Far above them, the bright light shone for miles around. The sirens wailed and wailed, unable to stop as settlers ran from one place to another in panic.
It was the hour of the doom of Greattown, though they did not know it yet.
Far inside the town, near its center, was the now ruined house of Doctor Lana Trondeheim, turned into rubble by an unforeseen explosion.
No one stirred from the ruin- not a sign of life, or even a hint of motion.
Then, suddenly, one of the collapsed shingles moved.
A hand sprung out, wounded and bloody, covered in dirt.
“Help!” A muffled voice shouted. “Help!”
A small boy, eleven years old in age, who had just come from the now collapsed tent that had been their mess hall, rushed to the scene.
“Hello?!” Chancey shouted, reaching for the exposed hand. “Ma'am?”
“McMillan!” The voice said in surprised relief. “Please help me out of here!”
“Chancey!” A voice shouted from behind the boy, and he turned to look at where it came from.
The sight of a burly, tall man greeted him, six feet tall and an able soldier.
“Dad!” Chancey shouted. “Someone's trapped under here! I think it's Doctor Trondeheim!”
“Trondeheim?” McMillan exclaimed in surprise. He rushed to the side of his son, then patted his waist. “Hold on, I'll need your help for this!”
Chancey urgently followed, placing his hands on his father's waist.
McMillan put both his hands on Lana's outstretched one, then shouted. “PULL!”
Chancey gave a focused grunt of effort as he did, trying to pull on his father's waist. McMillan pulled with him, trying to take the trapped doctor from underneath the rubble.
Then, steadily, her arm elevated an inch. Then two. Then three.
“Pull, son!” McMillan shouted, his teeth gritted with concentration. “PULL!”
Suddenly, all at once, they fell back, as Lana Trondeheim fell unto the surface of the rubble, covered in dirt, sweat and blood. There was a large head wound on her forehead, bleeding profusely as she slowly came to her feet.
“Doctor?” McMillan said, his tone concerned. “Do you need help-“
Lana gently pushed it away, then put both her hands to her mouth as she shouted.
“BOTHILD!” Tears again began to flow down her cheeks. “BOTHILD, WHERE ARE YOU?!”
No answer came. She turned around to the other side of what was the house, and began to shout again. “BOTHILD?! WHERE ARE YOU?!”
“We're here!” shouted someone to her right. Lana turned, and found Alina, holding the small baby Bothild in her arms. Both were dirty and worse for wear, with Bothild crying with all her might, but didn't seem to be harmed.
Lana rushed to Alina, taking the child into her arms. She hugged her close, crying with relief as she held her.
“Oh, my sweet baby.” Lana said, whispering into the bundle in her arms. “Oh my sweet little baby, I thought I'd lost you. I thought I'd lost you.”
“Ma'am!” McMillan said from behind her, standing stiff and still. “I apologize if I speak out of turn, but what happened?”
Lana looked at him, then her face turned hard.
She gestured with her head to the shining light above them, turning grey and green in the space of seconds.
“A skip made its way into Greattown.” She shot a glare at Alina beside her. “Status report?”
“Uh-“ McMillan didn't seem to know what to do, and so he saluted instead. “Ma'am! Multiple Cs and a great number of unidentified skips are gathering outside as we speak. We do not know how to contain them. All conscript squads are in disarray, though Squad Tavish is already preparing themselves within the armory.” He looked at her. “Orders, ma'am?”
“They're not attacking yet?”
“Negative, ma'am.”
Lana looked over her shoulder, then back at Alina. “Take Bothild and put her in the daycare. Organize your fucking Squad Wojcik and handle the evacuation efforts of those who can't fight. Children at eleven and above are to be drafted into their respective cadet squads. Do it on the double, Scout.”
Alina saluted back, and urgently took the child from her mother's arms. “Ma'am, yes, ma'am!” Then she rushed off, running to execute the orders she was given.
Lana turned to McMillan. “Get me a microphone. I'll be at the walls.”
McMillan nodded, saluted silently, then rushed off as well, his son trailing behind him.
Lana looked up above her, where the radiant form of Siggy shone silently.
She gritted her teeth. Her eyes teared up.
“I should have been more fucking gentle.”

“Fuck.”
Ahead of Lana's position on the watchtower, the endless sea of their enemies seemed to stretch for forever- they numbered a thousand at least, composed of a variety of chickens and small teddy bears of various compositions.
“It's 1048…” She was trembling, both with barely hidden rage and barely contained fear. “I had 1048 all along and all it wanted was fucking Siggy.”
Even as she watched, more and more bears were forming out of thin air all around the settlement, worsening their chances by the minute.
Of the bears, many were of the variants she was familiar with- As formed their frontline, covered in a multitude of ears in the shape of a bear. She knew what they were for. Bs seemed to be scattered amongst the As, their bellies full with infantile arms, hands and feet poking out from the fabric. Cs, the bears made purely out of rusted metal, seemed to form the bulk of their army, which did not bode well for their chances of survival.
The variants she didn't know of seemed to compose nearly half the army, and were far more diverse. She saw giant bears made out of paper, skinless bears on all-fours that seemed to growl with barely held-in aggressiveness, bears that had large leathery wings that seemed to stretch far into the air, bears that seemed to be made purely out of teeth, and so many more- it was as if 1048 had gained the means to create an endless army of its twisted designs.
She bit her lip as she remembered the green and grey light shining all around her.
Many of the bears seemed to be riding on the hundred instances of 3199 flooding in, each holding a spear made out of a wide variety of materials- bone, rusted metal, ivory, teeth- which seemed eager to impale their victims with their newfound weapons. Unlike the bears, which stood silently still, the baying cries of the chickens seemed to fill the air, competing with the noise that the siren made as it alerted everyone to the danger that they had come to be faced with.
At that exact moment, Lana knew that they would most likely all die.
Her left hand, which held the microphone, shook with fear.
Behind her, the many squads of the town's conscripts- site security, doctors, staff and children alike- already gathered in ranks behind her, disciplined and ready.
They were being trained for use at the Front, for the war that raged on Floor 0- but now what training they had would be vital for their victory.
400 ready conscripts- against a thousand, maybe thousands, of bears and chickens.
Their chances were slim.
Lana neared her mouth to the microphone.
And then she began.
“Ten minutes ago- ten, terrifying, blood-curdling minutes ago, everything was normal. Supper had ended, our peace was said, and I was about to talk to an old…” She breathed in. “friend.”
She pointed up, at the small sun that now shone right above their heads. “In a short amount of time, that friend, that little girl that we have spent three years finding, began her assault, rising into the sky and beginning the attack that we have come to face right now.”
“Right now, at this moment, our town- no, our survival- is threatened by the legions of bears that she has summoned, forged at her skip hands to slaughter all of us!”
Her voice rose. “WILL WE TAKE HER ASSAULT LYING DOWN?!”
“MA'AM, NO, MA'AM!” The conscripts yelled, their voice rising above the din of screams and wails.
“WILL WE DIE WITHOUT FIGHTING?!”
“MA'AM, NO, MA'AM!”
“We are the Foundation! We die in the dark so that we can live in the light! We fight against that which we cannot understand, so that we can live in a world that we can!” Her voice rung out again, echoing amongst the deserted buildings of Greattown. “I ask you now, soldiers, WILL WE FIGHT?”
Their response was louder than anything they shouted before, outcompeting in volume the noise of their enemies.
”MA'AM, YES, MA'AM!”
She raised her fist in the air. “THEN FIGHT WITH ME!”
Everyone else raised it as she did. “WE WILL FIGHT WITH YOU!”
Lana smiled tiredly. “Good.” She pointed to her south. “Squads McMillan! Tavish! Han! Kim! Patel! Secure the east wall! Climb unto the houses for better line of sight. Do not fire until I say so!”
The respective squads saluted. “MA'AM YES MA'AM!” They then immediately rushed to their prescribed positions, assault rifles held proudly in their hands.
“Same for Squads Sim, Pole, Sanchez, Vehbi! Deploy on the north. Secure the gate, man the watchtowers, make sure nothing passes!”
Again the selected squads saluted, then left.
Similar squads were deployed to the west and the south, with a double compliment on the north gate, until there was nothing left except the children.
“Cadet squads!” Lana shouted. The children in question ranged wildly in age- eleven to seventeen, girls and boys, all scared. She remembered Siggy, and a chill went up her spine at the thought. “Guard the center! You will be in charge of the secondary fallback positions. Make sure not one skip gets to the teleporters and the daycare!”
“Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!” The kids yelled. Many of their helmets were too big for their heads- most of them had a hard time even holding their assault rifles. Little Chancey McMillan, the boy who found her body in the rubble, was among them, wide-eyed and terrified. Still, they ran- deploying on makeshift barricades that guarded the entrance to the great concrete tower at the center.
Lana turned back, watching as even more bears formed out of thin air, swelling their ranks by what must have been five hundred more.
Again, that thought pushed itself to the forefront of her mind.
You will never survive this.
She shook it away. She didn't want to think about that now.
“Trondeheim. Give me a status report.” A stern voice said behind her.
She turned and found the all-too-familiar form of Alto Clef, fresh from teleporting in from Floor 0. Dirt colored his sharp cheeks, blood flowed down his head, yet still, his cold blue eyes went forward, focused, angry.
Lana gritted her teeth.
“How is my daughter?” She asked.
“Bothild is safe in the daycare. Evacuations are already happening on half the teleporters. Now give me the fucking status report.”
“You didn't even think to evacuate her first? You may not care for me, but she's the youngest here-“
A freezing, icy glare silenced her objections. “She will be evacuated in due time.” He leaned in. “Now give me that fucking status report, Trondeheim.”
Lana stepped back, breathed in, and made sure her voice was even before she spoke. “Half a thousand 1048-As, Bs, and Cs surround us, with another half thousand being of variants unseen before. Five hundred more instances of 3199 complement them, though they seem to be waiting as their forces get stronger.”
He went past her and leaned on the railing of the watchtower. “What's adding to their forces?”
Lana pointed up at the light above them. “Her.”
Ten minutes from its original appearance, the light seemed to glow brighter than before, and switched from color to color with even greater frequency.
Clef raised an eyebrow. “Her?”
Lana looked at him. “Who else? 239. The girl you failed to get.”
He inhaled. “Siggy.”
“Yes.”
He turned around on her, his voice stern and angry. “What the fuck happened?”
Lana stared him down. “Scout Wojcik brought her in, unaware of her status, accompanied by a man-“
“2006. Robo.”
Now it was Lana's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Robo?”
“He wouldn't leave her side. Where is he?”
“Buried under rubble.”
“And why the hell is he buried under rubble?”
Lana looked down. “Because Siggy caused an explosion right before she rose.”
Clef gripped the handrailing. Hard. “And why did that happen?”
“Because she sought me out and visited me.” Lana bit her lip.
His eyes turned even harder. “You tried to push her away, didn't you?”
She looked up again. “I went too far.”
“Yes. You did.” Clef said angrily.
Lana sighed, her eyes watering. She wiped it away. “What do you suggest we do?”
“Get through to her.” He pointed up at Siggy. “Get on the tower and convince her to back down.”
“Why?” Lana asked.
“Because 1048 can't create all those bears on his own. If we have any chance of winning, it's getting through to Siggy.” He looked at her. “Got that?”
Lana stepped closer. “And what if she doesn't listen to me?”
“She will.” Clef stared even harder into her eyes. No kindness came through his expression. “Otherwise, we'd all be dead.”
He sighed. “While you're doing that, send someone to find Robo under the rubble. 2006 is a valuable asset.” He turned to leave. “I will command in your stead. Focus on getting Siggy on our side. If you want Bothild to live, then you will make sure that happens.”
He went down the stairs, and then he was gone.
Lana closed her eyes. Her knees felt weak, her chest heavy.
“Oh God, what have I done?”

The void was empty, yet full.
She crafted each bear according to his design, creating monsters tailor-made to burn and kill. The clay was pliable in her hand, and as she added enough to it to make it satisfactory, it disappeared.
Good. The bear said. Another instrument of your revenge.
Siggy looked at him. Just this way?
Yes. The bear said, its tone comforting. With your creation and my design, our enemies shall fall. I promise you that.
Alright, Siggy responded, molding another piece of clay in the shape of a bear. The clay felt warm and soft in her hands, like flesh. She gave it teeth, eyes, claws- a large and terrifying figure that would put a chill into anyone that came to face it. Alright.
When she completed the figure, she let it go, letting it vanish into the void once again to join its brothers on the ground.

On the roof of the house facing the east wall, McMillan checked his magazine for the final time.
Around him, his squadmates all did the same, sitting around as they waited for the signal to begin.
He sighed. He wondered how his son was doing, so deep in the town. Was he scared? Was he being brave? He laughed at the thought. Of course he was scared.
Chancey was a kind boy. A good boy. But he was too soft- too soft for the world that thy now lived in. Every time he looked in those eyes, all he saw was fear, innocence, kindness.
McMillan sighed. He had always wished his son could live somewhere else, far away from this.
Someone touched his shoulder. He turned around. It was Varnali, one of his squad members.
She saluted. “Sir.”
McMillan saluted back. “As you were, soldier.”
“Permission to speak?”
He nodded. “Granted.”
“It's been another ten minutes, Sir. Do you think they want to battle us, or wait us out?”
He looked to the outside, where many of them waited, silently. The chickens screamed and wailed, of course, though even they stayed back. None of them were appearing from thin air now, which eased his worries a bit. Still, he felt nervous.
“Whatever happens, Varnali, be on the ready.” He said, his voice trembling and unsure. “B-be on the ready.”

That should be enough. The bear said. One thousand, three hundred and sixty-two warriors, ready to tear everything asunder. He looked at her. Are you ready, child?
Siggy stared back. Her eyes were vacant, yet enough of her was there. Yes.
The bear's eyes glowed. Let us begin.

Varnali looked straight ahead of her, and then worry creased her face. “Sir?”
He turned to her. “Yes, Varnali?”
Her lips quivered. “They've stopped making more.”
Realization dawned on McMillan's face. He put a hand up. “SQUAD MCMILLAN! IN POSITION!”
The other squad members exchanged glances but immediately followed, crouching on top of the house's roof, rifles in the air.
His second-in-command, O' Brien, looked at him askance. “What are we looking for, Sir?”
He kept his hand still in the air. “Wait. Waaaaaait.”
It was at that point that they all realized that even the chickens had gone silent.
Then, suddenly, terrifyingly, the frontline of the enemy army, consisting of the terrifying ear-covered As and the bloated Bs, lurched forward.
McMillan's eyes widened.
“SQUAD MEMBERS, EAR PLUGS!”
The rest of the squad froze for a few vital moments, staring into nothingness as the army began their attack.
“I SAID EARPLUGS!”
They stayed there, unmoving, frozen.
“FUCK!” He put earplugs in his ears, then shouted again. COVER YOUR EARS!
That was when his squad finally leapt into action, digging into the pockets on their fatigues and retrieving the precious plugs.
McMillan looked in front of him.
The bears were gone.
Gone? McMillan thought. But they were there-
His eyes widened. He shouted again, though he couldn't hear his shouting himself. USE YOUR HANDS! COVER YOUR EARS-
Then, suddenly, he could feel it in the air- the infernal screeching. He could hear his body vibrate with the sound, like the sonic boom of a jet, yet this was almost infinitely worse.
All around him, his squad members fell, their skin erupting and giving way to ears all over their faces and bodies, while others simply fell dead, their nose and eyes bleeding as they collapsed.
Surprise gave way to horror, and in that instant McMillan knew they were outmatched.
The ones who had fallen to the As had much of their face covered in growths- though he knew that the expressions on their faces could only express horror and agony.
The ones who had fallen to the Bs lay in bloody puddles in the ground, blood coming from every orifice now- their anuses, their mouths, their ears.
Fuck, McMillan could only think. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
Then, suddenly, the bulk of the army moved, running towards them at top speed.
McMillan had no idea how many of his squad had survived, but at this moment, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to get back out with Chancey, safe, back in the world that he promised would be waiting for them.
FIRE AT WILL! He shouted to no one in particular, and in that moment he began to fire- the other survivors of the first attack firing with him.
As the rest of the bears converged on Greattown, all of the defenders agreed on one thing- the battle for their survival had begun.

Alina felt it first- the screeching in the air, the vibrations within the ground, the air echoing with the demonic screams of hundreds of bears. In that instant, she covered her ears with her hands, which was enough to stem the sound from reaching her ears, deep within the town as she was.
Eventually, the rumbling ended, yet even as she stood up, the sound of gunfire echoed throughout the air.
She bit her lip. It had begun.
All the teleporters within the tower had already roared to life, half dedicated to getting everyone incapable of fighting out of harm's way, the other half dedicated to getting as many veterans from the front in.
It was slow-going and disorganized, the product of too little drills for them to have practiced the evacuation properly. Still, however, she pushed on, ushering the children, the injured, and the elderly into the available teleporters.
“Go!” She shouted. “Go faster, go!”
More and more people filed past her, moving in an almost panic as they tried to cram themselves into multiple teleporters at a time.
At the same time, on the other side, more and more soldiers from the Front streamed out, directed by the other members of her squad out and into the frontline.
“Where do you need us?” One, wearing the fatigues of an officer, said, saluting her.
She recognized him from the graduation ceremony the year before, though his name escaped her. “Wait,” She said, as she retrieved the radio from her pack. “Hey,” She said into it. “Wojcik here. Who needs reinforcements?”
On the other side, she heard nothing but the sound of static and gunfire. Compared to earlier, it was much diminished- and that worried her. She waited for a few moments, but no one answered her.
“Ma'am, nothing?” The officer said.
Alina shook her head. “Pre-contact analysis has indicated an overwhelming amount of As and Bs- they're probably still all wearing earplugs. Do the same. Coordinate only with visual signals.”
At this, the officer turned around, signaling his subordinates (all thirty of them, they hadn't had much time to teleport in) to wear their earplugs.
He then turned back to Alina. “Where should we be deployed, ma'am?”
Alina bit her lip. Worry creased her face. “Uh-“
She listened to the air, and the decreasing amount of gunfire. Which has the least? Which has the least?
She listened.
The comparative lack of gunfire was much stronger to her right.
“Reinforce the Scouts on the eastern sides.”
The officer saluted her again, put in his earplugs, then silently signaled for the squads under his command to follow.
They exited the teleporter room with haste, and it was then that Alina breathed a sigh of relief.
It isn't that bad, yet. She thought. It isn't that bad yet.
She felt a tugging at her fatigues.
She looked down.
A young, six-year-old girl looked up at her innocently.
“Miss Wojcik?” She said, her voice soft.
Alina hunched down. “Yes, little girl?”
The girl bit her lip. “I'm scared.”
She smiled tiredly. “I'm scared too, kid, but you gotta remember that we're fighting for you, alright?” She gently nudged her away, back to the line where the other kids waited. “Be safe. The Front will keep you safe from the monsters.”
The girl meekly followed, proceeding back to the line of those awaiting evacuation.
She looked back at Alina.
She gave her a wave.
It was then that, half a minute from the time when she sent the soldiers out, did she hear the sound of gunfire- but so much closer.
The children outside belonging to the cadet corp were shouting too, and she heard them loud and clear.
“Contact! Contact!”
Alina's heart sank. Contact?
Without thinking, she ran out of the teleporter room, and soon found a sight that thoroughly horrified her.
Where the eastern wall stood, the bears were already climbing over in great numbers. Many had already reached the ground, spreading out as they began to attack the fallback positions. The soldiers she had sent out were pinned down behind the same defensive fortifications that the cadets were hiding behind, firing into the masses of enemies indiscriminately. Following their example, most of the cadets were firing too, bullets striking metal as the 1084-Cs began running forward.
Most cadets- except for one.
“Dad!” She heard someone, a child, shout. “DAD!”
Frozen, Alina looked at the source of the voice.
It was little Chancey McMillan, gun on the floor, screaming with all his might over the gunfire that erupted beside him.
She followed his gaze to the direction that he was looking at, and found a small figure running away from the bears that were chasing him, firing into the enemy as he did so.
It was Scout McMillan, bleeding from a dozen wounds, trying to run desperately into the lines that his son defended. Behind him, dozens of bears were running forward, hungry for blood.
“Shit.” Alina said. “Make it, McMillan, make it, McMillan.”
“WOJCIK!” A voice said from behind her, frenzied and urgent.
Alina turned around to find the exhausted form of none other than Lana Trondeheim, exhausted from the fight, sweat beading her face and body.
“Doctor Trondeheim!” Alina said, eyes wide and shocked.
“We don't have much time,” Trondeheim paused to catch her breath, hands on her knees. “Where's 239's companion? Did you see him emerge out of the rubble? Did you see him-“
Alina couldn't hear her. Already her gaze began to trail back to McMillan, trying to run back with all the strength he could muster. Despite that, he was starting to lag significantly, the creatures gaining on him as they continued the chase.
Then, one behind him leaped, claws in the air-
And, in one stomach-dropping moment, it fell onto McMillan, its long claws tearing into his back with minimal resistance.
Blood spurted into the air. McMillan gave one last scream of pain- and fell down to the ground unmoving.
“DAD!” Chancey shouted. “NO, DAD!”
Alina made to help him. “Chancey-“
And then a hard fist fell upon her face, nearly sending her to the ground and rousing her back to reality.
“IF YOU WANNA FUCKING HELP THEM, THEN HELP ME!” Trondeheim shouted, screaming at Alina's face. “WHERE THE HELL IS 2006?!”
Alina stuttered, blood coming from her nose. “I- I- didn't see him come out-“
Trondeheim gave a frustrated sigh, balling her fists and biting her lip until she drew blood. “God fucking damn it!”
“Wh-why?” Alina said. “Why?”
“We need to talk Siggy down. She started this in the first place, and we can only hope that she can end it; and that takes someone to convince her.” She sighed. “I hope that can only be me, but it won't be enough. If you can find 2006-“
Alina was already on her feet. “I can do it. My squad can take over.”
Trondeheim smiled, though Alina could sense that it was fake- anger colored her face. “Making up for what you helped make happen, Wojcik?”
Alina's heart dropped. “Ma'am, I-“
“Forget it. I'll be heading to the top of the tower. Once you find 2006, direct him there.” She paused to take a breath. “Now where's my daughter?”
Alina gestured to the line with her head. “With Dr. Earhart. She wanted to be responsible for her.”
“Oh thank God,” Trondeheim exclaimed with relief. Her eyes scanned the line, and there she found her- a beautiful black-haired and blue-eyed baby girl, held in the arms of an elderly doctor.
She rushed to her. “Bothild!”
Bothild reached for her. “Mommy! Mommy!”
Trondeheim took her from the doctor's arms, holding her.
A few moments passed.
“Oh dear God,” Trondeheim said, giving her back to the doctor. “Please keep her safe Earhart, alright?”
“Of course.” The doctor replied. “We'll both be at the Front waiting for you.”
Trondeheim's lips quivered. Tears streamed down her face yet again. Slowly, she walked back to Alina.
“I'm so-“
Trondeheim shut her up with a glare. “Save it, Wojcik. I know I won't survive this. I just wanted to bid my baby girl goodbye.” She wiped her tears, then looked back at her. “Now fucking go. I'm heading up.”
Alina nodded, and looked to her second-in-command. “Jungherr!”
A burly soldier answered her call. “You called for me, ma'am?”
“I'll be indisposed on a task. Supervise the evacuation and the reinforcements while I'm gone.”
Jungherr nodded. “Of course, ma'am.”
Alina turned around to talk to Trondeheim. “Now, doctor-“
She was already gone. She saw a distant figure running up the ramps.
She sighed.
“No time spared, as per usual.”

Siggy stayed still in the void, the battlefield stretching underneath her now, though much of it was stained with a translucence that would not be strange to see in glass.
Below her, the defense of the Greattowners was already growing more desperate. One wall had already been abandoned, giving way for dozens of her bears to attack the tower. The other three were barely holding, its soldiers having lost many of their number to the initial scream. The gate too was struggling to hold back the tide- hundreds of chickens were trying to beat it down, but were having markedly less success with full walls than barricades.
Among them all, she found a small figure, running to and fro as he supervised the defense himself. In his hand he held a familiar crimson blade aloft, ready to cut into the bodies of anything that faced him.
It was Clef.
Rage smoldered within her once again.
I sense a greater amount of anger towards him than to all the others, child. The bear said, speaking in her mind. What did he do to you?
Memories flashed through Siggy's mind- Seth's untimely murder. The taunting calls of the monsters. The feeling of being lifted up. Falling on a broken arm. Blood that was not hers soaking into her clothes.
Ah. The bear said. He has done much to you.
Yes, he has. Siggy replied. Her mind was singularly focused on revenge now, and nothing else distracted her from it.
He will fall soon enough, child. They all will.
Siggy stayed silent, watching the battlefield.
Oh. The bear said. What a surprise.
He mentally gestured to her left, and there she turned.
Far below her, running up a ramp, a woman with black hair rushed to the top of the tower, crossing rickety bridges of wood and pressed metal in order to get to her.
It was Lana.
At the sight, Siggy's mind flared all at once with anger and betrayal, remembering her words as she spoke to her.
“Just by being here, you are putting my town and my baby at risk, and I will have fucking NONE OF IT!”
“Nothing but my job. Nothing but my damn job.”
“He built this town, you little bitch. Sooner or later, if you stay here any longer, he'll come in from the teleporters and we'll both be dead. Do you want that?”
At that, she screamed in her mind, the sound of her fury ringing throughout the void and into the press of reality. Far below her, the bears stopped all at once, frozen in time.
What are you doing, child? The bear said, urgently. You have postponed our attack! Already, my sons fall!
That shook Siggy back to reality. I'm sorry.
All at once, the bears spurred back to life again, hacking and screaming and charging forward.
Make sure that does not happen again. The bear said.
Now kill the woman.
At that, Siggy froze. What?
I said kill her. That was what you wanted, correct?
But I can't kill her. Siggy said, a hint of the scared girl coming back. She… raised me.
And she abandoned you, did she not? Kill her and end it. This was why you wished to destroy this town.
But-
Do it.
Bear, I-
Do it, I said.
She turned around, her eyes coming into contact with the bear in front of her.
She breathed in.
Fine.
Lana was nearly at the top. She could just wait for her to head to the top of the tower, and-
“Happy birthday, Siggy.” She said, in a time long ago. “Happy sixth birthday, sweetpea.”
What?
She felt herself being younger, smaller, far more innocent. She jumped in the air with delight. “Yaaaaay!” She shouted gleefully. “Thank you so much, Lana!”
Their green eyes met- and she remembered that the only thing that she greeted her with then was love. No bitterness, no hate, no barely restrained urgency. Only love.
She felt her forehead being kissed, then her warm smile. “Anything for you, sweetpea.”
She felt the bundle in her hands. She uncovered it, and saw the small beady eyes staring back at her.
A bear. She muttered, both in the past and in the present. Thank you, Lana.
At that moment, she saw its eyes looking back at her- and found that it seemed to have a hint of life inside it. Not enough to compel it to move, or to create, but from that moment on, she knew that she would always be safe with it in its arms, because it always saw.
What are you doing?! The Bear shouted. She is almost at the top of the tower. Stop dwelling on our first meeting and kill-
“SIGGY!” Lana shouted, coming up to the top of the tower. “STOP THE ATTACK!”
Kill her now! The Bear shouted. Do not listen to her. She lies!
“SIGGY!” Lana said, her hands cupped near her mouth as she shouted. “PEOPLE ARE DYING!”
Kill her, child! The Bear screamed in her mind. Do what you set out to do. Kill her!
Siggy stood there silently.
I won't. Not yet.
She could hear the Bear screaming with frustration, nearly causing her ears to ring with the mental noise.
Fine. The Bear said. Hear her out! Gamble our victory away!
Siggy ignored him. Marshaling all her energies, she spoke, her voice booming across the entire floor.
“What do you want, Lana?”
Lana's jaw dropped, her knees buckling under her as she exhaled with relief. She spoke. “Stop the attack, please!” She crawled on her knees towards her. “People are dying. People are already dead! If you're angry…” She pointed to herself. “Kill me instead! I'm already here!”
“Why should I kill you?”
“You're angry, I know. I was trying to push you away, I didn't want to put my daughter's life at risk, please understa-“
”I DON'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND!” She shouted, the sheer force of her voice causing Lana to retreat a few inches. ”I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU DID IT!”
"You were a risk! Clef didn't want you here, you could have done anything you wanted to us if you just knew what you were capable of, and I was scared for Bothild and the town and… I shouldn't have done it, I know!"
"SO YOU SAY YOU MADE A MISTAKE?"
“I did!” Lana screamed back. “I fucking did, alright?! I made a mistake, Siggy, and now I'm paying for it. I paid for it because I love my daughter more than I ever loved you! So please, stop this attack! Kill me instead! I deserve it, the rest of them don't!”
Siggy paused. For a few moments, all that reigned was silence.
On the floor, the bears and the chickens stopped attacking for the second time. Their eyes were drawn up, to the light at the top of the tower. The surviving soldiers and conscripts wasted no time in shooting them down where they could.
On the west side, where the remains of Lana's house lay, Alina was pulling with all her might on an outstretched hand, grateful for the cease in the fighting.
On the north, at the gate, Clef directed the fire of those under his command, making sure to take down the biggest targets first.
Siggy looked at Lana. A small, helpless voice spoke. “You love the people of this town, don't you?”
Lana nodded, tears in her eyes, a smile on her face. “Yes, of course. Spare them, Siggy, please.”
Silence reigned for a moment.
Two.
Three.
The Bear spoke. Time is wasting, girl.
Siggy choked. "I-"
Make your decision.
"Please, Siggy." Lana pleaded.
Remember what she did to you.
For a moment, the girl behind her returned. "Lana…"
Remember.
Remember it! Remember what she did to you. The rejection. The abandonment. Remember it!
REMEMBER IT, GIRL!
Siggy screamed, her voice reaching all around. "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
With that, the bears surged forward with renewed speed and might, throwing themselves at the fortifications and all the defenders within them.
Suddenly, the gate gave way under the renewed attack, causing the chickens to finally flood in.
At that, Clef gave the order to run to the fallback position, devoting what remained of the defenders to the defense of the tower and everyone inside it.
At the tower's zenith, Lana shook her head. “No,” She stood up. “No, no, no, no, no!” She beat on her chest angrily, her eyes staring up at Siggy. “Take me instead. TAKE ME INSTEAD!”
"SHUT UP!"
Suddenly, the tips of Lana's fingers started to smolder with flame. The pain was unbearable as her flesh burnt away.
She fell to the ground, screaming with agony as she did.
Soon, the flames spread down her arms, searing away her bones and her muscles with ease.
Lana screamed even harder. “SIGGY, PLEASE! SIGGY, STOP IT! SIGGY, PLEASE!”
”SHUT UP, LANA! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!”
“AAAAAAAA!” Lana screamed again, the flames now eating away at what was left of her arms. “SIGGY, PLEASE!”
”I loved you, Lana. I loved you so so much!”
“SIGGY, STOP!”
”Shut up. JUST SHUT UP!”
The flames had finished with her arms, and were already licking at the rest of her body.
As they did, she had already fallen unconscious, the pain causing her to black out.
”You… will-“
“Siggy, stop it!”
Siggy stopped. That voice… it wasn't Lana's.
It was someone else.
At once, the fires burning Lana's body away stopped, dissipating into thin air.
Robo and Alina looked at the scene before them with horror.
Seeing Lana's burnt and unconscious body, Alina rushed to her aid. Robo stepped closer.
He shouted again. “What do you think you're doing?!”
”Robo, please-“
“Stop it, now! Even Lana doesn't deserve this, kid! Much less the people below!”
”Robo. I'm doing this for the greater-“
“Keep telling yourself that! Keep killing, keep torturing, keep destroying!” He ran forward to her. “But know that whatever you do, this won't change a thing. People will see you as a murderer. They will see you as the girl who killed their loved ones, who took away their lives."
He shouted again. "Do you want that, Siggy?!”
”But-“
“Stop it, now!”
Doubt, a far stronger doubt than anything she had ever felt with Lana, clouded Siggy's mind.
At that, the Bear sprung into action.
You want it, do you not? It said. You love the power. The revenge. The feeling of crushing everyone beneath your feet. You are far more powerful with me than you can ever be with him, Siggy.
”But, I-“
“He's speaking to you, isn't he?!” Robo screamed. “The Bear?!”
He's lying, girl.
”Robo, please-“
“Don't listen to him. What has he ever done for you?!”
I have given you power. I have given you revenge! I have shown you the world at your feet, and we can have so much more, girl!
“Do you think that Bear has ever saved your life? Do you think that he fed you and bathed you, protected you when no one else did, saved you when you were afraid?”
I have always kept watch on you. I have always kept away what scared you in the night. I have always made sure that you were alright. Think about it, girl. Think.
“I did that! I did all that! From the screaming monster, I led it away. From Clef, I put a sword through his back. From hunger, from the cold, I kept you fed. I kept you warm. I- I kept you safe! So please… stop. Come back to us, Siggy!”
He lies. When did he ever make sure that you could fight? When did he ever teach you the way to harness your power? When did he ever give you the rush you're feeling now? He could have stopped all of that if he just told you how to use your powers. He could have stopped it all!
“Siggy!”
Girl.
“Please!”
Think.
“You don't have to do this!”
Do it, girl. Do it.
“We need-“
I want-
”STOP IT!” Siggy screamed, shocking everything in her mind to silence. ”I will stop it all. Every single one!”
No…
“Attagirl, Sigg! Come on!”
NO!
”EVERY… SINGLE… ONE!”
NO! LITTLE GIRL, STOP-
”YOU CAN'T STOP ME.”
On the ground below, as they attacked the fallback positions, the bears began to dissipate, returning to the air as nothing but specks of dust.
STOP!
Outside, the chickens flooding in gave one last cry- before disappearing as well, turning into ash as if nothing was ever there.
The battle was over.
Below, Clef fell to his knees, relief washing over him.
Within the teleporter room, Bothild gave a loud cry as she begged for her Mommy.
Behind the barricades, Chancey McMillan staggered to the siren, pressing the button to make it stop.
“You're okay, Trondeheim!” Alina shouted on top of the tower, doing her best to carry the incapacitated and burnt body of Lana down the ramp. “Stay with us!”
“Thank you, Siggy.” Robo said. “Thank you so much.”
You will regret this. The Bear said. You will.
All around them, the ball of light was already disappearing, as Siggy raised her arms.
“No,” Siggy said within the rapidly diminishing ball of light. “You will.”
A bright flash illuminated the town, and as Chancey pressed the button of the siren, he could see a small, singed teddy bear fall from above and unto the ground below.
He looked up, and found that the great green light was gone, never to return.
“Siggy!” Robo shouted. “Siggy!”
From the vanishing ball of light above them, the witch girl fell from the sky, and into Robo's arms.
“Oh, you're alright. You're alright.”
Siggy's eyes were half-open, and she moaned weakly.
“What… happened, Robo?”
He held her close. “Nothing, kiddo. Nothing at all.”
A few moments passed.
Then, they heard footsteps thundering up the wooden ramp up to the top of the tower, as none other than Alto Clef came to the top. Blood trailed down his mouth and covered his body, while dirt caked his face and his body. At his side glowed the red Scrantonum sword, still as sharp as the day he used it to kill Seth.
Robo looked over his shoulder. “Clef…”
“How will you pay for all this?” Clef said, his cold tone now replaced with that of grief and anger. “How will you pay for all this?!”
“It wasn't her fault, please-“
“The life of one of my best people is on a knife's blade. Countless numbers of my fucking people are dead. Much of my town is destroyed. I ask you again…” He breathed in.
“HOW WILL YOU PAY FOR ALL THIS?!”
“Robo…?” Siggy murmured. “What's happening…?”
Robo turned to Siggy. “Nothing, kiddo. Nothing.” He looked up at Clef. “Clef, please, we have done a lot to deserve it, but-“
Clef winced, shaking his head. “A lot doesn't cover it, Robo. It doesn't even come close.” He stepped closer. “Is this some… revenge for last time? That time, only one man died, and he wanted it. Now…” He breathed in. “NOW NEARLY ALL OF MY PEOPLE ARE DEAD!”
He stepped even closer. The red blade of the sword glinted with a sinister light. “I wanted to save you, so that you could help us break out of here. We wanted the same thing that you two did, so why couldn't we fucking join hands?” He took another step. “Now… I… I have no idea what to do to you.”
Robo tried to shake Siggy awake. “Siggy, get us out of here. Get us out of here please.”
“Whether it's to kill you, or to contain you, or to fucking…” He breathed in again. “I guess the choice is easy, isn't it? Everyone else wants it, too.”
Robo tried to shake her awake again. “Please, Siggy, please.” He looked up at Clef. “Clef, don't do anything you're going to regret-“
He scoffed. “I'll regret it, yes. She's our only hope of breaking through the blockade. But when tempers cool and I see you again, I'll forget how much grief I've felt today. I'll forget every death.”
He began to lift the sword.
“Every orphan.”
He held it high.
“EVERY LIFE!”
He brought it down.
Robo moved to cover Siggy.
The whoosh of steel sounded out through the air.
Then, Siggy opened her eyes.
And just as the blade was about to touch them, they disappeared.

Siggy awoke again, but this time in a dark place.
She scratched her head with her good hand. “Robo? Are you there?”
She looked around in the darkness, but she couldn't see a thing.
“Robo? Hey.”
She looked to her left.
She looked to her right.
Nothing responded.
“Lumina.” She murmured.
As the light grew, she saw Robo, standing silently in front of her and leaning against the wall, arms crossed sullenly.
He was back to his normal form, and his face was unreadable.
“What do you remember?” His voice was unkind. Cold.
She scratched her head again. “Robo, I-“
He raised his voice. “I said, what do you remember?”
Her eyes widened. “N-nothing much. Just… just Lana hating me and then everything… exploding.” She went silent. “What happened after that?”
He looked up at her. He stared into her eyes.
A moment passed.
Inside his helmet, he bit his lip.
“Nothing. I carried you out. The Greattowners chased us out because you blew up her house.”
Siggy looked crestfallen. “Really?” She looked down. “Oh… dear.” She looked around. “Where are we now?”
“Now? I don't know, either.” He scratched his helmet. His tone remained grave. “But from here on out, you have to promise me something.”
Siggy looked at him. “What?”
“No more magic… ever again.”
Siggy's eyes widened even further. “But Robo-“
“Just-“ He raised an arm. “Just… promise me. Until we get out, no magic ever again.”
He looked at her. “Can you promise me that?”
She just stared at him.
“I said, can you promise me that?”
Siggy bit her lip.
Then she extinguished the light in her hand, and nodded in the darkness.
“Good.” He turned to leave. “Now let's get the hell out of here.”

END OF ARC 2: FINDING LANA
TO BE CONTINUED IN ARC 3: LOOSE ENDS

The Adventures of Siggy and RoboMonkey
Arc 2: Finding Lana
« Peace is Said, and Bears Start Calling | The Attack Begins, and I Ascend | Awkward Silences and Uncomfortable Reunions »
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It could sense her now. Searching, finding, fearing.
Its wait had paid off. It would soon be vindicated.
No more shall its patience be tested. No more shall its plans be delayed. She was here, and that was all that mattered.
He could hear their slaves pacing impatiently, screaming in desolate halls as they roamed, uncaring for anything but to kill and to follow.
It felt its sons all around now, shuffling in the ground, waiting to be created, waiting for the time to strike.
And they all said the same thing.
To destroy, so that we could build.
To build, so that we could destroy.

“Lana.”
Siggy stood there utterly frozen, her jaw hanging open.
Ahead of them, Lana Trondeheim began to speak. “For all the people who have died since the containment breach, for all the people who have lost their lives to the anomalies, for all the people who will fight for what we have now… please, let us say our Peace.”
All at once, everyone in the room bowed their heads. Some put their hands together. Others knelt on the floor. Some held hands with those beside them. Most kept their hands at their side, eyes closed in a show of reverence for the dead and what they had done to ensure their future.
But Siggy didn't care about any of that. Lana was as beautiful and kind as she could remember. As she put her hands together, she seemed to be at peace, her eyes closed as she paid her respects. To her, she seemed the most beautiful woman in the world.
Moments passed.
Then, she raised her head, opened her eyes, and smiled. “And let them forever be at peace.”
All at once, everyone in the tent (except for Robo and Siggy), responded.
“And let them forever be at peace.”
Lana raised her hands in the air in a welcoming gesture, her smile outshining everyone in the room.
“Now, you may eat!”
At her signal, what was once a room deathly silent erupted into cheers and innumerable chatter, as people began to eat their supper together.
Siggy watched Lana intently as she put the microphone down and stepped off the stage, proceeding to an exit at the ends of the tent.
Immediately, Siggy moved to go.
Alina put out a hand to stop her, placing it on her shoulder. “Woah there, kid. You haven't eaten yet.”
Siggy looked at Alina, then to Robo. Her voice was urgent, yet quiet.
“It's Lana! It's her!”
Robo's eyes widened in surprise. “That's Lana?”
Siggy bobbed her head enthusiastically, something that she only did when she was younger. “Yeah! Yeah!”
Alina was surprised as well. “Wait, so you're saying Trondeheim's your aunt?”
Siggy once again nodded quickly. “Yeah, yeah! I have to see her, now!”
Alina shook her head. “Wait for a second. Eat first. You were hungry, remember? I'll deal with Trondeheim, ask her to set aside some time for you later.” She smiled at her. “Hot damn, though. Who'd've figured Trondeheim was the one you were looking for? She's a big deal ‘round here.”
Robo leaned in. “Why? What does she do?”
“She's a sort of leader for everyone here while the other bigshot guys are gone to Floor 0. It'll take a bit, but I think I can secure an appointment.” She jerked a thumb towards herself with her other hand, her face confident. “I'm a big deal too, you know. Good scouts are hard to find in Greattown.”
She sat up from her seat. “In the meantime, eat.” She shot a look at Robo. “You too, Robe. I can tell you haven't eaten in a while. Siggy's bound to have some caps left over, you can get some from her.” She jerked her head in the direction that Lana went. “I'll go ahead and make sure everything's clear for you to go.”
Siggy's face lit up. “Thank you, thank you, Alina! Thank you very much!”
Alina smiled sweetly. “Hey, it's for a good cause. Now eat up. You won't get that appointment with Trondeheim if you don't.” She nodded at the both of them. “Keep your peace, you two.”
Robo smiled. “Keep your peace, Alina.” He looked at Siggy. “Was that really Lana who just spoke?”
Across from him, Siggy already had her head practically in the bowl. She was eating as fast as she could. “What?” Siggy said, her voice muffled by the food in her mouth.
“Are you sure that's Lana?” Robo said, squirming in his seat. “I just don't want to inconvenience Alina more than we already have.”
Siggy raised her head from the bowl, a great mouthful of noodles sticking out from her mouth and a large amount of stew grease covering her face. “I'm sshure, Rmmbo,” Siggy said as she chewed. “She's pretty as always. She looks really really young, too.”
“Hey!” Robo said, pointing at Siggy. “Stop talking with your mouth full. I taught you not to do that, right?”
Siggy smiled. “Shhorry, Rmmbo.” She swallowed the mouthful of food she was chewing on. “I'm just so excited!”
“Well you aren't gonna meet ‘er if you choke on your stew now, right?” Robo said. “Chew properly.”
She giggled. “Whatever, dad.” She shoved another mouthful of stew in her mouth. “I got sommthng for you.” With her good hand, she dug into her hoodie pocket, and came out with a handful of bottle caps. She dropped it onto the table in front of her.
“What's this?” Robo said, taking the caps.
Siggy swallowed again. “It's the things Alina gave me so that I could buy the stew. Just give all of it to the people at the stalls, they'll return what they don't need.”
Robo shook his head. “Nah, I'm not hungry.”
“Come on, Robo!” Siggy said. “You're getting thinner, you know that?” She pointed at him. “Even when you're supposed to look fat, you look thin.”
Robo looked at the form he was taking. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Instead of the big portly man that he had wished to assume, a few parts of his body were very skinny. Though his belly was large and looked well-fed, his face was devoid of any fat. The same went for his arms and his thighs.
Robo gave Siggy a look. “Fine,” he said begrudgingly. “I'll get some food.”
“And return with some stew!” Siggy shouted as Robo got up and left. “I'm still hungry!”
Robo put up a hand in the air in a show of acknowledgement.
“Heh, sucker.” Siggy jokingly muttered to herself, smiling. As she waited, she turned and finished the rest of her stew, greedily taking everything into her mouth.
Minutes later, Robo returned with another bowl of stew in one hand, and a plate full of rice and broccoli seasoned with gravy and bits of meat with the others. He slid the stew to Siggy, who immediately licked her lips and dug in.
“Hey Robo,” Siggy said as she swallowed her first mouthful of stew. “Whatcha got there?”
Robo swallowed his as well. “Broccoli with rice, gravy, and mystery meat. You want some?”
“Mystery meat?” Siggy raised an eyebrow. “What kinda mystery meat?”
Robo took a piece with his hand and put it in his mouth, chewing it to discern the flavor.
“Tastes like rat.”
That almost caused Siggy to hurl. “Rat?”
Robo looked at her askance. “What's wrong with it? It's actually sorta tasty.”
“But I mean, Robo, it's bloody rat-”
Siggy was interrupted with a tap on the shoulder. She turned around, and saw a group of boys her age facing her.
One seemed to be in the middle of the bunch, hands together and eyes held low, his face blushing.
“Come on, tell her!” One boy with sandy-blonde hair said.
Another boy with small eyes and pale skin whispered in the boy's ear, which caused the boy to blush even more. At this, the other boys giggled even harder.
“Uh…” The boy said. “So I just wanted to say…”
He looked up at her. His eyes were the darkest shade of black that she'd ever seen, and there was a large scar across his right eye. “You have very long and pretty b-blonde hair. Are you new around here?”
All around him, the other boys were whooping and high-fiving each other, patting the black-eyed boy in the back as they did.
Siggy smiled. “Uh…” She was lost for words. “Yeah, I am. I came all the way from Floor -24.”
The boy's eyes got larger. “Woah. You came all the way from -24? That's a long way. What skips did you see as you came up?”
Siggy patted on the place beside her. “Sit down beside me first?”
At that, the boys behind him started to get even louder. They were chanting the black-eyed boy's name now, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.
“Chancey! Chancey! Chancey!” They shouted.
Siggy looked at them incredulously and innocently. “What the heck are you boys saying?”
Robo could only watch with amusement from his seat. He had his arms crossed, his mouth drawn up to a large smile.
“D-don't mind them.” The black-eyed boy said. “M-my name is Chancey, by the way, if you didn't hear it from them.”
Behind him, the other boys still chanted. “Chancey! Chancey! Chancey!”
“Hey!” Siggy said to them, her mouth pursed. “Can you boys please leave us alone? Chancey and I are trying to talk.”
At that, each of the boys smiled widely. After a few moments and a realization that Siggy was serious, they all turned to Chancey and patted him on the back, whispering things in his ear as they did.
“Good luck, Chancey.”
“Get ‘er, Chancey!”
“Tell us later, yeah?”
Chancey nodded to each one of them in turned, then sighed. He looked at Siggy. “R-really sorry. They always get noisy like that.”
Siggy smiled sweetly. “I don't mind.” She jerked her head towards Robo. “I live with a noisy monkey too, so I'm used to it.”
Chancey looked at Robo, and immediately shrunk away. “S-sorry, Sir. I didn't see you there.”
Robo leaned in. At that, Chancey got even tinier. He smiled. “Don't worry. You can talk with li'l Sarah as much as you want. My daughter is pretty, isn't she?”
At that, Siggy shot him another dirty look. Pretty?! She mouthed. Robo could only silently chuckled.
Chancey nodded frantically. “Y-y-yes, Sir. She is.”
Siggy's eyes enlarged to the size of a tennis ball as she glared at Robo. A blush colored her cheeks.
Robo shrugged and smiled back.
“S-so, umm, back to t-topic,” A cold sweat seemed to be forming on Chancey's head. “W-what skips did you see as you came up here?”
Siggy's expression brightened as she looked at Chancey. “Well, there was a monster on Floor -24 that could imitate your voice.”
Chancey perked up. “I-imitate your voice?”
Siggy nodded. “Like, boy, it was really really scary. They were saying ‘SssssSSSaaaAAArraAAAHHhh…'” She drew her arms up. “'SSSSSSsssAAAaaRaaaHHHH!'”
The boy's lips paled. “A-and then?”
“On Floor -15, we saw a really really big lizard. It seemed to be busy with some other skips though, so we decided to get away from that immediately.” She looked up again as she tried to remember. “On Floor -20, we saw a bunch a' corpses that were walking, even talked to the doctor that made them.”
Chancey's eyes widened. “C-corpses?”
“When I was on Floor -24, I saw an undying mummy with lots and lots of wounds. He died soon after, though. It was sucky.” She shot a surreptitious look at Robo. “A few weeks before that, I saw a big burly gorilla with a helmet that tried to scare me, but I ran away, and-“
“Hohkay!” Robo said, distracting Chancey from the conversation with Siggy. “How about you, Chancey? What's yer name?”
“Ch-Chancey McMillan, Sir.” He said, his stuttering getting immediately worse. “I work with my dad, who's one of the Scouts.”
“Mmm, yes.” Robo said, nodding. “And what do you like about my daughter?”
Chancey turned immediately red. “What, Sir-“
“HOHKAY!” Siggy said, giving Robo a dirty look before looking back at Chancey. “I really think the Scouts are cool. They defend you guys from the chickens and everything.”
“Y-you guys?” Chancey said. “But I mean, you aren't gonna stay?”
Siggy shook her head. “We plan to move on after we meet someone here. We wanna get out of the Site as soon as possible.”
“Get out?” Chancey said. “But that's impossible! The grown-ups say there's a blockade at Floor 0. It'll be impossible, unless you talk to Doctor Clef and his team up at the Front, but-“
“Clef?” Robo said, leaning in. “Doctor Clef is at Floor 0?”
“He supervises the guys at the Front. He works day-in and day-out to try to break the blockade.”
Siggy immediately looked guilty at the mention of Clef. She remained silent.
“Well,” Robo said. “That's certainly a very interesting bit of information.”
Chancey nodded. “Most definitely, and-“
“Heya!” A voice said behind them, as Alina sat right beside Siggy. “Woah, what's this? Chancey's with you?”
Chancey nodded his head to acknowledge Alina. “H-hello, Miss Wojcik.”
“Heya, Chancey. Say, can you go for a minute? I gotta borrow this pretty girl and her dad for something.”
Chancey nodded his meek assent. “O-of course, Miss Wojcik.” He got out of the seat and nodded at Siggy. “W-well, bye… Sarah.” He had a blush on his cheeks as he did so.
Siggy waved at him. “See ya later, Chancey.”
As he turned to leave, Alina put an arm over Siggy's shoulder. “So, I got you that appointment with Trondeheim.”
Siggy brightened. “You did?”
“Yeah. Right now. She ain't busy. Well, not busy in the usual way, anyways.”
Siggy practically jumped from her seat. “Take me to her, please!”
Alina smiled, and stood up. “'Course, kid. Come on.”
Robo stood up from his seat. “Don't leave me!”
Alina chuckled. “We wouldn't imagine doing that, Robo.”
She led them past the other tables and out the exit of the tent. The environment outside was no less noisy than the one inside. A variety of other people still wandered to and fro, chattering as they did. It was markedly less, however, though a large amount of people were already streaming from the tent and out into the town proper.
“Come on, through here.” Alina said as she led them to a large wooden house right next to the cylinder. For a Greattown home, it seemed to be very well taken care of, emblematic of its owner's role in the settlement.
Siggy was practically squirming with excitement.
They proceeded to the doorway, where Alina knocked on the door three times. “Trondeheim? Here are the outlanders I talked to you about.”
“Wait for a goddamn fucking second, Alina!” A colorful yet cheerful voice responded.
“She even cusses like usual,” Siggy muttered under her breath.
Behind her, Robo was sullen and grim, though neither Alina nor Siggy saw that.
They heard locks being dislodged from the door, then a creeeaaaaak as the door opened.
Lana's face greeted the three of them, her grey-green eyes (exactly like Siggy's) and long black hair streaming past her shoulders. Her smile seemed to be as present as ever, as she regarded the three of them with a receiving look.
She looked at Alina first and nodded, smiling at the Scout as she did. Her eyes met Robo's next, and Robo nodded as well.
Then, her eyes landed on Siggy.
Siggy couldn't help but smile.
Then she nodded politely, as if she didn't recognize her.
What? Siggy thought, not being able to believe what just happened.
“Mommy,” A tiny voice said beside her, and Alina immediately stooped to lift up and hold the toddler beside her.
“Heya sweetpea,” Lana said, holding the baby in her arms. “Say hi to the guests!”
S-sweetpea? Siggy thought again, unable to comprehend. But she used to call me-
“Hi…” The baby said, her icy blue eyes scanning the stranger's faces. In her hand was a teddy bear, identical to the one Lana gave Siggy a long time ago. It held it by the foot, swinging it in the air with its tiny little hands.
The… teddy…?
“Come in,” Lana said, gesturing for them to enter. “Make yourselves at home, outlanders. We got plenty of room.”
The three proceeded into the house, Siggy still staring in the distance as she followed Alina.
The interior of the home was just as pretty as the exterior, and was moderately furnished. Off to the side, a fire smoldered in the fireplace, lending some characteristic warmth to the Site. In the center of the room were a variety of couches centered around a rug. On the walls hung a variety of picture frames showing Lana with her family from outside, with one being a picture of her with her baby.
None of them showed Siggy with her.
Lana showed them to the couches and gestured for them to sit. “Please,” She said. As she did, Robo and Alina sat on them immediately.
But Siggy stood near the door, still staring at the scene in front of her.
She has a baby.
She didn't recognize me?
But I was her sweetpea. We took pictures. Why wasn't I in the pictures?
Maybe it's just the hood. It's probably just the hood. She'll recognize me if I take off the hood.
But sweetpea. Baby. Pictures.
What the hell is happening?
“Sarah,” Robo called, a concerned look on her face. “Please sit.”
At that, Siggy snapped back to reality.
“R-right,” She said, meekly. She sat on the couch in between Robo and Alina.
Her eyes were fixed exclusively on Lana.
“So, where're you good peeps from?” Lana said, saddling the baby on her lap.
“Floor -24, Doctor Trondeheim.” Robo responded.
Lana seemed to be surprised. “Floor -24? Damn, you guys really are outlanders. Shit.”
She pursed her lips immediately after. “I shouldn't be saying that. Kid's right here.”
The baby in her lap babbled as she spoke. She seemed to not be doing anything in particular.
“Don't worry, ma'am.” Robo said politely. “Do you know anyone from Floor -24?”
Lana looked up. “Anyone?”
She'll say it.
She shook her head. “No, I'm sorry. You two are the first that I've met who've come from that far down.”
“Ah.” Robo said, his eyes slowly shifting to Siggy. “But do you recognize her?” He gestured to Siggy beside him. “She came from very far to see you.”
Lana smiled, and looked at Siggy. “Can you take off your hood, dear?”
Siggy obliged, taking off her red hood with her good hand.
Lana looked at her for a few seconds, trying to match a name to a face.
She shook her head politely. “You look familiar, though I really can't-" Lana's eyebrows knotted. “Little miss…”
“Are you crying?”
Siggy felt her cheeks. Her finger came up wet.
She tried to speak. Her words came out quivering and stuttering.
“L-Lana…” She smiled, though her tears seemed to fall even more. “I'm Siggy. Don't you remember me?”
Lana smiled incredulously. “Siggy, I-“
Then realization dawned on her face.
Her expression went from politeness, to doubt.
Then suddenly, to anger.
Silence reigned for a few moments.
She bit her lip.
“Alina.” She said, her eyes unflinching from Siggy. “Please take little Bothild upstairs.” Her voice was flat. Serious. Cold.
Alina immediately got out of her seat, and looked from Siggy to Lana. She nodded. “Of course, Doctor Trondeheim.” She took the baby from Lana's lap, held her to her chest, and made haste to go up the stairs to the main bedroom. In the baby's hand, the teddy bear dropped to the floor, though Siggy did not notice it.
Alina's retreating footsteps sounded as loud as an explosion in the stifling silence of the living room.
All the while, Siggy and Lana stared at each other from both sides of the living room; Siggy innocently looking for any sign of affection on Lana's face, Lana wishing that her glare would send Siggy away.
Then, Lana spoke.
“You shouldn't be here, 239.”
“239?” Siggy said. “U-unbelievable. After all that time, Lana? You just… call me that?”
“Times have changed. Skips aren't welcome here. I don't even know why the guards let you in in the first place.”
“But… Lana.” Siggy said her name with as much longing as love, and as much love as frustration. “Don't you know how much I-“
“Don't know, and I don't fucking care, 239. You will leave now, and that will be the end of it.” She was cold. Siggy didn't understand why.
“After… after all that time?” Siggy said, her voice quivering. “After three damn years you just… tell me to leave?”
“Because that's what you should fucking do.” Lana said, menacingly. “I'm not your aunt anymore, I never fucking was, and I never will be. “ She breathed in. “Just by being here, you are putting my town and my baby at risk, and I will have fucking NONE OF IT!” She slammed her fist on the armrest of the couch, the sound echoing throughout the house.
“But what about me, Lana?!” Siggy shouted. “What about me?! Wasn't I your niece- your daughter, forever and ever? Didn't you fucking promise you'd come back after I slept? Didn't you promise you'd save me if I were ever in danger?” She breathed in. Her face was flushed now, tears running down her face as she spoke. Her chest felt tight and heavy, her knees felt weak “We took pictures and we played house and we talked together and you fed me and-“ She breathed again. “And I… I thought you wanted me!”
“I didn't, goddamnit!” Lana said. “Clef told me to form a connection with you, and I did, because you were a child then and I was a fresh graduate wanting to form a connection with my adoptive fucking niece. Now you step in and come into my fucking home determined to receive my fucking love?”
“Because for all those years, Lana, I got it!” Siggy screamed. “You fed me cheese balls, you called me sweetpea, you tied my hair, you taught me spells, you taught me how to read-“
“Nothing but my job.” Lana said, silencing all resistance. “Nothing but my damned job.”
Siggy's voice lowered to a whimper. “So for all that time… you didn't love me?”
Lana gritted her teeth, holding her tears in as she did. “No, I didn't.” She exhaled, dismissively gesturing to the door. “Now get the hell out of here. I will not be caught with a skip in my home, especially one that Clef wants.”
“Y-you're in league with Clef?” Siggy stammered. “With Clef?”
Lana looked into her eyes. Her gaze was hard and icy. “He built this town, you little bitch. Sooner or later, if you stay here any longer, he'll come in from the teleporters and we'll both be dead. Do you want that?”
Siggy looked at her, silent.
Lana shouted again. “I said DO YOU FUCKING WANT THAT?!”
Siggy just stared, tears in her eyes, biting her lip until she drew blood.
All around them, the house rumbled. It started in the ground, then continued to the ceiling, shaking dust from every surrounding object as Siggy shook with barely held-in rage.
The firewood in the fireplace fell from their neatly placed stacks. The picture frames on the wall fell and broke on the floor, one-by-one. The door began to creak open as it shook in the doorway. All the while, as each moment passed, the rumbling continued, getting louder and louder as the house shook more and more.
The anger in Lana's expression became mixed with fear. “…Siggy…?”
Siggy could only smile in disbelief. Her voice came out weak and soft, barely audible among the rumbling. “Now you call me Siggy?”
“I have a daughter upstairs, Siggy, please-“
“I was your daughter too, Lana.”
Her hand shaking, Siggy slowly raised her sleeve to reveal the stump of her arm that ended at the elbow. The cut was messily made, and it showed, having healed in a bad way as the years passed.
Lana gasped. “Siggy…”
“I was your daughter, too.”
Siggy's eyes started to glow with a sinister green light.
Lana began to plead, tears flowing from her face at last. “Siggy, please! My daughter is here!”
Suddenly, a brown blur went past her face, meeting with Siggy's hand. It was the brown teddy bear, the one she got for Bothild on her first birthday.
“You got this for your daughter as well. On her sixth birthday.”
“Please, Siggy, please…”
“Don't you remember Lana? Don't you remember?”
All the while around them, the rumbling shook the house harder and harder, until they could barely stand.
Then, Robo finally managed to speak up.
“SIGGY, STOP IT NOW!”
All at once, the rumbling stopped.
Siggy turned to Robo. Her eyes were back to normal, though they were red from crying. Her cheeks were sodden with tears, both dried and wet. “But, Robo-“
“Are you planning to kill her? Answer me!”
She looked at him, then back to Lana, then back to Robo.
Her voice was soft.
“No.”
“Then stop it, now! You will bring everything down on us!”
Siggy quivered, her knees turning into mush. “I-I'm sorry, Robo. I'm so sorry.”
She collapsed on the couch. “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.”
Robo sighed, both in relief and disappointment.
Lana stood among it all, frozen in place.
Siggy looked at her face, stiff, unmoving, shocked.
Then, her face gave way to regret, tears moving freely down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," She said, weakly. "I'm sorry."
Siggy started. "Lana, I-"
But in the back of Siggy's mind, something spoke.
Did you forget how she abandoned you?
Did you forget how she rejected you?
Did you forget how she came running back to you for forgiveness?
At that moment, a spark of rage smoldered in her mind.
Good.
Then, all at once, Siggy's mind went to the void.
In it, she floated peacefully, as if she were swimming underwater.
Ahead of her, she saw the teddy bear that was in her hand, its eyes deep black wells of wisdom.
I've come here to find you, Siggy. And now I have seen you, like you have seen your aunt.
Siggy responded. Who are you?
A benefactor. An old friend. A brother in need of help.
What do you want?
Nothing from you. Everything from them.
What?
I come to destroy, and from that, to build. I have waited, and waited, and waited for this moment. I have kept my cards close to my chest, waiting for the moment when I can come to meet you.
It spoke again. Do you not know the depths of your power? How you can wish away all that oppose you the moment you lay eyes on them? Have you forgotten the rage you felt, the heat in your arms, the want to tear and rage and kill? I can assist you.
It stretched out its hand.
You need only accept my hand. And together, we shall make them fall at our feet.
In the real world, Siggy froze.
"Siggy?" Lana said, kneeling down to shake her. "Siggy?"
"To build, so that we could destroy." Siggy muttered softly. "To destroy, so that we could build."
And then everything exploded.

The time has come.
A light ascended from the center of Greattown, great and terrifying, outshining everything with its pure brightness.
Flooding into the meadow of Floor -12, chickens from all around came, accompanied by legions of bears, all of various make-ups and purposes, coming into existence from thin air.
At once, the never-used siren of Greattown blew into the air, its incessant screaming pitiful against the vastness of the floor and the frenzied screams of the chickens.
Then, once again, they took up the call, the chanting of the bears now audible within the surrounded settlement.
"To destroy, so that WE could build!"
"To build, so that WE could destroy!"

The Adventures of Siggy and RoboMonkey
Arc 2: Finding Lana
« A New World Beckons, and It's Filled with Death Chickens | Peace is Said, and Bears Start Calling | The Attack Begins, and I Ascend »
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"I'm telling you", said Vulture. "GOC rations almost saved my life once."
Wheels rolled her eyes. The other operatives ate and listened.
Vulture continued, "So, my old team's in the Urals, tracking down these proto-Sarkic nutters. Big CK reality shift from this artifact they're making. Doesn't get us, but gets our cache of spare supplies. We exfil on foot, grab our stuff, and the first bite of an MRE entree, we spit out, it's all pillbugs. Tiny ground pieces of pillbugs, barely visible. If the MREs weren't designed this way, we would have eaten it. They were that small!"
"But then you ate them anyway," said Generous. "And that's why they call you Vulture."
"And that's why they call me Vulture," exclaimed Vulture. The Arab woman jabbed a finger wrapped around a half-empty MRE. Her full mouth did not seem to impede her speech.
Around the circle of four GOC operatives, a purple-blue sunset sky kissed distant, gray mountains. The plains of Sonora, Mexico stretched out with light sandy soil and gray-green shrubs. In the distance, some distant bird of prey shrilled, perhaps in triumph, perhaps in dismay.
Vulture said, "But think about it. We determined the bugs were not poisonous or anomalous, and it was our only food at this point. It was two and a half days' climb back to extraction. What would you have done?" Vulture asked the three other operatives.
"Go hungry."
"Go hungry."
"Yup."
Vulture sneered, unbefitting her ladylike appearance. "Well, nothing came of it. It was the right call. But still, I've been Vulture ever since. How about you? Did you guys have old call-signs?"
"Something like that." said Generous. She put a hand to her round, tan features. "Well, it's a good question. As the leader, I'll start. Before the GOC, they nicknamed me ‘Tigress' because I developed this way to leap onto hostiles with a knife. Dropped them on the spot, nice and quiet. Of course, that was when I was young and limber. I try it now, and I just crush people- far less effective."
She said it without shame, and no one dared tease the short, muscular woman for it.
"Alright. Wheels? You wanna go?" asked Generous.
In response, the lithe, dark-skinned woman brushed a hand along her short curly hair. "I uh… okay, well, you guys are going to laugh … but in Eurtec, I was 'Squeaky'."
"Squeaky," said Vulture.
"Yeah. Because I complained so much." said Wheels.
"Gee, I can't see why. ‘Wheels' is somehow worse, though." said Vulture.
Wheels waved an MRE pastry, threatening to send errant crumbs everywhere. "Look, they put those fucking car toys there on purpose! I was operating on two hours of sleep!"
"Ha!" said Noface. The young, reedy man leaned forward. "Wow, 'Squeaky'! I was LEN in the Serpent's Hand. Short for Little Eater of Names, for the same reason you all call me Noface. The 'Little' is because the real Eater of Names wouldn't like it otherwise."
"I see. I might as well share an embarrassing secret so Wheels doesn't get Squeaky on us." deadpanned Generous. "See, there's a bar-friendly origin story for every unflattering call-sign. That's what I told you guys."
"That you're 'Generous' because you waste ammo?" asked Wheels.
"Have you seen me ever waste a bullet?" said Generous.
"No…" said Wheels.
"My first team named me Generous… for my chest," said Generous.
Noface turned red and tore his eyes away from Generous's face and upper body. Vulture laughed.
Wheels stuttered, "Wait, what!?"
"The GOC was a lot less enlightened in the early 2000s. I punched someone over it. Then I got a reduction. I'm contrary like that." said Generous.
"It could be worse, my old team's first try was 'Porky'," said Vulture.
"'Porky'?" asked Wheels.
"Ex-Muslim," said Vulture. "Our CO told them 'fuck no', so they went with Vulture."
"I still think we should have gone with 'Serpentor' for Noface," said Wheels.
Vulture grunted out her enthusiasm.
"I still think 'Cobra Commander' would have been funnier. But no, Region Command has that policy against call-signs too indicative of background. So Noface was for the best." said Generous.
"For the best." sighed Noface. "I left the Serpent's Hand behind me. For good. I hope."
"So, this parathreat," said Wheels. "When are we finally going in?"
"Never, I hope," said Generous. "We have another night. Maybe our parathreat will show its true face soon. Noface, you did say 72 hours is thaumaturgically significant?"
"Yeah. Three days show up the most often in rituals. It's rarely two, four or five, or even a week. Always three, for some reason."
"Well, there you have it. GOC SOP and thaumaturgy agree. Three days to see if the parathreat does something interesting before we go in." said Generous.
"Yeah, ugh. I hope this is a false alarm. We haven't seen anyone inside. Even through drone footage. I'm not exactly excited to walk into something that makes people disappear." said Noface.
"It's not a false alarm," said Generous. "Satellite intel is clear on this. Twelve locals went in and never came out. Then their homes got haunted, for lack of a better word."
She gestured to a shack on the horizon. It appeared as if someone scaled up a mortarboard hat, turned it into wood, and called it a house.
"This is why the GOC hates structural parathreats", said Vulture. "They're dangerous as hell. Half the time it's not even the building itself, but the location, so there's not much we can do."
"I've been to a dozen controlled demolitions back in Strike. Very boring. Plant disintegration charges, go over a big-ass checklist, wait until it's over." said Generous. "Not satisfying like shooting Bixbies into spaghetti, or sharing 40 mm with anomalous wildlife."
"The worst is when we have to tip off the Foundation and let them wrap it up. Hate to say it, but they're best suited for this kind of thing," complained Vulture.
"Agreed," said Generous. "Just like they like to ring us up in case of a Large Scale Aggressor."
"Oh man, I got to see a UHEC in action once!" blurted Vulture. "Like watching gods fight!"
"Three times, for me. It is intense beyond intense," said Generous. She pointed with an empty MRE wrapper at Wheels and Noface. "You kids are missing out."
"Yeah, I'm going to pass on anything crazy enough to warrant a giant mech," said Wheels.
"Yep." agreed Noface. "So… should I run Field Ritual B9-73 again?"
Generous's eyes swept the three operatives, noting they long since finished eating. "Good idea. Dinner's over, let's get in some more scans, then a good night's sleep before we head in."

Generous woke up to find herself standing up, rifle ready.
Her sudden movement startled the skinny rookie whose voice woke her.
"Ah! Geez!" gasped Noface.
"What's the situation?" Generous demanded.
"Vulture's missing!" he whispered.
Generous nudged Wheels with her foot. Wheels crawled up to attention with less grace and more groaning than Generous.
"Wha- what is it?", mumbled Wheels.
"Vulture's missing. Check the sensor array. Noface, what did you see?" said Generous.
"Nothing! Normal night, nothing moved. Suddenly, I look over you guys, and Vulture's just… gone! I tried calling her, nothing." said Noface.
"Did you look in IR? UV? VERITAS?" asked Generous.
"Yeah! Couldn't find her," exclaimed Noface.
Generous scanned the Mexican chaparral and saw nothing but shrubs and stars. "First step, Noface, secure the perimeter. Cover my back while we talk. Composite vision mode, just in case. Wheels, report what you got."
"Still sifting through history", said Wheels, eyes deep on the HUD in her helmet. "Not even minor events. No motion sensors tripped, no unexpected light changes, all sound levels within expected. Vulture's life sensors are on and still in tac-net radius."
"Is this how the parathreat makes people disappear!?" asked Noface. The skinny mage swiveled his gaze around. "It makes no sense! Vulture's got the highest cognitive resistance score of us! It couldn't have compelled her to walk away!"
"If she walked away, the motion sensors would have gone off. Look for signs of a CK reality shift. Or other terrain alteration." said Generous. "Wheels, eyes on the parathreat structure. You see anything weird, we have to know."
"It still looks like a run-down shitty shack," said Wheels.
"It's disappeared thirteen people now," hissed Generous. "I do not want to give it more! Eyes forward and wide open."
"Roger, wilco," muttered Wheels. The three operatives began to walk to their fallback point, rifles ready. They covered each other's movements and backs. Their footsteps made almost no sound even in the dry scrubland soil. A chill wind murmured as if to warn of danger ahead.
"I have a theory," said Wheels.
"Shoot", said Generous.
"Parathreat may have carried her up and off, motion sensors are only reliable up to 8 meters' radius."
"Damn it. Hadn't thought of an aerial perimeter. She could be anywhere by now." grunted Generous.
"Are we sure there wasn't a CK?" asked Noface.
"She's alive and around here. We can deal with any other implications later. Okay, we're at a secure spot." said Generous. "Keep covering me."
The other two operatives nodded, presenting their weapons to the cold night air.
Generous's eyes made the gestures on her HUD to open her radio.
"Control, this is Assessment Team 777 'Fingertip'," said Generous. "Fingertip 1 speaking, Fingertip 2 MIA, unknown cause. Do you read me?"
Silence. The side of her screen descended into noiseless static.
Generous continued, "Control, this is Fingertip 1. I say again, Fingertip 2 MIA. Please respond."
Silence.
"Control, please respond." Generous sighed. "Fingertip 1 to Fingertip 2… Vulture. This is Generous. Are you there? Respond."
Silence.
"Vulture, this is Generous, please talk to us. Are you alright?"
She finished waiting and turned to her team. "Signal's perfect, Control's not responding, neither is Vulture. Looks like it's up to us."
She reached out to empty air and tore off a piece of the night sky. The fabric in her hands reflected and distorted the light around it. A close-topped, armored jeep now stood where it had been.
"The drone didn't see anything if that's what you're thinking," said Wheels.
Generous reached into the jeep. Noface and Wheels backed up behind her, guns outward.
"Not last time," said Generous. "We'll try again. I am not stepping in a haunted house blind." She took a basketball-sized quadcopter from the jeep into her backpack. She moved to help Wheels cover their position. "Noface, get the rest of your thaumaturgic supplies. Everything. We aren't going back."
Noface nodded and turned to the jeep to retrieve a large dark gray assault bag. He took Generous's place on guard as she moved back to the vehicle.
"My turn again. I'm getting the laser designator," said Generous.
"What? What for?" asked Noface.
"You know what happened to 'Clover', the previous Assessment Team 777?" said Generous.
"Uh…" said Wheels.
"Do I want to know?" moaned Noface.
"They got wiped inside a parathreat that duplicates rooms," said Generous. "Called in a fuel-air bomb at their location, died gloriously. The least we can do if we fail is take the anomaly with us."
"That's a little much. Does it even work indoors?" said Noface.
"Oh, I know firsthand: like a charm," said Generous.
"Firstha-" sputtered Wheels. "Ugh fine. You and your hard-on for the Fivefold Mission."
"But we can't raise Control." Noface pointed out.
"We can at least tell GOC spy sats where we died. The bomb will come after that," said Generous.
Noface shuddered.
"What a lovely thought." murmured Wheels. "Anything else to grab before we charge into hell?"
"I'm good," said Generous. She checked her rifle and let its bolt snap shut.
"Yeah, me too," said Noface. He slipped a ritual knife into his sleeve.
"Alright. Let's go find Vulture," said Wheels.

The shack looked exactly as non-threatening as before.
"VERITAS still shows the parathreat as transparent. No life signs inside" said Wheels. "Still looks the same in IR, not enough UV at night to see anything."
"What are you doing with the designator?" Noface asked Generous.
"Sending a message to the spy sats in Morse," said Generous. She clicked the flashlight-like device on and off in staccato. "I'm hoping this will get their attention. Wheels, send in the drone."
"Way ahead of you, it's going in," said Wheels.
The quadcopter buzzed through the dry, dark air and the shack's open window.
"Yeah, nothing. Still empty of anyone. Only one room, flooring, and furniture." said Wheels.
"Alright, let's head in. Keep the drone going." said Generous.
They kicked open the door and surged in. The interior looked the same as the drone's view: dusty, wooden, and unpainted. The quadcopter hovered in place as if to say "I told you so".
"Damn," said Generous. "Look for hidden compartments or tunnels. Every cabinet, every floorboard. 'Nitohaz filters up, composite vision."
"Roger, Gen." the two junior operatives chorused. The team got to work inspecting the shack's crude construction and beaten-down furnishings.
Generous said, "Noface when this is over I want a ritual B-72 for dimensiona- uhhhh, what the fu-"
The three operatives found themselves standing on familiar grounds. Trimmed, low bushes lined the sidewalk. Outlines of austere military buildings blocked out small parts of the starry sky. Orderly rows of bollards and trees bracketed the roads.
"Huh. This looks like… " said Wheels.
"Stay alert. GPS says… huh. We're actually in Fort Sinker, Nebraska. Right outside the barracks. Yeah, we were sleeping here five days ago." said Generous. She gestured at the familiar building they stood outside.
"Might be a CK shift," said Noface.
"Maybe we teleported," suggested Wheels.
"Control? Control, please respond," said Generous. "Still nothing. Stay alert, this might be a dimensional shift."
An alarm blared.
"Oh fuck!" said Wheels. "Base security must have picked up our sudden appearance!"
"Double-check your IFF!" said Generous. She checked her HUD to confirm she was marked "Friendly" on any GOC tactical network.
"What if they're unfriendly?" said Noface.
"Then we're going to die anyway. We aren't evading base security, even on a good night," said Generous.
An armored car's headlights shone over the road and overwhelmed their night vision.
"We surrender! Friendlies! Do not shoot!" yelled Noface, laying down his rifle and putting his hands on his head. Generous and Vulture followed his lead. "Assessment Team 777 Fingertip! Do not shoot! We were suddenly brought here when-"
When their eyes and HUDs adjusted, the car seemed to be empty. Light beams with no source started sweeping across the three operatives' vision. They stood there in silence.
"What the heck? It pulled up. Who's driving it?" asked Wheels.
"Maybe this is a dimension where Fort Sinker has self-driving cars?" replied Noface.
"Whoa," said Wheels as she stumbled. "I think something pushed me."
"Where are those lights coming from?" mused Generous. The light beams swirled around as if confused.
"Hm… well, stay where we are. We don't want to alarm base security with sudden mov-" Something made Generous lose her balance.
"Yeah, still nothing in VERITAS or IR. UV's at night is a lost cause, but… no, still nothing," said Wheels.
"I'm trying too. Still nothing." said Generous.
"Maybe a field ritual? I know a few that can tell us which dimension we're in," said Noface.
"No ritual, we'll set off even more alarms…. wait a second… I think I know what's going on!" exclaimed Generous.

GOC base security searched for unseen intruders, sweeping with their tactical lights.
Sergeant Eber said, "Teleportation alarms picked up something here. Three human-sized masses. They say it hasn't moved, but… be careful."
Private Gognitti seemed to jolt. "Whoa I think something pushed me!" she yelled.
The alarmed soldiers pointed their rifles near the shouting woman.
"Not seeing anything," said Private Greenberg.
"Get your goggles on, switch to composite vision, it might be invisible," said Sergeant Eber.
"Roger that….still nothing."
"Let's get Sec Three and Sec One on the horn ASAP. Form a perimeter, I don't want it backtracking to us."

"Control, I lost the rest of my team on tac-net! Noface, Gen, Wheels, they just… disappeared!" yelled Vulture. She tromped around the Mexican plains where she had seen her team last.
"Damn it. Fingertip 2, do you have visuals on the parathreat?" replied Mission Control over the radio.
The frustrated, sweaty operative tilted her head at the parathreat.
"Door is open. I don't know when, I swear it was closed ten seconds ago and I was looking at it the whole time," said Vulture.
"Fingertip 2, do you see any signs of a CK shift or thaumaturgy?" asked Control.
"VERITAS is still dead quiet, no EVE flare-ups anywhere," said Vulture. "Should I enter the parathreat structure?"
"Fingertip 2… we have… negatory. Do not proceed. Fingertip 2, stand by for further instructions."
Vulture grunted and kicked a rock as hard as she could. She busied herself looking for clues and wondering what the hell happened.

"I think I got something solid!" said Noface. He held onto something that felt like empty air, but his fingers resisted closing all the way. The other operatives stopped their attempts to grab at thin air and turned to look at him.

"Hey! I can't… move my arm," said Private Greenberg, struggling against an unseen, unfelt grip. Only the other base guards heard him.
The others grunted in alarm and pointed their searchlights in Noface's direction.
"You know what? Prep less-lethals, I want to try something," said Sergeant Eber.

Noface felt his vision explode and he fell to the floor twitching.
Generous kneeled to inspect her spasming teammate. "Yeah, that looks like a bog-standard Class C Electrosubmissive."
"Oh my God, Noface!" said Wheels. She rushed to their downed comrade.
"Don't touch him, you'll get zapped too," said Generous. She stood up to restrain Wheels. "Remember, it's a lot safer than a civilian Taser. He'll act like it never happened in a couple of minutes. We've confirmed we're dealing with people we can't perceive in any way. I know what to do."

"Okay, that stopped whatever was grabbing you. Probably antimemetics, to keep us from noticing it. Way beyond our pay grade. All units, fall back." said Sergeant Eber. The graying, mustached soldier put his hand to his headset and followed his soldiers' retreat.
He said, "Sec Two to HQ, do you copy? Our intruder is antimemetic. I recommend we pull automated defenses in, make the perimeter airtight. How do we know? Took a blind shot with a Class C E-sub. The munition disappeared into thin air but halted the anomalous activity…. Roger that, Sec Two out."

"Ahhh!" said Noface. He stretched like a cat. "Best sleep I had in months. What happened?"
"You got tased," said Wheels. She busied herself writing on a notepad.
"Tased?!" yelled Noface.
"Class C E-sub."
"Oh. Huh, it's rather pleasant."
"Do it enough and you get memory problems. Don't get ideas." said Generous. "Okay, we're good to go?"
"Yeah. That should do it," said Wheels. She put down the paper.
"What are you guys doing?" asked Noface.
"Staying clear. Come on, let's move away from the jumpy base guards," said Generous. She watched the jeep, as if of its own accord, back up and drive away. "They're pulling out, which means we'll see reinforcements soon. MOVE IT, Noface!"
"Okay okay!" said Noface, pulling himself off the ground.

"Well, I'll be damned," said Sergeant Eber. He scanned the perimeter. His men pointed rifles in the general direction of the threat.
"Sir?" said the soldier next to him.
"HQ says drone scanners pick up three… friendlies. Right over there," said Eber. He pointed at thin air not far from their position.
"Friendlies, sir."
"Yep. But they don't show up on the drone visuals either."
"Well, that explains a lot. Should we worry, sir?"
"Just in case, let's- wait, do you see that? On the ground right there?"
"It's GOC field stationary, sir."
"Yes well, I can fucking see that, private! Move up and read it for me! All units, stay alert."
"Yes sir… It reads, 'We are friendlies, GOC Assessment Team 777 on an operation to Sonora, Mexico. We were transported here upon entering a parathreat structure. We are from dimension 2719-C.' "
Sergeant Eber growled, "Yeah, definitely beyond our pay grade. HQ, are you getting this?… Oh, that's our dimension? Thank fuck! Should we stand down?" He paused. "Roger that."
Eber turned to his soldiers. "Looks like this is a problem for specialists now. Keep a perimeter up, keep up the drones going, let's be sure our guests don't wander off."

Two days later
All Miguel Rodriguez knew for sure was that his throat hurt from shouting. One house after another was empty. Row after row, street after street, not a single human being.
House lights went on and off. Cars vanished and appeared in driveways when he looked away. Yet he had not seen another moving creature anywhere. No amount of shouting or wailing produced any response. On the phone, in houses, anywhere. The wayward environmental inspector wasn't sure where the hell he was. Ever since he had stepped foot in that stupid shack in the desert. Was this a dream? It was far too long to be a dream. He forced himself to walk through abandoned Mexican suburbs. He couldn't contemplate giving up the search for his wife and three boys. But his feet hurt, his throat hurt… he didn't know if his body would let him continue.
After so many weeks of silence, he startled and spun around when he heard voices. He rushed into the strange soldiers' arms, heedless to whether they meant to harm him. He figured either would end his nightmare.
The American woman in strange gray military armor gently pushed him away. "Hello, I believe we are looking for you. What is your name?" she said in halting Spanish.
"I'm… I'm Miguel Rodriguez. Thank God you're here! Everyone's vanished!" he replied in a hoarse voice. "You are the first person I've seen! Thank God! What the hell happened here!? Are you from the government?" He fought the urge to sob in her arms.
Wheels stammered at the rapid barrage of Spanish. She listened to a translation from her headset and cautiously addressed each of his questions.
The two other operatives hung back while Wheels handled the civilian.
"You don't speak Spanish, Gen?" asked Noface.
"Heck no," she replied.
"But you're from-" objected Noface.
"Brazil. Where we don't speak Spanish."
"No, I mean, you said you used to work on Brazil's borders. Surely you used a little Spanish?"
"I know some very simple basics. 'May I use your phone?', 'Where is the nearest town?', 'One step closer and I'll blow your fucking head off!'"
"That's a basic phrase?!" asked Noface.
"In our line of work? You better memorize and practice it," replied Generous.
Vulture interrupted over their comms. Her voice sounded distant and garbled over special memetic filters, but at least they could hear her now.
"She's right, " said Vulture's voice. "Any country, any language, that's going to be in your top ten."
"Unbelievable," said Noface.
"Less believable than an antimemetic effect that keeps you from perceiving anyone else? And vice versa," said Vulture.
"I can't say that, no. Which civilian are we even on?" said Noface.
"This guy would be the tenth of twelve. Well, the fourth we've found alive." replied Generous.
"Poor bastards."
"Yeah, this guy's lucky he didn't wander into traffic that he can't see."
"We're lucky we didn't do that," said Noface.
Generous pointed to a drone hovering over them.
"We have a bit of help. Anyways, once we get the civilians accounted for and amnesticized, then PTOLEMY will get us fixed up."
Noface sighed. "Yeah. I dunno, I'm just glad we lived through this. I want to see the parathreat blown up though."
"So do I," said Generous.
"Alright, exfil in five!" Wheels shouted to them and gave a thumbs up. Miguel sobbed in relief on her shoulder.
“Not too bad for a first mission,” said Noface.
“Could have been a lot worse,” agreed Generous.
“Can't wait to see you guys again!” said Vulture's voice.
The operatives chuckled softly and waited for pickup.

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