Volume 2 Chapter 8 Breaking into the Pyramid

Chapter 8 Breaking into the Pyramid

I

Walking through the shadows on the dark street, Star arrived at the gate of the Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa. As quiet as a ghost, she walked through the corridors inside the pyramid.

She had encountered several guards, but she knocked them to the ground. Those guards were too weak. She came here alone, because she didn’t know whether her friends would support her … Anyway, she was going there to decimate the Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa.

Every Machine had a core, a nexus, just like that every human had a brain. When the core of the machine was destroyed, the whole machine would stop functioning. However, it was not easy to find the core.

The Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa itself was in fact a big machine. Stasha took out her turning fork and began to hit it. Vibrating, the turning fork gave off small soundwaves which filled the air and resonated with the inner structures of the factory.

When those soundwaves came back to the ears of Stasha, she realized how this factory functioned and where the core of this factory was within a second.

Sneaking through this labyrinth-like pyramid, Stasha was finding a way to the core of it. She was great at picking locks so nothing in this pyramid could stop her.

After a mere 5 minutes, she arrived at a small room, inside which was the core of the pyramid. There was also a gigantic octahedron which was about six meters tall. Compared to it, the Cube of Necrus was like a small baby.

She walked up to that octahedron and took out her lunarite daggers. She wanted to cut this octahedron into pieces, but she found out that it was even harder than necrite and she could only leave some scratches on it, while destroying it was impossible.

The alcohol inside her veins started to fade and those burning feelings were gone. She was too weak, and everything she did had ended up in vain … She couldn’t destroy this octahedron … Just as she was about to leave, a voice called to her.

“צְיַאוֹ, קֵי סַאיְ? קֵי סְטַאיְ פַאצֵינְדוֹ קְוִי?׃” [Hey, who’re you? what are you doing here?!]

She turned back. It was Hatpesis.

“בְּווֹנַאסֵירַה, אַטְפֵּיסִידֵי.׃”[Good evening, Hatpesis,]

“סַאיְ דִיוֵוירְטֵינְטֵי. נוֹן פְּווֹיְ קְרֵיאַרֵי מִילְייוֹרֵי מוּסִיקַה קֵי מְיַה מַאקִינַה, פוּנְקֵי דֵיסִידֵירֵי דִי דִיסְטְרוּגֵיירֵי מְיַה מַאקִינַה… אֵ֫י קוֹמוּנְקְוֵי נוֹן פְּווֹיְ דִיסְטְרוּגֵיירֵי לַה מַאדְרֵי מַאטְרִיצֵי פֵּירְקֵי לְוִי אֵ֫י פַאטّוֹ דִי לַא גַה דִי מֵיקַאנִיטֵי. קֵי סֵייְ וּן פֵּירְדֵינְטֵי!׃” [That’s hilarious. You cannot create better music than what my machine creates, so you decide to destroy my machine… Anyhow, you will never break the Mother Matrix because it is made of machinite alloy. What a loser!] teased Hatpesis.

“סְטַאיְ אַרַّאבְּיַאנְדוֹ, אַטְפַּאסִידֵי. נוֹן וווֹלְייוֹ וִידֵירֵי לַה מְיַה וֵוירְסְיוֹנֵי אַרַّאבְּיַאטַה.׃”[You’re making me angry, Hatpesis. You won’t like to see the angry version of me,] warned Stasha.

“רֵיאַלְמֵינְטֵי? אִינְפַאטّוֹ, דוֹפּוֹ קֵי נוֹיְ מַאקִّינַה גְלוֹרִיוֹסַה אִינְוֵוינְטוֹ֫ קְוֵיסְטוֹ אוֹטַّאֵידְרוֹ קֵי פּוֹטֵיטֵّי פְּרוֹדוּרֵّי מוּסִיקַה אִין מַאסّוֹ, דִיוֵוינְטוֹ֫ בֵּירְסַאלְייוֹ דֵי אַלְקוּנִי אַרְטִיסְטֵי פַאנַאטִיקֵי. סטַאנّוֹ דֵיסִידֵירוֹסִי דִי אוּצִّידֵירְמִי. פוֹרְטוּנוֹסַאמֵינְטֵי אַקְנוֹסִירִידֵי דַאמִי אוּנַה אַרְמַַאטוּרַה פּוֹטֵינזַה קֵי מִי אַבִּילִיטוֹ֫ דִי פְּרוֹדוּגְיירְמִי.׃”[Really? In fact, after we Macchina Gloriosa invented this gigantic octahedron which could mass-produce music, I became the target of some fanatic artists. They are eager to kill me. Luckily, Achenosiris gave me a power armour which enabled me to protect myself,] scoffed Hatpesis.

Hatpesis clicked a button on a ring that she wore, from which countless metallic particles went out and covered every inch of her skin. It was a power armour similar to the exoskeletal armour of Doctor Fames.

There were a pair of horns decorated on the helmet of her armour, which made the helmet look like some sort of bovid head.

Hatpesis hit a button on the wall and the alarm went off.

Burning with wrath, Stasha dashed towards Hatpesis, daggers held tight in hands. Hatpesis took out a pair of sistra and vibrated it, from which surges of soundwaves were shot out.

The wavelength and frequency of my soundwaves were calculated precisely by the Submatrix inside her power armour to make sure that it will be extremely destructive.

Stasha began to dance and her dancing steps helped her to dodge the soundwaves shot out by Hatpesis.

However, Hatpesis shot fast and soon Stasha was hit by a gust of soundwaves and knocked to the ground.

As agile as a leopard, Stasha jumped up to her feet, wielding her daggers. Hatpesis commenced to shoot soundwaves once again. This time, Stasha successfully dodged all those lethal soundwaves and charged all the way up to Hatpesis.

However, Hatpesis slammed her with a flying spin kick. Letting out a painful scream, Stasha was knocked to the ground.

“פֵּרדִי׃”[You lost!] smirked Hatpesis.

II

Floria rushed into the room of Aisling again anxiously.

Both Aisling and Yanni were there, but Stasha was not there. She was gone without trace!

The burning alcohol inside her blood began to cool down and her mind became clear once again, though there were still some drunken feelings hard to shake off …

“Hey, Floria, what is happening? You look worried,” queried Yanni.

“Stasha is gone! I don’t know where she is!” exclaimed Floria.

“She is gone? That’s awful! We have to find her,” muttered Yanni.

“Yes, she has drunk too much alcohol and she is delirious right now. She can be in everywhere. Maybe she is doing some, uh, performance arts on the street or maybe she is swimming in the fountain of the city’s plaza … She can be everywhere and it will be hard to find her. Since she is out of her mind now, she can cause severe troubles …” blurted Floria.

“You’re right. We need to start searching for her right now. Aisling, can you cast some sort of magic to locate her?” asked Yanni.

“No, I’m not omnipotent, Yanni,” sighed Aisling.

“Since, that, we have to scour this city or something bad is going to happen,” proposed Floria.

“Yep, you know that Stasha can be dangerous because she has the power of the Spring of Sylvana. Since she is drunken now, it will be hard for her to control her power and she may hurt someone. For example, she may, uh, be walking on the street and saw someone playing with a music box. Stasha hates music boxes so she may walk up to that unlucky guy and bully him. People can be violent after drinking,” murmured Aisling.

“Do you elves drink alcohol?” queried Yanni.

“No, we don’t. Alcohol is a little toxic to us. You cannot use alcohol to kill an elf but you can use it to make him or her painful,” replied Aisling.

“Whether elves drink or not is not important, Yanni! Let’s set off, split up and start searching for Stasha, right now!” commanded Floria.

Right after this conversation, the three began to search for Stasha. Floria would search the northwestern part of the city while Aisling would search the northeastern part and Yanni the southern part.

The Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa was in the southern part. It stood among other buildings like a demonic monster.

Suddenly, a thought flashed into Yanni’s mind.

Maybe Stasha’s violent part was activated by the alcohol she drank and she had gone into that pyramid in order to destroy it!

With this thought, Yanni walked up to the Pyramid of Macchina Gloriosa, and at its gate, he saw those fainted guards who was knocked to the ground by someone and warning sirens were beeping like mad. Clearly, it was Stasha who had done it

Upon entering the gate, Yanni noticed that there were some strange sounds coming from one of the rooms. He dashed into that room, inside which stood Stasha and Hatpesis, who were fighting with each other.

“Yanni, it’s nice to see you, help me fight this monster!” yelled Stasha.

“טְווֹ פּוֹקוֹ רַאגַאזّוֹ וְויֵינֵי אַדְ אַיוּטַארְטִי! אֵי֫ דוֹלְצֵי! אוֹרַה גְוַארְדִי דֵילְ מְיַה אוֹנְדַא סוֹנוֹרַה! סטַארוֹ֫ אִינְטֵירֵיסַאנְטֵיְ!׃” [Your little boyfriend comes to save you! How sweet! Now, beware my soundwaves! It is going to be interesting!] sneezed Hatpesis.

Hatpesis commenced release a weird kind of soundwaves, which filled the whole room.

Head aching, Stasha felt a gust of nausea and a desire for vomiting. Those soundwaves were really annoying.

Yanni, however, was suffering more from the soundwaves. He lied down and began to roll around in pain.

Wrathfully, Stasha charged towards Hatpesis, daggers in hand. When her blade was about to cut through the armour of Hatpesis, something eerie happened.

Yanni stood up to his feet and parried Stasha’s attack with his lunarite shield.

“What are you doing, Yanni? I am not going to kill her! I am just going to destroy her annoying power armour!” commanded Stasha.

However, Yanni ignored her words and continued attacking her. There were no signs of consciousness in his eyes as if his mind were being controlled by somebody.

“פֵּרדִי!׃”[You lost!] smirked Hatpesis.

“קֵי הַאיְ פַאטّוֹ אַ לְוִי! סַאיְ קוֹנְטְרוֹלّאנְטוֹ לַה סְוַה מֵינְטֵי?׃” [What have you done to him! Are you controlling his mind?] demanded Stasha, dodging Yanni’s attack.

“אִין אוּנַה צֵירְטַה מִיסוּרַה, סִי֫. לֵי אוֹנדֵי סוֹנוֹרִי קֵי הוֹ רֵילַאשַׁאטוֹ פְּווֹיְ סְטְרֵיגַארְלוֹ פַאצֵינְטוֹלוֹ קְרֵיאַרֵי קֵי יוֹ סוֹנוֹ לַה סְוַה אַלֵ֫יאטוֹ, אִינְוֵויצֵי דִי טוּ׃ מַה לֵי מְיֵי אוֹנְדֵי סוֹנוֹרִי פּוֹסّוֹנוֹ סְטְרֵיגַארֵי אִי מַאסְקִי.׃” [To some extent, yes. The soundwaves I just released can bewitch him, making him believe that I am his ally, instead of you. However, this soundwave can only control the mind of males,] smirked Hatpesis.

“דוּנְקְוֵי טוּ סְטַאיְ קוֹנְטְרוֹלַّאנְדוֹ אִילְ סְוַה מֵינְטֵי, טוּ קוֹלְייוֹנֵי”[So you’re controlling his mind, you asshole!] cursed Stasha.

“מוֹדֵירִי לַה טְוַה לִינְגְוַאגְייוֹ, רַאגַאזַّה! סְקוֹמֵיטّוֹ קֵי אִילְ טְווֹ רַאגַאזّוֹ וִוינְצֵירַה֫. סֵימְבּרַה אְוּן פּוֹ פְּיוּ֫ פוֹרְטֵי דִי טוּ.׃”[Watch your language, girl! I bet your boyfriend will win. He looks a little stronger than you,] bragged Hatpesis.

Then it was the fight between Yanni and Stasha. With force, Yanni tossed his shield towards Stasha but with an elegant dance move, she dodged the shield and dashed to the front of Yanni. Daggers in hand, she decided to stab Yanni’s shoulder.

Shoulder wasn’t Yanni’s vital part but stabbing his shoulder could incapacitate him. Unluckily, when her dagger was about to pierce into Yanni’s shoulder, the lunarite shield that Yanni tossed bounced back and hit Stasha on her spine.

Feeling a gust of agony spreading along her spine, Stasha screamed and fell to the ground. Yanni treaded on his shield and it bounced up all the way back into his hand.

Mindlessly, he commenced to smash Stasha hard with his shield. Stasha wanted to block his attack with her right arm, but when the shield hit her arm, all the neuros in her right arm became numb because of extreme painfulness.

Now, she was at Yanni’s mercy. If Yanni attacked again, some of her bones would be broken.

“אַסְפֵּטִّי! סְמֵיטִّי!׃” [Wait! Stop!] shouted Stasha in panic.

“פַארוֹ֫ וווֹיְ בַּאבַּארִי אַ פֵּיזִّי!׃”[I am going to tear you barbarians into pieces!] growled Hatpesis.

“סְמֵיטִّי!׃”[Stop!] begged Stasha.

“וְווֹלִיי דִיצֵירֵי אוּלְטִימַא פַּארוֹלַה?׃”[Do you want to say some last words?] mocked Hatpesis.

“סְיַאמוֹ אִין אוּן צִיוִוילִיזַّאטַה פַּאֵיסֵי. אֵי֫ אוּצִّידֵירֵי אוּנַה פֵּירְסוֹנַה קוֹנְטְרַה לַה לֵיגֵיי?׃”[We are in a civilized country. Isn’t killing a person against the laws?] queried Stasha.

“קְוֵיסְטוֹ פִּירַאמִידֵי אֵי֫ אִילְ מְיוֹ טֵירִّיטוֹרְיוֹ, אֵי סֵיקוֹנְדוֹ לַה דוֹטְّרִינַה דֵילְ קַאסְטֵילّוֹ, פְּווֹ אוּצִّידֵירֵי אִילְ אִינְוַואסוֹרִֵי סֵינְזַה אוֹבֵּ֫ידִירֵי לַה לֵיגֵיי.׃”[This pyramid is my territory, and according to the castle doctrine, I can kill the invaders without obeying the law …] explained Hatpesis.

“מַה סְיַאמוֹ נוֹרְמַאנְיַאנִי! לַה רֵילַאזְְיוֹנֵי פְרַה נוֹרְמַאנְיַה אֵי דֵיסֵירְזְיַה נוֹן אֵי֫ קוֹסִי֫ בְּווֹנַה, אֵי סֵי אוּצִّידִי נְוֹיְ טוּ נוֹרְמַאנְיַנִי, לַה דִיפְּלוֹמַאזְיַה פְרַה קְוֵיסְטֵי טְוֵי פַּאֵיסִי דִיוֵוינְטַארַה אַנְקֵי פֵּיגְّייוֹרֵי אֵי פַארִי֫ מֵינוֹ סוֹלְדִי דַה קוֹמֵّירְזַה אִינְטֵירְנַאזְיוֹנַאלֵי.׃” [But we’re Normanians! The relationship between Normania and Desertia is not so good, and if you kill us two Normanians, the diplomacy between these two countries would become even worse and you will make less money from international trade,] argued Stasha.

“סֵימְבּרַה רַאגְייוֹנֵיוְווֹלֵי.׃” [That seems reasonable,] consented Hatpesis with an elusive smile.

Hatpesis stopped emitting those soundwaves and Yanni woke up.

“Yanni, is it you now?” inquired Stasha.

“Yeah, it’s me. What has happened,” moaned Yanni.

“Damn mind control …” cursed Stasha.