The Grey Chronicles Part Two: Under Siege.

Chapter 35: The Last of August.

The Blood Forge, surface of Stonehaara One, August of 8096 AL.

Salem found a large set of steel doors laying horizontally in his path. The entrance to the control room looked like a storm cellar, the massive doors were twenty meters tall and built into the floor. They weighed a minimum of two tons each, made of layered steel with several crossbars on top to bar his entrance. Regardless of the strength of the doors, they could not stop this storm; the Shepherd threw himself against them over and over again, bending the crossbars upwards with each impact. His avatar strained against it, pushing upwards with all of his strength. As he pushed, the doors softened under the heat; a small gap where the bars had bent allowed him to look through the doors into the room beyond. He saw the bars and slipped one of his tendrils through the gap, wrapping it around the crossbar and shoving it outwards. The Shepherd did the same with the other bars, eventually melting through them enough that he could throw the doors open.

The red-hot steel flew back on its hinges, leaving indents in the stone floor. Permanent footprints were left in the stairs where he had stood as he pushed against the door, molten stone cooling as the avatar walked into the control room. He scanned the room and set his golden gaze on his targets; the Titanus Gargantuan and Ugin stood on the far side of the control room beside a trio of thrones. The central seat was the largest; obviously for Gargantuan. The King of the Titanus stood three meters taller than his companion, all rippling muscle and scar tissue; the title of giant king was not easily won, many of his subjects had decided they would make a better ruler, and each one proved incapable of taking his crown from him. Ugin was skinnier, he had less muscle mass; where Gargantuan was a walking skyscraper, built like a fortress, Ugin was a two-story house. He was easily manipulated and intelligent, this made him perfectly suited to be Gargantuan's chief adviser. Both wore the same gray armor, trimmed with black and gold strips. Ugin had a mace, Gargantuan fought with his bare hands.

The Shepherd looked at the floor, smirking at the sight of several dozen Nephilim and a pair of Stonehaaryns; snacks, to hold him over until the main course was finished cooking. He grinned at Gargantuan, meeting his eyes. The taller monster mirrored his grin, and both launched at one another in unison, eager to answer the question both hand pondered since their first meeting; who here was the bigger monster?

Augustus felt the spire tremble and knew their battle had begun; the titans clashed in the control room, his brother's roars echoed throughout the tower. The horrifying cry was far louder than the battle raging behind him, than the printer that continued to pump out legions of metal men. Augustus looked over his shoulders to check on his forces; hardly any of the marines were left, of his original force he had maybe thirty soldiers. He needed a distraction, and it wasn't coming from below. He called over his headset, a last-ditch effort.

"Seth, send everything we have at the Forge," he called out, "Salem is dealing with Gargantuan, I'm handling the generator, but I need a distraction. I need everything you've got thrown against the gates immediately. Fire on the spire, rockets, missiles, everything! Get them off my back!"

"Get who off your back?" Seth asked, his voice panicked. "All units advance, break ranks and attack the Forge. Wolverines, open fire on the center spire, hit it with everything you have then provide close air support to our attacking forces."

"You'll see, it's hard to explain," Augustus said nothing more. He felt the spire tremble again, this time the source was far closer; about halfway up, above ground. He looked over his shoulder and saw the metal men turn tail, all but one. Ten marines stood around it, prepared to fight, but they wouldn't last long.

Augustus renewed his efforts, he was almost to the bottom; he knew that the farther down the portal opened the more damage it would do. He wanted to suck the entire tower in, plus, farther down was farther from the metal soldiers. At the moment there would be two hundred thousand marines throwing themselves at the gates. They would be made into mincemeat, but they would buy him time. He worried about that lone soldier; the metal man would finish off the marines quickly enough, then Augustus would have to make his stand. He hoped he could do it, the timer read four minutes; four minutes until it was all over.