"So... this is the place", she thought to herself.
She found herself staring up at the giant, steel gate, over 4 times as tall as her own height and just as wide. She could barely see the top of the base as its sentry towers looked to be pressed against the sky. She noticed a grey squirrel draped lifelessly against the balcony of the far left tower, its throat slit and dripping its blood on the snow to her side, forming a red spot in the powder. She shook just a bit, either from the freezing cold or from the fear of what she was about to encounter.
But regardless, she swallowed her fear and felt them trickle down into her stomach, before heaving a gentle sigh. And she reached into the pocket of her knapsack hanging at her hip and dug around inside the pouch. Finding what she was looking for in less than a second, she pulled out a small plastic card with the numbers 1 and 5 printed on the front. She eyed the wall on the side of the gate, the card slot having a red light to indicate it was locked.
She placed the card into the slot and quickly pulled, and she heard the lock beep thrice before the red light flickered green. She nearly jumped as the sounds of the gate's aging gears and rusted metal began clanking and scraping against the concrete roof of the interior. She watched as the gate rose higher, bending up when it reached the top of the door.
When the gate was open, she almost instantly wished that it was closed.
Before her burgundy colored eyes, she gazed upon the base. A large, shadow-filled room with hanging lights, most already broken, the rest occasionally flickering. A sickly green color was plastered on the walls, from top to the upper bottom, the rest being white all the way to the floor. A large staircase rose from the floor and winded up into the dimly lit hallways of the inner base. And at the center, a large weapon; a mortar cannon, resting on giant wheels that were coated in black powder.
And there were bodies. Dozens of lifeless corpses, each with either gash leaking the viscous fluid from their innards, or burn wounds scarring their faces or torsos as they laid motionless.
She gulped once again, and stepped inside, the clacking of her shoes echoing throughout the halls and harmonizing with the sound of the howling wind outside the door. When she would be under a hanging light, they would catch the glimpse of her blood red colored, messy hair, riddled with white flakes from root to tip, and complemented by two white ribbons with dark blue bows, one on each side of her head. Her dark pink colored fur matched her hair beautifully, as well as her dark blue colored dress underneath her heavy winter coat.
On the right bosom of her dress, a golden badge shaped like the sun.
She walked inside, minding to not step into any of the pools of blood at her feet. She ducked under the barrel of the cannon and crawled around it, seeing from the dim light that a blood-splattered trail of bodies awaited her down a pitch black hallway. She checked her surroundings and opened her eyes and ears to all that was around her. All she saw was death, and all she heard was grim silence.
She raised her left palm and concentrated her mind on its center. She breathed swiftly, as she felt a rush of momentum going from her chest, out her left shoulder, up her arm and finally, to her palm. And after a brief fade of bright white, her hand was cascaded in a ball of light, which illuminated the dark hall, showing in more detail the carnage that awaited her.
She shuddered, but with her light giving her slight comfort, she walked forward.
All she could hear was the sound of the pipes dripping freezing water on the steel floor, the occasional pitter of a rat running along the walls, and the sound of her footsteps. She walked slowly, her eyes darting from one side of the hall to the next. She felt a chill run up her spine occasionally, feeling more alone every minute as she was surrounded in death.
She came across more bodies, either sitting against the wall or laying curled on the floor, but every one of them was either bloody, beaten, or burned. Each body was outfitted with a green cape, a green helmet with a shield insignia painted on their fronts, and an unsheathed weapon, not a drop of blood on any of them.
Her ears suddenly caught the sound of coughing, as they perked with fright.
She looked further down the hall, and she raced down the hall, into a blue-filled room. As soon as she could see into the room, it was a large area filled with blood and more bodies. But these corpses were outfitted with white coats and red crosses on their cuffs. Her face was cascaded in the bright blue light, emanating from large, tubed chambers that were located on the walls, emitting what looked like a pipeline each leading to a massive, cracked computer, large enough to cover the entire wall it rested against, if it was not for another floor that ran just above its top, only leading to more chambers.
In the center of the room, a medical table. Above the table, a spider-like mechanism with several tools leading from its arms, all pointed toward the coughing figure on its surface.
She gasped a bit before she ran to the table and looked into the figures face. His light blue hair was of a lot more a higher saturation than the glow of the chambers. He had smooth, almost indistinguishable blue fur, only a tad darker than his hair. His large, circular glasses rested on his eyes, the lens cracked and his right eye bleeding, the red fluid leaking into a pool at the side of his head. And his large, snake-like nose, barely reaching his upper lip, was bruised and also leaking his blood, as it trickled down his white lab coat.
She shivered as he slowly turned his head to hers, and he spoke softly, almost coughing up more blood.
"N-No... don't... don't be here any longer..."
She panted, before she spoke, her voice like a warm fire in the chilling air.
"Did you see who did all this? Where did he go?"
He coughed more and suddenly grabbed the tuffs on the top of her head.
"Please! J-Just leave while you still can!"
He pulled her to his face.
"His eyes... he will take your life at your first glance of them!"
She pushed his hand away.
"I can help him! Please, just tell me which way he went."
But instead, all he did was pant harder and harder, as he slowly turned his head away from her. She heard his heavy breathing and watched his body shake in agony as he rested in his own blood. Until, his chest lowered slowly, and she could no longer hear him breathe. She pressed her two fingers on his neck, and she realized that he was no longer able to tell her what she knew. The feeling of death washed over her skin and made her fur stand on end.
She did not feel like crying over a lost one, as she had a mission.
That was when she noticed the computer screen was dimly lit, underneath the large crack that was obstructing the image it was displaying. She walked over to the screen and did her best to deduce what the message was saying, only barely making out a profile of a familiar face on one side of the screen, and jumbled letters on the other.
The face was that of a green animal, its eyes carved from the crack in the screen, but its mouth showed a devilish, sharp-toothed grin. And as she looked at the screen, she could make out only a few words from the details, though they were in a mess.
-SP-CIM-N-X-PAT-NT 21-FL-P-Y-V-TE-AN-R-SU-T-FA-L-RE-
She shook her head in disbelief, before looking back at the bodies of the many dead animals in lab coats that were victims of this patient's rampage.
"What... did you do to him?", she said with a shaken tone.
That was when she looked up, and she caught the sight of an open gate leading into the base's ventilation system, into space, just above the medical table. She realized where she must go now, and she carefully removed the dead scientist's body from the table and hoisted herself up, before jumping as hard as she could to reach the vent. She barely could grasp the edge of the opening and be strong enough to lift herself into the cramped tunnel.
That was when she found herself in the darkness of the vent, and only through the light of the room beneath her could she see her skin. She raised her palm to see a thin layer of blood on her hand. She concentrated once again and released another ball of light, this one much dimmer, so she could see where she was going. And she noticed a spotted trail of the red fluid going down the vent.
She groaned and coughed before she started crawling down the vent, hearing sounds from the halls as well as the noticeable feeling of cold metal on her bare knees. She crept along, keeping her voice low as not to spook the patient if he was near as she believed he was. The occasional bug became lodged in her face, and she scarcely batted it away as she continued to crawl down the tunnel.
Her heart nearly dropped when she heard the sound of a soft, deep cackle.
She stopped in her tracks before seeing that before her, the nearest vent was busted down, and it leads to the next room. The trail stopped there. So with her bravest look, she crawled forward. With her chest barely over the vent, she looked down and looked around the dark room with a bright blue light on the far side of it. It was layered in rubbled concrete and garbage, as well as several more bodies.
She pointed her eyes to the light.
And standing at a control panel in front of yet another chamber, there was a shady figure, who frantically mashed the buttons on the board as it chuckled in a deep, menacing tone. The light of the tubed chamber could illuminate his body, showing the massive blood splatters on his green pants and exposed back. His circular ears showcased a dark shadow of the shape of its head on the wall next to him.
Now that his back was turned, she could surprise him.
She carefully, and as quietly as she could, lowered herself out of the vent. And she hung for a brief second. But she froze when the figure stopped clacking his fingers on the controls, and he raised his head. She did not even think of what could have given her away until the figure inhaled through its nose. A deep snort, filled with a menacing lick of its lips.
She had to think fast, so she dropped down and hid another a pile of the rubble.
After another inhale, the figure looked over his shoulder, and she could just barely see the menacing face. His eyes were of a bright, yellow glow that pierced the darkness with his icy gaze. His teeth were bared, showing them as two rows of finely sharpened knives aligned in his mouth, blood splattered as well. And he growled, his bear-like snarl making her frightened.
He looked around the room, before pressing one final button, and suddenly, the chamber slowly opened, revealing the inside awaiting him. He smiled once again and chuckled.
"Finally...", he said, in a voice just a deep as his laugh. "I will finally be free."
He stepped forward, his figure making his shadow stretch to the wall, brushing her face slightly. That was until she stepped up and ran around the rubble, and her hands were illuminated in what looked like a translucent film of blue energy, and light smoke was radiating from her palms. Like only her hands were as cold as the winter sky.
"Flippy! Stop!", she shouted.
Almost on cue, the bear stopped in his tracks and shifted his body around, so he could see her face. She stood her ground, making sure not to loosen her stance.
"What are you doing here?", he said.
She stepped forward. "I won't let you do this, Flippy. I can't!"
He turned his body completely to her, and she saw the damage done to his body. Not of battle wounds, but of a dark image of the veins in his chest and abdomen being laced in black, not even close to blending into his green fur.
Now she wanted to cry. "Flippy..."
But she was met with a sharp-toothed smile, and he chuckled.
"It's too late for him... I'm in control now."
He laughed and stepped forward. She backed up, slowly, her hands still out in front of her.
"Please...", she said. "I can help you... I can put an end to this! We all can!"
He stopped, just so she could see the chamber behind him. Flippy smiled greater.
"Put an end to it? But dear Flaky...", he said, as he stood tall. "I've already won!"
Flaky stepped forward, showing her bravery. "Not if I can stop you."
This only made him laugh more. "You could never beat me at anything..."
And with that, Flaky shouted and thrust her palms, then suddenly emitting a large ice crystal with the point at his chest, and it flew toward him at blinding speed. But she was stunned to watch him swat it away with ease, before running his two fingertips along his opposite arm, and her seeing as a crackling ball of lightning shot across his body. He laughed more and pointed his fingers at her, and a bolt of the thunderous power shot at her.
She could barely dodge as she ducked behind another pile of rubble. She yelled and raised her body at him, thrusting another ice crystal. He deflected that one as well, as he slowly walked towards her. Flaky continued to toss crystal after crystal at him, watching as he swatted them each away, as they crashed into the walls, forming a layer of ice along the edge at the floor.
Now she was fighting out of fear, not out of responsibility.
But soon, Flippy once again formed another ball of lightning in his fingertips, and she ducked behind the cover, missing the bolt as it blasted against the wall behind her head. She scrambled away from him, and she got to her feet, before reaching into the back of her coat. Flaky looked at him with a fierce look as she pulled out, from her back, a longsword, with the same golden sun on its hilt as the badge on her dress.
She pointed the end at him once again.
Flippy stopped for a moment. "That's my sword..."
"No..." said Flaky. "It's his sword!"
She screeched and swung the blade at him, but she was shocked to see his burly paw grab the steel edge, and she was stuck in his grasp. She pulled away, not noticing the blood leaking out of a newly made gash in his hand. But he was too strong.
And with her trapped in his clutches, he chuckled more and ran his fingertips along his arm once again. Her eyes swelled as she felt excruciating pain in her abdomen. With his one hand, she was thrust against the opposite wall, a bolt of lightning like a spear in her belly. She groaned and wailed in pain, curling into a ball on the ground.
Two heavy boots stomped up to her, and she screamed in pain as lightning cascaded across her body, a long strand of the same power coming from the palm of the green bear, who towered over her with a look of bloodlust.
He licked his lips in pleasure as she screamed more and more.
Flaky panted as the lightning faded away, and she watched the boots walk away from her.
"I'll let you live...", she heard him say. "But only so you can watch..."
He gleefully stepped foot in the chamber.
"Watch and say goodbye to him... and your precious Band... forever!"
Flaky raised her hand up as he started to laugh once again. He pressed a button inside the chamber, and it swiftly shut, a window on the front showing his evil smile and allowing only a muffle of his laugh. Flaky watched on in horror as the chamber began to glow from the inside and a deep hum was starting to sound. The laughing only became louder as the humming of the machine was beginning to grow loud as well.
"No... Flippy...", she painfully said. "No..."
With one last reach, she closed her eyes and took her last breath, as the glow from the chamber illuminated the room brighter and brighter. Within the chamber, Flippy was laughing as hard and as evilly as he could, as translucent wisps began to spiral around him. He suddenly stopped laughing and grabbed his head before ducking it, away from the view of the window.
Raising it once again, his teeth were squared, and his eyes were an emerald green. And his voice was sweet, only it screamed like a dying man.
"NO!"