Not all missions are meant to be returned from.

A one shot fic that touches on what happens when the fate of the world lies on the shoulders of the defeated.

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Ayi couldn't believe it had all come down to this.

The base was still operational, but explosions had rocked the place. The walls were struggling to stand upright whilst the rampaging fires pounded against their integrity. Loud cracks and groans echoed throughout the depth as twisted metal and hot steel mingled together on their way downwards. Already there had been one attempt at taking this area out, but it had not succeeded all the way.

Three knights, each one more worse for wear than the next, tried their best to make speed through the halls. There wasn't much time, as each second more was an inch closer to Haven that the gremlins came. Each second was another fallen knight somewhere up above.

The gremlin push itself was half way there, but it would only get worse. As of yet, the gremlins had found a way to channel enormous amounts of the core's energy up through the depths, and they were using it to overpower the Order's energy-deprived resistance.

That was why the three of them were here; they had managed to slip by. They knew if they could cut off the supply, the battlefield would be even again. After a long and hard fight down this way, they had reached a critical point along the pipeline.

“Finally.” Ric said with a sigh, using his sword as a walking stick by this point. “Where do we hit first?”

“According to the schematics,” said the blue knight, his voice calm and collected, “there should be a bomb storage area on the second floor.” Deo paused, then added nearly non-chalantly, “These are not the regular types of bombs that you see in the Spiral Order – these ones are recent Gremlin projects and this far down... they could level Haven.”

Ric growled, “So basically they're really nasty.” The green knight thought that over for a moment, rubbing his sallet helmet a few times, before he grinned. “I like it.”

Deo flipped the bomb in his hand once, then shook his head. “This place is heavily populated with gremlins awaiting deployment. We can't go straight there, unfortunately.”

Ayi let out an audible, “Hmmmmmmmm. I wonder...?”

Both of her companions turned to see what she was on about.

“We should obviously take the less traveled routes.” the red knight finally suggested.

Ric frowned and slumped over. “No way, I would have never guessed.”

“I agree.” Deo replied, the particulars of the moment going over his head. “It will let us avoid the lion's share.”

*****

Just as they had hoped, the trio had circumvented most of the base's remaining personnel, but that wasn't to say that they didn't run into anything. Most of their foes were constructs that had been wandering aimlessly, but some were accompanied by their masters.

Ric speed right into them, using every sword he could think of to slice through the lot. Though he had brought quite a few with him, every now and then the Leviathan Blade demanded to surface and take its share of the reaping.

A mecha knight raced right up to Ric and aimed high, with which the swordsknight parried accordingly. He didn't waste any time though, countering with an arc from the right. Unsurprisingly, the construct was able to catch on and raise its shield.

The two continued to exchanged blows and counter blows, some of them even causing their swords to clash with each outer in a deadly stalemate.

Suddenly the mecha knight's head exploded into a hundred pieces, pierced by a projectile from behind. Almost fazed, Ric glanced over towards where it had come from. “Nice shot!” he called.

Ayi didn't even respond, too buy with her own fights. She was constantly switching between her more specialized firearms and her Valiance, picking off enemies that were either too far away or were otherwise occupied.

A few gremlins were trying to close that gap, running up with their hammers raised. Each of them howled their high-pitched battle cries. Not letting that intimidate her, Ayi backpedaled, firing shots at the mental targets she had painted on each of them.

At least half of her attackers fell to the charges, but the others were coming and she needed to reload. Those were precious few seconds that she simply didn't have. She tried switching to another weapon.

There was a flash of blue light and a short Boom! as the area around those gremlins heaved. The creatures were sent flying in all directions, some of them bouncing lifelessly around. Ayi watched as a blue knight started to set down another bomb. “Thanks!”

The next group of poor individuals found themselves almost unable to keep up with what areas were going to explode. There was no discernible pattern to the chaos.

When he wasn't enacting a bit of crowd control, or afflicting ailments on their enemies, Deo was setting down his Nitronome to finish off entire hordes. Even the strongest of them could not withstand the blast.

Deo weaved expertly through the crowd, setting down his tools as he went. Every so often he would 'persuade' an enemy to fall into his traps. When an enemy did charge, he dodged out of the way. He had his part of the situation under the control.

There were some things that were beyond that however. A mecha knight was on him before he could even react. Arming one of his bombs required a steady hand, and that couldn't be done if he was being attacked.

The top half of the mecha knight froze, before it slid clean off of its lower body. Deo blinked, before realizing that on the other side was Ric, just after the big kill.

“Your assistance is appreciated.”

*****

“My shield is cracking.” Ayi announced. “I'll be lucky if it even survives another hit.”

Ric was looking over his swords. “Tell me about it.” he said, noting a crack along his Leviathan Blade. “My stuff's falling apart too.”

“These things just weren't meant to go through this much abuse.” Deo mused. He himself was doing alright, and as such he elected to keep a lookout as his comrades took a breather.

Ayimore let herself fall to the ground, letting out a long exhausted groan. The pigtails attacked to the back of her helmet cracked in protest, but otherwise held firm for the moment at least.

Ric, as much of a believer in never giving up, didn't even bat an eye. Even if he wanted to, he was too busy taking stock of his own perils to set straight those of his companions.

The base continued to creak and rock, diffusing any attempt they might have made at coming to ease. There was just too much stress surrounding the situation, so much so that having a cool head must have been a luxury.

“Hey guys?” Ayimore asked quietly. “Do you think they're alright up there?”

At that moment all three looked upwards. In all of the excitement, they had forgotten that an entire war was going on somewhere above their heads. They couldn't see any signs of it, and it was impossible how close to the surface the gremlin push was, but they knew there was a time limit.

Since the gremlins were channeling large amounts of energy upwards, there wasn't much down here, and that meant an even playing field. Meanwhile, the forces of the clockworks were outnumbering the spiral order, and the upped power meant that low-level knights were fighting enemies that looked like they had just bathed in the core.

The whole thing felt like Cradle hated them.

Even with all that considering, Ric finally shook his head. “I'm sure they are fine.”

“I really don't know how you can say that.” Deo said. “If the statistics are correct-”

“Deo...” Ayi croaked, “I don't think...”

“I need them to be fine.” Ric said, a pained expression on his face. “They will complete their mission, just as we will complete ours.”

Neither answered immediately, all three of them content to keep looking up. Finally Ayimore giggled reflectively, “You're right. They'll be fine. All my friends will be fine.”

“Mine too.” Ric seconded.

Deo, who had been considering these lines of thought, finally shrugged. “I suppose... mine are doing alright too.”

“We're fine too!” the red knight said almost gleefully, “We're doing okay!”

Ric nodded, “We're fine!” he said, pounding his chest.

The blue knight nodded concurringly, “We have this under control.”

For the first time since they had made the trip down, the three shared a smile. Everything was going to be alright.

*****

The halls seemed to dance as electrical conduits, which ran through the floor and walls, glowed at the power that ran through them. The air thundered as reinforcements shot upwards in the distance. The metal floors clanked lightly in response to each step.

The room was deserted, and it could be reasonably assumed that many things were running on auto-pilot at this stage. Just as Deo had predicted, it too was in shambles. Thankfully, most stuff was still usable, but the question was how long that would last.

“Over there.” Deo pointed to a collection of consoles in the corner. With a renewed momentum, the three raced over in that direction, dodging holes in the floor and winding around shrapnel.

“Here we are.” he said. “I can take control of quite a few things from here. Namely... our bomb disposal.” he said, setting his Nitronome off to the side before starting to type a few commands into the computer.

The display flickered to life as Deo navigated through the base's virtual network. Gremlin technology wasn't exactly something he was familiar with (in no small part due to the fact that gremlins were known more for their mechanics, not their electronics), but he managed.

“Well?” Ayi asked, tilting her head over in a curious manner. “What's up?”

Ric, who was otherwise busy watching their back, pointing his sword toward every entrance he could think of, also looked over behind his shoulder.

“There. Done. I've delivered a bomb to the drop bay. We should be able to get a hold of it there.”

“Okay, cool!” Ayi cheered, “Let's go!”

Deo, however, didn't move. He was still caught in exploring the console, seeing what he could do.

A large tremor rocked the base, knocking loose some shards of debris that had been in the ceiling. They all fell to the floor with violent reports, some even cracking the floor itself and causing it to crumble into the chasm below.

“Come on Mr. Smarts!” Ric said, whirling around with hints of alarm, “We have to go!”

“I...” Deo started, but then hesitated. “I... can do just a bit more from here.”

Now his fingers were typing at an even more rapid pace, fully exploring what it was that he could and could not do.

“...What do you mean?”

The blue bomber paused, and put both of his hands on top of his pith regrettably. “I can... sabotage their efforts. Not enough to stop the gremlin's attack, but... it should buy valuable time. You'll have to go on without me.”

“But...” Ayimore trailed off worriedly, taking a moment to take another look at the despair the base was in. “This place might collapse at any moment!”

“It probably will before I get out. And that's okay.”

Deo's two friends were so shocked by the comment they made no attempts at reply.

“If there is any moment to turn the tide in our favor, here it is.” he said. “We might not get another opportunity like this.”

Without needed much more convincing, Ric stepped forward and took Deo's hand as a brother in arms. “Then we'll take it. You do what you need to do.”

“Right.”

With that, the swordsman let go and motioned for Ayi to follow. “Let's go. Time's wasting.”

She hesitated, still trying to grasp the reality of the situation. Nevertheless, she nodded and started forward once more.

Ric and Ayi made their way gingerly across the room towards the next open door. They looked back once to see Deo engrossed in the console, working his magic. With sadness in their eyes, they stepped across the threshold.

*****

“Oh.” Ric blurted with a great sense of annoyance. “They're onto us.”

No sooner did he say that did a large party of bogeys turn around the corner, and they looked hungry. Not needing much more convincing, the two threw some pick-ups at the crowd before they turned tail and ran.

“It's like the whole base is behind us!” Ayi cried as she volleyed shots back towards the pursuers with mixed degrees of success.

“Not all of them.” Ric replied grimly, as he flipped his sword indignantly. Before Ayi could even see what had happened, her sword friend had cut through a scuttlebot that had been in their flightpath.

They continued in this fashion for quite a bit, but the chase did not allow them any advantages. More an more enemies piled up, all in line for the chance to best them. As it was right now, there was just too many for the both of them to handle.

Up ahead the hall ended and another began. All that separated the two was a small gateway that was just wide enough for two to slip through.

“It's probably really simple.” Ric said. “You get in there, you arm the bomb, then you haul.” he paused to fell another obstacle it their way, before he glanced over towards the gunner. “Should be easy enough, right?”

“Of course!”

With that, Ric smiled. “Good.”

Ayi didn't even notice that he stopped just before the opening until it was too late.

Ric swung his sword. He swung it with more force than he had even before. He swung his blade so hard that it cleaved right through the metal above. The ceiling gave way, blocking the exit, the debris settling into a disorganized clump that completely blocked access.

Ayi whirled around, “Ric! What are you doing!?”

The swordsknight had already whirled around, pointing his blade threateningly at the attackers. The flurry of mecha knights, retrodes, and gremlins had, in no small part because of the last few seconds, ground to a complete halt.

“I have to fight them off. You need to go.”

Ayi recoiled in complete surprise, “But... no! You can't!”

“If I don't stop them here, you won't make it! I need you to get there Ayi!” he growled, starting to charge up for an attack. A retrode started forward, charging at him as fast as it could manage. Ric let his sword do the talking for him, releasing an attack that cut as far as the advancing bot, shattering the foe.

He looked back over his should. “Please Ayi.” he said in a voice that the girl was sure she had never heard before. It had the usual confidence and pride, but it was unusually collected. It was as if he had already thought about what he was doing. “You need to finish this mission. Okay?”

“O...” Ayi stuttered, failing to find her voice. “O... o-okay. I...”

“Go.”

“But I-”

“GO!” the green knight barked, causing Ayi to stumble backwards.

Without another word, she turned and ran away. Far away. She had every intention of obeying.

“OKAY YOU MAGGOTS!” Ric bellowed, turning back to the crowd, “WHICH ONE OF YOU WANTS TO DIE FIRST?!?” he finished, before readying his sword before running right into the middle of them.

Ayi remembered a time where she was nothing but cheerful. Perhaps silly even. She got work done, but she always put on a smile.

Now, as she ran away through this forsaken place, all she felt like doing was crying.

*****

Ayi finally arrived in a large room. It was spacious enough that it even had its own ambient fog, which hung an unnerving red over the area like a fallen tapestry.

What she could make out was a single gremlin mechanic that was looking at a large pool of light in the floor. It didn't seem to notice that it had a visitor.

Nearly above where it stood was the bomb she had been looking for. It was at least the size of a small hut. Deo had not been kidding, not that he ever was one to joke around. At the moment it was tethered to some tracks that ran all over the ceiling. A single strike to it would send it falling to the ground.

She fired her gun once at this point, and the gremlin fell forward, lifelessly. The creature disappeared into the depression, not to be seen again.

She found that just a bit odd. Why is that even there? she thought to herself. With a sense of foreboding she crept forward, intent on surveying the odd phenomenon.

The pool of light turned out to be a hole in the floor. The floor underneath where the bomb hung had buckled, and instead a bottomless abyss peered back into the room.

Ayi felt her heart sink. She definitely couldn't reach the bomb from the height she was at, and if she couldn't find a way to move the bomb... there wasn't many options for her.

She prayed as well that it didn't decide to suddenly fall, or it would be lost forever.

The red pig-tailed knight immediately began looking around to move it. She scoured the walls for any control panels that she could use. Any terminal would work, as long as she could convey the target somewhere else.

She finally reached a working one, but as soon as she tried to use it, it spat out an error and froze. She was so horrified by it that she punched the screen in frustration.

She then looked a way to climb up here. The space was not empty by any regards so Ayi tried to move some boxes.

They wouldn't even budge. “No...” she cried, “no no no no no. Please no!” she said, putting all of her energy into moving this one item. All the while the metal cube stood listlessly still, unperturbed by her attempts.

It was with a certain dismay that she noted that everything else in the room was bigger than this. If she couldn't even get this one to work, there was no chance that it would succeed at all.

There had been one option that had been sitting in the back of her mind the whole time, but she dared not think about it. It involved letting the bomb fall, and then going after it. That would be a one-way trip.

She bit her lip, pushing it back out again. She really didn't want to have to. More than anything, she wanted to avoid that. But, even though she didn't want to admit it, she had already run out of other options.

After one last, frantic search of the surround areas, she came up short once more. There were no alternatives. She would have to.

Finally, Ayi despaired.

*****

Yet one more loud boom rang in the distance, but it was too hard to tell where it was. At this point, none of that mattered.

Putting aside her reservations, Ayi raised her Valiance and fired one shot. One was all she needed.

The bomb swung once before the tether gave way. It pounded loudly into the floor, gouging it out and making the hole that much bigger. It then teetered into the void.

Ayi had just enough time to rush forward, throwing her precious firearm to the side. It clanged across the metal floor in protest, before coming to a restful silence. She leaped after the bomb, jumping through the hole as well.

Ayi was falling. Her surroundings seemingly started to race by as she reached deadly speeds. The air immediately fought with her, howling as it screamed against and past her.

For the first time, she got a good look at the long tube that stretched up through the tiers. It glowed a brilliant light blue light from all of the raw energy that was racing up it. The pipe seemed to skewer the base, where she had just come from, and which was now growing smaller and smaller.

She finished her dive, landing on top of the falling weapon. Making sure to not get separated from it, she climbed down to the other side. There was a keypad. It was purely on instinct that she knew what buttons to push.

The only response the clockworks had at this display was to continue furiously grinding together.

After a few calculated strokes, the display gave a satisfied beep before it locked itself. The timer would expire rather quickly, but it gave her some wiggle room.

With that, she pushed off of the bomb, her kick correcting it more towards the tower. It sailed in that direction would giving any trouble. It glided away from her as she made greater speed than it towards the bottom.

For many moments there was a relative silence. She forgot about the falling sensation she was experiencing. She forgot about the impending ending that was coming up. She simply looked up at the device as it flew away.

There was a blinding flash, followed by a cacophony of of shattered glass, chemical explosions, and bursting metal. Shockwaves fanned out with little prejudice, further contributing to the cataclysm. As far away from it as she was, Ayi was shaken by the force of the blast. Not that it mattered at this point, but she was sure that at least a small bone or two became broken just in those few seconds.

Most importantly however, the tube buckled. In a single swoop, the energy that had been in the process of being pumped up scattered, escaping faster than she could even imagine. The damage was so strong that she could even see some of the effects that no doubt were at least a stratum or two above her.

The bomb had been a success.

*****

Now there was nothing. No where to go, and nothing else to do. All Ayi could do was wait. The only company she had was debris from the blast, which had somehow caught up with her.

She had no idea what her two best friends were doing now. She didn't even know if they were even doing anything. All she knew was that anything that had been in that base was now not anymore, and she was pessimistic about that.

Her thoughts briefly went to the two. She had no doubts as to their fate. She had no doubts they had chosen this. They had chosen for things to be this way. They had chosen something she had dreaded for a long time.

Deo? He had gone at the controls. He was using his knowledge to change the way things were and seize the situation.

Ric? He always wanted to go out fighting. Now, Ayi thought, he was having himself a ball.

And what about me?

There were no doubts that up ahead, the enemy was suddenly finding itself starved. With the energy supply gone, the gremlins no doubt had returned to their normal strength. The Spiral Order could launch a counter-attack. No more knights would have to get hurt.

I helped my friends. I made their day just a bit better.

It then occurred to her that, she too, had chosen this.

Her own thoughts paused, before she gave an acceptant chuckle.

I'm... okay with that. I am... okay.

Ayi closed her eyes and finally let herself fall. The hard-shelled core, in return, came up to meet her.

*****

Howdy everyone! First time poster here. I'm not much of a forumgoer and I don't expect I'll be anytime soon. Nonetheless, I thought I would share this with you all.

It's probably really obvious that I used my own characters in this fic. I was running under the impression that I would be able to remain anonymous! Oh well. I'll play with the cards I'm dealt.

I would have liked to write a multi chapter fic based on this premise, but there are other stories (like the one I've been trying to write since 2010), that I should be writing. The fact that I pretty much sat down and wrote this instead means that I have failed! It was fun though,

This fic is also available at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9941966/1/Downfall.

Comments and constructive criticism are very welcome.