Showdown! The Best of the Best

Chapter Twenty-Three

Axelotl stepped through the sliding doors, into the massive antechamber. Rubble still laid strewn about from the battle he and Kringle had fought with the others. Kringle sat in the center of the room, perched on a pillar of rubble, his elbows resting on his knees. Outside, the whir and hum of thousands of gathered Kriegbots could be heard clearly, even through the stone walls. Approaching his master, Axelotl bowed low. Kringle barely glanced at him.

"As you were, my disciple," he grunted.

"The Kriegbots await your command," Axelotl postured, standing back to his monstrous height. "Our readings indicate the heroes just made landfall on this plane once more."

Kringle's face morphed into a grimace. "There is one small issue."

If Axelotl had eyebrows, he would have arched one then. "M'lord?"

"These Kriegbots will not be enough to get the job done," Kringle sniffed, standing and walking to one of the antechamber's grand windows.

"Sire, respectfully, there are nearly one thousand Kriegbots amassed outside the Cathedral," Axelotl insisted. "Last time, we barely had half that many. And the heroes fled."

"This time, they have help," Kringle snapped, turning to face his closest lieutenant. "And we are a man down."

Axelotl's bold posture stiffened, then deflated in resignation. 

"I am starting to regret my decision to exile Vlad back into the Ghost Zone," Kringle elucidated. 

"His failure was inexcusable, majesty," Axelotl rebutted sincerely. "He had to be punished."

The shadows painted Kringle's face in a grim, almost ghastly, light. "There are other ways to punish someone. More effective ways, too."

Long moments of silence passed between the two allies. Axelotl crossed the room to stand next to Kringle, as close as he dared, being sure to maintain a respectful distance. The engineer stared balefully at his metal hand, composed of the mystery substance that allowed him to do things like block Vlad's energy blasts, and prevent ghosts from phasing. Kringle's pale, vindictive eyes met Axelotl's, glinting in the light that came through the window. 

"Deploy the rest," he ordered. "All of them."

Axelotl blanched. "Sire? Are you positive?"

"Our moment of triumph is at hand," Kringle nodded. "Soon, my master will have his army. And I will have my victory."

Axelotl took a half step backward, digesting his master's orders.

"I want you on the battlefield, as well," he continued.

This order, Axelotl took with pride. He nodded resolutely. 

"Take the army and raze the forest," Kringle went on. "They will come to us, in time. But this pointless conflict must be brought to an end quickly."

"Any other orders, sire?" He asked.

Kringle's eyes shut tightly. He almost seemed as if he were struggling to speak the next words.

"Our house guest, Mr. Ridscher," Kringle nodded. "He must be dealt with."

"You mean kill him?" Axelotl stammered. "B-but, sire, we need..."

"I didn't mean to kill him, you dolt!" He roared. "Of course we need him. Take the vessel and move him from the extraction chamber to a cell. Make sure there's a guard detail watching him. Once this conflict is over, we need to move to another plane. Too much has been exposed here. Now go!"

Axelotl nodded obediently, turned, and had made it all the way to the sliding doors before his master cleared his throat, a signal he wasn't finished.