B-64 trilled fondly as he ran around the red concrete track, lightly waving at the security force there. He had nothing better to do, and since the fence surrounding his little trotting ground was enclosed in a, electrified, fence that was at least a meter thick and close to five meters in height. No way he was getting over that.
The security surrounding him were polite enough to wave back but did nothing more than observe him stretching his legs. Being someone that did not need oxygen to survive had it's good applications, he could, in theory, run indefinitely, and he could also survive in space, for a short while at least.
B-64 had often busied himself with trying to memorise certain aspects of the compound to ease his overactive mind, but found that it was a momentary relief. He had memorised the guards pattern of rotation once, but he then learned that the rotation and guards on duty changed every two months.
His paws, albeit a little rough, were extraordinarily light. He had force behind him, allowing him to run much faster than what was typical of that planet. He had even managed to surprise what he could only guess was a veteran guard by running the two hundred meter long stretch of track in little under ten seconds, even managing to dent his own energy reserves, though not by much.
He was, after all, a top of the line B-Series captain. It was expected.
The walls were a solid concrete, dark grey with large spiked balls at the top. Along it were countless strips of wire intertwining with each other, roasting anything that came into contact with them.
The green grass was nice to lay in, but since B-64 had very little time to his name, he needed to be as active as possible. The officers were in the corner of the field, encased in a solid brick of concrete with lead-lined, bullet-proof, reality anchor glass.
That day was like many others. But it was nearing the end of his hour outside that something happened.
His ears twitched as he heard the faint sound alarms being rung, then finally a red flashing light started to activate. The guards in the booth looked shocked, and even some scared. On his last jog over to them, one mouthed, "Breach..."
The officers grew more chaotic. They scrambled to get out of the brick-booth, pushing one another in a desperate bid to get out. B-64 stood still, observing them. What could they mean by, "Breach?"
But then he heard it. He heard chattering, like a thousand tiny voices penetrate his ear. They were low, almost like a whisper, but high, almost whiny. The door burst open, a metallic creature standing almost two meters in height.
It had the body of a feral ant, gleaming metal shining in the sunlight, pincers rubbing against one another in a flurry. The familiar sound of rustic metal scraping against one another sent a chill up B-64's spine, inadvertently activating his core.
Heat began to rise in his stomach, and he realised what had happened. An increase in adrenaline can cause his systems, no matter how damaged, broken, or overridden, to activate and bring out his shield and dagger.
Despite everything that they had done to him, he felt compelled to help the poor officers. He kicked the ground hard, sprinting towards the gigantic ant.
The creature roared, a thousand shrieks bellowed out of it's maw. B-64 then shut off his sound recipters, his systems once again kicking into action. He kicked his paw against the ground, pushing himself in the air.
As he flew through the air, he let loose his core.
Red Boson-Energy flew through his body, created by his own generator inside his body. Red streaks of plasma leaked out from underneath his green claws, sliding them to their full length, the red viscous substance corrosive to the touch.
He landed next to the creature, slashing down as his paws hit the concrete. It let loose another torrent wave of sound, but B-64 could not hear it. Claws still stuck deep into the abdomen of the thing, he twisted them.
He used the leverage provided by it to pull himself over the things back, slashing more and more of the metallic ant. His claws cut deep, and a inky black slime-like blood spurted out, staining his purple fur.
He landed with a humph, slashing with his other hand while he attempted to pull his other one out, but he was too late. The Ant had already killed on guard, ignoring the threat to his own life by attacking the more weak prey, and B-64 could see why.
Fresh red blood seeped through the open wound, instantly beginning to repair any lost tissue and any lost blood. As the thing ingested blood, it healed itself, nullifying any damage it had attained when B-64 had slashed.
He had to think of something. B-64 finally gripped his wrist and pulled out his claws from the body, beginning to hack away at the legs. Finding it nearly impossible to damage, he resorted to gaining the things attention.
He rushed to the face, pushing all five elongated claws deep into the ants check, using the speed he has uptainted as well as the spot to propel himself upwards, and he used the downward momentum to stick both sets of claws deep into the things beady black eyes.
This time, whispers escaped its mouth. The guards forze in terror, hearing things that were abominations, obscenities to nature. It was not working. B-64 recalled his knowledge of ants on that planet, and pulled out both claws again, slashing them across the top of the ants head, destroying all three top eyes.
The thing finally had enough of his antics. He batted it's head back, knocking B-64 against its thin neck. It propelled it's metalic head back, slamming it against B-64's body. It squashed him, his own metallic parts scraping against the beasts.
He clenched his fist, willing his core to expend more Red-Boson Energy. Using the new material, he pushed with his legs, now powered by the energy. He used his last remaining energy before the generator had to use more on one last thing.
With a kick, he sent the head forward, spun around and stuck both sets of claws into the metallic neck, kicking his legs backwards before the head could come back. He let gravity and his own push to pull him down, slicing the neck in half.
As soon as his paws hit the ground, he pushed himself back up, slicing upwards and decapitating the creature, who let out abhorrent screams of pure energy as its head rolled across the floor.
B-64 hit the ground rolling, and despite not needing air, was breathing heavily. The energy he had left was very little, and on his now working visor he was that he had less than ten percent remaining.
B-64 looked to the officers he had saved, but none were responsive. All seemed.. Petrified by the screams. B-64 let his sound receptors open again, and he felt his entire body almost freeze.
Hundreds upon thousands of low, whiny voices reached his ears, stinging them. He could not stand it. He rushed to the door, using a percent to slash open the reinforced iron doors. He was glad that he had that back at least. Recent upgrade. Or at least, as recent as it was.
Turning his head, he saw thirty different metallic ants, each a different material, and even some that he did not recognize. They noticed him, but saw the black blood that stained his fur, and each quickly rushed back into separate rooms, devouring the occupants of it.
B-64 quickly rushed down the hall, but the creatures were out of sight. Somehow, they were not in the rooms. B-64 grimaced, wondering what foul creator managed to create such foul creatures, but he had no time to dwell on that.
B-64 sprinted down the hall, turning corner after corner. He contemplated slashing down the walls of the building, but figured that if he did that, the creatures that were attacking that facility would also escape, and as harsh as that world treated him, he wished that on no civilization.
B-64 turned one last corridor, and was met face to face with Nathan. B-64 trilled happily, while Nathan stepped back out of shock, and perhaps some other emotion. He looked frantic and out of breath, his lab coat disheveled and badly burned, but alive.
His face was badly slashed, but he still held that same kind of hopeful expression that B-64 adored, and the only facial expression that was at the very least kindly directed towards him.
Nathan hastily grabbed his hand, ignoring the stinging pain of the Boson fluid and rushed down the corridor, B-64 keeping up with his pace. Nathaned seem to ignore the vast arrays of metallic, and clockwork creatures that roamed the hallways.
He looked scared, confused, and constantly muttered, "It wasn't supposed to go like this..."
As a loud sonic boom erupted past them, and an even larger, bronze metal wold broke down the concrete walls of the facility with force, B-64 could see inside the lab coat.
He could see his stomach, and his organs.
Gears and pulleys, cross-beams and wires dotted the insides, grinding against the flesh and spurring out small amounts of blood. It seemed to grow through his body, B-64 already feeling something tick on the inside of Nathan's arm.
But like the ants, the wolf that noticed them retreated softly, noticing the black blood. Nathan seemed pleased, pulling him forward.
It wasn't supposed to go like that. Compound-500 should've protected him from the virus. It should've protected Condraki, what had gone wrong? The Foundation had run numerous tests, with both anomalos and mundane diseases. Why was he infected.
But that did not matter, if he was going to die by his own hand, then he'd better go through with his plan. With the feeling of imminent doom and tearing flesh, Nathan lead B-64 again through a series of hallways, before happening upon a large assortment of weapons.
"Your dagger is in there" Nathan said, holding his side like it was killing him, "Better go... grab it."
B-64 nodded, his visor splitting into a jagged smile. B-64 pressed the button against his wrist, managing to call back the chain and the actual dagger. It flew through the air, called by him, and hit his hand perfectly as to not cut it.
It crawled itself back into its socket, steaming hissing as it was placed back into its rightful place. Nathan was impressed, but he was pressed for time. He grabbed B-64's arm again, and ran down the hallway to the main floor.
They flew down the stairs and into the cafeteria. B-64, being alien was immune to most earthen diseases, and since he had his visor back online, it told him that he was immune to the virus, but that he should be lucky for being unique. A lucky break.
Nathan was looking worse for wear, appearing more dreamy. He waltzed straight through the decimated and gore riddled cafeteria like it was a sunny day at the beach, not minding the corpses around them.
Before they could reach the door to enter the main hallway, and this to the vehicles parked there, and shot rang out, hitting B-64 in the back. He stumbled forward, his visor displaying shock.
Shrapnel then hit him, the shards digging deeper into his back. His visor ran diagnostics as he hit the floor, telling him that it luckily hit no major organs, but that it did hit his Red-Boson Generator, and that it would take nearly all of his remaining energy to fix it.
If he lost that generator, then it'd be game over for him. He allowed his system to use that stored energy to use it, to fix the generator.
4%
Nathan quickly turned his head, gears grinding against the bare flesh of it. It wouldn't be too long before he turned completely into a machine, and be turned over and experimented on by the foundation.
A fox general, someone he knew from a long time, had shot him. The large gun still smoked after it's shot was fired, a gleaming white smile, sadistically wide and out of proportion, seemed to slither it's way onto his face.
B-64's generator was fixed.
5%
The general blew the smoke from his gun, placing it over his shoulder, "I never took you one for a traitor Nathaniel. Guess it means that I'm loosin' my touch."
Nathan spoke, his voice sounding monotone and robotic, "I'd rather die and let someone live than continue to work here. This foundation is an evil that should not hunt and capture things that we do not understand, especially those that are alive and aware."
The fox laughed. A genuine, hearty laugh, "This Foundation was made to protect the public. You've done more harm trying to help an alien escape then you've ever done helping your own planet. Who are you calling evil now?"
6%
Once it had reached that level, B-64 used four percent healing the wounds faster, his body expelling the bullet and shards in his back with a sharp click. He brushed himself off as he rose, his head turning slowly to look at the general.
But instead of wiping that face clean off the earth, B-64 grabbed Nathans hand and rushed towards the exit, not caring anymore about the vehicles. Another shot rang out, and B-64 expected to feel something, but it instead hit Nathan.
But it had hit the organic metallic parts, bouncing off of the skin and sinking instead into a wall. Nathan's legs began to shudder as they soon broke down, the flesh sliding right off and revealing a vast array of metallic slabs, and levers acting like the muscles, pulling his leg into locomotion.
As soon as they were out of the building, Nathan stopped B-64, "I'm going to die. No matter what you can do, I'm going to die... Die.... Die...." He repeated the phrase, stuttering in the exact same pattern. He spun his head, twitching it.
Shaking his head in a mechanical matter, Nathan tried to explain, "It's gotten, gotten, gotten, gotten to my brain. I can barely... Barely... talk to you. You have to un awa... awa... away."
B-64's visor matched his mood, a crimson frown now appearing in pixelated green. Nathan swiveled his head to the point it was nearly looking completely backwards, tearing his neck's flesh and fur.
"He is coming. Run, now. I will... Will. Will hold him. Go..." Nathan pushed B-64 forward meekly, more flesh starting to slither off and plopping onto the green grass with a wet spelch. B-64 nodded, beginning to run forward.
He felt sorrow stab into his heart, pixelated splotches of code appearing on his vision, and his visor displaying it as well. He clenched his hands, shaking his head like a kicked puppy, running through the trees.
And he heard a gunshots ring out, slamming against metal. He heard the tearing of flesh, the flaying of skin, and then, silence. He strained to hear, even using his very little energy to try to capture any sign that Nathan made it.
But all he caught was silence, apart from the labored, yet calm breathing of the general, and the rough sound of metallic limbs crashing down.
He felt his heart sting, but he had to keep going. Nathan sacrificed that to make sure that he escaped, he wasn't going to mke it go in vain.
The generator couldn't keep up through the day, and approaching nightfall, he collapsed in a field of tall grass. He felt the little energy start to leak from him, his back exposing his own red glow and casting the grass in a sinister red.
It tried to draw in oxygen from the air to fuel the generator, making it go faster. But it was no use. He fell into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw sent a spiral of fear through him, but not enough to cause a physical reaction. A hand pulling down the grass in front of him.
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Heya!
Boy, this took for-freaking-over to complete, but I'm actually content on how it came out.
What do you think? Leave it in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
~Candle