Part two.
Tin-Tin knocked on Scotts' bedroom door. He was sitting up in bed reading a magazine about kit-cars. It had been a month since the simulant had abducted him and Lister and his wounds were healing well.
The simulant had overridden Red Dwarfs controls and sent her back through the worm hole. Back to the future. The Red Dwarf crew had been gone for six weeks now and neither him or Lister had talked about what the simulant had done.
Tin-Tin put a fresh mug of tea on Scott bedside table and perched on the edge of the bed.
"I don't know why I have to stay here." Scott moaned to her. "I can fly Thunderbird One without any problems."
"Yes but what if you have to lift something heavy or something like that?" Tin-Tin told him. "Brains says you're not ready for that yet. Better you get heal completely before you go on a mission. Otherwise you'll just do your self more damage."
"Yes, mother." Scott said, and took a sip of his tea.
Tin-Tin gave him a sweet kiss between is eyes and went out the room.
Scott put his tea down and put his hand to his stomach.
In the next second he was back in the simulants ship with the mechanoid that was not like the mechanoid that was Listers friend. He heard the clunk of the nail gun mechanism. He felt the cold nail drive itself repeatedly into his gut. He hard Lister shout out for it to stop. He could feel the coldness of the storage bay in which the ordeal had taken place. Worst of all, was the feeling of utter helplessness; He was tied up and it was no longer up to him what happened to his body.
Then he felt someone holding his hand, and he opened his eyes. It was Virgil.
"You were having a flashback." Virgil said. He soothed Scotts hair off his wet forehead.
It took Scott a few seconds to realise he wasn't on the simulants ship, and that he was safe at home. He looked at Virgil.
"Oh, Virgil." He said. "I ache all over. And I feel sick all the time." Virgil gave his hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to go on."
"Don't be silly." Virgil told him, raking his hand through Scott's hair "It must have been awful."
Scott gave him a tiny smile.
"I just want to get back to work, back to rescuing and what not."
Virgil smiled back.
"I'm afraid that's up to Brains and Dad." He said. "Why don't I go and talk to him?"
"OK." Scott replied. "But don't say I sent you."
**************************************************************
Lister sat on the bunk of his and Rimmer sleeping quarters.
Rimmer and The Cat were out around the ship somewhere. And Kryten was doing some laundry.
Lister let out a loud sigh and went to find Kryten.
He found him folding sheets in the laundry room. They had already been folded once, but Kryten felt like he hadn't done them to his best standard. So he was doing them all again.
"Hey, man." Said Lister miserably.
"Oh, hello Mr Lister, sir." Kryten said. He sat on a work bench and gesture for Lister to sit beside him. "What's the matter, Sir?"
Lister sighed again, not knowing what to say.
"I just keep thinking about Scott, man." He said at last. "He had nothing to do with that simulant and he was the one who got hurt."
"It wasn't your fault, sir."
"Wasn't it? I could have just lied; said anything to make him stop. He really hurt him, Kryten."
"Oh, now, you mustn't engage guilt mode." Kryten said. "You tried everything you could think of at the time."
"I want to go back." Lister said, quickly. "Make the worm hole again and go back."
"What for?"
"So I can apologise. So I can put things right. I don't know."
Kryten thought for a moment.
"I'll talk to Holly, see what he thinks."
"Thanks man."
**************************************************************************
Terry and his kids, Mandy and Jason, stood on the bank of the Thames. It was the first time he had ever visited the London Eye, even though it had been around for 65 years now. But then Terry hadn't been to London before.
Mandy was 5 and eating a cone that was fast melting away, and Jason was 7, and gazing up at the huge wheel.
They had been queuing for twenty minutes now. It was a clear day, and the wheel was very busy. People piled on and off the wheel. Amazingly, it was still a good tourist attraction, even thought it was old, and quite boring.
"It's big, isn't it?" Someone said behind Terry. He turned to see a young woman.
"Yes." Terry agreed. "It is."
"Have you seen it before?" The woman asked.
"No, never."
"Me neither."
Terry looked up at the wheel again. All the capsules windows were blotted out with people.
Finally, they reached the front of the queue. Terry was just about to help Mandy in when there was a cracking noise from the sky. Everybody, including Terry, thought the crack had come from the top of the wheel, and look up. But it hadn't.
In the sky was the same torn hole that Scott Tracy had seen. And from the hole came a huge green craft, shaped like a some kind of bug. It headed to Earth at a very steep angle. It's landing supports clipped the top of the wheel, causing sparks to fly every where, then it landed in the Thames.
"COOOOLL!" Jason squealed, eyes wide. "Did you see that?" He tried to run the bank of the river, but Terry stopped him.
Everyone turned away from the sky and looked at the river. The green craft was nowhere to be seen.
Then, there was a terrible groaning noise from the wheel. Everyone turned back to the wheel in time to see it lurch to one side. There was the sound of a hundred muffled screams from all the people on the wheel., and it was now hanging at a 45% angle over the Thames.
It groaned and lurched again. Bolts flew from one of the supports, and it came up from the ground. The wheel leaned some more. Terry held his kids close to him, as the wheel stopped turning, and creaked and groaned on it's one remaining support.
**************************************************************************
"Thunderbird Five calling Tracy Island. Come in, father."
"Go ahead, John."
"Father, I've got a distress call from London, England. Something has crashed into The London Eye and now it's balanced over the Thames, with people in it."
"OK, John." Jeff said. "Any idea what it was that crashed?"
"Yes father. It was the same craft that crashed near the island a week back."
"Star-Bug."
"That's the one. Shall I tell them we're on our way?"
"Yes, son, you do that."
"FAB."
Virgil, Gordon and Alan had gathered around Jeff's desk as he was talking to John.
"OK, Boys. You heard what he said. Alan, you launch Thunderbird One and...."
"Woah woah woah." Scott said from the living room door. " 'Scott, you launch Thunderbird One'." I think you meant to say.
Jeff chuckled.
"OK, son. So long as you feel up to it?"
"No problem, father." Scott replied and went to the wall that flipped around took him to Thunderbird one.
Jeff turned to Virgil.
"Launch Thunderbird Two and take the crane. And take Gordon with you."
"FAB."
Scott settled into the seat of his Thunderbird and fired up the engines. The pool slid back, and he was off.
Virgil followed in Thunderbird Two.
"Thunderbird Two calling Thunderbird One. Come in, Scott."
"Go ahead, Virg."
"Why do think they came back?"
"Maybe they hit another worm hole." Scott replied. "I just hope they're on their own this time."
Scott landed Thunderbird One on a patch of grass near the Eye and went to cast an eye over the situation. The wheel was hanging precariously over the Thames and it had people in it, although it was no longer moving, and the single support that was holding the wheel up threatened to give way at any moment.
"Where's the craft that hit it? The green one?" Scott asked a policeman near by.
"It's over there, mate." The officer replied pointing out to the middle of the river. The top of Star-Bug was now protruding out of the water. As Scott watched, he saw the crew open a hatch way and climb out. After he was satisfied that they were all OK, he went back to Thunderbird one to set up the Mobile Control Unit.
Soon, Thunderbird Two was on the scene. Virgil trotted over the site to meet Scott.
"Get the crane set up." Scott told him. "We need to stand this thing upright.
Virgil went back to Thunderbird Two and he and Gordon set up the crane, and a winch.
Then they manoeuvred the crane so that it was next the wheel. Virgil went up in the crane to attach a line to the top of the wheel, that would then be attached to the winch.
Lister, Kryten, Rimmer and The Cat had climbed into an inflatable dinghy and were headed to the bank of the river.
Lister climbed out first and went to talk to Scott.
"Hey, man." said Lister, nervously.
"Hi."
"Listen, Scott," Lister began. "I never got a chance to..."
Scott shushed him.
"It wasn't your fault, OK?" Scott said. He was talking to Lister, but he was watching Gordon and Virgil.
"If there's anything we can do." Lister said. "Just let us know. OK?"
Scott put his hand to his stomach, and turned to face Lister.
"Like what?" Scott asked. "There's nothing anyone can do. It happened. And all the apologies and favours in the world aren't going to make it unhappen."
Scott began to walk back towards Thunderbird One.
"What if you could?" Lister asked Scott's back. He stopped and turned around.
"What?"
"What if you could make it unhappen?" Lister went on.
Scott frowned. He glanced at Gordon and Virgil, who had attached a line to the top of the wheel, then he looked back at Lister.
"How do you make something unhappen?" He asked.
"You go back in time."
Scott didn't say anything.
"We have this time-drive." Lister said "All we have to do is back...."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Scott interrupted. "Just go back and stop it from happening? It's as easy as that?"
"Yeah. And we only have to go back a few weeks. It's not like we have to go back to the last century, or something."
Scott watched Gordon and Virgil for a moment longer, squinting against the sun.
"You really think it's possible to go back, and stop me from getting hurt?" He asked Lister.
"I don't think. I know. We've used the time-drive before."
"Is it safe?"
"Oh, yeah, so long as you don't abuse it. What do you say, man?" Lister asked. "We can take it from when we come through the worm hole."
" 'Take it from when we come through the worm hole'." Scott repeated. "It sounds like we're rehearsing a play."
Lister shrugged.
"Yeah, and the first rehearsal went wrong. All we have to do is go back and make sure we don't get into Star-Bug together."
"Why don't we just make it so we never met?" Scott asked.
"Because if your going to change history, you have to change the smallest amount of details as possible." Lister said, not rising to the insult. "Just go back, stay on the Island, and wait for the Simulant to leave."
"What if he doesn't leave until he's got somebody to take with him.?"
"Look, man." Lister said. "I know your scared..."
"I am so not scared."
"...but it's not as scary as you think. Kryten will tell us what to do."
Scott turned back to Gordon and Virgil. He didn't do anything for such a long time that Lister thought he had ended the conversation. He turned to go.
"OK." Scott said.
"You'll do it?"
"I'll do it."
**********************************************************************
Lister, The Cat, Rimmer and Kryten were in Star-Bug, heading back to Red Dwarf when Lister told them all his plan
"Are you sure it's good idea?" Rimmer asked. "What if you get hurt instead?"
Lister gave him a sideways look.
"Or me?" Rimmer added, quickly.
"Think of the effect, sir." Kryten put in. "You may stop Mr . Tracy from getting hurt, but you might cause an even bigger problem. What if you don't get the Simulants ship away from Tracy Island? He could destroy it."
"Then we will go to Star-Bug. We'll just make sure we go armed." Lister replied. "Take a couple of Bazookoids."
"I don't know, Sir."
"It's just a couple of weeks back."
"I know but...."
"Go back, save Scott, come back."
"Oh, well, uh. Oh my....." Kryten stuttered, starting to engage worry mode.
Something hit the side of Star-Bug that made it rock.
"What the smeg...?!"
"It's the Simulant, sir."
"Fire retros." Rimmer said. "Lets get the smeg out of here."
But before they could do anything, Star-Bug was hit again. She spun in a half circle, so that she was facing the other way. The crew was thrown everywhere.
Lister got hold of one of the seats and pulled himself to his feet.
"Everyone OK?" He called.
"Yeah."
"Yes, sir."
"Cat?"
"I'm OK man." The Cat said. He climbed to his feet. "I'll try to get the retros fired."
He went to the cockpit.
"Wait a minute." Kryten said. "I'm getting a reading. Someone's coming on board."
Lister, Kryten and Rimmer stood and watched as the air in front of them began to distort and ripple. Then it rippled into the shape of a human, then it became the simulant.
"You left before I was finished with you." The simulant said to Lister. He raised a gun.
"Hey, man..." Was all Lister had time to say.
***********************************************************************
Kryten docked Star-Bug in Red Dwarfs landing bay and headed for the drive room.
Rimmer and The Cat followed behind, hardly able to keep up.
Hollys' face appeared on the screen.
"Kryten, what's wrong?" Holly asked.
"What's the biggest weapon Red Dwarf has?" Kryten demanded.
"Just the bazzookoids." Holly answered. "She's only a mining ship. Why?"
Again, Kryten ignored Holly and headed out the drive room.
Rimmer and The Cat reached the drive room and Holly appeared again.
"What's happened?" Holly asked them. "Where's Lister?"
"Lister bough the hot end of a gun." Rimmer said.
"You mean he's dead?" Holly gasped.
"That's right, bud." The Cat said. "The simulant dude came on board and shot him. Now Krytens gone nuts."
"Where's Kryten now?" Rimmer asked.
"He's headed back to Star-Bug." Holly said.
Without another word, Rimmer and The Cat headed out the drive room too.
They reached Star-Bug as Kryten was powering her up again. They climbed in and found Kryten in the pilot seat.
"What are you doing?" Rimmer asked him.
"I need a weapon." Kryten said, flatly.
The bay doors opened and once again, Star-Bug was launched.
*********************************************************************
Scott landed Thunderbird One back in her hanger.
He had been feeling weak, since he had left the rescue site, and all the way home he felt shivery.
He made his way from the hanger to the lounge. Jeff was the first to see him, as he sat behind his desk.
"Heck, son, you look awful." Jeff remarked.
"Yeah, I feel kinda..." Scott collapsed on the floor.
Jeff called for Brains, and he appeared at the door.
"What is it, Mr . Tracy?" He asked.
"I'm not sure. I think Scott has a fever. Help me get him to the sick bay."
Between them, they got Scott to the sick bay and into one of the beds. They both heard the sound of Thunderbird Two's engines.
"That's Virgil and Gordon back." Jeff said. "I'll see if they're OK. You look after Scott."
Jeff left and Brains turned to Scott . He looked like a ghost, and he was unconscious.
Brains felt his forehead. It was very hot. Then he checked his pulse. It was racing away.
"Scott?" Brains called.
Scott murmured something, but Brains couldn't understand what he was trying to say.
Scott groaned and gripped his stomach. Brains gently moved his hands away and lifted his shirt. The wounds from the simulants nail gun had reappeared as if they were fresh. Brains gingerly touched them, and they were sticky. It was as if Scott's body somehow gone back to a time when his wounds had not heeled more.
Brains stood up to go and look for Jeff when he heard the noise.
The sky above Tracy Island was torn open again, and Star-Bug came flying threw it. Gordon was in the pool and heard the noise. He climbed out, and watched as Star-Bug landed near the Villa.
Kryten climbed out first. Then Rimmer, and The Cat behind.
Brains emerged from the Villa, and stood beside Gordon, as Kryten walked up to them.
"What's wrong?" Brains asked.
"The simulant came on board Star-Bug." Kryten told him. "He killed Mr Lister."
Neither Brains or Gordon could think of anything to say before Kryten pushed past them.
"What happened?" Gordon asked Rimmer.
"What he said happened." Rimmer replied. "The simulant killed Lister. And now he wants to kill the simulant."
"But I thought..."Brains began.
"He can't hurt a human?" Rimmer said. "No, he can't. But the simulant isn't human, it's a robot, like him. And it's killed his favourite human."
"We'd better follow him." Gordon said.
"What do you think he wanted to come here for?" Asked The Cat, as they made their way to the lounge. "How's he going to find the simulant from here?" The Cat had been deeply traumatised by Lister's death; his blood had splattered on his favourite black slacks. They would never be the same again. Ever.
"Maybe he thinks he can use International Rescue equipment to..."
"Wait a minute." The Cat said, interrupting Rimmer. "Something doesn't smell right."
"What?" Asked Brains.
The Cat stood, sniffing the air.
"Someone's sick." He sniffed again. "Poisoned."
"Someone's been poisoned?" Gordon asked in amazement.
"Who? How?" Rimmer asked.
"This way." The Cat told them, and he headed in the direction of the sick bay.
Kryten was already there, with Jeff and Virgil.
"Welcome back." Jeff said.
"What's wrong with him?" Rimmer asked, nodding towards Scott.
"He's been poisoned." Kryten said. Vrigil looked at him
"How did you know that?" He asked.
"By the simulant." Kryten went on. "It's a poison they develop, or developed, I should say in the future. It's programmable, and you can program it to lie dormant in a human body for as long as you want."
"But how did he become infected with it?" The Cat asked.
"From the simulant, Sir." Kryten said. "It must have been on the nails."
"So what do we do?" Jeff asked. Looking down at Scott. "Is there an antidote?"
"Yes, the simulant will have it." Kryten said.
Jeff had to think for a minute.
"OK." He said at length. "I want you to stay with us here, as our guests, for a rest. And we can discuss the best way to go about this whole time travel business."
Everyone agreed. Gordon took Rimmer and The Cat to the lounge, while Kryten, Virgil and Jeff stayed in the sick bay.
"How long do you think we have?" Jeff asked Kryten, but he was still looking at his son.
"It's impossible to say Sir." Kryten told him. "They can even program how long it takes to kill someone, from the time it starts to work."
Jeff visibly shuddered, and gripped Scott's hand.
*************************************************************************
Later that night, Kryten pottered around the kitchen, tidying this and cleaning that.
Everybody else had long since gone to bed; The Cat and Rimmer were lent a spare room each.
All Kryten could think about was Lister. He couldn't even console himself with the thought that they would meet again when he expired himself; He was a mechanoid; he was going to go to Silicon Heaven, while Lister was in human Heaven.
He threw a plate across the kitchen in rage. Then he engaged guilt mode, and went to tidy it up.
As usual, Kyrano was the first up in the morning. The first thing he did was go and check on Scott. He was still unconscious, and had been wired up to a heart monitor "Just for a precaution." When he was satisfied that Scott hadn't got any worse, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He saw the note taped kettle. He tugged it off and read it.
Sirs,
I have taken Star-Bug to find that simulant. You maybe able to wait to find him, but I can't.
Do not try to follow me.
Kryten.
Kyrano folded the note into his pocket, and took a loaf of bread out the bread-bin.
*********************************************************************
"But Kryten." Holly begged. "You can't confront him alone. He's insane. He'll kill you."
"No he won't." Kryten said. "Not if I kill him first."
Kryten had used the long range scanner to see if the simulant was still in the area. He was, thirty miles above Tracy Island, about ten miles of to the East. And now Kryten had a lock on his craft, and he was going to make him pay for killing Lister.
Kryten checked the scanner again. The simulants ship had suddenly taken flight. So he powered up Star-Bug thrusters and went after it.
**********************************************************************
"When did you find this?" Jeff asked, reading the note Kryano had handed him.
"This morning. After I checked on Scott."
Jeff rubbed his temples.
"What chance do we have of finding him?" Jeff asked Brains, who was standing nearby.
"Well, the best thing to do is launch Thunderbird Three and use the scanners on her." Brains replied. "If we don't get to him, before he gets to the simulant, we may be too late."
"Why?"
"Well, from what Kryten told me before, the simulant will kill him without even thinking about it. And Kryten is the only one with the slightest idea of how this poison is supposed to work."
"Couldn't you figure it out?"
"Probably, given time. But Kryten also has the time drive, and the worm hole generator, and we need those if we're going to have any chance of saving Scott."
Jeff thought of Scott, unconscious, with the heart monitor beeping away next to him.
"OK, You heard him boys. Away you go."
Alan, Gordon, Virgil The Cat, and Rimmer all made there way to Thunderbird Threes' silo.
When everyone was in position, Alan launched her.
"Thunderbird Three to Star-Bug." Alan said into the radio. "Come in, Kryten."
Silence.
"Nothing." Alan said.
"Let me try." Said The Cat. "Hey, Novelty Condom Head. Are you there.?"
"Nice one, Cat." Rimmer sneered.
But then the radio crackled.
"I told you not to follow me." Kryten said, angrily.
"Kryten." Virgil said. "I'm sorry about Lister, I really am. But Scott is very ill and we need your help to save him."
"I'm sorry too." Kryten said. He pressed a button on the controls of Star-Bug and a beam of energy was fired out her front end. The beam seemed to hit something, and a hole was torn in the fabric of time. Star-Bug disappeared into.
But before it could closed, Thunderbird Three slid in too. The whole nearly closing around her rockets.
***************************************************************************
The Simulant ship had landed on the same planet as before. The one with the thunderstorm sky. Star-Bug was standing next to the simulants ship. Thunderbird Three touched down too.
That was something on this planet that none of them had seen before: A complex of some kind. It didn't look like it was for living in; it looked like science labs, or some sort of work place. It was huge and went on for miles, and some of the buildings were incredibly tall, and all the buildings were join together by a network of tunnels.
Kryten watched the simulant climb out of his craft, and make his was towards the complex. Then he climbed out of Star-Bug and went after him.
"What do we do?" Alan asked Virgil, as they watched Kryten.
"We'd better follow him." Virgil replied.
Virgil, Rimmer, The Cat, Alan and Gordon climbed out of Thunderbird Three, and made their way towards the complex.
"Now, remember." Virgil said. "If the simulant sees Kryten, he will kill him, and if Kryten kills the simulant, we don't find out what the antidote to the poison is, Understand?"
"I understand." Said Alan, shakily.
"Me too." Added Gordon.
The three members of International Rescue drew their guns form their holsters, and The Cat shouldered a bazookiod.
Close up, the complex was cold and metallic. It didn't take them long to realise that it was abandoned, and the entrance was not even locked. Virgil pushed the door, and they all went in.
Inside, it was dark, and cold. Corridors branched of in three different directions. One to the left, one to the right and one straight ahead.
"What now?" Rimmer asked.
Just then, however, they heard movement ahead of them.
"I told you not to follow me." Kryten reminded them.
"Look, bud," The Cat said. "We all want to kill this sim' dude. But these people here need your help to save their brother."
"And they'll get it." Kryten said. "Just as soon as I've finished here."
"Kryten," Virgil said. "He'll kill you before you even realise he's there. Now, come back with us. I don't think Scott has very long."
Kryten looked at them for a while. Then he pressed a button, behind his ear, and the top of his head popped up, like a car bonnet. Next, he pulled out a column full of chips and diodes. He pressed a series of the diodes, in a particular order, and one of the chips was ejected from the column. He took it out and held it in his hand for a moment. Then he clenched his fist and the chip was crushed to bits. Kryten dropped the bits on the floor. Then he turned, and left along the corridor that went to the left.
"What was that?" Gordon asked.
"How the smeg did he find out how to do that?" Rimmer said, looking pale.
"What was it?" Gordon repeated.
"That was his most fundamental command chip." The Cat said. "It's the one that stops him form letting a human come to harm."
"So that means..." Alan began. He didn't need to finish.
That meant, as far as Kryten was concerned, that saving Scott was no longer an issue.
**********************************************************************
Rimmer and Alan headed out the door that Kryten had gone through. Virgil and The Cat took the right hand corridor, and Gordon took the one straight ahead.
"Can you sniff him out?" Virgil asked The Cat.
"Not if we're nowhere near him." The Cat replied. "I think Rimmer and Alan have the best chance of finding him."
"Maybe." Virgil said. "But these corridors look like they lead in all directions. We may meet him, we may not." They continued along the corridor, guns poised.
************************************************************
Rimmer leapt out from around a wall, hands held up, kung-fu style. Alan, who had gone ahead, looked tiredly back at him.
"It's safe." Alan said, flatly.
Rimmer and Alan walked down the corridor. They were about to come to the end of it when they heard a noise behind them. They whirled around to see the simulant, grinning at them.
"I know why you're here." He said. "Your brother is ill and you need to get the antidote from me."
"And you killed Lister." Rimmer said. "That's why I'm here."
The simulant laughed at him.
"And what will you do, Dead Man?" He asked Rimmer. "You can't even touch me."
"I'm here for.. for.." Rimmer flustered. "Moral support."
The simulant stepped closer. Alan and Rimmer could smell him now. He smelt like an old factory machine; oil and metal.
Then, he reached out and grabbed Alan by the throat. Rimmer could only watch as the simulant lifted Alan off the floor pushing him against the wall. Then he held up his other hand in front of Alan's face. He held out his index and middle finger so that one each was aimed at Alan's eyes.
Alan choked and thrashed his legs around, but the simulant was far too strong for him.
The simulants fingers began to grow and elongate. They became two long, shiny spikes. The simulant pushed the spikes into Alan's eyes. He kicked and kicked, but abruptly, the kicking stopped. For a moment, Alan was suspended like this. Then the simulant withdrew his fingers, actually having to yank them out of the wall behind Alan's' head. Alan fell to the floor.
Then the simulant turned to Rimmer. He back away, but after one step he was against the opposite wall. The Simulant reached into his body, and grabbed his light-bee. He whipped it out of Rimmer so quickly that Rimmer was able to watch the simualnt crushed it in his hand. Rimmers image crackled and broke up, then it was gone.
**************************************************************************
Gordon had found what looked like some kind of warehouse. It had five stories, each one packed with shelves of unmarked metal crates. Gordon looked up, and above the top floor, was a gantry. Hanging from the ceiling, was a crane, probably for loading and unloading these crates.
There was no sign of Kryten or the simulant, so he headed up a flight of stairs to the next level. Then he heard the clunk of boots on the metal flooring, coming from a story higher up. He listened for a minute. Someone was coming down. Gordon pressed himself against the wall and waited.
Whoever it was was nearly on him, and he quietly raised his gun, and held it against his chest.
When he heard the person approach, he leapt out of his hiding place, gun held out.
It was Kryten. Gordon let his gun down.
"Kryten, listen to me." Gordon said. "If you kill this simulant, he can't tell us the antidote to his poison. Let us get that, then you can kill him as much as you want."
"And while we're there," Kryten said. "We can get the antidote to a bullet in the brain."
Gordon let out a sigh.
"I know you don't care about Scott now. But we do. And we need your help."
"It's Mr. Listers fault." Kryten said.
Gordon frowned.
"What is?"
"If it hadn't been for him, teaching me to break my programming, teaching me to be more human..."
"You wouldn't be hurting like this." Gordon said.
"Damn him." Kryten said quietly. Then "DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM!"
He cocked the bazookoid, and began to fire everywhere. Sparks flew off everything, and metal crates exploded all over the warehouse-like area. Then the bazzokiod made a clunking noise; it was out of ammo. So Kryten hefted it up and began to beat the wall with it. He smashed it and smashed it against the wall, until he had no energy left, the shouting had died to a defeated mew, and then he collapsed to the floor with a cry of anguish.
*********************************************************************
Virgil and The Cat turned yet another corner. This place was full of them.
"Anything?" Virgil asked The Cat. But just as he said this, he saw a puddle of blood, seeping from around the next corner.
He ran to see what is was before The Cat had noticed.
Virgil reached the corner and look around the bend, so that he could see what it was but The Cat could not.
"What is it, bud?" The Cat asked.
Virgil went Alan's body. It was facing away from him.
"Alan?" Virgil said, "Oh God."
Virgil knelt down beside him, and rolled him over. Then, Virgil staggered backwards until he hit the opposite wall, where he slowly slumped down, and sat on the floor.
Alans' eyes were missing, leaving two maroon coloured holes in his head, and his cheeks smeared with blood.
The Cat came around the corner, to see what it was. He stared at Alan for a moment.
"Smeg." He said.
Virgil stood up, shaking.
"What do we do now?" The Cat asked.
Virgil didn't answer. He sat and stared at nothing. Then he stood up. He had to find the simulant before Kryten did, and stop him from killing it.
Because he was going to kill the simulant, if he went to Hell for it. Forever and ever. Amen.