Chapter 6: Rescue
The ground rumbled under Roger as the Big O made it's appearance in the ruined garden of the flaming Triax Estate. He quickly got in, taking a moment to notice the familiar start up phrase, "Cast in the name of God. . .Ye not guilty."
The police swarmed around the estate grounds, searching for the wounded, questioning those who had been around when the attack took place. Everyone was busy, but all heads turned skyward when the enormous MegaDeus started an eventual, lumbering yet graceful pace in the direction that the terrorist helicopter had taken.
The Big O's tracking system followed the helicopter, Roger slowly but steadily guiding the MegaDeus through the city. He made sure to be careful of the smaller homes while resisting the urge to put one of the Big O's oversized forearms through the extravagant domes that housed the wealthy.
Roger knew he shouldn't be tromping through the city, and he could think of several reasons why he should return the MegaDeus to it's place in the subway tunnels, but all of his reasoning was overridden by the one thing that kept him in the giant robot. Charisse.
The helicopter's flight pattern stopped suddenly and began to lower on his radar. When it no longer registered, Roger pinpointed where it had disappeared as it's landing place. The Big O lumbered forward, towards the edges of Paradigm City.
People in the streets gazed after him as the Big O passed through the normal traffic. No one screamed, but stopped and stared, almost used to the sight of the giant MegaDeus roaming the city.
Roger started to wonder how reliable the Big O's tracking system was when he reached the warehouses close to the city limits. He couldn't see any sign of a helicopter or a launching pad, and he knew if they weren't around there, they would be outside the city limits, where very few people lived, and fewer visited. Roger also knew that he would never find Charisse if they had taken her out there.
He stopped the Big O, swinging around slowly to take in what he could of the area. It was abandoned of people, no one in the streets that were covered in industrial grime, no stray animals, almost as if the place had been methodically cleared by something. The windows of the warehouses revealed nothing, most being boarded up from the outside. If he didn't find anything soon, Roger would start smashing through roofs. He would not leave without her.
Roger started his walk through the warehouse district again, resisting the urge to cause irreparable damage in his wake, his patience wearing thin. The last row of warehouses all seemed the same, except for one. It's faded letters boasted of "butcher fresh frozen meat", but it wasn't the sign that caught Roger's eye. It was the fact that the windows were boarded up from the inside, instead of the outside.
The Big O changed it's angle slightly and headed towards the meat warehouse when several people streamed out the front, all armed. Roger stopped, trying to see if Charisse was anywhere within the small clump of people huddled together for protection. One man stepped forward, and Roger recognized him as the leader of the terrorists.
"What do you want?!" The leader yelled to the MegaDeus, his gun pointed at the giant robot's head, as much good as it would do. Roger wasn't worried about him, but the couple of terrorists with high powered rocket launchers could be a problem.
"Where is she?"
The leader took a step back, then raised his gun again, "Leave now! She is the key to ending this madness!"
The leader took careful aim and started firing, apparently the cue for the others to do the same. Roger stepped forward calmly and used the hand of the Big O to sweep aside the first few shooters. The few with rocket launchers were closer to the building, so Roger was even more careful when disarming them, incase one went off towards the warehouse. He was sure Charisse was inside somewhere.
Roger stopped the rocket launcher carriers again with one swift swipe of the Big O's hand, taking care to pick one member of the group who looked especially frightened. Perched between the giant robot's fingers, the man shook with the certain fear that he was about to die.
"Where is she?" Roger asked again.
The man trembled in his grasp, his mouth open to say something, but no words were being formed. Roger shook him gently, and the man cried out in fear, his eyes closed tightly.
"The freezer! We put her in the freezer!" The frightened man screamed, shaking so badly that Roger was afraid he would shake out of the Big O's grasp.
Roger set him down, blubbering and wheezing for air, his comrades rushing forward to pick him up and rush him to safety. Roger moved to the warehouse and did what he had been aching to do for so long. He plunged the Big O's giant arm through the roof of the warehouse, bringing part of it and a side wall, down to the ground.
The interior had been revealed, and Roger spotted the door to the freezer quickly. He then bent the MegaDeus over and opened it, jumping out quickly as possible. Roger yanked the steel bar out of the lock and opened the door.
"Charisse!"
When he didn't get an answer, he stepped in, his breath automatically coming out in white puffs. He looked around, noticing the open containment unit on the left wall, something wrapped in plastic on the floor.
Roger ventured in further, looking around, spotting a huddled mass on the floor in the corner. "Charisse."
She was shaking terribly, and she didn't look up at the sound of her name, her hands that were bound together pressed tightly to her mouth, her eyes shut. Roger came over and picked her up in one swift movement.
"Come on." He didn't miss the fact that though she was trembling like a leaf, she was incredibly cold to the touch, and she was hardly awake. He carried her in his arms back to the Big O, setting her down gently next to his seat.
Roger untied her hands and put his tuxedo coat around her shoulders. Charisse still shook and her skin was paler that it should have been, her cheeks red and her lips purple. She made small whimpering noises as she began to warm, the Big O standing straight again. Roger turned a worried eye on her and knew he had to get her to a warm bed and soon.
He swung the MegaDeus around only to take a rocket in the giant robot's chest. The Big O fell back wards, sliding several hundred feet past the warehouses, crashing into the wooded area on the limits of the city.
Roger fell out of his seat, slamming sharply into the control panel just before Charisse impacted with him, forcing the air from his lungs. He wrapped a protective arm around her as the robot slid over the ground, while still trying to breathe.
They rolled over together, and slammed into the top of the Big O as it stopped, Roger taking the brunt of the blow. He felt the blood trickle from his forehead just before he lost consciousness. Charisse lay in his arms limply, coughing slightly, unable to move. Just before she fell into the sweet, pain-free darkness, she noticed a figure standing over them both. Her eyes closed, her last thought of Roger, hoping they wouldn't kill him before she could tell him thank you.
The ground rumbled under Roger as the Big O made it's appearance in the ruined garden of the flaming Triax Estate. He quickly got in, taking a moment to notice the familiar start up phrase, "Cast in the name of God. . .Ye not guilty."
The police swarmed around the estate grounds, searching for the wounded, questioning those who had been around when the attack took place. Everyone was busy, but all heads turned skyward when the enormous MegaDeus started an eventual, lumbering yet graceful pace in the direction that the terrorist helicopter had taken.
The Big O's tracking system followed the helicopter, Roger slowly but steadily guiding the MegaDeus through the city. He made sure to be careful of the smaller homes while resisting the urge to put one of the Big O's oversized forearms through the extravagant domes that housed the wealthy.
Roger knew he shouldn't be tromping through the city, and he could think of several reasons why he should return the MegaDeus to it's place in the subway tunnels, but all of his reasoning was overridden by the one thing that kept him in the giant robot. Charisse.
The helicopter's flight pattern stopped suddenly and began to lower on his radar. When it no longer registered, Roger pinpointed where it had disappeared as it's landing place. The Big O lumbered forward, towards the edges of Paradigm City.
People in the streets gazed after him as the Big O passed through the normal traffic. No one screamed, but stopped and stared, almost used to the sight of the giant MegaDeus roaming the city.
Roger started to wonder how reliable the Big O's tracking system was when he reached the warehouses close to the city limits. He couldn't see any sign of a helicopter or a launching pad, and he knew if they weren't around there, they would be outside the city limits, where very few people lived, and fewer visited. Roger also knew that he would never find Charisse if they had taken her out there.
He stopped the Big O, swinging around slowly to take in what he could of the area. It was abandoned of people, no one in the streets that were covered in industrial grime, no stray animals, almost as if the place had been methodically cleared by something. The windows of the warehouses revealed nothing, most being boarded up from the outside. If he didn't find anything soon, Roger would start smashing through roofs. He would not leave without her.
Roger started his walk through the warehouse district again, resisting the urge to cause irreparable damage in his wake, his patience wearing thin. The last row of warehouses all seemed the same, except for one. It's faded letters boasted of "butcher fresh frozen meat", but it wasn't the sign that caught Roger's eye. It was the fact that the windows were boarded up from the inside, instead of the outside.
The Big O changed it's angle slightly and headed towards the meat warehouse when several people streamed out the front, all armed. Roger stopped, trying to see if Charisse was anywhere within the small clump of people huddled together for protection. One man stepped forward, and Roger recognized him as the leader of the terrorists.
"What do you want?!" The leader yelled to the MegaDeus, his gun pointed at the giant robot's head, as much good as it would do. Roger wasn't worried about him, but the couple of terrorists with high powered rocket launchers could be a problem.
"Where is she?"
The leader took a step back, then raised his gun again, "Leave now! She is the key to ending this madness!"
The leader took careful aim and started firing, apparently the cue for the others to do the same. Roger stepped forward calmly and used the hand of the Big O to sweep aside the first few shooters. The few with rocket launchers were closer to the building, so Roger was even more careful when disarming them, incase one went off towards the warehouse. He was sure Charisse was inside somewhere.
Roger stopped the rocket launcher carriers again with one swift swipe of the Big O's hand, taking care to pick one member of the group who looked especially frightened. Perched between the giant robot's fingers, the man shook with the certain fear that he was about to die.
"Where is she?" Roger asked again.
The man trembled in his grasp, his mouth open to say something, but no words were being formed. Roger shook him gently, and the man cried out in fear, his eyes closed tightly.
"The freezer! We put her in the freezer!" The frightened man screamed, shaking so badly that Roger was afraid he would shake out of the Big O's grasp.
Roger set him down, blubbering and wheezing for air, his comrades rushing forward to pick him up and rush him to safety. Roger moved to the warehouse and did what he had been aching to do for so long. He plunged the Big O's giant arm through the roof of the warehouse, bringing part of it and a side wall, down to the ground.
The interior had been revealed, and Roger spotted the door to the freezer quickly. He then bent the MegaDeus over and opened it, jumping out quickly as possible. Roger yanked the steel bar out of the lock and opened the door.
"Charisse!"
When he didn't get an answer, he stepped in, his breath automatically coming out in white puffs. He looked around, noticing the open containment unit on the left wall, something wrapped in plastic on the floor.
Roger ventured in further, looking around, spotting a huddled mass on the floor in the corner. "Charisse."
She was shaking terribly, and she didn't look up at the sound of her name, her hands that were bound together pressed tightly to her mouth, her eyes shut. Roger came over and picked her up in one swift movement.
"Come on." He didn't miss the fact that though she was trembling like a leaf, she was incredibly cold to the touch, and she was hardly awake. He carried her in his arms back to the Big O, setting her down gently next to his seat.
Roger untied her hands and put his tuxedo coat around her shoulders. Charisse still shook and her skin was paler that it should have been, her cheeks red and her lips purple. She made small whimpering noises as she began to warm, the Big O standing straight again. Roger turned a worried eye on her and knew he had to get her to a warm bed and soon.
He swung the MegaDeus around only to take a rocket in the giant robot's chest. The Big O fell back wards, sliding several hundred feet past the warehouses, crashing into the wooded area on the limits of the city.
Roger fell out of his seat, slamming sharply into the control panel just before Charisse impacted with him, forcing the air from his lungs. He wrapped a protective arm around her as the robot slid over the ground, while still trying to breathe.
They rolled over together, and slammed into the top of the Big O as it stopped, Roger taking the brunt of the blow. He felt the blood trickle from his forehead just before he lost consciousness. Charisse lay in his arms limply, coughing slightly, unable to move. Just before she fell into the sweet, pain-free darkness, she noticed a figure standing over them both. Her eyes closed, her last thought of Roger, hoping they wouldn't kill him before she could tell him thank you.
