Chapter 10: The Crazy Program

Rico swung the massive Red Sword as hard as she could, cleaving through the armor of a Sinow Beat and Sinow Gold as they were in midair and leaping at her, the halves flying past her and clattering to the ground. She glanced up with narrowed red eyes as the missiles that the Garanz in front of her had launched approached rather slowly, her entire body acting on the instinct that made her one of the best hunters there were. She rushed past the salvo and headed straight for the Garanz, not even glancing back to see the homing missiles slowly arc around to come at her. With a flick of her wrist she swapped weapons, drawing the Red Saber now. As she went past, she plunged her weapon into the exposed orange steel of its side, the Photon blade melting through the metal and tearing into circuitry. Rico didn't slow down, ripping out the Red Saber and taking cover behind the Garanz. A wave of heat washed over her, explosions pounding in her ears as the homing missiles didn't turn fast enough and slammed into the assault mecha. With a final mechanical whine, its armor blasted apart by its own missiles, the Garanz collapsed to the floor with electricity crackling along its surface.

Without wasting a second, Rico moved out from behind the sparking remains of the Garanz just in time to see the second one fall, hit also by its own missiles. Blue and gold scraps of metal littered the floor, and it took a moment for Rico to realize that the missiles had destroyed not just the Garanz, but both of the Sinows. Danielle walked out from behind the Garanz, glancing down at it uneasily as she joined Rico in the middle of the room. She looked just a bit surprised at what she had managed to do. "Wow, didn't expect that to work. It's a nifty little trick, getting these guys to shoot themselves with their own missiles…"

Rico smiled a bit, impressed that she had either figured out what Rico had been going to do herself or had come up with the idea when she realized they were homing missiles. Thinking on one's feet was a vital trait to survive as a hunter. "It'll be useful if we have to face more of them." Her smile fell away now, being replaced by a troubled look as she glanced over her shoulder at one of the fallen Garanz. "I don't get it, though… Why would such heavy assault mecha be stationed down here? Are they guarding something?"

Danielle shrugged, glancing past it at the unlocked door that awaited them beyond the destroyed robot. "Maybe… whatever it is that they were guarding is through that door…"

Noticing that her voice sounded unusually strained, Rico glanced over at her companion. She looked scared, even though she tried to hide it as best as she could. Something was haunting her, troubling her. Ever since they had entered the mines, Danielle had been having slight changes in her personality. If anything, she was becoming way more hesitant and anxious than she had been before. Choosing her words carefully, Rico began to speak. "Danielle, tell me what's wrong. Ever since we've come down here, you just haven't been yourself…"

Danielle tore her gaze away from the door and looked up slightly at her friend, running a hand through her hair. "I… I don't know… There's something about this place that just gives me the creeps." She paused for a second, seeming like she was trying to gather her thoughts. "I think… I've been to this place before."

Surprised, Rico just stared at her. She had been here before? "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I really came here… It all seems familiar, but I'm just not sure… I can't remember exactly, but it just feels like I have, you know?" She looked up at Rico, confused and worried as she tried to get what she was feeling out in words, even though it had to be pretty difficult. "It's right there… but I can't get a hold on that one memory…"

"Like when you wake up from a dream and it slips out of reach. You can faintly remember parts of it, but not the whole thing."

Danielle nodded somewhat now. "Yeah, that explains it pretty well. Let… let's just get through here as fast as possible, okay? I don't want to be here any longer than needed… It really gives me the creeps."

Rico gently gripped her shoulder, trying to give her an encouraging look. "Don't worry, we will. Come on." She lowered her hand and walked forward towards the door, thinking about that strange and distant look that had been in her friend's eyes. There was something that she wasn't telling Rico, something that bothered her even more. But did Danielle herself even know what it was?

The door slid open, revealing a rather long corridor clear of any dangers. Computer screens lined the walls, processing unknown data that Rico couldn't understand too well. Some detailed various reports on energy levels from different sections of the mine while others reported on mining output. Frowning, Rico glanced closer at the screen. What had they been mining for? The data scrolled by too fast for Rico to read all of it, so she just finally gave up and continued on. "What were they doing here?" she murmured to herself, frowning as she stepped through the door ahead of them. What she saw made her stop with a startled gasp, her gaze taking everything in. They were in a type of laboratory!

Banks of computers were scattered about the room, large stasis chambers connected to two computers lining the walls. What was so disturbing was the size of those chambers. They could easily hold a human being in them, but none of them were active or filled right now. There was something about the room that made Rico shudder as she took a slow step forward. Terrible things had gone on in here. The air felt heavy, Rico's heart racing with each breath. Evil had been done here, great and terrible evil performed by her own people, the ones she had sworn to protect. She glanced over at Danielle now, whose face had drained of just about all its color, a nervous look on her face. She didn't say anything, her eyes darting about the room faster than what Rico could keep up with. Obviously she was even more troubled than what Rico was.

"Come on," Rico said softly. "Let's find a way out of this place." She gently placed a hand on Danielle's shoulder, guiding the oddly silent teen towards a door on their left that slid open with a low hiss. Inside, surprising Rico even more, was another of the monuments that they had found in both the forest and caves. This one had computer surrounding it with data on their scans of the monument scrolling across the screens. Rico couldn't help but wonder even more what the monument was doing here as she entered the room with Danielle. Mysterious mines, a secret and ominous lab guarded by machines, a third of the monuments… She was fascinated by these monuments, the evidence of a lost race that must have existed on this planet once. As a scientist, she just wanted to study these monuments and see if she could decipher the symbols. But as a hunter, she wanted to find out just what the government was hiding with this place and what they would need with such a lab as this.

Danielle pulled away now, finally speaking up as she approached the monument. "Another one… but what are these things for?" she murmured, speaking aloud the question that had been in Rico's mind.

She frowned slightly, keeping a close eye on her friend as she recalled the last two times Danielle had touched the monuments. The first time, Rico had found her barely clinging to life in the forest. In the caves, she had spaced out for a second and seemed pretty distant afterwards. But why? Why were the monuments having these kind of effects on Danielle? Was it perhaps connected in some way to Danielle faintly remembering the lab?

She focused on the teen now as her hand touched the surface of the monument. Almost immediately it lit up, a distant look filling Danielle's eyes. Rico didn't hesitate, gripping her arm slightly and pulling Danielle's hand away from the monument. Danielle stumbled and nearly fell into Rico, blinking rapidly with a heavily dazed look on her face. But what troubled Rico the most was how cold the teen's arm felt. "What happened?" she asked, watching Danielle carefully.

"I… I'm not sure. When I touched it, I felt cold… I couldn't think straight. I felt…" She frowned, trying to think straight. "I felt like I was being called… beneath…"

Being called? And to somewhere below here? Strange. I've been feeling like we're being led somewhere, herded through the underground by some unseen force. Maybe it's connected with what she's feeling.

"Just sit down and take it easy," Rico told her, helping her over to a wall so she could sit against it. "You're just exhausted. Get some rest." Danielle paused, seeming like she was about to say something when she just slumped her shoulders and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes.

Rico stared at her now, still recalling the feeling of her icy cold skin. She didn't know what was happening, but it worried her greatly.

Is there even anything I can do about it?

With a sigh, Rico crossed the room to the monument while accessing what data she had managed to gather on the monuments through her arm unit, trying to instead focus on translating the symbols. She still couldn't make out the meaning of the entire monument, but now she had enough data to translate some of the words. Rico frowned, examining the screen, reading the words that had been deciphered. "Light, darkness, pair, exist, unlimited, rule, seal…" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the slight hum of the computers. Now she grew even more confused and perplexed. Hoping to find answers, she only found more questions. Taking out a capsule, she recorded a short message that included the deciphered words and placed the capsule at the base of the monument.

We just keep going in deeper and deeper… but what will we find at the end?

Rico stopped now, contemplating the thought that had crossed her mind. What would they find? What would be waiting for them at the bottom of this? Would they find the answers they sought? Or would they discover some terrible secret that the government had hidden from them?

Her gaze drifted over to Danielle now, who had drifted off to sleep. She felt pity in her heart for this girl. Here she was, an innocent civilian with a father who had cared nothing for her and didn't even tell her that her mother was dead. Rico felt a need to protect her. The reason went far beyond the fact that Danielle was the only other survivor found. The teen felt like family to her now. Maybe it was because she had lost her own mother years ago at an early age and had grown distant from her father due to how strict he was. And here was this girl who had no family with a woman who lost her mother and fought with her father.

The two of us are more alike than I thought…

Letting out a tired sigh, Rico sat beside Danielle and tried to make herself comfortable. She had to get some rest instead of letting her mind wander. She glanced down at Danielle, noticing for the first time that her right arm bore needle-point scars on the inside of it. She sat up a bit, trying to examine them a bit better in the light.

Wait… Her father was an expert in biogenetics along with Dr. Osto. These labs were probably under his command. Danielle thought she recognized them but couldn't remember exactly. All of these pieces of the puzzle…

The one answer that came to mind about all of this was an unsettling one. There was no way that her father would have actually used his own daughter, his flesh-and-blood, as a test subject, would he?

"Her mother was murdered by Black Paper, the government's very own assassins. Dr. Sterling worked directly for the government alongside Dr. Osto. But… he wouldn't have been heartless enough to do something like that, would he…?" she murmured quietly to herself, confused and even more uncertain. The government she had fought for… were they really such demons?

Rico rubbed her eyes with one hand, sighing heavily, a headache beginning to come on. There was a lot more digging she had to do, but she knew that she was coming close to the answer of all of this. She could feel it.

I'll protect you, Danielle, and we'll get to the bottom of this mess. Your father may have betrayed you and your mother killed, but I'll be there for you.

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Darkness… A cold and foreboding darkness that wrapped around her like some dark blanket. Every breath hurt, like her lungs were filled with ice. She couldn't move, couldn't cry for help. As the first tendrils of panic and fear began to seep through her, she could feel a terrible presence before her. It was ancient. She could tell it had existed hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. Not only was it old, but it was pure evil. It hungered for destruction. It wanted to consume the light and plunge the world into darkness. It desired freedom. It wanted to grow, to evolve, to devour everything in its path. And it wanted her…

A shape moved in the darkness, something massive. Her mouth went dry as a terrible creature rose up. Her mind couldn't comprehend, much less describe, the ancient beast that was before her. Its flesh shifted and moved, some kind of arm reaching out towards her. She tried to scream, tried to get away, but it was no use as an invisible force held her tightly in place. She shut her eyes, feeling that alien flesh wrap around her, drawing her in…

Danielle jumped awake with a gasp, nearly screaming as her eyes flickered about the room quickly. Almost immediately she felt a pain in her neck, and it took her a second to realize that she had fallen asleep with her head resting on something. Danielle sat up slightly, stretching her neck a bit to get the crick out of it. She looked to her right, surprised to see Rico there asleep with her head back against the wall. Danielle's head had fallen on the hunter's shoulder as they both slept, and she hadn't realized it.

I must've had a nightmare, she thought to herself, rubbing the back of her neck. She couldn't remember what had happened in it though. It was all just a blur.

Suddenly Danielle grew alert, her blue eyes flickering about the room. Other than the soft hum of the monument, there was no other sound. Not only that, but the lights had dimmed considerably. The computers that had been recording data had all shut off, and Danielle couldn't help but feel nervous. Something very bad was going on here. Cursing herself for not noticing this as soon as she had woke up, she shook the Rico by her shoulder to wake her up. "Rico, get up!" she hissed, not daring to speak too loud. Rico jolted awake now, immediately alert as she looked around.

Rising to her feet first, Rico glanced around slowly as Danielle slowly stood up. Without warning, all the lights went out completely, plunging them into total darkness. Rico wasted no time in drawing her Red Saber, its Photon blade illuminating them in soft red light. She looked as worried as Danielle felt, scanning the room. The blade barely illuminated the room, limiting their vision.

Danielle struggled a bit with drawing her Autogun from her storage unit in the dark, frowning as she noticed one of the screens on the computer flickering to life, static playing across the screen before an image appeared on it. It looked like a strange head with red eyes floating there before the image vanished from the screen and it shut back off. "Rico…?" she whispered softly, hearing the sound of metallic footsteps outside of the room.

Rico didn't answer, her expression unreadable in the darkness. As she looked down at her arm unit, Danielle could barely make out her hand gripping the Red Saber even tighter. "They're outside. A lot of them. We won't be able to fight them back in the darkness."

"That face on the screen… What was it?"

"It had to be an AI. It must be the one who cut the lights and is coordinating the machines in here." Rico raised her head now. "Its control room must be nearby. We'll need to try and reach it as fast as possible, but it won't be easy. If we can get to the AI, maybe we can make it call off the machines."

Danielle gave her a bewildered look, even though she knew Rico probably didn't see it. "Try to make the AI call them off? That's impossible. How could we even make a machine do that? Heading to its control room probably isn't the brightest idea ever."

Shaking her head, Rico took a step towards the door. "It may be the only way, the only chance we have. Making it stop the robots may be nearly impossible, but we have to at least try." Rico took a deep breath, raising up the Red Saber now as even more footsteps could be heard outside of the door.

Danielle hesitated, shifting nervously from foot to foot. There were a lot of those robots outside, and she didn't share Rico's confidence. She just held on tight to her Autogun as Rico walked forward to the door, which slid open to reveal the glowing red eyes of the robots.