Chapter XXI – More Flying
X walked up to the roof. He didn't see Treble at first, but the whining he heard led him to the pining wolf. Treble was lying down, with his hands on his paws, staring at the ocean. X walked up to the wolf and petted him on the head a few times. The wolf looked up at X, then turned back to the ocean and sighed.
"Come on, Treble, cheer up," X said. "Cain is working on Bass right now. He was awake earlier." Treble looked up for a moment at that comment, but still turned back to the ocean. X sighed. He patted the wolf on the head, then walked back to the doorway leading inside. Treble got up and followed X. The blue Reploid turned and watched to wolf approaching him.
'Of course,' X thought. 'Since me and Bass are so similar, he's going to tag along with me until Bass is repaired.' He continued down to the ARR wing. Gate was hunched over something on one of the tables.
"Gate, what are you doing this time?" X called. He surprised the purple scientist, who dropped the fusion welder he was using.
Kneeling down to pick up the tool, Gate said, "I'm using the data from my scan of Treble to make a jetpack for you. Come over here and take a look." He motioned for X to walk over.
On the table was a white and blue pack. Four engines were built into it, and a turbine was embedded in the back. Two arm-like extensions reached up slightly, then down, and the ends had controls on them. X pointed at a small G with a circle around it. "What is that?"
"Oh, that shows that this is one of my creations. I always put it where it's almost impossible to see. If you were wearing this, then it would be hidden by your body," Gate said. He picked it up and attached it to X. "I've managed to get it to hook up to your power generator, but I still can't figure out how you would control like Bass does. The controls come over your shoulders to about the level of your hands. The major controls are on your left side, so that you can still maneuver while using your Buster. The right controls have the more advanced, less used controls, like a turbo boost that will make you accelerate to a higher speed for a short time. To connect it to your generator, hit this button." Gate pushed something halfway up the right control arm. There were a few loud clicks, and the jetpack hummed as it powered up. "I put it there so that you don't accidentally push it during flight. The same button will disconnect it when you're done." He pushed it again, the locks clicked open, and the humming cut off.
"Okay, can I test it?" asked X.
"Yes, of course, go right ahead."
X turned to leave, but Treble, who had been sniffing at things around the lab, had grabbed the end of a sheet and pulled it. Beneath the sheet was a robotic wolf, almost exactly like Treble. It was a darker purple in color, and seemed to be slightly smaller.
"Gate, what is that?" X said as he walked over to the still wolf.
"Oh, that's nothing, nothing at all," Gate said quickly. He ran over and threw the sheet back over the inactive wolf. "I just built a companion for myself, and modeled it to resemble Treble. It's nothing important."
"Okay, Gate. Come on, Treble, we're leaving." X said. The wolf trotted after him.
X was on the roof. Treble had immediately run to the edge and lay down again. Pressing the button the controls, the pack locked into place and activated. X looked at the left controls. There were three main ones and a button. One control went up and down, which must be altitude. Another went left and right, which X thought would be normal maneuvering. The third was like a little steering wheel. X had no idea what that was for. He pushed the button, which said "ON/OFF" next to it.
The jetpack roared to life, and X lifted about five feet off the ground. He started fiddling with the controls, moving up and down, and strafing left and right. X tested the wheel control, and he started to spin in place. At about twenty feet in the air, X spotted something on the horizon. He leaned forward to see it, and he started moving forward. X realized what caused forward movement, and leaned backwards to compensate. The turbine changed direction, and X moved backwards.
After messing around with the controls a bit longer, X turned his attention back to the object in the distance. A transparent green visor moved down over X's eyes. The distant shadow magnified, and X could see clearly what it was. It looked like a floating citadel, with one main tower jutting out from the center. It was spinning slowly, and the distance monitor showed that it was getting closer.
"Oh no," X said. He turned around and sped back down to the rooftop. Treble looked up at him as he sped though the open doorway. Staying close to the ceiling, X activated his turbo and sped down the corridors. Stopping outside of Cain's lab, X pushed through the door and looked for the old doctor. Cain was working on repairing Bass' legs, while Bas himself was on a table with his eyes closed. Cain turned at the sound of the door opening.
"X?" Cain asked calmly, ignoring the fact that X's sudden entrance has caused various papers to scatter in all directions. He also ignored that X was hovering two feet off the ground.
"Doctor Cain, Sigma's coming!" X said exasperatedly.
X walked up to the roof. He didn't see Treble at first, but the whining he heard led him to the pining wolf. Treble was lying down, with his hands on his paws, staring at the ocean. X walked up to the wolf and petted him on the head a few times. The wolf looked up at X, then turned back to the ocean and sighed.
"Come on, Treble, cheer up," X said. "Cain is working on Bass right now. He was awake earlier." Treble looked up for a moment at that comment, but still turned back to the ocean. X sighed. He patted the wolf on the head, then walked back to the doorway leading inside. Treble got up and followed X. The blue Reploid turned and watched to wolf approaching him.
'Of course,' X thought. 'Since me and Bass are so similar, he's going to tag along with me until Bass is repaired.' He continued down to the ARR wing. Gate was hunched over something on one of the tables.
"Gate, what are you doing this time?" X called. He surprised the purple scientist, who dropped the fusion welder he was using.
Kneeling down to pick up the tool, Gate said, "I'm using the data from my scan of Treble to make a jetpack for you. Come over here and take a look." He motioned for X to walk over.
On the table was a white and blue pack. Four engines were built into it, and a turbine was embedded in the back. Two arm-like extensions reached up slightly, then down, and the ends had controls on them. X pointed at a small G with a circle around it. "What is that?"
"Oh, that shows that this is one of my creations. I always put it where it's almost impossible to see. If you were wearing this, then it would be hidden by your body," Gate said. He picked it up and attached it to X. "I've managed to get it to hook up to your power generator, but I still can't figure out how you would control like Bass does. The controls come over your shoulders to about the level of your hands. The major controls are on your left side, so that you can still maneuver while using your Buster. The right controls have the more advanced, less used controls, like a turbo boost that will make you accelerate to a higher speed for a short time. To connect it to your generator, hit this button." Gate pushed something halfway up the right control arm. There were a few loud clicks, and the jetpack hummed as it powered up. "I put it there so that you don't accidentally push it during flight. The same button will disconnect it when you're done." He pushed it again, the locks clicked open, and the humming cut off.
"Okay, can I test it?" asked X.
"Yes, of course, go right ahead."
X turned to leave, but Treble, who had been sniffing at things around the lab, had grabbed the end of a sheet and pulled it. Beneath the sheet was a robotic wolf, almost exactly like Treble. It was a darker purple in color, and seemed to be slightly smaller.
"Gate, what is that?" X said as he walked over to the still wolf.
"Oh, that's nothing, nothing at all," Gate said quickly. He ran over and threw the sheet back over the inactive wolf. "I just built a companion for myself, and modeled it to resemble Treble. It's nothing important."
"Okay, Gate. Come on, Treble, we're leaving." X said. The wolf trotted after him.
X was on the roof. Treble had immediately run to the edge and lay down again. Pressing the button the controls, the pack locked into place and activated. X looked at the left controls. There were three main ones and a button. One control went up and down, which must be altitude. Another went left and right, which X thought would be normal maneuvering. The third was like a little steering wheel. X had no idea what that was for. He pushed the button, which said "ON/OFF" next to it.
The jetpack roared to life, and X lifted about five feet off the ground. He started fiddling with the controls, moving up and down, and strafing left and right. X tested the wheel control, and he started to spin in place. At about twenty feet in the air, X spotted something on the horizon. He leaned forward to see it, and he started moving forward. X realized what caused forward movement, and leaned backwards to compensate. The turbine changed direction, and X moved backwards.
After messing around with the controls a bit longer, X turned his attention back to the object in the distance. A transparent green visor moved down over X's eyes. The distant shadow magnified, and X could see clearly what it was. It looked like a floating citadel, with one main tower jutting out from the center. It was spinning slowly, and the distance monitor showed that it was getting closer.
"Oh no," X said. He turned around and sped back down to the rooftop. Treble looked up at him as he sped though the open doorway. Staying close to the ceiling, X activated his turbo and sped down the corridors. Stopping outside of Cain's lab, X pushed through the door and looked for the old doctor. Cain was working on repairing Bass' legs, while Bas himself was on a table with his eyes closed. Cain turned at the sound of the door opening.
"X?" Cain asked calmly, ignoring the fact that X's sudden entrance has caused various papers to scatter in all directions. He also ignored that X was hovering two feet off the ground.
"Doctor Cain, Sigma's coming!" X said exasperatedly.