Artificial Existence
By Christopher Harrison
05: Hunted
They reloaded their respective weapons as they moved around the garden in silence. Violet took the lead, which he thought was logical, being that his shotgun had done the most damage to the stone guardians. Server was in the middle of the small line, and Binary held up the rear.
They had slowly creeped along the front side of the mansion, sticking to the wall as much as possible. Only one gargoyle remained, and Violet was positive that they were the key to entering the mansion. He figured sticking to the wall gave the gargoyle one less direction to come from, and yet still their chances were slim. Even if the wall did block of that path of attack, the fact still remained that the gargoyle could not only fly, but was strong enough to avoid damage from all but their best weaponry, and even then it wasn't easy to fell the beasts.
Violet slowly leaned his head around the corner, and he immediately felt a sharp pain in his head. 'Shit.' He whispered to nobody in particular as the stone creature picked him up by the head and literally threw him a few meters away, making him drop the shotgun to the ground. Server rolled around the corner, bringing her Micro Uzi submachine guns to bear on the gargoyle. Before she could pull the trigger, the stone giant pounced on top of her, pushing her to the ground by her shoulders. She fell backward, and dropped both the guns. Server moved his hands to pull out the magnums, but they were no longer in their holsters, as he had dropped them both when the gargoyle had attacked him earlier. He swore to himself under his breath and dived forward, picking up one of the micro Uzi's. He rolled over at the end of his dive, and found himself next to Server, who was being choked by the monster on top of her. Binary pushed his weapon at the gargoyles neck, so that the spray wouldn't hit Server, and pulled the trigger.
The gargoyles neck shattered, throwing pieces of rock everywhere. The creatures head fell away, landing only an inch or two away from Servers head. Server managed to roll away before the rest of the gargoyles broken body fell on her, but stayed lying on the ground trying to regain her breath. Only seconds later Violet ran over to the other two, as to check on their status. Binary seemed fine, but Server had large purple bruises on her neck from the gargoyles attack. He flinched at the injuries, but overcame the urge to drop to his knee's and try and comfort her. Had the circumstances been different, maybe.
Violet looked around the garden. The remains of all the gargoyles had strangely disappeared, and Violet hoped that now the doors to the mansion were open. Server stood next to him and whispered 'I'm fine, thanks.' Violet ignored her and turned to face his companions. 'Okay guys,' Violet started, 'Get your weapons, and lets move out.'
They returned to the front door in little time. As Violet had expected, the doors had opened by simply pushing them. What he had not expected was the look of the inside of the mansion. The hall that they entered into was huge, and also brightly decorated. The floor was white and black marble, as was the large staircase in the middle of the room leading to the top floor. The walls were white brick, and were decorated with large paintings. On top of the marble floor was a red carpet, that rolled outward toward the center of the room, and then split to go around the large table that was in the middle of the room. The carpet rejoined after the table to go up the stairs, where it split off into either direction. The table in the middle was decorated with Candelabras and assorted cutlery and plates. Hanging from the roof was a huge chandelier, that seemed to be the only light source of the room. The first floor had four doors. One at each side of the flight of stairs, and the other two on either wall. At the top of the stairs, the carpet split both left and right, leading to another two doors. There was also a large double door at the top of the stairs. Against the railing of the second floor, there were two large cabinets, and on either side of the top of the stairs stood two large, golden statues of what looked like men dressed in robes, except their heads were heads of snakes. The golden statues held very large scythes in their hands.
The doors slammed closed behind the trio. Server turned and tried to push them open again, but they refused to move. There was another loud bang as the double doors at the top of the stairs were slammed open by a large man. He was about 6 feet tall, and wore a long, golden robe. Unlike the statues that wore the same clothing, the man had a normal, human head, but there was nothing human about the man. He began walking down the flight of stairs, but as he walked past the statues, they came to life and marched behind him in unison.
The man reached the bottom of the stairs, and sat at the end of the large table. The two statues stood behind the chair, completely still, as if they had never moved at all. 'Please,' said the robed man, 'take a seat, I'm sure you could use it.' The man waved his hand, palm upward, toward the seats at the opposite end of the table. The trio stood completely still. 'Suit yourselves,' said the man, 'I trust you came here looking for the rogue program then?' Violet simply nodded at the man. 'Yes, as I thought,' The man continued, 'I am Mozart, and these are my guards, the Serpents, and I am afraid that the rogue program is no longer your concern.' 'And why might that be?' Asked Violet. Mozart smirked. 'Ahh, so you can speak, eh?' He said smugly, 'The program you call Parasite is no longer your concern simply because he is mine, and, as such, completely under my control. You no longer need to worry yourselves.' Violet did not find this as good news. Mozart had already shown himself to be a powerful program. If he can create the gargoyle sentries and the two golden statues, who knows what he could do with something as powerful as Parasite.
'I'm afraid,' Violet said, slowly, 'that you are going to have to let us have him. I've got direct orders to terminate him.' Mozart nodded, and then replied 'That's a shame, because I'm keeping him, and there is nothing you can do about it.' The doors behind the trio opened on their own, as if they had just decided to open themselves for no reason. 'Now,' Said Mozart, 'Run along, I've no time for your foolish games.' The three of them didn't move a muscle. Mozart stood up and sighed. 'That really is a shame,' Said Mozart, walking up the stairs, without his golden guards, 'As if you refuse to leave, my associates here will have to throw you out.' At the end of Mozart's sentence, the statues slammed their scythes hard on the ground. Violet pumped his shotgun, and the sentries began slowly marching around either side of the table.
Violet opened fire with a single shot, which hit the golden warrior directly in the snake-like head. The pellets from the shotgun blast imbedded themselves in the gold metal, yet seemingly had no effect on the creature. Violet ran forward and jumped up onto the table, running forward to try and get behind the creatures. Server and Binary also ran either side, trying to get into a formation where they could set up a successful crossfire.
Binary pulled out his MP5, and Server retrieved her Uzi's. 'Left first!' Server yelled, and the three of them simultaneously aimed their weapons on one of the statues. Server was the closest to the golden warrior, and opened fire immediately. The bullets had no effect on the statue, and still the statue continued its advance as Violet jumped off the table and opened fire with the shotgun. By the time Binary had opened fire, the statue had gotten to about 4 meters away from Server and Violet. His added fire from the MP5 still had no effect. Server put her pistols back in their holsters and went to run up the stairs. Violet looked back to see what she was doing, and rage overcame him as she was seemingly running away from the enemy. He would not be defeated so easily. He dropped the shotgun and ran forward, to engage the golden guardian in close combat. Binary also came to join him. Violet reached the statue first, and quickly ducked to avoid getting chopped in half by the giant scythe. As he knelt down, he swept out his foot in an attempt to trip the Serpent. The kick had no effect either, and the warriors scythe stopped almost an inch from Violets face. Violet looked up to see that the Scythe had been stopped by Binary's katana, and now the Serpent and Binary were giving each other deadly glares. Violet took the opportunity, and quickly placed his boot on the Statues thigh, pushing away and back flipping into a standing position.
Violet ran forward and placed a jumping kick right into the statue, which did not move an inch from the attack. The Serpent swung its scythe upward, trying to stab Violet, who quickly jumped backward. Binary saw the opening in the golden warriors defence and slashed the warrior in the torso. The blade of the katana embedded itself into the warrior, and Binary was unable to get it free before having to jump backward to avoid getting decapitated by the statues large blade. As the serpent went to slash at Binary a second time, the back of the scythe handle flew directly into Violets face, sending him flying onto the stairs. Binary took a few seconds to see the fate of his captain, and turned just in time to see the Statue slash at him again. Binary back flipped, landing his hands on the large wooden table in the center, and then jumped off his hands again to dodge the scythe of the second statue, who tried to slash him from the other side of the table. Binary landed on shoulder of the second golden warrior, and quickly jumped back, landing on the opposite side on the room. The it hit him. 'Where's Server?'
By Christopher Harrison
05: Hunted
They reloaded their respective weapons as they moved around the garden in silence. Violet took the lead, which he thought was logical, being that his shotgun had done the most damage to the stone guardians. Server was in the middle of the small line, and Binary held up the rear.
They had slowly creeped along the front side of the mansion, sticking to the wall as much as possible. Only one gargoyle remained, and Violet was positive that they were the key to entering the mansion. He figured sticking to the wall gave the gargoyle one less direction to come from, and yet still their chances were slim. Even if the wall did block of that path of attack, the fact still remained that the gargoyle could not only fly, but was strong enough to avoid damage from all but their best weaponry, and even then it wasn't easy to fell the beasts.
Violet slowly leaned his head around the corner, and he immediately felt a sharp pain in his head. 'Shit.' He whispered to nobody in particular as the stone creature picked him up by the head and literally threw him a few meters away, making him drop the shotgun to the ground. Server rolled around the corner, bringing her Micro Uzi submachine guns to bear on the gargoyle. Before she could pull the trigger, the stone giant pounced on top of her, pushing her to the ground by her shoulders. She fell backward, and dropped both the guns. Server moved his hands to pull out the magnums, but they were no longer in their holsters, as he had dropped them both when the gargoyle had attacked him earlier. He swore to himself under his breath and dived forward, picking up one of the micro Uzi's. He rolled over at the end of his dive, and found himself next to Server, who was being choked by the monster on top of her. Binary pushed his weapon at the gargoyles neck, so that the spray wouldn't hit Server, and pulled the trigger.
The gargoyles neck shattered, throwing pieces of rock everywhere. The creatures head fell away, landing only an inch or two away from Servers head. Server managed to roll away before the rest of the gargoyles broken body fell on her, but stayed lying on the ground trying to regain her breath. Only seconds later Violet ran over to the other two, as to check on their status. Binary seemed fine, but Server had large purple bruises on her neck from the gargoyles attack. He flinched at the injuries, but overcame the urge to drop to his knee's and try and comfort her. Had the circumstances been different, maybe.
Violet looked around the garden. The remains of all the gargoyles had strangely disappeared, and Violet hoped that now the doors to the mansion were open. Server stood next to him and whispered 'I'm fine, thanks.' Violet ignored her and turned to face his companions. 'Okay guys,' Violet started, 'Get your weapons, and lets move out.'
They returned to the front door in little time. As Violet had expected, the doors had opened by simply pushing them. What he had not expected was the look of the inside of the mansion. The hall that they entered into was huge, and also brightly decorated. The floor was white and black marble, as was the large staircase in the middle of the room leading to the top floor. The walls were white brick, and were decorated with large paintings. On top of the marble floor was a red carpet, that rolled outward toward the center of the room, and then split to go around the large table that was in the middle of the room. The carpet rejoined after the table to go up the stairs, where it split off into either direction. The table in the middle was decorated with Candelabras and assorted cutlery and plates. Hanging from the roof was a huge chandelier, that seemed to be the only light source of the room. The first floor had four doors. One at each side of the flight of stairs, and the other two on either wall. At the top of the stairs, the carpet split both left and right, leading to another two doors. There was also a large double door at the top of the stairs. Against the railing of the second floor, there were two large cabinets, and on either side of the top of the stairs stood two large, golden statues of what looked like men dressed in robes, except their heads were heads of snakes. The golden statues held very large scythes in their hands.
The doors slammed closed behind the trio. Server turned and tried to push them open again, but they refused to move. There was another loud bang as the double doors at the top of the stairs were slammed open by a large man. He was about 6 feet tall, and wore a long, golden robe. Unlike the statues that wore the same clothing, the man had a normal, human head, but there was nothing human about the man. He began walking down the flight of stairs, but as he walked past the statues, they came to life and marched behind him in unison.
The man reached the bottom of the stairs, and sat at the end of the large table. The two statues stood behind the chair, completely still, as if they had never moved at all. 'Please,' said the robed man, 'take a seat, I'm sure you could use it.' The man waved his hand, palm upward, toward the seats at the opposite end of the table. The trio stood completely still. 'Suit yourselves,' said the man, 'I trust you came here looking for the rogue program then?' Violet simply nodded at the man. 'Yes, as I thought,' The man continued, 'I am Mozart, and these are my guards, the Serpents, and I am afraid that the rogue program is no longer your concern.' 'And why might that be?' Asked Violet. Mozart smirked. 'Ahh, so you can speak, eh?' He said smugly, 'The program you call Parasite is no longer your concern simply because he is mine, and, as such, completely under my control. You no longer need to worry yourselves.' Violet did not find this as good news. Mozart had already shown himself to be a powerful program. If he can create the gargoyle sentries and the two golden statues, who knows what he could do with something as powerful as Parasite.
'I'm afraid,' Violet said, slowly, 'that you are going to have to let us have him. I've got direct orders to terminate him.' Mozart nodded, and then replied 'That's a shame, because I'm keeping him, and there is nothing you can do about it.' The doors behind the trio opened on their own, as if they had just decided to open themselves for no reason. 'Now,' Said Mozart, 'Run along, I've no time for your foolish games.' The three of them didn't move a muscle. Mozart stood up and sighed. 'That really is a shame,' Said Mozart, walking up the stairs, without his golden guards, 'As if you refuse to leave, my associates here will have to throw you out.' At the end of Mozart's sentence, the statues slammed their scythes hard on the ground. Violet pumped his shotgun, and the sentries began slowly marching around either side of the table.
Violet opened fire with a single shot, which hit the golden warrior directly in the snake-like head. The pellets from the shotgun blast imbedded themselves in the gold metal, yet seemingly had no effect on the creature. Violet ran forward and jumped up onto the table, running forward to try and get behind the creatures. Server and Binary also ran either side, trying to get into a formation where they could set up a successful crossfire.
Binary pulled out his MP5, and Server retrieved her Uzi's. 'Left first!' Server yelled, and the three of them simultaneously aimed their weapons on one of the statues. Server was the closest to the golden warrior, and opened fire immediately. The bullets had no effect on the statue, and still the statue continued its advance as Violet jumped off the table and opened fire with the shotgun. By the time Binary had opened fire, the statue had gotten to about 4 meters away from Server and Violet. His added fire from the MP5 still had no effect. Server put her pistols back in their holsters and went to run up the stairs. Violet looked back to see what she was doing, and rage overcame him as she was seemingly running away from the enemy. He would not be defeated so easily. He dropped the shotgun and ran forward, to engage the golden guardian in close combat. Binary also came to join him. Violet reached the statue first, and quickly ducked to avoid getting chopped in half by the giant scythe. As he knelt down, he swept out his foot in an attempt to trip the Serpent. The kick had no effect either, and the warriors scythe stopped almost an inch from Violets face. Violet looked up to see that the Scythe had been stopped by Binary's katana, and now the Serpent and Binary were giving each other deadly glares. Violet took the opportunity, and quickly placed his boot on the Statues thigh, pushing away and back flipping into a standing position.
Violet ran forward and placed a jumping kick right into the statue, which did not move an inch from the attack. The Serpent swung its scythe upward, trying to stab Violet, who quickly jumped backward. Binary saw the opening in the golden warriors defence and slashed the warrior in the torso. The blade of the katana embedded itself into the warrior, and Binary was unable to get it free before having to jump backward to avoid getting decapitated by the statues large blade. As the serpent went to slash at Binary a second time, the back of the scythe handle flew directly into Violets face, sending him flying onto the stairs. Binary took a few seconds to see the fate of his captain, and turned just in time to see the Statue slash at him again. Binary back flipped, landing his hands on the large wooden table in the center, and then jumped off his hands again to dodge the scythe of the second statue, who tried to slash him from the other side of the table. Binary landed on shoulder of the second golden warrior, and quickly jumped back, landing on the opposite side on the room. The it hit him. 'Where's Server?'