Mom, I'm Bulletproof

Chapter 20.6: If I Die

Amy let go of Dreamsmith and flew straight upward. His silhouette disappeared in the growing mass of fire beneath her. Although both her body and her Mirai Academy-made uniform were not damaged by the fire, the raw heat of it was still overwhelming.

Amy flew until she reached the chamber's ceiling. Even from here, the chamber and its rows upon rows of bright gold pyramids seemed to go on forever.

The mass of fire spread outward, covering all the pyramids around it. Smoke rose from the pyramid structures as he melted them down.

The sound of screams again filled the air, but Amy knew this was a good thing. The Temple's neural network was breaking down.

A single woman's shriek broke out of the many screams in Amy's head. Jhedora was in the air again, flying right at Amy.

"You shall die!"

Amy flew at the priestess, ready to deliver another punch, but another blast of light and full body stinging sent Amy falling back across the chamber. She landed hard on the chamber floor, which cracked as she hit it.

Amy immediately jumped back onto her feet, her vision obscured by Dreamsmith's fire burning in the distance. Amy flew in the direction of the fire, which by now had consumed several of the pyramids, leaving white clouds of smoke above them.

Amy spotted Jhedora, floating above the fire, shooting streaks of golden light down into the fire, for seemingly no effect.

Instead of flying at Jhedora to punch her again, Amy instead flew at the mummy's midsection, wrapping both her arms around Jhedora's torso. Flying them both away from the fire.

Amy tossed Jhedora down onto the chamber floor. The mummified woman hit the floor with a flop. Amy wondered if she killed the priestess, but then she saw the skeletal frame moving beneath her. Amy flew downward and landed next to Jhedora.

"If I die, the Temple will survive beyond me," Jhedora said, wheezing.

"I doubt that."

Still on her hands and knees, Jhedora glared with anger. Amy could tell she was staring at someone behind her. Amy spun and saw Future Girl flying up. A cloud of purple smoke formed behind her, transforming into Proscenium's solid frame.

"It's getting warm in here," the Ergosphere said, stepping out from behind the nearest pyramid. "A place this big, and you don't have fire sprinklers?"

Jhedora stood. "You will pay for your sins!"

Amy punched Jhedora in the face. As she staggered backward, Future Girl ran up and punched her. Then, while Jhedora was still stumbling backward, Proscenium delivered a third punch to her face. She turned to the side where she faced the Ergosphere. He placed a finger to her forehead, causing her to fall backwards onto the floor.

Amy, Future Girl, the Ergosphere, and Proscenium all stood over Jhedora. The sound of screams wailed in the distance as Dreamsmtih continued burning the pyramids.

"You've lost," Amy said. "This is the end of the Temple."

Jhedora looked up at Amy, her mouth creaking open with another weak smile. She waved a hand through the air and then collapsed to the floor, as if dead.

Large slats opened on the floor, several yards away from Amy and the other three. Familiar shapes came crawling out of the openings. Their bodies were solid rock, lit by bright blue glowing veins all over their surface.

The manufacturers, the ones who defeated Amy and the others aboard the submarine.

"Hit the air!" Amy shouted. "They can't fly!"

Amy flew straight upward. Proscenium became a cloud and floated toward the ceiling. Future Girl flew up to the Ergosphere, grabbed him, and carried him upward. Amy counted eight manufacturers lumbering around beneath them.

"There can't be very many of them," Future Girl said. "It would require an unbelievable amount of raw materials to create something that can walk on the sun."

"Not to mention a sun itself," said the Ergosphere, uncomfortably hanging from Future Girl's grip. He again tapped at the small metal device attached to his forearm. "Come on, just this once."

"Those things kicked our butts on the submarine," Future Girl said. "We can't fight them."

"We have to," Amy said.

One of the manufacturers jumped upward, effortlessly, into the air. He was too fast and too strong for her to react, it wrapped its arms around her and they both fell, crashing onto the chamber floor. Amy tried pressing against the creature's arms, and then flying away, but it held her tightly in place.

The manufacturer was on its back, holding Amy in place above it, giving her a view of the chamber around her.

Amy saw four more manufacturers lumbering in the direction of the fire still growing in the center of the chamber.

"Sam!" Amy yelled. "Get out of there!"

Her words didn't seem to do any good, as the four manufacturers walked right into the fire. If they were truly engineered to walk on the surface of a sun, then Amy knew they'd have no problem walking through whatever fire Sam threw at them.

"Sam!" Amy screamed. "Run!"

The manufacturer holding Amy tightened his grip, squeezing so hard that Amy could no longer breathe. Her head spun with dizziness, and her vision started going black.

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Next: Battle first, soap opera later.