Chapter 10: WRATH
NICOLE found herself staring blankly up at the twisted mess that covered the ventilation shaft leading to the core. As much as she wanted to perforate the steel structure, her gaze fell upon the supercomputer now, which needed the utmost attention at the moment. It almost distracted her from the disappointment she had for yet another failed experiment, as she chucked the remainder of the crushed Anarchy Beryl to the ground. "She did not produce a Chaos Spirit, even with the rocks help. Tsk. I was hoping I could at least figure out how Scourge reacted so favorably to its properties." The central platform was making quite the racket, and soon she found herself unable to ignore it any longer.
"Cooling unit compromised. ALERT ALERT. Cooling unit compromised."
On and on, the voice continued unhindered, as steam began to rise from the panels of the massive metallic tower. Sauntering up to the monitor, she swiped in the air bringing up countless screens, with several arms emerging from her sides to manipulate them. That eternal smile remained throughout, as more liquid tendrils assaulted the plugged up fan all throughout the process. She swore should could hear sobbing as she perked up her ears to track the sound. Before she could lock down the location, it ceased abruptly and NICOLE brought one of her left hands up to the same ear, trying to focus in.
thump
NICOLE's eyes widened as she diverted her focus to that singular noise with a taciturn look.
thump thump
I'll divert the heat to give that little rat a proper roasting. I am done with this.
CRASH
Suddenly, that immovable hunk of metal shattered all at once, with shards pinning her tentacles to the walls near the opening. Nicole's body launched out soon after, as more shrapnel lodged themselves in her own torso! Tightly grasped in each of the Holo-Lynx's hands were two more of those nitrogen dispensers, which lodged themselves in NICOLE's shoulders as her "sister" made landfall. She attempted to swing out with her upper arms, as the others guarded her torso from further damage, but a swift kick sent her toppling over the ledge!
What!? She did nothing to mask her approach. How did she move that quickly?
"Target still active. Moving to pursue." A flat monotone, yet oddly familiar voice, echoed from further up as NICOLE hurtled down the shaft. She tried in vain to slow her fall, by grasping at the sides of the pit with her liquid appendages! Their clawed tips only served to scrape off bits of metal, refusing to properly moor themselves in the panels. Her eyes moved frantically to track whatever was coming after her. That immovable grin fell into a twisted frown. The voice echoed around her once again, this time closer than before. "Movement continues to be immobilized to a significant degree. Press the advantage."
The shreds of steel paneling twisted into spikes, launching themselves toward her like mini missiles! NICOLE attempted to intercept them with her array of limbs, but each were pinned to the side of her body. She absorbed them quickly to shake the projectiles off, but another group of pins struck her neck and head in quick measure. All the while, the chill of the nitrogen crept further in as she finally landed back in the testing chambers, where the chase had begun only a few hours prior. A form began to solidify in the air above, as a brown furred lynx floated slowly down afterwards, her green eyes narrowed with a flat expression, punctuated by furrowed eyebrows.
Is this your final stand, Nicole...!?
"Play with me Daddy, come on!" A young, mustachioed squirrel, wearing a partially unbuttoned white shirt, bounced a little chipmunk girl on his knee, attempting in vain to burn through that relentless energy of hers. The girl refused to relent, as he had only arrived back at the house an hour ago.
"Isn't about your bedtime, Sally!?"
Nicole watched from above, as the liquid form of the other lynx melted and seeped below into the surrounding pools with surprising efficiency. She frowned as her mouth moved rigidly, devoid of any emotion. Her words were like pointed daggers, much like the pointed implements she used to skewer her sworn enemy. "Damage inflicted was insufficient. Not up to parameters. Switching to routine Beta."
Landing softly on the ground floor, she stiffly held her arms outward with palms outstretched and claws bared. Waiting... Her breath held in her breast as she scanned the emerald lit chamber for any sign of movement. The gray device now strapped to her hip beeped suddenly, and she clasped her hands together in response. Another Egg Prison encapsulated a form that had attempted to slither up behind her, taking a part of the floor to complete it. She heard a shriek from inside, and the Holo-Lynx turned toward it placing her hands on the enclosure. More screams could be heard from within as she directed intense amounts of heat to her black furred hands, which glowed red soon after. "Stay put."
"Honey. Where did you pick that up?" The little girl kicked her heels in the air, as she laid on the floor on her stomach, taken in the panels showing a beautiful lynx girl stretching her limbs under a wide array of stars. Her mom, another chipmunk with long flowing red hair and a casual blue dress, stood over her with a concerned, but slightly amused expression.
"The big cat man from the Chinese place gave it to me."
NICOLE could feel her form begin to shift under the encroaching pressure of the hot air, as it enveloped the egg she found herself in for the second time. Melting her wouldn't solve anything, and furthermore, she had one last ace up her sleeve.
How much time has passed I wonder...? Approximately three hours, thirty-two minutes, and seven seconds. Give or take a millisecond. Wait for it...
A bone chilling scream could be heard on the other end, as the barrier slowly gave way to the little lynx now clutching her right hand, clearly discolored from a little something planted all the way back in this very room. Nicole cried out once more as her legs buckled and gave way as well. "Excellent. Took long enough to take, but...here we are."
"Can't believe it took me this long to find it... Actually, that makes a lot of sense." The girl, now a grown woman, rattled away at the keyboard in front of her as lines of code intersected with another set of command prompts. STARGAZER could be seen littered throughout, a digital stamp that identified her target. G.U.N. was getting cocky, leaving it wide open, but this fact did little to alleviate the acute anxiety that Sally felt at that moment. It could be a trap, but what else was she going to do?
All the while, the handheld tracked her movements...a gift given to her parents during the chipmunk's baby shower. She never questioned the purpose of it until recently, when she found out it had dutifully recorded numerous points in her life. When her Mom and Dad disappeared, she never reopened it until recently. However, the purpose this would serve would be written by her, lodged within the images it contained. "If I happen to...die, it would be passed onto you, Nicole."
She paused for moment to scratch her chin as her brows furrowed to align with a pronounced frown. "That's a morbid thought." Tapping on the keys one last time, she turned to face the tiny screen. "I believe in you... I need you to carry on my legacy. You are more than just a mole in the system. You are my little bean... Remember that."
Knocked prone by the severe agony she now felt, Nicole swiftly thrust her hand into the nearby pool, as she felt her limbs begin to stiffen. Something horrible was moving around inside of the Holo-Lynx, and to her horror, she saw her legs beginning to dissolve before her very eyes. They turned a green sickly color as they began melt slowly, and painfully. The nanites that made up her body were beginning to return to an inert state...
How could I have been so stupid!? Reverting back to that computer mindset... I thought that was what Sally was trying to tell me. Better to focus on taking out my enemy. Now look at me!
Her right arm was beginning to melt into that green material as well, despite her best efforts. NICOLE's cold breath could be felt on her forehead, as her neck was forcibly craned upward, and she stared unblinkingly into those dead back-lit eyes of hers once more. Without a single word, she bared her fangs and sunk them deep into her neck! "Agh...!"
An acute numbness with just the slightest twinge of pain shot throughout her entire form as she felt her legs being swung upward. Summoning all of her strength, she brought her head level with the rest of her body, and what she witnessed was beyond words. Nicole was already up to her torso deep in the other lynx's body, her nanite self slowly being absorbed into her twin's own center of mass. The feeling was unlike anything she encountered before, as a surge of dopamine soothed the pain that wracked her body, and a peculiar drowsiness began to envelop her.
NICOLE turned around taking the decaying form of the Holo-Lynx with her as she went, walking back to the tube with a contented smile. The other peered up at her reflection and saw that her entire body was an oozing green mass, with her eyes lolling about in her head, like a dying fish. The AI that held her in check, took a moment to peer down at her and rubbed what was left of the girl's forehead silently. No more words. It was as if she knew what Nicole would say, or how she would protest. Peering upward at the ceiling, the trapped lynx could swear she saw a crimson form moving about in the darkness. It looked like someone she once knew, but the memory flickered out as soon as it touched her brain.
A hallucination...? Is this where I'll go, when I...pass on? Do creatures like me...have a place to go?
Nicole heard the clanking of the gray handheld, as it hit the floor with a echoing "thud". Even the dress she once had melted away, as her naked form sunk further in. Now neck deep, she heard NICOLE's voice, far more comforting this time. "Enjoy your rest; you have earned it. I've prepared something for your consciousness... I've heard you like the stars. I too, wish to see them one day."
