BUMP

I'm working on it...

The Kradel

Half of the gears were floating and the many different worlds looked dark and destroyed. Owlite Squad could see small and large glass domes, populated by many different creatures. There were grey dog-like creatures. They varied in size, and weaponry. Some had gigantic hammers and others had small staffs with big purple crystals. Mask wearing ones wielded flame throwers, while armour clad entities took to using bombs and other explosives. Large gelatinous creatures, shaped like cubes and spheres populated others. Vot even noted a castle full of them. The spherical Geleec, what the Order had named the group of creatures, seemed to be able to blend together, and create bigger and badder monsters. "I think we just walked into hell." The Pessimist.

"Where should I dock?", asked Sentia. "Hhmm...," Kiri continued, "we should search for a nice town. Like a holdout or something. Every planet has one."

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but this isn't exactly a planet," Frost chimed in.

"What's with hostility here?" Sun was very annoyed. "She's right," Drid agreed. "We need to stop, and keep our eyes open."

"I guess," Frost gave in, the top half of his eyes slanted toward his nose underneath his visor. "Hey, over here. Spiralians."

"What?" Kiri asked.

"There are Knights down there. Sentia, head East."

"I see it," she called from the cockpit. "Docking now."

"Copy that."

"Shall we go see?" Elm.

Necro said, "I not sure of this. I'll stay here an-nd-d guard the ship.", Necro said, looking for a reason to get out of leaving the safety of the shuttle.

"Good. We need someone to stay here, keep contact with SHQ." Kiri said.

"Well, let's go," said Nikolson.

As the were walking out of the shuttle, which Necro insisted on naming the 'Greaver', they were greeted by a barrel to the face. "Oh, fantastic..." The gunslinger turned to Frostrex. "Want me to blow your brains out?"

"Preferably, no."

"Stop acting like its a joke, and come with me..."

"Sir..." Vot asked. "Why?"

"Because I said so..." There was something scary in his tone.

"So, Nikolson. You don't seem much the talker."

"Nope..."

"Care to tell why?"

"Didn't you just say I wasn't much of a talker?"

"..."

"That's what I thought..."

That marked the end of their conversation.

Meanwhile, Vot and Sun were talking.

"You absolutely hate the Order?"

"Yep. I used to serve them. But the highest ranking ones, they don't care for us."

"What rank did you hold?"

"I was a sergeant, much like your friend, but I had other interests. Like Wolvers, nature and medical research. I made a breakthrough, actually."

"What did you do?"

"I studied Wolvers for so long, lived with them even, that I eventually figured out how to speak to them. I then developed a mechanical implant to place into the throats of Wolvers. It...", she paused, trying to find the right words. "was successful, but we lost more than a few Wolvers to the testing. I felt, and still do, guilty."

"Must have been terrible..." Vot said, sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it," she said, shaking off the mood.

"You're a tough one, aren't you?''

''Shut up."

Kiri decided to ask the gunslinger's name. "Arkate." He answered rather solemnly. "And...", she pried.

"Look, if you wanna survive here, on The Kradel, you don't pry into other's business and past. You can socialize here, in Bastion, but, down in the Klocwerx, it's every man, woman, for themselves. You got it?"

"Thank you for stating your rules, and I and my team will respect them, but we work together. Is that frowned upon?"

"Well... Yes, it is..."

"So, what's the price?"

"Don't expect the Market to accept your money, or anyone to speak to..." Arkate said bluntly.

"You can't be serious..." Kiri was amazed, and rather apalled, at the restricting price to pay for teamwork.

Was this place really that bad, it shaped its inhabitants as indepenent destroyers?

Owlite Squad approached a large castle-like structure. "Well?" Arkate asked the group. "You going in?"

"You didn't really order us to go in. Besides, we we've only been here for about five seco-"

"Will you stop it, Frostrex?"

"Oh, I don't know Vot, are we really going to follow a hostile gunslinger into a rather freaky castle?"

"Yes," Kiri chimed in. "I'm in charge here, and we are going in."

"Whatever..."

As they walked in, "I'm sick of this already...", he mumbled under his breath.

The hall they were in was lined with seven statues on each side, and a throne at the end.

Arkatae was talking to a Knight, who was seated on the throne, with a crown composed entirely of what the inhabitants called Vitilaa.

These Knights were completely different to the Spiral Knights. These ones had Gods. From what Nikolson and Sentia had heard from conversations between passers-by, and constantly asking Arkate, these statues represented them.

There was Alkilai, Goddess of Right and Wrong. Qadg, God of Chaos and Order. Another was Valeni, the Goddess of Love and Hate and her brother, Marlion, God of War and Peace. Then there were the Sisters, the Goddesses of Pain, Ritrobi, and Pleasure, Rytruby.

There was Oricks, God of Madness and Sanity, Tiranys, the God of Tyrany and Kingship, Flamybov, God of Fire and Water. More were Rytin, Goddess of Life and Death, Construe, God of Building and Destruction, fLiAr, God and Goddess of Male and Female, Pliar, Brother of fLiAr, God of Courage and Cowardice. The last two were Vot, God of Freedom, and his Evil Twin Brother, Frostrex, God of Imprisionment.

Vot and Frost exchanged looks, then looked at Nikolson and Sentia to make sure thats what they said. It was weird that the last two stood for only one thing, but all the others stood for two, which were opposites of each other.

The "King" looked at them. "So," he started, with a rather happy tone in his voice. "What're your names"

Frost spoke first. "Frostrex, sir..."

Vot's turn to surprise the King "Vot..."

The King looked at them. And they could've sworn that his jaw dropped.

--------------

Necro was waiting in the Greaver. At least, that was what he wanted to name it. But he wasn't sure how long it would be in their possession. Then a pike appeared through the door. Necro quickly hid in the cockpit, under the controls. He was a Recon Knight. Why was he hiding in the old fashioned way? He turned invisible and quickly ran past the guards. Unlike Lockdown tournaments, actual Recon Armour lasted for ever. He drew his sword, but it made a sound. "Glitch?"

"Hey, did'ya hear that?"

"Yeah, came from over there."

He pointed in Necro's direction."Oh, hell, no..."

They pointed the pikes at him. The scarily long, with gigantic heads, pikes.

"Take ya cloak off, Recon idiot," the first Pikeman said.

"Oh, damn..." His cloak turned off.

"You got me..."

"We'll see what they gotto say 'bout you..."

"Are you serious? Your na-name is F-fr-Frostrex," Froxtrex nodded. "And you're Vot?" Another nod.

"Oh, almighty Qadg, what have you done now?"

"Are you sure this isn't an insult, sir?" Arkate tried to make the conversation hard for the Squad.

"They looked rather honest... You had better not be insulting us and our beliefs..."

"I swear, we're not King... Er..." Kiri started, trying to restore order.

"STOP INSULTING US!!!!" The King blurted out rather rudely

"Oh, this is it!" Frostrex unsheathed his Ascended Calibur, which he'd named Gladius, and holding up Aegis. "I've had enough of this place, and I haven't even been here for ten minutes!"

"How dare you threaten the King!", Arkate said, pulling out his pistol. Sun whipped out her pistols, "What makes him king?"

"I can speak directly to the Gods, in all their divine glory," The King said.

"No wonder you're so unstable..." Vot butt in, his sword flashing into his hands."Jeez, stop it! Everyone!" Kiri shouted out. "No, Kiri, I've had it with these idiots! How do they even bear calling themselves Spiralians?"

"I don't know, but killing them all won't stop the invasion.