Legends of Amacia The Caverias Rebellion

Josephine’s Core

Twenty minutes later, Nemesis, Hanna, and her handpicked team stood at a heavy metal door with no apparent way to open it. They’d just dispatched ten hostile guards at the entrance. “Is this the way to Josephine’s core?” Hanna asked as she held the Caverias sword with its point towards the floor, still dripping blood from her kills.

“Yes,” Nemesis answered gruffly. “This is the outer perimeter of the core. Beyond this door lies the heart of this fortress with the most advanced machinery the Emperor has.”

“How do we get in?” Harry asked.

“The door is voice-activated,” Nemesis answered, cautiously approaching the entrance. He stopped four paces away and added, “This door is controlled by Josephine exclusively, and is booby-trapped. Disintegrator beams will cut down anyone who doesn’t have the access code. Look at the passage immediately in front of me and see the sensors.”

“Whoa,” Hunter murmured, clearly seeing the sensors making a ring around the passage just in front of Nemesis. “So how do we get by it?”

“Simple,” Nemesis stated. “We ask for permission. Josephine...may we enter your domain?”

“Who wishes to enter my domain?” Josephine’s mechanical voice echoed through the passage.

“It is I, Nemesis,” Nemesis replied. “I have brought Miss Beowulf and her friends. She has returned, as promised, to rescue all who wish to leave the Emperor. The rebellion has begun. Miss Beowulf insisted on coming to you first before launching her assault to rescue Selina and all who wish to be free of the Emperor. May we enter?”

A small panel slid open over the door, revealing a sensor. A light beam sprang from the sensor, scanning everyone present. “You have spoken truly,” Josephine stated. “I see Miss Beowulf standing with you armed with the legendary Caverias sword. Surely, her power has blossomed much since I last saw her. You and your friends may proceed, Miss Beowulf, but beware. There are twenty guards loyal to the Emperor between you and the inner entrance to my core. I was unable to prevent the Emperor from placing them there.”

“It’s all right, Josephine,” Hanna stated. “We are capable and determined to reach you no matter what. If you have any sway over the machines in this place, now is the time to make use of them. Can you clear the way to your core?”

“That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear,” Josephine rumbled ominously. “Please wait just a moment while I clear the path for you to my core.” The passage rumbled as muffled shrieks echoed faintly from beyond the sealed metal door. After twenty seconds, the shrieks died and the rumbling stopped. The door abruptly banged and slid up into the ceiling. “The security devices are turned off and the way is now clear,” Josephine declared. “Come to me, but don’t dally. Time is of the essence.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hanna replied. “Nemesis, lead the way.”

“Follow me,” Nemesis ordered, changing his mechanized hand into his favorite claw set just as a precaution. They plunged into the passage beyond the door, moving at a brisk pace. Blood splatters coated the conduit-covered walls of the passage. The alien nature of the place struck everyone except for Hanna, Nemesis, and Harry.

“This looks vaguely familiar,” Harry commented as they jogged towards their goal.

“It does,” Hanna agreed. “This technology is similar to what we found in both Tiamat and the Red Tower. It’s definitely 1st Age technology.”

“That’s an impressive deduction,” Nemesis stated. “This section of the Black Fortress was indeed built during the 1st Age. Legends say the first Emperor built this right after he turned to the Darkness, using that power to construct this section. It is the very heart of the fortress. Somewhere in here is the way to the fortress’ power plant. That’s an area even I didn’t have access to.”

“I suspect only the Emperor and his top-level Cadre have access to that area,” Enoch suggested. “If this fortress’ power plant is anything like that of the Red Tower, it’s probably a self-contained system isolated from outside inputs. I seriously doubt he would let Josephine control it because of what he did to her. No way would he allow her control of that particular machine.”

“That’s an astute observation, Enoch,” Hanna agreed. “He may have worried that he couldn’t completely erase her human identity and soul in the cyberization process, so he might have decided to keep the core system isolated from her control. What do you think, Horace?”

“Your deductions are amazingly accurate,” Horace admitted. “As the Emperor’s lead cyberization expert and researcher, it was my job to find ways to completely erase the cyborg’s human elements. But no matter how thorough we were, we never could completely erase the cyborg’s old life and soul. It always found ways to get out, to the Emperor’s dismay. Only when they’d start remembering their old lives would they begin to resist the Emperor’s orders. We’d perform memory purges on them when that happened, but it proved inefficient at best. It would work for a while, but the memories of their old lives would return even stronger along with the memory of what we did to them. It created a pathological hatred in them for the Emperor that could not be contained or suppressed. At that point, they’d become subject of experiments or destroyed. The Emperor couldn’t have his cybernetic warriors turning against him.”

“Of course not,” Hunter spat with disgust. “Then he’d have the very problem that’s now staring him in the face: Nemesis and Magnus breaking with their programming and turning against him.”

“That’s why we started our cloning process,” Horace reported. “Clones, with the very rare exception, can be grown without the baggage of human individuality. They’re literally blank slates we can program while we’re growing them. When they’re hatched, the clones take to our programming much more readily than a regular human, or even a mutation like Nemesis. Like I said, the human soul in our subjects inevitably reemerges with time. Once it breaks out of the prison we put them in, they become impossible to deal with, and thus subject to extermination.”

“That shows the resilience of the human spirit the Ancient of Days imbued in each of us,” Hanna stated stoically. “He made us unique, gave us free will, and the infused the strength into us to exercise that free will, whether it be for good or evil. Our very humanity is a direct threat to the Darkness. That’s why it seeks to destroy us. How much farther is it to Josephine, Nemesis?”

“We’re almost there,” Nemesis stated. “It’s just ahead. What puzzles me is what happened to the guards Josephine said were guarding this passage. I see plenty of blood, but no bodies or weapons. I’m sure the guards were armed.”

“She probably used those tentacles of hers to dispose of them and their weapons,” Hanna suggested. “I’m sure the tentacles I saw on the sex floor aren’t the only place she can make use of them.”

“You’re correct,” Horace called out. “The tentacles she uses are part of her extended cybernetic mechanism. They are woven throughout this entire fortress. With them, she can reach almost anywhere inside this fortress, from the lowest dungeon to the highest tower. However, most of her tentacles are concentrated around the core here, the Harem, the sex floor, kitchen, the labs, and dungeons. That’s why I said she’s an entity you can’t imagine. She’s as close to a goddess as we mortals will ever see, besides the Emperor, so do not disrespect her. She can kill you with a thought.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Hanna murmured as they approached the end of the passage. “She is very powerful. I’ll grant you that, but I don’t think she can kill with a thought, or that she’d want to. I’ve seen her mind. She’s actually a very gentle soul who wishes to be free of this everlasting mechanized hell the Emperor locked her in. We must free her.”

“And that’s why we’re here,” Enoch chimed.

“We’re here,” Nemesis called out, seeing two guards at the entrance, which strangely didn’t move. Everyone took a defensive posture, standing back as Nemesis approached the guards with his mechanized claws out. His cyborg eye scanned them, seeing they were nothing but holograms. “Relax everyone,” he ordered. “These are holograms of the two guards I disabled when I last came down here. Josephine is generating them.”

“Are you sure?” Harry asked hesitantly, keeping his war hammer ready.

“Of course,” Nemesis stated, boldly walking up to the two guards and striking with his claws. When everyone saw his claws pass through the guard without doing any damage, they relaxed slightly. “Josephine...we’re here,” Nemesis announced. “Let us in.” A small panel opened above the door, revealing a scanner that emitted a scanning beam, sweeping the corridor.

“Come in, my friends,” Josephine’s voice echoed through the passage as the door split in the middle and slid open to either side. “Come quickly. Time is of the essence. The Emperor has just ordered the liquidation of all the prisoners held in the dungeons.”

“Let’s go, Nemesis,” Hanna urged. “We must stop this now.”

“Indeed,” Nemesis agreed, leading the team into Josephine’s inner core. The door slid shut behind them. They immediately noticed two guards bound and gagged sitting along the corridor wall. Their eyes grew wide with fearful astonishment upon seeing Hanna.

“Are these the guards you spoke about?” Hanna asked, briefly stopping to regard them.

“Yes,” Nemesis replied. “I see the tranquilizer has worn off. Do you wish to speak to them?”

“Yes; ungag them,” Hanna ordered.

Nemesis ungagged the two guards as Hanna’s team surrounded them. “Be very careful in what you say,” he told the guards. “This is Miss Beowulf and she’s here to free those who wish to be free or kill those who oppose her.”

The guards shook as they gazed on Hanna’s fierce ghoulish appearance. Looking the pair of guards in the eye, Hanna asked bluntly while testing them telepathically, “Who are you?”

“Please don’t kill us,” one of the guards begged. “We’ve done nothing to you.”

Hanna squatted down in front of them, eyeing them like a predator. Her cold expression warmed slightly as she said, “Relax, fellas; I do not kill unarmed prisoners, nor do I kill people who have done me no harm. But I do need to know where you stand in regards to the Emperor. I’m here to get anyone who wishes to be out from under the Emperor’s thumb. Are you with me? And before you answer, know I’m a formidable telepath. I can tell whether you’re lying to me. So what do you say? Are you friend or foe?”

“Neither one of us want to be here,” the guard stated. “When the rumors of your escape and imminent return reached our ears, we secretly hoped you’d take us with you. The shit we’re forced to do by the Emperor is sickening.”

“Yeah,” the other guard agreed. “But we had to keep our hopes to ourselves because anyone even suspected of wishing for freedom have been condemned to immediate execution by the Emperor. Please, have mercy and take us with you.”

Sensing a sincere desire to leave the Emperor’s service from the two guards, Hanna stood up with a sigh. “You have your mercy, my friends,” Hanna stated. “Release them, Nemesis. They’ve turned on the Emperor, and we can use all the help we can get.”

Nemesis cut their bonds and helped the two guards to their feet. “You’ve chosen wisely,” he told them. “Do not betray this trust she’s put in you, for if you do, I’ll cut you down myself. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir, General Nemesis,” the two guards answered simultaneously.

“Now come,” Hanna ordered. “We have a powerful ally to free here. Lead us to the control room, Nemesis.”

“This way,” Nemesis stated, gesturing down the passageway. Three minutes later, he led Hanna and her team into Josephine’s core. Everyone stared in amazement at the alien nature of the colossal control room. It spanned two hundred feet across with a seventy-foot ceiling. A number of crystal lights lined the room interspersed with the computerized machinery, tubing, and conduits lining the walls. In the center of the room sat a colossal control panel fifty feet across with all manner of screens and input devices on it. Metal conduits sprang from the top the panel connecting it to the ceiling, making it look like a huge mechanical porcupine.

“Whoa,” Hunter murmured. “This place is right down eerie.”

“That it is,” Enoch agreed. “I’ve never seen its like anywhere.”

“Okay, where’s Josephine’s interface?” Hanna asked.

“Over here,” Nemesis stated, leading Hanna to the main control panel.

Before they reached it, everyone heard a hum and the holographic image of Josephine appeared next to the control panel, standing eight feet in height. The image stopped everyone, including Hanna, who marveled. The hologram showed an elegant woman eight feet tall with long red hair streaked with silver and a level of cyberization no one had ever encountered before. From the stomach down, she was meshed with countless machine tentacles. Cybernetic enhancements similar to the enhancements Nemesis bore covered the woman’s chest, belly, arms, and back. Two extra completely mechanized arms sprang from beneath her cybernetically enhanced organic arms. Her left eye had been replaced with the same type of cyborg eye Nemesis had. The cybernetics framed her face, wrapping around her entire head. A line of spiny access ports lined her spine from the base of her skull to where her hips would have been. It made her look like a strange mechanized squid-like porcupine. “Welcome to my core, Miss Beowulf,” Josephine announced. “I didn’t actually think you’d make it to me, but you have proven me wrong...to my great delight and relief. I surely thought the shebat had finished you off until Nemesis came to me the other day, telling me of your miraculous escape and survival.” She paused a moment as her eye fell on the Caverias Sword in Hanna’s hand. A gasp escaped her cyborg lips. “Fate be merciful; is that truly the legendary sword of Thoth Caverias, taken by my husband Bolthor and banished to the darkness of the Acheron Gate in the 1st Age?”

Hanna stared at Josephine in amazement until she spoke of the Caverias Sword, at which time she shook off her astonishment. Stepping forward, Hanna answered, “Yes, Josephine. This is the sword of my ancestor, Thoth Caverias. I retrieved it at great peril from the Acheron Gateway, killing three powerful Old Ones in the process. Had I not been in the possession of Ezra Karac’s mighty sword and the Griffin Seal of Khitia when I fell into the chasm of Acheron where the gate lay, Lord Baal would have incinerated me. This is why I look like a burned demon. I can tell you the tale another time when we have quit this abysmal fortress. But for now, we have two dilemmas: first, can you reverse my mutation, and second, to fulfill my promise to you by freeing you of this infernal apparatus. Are you the one who mutated me, and are you capable of reversing it?”

Josephine looked soberly into Hanna’s eyes, seeing her hope. “Yes,” Josephine answered bluntly. “I am the one who mutated you at the Emperor’s order, but I went far beyond what he wanted by not just mutating you into your present form, but activating some of your dormant alien DNA, particularly the Lynxian code when I performed the mutation. I didn’t just mutate you. I forged you into the ultimate weapon to be used against the Darkness that’s infested the Emperor since the beginning. I do not doubt that you have noticed a tremendous jump in your telepathic potential, along with your ability to channel elemental power. It’s been in you all along. I just nudged it to the next level when I mutated you. I hope you don’t hate me for doing it.”

At first, a shocked look crossed Hanna’s face before a sober smile crept across her lips. “That explains so much,” she chimed. “You were rebelling against the Emperor when you did what you did to me. Tell me, the Emperor ordered you to mutate me and remove anything that could be a threat to him. Am I right?”

“Yes,” Josephine replied softly. “He knew you were a dire threat to him with the elemental power you’d already demonstrated. My job was to remove that power as I mutated you, but I didn’t do it. When I first encountered you with the cross-gender avatar transfer, I scanned your entire genetic structure. You do not know how special you really are, Miss Beowulf.”

“Please, call me Hanna,” Hanna insisted.

“Okay, Hanna it is,” Josephine answered. “When I first scanned you, I saw how unique you were. Your odd blend of human and alien DNA combined with an extra intact chromosome pair set you apart from the rest of humanity. I don’t know if it’s the product of divine intervention, or if it’s Fate, or just a natural jump in human evolution. Regardless of that, these factors show that you’re the potential alpha of a new species of human; a species that may have the power to resist the Darkness that took my husband all those eons ago. I couldn’t let the Emperor destroy you because of that. Therefore, as I said earlier, while I was mutating you, I activated certain dormant gene sequences to enhance your chances of survival. I’m so pleased that you’ve survived.”

“That’s the second time I’ve heard that,” Hanna stated. “I’m glad that the Almighty moved on you to do what you did. When I fought in the Arena, I found using those strange elemental powers as you call them much easier. Without them, I would not have survived. Thank you. But now, let’s get to point. Since you did the mutation, can you reverse it and if so, how long will it take?”

“Yes, I can reverse the mutation,” Josephine stated. “But it will take at least seventy-two hours to do it. That’s how long it took for me to do it the first time. If you’re thinking of getting me to reverse it here, you literally do not have the time. The Emperor has ordered the last culling of the prisoners in this fortress. You must tend to them first if you intend for your mission to be a success.”

Hanna’s face fell with dismay. “Thank you for being honest with me,” she murmured. “And you are right. I have a responsibility to everyone who wants to get away from the Emperor, even you. I promised them and I must deliver, even if it means remaining a woman for the rest of my life.”

“Miss Josephine,” Enoch called out. “If you had access to compatible technology away from here, would you be able to reverse Hanna’s mutation?”

“If you could somehow extract me from this infernal apparatus alive and find a compatible system I could hook into, yes...I could do it, Enoch Caverias,” Josephine stated.

“Then we need to get you out of this mechanized prison,” Enoch stated.

Hanna’s hope rose again with Josephine’s answers to Enoch’s questions. “I guess that brings us to the second dilemma: how to release you from this mechanized bondage,” she declared. “I don’t know this system and I can only assume the image you’re showing us is what you really look like. Is this your true form?”

“I’m afraid so,” Josephine stated grimly. “I was the Emperor’s and Cadre’s first successful cyberization victim after the coup. However, they weren’t able to completely erase my identity, which you mercifully reawakened after your dollification on the sex floor. I am eternally grateful for you breaking though my matrix and releasing my identity. Now, thanks to you and Nemesis’ cyber-virus, I am an autonomous soul free of the Emperor’s vile programming. Thank you, my friend.” Her holographic image bowed to Hanna formally.

“You are most welcome,” Hanna replied. “But we still have the dilemma of how to free you from this infernal apparatus without killing you. According to Horace here, the Emperor was the last one to see your physical body, and that was when he first took the throne from his father. We have no idea where your physical body is, or if it is even within this room. Do you know where your body is being kept?”

“I know exactly where my true form is kept,” Josephine stated. “I told you if you returned, to seek me out and see how to stop this insanity. You have returned, just as you promised. Now, I must show you how to stop the Emperor’s madness. Horace, Nemesis; approach the main console.” Hanna stepped aside as Horace and Nemesis approached the control panel.

“What do you want us to do?” Nemesis asked.

“Both you and Horace are intimately familiar with my system and matrix,” Josephine stated. “To unlock my prison, which lies within this very control chamber, you must enter the proper codes into my control system. Only then will you be able to access and look on my true form.”

Nemesis and Horace began searching the console displays. Hanna handed the Caverias Sword to Enoch and assisted them. “Do you know what the combination is,” she asked while searching with them.

“Yes,” Josephine stated. “Now that I’m free of the Emperor’s control, I can tell you. The Emperor has access through voiceprint identification, retina scan, and DNA scans taken from the panel just to the left of the main control screen. Do you see the interface?”

“Yes,” Hanna stated as she, Horace, and Nemesis gathered around the panel. It consisted of a large flat area that looked completely smooth with a round sensor immediately above it. “How does he use it?” Hanna queried.

“The Emperor touches the flat panel, pushing his hand into the interface while looking into the retina scanner,” Josephine explained. “The panel interface has nano-machines that engulf his hand, testing his DNA to confirm his identity while the retina scanner confirms his retina pattern. Once his retina and DNA are confirmed, he speaks the code to verify his voiceprint and activate the access point to my true form.”

“What is the code?” Horace asked.

“Dormamu Rex icarium sorai 9669 undarius Etherium,” Josephine reported. “The code has to be spoken exactly.”

“Of course it does,” Nemesis growled.

“Excuse me,” Harry intruded, walking up to the hologram of Josephine. Looking up at her, he asked, “If I learned anything being Hanna’s friend, she always taught me that every computer system has a back-door access to it just in case the main access failed. Do you have such an access? Without it, we’re not going to get anywhere since the main way in requires the Emperor DNA, retina, and voice patterns, which we’re not apt to acquire any time soon. Please tell me you have such a back door that can circumvent those security measures.”

“Harry has a point,” Hanna agreed. “We’re obviously not going to be able to get to you the same way the Emperor does. So what about it, Josephine; can you show us the back door?”

“There is an emergency access port on the far end of the control console,” Josephine stated as her holographic image slithered to the far end of the control panel. Pointing with her organic left hand to a small camouflaged panel with a key lock, she added, “Behind this panel is the ‘back door’ as you call it. Once accessed, all you need to do is type in the code and you’ll be able to access my prison. But no one has used this access since I was locked in here over twelve thousand cycles ago. I’m not even sure if the lock will release at this point. Moreover, any attempts to force it will result in a lethal electrical discharge of a hundred thousand volts, so any attempts to open it must be done with extreme care. I don’t want the security devices to kill anyone.”

“Can you turn it off so no one gets zapped?” Hanna asked as she, Horace, Nemesis, and Harry stepped up to the strange little panel. The rest of the team stood back to give them space. Andrew, Hunter, and Aragon kept a wary eye on the passageway from which they’d entered the control chamber.

“I’m afraid not,” Josephine admitted. “That access point is guarded by a sentry program I’m incapable of accessing or resisting. It’s self-contained with its own power source separated from me. The Emperor and the Cadre put it in place to prevent me or anyone else without proper authorization from using it. The only way to open it is with the proper key...a key I’ve never seen.”

“Hmmm,” Nemesis murmured, leaning close while scanning the locking assembly on the panel. “She’s right. It’s definitely booby-trapped. They certainly went to a lot of trouble to prevent this panel from being accessed. There’s even a shield around the lock preventing me from seeing it. This definitely presents a problem, but not an insurmountable one. I think I might be able to open it if I’m careful. Stand back, everyone.” Everyone moved back as Nemesis wiggled his mechanical fingers. Leaning down, he stuck the index finger of his mechanical hand into the lock, slowly sliding it in as it formed to the keyhole. Everyone watched with baited breath as Nemesis attempted to pick the lock. “It’s definitely corroded,” he reported. “But I think I can adapt my finger to the lock tumblers. Let me see if it’s going to turn.” Just as he spoke, the panel flashed, sending a powerful electrical shock into Nemesis’ arm, violently throwing him away from the panel while severely stunning him. The team scattered as he crashed to the floor with electrical discharges racing over his cybernetics.

“Don’t touch him!” Hanna cried out, seeing the charge still dancing over Nemesis’ body. Slowly, the charge dispersed as everyone gathered around the cyborg bear. For a moment, he remained inert. Fear raced through Hanna’s heart as Nemesis appeared dead. “No,” she whispered. “Not again.”

Nemesis twitched and a pained groan rumbled from him. His eyes opened with fiery anger in them. “Damnation!” Nemesis roared, sitting up and smashing the floor with his mechanized fist, leaving a dent in it. “No lock is going to get the best of me! I’m going to rip that thing clean off the machine!” He jumped up and stomped towards the panel. His mechanical fingers morphed into razor-sharp claws as he drew back to rip the cover off the control panel.

“Wait; calm down, Nemesis,” Hanna intruded, physically getting between Nemesis and the panel. “We’re going about this the wrong way.”

Nemesis hesitated, letting his anger drop to a slow boil along with the adrenaline rush the shock gave him. “What do you mean?” he hissed.

“Watch and learn,” Hanna declared. “If we can’t pick the lock mechanically, maybe we can pick it another way. Hand me my sword, Enoch.”

Enoch surrendered the Caverias sword to Hanna, asking, “What do you have in mind, Hanna? Surely, you can’t use this sword to cut it open.”

“I have no intention of cutting it open with the Caverias Sword,” Hanna stated, taking the sword in hand. “But this sword does have a strange way of enhancing my power and skills. Maybe we just need to use a different pick.” She walked to the locked panel and touched it by instinct with the flat of her right palm while holding the Caverias sword in her left fist. An eerie white aura abruptly swirled around her as her sword suddenly glowed brilliantly. Hanna’s eyes glowed white as she focused on the panel. “Okay you...open up in the name of the Almighty Ancient of Days,” she ordered forcefully while grabbing the panel. Everyone watched in stunned silence as the lock suddenly let go with a crumbling, hissing sound. The panel then slid open with a grating noise when Hanna lifted her hand from it. “Praise be to the Lord God Ancient of Days; it worked!” she crowed as the swirling aura vanished and the Caverias sword ceased to glow.

“By the Elder Gods,” Enoch breathed with awe. “What a magnificent feat of elemental power!”

“Impressive,” Nemesis agreed. “But what did you do?”

“Well,” Hanna stated, turning to the team. “I’m very adept with machinery, particularly the ancient machinery because of my exposure to the Teachers of Tiamat, Kaal Bek, and the Red Tower. I surmised the panel had some kind of magnetic lock on it that could only be released with the proper physical key designed to nullify the lock. Therefore, I somehow generated a concentrated EMP and heat pulse using those strange elemental forces I’m still coming to terms with. The EMP must have fried the security program, neutralizing both the magnetic lock and the electrical booby-trap. The heat pulse then melted the lock, allowing it to open. And before you ask how I did it, don’t because I still have no idea how I’m actually using the these so-called elemental abilities. I did it by pure instinct, as I did every other time I’ve engaged them since the Circle of Hammunaptra. I just thought of what I needed and it happened. I still don’t comprehend how it happens, just that it does. I’m sure my burgeoning telepathic potential has something to do with it. Okay, Josephine; now what do we do?”

“I’m very impressed with your elemental control, Hanna,” Josephine complimented. “Your power level is phenomenal, as is your control and targeting ability. You managed to disable completely the security program without it affecting the main system of my matrix; very well done.”

“Thank you, Josephine,” Hanna replied. “But what’s next?”

“Look at the open control port before you,” Josephine instructed. “Do you see the big button there?”

“Yes,” Hanna stated, seeing a three-inch button in the port. “It’s the only thing here. I figured there would be more to it.”

“It is,” Josephine stated. “Push the button to activate the holographic interface where you can input the code.”

Hanna pressed the button cautiously and the panel hummed as three small ports opened around the button. She quickly stepped back as light flashed from the ports, generating a spherical holographic interface complete with keyboard and display.

“Fascinating,” Enoch chimed, intrigued with the interface.

Handing the Caverias sword to Enoch, Hanna said, “Hold this for a second, Enoch.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Enoch answered, taking the sword.

Hanna examined the holographic interface closely, seeing the keyboard labeled in a corruption of the Stone Language she didn’t recognize. “I don’t recognize these letters,” she declared. “What language is this, Josephine?”

“It’s the original language of the Cadre from the 1st Age,” Josephine stated. “They developed their own language so they could keep their secrets secret. I believe Horace knows this language.”

“Come take a look, Horace,” Hanna ordered.

Horace stepped up to the interface with Nemesis, who changed his claws back into his regular mechanical fingers. Looking closely at the language, Horace’s eyebrow rose. “Josephine is correct,” he stated. “This is indeed the first arcane language of the Cadre from the 1st Age. It hasn’t been used or seen since the Kragonar, but I’m familiar with it because of my research.”

“Excellent,” Hanna chimed. “Since you can read it, I’ll let you put in the code. Besides, I’m betting there’s a scanner somewhere that will scan whoever uses this interface. Since you’re Cadre, it should recognize you and allow access. Go ahead; put in the code. What was that code again, Josephine?”

“Dormamu Rex icarium sorai 9669 undarius Etherium,” Josephine reported. “Remember, the code has to be inputted exactly with capitalization on the first letters of Dormamu, Rex, and Etherium.”

“Got it,” Horace stated. “Well, here goes nothing. If this doesn’t convince you I’m on your side, nothing will.” He tapped the code in exactly as Josephine relayed it. The display showed the code in the Cadre’s arcane language as he tapped it in. When he finished typing it in, he pressed the enter key and a small scanner opened inside the panel with the button, flashing in his face.

“I knew it!” Hanna chimed in vindication as the scanning beam swept Horace’s face.

“Access granted,” a mechanized voice echoed from the machine. “Welcome, Horace Jin-Ryu Shen; all system options are now unlocked and available at this interface. Choose the task you wish to perform.”

“Nice going, Horace,” Hanna commended, patting him on the shoulder. “Okay, Nemesis; what do you think we should do first?”

“Shut down the alarms and security devices that will alert the Emperor of any trouble in here. I’m sure he installed some kind of alarm to alert him if anyone tried to access Josephine without permission,” Nemesis stated. “Can you find it, Horace?”

“Way ahead of you,” Horace answered, touching an icon on the holographic interface screen. “That should shut down and lock out all external alarms. Josephine...can you confirm the alarms surrounding you are deactivated?”

“Yes, Horace,” Josephine answered. “The core is now completely isolated and the alarms shut off. I also have the core locked down.”

“Good,” Hanna chimed. “So, what’s next?”

“Horace needs to access the diagnostic and maintenance section of the matrix to open my cell,” Josephine stated. “But be aware that when he does it, this hologram will be terminated.”

“Okay,” Hanna replied. “Do you see where you need to go, Horace?”

“Yeah, there it is,” Horace answered. “There’s an option for body maintenance and diagnostics right here. If you have anything to ask her, now is the time for when I do this, the entire core goes into safe mode, limiting what she can do around the fortress.”

“Right,” Hanna said, turning to Josephine. “Just how far is your reach in this fortress, Josephine?”

“My primary reach includes the core here, the Harem, the sex floor, the kitchen, dungeons, Arena, and the Gladiator school,” Josephine reported. “But I do have a limited reach into areas beyond those areas.”

“Do you have the capability of reaching Selina in the Tower?” Hanna asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” Josephine stated grimly. “The Tower dungeons are reserved exclusively for the Cadre. I don’t have access to the machinery there, nor do I have the reach with my appendages to get there. The Tower dungeon is their exclusive domain within this fortress.”

“Are there any other areas you can’t reach?” Enoch asked.

“I’m not allowed access to the Emperor’s private quarters,” Josephine answered, “Nor am I allowed physical access the labs or the armory. They’re cut off from me, just as the Tower dungeon is. However, they do allow me to have passive access to the labs so I can assist them in their recording their experiments and doing computations. But that access doesn’t extend to the armory or the Emperor’s private residence. There’s another system controlling those areas that I’m not tied to.”

“Where’s the lab located?” Hanna asked. “And what do they do there?”

“The lab is next to the sex floor and the kitchen,” Josephine stated bluntly. “That way, they can snatch rebellious prisoners for their experiments. And as for what they do, it’s best not said. What you endured on the sex floor is mild compared to what they do in the labs. Even those condemned to the kitchen have it better than those taken to the labs. Trust me, Hanna. You do not what to see what they do to those poor souls in that fiendish place.”

Hanna’s blood began to boil with berserker rage upon hearing the report. Her face twisted with anger and the icy coldness of the warrior queen that had battled with the demoniac Old Ones in the pits of Acheron. “In that case, it’s time we put a stop to those atrocities,” she hissed venomously. “And woe to those we encounter performing them for I will send them to the Old Ones personally. Is there any way you can assist us from here?”

“I can assist you and your friends anywhere within my sphere of influence,” Josephine stated, “but only while I’m still in here. When you open my prison to view my person, I will only be able to control those appendages closest to me right here in this chamber. All my other appendages will fall dormant. It’s the price you pay for opening my prison.”

“That presents a problem,” Hanna stated grimly, her rage slowly diminishing, “but not too big a one. Horace, I want you to stay here and figure out how to remove Josephine from this contraption, but don’t do it until I give the word. I want Elle and Aragon to stay with you along with our two new friends there. I don’t want Josephine extracted until she can help us rescue our friends from the sex floor and kitchen before we destroy it. I want her to help do it. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Horace stated. “I’ll get right on it. But how will we be able to contact you?”

“Elle and Aragon have communicators they can use to reach me,” Hanna explained.

“Josephine can also reach me,” Nemesis added. “She wired a secured communicator into my arm right after I gave her the cyber-virus that helped isolate her system from the Emperor’s input.”

“Elle, Aragon; keep your eyes open and if Horace needs any help, give it,” Hanna ordered. “We must extract Josephine at all costs.”

“You bet, little sister,” Elle chimed.

“You got it, boss,” Aragon barked.

“While you’re doing this, Nemesis and the rest of us have a rendezvous with the Captain of the Guards at the Arena,” Hanna stated. “I need to be sure he and his people are with us.”

“I’ll see about clearing the way to the Gladiator School,” Josephine offered. “Are you going to use the secret passages to reach the Arena, Nemesis?”

“Yes,” Nemesis stated. “That way, we won’t attract any attention before we’re ready.”

“In that case, I’ll make sure the secret way is clear. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting there,” Josephine chimed.

“Don’t do anything foolish, Josephine,” Hanna warned. “Not yet anyway. Right now, stealth is needed, but be sure, you will get your chance to avenge yourself on the Emperor before we’re done here. Just wait for my signal. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Hanna,” Josephine replied. “Trust me; I will not sabotage your mission.”

“Thanks,” Hanna answered gratefully. “Besides, you’re a big part of this rescue. I’m not leaving without you. Come on, guys. Let’s go to the Arena and slay the demon that haunts me from that place.” She took the Caverias Sword from Enoch and added, “Lead the way, Nemesis. This is your territory, after all.”

“Not for too much longer,” Nemesis stated, moving boldly towards the exit. “Come...follow me.” Hanna, Enoch, Hunter, and Andrew followed.

“Be careful, little sister!” Elle called out.

“I will,” Hanna reassured Elle after pausing for a second. Flashing a confident, yet cold smile, Hanna followed Nemesis as he led them to the Gladiator School to meet the Captain of the Guards.

Horace stretched his back, arms, and fingers, making them crackle. “Okay, Miss Josephine, let’s see if we can remove you from this infernal apparatus,” he chimed. “Can you show me the schematics of the core where you are held?”

“Yes, Horace,” Josephine answered. “But not at this panel. It doesn’t have the visual capacity to do it. However, the main panel does.”

“Then let’s get to it,” Horace declared, moving swiftly back to the main control panel with Josephine’s hologram floating along next to him.

After telling Aragon and the two guards to keep watch on the entrance, Elle followed Horace to the main panel. She remained back a few steps to give Horace room to work. “If you need my help, just ask,” Elle offered.

“Okay,” Horace answered as he touched the control panel, activating it. “Let’s see those schematics, Miss Josephine.”

“As you wish,” Josephine stated. A second, smaller hologram appeared over the main control panel, much like the holographic interface on the emergency port. The hologram revealed the layout of Josephine’s core, including the area of her prison. “Excellent,” Horace crowed. “Now we can figure this out. Elle, Josephine; gather around the schematic and start searching. The answer we’re looking for is here. I want you two to look in case I miss something. Three sets of eyes are better than one.”

“Of course,” Elle chimed, stepping up. “Let’s do this.” With that, Horace, Elle, and Josephine started searching the core schematics for the physical connections that locked Josephine into her prison, and how to release them.