Arthur sat with Lisa, Augustus, and Nyssa in an adjoining room.
Through the walls, he could hear Theobold yelling as his mother tried to calm him down. He understood the rage. His own wasn’t gone; the heat filled him further each time he saw Nyssa shiver. Lisa had gotten her a fluffy towel, which she’d wrapped around herself.
Her whiskered dropped, and she wiped at her face where a strand of red hair stuck to her cheek.
He was suddenly glad Dr. Muriler couldn’t come, unsure if even Augustus could have stopped the rat doctor from chewing out Lisa’s throat. The woman in question glanced at the door almost continuously, brow furrowed.
“He has an increased lung capacity,” she said conversationally. “Is that due to him being part horse? I’ll need to run more tests. If that is the case, I wonder what other upgrades we can give people. Imagine! People being able to soar through the skies and—”
Nyssa cut her off with an angry squeak. “We are not experiments for you to play with!”
“But—” Lisa started, but this time it was Arthur who cut her off.
“No. We have more important things to talk about. For starters, how are you going to help me get into the bottom floors of Diaboli Theatrum? We have Sandy’s ID card, but it’s been days.”
Lisa snorted and waved a hand through the air. Her relaxed posture concerned him, but the way she kept sneaking glances at Nyssa helped. She was a scientist motivated by her experiments. As long as he could feed that interest, he had nothing to worry about.
Besides, he had a good way of making betrayal as unappealing as possible. But that was for later.
“That ID card will be a trap. They’d have fixed any oversights fairly quickly. I assume they wanted you to attack immediately. No, you’ll need one that they wouldn’t bother to tamper with.”
“Such as?” He asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from her.
Lisa shrugged. “Mine. I have full access to the facility. It will easily get you in without issue.”
“Why should we trust you?” Nyssa glared at the woman, her tail flicking.
“Because,” Lisa said before pointing at Arthur. “I can gain a lot from working with him. Think of the advancements! My projects without the stupid distractions of the board? I could do miracles! Miracles! With Dr. Muriler and the mutants plus proper full access to the Multiverse Mall? This place will become a hub of activity for the entire world. Though, I mostly care about being able to work without micromanaging.”
Arthur shook his head, surprised she didn’t start doing a traditional supervillain laugh. Not that he cared. If she had the access he needed, he’d take it.
“There’s another thing as well,” he added with a smile.
Before he could continue, Nyssa’s eyes widened, and she leaned in to examine them closer. He could smell her wet fur, and his nose crinkled. She didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she poked him in the face, leaving a wet mark on his cheek. Augustus snorted what sounded like a laugh.
“You went into the Mutagen Tank? When? Why?” She sounded worried.
He pushed her hand away and shook his head. “I didn’t. This is from something else.”
“A magical effect?” Lisa asked, leaning forward. “The Archdemon has displayed magical abilities before. Why did you choose this one? How did you learn to cast magic? Is this an effect from an item or an innate talent?”
“Enough.” Arthur barked, and both leaned back. “My teeth aren’t the issue right now.”
Lisa simply looked at him expectantly, while Nyssa nodded, looking abashed. “Right, sorry.”
“We were talking about why Dr. Lisa won’t betray us. That’s simple. She’s going to be here under the watch of Theobold, Theorisa, and Tilly. If I don’t come back to release them from duty, well…”
From the way her eyes flicked to the door and, subsequently, the yelling, he knew she understood. He leaned back in his chair as he waved in that direction.
“So, how do you suppose I get in then, Doc?”
“You can use my ID,” she blurted out. “The problem will be what comes after the elevator. You’ll need to get there and deal with whatever defense the Archdemon set up.”
“Not the board?” Arthur asked.
Lisa snorted. “The Arch-Demon nominated Clarissa as head of the board after you killed Richard. I think it’s because she’s stupid. Unlike Greenwine, she doesn’t have much of an idea of what’s going on.”
“I see,” Arthur said. “Well, I’ll be taking that ID, and Nyssa and I will be on our way. You know what happens if things go poorly, yes?”
“You’ve made it clear.” She sounded annoyed, not that he cared much.
With that said, he stood and helped Nyssa to her feet. His eyes flicked to the doctor. “Actually, there is something you can help me with.”
“Oh?” she asked, rising to her feet as well.
His smile widened as he gestured to another door. “How many demon cores do you have access to right now?”
“About one hundred, why?”
“I’ll be taking all of them, and Theobold will help you dismantle any machines needed to make more.” He held up a hand when she protested. “I promise I’ll put them to good use. My strength is your strength, after all.”
She didn’t look happy about it, but she sighed as she moved to lead them to another room.
It’d been easier than he’d expected to get all the hearts packed up, though the sheer number surprised him. The cores were spat out onto a conveyor belt, where two imps used brooms to shove them into a box.
He ignored the demons, happy to let them work. They weren’t his priority, anyway. No, that honor was watching Lisa hit the big red button to turn the machine off. The machine ground to a halt, and he walked forward to pick up a core.
“Is this it? The only place they’re made?”
Lisa nodded. “Yes, this is the last batch. We were meant to ship them out, but...”
“But I’m taking them instead. When was pickup?”
Arthur moved to the box and peeked inside, whistling at the sheer amount. Greed filled him as he thought about everything he could get with these. If the small amount he’d traded before got him gold, this had to earn him perk points. Several at minimum.
“Not until tomorrow.” Lisa shrugged as she directed the imps to tape up the now-full box.
Arthur nodded. “So we have time then. Do you have transport here?”
“We have a truck.”
“Great, load the box up, as well as a sack for any of the loose ones, and pass me the keys. You won’t need to be going anywhere, so it shouldn’t matter.”
That done, he helped move the box into the back of the small truck. With another word of warning to Lisa, he looked over as Theorisa approached. Theobold followed her, gripping his sword. He looked beyond angry but stayed silent as his mother spoke.
“I need you to go back to Charleston and see if he’s ok, and tell him we need more men. You have the map, correct?”
“I do, and I will,” Arthur promised. “We’ll be seeing you soon.”
She saluted. “Give those bastards hell.”
He laughed at that and nodded to her to shut the truck’s back doors before he drove off with the cores in the back. They didn’t spend long on the farms. Charleston sent a squad out on horseback as Augustus loaded the scooter into the back.
That done, he made his way home. He couldn’t wait to see Pydes face when the dragon caught sight of the box.
***
“You have how many?”
Arthur stood on the roof alone as he watched the elementals all fly off Pydes. The bigger dragon had sprung up, his tail smacking against a tree as he did.
“I have about one hundred,” he said, feeling a touch smug at the number.
Pydes nodded as he approached and sniffed at the box. He sneezed and recoiled. “A foul stench for foul creatures. I take it you want to trade this in?”
“Yes, but for a specific reward. I think this amount should net me something special.”
“Like what?” Pydes’ eyes narrowed. “You already got the company housing before you should. What else could you want?”
Arthur smiled, showing off his new teeth as he did so. From the raised eyebrow Pydes gave him, he felt he’d made the right call. “I want all the general store powers that cost one perk point.”
Pydes scoffed. “Someone’s getting greedy.”
“No,” Arthur said. “Not greed. I struck a blow to the goddess enemies with this. Provided I can win here, the entire world’s supply is in that box. All I’m asking for is fair compensation.”
“And if she says no?”
“Then I’ll keep them. There are plenty of other dragons I can get favors from. I wonder what mall security would do for them?” Arthur shrugged and placed a hand on the box. “It’s nice to have options.”
Pydes chuckled. “You’ve changed, my friend, and not just physically. You’ve been getting infused with dragon magic, haven’t you?”
“It seems so.”
That earned him another laugh. “Well, I’ll check, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Arthur nodded and sat on the box to play with the elementals. It was a pleasant break from everything that happened. Afterward, he’d need to go down and check out the store. Once he’d done that, he’d need to get his people organized for the assault.
“A distraction is my best bet,” he thought as he gently scooped up an earth elemental. “Though the question is how. A fire? Zombie rats? An all-out assault might work, but we’d lose people.”
“Arthur?” Pydes’ voice prodded him out of his thoughts. “We have an agreement. All the general one-perk point powers for the entire box.”
He nodded and grinned. “Great. Everything in that box is fair.”
As he looked over the list, he brushed away a water elemental that got too close to his face. He’d done it, all the general perks were now his. Sure, they were mostly about getting people to buy things, but that was ok. He could still make use of them he was sure.
With a nod to Pydes, he turned to the fire escape. “Thanks Pydes. Time to go plan for the assault I guess.”
“Of course, Arthur. You take care now.”
Even as he left, he couldn’t help but smile at the excitement in the dragon's voice. Arthur was excited too. The quest to take the grove offered all kinds of rewards, and he couldn’t wait to get a hold of them.
***
The first thing he saw when he arrived at the front of the store was the metallic head mounted above the security camera.
Jemima stood next to it, looking pleased with her new gun at her hip. Mike was nearby, chatting with several people who carried all kinds of odds and ends. When they saw Arthur, they moved towards them. He simply pointed inside.
“To the counter if you would, they’ll be happy to help.” After they filed in, he looked over at Mike. “Anything to report?”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMvDyXXpWD
“No, it’s been quiet. No one knew has been around, though we did get the Rickshaw back.”
“You went to grab it?” Arthur asked, and Mike nodded.
“Jemima helped.”
“A truck, several scooters and the rickshaw. We’re really becoming flushed with vehicles aren’t we?” Arthur asked, before he shook his head. “Come on in, I need to talk to both of you about our next move.”
“You forgetting something?” Jemima asked.
He frowned, and then nodded. “Right. Here.”
“Those terms work for me, when do I get a break though?”
“When you’re not working. The time is more to say I might need access to you whenever. They’ll be plenty of downtime,” Arthur said as he moved into the store. “Now come on, we have work to do.”
She fell in line alongside Mike as Arthur pushed his way in. To his surprise, he could see items on the shelves he didn’t remember buying. None of it was straight junk, but it was clearly scavenged. He was surprised people were already fulfilling the quest.
With a minimal of shoving, he made his way through to the back office. When he sat down, he pulled out a demon core he swiped from the conveyor belt out of his pocket. He remembered the description, about how it could be crushed to create a small amount of the hallucinogenic mist.
A plan formed in his mind as he looked towards Mike.
“I need you to grab Leo, Nyssa and Dr. Muriler. We need to plan for what’s coming next.”198Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1JIVRndit
