The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

'What is it?' Noble responded immediately.

'My radio faced off against a Skinwalker and lost.' Chip ducked under an incoming attack and pushed back the puny vessel hard enough to impale it on a shard of metal. 

The Master was glad for once that he couldn't see, for the small body likely once belonged to a child.

Even Chip had a limit for what he could stand.

The silence dragged out for an eternity, but it was likely only a few seconds.

'I can't reach Endo. We must be too far underground.' Noble's words were rushed. 'Come back, and we will figure something else out.'

Chip felt the Memory in his hand, his mind torn. Getting out was a priority, but getting Coy out safely was a higher one.

His senses told him that dozens of vessels surrounded him. If they didn't come after him. Then they would go after his friends.

That wouldn't do at all.

Chip squeezed the explosive Memory. It began to glow softly in his hand.

A crazed smile came to Chip's face.

'I can't come back.' He explained calmly through The Other's Voice. 'And before you tell Coy to dismiss the Memory, I'm staying and fighting these critters either way.'

'Chip!' Noble's voice was frantic. 'Don't do this!'

'Remember what I said the first time we met? It's still true. Anyway, Jo needs some company. I've left her alone too long. Tell Coy he's one of the good ones.'

Chip wielded the Kama Yari one-handed, stabbing and slashing anything that came within range. When the shaft was stripped from his hand, the man's fingers morphed into scythes. Ignoring the burning sensation of the red-hot object in his other palm, Chip fought tooth and nail to make it to the train's chassis.

The woman's voice in his head was screaming. 'Don't activate the device! We are coming back for you!'

The burly warrior frowned as he felt his skin melting against the fiery coal. 'I am Australian, we're impossible to kill. Besides, it's too late. The bomb is armed and counting down. Take care of your young ones. Especially Rain. I told you she was special. Goodbye Noble.'

'Chip, listen to me...' Noble's voice faded as the Master ran his sharp fingers around his ear. A trail of blood flowed from his scalp as The Other's Voice fell to the ground.

His grin grew even more monstrous.

The next vessel that came his way was welcomed with open arms...

...and a closed fist.

When the monster opened his mouth, Chip seized the opportunity to stuff the blazing hot Memory down the creature's throat right along with his hand.

Feeling the Memory start to fade, the burly Master squeezed it tightly.

"Oh no you don't!"

Before it could dissolve completely, the sponge detonated.

The Skinwalker convulsed as its body was shredded with malice by the percussive force.

The train and the entire tunnel were filled with an incandescent blast that tore at the very foundation of reality—and shattered it.

Vessels hissed and rocks began to crumble. For the second time in as many minutes, the landscape of the passage was broken and reformed.

Yet Chip paid it no mind.

Hidden in the carnage and chaos was a faint whisper audible to no one but the speaker. "I'm coming, Jo."

-----

[A few moments before]

Noble's mind was racing the moment that Chip slipped through her grasp and continued on his way. He was always stubborn, but this was an extra level of defiance!

The duelist had to admit that the plan had some merit. The only way they had been able to slow the Skinwalkers before had been to collapse the bunker. Even the train was only enough to stem the tide and not stop it.

That didn't mean that the man wasn't a lunatic for trying something so outrageous!

'Let me float it in.' Noble urged him. It would be hard to split her consciousness between the Memory behind her and planning an escape ahead of her, but it was theoretically possible. If she flooded her Abilities with essence, she should be able to maintain both. She planned quickly. 'If I hold it near the ceiling then–'

'Those critters would still get a hold of it. We only have one shot and you need to save your essence for your trip up.' The infuriating man refused her plan. 

'At least call Endo so he can let you out before the blast!'

Chip would have to escape at the last possible moment, which meant contacting Endo. The army would need to be apprised of the situation anyway.

The Master could go to the Dream Realm and then slingshot back to his tether in the Waking World. Noble did not doubt that he would commandeer the closest communicator to contact army command and let them know what was happening.

Thankfully Chip had seen sense and agreed. But before he could leave, the eccentric Master would first have to make it to his goal.

From the back of Helios, Fir helped his fellow soldier on that journey. Another of his arrows flew, temporarily making a clear path for Chip to cross.

Fir groaned.

"What's wrong?!" Noble felt the man's emotion waver.

"I don't want to concern you, but I'm almost out of essence. I can only summon and shoot that arrow a handful of times, and I'm already past my normal limit." 

Fir didn't look so good. His face was pale and beads of sweat were on his brow. The bandages on his hands were crimson and the blood now dyed his bowstring as well. 

Noble relayed the information to Chip, who took the news in stride.

'Tell him to save his strength. He's going to need it!'

Noble sensed another cavity on the wall to her left and her attention momentarily shifted. The cement was solid, but the professor couldn't deny the pattern behind it. If only her powers weren't dampened perhaps–

'Weirdos…' Chip's voice startled Noble.

Although he wasn't talking to her, she could feel his frustration.

'Don't look them in the eye!' Noble reminded him. Two very powerful people had warned her of this fact, and she could not stress it enough.

'Already on it.' Chip sounded strangely in control. 

Until he didn't. 

'Noble. We have a problem…'

'What is it?' Noble's heart sank as received the response.

Picking up her radio, she frantically called into it. "Endo! We have a situation. I need you to break the barrier for long enough to let Chip out."

Coy, too, pulled up his radio repeating the message. They both received silence in response.

Chip needed to come back now!

But the stubborn man only dug in his heels. He told Noble not to let Coy dismiss the bomb.

'Remember what I said the first time we met?'

Of course, she did! He had said it was a good day for a suicide mission! He had been joking then, but this was no laughing matter just now. He had to be stopped!

She reached back to pull the sponge from his grasp, but the object was too attached to the Master for her to dislodge.

Chip's wistful voice continued in her mind.

'Tell Coy he's one of the good ones.'

"Dismiss the Memory!" Noble ordered Coy.

"What?" Coy stopped talking into his radio.

"Now!" 

The duelist had seen how long it took for the thing to dissolve before. It would be a few seconds even after Coy gave the mental command for the object to comply.

'Don't activate the device! We are coming back for you!' Noble and Helios turned in unison with Coy following a half step behind.

'It's too late. Take care of your young ones. Especially Rain. I told you she was special. Goodbye Noble.' Chip's sentimental tone broke something inside Noble. 

She quickened her pace.

'Chip, listen to me. Don't do anything rash. We will figure this out. Give us a second and—."

The world shattered before her eyes. The percussive wave threw her back, breaking a large segment of the cement walls into a fine powder.

Coughing, the humans covered their mouths to keep from breathing in the dust. Their eyes stung.

Tears running down her face, Noble screamed into the Memory behind her ear. 

'Chip! Come in, Chip!' 

Simultaneously, Coy was yelling into his radio at Endo, but to no avail. There were no answers.

Opening her eyes, Noble looked around, searching desperately for Chip's emotional signature as well as his unfortunate face.

Behind them, another sound filled the tunnel. 

'No, no, no, no, no!' 

The Skinwalker had reached the next entry point and was heading their way. Hundreds of footsteps filled the corridor. The monster had them pinned from both sides. 

"We're trapped!" Lonzo screamed, letting his fear get the better of him.

Noble ignored him as something caught her eye. She furrowed her brow. 

What was she seeing?

She opened her mouth to comment on the anomaly when a voice entered her consciousness. 

'Who issss thisssss?'