Arthur stalked through the halls of The Pit, his cane clenched tight in his grip as he resisted the urge to grind his teeth.

His annoyance flared with every step through the gray hallway, with its stupid posters declaring safety rules and company policies. Not that he could pin those as the source of his irritation. No. That had started back in the Biochemical Labs, when Dr. Kunibert had elected to stay behind.

He’d made remarks about staying behind to see what he could accomplish with the equipment. Even when Arthur had threatened him, he’d refused to relent, and so the group had left the ooze-human hybrid behind.

Along with their early warning system, a fact that came back to bite them less than two rooms later.

They’d gone into a breakroom, a shortcut to Rathnil’s lab, according to the map. With Dr. Kunibert’s decision to leave, Rab had taken over the point position. Arthur had agreed, happy to take the back with Augustus to defend the rear from any potential ambush.

After he’d described the way the miniature Slimeberus had failed to bite him, the others agreed there was little risk. Which, of course, meant that the ambush had come from the front.

As they walked through the breakroom, past yellowed papers and fungal-covered coffee cups, a droplet of slime fell from a ceiling vent. Theobold spotted it first, yelling out for Rab to move. However, his words came too late.

With a bang, the vent cover crashed into the knight’s armor, followed swiftly by a massive Slagsoul. Upon touching the knight’s armor, it started to wriggle and writhe as it searched for gaps to squeeze in.

Theobold’s shouts soon joined Rab’s muffled yelling as the two tried to claw the goo off his face. Captain Swordsman reacted next as he drew his sword and let the blue energy run along the blade. With careful motions, he ran the flat of the blade around the slime.

Wherever the blade touched, the goo dissolved, and the Slagsouls wriggling increased. As the Slagsoul grew smaller, Rab wrenched his helmet off with a sharp tug, letting out a gasp of air.

The helmet remained covered in Slagsoul pieces, and Arthur bent down and opened his briefcase to pull out a jaw. He touched the jar to the spots and sighed with relief as the ding of the pop-up sounded and the entire mess disappeared. Even the pieces on Rab vanished, which earned him a relieved sigh.

Before he went to check on the knight, he quickly skimmed the pop-up to see if he could detect any major changes.

 

As he finished reading it, he shook his head and sent it all to the store inventory. None of it would help, though, that the Radiation Crystal was Rank C interested him.

“Is it because of its proximity to The Pit? I guess if I ever need to worry about radiation crystals, then I know where to go,” he thought as he moved to check on Rab.

The others were cleaning the knight off with rags they found as Arthur moved over with a bunch of half-destroyed shirts and healing supplies from his briefcase. Rab sat still as Arthur dabbed at the minor burns.

When they finished, the large knight claimed to be fine, but Arthur still had him move to the back with Theobold. His knowledge was invaluable, especially because they had to leave before they got the chance to read Kourtney’s journal, so Arthur wanted him safe.

If there was another Slagsoul ambush, he would bet his scales would hold up better than skin could.

After that, they ran into minor problem after minor problem. None were big enough to stop them, but the constant interruptions got on his nerves. A group of Lerna attacked as they passed a meeting room, countered by Jemima blowing a massive hole in them.

The Explorer helped them get over what originally looked like an oil spill in a hallway until Arthur tossed some meat in it. With a plop, the meat dissolved, and the mass moved in a swirling pattern.

They each let The Explorer carry them across as he swung over on his whip. Afterwards, they’d needed to fight off a group of Dogclops until Augustus could use his bat to smash some support beams to bring the ceiling down on the beasts.

Arthur resisted the urge to growl as he thought about it—all nothing but wasted time. Minor obstacles in the way of getting to Rathnil and getting the answers he sought. As they walked, he scanned around, searching for cameras. While he’d spotted none so far, he didn’t doubt they were being watched.

“Probably laughing and being smug. Indigo told me to get either a confession or his head. I have to admit, I’m leaning towards the latter. This is ridiculous.”

Rab’s voice interrupted his thoughts as they paused in front of a water cooler that had gone green. “Arthur?”

“Yes?” Arthur asked as he moved closer to the water, or whatever it had become.

Before Rab could say another word, he peered in before quickly leaping backwards as something small and toothy slammed against the plastic side. It rapidly vanished, and Arthur took a few steps away. No point fighting whatever that was.

“I wanted to ask about those radiation pills,” Rab said, his voice quiet. “Are we meant to be tasting them a second time?”

Arthur tensed before he slowly shook his head while he examined the rest of the group. “No. No, that’s not a good sign.”

Rab and The Explorer both looked ill as Captain Swordsman swayed on his feet. Theobold, Jemima, and Augustus all looked fine, however, as they stood with weapons ready.

With a frown, Arthur looked around to see what was causing the change. The Explorer coughed before taking a step back and pointing to the ceiling.

“There. I don’t think we’re going to be accompanying you past this point.”

Arthur looked up to see the faintest glow coming from behind one of the ceiling tiles. With Augustus’s help, he pulled over a chair and punched through the ceiling tile. Inside, he saw a large radiation crystal, brighter than any he’d handled before. A wire ran from its base along the ceiling, leading off towards other glowing points of light.

“A trap for anyone who can’t deal with the radiation. Damn.”

He let out another growl as he climbed down and turned to Rab, who saluted him with a smile.

“It’s been an honor, though I believe this is where we part ways. May we have the map? I don’t believe we can go back the way we came.”

Arthur nodded as he quickly retrieved it from his briefcase. “Of course. Is there anything else you need?”

The three men looked at each other before shaking their heads.

“No,” Captain Swordsman said, before he tapped at his sword and nodded. “Yes. Do you have anything we can use as markers? If we have the map, you’ll need to get out of here somehow.”

It took a few minutes, but soon The Explorer held a collection of moss and bricks. Small enough, they figured monsters wouldn’t disturb them, but out-of-place enough, they would notice them easily.

“Stay safe,” Rab said to Theobold with a clap on his shoulder. “Fight well.”

“You too,” Theobold replied, before the groups parted ways.

One to head to the surface, and the other to find the dragon they’d come searching for.

***

As Arthur hit the button to open the door labeled General Lab, he understood the map had lied.

What sat in the room made the laboratory inside The Assembly’s headquarters look like a children’s play set. All around them, machines beeped and buzzed. Dogclops and other monsters snapped in makeshift pens as Slagsouls moved about in a maze of clear tubes suspended by the ceiling.

In one corner sat a pile of radiation crystals of all different sizes that illuminated the room in a soft green glow. The part that truly caught his attention was the massive steel doors on the back wall. Radiation warnings and tape covered them, and he could see several rusted sets of knight’s armor on the ground nearby.

The doors were so out of place; it took him a moment to notice Rathnil standing next to them, typing away on a terminal. His spread wings made it impossible to tell what was on the screen. From the group of coffee cups and the drooping shoulders, it was obvious he was tired.

Not that Arthur cared.

He moved forward, motioning for Jemima to keep her gun ready. They needed to know what his plan was, which her shooting him early would ruin.

Rathnil turned around with a yawn, reaching up with one hand to rub his eyes. Chemicals stained his T-shirt and lab coat, and he peered at Arthur as though he struggled to recognize him. Even with the movement, one hand remained on the keyboard.

“Oh, you’re here. Great. Good.” His words came out, he mumbled, and he yawned again. “My confession, yes?”

Arthur nodded, somehow feeling unsure. He’d expected a monologue and an attack. Not someone who looked seconds away from collapsing from overwork.

“That’s right. What are you doing? Why? Indigo wants it all in full.”

Rathnil nodded and made a gesture that somehow encompassed the room. “The plan? My original goal or the one you forced us into?”

Arthur watched as Theobold and Jemima spread out, both with their weapons drawn. Augustus stayed next to him with his bat in hand as he stared at the dragon. Everyone seemed ready for violence, which was a comfort.

“Both. The more information you give me, the better, right?”

“I can understand why you’d think so. Sure, a speed-run version then.” Rathnil yawned as he nodded. “Original plan? I figured out how the goddess got her divinity. She was like us until she paid for it, and she has been using her businesses to keep up on her loan.”

The words hit Arthur like a truck, and he thought back to what he’d heard the last time he was in the mall. “She was the one who went wide?”

“Exactly.” Rathnil genuinely sounded impressed. “So, I wanted to piggyback off it.”

“Which was the point of the counterfeits you developed? Sure. Then she caught you,” Arthur said.

Rathnil sighed. “Yes, and honestly? I’m glad she did. I’ve had plenty of time to listen to Wilth talk about her schedule. No, I think I’ll stick to my science. A fact he’s more than willing to exploit.”

“So what’s your new goal, then? If you don’t want her position anymore?” Arthur gestured to Jemima as he spoke, and she moved closer to one of the Dogclops pens.

“Now? I’m simply building monsters, as Wilth wanted. Now he’s got Indigo and the rest on his arse. He wants to take a more direct approach to assuming control.”

Arthur’s eye darted around and then landed on the door. Rathnil noticed and laughed.

“Got it in one. The plan is to take our She-demon to the head office and let her do her work. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories?”

Theobold’s voice boomed out then. “Are you insane? How do you plan on surviving it? One man has ever survived it, and he died days later.”

“Hmm, surviving it?” Rathnil shook his head. “No. No, no, no. You’re mistaken. I don’t intend to survive it. Do you know what would happen to me if she found out what I’ve been doing? What Indigo will do to me? No. Everyone dies here, and Wilth can come get his beasts when it’s done.”

“You can’t!” This came from Jemima; her words set off the nearby Dogclops, who started to howl and bark.

Rathnil looked over at her, and Arthur followed suit as the cages rattled. None broke, but with the sheer ferocity and determination of the creatures inside, he doubted they would last long.

“I can,” Rathnil said with a shrug.

Heat filled Arthur at the sheer callousness in his tone. He could tell that the dragon understood everything he’d said. Rathnil would die before he allowed himself to be taken in.

“And how is Wilth even going to know to come get them if you die?” Arthur asked as he gripped the handle of his briefcase tighter. “Won’t it all be for naught then?”

Rathnil grinned as one hand lazily tapped at the keyboard. As he did, two things happened almost simultaneously. The first was lights appearing on the floor amidst a series of glowing lines in a familiar pattern. One that Arthur had seen created in the boardroom.

The other was the computer screen changing into a very familiar time-wasting game. Rathnil smiled as he clicked on a red square that flashed onto the screen.

Arthur charged forward, even as the Dogclops broke into the room. A single thought ran through his brain as he screamed out to Jemima.

“Shoot the console!”

With a cry of acknowledgement, she pulled the trigger, aiming directly at the console.