The Wretched Rite - Round Three - DSRS Darwin

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"I'm terribly sorry," Lucy began, as she started flying away. "The data relating to the Final Reckoning was protected. I must have been programmed not to even notice its existence until it was triggered. I can't stay here, I have to follow my programming."

"Oh, guess the weddin's off, then," Adelaide said nonchalantly. Alice couldn't tell if the rusalka was relieved or disappointed.

"Wait, where are you going?" Alice shouted, chasing after the angel. "Are you just leaving us here?"

"The Final Reckoning takes priority over all other duties," Lucy said apologetically. "You may follow me if you wish, but I am not permitted to allow anything to interrupt my task."

"Whatcha even tryin' ta do?" Adelaide asked. She walked after them, more out of boredom than anything else.

"I must challenge the Godbot," Lucy replied. "And then He shall destroy me."

***

"What do you mean, you can't help me?" the Omen growled at the impbot.

"Just what I said. My programming for the Final Reckoning takes top priority." The Imp turned back to the prone sinner. "Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Jones. Now, if you'll just input your account number and PIN, we can have the arrangements made to bring you along in the transfer..."

"When I signed up for eternal torment, I wasn't expecting it to be on a payment plan," Mr. Jones sighed. He looked down at the datapad for a moment, then looked up at 'Taelia'. "And can you get rid of her? I don't want her stealing my account information."

"Sir, I am programmed to assure you that Inferno Beta will be an even more miserable place than this one. Furthermore, if you are not satisfied with your new eternal damnation experience, you may request a full refund. But only if your pattern is around to replicate over there, of course."

"This is extortion," Jones grumbled. "And she's still hovering!"

"I need help, damn it!" the Omen growled, ignoring Jones. "The Godbot's going to destroy everything on its own schedule. It's not going to stop while you prepare Mr. Jones' data pattern for transfer, or whatever you said."

"I am only programmed to retrieve the data," the imp said. "This is a higher priority than ensuring the data is transferred. Now, please leave, for Mr. Jones' sake."

"Completely useless," the Omen muttered. It walked away, leaving Mr. Jones to enter his customer information and the imp to collect it.

The Omen looked back at the Godbot in the distance; it was enormous, but it wasn't really doing anything. Every once in a while an angelbot stopped in front of it for a few moments and then flew off. At first the Omen thought it might be issuing orders to destroy, but the angels were doing very little of that. The Four Horsebots were smashing things up and attacking sinners, but they hardly seemed to be trying to destroy the entire planet.

Suddenly, an angelbot with a large cannon mounted on its arm flew down towards the Omen.

"You have been selected to witness the glory of the Godbot, sinner."

"How exciting," the Omen sneered. "But I think I'll pass."

"Do not take such a tone with the Voice of the Godbot, sinner," the angelbot replied, pointing its arm-cannon at the Omen's head. "You will come with me, you will see the Godbot smite the wicked Lucifer, and then you shall witness the Godbot's destruction of this sinful world."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you shall be destroyed. The Godbot is not waiting for you; once He has destroyed the fallen angel who runs this wretched place, He shall guide the sinful into a new world. That you have been invited to witness this miracle is a gift, born of His infinite mercy. To reject this gift is to invite His wrath, at my hands."

The Voice of the Godbot did not seem to be programmed to notice the irony in its last two sentences. Neither did the Omen, but that was because something else in the angelbot's response had caught its attention.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that the Godbot won't destroy this place until it destroys this Lucifer?"

"That is correct, but irrelevant. You will come with me."

The Omen smirked.

"Sorry," it said, turning away. "But I'll have to pass. I already have an appointment with the devil."

"Unacceptable."

The angelbot fired its cannon. It missed Taelia's body, but the resulting blast was enough to fling her into a wall.

And then Taelia woke up, with the figure of the Godbot towering over her, and a small mouse bard staring at her face. Seven angels surrounded them, watching for any sudden moves.

"I missed something, didn't I," Taelia groaned, as she picked herself up.