The freight elevator Bear had summoned shook and rattled as it interminably ascended.

“Why couldn't we hole up somewhere in the tunnels, not as deep as the subcity, until someone has enough magic to get us out of here?” I asked.

“Instrumentation is sparse at the mid levels. I cannot be sure of getting you somewhere safe. Surprises at this juncture are not likely to be good.”

“We could stay in the elevator.”

“The morlocks are still tool users. They would disassemble it from the outside in very little time. Even now their engineers pursue us in another car.”

“They have engineers?”

“Combat engineers, I should call them.”

“Any good news?”

“They outnumber us two to one.”

“How is that good news?”

“The extra weight slows them. We are almost a minute ahead in our ascent .”

“Can’t you stop them?”

“They saw how I made the doors of this lift close faster than they should have,and have adjusted their tactics accordingly. They have disabled the network interface and are operating manually. I have no control of their car. I cannot cut its power because it is on the same circuit as this one.”

“What do we do?”

“Jump out when we get to the top. I will cut the power and both cars will be going down. Expect them to activate the emergency brake and climb back up.”

“Frik, so they’re unstoppable?”

“Perhaps. When we reach the surface, we can attempt to dodge enforcers and the enforcers will become a larger menace to the morlocks than the morlocks are to us. You are one human among many, the morlocks will stand out.”

“Does this mean more running?”

“Stretch first, this time.”

When Bear offers real survival advice… yeah, I stretched like we might have to run for our lives.

—

We stood at the back of the lift, waiting to jump out. The doors, safety mechanisms overridden, were open and the shaft walls flickered past. As we slowed, a number on the wall informed that we were thirty two metres from the end of the ride.

“Go time in three,” Bear said. “Two. One. Go!”

Discord and Isha were out before the elevator even stopped its climb. Twilight and I jumped out, flanking Gloam. Even as we caught ourselves on the solid floor, we could see the now darkened car beginning to fall behind us.

We had emerged just below street level after the long elevator ride. Bear guided us through a breathless tip-toe past a room where a squad of enforcers was taking an unauthorized break. Bear still couldn’t give them orders to search elsewhere, but he could track them in great detail and direct us accordingly.

“This stair will take us to the surface. Watch your feet.”

The iron steps had no railing, rising from the floor to vanish into a mass of pipes – somewhere above a door would open to the street.

As we climbed, from the distant elevator lobby came a piercing squeal of brakes. Either the morlocks had stopped their car, or the one we abandoned had triggered some automatic safety mechanism.

Shouts and bootsound told us the enforcers were rousted and we were only halfway to the door. A further shout of alarm confirmed that we had been seen.

“Keep moving,” Bear instructed. “I will deal with them.”

We exited back to daylight and as the surface door closed I could hear the sound of a steam pipe venting into the stairwell. Behind us, the shriek of escaping steam was almost loud enough to cover the cries of dying men. None of them made it to the top of the stairs.

“Neither the subcity nor the mid-level tunnels are equipped with full monitoring and repurposable infrastructure.”

“Yeah,” I said, taken aback by the sudden loss of life. But it was us or them.

“If we can get past the cordon sanitaire into the buildings that have already been searched, you may be able to hole up for a day.”

“I want to go north, Bear, the shrine.”

The tunnels could have delivered us to the surface literally anywhere. Instead we had overshot by a comfortably slight amount; we were now only two streets away from my goal. We could hear heavy vehicles in the near distance, although there was no sign of enforcers on this street. The bass reverberation of engines bounced between buildings, they could emerge from any direction, any second.

I interpreted Bear’s silence as an electronic sigh and led on.

With cautious haste we approached the next corner. Echo twisted the sound and the rumble of vehicles I hoped to leave behind now seemed to come from ahead of us.

“There are some blind spots on the next block,” Bear said. “Keep your heads down, there could be be enforcers.”

—

When the former Golden Way building security employee turned the corner and found himself face to face with a former resident, his first thought was that she bore no sign of the blissful aura one might expect of a recently engaged woman. He wanted to ask what went wrong, perhaps offer some encouragement. Perhaps even fling some verbal jab at the woman she followed, surely the woman Dr. Myrtle had her heart set upon.

But he could recognize the look of a group trying to avoid official notice, and not ten metres behind him—

“Enforcers,” he whispered, willing himself not to look back.

After pausing to be sure his warning was understood he took off running the opposite direction.

It might cost him his life, but he would draw the enforcers’ attention at least for a moment.

—

“Turn back, back inside,” Bear commanded. “We’ll pop out somewhere else.”

“But you just—”

“Sprinklers are on, cooling the stairs. The enforcers on the stairs are neutralized, but you need to hurry to avoid another gang of them.”

Isha was stumbling, looking over her shoulder at the enforcers who pursued the stranger. I grabbed her arm to pull her along.

“But– he–”

A complete stranger had thrown away his life to buy us a few seconds.

“And it will be for nothing if we don’t do what Bear says.”

The stairway was unpleasantly hot and humid when we returned, but no longer fatal as it had been for the enforcers.

“Don’t look, baby,” I mumbled to Gloam, holding her hand as I guided her past the parboiled bodies. They weren’t a pretty sight.

“How long are we going to be playing whack a mole?” Isha grumbled as we reached the floor below.

“In real whack a mole, the hammer only attacks from above, not below too,” Twilight pointed out helpfully.

From somewhere, below, the morlocks were bound to emerge.

“The game will be over soon,” Bear said without emotion. “We seem to be losing.”

“What!?”

“The squad that we sneaked past has missed their check in. Two more squads are on their way to check on them. Their radio silence is working against us now.”

Above us, steam pipes were once again turning the stairs into a lethal sauna. Presumably one angle of attack was covered.

Like clockwork, the other angle of attack manifested yet another squad.

Trapped, we raised our hands. There were four in urban assault armor and single lightly armed officer, inexperienced looking. If we played along, would Bear get a chance to pick them off, somehow?

Careful not to block his solders’ field of fire, the officer approached us.

My mind whirled with improbable escapes. Aphroditian magic included a number of sleep spells strong enough to replace medical anesthetic. If Twilight and Gloam made it, my life would be well spent. Could I get close enough to ensorcell the soldiers and trust Discord and Isha to take out the officer? Maybe– if we had planned our moves in advance. On another hoof, the female solder (judging from the curves of her armor) towering over her fellows was packing a bolter with a barrel it looked like I could fit three fingers into.

Before I could improvise anything crazy, an official sounding voice came over each soldier’s radio.

“All units stand down! Target is acquired, repeat target is acquired. Disengage all suspects and rally with your unit for updated orders! Command, out.”

Nice work, Bear.

“Impressive,” the green lieutenant said. “That sounded just like dispatch, but too bad you don’t have the code to authenticate that order.”

Enjoying his victory, he fished a sheet of paper out of his uniform pocket and studied it for a moment. I didn’t need to use quantum-observability magic to know that every security camera within range would be zoomed onto that scrap of intel. Bear had the codes now.

With a superior grin ill-befitting a man about to die, the lieutenant keyed his radio mic.

I don’t think he was any more surprised than we were when two pale hands punched through the wallcrete behind him. His neck was broken before the morlock behind pulled him into some unknown cavity.

“Now we know who the eloi are today.”

I’d have to ask what Bear’s low volume aside meant if I was alive when this was over.

As the code sheet fluttered to the ground, radios crackled to life again.

“Uh, appending code sierra bravo one zero zero to previous transmission. Repeat, sierra bravo one zero zero. Proceed to rally point and maintain radio silence. Out.”

I don’t know what weapon I was expecting to see morlocks wield, perhaps cartoonish wooden clubs, but when the three human sized soldiers ran towards the spot where their commander had vanished they faced something somewhat more advanced. The morlocks flooding out of the wall to engage them bore metal staves a metre long. The weapons looked heavy enough to be an effective battle mace, but when jabbed at an armored enforcer the screaming, and the collapsing, started before they even made contact. Sparks flew; smoke and the scent of burnt flesh escaped joints in their armor. The battering which took place afterwards seemed to be merely an afterthought, attention to detail. Melee weapons were proving unexpectedly effective against small arms at this range, with only a handful of shots fired.

Two more morlocks were climbing the tall soldier, inside her guard and trying to get a critical blow with one of their weapons. One wrestled an arm as large as his entire body – even though she was holding a heavy bolter with that hand, she was still almost able to shake that assailant off of her. But the other had reached her shoulders and stood to bring the business end of his stave straight down in a double handed drive to the top of her helmet. A flash of light shined out of the visor and the fight was over.

The four enforcer soldiers were down, in various stages of disassembly. Two morlocks were dead, one wounded. The morlock attending his injuries did not appear to be relying on mundane medicine. With some shock I realized I was witnessing a skilled combat cleric in action. Already the bleeding was stopped.

There was an awkward moment of ambiguity. Would the morlocks prove to be friendly, or would they turn on us now?

Before we could wonder any longer, the sound of one more enforcer running towards us came from around the corner.

I scrambled to retrieve a weapon from the fallen giantess.

“Hands off,” Bear commanded. “You can’t shoot a bolter without a reinforced skeleton.”

With the one lagging enforcer rounding the corner, gun up and searching for a target, I didn’t have time to argue about what I could or could not actually do.

Cradling the bolter low and at my side, I braced the butt against the wall, pointed it in the general direction of the incoming threat, and pulled the trigger all the way back.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR cakcakcakcakcak

I dropped the empty weapon and surveyed the results.

The bolter had chewed through walls and armor with an absolute lack of respect for the so-called ‘solid’ state of matter. I also noticed that the butt of the weapon had embedded itself several centimetres into the wall – as usual, Bear was right, I just happened to cheat a little.

Now the time had come to face our rescuers.

The living morlocks had gathered together; I gestured Gloam to my side and Twilight, Isha and Discord gathered behind me.

I spread my empty hands at waist level. No weapon. The armed morlocks set their weapons on the ground and did likewise.

At last we got a good look at them. Scurrying through the dim edges of the subcity, or in frenetic combat, they had been frightening enough, but no longer. To all appearances, they were human. Almost bone pale skin and hair, their clothes and kit matching, they had looked naked before. Face to face, they were no less civilized than we.

“Can you understand me?” I asked cautiously.

The cleric stepped forward.

“I speak the surface tongue, it is known to the Servants of the Shadows. May I approach?”

I nodded and he walked closer.

Stepping around me, he faced Isha, raising one hand to her. When she raised her own in reply, he placed his palm against hers.

“What is the name of your people?” Isha asked in quiet awe.

“We are the Pale Ones, and I am called Somar. A war doctor, and in better times a minor poet.”

“I am—”

“You are Isha, the walking shadow. We were told in a vision that you would require aid. We have done what we can. Now we must take our fallen and return.”

For a moment they stared, opposites.

Male, female.

One light, one dark.

Priestess from the surface, cleric from far below.

One about to return to his home, the other about to leave hers forever.

“We must hurry,” he said at last, dropping his hand back to his side. “And so must you.”

With no other farewell, he turned to his people. The Pale Ones gathered their weapons, the injured one taking an armload of the strange devices to make it easier for four of her fellows to carry the two dead.

Behind them, a single elevator opened, still under Bear’s control. The one they had hotwired must be parked somewhere below.

As one of their combat engineers began to work on the elevator panel, I heard Bears voice coming over the speaker inside.

“You may leave the controls alone, I will not interfere with you further.”

Hastening behind the engineer, Somar translated his words into speech alien to any language, mundane or esoteric, that I know.

After a short exchange, they both moved aside so the dead could be carried in. The doors began to close.

“Be careful,” Isha shouted after them, “be careful!”

The doors were closed.

“Couldn’t we hide with them?” Twilight asked.

“Negative. I do not want a bunch of armed enforcers running amok in the undercity. While effective at close range, those weapons will be of little use against an organized heavy assault. We need to move, now.”

Once again Bear directed our way through the underground. Twisting and turning, the path took us through barren corridors, across subterranean garages, in and out of warehouses and buried factories. Some were silent as tombs, others bustled with activity oblivious to our passage. And no encounters with enforcers.

Another turn brought us into a brightly lit room full of huge commercial sized autowashers.

“Ugh,” Gloam complained, “which way now?”

“Up,” Bear said. “Another elevator.”

“What then? I’m tirrrrrred.”

“Let me explain our next move. We are almost underneath our destination, but to get there we will need to take a service lift to the second floor, transfer to the public lift which we will ride down to ground level. Everybody please steal some clothes so you look presentable for step two. Once you are suitably attired, Tanna, Isha and Discord please put on housekeeping jackets over your clothes to disguise you through step one. Gloam, you will have the most important part.”

That perked her interest.

“What’s that?”

“You will ride in state, in a laundry cart. Nobody will ever suspect.”

“Cooool. Where’re the clothes?”

She was stark naked and rummaging through a washer’s output bin in a remarkably short time.

“I’m afraid you will find nothing but men’s clothes there, from the rugby team occupying the entire seventh floor. Try machine number three.”

“Eww,” she said, holding up a jock strap. “How come boy’s underwear doesn’t have any back? Is it so they can poop without taking it off?”

—

Ten minutes latter we were arrayed in our finest stolen togs.

Isha and I had found each other fancy lingerie that probably cost more credits then either of us saw in a year, and certainly a pair of society ladies would be gnashing their teeth at loss of some lovely little grey dresses; a bit of draft blowing past had me feeling quite cheeky. Twilight wore some very stylish knee breeches and a crisp pressed shirt – thoroughly efficient and sexy. Discord had gone all out, looking positively aristocratic in a five piece suit. These were some nice shades of grey, colours well out of my budget.

“Hey,” Gloam said, “if I’m in the cart, do I even need clothes?”

She was still naked.

“Get her in a headlock,” I suggested to Isha, “and I’ll put some clothes on her.”

“You grab her. She bites!”

“Gloam.”

Twilight simply spoken her name.

“Yes, father.”

I wasn’t sure how Twilight got that level compliance, but I’d worry about that later and started finding clothes that would fit her. Ruffled panties, an almost cupless training bra, a slip, pantaloons, an underdress, a full length dress, an overskirt, and an embroidered waistcoat! By the time I was done with her, she was wearing as much as the rest of us put together.

“You’re enjoying this, mom.”

Gloam glowered at me.

“Did you want to hide in a load of clean laundry, or dirty?” I asked sweetly.

“Mommmmmmm.”

—

In the elevator, Bear briefed us for our next move.

“If the coast is clear, throw your housekeeping disguises in the cart and proceed to the guest elevator. If there are witnesses, continue onward around the floor. If necessary, return to the service lift and we will try again on another floor.”

One lap was enough, as we returned to the guest elevator nobody was about. I pulled back the clean blanket covering Gloam and held her hand as she climbed of the laundry cart.

“You look very nice, baby girl.”

I hugged her as I helped her down to the ground.

“Thanks, mom,” she said, somewhat mollified to be wearing more clothes at one time than she ever had before.

With our houskeepers’ jackets of bondsman grey ditched to reveal our vibrant upper crust plumage, we rode to the ground floor.

Striding forth like we hadn’t a care in the world, we were halfway across the grand lobby when—

“Sir, sir, excuse me, sir!” the matre d´hotel was desperately trying to flag us down and seemed to have settled on Discord as the person in charge. “Are you checking out, sir?”

“Goodness, no,” Discord said drawing himself up to his most pompous height. “Me and my valet and my girlllls—” he slapped my bottom with one hand and threw his other arm around Isha’s shoulders “—are just popping out for a bite to eat. Is Giovanni’s as good as they say?”

“Eep!” I choked back my surprise.

“Oh, I’m not familiar with that establishment. If I were to call ahead for you, I’m sure they’d seat you at Cliff’s Chophouse. Party of five for Mister…?”

“That’s Lord Sullivan to you, good woman.” He peered archly down at her. “And if they don’t know me by sight at this ‘Cliff’s’, they sha’n’t have the honor of seating moi.”

“But Cliff’s is– I mean, you can get there by the skybridge, m’lord, without going out in the street with all the enforcer activity.”

“Pish, pish, my old fish, we’ll be going now. Do have my suite cleaned while I’m out!”

“What’s your room—”

Discord ignored her, and like that we were out the front.

“Nicely done, Discord!” Twilight accompanied her praise with a companionable elbow to his ribs. “But, your valet?” Her elbow was still grinding. “Your girls?” She was really leaning into it now.

“Ouch, that hurts, Twilight, please stop. It was just part of the act. Isn’t that right, Tanna?”

I cast my gaze down humbly.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Good grief, it was just in fun!” Discord sounded flustered. Apparently the demure act did something for him.

I wrung my hands shyly together. Something about my posture had made the hem of my dress creep up ever so slightly higher.

“Quite– quite so, my lord.” My voice was little more than a breathless whisper.

“Don’t do that!” he insisted. “I’m only– well, whatever I am right now.”

Twilight removed her elbow from his side.

“And if you ever touch my wife’s butt again, I will tell Fluttershy.” She paused for effect. “How you died.”

“No time for this,” Bear reminded us. “Hurry.”

—

With a dash halfway down the block from the hotel we reached a narrow gap between buildings.

I led the party to the narrow path accessing the shrine of Aphrodite. I only had the barest conjecture to guide me, but it was the best chance at a possible escape we had. Beyond all other help, there was only a sliver of hope.

And faith.

“Tanna!” Isha protested, “the shrine is a dead end!”

Twilight put out a burst of speed, drew abreast of me. “Dead end?” she asked.

“Trust me!” The sound of pursuit was growing louder in the street behind us. “This has to work or we’ll be just as dead no matter where they finally corner us!”

Tires screeched on the pavement behind us. We had been seen.

Before us was the grass of the shrine lawn and the stone doorway: two pillars and the lintel spanning them.

Shedding my clothes, “strip!” I said, “not safe to go through with clothes on.”

“I’m shutting down,” Bear announced, “hold the green button to reactivate me once you are off of holy ground.”

“Got it,” I said as I folded and placed my clothes in a cubby for the last time.

Indicators went dark as Bear quiesced himself. I buttoned my satchel closed on him and slung it back over my naked shoulder.

Gloam was still struggling with her many layers – usually in any given situation she was the first one naked whether it made any sense to be, or not. This time I lent her a hand.

Checking that my party were all skyclad, I led them onto the grass when all were ready.

“What exactly are we doing here?” Isha asked.

“Who’s got enough power for a portal?” Twilight wanted to know.

“Lo!” Gloam spoke with an unexpected confidence. “Watch my mother, and learn.”

Seven times I raised my hands, stretching my arms fully above my head and lowering again.

In need I called upon the mother of all living.

“Mother Gaia, your daughter stands before you in supplication!”

More troop carriers stopped on the street outside. Pneumatic doors whooshed open and orders were shouted.

“Mother Gaia, the hour is come upon us and there is no other hope!”

Boots and yells sounded in the alley leading to the shrine. I took Gloam’s hand and began to run towards the cromlech.

“Mother Gaia, your chains are loosed and by your sister’s oath I beg you aid us!” I cried as we charged across the emerald lawn towards an empty doorway.

There was a flicker of shadow between three white stones.

Author's Note

End of Act Four:

Return

also, H/T R.W.