The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Someone was coming for them…no, something!

Noble pursed her lips.

"If we can't find an exit, we will have to make one of our own."

'And fast.'

Noble wasn't sure if it was Harlow's crushed body or any of the other vessels that were steadily digging toward them, but she knew that the monster would not stop until it reached its goal.

Going up was not an option. There was nothing between them and the ground floor. Digging up would fill the room with dirt before they saw sunlight. 

She scanned the back wall, an idea coming to her mind.

'Chip, I think there may be–'

'Already on it…' Chip's mouth was gone, replaced by a long, twisted nose. He sniffed at the corner and nodded.

'There is water seeping through. I can smell musty air.'

With how old the bunker was, Noble wasn't surprised that water had found its way into part of it.

Her scan of the mundane wall had revealed that beams of steel stood at regular intervals along it. While her powers were dampened, she was positive there was a cavity beyond.

Chip's findings confirmed her suspicion.

'How far off do you think…'

The burly Master balled his fists as strange hammers formed where his fingers once were.

"Back up!"

He pounded the corner of the wall with the mallets. Debris went flying. 

"Clear it out of the way," Noble ordered Coy and Fir. 

The floating Master was not much help, both because of her flaw and because she needed a moment to check her essence. When they made it above ground, she would need enough to lift the captives to the top of the dome for their escape.

Taking a deep breath, the professor circulated the intangible essence around her body. 

Her leg was in bad shape, making Noble glad for the first time in her life that her flaw prevented her from touching the ground. If she had needed to walk out of here, they would all have been doomed. 

The room started to fill with earth as the people brought in more and more soft soil. The scratching in the main cabin of the bunker grew louder, leaving no doubt that the monsters were digging to reach them just as the humans were trying to reach the surface. 

It was a race to see who would reach their goal first. 

After a few moments of healing the damage to her soul, Noble knew she could not afford to waste any more time. 

She heard a clang, and suddenly the digging stopped. 

"What is it?" The professor floated over to look. Behind all the concrete and dirt, a large metal panel now stood in their way. 

"The air is coming from the other side," Chip confirmed. 

"Then let's get there." Noble's eyes swirled. She knew just who to call. "Get in the bathroom. This panel will be out of the way in no time, I just need a little space." 

"Not another explosive Memory!" Fir paled. "We saw what that did the last time." 

"Trust me." Noble tilted her head toward the approaching monsters. "Hurry!" 

Teran dragged his father toward the bathroom followed by Fir. The other two Masters backed up but were too curious about what Noble would do to fully leave.

It was for this reason that Teran could not see what caused the sound of twisted metal or the flying dirt, but the boy took comfort in the fact that neither of the male Masters moved to intervene. 

When the mayhem settled, Chip turned and grinned. 

"One exit, coming right up!" 

The five men gathered around the hole, pausing long enough for the floating woman to scout the other side. 

'It's clear!' she told Chip through the mind link. 

"We can go," the burly man nodded to Coy. 

Chip took the back while his companion led the charge. The group tumbled into a dark tunnel with only bits of light filtering in from long, thin exhaust tubes that broke through to the surface. 

The place was wide and tall even though it was still far below the surface, and two parallel tracks ran along the length of the tunnel as far as the eye could see in both directions. 

"The subterranean train. No wonder it was so loud. I had no idea it was so close." Lonzo marveled at the development. 

"The panel was meant to dampen the sound, I think," Noble answered as she came closer from the far side of the tunnel. 

Fir turned toward her voice. Behind the woman, two golden eyes watched him in the darkness.

"Monster!" 

The scream was stifled as Coy managed to cover his mouth. "Don't you watch the Dreamscape?"

A majestic creature strolled out of the dim shadows.

"Helios!" Teran chirped, recognizing the iconic echo. "I've seen his battles! Can I pet him?"

Noble smiled, "You can do better than that. You can ride him."

The massive Symncus purred softly to put the child at ease.

Noble had called on him to break through the final barrier and to help check the tunnel for problems. 

He had been too large to use in the battle against Harlow. At best he would have been a shield in the small room, but in the large expanse of the subterranean byway, he had plenty of room to move around. 

Since the two mundane humans would not be nearly as fast as their Awakened and Ascended companions, Helios was the perfect transport for efficient travel.

The fastest way out would be going directly up. But as Noble realized immediately, the long ducts that led to the surface were not made for people to fit inside. They had probably been designed to prevent people from falling to their deaths down the chute, but that meant that Noble and the others could not make the trip in the opposite direction either.

"The closest station is back down the street. Hop on and we can make it in a minute or two."

On Noble's silent command, the mighty Symncus knelt for Lonzo and his son to climb on. The father hopped on quickly and helped his son get situated.

"Hold on! We will be out soon."

Noble wished she had a saddle for the men to use. While she felt steady on Helios's back, Noble could also float if she got off balance.

The professor hoped that Teran's medical equipment wasn't too fragile. She would just have to ensure that the ride was not too bumpy.

'Keep it smooth, Leo. Let's go.'

Noble led the charge down the passage. As they passed a crossway, they paused briefly to make sure nothing would surprise them. While Noble was trying to be vigilant, she didn't trust her senses completely this far underground.

Her soul was still recovering from Harlow's attack, and so it was possible that her Abilities might not work at full capacity.

'We just need to get out of here and then I can lift us to safety,' she reminded herself. The platform ahead widened the tunnel into one of the stations in the town.

What had once been a proud stop for thousands of people to pass through every day had been abandoned for who knew how many years before.

The only thing that mattered was that the stairwell led to the surface and the safety of the sky.

Unfortunately, the way was blocked.