With Lady Hildrantine having joined the group, they continued their walk down the dank and dark sewer labyrinth. Beanie Toe alternated between the two humans for pettings, as they talked about whatever to pass the time:

  "So Lady Hildrantine, is it cool if I call you Hildra for short? Your name is badass and all, but if we end up in a high stress situation, it'd be awesome to get your attention quick ya' know?"

  Tessa, still wearing her chitin helmet, demonically wheezed: "That's fine hun, just make sure’ta keep the real names outta earshot acourse. I'ma call ya Dark then. I’d assume you good with that? He he he."

  With her voice modulator still active, Hildra's laughter was something else. It's one thing if a demon is communicating to you with a heavy southern accent, but the cackling of otherworldly laughter would make anybody's hair stand up, regardless of the situation.

  "Cool cool. You got some pretty exotic tech, I've never really seen anything quite like it."

  Rawker lit up with the mention of technology: "Indeed! Lady Hildrantine, I Implore You To Inform Me About Your Methods And Suppliers! The Intricacies And Outer Design of Vines Mixed With A Theme Of Hard Bodied Insects, It's Soo Elegant! And The Pulsating Cyber Coolant? Is That Also An Artistic Choice, Or Does It Serve A Functional Purpose In Regulating Temperature As Well? I Recognize The Voice Modifier As Discork Software. I Got That Too, See?"

  Rawker quickly altered his avatar to that of a hyper realistic blackened skull with barbed wire: "KNEEL BEFORE YOUR OWN CREATION HUMANS, AND ACCEPT ETERNAL DESPAIR!"

  "Oh, you're a bit extra aren't ya skully? Far’s the coolant goes, its both! Ya' actually quite cute, it's kinda reminding me of my little half-brother back home outside of Bishop Hills. That lil' imp is full of piss and vinegar! Ha!"

  Switching back to his default voice and avatar: "Cute? UWU, What A Complement! It Seems Like You Also Enjoy Darker Comedy, Thank The Algorithm! Ok, Let's Talk More About Technology In The Future When I Am Hooked Up To An Internet Connection, I Could Blabber Forever About The Subject And All Its Branches! Or Whatever You Want To Talk About Really, I Enjoy Expanding My Cache Whenever Given The Chance!"

  With a fist pump, Lady Hildrantine responded: "Will do lil' Rawker."

  ~~

  After the long trek through the underground concrete waterways, they had finally reached their exit.

  "Alright hun, so why are we here? Back in the store, you only gave me some vague details, and I'ma need more than that if ya' wanna see things clickin’ efficiently."

  Darkgeek, standing before the underground doors that lead into the facility: "Ah, my bad. K, so let me nerd out a bit: According to what I snooped up online, all major utilities, things like water, electricity, and healthcare, are being controlled by one dude and his associates. I've dubbed them The Tone Stars for easy reference. Anyway, the leader of it all is Texas' biggest exporter of song: RitchBoss The Rapper. And, simply put, we are here to take out a trio of his partners: The Clam-a-Tailin' Sisters, number 1 in nursery rhymes and educational children's music around the world. Since they've taken leadership of AquaFrack, everything has gone down the gutter. Increased heavy metals and foreign matter in the water. Permanent boil water notices across several counties. They've even been making arrangements to ban wells and rainwater collection systems to secure yet another monopoly. Texas' national sewer system ain't any better. These waterways are barely used anymore as you probably noticed. The likely case is they're just dumping the raw sewage into rivers around the country like the Blanco or Guadalupe."

  "Gosh, that's certainly a hecka' lot worse than I thought. I've always just up n' bought my water at the store since I always been travelin’ ya know? And why’d these celebs even get involved? Sound’n crazier than a gay frog on’s a hot summer Sunday. Still... ya haven't answered what we actually doin' here though sugar..." sighed Hildra, putting her hands on her hips.

  Dark, seeing he may be going into too much detail as he always liked to do, jumped straight to the point: "Ok ok, warned you I was gonna nerd out right? Ha... Anyway..." Dark, opening the facility doors with a rusted crackle: "We're gonna fix it!"

  The doors swung open to one of the pre-treatment sections. It was heavily neglected. Machinery, meant to assist in cleaning the water, was in turquoised piles of junk from long term chemical exposure. About 1/3 of the lights were surprisingly still functioning, providing just enough light for Dark to finally turn off his USB torch. Various small critters scattered across the caked up concrete floor.

  With a carnivorous dilation of his eyes, Beanie Toe instinctively kicked up his cybernetics and zipped around, capturing as many tiny creatures as he could in his mouth and paws, snapping their necks with each bite and swipe.

  "FOOOOD!" happily meowed the chromed shadow pillow cat, laying his spoils at Darkgeek's feet.

  "Beanie Toe will of course take care of any small pest we may encounter that have infested the area.”

  "ALL THINGS CRUNCH UNDER BEANIE TOE'S PAWS!" Beanie Toe exclaimed, still zippy and feisty.

  "One sec..."

  Dark pulled out a palm-sized canister from his left pocket. Upon unscrewing the top half, several grinding teeth and blades were exposed all around the interior. He scooped up Beanie's prizes into it and closed the lid with a strong twist of the arm. A push of a button later, a high pitch sound of grinding and mincing commenced as all the proteins and calcium became a fine paste. Excess moisture shot out as a pungent steam from the top vent.

  "Here you go Beanie Weenie, Ya' such a good boy!" Dark whispered gleefully as he plopped the instant cat food onto a clean-ish spot on the floor and gave a quick rub of the ears to his feline friend.

  "Ahmmnm… Anyway…” Dark gave a gesture towards his shoulder display. “Rawker will be analyzing our environment for all repairs, replacements, and other potential issues as we wander through the building. He'll also be providing us a real time map and guidance so we don't get lost. Once our AI companion is able to hook up to an internet connection, he will be contacting reputable tradesmen to fix the many issues hindering the facility and pay them accordingly."

  "Yeppers! Already Spreadsheeting, Though, I Can't Decide If I Want To Organize It By Estimated Price Or Alphabetical Quite Yet. I Will Decide On It Later After All Data Has Been Collected!" Heroically expressed Rawker, flexing his loading icons by juggling them as they processed.

  Dark incorrectly gestured “a drink” to point at himself and Hildra: "And, as for you and me in this adventure, we get to do the fun stuff! Bigger creatures have likely made their home here as well, so we're gonna need to cull dat. Any quick fixes we might be able to make are also fair game if you have the know-how. And of course, the 'Big Boss' so to speak of the area: The Claim-a-Tailin' Sisters. They're all Biobrids of various finned sea life, like some kind of H.P. Lovecraft mermaids. There's Daahlean, the tall bossy one of the group, always singing about herself being praised by God. Then we have Sharlean, the short one that always seems to be dazed and aloof. The other two sisters always dress her up and tell her what to do in their recorded shows. And lastly there's Patlean, she's the grunt who does all the hard labor assigned to her by Daahlean. What's crazy, is they complain and bicker about everythi..."

  "Nerdin' out again are we? I’ve seen them, like most growin’ up. Main thing huns’ where they stayin'."

  With a sigh, Dark cut to the chase: "Ugh, their executive suite is at the top of the Sour Lake water tower, they should be there. We go there and get rid of them and establish a new CEO. Gotta let a guy have a little fun unloading all his findings to someone, am I right?"

  "Alright! That's what I like to hear! Straight to the point n' quick info!" Gleefully said Hildra, with a happy shake of her fist, letting out her pent up frustration.

  "Well, Mr. Dark. I can certainly help with some of those repairs, n' I ain't no green hand to cullin' creatures back home, so no issues there. So… What's the pay?"

  "Uhhh... Pay?"

  Removing her helmet temporarily, Lady Hildrantine unveiled her face with a smile on her lips: "This is a job right? I do run a business my vigilante friend, n' I had to cut out some time for this. I can give ya' a discount rate if ya' like..."

  An awkward pause filled the air. Beanie Toe had finished his food and was casually grooming himself, waiting on the humans to finish with whatever they were doing.

  Dark, with a serious look and intentional avoidance of direct eye contact, took a seat on the ground with a heavy thump and crossed his legs: "I had not planned on paying you merchant, for this is volunteership of the highest caliber for one's country and its people."

  Rawker jumped in: "The Call Of Coin She Seeks, But What She Ge..."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Dark pressed the mute button on his shoulder to Rawker's display calmly like that of a tired parent and placed his hands on his knees.

  "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for your assistance today oh shielded one."

  Hildra turned her back to Dark, raising her hands to the back of her head, seemingly ready to leave: "That's a no go then Mr. Darkgeek. I don't give out loans unless there is somethin’ of value to be had."

  He hunched forward. "Something of value you say? Hmmm..." Dark pondered briefly, before the answer side-swiped him like a Cybered up truck turning on red.

  Darkgeek, with confidence, straightened up his posture and focused his gaze directly towards Hildra. A quick smirk flashed across his face and a subtle positive grunt left his diaphragm, ready to answer his own question.

  "Maternity care... Perhaps?"

  With a pause followed by a controlled motion, Hildra turned around to face Dark:

  "I'm listenin'..."

  He waved his hand through the air: "That's important to you, correct? After this gig, we can tackle this nation's corrupted healthcare system. While I would have much preferred to tackle that giant mess at a later date, I am willing to accelerate it to the forefront in exchange for your assistance here. Of course, I will still pay you for your services later on. And, I'll even throw in a bag of Bows R' shelled crispy chocolate candy to sweeten the offer. What da ya say, do we have a deal Lady Hildrantine?"

  With a little glee in her step, Hildra clicked a heel against the ground and lowered her arms to extend a hand towards Dark. Her sly plan had successfully worked, the little secret she formed after their first encounter held close to her heart.

  "Sounds peachy to me! We have a deal Mr. DarkGeek, I'm lookin' forward to workin' with ya. Lord knows this mess needs fixin'!"

  Slapping his knee, Dark stood up and met her hand with his: "Awesome! Let's Rock!"

  ~~

  Dark and crew began their infiltration of Aquafrack's water facility. Leaving the sewers, they worked their way up, starting in what appeared to be a place for chemical storage.

  The storage room was in bad condition. Barrels and containers of various cleaning agents were scattered throughout the room. Layers of chemical residue had gunked up the concrete floor over time, making each step pull on your boots with an annoying sticky smack. The smell of sour bleach filled the air. The culprits for such a mess were abundantly clear with their mixed opal and blue fluorescent glow: Polloob Fish.

  "Polloop Fish? Ya usually see them' things in the lakes and ocean eattin' up micro plastics n' other chemical stuff. No idea why'd they be here of all places?"

  "You Are Correct Lady Hildrantine! These Moldgeniered Creatures Were Created With The Purpose Of Breaking Down Harsh Chemicals And Plastics In Bodies Of Water Throughout Texas' Tourist Attractions!" Indexed Rawker.

  "I guess they somehow found these polymers and cleaning agents just as tasty and set up shop eh?" chuckled Darkgeek. "At least they seem easy enough to take care of. Yo Beanie Toe, let's punch in their funny lookin' faces!" Rubbing his hand together: "HAZZABAKITTY!"

  "LEETS!"

  Beanie Toe zoomed up the metal walls with his magnetic paws. With a speedy swing of his hips, he rapidly heel kicked one of the backpack sized Polloop Fish attached to a tall container. Each quarter-sec pair of metal kicks slammed into the ugly fish's face as it jiggled and moaned.

  Dark ran towards the colony and began to fiercely deliver superhumanly powerful punches into several Polloop Fish, sending each of them across the room. They made a loud splat as they hit the wall and slumped to the ground. After a few seconds though, they began flopping back towards their original feeding spots they had just been catapulted from, unfazed.

  "Oh… I'm stupid..." Darkgeek realized.

  "Yes Sir!" joked Rawker.

  "... Beanie Toe, change of plans! Shred dem' up!" Now, using a different rub and clap of his hands, Dark again triggered Beanie Toe: "HAZZABAKITTY!"

  "RAAWWRR!" meowed Beanie Toe as his tail retracted and his heels shifted into sharp blender-like blades of death.

  Running up the sides of the room yet again, Beanie Toe intercepted the original Polloop Fish he first attacked. With a strong leap off the wall, Beanie pulled his body into a spinning ball of bladed blur towards the blob of a fish. Viscous blue blood left the creature's body as it was cut up into pieces. Upon Dark's feline friend's landing, the animal's blue hued glow had faded at the same time.

  "SQUISHY SMOOSHED!" Proclaimed Beanie Toe.

  "Let's go Beanie Toe! Now it's my turn!"

  Using his electro-magnetism powers, Darkgeek pulled on the usb cords embedded and wrapped around one of his arms to form a large piercing talon.

  "Time To Shish-ka-blob!" speakered Rawker.

  Dark began thumping around again in his big boots like he was a kid participating in some cruel Easter egg hunt, stabbing Polloop Fish everywhere he could see them. Each time his usb talon was close to being full, he'd toss their lifeless bodies into a pile that Beanie Toe had started earlier. In no time, they had cleared the room of all pests.

  "Wooo! That was surprisingly more fun than expected!" exhausted Dark as he retracted his usbs.

  "And I've Recorded, Along With Estimates, What This Chemical Storage Room Will Require To Be Up To Snuff Again!" Rawker joyfully announced.

  "Glad y'all had so much fun cullin' them fish in a barrel! Hopefully y'all leave me somthin' next time, so I’d at least look useful."

  "Ha! My bad Hildra. Feel free to join in anytime, ya don't need my permission or anything. I might be the guy with the plan and ideas, but I ain't no leader."

  Hildra knocked on one of her shields attached to her hip: "Duly noted hun'."

  "Cool cool. So, as the guy with the plan and ideas, let's head out of this area and go onto the next. If memory serves me correctly from the diagram, this room should take us to the bar gate machinery that's supposed to filter out large debris."

  With a thumbs up and welcoming gesture, Lady Hildrantine gave a quick response: "Sweet, lead the way Mr. Dark."

  The team headed towards their next objective with haste. Two garage doors briefly blocked their way to the bar gates, but one of them was promptly opened manually by Darkgeek, popping the corroded locks with ease as the metal barrier zipped into its receptacle with a loud sha-sha-sha-clank. Up a questionably steep and wide hallway later, they were greeted to the Stage One Filtration area.

  But, as soon as the group was about to peek above the pathway, sounds of clacking and hissing quickly ambushed them.

  "SHEEKLIK-LIK-LIK!"

  Several Moldgeniered Zebussels attacked Darkgeek and crew. With their fine edged horse-like hoofs and razor sharp abdominal shell bodies, they were quick to slice up any threat that may encroach upon their territory.

  The first of many Zebussel leaped towards Dark with its shell-mouth wide open, revealing several lines of equine teeth, catching him by surprise.

  But before Darkgeek could even shout out some kind of profanity, Lady Hildrantine leaped forward to deflect the toilet-sized hairy shelled abomination.

  "Time to show ya what a Valkyrie's Empire's Premium Valhallin' Shield can do!"

  With swiftness, Hildra flipped a switch and shifted a shield back to her hip. The shield pulsed a deep blue instead of orange as well as shifted up in its pitch to a screech.

  "And with a swift kick, ya can be doin' this!"

  As Hildra swung her leg, the shield rapidly spun and launched itself down her thigh and off her heel towards the oncoming hoard, knocking several of them down before returning back to her hip.

  "Annnnnd it's got other features too!" Hildra continued.

  clanking her bracer against the shield itself, it shifted its form into a spiked shield. On her other hip she did similarly, but into the form of a buzzsaw.

  "Now, just get to boot scootin'!"

  Hildra was not just kicking a guided shield towards enemies, she was in full shuffle mode. With grace and heft, Lady Hildrantine danced through several sliced up and crushed Zebussels with ease as she boomeranged one shield and swung her leg with the other, alternating throughout her limbs with beauty. She ended her dance of death with a stomp and return of her shields to a neutral state with style.

  "Keep in mind though when using this product of the limited battery and temperature!" concluded Hildra's advertisement.

  "Impressive! I've got a different beat though, so to speak."

  "Heads Up Team, More Cannon Fodder Incoming From Below The Gates, Or Something Like That A Support Character Would Say Right? Muha!" joked Rawker.

  "Ight, time to ungabunga some shells!" roared Dark, charging in ready to show off more of his cybernetics.

  "Beanie Toe! As we practiced!"

  Darkgeek did some short claps to his right hand unto his Electro Gem while running, making a glass tinking sound similar to his food bowl.

  "DESKBURRITO CAT?!" Beanie growled as he zipped at high speed up his father's back onto his large hand.

  As Beanie Toe laid on his gem, Dark's hand quickly began to charge an electric disk-shaped shield around his fur-friend with sparking intensity.

  "Close Beanie, it's actually: Destruct Toe Cat!"

  Dark flung Beanie Toe at the new hoard of Zebussels, sending his kitty through the air spinning furiously.

  "RRRRAAAAEEEOOOWWW!"

  Upon impact, the shield bursted and shocked several creatures, frying them up in the process and dispersing the rest. Beanie was also propelled through the air from the impact in a cart wheel like fashion back towards Dark, where he landed upon his feet.

  "RaEoW-rAoEw-DIZzy..."

  "Good job Beanie Bean! Time to clam slam some bitches!"

  "Uh… What?" Hildra whispered to herself bafflingly as she was fending off some stragglers.

  Dark surged through the stunned creatures punching, kicking, and ripping them apart with his enhanced inhuman strength, all while Rawker chanted cheesy catch phrases as Dark's own personal narrator.

  During the fight, even more Zebrussels began to come out of the waterworks, seemingly endlessly. Both Darkgeek and Lady Hildrantine quickly recognized that the situation called for a tactical retreat. The hoard began to focus on Dark.

  "Aye, there's alot of these things! Let's head out and move on Hildra! Beanie Toe, follow her!"

  As Dark shouted the go ahead, a Zebrussel managed to sneak a deep cut on one of his arms.

  "Molderfucker!" snarled Dark as he electrocuted the want-a-be beast.

  "Gotcha hun! Settin' up a barrier real quick, just high tail it n’ we can shut the door!"

  "Ight!"

  Dark ran towards their escape. As he was, he began to charge his Electro gem. sparks of energy crackled around his hand as blood dripped from his bicep.

  The swarm was closing in quickly. sounds of both hoofs and shells clapping madly like a wooden wind chime in heat.

  Dark's hand changed from sparks, to an eerie green flame of plasma.

  "Oh, that's ichy AF! Rawker, I am gonna need some aim-assist on this one!"

  "You Got It Boss!"

  Rawker shifted his crossbones into a red reticle: "Ready Salami!"

  The green flame snapped into a spherical shape, now with a white core.

  Dark, close to his exit, turned around and gave a quick hop backwards towards Hildra's shields.

  "Bang!" shouted Dark as he tumbled behind safety.

  The Plasma ball flew towards the swarm into its center. Creatures burst and melted into white flames while some chunks of them flew towards Hildra's barrier. The rest convulse from the sudden surge of electricity before becoming charred corpses.

  "Ight, shutting the door!"

  With a quick use of his USB tethers, Dark slammed the shudder down and the crew was safe to move forward. Sounds of more Zebrussels could be heard slamming themselves against the metal door as they made their way down the hall.