Now that he saw blood he was confused, had she been defeated or not? A prod with the end of his weapon yielded no response, so he moved closer.
"Are you alright?" He asked quietly and then immediately felt foolish for doing so.
He knelt beside the fallen HUnewearl and gingerly touched her. Despite a thin wound across her lower back she was still warm, it wasn't a hologram, so why was there blood? The VR room prevented actual damage from being dealt to those inside, and when someone was defeated an imitation photonic body was put in the place of the removed combatant as a marker along with 'wounds' to indicate what had happened. Those removed from battle had to sit in the waiting room till the round was over.
He held her shoulder and carefully turned her over. He was shocked to see that her legs had remained in place... She had been cut in half! He stood up as a wave of nausea hit him, he covered his mouth and turned away, not wishing to see this horrible sight.
A loud and clear metallic voice carried over to him from some unseen part of the room.
"We meet again!"
His legs went weak at the sound of that voice, so familiar yet mocking him with the realisation that he could not put a name to it.
"Who are you?" He yelled.
"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 they were over three metres in height and their smooth, hard surface made 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 a little 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 burst of static and then it died as quickly as it had started.
"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 noisy arrival of Jackson.
"Get out of here! It's a trap!" Shouted Ash.
"I'm not falling for that trick!" Replied Jackson.
Ash growled in frustration. "It's Mandroid! He's gone berserk!"
"Mandroid? What are you tal..." Jackson 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, the sound a body makes when 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 Jackson had been. In that moment, Mandroid strode into view and faced him.
Ash looked down at the ground. In his blind panic he had moved away from his weapon which had rolled some distance and now lay near Mandroid's feet. Mandroid's head traced the direction of Ash's gaze.
"I think you might really need that right about now." It sounded exactly as if he was smiling.
Ash checked Mandroid's hands, he was not carrying any photon weapons but held in one hand a large brown cube, which he seemed to be trying to conceal behind him. Ash took a few hesitant steps backwards.
"Where are you going? You cannot escape me here, and no one can save you." Mandroid patted his chest lightly. "My upgrades ensure that this experience will not be spoiled by the untimely interference of others, especially THAT hunter, the one that saved you before..."
Ash gasped and clasped his stomach, a light phantom pain wracked his body as what little memory he had of that terrible day in the Ruins came flooding back. He had become infected with D-Cells and had lost control of his actions. Instead of capture it had very nearly ended with the death of him at the hands of someone he knew and had trusted. But he had been saved, saved by the Hunter that would go on to defeat Dark Falz. As his life ebbed away he had witnessed the epic battle that had resulted in the destruction of...
"Kireek!" His voice was weak, vocal chords near paralysed by fear.
The White android gave no indication that he heard Ash speak, merely standing motionless in front of him.