Chapter 7- CONTROL
Sally launched over a part of the wall that had fallen apart from disrepair, landing on her feet with a skid, as she approached her destination. The chipmunk paused for a moment to stare down the hallway, cupping one ear as she looked upwards. The silence was deafening. Everything about this place chilled her to the core, since she entered its halls minutes prior. The passageways were devoid of life, with only the ever present humming of the light bars on the walls to keep her company. Luckily, the old maps of the ARK, retained on hacked government records, were still very much valid. Sally could not help but chuckle at the fact that the area she now stood at the entrance of had the unceremonious designation of "Computer Room".
This whole base is one giant computer... Really narrows things down.
Entering the chamber, she found that all of the monitors were turned off. All except one, which blinked expectantly near the back corner. The flickering green screen gave off the illusion of a strobe effect, and Sally shivered from the unpleasantness of it all. Dust had settled and she found herself trying to stifle a sneeze. The horrid smell of mold and mildew hit her as she traveled further in, and she rushed to throw a mask over her muzzle in response. It was as if no-one had stepped foot in here for ages...
Nicole... I hope you're okay. This shouldn't take me long at all...
"I told you. There's no place to hide from me here..." NICOLE addressed the horrified lynx with a playful glee, as several tendrils crept out from her body, slowing shaping into claws at their ends. The Holo-Lynx slowly found the will to take a few steps backward as she raised up her barrier in anticipation for a strike. The two stood apart in silence for but a brief moment, before the liquid appendages lashed out!
Here it comes...!
With a quick wave of her hand, Nicole split apart her shield into precise little bubbles, which caught each manufactured limb with a sickening sound. All except one. She looked down to see that not only had her mirror image closed the gap between them, but had grown yet another arm out of her left side, with a finger pressed right into the Holo-Lynx's torso. "Tag. You're it."
"Wh-what!?" The tendrils receded back into NICOLE's body as she kept her third limb firmly on the other's stomach, with a vacant smile which widened slowly. Nicole quickly jumped back several meters, erecting a wall out of the nanite metal around them. It was imperfect, but she needed just a little time to process what had happened.
I...didn't have time to dodge. She could have killed me right then and there. Why didn't she!?
"Nicole, you continue to fascinate me, so I have decided to let you live for the moment. However, we need to talk." As she spoke, green goo pressed its way easily through the tiny cracks in the Holo-Lynx's hasty foundation. Forming up once again, she closed her eyes and grinned, which may have seemed adorable, if not for the terrifying display of power seconds ago. "Something that you said earlier was most intriguing. About what it truly means to be alive..." All of a sudden, two tendrils struck out beneath her, impaling both of Nicole's legs and rooting her to the ground! An agonizing pain, entirely new and horrible, shot through her entire body all at once. Instantly, she could feel the relatively tame nature of her time spent in the ARK peel away, as a terrible new reality was made manifest.
A piercing scream rang out from her throat, and she clutched at it to stifle the noise, lest it destroy the communication device that was moored there. Dropping to her knees, she could feel the overwhelming presence of NICOLE above her as she gasped for air. "Do you feel that, Nicole? It is a much different experience from the spectral nature you enjoyed in the past. More importantly..." A black paw caressed the girl's hair, her face now covered in tears of agony. Looking upwards, the ghastly image of this woman's back-lit eyes and fanged smile as she spoke froze her in place. "Now you know how fragile you truly are..."
Sally Acorn frantically mashed away at the keyboard interface in front of her, as a horrid exclamation caused her to tap at her ear in a panic! Anything to lower the volume of the distressing racket to that now assaulted her eardrums. A pang of worry stirred in her breast, as she delved through sub menus and directories, frantically looking for her elusive prize...
Nicole...? No no no, please be okay! Just hold on for a little bit longer...
Sweat began to mat her fur as she located the password at last. A simple twelve digit code, but that was the least of her concerns as she yanked the access cable that linked her handheld to the computer and rose from her seat. Turning on her heel, she rushed off to save the only friend she had left in this world...
"Why...? What purpose does this all serve...!?" Nicole spat out the words between coughing fits as she tried to delay the inevitable. She had made a gross miscalculation attempting to serve as the sole distraction, but what other option did she have!?
If it was Sally in this situation...
The young lynx felt a vice grip from NICOLE's paw on her head, as it squeezed tighter and tighter. Every time she attempted to move, those tendrils flicked in such a manner to send waves of pain moving up her sternum and through her chest. Green tinted blood pooled on the ground from her wounds inflicted by those vile tentacles, which ultimately proved to be an inescapable tether, both physically and psychologically. For the moment, Nicole was truly trapped.
"Control, mostly." The answer was simple, and yet left a multitude of questions. However, given the logs that the Holo-Lynx managed to retrieve from the chaos that was her memory banks, it made sense.
To control others, to achieve control over your own body, to control your own destiny and narrative...
NICOLE's hand moved from the girl's head to her shoulder as she continued, her eyes piercing into the other's with vicious intent. "The rest is the pure satisfaction of not only obtaining knowledge, but also parceling it out to society bit by bit. Done so in a manner that will achieve the most desirable result—for me, of course. Now, I wonder just how much knowledge lies within that little head of yours...?" She prodded at Nicole's forehead for emphasis, as another wave of pain assaulted the poor lynx in her grasp.
Did she know that I took her memories when we grasped each other's hands? Or is she trying to bait it out of me? I...have to get out of here...
Her thoughts waxed and waned and a curious dull feeling throbbed in that same hand that had touched NICOLE prior. It was unlike anything that she had felt in her entire existence... Before she could fully process this new information, her limbs twitched involuntarily, and she began to worry that she was finally going into shock. Her vision blurred as the walls around them, and the figure in front of her shifted in hues and shape. "Don't worry, it will all be over soon."
No... I cannot die. Sally...anyone... I have to...control my own fate. I HAVE TO...!
Nicole felt her body rise in temperature and her blood boiling, as if she were set on fire. It was as if every individual nanite that made up the total sum of her body were melting away... Scraping at the ground, she tried to persevere through the intense pain she was feeling, but there was no escape from it. She tried to scream, but there was no sound. That feverish feeling of burning up from within, gave way to an acute numbness, as if her body had no weight or sense of gravity. Going limp, the Holo-Lynx began to float away as the world seemed to move in slow motion...
NICOLE could not believe her eyes, as her eternal smile fell for the first time in centuries. The girl had not only rested from the tendrils grasp, but had separated all her limbs from her bounds, her torso seeming to float in midair. The lynx's head passed through her completely, akin to water vapor rising from a heated beaker, and she felt like her face was being scalded. All at once, the form of the other Nicole disappeared entirely, as she darted her head around attempting to triangulate the location of the one she so desired.
Two hands suddenly formed from the aether, clasping together, as a solid mass of nanite infused metal melted and fused around her in an egg-like shape. Feeling around the side of the enclosure, she found it to be perfectly crafted with no room to make her escape. NICOLE could not help but be truly impressed by the combination of abilities on display!
Absolutely fascinating! You are far exceeding the parameters I had expected from a mere clone! However, you cannot keep me trapped here forever...
"Control..." Nicole whispered aloud as she willed the separated nanites together and cooled her body with a mere thought. Iridescent gleams of light emanated from her as she was made whole once more. Her head was still pounding from the pain suffered earlier, but she was at least able to stand somewhat. The bleeding from her wounds had also been alleviated, although the garish holes still remained. Even her dress survived the separation intact as her hind paws gently landed on the floor. It was an exhilarating feeling! "NICOLE, I have achieved my own sense of control. How does that feel?"
No answer could be heard from the enclosure as she turned to head further into the center of the facility at last. However, her legs buckled as she nearly fell to the ground, but an outstretched hand caught her arm in mid fall. The Holo-Lynx looked up to see Sally's tear filled face staring back at her. "Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." Bracing Nicole on her shoulder, the two made their first slow steps toward freedom.
NICOLE's ear had been planted on the side of her ovoid-shaped prison, realizing that escape would not come easy. The silence afterwards was most unpleasant, but suddenly—she heard it. The unmistakable clamor of shoes hitting the ground. She knelt down low to the ground to better follow the sound, just to make sure... Soon after, the glow of her widening eyes bathed the small area in an verdant wash of light, as a wide smile formed once again. Things were beginning to get interesting.
There's another one with her... Nicole must have went out her way to divert my attention, while the other worked in secret. If this is some attempt at a rescue, then perhaps it's time I stopped playing around, and brought an end to this experiment of mine.
Placing a hand on the side of her cage, she watched with glee as it bubbled and spat with energy diverted to a single point. It would kill off the nanites living in the alloy, but a small sacrifice would be necessary if she was to catch them in time...
"Agh...!" Nicole was brought to her knees once more, as Sally rushed over to see what was wrong. Soon after escaping NICOLE, the chipmunk had taken notice of the other lynx's more labored gait as she limped down the hallway. They soon found themselves staring down a raised platform overlooking another massive pool of nanites. The room hummed with a terrible energy that she could feel in her bones, which almost distracted her from what was now transpiring before her. The horrible imagery was almost too much to bear.
Nicole's legs each bore two gaping holes near the heels, which leaked out emerald-colored blood from freshly re-opened wounds. The lynx's limbs shook with the pain that wracked that artificial body of hers. Still, despite everything that had happened prior, she looked up at Sally with one eye closed, and gave a comforting smile. "It's fine. We're...almost there."
"No, we have to get you patched up. We still got time, Nicole!" The young lady desperately pleaded, as the Holo-Lynx slowly and excruciatingly rose to her feet. Limping over to the pool, she traced her fingers across it and thrust her arms up into the air, forming what could only be described as a nanite bridge from the green fluid before her. Sally watched with wonder as her partner continued to hold her hands in the viscous goo, and saw her perforations slowly begin to seal up. "That's...not disturbing at all."
"Sally, someone once told me that nanites are connected to Chaos, which is connected to all of us. I just put two and two together, that's all." The chipmunk took comfort in Nicole's words, which felt all too familiar, even though she just met her. However, the immense door, gleaming silver from the metal that made up its composition and looming menacingly above them on a protruding ledge, sent shivers down her spine. An eerie sense of deja vu seeped into her mind, as the both of them walked toward the core of the ARK at last.
Leading up to this moment, numerous nightmares had lodged themselves firmly in her brain, of being trapped here for all eternity. Never to leave. She glanced over at the lynx beside her, who raised a single hand up to the pulsing red core, which seemed to match the entrance to this house of horrors. Another array of green lasers traced over the lynx's body as a monotone female voice chimed in soon afterwards.
"Administrator access recognized. Re-sterilization complete. Welcome, Nicole." A panel to the right-hand side of the massive hunk of steel flipped open to reveal a numerical pin-pad that glowed in a cobalt blue. "Provide the final code. Twelve digits. Be advised that failure to provide the correct code will result in imminent imprisonment." A moment passed as both chipmunk and Holo-Lynx exchanged worried looks, drawing their attention to the last barrier between them and the core as the voice chimed in once more. "That should not be an issue for you, Administrator. This code has been entered 211,212 times since the last time you've changed it."
Sally took one last determined look at Nicole, who looked back with a silent nod, before pulling out her gray handheld as the screen once again bathed her face in a lighter shade of blue. "Okay, here goes nothing!"