Linux walked back to his home, ready to greet the people he hid there. He had some things to explain to them, but he didn’t know how badly they’d react, nor did he know how much they knew. He could just ask, but how would a person know they didn’t know something if they didn’t know they didn’t know something. The more he thought about it, the more his brain swirled from the paradox he was creating.

Approaching his home, Linux wondered what they could have been up to. Shrugging off any worries, he opened the door and entered his house. He always left the door unlocked, since he wasn’t too worried about people stealing things. He closed the door behind him and locked it now that he was home. Raising his shirt, he took out the case with the devices and set them on the stove.

He walked to his room door, where they should have been. He had no other bed inside the house, so that was the best place they could’ve been. Opening the door, he saw Kauss lying on the bed while his friends sat beside him. The sleeping man snored so loud that the house seemed to rumble. The bed muffled his snores, but it didn’t stop him from hurting his ears.

“Where were you?” Killian asked.

Linux didn’t know how to respond, since he wasn’t expecting Killian to ask him questions. He thought Helona was their leader with how she behaved and took charge when he met them.

Linux took off his bloody shirt and sat on the floor. He needed to get some things straight before the town came down upon him like a Poily on a farmer.

“First off,” Linux began speaking. “You three cannot go outside without me around. After the last time someone from the first floor came up here, they wouldn’t tolerate another instance of you people.”

Linux stood up and pressed an ear against the wall. They knew he was hearing out for anyone nearby, but they had no clue what for. When he was sure no one was near, he spoke again, only much quieter.

“Second, follow me.”

He walked toward his cabinet and grabbed its side. Helona leaned forward, trying to see what exactly he was doing. He pulled as hard as he could, and the cabinet moved a slight inch. He pulled again and the thing the cabinet was hiding came into full view.

A secret door revealed itself from its hiding spot behind the cabinet. Helona knew how a setup like this worked, since the mansion on the first floor was filled with them. People would also install secret doors in their houses in order to keep away valuable possessions or hide deadly secrets.

Helona and Killian approached the hidden passageway and stared down into the depths that seemed to go farther underground than even the mansion’s basement. Linux had already started down the stairs without hesitation since he was used to going up and down such a foreboding and claustrophobic passageway.

Helona stepped down onto the first step, her guard raised and senses heightened. She knew that if he wanted them dead, then there would have been nothing stopping him from killing them hours ago. Despite knowing that, her body would react the same way it would when approaching a no way out scenario.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she stepped foot into the stairway. Her leg tightened as it was ready to jump out of the way of danger, but danger never came. It was just one straight stairwell down into darkness. Once she entered and Killian followed closely behind, Linux called for them to close the cabinet on their way in. Killian obliged, pushing the cabinet back in place, sealing the only entrance and exit, to the hidden stairs.

They walked down the stairs, lights turning on as Linux walked further into the depths of the abyss, as if they somehow detected his presence. With the extra light, the stairway became somewhat more visible. The walls of the stairway comprised a greyish carpet. Killian brushed the walls, feeling the soft strands of cotton under his fingers. The stairs were constructed of standard wood and creaked under the pressure of their footsteps.

The floor leveled out into one last hallway leading toward an old wooden door. Splinters stuck out of the frame, and the carpet fabric around the door stuck out as if someone were individually stretching the strands to the max. Once Killian’s hand grazed the carpet near the door, he pulled his hand away quickly in pain. A small instance of green electricity sparked, trailing from Killian’s finger to the carpet.

Killian swayed his hand in the air, hoping it would somehow quench the burning in his finger. The pain quickly disappeared, but something else was left behind, and he did not know what it could have been. Some sort of feeling came to his finger and stayed like an unwanted guest. The muscles that were struck by the lightning tightened, and when he touched it, it felt like he was rubbing on rough stone.

“Yeah, don’t touch the carpet.” Linux warned too late. “Some experiments leaked out, and in order to not destroy the place, I had to layer the walls with carpet. On one hand, the room is fine, but now the walls are practically untouchable.”

“So is my finger dead?” Killian asked, holding up his middle finger.

“It’s good. It should go back to normal in a few minutes if you quickly take your hands off the carpet.”

Linux opened the door and entered the room. As soon as the door opened, a strange humming sound vibrated its way from the door. Helona and Killian followed, gluing their arms to their sides. Linux stood beside the door and waited for them to enter. Once everyone was inside, he cautiously closed the door behind him. He was careful not to brush up against the carpet while softly shutting the door.

Helona looked around the lab that Linux led them to. There were several tables, each with their own different parts and materials. One table was littered with half finished machines and weapons. Another table directly next to it had finished experiments on the surface and they glowed with energy from a device that was inside them.

Killian approached two glowing weapons that looked similar to each other. They looked like large gloves that could fit over hands twice the size of his. Leather straps stuck out from the back in order to strap onto the wearer’s arms, just in case they flung off in combat. They glowed with a reddish hue, and if his memory was correct, red meant death from the stunt Linux pulled.

Helona continued looking around the room, attempting to find the source of wherever the humming was coming from. It wasn’t a melodic and calming hum from a person. It was more of an electrical buzz that the lights from the first floor made when turned on. After half a minute of searching, she found the source.

At the back of the room, a single table sat by itself. On that table was a machine that looked like a three-dimensional oval. A transparent film covered the front of the machine, and through that, she could see a slight green glow. She peered into it and five devices emitted tiny instances of green lightning. The crackling of the lightning muffled by the container was making the humming. The noise was so loud that she wondered what they would sound like outside the machine.

“How impressed are you?” Linux asked, pride radiating from his voice.

“I don’t know.” Helona answered. “I barely know what I’m looking at.”

Linux laughed, pleased by her response. He’s never been the one to be the mysterious person before, so he glowed in the questions he was asked. He needed something like this after what had just happened minutes ago.

“Well, what you see here is hundreds of years of work.” Linux said. “This floor used to be filled with monsters that wiped out any human they saw. It was a time of chaos and untempted fear. However,” Linux said as dramatically as possible. “One day, a man climbed the tower from the first floor. He knew many things about the tower and worked with my family in order to help the remaining thousand people left alive. With his knowledge and my ancestor’s creativity, they were able to save all of humanity on the second floor.”

Helona listened to Linux speak with such passion and vigour that it nearly made her barf. She had a feeling that the scientist she read about had something to do with it. Now that it came from his mouth, the signs were so obvious that she beat herself up for not realizing it sooner.

“So did the science guy stay, or...” Killian trailed off.

“No, he went up the tower.” Linux answered. “My ancestors stayed behind and with the knowledge that they had gained, they shortly created the dome. Because of that, humanity has finally begun striking back against those wretched beasts.”

Helona checked the materials scattered about the rest of the tables. Most of them looked like scrap metal and uninteresting leather pieces and screws. If she saw all this stuff before knowing the power of that staff, she wouldn’t have thought any less than that he was some weird person messing with metal. However, knowing that these pieces had a purpose, an idea came to her mind.

“You think you could craft a gun with the same powers as your staff?” Helona asked.

“I could do it, but it would take time.” Linux answered. “There are much more important matters to discuss.”

Linux walked over to another table with circular devices on the surface. They weren’t glowing like everything else, but they looked complete with smooth lines and pointed edges. The devices were octagonal, outlined with metal. Inside the metal was a blue checkerboard pattern that formed a circle from inside it.

Helona picked one up and turned it over. The bottom was a plain, metallic surface. There was something interesting she noticed as soon as she turned it over. A needle stuck out from the bottom of the device. It was large enough to give her chills as she imagined it going inside someone, but it wouldn’t cause any damage outside of a tiny prick.

“This may not seem like sound advice,” Linux began explaining. “But stick the device on you. Make sure the needle makes its way deep into your skin. It doesn’t matter where.”

Helona had doubts about sticking the needle inside her. It could carry a toxin, or considering that this place uses a lot of electricity, it could carry a shock powerful enough to put her unconscious.

Killian didn’t trust it either. He took things as they came most of the time, but there were plenty of reasons to not trust the device. Trusting people was something he didn’t want to risk too much anymore. He was at the mercy of Linux before, but he didn’t have his staff with him this time, and Kauss wasn’t anywhere nearby. He could attack if it turned out he had been trying to trick them.

Linux could sense the doubt and hostility around the room. He rarely ever showed people where he put his device, but if he didn’t show it they could start mistrusting him more. He raised his right arm and showed off the device that was buried in his armpit.

“You’ll see why I want you to put it on,” Linux said. “You just have to trust me.” He grinned, trying to be seen as trustworthy as he could.

Helona looked the device over once again. He looked fine, but that device might be safe where theirs were laced with poison. Maybe he didn’t have a needle on his either, so he wouldn’t have injuries where they’d get a hole somewhere in their body.

Suddenly, a shock of electricity burst next to her. The room glowed green and blue as lightning surrounded Killian. His body jerked and spasmed; his eyes bugged out of his head in pain.

“You fucking-!” Helona screamed.

She charged at him with her fists drawn back. With as much strength as she could muster, she knocked him on the side of his jaw. She wasn’t in her prime, but there was enough power in her punch to send any normal person flying. However, Linux didn’t move an inch. He stayed in place, and didn’t even flinch from the punch.

She drew her hand back and noticed that it didn’t even leave a mark. Her eyes widened as his sturdy physique prevented him from moving a muscle. He protected them from that monster, but she never thought for a second if he was one or not. After all, the monster that was underground looked vaguely human. Why wasn’t he any different?

The lightning ceased, and the glow faded into an afterthought. If he could take that blow from her, then all she could do was escape. She turned to Killian to drag him upstairs, but she stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw him.

Killian was standing on his own two feet, looking at and squeezing his hands. His skin was much more vibrant and colorful, as if he just took an hour long bath. She had no clue what was going on anymore, but she had to get him out of here. She ran to him with her arms outstretched, but he stopped her.

“Don’t worry,” Killian said. “I’m fine. In fact, I feel better than ever.”

Helona was confused as hell about what had just happened. She felt his skin and noticed it felt as hard as a rock. His muscles had tightened so much that she couldn’t even scratch him with her fingernails.

“What did I tell you.” Linux said, the annoyance finally getting to him. “The device heightens your physical abilities by a ton. You can take hits better and punch people even harder.”

Linux looked around the room for something. His head jerked up when he found what he was looking for, and so he went diving into a bag full of materials. When he dragged his hand back out, he was holding a pistol that looked worn down and unusable.

He smiled and walked back to where he was standing moments ago. He pointed the pistol at them, putting them both back on guard. Then he turned it around, grabbing it by the barrel and facing the handle toward them. He asked a question they thought no one would dare to ask.

“You want to shoot me?”

Helona looked at the gun and grabbed it from him. If she shot it or not, it didn’t matter. It was out of his hands, so they didn’t have to worry about it for too long. He spread his arms wide, waiting for the impact.

Killian and Helona looked at each other, wondering about what to do. He nodded, giving the go-ahead, so she pointed the gun at him. He didn’t move an inch. It didn’t even look like he was afraid that a weapon that could kill hundreds of people was pointed at him.

Freezing her arms, holding them as steady as possible, she pointed the gun at him. She angled it away from his heart and aimed it away from any major organs. She tightened her finger on the trigger and fired. The bullet rocketed from the barrel and collided against his chest. The next thing that happened surprised everyone in the room, except Linux.

The bullet ricocheted off his chest and barreled its way toward a wall. The bullet buried itself in the wall, leaving a tiny hole behind. Helona’s hand shook as she looked from the gun to Linux, and the hole. He smiled, but immediately broke character.

“Fuck!” Linux shouted. “It does almost no damage, but my god that still hurts.”

He grabbed at his chest and took several deep breaths. After a few seconds passed, he stood up straight with one last, long breath.

“Yeah, that’s basically why I want you to wear it.” Linux said, picking up one of the devices. He held it to Helona, and she took it, still nervous about it. “Also, not only will it make you tough to kill, but it will also quickly heal injuries a person has.”

Helona, hearing that, looked at him with a destructive glare. She knew where he was going with that, but until she knew what the side effects of the device were, Kauss wasn’t going anywhere near the device. In order to figure out how safe it truly was, she needed to put it on herself.

“I would recommend putting that somewhere hard to reach.” Linux recommended. “It can break, and if it does, you’re vulnerable.”

She held the device in her hand, wondering where she would put it. The answer came to mind, and she only hoped that it was replaceable. She raised her shirt and stuck the needle in her side. She could feel it enter her, tearing its way into her skin. Blood seeped out of the wound as she forced it inside of her more. It pinched and pricked at her skin until it settled into place.

Once she could feel the device’s cold metal rest against her skin, she could feel a shock come down the needle. It was slight at first until sparks and lightning erupted from her skin. Lightning enveloped her body, electric shocks coursing inside and outside her body.

Her skin felt like it was on fire. The blood inside of her was boiling from the heat. Her skin reddened as green and blue lightning streaked from her hair to toes. Then, after nearly a minute of pain, the lightning faded, leaving her skin baked and in pain.

Then relief. Her body eased from the pain, and the feeling went beyond that. Not only did she feel better after a minute of unrelenting pain, she felt impeccable, unstoppable. She slid her hand against her arm, noting how hard her arm was from her tightened muscles. For now, there were no negative effects.

“Believe me now?” Linux held up a mirror and shined it in her face.

She looked into the mirror and touched her face. All the bruises and cuts she had vanished. Her face was rid of any blemish, injury, and scar that were on her. The device healed all of her wounds in a single instant.