The rain came down in sheets, pelting Jada. She tried to cover her head with her shawl but it was no use. The group had made it back to the southern wall of the city and were following along it till they reached the Southern Gate.

“Where’s the other one?” she asked Alfred, “the one in the dress.”

“Rom is repairing the lock to the coach place, she’ll catch up when she’s done. She has Number 17 with her, so she should be fine.”

Jada stopped walking and looked up at the darkness above her. “I think I’ve had enough adventure. I’m cold. I’m tired. I’m drenched to the bone, and I’m old.” She turned on her heel and started walking back the way they came. Ravage watched her for a bit before shrugging and following after.

“Thank you for your... help?” Alfred called after her.

“Don’t forget my fancy new coach!” came the fading response from the gloom.

“Looks like we’re on our own again...” Number 19 remarked, “I can’t help but feel like the only reason she was helping us was as an excuse to steal that coach.”

“We have an idea of what to do now... but that was such a waste of time,” Number 18 agreed.

“She’s an odd duck, no getting around it,” Alfred mused, “ah, looks like Rom is finished up and heading this way with Number 17.”

Number 16 looked out into darkness, “I don’t see anything.”

“I mean to say, she should be finished up and heading this way,” Alfred corrected.

When they arrived at the Southern Gate, they found the path wide open. The guards on duty had retreated to the guardhouse and probably were barely paying any attention with this storm raging. The bots had worked out a detailed story about how their Captain suspected that the pounder in the Masons’ Camp had gone defective and they had been dispatched to put it down, but in the end a single guard looked their way, saw their uniforms, and waved them off. It was rather anti-climatic.

“Maybe we should have tried that at the East Gate?” Alfred asked.

“This gate lines up with the road to the capital,” Number 20 explained, “and rarely sees any action since the Masons are right outside anyway.”

“Yeah, the East Gate is right up against the Forest so security is always higher in case some mana beast wants to try something. Same with the North Gate, but to a lesser degree.”

“Plus we wanted to get a cart to reduce our presence on the road,” Number 18 reminded them.

Through the gloom and the dark, two blue lights could dimly be seen floating above them. Lightning crashed and a monstrous form took shape. The shape shifted rapidly and a massive hammer smashed down at their feet. The bots dove out of the way, the Numbers drew their blades and looked up at the boulder crushing pulverizer.

“What do you want?! Did you come to kill us?! Calm down we don’t know that. Are you blind? They’re Knight Watch, ain’t they?”

Alfred took off his helmet and threw it onto the ground, then held his empty hands up to show that he meant no harm. He tried taking a step forward but another massive hammer slammed down in front of him and he quickly took a step backward.

“He’s got his hands up, what are you doing? He’s obviously with the Watch, open yer eyes! They are open, you’re the one attacking without even trying to talk. So naive, they’re ‘ere to put us down for the crime of being alive!”

“We’re not putting anyone down!” Alfred interjected, hands still up in a placating manner. “We’ve just escaped from the Watch and are getting out of town. Put the weapons away, chums.” The latter directed at the Watch Numbers.

The massive hammer slid back towards the gigantic shape, leaving a shallow groove in the mud and crumbled rocks.

“My name is Alfred, mayhaps I can be of assistance to you.”

“Assistance? Ha! That’s pretty funny. Is it? It is, there’s no helping us. You don’t know that. Oh shut up. You shut up. Org and the blessed Reavers, you’re stupid. Wow, really? So mature. Oh, go eat a rock lobster and die. I wish I could! Then I wouldn’t have to deal with—”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Alfred interrupted, “um.. With whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”

“He’s so posh idn’t ‘e? Shush up, he’s going to think we’re insane. My name is Jaff. Maybe he wasn’t talkin’ ta you, Jaff. It’s not all about you. Call me Meern.”

One of the massive hammers raised up and thumped the goliath’s chest. Then it shook itself and slammed the hammer back on the muddy ground.

“Meern! ThiOhs shuistup Jariffdicyouulthinousk! itYou’s acanpic’tnic bejusting trakeeppped doininghere withthat! You?!”

Alfred stood dumbfounded as rain flowed down his face and pooled inside of the armor.

Number 17 and Rom carefully approached the JaffMeern, having caught up to the group. “There’s... two of you trapped in there?” 17 asked incredulously.

“You can tell ‘e’s with the Watch, prolly a detective that one. Oh be nice. I’m just sayin’. You’re always sayin’.”

“Right... We’ll just be on our way then. Sorry to have troubled you,” Alfred said with a slight bow.

“Wait! Please... Please don’t leave us. We’re sorry, it’s just... we’re trapped you see? Yes, trapped, we’re bolted down.”

Ram threw off the gloves and powered up the heating elements in her hands. Rain sizzled and popped, and steam poured off of her as she stalked up to the embedded stone plinth that tethered JaffMeern to the ground. Her hands went from a bright orange to nearly white as she clamped them down onto the two large restraining bolts. The rain slicked metal screeched with the sound of the white hot metal vaporizing the water and paint from its surface.

“Hold up,” Number 17 cautioned, “that’s a lot of power output, you’ll never get through those bolts, Ram!”

Rom and Alfred both placed a hand on 17 to hold them back and away from Ram. “This is the way,” they said in unison.

Ram screamed as she poured more power through her hands and into the bolts holding JaffMeern down. Slowly the bolts took on a soft cherry red glow. The metal around the bolts began to slag.

“That’s... That’s really hot! I don’t like this! We have to put up with it, it’s our only chance! I’ve changed my mind!”

Alfred, Ram, and Rom all looked up in unison at JaffMeern and screamed in one voice, “PULL!!”

JaffMeern’s mighty hammers slammed into the ground and pushed hard, trying to pull they’re body up and off of the bolted base. The bolts were glowing orange and stretching from the immense strain, the base had caught fire along with Ram’s arms.

Ram gave a primal scream that descended into a modem screech as her hands exploded, blasting the remaining metal slag from base and freeing JaffMeern from the bolted base. Her upper arms erupted in flames and her eyes exploded as thick black smoke poured from gaping holes in her face plate.

Error

Connection to Proxy `Ram` could not be established.

Her body wobbled for a moment then fell backward into the cold mud and rocks.

“WHHAAAT??? What what what what did she do?? Why would she do that?” JaffMeern screamed.

Alfred and Rom looked down at Ram’s body, the heavy rain was already putting out the fires on her. Alfred kneeled down next to her and splashed some more water onto her, putting out the last remnants of flame and cooling any of the metal on her body that was still glowing with heat.

“I’m sorry that I never got to know who you were before that night in the magic tool shop, and that I had to use your body this way; but thank you.”

He then scooped up her body and stood up.

“Right. So, chums, do we have a cart handy?”