During the course of her crusade preparations, Fizzy managed to set aside enough time and material to breathe life into a concept that had been stewing in the back of her mind for months. It was the rail cannon design she shared with Jess shortly after the two Artificers crossed the border. Of course, she lacked the finesse and materials to make the electromagnetic artillery piece on Tascuna, but she was able to adapt the idea and its underlying principles into something else. With the aid of the most skilled artisans amongst the natives, she constructed a ten-meter tall rail mortar at the base of the Heart of Light, near the old Astral Nail she used to infiltrate Katya’s base. Unlike the arcane device, however, Fizzy had fitted her creation with an array of crystal capacitors capable of capturing a lightning strike for extended periods of time. This eliminated the need to wait on the Heart of Light’s unpredictable discharges, so long as one occurred within the last twenty hours or so.

The rookie Artificers back at base were thus able to remove the safety locks and pull the trigger the instant they received word from Krak. The stored electro-magical energy was released with new purpose and direction as it magnetically propelled a lamp-post-sized lump of fused scrap metal into the air. It did so with such force and speed that the towering mortar barrel instantly split open from the strain. It could not be fired again, but its one and only shot had successfully been sent on its way. The rod-like projectile instantly flew out of the hollow mountain’s open summit. It easily overcame Tascuna’s relatively low gravity and thin atmosphere, allowing it to maintain much of its absurd speed as it climbed to a height suitable for low orbit. Its velocity then began to increase as it inevitably fell back down towards the moon. It might have burned up on re-entry, but Fizzy had the native Stonesingers weave their magic into it to heighten its durability as much as possible. Admittedly she had to melt the shell down and re-craft it a few times to get it just right, but she got there in the end.

Thanks to her meticulous persistence, the dense metal pole maintained its integrity as it ignited like a meteorite. It fell from the sky faster than the screaming echoes it left in its wake, guided unerringly towards its target by its creator’s exhaustive calculations. The Artificer had to lean heavily on Tizoc’s clairvoyance magic to work out all the numbers and parameters, then had to rely even more on the locals to help position the barrel of her rail mortar at just the right angle. No matter how strong she was, it was physically impossible for someone as small as her to carry something that large to where it needed to be. Honestly, the scale of the whole project was rather extreme and exhausted all of the locals’ metal stores, both what was salvaged from Katya’s creations and what they had dug up themselves. The meatbags valiantly did their part and worked themselves to the point of collapse. They understood that this all-or-nothing gamble could not be won without anything less than maximum effort.

And so, after all that preparation, cooperation, work, math, and a little bit of luck, Fizzy’s rail mortar struck the base of Katya’s control tower with enough kinetic energy to rival the Calamity of Monotal. Most of the surrounding factories and facilities were instantly ripped to shreds from the shockwave. Any automatons left on the surface practically evaporated from the explosive heat wave that accompanied the impact as dozens of fuel lines were ignited. Tascuna’s dried surface cracked, shifted, and caved as from the shockwave. It wasn’t as if the moon itself would split in two - in fact, it wasn’t even close - but it didn’t feel that way to the retreating assault force as their tunnel completely collapsed. It wasn’t enough to kill them, especially with the High Templar’s quintet of blessings still bolstering them, but there was a very real danger of them suffocating.

And yet despite all this destruction, the tower at the center of it all refused to fall. Katya had many faults, but shoddy lair construction wasn’t one of them. That her spire of metal remained standing, even if barely, was a testament to just how deep and thick she’d made its roots. However, much of its interior was devastated to a point where the nexus of control was nearly reduced to a useless eyesore. The subterranean levels held up far better. The one Fizzy’s team was currently in was largely intact despite the tremendous quake that rocked it. The same could also be said of the Heart of Ice stored above, which proved itself far more stable and resilient than the fiery counterpart that went up with just a handful of grenades. The towering mother-crystal was heavily cracked and bleeding its pure cold energy, but it wasn’t about to undergo a catastrophic failure.

However, the machinery and equipment surrounding it was a completely different story. The array of two-dozen thermoelectric generators surrounding the pillar of frozen mana had, in a fit of irony, caught fire. This caused the remaining vents in the lowest chamber to start pumping black smoke rather than a magically charged mist. The four Queen units promptly began to overheat and malfunction. They wildly fired their impractically expensive weaponry, accomplishing little beyond accidentally gunning down one of their own. Fizzy remained huddled behind her shield until the guns went quiet. She continued waiting until the only sounds left were those of distant alerts, secondary tremors, and failing machines. It wasn’t until she was absolutely certain the worst was over that she peeked around her shield and saw that the automatons had all collapsed. One was still twitching as a deluge of sparks and smoke spilled out of its back, but it was well and truly broken.

The golem picked herself up as best she could. One knee and both ankles were still jammed, so she had to awkwardly hobble along while using her battered wrench as a cane. Though she was thrilled that her Plan B worked so well, and with such perfect timing, she knew better than to assume this was it. Fizzy had a nagging feeling that Katya was still around, and that this wouldn’t be over until that was no longer the case. She also had a hunch about where she’d find her, based on the fact that this elaborate refrigeration chamber was a perfect battleground for those Queen bots. Not only did the cold-charged air both sustain and maintain their optimal condition, but mechanisms hidden in the walls constantly dispensed new modules to instantly replace any lost or damaged parts. Considering that the Queen bots most likely could not function outside this chamber, and given its secure and fortified location, the golem concluded that they were a last line of defense that protected something of utmost importance to Katya.

And so, Fizzy hobbled to the wall opposite the blocked elevator shaft she came from. Plus threw out some Holy Lights as she did, both to fix up the construct and to keep Krum and Krak from bleeding out. The fact they were still breathing despite having so many holes in them was practically a miracle. The senior Paladin took their survival as a sign that Larry probably had some big plans for them. This also made her feel justified in passing on her faith to Krum, somewhat mending her wounded ego. Her body was not so easily fixed, unfortunately. She’d need to figure out a way to get those bits of foreign mithril out of her joints. Maybe she could melt them out if she heated herself sufficiently? It was risky, but-

Fizzy shook her head. Those thoughts had to wait until after her divine duty was done. Having reached the far wall, the golem placed her hand on it and peered through with Metallopathy. Sure enough, there was a hidden passage behind it. She also located the mechanism to open it and triggered it with a rough application of Geomagnetic Grip. The panel in front slid into the ground with a loud grinding noise that roused the twins from their near-death experience. They were lucky that Katya’s mithril bullets had pierced clean through their flesh, so they were spared Fizzy’s troubles of having bits of metal where they didn’t belong. That said, they had lost a lot of blood. Healing magic couldn’t replenish that, leaving them weak and woozy. Healing potions would help, but they had used up their supply. Nevertheless, the twins picked themselves up and followed Fizzy into the passage, ready to see this through.

A short walk and another bypassed door later, the vertically challenged trio entered another freezing circular chamber. This one was much smaller. Rather than a barn, its dimensions were closer to a modest room one could rent at an inn. Another difference was that, despite it being arguably colder than the last one, the air here was so dry that there wasn’t a single speck of ice, mist, or frost. It was an atmosphere oddly reminiscent of the Vault Beneath the Mountain. It was an environment designed for long-term storage, and the most secure chamber of Katya’s base of operations fulfilled an identical purpose. There, in the middle of the freezing tomb-like space, was a cylindrical pod of some kind. It had all kinds of tubes, cables, and monitors attached to it. There was a seam down the middle that implied this was meant to open, but no obvious way of doing so.

At least, not without breaking it.

*THUNK*

Fizzy jammed her fist straight through the middle and pulled the doors clean off their hinges. It was rather surprising how quick and easy that had been, but what lay within was much more startling. An overwhelming waterfall of disgust exploded from the pod’s interior. It caught her so completely off-guard that the golem actually tried to take a step back, tripped over her busted feet, and fell flat on her shiny metal ass. The twins experienced a similar sensation, although far less pronounced. The source of this vile aura was none other than the thing strapped within the pod, which could no longer be recognized as a person. Withered, wrinkled, with a heavy weave of tubes and cables piercing her chest, and reeking unbearably of Taboo, was none other than Ekaterina Dragunova. Or her flesh, at the very least. She had kept it here all these years in some kind of suspended animation, waiting patiently for the day when her work was complete and she could inhabit it once more. Her mind was not here at present, however. The only movement that could be seen was a shallow breathing motion as machines pumped air in and out of her lungs through the mask affixed to her face. Well, that and the weak pulse that was visible on a nearby beeping monitor.

“You… are one nasty bitch.”

Those were the only words Fizzy could think to offer as she raised her hand and armed her Magitech Cannon. A bolt of pseudo-plasma then melted clean through Ekaterina’s chest, with another evaporating her head seconds later. And that was it. There was no agonizing scream, no death throws, no nothing. Not even the disturbing aura of Taboo was lifted, but any sliver of life that flesh still clung to was undoubtedly severed. The only thing that punctuated this moment was that a garbled message echoed in from the intercom in the previous chamber. It wasn’t even Katya’s voice, but Fizzy still found it familiar.

“Vnimaniye! Vnim- *KHHHHHHRT* protokol *KHRRT* -chtozheniya! *KRRRHT* tri minuty!”

“Oh, crap,” the golem came to a realization.

“This? Again?!” Plus complained.

“Of course. What else did you expect?” Minus sighed.

“What? What is happening?” Krum questioned.

“Uh, probably nothing to worry about,” Fizzy lied. “On an entirely unrelated topic, did we ever discuss an escape plan?”

Krak squinted dubiously before she answered.

“Not with you. My brother and I did. Why?”

“Well, now might be a good time to clue me in.”

The twins took in those words and that sweet smile, then promptly produced a pair of small crystals that were bright pink in color. The golem was starting to get rather fed up with this trend. Just how many times were these meatbags going to solve their problem by just pulling out a shiny magical rock out of their pockets? This whole power stone business felt like cheating. Terrania didn’t have anything even remotely this convenient. Those complaints aside, she did wonder what purpose this particular pair of pink pieces might serve in this situation. She was about to ask when the twins crushed the stones in their grips, causing them to shatter into clouds of sparkling dust that rapidly swirled around them.

At the same time, about a kilometer away, a crystal trinket Orrin had been asked to keep safe began to glow and vibrate. It took the giant a few moments to notice this as he had his hands full helping Tony and the other magic users dig their way out of the collapsed escape tunnel. Most of them had made it to the surface by now, but a few gnomes were still buried in the rock and dirt. The others seemed to have things well in hand, however, so the Priest turned his attention to the shaking knick-knack. He had just pulled the pyramid-shaped object from his backpack when it suddenly flashed bright enough to momentarily blind him. He then heard two people land roughly at his feet with a pair of pained grunts. His vision returning, he glanced down and was both relieved and surprised to see Krak and Krum, who had teleported here through Tascuna’s unique brand of magic. The other gnomes quickly swarmed and started asking questions, the answers to which were met with loud cheers. Orrin had no idea what they were saying, but the mood gave him a decent idea of what was going on.

“I take it your mission was successful?” he asked just in case.

“Of a sort,” Krum reported. “We didn’t make it to the power source, but we destroyed the Nemesis’ real body. She is dead, and without her to command the machines our home is no longer in danger.”

Naturally there were still countless automatons out there carrying out their scheduled patrols and routines, but without Katya around the natives could take their time in cleaning them up.

“That is welcome news indeed!” Orrin beamed. “But what of Fizzy? Did you not take her with you?”

“She could not join us. This magic has a weight limit,” Krak claimed, “and she was far above it.”

“I see. Well, I trust she will join us in due time. If I may ask, what forced you to resort to using what I assume is a precious resource?”

Indeed, these teleportation stones and the beacon that Orrin was given were made from an extremely rare type of power crystal whose elemental attunement allowed spatial manipulation. Tizoc had given them to his children as he feared for their safety, but it was impossible to supply every combatant that accompanied Orrin with one. The Priest figured there were circumstances along those lines involved, but the golem’s absence was more important to him than shiny baubles of undetermined power.

“We are not sure what is going on,” the sister explained. “A strange voice spoke to us after we destroyed the Nemesis. Its speech was broken, screeching. What few words we caught were even more foreign than yours.”

“Fizzy seemed to understand it, however,” the brother elaborated. “She grew concerned and asked us about an escape plan, so we deemed it wise to use ours.”

“Huh. Okay,” the Priest slowly nodded, his mental gears churning. “Would this voice happen to say something about… minutes, or a protocol?”

“There were similar words to those, yes,” Krak confirmed.

“Ah. Hm.”

Like the Paladin, he determined that this was likely yet another of those self-destruct failsafes that the Original Artificer was infamous for. However, he was not worried. He had faith the golem would escape the destruction unharmed. She had survived so much punishment in the short time since he’d met her, and that was all before Rank Up and subsequent promotion to High Templar. That aside, he recognized what was about to happen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catch some spectacular fireworks. He turned towards Old Dragunov, its central spire stubbornly standing amidst an ocean of smoke and flame. Tony seemed to catch on as well and tugged on the giant’s sleeve.

“Hey, blondie. Give me a boost, eh? Can’t see too good from down here.”

“Oh. Uh, sure. Krak? Krum? Want to join in?”

“No idea what this is about, but sure,” the brother shrugged.

“I have had enough of heights,” the other twin declined.

The giant thus merrily hoisted the greenskin and the gnome onto a shoulder each, giving them a slightly better vantage point of the smoldering tower in the distance. They waited in anticipation for about a minute before the massive metal eyesore that was New Dragunov vanished in a blinding white flash. Once the light subsided, they could see a mushroom-shaped cloud of pearly mist that rose high into the air in a manner very similar to what they saw just two weeks prior. A powerful wave of freezing wind then swept over the group, plunging the previously stupefied gnomes into a panic. Even Krum was shaken by this development, but he did not avert his eyes from the Original Artificer’s final act of petty revenge. As for Tony and Orrin, they let off a few loud cheers, then remained as they were, seemingly waiting for something.

“What do you think, heads or tails?” the giant asked.

“Heads,” the hob replied.

“You sure? Quite bottom-heavy.”

“It’s gonna be heads, cuz dat’s funnier.”

“Uh-huh. Wanna bet on it?”

“Oh, yeah. Winner treats loser to a whole roasted roach.”

“Deal.”

Several seconds later, a massive chunk of clear ice slammed into the ravaged wasteland a dozen paces in front of them. It exploded into a cloud of mist that took a few moments to clear up. Once it did, it revealed that a pair of abnormally thick and shiny metal legs were now sticking out of the ground and awkwardly failing around. This came as no surprise to either of the patient spectators.

“Told you,” Tony sneered.

“Aye. Good game,” Orrin chuckled.

At this point it would be weirder if Fizzy didn’t come crashing down from some absurd height.