Chapitre 8: To The Mine We Go
*This chapter, while not much, is a thank you to everyone for the support along the way. I wish to specifically thank DragonConquer1 for being active and randomly chatting away with me :). Moving on, I hope you'll all enjoy, even if the pacing is a bit slow (I follow the game)*
With a fake cough, Mark went on to clear his throat.
"So, we'll do as follows: Chief Oleg needs a hand; I'm sure of it. Wildfire is in trouble, with too much on their plate and not enough manpower. This is where we step in," said Mark as he pointed to himself and the Express crew. "We have more than enough ability to solve a few issues here and there, so consider this some really good collaboration where we scratch your back and you scratch ours."
He took a deep breath, preparing himself to aim for the heart of the matter.
"In the not-so-long long run... we plan to open the passageway to the world above. Sure, the situation is shitty on both sides, so we need people to collaborate. You might not be aware, but Cocolia's choice isn't fully her own when it comes to sealing the Underworld. She's not exactly in her right mind..."
The gazes he got were one more confused than the other, with Seele not fully buying it, while Bronya was still processing his words on Cocolia's mental state. The Express crew was staring intently at his attempt to negotiate some terms and find the best course of action for all sides. He wasn't the best at it by any means, yet his words were honest, and honesty is a virtue that goes a long way, especially with those who see the value in it.
Reluctantly, Seele agreed with him.
"Fine, let's say that we agree to your terms. We'll take the help, but how are you even going to try and open the passageway?"
Mark gave a knowing smirk, speaking in a stern tone, avoiding any hint of sarcasm that he usually loved.
"We shall handle the Stellaron, the very thing that led to the planet freezing... but for that, we'll need your hand since we don't know it's location."
It was true. Even with his knowledge, whenever he'd try to forcefully pry that knowledge back into his mind, the sensation of vertigo and pain overcame him fiercely, threatening to rip his mind apart. Instead, he chose to follow the natural flow of things and allow some memories to come back when the time was right.
Sampo sighed, crossing his arms.
"My friend, I suggest we keep this story for the chief. Miss Seele here won't really understand it either way."
She nodded, actually agreeing with his words.
"Indeed. For now, we've run into some trouble at the Great Mine. Chef Oleg is there as well, so if you actually plan on lending a hand, you better come with me."
The whole group got a move on, yet Bronya seemed to be held back in place as the others began pacing away. Mark walked up to her, letting out a soft sigh. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, prompting her to tear her gaze away from the ground and meet his.
"I know a lot of things don't really make sense, and I know that you genuinely care for the people, both those above and below... so, for the sake of both, lend us a hand, please. You're one of the few people who could actually try and talk Cocolia's mind back into the right place. So, please, Bronya... lend us your strength."
She held his gaze, a turmoil made up of emotions writhing inside of her, visible in her ashen brown eyes.
"I... I'm confused, alright? I should have been able to do something, and yet... all I could do was sit back and watch, trying to help however I was able to. I couldn't stand up to her, and I'm not sure I will ever-"
Mark was quick to cut her off, already aware of the things she was about to say.
"No, Bronya... you can, and you will. Have faith in yourself. I know you have it in you, and plus, you got us, you know? Sure, we might be strangers, but that's how friendships begin. So, let's get going, ok? The others aren't really waiting for us."
With that, he walked off. Her gaze lingered on his back for a moment, taking in the carefree way in which he walked, as if nothing mattered as long as you tried to do something about it. Still, his shoulders were slightly slouched, just a tiny bit. Hesitant, she chose to follow, and so they all walked to the entrance of the mine.
Once they had arrived, Stelle had to ask the obvious question that no one had bothered to address.
"So... what issues are exactly going on inside the mine?"
Seele sighed, her weariness evident in her tone.
"After something called the 'Fragmentum' corroded a lot of the other mines and even the turf of the vagrants. With that, a lot of miners were forced to work here due to the mine being safer, and the vagrants did the same. Sure, they're an honest bunch, but with such a large group, conflict and troublemakers are bound to appear. They've been stealing things from the miners and picking fights. That's not even the worst of it."
She braced herself for it, looking towards the inside of the mine.
"For two days now, huge clashes have been breaking out between the vagrants and the miners. It isn't pretty. Come on, let's go in; chief Oleg is inside."
Bronya let out a soft scoff.
"It's about time I got to meet the leader of the Underworld."
Seele nearly mocked her, yet Mark's gaze fixed on her, sort of cutting down her appetite for mischief. With that, she made her way in, followed by the entire group. Once inside, the commotion was already visible, with the large group of people gathered together and Natasha being there.
"Isn't that the doctor lady?" asked March. Seele merely watched, a disturbed expression on her face.
"What's Natasha doing here? Things must be worse than I thought."
Mark looked around, noticing that Sampo had seemingly vanished already. As Seele discussed the situation with Natasha, he simply stood back and listened about the ongoing conflict caused by the newly discovered Geomarrow vein, one of the largest in thirty years. Mark already had an idea about what had happened, so he didn't really bother to listen much, seemingly waiting for the action to happen. In the meantime, he kept his senses sharp, looking around in case conflict would ignite again.
"So, seeing as you're looking for Oleg, I believe you're here to help, right?"
Seele turned to look over the group.
"They're here because they need to speak with chief Oleg. Still, that big-mouthed oaf did say something about lending a hand, so I believe that they're more than ready to help."
Mark crossed his arms, trying his hardest not to hit her on the head with his metal pipe, which he carried by his side, not letting go of it no matter what. Everyone chuckled, and even Dan Heng smiled a tiny bit. Mark waved a dismissive hand.
"Sure, call me whatever, as long as we can make it work. Yeah, we're here to lend a hand, so lead the way, tiny lady with your tiny shorts."
She didn't take well to the comment, nearly reaching for her scythe herself, yet both just let the tension linger in the air, not acting on it. Natasha chuckled, her hand gesturing toward them.
"I'm glad to know that we have some extra helping hands. It's a truly valuable resource, so thank you for the help."
Stelle spoke up, a tiny smile on her face.
"Don't worry about that. We'll try our best."
Seele took the lead, still trying to bury the resentment she felt towards Mark for making fun of her.
"The Geomarrow vein... I think that's where the conflicts must be centered. Come on, let's get to higher ground and take a look."
Quick to move, everyone took after her, following closely. They found an unconscious person on the side of the road, which was a large, rusted metallic bridge.
"That person up ahead... is he asleep?"
Mark chuckled at March's question.
"Yeah, March, he sure is sleeping on the job in such a dangerous situation. Let's just check up on him."
As they got closer, the sound of snoring grew louder. Mark looked over to March.
"Gotta apologize. I sure was wrong. Didn't expect him to actually sleep on the job like that."
March chuckled, brushing it off as nothing important. She chose to try to wake him up.
"Hey, wakey-wakey! You'll get mushrooms growing on your head."
The man stood up, mumbling something.
"Hm...? Wha...? Mushroom bread? I don't see it on the menu... Ah, Miss Seele!?"
She scoffed, crossing her arms again.
"Are you serious? Do you have a death wish or something sleeping here? Go back to safety and take shelter!"
The man finally snapped out of it properly.
"I remember now. Those guys came out of nowhere and got into a fight with the mining team. I was fatigued, and they nearly caught me. If it weren't for Wildfire, they would have stolen even the clothes on my back."
Stelle glanced deeper into the unknown mine, the place that, for them, was as unfamiliar as hostile.
"Where did Wildfire go?"
The man looked in the same direction.
"Further in, I guess. Those thugs have long since taken control over the vein. They're fully armed, and we defenseless folks have no chance against them."
Mark nodded, already heading in.
"We're wasting time at this point. Thanks for the information. Now go back and rest properly, got it?"
Along the path lingered more people that Seele knew, and of course, they had to go check up on everyone. Mark smiled slightly, yet he was worried that the situation on the inside might be growing unstable.
"I can't fully recall what's about to happen, yet I don't even need to force myself to. Conflict, that's for sure. I better get ready to be attacked from some blind spot further in."
Chapitre 9: Pipe In Action
After what felt like an eternity of waiting that tired his very soul, they had finally finished talking with the others. Still, the information that they had found was useful: robots had seized the mine, and Mark had just one name in mind: Svarog. That name had even come up in the conversation after his realization.
"Well, things are finally getting a tinge more interesting."
With that in mind, they ventured ahead, only to listen in on two vagrants who were discussing about a broken lift and stealing off of the miners. That was all that Seele needed to be set off like fireworks. In an instant, she struck them on all sides with the dull side of her scythe, leaving bruises all over.
"This should be enough of a lesson for the two of you. Never even think about stealing something again, got it?"
They ran off, shouting and cursing, but not even daring to try and stand up to her. Behind them, a piece of foreign machinery was left on the ground.
"What's this?" asked Mark as he picked it up. The robot made some weird noises as it seemed to boot up.
"Beep beep. Recognizing voiceprint. Beep, beep... aliens detected."
March chuckled.
"Hey, it knows we're not from this planet. Where did it even come from?"
Mark twirled it around, checking it on every side, only to find the IPC logo on it. Instantly, his mind went blurry as a sharp pain stung him through his head, like an arrow bolt stuck in his very flesh and bone.
"Gah!"
He dropped it to the ground, blood running down his face as he rested his arms on his knees, trying to catch his breath and calm down. Soon, they were all at his side, trying to support him and hold him up.
"Mark, what the heck happened?" asked Stelle, her worried eyes darting over the blood that gushed out of his nose. He simply wiped it away, forcing himself to stand, despite the strong vertigo that struck.
"Damn it, no worries..."
He reached down slowly, trying to once more get used to the feeling of everything spinning around, and grabbed the robot that kept beeping and talking away. He pointed to the IPC logo.
"The IPC... these guys... it's a robot from them... this piece of junk..."
The robot spoke once more.
"Beep, beep... you're a piece of junk."
Mark glared at it, hand on his metal pipe for both support and sending a message.
"Give me one good reason to not turn you into a baseball this very instant."
The robot beeped in a panicked manner, trying to figure out something.
"I can help you find things; that's what I do. I'm Richard, the-"
Mark cut it off, feeling a bit better, yet the confused gazes and worried expressions from the others still lingered.
"I don't care about the extra info. You can help us find things. Good enough."
He handed it over to Dan Heng.
"Here, make good use of it."
He nodded, keeping the robot by his side for times when it would come in handy. Stelle still looked at him, her eyes not leaving, unwavering in their silent care.
"Mark... what's wrong? You just... at the sight of the IPC logo, you just... blood gushed out, and-"
Mark chuckled slightly, not to mock but rather to reassure and make fun of his own frail condition.
"No worries about that, Stelle. It just happens sometimes. Get used to it. I'm fine now, so let's just head deeper into the mine."
Seele and Bronya both regarded him with suspicious expressions, something that everyone held towards him—a hint of well-deserved suspicion for the irregularities in what he did and how he acted. Still, no one had argued with him or tried to pry the truth out of him. Nothing good would come out of it since he was as locked up as a safe when it came to his own thoughts.
The rest of the path was empty, leaving nothing but the eerie walls of the mine to keep them company, followed by the sound of voices deep inside.
"I think we're getting closer. Stay back," ordered Seele, quickening her step.
Inside, a group of armed vagrants, carrying both rifles and their unusual weapons, threatened a small group of miners, talking a big game about Wildfire not being there to protect them, laughing and taunting the unarmed people. Mark scoffed silently, walking over to Bronya.
"I'll be needing this."
Without further discussion, he took her gun and aimed with no hesitation. The gun went neatly against his shoulder, planted firmly as he held his breath. With one deliberate motion, he aimed towards one of the guns held by the vagrants, shooting it out of their arm. The sound of Bronya's rifle firing thundered against the walls of the mine.
"Thanks; now for the next round."
He dropped the gun in her arms, letting her reload it. Metal pipe in arm, he used the commotion as the vagrants tried to figure things out to just smack away whatever seemed right.
"You scoundrels, threatening the weak, boasting a big game when you're nothing but useless punks?!"
Thud. The hit echoed as his pipe struck one of the men against the thigh, aiming specifically for spots that wouldn't kill but hurt like hell. With his other hand, he spun the upper side of the pipe and lightly struck the vagrant against the head, just enough to further confuse him. With the last move, he grabbed the gun out of his hand and quickly fired another shot at the other armed man, the gun flying out of his arms like the first. It was as if time stood still while he took action, which surprised even him to some extent.
"I can't stand pieces of shit like you, not even bothering to work a day in their life, talk shit, and act high and mighty because you have guns on you. Sure, now what? You're out of fancy rifles; are you going to try and come at me like this? Fucking try, I dare all of you."
They grabbed their weapons, but in that moment, the rest of the group came closer, causing the vagrants to back down and shrivel slightly at the sight.
"I didn't expect you to have that much backbone," said Seele, a tiny smile on her face as she looked up at him, the rifle still in his arms pointed to the ground as the metal pipe rested against his side.
"Yeah, I sort of just... acted out without thinking. I might have endangered all of you, so sorry for that."
She chuckled, lightly tapping him on the back.
"No worries about that; I'm just glad we got these thugs in here handled."
She spoke up, pointing her weapon at them.
"Listen up, all of you. You better stop and never try this again, or next time..."
She let her words linger, a wordless threat that they could fill in themselves. Without the need for more, they dashed off, screaming like a bunch of kids. Mark sighed, putting the rifle down.
"Usually, I would have been all for keeping this weapon, and yet... I don't want no damn gun, at least for now."
Seele made sure to check up on the miners, apparently knowing just about everyone they had met. Mark simply lingered to the back, thinking as they kept chatting.
"So, Svarog is here with the robots. I can slowly recall a scene where they argued with him, and it all ended in a battle to show that they're strong. Maybe I could persuade him. But how? Well, a robot is a logical being, especially one like Svarog. I could perhaps talk about variables that were unaccounted for and see where it goes. Alas, I need to figure it out on the fly most of the time."
Before he could finish thinking about a plan, the group was already focused on departing once more. Mark had grown tired of those random stops on the road, and yet they were needed. Just when he thought they'd reach the inner part, a broken-down minecart blocked their path.
"Ah, the path is blocked," said March, pretty frustrated herself. "Can't we just blow it up?"
Mark chuckled, simply walking closer. He threw his metal pipe over the cart and whatever else had stuck there with it, then slid his sword over and finally jumped over it himself. It held on pretty securely.
"Come on, no time to waste. Dan Heng, that tiny robot finder would have been handy now if we tried to fix it; alas, it's too much work and we don't have the time. Leave it here and let us depart."
With that, the others followed, jumping over just like he had done. Meanwhile, he neatly placed his sword back, and Seele couldn't help but notice it.
"Why do you even carry a sword on your back if you're not even using it?"
Mark shrugged.
"It could come in handy. Rather have one and not need it than not have one and need it."
He made a valid point, as odd as it was, yet he had vision for the unforeseen future and whatever it could bring. The cracks in his mind were slowly being filled in here and there as time went on, and yet a lot of things were still a haze.
"Come on, let's keep going. I'm pretty sure that nothing too nice awaits us deeper."
March whined as she looked up ahead, watching as a large robot, twice her size, walked in from behind a corner, its right arm a large chainsaw that rattled as it walked closer.
"Oh, Mark, you big-mouthed oaf. You jinxed it."
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
Meritas
Meritas
Yeah, I managed to sneak in one more chapter. I'm not sure about how the following days will go, but I'm sure that tomorrow I won't have time to write, so yeah. We'll see as time goes on. For now, let me know what you think, leave a review maybe and your thoughts on the chapter, since I like reading them and they keep me motivated. Until we meet again, peace out and Deus vult.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
200+ Classement
Power Stone 
12 Power
stone 
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