Chapter 35: The Sky
Author's Note: The Earthbound novelization is on its way! I'll upload the first chapter in a few days, alongside the next update to this story. Stay tuned!
Quote had been expecting some kind of unpredictable counterattack from Malco. His specialty in analysis and strategy would surely have resulted in the robot sneaking in a surprise attack as he approached, but nothing of the sort happened. What did happen was nevertheless a surprise in and of itself: the color in his eyes faded, his limbs all stopped moving, and he collapsed to the ground with a loud clang. His motionless hands still clutched his weapon.
The brief fight had left that section of the Egg Corridor covered with smoke, and several small fires burned around them. Fortunately, most of the materials in the walls and floor appeared to be non-flammable, so the possibility of a fiery death wasn't a serious concern at the moment. Even so, Quote had to move Malco somewhere safer. He carefully lifted up the robot by his underarms and followed Professor Booster through the door into Egg No. 00's chamber.
"I wish this wasn't how I found you, but… it's good to see you again."
No response from the unconscious robot, as expected. He was apparently still alive, as his eye lenses were a very dim red and a low humming could be heard from somewhere in his body. Knowing that made Quote feel a peculiar sense of relief; Malco may have sometimes been talkative to the point of irritation, but he had done all he could to help throughout the mission and had never let him down when things became serious. For all his chatter, he was still a loyal friend.
They were back in the room with monitors displaying the status of each egg. All sixteen of them were labeled as "Terminated," and Professor Booster was looking them over with a saddened expression.
"A pity that they died so young… I'm sure they would have been a joy to study. Where is Kazuma, though?"
Quote looked at the door leading into Egg No. 00's containment room. It was slightly ajar, as if someone had just been there. He left Malco behind for the moment and walked toward it cautiously, not knowing what to expect. The Professor followed.
Inside, all was silent and dark. Shards of the eggshell had been thrown all over the place, and fluid from inside leaked onto the floor in a sticky-looking puddle. The computer terminal beside it was blank save for two green words: "Incubation Successful." Above the broken egg, Quote saw a large metal panel that looked like it could slide open and shut. This, presumably, was how the dragon hatchling had escaped.
"Is someone there?" a muffled voice called from some unseen source.
He and Professor Booster looked around in confusion, only to reaffirm that they were still alone. Neither of them had spoken, and it hadn't been Malco (who remained unmoving where he'd been set down in the previous room).
"Kazuma?" the old man shouted back. "Is that you? We can't see you anywhere."
There was a soft click, and a light appeared in the shadowy corner of the room. Quote, on both of his visits to this chamber, had failed to notice a door off to the side as if hidden from view. It swung open to reveal the person they'd been looking for. Kazuma Sakamoto, with slightly torn and dirtied clothing, stepped into the room with them. He had a meek smile as he looked at the two, but it faded somewhat when a tremendous gust of wind blew in from behind him.
"You made it! I didn't know if you were safe or not, since I started hearing these really loud bangs from inside the corridor. It spooked me so badly that I almost left."
"Is Sue here?" Professor Booster asked hopefully. Kazuma sighed and looked at the ground.
"No… when Misery showed up and forced us to scatter, I think she took her along with the rest of the Mimiga. I'm the only one here now."
He rubbed his forehead wearily.
"I guess the Doctor managed to get those red flowers after all. Figures, it was only a matter of time."
Quote had been standing there in uncomfortable silence, reminded of his failure in the Sand Zone. Kazuma noticed him and spoke again.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, I assume you did the best you could. I'm not blaming you; the Doctor's victory was pretty much guaranteed ever since he got his hands on that thing- what did he call it, the Demon Crown? He's unstoppable, that's all there is to it. We probably don't have long before his rabid Mimiga army begins its attack, so I came here to try and secure an escape route. Luckily, I did without much of a problem."
"You really hatched a dragon?" Professor Booster asked.
"Yeah, she's right outside. Her wings are developed enough to fly, too."
Both men were silent with Quote for a few moments as the three tried to process what to do next.
"Listen," Kazuma said to him at last, "once the Doctor's army goes to attack the surface, it'll be pointless to try and stop him. Even for a soldier like you, there's no chance of us winning this fight. My dragon is big enough to carry the three of us out of here, though. Want to escape with me and Professor Booster?"
Quote's eyes widened at the suggestion, but he didn't immediately react. The older of the two humans spoke instead.
"That robot from Bushlands is also here with us. Is there room for him as well?"
"I think we could probably fit four people onto her back if we have to. It'd be a tight fit, but-"
"How… how can you just leave?"
Kazuma and Professor Booster stared at Quote incredulously. He had been silent for the entire conversation, but had cut in with a louder voice than perhaps intended. Or perhaps not.
"You're thinking of running away? You can't be serious! Sue is still on the island, and you want to run? That's your sister you're abandoning!"
"I… I know that," he conceded in a miserable tone. "I know what it means if I leave now, but I'm in way over my head here. All of us are. My mom and Sue are still trapped with the Doctor, and I might never see them again…"
Kazuma looked like he was about to burst out crying.
"…but what choice do I have? I'm not a soldier like you, I can't fight at all. I don't stand a chance if I'm going to try and stop the Doctor."
Quote's outburst settled down just as quickly as it had started. He still didn't agree with the notion that they should just run, but he did understand why the man felt like he couldn't do anything.
"I'm not going to give up. I'll stop the Doctor no matter what, and I'll save Sue with everyone else. But…"
Despite his determination to succeed, something still troubled him.
"What do I do about the Mimiga if they've eaten the flowers already?"
"There might be a solution to that," Kazuma replied. "According to the research we've done, there's something called the Core on this island. From what we can tell, it generates a powerful energy field that those red flowers feed on. Their life and even their properties are almost entirely dependent on this energy. Destroy the Core, and they'll be useless. It's a long shot, but maybe it could even change the Mimiga who've eaten them back to normal."
Professor Booster cut in.
"That's a possibility, but destroying the Core will cause the island to fall from the sky. There's no telling what kind of damage it would do to the world below, or what would happen to everyone here."
Quote weighed up the options and found himself rather stumped. He shook it off for the time being, as defeating the Doctor was his top priority. Once that was taken care of, he could figure out what to do with the Core. With at least his first goal in mind, he returned to the previous room to fetch Malco. The robot was still offline, sprawled out on the floor with his limbs in every direction. He didn't appear to have an "on" switch of any kind, so Quote simply dragged him back through Egg No. 00 and out the door to the outside Kazuma had come through.
The first thing he noticed upon making it out was the sudden change in the atmosphere. It was freezing compared to the many tunnels and caverns he'd been traversing so far. The air felt much less stuffy, and a strong wind howled across the outer wall of the island. He was standing on some kind of metal landing strip extending out of where the Egg Corridor had ended. Quote stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the outside world for the very first time that he could remember.
It was roughly midnight, and the sky all around him was a deep blue, speckled with what seemed like hundreds of stars as far as the eye could see. There were no clouds obstructing his view, which he soon realized was because he was above them. The island floated above a puffy gray blanket which, regrettably, prevented him from seeing the world far below. Of course, given the sheer height that may not have been a bad thing. Easily the most mesmerizing part of this view was the moon. It hung low in the sky, captivating him for at least a minute with its brightness. Looking at it made him feel confident, like he could take on anything this adventure threw at him. Quote wasn't sure why he noticed this, but the moon's gentle glow was the same shade of pure white as the artificial skin on him and Curly.
Thinking of that reminded him about her, and how she was still nowhere to be found. In fact, hadn't she been the one to suggest that she, he, and Malco should see the sky together? That felt like such a distant memory… and now here he was, seeing it alone. Curly was missing, and Malco hadn't reactivated yet. He was on his own in this dark, windy place.
