CHAPTER 4
PHANTOMS IN THE FROST
A few days later, Professors Smith, Olson and Krein ran a barrage of tests on the chips. "Hmmm," Olson said as he eyed the piece through a microscope. "These chips are very old, and most of them are totally broken... I'm afraid that we can't use any of these..."
"So, our first mission was botched, huh?" Sharon grunted. "Dammit!"
"Whoops! Spoke too soon, professor," Krein said as he looked over a particular chip with a magnifying glass. "Iris, what did you say that those four chips had on them?"
"Let's see..." Iris said as she scratched her chin in thought. "Oh! X said that the chips were labeled Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega."
"Well, then we're in luck," Krein said as he handed the glass to Iris. "Take a look! This chip has the Greek symbol 'Beta' on it. It could be what we're looking for!"
"All right!" Darren said. "So we DID find something good!"
"Well, besides your super-quick handyman skills," Iris reminded Darren as she produced her I-Buster.
"Wow!" Sharon exclaimed. "Darren made you that! Darren! You can't even take three steps without tripping over your own feet! How did you ever pull it off?"
"Ummm, errr..." Darren said as he looked away.
"So, what's next?" Snake Man asked as he looked in. "Sorry, but I overheard your conversation."
"Now that we've searched a ruin, we can cross it off," Smith said as he pulled out a map titled 'Ancient Ruins Of The Modern World,' located Detroit and put a big, red X through it with a magic marker. "Now, where to go now..."
"Hmmm..." Sharon said as she perused the map. Her eyes landed on a small mark in the northern part of Russia. "Hey! The Repliforce Base in Siberia! That would be a neat place to look!"
"Siberia?" Iris asked. "Isn't that one of the coldest places in the world?"
"I'll be fine," Sharon boasted. "But, uh, you guys might wanna get some mukluks or something."
"As arrogant as Sharon's being, maybe going to the base would be a good idea," Smith said.
"I'm not being arrogant!" Sharon huffed. "I'm a fire-type reploid! I'm stating a fact!"
"It's not very nice to boast, Sharon," Darren said.
"Oh, yeah?" Sharon chuckled. "Well, at least I've got something to boast about!"
"N'grrr..." Darren growled.
"Calm down, guys," Iris pleaded. "Look, let's go back to the apartment and pack. It would probably be better than being stowaways, wouldn't it?"
"I like the way you think, Iris," Sharon said. "C'mon, let's go!"
As the three friends left the museum, Iris turned and saw Darren shuffling along behind them, looking rather depressed. "Hey, Darren, are you OK?" she asked.
"Hmm?" Darren asked. "Oh, um, it's nothing."
"Are you sure?" Iris asked. "I know Sharon said some pretty harsh things back there..."
"Oh, don't worry about her," Darren chuckled. "That's just what she does. It's all in fun."
"Well, OK..." Iris said with a smile. "Come on, or we'll miss the bus!"
"Right behind you, Iris," Darren replied as he picked up his pace.
Back at the apartment, Iris, Sharon and Darren threw assorted items into backpacks in preparation for their trip.
"Yeah, this'll be an interesting trip," Sharon said as she stuffed a coffee mug into her pack. She glanced over at Darren, who was busy stuffing plenty of warm clothes into his knapsack. "Hey, Darren, are you OK?" she asked. "You haven't said a word for hours."
"...Sharon," Darren said after a pause. "...Do you like Iris?"
"Yeah," Sharon answered. "She's really something! Loads of anecdotes, plenty of spunk, she can take her clothes off..."
Darren's eyes widened. "She can!" he asked
"Why do you want to know? Do YOU like her?" Sharon asked as she eyed her friend slyly.
"Well, uh..." Darren muttered as he blushed and looked away.
"Don't worry about it. Don't get your hopes up, though; her heart belongs to Zero," Sharon said.
"Are you suggesting!..." Darren demanded.
"You sound like you're going to," Sharon muttered.
"(Sigh) Well, you'd know me, Sharon. I mean, I've been living with you for how long?" Darren asked.
"Five years," Sharon answered.
"Yeah... You probably know what I'd do even more than me." Darren emitted a deep sigh and glanced down at his hand, upon which a shiny gold ring sat. "Tara, why'd you leave me?..." he asked quietly.
"Heh?..." Sharon asked, but Darren didn't look like he was disclosing any other information. She shrugged and went back to packing.
The following afternoon, Iris, Darren and Sharon arrived back at the museum. "Hey again, guys," Snake Man greeted them at the door. "Professor Smith's waiting for you in his room."
The three friends hurried down to Smith's laboratory, where they found the unshaven doctor wearing a thick coat and strapping on a large, green backpack. "Hey, guys!" he said. "What're you waiting for? Get your jackets on!"
"Get our jackets on?" Iris asked. "What do you mean?"
"We're going to Russia, aren't we?" Smith asked. "So come on!"
"But aren't we taking a plane or something?" Darren asked.
"No," Smith said. "That would take way too long! We've got a transporter in the back. It can send us anywhere on the planet in a matter of seconds, so it'll be a flash to get there!"
"Wait a minute!" Darren objected. "If we had that transporter, why'd we have to drive all the way to Detroit!"
"My car's old," Smith answered. "I need to drive it once in a while to keep it going."
"Oh, boy..." Sharon grumbled. Darren shook his head in exasperation.
"Now, come on," Smith said as he opened a door in the back of the room. "It's in here."
The party walked into a small room with a large, blue capsule with a monitor and keyboard hooked up on the end. Smith walked to the keyboard and hit several buttons. "I've set the coordinates so that we'll land in the city of Tynda," he said. "That's a town on the edge of Siberia, and the closest one to the Repliforce base."
"Repliforce base..." Iris sighed. "Well, I guess I was bound to go there sooner or later."
"We can only send one person at a time, so go single file, and move out of the way as soon as you get there," Smith instructed. "We don't want anybody getting stuck together, now. Who's up first?"
"I'll go," Sharon said as she stepped into the machine. "Let 'er rip, doc!"
"The accurate term is 'prof,'" Smith grumbled as he pressed a button and Sharon disappeared in a flash. "Next!"
"I'll be next," Darren said as he stepped forward. Unfortunately, he stumbled, fell and banged face-first into the teleporter.
"Agh!" Iris exclaimed as she ran and helped Darren up. "Are you OK!"
"Oogh, could've been worse," Darren grunted as he rubbed his sore nose. "C'mon, let's get moving."
In another flash, Darren was gone. "You're next, Iris," Smith said. "Get on in!"
"All right..." Iris started as she walked towards the pot. At the last moment, she stopped and looked down at the machine.
"...What's wrong?" Smith asked.
"Oh, ummm..." Iris hesitated. "I've never been, uh, faxed anywhere before..."
Smith smiled. "Don't worry about it; you'll be just fine."
"Well, if you say so, professor..." Iris said as she stepped into the machine. "Here we go!"
Iris felt her body begin to drift apart as Professor Smith hit the button. It wasn't a horrible, gut-ripping feeling like some horror movies would lead us to believe, but a sense of dissolving into soft, falling snowflakes. After a brief moment of this feeling, it grew very cold and dark. She blinked and found herself standing knee-deep in snow in the dead of night, with only some gentle lights off to the west as a sign of civilization. She hugged herself for warmth; it was absolutely freezing.
"Hey, Iris!" Sharon called from nearby. "Glad you could make it!"
"You might want to get out of the way," Darren added as he appeared a few feet away.
"Hmm?" Iris asked as she moved about five feet away from her landing point. Almost as soon as she did, Professor Smith appeared and fell face-first into the snow.
"Whoo! It worked! Great!" he exclaimed as he got up and spat white fluff everywhere. "Fantastic! OK, let's find that base!"
"Hey, professor," Sharon said as she looked around. "Don't ya notice anything, uh, different? What's wrong with this picture?"
Smith blinked for a moment and then smacked himself. "Aww, geez! I completely forgot about the time difference!" he yelled.
"Time difference?" Darren asked. "No wonder!"
"This part of Russia is about eight hours ahead of Minnesota," Iris said as she made some quick calculations. "It was about 3:00 back at the museum, which means it's around 11:00 here..."
"We really shouldn't go wandering out in the snow in the dark," Darren said. "I can barely see in front of me! Who knows what's out there?"
"Good point, D," Sharon said. "Let's find a hotel or something! I was lookin' to turn in early anyway!"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Smith admitted. "But don't worry, fellas! I know someone in Tynda who can help. Come on!"
Smith and the others trudged towards the western lights, but hiking through the knee-deep snow made the going slow, and the cold winds didn't help either. "Why couldn't you have suggested a different ruin, like one in Malibu!" Darren grunted to Sharon.
"OK, OK, so it's not a winter wonderland!" Sharon grumbled. "Sheesh... Suck it up!"
Suddenly, Darren stumbled and fell, catching Iris in the back and taking her down into the snow with him. "Vuooo..." he groaned as he got up. "I'm sorry, Iris... Are you all right?" he asked.
Iris pulled herself up; her face was covered with heavy amounts of snow. "...Ho, ho, ho," she chuckled halfheartedly.
Iris and the party walked into snowy city of Tynda. At 11:00, not much was happening; the town square was empty, and all the stores were locked up for the night.
"I thought that most cities were destroyed during the Space Colony Incident," Iris pointed out.
"They were," Darren said. "But in 2205, President Yeltsin IV found a hidden mine where the ancient Czars hid treasures that they had stolen in wars. He gave them back to their rightful countries, who in turn sent teachers and materials to help rebuild Russia. Tynda's in pretty good shape, considering the rest of the world."
"Economy? You mean that cars or machines are produced here?" Iris asked.
"No, something even more valuable; toenail clippers!" Darren said. "They're so useful that practically everyone owns a Tynda-made toenail clipper these days!" He pulled an ornately-decorated toenail clipper out and showed it to Iris.
"Onion domes, icons and Faberge Eggs?" Iris muttered. "Sheesh, what a way to push a stereotype."
"It worked for white rappers," Darren protested.
"Well, you have me there," Iris admitted.
"Come along, guys," Professor Smith said as he stopped in front of a large laboratory. "I have a robotologist friend who lives here, and I'm sure he'll put us up for the night."
"Another robotologist?" Iris asked. "What's his name?"
"Doctor Otto Donnerstag," Smith said. "This man is a genius; he worked to design your fail-safe program with me. I'm sure he'll be glad to meet you!"
"I hope so," Darren said as he knocked on the door. "It's freezing out here!"
The door opened to reveal a stout man with a black, pointed beard, wide, boxy glasses and a mess of frizzy, blackhair. A grumpy glower was plastered across his light crimson face. "Keine Verkäufer! No salesmen!" he barked at Darren in a thick German accent. "Gott in Himmel, have you any idea of what time it is!" With that, he slammed the door.
"Aye yai yai..." Darren wheezed as he backed away from the door.
"Glad to meet us, eh?" Sharon grumbled.
"Let's try again," Smith said as he knocked on the wooden door. The bearded man opened it again with the same scowl.
"Are you deaf!" the man asked angrily. "For the last time-"
"Otto, calm down," Smith said. "Don't you remember me? It's Ross! We worked on a project together, remember?"
Upon hearing this, Donnerstag's attitude changed immensely. "...Ahh, Herr Smith! How good it is to see you! Please, please, come in out of the cold! And bring your friends, too!"
Smith, Sharon and Iris walked in. Darren started in when Donnerstag stopped him. "How many times must I tell you!" he snapped. "Begone!"
"No, no, he's with us," Sharon objected.
Donnerstag blinked a few times, then sighed. "Ach, fine, come on..." he grumbled. Darren nervously walked in and stood behind everyone else.
"My, my, you certainly have changed since we worked together, Professor," Donnerstag laughed heartily. "You must tell me everything that you've been working on! Oh, but where are my manners? Your friends and I have not been introduced!" He turned to Iris and Sharon with a warm smile. "I am Doctor Otto Donnerstog, founder of the Tynda School of Robotology and renowned scientist!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sharon Doherty," Sharon said as she shook Donnerstag's hand.
"Ah, very nice, very nice," Donnerstag said. As he turned to Iris, his face lit up. "OH! Is this who I think it is!" he asked in disbelief.
Everyone looked at Iris. "Who, me?" she asked.
"Ach du Lieber! It is Iris Thorne!" Donnerstag cried as he grabbed Iris and kissed her on both cheeks before shaking her hand so vigorously that her arm almost came off. "I have waited so long for a chance to meet a 22nd-century reploid!" he exclaimed.
"Well, um, I, uh..." Iris stammered as she went red.
Donnerstag glanced over at Darren and gave him a bored look. "And you are?..." he asked.
"I'm Darren Lucas," Darren said as he held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh, hum.. yes, of course," Donnerstag said as he turned back to the others. "Well, where are my manners? Being out in the cold for so long... You must be half-frozen and sehr Hunger haben! I'll prepare some food for you!"
"Food?" Sharon asked as her eyes lit up. "Now that sounds good!"
"But you had a huge lunch..." Darren said.
"Hey, ya can't live on burgers alone," Sharon laughed. "Bring on the grub, Donny!"
"All right," Donnerstag said. "Let me call my assistant. I'm sure he'll be glad to meet you all as well. Frost Man! Some new friends!"
"Huh?" a deep voice boomed from the other room. Iris and company gulped in surprise as an eight-foot tall, icy robot lumbered into the room. "Oh! New people!" he laughed heartily. "Hullo! I'm Frost Man!"
"Frost Man?" Sharon asked. "Hey, isn't he a-"
"Yes," Smith answered. "Frost Man was built by Dr. Wily, but Donnerstag revived him with the fail-safe program, much Snake Man and Iris. You could say that it's a hobby to have a robot assistant."
"I am so glad to meet all of you!" Frost Man rumbled as he grabbed Iris, Sharon and Darren in a big, cold, group hug.
"Aiiigghhh!" Sharon gagged.
"D-d-don't mention it!" Iris chattered.
Frost Man dropped Iris and Sharon, but Darren held fast. "Uh, Darren, are you OK?" Sharon asked.
"Gugh," Darren grunted as he tried to shove away from Frost Man, but couldn't.
"Uh-oh," Frost Man said. "Looks like yer stuck to me. No problem. Just hold still!"
Frost Man grabbed Darren around the middle and pulled. After a sickening THUP sound, Darren was on the ground nursing his sore tongue.
"Ouch," Iris said. "Are you all right, Darren?"
"(Hack) Nehah helt hettah," Darren gagged as he rubbed the wounded piece.
"...Yes, he's very entertaining," Donnerstag chuckled. "Jetzt, Frost Man, let's get a meal ready for our guests!"
"OK, Doctor!" Frost Man answered. "Do you want I should make popsicles?"
"No, I think something warmer would be better," Donnerstag answered. "Go and some chicken heat up."
"Uh..." Frost Man gulped. "But Doctor, the oven doesn't like me. Every time I get near it, my hand melts off!"
"Oh, yes, I forgot," Donnerstag muttered. "Rotten 20th century appliances... Well, come along, everyone; it looks like I'll be doing the cooking."
Doctor Donnerstag and the others sat down to a leisurely midnight snack of chicken and popsicles. "Iris," Donnerstag said. "You must tell me! Why are you out here in Siberia at such a late hour?"
"Well, Dr. Donnerstag," Iris said. "I'm here to investigate the Siberian Repliforce base. I'm looking for some computer chips to build a syrum..."
"The Repliforce Base, hmm?" Donnerstag asked. "Well, that's quite a ways out into the field. It's too late tonight, but tomorrow I could lend you my snowspeeder so you could get out there quickly."
"A snowspeeder, huh?" Darren asked. "That sounds real swell, Doctor!"
"Umm... A snowspeeder?" Iris asked. "What's that?"
"A snowspeeder is a larger, faster snowmobile," Darren explained. "Think of it as a motorboat built for tundra."
"Excellent," Donnerstag answered with a raised eyebrow. "How did you ever guess that?"
"Well, I do have a degree in engineering," Darren admitted.
"Really?" Donnerstag said with mock interest. "Considering your apparel, I thought you were a grease monkey."
"N'ggrrrrgh," Darren grunted as he adjusted his backwards cap.
"Well, Otto," Professor Smith said as he put his fork down. "I suppose we'll come back tomorrow. We'll go and find an inn to stay at-"
"Nonsense!" Donnerstag said as he got up, too. "You will stay here tonight! Frost Man, prepare some beds right away!"
"Really?" Iris asked. "That's so nice of you!"
"Wow!" Sharon laughed. "A free meal AND a free room! This can't get much better!"
"Whoop-dee-doo..." Darren sighed as he walked over to a blue couch, sat down and stared at the floor.
"Before you rest, Professor Smith, I have something to show you!" Donnerstag said as he motioned towards a door. "Please, come along!"
"Well, OK," Smith answered as he followed his friend through the door.
"Well, those two hit it off pretty well," Iris chuckled. "But..." She glanced back at Darren, who was sitting on the couch and looking miserable. "Hey, Darren, are you OK?..." she asked as she sat down next to him.
"Man, where WERE his manners?" Sharon huffed as she sat down on the opposite side. "He was soft on Iris, but he sure gave you crap. Believe you me, I know what I'm talking about."
"Yeah," Darren grumbled. "About the 10,000th guy who's crushed my spirit into a hundred little bitty pieces."
"Is it really all that bad?" asked Iris. "You seem OK to me."
"You think I'm OK?" Darren asked sarcastically. "Bah! First of all, I didn't exactly have an ideal childhood. My mother died when I was three, leaving my father to take care of me. He was a gym teacher who was obsessed with physical activity. I wanted to stay home and read or build stuff, but he wanted me to be an athlete and pushed sports on me pretty fiercely. 'I'm not raisin' no wuss,' he always said. Ugh... But no matter how much I worked out, I was always a skinny klutz... I never won his favor or respect. Eventually I got into a fight at the school where he worked, and he just stood and watched. Do you want to know what he did?..."
"What?..." Iris asked quietly.
"He rooted for the other guy! 'Give 'im the what for!' he yelled. 'That'll teach 'im!'"
"What!" Sharon said as she frowned and shook her head. "What kind of a message does that send a kid, huh?"
"After that day, I had enough," Darren continued. "I complained about it to him, but instead of talking about it, he threw me out of the house! I had to live with a nearby aunt until I graduated. Then I went to college, but things didn't get any better. My aunt was the only person who ever called or sent money, and I never heard a word from dad... That is, until graduation day. I was all ready to receive my degree in engineering when he stomped into the auditorium, marched right up to the podium, ripped up my diploma and pummeled me in front of the whole school!"
"What! No!" Iris gasped. "Who would allow that kind of thing!"
"Well, not the school, fortunately," Darren chuckled halfheartedly. "'Daddy dearest' got thrown in jail for assault, and his fine paid for my hospital bill. After I got better, I learned that my aunt had passed away... I had no place to go. I finally was able to hitchhike to St. Paul, where I got a job at the Science Museum maintaining the exhibits. If it wasn't for Professor Smith and his friendly tutelage, I'd never have gotten as far in as I am. I made enough money to be able to rent apartment with Sharon and Snake Man... You know the rest."
"I'm sorry, Darren; I had no idea..." Iris said as she started to put her arm over his shoulder.
Darren gently took it off. "Please, don't," he said. "It's too much like my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Sharon and Iris asked.
"Tara Slater. Met her at the college," Darren answered as he showed them his gold ring. "She was the only person who really cared for me outside of my aunt. Heh... If you wore glasses, you'd look exactly like her, Iris."
"...So why isn't she with you now?" asked Iris.
"Yeah, you never mentioned her to me," Sharon said.
"There was a Maverick attack about seven years ago," Darren said coldly. "She tried to help her family by getting into a mech and attacking it head-on, but..."
Iris couldn't help putting her arm over his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," was all she could say.
"Well..." Darren sighed. Suddenly, he perked up and smiled widely at Iris. "That's all in the past! Now I've got a great job and good buddies like you! What do I have to worry about?" he chuckled.
"Eh!" Iris asked, surprised by Darren's sudden change in attitude. "Well, uh..."
"Heh heh heh!" Darren laughed. "You have to look for the silver lining when there's a cloud; that's what I always say! Don't worry about me! I'm just fine!"
"Yeah, I shoulda known you wouldn't be in a funk for long," Sharon chuckled.
"Oh, boy..." Iris said as she shook her head and smiled.
"Hey!" Donnerstag's voice came from the other room. "All of you, kommen sie hier! I've got something to show you!"
Donnerstag led them into a dark room. "Smith and I were old working comrades," he explained. "We both dreamed of resurrecting old Reploids. I was the first to officially succeed, but I couldn't curb their vicious tendencies, so I joined the scientists working on the fail-safe program. Thanks the results we've had with Frost Man, Snake Man and you, though, now hopefully I can resurrect my own collection of Reploids!"
He flicked a light switch and everyone looked around in amazement. The room held 25 large capsules containing Reploids from Iris's time. Iris walked among the tubes and read some of the labels: STORM EAGLE; FLAME STAG; CYBER PEACOCK; VOLT CATFISH; WHEEL GATOR; TOXIC SEAHORSE; DR. DOPPLER; VILE.
"Wow," Sharon said as she rapped on the tubes. "These guys are old, but they're in great condition! You must've spent plenty getting them cleaned up."
"Wow," Darren said as he eyed the capsule controls. "I've never seen a holding chamber this advanced. It would take me years to build something like it!"
"These Reploids are all pretty small finds compared to the other ones still out in the ruins somewhere," Donnerstag admitted. "But I like them."
"You don't happen to have Repliforce's Colonel... or Zero, do you?" Iris asked hopefully.
Donnerstag gave Iris an odd look. "That's actually a good question," he said as he walked over to the Reploid named VILE. "When I found this one, its own control chip was gone, but another Reploid's control chip was implanted in it... Colonel's."
"Colonel's!" Iris exclaimed as her eyes widened. "May I see it? Please?..."
"Certainly," Donnerstag said as he opened the capsule, removed the chip from Vile's body and handed it to her.
"Hmm..." Sharon said. "The control chip stores a Reploid's personality and memories, so it's pretty valuable part. Why would someone switch 'em?"
"Oh, dear brother..." Iris whispered as she clutched the chip tightly. "I'm going to find him, and Zero, too..."
"Well, all this techno talk has made me pretty sleepy," Smith said as he stifled a yawn. "I'm goin' to bed. How about you guys?"
"Count me in," Sharon said. "That chicken's kickin' in about now... Vuoo..."
"I guess we should rest for tomorrow," Iris admitted. "All right."
"Doctor, I got the beds ready!" Frost Man said as he walked into the room.
"Wunderbar!" Donnerstag said. "OK, then. Gehen sie mit Frost Man, and I'll see you in the morning."
The tired travellers followed Frost Man upstairs to a room with four cots. "Well, a good's night's rest is just what I need," Sharon said.
"That's funny," Darren said. "Without the time difference, we shouldn't be at all tired at this hour."
"Well, ya have to adjust for the time difference, D," Sharon chuckled as she peeled off her boots and flopped onto the cot.
"Oh, boy..." Darren chuckled as he removed his cap and sat down to pull off his own boots.
"Umm, Darren," Iris said as she took off her beret and shoes. "Are you OK?..."
"What're you talking about, Iris?" Darren chuckled. "I'm just fine. Good night." With that, he pulled the sheets over himself and went to sleep.
Iris got into her covers and looked back at Darren. She felt bad for him; though he covered it up with his goofy antics, he'd really had a rough life. She decided to be much nicer to him in the future. With that in mind, she looked at him until sleep overtook her.
Morning broke... sort of. The sun was just barely up around 8:00 AM, when the brave adventurers were sitting down to breakfast.
"Well, that was refreshing," Professor Smith said as he sipped some apple juice. "Where's Sharon this morning?"
"Urgh..." Sharon grunted as she lumbered down the stairs. Several sheets and blankets clung tightly to her. "Damn static electricity," she muttered
"Hey, bedhead," Darren chuckled. "Nice outfit."
"Awww, shut up," Sharon said as she bopped him with a pillow.
Iris's eyes bugged out, her teeth chattered and her body shook all over.
"...What's wrong, Iris?" Darren asked.
"The night was cold, and the coffee is hot," Donnerstag said as he poured himself a mug of the black stuff. He sipped it and his face went bright red and his eyes spouted tears of satisfaction. "WHOO! Ah... Hits the spot."
"Maybe you should've had orange juice," Sharon said to Iris. Iris nodded in response.
"OK, here's the plan," Smith said as he pulled out a weathered map. "Donnerstag had this map on hand, and he's agreed to loan us his snowspeeder to get out there. Because of what happened in Detroit, I think that we should stay together this time, all right?"
"Mmh," Sharon said.
"That sounds much better," Darren said. "What do you think, Iris?"
Iris's teeth chattered.
"...Uh, Doc?" Darren asked. "Do you think we could get some decaf over here?"
Riding on Donnerstag's snowspeeder, the four friends arrived at the abandoned Repliforce base in the early afternoon. The base was almost entirely sunken into the frozen earth from so many years of neglect. The sunlight danced off the snow all around the collapsed building in a blinding sheen.
"Well, here we are," Professor Smith said as he exhaled a long stream of breath. Everyone but Sharon was bundled up in thick, eskimo-like garments to stay warm.
"Why don't you need a jacket, Sharon?" Iris asked.
"I was built to be a fire-elemental reploid," Sharon explained as she shot a small ball of fire from her arm cannon. "I can stay warm in temperatures down to -200 degrees Celsius!"
"Wow..." Iris responded. "Well, you certainly won't have blue lips any time soon..."
"How are we going to get inside?" Professor Smith asked as he looked around. "This place is almost entirely underground now... Where's an entrance?"
Everyone fanned out to search for some way into the base. Darren walked around the parameter of the building. "Hmmm..." he said as he looked. "I don't see any windows here... No chance of getting in that way... How else could we get in?..."
Darren walked a little further and then stopped; he felt as if something was different where he was standing. He looked down at the knee-high snow, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Hmmm..." he said.
Darren took another step and heard a CRUNCH sound. Instantly he knew what was different; the sound was different, meaning that the snow wasn't as thick where he was standing. There was probably a tunnel or cave somewhere beneath him. "Maybe it leads into the base?" he asked. "I'd better tell the others!"
Darren walked towards the others, who were looking around a few yards from him. "Hey, guys!" he yelled as he broke into a run.
"What's that?" Sharon asked as everyone watched Darren run at them. "What did you say, Darren?"
"I said that I think I found-" Darren said as he ran. Just then, he tripped over his feet and crashed down. Several loud snaps were clearly heard, and then the snow fell out from beneath everyone.
"Eyaaaahhh!" Iris cried as she suddenly felt herself falling.
"WHAAAAGHHH!" Sharon screamed as all four fell onto a steep slide made of solid ice.
"Well, he definitely found something!" Smith yelled.
The friends flew down the winding slide at breakneck speed. As they went, though, it became harder and harder to stay on the track. Finally,Smith lost control, smashed through a fragile snow wall and disappeared. Shortly afterwards, Sharon fell off the slide and into the darkness below, and Darren rolled onto an alternate slope and vanished. Iris held on with all her might and slid until she landed on a hard, metal floor.
"Owwww..." Iris groaned as she rubbed her sore tuckus and looked around. She was sitting in a large room full of equipment with Repliforce's familiar insignia stamped upon it. "Well, at least I made it inside," she said as she got up.
Though she was glad that she had found the entrance, she glanced around nervously for her friends. She called their names several times, but received no answers. "Oh... I should go and look for them," she said. "But it's so dark... How will I?..."
Just then, Iris had an idea; she drew her Z-saber and activated its green beam. The beam threw a faint light on the terrain, making things much more navigable. "Zero... light my way," she murmured as she searched.
She walked down several ruined halls and checked in every room. Every now and then her foot would crush something and she would glance down to see a half-buried, frozen Reploid corpse. After this happened several times, she decided not to look down. "So many bodies... There must have been a Maverick attack here..." she said softly.
Iris walked down the halls until she reached a larger room where the floor was practically an ice rink. "Hmm... I think this is the control center," Iris said as she looked around. "Maybe I can find some chips in the consoles over there?..." She stepped out onto the ice, slipped and fell on her bottom again. "Ow!" she winced. "This just isn't my day..."
Just then, Iris heard a loud groan from nearby. "What!" she gasped as she looked around frantically.
A figure lay on the ice nearby. Iris stared at it, wondering what it could be. Suddenly, it groaned again and Iris instantly knew who it was. "Professor!" she exclaimed as she slid over to the scientist and helped him up.
"Ugh...(Cough) Iris... You're OK?... That was quite a rush, wasn't it?" Smith asked as he glanced at Iris with a grin. "I'm fine... Just a bit shakey." He spat snow out of his mouth and stroked his stubble clean. "Have you found anyone else yet?"
"No, I'm afraid not..." Iris replied sadly. "If we keep looking, though, I'm sure we can-"
"HELLLP!" a voice yelled from behind Iris and the professor. They looked back, but no one was there.
"W-what was that?" Iris asked as she edged to Smith's side.
"Now, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for that..." Smith said as his glasses fogged up.
"Of course there is!" the voice yelled again. "Look above the door!"
"Huh?" Iris asked as she looked up and her eyes widened. Above the doorway that she had come from, hanging from a dislodged I-beam by his pants, was Darren.
"Darren!" Iris exclaimed happily. "Great! We found you!"
"Iris, prof, get me down, quick!" Darren cried as he stayed very still.
"What's wrong?" asked Iris.
"If you don't-" Darren started to say when his pants tore wide open and he fell to the ice. "...Well, now you see why," he grumbled.
"Two hands there, son," Smith chuckled.
"I guess you were caught with your pants down," Iris snickered.
"It's not funny!" Darren barked at the giggling duo, but he found that he was chuckling a bit too, so he let it go.
"Hey, what's so funny?" a voice wheezed from behind Professor Smith. Everyone whipped around to see Sharon limping towards them.
"Sharon! You're OK, too!" Iris said. "Great! We're all safe and sound."
"Yeah..." Sharon said with a smile. Just then, she looked down and grinned cruelly. "Heh! Safe, yes. Sound... Dunno. I see London, I see France..." she mused.
"Oh, shut up," Darren grumbled.
"It's a good thing that we're all in this room," Iris said as she pointed to the nearby control consoles. "Let's take those consoles apart and see if we can find some useful chips."
"Sounds good to me," Darren said as he quickly walked across the ice, took out a screwdriver and set about prying the terminals open. "Hey, Iris, shine your light over here, OK?" he asked.
"Eh!..." Sharon gulped as her mouth dropped.
"What? What is it?" Darren asked as he worked.
"You mean to tell me that you can't walk ten feet without stumbling, but you can flawlessly hike across ice!" Sharon asked.
"I did?" Darren asked as he looked down at the ice. "What do you know! I guess I did."
"Ay yai yai..." Sharon sighed with a shake of her head.
After checking all the other consoles for any kinds of computer chips, Darren pried open the last one and dug around inside. "I hope there's something in here," he grunted as he felt around. "Otherwise, this whole trip will have been a bust!"
"Just feel around really thoroughly, Darren!" Iris reminded. "Please, don't neglect anything!"
"I'm trying, Iris, but there doesn't seem to be any-" Darren started to say when his hand clamped down on something. Everyone gasped in delight as he yanked out a circuit board with several computer chips. "Nice! Let's take this thing back to the museum!" he said as he jammed it into his jacket. "I'll bet we can-"
Darren was interrupted by a loud rumbling. The ground shook fiercely, sending everyone to their knees. The first tremor was followed by a second, and then a third. Huge tufts of snow that had been clinging to the ceiling flopped down onto the icy floor.
"If this shaking keeps up, this whole place could cave in!" Smith gulped as he covered his face against another dousing of snow.
"What's doing this!" Sharon growled as she looked around angrily.
"I only know of one person who could do something like this," Iris said as she held her saber up and looked around. "But..."
Much to everyone's surprise, bright lights sparked on and illuminated the entire room. The eastern wall cracked and then shattered altogether to reveal a giant Reploid walrus. He clapped his mammoth hands together and spewed a long trail of cold breath.
"Woah!" Darren gulped.
"So," the walrus said. "Some unwanted company..."
"Frost Walrus!" Iris growled.
"Frost Walrus!" Sharon asked. "Wasn't he a prominent officer in Repliforce!"
"Indeed, I was," Walrus said as he looked at Iris. "But now I have a new mission. Stand back and let me complete it."
"You want Iris and the chips, too!" Darren said as he ran over to his friends. "Well, there's no way we're gonna let you get either!"
"Is that so?" Walrus said as he raised an eyebrow. "And how are two humans and a weak-looking Reploid going to stop me?"
"W-w-weak!" Sharon fumed. "You!... Take THIS!"
Sharon fired a blast from her arm cannon, but Frost Walrus intercepted it with his hand and it fizzled out on impact.
"...Ulp!" Sharon gulped.
"See?" Walrus said. "Don't try to stop me."
"Oh, we're not going to try," Darren growled. "We ARE going to stop you!"
"...Cheeky," Frost Walrus growled. "Very well, then. I'll have to take care of things the old-fashioned way..." He sucked in his breath and leaped forward towards the adventurers.
"AHHH! Get outta the way!" yelled Smith.
As the party separated to avoid getting crushed, Iris tripped and fell to her knees. Frost Walrus landed right behind her and snatched her up with his massive fist. "So, Iris," he sneered. "I haven't seen you since the old Repliforce days..."
"It's very good to see you too, Frost Walrus, but we're obviously two different people now," Iris said as she slashed Walrus's face with her Z-saber. The giant beast howled in pain and dropped her, then retreated to grasp at his face.
"How d'ya like that, you popsicle stick reject!" Sharon yelled as she trained her S-Buster on him. "And here's another somethin' for ya!"
Sharon's gun fired a huge blast of flames that engulfed Frost Walrus and melted away his icicle tusks. When the blaze subsided, Walrus merely exhaled and produced another set. "Is that the best you can do?" he asked as he reached down and grabbed Iris again. "Now, you're coming with me, and that's that."
Darren had been watching the fight from the sidelines, but now he was beginning to feel something building inside of him. As he watched Iris struggle against Frost Walrus, he mind raced back to Tara. Darren sighed sadly as he recalled that he did nothing to help Tara, and she was killed by the attacking Maverick. "Tara..." he choked as he rubbed the ring on his hand. "I... I'm not going to fail someone else... I won't! I WON'T!"
"Darren, are you OK?" Professor Smith asked.
"I'm coming, Iris!" Darren yelled as he angrily charged towards Frost Walrus.
"What's this?" Frost Walrus chuckled. "This human actually wants to fight? This should be interesting."
"GRAAAAAAHHH!" Darren yelled ferociously as he flew at Frost Walrus. At the last moment, the walrus lifted his foot and Darren slid under it. Darren stopped running in confusion, and Frost Walrus kicked him across the snow. Darren rolled a good ten feet, taking most of the snow with him, before he came to a halt.
"Darren!" Iris cried. Darren wheezed a bit, but didn't get up.
"What was that supposed to do?" Walrus said mockingly.
Iris gritted her teeth as angry tears sprang to her eyes, but suddenly she looked down and got an idea. Darren had left a huge hole in the snow on his trip across the room, and the slippery sheet of ice was visible. "THIS!" she said as she jabbed Frost Walrus's hand with her blade. He instinctively dropped her and she shoved him onto the frozen water.
"Hey, what the-" he said as he staggered, then slipped and fell on his rear.
Iris ran up to Frost Walrus and sent her saber through his gut, and he exploded with a loud bleat. As soon as Frost Walrus was gone, she felt her saber change. She looked down at a small screen on its edge to see the words ICE SWORD.
"Looks like you learned a new saber technique, Iris," Sharon observed. "Boy, you ripped him up good! Are you sure you haven't done this before!"
"...I never want to have kill," Iris stated as she sheathed her saber. "I hope we can end this as soon as possible."
Iris walked over to Darren and helped him up. "That was really brave, Darren," she said as she smiled warmly at him. "Thank you..."
Darren blushed and looked away. "I watched my girlfriend die. I'm not about to let someone else follow suit."
"Well, that was very considerate of you. Thanks, Darren..." she said as she leaned forward and kissed Darren on the cheek.
Darren's eyes lit up and he blushed as red as a strawberry. "Aww, go on," he chuckled.
"So, Darren," Sharon said. "D'ya think you can find something useful on that board?"
"I don't know," Darren said as he looked at the circuit board. "Chips and stuff aren't really my thing... If we take it back to the museum, Professor Smith and Krein and Olson might be able to do something."
"We'll certainly try our best," Smith said as he looked the piece over. "Come along, guys. We have get back to Donnerstag's lab and teleport back to the museum."
"But first, we've got to find a way outta here," Sharon objected.
Suddenly, the room's ceiling crumbled away and the bright afternoon sunlight shone down.
"...Found one," Darren said.
Back at the Science Museum, Professor Krein put down the phone and turned to Professor Smith. "That was Donnerstag," he said. "He called to thank you for sharing your results with him, but he wants to wait a while before using them."
"That's good to hear," Darren said. "Donnerstag wasn't so bad, and that Frost Man guy was absolutely bonkers."
"You seem to be back to your old self, Darren," Sharon commented.
Darren chuckled. "Well, let's just say that I found out there are some people who still care about me."
Iris smiled warmly. "I'm glad too, Darren. I thought Zero and Colonel were the only ones that cared for me. Thanks."
"Oh, stop it. This's as sickening as a '7th Hell' episode," Olson grunted.
"Hey, check this out," Professor Smith said as he held the Beta chip and a chip from the circuit board up. "These two chips are very similar... Aha! This one has the Greek symbol "Gamma" printed on it! It's part of the syrum!"
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Iris cried. "We've got half of it now!"
"Now, how do these things interact?..." Smith asked as he looked the pieces over. "Hmmm..."
Darren came up beside him and looked at the chips. "Uh, Professor?" he asked. "May I take a look?"
"Hmm?" Smith asked. "Oh, sure."
Professor Smith handed Darren the two chips. Darren placed the Beta on top of the Gamma, and they fit together perfectly. "Aha! I thought so!" he said. "It's just like a jigsaw puzzle!"
"Awesome," Sharon said. "Two down, two to go!"
"And with someone like Darren on our side, we're sure to find them all the faster!" Iris laughed.
Darren smiled widely.