Chapter 25.
"Run inside and warn them, OK?" Atomu said in a whisper, examining the surroundings. The door was in the middle of the long hallway, and the fighting space was narrow. This was going to be problematic. And ask Tucker if he can do anything to help.
"The black boy? I was under the impression that he didn't speak Japanese," Tenma answered tensely. The possessed robot, which had been watching them warily, seemed to have gotten used to their whispering and was starting to advance with more confidence.
Atomu glanced at him in exasperation. "You know, one of these days you need to zap English into your own head."
"Why on earth would I do that? I might end up in a coma."
Atomu resisted the urge to bang his head on the nearest wall. "GO WARN THEM. OCHANOMIZU WILL TRANSLATE. And meet me in my office at six, because apparently you NEED MORE LECTURING."
"Yes teacher," he said, tipping his hat cheerfully before bolting through the closed door like it was a turnstile. At the sound of the door slam, Atomu was off like a shot, slamming a hooked arm into the robot's stomach. It was caught off guard but reacted lightning fast, twisting in his grasp. Atomu suddenly felt a shock go under his chest plate.
"Aah!" The jolt loosened his grip just enough for the lanky robot to torque out of the hold. They both defensively leapt back, Atomu still standing in the way of its path to the door. The low hum of its electric generator and the faint smell of brunt metal gave away what it had done.
Atomu chuckled. "You're pretty clever, aren't you?" It had managed to get the prongs of the wound extension cord to make contact with the edge of his chest hatch. The robot looked between him and the door, as if unsure of what to do next. It must be another try at assassination, like the previous three attacks Tawashi mentioned. It clearly didn't come here to fight. That was a troubling thought. He was already in a dilemma— this was a high functioning robot, he didn't exactly want to destroy it just for being controlled by a ghost. But, even if fighting wasn't its original intent, he was certain the stubborn ghost would try to anyways— at the expense of the robot's body.
Also, he yet again had no Thermos, so he was stuck using low power.
The robot began to take a slow step forward, and Atomu charged. It freaked out, doing a frantic sidestep and narrowly missing the tackle, quickly whipping out a pair of wire strippers and several yards of cord as it did. With the machine-like efficiency characteristic of robots, it had stripped four feet of it or so down to bare wire before the other android could even turn around.
Atomu rolled out into a crouch facing the possessed bot and realized with a start that over a meter of bare, sparking wire was coming directly at him. Atomu sprang back just in time for the crude electric whip to only scorch the ground below him. Persistent, the robot continued to drive him back with swipes of the crackling live wire. It was now exactly where Atomu didn't want it, with nothing between it and the door.
This is ridiculous, he thought, I'm making this hard for myself. I can take a little high voltage shock to the skin.
The robot lashed at him one final time, trying to distract him while it lunged for the door.
"I don't think so!" Atomu yelled, the whip snapping against his palms with such force the stray end whizzed into a coil around his arm. The stinging pulse of energy radiated through him. He gave fierce holler and used the whip in reverse, ripping both it and the robot back before hurling them clear into the far wall. Good. Now it's well away from the door.
Hands still crackling with ozone and splotches of static fading from his vision, he wasted no time sprinting straight at it with a small clenched fist at the ready. Once again, though, the robot saw him coming and barely dodged the punch to its chest, frantically dancing behind him before he could change directions.
It wasn't that Atomu was too slow— he was too heavy. The lighter robot could turn around on a dime. Also, the blank white hallway left little room for surprise or tactics.
If I go much faster, my hits will probably kill the robot, Atomu thought. That's out of the question, and wouldn't work anyways. These ghosts are stubborn, but they aren't going to stick around in a dead body. He had been expecting it to bolt for the door just a ways behind it, but instead an uneasy standoff had commenced.
He pulled his fist from the drywall, and the already weakened material crumbled to the floor to expose the bare wood, insulation, and metal beneath.
I can't really fight it in close combat, he mused, It'll just shock me again. What can I do?
…I guess the cleanest option here is to take out its legs.
Atomu readied his stance, only to be taken by surprise as the robot darted behind him, grabbing his whip as it did. He turned just in time to see it smash through an exposed gas pipe with its bare hand, and with a white hot arc of electricity the air in the hallway became fire.
-Less than a minute ago-
The door to the hallway banged open and slammed close in quick succession, and Tenma ran briskly into the room. Ochanomizu and Tucker glanced up from the blueprint, which Makube had lifted from Tenma's briefcase.
"What's his problem now?" Ochanomizu muttered loudly, in English.
"What's wrong?" Makube asked as Tenma loped up, breathing heavily and brushing his dark forelock out of his eyes. He slapped a hand on the table and did an open-handed point at Makube. "I advise you leave."
"Hey," Tucker said, "Ask him what he was talking about with Ato—"
"What's that supposed to mean, Tenma?" Ochanomizu spat, "We just got him here!"
Tenma gave him a sarcastic glare. "Tell me. Did anyone here call for an electrical repair robot?"
Makube looked confused. "Of course not! We've barely started to plan the modifications, much less—" a roar of ferocity came from the hall, followed by the thunder clap of something hitting a plaster wall at incredible speeds. Makube's eyes widened with oncoming panic. "Oh," he said, then fled to the group of policemen.
Ochanomizu jumped back from the table, quickly looking in the direction of the sound then back at Tenma. "Dammit, Tenma! You could have just told us that!" Tenma sighed. "Yes, yes, Ochanomizu. I've already been criticiz—" He was interrupted by the second smashing of the wall, this time by a smaller object. "Uh, what was that?" Tucker asked, brow wrinkling in worry. "Now enlighten the American boy, will you? And ask him if he has any of those 'ghost' weapons."
"Does anyone even care that I'm here?" Tucker moaned. Ochanomizu turned his attention to him with frightening speed. "It's another possessed robot. Do you have any capturing equipment on you?" Tucker's eyebrows shot up. "What? No! All I have is a radio!"
Then the end of the hall exploded.
- Now. -
Atomu blinked heavily against the flames roaring past him, the searing heat not really affecting him beyond making it harder to see. The walls, however, were demolished. The pipe had managed to blow in two places, one in the wall separating them from the high-ceilinged assembly room.
The robot lay on the other side. He wasn't moving, so Atomu quickly diverted his attention, dashing against the roaring hot wind and crushing the nearest open pipes closed. He messaged 'Shut off gas in section 1-BD,' to Ministry Control just as the sprinklers finally turned on and pelted the burning hallway with water.
Atomu heard a shaky mechanical whir, and saw the robot was already standing. "Rrgh!" he hissed, springing forward and having it just barely brush past his fingers as it turn began to sprint to Makube and the panicked looking group of policemen, whip in hand.
Atomu just smiled and thought, Finally, an open space to fight.
A glow lit the scattered rubble as his rockets came to life, making the water on his boots sear off with a swirl of steam. "I really didn't want to have to do this," he murmured, feeling the plates on his finger smoothly slide back and the weapon start to charge with a gathering blue glow. With a flash of intensity, his rockets fired off and he shot across the room in a fraction of a second, the movement vibrating the windows as he swerved and braked out hard directly in front of the robot's path. It was still in midstep when he made a slashing motion with his finger and swept the concentrated beam of energy straight through it.
The robot crashed to the floor in two, the clatter making the rest of the room flinch. Atomu had cleanly severed its legs just below the waist, rendering it effectively immobile.
Sorry about the explosion, he managed to sever a gas line, Atomu said hurriedly as he landed and pinned the scrambling robot with a foot, grabbing the line and binding its arms. "Tucker, we're going to need to hurry if we want to contain this ghost." He said, yanking the knot tighter as it squirmed beneath him. "It's going to realize any minute now it's in a helpless position and leave."
"What was that?" Tucker asked, "Was that a laser? Where is it?"
Atomu sighed impatiently, taking the sparking bare end of the cord and deliberately holding up his pointer finger. The plates slid back with a click to reveal the bare laser barrel. He quickly sliced off the bare, sparking length of wire and melted the plastic around the end.
"OH MY GOD YOU HAVE A LASER IN YOUR FINGER."
"Yes."
"How does it work tell me tell me!"
"It's just a laser, I'm sure you can figure it out. I have to go up to the Speeder," he said, hoisting the struggling robot over his right shoulder, then calling to the rest of them in Japanese: "I have to leave for the moment! Keep track of those legs, I want them reattached by the end of the day!"
"But—" Tucker started.
"No, you can't come with me. I'm not exactly going to take to elevator."
"But what do we do if there's another attack?" Makube protested, finally regaining the ability to speak.
"That's what the police are for. I'm sure you'll be fine," he yelled as turned and ran out, the robot over his shoulder attempting to bite his arm.
Makube didn't look so sure, but the boy was already gone.
Atomu sprinted out into the employee parking lot, the possessed robot clanging against his right shoulder and the ghost inside chittering angrily. He skidded to a halt facing the building, then crouched and aimed for the roof. He sprang and they shot up like a champagne cork, shooting about twenty stories up before firing his rockets.
A slithering sound came from his right just as he breeched the roof, and he glanced over in alarm. The ghost was already abandoning its host, the telltale green slime reaching out from between two neck plates. Atomu slapped a hand over it as he swooped up next to the Speeder, but the ghost wasn't having any of that. Without the slightest hesitation it phased through his fingers and swept away, forming the rough shape of a four legged animal, sort of like an amebic dog. Quickly it turned and wriggled frantically up and away, its body thinning and squiggling back and forth like an eel.
I thought it was smarter—it certainly looks like a more advanced creature than the others! Atomu thought, cutting off his astonished gaze and hastily clambering past the previously "removed" doorframe of the Speeder and snatching a Thermos before blasting out after it on his rockets.
"I don't know where you're headed," he muttered, uncapping the Thermos, "But you're not getting away." He pressed the fire button and the ghost was caught in the broad blast of light, screeching as it was sucked in by the tractor beam. Its form stretched, spiraling and then finally disappearing into the container. He slammed on the cap, letting the animal's cry abate into the open air and be replaced by the traffic and city noises rising faintly up from below.
He exhaled slowly and gradually loosened his grip on the Thermos, turning it over in his small hands.
It had definitely been a more complex organism than the last two. It had translucent but clear cellular organs beneath its skin, enough cognitive power to make a tool, and a preferred form. More troublingly, it matched the description of the similar ghosts Sam and Tucker had claimed were attacking their town, Amity Park.
He looked up, the steady breeze ruffling his hair, and noticed something odd in the distance. A black sliver floated about 10 meters away in the air, hanging just above the tops of the distant buildings like a printer glitch in the sky.
Is that…? He drew closer, and saw that it was.
A dimensional tear.
His first time actually seeing one.
It was completely surreal: a slim, jagged hole with nothing beyond its impossibly sharp edges but infinite empty darkness. He was probably 6 or so meters from it, but he dare not get closer for fear it drawing him in like a ghost to a Thermos. Even at this distance he could feel the gentle current pulling at him, contradicting the wind.
But he couldn't help but look at it and feel a pang of obligation, like he should let it take him. Danny was in no position to help his family, and with the portal nearing completion he was bound to go despite the state of his health. Sam and Tucker had chosen to stay with him, and as flawed as that decision might be, it wasn't right to force them into a battlefield. They had mentioned a girl name Danielle, Danny's alleged clone, but chances of contacting her seemed positively grim.
But then again, if he went… who would protect Makube and the city? Past experience had left him with little faith in the police, even if they were assisted by Sam and Tucker. And especially if the bigger ghost orchestrating the attacks was starting to try harder at killing Makube by sending in smarter soldiers. After all, nothing was stopping it from just sending over an entire army while he was gone, and then both cities would be under siege.
He was just one robot. What could he do? Atomu scoured his brain, trying to think of anyone, any robot capable of doing half of what he could. I need someone here to defend Metro City. Someone who can take on bigger, smarter robots. Someone— the thought hit him and he smiled grimly. I guess he'd do temporarily. He's a bit unpredictable, but… he watched as the rip slowly began to seal itself out of existence, the black space narrowing and then disappearing. They really need help over there, don't they.
-Amity Park (where we last left them)-
Jazz stood frozen a while, looking at the hissing radio. Her body was still panicking, heart racing at unhealthy speeds, but what could she do? She gave a long, unsteady sigh as the radio static finally clicked off and was replaced by the 'Signal Not Found' screen. A wave of relief washed over her. They're alive. Though battling something. And she hadn't gotten to speak with Danny. And they were literally a dimension away. But they're ALIVE.
The repetitive fire of ecto-guns finally stopped, and she heard her mother shouting from one of the defense turrets in the wall of the living room. "I think that's the last of that wave! Jack, go get Jazz, it's her turn to sleep!"
"I'm already down!" she called back, "and you won't believe who just radioed in!" she ran into the large room, where her parents were stepping out of the wall indents that housed the gun turrets.
"Wait, do you mean—" Maddie asked excitedly.
"Sam and Tucker!"
Jack whipped off his protective helmet. "Have they found Danny?" he demanded.
"Oh… yes." Jazz said awkwardly, "They did."
Maddie frowned. "What's wrong?"
Jazz quickly explained the nature of their situation, concluding it with "And that's the most I got out of them before the line went dead."
Maddie leaned back slowly, putting a hand to her forehead. "So— you didn't get to speak with Danny," said, her tone rather quiet.
"No… they weren't very descriptive, but it sounded like he was probably fighting something."
Maddie moaned.
"Com'n, sweetcakes," Jack reassured, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure that whatever it is, he can handle it. Danny's been fighting ghosts as long as we have, after all! I'm sure he'll get away without a scratch."
"I know that, I know that," Maddie said, waving his hand away, "But it's just— the ramifications— of these tears! Another dimension! Of course, we'd already theorized such things existed, our research practically proved their existence. But the shear amount of power it would take to rip your way into one! What exactly are we dealing with here that it could create so many? And sustain them, no less?"
Jazz put a hand to her chin thoughtfully, glancing down and to the side. "About how much power, would you say?" she said looking up.
"Oh, at least eight or nine kilowatts," Jack said.
"More likely something in the megawatt range," Maddie added.
"So… we're obviously dealing with something that draws a pretty big amount of energy. Enough to cause blackouts in a powergrid. Something that would take pretty hefty a machine."
Maddie frowned. "Where are you going with this?"
"Maybe something like a ghost portal, but is so huge and heavy duty it seems like overkill at first glance."
Her parents looked at each other, a queer expression on their faces. "Mr. Burke," Maddie called, walking towards to the kitchen.
"What?" he asked drearily from is slouched position at the table, watching them walk in with a sort of reproachful detachment, "Is this about that portal I built again?"
Maddie sat down across from him like an interrogator, flanked by Jazz and her husband. "It's a dimensional portal, isn't it."
Mr. Burke paused, then leaned forward from his slouch to put his forearms lightly on the table. He clasped his fingers. "I'm not quite sure what you mean by that, Mrs. Fenton."
"You're an educated man, Mr. Burke. You should be able to infer," Maddie responded coldly.
"But you see, I am also a political man," He said smoothly, "And I want to know exactly what exactly you're trying to pin on me with that statement."