossipers chatter away, leaning my head to the cold embrace of the wall. "It hasn't been long since the Overworld's bridge became accessible to the Underworld.." Lost in thought, I brush my hand over my lip, letting the frosty air seep into my bones. The tingling sensation seemed to bite at my cheek, my eyes peering across to the bustling street that was to be full of life at the crack of dawn.
So the gates had been closed off, I think to myself.
"Whatcha thinkin about?"
Becoming alert of my surroundings, my lance materializes in my hands, air whooshing in a flurry of the moment, pointed at the neck of my intruder.
He quickly puts two of his hands up, emerging from the shadowy expanse.
"Relax, it's your favorite guy, Sampo!" The color of emerald glittered in his pupils, darting back at the lance's tip. "Mind if ya put that down?"
Huffing in response, I put it down, using it like a cane while the spear crushed the ground beneath it. "Great. What do you want this time?"
"Hey-hey hey! I've saved your neck two times before, you know that?" He pouted, dramatically putting on a show. "You're so cruel to poor ol' Sampo."
"Cruelty is one of my virtues," I give him a sly smile before reverting to a serious one. "Come on. I know you want something."
"You're painting me as a villain," He woefully announced.
"So you don't want anything?"
"..Alright, yes, I'm here for something."
Well, the cat was out of the bag now. I give him the time's-a-wastin expression, before turning away, striding into the streets of Boulder Town. "Wait!" He called after me, while I rolled my eyes and entered the light of the province. The stoned-scattered ground was imbalanced, but nothing that I wasn't used to.
I continued walking through the town, passerby's either talking about plans or gossip; many still unsure of the Overworld's opening. This time, the footsteps that chased behind me were not silent.
"It's about the settlement."
I stopped in my tracks, then slowly faced him. "I'm guessing you can't do business while it's closed off." I pinpointed.
"Hey now, it's for the sake of the people inside! I swear!"
"Nothing else?"
"Maybe a tad of business, yes. But mainly the people." He gave a smug smile that made my eyes roll. I knew it was solely for the business aspect of it.
But there was some truth in that. Many times, people from boulder town to the vagrants of the great mine have heard the cries of others from the inside, some clawing at the closed gates, begging to leave. But nothing had opened it. Nothing had thawed the gates that imprisoned the people inside-- for there was no lock, only cold, unwavering machinery that operated it.
"How do you expect me to get in there, assuming I'll help?" His eyes lighted up at my words, like a golden retriever, but I knew it resembled a vixen.
"Leave it to me!" He gave a playful smirk.
"Leave what to her?" The familiar stoic voice approached us from behind. "What are you doing now, Stelle?" Dan Heng's piercing gaze would definitely be classified as Edgelord-Syndrome. "Oh you know, some stuff.." The businessman weakly laughed, while I darted daggers with my eyes to him.
"Are you having a big adventure without us?!" March pointed out, wanting to join in as usual. "Come on! You can't have fun without us two!"
"It's about the robot settlement," I sigh. "The people in there seem.. not to be faring well."
"Svarog's calculations are nearly unmovable," Dan heng evaluated the gravity of the situation, before chipping in, "We'll help you. You're not entering that robot-infested pit without us."
Ah, there was the nice part of the edgelord. You had to give him that.
"Hopefully I won't end up being sent-off. You all won't ditch me like Sampo, right?" I smile.
"Wow." The indigo-haired man offendedly gasped.
The dreary gates of the settlement were far from welcoming, and far from what they used to be.
Originally the gates were riddled with small openings, foiled with sturdy metal and for the ones inside, looked like prison bars. But now that it has been revamped..
A huge, metal gate that seemed like a huge blockade towered our heights, roughly being 30 feet tall, with no view of the inside. The walls around it had also been revamped, being nearly the same height as the gate.. I looked at the others worriedly, then took a deep breath before I operated the system.
There was a button and implemented speaker on the side of it, so I wasn't sure if this was for permissions, or just getting it open. "Let me handle it!" March rushed over, spamming the buttons to no avail.
"..."
"..."
"Wow. You're a genius." I sarcastically implied, teasing her. Nothing happened, despite all that button-pressing.
A robotic voice fired up from the speaker. "The gates are currently closed. Please come back later."
Again March pressed it, earning the same automated response. "The gates are currently closed. Please come back later."
Unsure what to do, I yelled into the speaker, "LET US INNNNN!!!"
"The gates are currently clo-"
"Where's Sampo?" March looked around, scanning the area.
I groaned. Not again.
"Big sister?"
A tiny voice asked in the speaker, seeming to be behind the wall. "Big sister, is.. is that you?"
"Clara! Yeah, it's me. How are you doing?" I enthusiastically ask, relieved we had a different response than "thegatesarecurrentlyclosedpleasecomebacklateryolittleshit"
"M-me? I'm okay.." There was a pause. "But the people here aren't."
Dan heng joined in, eyeing the speaker. "What's happening in there?"
"Dad- uh, Mr. Svarog, calculated the situation from above.. he.. he closed off the gates.. I've been trying to convince him to open it.."
I think for a moment, bluntly asking, "Can't we just jump over?" I ask Clara, knowing the gates won't be open anytime soon.
"No- no, please don't do that!" She panicked.
"There's turrets pointed at the top of the walls- deadly ones.. Mr. Svarog warned no one to go out or go in, but some people didn't listen and.."
"Don't worry Clara, we'll find another way." I assured her, looking at my two teammates. "Any ideas?"
"We just need permission! Clara, could you let us in?" March asked.
"She already said she's trying to convince him to open it. Meaning she can't open it, March." Our edge-lord in the group said rather bluntly.
"Has anyone gone in and out without bleh-ing?" I crouch down, trying to see if I could dig my way under the gate.. Dan Heng's face palmed, muttering something about me being a dog..
"Yes, one guy went out, but was warned he couldn't come back in. I-I think it was Sampo Koski.." Clara's voice stuttered for a moment, glitching out of the speaker, the signals firing up again. "You can get in peacefully if you get the gate master's permission."
"Darn. Not him." I sigh.
How exactly were we going to get permission?
Suddenly, a mechanic whirring was nearing our tails, causing us to look back.
There he was. The businessman, being escorted by a security-bot. He weakly laughed. "Aha."
"Really, you got yourself caught?! Wait, what the heck did you do?!" March exclaimed, eyeing the 'criminal.' Sampo gave her an undecipherable smile, before his eyes opened, lurking with viciousness.
"Criminal, criminal. Must be escorted. Criminal, Criminal." The robot repeated, shoving Sampo forward. "Ouch."
He had planned something.
I could tell with the look in his eyes.
"Open gates. Open gates."
Slowly, the loud creak rang through the air, the gates opening before us.
Aha.
I nodded at Dan Heng and March 7th, quickly walking through before more security bots stopped us. "Not criminal, leave."
Wind bellowed everywhere, breaking an opening through the robots. "Thank me for that!" Sampo escaped from the grasp of his captor, quickly joining our attempt to break through. We made it past the gate, only to be greeted by rains of bullets. "Big sister-!" Clara called out, being swept up by Sampo to be shielded from the barrage of bullets.
"Clara, you need to go. Alright?" I look over to the child in Sampo's arms, tears pricking her eyes.
"A-alright..!"
Sliding down from the wind-holder, she left the danger zone while we were left unknowing what to do.
Robots kept pushing us back, closer and closer to throwing us out the gate. "Intruders, intruders!" The alarms set off, shouting out, nearly synchronized to the bullets. "Rid. Of. intruders."
We were pushed past the gate, the security bots being too much for the three of us to handle.
"The gate is closing!" March yelled out, the creakiness being a telltale sign that we were running out of time.
"Sampo!" I yelled out, jumping on a tall robot as a boost, lunging myself toward him. He quickly understood what I meant, the moment I reached him, he boosted my foot, throwing me into the direction of the gates.
Tumbling down, I heard the creaking sound stop, replaced by an abrupt "Slam!"
I had made it past the gate, without any of my teammates. I was stuck here. Alone, and perhaps destined to die.
..Damn it, I've been sent-off..