The Secret of Solex

Chapter 5

Connor walked slowly along the side of the road with Abby, Mong, Chip, and their respective robots. Cubix had been gone for over a week, and the boy was worried.

Very worried.

"I don't understand why he ran away," Connor said softly. Chip and Mong looked at each other. The children had tried to console their friend, but as time progressed it was becoming more and more difficult.

Cubix is just having some problems right now.

He adores you, and would never leave for long.

He will come back soon.

Initially, the children truly believed it, and decided to give Cubix some space and allow him to return on his own. After two days, they had begun to search for him. He was no where to be found, and no one had seen him since his disappearance. It was if Cubix had vanished off of the face of Bubbletown.

Now, the children were finding less and less feasible explanations.

"I think he just felt bad," Abby explained. "You've never been injured before. He's always been able to protect you. But I don't know why he would be gone so long…"

"Do you think that Dr. K might have gotten to him?" Chip asked.

"I hope not…" Connor said, his voice soft with worry.

Dr. K stood silently in his lab, looking down at the temporarily unconscious Cubix. Despite his lack of concentration due to stress and Kilobot's involvement, the robot had nevertheless put up quite a fight prior to his capture. Kolossal stood by his master's side, one of his arms broken from the fight.

Cubix's visor glowed dimly, indicating his arousal. The old man had drained most of his energy upon capture, so there was very little for him to draw upon. However, Dr. K was aware that Cubix's EPU could still draw vast amounts of power even from such a small amount of energy…if he was in the right state of mind.

But he wasn't in the right state of mind, and he barely had the ability to draw on what little energy he still possessed.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Cubix!" the old man said with a cackle. The robot glanced around wearily. "We saw you all alone outside and decided to invite you here. Did Connor abandon you?"

The robot's visor brightened with alarm. How would Dr. K know what's been going on?

Everyone knows what's going on.

Your incompetence is glaringly obvious

Only you have been blind to the truth.

The only others in the room with him were the mad scientist and Kolossal. Kilobot was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, Cubix's mind was incapable of making the connection. Silently he pushed himself heavily into a sitting position.

"Well, if you swear obedience, I may find some use for you," Dr. K continued, while crossing his arms thoughtfully.

The robot shook his head vigorously. Even if Connor didn't want him anymore, he still adored the boy and would never betray him.

"I had a feeling that you would be noncompliant," the old man snorted. "That attitude will have to be driven out of you. Kolossal, take him to the isolation chamber."

Cubix didn't like the sound of that. He wanted to escape, but he simply couldn't find the strength within. When the lives and welfare of those close to him are at stake, tapping into his power was almost a natural occurrence. But now…he only had his own life to fight for. He simply no longer had the strength to put up even a struggle. Roughly, the larger robot grabbed his arm and dragged him towards a large, empty dungeon-like room. Kolossal hurled him into the room and shut the door.

The robot didn't really know what to expect, but what he found was more unnerving than anything his mind could conjure. The room was completely empty, silent. The walls were silver and metallic, lining the dark room and rising a several feet above his head. If Cubix so wished, he could reach his hand up and touch the ceiling. Slowly he pushed himself onto his feet, using the wall for support. An eerie clang resonated through the room as he stepped forward towards the door. Despite the absurdity of the motion, Cubix nevertheless tried to push the door back open. Not surprisingly, the door failed to budge.

What is the point of escaping?

Where would you go?

You do not have a home to go back to.

With what little strength he managed to possess, he jumped into the air and came apart. The pieces flew around the room, scanning for any weaknesses in the walls, or a small crack from which they could escape. He found nothing.

The pieces came back together, but the failed attempt proved draining. Yet, despite the exertion, he charged forward with the last remnants of strength and slammed his shoulder heavily against the door. His internal systems informed him that his shoulder was broken from the impact, but his pain sensors were deactivated due to his lack of energy. The door had not even budged. Exhausted, he leaned back against the metallic wall and slid to a sitting position.

How very alone he felt, trapped in this isolated box. Dearly he wanted to escape, to go home.

To go back to the Botties Pit.

To go back to Connor.

But Connor didn't want him anymore.

At least…he had his memories to draw upon. Memories of fun, laughter, roller coasters, fixing robots and providing guidance and protection to those who needed it.

He tried to draw strength from those memories but the continuous, haunting words of his thoughts left him ravaged. Exhaustion dulled his systems, and tried to pull him into the oblivion of sleep. However, anxiety kept him awake. Was he afraid of waking up here and realizing that this hell wasn't just a terrible dream? Was he afraid of waking up somewhere worse? Could any place be worse?

Or was this truly Hell?

As time elapsed, the memories became more and more faded.

Like a tape growing weary of constant replays.

How long had he been there? Lacking an internal clock, Cubix had no means of knowing. To his growing horror, the memories that he so clung to were becoming consistently more difficult to access. Finally, he began to wonder if he had always lived in that isolated box, and that the memories he had been so fond of were only tricks of his own imagination. Dreams of a world he never had access to. He couldn't ask. There was no one there to answer.

An eternity had passed, when finally the door that separated him from the outside world opened. Cubix immediately turned to gaze upon his savior, the first creature he had a chance to see since being locked away.

Dr. K looked down at the ravaged android with a tender smile, "Cubix, how would you like to come out now? All you have to do is swear obedience, and all of this will be over…"

The old man reached his hand out.

Something in the back of the robot's mind told him that this was wrong. But he didn't care. He was no longer alone. With that resolution in mind, Cubix took his hand…

Author's Notes: This was a moderately difficult chapter to write. I wanted to give the impression that Cubix was locked away for a long time without making it drawn out. I'm not sure whether or not the scene feels rushed, but since nothing happens during this time except for the poor robot's mental deterioration there was nothing I could do to extend it. (It will be said in the next chapter, but Cubix was locked away for one month.)