Post by Chilepanda♫ on May 1, 2012 15:16:53 GMT -7
PROLOGUE: 5 years before
It was a dark, freezing night. Although, nights that chilled you to the bone were very common in Alaska. Not like this one. The wind whipped relentlessly, sending the freshly fallen snow back into the sky as if somebody was rewinding time. Not a soul was to be seen in the crisp moonlight. But one shadow, one dark silhouette scurried through the coming storm. A pair of hard, glassy scarlet eyes scanned the area just as billowing clouds covered the moon. ”Good.” He murmured in a gruff voice, though by what he meant no one could be sure. The strange man swung open a heavy metal door, leading into a large building which matched in interior. An older man was waiting, his hair frizzed in every which way. A large, bushy moustache hid his mouth completely, and he seemed like your average crazy scientist.
“Nobody followed?” He left the greeting to rest, rushing towards him. The man nodded, pulling back his hood to reveal his shaggy black hair. He ran his fingers through it, the smoky color contrasting drastically with his pale hands. The man pulled the rest of the heavy coat from his body. A small bundle was hidden in the inside pocket, wrapped carefully in a linen cloth. The old man reached for it, a look of horrifying hunger washing over him. ”You got it.” He murmured as if he were looking for the right words. ”Of course I did. I do the jobs I’m given.” The dark man’s eyes hardened, watching as the scientist unwrapped it. He revealed a tiny cube, all seemingly made of colored glass. Shallow grooves angled elaborately all over the box, while small pulses of blue energy ran through them like human veins.
The older man looked up. He smiled, but his eyes portrayed nothing but greed. ”Derek, my boy. You did it.” Derek’s jaw clenched, darkening his expression even further. ”You already established that. Now hurry up. I’m sure they’ve noticed it’s gone by now, and they’ll come looking. Hopefully, the storm will cover my tracks.” The old man nodded curtly, and began shuffling towards a metal table. A huge mound was sprawled across it, while a white table cloth was neatly laid on top. Derek rested a large hand on it, causing a deep clanging sound. ”Now Lawrence, are you sure you finished it? You know what happened last time when we tried to enter the Fabula before it was ready.” Lawrence made some sort of muffled noise from under his moustache, which may have been a mild curse.
“Of course. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.” He muttered, his bushy white eyebrows furrowing into a scowl. Both men stayed silent for a few moments. Lawrence then extended a hand to Derek, the glass box balancing in his palm. ”Take the Fabula. I want you to place it for me, so I may monitor from the control box. Perhaps we can prevent last time’s disaster.” Derek nodded; keeping his mouth drawn tightly shut and taking the Fabula from Lawrence’s gnarled fingers. The old scientist began fiddling with all sorts of buttons and levers, all flashing brightly. A whirring sound occurred from the large generators in the back of the room, and the eyes of both men lit up. Lawrence took a small forward and gripped the large white cloth. He yanked the corner roughly and sent the tablecloth flowing to the unkempt ground. Derek’s mouth finally dropped, and he had to refrain from dropping the Fabula.
He planted one foot forward, his free hand reaching towards what Lawrence had revealed. ”It’s even better than I pictured. Better than before.” Which Derek was right about. The display in between the two was truly one to behold. A huge, metal body was shown before them. It was near 10 feet tall, if not more. It had a small, hollow box shape in its chest, and Derek glanced between it and the box in his hand. A line of upper teeth came out from behind his lips in a thin smile. ”Perfect.” Derek stepped forward, admiring the details on the creature. True, it was a robot, but he saw it as something more. ”Its features are so human,” He trailed his fingers up the large, steely arms. “It’s more than a robot, it’s simply astounding. It’s-“Lawrence brought a skinny finger to his mouth- or, his moustache. ”It’s our new Keeper of Light.” They nodded to each other in a silent agreement, and Derek pulled himself onto the metal table. He stood above it, looking down at the hard face. The bulb-like eyes were dark, almost sad looking. With a few more blinks, Derek bent over and slammed the Fabula into the robot’s chest.
It may have just been him, but it felt like the storm picked up at that very moment. Wind and snow pelted the side of the building, threatening to tear it apart. Lawrence began working frantically at the control box, while Derek stumbled back in surprise. It was mostly because as soon as he put the Fabula in, the robot’s eyes changed to a haunting yellow. Now the creature was beginning to sit up, using his arms to propel himself. “Is everything going well?” Derek picked himself off of the ground, rushing to Lawrence’s side. The old man didn’t bother to look up as his fingers shot across the board. ”So far, so good. But we’ll have to be careful.” The creature turned towards them, eventually landing his humongous feet onto the ground. Loose dirt clouded up around him as he stood up straight. The Fabula in his chest was now pulsing yellow energy, matching the eyes of the robot. He cocked his head slightly, as if waiting for something to happen.
“Keeper of light!” Derek spoke up, taking a few steps towards it. The creature looked down at him with prying eyes. “Derek!? What are you doing!?” Lawrence stepped forward in a feeble attempt to grab his cohort’s shoulder. “We are your masters, and you will do what we say.” Derek kept his words short and choppy, speaking as he would to a 3 year old. The robot’s eyes flickered, appearing as if he were blinking. ”Derek!” Lawrence stepped in behind him. “We cannot give it orders yet! It must gain control of its new body or it will over-heat.” His eyes widened in surprise when Derek shoved him back. ”Shut up, old man. You forced me to wait far too long for this moment.” Lawrence clenched his teeth together to avoid a fit of cussing, and simply maintained a hard gaze as Derek shuffled closer to the creature. The robot bent his head to look down at the man, who was a good 4-5 feet shorter.
What had to be the strangest part of this entire event was that the Fabula began to change color. The partnership stumbled back in surprise when the pulses of light changed to a blinding lime green. As did the eyes of the robot. ”What have you done?” Lawrence asked in panic. ”He’s gaining control of his own thoughts!” In response, the ‘thing’ looked down at his hand curiously. He turned his attention back to the men, and his eyes flickered again. That was when everything broke loose. Seeming to have analyzed the cohorts, the creature shorted out. “Now look what you did!” Lawrence grabbed Derek’s shoulder again, this time pulling him back successfully. ”It analyzed us, you idiot! Now it knows why we need him!” Derek bit his lip nervously. “I may have to start all over! We’ll have t-“. The poor scientist was interrupted when an enormous bronzed hand came crashing in from the side. “Lawrence!” Derek yelled after his partner as he went sailing towards the wall. More clanking metal convinced Derek to turn around. He was now face to face with the robot. “Not a slave.” A strange, buzzy sort of voice electrified from the robot’s un-moving mouth. Fear could easily be seen in Derek’s scarlet eyes as he scrambled towards his bleeding friend. Fire blasted up in a corner once the tanks became airborne, thanks to the robot. Derek’s flinching hands rolled over the frail body of Lawrence. Blood was trickling constantly down his face, a large gash marring his forehead and arms. “I can’t feel my legs…” He murmured bluntly. The building trembled as the creature continued to rampage throughout it, throwing and crashing everything it could find. He whipped around to face the frightened men, both cowering in the corner of the room.
“No help evil!” He declared with defiance. At that, he turned and ran straight towards the wall, crashing through it and out into the stormy night. A chilling wind swept in through the 10 foot gap, snowflakes swirling into the blistering hot room. Cold clashed against warm as Derek held Lawrence in his arms. The blood was draining quickly, and his face was unnaturally pale. ”Listen," Lawrence raised an arm, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I want you to keep going. Ask Dr. Melvin if he can create a new robot.” A fit of hacking coughs interrupted him. ”But keep a look out on that robot. If he learns how… how to stop us…he will.” Palms collided against the hard metal floor when Lawrence’s hands fell limply to his sides. Derek slowly slid his long-trusted cohort off of his lap and stood. Not a tear was shed, only hatred as his bloody red gaze flitted to the hole. Large footprints dotted the snow out into oblivion, but were beginning to be covered by the sparkling white flakes.
Derek stepped out one pace into the snow. He bent over, grabbing a handful of it in his large palm. “Don’t worry, Keeper of Light. It’s only the beginning.”
It was a dark, freezing night. Although, nights that chilled you to the bone were very common in Alaska. Not like this one. The wind whipped relentlessly, sending the freshly fallen snow back into the sky as if somebody was rewinding time. Not a soul was to be seen in the crisp moonlight. But one shadow, one dark silhouette scurried through the coming storm. A pair of hard, glassy scarlet eyes scanned the area just as billowing clouds covered the moon. ”Good.” He murmured in a gruff voice, though by what he meant no one could be sure. The strange man swung open a heavy metal door, leading into a large building which matched in interior. An older man was waiting, his hair frizzed in every which way. A large, bushy moustache hid his mouth completely, and he seemed like your average crazy scientist.
“Nobody followed?” He left the greeting to rest, rushing towards him. The man nodded, pulling back his hood to reveal his shaggy black hair. He ran his fingers through it, the smoky color contrasting drastically with his pale hands. The man pulled the rest of the heavy coat from his body. A small bundle was hidden in the inside pocket, wrapped carefully in a linen cloth. The old man reached for it, a look of horrifying hunger washing over him. ”You got it.” He murmured as if he were looking for the right words. ”Of course I did. I do the jobs I’m given.” The dark man’s eyes hardened, watching as the scientist unwrapped it. He revealed a tiny cube, all seemingly made of colored glass. Shallow grooves angled elaborately all over the box, while small pulses of blue energy ran through them like human veins.
The older man looked up. He smiled, but his eyes portrayed nothing but greed. ”Derek, my boy. You did it.” Derek’s jaw clenched, darkening his expression even further. ”You already established that. Now hurry up. I’m sure they’ve noticed it’s gone by now, and they’ll come looking. Hopefully, the storm will cover my tracks.” The old man nodded curtly, and began shuffling towards a metal table. A huge mound was sprawled across it, while a white table cloth was neatly laid on top. Derek rested a large hand on it, causing a deep clanging sound. ”Now Lawrence, are you sure you finished it? You know what happened last time when we tried to enter the Fabula before it was ready.” Lawrence made some sort of muffled noise from under his moustache, which may have been a mild curse.
“Of course. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.” He muttered, his bushy white eyebrows furrowing into a scowl. Both men stayed silent for a few moments. Lawrence then extended a hand to Derek, the glass box balancing in his palm. ”Take the Fabula. I want you to place it for me, so I may monitor from the control box. Perhaps we can prevent last time’s disaster.” Derek nodded; keeping his mouth drawn tightly shut and taking the Fabula from Lawrence’s gnarled fingers. The old scientist began fiddling with all sorts of buttons and levers, all flashing brightly. A whirring sound occurred from the large generators in the back of the room, and the eyes of both men lit up. Lawrence took a small forward and gripped the large white cloth. He yanked the corner roughly and sent the tablecloth flowing to the unkempt ground. Derek’s mouth finally dropped, and he had to refrain from dropping the Fabula.
He planted one foot forward, his free hand reaching towards what Lawrence had revealed. ”It’s even better than I pictured. Better than before.” Which Derek was right about. The display in between the two was truly one to behold. A huge, metal body was shown before them. It was near 10 feet tall, if not more. It had a small, hollow box shape in its chest, and Derek glanced between it and the box in his hand. A line of upper teeth came out from behind his lips in a thin smile. ”Perfect.” Derek stepped forward, admiring the details on the creature. True, it was a robot, but he saw it as something more. ”Its features are so human,” He trailed his fingers up the large, steely arms. “It’s more than a robot, it’s simply astounding. It’s-“Lawrence brought a skinny finger to his mouth- or, his moustache. ”It’s our new Keeper of Light.” They nodded to each other in a silent agreement, and Derek pulled himself onto the metal table. He stood above it, looking down at the hard face. The bulb-like eyes were dark, almost sad looking. With a few more blinks, Derek bent over and slammed the Fabula into the robot’s chest.
It may have just been him, but it felt like the storm picked up at that very moment. Wind and snow pelted the side of the building, threatening to tear it apart. Lawrence began working frantically at the control box, while Derek stumbled back in surprise. It was mostly because as soon as he put the Fabula in, the robot’s eyes changed to a haunting yellow. Now the creature was beginning to sit up, using his arms to propel himself. “Is everything going well?” Derek picked himself off of the ground, rushing to Lawrence’s side. The old man didn’t bother to look up as his fingers shot across the board. ”So far, so good. But we’ll have to be careful.” The creature turned towards them, eventually landing his humongous feet onto the ground. Loose dirt clouded up around him as he stood up straight. The Fabula in his chest was now pulsing yellow energy, matching the eyes of the robot. He cocked his head slightly, as if waiting for something to happen.
“Keeper of light!” Derek spoke up, taking a few steps towards it. The creature looked down at him with prying eyes. “Derek!? What are you doing!?” Lawrence stepped forward in a feeble attempt to grab his cohort’s shoulder. “We are your masters, and you will do what we say.” Derek kept his words short and choppy, speaking as he would to a 3 year old. The robot’s eyes flickered, appearing as if he were blinking. ”Derek!” Lawrence stepped in behind him. “We cannot give it orders yet! It must gain control of its new body or it will over-heat.” His eyes widened in surprise when Derek shoved him back. ”Shut up, old man. You forced me to wait far too long for this moment.” Lawrence clenched his teeth together to avoid a fit of cussing, and simply maintained a hard gaze as Derek shuffled closer to the creature. The robot bent his head to look down at the man, who was a good 4-5 feet shorter.
What had to be the strangest part of this entire event was that the Fabula began to change color. The partnership stumbled back in surprise when the pulses of light changed to a blinding lime green. As did the eyes of the robot. ”What have you done?” Lawrence asked in panic. ”He’s gaining control of his own thoughts!” In response, the ‘thing’ looked down at his hand curiously. He turned his attention back to the men, and his eyes flickered again. That was when everything broke loose. Seeming to have analyzed the cohorts, the creature shorted out. “Now look what you did!” Lawrence grabbed Derek’s shoulder again, this time pulling him back successfully. ”It analyzed us, you idiot! Now it knows why we need him!” Derek bit his lip nervously. “I may have to start all over! We’ll have t-“. The poor scientist was interrupted when an enormous bronzed hand came crashing in from the side. “Lawrence!” Derek yelled after his partner as he went sailing towards the wall. More clanking metal convinced Derek to turn around. He was now face to face with the robot. “Not a slave.” A strange, buzzy sort of voice electrified from the robot’s un-moving mouth. Fear could easily be seen in Derek’s scarlet eyes as he scrambled towards his bleeding friend. Fire blasted up in a corner once the tanks became airborne, thanks to the robot. Derek’s flinching hands rolled over the frail body of Lawrence. Blood was trickling constantly down his face, a large gash marring his forehead and arms. “I can’t feel my legs…” He murmured bluntly. The building trembled as the creature continued to rampage throughout it, throwing and crashing everything it could find. He whipped around to face the frightened men, both cowering in the corner of the room.
“No help evil!” He declared with defiance. At that, he turned and ran straight towards the wall, crashing through it and out into the stormy night. A chilling wind swept in through the 10 foot gap, snowflakes swirling into the blistering hot room. Cold clashed against warm as Derek held Lawrence in his arms. The blood was draining quickly, and his face was unnaturally pale. ”Listen," Lawrence raised an arm, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I want you to keep going. Ask Dr. Melvin if he can create a new robot.” A fit of hacking coughs interrupted him. ”But keep a look out on that robot. If he learns how… how to stop us…he will.” Palms collided against the hard metal floor when Lawrence’s hands fell limply to his sides. Derek slowly slid his long-trusted cohort off of his lap and stood. Not a tear was shed, only hatred as his bloody red gaze flitted to the hole. Large footprints dotted the snow out into oblivion, but were beginning to be covered by the sparkling white flakes.
Derek stepped out one pace into the snow. He bent over, grabbing a handful of it in his large palm. “Don’t worry, Keeper of Light. It’s only the beginning.”
PROLOGUE 2
I don’t know what I am. The last thing I remember before blacking out was the man with his gun pointed at me. When I heard the bang of his shotgun, an explosion of pain spread through my chest. Then suddenly, it was all gone. There was that small window of memory I recall, where a tiny bright light was coming towards me. My wife’s voice was very distinct, but she had died of cancer four years ago. I knew I was supposed to go with her, somewhere better than earth. But now, as I run through the storm, I know I can’t anymore. Those men back at the building must have interfered with my afterlife. I could still feel my brain throbbing heavily telling each limb to move. It probably wasn’t used to controlling a metal body.
The worst thing is I still know this body isn’t mine. I can still remember where I’m supposed to be, and I don’t think that scientist planned on that. Perhaps that’s why he flipped out when the other man attempted to give me orders. The scene replayed in my head as the snow pelted my right side without prevail. They said something about me being their ‘Keeper of Light’, whatever that is. Even thinking about that name causes the strange thing in my chest to attempt some wild jump into the snow. But why? For all I know, these men confiscated my dead brain, and rewired it to this…this ‘thing’ so I could do their dirty work. But if I’m going to be stuck on the planet as a robot, I may as well do it right.
You’d think that being a robot would help a lot against the cold, but this storm sure proved me wrong. My metal arms felt as if they were freezing up as I ran. I almost wanted to cry when I saw the blurry landscape of a forest. But I guess robots can’t cry. Dang, this is going to take a long time to get used to. As I finally approached the forest, the towering trees even protect somebody my height from the storm. It was nice to lose that feeling that 5,000 people were shooting bibi guns at you. I eventually sat down on a boulder that could fit my new, enlarged, metal rear. There was a river, but it was frozen solid. Figures. Seems that it doesn’t matter how parched I am anyway, since I can’t open my mouth. It’s like some kind of human decoration on my face.
But my sarcasm aside, I needed to figure out what was going on. I should have before hitting that guy, and I would have if my robot-side of the brain didn’t dumb down every sentence to three words. But when that dark man tried to give me orders, something strange boiled up inside me. If you asked me, I felt a strange desire to protect the world from them. What exactly were they doing to give me that affect? My head automatically tilted towards my chest thinking about it. On a larger scale, what the heck is that glowy thing in me? Upon further observation, I could see two small grooves on each side of the box, as if to make room for fingers. I suppose a closer look at this thing couldn’t hurt. After I managed to unfreeze my hand from the rock, I wrapped my fingers around it the best I could, and pulled.
I didn’t realize that was a mistake until too late. As soon as the thing disconnected from me, all my energy drained out. It was like I was a pitcher of water, and someone just dumped it all out. I fell to the snow-packed ground, my vision darkening. The last thing I saw was the cube tumbling out of my hand. Darkness took over, and everything numbed itself as my long slumber began.
I don’t know what I am. The last thing I remember before blacking out was the man with his gun pointed at me. When I heard the bang of his shotgun, an explosion of pain spread through my chest. Then suddenly, it was all gone. There was that small window of memory I recall, where a tiny bright light was coming towards me. My wife’s voice was very distinct, but she had died of cancer four years ago. I knew I was supposed to go with her, somewhere better than earth. But now, as I run through the storm, I know I can’t anymore. Those men back at the building must have interfered with my afterlife. I could still feel my brain throbbing heavily telling each limb to move. It probably wasn’t used to controlling a metal body.
The worst thing is I still know this body isn’t mine. I can still remember where I’m supposed to be, and I don’t think that scientist planned on that. Perhaps that’s why he flipped out when the other man attempted to give me orders. The scene replayed in my head as the snow pelted my right side without prevail. They said something about me being their ‘Keeper of Light’, whatever that is. Even thinking about that name causes the strange thing in my chest to attempt some wild jump into the snow. But why? For all I know, these men confiscated my dead brain, and rewired it to this…this ‘thing’ so I could do their dirty work. But if I’m going to be stuck on the planet as a robot, I may as well do it right.
You’d think that being a robot would help a lot against the cold, but this storm sure proved me wrong. My metal arms felt as if they were freezing up as I ran. I almost wanted to cry when I saw the blurry landscape of a forest. But I guess robots can’t cry. Dang, this is going to take a long time to get used to. As I finally approached the forest, the towering trees even protect somebody my height from the storm. It was nice to lose that feeling that 5,000 people were shooting bibi guns at you. I eventually sat down on a boulder that could fit my new, enlarged, metal rear. There was a river, but it was frozen solid. Figures. Seems that it doesn’t matter how parched I am anyway, since I can’t open my mouth. It’s like some kind of human decoration on my face.
But my sarcasm aside, I needed to figure out what was going on. I should have before hitting that guy, and I would have if my robot-side of the brain didn’t dumb down every sentence to three words. But when that dark man tried to give me orders, something strange boiled up inside me. If you asked me, I felt a strange desire to protect the world from them. What exactly were they doing to give me that affect? My head automatically tilted towards my chest thinking about it. On a larger scale, what the heck is that glowy thing in me? Upon further observation, I could see two small grooves on each side of the box, as if to make room for fingers. I suppose a closer look at this thing couldn’t hurt. After I managed to unfreeze my hand from the rock, I wrapped my fingers around it the best I could, and pulled.
I didn’t realize that was a mistake until too late. As soon as the thing disconnected from me, all my energy drained out. It was like I was a pitcher of water, and someone just dumped it all out. I fell to the snow-packed ground, my vision darkening. The last thing I saw was the cube tumbling out of my hand. Darkness took over, and everything numbed itself as my long slumber began.
