Summary:
Still confused by Roka's lack of fear, the Master tries to find out more, with his own methods.
Her orientation was lost long before they reached the lowest floor. Since the device didn't need more modifications, acquiring the catalyst seemed to be outsourced and Roka couldn't do all too much cause of her eyes, the two had started to get bored. Really bored. And boredom was an enemy they both hated. So now they were heading downwards to see 'the most amazing place in here', as the Master had called it. All Roka knew about though, was that it got darker and colder the further down they went.
The Master handed her a flashlight with a clip. "The electricity down there doesn't work quite well." He pushed a button on the wall and two big metal doors opened into a gaping black maw. Roka stepped inside and saw literally nothing. Then a very dim light flashed somewhere in the distance. In the far distance. Another one. They weren't bright enough to really illuminate something. Especially not when your eyes weren't functioning properly.
But as all the available lamps had turned on, she could make out at least a few things. The first was, that the hall had to be gigantic. Several hundred meters in each direction. The second thing was, that it was filled with huge metal structures that probably had been some kind of machinery at one point. But they looked strange and... alien.
"Is that a factory of some sorts?" she asked towards the Master while rubbing her arms. It really was freezing down here.
"Must have been. No clue what for though. But definitely alien." He sounded happy. "But the best part about this... It seems this was a hideout for scavengers."
She inspected her immediate surroundings and really, the place was littered with... stuff of all shapes and sizes. Like the hall was some sort of huge junkyard. And as far as she could tell this continued far into the darkness, where she could make out vague piles below the distant lights.
"This. Is. Amazing!" she exclaimed and heard a laugh behind her.
"Thought you would like that. I spent days down here and haven't even scratched the surface. Most of my stuff upstairs is from here."
"So... are we looking for something specific? Or just gather everything that looks special?" She could barely keep herself from running into the darkness, although she was still shivering from the cold.
"Just passing time. Guess you're clever enough to recognize interesting things. Even with your sight." He glanced down to her. "Bring everything to the front part of the hall. I'll sort through it later."
Roka looked around excitedly, unsure at which end she should start. The Master moved passed her and some cloth dropped on her head. She took it down and saw that it was his jacket. Perplex she looked at it, but the Master was already out of sight, so, after some more seconds of staring at it in confusion, she just put it on. It was way too big, but at least she didn't freeze anymore.
The hall really was gigantic. It took her around ten minutes to walk from one end of it to the other. Maybe a bit less when she subtracted the time needed to climb over piles of... things. And all around arose huge metal structures into the dark. Like the arms of ancient long forgotten metal giants. They looked strange and some even outright creepy. Especially in the spare light. It was still almost pitch black in here. The few lamps and her torch didn't help much with it. Additionally loud creaks and moans filled the blackness around, and here and there other sounds, probably from still functioning devices somewhere.
She decided to not stray too far from the Master for now, who was throwing stuff around and occasionally jumping up and down some piles. This place was so big she easily could get lost in it. Which in itself was an absolutely exciting thought. Somewhere around she spotted a rope lift, that lead up one of the structures. As she looked up she saw thick metal scraps and junk leaned against it. Big enough to walk on them or climb them up even. But the rope lift would be faster and she already had spotted the button to activate it. There was a metal bar attached to the rope on which she put her feet before hitting the button. Slowly the rope began to move upwards and Roka couldn't for the life of her suppress a happy giggle as she rose farther and farther up.
The top of the structure was a small platform. Not really big enough to hold something, but at least wide enough to stand on it. She had no clue what it was good for. And even her hope of getting an oversight over the hall dropped into the darkness very fast. Looking down she felt a bit dizzy. It was a long way, surely twenty meters or so. Better not to look down there for too long, she thought and after some minutes, she grabbed the metal bar with one hand and pushed the button, before holding tight. This was dangerous... but heck, it was fun to dangle in the air like that, slowly moving downwards past all the alien things around her.
All of a sudden she felt a jolt and the rope slowed down fast. She looked down to see how far below the ground still was, only to look into a familiar and very widely grinning face. The rope came to a halt directly in front of him.
"Hey, I can talk to you on the same height for once." He chuckled.
"You climbed all the way up just to tease me?" Roka gave him a mean look.
"And to see how long you can hold on to that thing." He nodded upwards, still grinning. "How long does it take until your arms get tired?"
She looked down once more, then up to the Master again, sarcastically stating, "That's only three or four meters. I probably wouldn't even brake a bone."
"Would still hurt though."
Her arms really started to get a bit tired, but she could still hold on for a while yet. And now that she thought about it... the Master stood not even half a meter away. She could just... she reached out with one hand and grabbed his shirt, now grinning widely herself. "I fall, you fall."
He looked down to her hand, then up to her face and started to laugh. "You have a great mindset, girl. But... I'm a bit more robust than humans. Probably wouldn't even get a scratch. And you only have one hand left now."
She sighed frustrated and let go of him. "Come ooon, I don't have time for your games. I want to see the rest of this place."
"But it's fun letting you struggle up here." He tilted his head.
"Okay, okay, my arms are getting tired. Let me down." And after a few seconds she unwillingly mumbled, "...please... Master."
"Oh... look at that." He grabbed her and pulled her a bit closer. "You know how to beg properly." He let go of her and pushed the button behind him.
Down at the ground Roka stepped away from the rope as fast as she could, seeing the Master jumping and running down the metal bars, landing right next to her as if to brag with his agility.
She ignored him and went searching through crates and piles full of alien gadgets and rubbish and whatnot. It felt like hours had passed when she carried a pile of things to the front part of the hall. The Master came over to inspect them.
"That one's cool." She said happily, holding up a small triangular pin. "If you put it on your skin it takes a blood sample and projects your physical state directly into your mind." She laughed. "And that one..." she put on a reddish glowing bracelet. "...is a very fancy device to measure your pulse. It even shows a hologram of your heart." After a button press a green light emerged from the bracelet, showing a human heart and some numbers she couldn't read.
"It's not your pulse... it's how many beats your heart has left." He looked closer. "Want to know how long you would have without being frozen?."
"No, better not. In the end you tell me it's only one." She laughed. "In case I ever unfreeze I'll find out anyway."
"The possibility doesn't bother you?"
"Why should it?"
He tilted his head, looking at Roka. Due to her broken sight she couldn't tell what was on his mind, so she just pulled out the next thing. "I'm not quite sure what this one does. Makes me feel dizzy, when I hold it for too long." It was a small ball made of strange, faintly glowing metal.
"Don't tell me you tested all that stuff on yourself." His voice sounded doubtfully.
"Sure... how else should I find out what..."
"Are you stupid?" Interrupting her, he snatched the ball from her hand and threw it away. "That's alien tech. Who knows what it could do to you."
"I know, I know. But where's the fun otherwise?" She grinned happily. "There was this one thing where I really wasn't quite sure it wasn't a red-dust-bomb... those are nasty. And that one..."
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you!?" he suddenly snapped at her.
Roka, completely perplex, became silent.
"Aren't you even a tiny bit scared of danger?" He stared at her and his gaze felt angry.
"Uhm... well... sometimes. What do you care? You constantly try to harm me." She chuckled.
"I know when to stop." The Master poked her chest.
"Says the man who poisoned me."
He bit on his lip. "Just... stop testing the stuff on yourself. That's an order." He shook his head. "Seriously... I don't get you." The Master stared her down for a few seconds. "I really wonder what made you that way."
"What... way?" Roka was still confused. She didn't really understand what he was even talking about.
"So... oblivious about death. Ignorant of your own life..." In his voice was something confused and something angry. "You just throw it away for a bit of fun? Really?"
"Hey, just because you're terrified of dying, doesn't mean, everyone has to be," she countered. What was so bad about this, she wondered.
Suddenly a grin spread on his lips. He stepped closer and leaned down to her. "Let me look into your mind", he said. "I bet I can find the source of this."
Her eyes widened. "Definitely not! I don't care what you don't get and I don't get why you even care..."
She wanted to step back, but he had already grabbed her head with both hands. "Don't struggle, or it will hurt." The grin got wider.
Roka froze. She knew his strength, but at the same time she also wasn't eager to let him dig around in her memories. What was it that confused him so much, she wondered. Then she felt a strange sensation running through her head that hadn't been there the last time. It was like a tingling in her mind and she had to close her eyes to endure it. How deep could he look inside her? Inside this door he had just pushed open.
Then she remembered something. Something she had heard a long time ago and forgotten since.
An open door can be entered both ways.
Suddenly her heart beat faster. This was stupid, she realized. But... If she could manage... Having no idea how it was supposed to work she just concentrated on the tingling sensation in her head until it got almost overwhelming. She tried to push it away, to imagine a door through which it emerged.
And slowly...
...it got fainter...
...vanished...
...dripped down...
...darkness fell...
A swirl of colors...
An image flashed...
...gone too fast to grasp.
There was a light, a sound.
Another flash.
Someone whispered a word, thunder resounded all around, a scream... no... multiple screams. Rain hammered against the window, fire fell from the sky, the fields were glowing orange in the light of the sinking sun, someone laughed, someone begged, someone screamed. That was a nice scar, that was a nice poem. The knife cut through flesh, the flower dropped to the ground. A rhythm in the dark. Where was everyone? They are all gone. Traitors, liars. Something ripped apart. Another scream, so many screams, so many voices begging... begging him to stop. He didn't stop. They were all gone. Left behind. An empty room. Painted red. Dark... Nothing inside. Just the rhythm, just the cold, the emptiness. How could they still laugh? Everyone betrayed, everyone left. Fog. Thick fog, red and warm, still pulsating, dripping red. Bleeding stars. Lonely mind, empty soul, cold shivers. Black ink tattooed in thoughts. Time spiraling in itself. A field of glaring gold. Crimson drops falling upwards. Whispers in the loneliness. Darkness in the void. A voice. So far away, "Follow me." Faintly, barely audible in the red fog. Follow, follow, where to? Forward, forward, never stopping until the mist thinned out, towards the whisper.
Gasping for air Roka opened her eyes again, feeling her heart racing, her muscles paralyzed. Her head sank down, she couldn't think. Where was she? What had happened?
"That... was stupid."
The voice brought her back to reality, slowly remembering. There was an arm around her shoulders, holding her tight and a hand on her head.
"Whoever told you about that should have warned you to never try that with someone with such strong abilities as mine." His voice sounded amused and... something else. She couldn't tell. His hand vanished from her head. "This once I helped you out." He said in a low voice. "But, try that again... and I will let your mind burn."
Roka managed to look up, staring at him. Then she realized that he still held her and she struggled against his grip only to almost fall when he finally let go. Stumbling backwards a few steps she realized how her mind was slowly adding sense to what she had seen moments before. Seen and heard and felt.
"So much..." she mumbled, sinking down into a sitting position. "So much blood." She held her head in her hands. "So many screams..."
Steps came closer. The Master crouched down in front of her. "What have you expected?" He sounded amused. "Flowers and rainbows? I'm surprised you actually saw something."
Slowly she let her hands sink and shook her head. "Vague impressions, random images and sounds..." And feelings. Feelings of... pain, anger... loneliness. It made her shiver. A sudden wave of unbearable sadness overcame her and she put her head onto her knees, not sure if it even was her own emotion.
"Mhmm... not surprising. You're as psychic as a slice of bread." The Master chuckled and got up.
Roka glanced up and when she saw him standing with his back to her, she quickly wiped the few tears away, before he turned around again. She couldn't keep her brain from working... from slowly putting meaning to the images and sounds.
"Unpleasant, eh?" he asked when she turned white as a bed sheet.
"I... feel sick. Never... seen so much..."
"Yeah... how could you." Suddenly his voice was free from all sarcasm. He crouched down again, staring at her. "Look at them closely, you fearless thing." He held his hands up, palms towards her. "These are drenched in blood. They have taken countless lives... and I don't regret a single one."
Roka looked up to him, stared into his eyes she couldn't see clearly. If only she could. Then she looked at his hands, and again back to him... and smiled. "I know."
"And still you smile... and still there is no fear in your eyes." He bent down to her. "There is no being in this universe less deserving of a smile than I... I am death, can't you see?"
"I do," she said quietly. "Which means you cannot harm me... for I am nothing more than a ghost."
She put her hands against his, not for a moment looking away. He stared at them for seconds, then clasping them, pulling her towards him, glaring into her blinded eyes. "One day I will claim your soul then, little ghost. After all you yourself called me grim reaper."
She didn't move, didn't blink. Her heart was racing. "If you are... then you would deserve to be smiled at," she almost whispered. "Because it would make you the loneliest creature in existence."
Another few seconds passed. Then the Master abruptly got up and started to laugh loudly. "Do you ever listen to yourself?"
Roka grinned. "I try to avoid it."