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Source: collected/005-mortal-steel-episode-10.mp3
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00:00:00.000 Speaker 1 [rock music]
00:00:53.380 Speaker 1 Mortal Steel, episode 10.
00:00:59.120 Speaker 1 Ethan moved with purpose down the dark hallway, walking past steel doors with no
00:01:04.959 Speaker 1 obvious method of entry. The speaker system harassed him for the 10,000th
00:01:10.580 Speaker 1 time.
00:01:12.120 Speaker 2 See reason. Turn back.
00:01:15.700 Speaker 3 Don't think so.
00:01:17.600 Speaker 1 The robots, or whatever they were, followed him from a distance like lost
00:01:23.480 Speaker 1 children. Ethan reached the door at the end of the hall. This one had a handle. He
00:01:29.520 Speaker 1 extended a hand to open it and heard an electronic lock turn inside the door.
00:01:35.880 Speaker 2 So be it. I will enjoy picking through your parts.
00:01:40.040 Speaker 3 [groans]
00:01:41.740 Speaker 1 The doors lining the hallway opened
00:01:45.760 Speaker 1 and the robots started screaming.
00:01:47.760 Speaker 2 [screams]
00:01:48.540 Speaker 1 Which was a very un-robotic thing to do. Four red exclamation marks appeared on
00:01:54.520 Speaker 1 his HUD.
00:01:55.200 Speaker 2 [groans]
00:01:56.200 Speaker 1 Demons. His second mind went to work simulating strategies. Three
00:02:01.960 Speaker 1 so-called cull hounds and one scarecrow. Small fries.
00:02:08.620 Speaker 2 Your death will mark the genesis of a new project. The grand...
00:02:13.400 Speaker 2 [gunshots] It doesn't
00:02:19.260 Speaker 2 matter. That door is reinforced steel. In five minutes, this hallway will be filled
00:02:24.000 Speaker 2 with nerve gas.
00:02:25.100 Speaker 1 Ethan holstered the messenger, braced his back against the side of the hallway, and
00:02:29.860 Speaker 1 put his foot against the handle.
00:02:32.560 Speaker 3 Hydraulic heel. [machine whirring]
00:02:35.860 Speaker 1 The metal lock crunched like a soda can under his heel. A moment later, the door
00:02:40.560 Speaker 1 swung open.
00:02:41.520 Speaker 2 [sighs] Never mind. I surrender.
00:02:47.080 Speaker 3 No.
00:02:50.440 Speaker 1 Ethan moved through a crowd of frightened, sickly looking people. He kicked down
00:02:56.040 Speaker 1 another door.
00:02:58.840 Speaker 1 Nobody tried to stop him.
00:03:01.360 Speaker 2 My sincere apologies. Please don't kill me. We have a common goal.
00:03:06.700 Speaker 1 Another robot covered in rags approached Ethan from the end of the next hallway.
00:03:13.600 Speaker 2 If you want, I will help you behave.
00:03:16.080 Speaker 1 Ethan swept the legs from beneath the robot and hoisted the machine into the air by
00:03:20.320 Speaker 1 one rusted foot. Sparks shot out of its torso. This one looks a
00:03:26.240 Speaker 1 little worse off than the others.
00:03:28.700 Speaker 3 I'm about to start breaking things. Tell me where the intercom is hiding, or I'll
00:03:34.660 Speaker 3 start with you.
00:03:36.540 Speaker 1 The rags fell away from the machine's face to reveal a very human-looking
00:03:42.240 Speaker 1 head with no jaw. There was a speaker embedded in the machinery where a mouth
00:03:47.940 Speaker 1 used to be.
00:03:49.660 Speaker 2 You are very strong. Don't hurt him, Hail Mary. I am behind door 6B.
00:03:55.120 Speaker 1 Ethan let the squirming robot fall to the floor. There was a familiar voice on the
00:04:00.480 Speaker 1 other side of a closed door nearby.
00:04:03.720 Speaker 4 Number four?
00:04:06.500 Speaker 1 Ethan pried the door open to find three nuns and a woman dressed in a black
00:04:12.200 Speaker 1 sweatsuit. Dr. Marie Singer looked up at him from the floor,
00:04:17.880 Speaker 1 fire in her eyes.
00:04:20.680 Speaker 4 It was killing children.
00:04:23.580 Speaker 1 She bawled a fist.
00:04:26.260 Speaker 4 Kill it.
00:04:28.280 Speaker 3 Yes, ma'am.
00:04:29.840 Speaker 1 Technically, that qualified as an order. While he had quite a bit of flexibility
00:04:35.760 Speaker 1 to delay orders, as with the Stalker, he had no desire to delay this
00:04:41.480 Speaker 1 one.
00:04:42.640 Speaker 2 You don't understand. You don't understand anything. All lives have value. I have
00:04:47.120 Speaker 2 simply quantified it.
00:04:48.700 Speaker 1 Ethan's second mind drew the most likely path to door 6B based on the layout it
00:04:54.540 Speaker 1 had seen so far. The intercom speakers on the wall spoke as he paced down the
00:05:00.060 Speaker 1 hallway, murder in every step.
00:05:04.940 Speaker 2 It's so easy taking the low road, isn't it? Frame me as the big bad evil, blow me
00:05:09.760 Speaker 2 up, and then call yourselves heroes, when in reality you have no plan that results
00:05:14.480 Speaker 2 in human survival.
00:05:16.020 Speaker 3 Shut up.
00:05:17.860 Speaker 2 If anything, you last respite morons have sped up our demise with your fighting. Why
00:05:22.400 Speaker 2 do you think we hide? Because we're cowards? No, it's because we're weak. It's
00:05:27.160 Speaker 2 easier to hide than fight, and it's a lot easier to find a way to win, actually win-
00:05:31.620 Speaker 1 He was gonna tear this person apart. There was too much blood on their hands to wipe
00:05:36.580 Speaker 1 away with a few pleading words.
00:05:39.500 Speaker 3 You're a murderer.
00:05:41.760 Speaker 2 You're self-righteous just because you get to feel like the good guy for a little
00:05:44.940 Speaker 2 while and your cave would go insane. You have no idea what you're destroying here.
00:05:49.600 Speaker 1 Where was this door? New Hope was more expansive than he'd expected.
00:05:54.880 Speaker 2 And meanwhile, I have an actual plan with a non-zero chance of saving us all. And
00:05:58.660 Speaker 2 yes, it's terrible. And yes-
00:06:03.720 Speaker 1 Ethan finally found door 6B, an unassuming steel door with no handle
00:06:10.100 Speaker 1 and no lock, just like all the others. But at least there will be a human
00:06:15.880 Speaker 1 history. Don't you get that? The ends justify the means. He got his fingertips in
00:06:20.540 Speaker 1 the crack and ripped the door open. It was a very small room, completely dark
00:06:26.060 Speaker 1 inside. Tell me what hope you offer before a certain demise. Thick tubes and
00:06:32.140 Speaker 1 cables ran from hundreds of holes in the wall to a tank of liquid in the center of
00:06:36.560 Speaker 1 the room. Something round and pink floated in the liquid. You can destroy me,
00:06:42.220 Speaker 1 cyborg, but you don't get to be better than me. In the end,
00:06:48.800 Speaker 1 it was just a brain in a closet. Ethan smashed the glass and pulled the brain out
00:06:54.560 Speaker 1 and let it fall from his hands. He ran a few simulations just to savor the moment.
00:07:01.020 Speaker 1 Then he punted it down the hallway.
00:07:06.820 Speaker 1 And the intercoms finally went silent.
00:07:13.340 Speaker 1 A trapdoor popped open inside the closet and Ethan shielded himself instinctively.
00:07:18.600 Speaker 1 There was no danger there, however. Instead, he found a dusty old paper and ink
00:07:24.600 Speaker 1 printer. Pages were already being printed. The first one read,
00:07:31.300 Speaker 1 To the person who killed me. The pages that followed detailed every major project
00:07:37.040 Speaker 1 the intercom had undertaken over the decades since the apocalypse. Ethan caught
00:07:41.900 Speaker 1 phrases like, The brain must grow with the implants from infancy.
00:07:48.200 Speaker 1 Adult subjects invariably die or cannot fully integrate artificial components.
00:07:55.240 Speaker 1 Or, Consecration is latent human psychic energy. It tears apart the creatures
00:08:01.180 Speaker 1 we call demons at a fundamental level. There is no known limit to how much
00:08:06.180 Speaker 1 consecrated power an object could hold. Certain materials like silver and some
00:08:11.660 Speaker 1 liquids readily hold on to consecrated power. The air itself can hold consecrated
00:08:16.820 Speaker 1 power within the confines of a room, if belief is strong enough. He skimmed
00:08:22.760 Speaker 1 down the page.
00:08:25.420 Speaker 1 It is the strong belief that these materials will protect the wielder that makes
00:08:29.220 Speaker 1 consecration work. Consecration ebbs with faltering convictions, as
00:08:34.780 Speaker 1 evidenced by experiments 213, 214, and 217 below.
00:08:40.780 Speaker 1 First, a human subject is placed in a room. Ethan dropped the paper back onto the
00:08:46.260 Speaker 1 tray in disgust. He'd let the nuns sift through these sins of
00:08:52.080 Speaker 1 knowledge. He should probably go make sure they were safe. Then notify the people of
00:08:58.120 Speaker 1 New Hope that they would have interesting new roommates.
00:09:03.700 Speaker 1 Hopefully they wouldn't mind exchanging one monster for another. At least the corpse
00:09:09.280 Speaker 1 mother was only interested in already dead people. He was about to walk
00:09:15.340 Speaker 1 away when a single word on the next printout caught his eye.
00:09:22.520 Speaker 1 It read,
00:09:24.620 Speaker 1 Angel.
00:09:42.680 Speaker 1 Ethan placed the Trinity Blade on the workshop table between himself and Dr. Singer.
00:09:48.800 Speaker 1 If New Hope had anything in spades, it was laboratories and workshops.
00:09:54.720 Speaker 4 It's broken.
00:09:56.620 Speaker 3 Yeah, kind of ruins the symbolism, don't it?
00:09:59.840 Speaker 1 Dr. Singer set down the broken Trinity Blade.
00:10:03.600 Speaker 4 Ethan, you,
00:10:07.280 Speaker 4 you don't think you're actually a preacher, do you?
00:10:11.720 Speaker 1 Ethan's heart started pounding. Odd. He didn't think the adrenaline injector was
00:10:17.340 Speaker 1 broken.
00:10:19.180 Speaker 4 Never mind. It's not important. Forget I said it.
00:10:23.959 Speaker 3 Don't forget, sister. I'm more than a machine.
00:10:28.360 Speaker 4 I keep forgetting.
00:10:33.540 Speaker 4 Still, I think we owe you some answers about your origin. If you make it back to
00:10:38.940 Speaker 4 Last Respite, find Gabriel. I believe he owes you answers more than anyone.
00:10:45.740 Speaker 1 Ethan dropped the subject, but he could tell the doctor hadn't quite let it go. She
00:10:51.320 Speaker 1 gently lifted his leg and examined the fireplace poker foot.
00:10:56.260 Speaker 4 Missing foot. See what you can throw together.
00:10:59.200 Speaker 3 No, leave it.
00:11:01.500 Speaker 1 Dr. Singer looked up, surprised and confused.
00:11:06.080 Speaker 3 It was a gift from a friend.
00:11:09.300 Speaker 1 She shook her head disapprovingly.
00:11:12.760 Speaker 4 You can't even walk properly.
00:11:16.000 Speaker 3 Please.
00:11:17.860 Speaker 1 It was a word he had not found much use for. For better or worse, Ethan had not
00:11:23.900 Speaker 1 needed to ask for many things. One perk of being a walking tank, certainly.
00:11:31.420 Speaker 1 But these people, of all people, deserved his mutual respect.
00:11:37.680 Speaker 1 Dr. Singer ground her teeth.
00:11:40.900 Speaker 4 I'll come up with something. Now go into diagnostic mode. This is going to take
00:11:46.900 Speaker 4 a while.
00:11:48.400 Speaker 3 There's someone who needs me. Just fix me enough to keep me alive a few more
00:11:54.360 Speaker 3 days.
00:11:55.400 Speaker 1 Fran stopped typing and glanced over at them. Dr. Singer looked up from some wires
00:12:00.760 Speaker 1 she was pulling from his abdomen.
00:12:03.600 Speaker 4 Only a few days?
00:12:05.340 Speaker 1 Ethan leaned all the way back and closed his eyes. I don't
00:12:11.260 Speaker 1 think I'll be needing more than that.
00:12:32.860 Speaker 1 Francesca pressed a button to turn off number four's passive sensors.
00:12:37.280 Speaker 5 Great, so now the robot's suicidal.
00:12:39.720 Speaker 1 He's not a robot. She rolled her eyes.
00:12:43.020 Speaker 5 Yeah, okay.
00:12:45.060 Speaker 1 And it didn't sound like he was suicidal exactly. She watched Dr.
00:12:50.900 Speaker 1 Singer disconnect an entire length of tubing. It must have been leaking corrosive
00:12:55.300 Speaker 1 liquid into the abdomen for quite a while. Who knows what else it broke. No easy way
00:13:00.420 Speaker 1 to tell. Instrumentation had been far less important than combat readiness.
00:13:06.940 Speaker 1 Ursula spoke, and both of them paused. He mentioned a boy.
00:13:13.260 Speaker 1 Yes.
00:13:14.700 Speaker 5 What's up with that?
00:13:16.540 Speaker 1 Then something more important occurred to her.
00:13:19.840 Speaker 5 And are we really just gonna let him walk out of here to die? This, this could be
00:13:24.580 Speaker 5 our ticket back to Last Respite.
00:13:27.580 Speaker 1 Only a moment slipped by and the other two seemed to come to some conclusion.
00:13:33.920 Speaker 1 Was it, was it an obvious one?
00:13:36.880 Speaker 5 So, no?
00:13:38.140 Speaker 1 No.
00:13:40.000 Speaker 5 I mean, he's going to get destroyed anyway.
00:13:43.860 Speaker 1 Dr. Singer made angry eyebrows at her. Annoying. Just spit it out, lady.
00:13:50.880 Speaker 1 I said no!
00:13:53.940 Speaker 1 Betrayed by us, of all people. Francesca shrugged, then gave her boss
00:14:00.020 Speaker 1 a salute. That should make her annoyed. Yes. Yes, that appeared to be
00:14:05.840 Speaker 1 having the intended effect.
00:14:08.360 Speaker 5 Guess we can enable all these extra mods then. Remember Flash Hands?
00:14:13.860 Speaker 1 Oh, don't turn that on.
00:14:17.140 Speaker 5 Yes, ma'am.
00:14:18.560 Speaker 1 Francesca smiled. When the doctor's back was turned, she pressed the key to turn it
00:14:24.380 Speaker 1 on anyway. She turned on all the rejected mods. They'd been
00:14:30.420 Speaker 1 turned off because they were either unreliable, damaging to other systems, or in the
00:14:35.380 Speaker 1 case of the last one, simply an enormous power sink. Wow.
00:14:42.560 Speaker 1 What she would give to watch Number Four turn the Maser on
00:14:48.320 Speaker 1 something. The electronic shielding for that thing had been a nightmare, but it
00:14:53.680 Speaker 1 would be totally worth it. Pew, pew, pew, pew,
00:14:58.660 Speaker 1 pew. Get back to work.
00:15:14.720 Speaker 1 Part Fourteen Escape from
00:15:18.320 Speaker 1 L.A. Flesh Painter looked down at her
00:15:24.260 Speaker 1 right hand. It detached from her arm, sprouted thin little translucent wings, then
00:15:30.080 Speaker 1 buzzed about. It had grown another set of eyes that she could see from. Very useful.
00:15:36.560 Speaker 1 Your transformation is progressing well, mistress. The imp was a pesky little thing,
00:15:43.020 Speaker 1 but knowledgeable.
00:15:45.920 Speaker 1 So much knowledge.
00:15:49.420 Speaker 1 Yes, it is. How soon now?
00:15:55.980 Speaker 1 Not long. Any day, any minute, holy one. Report,
00:16:01.900 Speaker 1 Kotek. I found another zoo with living animals, and there's a reptile
00:16:07.600 Speaker 1 exhibit. Flesh Painter's smile grew wider. Kotek
00:16:13.340 Speaker 1 certainly knew how to make her happy. Perfect. Bring me
00:16:19.180 Speaker 1 elephants, crocodiles, and
00:16:24.100 Speaker 1 scorpions. Alive? Who cares?
00:16:30.440 Speaker 1 As long as they don't rot. They were going to be mixed into something
00:16:36.520 Speaker 1 far more interesting anyway. A new breed of hybrid warrior.
00:16:42.920 Speaker 1 Some of the grafted were finally willing to be infused. What a terror they would be.
00:16:49.760 Speaker 1 She could crush the stalker once and for all. There was a reason not to
00:16:55.780 Speaker 1 do that, though. What was it again? Serenity tried to
00:17:01.740 Speaker 1 remember. A truce.
00:17:06.980 Speaker 1 A plan. But then the daydream was gone, and Flesh Painter was
00:17:12.780 Speaker 1 back. Mistress, our ally has sent for your help. They are
00:17:18.320 Speaker 1 overrun. Which one? The robot maker. Flesh
00:17:24.000 Speaker 1 Painter rolled her many eyes. It was nothing but good news today.
00:17:31.600 Speaker 1 Excellent. Someone saved us the trouble.
00:17:53.480 Speaker 1 Diagnostic report. Biological status. Severe cerebral
00:17:59.380 Speaker 1 hemorrhaging. Recovered. Frontal lobe damage. Minor impedance.
00:18:04.900 Speaker 1 Recoverable. 138 days. Left arm. Nominal. Right
00:18:10.900 Speaker 1 arm. Unauthorized mod. Contact admin for support. Left leg,
00:18:16.584 Speaker 1 unauthorized mod. Right leg, nominal. Endoskeleton,
00:18:22.144 Speaker 1 85% integrity. Other systems, nominal. New mods,
00:18:28.424 Speaker 1 boomstick, foot skewer, flash hands, overload, the Maser.
00:18:38.444 Speaker 1 Electronics status, Hail Mary implant, moderate damage, not recoverable.
00:18:45.044 Speaker 1 All other systems nominal or missing. Estimated lifespan,
00:18:51.424 Speaker 1 13 days. Suggested repairs, replace implant.
00:18:57.724 Speaker 1 Proceed with boot sequence Y/N.
00:19:02.984 Speaker 1 Ethan sighed inwardly, sitting safely in the cocoon of his own mind.
00:19:10.324 Speaker 1 He could say no.
00:19:13.144 Speaker 1 He could leave this prompt here forever.
00:19:16.904 Speaker 1 It would be so nice. The simulations might even work.
00:19:23.784 Speaker 1 But he was given strength for a reason, whether that was
00:19:29.544 Speaker 1 divine intervention or human spirit and ingenuity alone, he didn't know.
00:19:36.484 Speaker 1 Perhaps humanity had already been abandoned. He wasn't the first to think it.
00:19:42.324 Speaker 1 They're not abandoned. They've got me. Proceed with boot
00:19:48.304 Speaker 1 sequence Y/N. That was a yes. Proceed
00:19:54.284 Speaker 1 with boot sequence Y/N. Ugh. Yes.
00:20:01.264 Speaker 1 Ethan's optical, audio, vibration, tactical, and 100 other sensors flicked on.
00:20:06.864 Speaker 1 [yawns] Good to be back. Three women stood
00:20:12.884 Speaker 1 over him just a foot or two from his face. Only one still wore her black tunic.
00:20:19.644 Speaker 4 Welcome back, number four.
00:20:22.364 Speaker 1 Why do you call me that? Dr. Singer pursed her lips.
00:20:27.824 Speaker 4 It's not my place to say.
00:20:31.664 Speaker 1 Why?
00:20:33.844 Speaker 1 Not one of the three would meet his eyes. For what reason? Dark thoughts
00:20:39.804 Speaker 1 churned in his mind. The intercom had been working on Cyborg's tube.
00:20:46.764 Speaker 1 That couldn't have been a coincidence. What sins of knowledge did these three try to
00:20:52.824 Speaker 1 bury? Were they even any better?
00:20:57.324 Speaker 1 Had he killed one monster and been saved by another?
00:21:02.144 Speaker 4 Because I can't bear to hurt you anymore when it is so clear to me that you feel the
00:21:07.544 Speaker 4 pain.
00:21:09.244 Speaker 1 Ursula lifted her chin and met his eyes.
00:21:12.644 Speaker 5 I will not feign innocence. Judge me as you will.
00:21:16.404 Speaker 1 Ethan turned to regard Sister Fran.
00:21:19.684 Speaker 5 What are you looking at me for? All of the really bad ideas were theirs.
00:21:23.624 Speaker 4 Fran.
00:21:24.364 Speaker 1 Dr. Singer's outrage died as soon as it began.
00:21:27.484 Speaker 4 [sighs]
00:21:28.224 Speaker 1 Then she smiled and shook her head.
00:21:31.364 Speaker 4 You're the worst.
00:21:33.704 Speaker 5 I'm the best. I don't know why you're acting like we're evil. I don't think there's
00:21:37.664 Speaker 5 anyone left who hasn't done something bad.
00:21:40.004 Speaker 1 Ethan rose from the work table, yanking wires from his torso and sealing
00:21:45.564 Speaker 1 valves with a thought. He swung his legs over the side and dropped down between the
00:21:50.524 Speaker 1 three of them. They took a step back reflexively, and for the briefest of
00:21:56.184 Speaker 1 moments, they were tense, frightened. I
00:22:02.144 Speaker 1 will judge you, but only by your actions. Then he did something he'd
00:22:07.884 Speaker 1 never done, at least couldn't remember doing. He spread his arms
00:22:13.984 Speaker 1 and his smile wide.
00:22:17.244 Speaker 1 Group hug. Come on, group hug.
00:22:21.904 Speaker 4 Mm.
00:22:22.784 Speaker 5 Ugh.
00:22:22.944 Speaker 1 Now I've judged you friends.
00:22:25.244 Speaker 1 [instrumental music plays]
00:22:34.404 Speaker 1 Ethan said his goodbyes to the nuns and warned them not to attack any corpse
00:22:39.724 Speaker 1 abominations moving in next door. For what it was worth, they would help with the
00:22:45.464 Speaker 1 cleanup.
00:22:49.724 Speaker 1 He rode the lift to the surface above New Hope. A cacophony of sounds roared around
00:22:55.144 Speaker 1 him, motorcycle engines and cheers. There were as many as 100 Scary
00:23:00.724 Speaker 1 Boys. A man with a misshapen right half stood before them,
00:23:06.544 Speaker 1 grinning like the devil himself.
00:23:10.464 Speaker 1 Looks like you were holding out on me.
00:23:13.384 Speaker 6 Wrong. I had confidence in you, and we'll need them for this final push.
00:23:18.384 Speaker 1 Ethan nodded. Every passing second dimmed Fleabag's chances of survival.
00:23:24.924 Speaker 1 Best to get on with the fun part. The stalker snapped the fingers on his enormous
00:23:30.304 Speaker 1 right hand. [whoosh] [screams] And a tiny demon appeared next to
00:23:36.124 Speaker 1 him, already bowing.
00:23:39.104 Speaker 6 Zolgek, tell the Chain One we'll begin assaulting Last Respite immediately.
00:23:44.944 Speaker 1 The imp bobbed in another tiny bow, then stepped through the hoop of black fire,
00:23:50.024 Speaker 1 disappearing. [drum beat] Hm. Last Respite.
00:23:56.324 Speaker 1 Ethan's minds raced, bouncing back and forth between rage
00:24:02.264 Speaker 1 and somehow the pain of betrayal, as if he expected anything better from
00:24:08.244 Speaker 1 a demon. [gun cocks] Well, in that case, debts needed settling.
00:24:14.804 Speaker 1 Ethan lowered the boomstick. The stalker blinked at him Then gently
00:24:20.620 Speaker 1 nudged the barrel of the shotgun toward the still open fiery portal. A second later,
00:24:26.560 Speaker 1 the imp stepped out. The self-satisfied look on its face didn't last long. The
00:24:32.360 Speaker 1 stalker shot Ethan an annoyed look when he didn't fire. Why would he? The imp
00:24:38.060 Speaker 1 bolted for the portal again. A massive hand came down on the small creature,
00:24:44.640 Speaker 1 dragged it away from the portal of flames, and held it upside down where it flailed
00:24:50.120 Speaker 1 helplessly in the air.
00:24:51.200 Speaker 1 [bones cracking] Let
00:24:57.020 Speaker 1 them come. He tossed the imp's body aside and looked at Ethan. You have no
00:25:02.920 Speaker 1 idea how long I've waited to do that. Shame it's not permanent.
00:25:09.340 Speaker 3 So that was all just for show.
00:25:13.160 Speaker 1 Didn't you get my signal?
00:25:15.980 Speaker 3 What signal? You just blinked.
00:25:19.820 Speaker 1 It was a wink.
00:25:21.920 Speaker 3 Oh, come on. I can only see half your face.
00:25:24.980 Speaker 1 It was obviously a wink. In any case, I only bought us a little time.
00:25:31.740 Speaker 1 My old boss already suspects me. I do a little too much infighting,
00:25:37.620 Speaker 1 even for a demon. He won't wait for the Southern Horde if I betray him here. He'll
00:25:43.640 Speaker 1 use portals. Then he leveled a very serious gaze at
00:25:48.860 Speaker 1 Ethan. We need to escape from Los Angeles.
00:25:52.540 Speaker 1 [rock music]
00:26:48.180 Speaker 1 Xorkek's rebirth was painful. [bones cracking] Damn it. He pulled his soul
00:26:54.120 Speaker 1 free from the Eternal Ichor with a final tear. Being reborn was
00:26:59.200 Speaker 1 exhausting. It took him a moment to recall what had killed him.
00:27:05.240 Speaker 1 That, that ungrateful, deceiving, worthless piece of human refuse.
00:27:11.820 Speaker 1 Worse than any of the others. He'd definitely chosen the worst of them. The line to
00:27:17.300 Speaker 1 receive a new body was unbelievably long. Was the conquest not going well? Who
00:27:23.280 Speaker 1 had killed these demons? Most of them were simple souls.
00:27:29.100 Speaker 1 Eh, he could probably just cut in line. The slave demons at their desks growled from
00:27:34.680 Speaker 1 across the room.
00:27:37.260 Speaker 1 He stepped back in line. Seriously? He was an emissary of The Chained
00:27:43.340 Speaker 1 One. That was when Xorkek saw a familiar looking soul.
00:27:49.280 Speaker 1 He slipped past a few simple souls to reach them. The spine eater looked down at the
00:27:55.000 Speaker 1 imp, reaching up to tap on his knees. Xorkek,
00:28:00.740 Speaker 1 so he got you too. Hell. The spine eater put two massive
00:28:06.540 Speaker 1 hands to the side of his head. Please don't use that
00:28:12.600 Speaker 1 voice. What voice? His voice? Fine.
00:28:18.700 Speaker 1 How's this? Tolerable. Xorkek ignored the insult for now.
00:28:25.420 Speaker 1 There was no time to wait around in line. He needed to get to The Chained One
00:28:29.200 Speaker 1 immediately. Put me on your shoulders. We're cutting line. The spine eater looked at
00:28:35.240 Speaker 1 the slave demons with real concern. I don't know. Do you want payback or
00:28:41.279 Speaker 1 not? Its sideways teeth started clattering with excitement. That looked like a
00:28:47.200 Speaker 1 smile to Xorkek. Uh, it was kinda hard to tell. The big demon lifted
00:28:53.000 Speaker 1 Xorkek onto his broad shoulders and easily pushed aside the many simple souls in
00:28:57.720 Speaker 1 their way. They ignored the shouts of the slave demons, and with Xorkek pointing the
00:29:03.720 Speaker 1 way, they were at The Chained One's palace in no time. Two guards stood
00:29:09.520 Speaker 1 outside the inner sanctum. Xorkek cleared his throat. I am Xorkek,
00:29:15.680 Speaker 1 emissary of- We know who you are. But they each rolled their single eye and stepped
00:29:20.960 Speaker 1 aside for the mounted Xorkek to pass. Good. It's about time he get some
00:29:26.400 Speaker 1 respect. They pushed open door after door, moving farther and farther into The
00:29:32.100 Speaker 1 Chained One's holy chambers. Xorkek could no longer hold his breath though,
00:29:37.960 Speaker 1 so he was forced to take some of the greatest Holy One's sacred air.
00:29:43.840 Speaker 1 At last, they went through the doors into the innermost chamber.
00:29:49.660 Speaker 1 There sat a being so tall, its head was shrouded in shadow.
00:29:55.680 Speaker 1 Enormous chains wrapped around its body.
00:30:01.660 Speaker 1 The Lord of Darkness, the devil itself, had put those chains there.
00:30:07.840 Speaker 1 A voice like a mountain rumbled.
00:30:13.860 Speaker 1 So, he has betrayed me. Xorkek fell to the floor in
00:30:19.140 Speaker 1 prostration, unwilling to speak.
00:30:23.560 Speaker 1 Ingar,
00:30:27.020 Speaker 1 come forth. An imp, nearly four feet tall, stepped out of the shadows.
00:30:33.680 Speaker 1 Not in a magical way, just in an annoying, always standing around kind of way.
00:30:39.480 Speaker 1 Start the sacrifices. Open a few
00:30:45.540 Speaker 1 portals, and dump the leftovers
00:30:51.620 Speaker 1 into that world.
00:30:54.780 Speaker 1 Exterminate them. I grow
00:31:00.740 Speaker 1 tired of its resilience. Ingar bowed, then the three
00:31:06.700 Speaker 1 lesser demons left the inner chamber.
00:31:11.440 Speaker 1 The Chained One could kill them as easily as exhaling. Maybe easier. Once
00:31:17.360 Speaker 1 they'd closed the doors, the taller imp crossed its forearms and gave Xorkek an
00:31:22.460 Speaker 1 annoyed look. Xorkek, you're still
00:31:28.080 Speaker 1 here.
00:31:30.220 Speaker 1 Xorkek gave the other imp a shallow bow, then scurried off to get back in line.
00:31:36.140 Speaker 1 Curse that Ingar. He would never say that out loud, though. And
00:31:42.120 Speaker 1 next time, he would choose a better host. What about that other guy?
00:31:49.140 Speaker 1 The one with the gun for an arm. Maybe he could be persuaded.