VOLUME FINALE - Chapter 12 - Deception and Lies
Snake looks to Diva nervously. “Begging your pardon ma’am, but isn’t that going a bit too far?”
Jackal nods. “Yeah! Reporter lady pretty!”
Diva looks confused. “You don’t believe she be punished for her crime?”
Wolf nods. ”Yes we do, ma’am. But… uh, death might be a bit much. We’re not murderers after all.”
The rest of the Shards nod in agreement.
“Very well then. But you DID just agree that failure needs to be punished.”
Diva reaches into her cloak and pulls out a remote. She presses a button on it and turns back to the group as a large steel shutter drops cutting them off from the corridor leading to the lift.
“I’d like to direct your attention to that large crate in the center of the room. You may have thought it was supplies, but it’s actually a little bomb. Nothing special, really. It’s just big enough to collapse this mine and everyone in it.”
Minerva looks over in the direction of the crate. “A… A BOMB!!!”
Diva shakes her head as the Shards all run toward it. “Yes, by all means TRY to disarm it. Do it wrong and… well, I won’t spoil the surprise for you.”
She Blinks to a platform on the far side of the room.
“Have fun, boys!”
Snake turns to Diva. “But… but why?!”
Diva frowns. “Because the Shards have outlived their usefulness. You couldn’t stop that lone Hero from making a shambles of our plans.”
Wolf grimaces. “But… but we did everything we could!”
“Yes, I’m sure you did. But sometimes your best isn’t good enough. But not to worry. My organization WILL make the world a better place with the product you’ve produced.”
Diva turns toward Minerva with a wicked grin on her face.
“You may have escaped my bomb at the hospital, but you’ll never make it out of this one, peasant! Enjoy the time you have left everyone!”
Diva vanishes from sight just as the other lieutenants did. A few moments later the teleporter’s lights flicker and fade, indicating a loss of power to the unit. The Shards tear open the box to find a large device counting down. Snake steps back.
“Oh shi-!”
Jackal looks to his friend. “What we do now, Snake?”
“You’re asking me?!”
Wolf nods. “You’re the smartest one left!”
Arc motions for Ember and Sereb to follow him. Together they step out of the shadows.
“No, that would be me.”
The Shards turn and glare at them. Wolf grimaces.
“You again?!”
Jackal waves happily. “Hi!”
Snake sighs. “Not exactly the last face I’d like to see before I die.”
Ember clenches her fist. “Well then, we’ll have to skip the dying part.”
Arc hurries over to the bomb.
“Let me take a look at that!”
Snake steps aside. “Be my guest. I don’t really mind going a few minutes sooner anyways.”
Arc turns to Ember. “Dragon, go untie Minerva and her friend! I’ll get to work on this!”
The rest of the Shards panic and run toward the steel shutter. Ember looks at the horde of frantic members as she cuts the ropes around Minerva’s wrists with her spear.
“Somehow I don’t think you guys are getting through that!”
Snake frowns. “She’s right, you guys! We need a plan!”
Wolf sighs. “Like what?!”
Minerva gets up and unties Dave. “The bomb is the top priority! Time is limited as long as it keeps running!”
Ember nods. “Agreed.”
They run toward the Hero as he rips an access panel open. A mess of different colored wires presents itself. Snake looks over his shoulder with Wolf and Jackal.
“It’s like spaghetti!”
Wolf nods. “Really dangerous spaghetti!”
Jackal looks around. “Anyone else hungry?”
Arc sighs. “Not now, big guy. Maybe later.”
Ember gasps. “Uh… the timer is counting down faster!”
“What?!”
Arc looks at the display to see the timer’s countdown double in speed. Diva’s voice comes over an intercom.
“It looks like you opened the access panel a bit too roughly. Do try to be a bit more delicate with this precision piece of equipment.”
She laughs before shutting off the speaker. Ember grits her teeth.
“That witch! I’ll get her for this!”
“Let’s stay focused here. This thing is WAY too complicated to disarm.”
Minerva shudders. “That and it’s going off in about a minute!”
Hearing this the Shards stop banging at the door. Wolf looks to Arc.
“What are we supposed to do then?!”
Dave nods. “Right! There’s no way out of here!”
Arc stands and shrugs. “I don’t know.”
The Shards turn to one another nervously. Snake approaches them and shakes his head.
“Well boys, I guess this is it.”
Wolf sighs and extends a hand to Snake. “It was fun while it lasted.”
Jackal picks the pair up in a massive bear hug. “Me had fun too!”
The others take a cue from their comrades and begin shaking hands with one another in farewell. Minerva turns to Dave.
“I, uh… guess I’ll see you on the other side.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Sorry it ended like this.”
Dave shrugs. “We all have to go sometime.”
Ember turns to Arc. “So there’s nothing left to do?!”
Arc shakes his head as he tries to open a portal. “Nope. Portal Magic must not work down here. Probably too deep, or something.”
Ember takes Arc’s hand, soberly. “I have no regrets. But are you certain there’s nothing left to do?!”
“It’s going to explode. I can’t stop this.”
Arc looks down at the console.
“Ten seconds.”
Minerva walks over to Arc, nervously.
“Sir… I…”
Arc interrupts her. “I told you… just call me Hero.”
He extends a hand toward the bomb and casts a spell. The device rapidly begins to shrink in size until it vanishes from sight. A few moments later there is a small pop akin to that of a fire cracker. The Shards look over, confused. Snake is the first to speak.
“What… what just happened?”
“I just shrunk the bomb down to roughly the size of a flea. Looks like it just made a little smudge on the floor.”
The Shards erupt into cheers of joy. Ember frowns under her helmet.
“Why didn’t you do that earlier, Hero?!”
“I just wanted to see what everyone would do. The Shards took it well. Maybe there’s hope for them…”
Arc is interrupted as Diva’s voice again comes over the intercom.
“I don’t know how you stopped my bomb… Hero! But know this! I NEVER operate without a backup plan!”
A series of flashing red lights begins blinking overhead. Wolf gasps.
“What the…?!”
Minerva’s eyes grow wide. “There must be hundreds of…!”
Diva laughs. “My contingency plan! Somehow I don’t think you’ll be getting out of this one, Hero! These WILL be your last moments!”
The speaker is ripped from the wall as Ember’s gauntlet tears it out.
“Out of the frying pan…~”
Arc stands up. “…and thrust between a rock and a hard place.”
Minerva looks to Arc. “We need to get to the elevator! It’s our only hope!”
“Right!”
They hurry over to the steel door.
“I’ll Blink through it and make a sigil on the other side.”
Arc attempts to Blink but finds himself thrown across the room and through a machine. Ember and Sereb rush over to him.
“What happened?!”
Arc grabs onto Sereb’s saddle to pull himself up. “That door is warded, or something. Kinda reminded me of Decimus’ office.”
Ember frowns. “You got through that though!”
“True. But this one feels like it has multiple layers.”
“Do you think…?”
Arc hurries back to the door. “Probably no time. Let me try something different.”
Holding up his hand, Arc concentrates before shaking his head.
“It’s no good. I can’t lift the door with Telekinesis.”
Minerva gasps. “Why not?”
“The ward prevents it somehow.”
Dave looks confused. “Ward?”
“Think of it like a greased pig. I can’t get a grip on it.”
Snake groans. “Great! What now?!”
“Like you said earlier, Snake. We need a plan.”
Wolf nods. “Agreed. But what?!”
“Let’s see what we have to work with.”
Arc looks around quickly.
“Snake, take Jackal and grab me a piece of tube steel. Wolf, find me something solid. Cinder blocks, four by fours, anything. Get a bunch of them.”
The trio hurries to comply as Arc turns to Ember.
“I’ll need your spear to make this work.”
Ember calls forth the Spear of Courage. “Take it!”
“Hold onto it and follow my lead.”
Arc calls forth his own spear and begins chipping away at the rock at the base of the door. Ember joins him in his task. She turns to him.
“Somehow I don’t think we have time to tunnel out of here!”
“Just keep going.”
Minerva hurries over. “There were some shovels on the platform Dave and I were on.”
Dave nods. “Yeah! And other digging equipment.”
Arc turns to Dave. “Did you see any pickaxes?”
Minerva shrugs. “I think so.”
“PERFECT! Get two!”
Minerva and Dave hurry to comply. Ember frowns.
“What could we possibly hope to do with…?”
“Trust me, Dragon.”
Minerva and Dave returns a few moments later. Both are carrying heavy duty mining picks. Arc takes one.
“Great! Everyone stand back!”
Ember grabs the pick from Dave and trades swings with Arc. “I guess we know what the digging equipment in the Shard base was for.”
“Yeah. But it may yet save the day. Keep going!”
A few minutes later the pair have made a softball size hole in the floor of the cavern. Dave points.
“There’s the bottom of the door!”
Minerva grins. “What now?!”
Arc calls out. “Need that stuff now, guys!”
Snake and Jackal run over. Jackal is holding a two foot piece of tube steel on his shoulder. Arc points to the hole he and Ember have made.
“Put it in front of this hole about six inches back from the door.”
“Okay!”
He and Snake hurry to comply as Wolf hurries over with an armful of short two by fours.
“How’s this?!”
Arc nods. “It’ll do. Wolf, you and Snake get on your knees and be ready to push these in.”
“How?!”
“Just do it!”
The pair turn to each other, shrug, and do as they are told. Arc throws his pick aside and calls forth the Spear of Righteousness as he turns to Ember.
“Do as I do!”
He jams the spear under the door between it and the floor at a 45 degree angle. Ember quickly does the same as Arc rests his spear on the tube steel along with Ember.
“On three! One… two… THREE!!!”
Arc presses his entire body weight downward on his spear’s handle as Ember does the same. The door does not budge. Ember frowns.
“It’s not enough! We need more!”
Several Shards run to the other end of the chamber. They return with large pry bars. Thrusting the tools next to the spears they heft their entire weight into action. The door moves slightly. Snake points to the pickaxes lying on the ground nearby.
“Grab those picks, boys! Make a bigger hole!”
Two members pick up the picks and frantically begin elongating the hole. Several more pry bars are inserted as more Shards throw themselves onto the ends in a desperate attempt to help. The door moves a bit more. Arc strains.
“Almost… there…!”
Ember grits her teeth. “Just need… a bit… more!”
Jackal walks over with a prybar. Jamming it in next to Arc’s spear he puts his considerable weight on the bar. The steel door flies up several inches. Arc calls out.
“Boards under the door NOW!!!”
Snake and Wolf hurriedly slide a couple two by fours under the door.
“FINGERS OUT!”
The pair step back from the door. Arc and Ember remove their spears, step forward, and kneel down as the door slides back down to rest on the wood. Arc puts his gauntlets under the door and gives it a mighty heave.
“LIFT!”
Ember joins him.
“Together, Hero!”
The pair lift with all their might. Snake, Jackal and Wolf join them in their task.
“EVERYONE! LIFT!”
The entire gang kneels and puts their hands under the massive door. Arc turns to his left and right.
“Okay, on three!”
Arc takes a deep breath.
“THREE!!!”
All assembled lift with all their might. The door slowly raises inch by inch. Meanwhile the red lights overhead begin to blink faster. Dave grabs Minerva’s hand.
“We have to help!”
“But we’d just be in the way!”
“He said everyone! Let’s do this!”
Dave and Minerva take their places beside their former captors and lend their aid. Slowly the door lifts a foot and a half. Arc crawls underneath and puts his shoulders under the door. Grunting and pushing with all his might they lift the door a few feet off the ground. Arc shouts as he strains to hold the door up.
“EVERYONE THROUGH NOW!!! GET TO THE LIFT!!!”
The Shards hurry past him as Ember moves to help him. He puts a hand on her back.
“I GOT IT! MOVE!!!”
Ember nods and steps through as Arc looks to Minerva and Dave.
“GO!!!”
They hurry past him as the last of the Shards make their escape. Sereb is the last one out. He turns to Arc.
“That is everyone!”
Nodding, Arc Blinks a few feet forward. The door comes crashing back down smashing the wood beneath to splinters. Arc falls to his knees as Sereb hurries over to him with Ember. She helps him up.
“You okay?!”
Arc nods weakly. “I think so. Just really sore.”
Ember helps Arc onto Sereb’s back before climbing on herself. “We’re almost there! Go, Sereb!”
Sereb nods and begins running down the tunnel to the elevator. Ember points.
“There it is!”
Sereb jumps onto the mining lift. Ember turns to Snake at the controls.
“GO!”
Snake pushes buttons frantically. “I’m trying! It’s not working!”
Arc jumps off Sereb with Ember and hurries to the controls himself. “What do you mean?!”
Ember frowns as she looks back down the tunnel. “We don’t have time for this!”
Wolf slams his fists down on the controls. “The panel’s dead! Probably a final present from Diva!”
Minerva shudders. “What now?!”
Arc turns away from everyone as he removes his mask. “Dragon, trade me!”
Ember tosses her helmet to him as he gives her his mask. She puts it on dutifully as Arc dons her helmet. He grabs her gauntlet and turns her toward the elevator shaft.
“Start throwing fireballs straight up!”
“On it!”
Ember casts a fireball up the shaft. Its glow illuminates the walls as it rises.
“Keep casting! I’m going up there and see if I can get the power back on!”
Arc Blinks up as high as he can. As he reappears he grabs a support beam, looks up, and repeats the process.
Minerva calls out to him. “Be careful!”
Snake nods. “But hurry! Who knows when those bombs are going off!”
Wolf turns to Ember. “Do you think he’ll make it?!”
“He’ll get it done. The Hero’s never let us down before.”
Sereb silently nods. Meanwhile Arc continues his journey up the elevator shaft. Reaching the top he pulls himself up and runs over to the engine. Looking at the steam gauge he sees it way down.
“Diva must’ve doused the fire. When did she have time to do that?!”
He opens the door to the firebox. Peeking inside he sees nothing be soaking wet coals.
“Great! This stuff will never burn! Gotta improvise!”
Pointing his gauntlets at the firebox Arc casts a powerful flame spell. Hot white flames shoot forth and into the box. The needle on the steam pressure gauge does not move.
“Come on! BURN!!!”
Turning to a nearby fuse box Arc flips it open while continuing to cast the flame spell. He frowns.
“ARGH! She even took the fuse!”
Calling forth his spear, Arc jams the tip into the empty spot the fuse used to be.
“I hope this works.”
Meanwhile, the buttons on the control panel light up. Snake grins.
“We’ve got power!”
He grabs the lever and pulls it back. Nothing happens. Wolf frowns.
“Why aren’t we moving?!”
Snake grits his teeth. “This lift is really old! We’re probably too heavy with not enough steam pressure!”
Minerva gasps. “But there’s no time!”
Ember looks up the shaft. “The Hero will find a way to get the job done! You’ll see!”
Meanwhile, Arc continues casting his flame spell. He watches the needle rise near a small mark on the gauge. The lift slowly begins to move as the cable wraps around the cylinder.
“It’s moving! Gotta keep the heat up!”
The lift slowly moves up the shaft. Ember casts a Light Spell and uses it to wave to Arc. He nods. Jackal grins.
“I can see da top! We’re gonna make it!”
Suddenly a valve next to Arc gives out. Hot pressurized steam knocks him back down the shaft. Ember’s eyes grow wide as she sees Arc fall.
“NO!!!”
Moving like lightning Sereb jumps up onto the wall. Using his claws to grip a support he throws himself toward Arc and wraps his paws around him before the pair plummet back down to the floor of the lift. Ember hurries over to the pair as Sereb gets up.
“What happened?!”
“Some kind of a seal burst, I think. It just happened so FAST!”
Snake looks over. ”We’re slowing down!”
Wolf glares at him. “Give it more power!”
“That’s everything!”
Arc stands and frowns. “No steam, no lift.”
Minerva looks up. “We can’t give up now! We’re so close!”
Jackal frowns. “Uh… why we going back down?”
Ember frowns. “Weren’t you listening?!”
“I’m sorry. Hard words.”
Dave looks to the support beams. “Maybe we can climb up! It’s not that far!”
Minerva shakes her head. “That’s at least fifty feet. Most of us wouldn’t make it.”
“I have an idea! But I need your help, Dragon!”
“Okay, what do we…?”
Arc holds his gauntlets up and grunts as he concentrates. Slowly the lift stops descending as he strains.
“Dragon… LIFT!!!”
Ember raises her gauntlets and focuses her magic. The platform begins rising ever so slowly. Minerva’s eyes grow wide.
“It… it’s working!”
Sereb walks over to the pair. His horn glows as he lends his own power to their effort.
“Need… a little… more!”
Focusing his energies, the gem in his forehead begins to glow as Arc levitates a few inches above the deck. Minerva gasps.
“H-how?!”
Dave stands there, slack jawed. “This defies all reasoning!”
The lift makes the rest of the trip at normal speed. As they reach the top the Shard members hurry off the elevator and toward the mouth of the cave. Minerva turns back as she runs.
“Hero?!”
Arc remains where he is as the last few people rush off the lift. Ember grabs the front of his armor and lunges off the lift. As Arc loses concentration the platform drops back down the shaft like a stone. Ember helps Arc stand up.
“Come on! We have to go!”
Minerva runs back to help Sereb and Ember. She puts an arm around Arc.
“We’re so close!”
Arc turns to Sereb, weakly. “Make sure… others make it out.”
Sereb hurries ahead to herd the remaining Shards toward the mine entrance. Ember and Minerva run as best they can while helping support Arc. As they pass through the entrance an ear splitting explosion rips through the mountain. The force of the blast travels up the shaft and outward. Anticipating this, Arc pushes Ember away as he wraps his arms around Minerva and turns his body to protect her. The pair are thrown violently to the ground as Arc wraps his body over her to shield Minerva from falling debris. No one moves for several minutes as they attempt to catch their breath. Eventually Minerva opens her eyes and looks up.
“H-Hero?!”
Arc rolls over to lie on his back next to her. He heaves weakly in an effort to catch his breath. Snake gets up and looks around.
“Did… did we all make it?!”
Wolf looks around. “I think so. Somehow.”
Jackal grins. “I don’t see nobody missing.”
The Shards slowly get up along with Ember. Seeing Arc she hurries over to him as best as she can.
“H-hero? You okay?!”
Arc weakly nods. “Yeah. Good thing I had your helmet though.”
Ember helps him up. “We need to get you home right away!”
She turns to Minerva.
“Can you walk?”
Minerva nods shakily. “Y-yes. Thanks to you and, Hero.”
Arc coughs. “You… you’re welcome.”
Sereb hurries over. Ember helps Arc into the saddle before climbing in behind him.
“Let’s go!”
Arc calls out weakly. “W-wait!”
Sereb stops as Arc slowly turns to Minerva.
“I need… to ask you… something.”
“What is it?”
“My… my helmet. Do you… have it…?”
Minerva shakes her head. “No. That Shard woman with the gun grabbed it from me and ran off.”
“Hammer?”
“Not sure what her name was. Sorry.”
Arc lays his head down on Sereb’s neck. “I… see.”
Ember looks to Minerva. “Take care.”
Minerva nods soberly. “You too.”
Sereb bounds away leaving Minerva to watch them depart. The Shards slowly pick themselves up and look around. Jackal turns to Snake.
“Now what we do?”
Snake angrily turns to the group. “I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I’m going back to the base and give the lieutenants a piece of my mind!”
Wolf nods. “Count me in!”
Jackal frowns. “She not nice lady! We clobber her!”
The rest of the Shards cheer in agreement as they run off. Dave limps over to Minerva.
“We should get going too.”
Minerva nods, not looking at him as she speaks in almost a whisper. “Yes. Let’s go.”
“You okay?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s get out of here.”
Two hours later Cherry hears the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door opening. She calls out, still facing out the window where she was left earlier.
“How did it go?”
Minerva speaks nervously. “It was… business as usual, I guess. How was your day?”
“I got some thinking done. It’s really quite peaceful staring out the window like this.”
“Yes well… I can imagine.”
“Why don’t you join me? It’ll be like back at the hospital. Just without the impending doom part.”
“S-sure. Just let me grab a shower first.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting for you right here, my friend.”
Minerva hangs her head as she walks into the bathroom. She removes her heavily soiled clothes and turns on the water as she speaks quietly to herself.
“Cherry. You’re the first real friend I’ve ever had. While I know you must miss your Hero, I… I just… I can’t…”
She sighs as the water washes away the evidence of her hectic day. Her head comes to rest on the tile wall in front of her.
“I can’t give you up, Cherry. I WON’T give you up! In time maybe you’ll forget all about him and it’ll be just you and me!”
Minerva begins to wash her hair. Clumps of dirt fall to the floor of the shower and down the drain.
“Wha… what am I DOING?! This is kidnapping! Only a monster would… would…”
She puts a hand on the tile wall. Scratching at it for a few moments as she thinks
“I… I’m sorry, Cherry. But I just don’t have anyone else in my life. Please forgive me.”
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Diva has been to the Dr Evil University of Villainy?
Minerva is making it ever harder to make it through without being removed from digital existance.
10463185
I would say what Minerva is doing certainly wrong, yes. She blatantly lied to our hero even after he and Ember risked their lives to save her and the others.
I ship Diva with explosions.
10469666
She certainly has an affinity for destruction.
ok diva is a fan of mister torgue xD
10589336
Diva is clearly nuts! However, like pretty much every other character in the story, she too is hiding a secret.