Heart part 1

Chapter 46 - Taste the Wind part 15: Other Plans

Bursting through the Ceshilatu's gates, Heart and Esther bolted like the wind. On their tails, as they expected, Dandy pursued fast. Not a moment after, he burst through the gates after them, leaving the doors to swing by scrap. Ahead in the street, a Construct reared its head and captured their eyes with a whir. In a blink, it slammed one of its hammer-like fists into the ground toward them. Sand and rock flew. The two jumped and dodged, and weaved past around its fist. By the time it began to react, they were already gone. Disappeared between the sprawling buildings ahead.

Steering its head Dandy's way, the last thing it saw was his grin as he came rocketing. It only felt like a few seconds to him. A mechanation, formed from one of the city's tallest buildings reduced to a pile of stone, wire, and sparks in a matter of minutes. Barreling away from its plummeting corpse, Dandy continued his pursuit as lively as ever. Seeing the shed blood and corpses of his people pass him by, his grin steeled and he pushed on.

In the alleys, Heart and Esther barged through with haste. Piles of boxes, sacks, and other such crowded the way, slowing their progress. From above, the heads of countless Constructs peeked out and loomed in the sky. Overhead, they could see Dandy flying between the roofs, stopping and taking down each Construct as he passed. With each one felled, the ground shook and a roar ripped through the air.

Ahead, one of these Constructs fell and blocked the exit. Spotting a door to their side, the two didn't waste another moment and let themselves in. They were greeted with what seemed like some kind of home. But they didn't have the time to explore. Outside a window on the far wall, it was a narrow view, but they could see what looked like countless Constructs roaming the street. Running over for a closer look, they were all fixed on the same thing: Dandy. Like a pack of feral dogs, they rushed him down while more continued to funnel in from elsewhere. It was hard to tell what was occurring, but every other minute or so, amidst the discord the two could catch the sound of Dandy screaming in strife.

" The plan's working!" Esther exclaimed in triumph. But things weren't done. They never were.

" PURE LUCK ATTACK!!!"

From the center of the moshpit, Dandy's voice boomed and drowned everything else out. After that, he fell quiet. The Constructs continued to rush in from all angles, ignorant of its warning. At first, it began small. One would knock into another. Then another would trip over another's foot, crushing a plate. One would crack another's glass eyes as it reeled an arm back. Cables would start to twist and tangle. Limbs would start to tear. In a moment, it spiraled out of control. A few began to freak and shoot steam. A malfunction in their processors, a play of their brains.

" Pure Luck."

They would either fall or begin to attack their fellows. It was clear the plan was an utter failure. The two knew at that moment they needed to leave.

" Pure Luck."

By the minute, Constructs collapsed through error or by Dandy's hands. Over time, the number only grew. With haste, the two turned away from the window, intending to bolt straight to the door. But before they could, one's goliath foot burst through the wall. In an instant, their vision was engulfed by smoke, and their consciousnesses became quiet.

" Pure Luck."

From below the pile of rubble and debris, more continued to fail as Dandy rose barely injured from the bowels. In their final moments of thought, Heart wondered when it began. This luck. Was it when he was cornered? When they looked out the window? When they walked through the door? Or when the first Construct fell and blocked their path? Was it then they unknowingly treaded down to a dead end? Either way, it didn't matter much now.

" Nothing you do matters in the face of Pure Luck and Total Height." Dandy uttered as the chaos came to an end.

In the area, no Constructs remained. More could be seen dotting the horizon, but they were few and far between. Corpses of metal and stone cluttered the street and beyond. Like cockroaches, survivors of the reign started to crawl out of hiding. From alleys, dilapidated buildings, and such they emerged like the snow had finally melted. Each of their broken and traumatized eyes was affixed to Dandy's irradiant glow. One by one, at the sight of the Constructs' defeat, smiles appeared and cheers began to erupt. None of them probably had a single clue who their savior truly was. Although he probably would have, Dandy didn't have the time to spare lavishing in his people's praises and cheers. After quickly dusting himself off, he bolted in search of Esther and Heart.