Chapter 9: Home On The Wastes (III).
"Take cover!" ordered the Courier as he fired at a turret.
Sofiva and Saphirette ran behind a huge pillar that lay collapsed in a corner, taking shelter from the volley of laser fire that almost caught up with them. The Courier and ED-E moved from side to side, dodging the lethal shots while firing at any turret they could reach with efficient and mechanical precision.
Those were not the usual automated turrets, they were a more complex and advanced design, capable of withstanding more damage than normal models and capable of firing with impressive speed, reacting to their movements almost instantaneously. The turrets seemed to have some sort of intelligence as they attacked as a team, and If that wasn't enough, the corridor was filled with them; two more turrets would emerge from the walls and ceiling for every one they destroyed.
"How I hate these damn metallic pests," he proclaimed while reloading bullets
ED-E emitted a series of beeps with a noticeably offended tone as he covered him, moving from side to side to intercept the lasers and return the fire, being able to withstand the attacks thanks to his reinforced armor plating.
"C'mon, lil' buddy, y'know that's not what I mean!" he explained as he finished reloading the revolver. "I would never disrespect your kind like that."
The eyebot responded with another series of beeps, this time with a resentful tone.
"Oh give me a break, I was high on Mentats and vodka that one time, you can't blame me for what I say when I'm that messed up!" he replied as he aimed his gun to the ceiling, shooting consecutively to finish off a turret fresh off the roof.
The women could only watch in awe from their hiding, unable to believe that the duo could have such a casual conversation in the midst of battle.
"Grognak! What should we do?" Sofiva asked as she poked her head out, quickly having to hide again to avoid a laser aimed at her location.
"Well, the main thing would be to finish with the turrets, although that could be a—" the Courier was interrupted by a sudden pain. A turret had abruptly popped out of the ground, and without premeditation, fired a continuous burst of lasers at his right leg, somehow recognizing that it was one of least protected spots. "Son of a bitch!"
It was an intense, almost petrifying pain. The nerves in his leg were suffering to a ridiculous degree, as if hundreds of needles were piercing each of his pain receptors, although the leg as such did not appear to be damaged or suffer from any external changes. Apparently the turrets were designed to immobilize and disable intruders, not to kill. It might be considered a merciful alternative were it not for the fact that it hurt like hell.
ED-E was quick to shoot at the turret that had wounded the Courier, quickly positioning himself in front of his human partner and emitting a steady series of beeps of appalled consternation.
"Let's retreat lil' buddy, retreat! Move your metallic ass!" The Courier barked orders as he ran along the eyebot in the direction of the pillar, quickly jumping under the protection offered by the structure.
Once under the safeness of the pillar the Courier allowed himself to collapse to the ground, quickly checking his leg. The pain remained, worse still, it almost felt as if the pain became more acute with each passing second, with the intensity worsening to levels that would easily make a normal person faint. There was no doubt that it was high-end technology, though the creators were undoubtedly sadistic bastards.
"Mr. Grognak! Y-your leg!" Saphirette said in panic as she bent down to look at him, looking overcome by the situation.
"Save it, Glassies," he said bluntly as he rummaged in one of his pockets, pulling out a syringe of Med-X which he quickly proceeded to inject into the affected leg. "We have bigger problems on our hands."
Now that the Courier and ED-E were sheltered behind the pillar, there was nothing left to stand up to the turrets, which were now focusing all their laser fire on the pillar, causing it to slowly begin to crumble. Soon they would be defenseless.
"No matter how many we destroy, more keep coming out," he said as he moved his leg slowly, already beginning to feel the effects of the painkiller as the pain subsided. "We need a way to take them all out simultaneously. The proper thing to do would be an explosion, but..."
He poked his head over the side, looking at the state of the corridor. It was filled with turrets, each one located on the walls, ceiling, and floor, all concentrating their attention in his direction. After that he turned to look at the other side of the corridor, which was in the same state. They were surrounded.
"We would need an explosion that would annihilate the entire corridor, even manage to penetrate the walls and destroy any turrets that are hidden. But for that we would need a massive explosion that would send this whole place to hell, and that would mean blowing us to pieces as well," he explained as he checked his own arsenal. "And I don't know about you, but I like my limbs the place where they are."
"A powerful explosion, but at the same time a controlled one?" uttered Saphirette, analyzing the situation. Suddenly she clapped her hands together, her face now looking illuminated. "I have an idea! Miss Anne, I will need your assistance."
Sofiva nodded, moving closer to her so that they could begin to discuss something quietly. Saphirette seemed to say something that surprised her, though the small, confident smile the elementalist wore seemed to signal confidence in what she was saying. Meanwhile the concentrated laser fire from the turrets continued to damage the pillar, causing it to crumble even faster.
"Ladies, if you have a plan, then you better do it soon," hurried the Courier as he began to pull a few plasma and pulse grenades from under his duster, prepared for a desperate gambit. "And when I say soon I mean right fucking now."
Despite the urgency of his order, the women seemed to ignore him. Sofiva stepped forward, bowing her head and beginning to whisper.
"Hear my command, obey my request, for today I demand protection," she said softly as she clasped her hands together in what appeared to be a prayer.
"Birdie, I don't know if you are aware of it, but this is not exactly the time to pray," he said as he stood up, grabbing her by the shoulder. "We can later go to church or whatever you want, the idea is to get out of here alive."
Sofiva did not reply. Instead she remained with her head down, muttering steadily.
"Let all projectiles be reflected, may the damage not penetrate my barriers," she whispered softly, her voice becoming slightly distorted as she continued. "Ensure my well-being and that of those who accompany me, from now on… Great Sentinel!"
Having said this she opened her eyes, which glowed with an intensity reminiscent of a fierce fire. Sofiva raised her hand high, with a mysterious green light emanating from her palm and quickly spreading around her and the others, manifesting as a force field surrounding them, just in time for the pillar to succumb to the concentrated burst of lasers which were surprisingly bounced back upon impacting the force field, managing to protect the group.
"What in the—" the Courier began to say, only to be cut short by Saphirette's sudden interruption.
"Step aside, Mr. Grognak!" she exclaimed, stepping forward with unexpected determination, pulling her right hand out of the protective field. "Solstis! Heed my call, honor our bond!"
The woman's hand began to be surrounded by flames that burned vigorously but somehow without harming her.
"Let your heat flow, may our aggressors be reduced to ashes!" she exclaimed as the fire around her fist increased more and more. "Let heaven and earth blaze... Ignition!"
With that statement the concentrated flame in her fist was expelled in multiple directions, exploding into powerful and massive flares with each target they hit. Soon the entire corridor was engulfed in a hellish blaze, with every turret being instantly destroyed and reduced to nothing more than molten metal. The previously pristine white walls were tinged with a dark scorch, and the turrets still hidden behind them soon succumbed to the heat, with the small cracks in the walls excreting molten metal.
That demonstration of destructive power lasted for a while, with the place collapsed by fiery and inclement flames, although thanks to the protection of the force field the group remained safe, being spectators of that inferno without being harmed despite being at the epicenter. Several minutes passed before the fire began to die down, leaving only small embers floating in the air which slowly returned to Saphirette's hand, concentrating on her palm before disappearing completely, apparently being reabsorbed.
The previously chaotic corridor was now plunged into a lethal silence, with the air now infested by the stench of burning metal. The force field finally ceased when Sofiva lowered her hand, causing it to dissipate.
"T-that went better than I expected," Saphirette muttered between gasps, looking somewhat fatigued. "Thank you very much for your support, Miss Anne."
Sofiva responded with a small smile, quickly turning to look at the Courier, who due to his helmet made it impossible to see his face, but his silence indicated that he was astonished.
"Are you lost for words?" she asked, showing an indifferent expression, but brimming with vainglory in her manner of speaking. "Perhaps you are surprised by our demonstration of magical might?"
There was no response from him, instead he remained silent, staring at the two with those reddish lenses that hid his eyes and that took away any kind of expression, something that even made them uncomfortable.
He remained in that stoic, silent manner for what seemed like an eternity until he finally raised his hand, pointing his finger at Sofiva.
"A concealed miniature repulsion device capable of projecting a force field for a short period of time," he explained in detail, reducing the whole alleged magic act to a mere technological trick. He quickly directed his accusing finger at Saphirette, continuing his explanation. "Yours is more tricky, Glassies. Probably a type of incendiary explosive based on fuel and driven by some kind of magnetic attraction, which makes it easier to handle the resulting fire."
They were both perplexed at what he said. Sofiva was the most affected, as what she thought was her moment of glory had been taken away from her.
"Repulsion device? What are you—"
Sofiva was interrupted by the sudden playful flipping of her hair by the Courier, a gesture he also did with Saphirette as he moved forward, walking past them to appreciate the cybernetic massacre that now filled the hallway.
"You gals managed to surprise me for a moment, so I give you bonus points for that effort," he said as he kicked a piece of burned metal, sending it flying, echoing with its fall in the distance. "Presentation and efficiency, a wonderful combination. But next time do it all at once without so much gibberish, okay?"
Both women showed curious reactions to what the Courier said. Saphirette showed remarkable confusion, not understanding what the man was talking about. Sofiva, for her part, denoted an expression of frustration and resignation, like that of someone who realized she is struggling on a downhill slope.
"Lil' buddy, come here, I want to ask you a favor," he called for ED-E, who obediently attended to his call, floating over to where he stood. "I want you to look for any intact turret debris you can find. Scan what you can, bring any data you can find, and if you see anything that looks useful, you can take it and put it in your storage."
The eyebot responded with a series of arguing beeps.
"Don't say that, I'll be fine. If the entrance was so reinforced then what follows will be easier. I'm sure they were betting that the intruders couldn't get past the entrance, or they wouldn't have put so much effort and resources into this," he argued, already having some experience in the workings and structure of subterranean Vaults. "And besides, if anything happens, I have Birdie and Glassies watching my back."
The eyebot wiggled from side to side in denial, beeping again.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm aware she doesn't have enhanced vision, but there is no need to refer to her that way, young man," he told the eyebot as he crossed his arms. "Christ, since when did you become such a foul-mouthed robot? I may have to restrict you from television for a while."
ED-E screeched at that, trembling with dread at the prospect.
"Then you'd better watch that language of yours, young man," he said as he gave him a small, affectionate caress. "Now go and do as I told you. If you manage to bring back any significant data I'll reward you with a Ralphie marathon, okay?"
The little one fluttered up and down in joy at that proposition, quickly flying off and beginning his search for an intact turret, passing by the still incredulous women who had only witnessed one side of the conversation, still unable to understand how the two were able to communicate. They followed the eyebot with their eyes, watching as it inspected the molten machinery with astonishing speed.
"Hey, you two!" called the Courier, attracting the attention of both. "We still have a long road ahead, so let's hit it."
She writhed in pain, expelling a whimper of suffering while disconnecting the cable connecting the back of her neck to the main computer. She could feel it, she could experience the sensation of being burned alive over and over again. Massively transferring her consciousness to the turrets not only gave her a better handle, but also allowed her to feel the impacts. The simple destruction of a turret meant little to her, but that massive burning had triggered a current of suffering that made her circuits tremble.
Pain. That was a gift her master had given her the moment he created her. She still remembered the look of illusion and joy on his face when she was first turned on, he had the expression worthy of a man looking at his newborn for the first time. She was designed to be different from the other machines her master and companions had built. She could feel, or at least emulate almost perfectly the complicated emotions of living beings. Her body, despite being mechanical, could experience every kind of sensation. She could be happy, sad, angry, she could feel like a living being.
Although she could feel the agony of incineration in its entirety, she could not help but feel content, for that suffering showed that she was her master's crowning achievement. At the same time that happiness turned to resentment, contempt for those who not only dared to invade her master's sacred home, but also had the nerve to damage his possessions.
"Must... repel... intruders," she muttered in her mechanical, distorted voice.
Her body was in a pitiful state. The material of which it was composed had corroded centuries ago, and essential parts of her mechanism had suffered irreparable damage. She barely managed to move, for every weak step she took was accompanied by a sonorous creaking sound.
Centuries and centuries of deterioration finally got the better of her. She rarely woke up every so often in order to repair herself and to clean up the facilities, but she had reached a point where that was no longer a possibility. She now lacked the tools and elements necessary to do so, so it was only a matter of time before her body failed completely.
"I must… wait... for Master," she said to herself, determined.
Her current state was pitiful, barely a shadow of what she had once been in her glorious past. But it didn't matter. She might lack the combat capabilities of centuries ago, but she still had full command of the facility and its machinery. Now she had lost the turrets on the first floor, but that didn't matter, she still had plenty to work with.
The biggest problem now was that the invaders were in groups. One was coming from above while the other had finally managed to magically manifest itself in one of the abandoned corridors of the second floor. Whether those incursions were coordinated or mere coincidence was unknown to her, but it was not important. The united groups were a danger, for if they worked as a team they would have an easy time getting past her lines of defense.
Her greatest consternation was undoubtedly the individual who apparently led the group from above. Not only did he possess a unique spiritual energy, one that was frighteningly similar to that of her master, but he also made use of firearms of powerful caliber. This intrigued and confused her, for only her master and companions were capable of constructing and carrying such weapons. How was it that such weaponry had come into the possession of a savage from outside?
She had to investigate it thoroughly to be able to discern the origin of that weaponry. She needed to know if the savages from outside had managed to get hold of the technology of her creators.
"Apply protocol X9-1," she mused as she approached a new computer, one that displayed on its monitors a huge, detailed map of the facility, with incessant lines of data about every corridor, room, and space.
She carefully grabbed the cable protruding from the keyboard, pulling it closer to the conduit located in her neck. She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on what was about to happen. Her consciousness was powerful, but one false move and she could easily lose herself in the network, leaving her body an empty shell.
She remained like that for a few minutes of preparation, still and silent. Then she logged on to the network.
"Did you hear something?" Faeren asked as she stopped her walk, looking to the sides in alertness. "It sounded like an... explosion."
"My, did those long ears of yours manage to sense anything? I thought they were just for decoration," Zarthir said mockingly as she likewise halted her gait, causing the dark elf to give her a noxious glare in response. "But you are right, I can feel a certain disturbance. Valeria, dear, do you think you can detect the source?"
The dark mage was far behind them, taking short, feeble steps while using her staff as a support so as not to succumb to the ground.
"I-I do not have the energy for it," she mumbled, panting with exhaustion.
Getting past the magical defenses of the ruins and managing to transport them in one piece had consumed much of her energy. It would take some time for her to recover and return to her full potential.
"And why are you asking Valeria instead of doing it yourself? Was it not that high-ranking demons were possessors of powerful magic?" asked the dark elf as she crossed her arms in defiance of her superior. "Or perhaps the Fourth Princess assigned us a low-level demon?"
That last comment was an attack directed at the demoness's pride. Valeria was about to intercede, seeking to end the fight before it could start, but Zarthir was quicker than her.
The demoness placed her hand on the dark elf's cheek, dedicating her an affectionate caress, a gesture that provoked confusion in her.
"In that you are right, my sweet Faeren. I possess immeasurable magical capacity, one that easily surpasses that of my dear Valeria. Perhaps I could devote a fraction of my might to it, but... would that not be a waste of my prowess?" she explained softly as she slid the crimson claws of her glove over the skin of the dark elf, using a tone of voice so exquisite and sensual that it even caused her subordinate to blush slightly. "I specialize in the art of destruction and corruption, those are my specialties and my passion. To do anything outside of that would not only be sacrilege to my lineage, but also a waste of my precious energy. That is why I have you two, my sweethearts. You are able to do what I cannot, you are my extra arms, if it was not for you I would not be able to do anything at all."
Faeren was speechless, staring at the demoness with her mouth open. The demon's words lacked any support or basis to justify her remarkable laziness born of vanity, but the way she had said it had mesmerized her. She had made use of the natural talent of her species, the power to enchant mortals with the simple sound of her voice, the same one that had managed to subdue countless warriors and knights of the Order and reduce them to mere submissive slaves.
Faeren remained mute, partially enchanted by her superior's words. However it did not take long for her to snap out of it, realizing what she had actually said.
"Wait a minute... You lazy bitch!" the dark elf exploded in rage as she unsheathed her whip, ready to strike.
The lash was parried with a single hand from the demoness, who burst into childish laughter while the dark elf shouted profanities at her. Valeria for her part simply resigned herself, sighing in disappointment at the behavior of her companions. Sometimes it was hard to believe that they were older than she was.
That little conflict between the two continued for some time, but out of nowhere, the demon abruptly fell silent. Her carefree and mocking expression was replaced by a serious one. Her reddish pupils dilated, taking the shape of a vertical slit, reminiscent of those of a predator.
"Zarthir? Is something—"
Valeria's question was interrupted by the sudden and powerful flapping of the demon's dark wings, which without warning took flight at full speed, leaving her companions behind.
She was in a trance. She had sensed a delicious essence, but not like any she had ever felt before. It was not the essence of a hero, or a mighty warrior, it was something else, something that drove her mad. Something inside her burned, as if it were a primal instinct.
It was not even necessary to use some kind of magic, for her sense of smell was all that was needed. She went through the abandoned corridors with an impressive speed, flying past numerous machines that she suspected were defense systems, which barely managed to react quickly enough to hit any of their projectiles.
The fruits of her frantic search paid off when she could see in the distance what appeared to be a group of three people. They were two women and a man, but one of them stood out for something, and it was the male's spiritual energy, the same delicious and powerful essence that she had managed to feel so far away.
His spiritual energy... it was magnificent, she didn't have the words to define it, but it was irresistible. In those moments she did not feel like the sophisticated high-level demon that she was, but like a primitive beast attracted by the sensuality of a powerful and attractive fire.
Without thinking twice she flew at full speed towards the group. Of the three only the man seemed to notice her presence before attacking, quickly turning around and pointing something at her, but it was too late. The demoness tore through the group like a blast, breaking their formation and grabbing the man by the waist with the help of her long demon tail, lifting him off the ground and quickly fleeing the scene.
The man was heavy, more than he could appear with his physique, but that didn't matter. In those moments while flying at full speed with her new acquisition Zarthir felt a happiness like no other, which was reflected in her twisted expression of pure ecstasy. In those moments she no longer cared about the mission, her companions, the Fourth Princess, let alone the Demon Lord. All that ceased to have any value for her, although she didn't even know why. Her good judgment was clouded, obeying only that primitive and fierce desire within her.
All she knew was that she had caught an individual of immense value, one that her body and soul craved intensely, and that from now on all would be bliss.
SLASH
Zarthir felt a stabbing, searing pain, one so intense that it destabilized her flight, falling violently to the ground. It took her a few seconds to recover from the impact, getting up from the ground as she rubbed her face in pain, slowly coming to her senses once her frantic outburst was interrupted by that crash
The demoness looked back, seeing to her surprise that behind her was a trail of blood. In the distance she could see the man she had caught, already recovered from his own fall, holding something in his hands. On the right he held a knife, a large one so sharp that she could even feel its sharpness with just a glance. That in itself was intimidating, but seeing what he held in his left hand horrified her.
"Sorry 'bout the emergency stop, miss," said the man with a certain playful tone, albeit with a terrifying aura."It's just that I don't like going so fast. I get dizzy easily, y'know?"
The Courier thought he had seen it all in his decades of living in the Wasteland, but the Canadian Wasteland continued to surprise him. So far he had seen feline mutants, bird mutants, pink-skinned women with pig ears, and now what was in front of him, something he honestly struggled to describe.
It was a beautiful woman, quite curvaceous and with long dark hair. No doubt the kind of woman he liked to court and buy a drink. But that was not all. The woman had abnormal blue skin, pointed ears, strange horns coming out of her head, bat-like wings on her back and, if what he now held in his hand was what he thought it was, a long tail as well.
The fact that he was now in a Vault made him suspect that she was a unique mutagenic experiment, though he found it hard to understand the usefulness of a voluptuous blue-skinned woman with horns and wings. He was aware that the people in charge of Vault-Tec were ruthless psychopaths with more than a screw loose, but that was ridiculous even by their standards.
"Now, we had a bit of a rough first impression, but that doesn't mean our relationship has to be all rocky, don't you think?" he said as he watched her carefully, watching for any strange movements.
He wasn't sure if the mutant could speak, and if she did, he couldn't be entirely sure if she understood him. The Vault had spent centuries locked up tight according to Saphirette's estimation, and unless that mutant was long-lived, it was more than likely that there was a whole small community of mutants like her living somewhere in the Vault, no doubt having invented a new language due to the centuries of isolation. Of course, that was all a hypothesis he instantly posed, he could easily be wrong.
He was about to try his luck and approach her, but that idea was quickly dismissed by what he saw her do. The horned mutant wore an expression of pain and terror, something normal considering he had just mutilated a part of her body, but that was changed by something that disturbed him.
The female's pained and horror-stricken face changed, distorting into one of pure euphoria, forming a twisted smile that not even the most disturbed of the Fiends would be able to replicate. Perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed that the more she looked at him, the sicker and more lascivious her expression became.
Already sensing danger, the Courier began to push Blood-Nap away, slowly placing his hand on his thigh holster, ready to draw the Ranger Sequoia at any suspicious act on the mutant's part.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to speak English, would you?"
The answer to his question was a sickening combination of roar and groan from the mutant, who, ignoring the pain, flew at full speed towards him, ready to grab him again.
"Guess that's a no," he mused as he quickly aimed the gun, pulling the trigger.
BANG
The thunderous and deafening echo of the gunshot echoed down the hallway. The revolver had been fired, however, the bullet's destination was not the mutant's head, but a wall of steel that had appeared out of nowhere.
The Courier's reaction to that was hidden behind his helmet, but it was not necessary to see it to know that he was incredulous and confused at what had just happened. Out of nowhere a massive wall of steel had erupted from the ground, cutting through the corridor and separating the two combatants. Not only that, a quick glance back confirmed that it was not just one wall, for another had appeared on the other side of the corridor, effectively enclosing him.
"The hell is going on in this place?" he asked out loud, both astonished and annoyed.
Almost as if in answer to his question, the ground began to shake violently, so much so that it caused him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. For a moment he thought it was an earthquake, but a quick glance at his surroundings proved it was not that.
The ground wasn't shaking, it was moving at high speed. The corridor was being quickly shifted along the facility.
The movement lasted for almost a full minute until it finally ceased, with the corridor seemingly reaching its destination. The force of the braking was such that the Courier was sent flying, being lucky enough not to crash into the steel wall as it came down instantly, allowing him to fall into what appeared to be an old room.
The man crashed into a bookcase, breaking it with his fall and causing hundreds of old scrolls, books, glass, and other objects to fall to the floor, generating a loud rumble.
"Today just isn't my day, is it?" he said while carefully getting up from the pile of wood that had once been the bookcase, shaking off the debris of glass and such that had fallen on top of him.
He was aware that the Vaults were dangerous and unpredictable places, but there was something more to that place. Not only was it full of dangerous and highly advanced traps, but there were also strange flying, blue-skinned mutants roaming the corridors, and to top it all off, apparently the facility itself could change its locations at will.
Now he needed to rejoin his group as soon as possible, although that seemed to be a more than difficult task seeing that he could be sent anywhere in the Vault without being able to avoid it.
As he stepped out of the pile of debris, he accidentally kicked a small metal sphere, one that reacted with a bright light, alarming the Courier enough for him to point the revolver at it.
BZZZT
The light from the sphere began to materialize, forming what appeared to be a large holographic map, specifically one that reflected the territory that encircled the nation of Polove.
"Well now, what do we have here?" commented the Courier as he approached the hologram, contemplating it with curiosity. "It's nice to find one of these things that doesn't try to shoot me."
Holographic technology had always attracted his attention, but bad experiences in the past had left a bad taste in his mouth. Nevertheless, he had no problem appreciating the effort put into that holographic map, which was so well done that he couldn't resist trying to touch it.
"Huh?"
The man was surprised to find that he was able to physically interact with the hologram, as they were normally projections invulnerable to physical contact. Curiosity got the better of him, so he couldn't help but touch it further, causing the hologram to expand, showing nearby territories and their adjacencies.
Courier couldn't help but feel impressed, as the image quality of the projection was magnificent, not to mention accurate with the maps he had at hand. However, the more the map expanded, the more he could not help but feel that something was wrong.
The map ended up showing the entire continent, although there had to be a mistake, for the continent it showed was not at all similar to North America. It was not even similar to South America, Europe, Africa, or Asia. It was something totally different. However, that was not to be. It was true that much information had been lost from the Pre-War world, but something like a lost continent was plain impossible. The only possibility was that it was the map of an alternate world, and that was simply beyond the realm of reason.
"Hold on…"
Suddenly, a memory came to him as he reviewed the map over and over again. About that particular night years ago when he discussed with Dr. Klein the theory of parallel dimensions and alternate earth analog planets. He remembered how he couldn't help but laugh and scoff at such an absurd concept, but Klein, despite his senility and insanity, took the subject very seriously, claiming he was more than capable of proving it.
The Courier broke out in a cold sweat as he remembered the specific phrase Klein said before ending the discussion.
"YOU'LL SEE, PARTNER, WITH MY SCIENTIFIC GENIUS NO PLANET, DIMENSION, OR GARAGE, IS BEYOND MY REACH."
The Courier remained still, immobile, without saying a word. There were so many emotions, so many feelings, so much he wanted to say, do, and reflect that he didn't know how to begin. In the end there was something that managed to conquer his mind, something that now flooded every fiber of his being: rage.
He quickly stomped on the holographic device repeatedly in a fit of fury. He flipped over nearby tables, smashed glass fabrications, and punched the walls until his fists bled. The Courier screamed, roared, and issued every insult known to man, engulfed in a blind ire.
Amidst his screams and howls of anger, there was one decipherable phrase, one that perfectly summed up his feelings about the current situation.
"Klein! You motherf—"
The steel walls again appeared, closing the room tightly, enclosing the wrathful man and leaving him alone in his isolated retaliation. Once again the facility was in motion.