The Knights of Grimm - Act 4 - Whispers of Arkhonex

Chapter 79 - No More

Ortega

"Not again..."

He cradled the destroyed body of his daughter in his arms, sobbing tears of grief. He held her close as she caressed her fabricated orange hair, feeling the sparks burning his skin... but he did not care. He never wanted to let her go. "Not again..."

But as he held her, there was a sound, one that brought hope into his heart as soon as he heard it.

"D-Dad?" Penny's voice softly whispered; it was barely even functional from all the damage done to her chassis. Ortega's eyes widened with disbelief when he heard the sound of her voice, he held her and stared at her body. Her face was lifeless, and the pupils had dilated... but her voice was still there. "I... I'm sti-still here." Penny assured, her stared at her body. Physically she was dead, as dead as you could get, there was no life at all. But Kelham's final shot into her head was not the killing blow that Ortega feared.

"H-How?" He stammered with shock and awe in his voice.

"His bullet... it... just missed... my Microchip in my... my head... I am still alive... but my body is no longer usable. But I am still with you, if you take me out of my head." Penny explained to him, her voice was the only thing still functional in what remained of her body. Ortega turned to the back of her head and he moved her locks of ginger hair out of the way, and he found the exit wound. It was horrific, blown open plates of metal and sparks bled from the opening, but as he rummaged around her internals... she opened up the panel, and found the glowing green microchip that his daughter was stored inside of.

He removed it from her body and all the sparks ceased to burst, as what remaining power that remained inside of her body drained away. He held the tiny chip in his hand as he stood up, letting her body fall to the ground with a heavy thud. "You haven't lost me... and I promised to make you another bracelet. I intend to keep that promise." Penny assured.

As Ortega held her, he did not even look at the old bracelet that Kelham ripped in half, he just held her close to his heart, before he literally shoved her Microchip into his breast pocket. "The only way they will hurt you, baby girl, is if they kill me." Ortega promised as he picked his Revolver up off the floor and he reloaded it. He clenched his hand into a fist, looking back at the body that Penny was inside of for so many years. He squeezed his eyes shut, wiping the tear away.

"Goodbye..." He softly said to the body that everyone knew Penny Polendina as. But he knew that his little girl was still alive. He opened the door of the Cargo Bay; he knew that he needed to fight his way back up to the bridge. Their forces still needed him to get the Drift of Wandering Star back under their control. "I will not lose you again, baby girl." He promised, sprinting down the long hallway that was in front of him, he turned round the corner and he charged up the stairs, where there were some Acolytes of Lien standing guard.

The Mercenaries turned and they gasped, immediately aiming their rifles at him but he jumped and ran across the wall, firing his Revolver and nailing both of them through the Red T-Shaped Visors of their helmets. Ortega jumped off the wall, tucked and rolled across the ground as he drew his Revolver and shot it towards three more soldiers. He did not miss a single shot, but then he holstered the Revolver and picked the rifle of the dead Mercenary by his feet.

He looted some of the magazines for the Assault Rifle and he checked the chamber, they had not even fired a shot before he took them down. He ran forward, and he took cover against the wall. He turned and saw how many weapons were inside of here, and he reached across and grabbed some of the grenades. He pulled the pin and threw it down the hallway, it rolled and detonated in a deafening explosion, killing the soldiers who were defending the next door.