--- Part 3: Into the Lion's Den ---
"Answer me!"
Silence.
Ash crouched low, his fighting instincts kicking in. He peered around the local walls but could see no shadow, no telltale sign of the owner of the voice that mocked him. The walls that surrounded him did not fully reach the ceiling, but were over three metres in height, their smooth, hard surface making scaling impossible.
"Do you like my handiwork?" The voice called once more.
Ash came to his senses, "Mandroid? What have you done?"
"Personally, I think it was a bit sloppy, but when the VR room's safety locks are disabled, things do get messy..." The voice tailed off at the end almost as if the android was lost in thought.
Ash tilted his head in various directions to try and determine Mandroid's location, but to no avail, the echoes in the chamber rendering it directionless. There was a crackle as the announcement speakers came to life.
"This i.....Ktt...gency. I rep...Zzt....Krk...fatali.....Bzt.."
There was a final bit of static and then it died.
"It appears that they boosted their power output. Do not worry, there shall be no more interruptions momentarily." Mandroid stated matter-of-factly.
Ash was dumb-founded, how was Mandroid manipulating the VR room like that? And more importantly why? However, his train of thought was sharply punctuated by the arrival of ActionJackson.
"Get out of here! It's a trap!" Shouted Ash.
"I'm not falling for that trick!" Replied ActionJackson.
Ash growled in frustration. "It's Mandroid! He's gone berserk!"
"Mandroid? What are you tal..." ActionJackson stopped mid-sentence. "Gurkk..." He gurgled.
This was shortly followed by a series of sickening cracking noises. Ash dropped his weapon as he covered his ears to block out the vile noise. Why were the show's organisers allowing this travesty to happen. There was a dull thud, a body thrown to the floor.
"Satisfying."
Footsteps resounded through the walls, each deliberately placed to inform Ash that his tormentor was approaching. Ash spun around, he did not wish to be caught unawares as ActionJackson had been.
In that moment, Mandroid strode into view and faced him.