"That's the spirit!" I said. "But it's fine if you and your people sit this out. I'm confident Lady and myself can handle taking down the Overseer."
Lynette shook her head. "It wont be so simple to get to the Overseer. He lives in Poseidon, the big dome in the center of the city, and never comes out. That entire dome is heavily fortified and secured, and the only direct way in is through the passage in Hephaestus, but the Mermen have made that place thier nest. Going in, even with that fancy armor of yours would be suicide."
"I see..." I said while in thought and tapping the armrest of my chair with my finger..
'Could Lady and me clear an entire dome filled with bloodthirsty creatures? Well we wont know unless we try....'
*ding* A quest update occurred but I ignored it for now.
"You said 'the only direct way', does that mean there is another way in?" I asked.
Lynnette nodded. "Yes, when the Overseer collects people for the lottery, he sends a few robots to take them into the maintenance tunnels. Some people had tried following in the past but couldnt get past the automated defenses so unfortunately that's all we know. There must be a passage down there that leads to Poseidon..."
'Makes sense. But now I need to decide whether to try my hand in a maze of tunnels and turrets or against an aquatic army of monsters.'
I stood up having come to a decision.
"You're leaving so soon?" Lynette asked and I strugged.
"Time waits for no one, miss. Lady and I will be heading into the maintenance tunnels to try and find that access point. If we can't, we will storm Hephaestus."
Lynette followed me out as I strode back to my power armor.
"Lady, we are setting out." I said as I pulled my fusion core out of inventory and plugged it into the armor.
"Yes sir." She replied, still within her own armor.
Once I was suited up, I began to walk away but was suddenly called out.
"Wait!" A young man came forward from the group on onlookers. He looked around 18 or 19 and had an unkempt appearance with baggy eyes and pale skin. "You're going to help us aren't you? You're taking down the Overseer? Take me with you! I can help!"
My eyebrow raised in interest before turning toward him.
"Were you eavesdropping on my conversation with your leader? And what makes you think you can help us? That you wont slow us down?"
The guy stood firm with a fire in his eyes. Like he was burning himself in vengeance. "I was outside the window when you two were talking. And I know the maintenance tunnels like the back on my hands so I can help you navigate them and won't get in your way. So please take me with!"
I took a moment to consider it. The guy obviously has a death wish. And I could understand his rage and desperately taking opportunities when they come.
"I'm not going to stop you from coming with us but we also won't be sticking our necks out to protect you. Keep yourself safe and don't cause us problems."
Whether he was useful or not didn't matter to me in the now. But allowing him to come with gives me an opportunity to assess his usefulness for potential recruitment as well.
It was basically "If he dies, he dies. And if he lives, that's ok too."
"Great! My name is Jonny by the way. I'll be right back, gotta grab some things. I'll meet ya at the gate!"
The guy said, then turned around and bolted inside a nearby apartment.
*ding* The quest updated again and I noticed that an optional objective had started involving the guy who I just let come along.
I wondered if he will truly be useful to the quest in some way.
Lady and I turned and began to leave again. As we approached the gate, the guy caught back up with us, now holding a revolver and some metal scraps stitched over a leather ensemble. The poor mans version of combat ready armor.
The three of us continued marching forward and the people guarding the gate made way for us and opened the makeshift gate.
As we left I looked through the update to my main quest, which shifted from investigating the vault to finding a way into Poseidon to confront the Overseer.
But my gut told me it wont be such a straightforward quest.
Our group exited the Hestia dome into the main tunnel towards Demeter.
As we walked I looked over at the tag along.
"Hey. Why did you want to come with us? You should know you could die confronting the Overseer with us. That's even if you survive that long." I said which made him flinch.
I continued before he could answer. "Revenge, right?"
He didn't respond right away but eventually began speaking. "My... parents were both taken by the Overseer. First it was my dad... then mom last year.
I wanted to fight back for so long but everyone else is too scared... So when you showed up, I just knew it was my chance to get back at them." He paused and then locked eyes with me. "That's why I promise I wont slow you down. I'll lead you anywhere you want to go in this damn place. Just... all I ask is a chance to get answers about my parents... and to let me be there when you take down the Overseer."
I noticed the guys resolve but didn't respond. Instead I kept moving at a steady pace.
But suddenly a low deep guttural sound echoed throughout the area around us.
We all froze and looked up at the giant shadow looming over us.
"What in oblivion is that!?" I shrieked.
Lady didn't yell or scream but her composure was definitely shaken and the boy... well surprisingly he didn't look scared or surprised.
More like cautiousness or nervousness. Like he has seem this before but is still a little worried.
"Is that a fucking giant octopus?" I exclaimed out loud again. Outside the glass, in the ocean outside was indeed what looked like a giant octopus. Or maybe calling it the Kraken would be a better description.
A large eye with rectangular pupils peered inside the glass, looking right at us. Tentacles writhed around on the outside of the glass but we remained still, our eyes locked with the beast.
I'm not going to lie. If I didn't clench in time, I'd have soiled myself out of fear. Power armor and a few weapons wont stop me from getting wrecked easily by a monster like this.
After a few tense moments the creature stopped staring at us and then launched itself away, causing the sea floor to tremble and sand to get kicked up.
We all let out a collective breath we felt we had been holding for a long time now that we could no longer see the thing.
"Um... that was the giant octopus that we see sometimes." Jonny finally answered his breathing a little uneven. "But I've never seen it so close before... It's not normal."
I took a moment to steady myself. Of all the times I had been in danger, that was the first time I ever felt I might actually die. I was shook.
"N-no matter. Let's keep moving." I said after a moment and began pushing forward.
Soon our group reached a set of stairs that led down into the maintenance tunnels.
The tunnels were large enough that two people could walk side by side and tall enough that an NBA player wouldnt have to worry about craning their necks.
I had Lady take point with Jonny between us and me watching our backs. There were many branching paths and twists and turns that these tunnels could pass for an actual maze.
Not long into our journey we finally made contact with an enemy.