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[Wishmaster]

                Some months ago.

                The demon, Delmoth rode in a modestly sized carrier ship where she sat in its rather posh and well furnished dining hall, its feet up on a stone table, cracking a fine china saucer, its head slunk well down in the booth, its flames charring the burnished leather. Its host sat across the table, intently watching and cautiously clutching at the pistol holstered in his belt.

“You think that iron’s going to do any better than your president’s shotgun?” it giggled.

“Pure silver slugs,” he explained, “Etched with runic symbols to banish and seal your powers.”

“And, if you were certain that they would work, you’d have used them by now.”

“Excuse me…sirs?” a crewman approached and snapped to them a crisp salute.

“At ease cadet,” Delmoth smirked.

“He’s actually a commander,” her host sighed exasperatedly, “Report son.”

“We have arrived at the dock, we are ready to disembark.”

“Hell yeah,” Delmoth snatched a teacup off of the table and drained it before throwing it over her shoulder, “Let’s go.”

                The Commander stepped back, watching it rise and start towards the exit of the dinning room.

“Sir…” he whispered to the Host, “Would you be requiring an escort?”

“I’d rather keep the body count down son,” the Host responded, but gave him an approving nod none the less, “Get back to your station now.”

“Sir, yes sir!” the Commander saluted again and marched out of the room, overtaking Delmoth as he left.

“Good man,” Delmoth mocked him as he left, “But I don’t think he likes me very much.”

                The Host said nothing, though his mind flashed through a series of violent acts and actual bloodbaths that had taken place along the trip. Results of the creature attempting to alleviate its boredom.

                He led the creature through the ship and onto the docks, urging it along when it stopped for a moment to examine the mechanical loaderbots that eagerly stomped across the area. At length, moving past numerous rooms filled with hopeless screams and mechanical whirring, they arrived at the control room where a human woman and a blue skinned mermaid waited.

“Interesting gremlin,” the woman said off handedly while examining a report, “Do you want me to dissect it?”

“Hey, I’ll try anything once,” it snickered, grabbing the edge of her desk and pulling itself up to sit there.

“Hm…” the woman looked up from her files and gazed at the flames surrounding its bare skull, “Why did you bring this thing in here?”

“Um…my …M’Lord Delmoth,” The Host stated, moving further into the room with his hands clasped behind his back, “I would like you to meet Yulia Von’Aft and her…consort, Bon Rook.”

“Consort?” Delmoth sniffed the air, “Oh, you mean they’re fuck buddies?”

“In so many words,” Yulia responded with a bored tone, then raised her eyes to look upon the Host, “Have you received your boon from this…thing?”

“We…have negotiated…”

“We’re in the midst of our transaction,” Delmoth explained.

“Then it won’t effect you too much to get the Hell out of my office,” Yulia glared at him.

“If you’ll please…”

“GET OUT!” Yulia screamed.

                Before the Host could respond, Delmoth raised a hand to silence him and then vaguely gestured that he leave. Taking the hint, the Host turned away and walked back down the hall. Delmoth then snapped her fingers and one of the bookshelves slid itself in front of the doorway.

“I’m supposing that you wanted privacy,” it cooed innocently.

“And I’m supposing that was supposed to intimidate me?” Yulia leered back.

“Oh no, of course not,” it snickered, “I like you, sincerely, there’s nothing I respect more than a woman who can recognize her own evil.”

“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Yulia finally tossed her file aside and tented her fingers leaning against the desk to look the demon into its burning eyes, “I know who you are, where you come from, and what you likely intend.”

“And?...do you actually care?”

“Not in the least,” Yulia responded dismissively, “But the one thing I can’t nail down, is why you’ve come to my office.”

“At the request of my…um…Host, he said you might be able to help me.”

“Opening extra dimensional portals…mmm, not my thing.”

“You don’t need to make it, just help me find one.”

                Bon Rook finally turned to pay attention to the conversation. Both Yulia and Delmoth noticed but shrugged it off to continue.

“I have done much in my journey to advance technology,” Yulia admitted, leaning back in the chair, “It’s involved no small amount of study, myths, legends, religion…I don’t know where your portal is, but, I think I can point you in the right direction.”

“The Dantian Library?” Delmoth’s eyes burning like blood red coals.

“But it’s not information that I’ll part with willingly.”

“Of course not,” Delmoth purred, “But, I should mention how these deals work…”

“Ten years of joy for an eternity of pain,” Yulia surmised, “Service for ephemeral reward.”

“Usually,” Delmoth admitted, “But this time, well, you’re only giving me directions, as a dealmaker, I can’t in good conscience offer anything of greater value.”

“So, directions, for directions?” Yulia wondered, then nodded, “I can work with that.”

                In the present, she stood free from her mechanical chamber, her skin glistening and slick, covered with motor oil and steel plates piercing through to fold under into muscular constructs. Wires burst through her flesh in odd areas and her one remaining eye glowed an eerie yellow. She looked at her opponents, Sylvester clutching his cane like a sword and Zeesa dropping down into a fighting stance. Both of them were breathing hard, covered in sweat, her electronically enhanced senses noted their elevated heart rates and unconsciously shuddering hands.

                She smiled, confidant in her victory.

“Well…” Yulia spread her arms wide inviting her, “Are we going to…”

                She was cut off when the pair rushed her at once, slashing and stabbing. She was chuckling as she easily dodged their strikes, leaping back to perch atop her containment chamber.

“Well, I do love a partner who takes the initiative, but, have you actually taken stock of your situation?”

“Just shut up!” Sylvester growled, leaping up after her only to get kicked away easily.

                She spun with the momentum of her own strike and pulled herself into a handstand as she sneered, waiting for Zeesa to attack.

“Well? Are you just going to let me treat your boyfriend like that?”

                Zeesa lunged but was met by a live power cable that stabbed her in the brow. Watching her smoking and twisting in agony, Yulia rolled down into a cross-legged sitting position, smirking as she rested her chin on her hand.

“Let me explain it to you then,” Yulia sneered at them as they recouped and came back for a second attack, “You’re all alone, no back-up, no reinforcements,” with minimal effort, she brained Sylvester as he approached and kicked one of the axes out of Zeesa’s hand, “You’re weary, beaten before you even showed up.”

“We’ve made it this far,” Sylvester declared, rushing at her, trying to get a good grip on her face.

                An actual network of wires rose up in front of him, pushing him away as Yulia tangled with Zeesa easily backhanding her to the ground.

“That only makes it all the more tragic, don’t you think?” Yulia mused, “To come so far, and fail so miserably.”

                Sylvester froze the cables and shattered them before taking another swipe at Yulia. She easily dodged his attack, grabbed hold of his wrist, and punched him in the throat. While she still had hold of him, Zeesa struck, transforming into a shark, jaws opened wide to swallow the bionic woman’s head. Yulia threw Sylvester into that waiting maw and Zeesa quickly changed back to catch him but the pair soon found themselves bound together in a web of cords as Yulia approached.

“And don’t you make the most adorable couple,” she joked.

                With a frustrated grunt, Sylvester focused on his cane, extending the ice spike outward until it pierced Yulia’s chest. She paused, for a moment, looking down at the wound until a chuckle escaped her lips.

“Was that supposed to hurt?” she wondered, moving closer, sliding along the spike until she was standing in front of them, smiling down, “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she whispered to him, biting down on his ear as she glare into Zeesa’s eyes, “I turned my pain receptors off before we started the fight, don’t you wish you could do the same?”

“…um, out of curiosity,” Sylvester wondered nervously, “You don’t happen to have radar or anything in that body do you?”

“Well, no, not yet, wh-Ack-ck-ckck!” she sputtered, electricity shooting out of her mouth as a wounded and weary Belix drove a jade axe into the back of her skull.

                With a sudden burst of strength, she knocked the elfin girl away, but the distraction bought Sylvester and Zeesa time to escape, Zeesa sliding away as a puddle while Sylvester managed to slip out of the cords with the extra slack she provided. While he grabbed Belix and tried to carry her away, Yulia fell back, both weapons still plunged deeply into her body as the cords wrapped around her arms and legs, pulling her away from Zeesa’s renewed assault.

“Fine then!” she yelled, gesturing her hand to the wall, “If you don’t want to play!”

                At her command, a turret emerged from the wall and began to fire.

                Several months ago, Yulia, Delmoth, and Bon Rook stood before a massive view screen, Yulia sorted through the images until stopping at vetruvian diagram of Granger.

“Tell me how to make that work?” she demanded.

“Um…” Delmoth folded its arms and chuckled, “I’m going to avoid the obvious sex joke and ask you to elaborate.”

                Yulia hit a few more buttons on her remote, enlarging the picture to better display a pair of small engines attached to his lungs.

“These,” she explained, setting aside the remote and taking a seat, “I call them the ‘the engine sanguine’.”

“Are we going to explain that reasoning?”

“Because it works by absorbing his blood,” Bon Rook stated, pacing the room, “Converting iron and various nitrates into mechanical components.”

“Really,” Delmoth scoffed, “Sounds like magic.”

“It may as well be,” Yulia grumbled, throwing a stack of files onto the floor, “I’ve studied, examined, taken it apart, put it back together, and I still don’t know how the fucker works.”

“Ha!” the demon mocked her, “This is really bothering you isn’t it.”

“If you must know…”

“I…mustn’t, but I want to.”

“Ugh…” she groaned standing up and pointing at the image, “This Shit! Is more than a century ahead of what Me or anyone else is capable of! And the Prick who made it did it Decades ago!”

“So it’s an Ego thing?”

“In large part, but also…” Yulia let out a sigh, “I need to know…”

“…to know?”

“The secret, the mystery, the truth,” Yulia declared desperately, “I need to know!”

“No, I get you…” Delmoth nodded approvingly, then lunged forward, latching herself onto Yulia’s face, “I just needed you to be clear!”

                A beam of light passed from the face of Delmoth, from the aura of flame that surrounded her flaming skull and pierced into Yulia’s brow. Bon Rook was quick to react, grabbing at the demon and tossing it away as Yulia sat in her chair, eyes wide in shock as a wisp of smoke curled off of her hair.

“What did you do to her?” Bon Rook demanded.

“I don’t know,” Delmoth admitted, easily recovering, “I am just a conduit for the cosmic power, I did nothing but allow her a brief glimpse into the spiritual all, the place where one is everything and all questions are answered.”

“Yulia…” Bon Rook called out, but got no response as her partner’s head continued to smoke, “Yulia!?”

                The woman finally blinked, and stared at Bon Rook, her expression a mixture of horror and excitement as a massive smile spread across her face.

“So…” Delmoth wondered, “Are we good?”

                Yulia looked towards the demon and began to cackle madly.

                In the modern day, Zeesa ducked under the stream of bullets, avoiding the fire and slicing into the turret with her axe. She had time to breathe a sigh of relief before turning to see Yulia pointing at Sylvester who was desperately trying to revive Belix, passed out once again in her arms. A new turret erupted from the floor and swung around to aim at them. Zeesa took a swipe at Yulia before moving onto the turret, cutting it in half a minute too late as it let loose a burst of fire that flew towards her teammates.

                Desperate, Sylvester raised his hand to block the bullets, generating a small shield that just barely stopped them before shattering it to bits. After checking that they were okay, Zeesa moved on from the turret and attacked Yulia. Left alone, Sylvester examined the remains of the shield still stuck to his hand and, learning from past experience, he didn’t try to pull the ice away, but pushed it back along his arm, trying to free up his fingers. He was almost startled into dropping her when Belix let out a shudder.

“Your hands are so cold…” she commented weakly.

“Sorry…” he looked towards Zeesa and Yulia still tussling in the distance and made a quick decision, “Don’t go anywhere…”

                She grunted, but didn’t have the strength to resist as he set her aside and moved in to join the fight. Together they knocked her over and managed to restrain Yulia for all of a second before a pair of turret burst from the ceiling and started blasting. They separated, avoiding most of the damage, with a few bullets still managing to snag their arms as they moved. While Zeesa liquefied, sliding herself under Yulia to use the woman as a human shield, Sylvester went for his discarded cane and used it to spear through one of the turrets before charging the other and freezing it in place.

                Zeesa emerged behind Yulia, and grabbed her in a clutch, trying to strangle the woman to death. Then watched in horror as the fingers on Yulia’s right hand folded back to reveal a set of drills that she stabbed into Zeesa’s forearm. Slyvester soon joined them, wrestling with Yulia to pull her hand away and refusing to let go even when she jammed another fist full of drills into his gut. Desperate, Zeesa noticed the jade axe stuck deep into Yulia’s brain, and started punching it, pushing the blade deeper into the cyborg’s skull.

    Yulia’s body started to convulsed between them as the axe was forced through the front of her face before clattering to the floor in a bloody heap. The cyborg woman went limp, leaning heavily on Sylvester, drooling and giggling, somehow, impossibly, still alive. Finally able to remove the drills from her arm, Zeesa stepped back and used her remaining weapon to chop Yulia’s head clean off of her shoulders. They stood quietly for a moment, Sylvester still holding Yulia’s body as her skull rolled on the floor.

“Did you want a souvenir or something?” Zeesa wondered and he coughed nervously before setting her down.

                One month ago, Yulia lay herself down on an operating table and started tying down the straps to secure her legs and arms.

“Were you going to help or just stand there?” she demanded as Bon Rook moved in out of the shadows, arms folded, face drawn into a worried grimace.

“Are you sure you should be doing this?”

“A little late to making backing out.”

“No, we’re at the perfect point to back out,” Bon Rook glanced upwards at the giant machine dangling down from the ceiling, “You’re about to crack open your chest…”

“No, the machine’s going to crack open my chest.”

“And install an engine into your heart.”

“YES!” she declared answering it as though it was a question.

“WHY?!”

“WHY NOT!!” Yulia cackled madly as she belted down her left wrist only to find Bon Rook’s hands clasping at her own.

“My Love…” Bon Rook whispered, a desperate sorrow in her eyes, “You’re scaring me.”

                Yulia reached out and gently caressed the cheek of her partner, a sweet smirk curling her lips.

“Bon’Amor,” she spoke the pet name like it was the gracious title of some ancient empress, “Who fears you?”

“That’s not the point…that’s not even what I said…”

“How many daughters, husbands, wives, how many have you lain low? To know your truth, your past, is to comprehend oblivion itself…”

“Dammit Yulia…” Bon Rook grabbed at her hand, nearly crushing it in her grasp, “What’s your point?”

“I…I never feared you my love…”

“Yeah, but you’re crazy.”

“…I fear ‘them’,” Yulia breathed the word as though it may summon her mysterious enemy, “I don’t know if that rat wanted me to, or if it just slipped out, but I saw…I saw… ‘them’…”

                Yulia’s hand slipped out of Bon Rook’s and she lay down on the table.

“It is coming,” Yulia continued, “The Edifice shall rise and the world with tremble before sputtering, choking on its own shredded organs,” she clenched her hand into a fist sliding it into the restraint and holding it there, “We must be READY!”

“To kill an army of demons…”Bon Rook mused wearily.

“No, to fight…” Yulia’s face twisted into a mad, haunting smile, “There is no winning, no victorious plan, but we can fight, we can hold them back, maybe forever.”

“An endless battle…”

“An Endless WAR!” Yulia declared happily, “And we are weapon designers, we will be as GODS in the new world, but we must survive, and we must prepare…”

“Yulia…”Bon Rook muttered, recognizing the madness that had overtaken her lover, “If that is the case, we need to run, to hide...”

“HA!” Yulia laughed in her face, “Run WHERE?! Hide…where…” she shook her head, “The world is about to become an abattoir, we must learn to drink blood.”

                Bon Rook turned away, face in her hands, wiping away tears, silently, she swore to murder that damned creature if she ever saw it again.

“Bon’Amor,” Yulia called out to her, a heartbreaking expression pulling at her features, “Would you leave me alone…”

“…never,” Bon Rook sniffed, cleaning her face before turning back around, “Never my love…”

“Will you stand by my side, share in my fate?” Yulia wondered, “…protect me?”

“Always…” Bon Rook nodded, “In life and in death.”

“…Then lash down my arm,” Yulia commanded.

                Bon Rook reached out and held her hand for a moment and then grabbed the buckle and used it to tighten the cuff.

“…and pull the lever…”

                Bon Rook let out a somber breath and walked across the room to a safe zone where a red lever stood rigid, waiting to be flipped down.

“As you wish,” the mermaid responded with a final sigh, gritting her teeth and pointedly looking away as blood sprayed over the room, a geyser of red from the woman she loved.

Description

[Wishmaster]

                Some months ago.

                The demon, Delmoth rode in a modestly sized carrier ship where she sat in its rather posh and well furnished dining hall, its feet up on a stone table, cracking a fine china saucer, its head slunk well down in the booth, its flames charring the burnished leather. Its host sat across the table, intently watching and cautiously clutching at the pistol holstered in his belt.

“You think that iron’s going to do any better than your president’s shotgun?” it giggled.

“Pure silver slugs,” he explained, “Etched with runic symbols to banish and seal your powers.”

“And, if you were certain that they would work, you’d have used them by now.”

“Excuse me…sirs?” a crewman approached and snapped to them a crisp salute.

“At ease cadet,” Delmoth smirked.

“He’s actually a commander,” her host sighed exasperatedly, “Report son.”

“We have arrived at the dock, we are ready to disembark.”

“Hell yeah,” Delmoth snatched a teacup off of the table and drained it before throwing it over her shoulder, “Let’s go.”

                The Commander stepped back, watching it rise and start towards the exit of the dinning room.

“Sir…” he whispered to the Host, “Would you be requiring an escort?”

“I’d rather keep the body count down son,” the Host responded, but gave him an approving nod none the less, “Get back to your station now.”

“Sir, yes sir!” the Commander saluted again and marched out of the room, overtaking Delmoth as he left.

“Good man,” Delmoth mocked him as he left, “But I don’t think he likes me very much.”

                The Host said nothing, though his mind flashed through a series of violent acts and actual bloodbaths that had taken place along the trip. Results of the creature attempting to alleviate its boredom.

                He led the creature through the ship and onto the docks, urging it along when it stopped for a moment to examine the mechanical loaderbots that eagerly stomped across the area. At length, moving past numerous rooms filled with hopeless screams and mechanical whirring, they arrived at the control room where a human woman and a blue skinned mermaid waited.

“Interesting gremlin,” the woman said off handedly while examining a report, “Do you want me to dissect it?”

“Hey, I’ll try anything once,” it snickered, grabbing the edge of her desk and pulling itself up to sit there.

“Hm…” the woman looked up from her files and gazed at the flames surrounding its bare skull, “Why did you bring this thing in here?”

“Um…my …M’Lord Delmoth,” The Host stated, moving further into the room with his hands clasped behind his back, “I would like you to meet Yulia Von’Aft and her…consort, Bon Rook.”

“Consort?” Delmoth sniffed the air, “Oh, you mean they’re fuck buddies?”

“In so many words,” Yulia responded with a bored tone, then raised her eyes to look upon the Host, “Have you received your boon from this…thing?”

“We…have negotiated…”

“We’re in the midst of our transaction,” Delmoth explained.

“Then it won’t effect you too much to get the Hell out of my office,” Yulia glared at him.

“If you’ll please…”

“GET OUT!” Yulia screamed.

                Before the Host could respond, Delmoth raised a hand to silence him and then vaguely gestured that he leave. Taking the hint, the Host turned away and walked back down the hall. Delmoth then snapped her fingers and one of the bookshelves slid itself in front of the doorway.

“I’m supposing that you wanted privacy,” it cooed innocently.

“And I’m supposing that was supposed to intimidate me?” Yulia leered back.

“Oh no, of course not,” it snickered, “I like you, sincerely, there’s nothing I respect more than a woman who can recognize her own evil.”

“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Yulia finally tossed her file aside and tented her fingers leaning against the desk to look the demon into its burning eyes, “I know who you are, where you come from, and what you likely intend.”

“And?...do you actually care?”

“Not in the least,” Yulia responded dismissively, “But the one thing I can’t nail down, is why you’ve come to my office.”

“At the request of my…um…Host, he said you might be able to help me.”

“Opening extra dimensional portals…mmm, not my thing.”

“You don’t need to make it, just help me find one.”

                Bon Rook finally turned to pay attention to the conversation. Both Yulia and Delmoth noticed but shrugged it off to continue.

“I have done much in my journey to advance technology,” Yulia admitted, leaning back in the chair, “It’s involved no small amount of study, myths, legends, religion…I don’t know where your portal is, but, I think I can point you in the right direction.”

“The Dantian Library?” Delmoth’s eyes burning like blood red coals.

“But it’s not information that I’ll part with willingly.”

“Of course not,” Delmoth purred, “But, I should mention how these deals work…”

“Ten years of joy for an eternity of pain,” Yulia surmised, “Service for ephemeral reward.”

“Usually,” Delmoth admitted, “But this time, well, you’re only giving me directions, as a dealmaker, I can’t in good conscience offer anything of greater value.”

“So, directions, for directions?” Yulia wondered, then nodded, “I can work with that.”

                In the present, she stood free from her mechanical chamber, her skin glistening and slick, covered with motor oil and steel plates piercing through to fold under into muscular constructs. Wires burst through her flesh in odd areas and her one remaining eye glowed an eerie yellow. She looked at her opponents, Sylvester clutching his cane like a sword and Zeesa dropping down into a fighting stance. Both of them were breathing hard, covered in sweat, her electronically enhanced senses noted their elevated heart rates and unconsciously shuddering hands.

                She smiled, confidant in her victory.

“Well…” Yulia spread her arms wide inviting her, “Are we going to…”

                She was cut off when the pair rushed her at once, slashing and stabbing. She was chuckling as she easily dodged their strikes, leaping back to perch atop her containment chamber.

“Well, I do love a partner who takes the initiative, but, have you actually taken stock of your situation?”

“Just shut up!” Sylvester growled, leaping up after her only to get kicked away easily.

                She spun with the momentum of her own strike and pulled herself into a handstand as she sneered, waiting for Zeesa to attack.

“Well? Are you just going to let me treat your boyfriend like that?”

                Zeesa lunged but was met by a live power cable that stabbed her in the brow. Watching her smoking and twisting in agony, Yulia rolled down into a cross-legged sitting position, smirking as she rested her chin on her hand.

“Let me explain it to you then,” Yulia sneered at them as they recouped and came back for a second attack, “You’re all alone, no back-up, no reinforcements,” with minimal effort, she brained Sylvester as he approached and kicked one of the axes out of Zeesa’s hand, “You’re weary, beaten before you even showed up.”

“We’ve made it this far,” Sylvester declared, rushing at her, trying to get a good grip on her face.

                An actual network of wires rose up in front of him, pushing him away as Yulia tangled with Zeesa easily backhanding her to the ground.

“That only makes it all the more tragic, don’t you think?” Yulia mused, “To come so far, and fail so miserably.”

                Sylvester froze the cables and shattered them before taking another swipe at Yulia. She easily dodged his attack, grabbed hold of his wrist, and punched him in the throat. While she still had hold of him, Zeesa struck, transforming into a shark, jaws opened wide to swallow the bionic woman’s head. Yulia threw Sylvester into that waiting maw and Zeesa quickly changed back to catch him but the pair soon found themselves bound together in a web of cords as Yulia approached.

“And don’t you make the most adorable couple,” she joked.

                With a frustrated grunt, Sylvester focused on his cane, extending the ice spike outward until it pierced Yulia’s chest. She paused, for a moment, looking down at the wound until a chuckle escaped her lips.

“Was that supposed to hurt?” she wondered, moving closer, sliding along the spike until she was standing in front of them, smiling down, “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she whispered to him, biting down on his ear as she glare into Zeesa’s eyes, “I turned my pain receptors off before we started the fight, don’t you wish you could do the same?”

“…um, out of curiosity,” Sylvester wondered nervously, “You don’t happen to have radar or anything in that body do you?”

“Well, no, not yet, wh-Ack-ck-ckck!” she sputtered, electricity shooting out of her mouth as a wounded and weary Belix drove a jade axe into the back of her skull.

                With a sudden burst of strength, she knocked the elfin girl away, but the distraction bought Sylvester and Zeesa time to escape, Zeesa sliding away as a puddle while Sylvester managed to slip out of the cords with the extra slack she provided. While he grabbed Belix and tried to carry her away, Yulia fell back, both weapons still plunged deeply into her body as the cords wrapped around her arms and legs, pulling her away from Zeesa’s renewed assault.

“Fine then!” she yelled, gesturing her hand to the wall, “If you don’t want to play!”

                At her command, a turret emerged from the wall and began to fire.

                Several months ago, Yulia, Delmoth, and Bon Rook stood before a massive view screen, Yulia sorted through the images until stopping at vetruvian diagram of Granger.

“Tell me how to make that work?” she demanded.

“Um…” Delmoth folded its arms and chuckled, “I’m going to avoid the obvious sex joke and ask you to elaborate.”

                Yulia hit a few more buttons on her remote, enlarging the picture to better display a pair of small engines attached to his lungs.

“These,” she explained, setting aside the remote and taking a seat, “I call them the ‘the engine sanguine’.”

“Are we going to explain that reasoning?”

“Because it works by absorbing his blood,” Bon Rook stated, pacing the room, “Converting iron and various nitrates into mechanical components.”

“Really,” Delmoth scoffed, “Sounds like magic.”

“It may as well be,” Yulia grumbled, throwing a stack of files onto the floor, “I’ve studied, examined, taken it apart, put it back together, and I still don’t know how the fucker works.”

“Ha!” the demon mocked her, “This is really bothering you isn’t it.”

“If you must know…”

“I…mustn’t, but I want to.”

“Ugh…” she groaned standing up and pointing at the image, “This Shit! Is more than a century ahead of what Me or anyone else is capable of! And the Prick who made it did it Decades ago!”

“So it’s an Ego thing?”

“In large part, but also…” Yulia let out a sigh, “I need to know…”

“…to know?”

“The secret, the mystery, the truth,” Yulia declared desperately, “I need to know!”

“No, I get you…” Delmoth nodded approvingly, then lunged forward, latching herself onto Yulia’s face, “I just needed you to be clear!”

                A beam of light passed from the face of Delmoth, from the aura of flame that surrounded her flaming skull and pierced into Yulia’s brow. Bon Rook was quick to react, grabbing at the demon and tossing it away as Yulia sat in her chair, eyes wide in shock as a wisp of smoke curled off of her hair.

“What did you do to her?” Bon Rook demanded.

“I don’t know,” Delmoth admitted, easily recovering, “I am just a conduit for the cosmic power, I did nothing but allow her a brief glimpse into the spiritual all, the place where one is everything and all questions are answered.”

“Yulia…” Bon Rook called out, but got no response as her partner’s head continued to smoke, “Yulia!?”

                The woman finally blinked, and stared at Bon Rook, her expression a mixture of horror and excitement as a massive smile spread across her face.

“So…” Delmoth wondered, “Are we good?”

                Yulia looked towards the demon and began to cackle madly.

                In the modern day, Zeesa ducked under the stream of bullets, avoiding the fire and slicing into the turret with her axe. She had time to breathe a sigh of relief before turning to see Yulia pointing at Sylvester who was desperately trying to revive Belix, passed out once again in her arms. A new turret erupted from the floor and swung around to aim at them. Zeesa took a swipe at Yulia before moving onto the turret, cutting it in half a minute too late as it let loose a burst of fire that flew towards her teammates.

                Desperate, Sylvester raised his hand to block the bullets, generating a small shield that just barely stopped them before shattering it to bits. After checking that they were okay, Zeesa moved on from the turret and attacked Yulia. Left alone, Sylvester examined the remains of the shield still stuck to his hand and, learning from past experience, he didn’t try to pull the ice away, but pushed it back along his arm, trying to free up his fingers. He was almost startled into dropping her when Belix let out a shudder.

“Your hands are so cold…” she commented weakly.

“Sorry…” he looked towards Zeesa and Yulia still tussling in the distance and made a quick decision, “Don’t go anywhere…”

                She grunted, but didn’t have the strength to resist as he set her aside and moved in to join the fight. Together they knocked her over and managed to restrain Yulia for all of a second before a pair of turret burst from the ceiling and started blasting. They separated, avoiding most of the damage, with a few bullets still managing to snag their arms as they moved. While Zeesa liquefied, sliding herself under Yulia to use the woman as a human shield, Sylvester went for his discarded cane and used it to spear through one of the turrets before charging the other and freezing it in place.

                Zeesa emerged behind Yulia, and grabbed her in a clutch, trying to strangle the woman to death. Then watched in horror as the fingers on Yulia’s right hand folded back to reveal a set of drills that she stabbed into Zeesa’s forearm. Slyvester soon joined them, wrestling with Yulia to pull her hand away and refusing to let go even when she jammed another fist full of drills into his gut. Desperate, Zeesa noticed the jade axe stuck deep into Yulia’s brain, and started punching it, pushing the blade deeper into the cyborg’s skull.

    Yulia’s body started to convulsed between them as the axe was forced through the front of her face before clattering to the floor in a bloody heap. The cyborg woman went limp, leaning heavily on Sylvester, drooling and giggling, somehow, impossibly, still alive. Finally able to remove the drills from her arm, Zeesa stepped back and used her remaining weapon to chop Yulia’s head clean off of her shoulders. They stood quietly for a moment, Sylvester still holding Yulia’s body as her skull rolled on the floor.

“Did you want a souvenir or something?” Zeesa wondered and he coughed nervously before setting her down.

                One month ago, Yulia lay herself down on an operating table and started tying down the straps to secure her legs and arms.

“Were you going to help or just stand there?” she demanded as Bon Rook moved in out of the shadows, arms folded, face drawn into a worried grimace.

“Are you sure you should be doing this?”

“A little late to making backing out.”

“No, we’re at the perfect point to back out,” Bon Rook glanced upwards at the giant machine dangling down from the ceiling, “You’re about to crack open your chest…”

“No, the machine’s going to crack open my chest.”

“And install an engine into your heart.”

“YES!” she declared answering it as though it was a question.

“WHY?!”

“WHY NOT!!” Yulia cackled madly as she belted down her left wrist only to find Bon Rook’s hands clasping at her own.

“My Love…” Bon Rook whispered, a desperate sorrow in her eyes, “You’re scaring me.”

                Yulia reached out and gently caressed the cheek of her partner, a sweet smirk curling her lips.

“Bon’Amor,” she spoke the pet name like it was the gracious title of some ancient empress, “Who fears you?”

“That’s not the point…that’s not even what I said…”

“How many daughters, husbands, wives, how many have you lain low? To know your truth, your past, is to comprehend oblivion itself…”

“Dammit Yulia…” Bon Rook grabbed at her hand, nearly crushing it in her grasp, “What’s your point?”

“I…I never feared you my love…”

“Yeah, but you’re crazy.”

“…I fear ‘them’,” Yulia breathed the word as though it may summon her mysterious enemy, “I don’t know if that rat wanted me to, or if it just slipped out, but I saw…I saw… ‘them’…”

                Yulia’s hand slipped out of Bon Rook’s and she lay down on the table.

“It is coming,” Yulia continued, “The Edifice shall rise and the world with tremble before sputtering, choking on its own shredded organs,” she clenched her hand into a fist sliding it into the restraint and holding it there, “We must be READY!”

“To kill an army of demons…”Bon Rook mused wearily.

“No, to fight…” Yulia’s face twisted into a mad, haunting smile, “There is no winning, no victorious plan, but we can fight, we can hold them back, maybe forever.”

“An endless battle…”

“An Endless WAR!” Yulia declared happily, “And we are weapon designers, we will be as GODS in the new world, but we must survive, and we must prepare…”

“Yulia…”Bon Rook muttered, recognizing the madness that had overtaken her lover, “If that is the case, we need to run, to hide...”

“HA!” Yulia laughed in her face, “Run WHERE?! Hide…where…” she shook her head, “The world is about to become an abattoir, we must learn to drink blood.”

                Bon Rook turned away, face in her hands, wiping away tears, silently, she swore to murder that damned creature if she ever saw it again.

“Bon’Amor,” Yulia called out to her, a heartbreaking expression pulling at her features, “Would you leave me alone…”

“…never,” Bon Rook sniffed, cleaning her face before turning back around, “Never my love…”

“Will you stand by my side, share in my fate?” Yulia wondered, “…protect me?”

“Always…” Bon Rook nodded, “In life and in death.”

“…Then lash down my arm,” Yulia commanded.

                Bon Rook reached out and held her hand for a moment and then grabbed the buckle and used it to tighten the cuff.

“…and pull the lever…”

                Bon Rook let out a somber breath and walked across the room to a safe zone where a red lever stood rigid, waiting to be flipped down.

“As you wish,” the mermaid responded with a final sigh, gritting her teeth and pointedly looking away as blood sprayed over the room, a geyser of red from the woman she loved.