Now, Earth

The streets of San Francisco didn’t appear like they expected them to look. Sure, there were plenty of apocalypse signs. Parked cars covered in dirt and debris. Their windows broken, tires flat and parts rusted. However, there weren’t any cars scattered in the middle of the streets. Even the most rusted wrecks were properly parked.

Vegetation was overgrown in places. Trees had grown wild. Grass and shrubbery had taken over the sidewalks in front of obviously empty homes and businesses. Weeds sprang tall in between the cracks in the asphalt and concrete.

In regards to the abandoned buildings; there were broken windows aplenty, but it definitely appeared as if someone had gone to the trouble to clean a lot of it up. Broken glass wasn’t scattered on the sidewalks and a good chunk of the windows had been boarded up with plywood.

“When I had heard that a freaky fish cult had taken over the Bay… I definitely wasn’t picturing this,” Hanna said as the truck sped past the confusing scenery.

“Right,” Remy nodded, “I’m worried that we haven’t run into any roadblocks and checkpoints.”

“Yeah, no crucified people, open blood pits or flesh towers.”

“What?”

“Sorry,” Hanna said, “I read a lot of dark fantasy.”

“Ah,” Remy understood. “I used to read stuff like that before everything happened. Well, not so much the grimderp stuff. Nowadays I don’t have much time for empty fun. When I do find the time to read, its all real science stuff or things from the spires.”

“Aren’t you an engineer or something? Figured you’re a science guy.”

“Different fields of science. I got some basics, but not nearly enough to utilize my abilities to their full potential.”

“Uh huh… so, I’m getting stressed out that these streets are actually better looking than Sactown’s. It’s like someone went through and cleaned up shit. I’m not getting any monster vibes either.”

Remy stretched his magnetic field out. “I think you’re right,” he said after a few seconds, “no monsters.”

The convoy screamed down the streets. No lights, no cars, no pedestrians, none of the same concerns of an earlier, better time. They followed Detective Ordonez’s directions, which took them on a route that ran along the ocean side. Remy smelled the salt and brine, fresher than he had remembered from the last time he was in San Francisco. He recognized some of the places they passed.

He wondered about the wisdom of staying so close to the water, but it was the detective’s show. She knew what she was doing.

If he remembered correctly they were about to enter the famed Fisherman’s Wharf area.

He wasn’t prepared for what he saw next.

People.

There were a lot people and they appeared to be going about their day, as if they were safe. As if they weren’t concerned about a dangerous cult. As if there weren’t fishmen and actual prehistoric sea monsters lurking in the water hundreds of feet away.

The people walked around. They ate at open restaurants. Couples, groups of friends, families with children. It was just like how things were before the spires had appeared.

Remy heard the buzz of hundreds of different conversations. He felt the people through his magnetic field. As far as he could tell they were flesh and blood human beings, not some kind of magical illusion or other tricks that he didn’t have names for.

The convoy slowed, but the road was clear so they kept moving.

For their part the people merely looked at them with varying amounts of interest. They appeared mildly curious, but went about their business.

Remy didn’t see any fear in their eyes as the convoy drove past. It was a surreal contrast to the people back home and in Sacramento. There, everyone was always cognizant of monster attacks.

“What the hell did I just see?” Hanna craned her neck back to the receding Fisherman’s Wharf, as if she wanted to burn the image into her memory. “Tell me that was some kind of magic bullshit… the cult’s just messing with our brains? Like, those people were actually being tortured by demonic mermaids? Like they were being battered in baby batter, legit made out of babies, before being deep fried in oil made out of human fat?”

Remy stared at Hanna with wide eyes for a moment. “No, definitely not any of what you just said. Those were people. Normal human beings.”

“Tricky bastards,” Hanna said. “This fish cult is legit. We have to kill them all.”

For once Remy was in agreement. “We have to find out the truth they’re hiding. Other people see this,” he pointed back to the wharf, “they’ll want to join up.”

“It’s too good to be true. There’s always a catch to these things. I’ve read a lot and it’s always something like human sacrifice or worse,” Hanna nodded.

Remy was about to remind her that was fiction. He caught himself. Much of their reality had changed drastically. The truths were no longer obvious and evident. What had been accepted scientific laws had been bent and outright broken. Fiction had become reality. After all, he was a living example of that.

“Keep your eyes on the goal, Remy. You’re doing that silent thinking thing. Don’t let that happy tourist scene back there throw you off. Don’t forget we’ve been fighting these bastards for almost two years.”

“My daughters saw cultists sacrifice one of their own to summon a fishman. They tried to take my daughters. Nearly killed my wife.” Remy made a fist. “They’ve already shown me their true face. I will never forget that.”

“Good. That’s the right mindset for this. Now, you just need to get over the whole not killing thing,” Hanna said briskly. “I still don’t get it. You’ve got no problems gibbing fishmen. Cultists are basically the same. What if you picture what they wanted to do with your daughters?”

“Don’t—” Remy warned.

“Look, I get it, no parent wants to ponder the unthinkable, but it’s just reality. Some people are just evil and they do evil things to others. That’s how it was before the spires. No reason it wouldn’t be different now. Probably worse when you factor in weird magic shit,” Hanna shivered. “You and I, we’re lucky in a way. We’ve got edges that allow us to protect ourselves from that evil. Your girls are the same. That’s why I agreed to train anyone willing to learn. Do what I can, no matter how little to give others an edge they can use against the evil out there. Man and monster.”

Truth.

Remy heard it in Hanna’s words.

A man needed to do everything he could to keep his family safe.

Even if it’d kill him on the inside.

Remy didn’t trust himself to speak, so he simply nodded.

The world through Detective Ordonez’s eyes while under the influence of her Skills was different. She couldn’t explain it if she tried. Suffice to say she could see, hear, even smell whatever it was she was looking for. She experienced the past unfolding in front of her as if it was the present. She lived the events in question. The more information she already had made the experience stronger, more accurate. How much time had elapsed played an important role as well.

The kidnapped women had been taken to Treasure Island by the fishmen. They had then been transferred onto vehicles on the Bay Bridge. That was the trail the detective now followed.

Detective Ordonez saw the trail ending in the distance. She called out for the driver to stop. What she saw confused her.

“Um… are we here?”

She ignored Jake and tried to process what her Skills were showing her. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“We can’t stay stopped here. We’re a target,” Jake said.

“I need to see.” Detective Ordonez tried to get out of the SUV, but Jake’s bulk was in the way.

“Whoa!” Jake rushed to open the door and get out before the detective could climb over him.

“Is this this place?” Captain Hamill jumped out of the following HUMVEE.

The detective shushed the soldier with a brusque gesture as she continued to survey the area. Empty buildings lined the street. She walked with purpose to a side street on the right that led to a dead end.

The ocean.

“I see,” Detective Ordonez said to herself.

“See what?”

The detective blinked like someone seeing the light for the first time after days in the dark.

“Are we in the right place? Or not? I don’t like standing around. Standing around gets you killed,” Captain Hamill barked.

“Cultists took our people out of the vans there,” Detective Ordonez pointed back to where the convoy was parked, “then they went there,” she pointed to the water.”

To his credit the captain didn’t even blink. “Okay. You’re the expert. What now?”

Detective Ordonez ran through the possibilities as quickly as she could. “Three possibilities,” she held up three fingers. “They loaded them up into boats and took them somewhere else. I’d check Alcatraz first… except I don’t think that’s likely.”

“This isn’t a proper loading spot. It’d be tough to get a boat lined up here. Why not use any of the actual docks we’ve seen? Why not just take them straight to Alcatraz instead of unloading at Paradise and driving them through the city?” Captain Hamill saw it right away.

“Maybe they didn’t have enough oxygen to take them all the way under water. It’s a long way from Old Town,” Jake said.

“Two,” Detective Ordonez ignored Jake, “they didn’t take them to Alcatraz. They took them to wherever the fishmen live.”

“Atlantis,” Jake said.

“Like the movie?” Captain Hamill frowned. “So, on the ocean floor, either in the bay or somewhere in the Pacific. Which means we can’t reach them.”

“Third… they’re dead. For obvious reasons, that’s the least likely.”

“Right, so, again, what do we do? Me and my guys are here to fight. I was told you’d get us there,” Captain Hamill said.

“I need to talk to Cruces.”

Detective Ordonez headed straight for the last truck in the convoy, Jake on her heels. The captain barked out orders for his fifty or so men and women to take up defensive positions.

Remy jumped out the back of the truck to get out of the way. Hanna joined him as Detective Ordonez got right up in his personal space.

“You’ve got a way of detecting people. What’s your range?”

“I…” Remy was glad that the motorcycle helmet hid his face. His lack of an effective poker face had given him away when he had tried to keep surprises from his wife. The detective was on another level.

“Don’t care about the details, just need you to find out if there is a group of people hidden somewhere in the immediate area.”

Remy pushed his magnetic field out. He met resistance almost immediately. The sudden spike of pain in his body caused him to almost fall over.

“The fuck!” Hanna and Jake said at the same time.

Remy felt a sudden onset of nausea. The world spun like the worse case of vertigo he had ever had, which was significant because he had never been afflicted with that condition. He was rock solid. Roller coasters, fishing in the ocean in a thirty-foot boat, winding mountain roads, nothing had ever affected him.

Hanna steadied him while the feeling slowly dissipated.

“Don’t know, something…” Remy said.

“We’ve got a problem!” Captain Hamill rushed over with one of the fighters.

A black ponytail peeked out the back of the woman’s helmet. She was well-built, athletic.

“Jimenez here has the best Danger Sense we’ve got,” Captain Hamill said.

“It was buzzing at about a four or five from the bridge to here. Actually dipped to a two when we went through Fisherman’s Wharf. Just spiked to about a nine,” Jimenez said briskly.

“What’s your scaling system?”

Jimenez shot Jake a scathing look. “What do you think?”

“Uh… up to ten?”

“We’re moving,” Captain Hamill said. “If you don’t have a location for me then we’ll just have to figure it out on the road.”

“Which direction?” Remy huffed.

“What?” Captain Hamill squared up to Remy, as if he wanted to take a shot.

The captain was a big man, certainly bigger than Remy. He loomed over him.

Remy didn’t have time. He firmly, but gently and with the utmost respect moved the captain out of his way with one hand. “From which direction are you sensing the threat?” He walked up to Jimenez, but was respectful of her personal space.

“I’ve been trying, but I just can’t pinpoint a specific threat vector, sir. You should assume that it can come from anywhere,” Jimenez said with a salute.

Captain Hamill looked like he had just taken a bite out of fresh lemon. Whatever he was about to say was drowned out by a sound that could only be described as the air being torn like a piece of paper.

A bright blue beam as thick around as a man’s wrist lanced from the rooftop on the other side of the street.

Remy felt it cross his magnetic field. The disturbance was as jarring as a dropped rock into a still pond. He knew instinctively where it was going.

He moved faster than humanly possible as he pushed Captain Hamill out of the way. He couldn’t do it as gently this time, but he figured the captain would take a few bruises over getting some kind of energy beam to the chest.

The captain tumbled to the ground and the blue beam sizzled right through the brick wall of the building they were standing next to.

Everyone dived to the ground and took cover as bits of hot brick showered over them.

The surface around the hole in the wall was scorched black.

“Heat and physical force,” Remy said.

Another blue beam lanced out. This one burned right through the sheet metal of the truck’s hood. Remy almost threw himself away from the truck. Then he realized that engines usually didn’t blow up like in the movies.

“Contact on the roof! Southeast building on the intersection! Above the bar!” someone shouted.

Gunfire filled the air.

“Eleven! My Danger Sense is at eleven!” Jimenez screamed while she scrambled to get behind the army truck’s massive rear wheel.

“The water!” Detective Ordonez had her modified taser pistol in her hand.

Remy stayed low to the ground. He kept the now burning truck between him and the energy beam shooter.

He moved toward the front of the truck. He barely felt the heat from the engine fire that was hot enough to start melting the front tires. He looked down the short street to the bay. “Well… shit.”

A huge, dark shape approached. It was just beneath the surface, displacing the water and creating massive waves in its wake.

Remy had seen this before.

He pulled at the large, metal footlockers in the trunks of each vehicle. The doors had been left open when the convoy had stopped as part of the plan just for this possibility.

There was noticeable resistance that pushed back against the magnetic fields that Remy used to float the containers to him. He pushed through it despite the growing nausea and pain inside.

The dark shape shot out of the water and up partially onto the street. A monstrous maw filled with teeth as long as a man’s arm roared. Fishmen leaped off the prehistoric beast’s armored back while loosing spine bolts from their crossbows.

Remy opened the footlockers with a gesture. He seized dozens of sharpened stakes of rebar in magnetic fields and shot them forward faster than a battleship-mounted railgun.

The air shook with a deafening boom. Dust and debris scattered. Windows shattered. The gunfire stopped.

Fishmen died.

The prehistoric creature choked and gurgled on the iron shafts that penetrated its vulnerable throat. It thrashed its flippers wildly, smashing fishmen into the street and buildings, before it slid back into the water.

Remy wondered how many Universal Points that thing would be worth, assuming he had killed it.

A loud chime sounded in his ears.

Congratulations!

You have received a Quest.

The Scions of the Deep Azure have ambushed you. Defeat them.

Success Parameters: Defeat your enemies or escape.

Failure Parameters: Death or capture.

Reward: 100000 Universal Points.

Failure: You will die or suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of the Scions of the Deep Azure. All active Quests may fail.

You will accept.

“Holy shit! That’s like a hundred times more points than the most I’ve ever gotten for one Quest,” Jimenez’s eyes were wide as she alternatively stared at Remy and at the mess that covered much of the street and half the walls of the buildings on either side.

“Maybe I should’ve gone and done some of those Quests with you and your brother,” Hanna said. “I could’ve used that many points.”

“That is some impressive carnage,” Captain Hamill whispered.

“Alright, people! You heard the invisible voice in your heads. Time to get out of here,” Detective Ordonez snapped.

They were all hunkered down behind any cover they could find.

The momentary respite from the bright blue beams raining down on them was over. A sound tore through the air and another SUV engine was destroyed.

The answering gunfire had grown sporadic. They were running low on ammo, not that they had an abundance to begin with. The engagement at the Bay Bridge had already eaten a good chunk of their supply.

To make matters worse magic spells started to rain down along with the blue beams. Across the entire opposite block, figures cast explosive fireballs, along with bolts and beams of varying elements.

“That was our last car,” Jake said.

Captain Hamill looked Remy square in the eyes. “I’d be grateful if you could do your thing and fly us out of here.”

“Under any other circumstance I’d already be doing that. Unfortunately, something is messing with my… ability… to do that,” Remy said.

“Useless,” Captain Hamill muttered under his breath.

Remy let it go. The captain was under a lot of stress. Several of his fighters, soldiers were already down from the looks of it. They were pinned down deep in enemy territory without their vehicles. The situation had deteriorated in a matter of minutes.

“We’re going to fight our way out. Get out of the ambush. Then find a place to catch our bearings and figure out our next move,” Captain Hamill said. “Can you at least do one thing?” He challenged Remy.

“What do you need?” Remy sighed.

“I need those fucks on the roofs to stop shooting at us long enough so that we can break the cordon. Especially that fatherless bastard shooting those fucking blue bullshit beams!” Captain Hamill screamed to get his voice heard over the din of battle.

Remy heard him loud and clear.

He created five magnetic fields. It was hard to focus with that strange effect that had been pushing back against his use of power, especially when he had to accurately align each field with a different target.

The seconds turned into minutes as he strained and fought the dizziness and the sick feeling in his body. Until, finally, he was ready.

“Okay,” Remy said through grit teeth. “On three.”

“One… two… three,” Hanna said.

Two things happened at the same time.

Captain Hamill shouted.

Five vehicles shot up toward the tops of the buildings on the other side of the street.

The barrage stopped.

Metal crashed. Buildings crumbled.

Cultists were crushed.

Remy and his allies sprinted south down a one way street.

Eerie silence followed them. The only thing they could hear was the sound of their boots on the asphalt and their own breathing.

A growing dread gripped their hearts. It was an invisible, yet palpable force. A many-fingered hand clutching at them. Cold and wet.

No one noticed the large, furry shapes following them along the rooftops, nor the misshapen humanoid forms running through the parallel streets on both sides.

Now, Threnosh World

“What do you call yourself, General?”

“Zanya… great Herald.”

Caretaker was confused. They were certain that the gleaming, golden figure had been about to attack and kill them all. When it had suddenly appeared in front of the cragants.

The general had pushed itself to the front of its soldiers and had knelt down in front of Zalthyass with its forehead pressed to the floor.

All of the cragants radiated unmistakable fear in the light of the delicate-looking winged figure.

Caretaker knew that the appearance was deceiving. They had reviewed the recordings of the fight between Zalthyss and Honor from every possible perspective that was available. Zalthyss surpassed Honor’s considerable physical strengths. The human had lost fingers and had been able to triumph only through the use of clever tricks and the aid of Prime Custodian 3. They had captured Zalthyss in the end.

This of course raised a whole host of questions in Caretaker’s mind. As far as they knew, Zalthyss was still in Prime Custodian 3’s custody.

The golden figure in front of them was almost certainly the same Zalthyss according to every reading that Caretaker was frantically processing.

How?

“Zanya, you have failed your holy charge,” Zalthyss said.

Caretaker winced as disruptive, unpleasant static was garbled with Zalthyss’ words. They ran a quick diagnostic, but their helmet’s auditory systems were functioning within expected parameters.

“You are to be imprisoned until return to your home world. There you will undergo the Rite of Atonement and will be cleansed along with your entire line.”

Caretaker saw the general’s massive fist clench with the strength that they had seen crush metal before.

“I submit to the Savior’s will,” General Zanya rasped.

“In honor of your long, distinguished service… I restrict the cleansing of your line to a single degree.” Zalthyss looked expectantly at the general’s prostate form.

“The Savior is merciful,” General Zanya said after a moment.

The rest of the cragant’s echoed the same.

Caretaker wasn’t certain, but they sounded reluctant.

“You,” Zalthyss pointed a clawed finger to the closest cragant, “are now the general of this expedition. Upon your head does success or failure weigh. You will imprison Zanya until a hierophant arrives.”

The cragants wide eyes were visible through the slit of its helmet. It copied the former general’s pose with haste driven by fear. “For the Savior!” its voice was perhaps louder than it had intended.

Zalthyss turned back to Caretaker, the cragants forgotten.

“Where is Honor?”

“I do not know,” Caretaker answered honestly.

“Despite the broken and incomplete strands of your song, I hear the truth.” Zalthyss floated up several meters with a soft flap of its wings. “You are strange for gray ones. I have only found a handful on this world with full songs of worthy beings. You are but partially filled, but I can see the growth. I see Honor’s song. It is intertwined with your own. What does that mean? I did not know the like was possible.” Zalthyss drifted almost lazily toward Caretaker. It suddenly looked to the south. “I do not understand. I cannot hear the song,” it whispered. “Honor’s song is silent to me. Has he left this world? You, gray one,” its gaze snapped to Caretaker, “his song is strongest with your own. Tell me, what has become of Honor?”

“I do not know,” Caretaker repeated.

“No,” Zalthyss said, as if not listening. Its gaze returned to the south. “Honor has not left this world. His song is a whisper on the wind, but it is still here. Something is muffling the sounds. How? Why?”

Caretaker dared not move. Zalthyss was not what they had expected. The outworld invader was erratic. They suspected that it was experiencing the world on a different sensory level than what they knew existed. They regretted that Honor had not spoken about Zalthyss in detail. Such information would’ve proved useful in their current situation.

“Yes. There are many ways to hunt. If prey hides then one must draw them out,” Zalthyss said. “You are tied to Honor in some fashion. He values your existence. If that is threatened then he will come to protect that which belongs to him. If not then he will wish to avenge that which was taken from him. I shall kill half your number. That will bring Honor out and it will allow the survivors to compose a greater song within them. In time you will become worthy of having your songs added to mine.” Zalthyss floated up until it was just above the gaping hole in the ceiling.

A giant metal arrow screamed through the air. It struck Zalthyss and engulfed it in a massive explosion that temporarily lit up the dark night.

“Primal! I ordered retreat!”

“I will not run from a monster,” Primal said into the comms.

“Splendid!” Zalthyss emerged unscathed from the fireball. “Worthy prey fights.”

Caretaker shot the golden figure with their last viral round before it could move.

The familiar chime sounded in all the Threnosh’s ear holes. None dared look at the new Task notification. They could guess at the content well enough.