An Eventful Day [Mirage]

[Thomas Cosa]

"There," Thomas whispered, his eyes squinting as he focused on the Waker's back, gears shining from the dim blue lights that lit the cavern.

This was his chance, now or never.

His breathing raspy, ragged, Thomas grabbed a few more pebbles. Only two golems stood between the Waker and one of the massive juggernauts, and Thomas wasn't sure the juggernaut would be so easy to move around -- at least the other activated golems hadn't bothered with the noise from the pebbles, who knew how they would react to him running across and attacking the Waker.

His pulse racing, Thomas threw a pebble over the Waker, and ran. He ran, barely giving a thought to the other activated golems. Quickly, he jumped through puddle he landed in, rocks moving underneath his feet.

Reaching the golem, Thomas jammed his fingers violently in the cracked panel, and ripped it open, pushing a handful of pebbles and dirt in between the gears.

While he had never animated something so technical, he figured stopping the gears would at least stop the golem -- and then, hopefully, he could get the gem.

[Mirage]

The stones and dirt fit between the highly intricate pieces, becoming wedged in the gaps of the gears and grinding their movements to a halt. The Golem would jerk, tossing Thomas aside as it swung its arms about frantically, unable to control its movements until it finally fell backwards, growing still.

The large cavern became silent, not a sound coming from any direction. It was like a bow string brought to full draw, tension in the line as something was preparing to break loose... Then the sound of gears turning filled the cavern, and the 10 awakened golems moved as one to stand before the opening door. Beyond the door, through a slowly widening crack, could be seen a long tunnel that slanted upwards, leading into the darkness where only one thing awaited... The Citadel above.

On either side of the large doors there was what looked like a control panel of some sort. In order to get there, however, Thomas would have to run directly past the assembled golems. They did not seem to respond to sounds, but would they stand still when he walked into their view?

The Waker golem twitched, the green gem on its chest still glowing faintly. It seemed to be held by a simple iron clasp that could easily be broken.

[Thomas Cosa]

Thomas grunted as the golem swung him off, landing forcefully on the rocky ground. Pushing himself off the ground, Thomas watched as the golem swirled and spun, shuttering violently as it fell before him.

For a moment, everything was silent as the Waker lay quiet on the rocky ground, the green gem glowing faintly, beating like a dying heart. It's entire chest was rusted, plates of steel peeling back after a long time of being forgotten. It was almost sad, Thomas reflected, wondering how long the Waker had waited -- how long they had all waited. The animator thought them perhaps an army to stand against the once mighty Suvan -- a war they never met, a war they would never fight again.

And then the sounds of gears whirled, breaking the brief silence.

"Shyke," Thomas panicked, watching as the 10 awakened golems marched against an opening door -- and as his jaw dropped, he realized he had found his way out.

But only if he could stop the golems. They wouldn't hear him pass, he already knew that -- but was he so sure they wouldn't attack if they saw him run pass?

Then he remembered the gem stone.

Grabbing a stone, Thomas walked towards the fallen golem. He hit the iron chest, aiming for the clasp that held the green treasure.

Thump

Thump

Thump

And with a crack, the clasp and gem feel off the chest. "STRANGER!" he yelled, the small follower's wheels squealing as they sped towards it's creator. Quickly, he grabbed the gem, placing it in one of the slots available to him.

"Stop them," he breathed, hoping it would work. If the gem woke the golems, if anything it could put them to sleep.

[Mirage]

As the gem fit into the slot the little follower glowed a dim shade of green, "Integration complete!" it said as the glow faded, "Primary functions established!"

It spun in a circle, almost as if it were excited to be reunited with its missing piece, and chirped, "Command Accepted! Command Accepted!" and sped off toward the gathering golems. It zipped over the activation pad, up the ramp and finally... completely past the awaiting golems. It seemed to completely ignore them, even as the gates began to widen further. Instead it went directly for the control panel. Once there it spun in a circle once more, gently tapping the metal as the green gem glowed fiercely. The control panel responded by lighting as well, complicated glyph circles and other designs began to glow brighter and brighter until a rumbling sound shook the entire cavern.

The sound of metal scraping on rock could be heard high over head, and then a dim light could be seen from the darkness growing closer and closer until it was obvious that something was falling toward the ground. With a ground shaking thud four metal legs hit with a loud CLANG, the structures long and spidery looking as they held up a small circular body in the middle. Each of the 4 legs were jointed in three places, and were long enough that standing at half its height the round body easily stayed over the heads of the humanoid golems. The body itself was a simple metal orb with several slots and panels along its surface. In the center facing forward was a small eye comprised of a single purple gem similar to the one found on the Waker golem.

Using its long legs it easily navigated through the bodies of inactive golems, making its way toward the ten active ones before the widening gate.

"Sleeper B-7 Active. Primary function engaged."

It stood over the 10 assembled before the door, lowering its orb like body so that it was just a few inches above their heads. Each of the panels slid open, releasing small tentacles that looked as if they were made of metallic thread. Each thread touched one of the activated golems, and the purple gem glowed. The Humanoid war golems seemed to twitch, and then all responded as one, "Deactivation sequence initiated. Sleep preparations commencing." They then began to file back on the activation pad, though this time their power seemed to be drained instead of fueled, and then returned back to their original place in line.

The entire process took nearly 10 chimes to complete, and as the last golem filed back into line a very familiar voice would fill the cavern, "Lhex's Beard! What is going on here!" as the figures of Cromby and Filch stepped into the cavern from the very gates that still widened. They had not noticed Thomas, and both were looking perplexed at the Sleeper Golem as it simply stood silently, having completed its task.

[Thomas Cosa]

Thomas followed the squeaking golem, excited to get back to the Lab --
And then Stranger passed the golems.

"Shyke. Nononono," Thomas whispered, panic welling inside him. Stranger had been his one hope, his only way out -- at least without risking himself. For a desperate moment, Thomas considered risking it anyway, just running full past the ten metal giants. He considered them briefly for a moment, and assuming their general size, Thomas decided he could make it.

"OK," he whispered, closing his eyes.

"On three," Thomas muttered to himself, trying to ready himself.

"One."

"Two."

He never made it to three.

A blast of light caught the pulser's attention, fantastic and complicated glyphs decorated the control panel. Stranger spun around excitedly, it's green gem glowing in sync with the control panel, the intricate designs growing brighter and brighter with each passing second.

A low rumbling noise started suddenly, echoing violently off the rocky walls, the sound shaking the cavern itself. Metal screeched from an unseen height, something scraping against the cavern walls as it fell to the ground below.

CLANG

And then it landed, a small earthquake accompanying it. Four long legs supported the tiny body, and as soon as the metallic creature recovered from it's fall, it immediately began to wade through the unawakened golems. Quickly, the golem weaved it's way through the hundreds of unawakened, slowing only as it covered one of the ten marching golems.

"Sleeper B-7 Active. Primary function engaged."

Thomas let a low sigh as he realized what the golem was, and what it was doing. With a low hiss, several panels opened on the belly of the golem, metallic threads slithering out, individual threads reaching out to the various marching behemoths. One by one, the humanoid golems twitch and the sound of gears slowing to a still echoed, followed by the collective announcement:

"Deactivation sequence initiated. Sleep preparations commencing."

And then they marched back, and stilled once again, waiting another wakening.

Thomas smiled, the danger passed. He whistled back to Stranger, calling the golem back as he made his way to the door -- only to realized two figures that hadn't been there before.

"It...uh, I stopped the golems from killing everyone...," his voice dropping, realizing the masters hadn't even realized he was here -- "Stupid," he whispered to himself, slowly backing away. Perhaps if he was lucky, they wouldn't see him. And if they didn't see him, the they couldn't blame him for the almost destruction of Sahova.

[Mirage]

Thomas' voice immediately caught the Masters' attentions, and both looked at him in surprise and questioning. Filch's eyes narrowed as he looked back up at the Sleeper golem, adjusting his eye piece to inspect it for damage. Kromby on the other hand went straight to Thomas, clapping him on the shoulder and leaning down with an urgent expression.

"Ah, boy. Apprentice..." He frowned, "What was your name again?" he nodded, continuing as soon as Thomas answered, "Ah yes, Apprentice Cosa, I remember you now. Your the young lad who came just last week are you not?" It seemed Kromby's view on time was a bit stretched.

Filch seemed to finish his examination of the golem and now turned his eye piece to Thomas, "B-7 Golem De-animation and Storage prototype has been activated without explicate instruction. Its programming has been carried out, but no order was issued for activation processes to begin." His frown deepens, "This means that the Humanoid Mark 12 Land Assault War Golems were activated by an unknown cause. Your presence in this place was not warranted or authorized, and the anomalies grow more intricate with each passing second." Filch spoke in a rapid fire, point by point way as he stared unblinkingly at Thomas. It could have been an accusation, or a simple inquire about what had happened. Thankfully Kromby stepped in to translate.

"What my esteemed college means is that these golems were activated without an order from us. There are very few things that could do this, and it is strange that you happen to be here as well during the time of their activation. What both Filch and I wish to know is, what precisely happened, and how did you get here in the first place?"

Neither Kromby of Filch seemed to have noticed the Follower, nor the glowing green gem that it now carried. The gem had been a part of the activator golem which awakened the long slumbering army, but did that mean that the gem was important to Filch and Kromby? If so if they found out about it they might take it from Thomas all together. For the moment, however, the Master's stared at Thomas, awaiting his explanation.

[Thomas Cosa]

Thomas flushed with pride at the mention of his name, grinning sheepishly. The pulser nodded exaggeratedly, perhaps too excited the Master Kromby had even bothered to remembered his name -- in his mind, proof if any he had been doing something right over the last couple of seasons.

Or week. Depending on the temporal perspective.

"Yes, Sir, uh, I mean, Master Kromby," Thomas nodded, fingers tapping at his side nervously. The initial shock had long since passed, only to be replaced with extreme paranoia. The apprentice listened quietly to Filch's assessment, unsure as to whether it had been an accusation or a simple statement. Whatever it was, it was clear that the Masters knew about this place and knew it wasn't something someone could easily stumble upon.

"Some of the followers were acting up, Master," Thomas began, fully aware that the Masters might want to take Stranger -- or at least the gem. As far as the pulser was concerned, the gem now belonged solely to him, and Stranger was his creation. He had poured his own soul into its birthed, and now more than ever Stranger needed his protection.

He would need to be careful with how he progressed the conversation. "I had been working on a project, nothing special, when I noticed several of them -- around five, maybe, speed off away from the Lab. At first, I didn't think anything of it," he continued, walking toward the Masters now, hoping to keep their attentions off the other golems, Stranger in particular. "But then I noticed a couple more leaving, and so I go check, make sure nothing is wrong," he swallowed, hoping against hope Stranger would stay hidden, "A couple of them swarmed me -- circled me, screaming "Follow, follow" as they do, and I did. I didn't mention it to anyone -- although, not even five minutes past I was hating myself for just going off," he managed an awkward chuckle, standing opposite the two.

"Anyways, so I followed and they took me too far before I realized I should've said something. I didn't have any choice but to follow -- and then I fell, over there," he pointed at the cliff, a small pile of rubble evidence to the fact. "Something came up out of the ground, and a weird sort of golem. Something was wrong though," Thomas made a thoughtful face, hoping it was convincing. He would need both Kromby and Filch to believe the story, and more importantly to not ask questions. "It was repeated 'Waker" over and over, struggling to move over to the golems. It managed to wake a couple of the golems before it fell," Thomas nodded toward the fallen Waker, still twitching amidst the army of metallic giants.

He didn't see any point in telling them he had broken it.

"And then there was this noise, like a rumbling. And that thing, a Sleeper, you called it?" Thomas asked, pointing at the spider like golem, "Fell from up there," he pointed at the ceiling, "And just kind of walked on over to those ten, and turned them off," he added, watching the two.

If they went back to looking at the Sleeper and the other golems, Thomas would take advantage and motion to Stranger to hide further back behind the army -- if not, he could only hope the follower golem would remain unseen.

[Mirage]

Both of the Master's listened quietly to what Thomas said, full attention on him and not even once shifting to the little Follower that hid behind the control panel. Kromby's features shifted to an expression that said he wasn't so sure Thomas was telling the truth, but at the mention of the golem Filch simply walked off to inspect it. As he bent over the golem he adjusted the eye piece lens, fingers gently touching the spot where the gem had been broken free.

"Well my boy, that is quite an unbelievable tail you have told us. it is hard to believe that so many Followers would malfunction at once." He stroked his chin in thought, "But then, with Cid's recent rise in rank we have lost a bit of structure within the Lab's apprentices. It could certainly be due to that." Looking back at the now fully opened gates, Kromby crossed his arms tapping his foot before looking down at Thomas once more, "Well no matter WHY this all occurred, it is obvious that you may have just saved the whole of Sahova, though it is beyond me how you could have worked the control panel to activate the Sleeper. It is a very complex mechanism after all." He inspected Thomas with a searching eye, "Perhaps there is a bit of brilliance in you that we have never noticed."

Turning, Kromby made his way over to the control panel, laying his hands on the device. Passing his hand over the dimly glowing glyphs, he continued, "Wizard Cid spoke highly of you actually. He seemed to see a lot of promise in you, and in your work. From what I can see today there might just be a bit of truth in that." The large Sleeper golem began to move, long longs attaching easily to the wall as it pulled itself back up to its resting place, the purble light dimming. During this time Seeker slipped around Kromby, quickly rolling up the ramp beyond the gate and disappearing into the darkness. Kromby looked back at Thomas, "With his new position, Cid left a spot available as Master Apprentice. He has recommended you to take his place, and now, after seeing your quick actions today, I believe you will fit well into the job. What do you think Apprentice Cosa?"

[Thomas Cosa]

"Master Apprentice?" Thomas echoed, not entirely sure he had heard right.

He had been lucky enough the Masters had seemingly bought the story he had sold them, although not entirely fiction, but definitely not the truth. The young human's eyes flitted over to Filch, the nuit still inspecting the fallen golem.

And now they wanted to promote him?

"Yeah, uh, Yes, Master. I accept," Thomas shouted, eager to accept the proposal before Kromby decided to ask anything. He noticed the look on the Master's face -- suspicious enough. But whatever the reason, luck or chance or some deity favored Thomas that day.

Enough to hopefully put away any of the nuits doubts forever.

[Mirage]

Kromby nodded, eyes returning to the panel even as his attention clearly drifted from the apprentice to focus on something else, "Very well Master Apprentice Cosa. Return to Lab 15 to Cid's old work station, and Filch and I will be along shortly to brief you on your new duties. This will not take much time."

And with that Thomas was freed. Kromby and Filch seemed to have forgotten about him, and they did not ask any further questions about what happened down in this clearly secret place. As Thomas made his way up the ramp the large doors would slowly begin closing, but flameless torches would light along the path as he traveled up. The passageway was wide enough for 5 of the humanoid golems to pass through side by side, and was twice as tall. It would take nearly half a bell to travel the entire way up, but then he would come to what appeared to be a dead end. To the left though there was a small sliver of light which would resolve itself into a partially cracked door. This door would open up to the very back of Lab 15, behind a mess of malfunctioning gadgets and golems. A truly forgotten corner of the lab that no one really tread. When the door was closed the wall was completely seamless. No signs of the huge door could be seen, even with the use of auristics.

Thomas would find Secret at his old workstation, twirling around in circles, the green gem shining in its new home. That still begged the question, what of the purple gem in the Sleeper golem? Was it also a part of the set? If it was, how exactly could he get his hands on it... More questions were created than answered this day, and all thanks to the happily squeaking golem that circled the new Master Apprentice's feet.

OOCYay you did it!! Feel free to post again and get out Thomas' inner thoughts, or PM me and I will simply post the grade! Congrats Master Apprentice . This was well earned