Chapter 7: More Exploring and Unexpected Company
"You know every once in a while I think about the reasons why I became a bounty hunter." Jet said after he and Arnold took two steps out of the airlock they had just passed through. "Most days I tell myself I do more good then just being a normal cop, and that it's more exciting. On days like this..." He looked over the edge of the platform they were on. "I'm convinced it's because I'm an idiot." They were standing outside of the silo itself on one end of a metal bridge that led to the fuel and oxygen storage. They were also at least fifty feet in the air, above not a visible floor but a lake of glowing green…something. It looked like something radioactive had sprung a leak and now made falling an even worse scenario. If the fall didn't kill you that sludge sure would. That brought another question to mind. "You sure we're safe up here?"
"Yes." Arnold replied. "There are only trace amounts of radiation on this level but contamination steadily increases at lower heights."
"Then we'll just have to do our best to stay up here." Jet said, turning to the problem at hand, the bridge. "Think that'll be able to hold you?" Arnold scanned every inch of the bridge. Its construction was sound and the metal was in good condition but it didn't look like it was made to handle heavy weight centered on one spot.
"Unknown." He finally answered. Before Jet could suggest that he should do this alone Arnold continued. "Only one way to find out." Before Jet could stop him Arnold started walking across. His heavy footsteps thudded on the metal bridge and echoed throughout silo but it did not collapse. Once on the other side he turned around and scanned the bridge again. "I've caused no damage and it is safe for you to cross."
"I think you've been hanging around Spike too much." Jet said as he made his way across the bridge. "Doing something that dangerous on the fly is something I'd expect from him, not someone who calculates and analyzes everything so much."
"Calculations and analysis can only go so far." Arnold replied. "I was only able to make an estimation of what might happen if I crossed that bridge, and in the end the only way to know what scenario would be correct was to cross it and leave it to chance."
"Chance?" Jet asked. "No offence but I thought things like you didn't believe in chance."
"What you call chance is nothing more than a slightly different way of thinking in binary. Something either will happen or it will not. I would have made it or I would have fallen, and unlike you I would have been able to climb back up and try something else."
"Now I know you've been hanging around Spike too much." Jet said. Arnold didn't reply as they made their way down a hallway with two large pipes running along the walls. Soon they came to the main pressure control station, the door leading to the main pressure station at least. Jet inputted zero but when he pressed enter the door opened only about three inches before the electronics controlling the door's hydraulics decided to short themselves out. It stopped and left far too little space for either of them to slip through. Not needing to be asked Arnold stepped forward, put his shoulder to the door and began to push. The hydraulics groaned and hissed in protest but Arnold was able to swing the door open the rest of the way.
"Over there." Arnold said, pointing to an orange valve that was labeled O2 Emergency Pressure Release. There were several such safety valves between the tanks and the engine but this was the last one before the two substances actually went to the booster. When opened the liquid would be pumped into several smaller tanks for storage until the problem could be fixed. After opening up one of the grates on the floor Jet climbed down, removed the pipe leading to the first spare tank, and hooked up the first Freezethrower via some spare insulated tubing from the Bebop. After climbing back out of the floor he walked to the other side of the room.
"Just make sure you don't pump in too much." He told Arnold, who was holding the valve.
"I won't." Arnold assured him. He could see the gauge on the Freezethrower from where he was and would be able to stop the flow before it would burst. Twisting the valve only minutely he began to fill the tank. It was going well until the needle got to half full. Both Jet and Arnold began to hear a cracking sound and with a loud bang the tank ruptured, white gas venting into the air.
"Damn." Jet growled as Arnold shut the valve and went over to the ruined weapon. "The insulation failed didn't it?" After picking up the ruined tank and examining it Arnold nodded an affirmative. "Just great. We'll have to try the other ones just in case." The two others filled with no further problems and they now had two ready to use Freezethrowers. Arnold hefted one onto his back and Jet took the other.
"Better give these things a trial run." Jet said as he aimed the barrel at the bottom hinge of the door. He fired a quick burst and though some of it turned back to gas a jet of liquid came out of the weapon and hit the intended target. After waiting a second for the vapor to clear Jet saw that the hinge now had what looked like a coating of ice on it. Wanting to see just how effective the shot was Jet kicked the hinge with the heel of his boot. The metal shattered like glass and fell to the ground in pieces. "I think we can consider that a success." He stated. Arnold aimed his own Freezethrower at the one that had been ruined and repeated the process. When he could see the tank again he gave it a slight kick that, under normal conditions, would have sent it skidding across the floor. Instead it shattered in a similar fashion to the door hinge, sending frozen bits across the room.
"There are no problems with this one either." Arnold reported. "As long as the insulation does not fail they will remain functional."
"Let's just hope that doesn't happen while we're wearing one." Jet replied.
Security Command
John had just put away his radio after talking to Jet when the door of the command center again hissed open. Everyone looked and was greeted with the sight of Spike and Kyle, covered in dirt and looking slightly banged up. While Meifa, Ein and even Ed looked on in confusion John and Faye started to grin, with Faye's smile turning into a knowing smirk.
"Looks like you two had fun." She commented.
"Oh yeah, it was a real blast." Spike deadpanned. Not letting anyone comment on just how bad the joke was he continued. "What's with the new suit John?"
"Meifa and Ed found them while they were looking around earlier." John answered. "I got one for each of you and Jet."
"You can keep mine." Spike said dismissively. As well as they knew Spike John and Kyle still gave him an 'are you nuts?' look. On the other side Faye, Ed and Ein looked less then surprised. "It'll only slow me down and throw off my timing." He explained. "If this isn't enough to get me out alive I doubt any vest will make a difference." He opened his coat and brought out one of the modified MP5s from where it was hanging by a shoulder strap. Kyle also had an MP5 strapped to his back but it was angled so that only the top of the gun could be seen. Both John and Faye now took note of the attached grenade launcher and figured out why Spike had chosen that particular gun. Of course that meant….
"Uh Spike, how many grenades are you carrying?" John asked. With the coat he was wearing the answer could be quite a few. Hearing the nervousness in John's voice Spike smiled before answering.
"Enough." He answered. That made Faye and John nervously back up half a step. If Spike thought he had enough explosives that meant he was carrying an amount that would put most demolition teams to shame.
"Don't worry, he only took ten of them." Kyle said. That wasn't very reassuring to the others.
"I didn't have anymore room only because of the ones I already had on me." Spike clarified. Now that really wasn't reassuring to everyone else, especially Ein, who whined and hid behind Meifa's legs. "Thanks for the vote of confidence mutt."
"This might come as a surprise to you Spike but most people find it a bit weird when someone turns themselves into a human bomb." John told him.
"Hey, if I blow up at least I won't feel anything." Spike said with a shrug.
"For those of you who don't want to vaporize yourself." Kyle said, cutting off the argument. "We got some new toys for you to play with." He held out his hands, presenting John and Faye with a Glock 18. "Our guns might use the same type of ammo but the clips aren't interchangeable." He told John. "And even though you already have a Glock I'm willing to bet having rapid fire is enough to convince you to trade up." Unlike most pistols that only had a safe and fire settings the military version of this Glock had the additional option of firing bursts. Faye and John accepted the pistols offered to them, and Kyle handed them two clips each, along with a holster should they want it.
"Looks like those vests weren't the only things you managed to scavenge." Spike commented, noticing the shotgun that was lying on a control panel and the one leaning on the chair next to John.
"I was going to ask what you wanted but I guess that answers that." Kyle said. "You find any ammo for them?"
"A little," John answered. "but not enough for a sustained firefight."
"No problem." Kyle said. "There's plenty down in the armory and between the vest pockets and the ammo belts we found the two of you should be set for almost anything."
"Well have fun with that." Spike said as he turned back to the door. "I'm going to go wander around some more. Call me if anything exciting happens."
"Can Ed go to?!" Ed asked excitedly.
"No you can't Ed." John answered for Spike. Knowing the pleading that was sure to come John quickly gave her an excuse. "You don't want to get blown up if he trips and falls do you?" Ed looked at John then over to Spike.
"Will Ed get blown up?" She asked, not sounding afraid of the possibility, just curious.
"With what I've got I'll probably blow up if I sneeze too hard." Spike told her as the door closed behind him.
"Don't worry Ed, when this is over you can do all the exploring you want." John promised her.
"Hold on!!" Faye shouted.
"Wherever Ed wants to?" Ed asked, oblivious to Faye.
"As long as it isn't dangerous." John said. "In the meantime you need to stay here ok?" Ed nodded in response. "Good. Kyle, you keep an eye on things here for a while." He said and picked up the two unloaded shotguns. "We can't let Spike hog all the fun stuff now can we?" He asked Faye, who just rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. As John followed her out Kyle picked up one of the vests and started to put it on. As he snapped it into place he tested the fit. Spike wasn't wrong, this would slow him down a little but he'd rather have that then take a bullet to the chest.
"Kyle person looks like real cowboy now." Ed commented when Kyle had finished adjusting the vest.
"Huh?" Kyle asked, looking down at himself. To him it looked like he was one step away from looking like one of those rent-a-cops (and if he had worn that helmet he saw lying on the floor he would have) then noticed what Ed was looking at. On his side, in a holster strapped to his leg he had gotten from the armory, was a large .357 Magnum revolver. Nobody had noticed it before, probably because of how he looked after the 'tests' on the surface. In a way Ed was right, it did kind of make him look a bit like the cowboys you saw in the movies. "Oh that. It might not be as powerful as the last one I had but this should give even that liquid freak problems when it hits him. Gotta protect the townsfolk after all." He said in his worst cowboy voice and pretended to do a quick-draw. Ed and Meifa laughed at the impression.
"That was really lousy." They heard Jet say as the door hissed open.
"What do you expect? I'm a cop, not an actor." Kyle replied as he re-holstered his gun. "Everything go all right?"
"Almost." Jet answered as he and Arnold walked into the room. "We lost one of the packs but the other two work just fine. With any luck these will be more then enough to freeze that guy until we figure out what to do with him. Where did the others go?" He asked.
"Faye and John went to get some extra firepower and Spike went to have a look around." Kyle answered.
"Just look around?" Jet asked suspiciously. "Knowing Spike he probably just wants to try out what's in that arsenal."
"Oh I don't think you have to worry about that." Kyle said, absentmindedly brushing some derbies out of his hair. Deciding that he didn't want to know the details Jet didn't ask.
A few minutes later John and Faye came back; both looking loaded for bear. John had filled his vest's pockets with extra shotgun shells and Glock clips, and even had a couple of grenades attached to his belt. Faye's attire offered less, a lot less, in the way of pockets but she had taken not one but two ammo belts that she now wore around her waist. Like John she had stuffed them with as many extra shells and clips as possible. She, like Kyle and John, now wore a leg holster, which held the new, larger Glock she had been given. Both had their now loaded shotguns strapped to their backs so it would be easy to just grab the weapons and start blasting.
"So how do we look?" Faye asked, noticing the odd looks they, mostly she, was getting.
"Like what most people expect bounty hunters to look like." Kyle answered. "The only thing missing are the two bullet belts across the chest." One of the well known stereotypes about bounty hunters was that they were heavily armed, half (or all) crazy lunatics hell bent only on collecting money.
"Told you they'd say that." Faye said to John.
"At least you didn't go with the rocket launcher, that would have given Spike a run for his money." John answered. "Though it would have looked a lot cooler." Cool would not have been the word the others would have used if Faye had come back with the launcher on her back and rockets hanging from her belt. Frightening beyond belief would definitely be a much better description.
"So glad you think that." Faye replied sarcastically. "What is it with men and explosives?"
"We just have very simple tastes." Kyle answered. "Ask Spike, he'll tell you the same thing."
Spike would have agreed with Kyle wholeheartedly, if he wasn't lost at the moment. Okay technically not lost, he was still in Black Mesa, somewhere. He had been walking for about twenty minutes and he thought he had been paying attention to where he was going. Was it his fault all these corridors looked the same? Or that the signs weren't very helpful? How the hell was he supposed to know what Section A-456 meant?!? No, he decided, it was the fault of whoever had built this place for not being smart enough to use actual names and locations on these damn signs. That meant that he could ask for help and it wouldn't be a blow to his pride. The question was how could he let them know where he was? After taking a few more turns he found sign that was actually in English. It was labeled Waste Disposal/Surface access. At least now he knew where he was. Deciding to go up and see what was on the surface he started up the stairs and pulled out his radio.
"Anybody there?" He asked, not really knowing who would pick up.
"Sorry but Ed and friends are out to lunch right now. If you would like to leave a message please wait for the sound of the beep." Ed's voice answered. She paused for a second before saying "BEEP!" Spike gave his radio a funny look but then again he supposed he was asking for something like that.
"Give that back Ed!" Jet's voice said over the radio.
"But Ed hasn't taken message yet." Ed protested. There were sounds of a struggle for the radio before Jet's voice came back.
"Something the matter Spike? I have a feeling this isn't a social call."
"Well kinda," Spike answered. "You see this place has some really lousy signs…"
"He's lost?" A voice from the background, Faye's, asked.
"No I am not lost!" Spike defended. If there was one person he was never going to admit defeat to it was her. "It's just that there are so many damn hallways…" Now he heard others laughing, not just Faye. "I'm glad that they find this so funny." He said, reserved to the fact it would be a while before he lived this one down. "But could I get a little help here?"
"Sure thing Spike." Jet answered, not laughing but sounding very amused. "There anything around you that'll help?"
"I'm near Waste Disposal and heading for the surface." Spike replied.
"Okay that should be easy enough to… now what?!" Spike could hear commotion, and an alarm, in the background and knew it was the cause of Jet's sudden demeanor change.
Back at Security Command the computer controlling the RADAR was flashing a warning on its main screen and giving off a shrill, beeping alarm. Everyone gathered around it as Ed sat down and began typing commands. The screen changed to a basic RADAR readout and showed an unidentified object in the upper atmosphere, just within its range, and coming in fast, right at them.
"So what is it?" Faye asked. "A meteor?"
"Can't be." Jet answered. "It keeps on adjusting its pitch and speed to stay on course."
"I don't suppose this is just some guy that's having engine trouble and heading here is weird coincidence?" Kyle asked. The RADAR began searching its database to identify the craft but it couldn't find a match. Only after going through the files MPU had transferred to it was identification possible. It was an ISSP fighter, and he was completely alone. The descent was controlled so it wasn't crashing, and there was nothing coming over the radio so whoever was piloting it knew where he was going. And since there was only one reason for anyone to come straight at Black Mesa that meant…
"The son of a bitch found us." John said. A second later a new voice came from their radios.
"I know you're hiding in that decrepit base." Three people recognized that voice. For two it was the voice of an old friend, one that didn't belong to the thing that was using it. To the third it was the voice of the inhuman monster she had seen in that street on Mars. The T-1000, for whatever reason, was talking to them. "I also know you can hear me, so listen well. Radical Edward is among you, and he is the only one I want. Give me him, and you will be permitted to live. Act rationally and do not throw away your lives for the sake of a worthlesschild!" Everyone noticed when he talked about Ed he seemed to almost lose control but that wasn't what needed to be focused on right now. Jet was about to shout his reply to the T-1000's 'offer' when Spike's calm voice beat him to it.
"How about option number three." He suggested. "You take that offer of yours, and shove it up your ass."
"Since you want to die so badly you'll be the first!" An even angrier sounding T-1000 promised.
"Well then why wait?" Spike asked. Over the radio they heard the sound of gunfire, and of a jet engine.
It was only a matter of time before the humans used their radios again and gave away their exact location. Now that there was a strong and clear signal the T-1000 had no problem tracking it back to its source. Long-range scans indicated some sort of complex, most likely a military base. Its concealment made it an ideal hiding place but the human's ignorance had nullified that. He only had one primary target and would get to it much faster if the other humans didn't interfere, and knowing the selfishness that the species ran on he offered them a deal.
Spike had been on the surface when the T-1000 made his demand, and was able to see the fighter he was flying. Deciding to handle this like he handled any situation, head on, he started firing into the air to get the machine's attention. He got it and the fighter angled itself for a strafing run. The T-1000 saw the human stand his ground while he reloaded and aimed his weapon, a submachine gun, and for a second thought Spike had lost his mind. Spike proved he was still sane, despite all evidence to the contrary, and pulled the second trigger on his gun. The grenade fired and struck the fighter right on the cockpit, sending the craft up in a fireball. Spike dove to the ground as the ship passed over him and looked back as it came to a skidding halt about a hundred feet away from him. He didn't waste any time jumping to his feet and running towards the nearest building, to get away from both the burning ship and its sure to be pissed off occupant when he got out. The second one proved to be the more immediate of his concerns as bullets started whizzing by his head.
Security Command
"So do we try and help him?" Kyle asked as they listened to the events unfold over the radio.
"It'll take us at least ten minutes to get there, even with Ed guiding us." Jet answered. "By then they'll be someplace else and we're going to end up chasing them all over the base. The best option right now is to help Spike lose that thing and get back here so we can fight it on our own terms."
As it was Spike already was already fighting the T-1000 on his own terms, kinda. He was ducking and dodging between giant vats filled with god only knew what, occasionally exchanging fire with the liquid Terminator. Spike didn't know what was in those vats but whatever it was it made the smell of the Bebop's backed up toilet seem like air freshener.
(What the hell did they bother saving all this crap for anyway?) Spike asked himself as he continued to move through the plant as quietly as he could while loading a second grenade into the launcher. When he had first come inside he was surprised to see that the place looked like it was the size of a sports stadium, only filled with vats that contained stuff that was guaranteed to have a very negative effect on a person's life span. If this was waste disposal why the heck was it still around? As he continued to question the intelligence of the people who built this place and keep one step ahead of the T-1000 his radio started up again.
"This isn't the best time." He hissed. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he was giving away his position anyway. He could hear the T-1000's footsteps clear as day so it was safe to say they knew where the other one was.
"I know." Jet's voice answered. "But you're not going to get very far without help."
"Hold that thought." Spike answered as he looked at the ground. He could see a human shaped shadow coming towards him from the other side of the tank vat he was hiding behind. Taking one of his regular grenades out from his pants pocket he tossed it around the edge without pulling the pin. He readied the MP5 and when he heard the sound of the grenade clinking on the ground he stepped out from behind his hiding place and faced the T-1000.
The T-1000 had known the human was behind the vat and had calculated every avenue of escape, every possible scenario the human would try. Or at least he thought he had. A round object came from where the human was and it took only a nanosecond to identify it as a grenade. That had been expected. What had not been expected was the human actually stepping out into the blast area and leveling its weapon at him. That confused the robot long enough for Spike to aim and pull the second trigger on the MP5. There was a thump and a dull splat sound as the grenade hit the T-1000 in the chest, burying itself almost halfway through. There must have been a slow burning fuse or something because there was actually enough time for the T-1000 to look down at the grenade in its chest, then back up at Spike. The look of shocked realization on the machine's face would be something Spike would forever consider one of the funniest things he ever saw, but he only could see it for a split second before the grenade ignited.
Most of the explosion was contained within the T-1000 so the worst Spike had to deal with was the flash, but he was able to shield his eyes in time so he was able to see the immediate aftermath. It was possibly the most surreal thing Spike had ever seen, and that was saying something. The explosion had literally ripped the T-1000's torso in two. The smaller part was made up of one arm connected to the hips by a thin section of liquid metal. The other side, that was a real winner. The other arm was had been forced down by the explosion and looked like it was attached where the kidney's were. And its head, its head was now hanging sideways, almost upside down, on another strip of liquid metal. If that wasn't weird enough for you the head was also looking directly at Spike, and trying to talk. Spike didn't wait around to see what it had to say. The T-1000 was already reforming and his best shot turned out to be a bust so he decided to fall back and think of a better plan a.k.a 'running like hell'. Noticing a ladder that seemed to lead up and out of the room Spike ran for it and started climbing, not even looking back at the reforming T-1000.
Once the T-1000 was whole again the first thing it did was retrieve his gun. The extra clips he had been carrying were destroyed in the explosion but the pistol had merely been thrown out of his hand. Checking the ammunition he found that he had only eight shots left, and that meant a change of plans was in order. He looked where Spike had fled and then around the room for other exit points. There were several and one looked like led to the same area where Spike was. Better yet it looked like it would put him on a higher level then the human. The high ground was always an advantage in a firefight so the T-1000 went for the second ladder.
"If wasn't for the fact that the dickhead that designed this place was already dead I swear I'd kill him myself." Spike muttered to himself as he walked into his new surroundings. In the next room he had found himself on a metal walkway that was suspended above even more tanks filled with that green noxious junk. He also saw several more walkways crisscrossing the room, held in place by metal support beams that ran from the floor to the ceiling. Some were beneath him, others above him, all leading to various rooms and hallways. Before he could curse out everyone who had something to do with this place his radio went off again.
"Spike, are you still there?" Jet's voice asked. "The cameras where you are went down and we've been hearing explosions."
"I'm here." Spike answered, deciding it was safe to answer. "I was just playing a game of catch the grenade with our friend. Didn't work as well as I hoped it would. He's probably really ticked now to." He added as he cautiously moved down the walkway.
Security Command
"I thought you guys couldn't get angry." Faye said to Arnold in response to Spike's statement. "Only act like you can."
"Terminators cannot become angry." Arnold agreed. "And can only act in such a way so to better accomplish known objectives."
"Well getting mad isn't going to help him any if we already know he's trying to kill us. And I don't think even Skynet would have programmed this thing to have a vendetta. That would just make it prone to mistakes." Spike said. He had been able to hear the entire conversation but unknown to him someone on one of the higher walkways was also listening in as he tried to get Spike into his line of fire.
"So that means he really is getting angry." Jet said. Terminators could fake emotions very well but to everyone it sounded like it this was the real deal, from the encounter on Mars until right now.
"Yes." Arnold confirmed. "It is harder to tell then with a human but the variations in the tones, pitch, and stress of the T-1000's voice prove it is truly expressing the emotion of anger."
"That's impossible." John stated. "The only machines that have emotions are MPU and…." He stopped as realization hit and the others looked over at him.
"Hold on a minute." Spike said, also realizing what John was getting at. "You're saying that this thing 'is' Skynet?" Nobody got a chance to answer him as he heard something above him move and without even looking up started running. His instincts had been right and bullets began to ricochet around him, throwing off sparks when they hit the walkway. Ducking behind a metal support beam he began to load a third grenade into the launcher and waited for the gunfire to stop. It stopped before he was ready and to his surprise he didn't hear a gun being reloaded but words being spoken.
"How remarkable. You animals really are almost intelligent aren't you? That's exactly what he's saying." The voice was now completely different. Instead of imitating the man he had killed the T-1000 was now speaking with the voice of the mad supercomputer they thought had been destroyed. Spike didn't have much time to dwell on that as something clanked onto his walkway and slide towards him. Knowing distractions were the last thing he needed he switched off his radio and put it away. Peering out he saw that the object was an empty handgun and he had looked just in time to see the T-1000 leap from the walkway it was onto his. Deciding not to ask why he had just been given an easy target Spike stepped out of his hiding place and fired another grenade. This time the T-1000 was ready and twisted its body so the grenade went sailing past him and detonated in the doorway Spike had come from.
"So much for that." Spike said as the T-1000 turned back towards him. It held up its right arm and began to shift it into the shape of a small scythe blade. It rushed forward and in response Spike pulled and held the primary trigger of the MP5, sending a steady stream of bullets ripping into the liquid Terminator. The small rounds were unable to halt the charge and the T-1000 brought its arm down in a slashing motion. Spike stepped back and tried to use the MP5 to protect himself but the liquid metal proved to be stronger then the mostly plastic gun and shattered it. Undeterred by his miss the T-1000 reached out with his still normal hand, managed to grab Spike's overcoat, and raised his blade arm, determined to cut his head off. Spike slipped out of the coat and made a controlled fall backwards just as the T-1000 swung, making the blade just miss his hair. Not giving the machine time to recover Spike braced his hands and kicked the T-1000 in the chest with both feet as hard as he could. The unexpected move made the T-1000 stumble back several steps, allowing Spike to jump to his feet. He saw that the T-1000 now had two indentations of his shoes in its chest where he had kicked him. Like a balloon the dents expanded back out and hid any trace they were ever there. Glaring at Spike and tossing the coat over the side to the floor more then twenty feet below the T-1000 decided to up the ante and shifted its second arm into another deadly blade. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself Spike hissed in pain and surprise as it suddenly felt like his chest was burning. Looking down he discovered that the T-1000 hadn't completely missed him with that first swipe. The long cut across his chest wasn't deep and it was barely bleeding but most importantly now that he knew it was there Spike could ignore it. That settled he set himself in a ready position and waited for the T-1000 to attack. The T-1000 regarded Spike for a second then gave him a smile that was anything but humorous.
"I wouldn't do that…" He started in Skynet's voice. His entire body began to shift and change as a new form began to take shape. In seconds Spike felt like he was looking into a mirror. His clothes, his face, his hair, even the cut that had been inflicted. With the exceptions of the arms that remained scythe blades the T-1000 had copied everything almost perfectly. "…if I were you." He finished in a perfect imitation of Spike's voice. Okay now he had everything copied. Spike only regarded him with a shrug and made a 'come on' gesture with his hand. The pseudo-Spike's expression turned from Skynet's grin into an angry scowl a split second before he did just that.
The narrow confines of the walkway made it difficult to fight, but for Spike that just meant more of a challenge. The T-1000's first attack was an almost telegraphed downward slash. Spike avoided it easily by turning sideways and brought his foot up into his opponent's face. Pseudo-Spike's body twisted and when he turned back Spike could see another foot impression in the thing's face. It popped back into place and Pseudo-Spike tried for an upwards slash, which the real Spike avoided by quickly backing up several steps. Pseudo-Spike kept on the attack, making almost wild slashes in an attempt to disembowel the real one. Spike just continued to avoid the swipes and hit back when given the opportunity, which only made his double angrier. The T-1000 thought Spike was doing this so he could make it to the other side of the walkway and then make a run for it. But Spike was about to prove once again that one of the most dangerous things about human beings was their unpredictability.
He had been searching for an escape route since he had walked into this room, and when the T-1000 had jumped to his level it had really narrowed his options. Making it to the end of the walkway wouldn't help, the T-1000 would just chase after him. Jumping to another walkway would have worked but Spike saw something better. Running perpendicular to the walkway they were on and ten feet below it was a ventilation duct. It looked big enough to crawl in and strong enough to support his weight but the he had to 1. Get to it and 2. Not have the T-1000 follow. The way they were fighting would get him there, and he had just the thing planned for his metal double. When they got to a distance Spike was sure he could make the jump he made his move.
"Well it's been fun, but I've had enough for now." Spike said. In response Pseudo-Spike again tried to chop his head off but Spike ducked, grabbed the two railings and like a gymnast swung his legs so the toes of both shoes nailed his double right on the chin. Pseudo-Spike's head snapped back and for a second looked like it would come off as he stumbled backwards and almost fell. He recovered just in time to see Spike take a flying leap over the railing and towards the ventilation duct. Pseudo-Spike just watched, thinking that the human wouldn't make it. However Spike did, barely, and was able to grab the top of the duct. As he started to haul himself up he turned to face his double and in a dangerous maneuver held out one of his hands. In it was a small metal ring, the kind that was used in grenades!!! Just as Pseudo-Spike made the connection the ground beneath him exploded and he was hurled off the walkway. Instead of landing on the concrete floor he took a headfirst dive right into one of the toxic waste vats.
Spike didn't know what to expect but at the spot where Pseudo-Spike went in the liquid began to bubble, like one of those tablets you dissolved in water. Spike was hoping the same thing was happening to his double and as the liquid began to bubble faster the surface exploded and the double burst out of it. It kind of looked like the double anyway. It still held Spike's form but now it was gleaming silver, unable to hold its color. It began to thrash around and was making a screeching sound that was a combination of a human scream and metal scrapping on metal. Whatever the stuff was it was making it loose its shape and change to a more basic humanoid form. The chemicals were obviously doing something to it and the T-1000 seemed to realize it as it desperately began swimming towards the edge of the vat. When he made it Spike saw one hand grip the edge but that hand seemed to be melting. With a great amount of effort the T-1000 pulled itself up and over the edge of the vat, his partial liquid state giving the impression that he was flowing out.
The machine hit the ground with a solid thud and back to its feet, flailing for all it was worth to get the waste off. As Spike watched the liquid metal began to solidify and flow back in spite of the fact whatever had soaked the thing was making him give off trails of smoke and smell like a burnt piece of tin foil. Slowly a more defined shape began to form, and color started to return. Soon Spike was looking at the T-1000's default form, the murdered ISSP cop, and it seemed to be in agony. It also looked like it was bleeding green sludge, which was gathering in a puddle beneath it. Of course it wasn't really bleeding but Spike didn't know that it was just a side effect of the T-1000's method of trying to expel every last drop of the toxic waste from its system. It was pretty gross, in Spike's opinion, because as it was oozing out of what seemed to be almost random parts of the T-1000's body. It stopped 'bleeding' and as it stumbled out of the puddle it had just made looked up at Spike, even angrier then before.
"Boy you just don't know when to quit do you?" Spike asked as he pulled out the last of his grenades. The T-1000 remained silent and just glared up at him. Spike pulled the pin and tossed the grenade at an angle that the T-1000 calculated would put him out of its blast radius. Trying to figure out what the human was up to he followed the path and saw the grenade land right next to the discarded coat. The grenade detonated and combined with the explosives still in the coat created a force at least ten times that what it should have been. The ground shook and Spike actually had to fight to maintain his balance on the vent shaft. He had only intended to blow open the vat nearest the coat and give the T-1000 another acid bath. What he got was an explosion that not only ruptured the first vat but also caused the floor to collapse. Age, combined with the immense weight of the other vats started a domino effect that quickly branched out. Along with demolishing the first vat, sending thousands of gallons of the toxic sludge flowing down the newly created hole, cracks started racing along the rest of the floor. Among other directions right under the T-1000's feet and at the vat he had just climbed out of. There was an ominous groaning of metal from the vat as the T-1000 turned and watched the cracks connect with it.
"No." Was the only word he said as the second vat ruptured. Its deadly contents rushed forward and knocked the T-1000 off his feet and carried him down into the hole where he was swept away by an onrushing current.
Spike, meanwhile stood admiring his handiwork. The floor continued to collapse and more vats started bursting. There had to be miles of underground sewers and canals under the base so it was safe to say it would be some time before the T-1000 would be able to find them. Not bad for something he hadn't even intended to do. Now able to take a breather Spike took his radio back out and switched it on.
"Yo." He said, waiting to see how the others would react.
"Spike, what the hell is going on?!" Jet demanded.
"Liquid boy decided to sneak up on me." Spike answered casually as he walked over to one of the grates in the shaft.
"And what happened?" Jet asked.
"I flushed him." Spike replied as he kicked the grate in. "Don't think he's dead though, so you'd better keep an eye out for him. Come to think of it you'd better keep an eye out for me to. He did his little copycat routine with me and can pass himself off for my evil twin."
"That's assuming you're not the evil one." Jet said, only partially joking. "You do realize we're going to have to confirm that you're you before we give you directions back?" He asked.
"Eh, save it for later." Spike said and he started to work his way into the vent. "I'm about to go vent diving and I have no idea where it's going to lead. Just wait until you see me and give me a call." He started crawling and for the first time he found himself grateful to whoever had built this dump. The ventilation shafts were huge compared to the ones in normal buildings. He wasn't able to stand up or anything but had plenty of room to maneuver, heck you could turn around easily in these things without having to be a professional contortionist.
While Spike was appreciating the first good construction anomaly Black Mesa had to offer the T-1000 proved him right by showing it was not dead as he continued to fight against the toxic current. The chemicals had been diluted somewhat by the water already in the system so it was not as bad as the first immersion but it was still almost unbearable. Grabbing onto the end of a broken pipe the T-1000 managed to stop himself and break the surface. Looking around he saw he was within arms length of higher ground and grabbed the edge of it, determined to get out of the spill. Pulling himself up and onto dry land he skipped 'bleeding' the toxic soup out and vomited instead. It was a disgusting biological reaction of the humans but it turned out to be better to collect and force the liquid out one way then letting it work its way through him and potentially cause more damage. Once there was no trace of the contaminants left he stood up and observed the area he was now in. He didn't know how far he had traveled and without knowing the base's layout there was no way to know which path to take. The logical choice was to take the first route that presented itself, and after several minutes of walking down the tunnel he found it. It was an airlock and once opened he discovered it led to an elevator. There was only an up or down button and since his targets were still above him he pressed up. After rising for several seconds the elevator stopped and opened its doors. He was now looking at a security checkpoint that guarded a large blast door. The only indication as to what lay behind the door was an orange symbol above it, a circle that contained a slightly tilted letter of the Greek alphabet. It didn't take long for the T-1000 to decipher it. Lambda.