I woke up a few hours later to the familiar soreness from the fatigue. With a loud groan, I push myself up to my feet and view the surrounding area. The dying embers of the fire still burn the camp as the scent of ash lingers in the air. Windy is still slumped over the railing while sleeping peacefully. By the looks of it, I've been out for at least a few hours. The buff stack must've taken a heavy toll on me because it hurts to even keep myself upright. Groaning some more and stretching lightly, I wake Windy up. He stirs at first before fully waking up and curling back into my hair in his smaller form. I look over the edge of the half collapsed tower to see rubble and metal rods poking out from beneath. I trace my steps back down the half of the tower steps I came in and exit, seeing the mess of the place my winged companion had made. Giant robotic limbs, circuits, and other electrical components scatter the place. I looked through the scrapped parts, hoping I could salvage anything, but to no avail. Instead, I use this time to take a closer look at the mechs from earlier. I climb onto the back of one that's laying faced down in the snow and rip open the circuit box to examine the wires and markings. Similarly to before, there is something similar about them that I can't quite seem to understand. Realization strikes me like a punch to the face as I remember that no type of technology has been invented yet. Henceforth, it must be from the future.
I close my eyes and sort through any memories I have of people that lived in the distant future when their world was lost, and the only logical conclusion was that these were one of the 10 Marvels of the inventor. Specifically, his suit that he built for dire situations, but his life was cut too short to even use it. This was one of his more public and revolutionary inventions as it would spark governments to begin making similar suits of their own. However, they simply couldn't replicate the perfection of the original mech, so 3 different classes were made to mimic it, each one representing a different part of the original.
The first is the Obsidian class: as the name suggests, it emphasizes durability and heavy firepower in exchange for speed and advanced mechanisms that provide mid-battle repairs, instead having light repair systems to solve minor issues such as fires or punctures in armor. Their strength is simple but incredibly effective in terms of battle efficiency.
The second class is the Vector class: sacrificing durability and long range firepower, this class excels in explosive bursts of speed and close range combat. This class is also equipped with repair mechanisms that allow it better survivability.
The third class is the Beacon class: they are better suited to stay near back lines or near bases of operations as they provide support to the main frontline as well as repairs. Armed with light firearms for self-defense, these mechs are not much of a harm if caught off guard, even for the Vector. As these mechs are mostly back line, they are kitted with fuel tanks to help fuel other mechs, as well as welding arms and other machinery to help repair allies. These machines also have the highest fuel efficiency as they can't spend too much time refueling or allied mechs may suffer more losses. This is often the most important role of a battle if it is prolonged.
The first 5 classes of each class were used as prototypes for the rest, so each of them tended to be different and more special than the ones that followed after. No other mech shares similarities to these first 5 mechs and each of them is different. In total, that makes 15 special mechs, 16 including the original. These special classes within the 3 main classes were given their own names. For the Obsidian class, they were given the name "The Anvils of Hephaestus." The Vector class's special cases were given the name "Needles." The special cases of the Beacon class were given the name "Matrix Anchor."
The original mech is…
I can't seem to remember its name even with the memories of the inventor. Well, I'm sure it's probably long gone by now. I shut the panel of the circuit box and hop off of the damaged mech I was inspecting and take one last look around the place. Windborne really left nothing unscathed. Wow.
The tracks left by the mechs that took away Clara again don't seem like an Obsidian or Vector class, so it has to be a Beacon. That explains the repairs they were getting earlier. Anyways, the tracks seem to head in one straight direction, but they do seem slightly faded already. I reached back into the backpack I had brought with me to pull out the map I traded for.
"So straight that way would be…"
I look closer at the map.
"… another damn city,"
Why can't I just leave Clara, dammit? She's also an Enchanted, she can save herself!
I scratch my head for a second before fixing my mask, hood, and cloak. She saved me once, so I guess I have to save her.
Setting out from the city, the harsh winds once again blow on me violently, I've gotten too comfortable hopping from building to building for good shelter. The winds and snow pour for hours as I trek past large hills and snowstorms on my journey, all while Windborne sleeps peacefully in my hair without a care in the world. Soon, the sun already begins to set on the blurry, cloud filled mountain range. Without Clara here, I'd have to build a small igloo or something of similar sorts manually. I kneel in the dark and heave a sigh. The land seems so vast it feels like the world has ended here and forgotten me. Who knows? Maybe this is a world where that happened. There's no light but the pale wash of the dimly lit moon, no shape on the horizon except endless snow and the low black edge of the sky. My breath comes out in sharp white clouds, and the cold bites through everything, turning my fingers stiff even inside my gloves.
I keep working anyway.
Snow creaks under my knees as I cut another block and lift it into place. The silence is so deep it presses against me, broken only by the scrape of my blade and the soft thud of packed snow. Each block feels heavier than it should, as if the cold itself is fighting me. I fit it carefully into the growing curve of the igloo, checking the angle by touch because there's barely enough light to see.
There's no one out here to help. Not anymore. No camp. No fire. No shelter waiting for me. Just this. Just me, the snow, and the structure I'm forcing into being with numb hands and a stubborn will.
I lower my head and keep building, one block at a time, shaping a small pocket of survival in the middle of all this endless white.
Finally, everything fits together and stays as it should. I climb in and am surprised with how generously spacious I made it. It was worth the effort. Putting my hands against the icy brick walls, it seems sturdy enough to at least stay up through the harsh weather of the night and some basic defense against anyone daring enough to come across me. With that, I seal up the entrance with extra bricks and settle into the cold floor, using my own cloak as a blanket. A few hours after I drifted off to sleep, I awoke to unusually loud crunching noises outside my makeshift shelter. Windborne seemed to have woken up too, but he normally stays asleep the whole time. A familiar voice calls out to me.
"X-Xyle? Is that you?"
"Clara?"
Windborne hops out of my hair and onto the snow beside me.
"Yes it's me! I managed to escape the people who kidnapped me and made it all the way back here! Now, let me in! It's freezing out here."
Hope fills my eyes. As I crawl over, I hear Windborne growling at the entrance as he stands up completely, but not transforming so as to not break the igloo. He looks on edge, almost frightened. I wait a moment before Clara calls out again, but something is slightly different. Listening closer, there is a slight distortion near the end of her words. It's very subtle that I wouldn't have gotten it had it not have been for my companion.
"Sorry Clara, I'm not sure how to open this. If I do, I'll break the igloo by accident," I blatantly lied. "Just use your powers to make yourself a new one next to mine and we will talk in the morning."
"I can just use it to fix the door after you let me in. Come on, it's freezing!" She hurriedly says.
"You can also just make another one. Just do that."
The distortion in the voice gets more and more noticeable as the igloo shakes slightly and snow falls from the bricks above.
"Let me IN!" She screams, now only slightly resembling the voice of Clara.
Whoever…no… whatever is out there, that's not Clara.