Threads of the Soul

Chapter 502 - 502: Keep your Head, So you can take theirs.

Astra streaked through the skies, leaving nothing but a trail of bright blue light in her wake, before appearing above Loch Ness with a crash of thunder.Lightning sparked around her body, keeping her suspended through the planets own magnetic field, Her eyes narrowed into hate filled slits as she gazed upon the tranquil waters of their countries most famous lake.

Countless bodies, some whole and some in various pieces, floated atop its surfaces. Those that still had faces, or even their heads, still wore expressions of terror and pain as they stared up at the sky they would never get to see again.

The water had turned completely red, not a single hint of blue within it, as Astra could feel the sheer amount of iron that filled those waters. The iron itself reacted to her presence, and the rage that was building up inside of her, as the tranquil waters started to stir and storm, as heavy clouds started to form in the skies above.

Astra paid no attention to that, however. Instead she immediately shot towards the ground, not even bothering to use the hill side tunnel as she just ploughed straight through the earth and burst out inside the hidden chamber beneath the Loch.

She pulled herself up, rocketing towards the gate, only to find it inactive as two figures stood before it in the midst of a heated argument, even if it was a bit one sided.

Juniper was practically crushing Bob against the wall as she screamed at him,

"A MEETING?! HE THOUGHT A MEETING WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY HUSBANDS LIFE?!"

"I'm sure that he does not know the seriousness of the situation." Bob tried to explain to her, the black sand that made up his face had transformed into a mask of concern, specifically that of an older woman he had seen worrying about children. However his lacklustre reasoning and emotionless speech did little to calm Juniper.

Astra cast him an inquisitive look, before turning her attention to the inactive gate. She thrust her hand towards the crystal, pouring a lightning bolt of pure mana into it. The crystal briefly glowed, before sputtering and dimming a moment later, causing Astra to frown deeper.

"Broken? Why the hell is it broken? How did they even know about this place or how to operate it?"

She glanced at the guards bodies that were littering the grounds. Fishmen and their mighty Kelpie steeds, however the scene didn't look right. A few of the fishmen were sporting wounds like a crushing hoof would give, while one of the Kelpie's still had a fishman's harpoon sticking out of its chest.

She whipped around, glaring at Bob while lightning sparked in her eyes.

"Can you get this functional"

"It already is functional," Bob explained plainly, as if there was not a hysterical woman in the room with them. As for Juniper, she was breaking down more. The vines in her hair were whipping wildly in the air, whilst her wooden fingers grew into claws that dug into his shoulders.

However Bob cared little for the claws digging into him, as he continued to explain.

"The issue is not with this gate, it is with the other side. I cannot fix something where there is not an issue to fix. Without being able to go to the facility and understand the problem on their end, we are stranded."

"THEN GO THERE SANDMAN!" Juniper screamed again, causing Bob to tilt his head in a sign of exhaustion, as he had no need to sigh. He had already explained this to her multiple times, and he did not enjoy the feeling of helplessness any more than she did.

But they had tried to contact Lee multiple times, as he was the only one who could get them there, but he was too engrossed in his meeting, which had led to this altercation.

Astra placed her hand gently onto Juniper's shoulder, drawing a glare of bloodlust and rage from the woman, before Astra spoke in a cool and deadly calm voice.

"Enough, release him. I know exactly what mind set you are going through. I have been through it myself, multiple times. But this is not helping. If we want to help them, we need to keep our heads so that when we find the people behind this, we can tear their heads from their shoulders."

Juniper's rage filled eyes darted back and forth between Astra's looking deep into them, looking past the expressions so many struggled to recognise, past the mask of calm that filled her gaze. Past all of that, she saw the storm brewing within her, ready to smite down anyone that opposed her with heaven's judgement.

Her anger faded slowly, and as it did so it released the torrent of sadness that it had been holding back. It overwhelmed her, causing her to let go of Bob as she sunk to her knees and sobbed.

Her mind had been an absolute mess since that call. They were no strangers to danger or to the thought of losing each other to some beast or madman. But it had never felt as real and as certain as right now.

All she could think about was his face as he hung up, and the look of certainty in his eyes.

Astra's communicator suddenly pinged as she quickly stepped away to check it. Her eyes narrowed in confusion at the notification, before widening a moment later. She quickly turned around, showing the display on the Communicator to Bob.

It was nothing more than a small red dot, blinking softly, on the surface of a map. A signal sent directly from Zero's communicator.

"Bob, Where is the ship?"

Bob paused for a moment, tilting his head the other way as the mask he was wearing dispersed into his usual faceless self.

"Are you sure you want to use it? Doing so will reveal its existence to the entire world, as well as the existence of the facility."

"I know, and I don't care. Where is it, Bob?"

For the first time, Astra heard Bob speak with some real emotion in his voice. There was a strong hint of amusement, almost verging on smugness, as he said,

"It is parked outside, waiting for its pilot."