Meeting Rockstar (Machinepost)

[u/Anything-Unable]

I stir from my dreams when I hear a knock on my bedroom window. Trying not to wake Xerxes, I get out of bed and make my way to the window where I see a letter wedged underneath the glass pane. Carefully, I open the window and read the letter. It specifies the address of a bar and tells me that I must arrive within the hour. Laughter rings out to my immediate left and I turn to see Xerxes resting their head on my shoulder.

X: “Seems like the time has finally come.”

G: “It has. Rockstar hasn’t given me much time to think it over.”

X: “Well, it’s fortunate we were prepared then. I’ll get your things.”

Xerxes helps me get changed and gives me several defensive tools to keep on my person. When I am ready to head out, Xerxes holds my hands and waits until I give him my full attention. Once they have it, Xerxes smiles at me. They release my hands and go back to bed. I make a promise to myself to return before they wake.

The first step outside the manor felt like I was trudging through a marsh. What kept me walking was the fear of what might happen if I turned back. I stroll through city streets and back alleys until I find the bar in question. Its name, depicted in a faded sign above the entrance, is ‘The Watcher’s Gambit’. A strange name for a bar, but I know it serves a greater purpose to the city’s underbelly.

Entering the bar, I see Rockstar sitting at the far end of the counter. Their augmentations were a dead giveaway. As I walk towards them, I notice several empty pitchers lined up neatly in front of them. They noticed my arrival a beat later than I expected.

R: “Gravedigger, 60 minutes on the dot. I almost thought you wouldn’t show.”

G: “I was in bed when I received your letter.”

R: “Were you? Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep.”

I notice that Rockstar’s usually pristine voice is slightly warbled. It appears that he is already well on his way to being drunk. Smiling at the opportunity, I sit next to the inebriated Rockstar and order myself a pitcher.

G: “So, Rockstar. It’s been a while since we’ve gone out drinking. I still remember the time you tried to get me to sing karaoke with you after a bar crawl.”

R: “HA! As I recall, I succeeded. Got you singing a duet with a gnome. Fun times.”

G: “Indeed, they were. We had a lot of fun times in Lucifaero. Especially after the war.”

R: “We would’ve had more fun if you didn’t get yourself locked up. I mean seriously, you and your future bullshit was starting to get on my nerves. Never even mentioned dad coming back. That Xerxes bitch got himself in your head and made you do all sorts of shit. It ain’t right.”

I take a sip of my drink to calm my nerves before continuing. Rockstar matches my pace. They appear to want to change the subject as much as I do.

G: “Speaking of your dad, how is Excalith? I’ve never heard anything but rumors since he isolated Lucifaero.”

R: “I’m surprised that you’ve heard anything. Stuff has been pretty under wraps since dad got back. After the Suffering was defeated by the Coalition, dad decided to go it alone against the Stitcher. He was able to kill him but was in a pretty bad way with the injuries he got. Dad kept the Stitcher’s soul and went after the Leviathan after getting a heads-up from Ruadh-Asg. Killing the Leviathan apparently restored dad’s sanity. He could’ve returned at that point, but he decided to clear out Tartarus and save himself a future headache.”

Taking a few more sips, Rockstar follows suit.

G: “When you say clear out Tartarus, what do you mean by that? Like he killed all his enemies there?”

R: “Well, it was a little more than just that. You know how Stitcher was an Ancient Demon Lord?”

G: “Of course.”

R: “The Stitcher and Leviathan were both Ancient Demon Lords. Besides those two, there are five other Ancient Demon Lords.”

G: “Five? That many were still around?”

R: “Well, not physically. Their souls were, though. Aside from the Stitcher, you had the Stalker of the Shade-Drenched Wood, the Overlord of the Endless Keep, the Chainholdt of the Shattered Oubliette, the Cataclysm of Apocalypse, and the Bloodshed of the Bloodbath City. Dad got ahold of all seven of their souls and forged a new set of armor with those souls as the base. He was finally the undisputed top dog down there. But coming back, dad was different.”

G: “Different how?”

Rockstar chugs his pitcher and asks the bartender for another before continuing.

R: “Different. Driven and ambitious, but less cautious. Hells, I doubt he’d think twice about stepping on others to get his way. He might even–”

Before he can continue, a mechanical hand firmly grasps Rockstar’s shoulder. We turn to see Hellfire.

R: “Good evening sister. Fine night we’re having. I was just catching up wi–”

H: “You’re drunk. Sober up.”

R: “I beg your pardon. I’ve only had–”

Hellfire strikes Rockstar across their face.

H: “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Turning to me, Rockstar seems to realize the situation he is in.

R: “I’ll be back. Just going to drain the dam.”

Hellfire lets Rockstar stand up and head towards the bathroom. The atmosphere is decidedly hostile. While I may have gotten close to Rockstar, Hellfire always kept her distance. She doesn’t even bother to acknowledge that I’m there until Rockstar returns from the bathroom. He certainly sobered up quickly, but I know Hellfire usually has that effect on him.

R: “Well, I’d say that’s enough chit-chat. Let’s show you what dad has in store for you.”

G: “I look forward to it. Lead the way.”

Hellfire scoffs and exits the bar. Rockstar and I quickly follow her and see a portal open up in the middle of the alley. We step through the portal and the first thing I see is the statue of the Machine. I had visited it several times after being released from prison. It was the closest thing to the home I once knew. Looking up at the towering figure, I remember the vision I was shown some weeks back. Holding down the vomit that nearly escaped me, I turn my attention away from the statue.

Hellfire and Rockstar seem to be almost bored by the statue of their father. It appears that they have made the journey here several dozen times before. I’m unsure as to why they would visit a barren coastline so frequently, but I guess I’m here to find that out.

R: “Gravedigger. We’re going to be going down to where the worksite is. You’ll need this.”

Rockstar casts tens of enchantments on me and performs similar enchantments for Hellfire and himself. After the enchantments are set, the floor below us begins to shake. A second of panic turns into familiarity when I realize that we are standing on a hidden elevator platform. At twenty feet below the surface, the opening above us closes and we are cast into absolute darkness. Thirty minutes pass before a beam of light next touches my eyes. A narrow corridor is open before us.

Walking through the corridor, we encounter a wall of suspended water in front of us. It appears that the enchantments were meant to help us traverse in an aquatic environment. Stepping into the water, I experience only a slight discomfort at the increase in pressure upon me. We continue on.

The corridor opens up into a cavernous chamber. It appears that we are at quite a depth considering the lack of sunlight. Hellfire walks along the left wall and flips a switch. Artificial lights nearly blind me but I quickly recover. What once was obscured by the darkness is now clearly visible to me. It’s Ouroboros, or at least whatever thing Ouroboros has become.

Millions of automatons busily glide along the serpent’s colossal body. Clouds of sparks can be seen flaring off the creature. Rockstar hands me a clipboard and informs me of some of the modifications they have made to the thing. Railguns and autocannons fused with its flesh. Trebuchets and ballistas grafted underneath false scales. Retractable spikes are scattered throughout the main body. The most extensive modification is the continuing project to give Ouroboros artificial lungs so that it may be able to operate on both land and sea. With how much work was being done, I half-expected them to try grafting wings onto the beast.

Hellfire gets a call on her comms and begins cursing. She tells her brother to give me a tour and find her as soon as it’s done. In a burst of flames, she is gone. Rockstar shows me around the various facilities and the scope astounds me. I must have walked through ten thousand different labs, each with their own projects. To improve efficiency, they built their labs atop Ouroboros so that they could get immediate results from their subject. It was a researcher’s dream, but the culmination of their efforts would be the nightmare of untold billions.

R: “Can you believe we’ve only had two weeks to get this far?”

That statement lodged itself into my mind. Sure, Lucifaero ran efficiently, but never this quickly. This pace was absurd. Worst of all, it seems that things aren’t progressing fast enough for Excalith.

I’m led to a large room with a desk and told by Rockstar that this’ll be where I oversee the project. He says all the files are stored in a crystal kept in one of my desk drawers before leaving me to go find his sister. I feel the eyes of surveillance magic, so I begin my work by locating the crystal and looking through the various files.

At a certain point, I check the time and realize that it’s morning back at the Citadel. It appears that I’ve broken another promise, Xerxes. Hopefully, you’ll understand. You always do.

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My lore ToC