The origins of the Clockworks
By Mwahahaha and Relocate

Chapter 1

The sound of metal clashing on metal ricocheted off iron walls, followed by the pattering drumbeat of running feet.

“W-what was that?!”

“I don’t know! Quickly, just get us out of here, Digi!”

“I’ll try, I’ll tr--”

A resounding crack echoed through the chamber. Everyone stared in shock at the broken key shaft, stuck in the gate. Digi growled, and chucked the now useless keyhead away. “DAMN IT!”

The knights were exhausted. They had been running through empty chambers and tunnels when suddenly the expedition of unknown territory turned into a frantic struggle for survival. They’d lost track of exactly how long they’d been fighting-- even the memory of the recent events--starting with that one seemingly miraculous opening of the Core--was starting to become one big blur.

One thought, however, constantly resurfaced: they should have left the Core alone.

Digi turned his back to the gate, unsheathing his Voltedge, Eposmalfis. The blade flickered, hummed, then sparked as he took a few steps forward, giving off a turquoise hue. Even after all those hours of battle, the Eposmalfis’s light remained strong and reassuring; it was as if it were connected to Digi’s resolve, and used that determination as a source of power.

“Skeye, see if you can melt that lock.”, he said, as he readied Swiffy, his trusty Swiftstrike Buckler.

“On it.” Skeyeknight swiftly popped open two fire vials, swirled them around, threw the contents onto the gate, and then pulled out his Blazebrand, Pyroaster, and pressed the flat of the blade to the jammed lock. The hissing and smell of burning metal soon filled the air.

“Relo, Gnajtrx, you’re with me. Stay close--we don’t want to lose anyone down here.”

Digi rechecked Eposmalfis’s edge; sure enough, there was a flicker--a small one, but still present. Whatever was down there with them, it was slowly draining the life out of their swords, shields--all the gear, and soon, they would be left powerless. “Come on, Skeye, I’m counting on you”, Digi thought, and gripped Eposmalfis tighter.

Relo and Gnajtrx came up on each side of Digi--Relo holding his Nova Driver, Silencer, and Gnajtrx holding his Polaris, Shockwave. “Weapons free. Use em’ while you can, power is going out.” Digi commanded.

“What do you mean... Going out?” Gnajtrx said with a gulp, gripping Shockwave even tighter, knowing that it had something to do with their weapons.

“There!” Relo shouted, pointing Silencer into the distance.

Gnajtrx and Digi spun away from Relo to face the direction that he was pointing in--and stopped in mid-turn. Thoughts about draining power were immediately drowned in shock; it seemed like there were hundreds of them, drifting menacingly as a dark turbulent cloud amongst themselves, eyes gleaming with malice. A low rumble started to pick up from the shadowy mob, and slowly grew to a low roar, seeming to gain volume with each passing minute. Digi took one last look behind him at Skeye, looked both at Gnajtrx and Relo, then steeled himself and looked forward once more. “Good luck, Skeye”, he whispered to himself, and charged ahead of Relo and Gnajtrx, head held high, a battle cry rising in his throat, and Eposmalfis fiercely crackling, and hoping that his death, at least, would at least buy the rest of them time to escape.

Dashing forward, Digi felt an oncoming wave of peace with himself for the first time since the drop into the Core; he closed his eyes, let all his worries drain away, made one huge leap paired with a ringing shout, and waited for the final resounding clash--but it never came. Eyes still closed, Digi felt confused; he didn’t feel like he was moving anymore--instead, a warm feeling slowly washed over him. “Am I........dead?” Digi thought to himself.

He opened his eyes, and stared in wonderment. He was lying on his back, in the middle of a wide area completely lit in white light. The source of the light was imperceivable--but Digi didn’t stop to wonder about that; he started to notice the smell of smoke, and suddenly remembered the two knights who charged alongside him. “RELO!! GNAJTRX!!! They--”

He made a move to sit up, but something sharply rapped on his helm, and he promptly fell back down as a voice said, “Relo and Gnajtrx are fine. You, sir, are not. Keep them Vog ears glued to the ground, hear?”.

Digi strained his neck to look up, seeing a shadowy figure hovering above him. “Who are you?” Digi asked weakly.

“Me? It’s for me to know and for you to find out; you’ll find out soon enough, though. It’s still too early for an introduction--prove me wrong, however, and I might reconsider.” The shadowy figure turned and started to fade back into the black unknown.

“Wait!! I--” Digi tried to push himself up, to run after the mysterious person--but he couldn’t move. He looked desperately at the gradually disappearing figure. “Wait!!”

The Shadow halted, and seemed to consider his words. Relieved, Digi relaxed and waited for him to speak “Sleep.”, spoke the Shadow, and he walked once more into the darkness.

Caught off guard, Digi watched in disbelief, not understanding. “No--please!! Come ba--”

Suddenly he dropped from overexerting himself, his eyes slowly closing in exhaustion. Digi struggled to keep them fixed on the Shadow, but it was a losing battle. His eyelids shut, and he fell into the deep black pit of unconsciousness.