Chapter 2: The Sadistic Scientist of Metopia
"So where exactly are we going anyways?" Picard said as they all strolled through the Wasteland.
"At the direction we're going, we'll probably end up in Fiend." YQ answered.
"Are you kidding me!?" Picard stopped. "That place is crawling with fiends and practically everyone who isn't a Fiend or Zombie that enters that place is killed on the spot!"
"Exactly." Keja said as he continued walking.
"Then why the hell are we going there?" Picard asked.
"I never said we were going there in the first place." Keja answered.
"And lower your voice Picard." YQ said. "You know as well as I do that there's more than just Fiends and Zombies out here."
"So Roas." Dominus said as he turned from his window. "Tell me again where the fourth piece of the Pentagram is."
"It's just an hour away from Fiend sir." Roas said.
"Who has it?" Dominus asked.
"I don't know sir." Roas answered. "The Claw Reacher we captured just tells us that it's in a large underground city."
"Well then Roas." Dominus said. "Shin and Huan have had their fun for a while. Why don't you go get me the Pentagram piece?"
"Yes sir." Roas said as he headed for the door. "I shall return as soon as possible."
"Very good." Dominus said as he turned around to a man bowing down on one knee. "Captain Kojikocy."
"Master Dominus." Kojikocy answered.
"Now you know as much as the next man that I hate defeat." Dominus said. "Let's make sure it never happens again."
"Yes." Kojikocy replied. "Never again."
"Good." Dominus said. "Now. Shin is in the main chamber. Why don't you two go find your partner?"
"Yes, right away." Kojikocy said as he walked out the door.
"Now. Let's see where baby brother is." Dominus said as he walked over to his crystal ball. The Crystal ball lit up and showed the four walking the path through Wasteland. "Ah. Keja and his companions are on the route to or close to Fiend. Let see if they can beat Roas there."
"Seriously." Ameph said to the complaining Picard. "It's not like were going in to just waltz in there."
"Well I'm just saying that it wouldn't hurt to stay the hell away from that place." Picard replied.
"Picard. Shut up." YQ said. "We aren't going to Fiend unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Oh ho!" A man said in a dark room with a screen displaying the four on it. "Looks like we have some trespassers. I can use them to test out my new toys. Three Dark Magicians and a Buster Blader, come on down!" With that the mysterious man pushed a button.
A large thud shook the ground around Keja and the others.
"What the hell was that?" YQ asked.
"I have a feeling we are going to find out." Keja said as the ground began to break beneath them.
Suddenly the ground became soft as if it was quicksand and they began to fall through.
"Ok. Now I'm pissed." YQ said as he sunk into the ground.
"Aren't we all?" Keja replied.
They all sunk like rocks in water to the bottom of the pit and then fell through an opening. They fell for a while and landed on a sand pile in what appeared to be a cave.
"I hate the desert." YQ said.
"We aren't in the desert." Picard replied.
"I know. Sand just reminds me of it." YQ said.
"Sand should be the last of your problems right now Dark Magician." A voice said.
"Who is that?" Keja asked as he got up.
"You shall see soon." The voice said. "But you must first travel to the center of, Metopia!"
"Metopia?" Keja asked. "What's a Metopia?"
"Metopia is a Metal Utopia. Or if you want a better name, just call it the City of Steel." The voice said. "Now. Let's see here. Ah ha! How about this!" The mysterious man pushed yet another button. "Behold!"
One of the buildings began to lower itself to the ground. The top of the building opened up like a mouth and the building continued to come down as if it was sinking into the ground.
"What's going on?" Picard asked as he pulled out his sword.
"You shall soon see Buster Blader." The voice said. "Now as I was saying, Behold! My creation!"
A large object rolled out from the area where the building once stood. It came around the corner of the pathway and turned towards the group. The large golden creature looked nothing like they had ever seen before.
"What the hell is that?" Picard asked.
"This little toy is called Guardian of The Throne Room. I built it myself." The voice answered.
"You built it?" Keja asked. "With what?"
"Steel. This is just one of many monsters that I like to call Machine Monsters." The voice continued. "Soon I shall have an entire army at my disposal and I shall take over the world above!"
"Well. You sound like your pretty determined." YQ said. "But I doubt that thing could even hit me. Let's see how it doesn't when I hit it with my Dark Magic Attack." YQ fired the dark violet blast from his hand and hit the monstrous steel creature. "Hmph. Easy."
"You're a fool, young man." The voice said. "You have yet to see the power of my Guardian. Now, Guardian, activate offensive mode!"
"What are you talking about man? I blew that thing to bits." YQ said.
"Take a closer look." The voice instructed.
YQ looked to where the Machine was last seen, and there it was. "Not even a scratch." YQ said in shock.
"All my Machines are guarded by Magic-Resistant Armor." The voice explained. "Your little magic tricks won't work on them. You'll have to use brute force if you want to win this battle."
"Not a problem." Picard yelled as he jamp at the machine with his sword drawn. Picard threw a hard downward slash and slammed it into the head of the machine.
"Hmph. Worthless. Guardian! Show him how it's done!" The voice yelled as the Guardian reached up and grabbed Picard around the waste and proceeded to squeeze the Buster Blader.
Picard let out a yell of pain as the Guardian continued to tighten its grip. "A little help here." He stuttered.
"I've got you covered." Keja said. "Just let me charge up for a second."
"Ha. You think you'll be able to take down my Guardian." The voice said. "Let's see how you do against this. Guardian! Missile Assault!"
The Guardian stopped tightening its grip and bent over a bit, revealing an assortment of missiles on its back. The missiles began to fire off, one by one. Ameph and YQ ran in a attempt to dodge the rockets, but the missiles followed them. The final missile launched for Keja, he ran under the missile and it followed him as well. Keja jamp onto the base of the Guardian and stopped for a second, he jamp out of the way just as the missile had come within a few feet of him and the missile collided with the Guardian and the large machine exploded.
"Couldn't you have come up with some other way to get me free?" Picard said as Keja helped him up.
"Probably." Keja said. "Come on. YQ and Ameph are still around here somewhere."
"What happened to them?" YQ asked as he kicked the motionless missile.
"I don't know. The just stopped." Ameph answered.
"Yes that's what happens when a machine is deactivated." The voice said from behind. "The weapons become inactive as well."
"Ok old man!" YQ yelled as he looked at the old man behind them. "Just who the hell are you anyways!?"
"Me?" The man asked. "I am the one and only, the Magical Scientist, Professor Cleric!"
"Well, Professor Cleric." YQ said as he walked up to the old man. "Let me introduce you to my fist!"
YQ threw a punch at the man and fell through him.
Cleric laughed. "I love holograms." He said. "They project my image from a far away place."
"That's a nice trick." Picard said as he and Keja ran up.
"Who are you now?" Keja asked.
"Professor Cleric is my name." He answered. "Now Mr. Dark Magician, if you wish to punch me in my real face, just come to the Coliseum. I'll be there."
"Fine then Professor." YQ said. "Your gonna so get it when I get over there."
"We'll see won't we?" Cleric said. "Now, just look for the big dome. And there you are."
"See you there then." Keja replied.
"I look forward to it." Cleric said before laughing as his image on the holograph disappeared.
Keja and the others walked toward the Coliseum, once again not knowing what was in store for them. But this time they weren't dealing with Insects or Zombies, they were dealing with large metal machines and the man who made them.
"So where exactly are we going anyways?" Picard said as they all strolled through the Wasteland.
"At the direction we're going, we'll probably end up in Fiend." YQ answered.
"Are you kidding me!?" Picard stopped. "That place is crawling with fiends and practically everyone who isn't a Fiend or Zombie that enters that place is killed on the spot!"
"Exactly." Keja said as he continued walking.
"Then why the hell are we going there?" Picard asked.
"I never said we were going there in the first place." Keja answered.
"And lower your voice Picard." YQ said. "You know as well as I do that there's more than just Fiends and Zombies out here."
"So Roas." Dominus said as he turned from his window. "Tell me again where the fourth piece of the Pentagram is."
"It's just an hour away from Fiend sir." Roas said.
"Who has it?" Dominus asked.
"I don't know sir." Roas answered. "The Claw Reacher we captured just tells us that it's in a large underground city."
"Well then Roas." Dominus said. "Shin and Huan have had their fun for a while. Why don't you go get me the Pentagram piece?"
"Yes sir." Roas said as he headed for the door. "I shall return as soon as possible."
"Very good." Dominus said as he turned around to a man bowing down on one knee. "Captain Kojikocy."
"Master Dominus." Kojikocy answered.
"Now you know as much as the next man that I hate defeat." Dominus said. "Let's make sure it never happens again."
"Yes." Kojikocy replied. "Never again."
"Good." Dominus said. "Now. Shin is in the main chamber. Why don't you two go find your partner?"
"Yes, right away." Kojikocy said as he walked out the door.
"Now. Let's see where baby brother is." Dominus said as he walked over to his crystal ball. The Crystal ball lit up and showed the four walking the path through Wasteland. "Ah. Keja and his companions are on the route to or close to Fiend. Let see if they can beat Roas there."
"Seriously." Ameph said to the complaining Picard. "It's not like were going in to just waltz in there."
"Well I'm just saying that it wouldn't hurt to stay the hell away from that place." Picard replied.
"Picard. Shut up." YQ said. "We aren't going to Fiend unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Oh ho!" A man said in a dark room with a screen displaying the four on it. "Looks like we have some trespassers. I can use them to test out my new toys. Three Dark Magicians and a Buster Blader, come on down!" With that the mysterious man pushed a button.
A large thud shook the ground around Keja and the others.
"What the hell was that?" YQ asked.
"I have a feeling we are going to find out." Keja said as the ground began to break beneath them.
Suddenly the ground became soft as if it was quicksand and they began to fall through.
"Ok. Now I'm pissed." YQ said as he sunk into the ground.
"Aren't we all?" Keja replied.
They all sunk like rocks in water to the bottom of the pit and then fell through an opening. They fell for a while and landed on a sand pile in what appeared to be a cave.
"I hate the desert." YQ said.
"We aren't in the desert." Picard replied.
"I know. Sand just reminds me of it." YQ said.
"Sand should be the last of your problems right now Dark Magician." A voice said.
"Who is that?" Keja asked as he got up.
"You shall see soon." The voice said. "But you must first travel to the center of, Metopia!"
"Metopia?" Keja asked. "What's a Metopia?"
"Metopia is a Metal Utopia. Or if you want a better name, just call it the City of Steel." The voice said. "Now. Let's see here. Ah ha! How about this!" The mysterious man pushed yet another button. "Behold!"
One of the buildings began to lower itself to the ground. The top of the building opened up like a mouth and the building continued to come down as if it was sinking into the ground.
"What's going on?" Picard asked as he pulled out his sword.
"You shall soon see Buster Blader." The voice said. "Now as I was saying, Behold! My creation!"
A large object rolled out from the area where the building once stood. It came around the corner of the pathway and turned towards the group. The large golden creature looked nothing like they had ever seen before.
"What the hell is that?" Picard asked.
"This little toy is called Guardian of The Throne Room. I built it myself." The voice answered.
"You built it?" Keja asked. "With what?"
"Steel. This is just one of many monsters that I like to call Machine Monsters." The voice continued. "Soon I shall have an entire army at my disposal and I shall take over the world above!"
"Well. You sound like your pretty determined." YQ said. "But I doubt that thing could even hit me. Let's see how it doesn't when I hit it with my Dark Magic Attack." YQ fired the dark violet blast from his hand and hit the monstrous steel creature. "Hmph. Easy."
"You're a fool, young man." The voice said. "You have yet to see the power of my Guardian. Now, Guardian, activate offensive mode!"
"What are you talking about man? I blew that thing to bits." YQ said.
"Take a closer look." The voice instructed.
YQ looked to where the Machine was last seen, and there it was. "Not even a scratch." YQ said in shock.
"All my Machines are guarded by Magic-Resistant Armor." The voice explained. "Your little magic tricks won't work on them. You'll have to use brute force if you want to win this battle."
"Not a problem." Picard yelled as he jamp at the machine with his sword drawn. Picard threw a hard downward slash and slammed it into the head of the machine.
"Hmph. Worthless. Guardian! Show him how it's done!" The voice yelled as the Guardian reached up and grabbed Picard around the waste and proceeded to squeeze the Buster Blader.
Picard let out a yell of pain as the Guardian continued to tighten its grip. "A little help here." He stuttered.
"I've got you covered." Keja said. "Just let me charge up for a second."
"Ha. You think you'll be able to take down my Guardian." The voice said. "Let's see how you do against this. Guardian! Missile Assault!"
The Guardian stopped tightening its grip and bent over a bit, revealing an assortment of missiles on its back. The missiles began to fire off, one by one. Ameph and YQ ran in a attempt to dodge the rockets, but the missiles followed them. The final missile launched for Keja, he ran under the missile and it followed him as well. Keja jamp onto the base of the Guardian and stopped for a second, he jamp out of the way just as the missile had come within a few feet of him and the missile collided with the Guardian and the large machine exploded.
"Couldn't you have come up with some other way to get me free?" Picard said as Keja helped him up.
"Probably." Keja said. "Come on. YQ and Ameph are still around here somewhere."
"What happened to them?" YQ asked as he kicked the motionless missile.
"I don't know. The just stopped." Ameph answered.
"Yes that's what happens when a machine is deactivated." The voice said from behind. "The weapons become inactive as well."
"Ok old man!" YQ yelled as he looked at the old man behind them. "Just who the hell are you anyways!?"
"Me?" The man asked. "I am the one and only, the Magical Scientist, Professor Cleric!"
"Well, Professor Cleric." YQ said as he walked up to the old man. "Let me introduce you to my fist!"
YQ threw a punch at the man and fell through him.
Cleric laughed. "I love holograms." He said. "They project my image from a far away place."
"That's a nice trick." Picard said as he and Keja ran up.
"Who are you now?" Keja asked.
"Professor Cleric is my name." He answered. "Now Mr. Dark Magician, if you wish to punch me in my real face, just come to the Coliseum. I'll be there."
"Fine then Professor." YQ said. "Your gonna so get it when I get over there."
"We'll see won't we?" Cleric said. "Now, just look for the big dome. And there you are."
"See you there then." Keja replied.
"I look forward to it." Cleric said before laughing as his image on the holograph disappeared.
Keja and the others walked toward the Coliseum, once again not knowing what was in store for them. But this time they weren't dealing with Insects or Zombies, they were dealing with large metal machines and the man who made them.