★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] And Tomorrow...The World! •22pp•

[El_Roy_1999]

General Tian scratched his mustache as the young man was brought in. The situation was fluid, as it always was. The rule of the warlords was now well into its second decade and there was still no sign of any decisive victory. Moments of stability were lost in a constant stream of chaos. He appreciated the poetry of the situation. Still, the money was coming in nicely. Controlling the banditry in the area was enough work. Fighting anything more than a skirmish against the other warlords could mean losing revenue, which in turn would put him into the situation of being unable to pay off all those people supporting him.
The status quo might be bad, but at least he prospered. What more could he wish for.
When he saw the face of the young soldier, he realized that his optimism had been unwarranted.
"Private Chang, is it?"
"Yes, sir, General!"
"The captain suggested you wanted to tell me something important."
"Yes, sir."
"Then go ahead, I do not like my time to be wasted."
The captain struck the soldier and barked:
"Quicker! Now!"
"Sir, yes! I was part of a patrol, chasing bandits in the countryside. We didn't find any. Instead, we were attacked!"
"And ... Talk faster, we are not at the movies."
"Yes. The fighters came out of nowhere. They wore armor and they were giants."
"Are you certain you didn't raid the peasants' liquor first?"
"No, sir. They were metal giants. And they were led by a monster straight out of Hell!"
The general laughed.
"Seriously. A monster out of Hell?"
"Yes. A woman. She killed my entire platoon. There was blood everywhere."
The eyes of the soldier began to water. He sobbed and broke.
The general had him carried out and hesitated. What were his enemies up to now?

[El_Roy_1999]

The unit arrived in Chengdu. Climbing out of the derelict train, smoke billowing everywhere, they unloaded their crates and boxes. The other passengers took the opportunity to shoot a glance at the strange foreigners and their giant woman. There was still some debate going on whether this was actually a woman. With the big-noses, who could tell?
The Captain smiled at the conversation. He had tried to teach the others some Chinese, but so far, they could barely ask their way around. Hushed mumbles in the local dialect were beyond their reach. He was still reluctant to return, but he had no choice. His last stay in China had been hard on him and leaving abruptly had made him painfully aware of his country's shortcomings.
He organized a few porters and told his crew to get ready. It was time to set up camp and visit this Frenchman.

As could be expected, their arrival was duly noted by the locals. The warlords' spies immediately sent their henchmen to follow them and reported back. Outside the railway station, Little Phoenix waited for the unit to load their equipment on carts. When the convoy rolled out, she climbed on her bicycle and followed them. She grinned. These foreigners were idiots. What were they thinking, waltzing into the place without discretion? Everybody knew they were there. If they were counting on the element of surprise, they had miscalculated.
She pedaled on, fascinated by the speed she was reaching. The training she had followed had strengthened her body in an incredible fashion. She almost didn't feel the strain. There was also something about the surgery Hilde had had performed on her. It made her strangely aware of her surroundings in a way she had never expected. It was as if she knew what would happen seconds before it actually did. It had taken some time getting used to it, but now, the quickness came as second nature.

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth sat in the darkness, concentrating. She wore the hood and earmuffs as instructed. Carefully, she breathed in and out. Her heartbeat thundered through the silence. The muscular, powerful woman struggled to remain calm. She was desperate not to think, but she couldn't stop herself. She sighed, shocked by the loudness.
Hilde hadn't promised her too much. After the surgery, she had been shocked by the intensity of her perceptions. Ruth had become incredibly fast. It was as if the world had slowed down all around her. She could hear the drops of dew slip of the leaves, she could watch them as they descended, she could almost feel the minute flows of wind that changed its shape.
When she watched people move, it was as if they were in slow motion. It was ridiculous. They aimed their guns at her, and she didn't even have to evade their bullets. She just wasn't where they were shooting. If they actually managed to get a shot out, she saw the barrel belch its bullet and saw it close in on her and again, she was gone before it even came close.
The details she noticed were ridiculous. She saw the little drops of sweat and blood shoot of their skins, she smelled the fear pervading their existence. She could almost tell when their little hairs stood up to stave off the panic. It was almost cute.
On the other hand, this awareness came at a price. Life was tiresome if it went too slow and it was hard to bear the constant noise and smell. Since her change, she preferred to stay in the dark, just concentrating on her mind and isolating herself from all the chaos. Even with her eyes and ears covered, her other senses were sharp enough to feel the world around her. Amazingly, she had noticed she could almost tell the sound of speech from the impacts of the air on her skin. She still struggled to understand, but maybe soon, she'd even have that power.
She returned to her meditation. The confrontation would come soon enough. To ease her emptiness, she started reciting the words from the Open and Closed Hand. Jacob would guide her.

[El_Roy_1999]

The man opened. He looked wild and tired. His hair was messy and he had a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He looked at the unit for a second, his hand twitching:
"Americans?"
The Captain replied:
"Mostly. You're the Frenchman, a friend of Éduard-Marie de Saint Gilles?"
"Call me André. Come on in."
He held open the door. He seemed excited or at least twitchy. There was a certain movement about him. The unit entered. The small room was soon crowded. The place was a little messy, just like its occupant. There were art objects everywhere. Little statues, paintings, scrolls, books. It was hard for them to find a place to even stand. The host led them on into the garden. It was comfortable, with a little pond. He had them sit down and said:
"Voilà. Éduard-Marie has informed me." His voice sometimes trailed off into a mumble. Washington and the others were slowly growing uneasy. Gladys wondered if this man was well. "You've come to the right man. It is very difficult to understand the current situation. The warlords are fighting each other lazily, but there has been an évenement."
The Captain asked:
"What happened?"
"One of Tian's bandit patrols was torn up by monsters. I assume it is a new faction that has announced its presence."
"Can you help us find out more about them?"
"I will ask around." He lit another cigarette. "Until then, you should try to get the support of at least one of the warlords if you want to play a role around here. I'd recommend Tian, he's open to suggestions right now."

[El_Roy_1999]

The general stood up:
"This is a surprise! Captain! It's been a while."
Tian stood up and walked over to the unit's members. There was an awkward exchange as Tian extended his hand in concentration while the Captain bowed. Tian laughed:
"Wonderful. We can't seem to agree."
"Last time, it was the other way round."
"I remember." Tian called for wine. "I think we have to celebrate. I didn't expect you to return to the Middle Empire."
"Me neither. After last time, I was mostly eager to never see it again."
"That would have been your loss. Now is a time of opportunity. It may look grim, but just wait. The Generalissimo is building a new China and men like me are there to fill the ranks. Men like you would be acceptable too, even if your noses are long."
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to pass. I have already found my loyalties."
"You mean you recovered them ..."
The Captain's face darkened for a moment. Tian laughed and seemed happy to have hit his guest's weak spot.
"Don't worry. These things are long behind us. For now, we can look forward to a bright future. Would you be so nice as to introduce me to your people? Some I remember, some I don't."
He spotted Gladys.
"And some are not men at all. Milady, I am Tian Songyao. At your service."
He took her hand, bowed and kissed it gently. Gladys was surprised and looked a little unsteady in her civilian clothes.
Just as the Captain tried to recover the situation, the alarm sounded and one of the guards stormed in.

[El_Roy_1999]

The Captain understood. He turned to his unit and said:
"We're being attacked. They have war machines. I guess it's the Master." He turned to Tian:
"We have weapons that can fight them. They're at our quarters. If you hold the fort here, we'll get them."
Tian stared at him:
"Do you think you have so much time?"
"Do we have a choice?"
There was another crash, followed by the rattle of machine guns.
The Captain stormed out, ducking as he expected fire from the enemies. The others followed him. Tian screamed:
"Hurry!"
The base's soldiers ran to their positions. A detonation signaled that the wall had been breached. Troops opened fire into the opening. Amidst the cloud of smoke, there was another burst of gunfire. One of the defenders was struck in the head, the bullet piercing his helmet as if it were made of cardboard. The others threw themselves to the ground. The smoke billowed and revealed a massive steel leg. Out of the swirling fumes, a machine emerged. Gladys immediately understood that this was an improved version of those they had fought before. It was clearly more robust, better armored and faster. The engine seemed more powerful and the whole machine looked lower. It was clear that the designers had aimed for a lower profile. It advanced, its arm-mounted machine guns spraying bullets at the defenders. Behind the first armored giant, another one appeared.
The unit took cover. Oswald spat:
"Even the big guns won't hurt that thing. I'd recommend to retreat."
The Captain saw the soldiers flee, others preparing a field gun to get a shot at the armored warrior. They tried to load the gun, but were suddenly and literally cut short.

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys watched in horror as one of the men was split apart. She couldn't really see who did that, but she instinctively drew her handgun and opened fire. She could immediately tell that whoever had been there had already moved out of the way. How was that possible? Who could move so fast?
She saw muzzle-flashes and another group of men die. This was no soldier. This was a killer. Within moments, the defenders were fleeing or pleading for their lives. No one was thinking of ways to stop the war machines. The Captain was attempting to rally the soldiers, shouting in Chinese. She grabbed Oswald by the sleeve and shouted:
"We've got to get that gun firing!"
Oswald immediately ran after her. As they raced to the emplacement, she screamed for Washington and Yorkow to give them cover. The two men complied, picking up rifles from the hands of the fallen soldiers and shooting at the metal giants that were tearing the barracks apart. Behind the machines, soldiers appeared, advancing into the compound.
Gladys grabbed one of the shells and swiftly loaded it into the breech. Oswald took aim as fast as he could. The gun went off, it's bang disappearing in the overall noise. The shell roared through the air and struck the first armored attacker. The detonation was ear-shattering. At this range, Oswald and Gladys had to duck behind the gun's shield to avoid being hit by burning hot shrapnel.
The machine was clearly damaged, but not destroyed. Instead, Gladys stared as little limbs extended from the tear the exposoion had left and began closing it. She shouted:
"We need to shoot again!"
Suddenly, she felt something approach her fast.

[El_Roy_1999]

Instinctively, she tried to block the blow. Her sinewy muscles contracted, trying to match the attacker's speed. It was pointless. Gladys saw the assailant's blade cut deep into her arm. A spray of blood stained her dress. She riposted as good as she could and tried to grab the superhuman fighter. Her foe moved so fast that it was hard to focus and get a good look.
Gladys jumped back, pulled out her gun and snapped off a pair of shots. She was shocked to see the black-clad assassin evade her bullets. The situation was dire. She thought quickly. Maybe she could get the fighter to focus on her. Her allies could then attack from behind and maybe stop the assault. Dodging the flurry of blows as good as she could, she retreated. All around her, chaos was erupting from every corner. The war machines advanced, tearing down the barracks and their defenders.
Tian tried to rally his troops, screaming in Chinese at the top of his voice. One of the steel giants took aim and tore him apart in a hail of bullets. The panic was indescribable. There was blood everywhere, fires had broken out and detonations rocked the ground.
Still, Gladys was forced to ignore all this. She struggled to stay alive, faced with the attacker's merciless onslaught.
All of a sudden, there was a glimmer of hope. She had just managed to evade another slice, her arms now bleeding profusely, when she noticed Oswald and Yorkow running towards the attacker. They fired, but the monster just twisted and the bullets flew by. Gladys charged, emptying her gun at the fighter. It was pointless. Once again, the bullets whizzed past, not even grazing the lightning-fast silhouette.
Then, Gladys slammed into her opponent.

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth felt the massive body of the other woman slam into her. She was dazed for a moment. It was just too much. Even with the hood, the sudden influx of sensory inputs confused her. She hadn't expected that anybody would get close enough to her for this to happen. Now she was being assailed by a mass of smells, tastes and touches that made her scream. Why had she failed to dodge that last attack?
She gritted her teeth, trying to recover. The sutras of the Open and Closed Hand rung in her ears as she attempted to regain her senses. The giant woman was on her, pulling back her fist for one devastating punch. In the last moment, Ruth jerked her head to the side in an unnatural movement. Gladys gasped as she missed her foe by half an inch. She sank the fingers of her other hand into the black silk the other woman was wearing and tried to throw her down.
Ruth found herself lifted and then smashed into the ground. Even as she fell, she twisted, her body contorting and her arms and legs suddenly pointing into bizarre directions. For Gladys, it was as if to try to wrestle with water. Still, she clung to the fabric.
By now, Ruth had her mind under control again. She pulled a knife from its sheath and stabbed at Gladys with lightning speed. The giantess felt the stings of the blade as it tore into her large muscles, but she held tight, again attempting to crush her opponent. Ruth hissed between her teeth:
"Die already!"
"No."
It was a simple statement of fact. Gladys had managed to grab the twisting black mass below her with her other hand. The black-clad, hooded fighter was still moving quickly, but she was almost pinned down. At the same time, Gladys was bleeding profusely. She just wished for the armor or maybe for some help. There was no chance of that. She had to crush that viper below her. At the same time, she felt her strength was fading. She had to finish the job!

[El_Roy_1999]

I'm sorry, but I'll have to skip at least one update. But I assume it will get better soon.

I hope you don't mind.

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth was overwhelmed. The smell of blood and sweat, the intense pressure of the woman's arms. All this was incredible. She was ecstatic. On one hand, she was well-aware that this was dangerous as hell and that this monstrous creature could crush her into pulp if she managed to get a lever on her, on the other hand, this situation was turning her on tremendously. It was probably the whole Eros and Thanatos thing Hilde had talked about. She grunted, squealed and sighed, all the while continuing to cut her opponent wherever she could. The blood was now everywhere. Ruth longed for Gladys to pull off her hood. Then, she would be able to experience this fully. Only fighting by her smell, taste and touch was good enough, but imagine seeing and hearing it all!
She hit her enemy again. Somehow, the giant warrior became slower and weaker. Was this it already? She was disappointed.
"Come on! Is that all you got? Fight or die!"
Gladys tried to answer, but the wounds were too much for her already. She could feel herself blacking out. Her grip was failing. How could this be? She had trusted her strength and her endurance and now, they weren't enough. This monster under her hands was killing her and there was nothing she could do.
She fought to keep her wits together, tried to block out all doubt and squeezed as hard as she still could. There was a sickening sound as some of Ruth's bones splintered and broke. The insane fighter ignored this, even though her knife now hung limply in her hand. Gladys tried to exploit the advantage, but it was too late. Her vision faded and she collapsed on top of her enemy.

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys felt sore and weak. It was as if all strength had been drained from her. She slowly opened her eyes and noticed that she was lying on a rather comfortable bed now. It was some kind of infirmary. Above her there was a strange contraption built of brass tubing. She heard a voice from somewhere around her:
"Good morning! I am glad you are awake. How do you feel?"
"I'm tired."
"I can understand that."
The voice was strangely uniform, with little inflections and no accent at all. She tried to move her head and catch a glimpse of her caregiver. It hurt, but it was possible.
There was nobody around.
"Where are you?"
"Oh. Of course. I am above you."
"Where? In that tubing?"
"In a way, yes. I am Karel. I am a caretaking machine and it is my duty to help you get well."
Gladys was confused and decided to give this revelation some time to settle.

[El_Roy_1999]

After a while, she felt clear enough to ask again. The machine immediately reacted and awaited her questions.
"Okay, Karel. You're a machine."
"Yes."
"Yet you speak like a person."
"Thank you. I try to do my best."
"Incredible. Where am I?"
"I am sorry, but I am not at liberty to divulge that information."
Gladys was amazed. That thing spoke like a fancy phrasebook. It asked:
"Are you in pain?"
"I'm not, just tired."
"That is to be expected. You lost a lot of blood."
"Oh, yes ... The fight. Now I remember. Did I win?"
"Once again, I cannot tell you. But you will learn soon enough. For now, you should rest."
"I guess you are right. Where are my friends?"
Before it started, she said:
"I see. But they are alive?"
"I regret. I cannot tell you. For now, please try to recover."
She sighed. Maybe it was better this way.

[El_Roy_1999]

After a few days, Gladys felt better. Karel's treatment was excellent. He was courteous, friendly and available at every moment of the day. The machine carefully changed her bandages, applied ointments and checked her health, without ever even changing the tone of its voice. It probably couldn't.
Other than with the machine, Gladys had no contact with any living being. She was being held prisoner, so much was clear, but the cage was golden. When she was bored, Karel would read her a story or entertain her with some light conversation. It was weird to listen to the monotonous, friendly voice debate poetry with her. Whenever they reached a point where the robot was getting out of its depth, it stopped the discussion and declared that she needed a brief rest.
Slowly, Gladys discovered the limits of the thing. It was a splendid toy, but it was still a toy.
Then, one day, Karel declared:
"I believe that you are now healthy enough to take a little walk. Should I help you up?"
"Thank you. I'll manage."
She got to her feet, still shaky and weak. She noticed that the long time of inactivity had taken its toll on her physique. This annoyed her. She had spent years on perfecting her body, and now, she felt reduced, almost forced back on square one. On the other hand, Karel's treatment had prevented ugly scars to remain. That was something to be thankful for.
She stumbled to the door. As she approached it, Karel put a dressing gown on her shoulders. She closed it and stepped outside.
The vista amazed her. She was up in some enormous mountain range ... The Himalayas.
It took a while for her to take in all the beauty of this place. Karel's arms hovered close-by to catch her should she fall. She shook her head.
"It's okay. I'll take it slowly." She walked along the corridor. "I am the Master's prisoner, isn't that right?"
"That is correct."
"Now, where is the rest of my unit?"

[El_Roy_1999]

"Don't tell me. 'I am not at liberty to divulge that information.' Right?"
"You are correct."
She reached an open space that offered an incredible view of the surrounding mountains. In the distance, a yak gnawed at some moss. Karel offered her a large fur coat.
"You appear to be cold. Best use this."
She wrapped her slightly deflated shoulders in the warm cloth and asked:
"Tell me: That symbol, the circle with the five vertical lines. Is that the Master's symbol?"
"It is."
"I understand. Funny."
"How so?"
"You wouldn't understand."
She walked to the edge of the platform. A large pane of glass allowed for a panoramic view while at the same time protecting the spectators from the gusts of wind. She turned to Karel's metal eye and asked:
"Do I count as a prisoner of war?"
"Not at all. We are no army. You are to be treated as our honored guest. This was the explicit order of the Master's second-in-command."
"The woman."
"I am not at liberty ..."
"It's okay. Well, I would like to exercise. All these days in the infirmary were bad for my health."
"That can be arranged."
"Thank you."