Chapter 45: House Call
Just has Momorin had said, a helicopter painted black and gray sat alone a short distance from where they'd reached the surface of the island. Based on its elongated body, it was clearly used to carry a sizable group there, about ten to fifteen people by Quote's estimate. He mentally counted them off: Sue, Kazuma, their mother, Itoh, Professor Booster, and the Doctor… he could only imagine what had happened to the rest of the research party.
Also nearby was a makeshift house of sorts, made of crude stone blocks with an empty hole for a window and a plain wooden door. The ceiling had collapsed, leaving the building as little more than a pile of rubble. Quote realized that this must have been the base camp of Momorin and her team before things took a turn for the worse. He considered going to investigate it further, but with the Doctor so close at hand he decided otherwise. To his right, Curly let out a horrified gasp and stopped short. It took him no time at all to see why.
Two flower-mutated Mimiga, or Ravil as they were apparently known, idled in the distance, stomping noisily on their gigantic feet. Their eyes, the color of blood, were wide in frenzy as they growled at one another. Fortunately for the robots, neither of them bothered turning in their direction, so they were able to quietly sneak past by walking in a wide arc around the pair.
"Curly?" Quote asked. "Are you okay?"
Her face somehow appeared paler than usual, and her fists were clenched so tightly that the wiring under her fake skin was visibly pushing against it. She didn't say anything, but he could see exactly how she felt in her eyes. Had he been in her position, Quote would have felt the same; for all they knew, the next mutants they found could have been the Colons. Something told him that she was thinking the same thing.
"We're going to destroy the Core," she said all of a sudden. "If it'll save them, then we don't have any other choice."
"How do you know about that?" Malco asked. Quote had filled him in on what Kazuma and Professor Booster said, but he'd forgotten to tell Curly about it. Of course, that didn't seem to be an issue any more.
"When Cthulhu saved me from drowning, he would whisper things to me… something about how getting rid of the Core would cause the island to fall, but also turn the Mimiga back to normal. There was some other reason for him to want that to happen, but I was only half-listening."
Quote frowned, recalling Sue's letter mentioning Cthulhu. What was his part in all this?
"Even if that's true, what will happen once the island falls? Will the Mimiga and Gaudi, and everyone else, be safe? The impact could cause all of the caves to collapse on themselves!"
"I KNOW!" Curly shouted, somehow not alerting the two Ravil with how loud she was. "I know what destroying the Core means… I know everyone might die… but if that's what it takes to stop this disaster from happening again, then I don't know what else to do…"
She looked at the ground as they continued to walk, not saying another word. Once they reached the ancient temple's main entrance, the three stopped and prepared themselves for what was to come. Acting on impulse, Quote took Curly's hand and lightly squeezed it in his own. He wasn't sure what that would accomplish, but if it comforted her than he was willing to try anything.
His gesture didn't exactly work as he'd hoped, although it at least distracted Curly for a moment. She gaped at him for a moment, her face turning much redder than he thought it would for some reason.
"Do… do you remember back then…?" she asked quietly, giving him a funny look. He didn't know what she was talking about, but there was an odd familiarity in her eyes.
"No. I just thought this would help you calm down. Once we go in there, we have no idea what we'll be facing. So, before that, I wanted to let you know that I've enjoyed fighting with you and Malco. I don't think I'd have made it this far without your help."
Curly's alarmed expression only intensified, to his confusion.
"Quote… you said something just like that the first time we were here. You were, uh, holding my hand then too."
"Really? I still don't remember anything from back then, but I hope it helped."
"What a strange coincidence," their third companion chimed in. "Regardless, I'll continue to support you until the end!"
He nodded gratefully at the robot, only to stumble as Curly attacked both of them with a hug. Quote managed not to fall and returned the embrace to his friends. Malco, after a few seconds of hesitation, joined in and put his arms around them as well.
"Okay boys, are you ready?" Curly said with a newfound confidence in her voice. "Quote and I couldn't destroy the Demon Crown when we came here ten years ago, but this time we're going to win."
"Affirmative! Let's finish this!"
"I'm with you all the way," he added. As their group hug finally came apart, he was caught completely off guard by one more gesture from Curly: she leaned forward and gently pressed her mouth to his cheek. Quote didn't fully understand what it meant, but he could feel himself heating up nonetheless. Whatever she'd just done, it had a potent effect.
He snapped out of his trance after what felt like an eternity and faced the door.
"Well, here we go. I'll take the lead, stay close to me!"
As delighted as Curly was to see Quote blush at last- he'd never shown visible embarrassment from what she could remember- she couldn't appreciate the moment for long. He had already flung open the door to the throne room and marched in with a determined stride. Gripping her Nemesis rifle with both hands, she followed close behind him with Malco at the back of the group. The trio fanned out into the room, walking across a floor of chipped and cracked gray stone tiles. Curly took in many of the details she'd missed the first time she was there so long ago: the elegantly-carved pillars, the empty windows through which light from the rising sun flooded, and a spiral staircase on the opposite end leading further into the temple. Directly in the center of the room was the throne itself, a pale gray and very angular object that looked uncomfortable in every sense of the word.
Her eyes narrowed upon seeing that the Doctor wasn't in the room with them, but rather Misery and Balrog. The two were standing on either side of the throne, looking at their unwelcome guests with blank expressions. It had been a while since any of them had met one another, resulting in a few moments of tense silence. Curly was holding her gun down by her waist with her finger on the trigger in case she needed to spring into action. She could see Malco and Quote doing the same with their weapons, but oddly enough the Doctor's lackeys weren't making hostile gestures yet.
"So, you made it here after all," Misery commented, breaking the silence. "I have to admit, you're tenacious for robots. When I met you back in the Labyrinth I assumed you were just kill-happy machines of war, but it appears there's more to you than that. Emotions beyond what can be programmed, enhanced logic... you're not like the robots from ten years ago."
The blue-haired witch turned her attention to Malco, giving him a puzzled frown.
"Hm? You're different than them… Balrog, do you know him?"
"Yeah, I do. He was with soldier boy in the Bushlands, and all three of them were together in the Labyrinth. I thought you dropped him down there too after you sent me and those two."
Misery's perplexed expression intensified. "I've never met him before. Where did you come from?"
"The war, just like my friends here," Malco shot back. "I'm no soldier, and I may not be as powerful as them, but it would nonetheless be wise of you not to upset me."
Curly would have complimented his bravery, had her attention not been focused on their two adversaries. The witch smirked at him and took a step forward. Immediately, all three robots had their weapons aimed at her, while Balrog looked on with his usual unreadable expression.
"That's a bold claim. I assume you three are here to destroy the Core? You haven't forgotten what will happen afterwards, have you?"
"If that's what it takes to stop the Doctor from starting another war," Curly said, "then so be it. Those flowers can't be allowed to survive."
Misery's mildly smug expression faded to one between resentment and apathy. Balrog shuffled his way to her side, keeping his eyes on the guns pointed at them both.
"Shame we're enemies, because I'm inclined to agree," he replied. "Misery and I don't like the Doc any more than you guys do, but it's our fate to support whoever has the Demon Crown. We physically can't disobey him no matter how much we want to. If he wants us to protect the Core from you, then that's just how it is."
As they spoke, Curly was planning out a strategy for the inevitable fight. They needed to get to that staircase if they wanted to reach the Doctor, but his two minions would no doubt be a formidable challenge together. Getting around them was seemingly impossible between Misery's magic and Balrog's raw strength. Speaking of the former… the witch was pointing her staff at them. Its balled end emitted a pale blue glow.
"I'm afraid this is the end of the line. Prepare yourselves!"
Quote was the fastest to react, releasing Spur's fully-charged laser. It was the first time he could appreciate its power, and appreciate it he did. The thick white beam scorched through the air toward Misery, forcing her to abort whatever spell she'd been planning so she could teleport out of the way. Balrog leaped forward in an attempt to crush him, but he was knocked back by the combined gunfire of Curly and Malco.
"Get out of our way!" the latter shouted, unloading Napalm's missiles at a rapid pace. He seemed able to predict where Misery would reappear, and nearly struck her dead-on with an explosion. However, the witch had nullified most of his projectiles with a barrier of spinning black spheres and was therefore no worse for wear.
That is, until Curly fired on her from the far left side of the room, forcing her to vanish yet again. Malco, who had turned his attention to Balrog, was also keeping him to the side. A wide gap between them had opened.
"Go on, Quote! We will hold them off here!"
He didn't want to leave them behind. He couldn't bear the thought of possibly losing them without being there to help.
"I…"
"GO!" Curly shouted, still keeping Misery on the defensive. "There's no time to waste; get going and stop the Doctor!"
With one last look at them, he dashed as fast as he could toward the staircase at the back. Balrog lunged to stop him, but another fiery blast from Malco kept him at bay. Quote jumped up the stairs three at a time, trying his hardest not to focus on the sounds of gunfire following him. Even once he had made it to the second floor, the noise was still audible.
"Be careful, you two…"
As he made it into the upper room, he was assaulted with a sweet, flowery smell: Mimiga fur. The small creatures were stuffed three or four at a time into a seemingly endless row of cages lining the walls. Upon noticing Quote, the occupants all began whispering to one another and pointing him out to their cellmates. He spotted several familiar faces amidst the crowd. The fisherman from Mimiga Village, Santa and Chako from the Bushlands, assorted workers from the Plantation, and even Curly's four children were staring at him as he walked past. Their eyes shone with hope, even though most of them were unfamiliar to him. At least two cages were empty, and he had a strong feeling that its occupants had already been subjected to mutation by the Doctor.
Speaking of whom, he was standing in the center of the room beside a white stone table with countless unrecognizable patterns carved into its base. Vines of red flowers were strewn across it, along with something that glowed a dull red. Quote approached with Spur in one hand and Bubbline in the other, ready to end his mission at last.
"HA HA HA!" the Doctor burst out, turning to face him with that unsettling grin he seemed so fond of. "Welcome, my robotic friend! I assumed you had died back in the Labyrinth, but there was always a part of me that wondered if you somehow pulled off a miraculous escape. Seems I have my answer now."
He listened closely to the sounds of fighting below them and chuckled darkly.
"You have allies here as well? Once I'm done with you I'll personally take care of them… would you like to see what I've been working on?"
No, he wouldn't. Quote opened fire with a charged Spur laser, only for it to spiral away from the Doctor with a flash of the Demon Crown's eye-shaped gem. It was a different color than he remembered, now glowing a violent shade of orange.
"As you know," the man continued nonchalantly, "Mimiga become frenzied when these Demon Flowers are administered. Their strength increases tenfold, and their mental reasoning is destroyed. The explanation for this is quite simple: the flowers contain a particular compound which brings out latent abilities in their consumers. Fascinating, no?"
Quote tried again, holding the trigger on Bubbline until a large cluster of its projectiles sped toward his opponent. Once again, the Demon Crown nullified them before they even had a chance to reach him.
"I understand," he said with a patronizing, almost crooning tone. "Not everyone appreciates the wonders of science to the same degree as I. To that end, behold! The compound of the flowers, extracted and condensed into a source of unlimited potential!"
The Doctor reached onto the table behind him and picked up the glowing red object. On closer inspection, it was revealed to be a prism-shaped gemstone about the size of his head.
"This is the Red Crystal. It can affect not only Mimiga, but also humans such as myself. Perhaps even robots… shall we find out together?"
The large gem began to levitate on its own accord, bathing the Doctor with an eerie crimson light.
"Oh, it feels wonderful…" he said with a shudder. "Come, soldier, you're in for a special demonstration!"
Quote's eyes narrowed into a glare, and he pointed both of his guns straight at him.
"This is where it ends, Doctor," he said defiantly. "For everyone you've hurt… you're going DOWN!"
Author's Note: Next time, the showdown begins with Curly and Malco versus Misery and Balrog!
