Chapter 20: 20: Off The Books

As we worked our way deeper and deeper into the mega building, the structure of the place started to change dramatically. While before it seemed like we were passing through rundown housing districts, it was now obvious that we were starting to get into the working guts of the structure. Clanging pipes and the distant whistle of the wind had replaced the cheers and hubbub of the aliens who lived and worked in the mega building.

It was also clear that the Null Space Invader had started to get impatient. Pipes had been ripped off the walls, there were gouges of metal torn out by angry claws, and its footsteps had become heavy enough to crack the floor beneath our feet.

"It's getting desperate," Lara said. "When they exist in our dimension it takes a lot out of them. They need to consume big sources of manna on a fairly regular basis, or they'll wither and die."

I traced one of the deep gouges in the surface of the wall we were walking past. It didn't look like it was starting to get weaker over time, but I guessed if you cornered a wild animal it started to fight even harder than ever, which was exactly the case with this invader.

It would keep going and keep fighting until one of three things happened. It ran out of energy and died as a result. We fought it, and it died as a result. Or it got through us and to the core of the mega building, where it would feast on all of the manna there, and then everyone on the building would die as a result.

"I still don't understand why you won't just call in backup," I remarked.

Lara shot me a decidedly peeved look, anger barely restrained, "Fine, since you won't drop it.

"I am the daughter of the Guard's commander-in-chief, Dresden Sacha. He sends me to this world every year to scoop up the best and brightest in the region to join up with the Guard to keep the fight against the Null Space invaders going. I'm meant to present a strong front, all power and might and everything that's supposed to be right with the Guard. But it's all a lie."

"Oh, you aren't strong then?" I said, "Don't worry, I used to be weak too, with a bit of time anyone can build up their str-"

She lashed out and punched me in the side. Without my corona shield raised the punch knocked me into the wall and left a sizeable dent. Even with my enhanced durability, the strike had left me rattled.

"Okay," I winced, "Clearly quite strong, not seeing the lie here."

"Strength is still the lie," she sighed, "just not my strength."

"The strength of the guard?"

"Bingo, the strength of the guard is the lie. We're getting our butts kicked out there, and the Null Space invaders are gaining more ground against us every single day. We can barely keep up as they send bigger and stronger horrors through the breach. No matter how many people we send out to fight them, it never gets any better. Eventually, not any time soon, but eventually… the Guard will fall and so will the Galaxy."

I let the statement hang in the air.

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"I still don't understand why we can't call in back up here and now," I said, "Sure, we're losing the war at large, but why make this mission much harder than it needs to be?"

"The commander couldn't let anything happen to his precious daughter, Jacob, don't you get it," She seethed. "If we call in backup now then the higher-ups will know that I've been running an off the books mission to try and take down an illegal fighting ring when all I'm meant to be doing is the run of the mill recruitment drive. I'll be locked up by my Dad the moment he finds out, just like I was before… I won't let that happen."

"No backup, then," I said, it was pretty clear that she wasn't going to change her mind on that.

"Yeah, no backup, starting to get it now."

We walked for a little while longer, I'd long since lost track of how much distance we were covering in the megalithic building. We'd been down corridors, around corners, down flights of stairs and ladders. The building just felt like it went on forever.

But eventually, it didn't.

We had arrived at a dead-end at the end of one of many corridors. Baked into the wall was a watertight door, the kind of door that you would expect to find on a battleship back on earth. It looked heavy, and could only be opened by spinning a big circular hatch.

"Okay Jacob, when I open this door up you're going to have to be ready. We're still protected by the tidal forces out here, but the system is designed to work outward to encapsulate the building. The force of the field will be weakest here, so you'll have to fight against it, understand?"

"Kind of like the eye of a hurricane, right? That bit of calm, or in this case chaos, in the middle of the storm."

"Cool, you get it. Good luck out there!"

She cranked the door open, and my world was immediately sent into chaos.

Wind whipped through the corridor so hard I almost lost my footing and blew away. I had to push BB down into the Synchro mode so that I could activate my propulsion ability just to make some headway against the force of it.

Luckily, it was clear that the Null Space invader wasn't exactly having an easy time of it either. It had dropped down onto all fours and was clawing its across a bridge that was open to the elements of the sea below. Water splashed up and over the creature every now and then as it dragged itself toward another door. That must have been where the manna core was being housed.

It was do or die time. This cockroach would go down, or we would.

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