Playground

An hour had passed. Setzen had led the group through a sizable chunk of the illusionary land on their way to the sanctuary of operations. During the brief journey, quite a bit more was revealed about the world through the environment.

Countless different species of animals lived here, though all were mechanical looking much like the Organic Machines. Setzen mentioned that these animals had flesh and organs as well, and were used by the OMs as a food source. Oftentimes however, some animals were also kept as either pets, or trained to assist with combat.

There were a number of larger scale, but abandoned locations sprinkled throughout the land. The group passed by several of them. These locations seemed to have been constructed by entities that no longer exist. Gigantic, outdoor hospitals, restaurants, museums, theme parks, and even what appeared to be sports venues are among the places they identified. All places that Setzen explained are far too advanced for the current Organic Machines to be responsible for. The locations themselves were not only gigantic, but everything within them was scaled to a massive size.

Eventually, they arrived at an abandoned, outdoor playground that was upscaled in size much like the other abandoned locations. Though it had not been constructed by the present day Organic Machines, its size indicated that the entities responsible for its creation were also some sort of humungous, intelligent life form.

Standing in several different positions and areas throughout the humungous playground were dozens of Organic Machines. Some were different colors, had unique features, carried staffs with distinctive designs, and so on.

All around the place, the OMs had set up open spaces for combat practice, areas for gutting animals and preparing meals, sleeping quarters, and a collection of massive boards where they wrote down and discussed plans for improving the base, or preparing for attacks.

Lastly, in the center of the playground, rested a small key. This key was heavily guarded by a large group of OM's. Ten of them. There were also an excessive number of defensive focused spells casted around the key.

Noda examined the area as they walked through the base. "So Setzen, you said you'd help us talk with these things. I think now's a great time to explain it before one of 'em says hello."

Within a split second, Setzen briefly pushed his palm against the chests of Setsuna, Noda, and Esten. "There you go. Would you like the Colossal Soarers to also be capable of hearing what the OMs are saying?"

"Yeah. After you explain what the fuck you just did."

Setzen stopped, and turned around to face the Elite and Winged Warriors. "Heh heh. Yes of course, I was only kidding around when doing it so quickly without explanation. You see... if you've noticed my blade, it is made out of a transparent substance. Earlier, if you were paying close enough attention, you would have seen I was also able to have it fade away into thin air. That is because the substance you're seeing is drawn out and created from my own soul. The ability I possess is complete manipulation over many things related to the soul. Due to this, I'm able to connect the souls of different individuals together for countless purposes. One of those purposes being for communication. I simply joined your souls together with the OMs partially, so that you're able to understand what they're saying, regardless of if you truly know the language they're speaking. It may be an ability I've had for many years at this point, but I must admit I still do enjoy explaining it."

"What..?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "That would mean these Organic Machines possess souls despite being mere illusions. Quite honestly, that leads me to question whether or not this really is nothing more than a simple illusion."

Hugging her arms together against her body in a relaxed position, Esten said. "Is it not possible for the smiles to have created artificial souls? They are able to not only simulate, but can truly recreate physical contact. Satisfying hunger and thirst, training the body, and every aspect of maintaining life that is present within the real world is also likely possible here. I do not think it is that far fetched to believe having souls within the fabricated inhabitants is something they were also capable of flawlessly simulating."

"That certainly is a fair point, but I'd bet the recreation of something such as one's soul itself would be a near impossibility, unless we're dealing with some of the most advanced magic in history." Responded Setsuna. "Rune would often discuss details regarding ancient Oblivianan magic, and no individual from back then would even be capable of something like that. Am I right, Setzen? You're the expert concerning souls."

"Yes, replicating a soul would require some truly precise magic. But you must remember we're here on the Blackened Archipelago because it's presented to us a threat unlike anything else we've dealt with before. I wouldn't be surprised if these smiles could in fact replicate souls." Setzen's expression briefly shifted to one of concern. "But anyway, my friends, we must move quickly albeit carefully so that we may defeat the chieftain before the others are left to battle this smile queen on their own. I would like to start discussing our plan of action together with you and the Organic Machines as soon as possible."

Following Setzen's statement, an OM who was lugging around a giant, strangely shaped container filled with some sort of juice approached. It lifted the juice, and began pouring some into its mouth. Much of the liquid missed and flowed down the OM's body, which was far more obese looking than the others. Once it had finished its drink, it eyed the Elite and Winged Warriors, then speaking. "Brought over more of your species to help us out with the invasion, eh Setzen? Bah hah hah! Well hey, the more help the merrier! Glad to have more determined comrades who're willing to put their lives on the line for our sake. Even the weird bug looking ones."

"Eh... well yes of course Belfume. These individuals are from a powerful group known as the Legion of Elite. They help protect the far away land in which I'm from. But you see, they only know of the basics regarding our situation here. I brought them along to help with the battle, but also so that we may discuss our plan of action with them." Explained Setzen.

"Oh yeah? Is that so? Well, you can leave it to me. I'll fill them in on the whole damn plan real quick so that tomorrow, we can get down to business without any confusion or wasted time." Belfume took another massive swig from his juice, before roughly sitting upon the ground, continuing. "Alright you guys, I'm going to guess Setzen told you all about our old, bastard of a chief. The son of a bitch made the choice to put himself and his own power above all of our people. The damn slimy snake! I wish I could kill him myself!! But, that's not how the plan's structured. I hate to admit it, but I'd stand no chance of killing him on my own either way. The power he's gathered after all these months of sacrifice is damn insane! This plan we've got though... hah, even the chief is screwed when put up against it."

Belfume then swung his massive arm at an angle, pointing to the heavily protected key. "See that key over there? You're probably wondering why the hell we're putting so much effort toward guarding the thing. Well, that key is a weapon of legend. One that took us one hell of a journey to obtain. For the past two months, all of us have been traveling across the globe to obtain all sorts of relics said to produce that key when brought together. Once we found them all, they were officially assembled together in order to form it. Two months might not seem like it's a crazy amount of time, but depending on what you do, two months can almost seem like two years. I'll spare anymore unnecessary details though. The point of this is, that the key we acquired... is key to defeating the chief. According to the legend, it's capable of deforming the body of someone into a completely random object, crushing, breaking, and killing them in the process. All you've gotta do is stab the key into your opponent, and twist it. Just like you'd do with the key to a door. The plan is to secretly make use of this powerful little weapon. We'll distract the bastard chief, while Setzen here uses his crazy speed to sneak around, and plunge the key into his body, which'll of course end his life with only one attack."

Belfume switched his pointing arm to face toward the Elite. "You guys can help out with the distraction. We don't want anyone to draw attention to Setzen. It's a pretty basic plan, but it's all we need when we have a weapon so damn strong that it can take the chieftain down in one blow." Going to take one more sip of his juice, only a few drops leaked from Belfume's container. "Bah, what the hell!? Gone already?? Damn this pipsqueak of a bottle!"

"The plan most certainly is incredibly simple." Stated Setsuna. "But with the information you've presented to us, I would agree that something more complex isn't necessary. And you're confident the chieftain won't be expecting this sort of attack?"

Standing back up, Belfume responded. "Hell no he won't be. Even if he considered the possibility of us forming the legendary key, he won't think there's any chance that we assembled it this fast. All the cards are on our side of the table. The only thing that's left to do is successfully execute the plan tomorrow."

"Yes, that is correct indeed. I very much am looking forward to avenging our families and children. The Chief will never see it coming. I cannot wait to see the look on his face as his body bends and breaks." Said another OM, who had approached to join in on the conversation. It was the same OM from the battle earlier. "But we must wait until the sun next rises. For tonight, I suggest everyone gets their rest. Setzen, I partially overheard your discussions and am aware your friends are in a rush for some reason. Though I was unable to understand them at the time, I got the gist of things based on some things you said. However, as you heard we've decided we will not attack until daybreak. This is not something we are able to rush. So please wait with us a bit longer."

Setzen scratched his head and raised an eyebrow. "Well it's not like arguing will help. My friends here really need to move quickly, but I suppose some things in life don't go as smoothly as you may hope. Though on a positive note, I at the very least do believe they're in desperate need of some rest."

"We haven't gone to sleep since a few hours before taking on the big ass group of Soarers that was in the Desert of the Fallen." Noda said, jumping in. "So it's been almost a day. If it's the only option we've got then yeah, I guess we'll wait it out until the morning, and take advantage of the opportunity to finally get some fuckin' rest in."

The OM from the earlier battle warmly smiled, and nodded his head. "That is great to hear. I am happy our decision has not angered or inconvenienced you all too much. In any case, if you don't mind, I could show you all to an area in which I believe people of your size will find comfort within. You see, our usual sleeping quarters are of course far too large for your kind."

"Are you calling them little squirts Kaida? Hah, I didn't know you could be so belittling." Chuckled Belfume.

Eye's widening, Kaida responded. "Of course that is not what I mean! Well-... they are small in size, but it is not my intention to address the fact in a rude way like you've just done. These 'little squirts' are incredibly strong, and Setzen is above even our own level of power. Never would I direct disrespect their way."

"Yeah yeah, I know that. I'm just joking around with you. Now go on and show them to the spot you had in mind already. If they haven't slept in a damn day, then they're gonna want to get as much rest as they can while they have the chance."

"Ah. Well, of course. We will get to it then. Right this way everyone."

The Elite and Winged Warriors were led to a tunnel that was higher up on the playground. This tunnel was too small for any OM's to stand within, however they were still able to fit inside by crawling. Kaida requested for everyone to wait outside as he crawled into the tunnel to set things up. Once he finished doing so, he re-emerged from the tunnel, standing back upright and speaking. "Alright. I have used many miscellaneous objects of ours that I believe can make for good beds, tables, seats, among other things for people of your size. It is my apologies that we do not have more conventional versions of these items for you to use, but we did not know of your kind until meeting Setzen. Hopefully this will be manageable for now."

"As long as you have not decided to use anything disgusting, it will be fine for this one night." Esten answered.

"I am glad. Well then, I will get going sooner rather than later. I would not want to take away time from what sounds like a rare opportunity for you to rest. Take care, and we will meet with you in the morning." With that, Kaida left.

Only Setzen remained with them. "Let's hope our other friends ran into similar situations to this in their own pathways." He said. "Not that I'm wanting them to be in danger, but having them escape before us would be even more dangerous with this town of the smiles on the other end. But, we must not worry about that too much for the time being. Escaping our own pathway alive is what needs to be the priority. So please rest up my comrades, so you are completely fresh for our battle tomorrow. It will be quite a tough one."

Everyone gestured to him indicating they understood. Setzen then left as well, leaving the Elite and Winged Warriors in front of the tunnel. After a brief moment, they all entered.

Once everyone was inside, Noda sat upon a pile of feathers. "Alright. It's time for us all to talk some shit over."

"Shit' such as?" Esten asked. She sat on a log, crossing her legs.

"Shit such as what we're gonna do during this big ass fight we have tomorrow. You saw those fuckin' things battle earlier. The enemy OM took on every Winged Warrior at the same time. We're not gonna be able to fight against any of the Chief's army or whatever you wanna call it alone. I was thinkin' that we could make sure to only engage an enemy if one of the OM's from our side is fighting it already. We'll stay safe without running away from a fight, by only aiding and assisting the creatures who are on their level."

"I agree with your suggestion. Picking a fight one on one would be suicide." Said Setsuna. He mulled over what he had just said for a moment. "As tiresome as it may be, being inferior to our opponents is slowly becoming the norm. I cannot stress enough how much I'm looking forward to the moment we're finally able to mutate ourselves and become true offensive threats again."

Noda nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it'll be satisfying as shit. I've been thinkin' about just how hard I'll be able to punch if my strength is really boosted far above the level it's already at. There's a chance I'll have the raw power to wipe out entire cities with one strike. There's even a possibility that we'll get entire new abilities. But, we've still gotta be sure we actually make it to that point. So let's not distract ourselves with shit we're not ready for."

"On a rare occasion, you are correct Noda. I recommend we remain on the topic of tomorrow's upcoming battle. Though I do not believe there is much else to discuss. Our responsibilities are simple. We must distract the greedy chieftain, while acting cautiously so we do not die." Said Esten.

"Our responsibilities are simple until we get thrown a fuckin' curve ball. We've gotta figure out what we'll do if things don't go according to plan. For example, what happens if Setzen gets himself killed before he can use the key?" Proposed Noda.

Esten closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Obviously if that were to occur, we would need to run away."

"No." Setsuna jumped in. "Setzen and the rebel Organic Machines are the only entities within this pathway who give us any sort of fighting chance against this chief. Upon the disastrous event that Setzen falls, it would be necessary for one of us to take his place, using our small size to sneak around and attempt to use the key they've mentioned."

"That is the sort of moronic plan Resk would suggest." Responded Esten. "Clearly if Setzen is defeated, the enemy will become aware that the fabled key has been assembled, and will either take it for themselves, or be on the lookout for other tiny people like us who may have managed to retrieve it from his corpse. Even if we were to not factor that in, Setzen's death would indicate that even someone of his speed was unable to successfully sneak up on the chief."

"Then what would you suggest we do after running away from the most powerful allies available to us?" Questioned Setsuna. "As I stated earlier, a one on one battle would be suicide. And based on what Setzen told us, there aren't any other forces here remotely close to the Organic Machines. These OMs are clearly the primary, dominant species here. Like it or not, if they were to fall, we'd have no choice but to go down with them. There's no room or opportunity for a second try."

Esten opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on Setsuna. "There is opportunity for a second try. Deciding to join the Organic Machines for their demise due to the lack of another reliable form of assistance is beyond stupid and is a Resk level plan. Though even he at least would not accept inevitable death."

"I asked what you would suggest we do after fleeing then, Esten? Surely your plan isn't to remain here permanently, or spend time planning a counter attack on our own, or with some of the mechanical animals here?"

"What we do after escaping such a grim scenario is something we can assess if the situation presents itself." She replied.

"So in other words, you have no idea, and intend on blindly betting on the chance that there are other powerful entities here who just so happened to slip under the radar."

"Of course I have no idea of any sort of specific, detailed plan of action for what we may do following the hypothetical death of Setzen!! We are currently inside of a completely unknown world, that has entirely unique creatures, powers, rules, and so on!! I am not aware of the extent of our options, and neither are you!!! Do you honestly expect me to have an answer while having such little knowledge of the place we are within??! Your preference for if Setzen perishes is to remain with the OMs or attempt to assist them against an opponent, who is far and away stronger than the Colossal Soarers, which are entities we came here in the first place to figure out how to defeat!! You even stated that we must fall and die in the event that the same happens to the Organic Machines! How god damn dumb can you be?? Are you possibly only an illusion of Setsuna created by the smiles for this world?? I have never heard you suggest a plan that is so terrible!" Esten suddenly snapped. She had stood up, and was panting.

Setsuna slowly stood up as well, walked over to Esten, and roughly placed a hand upon her shoulder. "I'm not an illusion. What I'm doing... is being realistic about things." His voice gradually rose. "If we abandon the Organic Machines simply due to a single individual's death, then that is what could truly lead to our demise! If there was another species capable of helping us with this battle, Setzen would have likely encountered them already!! Hoping he somehow just happened to miss such a drastic-..."

Noda abruptly cut him off, bashing a fist across his cheek. Setsuna broke through the wall of the tunnel, harshly slamming against and tumbling across the ground below.

Noda then slowly turned toward Esten, shaking. "...did he hurt... your shoulder?"

Opening her mouth, Esten struggled to say something. She let a tear slip down her cheek, and decided to simply shake her head no.

Pushing his palms into the dirt to lift his body, Setsuna gradually rose to his feet. Upon regaining his awareness, he was greeted with a number of deceased Organic Machine corpses before he could process what had occurred with Noda.

Nearby, the OMs were all yelling to each other, while raising up a variety of defenses in a panic.

Noda and Esten also noticed this through the hole that had been created in the wall of the tunnel.

"What is-.." Began Setsuna, before being cut off again.

Out of nowhere, hundreds of thousands of huge, razor sharp tribal feathers appeared, completely surrounding the entire base. A split second later, every single one of them rocketed toward the base, closing in on the location itself and everyone within.

With no time to spare, Setsuna just barely was able to remove his glasses and quickly let out a call with his voice. Countless objects inside of the base rose upward, blocking all of the lethal tribal feathers.

Some feathers ricocheted off of the objects, others shifted course and avoided injuring anyone, while a few were simply stopped dead in their tracks once making contact.

Collapsing to a knee, Setsuna began throwing up a considerable amount of blood. The number of objects he needed to awaken in order to block every single feather took a heavy toll on his body.

From a great distance away, it could be seen that a colossal sized Organic Machine was approaching. One that was far larger than the rest. It was colored a gorgeous, shimmering gold. Several areas of its body was attached with the severed heads of deceased Organic Machines. Its body was also geared with many weapons, tools, and objects not possessed by any other OMs.

It was the Chieftain.

Four other similarly sized OMs walked alongside the Chief. Surrounding them all, was a massive army of regular Organic Machines.

They had found the base.