Chapter 3 - Through the Maze
Fidget was able to stand up, so he opened the route for Penny, both metaphorically and literally.
"Be careful, Fidget, some of these will trigger traps if they're damaged." said Penny.
"Don't worry, I'll perform a scan before even touching them." said Fidget.
"Good call." Penny gave a thumbs up.
Fidget scanned the whole place, "Let's see...okay! I've found the places we shouldn't touch. Just follow me."
As they kept going, Fidget drilling massive holes in the walls, very careful about not touching the side of the mountain. Penny warned him there were sensitive mechanisms all over the place, and they could get crushed if those mechanisms were altered in any way.
"We're making good progress." said Penny.
"It's easier not to follow the maze!" Fidget smiled.
Just then, there was some sort of ka-chunking sound.
Fidget froze, "What was that?!"
Just then, the maze started going through some sort of transformation.
"The maze is changing, and it's getting close!" Penny gasped. "Quick, drill!"
"You got it!" Fidget panicked.
Fidget started drilling a hole into the wall and the two through. Penny turned her flashlight to the wall and saw that something has already blocked the way.
"Wow, that was too close..." She sighed. "That thing would have crushed me if we stayed in there."
"Really?" asked Fidget.
"It popped out of the wall perpendicularly." Penny explained. "At best, I would have been cut in half."
Fidget looked grossed out. "And you call that at best?"
"I would have died quickly, that's why it would have been best." said Penny. "Let's go."
They moved as forward as possible, dodging the moving walls, Fidget finding less and less weak walls on his way.
"What are you doing, Fidget?" asked Penny. "We must keep going!"
Fidget wasn't moving.
Penny shook him, "Fidget!"
"Huh! Wh-what?!" He woke up.
"You stopped." Penny said ."Is something wrong?"
"Oh I..." Fidget groaned. "My battery...I was in autosave mode..."
"I almost forgot about that upgrade." said Penny.
She looked for some lug nuts in her bag, "Your artificial stomach can still provide energy to your battery."
Then, she found some nuts and bolts, then handed them to Fidget.
"Eat this." She said.
"Oh thank you, Penny..." said Fidget.
He put the bolts in his mouth, ate fast and burped.
"Excuse me." He chuckled.
"Do you feel better?" asked Penny.
Fidget's drill popped out of his belly. "Ready!"
He drilled the wall, and the light of the moon shone through.
"We did it, Fidget!" said Penny. "We can leave the maze!
They went through the hole, and Penny stood up.
"Ah, that feels a lot better, I've been crawling like a thousand years..." She said.
Fidget smiled. "And I have one more thing to make you feel even better."
"What is it, Fidget?" asked Penny.
He pointed behind him. "We're almost on top of the mountain."
As a matter of facts, it looked like it was only one mile away.
Penny smiled. "Neat! But we're not done, yet, this very small surface is also heavily trapped."
"Couldn't we fly up?" Fidget shrugged.
Penny thought. "Since we already triggered the surveillance system... I guess that's a valid route."
Fidget's helicopter showed up. "Great!"
He grabbed Penny by her arms and lifted her.
"Are you good?" He asked her.
"I'll be fine, Fidget, just fly to the top!" said Penny.
"Okay, here we go!" said Fidget.
Fidget flew peacefully for a few seconds, then something bleeped past his cheek.
"Hey, what was that?" He wondered.
"What?" Penny asked.
"I felt something touching my face!" said Fidget.
"Something?" Penny gasped. "Oh no, I knew it..."
"What?" asked Fidget.
A colony of strange bees showed up in the night.
"It's an anti-flight system!" Penny explained. "It recognized you as a flying object large enough to be anything else than a bird and launched a raid of explosive pocket rockets!"
"Explosive rockets?!" Fidget gasped.
Penny looked at her watch. "Don't worry, they're tiny, and their charge isn't enough to kill, they're designed to damage only. I'll do my best to destroy the more I can, try to dodge the rest!"
"Okay, Penny!" said Fidget.
Fidget then executed acrobatic dances to avoid as many rockets as possible, but they were sent in endless waves, and Penny could only target four at a time. Just then, one of the rockets just exploded against his helicopter.
"I can't fly, Penny!" He shouted. "We're gonna crash!"
"Don't worry, I got this!" said Penny.
She activated her boots and pointed her toes to the sky. The fire coming from the heels raged and slowed down the fall.
"Nice trick, Penny..." Fidget sighed of relief.
Penny looked up. "We're almost there. Come, Fidget, we must be quick!"
"I'm coming!" said Fidget.
They ran to the top.
"Are there any traps left?" asked Fidget.
"Only some rockets we'd better not wait for." said Penny.
Fidget ran faster until they arrived on top, and Penny turned around:
"Come here..." She said.
The rockets were flying right to them. Penny's watch beeped, and the rockets exploded against an invisible wall.
"Whoaaa... I didn't know you could do that..." said Fidget.
- It works only if I'm not moving. I need to upgrade that.
She knelled down on top. "There must be a trapdoor around here, somewhere..."
"Let me scan!" said Fidget.
After a few seconds, he nodded.
"It's right here!" He pointed to the door.
Penny followed his glance and found a seam in the ground:
"Okay, how do we open it?" She asked.
"Brutal force excluded, I suppose." Fidget shrugged.
"It's locked by a complex system, I need to hack it." said Penny.
She made her watch bleep a few minutes, and the trapdoor moved, but there was no handle.
"It must be a one-way opening system." Penny deduced.
"I think I can do it!" said Fidget.
Fidget threw a big magnet at the trapdoor, and he grabbed it to lift him and Penny up.
Penny smiled. "Nice job, Fidget!"
As soon as Penny jumped in, Fidget followed her, and they found themselves on top of a ladder in a very tight cylindrical space.
"This must go straight down to the former bank." said Penny.
"MAD's current hideout, I suppose." Fidget remarked.
Penny nodded. "If our sources are reliable, then yes."
They climbed down the ladder.
"Are there any traps on our way?" asked Fidget.
"No." Penny shook her head. "People who went beyond that point are supposed to be part of the authorized staff, because they have the codes to deactivate all the systems."
"That's a relief..." Fidget sighed.
They each put a foot on the ground. Penny rummaged over her memories to decide which way to go.
"But there could be a lot of MAD agents in here," said Penny. "So we must be careful and quie-"
Just then, there was some sort of rumbling sound.
"What is that?!" She looked around and then looked up. "Uncle Gadget?!"
He landed next to them, and his helicopter sprang back in his hat.
"Oh, Penny, you're here?" He asked his niece. "You need a withdraw too? I didn't know you had an account here..."
"Withdraw? Account?" Penny raised her eyebrows. "Uncle Gadget... You sure KNOW this bank has been closed for years, right?"
"Oh of course, I'm not stupid.: Gadget said. "But I received a message from my bank saying their new office is here!"
Penny almost face palmed. Obviously, that must have been a trap set by Doctor Claw, but she couldn't say that since he wouldn't listen to her anyways.
"Frankly, I'm glad they keep my money here, this place is very safe, there are tons of security systems on the way to the entrance." said Gadget.
"You climbed the mountain?" asked Penny. "You triggered all the security systems!"
"I think so." Gadget shrugged.
"Pssst! Penny!" Fidget whispered to Penny.
She kneeled down. "Yes, Fidget?"
Fidget whispered in her ear, "Now he's here and everyone inside knows we're here, what do we do?"
"Well, we must stay by his side to ensure his protection." Penny whispered. "Anyway, Doctor Claw is waiting for him, he probably set a precise place in the bank for them to meet. If we follow Uncle Gadget, he could lead us directly to Doctor Claw!"
"Understood!" Fidget nodded.
Penny gave her innocent child smile. "Say, Uncle Gadget, do you mind if we come with you? I need to...deposit some cash!"
"Well of course, Penny!" said Gadget Follow me!
Penny and Fidget exchanged a thumb up, and walked after the Inspector.
Author's Note:
Well folks, looks like the plot thickens. Also, Gadget30thAnniversary Ellis97 and I will be collaborating now.