17_Battletoads

After a short time, some cursing and allot of threats, a fragile alliance was struck.

Staple would provide a discount on all her establishment's services. Such as food and shelter. As well as allow the worker gang to set the ground floor as a temporary base of operations.

In return, the worker gang would stop trying to murderrise her and the chickens, as well as build defenses to protect against other hostiles. In addition, they had to bring more customers to her Inn, once the respawn booth was back to working order.

Neither faction was particularly glad with the arrangement. Staple didn’t trust the humans as far as she could throw them. But she had quotas to meet, and having some steady amount of customers was better than nothing.

In turn, Jimbo and his gang were extremely distrustful towards all kinds of sentient machines. They would sooner kill the mechanoid innkeeper and take her stuff, rather than work with her. However her incredible agility and the threat of her knives gave them a healthy dose of caution. Not to mention that Herman had promised to stop advising them if they did anything to the innkeeper or her avian charges.

And thusly, faced by the threat of mutual destruction, the two unlikely factions joined forces, bringing a tiny spark of civilization and order among the forest of chaos surrounding them.

___

Under Herman’s tutelage, the worker gang sprang into action.

Herman’s free premium status had just expired, so he no longer had free access to a room. That is why the group pooled their credits together and rented a room on the top floor. The room served as a scouting tower, It provided an excellent vantage point, and if anything dangerous approached they would be able to see it well in advance. A single person kept watch at all times while the rest of the gang worked below.

Most of the humans were fortifying the inn’s immediate surroundings, building a barricade out of the ruins of the nearby buildings. Herman didn't have to direct them too much here, since they weren't called the worker gang for nothing. All of them were extremely good with working with their hands. They expertly placed the random assortment of junk next to each other, to eventually form a tall and sturdy wall around the inn’s door, forming sort of a courtyard. The work was hard and exhausting, but it needed to be done and none of the humans complained.

…

The rest of the gang had another mission. Herman had left the massive giant to build their new base of operations while he and a small group of agile workers made their way further up the line.

Their purpose?

Scavenging for food, useful parts, and whatever else they could use to improve their new lives.

On several occasions Herman had to discourage a few of his more enthusiastic group members. They had their hearts in the right place, but lugging a massive water cistern back to the base was completely out of the question right now. Yes, with their newly System enhanced bodies they could have probably dragged it back to the camp, but this wasn't why they were here now.

No, this was an exploratory mission, go fast, take what you can and get out before you attract too much attention. Still though, the party did cover up the cistern with random sheets of metal and other trash. Perhaps later they could safely extract it.

The scavengeable materials in the zone between Generica Online and the internet were quite unique.

The internet was very traditional in its infrastructure, using technology and science to further their goals.

However the world of Generica Online had specialized in the opposite direction. They used spells and magic for pretty much everything. While their technology level was stuck in the middle ages.

Though after Herman saw what both sides did to each other, he swore not to underestimate the power of magic. That storm cloud terrorizing the internet inhabitants with warefrogs, was on par with the radiation they were struggling with.

In any case, it was quite interesting contrast. And the zone between the two contrasting ideologies seemed to have a weird combination of both.

At one time you would see a normal looking things such as techno dongles and other mechanical parts, and then next to them you would see something bizarrely ordinary like semi sentient broom, walking on its own and mindlessly brushing off the sand in its surroundings. Then there were the rare occasions where technology and magic blended together. The prime example of which were the respawn booths and mana generating hamster wheels.

The worker scavengers took the dongles and the broom, as well as any other object they thought could be useful, be that magical or technological. However the biggest price of everything was a small hand held object capable of producing water from thin air. It was a wooden fish figurine, expertly carved and with blue gem eyes. Out of its open mouth, water gushed out whenever one of the gems was pressed.

Herman would have ordinarily ignored the figurine, but he did notice it resembled the rooster puzzle from Polya. He quickly showed the treasure to his party and they immediately spread out to search for more. However none of them had any luck. Probably the figurine was a special contraband, just like with the rooster.

The search didn't prove entirely fruitless though, as someone from the group did manage to find a curious price.

"Hey guys, guys! Look what I found." The worker excitedly shouted. Then the chubby man proudly presented a dead toad, holding it by one leg and showing it off to everyone to admire. "We can make frogburgers! I can’t remember the last time I had one.”

“Frogburgers! I can't wait." The chorus of voices spoke in unison at the sight of the lucky catch.

Twitch…

Herman’s wide smile slowly began to shift.

Twitch twitch…

Eyes widening in horror, the old man slowly moved to the would-be hunter, keeping his voice calm and steady. "Bob… Why don’t you put the critter down. Slooow and steady." Herman said as he cautiously approached Bob, knife readied in one hand.

"Hey, get your own! "I found this one first. There is a whole nest of dead ones over the…"

However the man quickly paused as he saw the concern in the old man’s face. Followed by another twitch from the critter he was holding.

"Steady… don’t panic, slowwwly put it down." Herman spoke in a reassuring monotone.

Crunch!

"AAAAAaaaa!" Bob screamed.

Herman immediately trust his knife in the toad. Killing it instantly and pushing it off the man, but not before the beast left two jagged marks in the worker’s neck.

Bob immediately fell down, convulsing and clenching the wound on his neck, the rest of the gang quickly rushing to the aid of their comrade.

"NO, stay back! Stay back! He is infected!" Herman shouted, spreading his hands and pushing the rest away.

Immediately, the injured worker began to transform, his blue jumpsuit tearing apart from the rapidly expanding flesh. His chubby body was quickly metamorphosing into a macabre amalgamation of mutated muscles and patchy green skin, his legs and arms changing into thick amphibian appendages ending in sharp, jagged claws, his head elongating to form a frog-like snout ending with two razor-sharp fangs.

"Rrribbit!" The abomination snarled at the panicking humans.

However, before the creature could fully complete its gruesome transformation. A sharp piece of metal appeared in its chest, piercing its heart and causing the beast to cease its movements and lie still.

Beth pulled out her scavenged sword with practiced ease. Next, she knelt down at the beast’s side and closed his eyes with surprising care, whispering a quiet prayer.

Everyone, including Herman, stood dumbfounded.

"What? Did you think you are the only capable person around here? Each one of us had lives and hobbies before we met you. We are not the mindless savages you take us for." The worker woman said as she stared the old man directly in the eyes.

"I .. I never said…" Herman tried to say.

"Zip it, we have work to do. The rest of you, what are you all staring at? Get back in formation! There could be more of them." Beth snapped, causing the worker gang party to scramble away. However before they could even make a few steps, they all froze in place by all too familiar sound.

"Ribbit."

The sound being immediately followed by half a dozen warefrogs appearing from the nearby rubble.

"Everyone, back to base! I will hold them off." Beth commanded her stunned comrades. Then, without even waiting to see if her orders were followed, she let out a furious battle cry.

Screaming like a Valkyrie, the woman ran straight for the beasts. Sword held high, her face defiant and full with rage.

As he watched the woman charge at certain doom, Herman stood with gaped mouth. "She is insane…" The old man muttered to himself as he picked up his knife, charging after her.

___

"This is all your fault." The woman scoffed.

"My fault!? You were going to get yourself killed!" The man snapped back. "Oh, I will hold them off. I will be right behind you, bla bla bla." He mockingly said. "I have watched enough movies in my life to know what happens after someone utters those cliches."

"Shut up old geezer! What do you care if I die? If anything, life would have been much easier for you with me out of the picture." Beth said, giving the man an angry kick for good measure.

"Ough!" Herman cried in pain as the boot of the woman found his knee. "Believe me, I am REEEALLY beginning to regret my decision of saving you!" Herman said as he retaliated with a kick of his own.

"Gah! You demented old fool!" Beth shouted.

"Witch!" The man replied.

"Neanderthal!"

"Harpy!"

"AAAAA!"

Both screamed in anger, rushing at each other and trying to strangle one another. Their shouts echoing throughout the small crawl space between the rubble of the collapsed building.

"RRRIIIBBIT!"

Both humans froze still, hands around each others throats, looking up.

"They are still there…" Beth whispered.

"Yup…" Herman whispered back.

"At least we gave the rest of the gang plenty of time to get away." She said.

“By now they should have reached the camp. Hopefully they are ok.” He replied.

Then they both looked down and realized their position, their hands wrapped around each other and their faces uncomfortably close.

"Get off me!" They both shouted in unison as they untangled each other and scrambled to get away.

"Pervert!" Beth muttered.

"Hag!" Herman grumbled.

___

After some time, the man risked to speak again.

"So why do you hate me so much?"

"Fuck off!"

"I was just asking…"

"How about you stay at your part of the hole. IN SILENCE!" The woman whisper shouted.

"What part? There isn’t enough space here for parts! We are practically sitting next to each other." The man replied in indignation.

After which the two reluctant allies sat in silence, listening to the frantic hissing and scratching of the beasts above.

Herman absently wondered when, or if, they would ever give it up. He knew how nanoids thought. He had to deal with way too many of them in the forbidden zones. But these things… He had no idea what a magical warefrog’s motivations were… Besides tearing him limb from limb, that is.

"You are too civilized!" Beth said.

"What?" Herman muttered, his mind still in the clouds.

"Every time the powers that be decided to fuck with us little people, a man like you was send to enforce the decrees of the elites."

"When my husband, my son and I, were forced to leave our home and join the communal bunkhouses, a man like you came to make us leave. When the heating was shut down in the antarctic winter. When rations were cut in half. The same man came.

And the same asshole made us work overtime in the spaceport, when me, Jimbo and the others died."

"So sophisticated, so civilized. It was for the greater good he would say. Sacrifices had to be made if we were to survive the icy desert.

Humanity above all else. Bah, humanity!" Beth spat the words like an insult, her tone dripping with contempt.

"I bet that bastard never sacrificed a damn thing in his life! He never went hungry or cold while watching his family suffer through the same hell! He has never worked an honest day in his life! All he knew was to take and take, buttering up the higher ups, when the rest of us suffered. All the while he was warm and fed under the protection of his masters."

As the woman passionately spoke, Herman remained silent, his expression solemn.

"Hell, you even look like him, and your mannerisms, the way you talk. It is infuriating! Just as civilized and sophisticated as the people on top. And now you come here and boss us around! I am sure you are hiding something, and I am pretty certain what it is."

"How many people did you have to step over in order to appease your masters? Do you even know? Or is it that we are just pawns to people like you? Perhaps you don’t even see us as living beings, just resources to be exploited."

"Well?! Nothing to say about yourself?" The woman said after the silence had stretched for a while.

"Would you even believe me? It seems you have already made your mind about what type of person I am." The man said. "I guess I can tell you that everything I have achieved in life, I have done with my own two hands. Me and my son had to fight and struggle for everything. And I am proud to say that we never resorted to exploiting anyone. Be that human or machine."

"But yet again, would any of that matter to you? It would seem that I am defensive or lying. Either way you won't believe me. Though I have a question for you. If I am the monster you portray me to be. Why did I risk my life in order to save you?"

Beth silently stared at the old man, eyes squinted in suspicion, as if trying to pierce his very soul.

Just when Herman began to shift uncomfortably under the woman’s intense gaze, they heard another noise.

Warefrogs, snarling, cackling, fighting… dying…

THUMP. THUMP. CRACK!

The stone rubble above them cleared away, illuminating the small crawlspace and revealing a familiar face.

"Ah, there you are! I knew you vould still be alive, da!”

“Come, quickly, more amphibians approach.”

The grinning Jimbo said, extending a massive helping hand towards the two humans below, then readying his giant club, eager to face the enemy.