The stealth bomber streaked across the sky, just as it had before.

Oh shit, here we go. I guess Legend got the message about Piggot sending the bomber to the shelter, went “OH FUCK THERE ARE 20 CIVILIANS IN THERE I GOTTA GET THEM OUT”, then dove in as quickly as he could, only to discover it was too late for the civilians to be anything but Bonesaw’s personal little army. And then it’s back upwards to get out of the blast.

Its payload this time was smaller, barely visible.

Because Bakuda was good at making compact bombs? Or maybe just because there’s fewer of them.

The devastation wasn’t so easy to miss.

Yeeeah.

One Bakuda bomb can create chaos. However many this is? That shelter’s gonna be a total mess. If it even exists after this.

I looked down at Atlas.  “I don’t have enough brute force, and neither does Atlas.”

Yeah, for a being named after the titan who held up the sky, Atlas isn’t all that strong unless you look at it from a regular beetle’s perspective.

“Legend does.  We’re on our way.  See you in a few.”

But that requires Legend to stop chasing Siberian. Which is both potentially difficult and likely to backfire due to the possibility of Siberian coming after you when you’re closing in on her real body and Bonesaw.

“Right.”

I hung up.

I drew more words in the air with my bugs, near Legend.

‘FOUND THE 9.  UNDERGROUND SHELTER.’

Let’s see how he takes this.

As an afterthought, I added:

‘MAYBE CIVILIANS INSIDE.’

Oh yeah, that’s very likely. Though many of them may not be just civilians anymore.

I drew an arrow by the words.  Then, to make it as clear as possible, I drew a giant arrow in the sky, pointing down at the shelter door.

Nice.

Of course, Siberian is also going to see all this, probably.

I was going to look foolish if they weren’t inside, and maybe cost Legend in whatever plan he was operating under.

Eesh, yeah, that might be bad. I don’t think that’s going to happen, though.

I could feel him changing directions.  He kept facing Siberian, unloading laser blasts, but he was flying my way.

Good dude Legend is on his way!

The truck was empty?

Maybe he’s squeezed into the glove compartment.

With my bugs, I drew out words in mid-air high above me, informing Legend: ‘TRUCK EMPTY – SIBERIAN BLUFF.’

Yes, good. Keep up the communication. I appreciate that.

Had she assessed what Legend was doing, turned it around on him?  If her real self was somewhere safe, somewhere with food and water, that meant Legend would lose any battle of attrition, if that’s what he was aiming for.

Also it’s just straight up a good move to get the real body out of the battle.

I couldn’t think of another reason her creator would leave the safety of the truck.

Not too many paragraphs ago: “Added to that, being in that truck as Siberian leaped around couldn’t be fun.”

And hey, if somewhere else is safer… And it’d be theoretically possible for the truck to slip out of Siberian’s grip for long enough to kill the real body.

Hovering over the library, I got my phone out and dialed.

“Tattletale?”

Whenever Taylor’s phone comes into play, it’s usually a good chance it’s to contact or be contacted by Lisa.

“Sup?”

“Legend’s fighting Siberian here, but the maker isn’t in the truck.  I think he’s in the vault with Jack and Bonesaw.”

A reasonable conclusion. (I kinda got that implication at the mention of “food and water”, but forgot to mention it.)

“Someone’s sealed over this door with a heavy pad of metal, because Leviathan or someone tore it down.  My gut’s telling me the Nine didn’t gather inside and weld it shut behind them, but I can’t ignore the possibility that Bonesaw’s spiders did it.  One in twenty chance, I’d guess?  We’ll know in about thirty seconds, after Sundancer burns through.”

Hmm. Looks like the broken door is more of a liability than an opportunity for the Undertravelers.

And yes, that was Leviathan’s fault.

But why would the people running the shelter weld the door shut rather than replace the door entirely? Lack of budget and resources, perhaps, and a preference for the former door to act as a wall rather than a broken entrance if the shelter should be needed again before they could fix it?

Grue moved to follow, and I turned to Amy, “If I send my bugs to you, will you-”

“I’ll-  I’ll come.”

Fuck yes.

Undersider Amy is so close. At the very least, we’ve got Undersider-affiliated Amy, which is really good.

I blinked.

She stuck her hand in my direction, and I caught it, helping her up to a seat behind me.  Sirius shook slightly, as if he could shake us off.  Were we too heavy?

Maybe it’s some natural reaction to having the girl with the power to change his biology on his back, a reaction to her power even while she’s not doing anything with it.

Apparently not.  He bolted after Bentley, and we were off, Amy clinging to me like her life depended on it.  I suspected that had little to do with the fact that we were riding on one of Bitch’s dogs.

Yeeah, Tattletale just talked her into joining them in a direct assault on the Slaughterhouse Nine. There’s probably a part of her mind screaming “WHY AM I DOING THIS”.