new friend, same foe

The horrible noises stopped. the chair descends, and the dome decompresses n rises above. Usually i shmell Bricky befoar i can see him, but im not picking up on anything yet..
As the shmoke clears, a tall silhouette approaches – Bricky!! Once hes close enuff n greets the group, i grab his leg fer a hug, n feel a (not-so-cold) hand on my head in return.
He seems way less ..dead. No smell, no cold, n his stitches look less severe so hims skin is lots smoother. all da same color too! Through his still torn-up coat i can see the metal plates on hims arm are also gone. woah dis machine does so much! I can only wonder how much moar it has changed in my frien.
Our attention shifts when we hear the mechamical noise of da chair recessing into the floor n being replaced by a stone table. On it was a buncha papers. very detailed, numbered drawings of all of us (Bricky 0, Bogbean 1, Tobias 2, Drexla 3, Luna n V 6). We can only assume it’s a ranking of how much Dr Smiley lieks us.. For what reason we has no idea.
Fer now we hope all the stupid tests are done n we can just leave. Bricky calls out loud to ask if we could, n surprisingly the room begins to rise and a door opens before us. We proceed carefully, and bricky is able to switch on a light in the next area. he seems very familiar wif dis technology, n is happy to explain how it werks. It was nice at first – a buncha fireflies captured in a bulb, dancing and lighting the room up bright green. But then, a puff of some sorta gas filled da bulbs, making the bugs line up in a very unsettling way. i dunno, i started to feel kinda sad fer them.
We find ourselves in an industrial typa chamber, lined with rows of thick glass tubes with metal grates fer floors. Most were empty besides one wif mr. thornswick from the bar n what looks liek a lil girl hume. Drexla and Bricky start messin wif a control panel, pushin lots of buttons n dials ta try n release deez people. After a while tho, Bricky threw up hims hands in frustration, tellin us we should just smash the glass instead. Dis was the first time i saw Bricky so frussrated, and expressive! it was sorta funny really. We managed to get them pepol free… …just as the room became flooded with red light and a countdown appeared – we havta get outta here! We found another door, and Bricky very easily opened it wif a touch of hims hand. (seems hes been granted great permissions by Dr. Mathias, hm.) Da group rushes through and down a mineshaft tunnel as da chamber fills wif fire behind us. Drexla fires at the door (i think?) but hits the roof, causing a cave in! But theyre way in front, and Bricky n me are too slow. n even tho poor bricky threw me as far as he could, we was both consumed by the rock n dust.
I was able to stay close to da side wall n keep a smol area around my head sorta clear of rubble. I squinted open my eyes n it was dark, and i couldnt barely sense anything around me through what smelled liek dense clay earth.. so I just concentrated on breathing, and before i could think a plan to dig us out i began to hear a crackly hum reverberate through da rock.. In waves, the sound got stronger n clearer until there was no moar earth around me at all. I removed my arms from around my face, and was relieved to see it was bricky. His eyes were glowing gold, and dimmed as the energy around him calmed. “sicher und zusammen, sicher und zusammen…” i hear him mumble to himself. He picks me back up n i can feel a static fuzz on my skin n hair fer a moment.
 
We travel down the mineshaft until eventually it ends, leading us out under the night sky just a short ways outside Fort Irrigan. Tobias tries to help the old man, but hims aura is all the way red now.. He ends up breathing his last n shriveling up into a pile of black sludge. Pretty greusome, i dunno if we wanna tell hims poor wife about dis tho.. most of the group agrees. so Drexla burns dat cursed form away, n Tobicat gives him a nice lil death prayer.
As we all begin our walk back towards da city, Bricky n Luna are asking lotsa questions to the lil girl. She seems confused, liek she dont know who she is or how long she was in that place for. When we got to the front gate, da hellscared were on duty and forced a holy water test on anyone who wanted to enter. Drexla and Mr. V went inside no problem, not waiting around fer long. Then it was the girl’s turn, and she yelped in pain (shes just liek bricky! allergic!) her reaction riles up the guards, but things calm down when we decide to camp outside the fort tonight.
We set up a simple camp, n once settled we turned our attention back to the strange hume girl. Luna looks her over, and finds her wounds already healed as well as a couple ports on her back – just liek Bricky. It was hard to read Bricky’s feelings during these conversation, but he dont seem happy to know someone else liek him. Maybe because she is so young? The atmosphere is heavy when Bricky takes her lil hands, and has to ‘splain how she is dead now, and not whoever she used to be. Bricky reassures her that he knows how she must feel, and says we should help give her a name. (it feels real lonely not knowing yer name, but i know how wumderful it is to receive one. What a speshul moment!) they picked Ede, short fer “Edelwaiß,” which Bricky says is a typa flower! (i need one fer my book now!) after dimner we leave Ede be and we all get some rest. To our surprise, she actually seems to sleep unlike Brickyfrien.
befoar sleep i make sure to ask Luna about da book i took. she looks horrified (sorryy i knoww) but she takes it, n dusts off the cover. she says the author is dat Grindlethorp Thistlespine we met; he travels wif mr tony! we discuss da possibilities, but i wanna talk to him again to get his real story now.
 
In da middle of da night, i feel a jostle. I quickly move ta grab ary-tarwë, but its just bricky hoping we can have a talk. I yawn n nod in agreement, rubbing my sleepy eyes as we make our way to the far side of camp so we dont disturb the others.
Hes very straightforwerd, n talks about how now everyone knows the process fer how hims prometheum is made. Hes powered by pepol, i know.. All the ones our whole group including Bricky wants to protec from Dr Mathias’ nasty plans. But thats just fer now! Drexla and Luna are way smort, so maybe soon we wont havta do this ever again. I want to think we can fix it, but fer now i have no words for what living off of death might be liek.
Next i was surprised. I was asked to look after Ede, after if “somethin ever happens” bullshit.. Does he anticipate a thing soon?? (no no, not another one)
I agree to hims request.. Its an honor from my friend. n i wish da girl no harm, but.. i will make sure nothin happen.
Last is an inarian lesson. This time, a phrase: “eisen innen.” he ‘splains its importance in Undabar culture, n how i could maybe use it if we were to travel there. Its a motto, meaning “iron within” liek to show loyalty to da Realm. I repeat it a few times with him, then bring out my notebook so he can write it fer me. While he does, i reach into my bag n touch da cover of dat book i got from the Smiley place. pepol out there really do wanna kill thingies liek me. Bricky told the group about how dey use our parts a long tiem ago, but what tony said and now this book, and noww bricky preparing me fer deez possibilities.. Ugh. sometimes i miss my tree in Moonbright..
 
In da mornin, I thank bricky fer all hims help by making a holster fer his new liquid sword. n to make it speshul I thought pluto’s mark fits him best, so i carved it into the front panel.
Ede is last to wake, and Bricky remarks that she doesnt even seem to be faking it. Wow she seems so lifeliek, even moar than bricky’s upgrade somehow.
We make our way to da gate again, passing through easily dis time since it was humes’ turn on watch. We stop by a clothes store so Bricky can get a new coat, n Ede can have somethin normal-er than da lab stuff she had. We hadnt walked far from da shop when Tobicat noticed a flash in the distance, towards da docks. I take a long sniff in that direction, n pick out captain v. i let it leads us to a crowd of people, but no sign of Drexla or V besides da familiar shmell of burn. So we continue around da city, seeing what wares everyone gots. Bricky notices me starin at a food stall, n pulls out somethin even better – pocket bacon!! Bricky is so generous wif hims snacks, i could never repay.
Our walk leads us passed da garrison, where we see a commotion of guards. They have Mr. V! They’re tryina take him away, but Bricky is quick ta get in da middle n demand whats goin on. They say v killed their commander, but v insists he didnt.. Then suddenly, smoke bombs go off! I saw drexla was here, but dis smoke smells different.. Not at all liek her pretty glitter bombs. When it all clears, drexla n v are boff gone. Did dey run away together?? Whats da truth?!
 
Da guards take V’s stuff away, n da rest of us group make our way towards a room fer tonight. Luna is very firm on getting da suite again, so we does (breeakfaastt!). We all want to bathe, but we find out Ede dont know how, so Luna n I are happy to help~ when we’re all rinsed i ask Luna if she could braid my hair, since i been gettin sticks n junk innit. She agrees to, and wwowww her plaits are so neat, i love it! Im pullin my vest on when Drexla returns through da window, n i hurry to gather wif the rest to hear her story of what happened. I thinks i believe her.
Tobicat turns in early. Bricky has the idea fer us to make a bandolier fer v, which is real nice since those guards stole all hims stuff but.. Da whole time making it, i couldnt help but thinkin.. Is he a bad guy after all?