10 points for anyone that can tell me what Zver means in what language. Here's a hint, it has something to do with our hooded friend that Angel has run into.
Chapter 3: Run Away
Angel wasn't sure where the hooded man was taking her, but it had to be better than what she was just dealing with. They ran through a large tube and entered a large, canyon-like area that was covered in stalker nests. "I am going to die." Angel thought as they travelled deeper into the stalker territory. Angel finally gained her senses and stopped, causing the man to stop and turn towards her. She still couldn't see the man's face because the hood casted a shadow over him, but she could see a red dot on the left half of the shadow.
"I am not taking another step forward until you tell me who you are." Angel exclaimed. "This is neither the time nor the place for introductions." The man replied in a light accent. Angel recognized the accent from a commercial she saw on TV, "He sounds like the guy from the Vladof commercial." Angel thought. "I'm not going anywhere without some answers." Angel exclaimed, standing her ground. "Then have fun getting eaten." The man proclaimed. "I really didn't want you to get killed by those psychopaths out there, but if you want to be so damn stubborn then be my guest."
The man turned and started walking away when Angel noticed something about the area they were in; there was a serious lack of stalkers in a stalker nest. Angel also noticed that when the man started to leave, the stalkers started to emerge from their nests. She saw every kind, rabid, poison, slagged, typhoon and badass. All of them had their eyes locked on her and they all looked hungry. All she had on her was her blade since Inferno ripped her sniper rifle from her hands.
Angel decided to not be torn apart by stalkers and caught up with the black hooded man. "Glad to see that you chose to trust me." The man exclaimed. "I'm choosing to not be killed by stalkers, I am not trusting you." Angel corrected.
"But there is some element of trust in it if you are choosing to follow me."
They came to a large clearing and Angel saw the large stalker, Zver if memory served, and Patrick and Justin at the center of it. Zver sat like a pet animal would and stood watch over Patrick and Justin. "Good boy." The man proclaimed as he scratched the side of Zver's head. "You'll get a treat when we get inside." Zver made a small roaring sound that Angel thought sounded happy. Zver moved aside and revealed a small patch of ice that looked slightly different from the rest of the ice.
The man knelt down and put his hand at the center of the patch, pushing down on it. The patch popped up to reveal handles on the sides and the man lifted it up to reveal a ladder. "Big guy, you go first and carry the little one." The man commanded as Zver jumped down the hole. Patrick looked to Angel with a worried look, like he was looking to her for an answer. Angel nodded and Patrick did as he was instructed.
The man turned to Angel and exclaimed "You next, I'll go next and shut the hatch." Angel nodded and started climbing down the ladder, hoping that she wasn't being led to her death. She went down to the bottom and was staring down a dimly lit tunnel that led to a metal door. Zver, Patrick and Justin waited there and the hooded man moved past her. He walked up to the door and Angel heard a clicking sound before the man opened the door.
"You can put your friend on the couch. Probably just in shock… no pun intended." The man proclaimed as he walked in. Zver shot past the man and disappeared into the room that Angel and her friends were entering. The room was fairly large and had a visible second floor. Angel could see a bed and a large stalker nest on the second floor, probably for the man and Zver. The main floor held a large work bench underneath the overhang with pieces of scrap metal and wiring.
Tools lined the wall ranging from mechanical to medical. The far wall held a kitchen area complete with refrigerator, sink and dishwasher and a washer and dryer next to the fridge. There was a large television that occupied the right wall with smaller screens all around it and a couch in front of them all. Patrick laid Justin on the couch as the man went to the fridge. He opened the large door and pulled out two things, a small jar of something green and a midget rat corpse.
He tossed the Rat to Zver, who was sitting on the overhang and waiting patiently for his treat. "Good boy." The man proclaimed as Zver caught the corpse. The man went to Justin and explained "This is a salve that should help with the burn he's going to have. Helps with the healing process." He lifted Justin's shirt to expose the wound he now had. The man opened the jar and spread a bit of the salve on Justin's wound.
"Just leave this on for about an hour, reapply every day and his would should be good in a week." The man finished as he handed Patrick the jar. He headed over to the work bench and removed his jacket, revealing the white shirt he was wearing underneath. His hair was short and black and his skin was a little pale. What surprised Angel the most was that both of his forearms were robotic, like Aunt Gaige's arm. Angel walked over to the work bench and saw him open his right arm and start poking at the wires.
Angel also noticed that the red light she saw earlier was actually his right eye. "You can grab something from the fridge if you're hungry or thirsty." He exclaimed. Angel didn't hear a word he said since she was amazed at how young he was, probably the same age she was. "Can you please not stare?" He questioned. "I feel like a freak show." Angel blurted "Sorry! It's just… how old are you exactly?"
"Eighteen last month. Why?"
"You're eighteen and you live here?"
"Not exactly a lot of places willing to take in an android war machine."
Angel's jaw hit the floor after he called himself a war machine. "What's your name?" Patrick questioned. "Nickoli." He answered. "So you do speak? I thought you were mute." Angel replied "Patrick just doesn't talk much. My name is Angel by the way, and our unconscious friend is Justin."
"Well it is nice to meet all of you. I don't get a lot of friendly visitors down here, gets a little lonely."
Angel heard Zver make a whimpering sound and Nickoli responded "Don't give me that Zver. I like a little human contact every once in a while." Zver whimpered again and Nickoli grumbled "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Nickoli returned to working on his arm and Angel questioned "How did you get like this? How did you end up here?"
"You know the Vladof Corporation?"
"Yeah."
"Well, since Vladof is a high contender against Hyperion and now Maliwan for control, the founder of Vladof decided that we needed better fighters to combat our adversaries. He wanted to create cybernetic soldiers to fight… what you see before you is the result."
Angel threw her hands over her mouth and gasped "You were… an experiment?" Nickoli sighed "The beginning stages of the entire project… a guinea pig to see if I would live."
"How could they do this to you? How could your parents let this happen?"
"Parents? Mom died two years after I was born during a Hyperion raid and Dad… Dad is the one who did this to me. My full name is Nickoli Vladof."
Angel noticed the grip Nickoli had on his screwdriver tighten as he growled "If I ever see that son of a bitch again… I'm going to make him pay for this. He wanted a war machine? Well now he's got one." Angel put a hand on his shoulder and comforted "It's okay. He can't get to you here." Nickoli relaxed a bit and sighed "Thanks, it's been a while since…" Nickoli immediately threw his head forward, slamming it on the table and bellowed "FUCK! ZVER!" Zver jumped down and grabbed a screwdriver from the wall of tools.
Zver handed Nickoli the tool and he threw his shirt off. Angel went wide eyed as she looked at the large metal spine that ran up Nickoli's back and started sparking. He used the screw driver and stuck it into the small of his spine. He started twisting the tool until the sparking stopped. Nickoli sat back down and panted "I hate those nerve shocks."
Zver nudged Nickoli's leg and whimpered until Nickoli proclaimed "I'm alright Zver. I'm alright." Zver recognized that Nickoli was okay and returned to his spot on the overhang. "What was that?" Angel questioned. "Nerve shock." Nickoli answered. "The metal spin is what allows me to control my arms, connecting wires to my nerves. Like I said before, I was a guinea pig so everything wasn't exactly perfected just yet."
"But I know plenty of people who have robotic limbs and that doesn't happen to them."
"Yeah, but how many have a robotic spine made from a planet at war with either a different corporation or itself?"
Angel had to stop since Nickoli was a special case when it came to robotic limbs, she didn't know anybody with his condition. "I've learned to live with it." He sighed. Angel declared "I know someone who can help you."
"I doubt anyone could help me."
"Well I do. Come back with us and we can get you the help you need."
Nickoli looked at her with a cold look and exclaimed "I don't recall asking for help." Angel was going to make a return comment when she heard Justin groan "What happened?" Angel ran to her friend and wrapped her arms around him crying "I'm so glad you're okay!" Justin weakly chuckled "Yeah… I'm okay." Nickoli proclaimed from his workbench "You should get him to a real doctor to see if there was any more damage."
"Who's this guy?"
Angel answered "His name is Nickoli. He saved us from those psychos earlier after you passed out." Justin sat up and groaned "Thanks for saving us." Nickoli replied "Not a problem." Angel went over to Nickoli and exclaimed "You really should come with us. We know a great engineer who can help you with you robotic parts." Nickoli ran his hand through his hair and sighed "Why are you so intent on trying to help me when I clearly don't want or need your help?"
"Because I am in your debt, and my father taught me that a debt should always be repaid."
"You aren't going to let this go until I come without."
"Not a chance. Something I got from both of my parents."
Nickoli stood up and threw his shirt back on. "I guess I don't have much of a choice then." Nickoli grumbled as he grabbed his hoodie. "Zver, hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'll be back soon." Zver made a whimpering noise and Nickoli comforted "I'll be back soon. Don't worry." Nickoli turned to Angel and questioned "So are we going or not?" Angel smiled at the fact he finally accepted her help and questioned "Justin, are you good to walk?"
Justin got up from the couch and declared "I'll be fine. Let's head home." Angel nodded and announced "We're ready to go!" Nickoli chuckled "What a group we are. A kid in over his head, a guy who barely talks, a skag-stubborn siren and a runaway cyber soldier with a badass stalker as a pet. What are we waiting for?" The others smiled and followed their new friend out of his home.
BOOM! Nickoli Vladof everybody! Son of the founder of Vladof and a cyber-soldier to boot! Those who read the original will know where this goes, but for those who don't, stay tuned!