Trials of Beta
Chapter Eight: Courage and Recklessness
The floor came rushing up to meet Beta as he was tossed into the room. "ALEX!" Beta screamed, scrambling to his feet, the door sliding shut and locking. It was a storage closest of some sort, spacious, with a few crates standing in the center of the room. The only way out was the same way in. Beta pounded on the hard metal door with his fists, screaming at the top of his lungs. "ALEX! ALEX! YOU IDIOT!! LET ME HELP YOU!!" Inhaling, he screamed the man's name, somehow dragging the two syllable word out into eight syllables. There came no reply from the other side of the door, yet still he slammed his fists against it, blood soaking through his gloved hands, staining the door with twin spots of crimson colored liquid. The pain in his hands didn't even register to his brain, so concerned he was with Alex's safety... With a heaving sob, he slammed both his fists in unison against the door one last time, then collapsed into a heap, his body whacked with violent sobs. "Stupid... Damn idiot!" Kilala was nowhere in sight...
~*~*~Earlier~*~*~
The motion sensors detected Beta and Alex as they neared the door. Beyond the transporter room was an equally sized room, four robots lining the wall on either side of the door opposite of them. Beta cast a gaze at the humanoid robots, but since they didn't react or do anything, he assumed that they were deactivated. A steady hum sounded behind him as Alex ignited his Photon Saber, the blue colored energy blade thrumming with power.
"From the looks of this place... I'd say it was a research facility of some kind. It's so... High tech..." Beta said aloud, observing his surroundings, moving closer to the door the robots flanked. "Say... How's that arm?"
With a buzz the four robots came to life, soulless red eyes gazing at the two. "InTRUdeRs... dEStrOY INtruDErS..." All four said in unison, their electronical voices distorted and warped. One of them swung it's arms at Beta, him being the closest to it. The first punch connected squarely with Beta's chest, knocking the wind out of the Force and sending him careering to the ground, his Shadow Rod sent flying. Alex was quick, giving a savage warcry as he jumped over Beta's body, bringing his Photon Saber down on the robot's head, the metal giving way to the intense energy of the blade. Without missing a beat he spun his body around, bringing the Photon Saber out of the first robot's head and continuing through to decapitate the second.
Beta gasped for air, trying to force oxygen into his lungs again. Two more robots began to close on him, their intentions deadly. He raised hand, an arc of lightening jumping from his finger tips to lance the nearest robot, the Zonde spell causing the robot to short circuit and explode, the small blast toppling over it's comrade in arms. Seeing his chance and taking it, Beta rolled onto his side and sprang up to his feet, scrambling to snag his dropped Shadow Rod.
The decapitated robot's body fell to the floor, it's head smashing into the wall. A small boom sounded next to Alex, and he spun to see Beta spring to his feet, the fourth and final robot on the ground. It began to work itself into an upright position. "I don't think so." Alex said, drawing his Autogun and bringing it to bear on the hapless bot. He squeezed the trigger once, sending a blue Photon bullet screaming from the barrel into the robot's head, destroying it with one shot.
Grabbing hold of his weapon, Beta spun around in time to see Alex deliver the killing blow to their enemy, executioner style. "Gods damn..." He winced, his chest hurting like he had just been hit by a battering ram. "Ow man... Those things hit hard..."
"Really? We need to keep on our toes, looks like your friend HK left us some playmates..." Alex said, crossing to the door the robots were guarding. "The motion sensors doesn't seem to work on this one," He said, as the door refused to open, even though the four lights on it were green, indicating that it was unlocked, "Looks like we gotta open it manually." Holding the saber in one hand, Alex D. pressed his free hand against the opening of the door. With a hum the door slide open. "Come on, let's go... Agh!" He winced and grabbed his left arm, hissing in pain. Beta stepped forward, concerned for his partner.
"Alex! Are you okay?" He inquired. The blue haired man nodded slowly, squeezing his arm where that worm thing had impaled him with one of it's tentacles.
"It's nothing, just my wound acting up."
"Well... Let me cast a healing spell on you." Beta offered, fully ready to do so.
"I said it was nothing... God, you worry more then my mother. I'm fine..." He said, standing upright. "Let's move on." Alex was lying. He wasn't fine and he knew it. The wound he had received didn't feel normal. He could feel it starting to spread, as if it wanted to consume him whole. It scared him, but his pride wouldn't let him show it. I don't think any spell Beta can cast can cure me now... Rico had said that when the worm stabbed a creature with it's tentacle, the creature mutated... I wonder how long I have before I turn? I have to live long enough to see Rico again... Just one more time...!
"Oh... Well um... If it bothers you anymore, just ask and I'll cast Resta on you." Beta offered as they passed through into the room beyond. The chamber was large, a platform over what appeared to be a bottomless pit. Overheard, three rings of light circled in slow, lazy Os, one inside the other, with the smallest rotating around a square pillar extending down from the ceiling. The floor of the platform appeared to be made out of a glass-like material, lines of light radiating from the edge of the platform inwards to the center.
"Yeah yeah." Alex said, looking over the edge, "Long way down. Don't wanna fall off."
Beta chuckled, "Yeah, that'd be bad."
Laying at there feet was another capsule. Since Lunehhy was no more, this could only have been left by Rico. Kneeling, Alex activated the capsule, the holographic image of Red Ring Rico appearing.
"This area... Apparently technology was involved in creating this. Why did they dig so deeply into the ground?" She adjusted her glasses, then blinked out as the recording ended.
"It's one mystery after another..." Beta said. His gaze drifted towards the center of the platform, then groaned, spotting eight more robots gathered around the center. "We've got hostiles."
Alex smirked, holding his Saber with both hands. "Let them come! Beta? Cover me!" He shifted his weight, then ran full tilt towards the mass of robots, his Saber held low.
Further investigation reveals that this area was once a mining platform converted into some sort of research facility. We found more then a couple computers and electrical information storage devices, and a few more capsules from Rico. I think Alex and Rico have some history together...?
All had been going well for the most part. The only opposition we encountered was the construction robots. With Alex's superior swordsmanship, and my magic, they stood no chance. But all that changed on the second level down in the facility.
A stark contrast to the shiny and bright upper level was the lower section of this facility, dark and dirty. It appeared that a large scale battle had been fought down here: There were scorch marks on the walls and floor, and the walls were also pocketed with holes and dried blood. "My god..." Beta gasped. "What happened down here?"
"I have no clue..." Alex grunted. Without further ado, the blue haired man left the transporter room. Almost as soon as he steps outside the room he is ambushed from above by a robot that had been hanging upside down on the roof. This robot was an advanced combat model, more fluid in it's movements, more deadly in it's attacks then the construction bots could ever be. The bulk of the robot fell onto Alex, knocking him to the ground and pinning him beneath it.
Without wasting a second's time, Beta tackled the bulky robot, using inertia to knock the bot off of his friend. Taking it to the ground, Beta raised up his Shadow Rod to strike at its head, but in this instant, the robot flung it's lower body upward, tossing the FOmar off of it. It continues this motion, flipping off the ground. Spinning to face the intruders, it was meet by a Photon bullet from Alex's Autogun. The force of the impact as the Photon bullet slams into it's torso causes it to take a halting step backwards, but it adjusts for this and moves forward without regard for danger. BLAM! BLAM! Alex managed to squeeze off two more rounds before a yellow Photon bullet roared past his shoulder.
Beta landed on his buttocks, growled a curse, then stood up to his feet. Alex began firing upon the robot, once, twice, three times and it STILL didn't drop! Spitting, Beta draws forth from the surrounding air Photon energy, channeling it into Lunehhy's Bravace, then took aim, squeezing the trigger. The powered up bullet screams past Alex, slamming into the robot's body with enough force to knock it back into the wall. The robot slides down the wall, twitching wildly, then explodes.
"Damn! Did you see that? I shot it three time, and it didn't drop! It kept coming, like it was possessed!" Alex exclaimed. Reholstering Lunehhy's Bravace pistol, Beta shrugged.
"Look at it this way, you softened it up for me."
"Damn right I did." Alex started for the door, paused, then spat where the robot had 'died.' "God damn Bot." He said, striking out into the next room.
What he saw waiting for him was no less then a small army of robots and probes. Alex's jaw dropped. This was the largest group encountered thus far, consisting of three of those blue robots Alex had just fought plus a goldenrod variety of the same bot, twenty or so of the construction bots, a single attack group of Canadine probes, and one Army Garanz, a behemoth of an attack robot which strikes at its targets from afar with deadly missiles. To fight such a group would mean suicide... Alex quickly backpedaled into the room he just left. "Let's try to find another way, shall we?"
"Why? What's wrong with this way?" Beta asked. He hadn't seen what was in the next room.
"You don't want to know, trust me." Alex said, blocking the door with his arm. "There's another door here, let's see where it takes us." Alex said, motioning towards the east door, although it was locked, there was the unlocking mechanism right next to it. Beta didn't argue with Alex, trusting the experienced Hunter's judgement. Stepping to the door, he pressed his hand on the unlocking devices, and the lights on the door switched from red to green. Stepping forward, the door slides open, revealing a storage closest of some sort. "No good, it's a dead end." Beta said, then suddenly felt Alex grab hold of him from behind, lifting him up.
"Wait here Beta... I'll handle the group by myself..." Alex said.
The floor came rushing up to meet Beta as Alex tossed him into the room, grabbing hold of Beta's Sato mag in the process. "ALEX!" Beta screamed, scrambling to his feet, the door sliding shut and locking. The only way out was the same way in. Beta pounded on the hard metal door with his fists, screaming at the top of his lungs. "ALEX! ALEX! YOU IDIOT!! LET ME HELP YOU!!" Inhaling, he screamed the man's name, somehow dragging the two syllable word out into eight syllables. There came no reply from the other side of the door, yet still he slammed his fists against it, blood soaking through his gloved hands, staining the door with twin spots of crimson colored liquid. The pain in his hands didn't even register to his brain, so concerned he was with Alex's safety... With a heaving sob, he slammed both his fists in unison against the door one last time, then collapsed into a heap, his body whacked with violent sobs. "Stupid... Damn idiot!"
Kilala struggled in Alex's grip, hissing up a storm. "Calm down." Alex said, "This is just a temporary thing. You're better then my Mag. I need your help... Help me, please..." Kilala slowly stopped struggling, the blue cat-like Mag looking up at Alex with intelligent eyes. It seemed to be considering Alex's words. It cooed softly, giving it's consent for him to use it. Nodding, he released the Sato, and it took up a position opposite his Bana Mag over his other shoulder, granting him it's protective powers. Gripping his Photon Saber tightly with both hands, Alex took a deep breath, and approached the north door. Rico... I WILL live to see you again!