Fire So Cold It Burns

"What is that anyway?" We had dispatched the flesh monkeys easily enough if only grossly. I had taken to using the cold flame as more of a sword than just throwing it. Nidget was of course intrigued by it.

"Cold fire, its the only magic I know."

"Trezlan never taught you his necromancy?"

"I didn't really know him for long, he just arrived, declared he's a god and then disappeared, on top of that, I don't want to learn his stuff, its terrifying."

"Made him a god."

"And he used that power to send us to the past and get us stuck in a trap."

"Point taken." The creatures had stopped for now. I could sense it wasn't exactly over, but I had no reason to believe that, just a feeling. Clearly whatever had killed the people before was a lot more powerful than some fleshless monkeys. With no other options we kept going forward, figuring there had to be a way out or a way to stop whatever was inside, or failing both of those things perhaps treasure to bait the trap? The last one was Nidget's belief, but I couldn't find fault in his logic.

From the initial assault area we moved further down into the ruins. The walls of bone cave way to the more traditional stone work. Wall paintings probably in blood depicted something, but I didn't understand the language and Nidget apparently didn't speak it either so we both could just look at and try and interpret the writings as to what it meant. It looked to be some kind of ritual, but for what? Couldn't tell you. We ignored the writing and kept going down because that seemed like a really good idea!

Past the blood writing we came to an altar and I'd be lying if I wasn't surprised there was gold and jewels all around it. Like wow Nidget was actually correct. Of course immediately upong entering the chamber the doors slammed and a man in a hooded cloak showed up. So we had fallen for the trap, but honestly we were kind of there anyway? So yeah, fun times were indeed ahead!

In Sacrifice of the Dark

"So spiders?"

"No monkeys."

"Bullshit no one gets sacrificed to monkeys."

"I was more hoping, I'd love to fight some god monkeys." Nothing had attacked us yet, but it let us come up with what could attack us. I did want to fight some monkeys, if only because I'd only ever really seen them in books and never in reality yet, and I so wanted to fight some.

"Well I just don't want it to be flesh monsters, far too bloody, you hear me creatures in the dark? Have some gods damn skin."

"I agree skin would make things easier to deal with." I did find it mildly alarming Nidget had a preference and a reason for that preference. But you know somethings are best left unsaid.

"So we're killing Carver when we get out right?"

"Totally, like not even letting her explain, straight to the murdering."

"Agreed." Just then we were attacked by fleshless monkeys. So what I wanted, and what Nidget didn't want. The universe as always was a cruel mistress.

Suspicions Naturally Growing

The inside initially was straight horror, bodies, and parts of bodies splattered everywhere. It looked like they had all stacked up at the door hoping to escape before it was sealed, which conflicted with what Dr. Carver had told us. I found myself distinctly aware I didn't have my swords, or any sword, and really wished Nidget would lend me one, but he apparently kept his weapons his own.

"You said you locked yourself away?"

"I meant I locked the site away, just misspoke." Nidget didn't seem convinced and I shrugged, maybe she panicked? We had gotten inside, just past where the door light was fading when I noticed Carver wasn't next to us, she had moved to the door.

"Good luck you two!" I tried to throw some frost fire at her but it was too late the door slammed shut and I heard the chains and such being reattached. The metal had all sorts of runes on our side so I knew even my magic would probably not work against it.

"Why do you think she shut us in?"

"Because we're a sacrifice Nidget."

"You don't know that, maybe she's just afraid of what's in here and like figured we could handle it and..." With the door shut we could see more in the room, the ambient light highlighed the walls were made of bone and written in blood on the ceiling was "Welcome to your death."

"You were saying."

"Yeah we're fucked."

Dr. Carver, Survivor

"So I know Nidget he is well was a well known thief."

"Hey... well at least you knew me."

"But who are you other than Trezlan's grand daughter? Some kind of doctor from your clothing and lack of weaponry?" I hadn't realized the prisoner outfit of the future would look like a doctor outfit of the past.

"I'm a soldier, or I was I should say, the outfit is more that I was a prisoner."

"Oh? What did you do?"

"Killed some people for not being just." Carver's eyes looked down.

"Oh." I couldn't read her, whatever association I had with justice had been severed since Nidget took me to the portal.

"I'm not a murderer really, ok I am sort of, but its a recent thing I used to fight machines." I could tell from her look Dr. Carver wasn't really on board with what I was saying.

"Well I believe you! Besides its not like I haven't done some ethically questionable things myself, I mean when the rest of my team was dying I locked myself in a chamber and didn't let anyone else in." This was meant to reassure me and Nidget, it didn't really. We stood there awkwardly not saying anything for a bit after her revelation.

"So treasure?" Nidget of course spoke up.

"I'm not sure really, we were just starting into the chamber when whatever it is attacked."

"You didn't see what killed your fellows?" I suspected Carver was holding out on us, but I had no way of proving that.

"Nope, aren't you excited to see what's beyond this door?" I hadn't even noticed the door, it looked pretty evil with runes and other marks on it. I did notice chains as well, just a lot of bad stuff.

"Can we?" But she already broke the seal on the door and with it kick started our super fun adventure. SUPER FUN GUYS CAN YOU TELL I'M NOT BEING SARCASTIC!

Trezlan The Great and Foolish

"Where are we?"

"When would probably be a better question." I looked at Trezlan with a scowl he put up his hands like he meant not offense. We were standing beside a cave, there was a woman there her outfit looked odd, like she was some kind of archivist or something but the clothing was all leather and silk, a look I'd never seen.

"I recognize I believe Nidget, but I have no idea who the woman is, or how a dead man like Pavarossi is here."

"Not dead anymore probably, I have no idea Trezlan what am I?" Trezlan shook his head.

"Annoying, Dr. Carver you asked for help and I give you, help! This is the formerly dead Nidget Pavarossi and my grand daughter Anzi."

"My god you've bred on your way to being a god?" I didn't know who Dr. Carver was, but I liked her right away.

"Anways Dr. Carver, I believe this ends our transaction, good luck."

"Wait I thought you were the god of luck how did you do time travel?" I was confused, I had been already, but this was more confusing.

"Dr. Carver here was excavating this whatever it is, and her entire group was wiped out by local and other nasties I'm sure you'll become acquainted with, and so she cried out for assistance, and I heard her and came to help."

"Still confused how the luck thing factors in."

"It was lucky for her I was listening." He smiled at that and then was gone. Leaving me with Dr. Carver in some ancient when.

"Well this is awkward." She seemed high spirits for her situation.

"Right, well Dr. what can we do for you?"

"I have no idea."

"That makes three of us." It was an odd start for an adventure, but I've had worse, so much much worse.

Intervention To Intervene

"You know I sent you because I was busy." Trezlan had saved us, he just showed up and burned everything and then stuck around to be a dick. I noticed that seemed to be his MO, do something and then complain you had to do something.

"This isn't my fault."

"You didn't open a pathway to a dimension you had no idea about and then run out of space for that lack of knowledge." Nidget looked away.

"Ok so maybe this was some of my fault, but she's crazy Trezlan, she got us arrested again! Usually this is the kind of shit you'd get me stuck in on a longer time frame, but she's already well in deep with Oshujon. She's doing his work!" Trezlan looked at me with sadness, or pity, it was hard to tell.

"Is that true?"

"He gave me pur..."

"I had to kill him once because of his purpose, or destroy him, either way I did something to him once, and now my own blood is following him, this pains me."

"Well maybe if you gave me some kind of direction! I'm lost Trezlan, I don't know what I'm to do." He looked at me, and then Nidget, and then back to me.

"You need some kind of quest then? Ok well I can do that." I should have known at that point I wouldn't like what happened next. Least of all because we went back in freaking time, how does someone this idiotic have this much power? It's like giving a toddler an anti air battery!

Planar Problems

"I almost wish we were back with the police." The creatures were some kind of spider wolf hybrid, why or how was beyond me. The whole plane deal made little sense to me, but everything nowadays did. I swear being the grand daughter of a god was a rawer deal then being the daughter of a losing general.

"What Wolfiders aren't your thing? This is great." Nidget did seem to be enjoying himself, though I guess being a ghost sucks enough any activity is better than what you were doing before.

"I don't have my swords, and my magic seems to be screwed up here Nidget."

"Oh right don't use magic, this plane has some kind of oddness with it."

"YOU ARE NO HELP!"

"I'm killing things lady!" We were moving through the not city to some place Nidget at least seemed to want to get to. I still had no idea where we were or why Nidget had decided we should go here. We had fought our way from the prison area to another section of town when we literally ran out of space. The city had given way to just a gigantic gap.

"You freaking idiot."

"Ok so mistake may have been made." MAY HAVE BEEN MADE?! This is what he told me. THIS IS WHAT HE TOLD ME AS WE FACED CERTAIN DEATH! I didn't know Nidget very much, but this highlighted why I figured we would not be great friends.

Bad Ideas, On Bad Ideas

I was in solitary because they knew if I wasn't I'd probably kill more people. It was pretty boring waiting around for something to happen. I didn't even know what that something would be. I suspected maybe something with Oshujon, his grand plan to free me. Turned out it was Nidget and his not so grand plan to just break out of prison.

"Come on lets get out of here." He had somehow gotten in the ceiling.

"I'm facing enough shit right now, I think breaking out would be a bad idea."

"Yeah ummm I saw a group of armed men coming this way, so unless you want to."

"Ok lets go." I didn't need more convincing, I figured at some point killing me was just the smart play, so better to go wherever Nidget had figured to go. He threw down a rope I didn't ask about and into the ceiling we went. He got lost almost immediately. I mean I can't fault him, I had no idea where to go either, but I swear he thought we'd go inside to leave the building and what? Who does that? Who can't figure out how to leave a building? Eventually we found our way outside and into the gods damned trash. I figured it was a statement on how Nidget felt about me as a person. I could hear the alarms going off, they were coming for us. I had no idea what we were going to do since I'd already tried to unsuccessfully to leave and not been very good at it.

"This is going to be weird." I didn't even get to ask what he meant by that. He drew a symbol on the ground and then all of a sudden we were someplace else. It was a new plane of some kind. It looked kind of like the place we'd just left except everything was blue and cracked.

"Where are we?"

"Uhhh well..." Creatures were coming, I could smell them before I saw them.

"Nidget."

"Look this isn't my fault, it's Trezlan's fault remember that." I tried to remember that, I really tried as the creatures came. It was super super hard.

I Don't See How Any of That Is My Problem

"Captain." That's all they said, they came in I was bandaged up from the car accident. I don't know where Nidget was, probably in a hospital hopefully getting what looked like a nasty head wound looked at. Four of them this time, no name tags.

"Let me guess I'm in a lot of trouble." They all laughed at that, it was that kind of gallows laugh you have before something really bad happens.

"Multiple killings, and we are still trying to determine what the shorty you have with you is, he's not showing as technically alive."

"Well there you go, you solved it he's not technically alive." They frowned, people frown when you don't take them seriously.

"Where is Oshujon? What are you guys planning?" Planning? That was new to me, I didn't even have much of a plan from him other than bring justice to the unjust. If he had a greater plan that was bigger than I had he didn't tell me. I couldn't tell these guys that of course.

"I'm sure he's around, he's got plans for justice you know, justice plans." That seemed to scare them, I could tell from their eyes, at this point I knew it was best to keep silent since I didn't know anything.

"So you don't know anything either. Lock her up." I don't know why they had to specify to lock me up, I WAS ALREADY LOCKED UP! But I was taken away to a holding cell to be sent back to real prison, because that was my new life. I tell you for defending justice I was sure seeing the wrong side of the justice system.

I'm Still Lost

There were more dead men and even less information from my new short helper. Nidget was a lot of things I'd seen, an over explainer was not one of them. I was mostly concerned with his don't work with Oshujon thing, but I was also intrigued by the weird crossbow he carried with him and his dagger/swords. I'd never seen someone do the kind of things he did and really wanted him to show me, except we were already on the run. The men we killed had reported us to other men and it just spiraled from there. I found myself driving down a high way with Nidget hanging out the window shooting his crossbow at our pursuers.

"You have to drive a little bit more steady."

"It's literally my first time."

"You are doing well then! Steady though!" I didn't even know how to keep it steady. I was literally learning as we were speeding down the road gun fire taking large chunks from the vehicle as we went. So it totally was not my fault when I smashed into a police barricade and almost killed Nidget, well I don't know if he could be killed, but he almost had a really really bad day. I guess I should have figured having a running gun battle in the streets upsets people, but you know that's a detail you just don't think about until you're in one.

I did wind up back in prison though, that seemed unfair since I didn't intentionally escape, and really isn't reality a prison to begin with? No they didn't see my reasoning either.

Blame Trezlan I Always Did

"Mind if I have a drink its been well I don't even know what year it is, so I'm going to say a long time and leave it at that." He had red hair and the oddest facial hair I've seen on a person, just a long thing mustache with a short goatee. He was also completely unreadable. I hadn't had the justice sight for long, but I hadn't run across someone who had no actual anything like Nidget did.

"I can't read you."

"Yeah I'm not alive I don't think? Or I wasn't? To be honest I have no idea what I am right now, Trezlan says hi, he's too busy to help himself so he sent me, also don't do anything for Oshujon, man's a zealot."

"I don't even."

"I was a ghost for a time, long time even, I guess it was what happened when you don't sign on to any religious aspect of things. I wound up basically haunting a place hoping some idiot like Trezlan didn't come along and send me some place worse. That sucked, sucked even more when the world got wiped out, just had to sit there in the ruins hanging out with other ghosts, who are all pretty terrible to be honest, just stupid rude people." He was drinking pretty heavily from some undiscernible black liquor.

"I feel like I missed something important."

"Basically Trezlan's tied up with things, he found me just wandering around because he's a god now which yikes that's scary, and now I'm here to help you kill like twenty people." There were only five bodies near me, I knew at that point he meant in the future not present.

"Only twenty?"

"Well to start, been gone for a long time, I want to have a little fun before returning to non existence you know."

Just Short of Rescue

They came for me at night, I figured they would, whatever arrangement they had with the guards it had to not be obvious. There were six of them four by the time they actually subdued me, even without my magic I had a tight space and preparations against them. They put a bag over my head so I couldn't see where I was going, but it didn't matter, out was all that mattered, and the bag implied I'd be moderately safe until I got there.

"You are a troublesome one." Still blinded, the voice was deep throated.

"I try to be its in my blood."

"Keep up this shit and I'll see your blood." I couldn't see the man directly, but the sight of justice told me all I needed to know, he was a minor player in a bigger enterprise, but still quite a bad bad person.

"I'm afraid, you just can't tell because I can't change the tone of my voice." Somewhere I'm sure Trezlan would laugh about this. I was trying to think of what to do to free myself when something shifted. I couldn't get a sense of it at first because whatever it was didn't register, and then violence. Just screams and then death. Out of it came a voice, almost high pitched.

"And just like that rescued!" I felt the bonds undone, and then the hood. I didn't see my rescuer at first, because I was looking up top and he was down below.

"What are you?"

"More of a who, and its hard to say, I was once though Nidget Pavarossi the great thief." And it only got weirder from there.

Punishment is Different Than Justice

General population was a mix of bad people. Oshujon had given me the sight, I don't know how, but I just knew what these people had done or not done (the innocent were the hardest to see there, because since they'd been in prison more crimes had been done to them). I approached a woman covered in tatoos and scars, she was easily double my size.

"What do you want?" I hit her in the knee it was a solid blow that took her from her power base and brought her to my level, my next strike was at her eye, the squish told me it too was successful. Others were coming, guards, prisoners, I had to work fast. While she was off balance and unable to see I struck her hard in the throat to finish her off, the crunch of her wind pipe told me it was done. By the time I was pried off her the last gasps of oxygen had left her body.  Solitary was my next destination. Isolated from other prisoners. I knew this would probably be coming, from what Oshujon mentioned. But I felt clean in my purpose, and knew I'd be free again soon enough.

"You're in a lot of trouble you know that right?" Tom was the name tag, I didn't know if it was last or first. From the sight I knew he was not an evil man.

"For what?"

"Murder, you killed that prisoner."

"She's done worse than was done to her, if anything I was merciful."

"The courts won't see it that way." I laughed.

"As if the courts are doing real justice, you just punish these people, I bring justice." Tom sighed.

"It's almost verbatim what he said." And then he left, I was alone in the cell waiting, I knew my time would come, and it did, that's the thing about criminals, they never know when to quit when they are ahead.

Doing Your Job

"Captain I can't believe what you are doing now." I was of course sectioned off from Oshujon they needed to work me, find out what I knew versus what he'd say.

"Justice."

"Yeah that's one way of saying killing five people and stringing them up, and who is this new guy? He wouldn't say anything other than Justice." I smiled.

"Justice." There were five of them now, I guess we'd put the fear into someone if this was the response. One of our killers had looked fairly posh.

"Captain we can't defend you from whats coming if you aren't defending yourself."

"There is no defense for Justice, the wicked will be punished." They sat across from me looking on surprised. Then they left and I was moved back to a cell. I have to say it felt nice to be doing something and fighting the power. I don't know if that's the Trezlan in me or just doing something just, but I was glad that instead of just existing I was living. On top of that, being in a cell was exactly where I wanted to be, a lot of justice goes unpunished in prison. And Oshujon and I  were not going to let that slide either. We were as they saying goes, just getting started.

Justice Will Follow

There were five dead. Oshujon told me they were bad people, he said they'd done things to those in the poor parts of town and this was what they deserved. I didn't know if that was true, but Oshujon was convinced of it and that was enough for me. We displayed them on boards, their crimes above their heads, he told me this was to warn others. Made sense, we did the same thing to the machines in the war if only to warn people about the dangers of them.

The people of course did not react kindly. There was panic, there was fear, but ultimately I think this was for the best. They now realized preying on others came at a cost, and that cost would be their life (or limb, Oshujon said not all crimes would be death, we could take a limb). To me though, the people should have been thankful, justice was not being carried out, and then it was. The five were a sign, we were there to right some wrongs.

"When will they learn?"I asked Oshujon as we left the slums.

"In time, justice when denied long enough people lose hope. We will give them hope, and we will make the bad people fear us, you just have to be patient."

Of course the first bad people who feared us were the actual authorities who were tipped off by the people in the slums. I tell you, you give people justice and then they get you arrested. THERE IS NO JUSTICE!

I'm Just Done

It had been a long time coming for me to think of myself as a person. I never did really, after the war I just felt lost. Like a weapon you put in a drawer and forgot. Most of society moved on, I just drifted off, drank some, watched the world some, but outside of that didn't do anything of note. Oshujon in rejoining society had done more than I had and I'd been around longer. I mean sure he seemed to want to kill everyone in society, but again that was better than I'd done. I just felt lost in society, and lost in general after wandering a bit. I didn't even know where I wanted to be, so when I looked around at all the poor and suffering I knew I was probably in the wrong place.

I had heard of the suffering after the war, how we had returned to the haves and have nots very fast. I hadn't seen it really. I didn't expect to find all this suffering. I mean we had all kinds of open spaces and places to be, why would people be concentrated and miserable?

"They always exist no matter how enlightened you become." Oshujon had apparently decided to track me down.

"Says the guy out of rotation for a long time."

"It's universal, trust me, I can smell the injustice here, I can smell it everywhere."

"Must be pretty awful."

"It's almost unbearable." I could see it in his face, he looked like he was in misery.

"So what will you do?"

"Bring justice to the unjust, will you help me?" He extended his hand and I took it. And so two avatars of justice began.

A Society of Disease

"So how are things?" Oshujon and I had once again reintegrated to society. We got a personal escort from the apologetic machines to a remote outpost so that we wouldn't be thought of as machine traitors, and from there a week's journey back to regular space. Thankfully he was wearing clothes, and his swords had somehow become pistols. I didn't ask he seemed fine not to explain.

"This universe is everything that I found distasteful before, we used to put people to death for the very things you guys embrace."

"So good then?" He frowned.

"You're very much like Trezlan, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"I've heard that from my father once, he didn't know either."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Drink myself stupid try and get one with my life."

"Don't you have a higher goal, something to attain? It seems like you're driftless." We were at a cafe drinking coffee. I hadn't really thought of the aimlessness, but I kind of knew it was a thing I should be working on.

"Well no I don't, but you know there was a war and..."

"Been over for a while, I think you lack structure because its easier to do nothing and succeed than do something and fail."

"You're an asshole!" I got up and left him there at the table. He wasn't wrong mind you, but I would be damned if some long dormant concept of justice would tell me what to do in my life!

Justice Needed A Day Off

"You're lucky I feel in a forgiving mood." The naked man seemed more than a little angry at Hanlon. I thought he should put on pants, but you know that's me thinking pants are a thing people should want.

"So you've been locked away for hundreds of years, just think you avoided a lot of bullshit."

"Who's the girl?"

"Trezlan's grand daughter, Trezlan is a god now." The man looked amused.

"More of one you mean? He was pretty godlike before."

"I'm so lost." I was lost before, I was even more lost now.

"This is Oshujon he used to be an agent of justice before he decided to kill the gods and well some shit happened and he was locked away in those swords until just now."

"Oh that makes sense." It didn't make sense, none of it did! It was all crazy! But I was on board the crazy train, it had left the station.

"Well you two should catch up, I'm just going to." And then Hanlon was gone, I guess whatever anti magic was in the room died with Morley? Or maybe it hadn't been there in the first place, but there I was with an agent of justice naked as the day is long.

"So this is awkward."

"Yeah I need pants."

"Thank you, pants would be a big step up." So justice and I got to hang out, it was nice, aside from that whole 'embodiment of justice' thing that kept getting in the way.

Enter The Spider

Something was off. I didn't see it at first because of the wonder of all the things there. But it was too new if it made any sense. There was no dust on anything, unless Trezlan had recently been there and touched everything, everything hadn't been there that long, and seeing as the machines had recently just thought of this place I knew something was up. Hanlon did not appear to be what that thing was, he was too mystified by his green blade discovery. So when the other not Trezlan showed up I knew this was the real problem.

"I had hoped for Trezlan, but I'll take you death god." His skin was pale and bubbly like he had a really nasty skin disease.

"A Morley how quaint I thought you were all dead." I was lost so I said nothing, I'd heard the name Morley once from my father, but I could not recall the context.

"You'll note that your powers don't work here, you're as weak as anyone else." He seemed confident. I guess because he knew the machines couldn't harm him, indeed he may have been on board the ship and I never noticed.

"Then so are you Morley."

"I don't need powers I have this." He procured a pistol, "My father made it, and I know it can kill you." I thought why he didn't just shoot, he had all the time in the world. Hanlon himself was amused more than anything, he touched the green blades and from them came a man. Morley or whoever he was seemed surprised, up until that man sliced his head off.

"I am so confused."

"It's ok My dear I can explain it, hopefully before our new friend here kills me." The man who was devoid of clothes and bald, smiled. I didn't think it was that funny, but what can I say I hate being left in the dark.

Hoarder of The Damned

Trezlan to put it nicely hoards things. Lots of things, all the things. I think in a previous existence he must have been an insect that stores food for the winter. The machines wanted specific things, but I couldn't find anything of value. He has journals, so many journals, all the journals. In every format you could imagine, dating back hundreds of years, some written in ink, some written in what looked to be bodily fluids, all of them damn near illegible.

Outside of the journals there was also all kinds of knick nacks, random junk and more than anything weapons. Weapons were all over, from all different periods, cultures and metals. He had racks of melee, and ranged weaponry , from functional to celebratory. I was honestly in awe of the various things. I got a little lost in there. Going down what was hundreds of years of various weapons. It was like an actually interesting history lesson. I didn't even realize I wasn't alone for a bit until the person with me spoke.

"Amazing what you can accumulate over the years isn't it?" Hanlon, the Death God was there, I should have suspected whatever wards Trezlan put up God's were immune.

"Lots of junk."

"Lots of history here, I didn't even know this existed until just now. I see all the journals he's accumulated, I'm sure if properly leveraged you could get something out of him for returning those."

"Rather not risk the wrath of him."

"I'd say he wouldn't hurt family, but I personally know he killed his father, several times over even."

"I feel like there is a story I never want to hear there."

"Because there is." Hanlon stopped though when he looked at a pair of swords that were green bladed, "Well hello, where have you been?"

"Friend of yours?" Hanlon smiled unsettlingly.

"In a manner of speaking yes, yes it is."

In the Lair of Lorentino

For someone with modern sensibilities like I assumed Trezlan would his blood chamber was surprisingly ancient looking. I'm sure it was because he was aping the style of something else, and once inside it would be all fancy technical stuff, but I was at least surprised by the outside. Of course the machines waited behind me, the implicit "or else" to my exploration. I was a little afraid when I presented my hand for genetic sampling, the machine that was hidden behind a boulder injected what felt like far too many needles to get the job done, but the lock did release. The door opened. I figured at this point the machines would kill me and go on in, but apparently the interior was also guarded against such a measure and so I alone would be the one inside.

"What is it you guys want again?"

"Source code, I believe its in there, something Trezlan claimed to have, it was only recently we had access to the memory logs regarding it." I didn't like any of this, let alone helping the machines, but I didn't have a lot of choices, and curiosity got the better of me.

"What would that look like?" I could almost here the machines voice sigh at me, but I didn't know shit about computers! During the war we hardly used them for fear the machines would use them to attack us.

"Well it would be data discs or storage probably by a computer or other technical device." The room was all kinds of books, scrolls, and other random garbage Trezlan had accumulated.

"Well how much time do you have because this shit is going to take a while."

"We have all the time in universe, you do not, do be thrifty." Easy for the machines to say they didn't have to sort through a relatives hoard like the worlds most specific archaeologist.

And I want to do this Why?

"I need your blood." I admit I was taken back by this, I mean I assumed something horrible, but not like taking my blood bad.

"You'll have to repeat that."

"Not all of it mind you, but I need you to get into a room for me, and the only way in is by being of the blood of Trezlan, and I can't get him to help me."

"Can't or wont."

"Either way, you help me, I'll help you." I didn't like the sound of that, I didn't like to think of the things who killed my father and mother as helping me no matter what they claimed they could do.

"And I should do this for you even though Trezlan won't because?"

"Because in this world you could use a friend, I understand we were enemies and we killed your family, but I am not your enemy any longer, and I have been a boon to your family before I was a bane."

"And I should just trust you because?" She unlocked the restraints and I came down hard on to the metal of the ship.

"Because I'm trusting you."

"Well without my clothes or weapons."

"You are a Lorentino."

"Fair enough."

Into The Machine

I knew the sound from the war. A machine drop ship had arrived carrying a group of their soldiers. For a moment I worried I was having a flashback, but the machines were new, not at all the previous versions I'd fought so no way could they be a dream or some kind of hallucination. They landed and did their normal fan out. They were always so methodical, in the army we'd hoped we could use that to their disadvantage, but the linked intelligence always accounted for any ambush no matter how elaborate, eventually we just gave up on the tactic all together.

I didn't know why they were there, but from the fan out they definitely were looking for something. It took me a terrifying moment to discover it was me. I had forgotten about their biological scanners, funny how things go when removed from a war for a bit. They found my fairly easily, but instead of annihilating me as they would have in the past instead of all things they wanted to talk.

"Anzi Lorentino." The voice was more human than I expected, though the AI supposedly had their own minds, its what they claimed when we'd kill one back in the war.

"Nope, I'm Delores Rathburn." The name was something I made up on the fly, from a book I half remembered. I heard the zap before I felt it, something that seemed weird, but maybe the electricity was on a delayed response to how my body was processing it. When I awoke I was naked without any weapons. I could figure the weapons was fair, but the nakedness seemed excessive. Not that I was aware the machines would do anything sexual or shamey, it just felt silly to be naked.

"Anzi Lorentino." A new machine more human form, I was on their ship or so I assumed and attached to some kind of metal cross, the cross inhibited my magic ability.

"Delores Rathburn never heard of a Lorentino." The machine smiled is the best way I could say what I could see of her face.

"Sure, well Delores you have the dna profile of Anzi Lorentino which makes for some interesting questions to say the least."

"My parents always said I had good genes."

"Dangerous ones, all the same Delores," The machine made sure to make it clear she did not believe me, "As someone with your profile, I need you assistance."

"And what makes you think I'd help a machine?"

"Your grandfather built me, I figured we can let bygones be bygones here, especially by helping me, I can help you." Against my better judgement I responded

"And what can I do for you?" She smiled again and I knew I should have just kept claiming to be Delores.