7th interlude: The Last Memory

Anne nods back at Nick and turns to Marcus to say, "We're good to go." She then looks at the others. "Does anybody needs me to heal them?"

She looks at May, Marcus, Sam, Rémi and Evrard. Edward is a little ahead of the group, his eyes fixed on the hallway while he starts to flex his hand on the handle of his sword.

"No, I'm alright," says Sam, turning to look at them in the light of her torch. "We're so close."

Rémi says, "I'm fine. Let's get moving." He takes up position in the third spot of the marching order.

"May is ready." She moves to the sixth spot since she can move fast enough to cover either front or back.

"Then let's go," Marcus calmly states.

Right at this moment, the squad members hears a familiar voice coming from behind them.

"Hey guys! I'm back!"

The fairy has just flown through the large open iron doors of the entrance to the dome and is now heading straight for them. Once he's reached the party, he lands on May's shoulder, grabs her earlobe, and asks, "I sensed another wave of magic just now. Did it affect you again?"

The teenage boy looks determined, but seemingly unaffected by the last magical phenomenon.

"Yes, and it was much stronger." answers Sam.

"Felt like my head was filling up like a balloon," says Evrard.

Sam continues, "But we're fine. It didn't hurt you?"

"Well, I didn't feel good, but it was nothing like you," he replies before setting his gaze forward. "I think we should hurry."

The group agrees and once again, Samantha takes the lead, moving at least twenty meters ahead to escape the ruckus some of the squad members are making with their armor. The young rogue passes by several more dead soldiers, all of whom fought in the corridor to the death while the facility came to life.

The machines behind the walls hum stronger now. The closer they get to the center of the dome, the more stifling the atmosphere becomes. Until finally, they reach the center of the dome.

Click here:

The party moves forward and peeks into the side rooms to see what they are.

Because Smirk is capable of seeing in the dark, he is the one to open the doors and look behind them. What he sees are huge mechanical apparatuses that fill the room which are covered with woven runes that glow in the dark. Examining them more closely, they look like two giant pipes that head up towards the top of the dome. And to his right against the wall is a control panel of some sort.

Smirk shares his findings with the others, and after recalling her time working on the Shield project, Sam concludes that the control panels are not for the giant pipes, but for some sort of secondary hardware; in other words, something that controls either the lights, the doors, etc.

The group thus assumes that one of those control panels can unlock the large iron doors leading into the Core. Being the most qualified to manipulate this type of magitech, Sam approaches the control panel in the room on the right and gets to work. However, once she's finished, the squad members hear the sound of some kind of machinery in the hallway ahead of them powering down.

Samantha didn't unlock the doors, she realizes. She deactivated something, and she's not sure what it was. Most likely a fail safe that was connected to numerous traps of some kind.

Thinking the other panel will unlock the door, she hurries and proceeds to do the same thing in the other room. It is much easier this time now that she knows how to operate this panel, and after a few seconds, the squad members hear a loud buzz ring out throughout the corridor.

The doors then slide open.

What awaits them on the other side are dozens of soldiers and Imperial Guards. The ones near the door all have their weapons at the ready, but slowly begin to lower them when they realize that their would-be enemies are not mad like their compatriots outside. With no idea what to do, they look at their nearest superior for orders, but the man in question doesn't appear to know who the squad members are, and thus cannot make an informed decision about them.

Edward, Marcus, Anne and Jacob quickly lose interest in these men however when they lay their eyes on the room: at least 300 feet wide and 150 feet high, this dome is a marvel of architecture that contains giant pipes that run along the spherical wall as well as fat pillars that support its majestic ceiling. And in the center of the room is large cylindrical prison of glass that reaches for the ceiling and which is covered by woven runes of containment.

In it is the Elemental the squad retrieved from Zest's Gate.

"Jacob!"

This is Gab, Jacob's sister. She's floating in a cylindrical cage similar to the one the Elemental is, but smaller and thinner. When the squad members look around the room, they see the rest of the fairies imprisoned in identical prisons that are all connected to the top of the one the Elemental is in. Magical energies swirl within, bathing the whole room in colorful lights.

"Guys!"

Jacob flies to his sister's side and immediately attempts to break the glass, to no avail. The rest of his family call out for him.

"Jacob! You came for us!"

"They killed all of our friends!"

"It was them! They attacked our home!"

They then defiantly point at the Imperial guards standing on the other side of the room, near the machinery.

Arthur Hammerfist is among them, glaring at the squad members. Finlay Howe stands behind him, surprised by the squad's appearance, but more focused on his consoles than the sudden interruption.

The rest of the research team barely glance at them, too preoccupied as they are by their work.

The sight of Arthur angers and frightens Samantha, but she addresses the doctor in an even tone. "Dr. Howe. Slaughtering an entire town to draw us out is barbaric. It fits Arthur's profile. It would almost be a joke to even call it ancillary to the Dome project. Why did you give the order?"

Evrard stands several feet behind her, processing the forces arrayed against them and the bane of his merry existence in the far back, and maneuvering them and his allies in his mind, like pieces on a board.

The man doesn't even deign to look away from his console while he answers her. "I didn't give the order to attack the town; only the manor. I am sorry for what I did, but I'll make sure their deaths mean something."

He then resumes his work and gives instructions to his colleagues.

"Enough!" Arthur Hammerfist yells, causing the soldiers to slightly raise their weapons again. "You have the gall to come here, Usurper."

"You've caused enough trouble, brother," Edward answers.

"You're no brother of mine, bastard."

The two glare at each other, their eyes filled with rage.

"You don't get to decide that, Howe! But I will."

He glances at her, but carries on with his work.

Arthur narrows his eyes at Nick and Smirk when they begin to speak, but after a short moment of consideration, he turns toward Howe and asks him a question. The hum in the room is too loud for the squad members to hear what he says, but Finlaw Howe answers him with a shake of the head. Once Smirk is finished, the researcher says to him, "You've failed to consider the obvious solution: to deploy the Shield over Medial, but not the rest of the empire."

The emperors gives the squad a wicked smile. "We will let the Elementals deal with these rebellious kingdoms, after which we will redeploy the Shield over the whole Archipelago and kill them all at once."

Jacob, Marcus and all the others widen their eyes in horror.

"You can't do that!" the fairy exclaims.

"This is crazy," Edward says. "It could take years, maybe even decades before the Elementals defeat the other kingdoms."

"Yes," Arthus says, pleased with himself. "But thanks to the time dilation effect of the Shield, years will pass on the outside while only months will pass on the inside. Once these rebels are defeated, the Empire will reemerge from the Shield, wipe out the rest of the Elementals, and restore control and order to the Archipelago." The emperor looks into the distance, a content smile on his face. "I wish you could be there to see it."

Evrard's gaze transforms into a glare at the news. He prepares a spell. "Let's just get on with this," he growls with rage.

To this, Arthur simply says to his men, "Kill the intruders. If you don't, I will have you and your families executed."

After a moment of hesitation, the soldiers all raise their weapons at the party and begin marching in formation toward them.

As soon as Edward pushes the button, the iron door begins to close, trapping the Mimic on the other side. At the same time, May finishes the last of the Imperial Guards who are fleeing from her while the researchers do their best to stabilize the energy levels of the Shield.

"Here's how it is," the calmest of the researchers says, his eyes darting across the room as he tries to stand still. "The machine is trying to draw power from the Elemental, but it's dead. And because of the machine's current parameters, some of that energy we are drawing is going back toward the fairies. It's tearing them apart! Look!"

He points at the closest fairy—the one named Luka—and the squad members can see his body beginning to turn into the eight Elements.

"We can stop the machine from reverting them to their Elemental form. But we need to start drawing power from them exclusively."

Jacob looks at his friends, not sure what to do.

Sam pulls out her magical ring and hands it to the man with the explanation for why her friends are suffering. "Put this on and swear to me everything you said is true."

Meanwhile, Evrard joins Nick at the giant container to help.

Assist Weaving 24

Samantha's ring begins to work its magic, and the researcher, who apparently understands what's happening, quickly says, "I—I swear that everything I just told you is true. This is the only way to save the fairies." The man then catches himself. "The only way that I know of!"

Meanwhile, Nick—who is still imbued with Smirk's energy—begins to work on the crack in the Elemental's cage. Evrard comes to offer his assistance, and together, they examine the extent of the damages.

It's not good. Not good at all. A large amount of raw magic is leaking from this cage, and both Nick and Evrard realize that it will soon flood the entire room. Already, they can feel it gnawing at their sanity. By their estimation, they have five, maybe six minutes before everyone in this room turns mad. Furthermore, there's so much raw magic leaking from this crack, it cancels their attempts to fix it. They need to power down the Core first.

Samantha moves to the correct terminal and, as her stomach and her heart both sink like stones, she alters its functions and commands to the other terminals. "It had better do!"