Pipe In Action

After what felt like an eternity of waiting that tired his very soul, they had finally finished talking with the others. Still, the information that they had found was useful: robots had seized the mine, and Mark had just one name in mind: Svarog. That name had even come up in the conversation after his realization. 

"Well, things are finally getting a tinge more interesting." 

With that in mind, they ventured ahead, only to listen in on two vagrants who were discussing about a broken lift and stealing off of the miners. That was all that Seele needed to be set off like fireworks. In an instant, she struck them on all sides with the dull side of her scythe, leaving bruises all over. 

"This should be enough of a lesson for the two of you. Never even think about stealing something again, got it?" 

They ran off, shouting and cursing, but not even daring to try and stand up to her. Behind them, a piece of foreign machinery was left on the ground. 

"What's this?" asked Mark as he picked it up. The robot made some weird noises as it seemed to boot up. 

"Beep beep. Recognizing voiceprint. Beep, beep... aliens detected." 

March chuckled. 

"Hey, it knows we're not from this planet. Where did it even come from?" 

Mark twirled it around, checking it on every side, only to find the IPC logo on it. Instantly, his mind went blurry as a sharp pain stung him through his head, like an arrow bolt stuck in his very flesh and bone. 

"Gah!" 

He dropped it to the ground, blood running down his face as he rested his arms on his knees, trying to catch his breath and calm down. Soon, they were all at his side, trying to support him and hold him up. 

"Mark, what the heck happened?" asked Stelle, her worried eyes darting over the blood that gushed out of his nose. He simply wiped it away, forcing himself to stand, despite the strong vertigo that struck. 

"Damn it, no worries..." 

He reached down slowly, trying to once more get used to the feeling of everything spinning around, and grabbed the robot that kept beeping and talking away. He pointed to the IPC logo. 

"The IPC... these guys... it's a robot from them... this piece of junk..." 

The robot spoke once more. 

"Beep, beep... you're a piece of junk." 

Mark glared at it, hand on his metal pipe for both support and sending a message. 

"Give me one good reason to not turn you into a baseball this very instant." 

The robot beeped in a panicked manner, trying to figure out something. 

"I can help you find things; that's what I do. I'm Richard, the-" 

Mark cut it off, feeling a bit better, yet the confused gazes and worried expressions from the others still lingered. 

"I don't care about the extra info. You can help us find things. Good enough." 

He handed it over to Dan Heng. 

"Here, make good use of it." 

He nodded, keeping the robot by his side for times when it would come in handy. Stelle still looked at him, her eyes not leaving, unwavering in their silent care. 

"Mark... what's wrong? You just... at the sight of the IPC logo, you just... blood gushed out, and-" 

Mark chuckled slightly, not to mock but rather to reassure and make fun of his own frail condition. 

"No worries about that, Stelle. It just happens sometimes. Get used to it. I'm fine now, so let's just head deeper into the mine." 

Seele and Bronya both regarded him with suspicious expressions, something that everyone held towards him—a hint of well-deserved suspicion for the irregularities in what he did and how he acted. Still, no one had argued with him or tried to pry the truth out of him. Nothing good would come out of it since he was as locked up as a safe when it came to his own thoughts. 

The rest of the path was empty, leaving nothing but the eerie walls of the mine to keep them company, followed by the sound of voices deep inside. 

"I think we're getting closer. Stay back," ordered Seele, quickening her step. 

Inside, a group of armed vagrants, carrying both rifles and their unusual weapons, threatened a small group of miners, talking a big game about Wildfire not being there to protect them, laughing and taunting the unarmed people. Mark scoffed silently, walking over to Bronya. 

"I'll be needing this." 

Without further discussion, he took her gun and aimed with no hesitation. The gun went neatly against his shoulder, planted firmly as he held his breath. With one deliberate motion, he aimed towards one of the guns held by the vagrants, shooting it out of their arm. The sound of Bronya's rifle firing thundered against the walls of the mine. 

"Thanks; now for the next round." 

He dropped the gun in her arms, letting her reload it. Metal pipe in arm, he used the commotion as the vagrants tried to figure things out to just smack away whatever seemed right. 

"You scoundrels, threatening the weak, boasting a big game when you're nothing but useless punks?!" 

Thud. The hit echoed as his pipe struck one of the men against the thigh, aiming specifically for spots that wouldn't kill but hurt like hell. With his other hand, he spun the upper side of the pipe and lightly struck the vagrant against the head, just enough to further confuse him. With the last move, he grabbed the gun out of his hand and quickly fired another shot at the other armed man, the gun flying out of his arms like the first. It was as if time stood still while he took action, which surprised even him to some extent. 

"I can't stand pieces of shit like you, not even bothering to work a day in their life, talk shit, and act high and mighty because you have guns on you. Sure, now what? You're out of fancy rifles; are you going to try and come at me like this? Fucking try, I dare all of you." 

They grabbed their weapons, but in that moment, the rest of the group came closer, causing the vagrants to back down and shrivel slightly at the sight. 

"I didn't expect you to have that much backbone," said Seele, a tiny smile on her face as she looked up at him, the rifle still in his arms pointed to the ground as the metal pipe rested against his side. 

"Yeah, I sort of just... acted out without thinking. I might have endangered all of you, so sorry for that." 

She chuckled, lightly tapping him on the back. 

"No worries about that; I'm just glad we got these thugs in here handled." 

She spoke up, pointing her weapon at them. 

"Listen up, all of you. You better stop and never try this again, or next time..." 

She let her words linger, a wordless threat that they could fill in themselves. Without the need for more, they dashed off, screaming like a bunch of kids. Mark sighed, putting the rifle down. 

"Usually, I would have been all for keeping this weapon, and yet... I don't want no damn gun, at least for now." 

Seele made sure to check up on the miners, apparently knowing just about everyone they had met. Mark simply lingered to the back, thinking as they kept chatting. 

"So, Svarog is here with the robots. I can slowly recall a scene where they argued with him, and it all ended in a battle to show that they're strong. Maybe I could persuade him. But how? Well, a robot is a logical being, especially one like Svarog. I could perhaps talk about variables that were unaccounted for and see where it goes. Alas, I need to figure it out on the fly most of the time." 

Before he could finish thinking about a plan, the group was already focused on departing once more. Mark had grown tired of those random stops on the road, and yet they were needed. Just when he thought they'd reach the inner part, a broken-down minecart blocked their path. 

"Ah, the path is blocked," said March, pretty frustrated herself. "Can't we just blow it up?" 

Mark chuckled, simply walking closer. He threw his metal pipe over the cart and whatever else had stuck there with it, then slid his sword over and finally jumped over it himself. It held on pretty securely. 

"Come on, no time to waste. Dan Heng, that tiny robot finder would have been handy now if we tried to fix it; alas, it's too much work and we don't have the time. Leave it here and let us depart." 

With that, the others followed, jumping over just like he had done. Meanwhile, he neatly placed his sword back, and Seele couldn't help but notice it. 

"Why do you even carry a sword on your back if you're not even using it?" 

Mark shrugged. 

"It could come in handy. Rather have one and not need it than not have one and need it." 

He made a valid point, as odd as it was, yet he had vision for the unforeseen future and whatever it could bring. The cracks in his mind were slowly being filled in here and there as time went on, and yet a lot of things were still a haze. 

"Come on, let's keep going. I'm pretty sure that nothing too nice awaits us deeper." 

March whined as she looked up ahead, watching as a large robot, twice her size, walked in from behind a corner, its right arm a large chainsaw that rattled as it walked closer. 

"Oh, Mark, you big-mouthed oaf. You jinxed it."