Chapter 12: Snow Mannihilators
“So, what changed your mind Nightfall? Why’d you suddenly accept our alliance?”
“Please Jaden, call me Gavin. I’m more used to my friends referring to me by my first name.”
“What? You consider me a friend now?”
“Well, we are now sharing the same ship. Shouldn’t we be friends now?”
“Hmm, good point. You haven’t answered my question though.”
Gavin smiled and looked up to Jaden while still leaning against the briefing room’s wall.
“I thought about your words somehow and began to think that I’ve been wrong the whole time. You helped us fight the cultists and even kept Elysia away from my people. I was not grateful enough, and you were right. I was too blinded by my past. The future’s important now. Besides, we have a common enemy. There’s enough infighting within our race, especially since the cultists are also humans.”
Jaden thought about Gavin’s words for a while and she began to feel a sense of familiarity when she heard Elysia’s name. The cultist invasion rendered her unconscious and made her forget much of the fight. Then, it struck her that Elysia is the name of Dark Viper’s daughter. Feeling rather curious, and expecting her to make more appearances in the future, she asked Gavin, “How well do you know Elysia?”
“She’s almost as powerful and skilled as her father. Some people even claim that she’s even more powerful. Along with her beauty and frail appearance, she would make a perfect assassin. She usually appears when Dark Viper can’t, since he’s an aging man who has seen many battles, and many humans feared her so much that she’s sometimes referred to as ‘The Starnova Woman’, referencing her surname.”
“She barely looks like her father. I mean, a blonde with a black-haired father? I never heard of him marrying, nor do I see a reason why a woman would want him. Not to mention her different surname.”
“She’s adopted. From sources that I heard and read, her parents were friends with Dark Viper before the war and when they were killed by Iblisan’s cultist, he took the initiative to look after their daughter.”
“What? He saved her life?”
“Why’d you sound so surprised?”
“He’s a villain is he not? He murdered thousands and spread death and destruction wherever he goes. He…wiped off my family.”
“You’d be surprised by how differently he behaves when he’s around people he knew. Like many of us, he’s just another soldier, taking orders from Iblisan. And, just like all soldiers, he has no choice in the matter.”
“He had a choice before he betrayed the Salvagers.”
“You would never know. He probably had a reason to do so, whether or not it is the right thing to do in our eyes.”
“You sounded like you pitied him, considering how hostile you are to Magic users.”
“Though he’s done many horrible things, I find him rather interesting. After all, he never stepped into my home yet.”
Jaden turned away with seeming disappointment, appearing rather unhappy to learn that her newest ally would be sympathizing with the very man who caused her so much sorrow. She began thinking about his murderous act back at home and tried, but failed to see any form of goodness within that intimidating shell. For a long time, she has been hoping to kill him, to avenge her fallen family and friends, and Gavin’s words almost made her imagine him as a double agent for Dark Viper.
“Listen, forget what I said alright? Just because I pity him doesn’t mean that I won’t attack him should the need arises. After all, many suffered because of him. Better he die than we all die.”
Jaden turned back to him and tried to form a smile. She nodded and told him, “I am just one of the many who suffered…and I am lucky to be the only one who survived. He is the reason why I am travelling around, asking for help against him and Iblisan. He is the reason why I am forming an army.”
“If you’re forming a rebellion army, you could use a name that Iblisan would never forget once we assault Dissidia. Hmm…I’m thinking…the Liberator Alliance.”
“Wait, rebellion? How is this a rebellion?”
“Well, you’re up against the current King of the humans, Iblisan. Isn’t it a rebellion?”
“Ok people, we’ve arrived on the snowy side of Mannihilate. I’m switching on the anti-environment shield, unless you want the Crimson Spinner to become the Crimson Refrigerator.”
Jaden and Gavin went to cockpit, where Reed was flying the ship with Vader at his side. Scanning the dark, snowy wasteland for a place to land, Gavin saw a large plateau large enough to hold a ship.
“We can land on that plateau Reed.”
“Right right. I was planning to land there from the start.”
“My brain sensor indicates that…”
“Ok Vader! I was lying, I get it! Sheesh, no one told me you have a brain sensor.”
Just as the ship was about to land on a plateau, Jaden turned to Gavin and realized that Gavin was staring at Vader while rubbing his chin. Something was on his mind and she wished to know what.
“Something about Vader intriguing you?”
“Not really. It’s just that, the Snow Mannihilators would be spooked to see a VX Synthetic walk into their home.”
“We can just ask Vader to put on his disguise.”
“No, that won’t be necessary Reed. The Snow Mannihilators view the VX Synthetics differently from us. You’ll see once we get there.”
“Well, before we can even step on the land, we need protection from the weather. As you can see, it’s a freaking blizzard out there.”
True to Reed’s words, the view of the Crimson Spinner’s windscreen was filled with virtually nothing but dark blue; snow darkened by the night. The shield prevented the windscreen from freezing with the cold temperature but it did not prevent the snow from pouring all over it from the sky. Virtually no life was seen and considering how everything was dark blue, anyone’s sanity would erode out there.
Just as the party began to brainstorm, a loud beep was heard coming from the cockpit’s speakers. The sound was alien to Jaden but Reed understood it.
“Seems like we have incoming transmission. I hope it’s your snowy friends Nightfall.”
With a click of a button, the transmission was accepted and a male, radio distorted voice began flowing through the speakers.
“This is the Captain of the Snow Mannihilator Navy. You have trespassed out airspace. State your business.”
“Hey Nightfall, you better take this call.”
“Call me Gavin, not Nightfall.”
Reed moved away, allowing Gavin to approach the console. Speaking through a microphone, he replied the transmission.
“This is Lord Nightfall of Omega City. I come to speak with your Mistress.”
“Please recite the Mannihilator motto.”
“Beauty and grace through emotional control.”
“Motto approved. Welcome Lord Nightfall. Please fly your ship into our hangar. The blizzard makes traveling by foot virtually impossible.”
Almost immediately after the transmission ended, a massive pair of metallic doors, concealed under the snow, opened up on a hill north of the Crimson Spinner.
“Wow. I have to be honest Gavin. Those doors, and whatever that lies inside, make your city look like a dump.”
Gavin, seemingly aware that Reed meant no offense, nodded with a smile and made way for Reed to return to his seat. As instructed, he raised the ship off the plateau and flew straight into the underground hangar. The twin doors closed behind as the ship entered and the darkness was quickly eliminated with lightings installed all over the area. Reed then landed the Crimson Spinner on the hangar’s metallic floor while Jaden looked around in awe of the surroundings.
Unlike Gavin’s Omega City, the Snow Mannihilator home was underground and mostly metallic. Within the hangar they landed, a lot of ships, most of which were transports, were parked there and a few machines, some appearing like robots, were littered all over the hangar. Several heavy guns were also left in the hangar and she was amazed at how technologically advanced the Snow Mannihilators were compared to their tropical counterparts.
“Welcome to Machina Bunker. Few non-Mannihilators were given the opportunity to see this place with their own eyes. Treasure this moment as much as you can.”
“Gee Gavin. You could use some of their machines here.”
“Us tropical Mannihilators don’t rely on machines to survive Reed. We rely on our own human will.”
“Right…it’s no wonder why your people can barely survive against the cultists.”
“Better to die knowing that we did our best.”
“Ok ok. I get it.”
“If you two are done arguing, can we get off this ship? I’m anxious to meet their Mistress.”
“As you wish Jaden. Still, I’m locking the doors of this ship in case the Snow Mannihilators have kleptomaniacs amongst them.”
Opening up the ship’s docking ramp, the party left the ship. Not entirely convinced that the Snow Mannihilators will not be hostile, Reed brought along his rifle, prompting Jaden and Vader to bring along her katana and looted sniper rifle respectively. Gavin, unexpectedly, also brought his rifle along. When queried about it by Jaden, he answered, “Snow Mannihilators may have robots that are defective and dangerous when berserk. You might have to destroy them if they threaten you. Those robots you see in the hangar are those that went berserk and destroyed, but preserved for recycling.”
With Gavin leading the group, he brought them out of the hangar and into the rest of the bunker via dual doors on one end of the hangar. On the other side of the door, three men came and stood in attention, armed with rifles that appeared high-tech. One of them was wearing a distinctive yellow armor while the other two were wearing red armor. Its metallic exterior appears rather fortified and covers their whole body, concealing their faces. Jaden had never seen such armor before. The heaviest armor she had seen before them were worn by the cultist, who frequented black leather armor. She then began to assume that the man with the yellow armor was the Captain who spoke to them.
Just as Jaden was passing through the hangar’s exit, a loud alarm sounded, along with a red light blinking. The noise startled everyone and seconds later, a pair of robots approached the group from one end of the path. The robots were saying something over and over, initially faint due to the distance but it then came out as, “Magic user alert! Magic user alert!”
As the dual robot closed it, they began to shoot at Jaden with their installed weapons. Unsheathing her katana, she deflected most of the bullets away with help from her Magical Energies. Reed and Gavin rushed back into the hangar to take cover while Vader simply stood and fire back, protecting Jaden as it was tasked to do. The three soldiers simply stand around in awe, unsure on what to do.
Eventually, using her Energies, Jaden dashed at the robots with a speed fast enough to evade most of their shots. With her katana enchanted with Magical Energies, she sliced cleanly through both the robots and triggering what seemed to be their self-destruct mechanism. They exploded behind her and she sighed with relief. However, the alarm continued to sound and more robots began pouring into the area. Jaden was prepared to destroy them again but out of the blue, the alarm stopped and the red light ceased its blinking. The robots halted in their tracks and began to leave the area. Jaden was unsure on what happened but she turned around to see one of the three soldiers, his hand placed on a switch on a wall. He must have turned off the alarm.
“My good Lord, you never told us that you have a Magic user with you. Our Energy sensors picked up her Magical Energies and caused our robots to try and kill her.” The Captain said.
“Well, you will probably hesitate to let us in if I did tell you. Besides, as you can see, she’s quite capable of handling herself.”
“That’s true, but we lost two security robots because of this. Tell us, why did you bring a Magic user in here?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. But, for now, escort us to your Mistress. I have something important to discuss with her. And don’t worry. This woman will be no trouble. Trust me on this.”
The Captain, still cranky over Jaden’s arrival, began to stutter on his words but after he took a deep breath, he nodded and gestured to the group to follow him. The other two soldiers followed but not before giving Jaden a familiar glare. Sighing with disappointment, Jaden could almost imagine that convincing the Snow Mannihilators will be just as hard as forming an alliance with the Mannihilators. She nudged Reed and told him, “Does it feel like déjà vu here?”
“No. Why’d you say that?”
“The place is mostly metallic and the technology here is high-tech. But, I am still getting the same treatment that the Mannihilators gave me back then.”
The party followed the three soldiers, going through multiple narrow paths and passing by several Snow Mannihilators. Everywhere they go, metallic walls, ceiling and doors they see and a common color scheme of the place is usually white. Jaden looked around the area with awe and she commented in her mind, “This feels more like an alien city than a human’s.”
Vader seemed to attract a large number of unwanted attentions. Though the three soldiers ignored him, much of the Snow Mannihilators the group passed by would usually stop and stare at Vader when they caught sight of him, almost as if they were amazed at his appearance. He usually never reacted but Reed nudged him and told him, “Seems like you have a lot of fans.”
“I do have fans but not so many. One of them keeps my engines from overheating.”
“Not that kind of fan you metal moron!”
After going through many different paths, the group was led into a massive hall, filled with a large crowd of Snow Mannihilators. A few active robots were seen amongst the crowd, along with several familiar statues of Ariel, though unlike the Mannihilator’s statue, it is made from gold. Judging from the large number of tables, benches, the smell of food and loud noises in the air, Jaden assumed that the room was a mess hall, though a large throne found at the opposite end of the hall made her think otherwise.
The three soldiers helped clear a way for the party to move through, eventually reaching the throne. Sitting on it was a woman, wearing an elaborate gold armor with multiple white cloth pieces all over. She wore no helmet, revealing her long sapphire hair, pale skin and large green eyes. Her apparel was the most distinct in the mess hall, causing Jaden to presume that she’s the Mistress that Gavin keeps mentioning.
When Gavin came into her sights, the Mistress appeared surprised and stood up. The Captain gestured the party to halt while he marched up the stairs leading to the throne. He then bowed before telling his Mistress, “My ladyship, the Lord of the Mannihilators is here.” The Captain spoke loud enough for the whole mess hall to hear him, causing every Snow Mannihilator to turn to the party.
“Gavin. I must say, this is an unexpected appearance. As you can see, most of us are having their lunch break.” the Mistress told Gavin.
“I couldn’t have picked a better time to speak to you Sierra. I have urgent matters to discuss with you and I would rather speak to you in private.”
“Hmm, very well then. We shall…”
The Mistress’s words trailed off when her eyes caught sight of Vader. Pointing at him, she asked, “Gavin, what is that? That thing is clearly not a human.”
“Oh, Vader? He’s a VX Synthetic.”
Gasps were heard amongst the Snow Mannihilator crowd, followed by mutters and whispers. Sierra’s already startled expression intensified and she asked, “That’s a VX Synthetic? Amazing. Such elaborate machinery. But, I thought they are dangerous to humans?”
Gavin turned to Jaden while replying, “Well, I guess you can say that this one is an exception. He happened to be a friend of my entourage.” Jaden simply gestured to Gavin, unsure on what to do or say. He then turned back to Sierra and told her, “But, I will let my entourage explain later. Right now, I need to speak to you.”
“Very well then. We shall speak in my quarters.”
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