Dinner and Dungeons

I sit on the bed, having moved the two-person table and chairs so we can all at least mostly have a proper sit-down meal. "Kara, nearly finished?"

The kitsune nods. "Enough stew for seven, just as you asked. There's even extra." She tilts her head and smiles, but...

I shake off the creepy feeling. "Thanks again."

"Not a problem, Master~"

I feel a twinge in my pants, but that's quickly covered up when Eve sits on my lap on the bed. "Dusk, do you mind?"

I pat her head, smiling as I place my other arm around her waist. "It was either you or the kids." The backdoor opens. "Speaking of."

"[D] DaddyDaddyDaddy! Did you know there's a beautiful pond nearby?" Violet climbs atop the bed, her head now over my shoulder as she stands and grabs me, while Daisy is gently guided in by Diana.

I pretend to act surprised. "[D] Really? You'll have to show me tomorrow."

"[D] I definitely will! Mommy, can we all go together?"

The surprised mother thinks a moment, glancing to me as a conflicted emotion shows on her face. "[D] ...yes... We can go again in the morning." I smile and nod to her.

Kara sets down the first two of several bowls. "Planning something, Violet?"

The young hornet nods giddily. "...go...to...lake..."

The kitsune nods as I pat Violets' head. "Good girl." She heads back to the large black pot over the fireplace.

"Learning some demonic, Kara?"

"I pick up a word here and there from the kids. Go, run, fly, things like that." She fills two more bowls and swiftly brings them over.

"[D] Daddy, can I sit on your lap for dinner?" Violet looks to me with pleading eyes.

I share a look with Eve. "[D] Aunt Eve's already sitting here, Vi."

"[D] But Daddyyyy!"

"[D] Violet."

Seeing the puppy dog pout on her face - Where did she even learn that? - Eve speaks softly. "[D] How about this? You can sit on his lap tonight, but I get to sit on his lap tomorrow."

Violet immediately brightens up, nearly tackling Eve off my lap. "[D] Thankyouthankyouthankyou! You're the best Auntieve!"

As the pair switch positions, with Eve taking one of the chairs and scooting next to me, Camilla walks through the door, rubbing her nose. "You would not believe how much that woman can talk..." She walks over to Kara, kissing her before scooting next to me on the bed, Kara sitting next to her now that all the stew is on the table. She pecks my cheek as well before rubbing her hands together.

"[D] Why does the human get more food?" Diana gestures to Camilla's larger bowl from across the table, Daisy sitting on her lap. "[D] My progeny are growing, but what of her?"

I raise my hand to calm her down. "[D] She's pregnant. You should know, you need to eat a lot more when you're pregnant." She squints, before nodding. "Alright, thank you Kara, for the meal." The kitsune nods. "[D] Kids, make sure you thank Aunt Kara for the meal."

The pair say, in as much unison a non-haunted pair of twins can muster: "Thank you, Aunt Kara." I scratch Violet's head as I begin the precarious task of scooping my stew into my mouth.

. . .

I pinch my nose as I exit the house, closing the door behind me. "Kara, remind me to talk to you about poisoning Dia-, no anyone when I get back..." I say it out loud, being pretty sure that the kitsune could hear me. Seeing Diana coughing and sputtering after her first spoonful was nearly enough to give me a panic attack, after how much effort I put into her not dying.

"Sir, we're ready to set off." Startled, I look up to find Belinda and Demona looking at me expectantly, the former wearing leathers, with a rapier and daggers strapped to her hip and thighs, respectively.

I pause. "...how much of that did you two hear?"

"Enough."

"Absolutely nothing, sir." Demona grins smugly before Bel continues, bringing out the map from Miki and Kaguya. "Demona has marked a couple locations on the map."

"I'm pretty sure there are a couple others off-map, though. I hope you rested up, because we're probably gonna be out all night."

I shrug. "I'll probably be fine. It's been a while anyway, so these dungeons might not even exist anymore."

Demona nods her head to the side. "You're not wrong, but if they are there, we'll want to deal with them tonight - one way or another."

I nod, dropping the polymorph I've kept up most of the day. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going. Eve's keeping watch tonight, but we shouldn't waste any time."

"On it, boss." The gargoyle takes a running start before beginning to rise of the ground, much like a plane taking off from a runway.

I wrap my arms around Belinda, realizing that this is probably the first time I've hugged her. I also notice that there's no Blo-, Banta wrapped around her. "No Banta?"

The undead lightly shakes her head, wrapping her own arms just under my arms, above my wings. "She wanted to sit this one out."

"Ah. Hold on tight." She pulls herself close, where our faces are probably less than an inch away, her dead eyes staring into my own. I'm taken aback for a moment before I come back to my senses, flapping my wings and launching us straight up. She tucks her head into my shoulder as I begin to chase after Demona.

. . .

Demona dives down into the trees for the third time, and I follow suit. There's no clearing, but there's enough gap between the trees that we don't get scratched up much on our landing.

"Should be somewhere around here. This one's either machine or sarkic, so keep an eye out." Demona spins around, seemingly looking for any recognizable details.

I chuckle, beginning to look around, myself. "Those two seem a bit different to be lumping them together. What kind of things are we looking for for each?"

"Machine, you'll probably hear something before you see it; a fake tree that you lean against, or a trapdoor that you step on. Erosarkic...good luck. Rangers are some of the only ones who could reliably identify them before you fall into one of their pits. Well, and concubi, but unless they're in a rush, they might not care."

"Noted. Speaking of, did Bel tell you about-"

"Knack? Yeah, she did."

"Well, there's a slight problem with 'Knack'. What do you know about-" I hear a dull *thunk* from under Demona's foot. "Good to see it's not a bunch of tentacles."

Demona kneels down and begins pulling away the grass and dirt. "I don't know about you, but Bel and I would've been fine. Undead are immune to most aphs, and unless my skin is broken, a sarkic's aphs wouldn't affect me." Most of a large metal trapdoor is revealed, a splotch of rust visible on one of the seven or eight-foot edges.

I look to Belinda next to me, and she answers the unspoken question. "Aphrodisiacs."

I slowly nod. "Ah. I would have been fine, then. Other than getting **** by a bunch of tentacles, that is." I gesture to the door. "You want to do the honors?"

The gargoyle nods, grabbing a very modern-looking handle and pulling it up, lifting the heavy door and letting it hang open at an angle. "Just so you know, I've never been inside here. I think it used to be a weapons bunker, but we could come up against any kind of machine down there."

I nod again. "Alright... Did we discuss formation?"

"No, but I'm fine with taking the lead. You two are squishies, after all." She cocks a smile before hopping down the dark depth.

Turning to my lieutenant, I'm about to speak as a metallic *thud* echoes up the chamber. "You should probably go next. I can hop down pretty quickly once you get to the bottom." A brief flex of my wings emphasizes the point.

She nods, approaching the metal rungs on the side of the shaft. "I'll let you know when I reach the bottom."

I glance around as she descends, relatively confident that I'm not being watched. Taking a breath, I relish in the momentary reprieve from anything happening. I would have relaxed earlier if Kara hadn't decided to 'prank' Diana... I hear the *clang* *clang* *clang* of metal on metal, and a reflexive glance shows the ladder shaking a bit. Ladder's old, or at least the parts attaching it to the wall are. I grab onto the sides of the ladder and begin sliding down, using my wings to slow my descent.

Landing at the bottom a bit earlier than I anticipated, I note just how dark the chamber is. The oni's dungeon was dark, but at least daylight could shine through. Here, the moon isn't overhead, so I can't see a thing. "Demona? Bel?" I conjure a light blade to illuminate the area, revealing a small chamber walled with metal.

"Right here, boss." Demona stands by the only doorway, solid metal with a seam going from top to bottom. Bel has a hand on the gargoyle's shoulder, blinking repeatedly from the sudden change in light. "I should be able to get us in..." She rubs her hand against the wall next to the door, and a panel seems to light up before the door opens. "There we go. Good to know my creds are still good."

"Creds? As in credentials? You some kinda bigshot in the Demon Kingdom?" I poke my head into the next room, seeing one more door on each side and a faded glass pane on the opposite wall of this square room.

"[D] Welcome, Captain Demona. Your presence is requested in the control room." The artificial voice echoes through the new chamber, startling me.

The gargoyle smirks. "Yeah, something like that." She strides into the room, glancing around before pressing her face against the glass.

I follow her in, Bel not far behind me. "Wait, if you've never been here, how come the scanner let you in? How does the computer know you?"

"A bunch of the machine dungeons are linked together using some kind of...I think they called it radio, but I don't know much about it."

"Radio as in radio waves? Radio frequency?"

"Something like that." She steps back from the glass. "[D] Computer! Entry guards appear to be incapacitated. Requesting authorization to enter."

"[D] Granted. Warning: communication and surveillance systems malfunctioning. Be cautious of sentries in the area." The doors on both sides open.

Demona shrugs. "I thought this might be a problem. Old machine dungeons tend to...attack people. Be on guard. [D] Computer! Lights on, please."

Bright lights shine down from the ceiling, forcing me to blink to adjust my eyes. "Well, at least we won't be in the dark..." I dismiss my light blade. "So, I take it we're heading to the control room?"

Belinda interjects, coming back from peering down the left hall. "Three hostiles, all machines."

"Alright. Anyone know any weaknesses for machines?"

Demona steps forward. "They're not great against magic, so you're already a step ahead."

I nod. "Good to know." Looking to Bel, she's already gazing down the other hall. "Anything over there?"

The undead shakes her head. "Empty."

"Then let's head that way. Am I right in assuming if we can fix the problems in the control room, the other robots won't attack us?"

The gargoyle shrugs. "It's possible, but I was never in charge of...clean up. They usually sent out other machines to take care of these dungeons, since they're some of the only ones that understand all the...programing."

I nod my head to the side. "Yeah... Programming can be a bit complicated sometimes. I took a couple classes a few years ago, so I'll take a look at it." Hopefully it's something I can understand...

Demona steps out into the right hall, doing her best to mitigate her heavy footfalls. The first door on our left isn't far away from where we entered, and Demona opens it with another discrete hand scanner. As we enter, I see the mummified corpse of some kind of horned monster in the central of three chairs, which the gargoyle pushes aside to access the main console facing the faded window. She pokes a few buttons with her clawed hands and looks confused for a moment before hitting another button, the screen in front of her coming to life. "There we go. This should be a map of the facility. We're here, and the control room should be..." She points to the farthest room from the entrance. "There."

I count the complex series of rooms leading to the control room. "This is a lot of rooms for an armory."

"Bunker. This one... I thought it was just for weapons, but..." She shakes her head.

Belinda drags her finger along the wordless map. "This route seems to be the quickest."

Demona brings her gaze back to the screen. "Looks like that'd pass through the main generator room. I don't think my clearance is enough to get through, and even if it was, that's the second most guarded room in the dungeon."

I stare at the map. "[D] Computer. What rooms does Captain Demona have access to in this facility?"

"[D] Captain Demona: clearance level epsilon. The captain has access to every chamber in this facility. Unauthorized voice detected issuing commands. Initiating-"

Demona sighs and crosses her arms. "[D] Computer, initiate new user protocols for two."

"[D] Initiating new user protocol. Captain, please state their ranks and clearance level."

"[D] Lord, zeta. Lieutenant, zeta."

"[D] Lord, please state your name and place your hand on the scanner." A panel on the console lights up.

I look to Demona, who elbows me before I set my hand on the scanner. "Dusk Blackwing."

"[D] Lord Dusk, welcome. Lieutenant, please state your name and place your hand on the scanner."

"Bel." I gesture to the scanner.

The undead looks at me confused before setting her own hand on the black screen. "Belinda Toran."

If I had water in my mouth, I'd spit it out. "You're a Toran!?"

"[D] Lieutenant Toran, welcome. Your clearance level allows you access to the main sections of this dungeon. However, without the presence of a higher-clearance individual, the Power Generator-" One of the rooms on the screen lights up, the same one that Demona pointed out to be the generator, herself. "-and the Control Rooms will be off limits." Another room lights up, again the same room Demona said had the controls.

"Hold on, why didn't you say you were a royal?" I stare, bewildered.

The undead looks away. "It wasn't relevant, and became even less so after I turned." Turning her gaze back to the map, she points to the generator room, the highlights now gone. "I still suggest we move through here. It's the fastest route, and once we get into the control room, we can use that as a **** point to limit the number of enemies coming after us."

...seems like a sore subject... "We'll revisit that topic later, but I think you're right. Demona, are the robots able to open doors?"

The gargoyle nods. "But the idea has merit. We focus on speed, and while one of us handles the main computer, the other two use the **** points to handle things with the guard."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll take the lead, and-"

"No." Bel draws her sword. "Your mobility relies on a relatively open area utilizing your wings. Of the three of us, I'm the most mobile in an enclosed environment. I'll lead. Dusk, you focus on making sure hostiles don't get close to Demona from behind. She's the slowest among us, but she's the only one that can clear that route for us."

I chuckle. "Huh. An escort mission." As the pair look to me with confusion, I brush it off. "Something from home.." I look back to the map, trying to memorize the way. Left, right, through this room, then the generator, then left, then right. "Alright, let's go." I take a look out into the hallway we just came from, not seeing any of the robots - still don't know what they look like, actually - in the way as we step out. "We take our time until we spot hostiles. No need to draw unnecessary attention to our-"

Belinda raises a hand as she stops suddenly, stepping behind the corner of a 'T' intersection. After she okays it, Demona and I peer around the corner, to take a better look at what caught her attention: a four-legged machine, vaguely canine in stature, if not shape, stuck on its side against the wall of the small offshoot hall. It's intended to be sleek, with curved metal panels and non-existent seems between them, some seeming to hide weapons, if the brief peeks I get inside are anything to say for it. It spasms erratically, incessantly, claws scratching into gouges on the floor. Must have been happening for a while...

We sneak past that one as much as we can with a lumbering stone gargoyle, and continue down the hall. It's quiet as we approach the first turn - another 'T' junction. Bel gazes down both corridors, lingering on the one on our left. Without looking back at us, she raises a hand. She takes a bit of a runner's stance before giving a '3 2 1' and rushing forward. Demona and I round the corner after her, and I can see enough around the gargoyle ahead of me to see another of those dog-like robots get run through by Bel's rapier, the screeching sound of metal-on-metal torturing my ears. She pulls the blade out to the side, and the robo-dog collapses, spasming much like the other one we saw.

Belinda rushes past the other 'T' junction - the hallway on the other side of the security room - just in time for another dog to nearly crash into the wall. Unfortunately for it, Demona is quick to ram herself into the robot, and I can hear the crushing of metal as she slams it into the corner before moving on.

As I pass, a third dog comes up and goes to tackle me. I raise my left wing as a shield and slide, the robot scratching into my feathers before it lands on its fallen ally. I push my mana a bit, like flexing my hand, and darkness from recompense wraps around the robot. I pick myself up as I look back, sending a dark bolt at the one moving - the one Bel had stabbed and sliced. Guess she wasn't precise... Hearing the *thud*s of Demona's footsteps behind me, I only spare another second to make sure each dog is down for good before giving chase.

Another turn later, I hear more metal screeching, and Demona steps on another of the mechanical dogs, crushing it as we pass. I leap over the carcass in the middle of the intersection as the *clang* echoes through the hall, signaling the metal door ahead of us opening. We all slip in and I slap my hand against the hand scanner next to the door, closing it.

"You know I said they can open the doors, right?" The gargoyle picks up what looks like a mechanized spear from the ground.

Looking around, this room seems to be a small armory, with racks of weapons and armor around. At least, what's left. It seems as if the place was ransacked, only a handful of weapons and bits of armor left behind. "If they rely on sight, then closing the doors will be better than not." I bend down, picking up a metal bracer from near an otherwise empty armor stand. "Any of this stuff good?" I slide it on my right arm, tightening the leather straps that hold it in place.

She jabs the spear in the air a couple times. "It should work, if nothing else."

I nod. "Assuming all goes well, we'll take what's left here to town." I gaze around, not seeing much in terms of useful gear, only a couple weapons and bits and bobs of armor, none of which could make a matching pair, let alone a set. I pick up a shoulder guard and wrap the strap around my torso, setting it in place on my right shoulder, although it feels a bit awkward.

Belinda looks up from tying a dagger and its sheath around her belt, staring at me. She steps closer and takes the shoulder guard strap in her hand. "It's upside-down." She unstraps the leather band and flips the entire piece around, guiding the belt into its position against my ribcage. "Is it too tight?" Her hands are on the buckle under my arm as she looks up at me.

Looking down, it's all the more evident, the difference in our height. She's probably a whole foot shorter than me, and seeing her look up at me... "N-no, it's fine."

The undead pauses before swiftly tearing her head off and lifting herself to my eye-level, her face a few inches away from mine. "Are you sure? Your cheeks are red."

"It's nothing, hones-mph!" Before I can register the push against my back, I'm already falling against Belinda. I wrap her with my wings and arms just before I feel us *thud* against the floor with my grunt. By the time I open my eyes from their reflexive shutting, I realize that there's a pressure against my mouth, and my face is even closer to Bel's, almost as if- I pull back. "Uh... Sorry." I glare to my side, seeing Demona whistle nonchalantly as she walks to the far door. "Don't know how that happened. Are you okay?"

"I am. Are you?"

"Yeah, yeah..." I nod.

"Alright, you two. In case you forgot, we've got a dungeon to conquer." Demona smiles smugly at us.

"Yeah, like you're one to talk." I look down and almost don't notice Bel's head even further below me as she reattaches her head. With her out of the way, I push myself up, offering a hand to pull her up with me. "Alright, ready?"

They both nod, and the gargoyle moves to rest her hand against the grey metal box jutting out of the wall next to the far door. It slams open quickly, and we're immediately greeted by the *whirr*ing and *screech*ing of what I have to assume is the engine room. We enter, and Demona closes the door behind us.

Bel cautiously leads us across an elevated grated platform overseeing the room, our weight causing it to shake and *clank* with each step. Pipes sprawl below and above us, connecting to tanks and piercing through the walls. Cylindrical containers sit on their sides as pipes pass through, shaking enough that I can see the motion. As we get to around the center of our bridge across, I finally notice a console of sorts hanging from the ceiling, the platform around it wider than what we've crossed so far.

"[D] Captain Demona. The reactor has sustained damage, and records say you are not resistant to lingering radiation. It is recommended to vacate the area immediately."

The gargoyle straightens up. "Alright, let's move." She moves past us to lead to the door.

I cock my head in thought. "Should be left, then the next right...or was it right then left?..."

"The former, sir."

Demona sets her hand on another black scanner and the door juts open. "Alright, after you, Bel."

We all step through into a hallway passing right along the power room, and Demona closes the door behind us. As she moves past me, I set an arm on her shoulder. "This place is powered by a nuclear reactor?"

She shrugs. "If that's the thing where you split other things to make energy, yeah. I hear it's dangerous, but the machines usually take care of that kind of thing."

I shake my head in disbelief as she moves forward. This ancient race... Their technology so far at least seems to match modern day stuff. If they made the machine monsters, then they're even further... Maybe we could take advantage of this tech to better Riverbend? Or, worst case, we can sell off the metal to Recuan to cover my 'test'. Before I have time to realize it, a big screen looms over our group.

Looking around the rest of the room, *screech*ing pipes stretch around, piercing the walls and a large console that spreads all along the far wall. A second door on the close wall matches up with the map I saw before.

"[D] Captain Demona. Several components of my system have been damaged. I have highlighted the replacement parts in the secret compartment in the wall on your left."

I cock my head. "Wait, the computer knows exactly what's wrong, but can't fix itself?"

The gargoyle nods as she begins knocking on sections of the wall. "Yeah. A few thousand years ago, some guy wrote a book about robots taking over the world. After that, none of the machines were allowed to make improvements to themselves or other robots." The knocking hits a different resonance and she stops, setting her palm flat on the panel. "Unfortunately includes repairs."

The top of the panel unfolds out, laying parallel to the floor. As I step closer to get a better look, my mind goes to a silverware drawer, only much more intricate. Little cubbies with computer chips and wires and other computer parts are spread about the panel. Some of them have lights flashing around their rim.

Demona sighs. "You have any idea how this works, Dusk?"

I begin picking up the designated pieces. "I've played with one or two computers in my time. It might take a bit to figure out this monster of a machine, but I think I can do it." I pause. "Uh, pun not intended."

She nods, stepping back and toward the main console. "Good. In the meantime, I'll see what I can find on info. If we're lucky, the dungeon detector should be intact, and we'll be able to find others in the area."

"Alright. Bel, keep an eye on the doors. [D] Computer, any guidance on where the broken parts are?"

"[D] Affirmative. Please open compartments A, D, and E under the main console."

. . .

"Alright, that should do it...I think." I push myself out from under the console. "[D] Computer, run diagnostics."

"[D] Initiating diagnostics sequence."

Demona nods. "Good. We still have a few hours before sunrise, but you still need sleep." She points at me sternly. "Don't make Bel give you the Gromanian nerve pinch again."

"Hey, I'm not trying to skip out on sleep. If this dungeon works out well, there's probably enough here to get us most of the way to our goal."

Belinda interrupts from across the room. "Don't worry about the test. The king gives the same test to every new lord of the kingdom. Few have failed."

I give her a confused look. "Really? Geez..." And I haven't even made a single gold yet...

"[D] Diagnostics complete. Initiating visual scan of room. Lord Dusk Blackwing: clearance level zeta, Lieutenant Belinda Toran: clearance level zeta, Please stand still to complete visual scan."

Suddenly, a video of the room we're in appears on the monitor, from the monitor's perspective, by the looks of it. Three green squares appear on the screen, one around each of us, much like a sci-fi targeting system. The image splits in two, one half zooming into my face and the other zooming into Belinda's.

"[D] New user protocols complete."

The room suddenly goes red, and I hear a *thunk* behind us.

"[D] Alpha priority orders received: 'Down with the nephilim'."

I pause. Where did I hear that before? Shaking myself of the feeling, I conjure a dark blade. "Demona, what's going on?"

She looks to me, blinking from surprise, or fear, or both. "Demon King's out to get you, Dusk."

A/N: Hey guys! Wow, it's been a whole month... Sorry about that...

I don't have much excuse, just mental health and lack of motivation. I can certifiably say that have no intent to abandon this story, and even if it's only 1/month, I WILL continue. Sorry for the delays and all, but we're gonna get side chapters with Banta (formerly Blobby) and possibly Eve or Kara to help sate your appetite between this chapter and the big machine boss fight. There also might be one from Roger's perspective, but we'll see. Of Eve, Kara, and Roger, if I don't do one or two of them here, I'll do side chapters for them next time.

One more thing before I go: another poll! Since it's been a while, I thought I'd ask what you guys think of each of the girls in Riverbend so far! You'll have up to 5 votes, and like the other poll, this will stay open for the foreseeable future, and you can edit your votes.

https://strawpoll.com/polls/xVg7jlW7Gnr