Following the shutdown Machine men through winding hallways, Vardinns’ journey comes to a head as he stands before a blasted open doorway.

‘It’s starting to get difficult to walk.’ The Machine Men are stacked on top of one another. “This isn’t natural though. Almost as if someone stacked them after they shut down.” Vardinn says as he glances to the destroyed doorway, “to make way, I assume.”

Vardinn cautiously walks through the doorway, “let’s see what they wanted so bad.”

Pitch black. Whatever light comes through the door is consumed by the inky void. “Let’s see what this one does.” Vardinn says as he pulls out the pistol, leaning his arm out of the doorway to see. He turns the cylinder to “light”, pulls his arm back through and aims to the ceiling.

The hammer slams down as the trigger is pulled, but no noise. No thunderous blasts to rattle his ear drums. Nothing at all. 

A slow dim light appears in the center of the ceiling. From it, long glass tentacles grow across the ceiling, down the walls and finally stop before hitting the floor. After a moment, the small dim light grows bright and travels inside the tentacles. Illuminating the room, Vardinn is able to see the entire room. It is all but empty, save a lone Machine Man curled up on the floor with empty clenched hands.

“Did they move whatever it was? Or, perhaps, you are what they all wanted?” Vardinn says as he leans down to examine the Machine Man. he examines the battery and housing. Just depowered. He pulls the battery out, similar in design to most he has seen but slightly different. Thinner. He then places one of the batteries from his pouch into the empty housing.

Like Zero Four, with a whirl, spark, and sizzle, he comes to life. “I’m awake. Who,” he trails off as he looks up at Vardinn. “An elf? I’m sure you have an interesting tale for sure but may I inquire as to how you got here? In this room I mean.” The Machine Man says as he stands up. Arching his back and stretching his joints as if to mimic a flesh body, he leans to the side and sees the massive hole where the door used to be.

“You blew the door?! You flesh bags are always so destructive!” He bellows as he moves past Vardinn until he sees all the other Machine Men. “what..what happened.”

“Well, first, I found you like this. The door, the piled up machine men, all here before me. Secondly, I was actually hoping you could tell me. The city was totally locked down. Noone could escape. Once I was able to get in, I followed these angry looking fellows to your door.” Vardinn says as he motions to the Machine Men.

“Oh right. The city went into lock down. I remember now. Wait, why were you trying to get in the city in the first place?”

“Oh! I was sent to find someone named Zero One. he took a precious device from a castle.”

“Wanderer. If you have come to steal the device back, I don’t have it. I can only guess but that is why the door was blasted open. Whoever did it, wanted the device. So return to your master and tell him to leave me be.”

“Zero One I presume.” Vardinn says as he bow with respect to The Machine Man.

Confused, he bows back. “Yes I am but you knew that. Being the wanderers subject.”

“Ah! No. The master of the castle is long gone. I was sent by a Demi-Ferret named Porter.” 

“Porters still alive!? Tenacious little guy. Also, for future reference, he isn’t a Demi Ferret. The Wanderer found him on a planet where a number of animals evolved enough to be bigger and smarter so he is just a smart ferret. Regardless of who sent you, if the device is still functional, I still need it.”

“That is fine. I was instructed to get the devices but if I’m unable to, he gave me a nifty gadget to scan the devices, then he can replicate them.”

“Really? He can do that? I know he was studying under the wanderer but I wasn’t aware he was all that far into it.”

“Actually, it has been much longer than you think. It has been a few hundred years or so since you took the device.”

“A few hundred. So, if they are all shut down like this then they never solved the power issues after the lockdown.”

“What happened? Why did you steal the device?”

“Well. It started a few months before the incident. I was approached by the Central Algorithm, a community leader for our kind. He told me that the method for creating our power cells had run dry of the necessary elements so our people were on borrowed time. He pleaded for me to go ask The Wanderer for help.”

“At the time, I was working with him. He wanted to understand Machine Men better and I wanted to learn more of his technologies. I asked him for help for months. He refused every time. He said that the answer to our troubles was right in front of us.”

“Growing more and more desperate, when those two idiots approached me to help with the scheme they had, I couldn’t refuse.”

“After the whole ordeal, with the power cell in my hands and a glimmer of hope in my eyes, I went straight home Through one of the Tsuin Gates.”

“Wait. so your city and the people living in it, predate the Unknown.”

“The Unknown?”

“Breaking the machine did a lot more than screw over The Wanderer. Anyway, sorry, as you were saying.” Vardinn says with a polite nod and hand wave as if to suggest Zero One continues.

“In the months leading up to the ordeal, I was researching ways to fix it. One was a device to transmit power wirelessly. No more changing batteries. The Central Algorithm approved as long as I could get a source of power strong enough to run the power generator.”

“But when I arrived he had already gotten the builders to make all the new batteries. I was just happy to have a solution finally so I plugged in the device and it worked! For a glorious week, it worked.” 

“That was until the Central Algorithm told me his new plan. He told me he found a new way to make a battery that doesn’t require staying in the city but the machine he built to make the new batteries needs a powerful power cell. He said he was able to make a prototype with the generator but he needed the device so he could make more of them faster.”

“Obviously I am not an idiot. I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t prove anything so I did the only thing I could. I yanked the power cell out and locked myself in this room. I only planned on staying for a few days. Either he would plug in his new power source prototype he was able to make into the generator or he would be outed as a lier and I’d be clear.” 

  “On the day I was gonna come out, mind numbingly loud sirens started blaring, the lights shut off and the door sealed. After some time I shut down.”