Unknown Time
Small round spots on the walls of the bunker began to glow a dull orange before Ali spoke again. [“It appears the rest of the robots are attempting to burn through your makeshift cover. You may not have much time.”]
Think we’ll make it to the other side before they get through? Kayden asked in reply.
[“No. And while your energy shields and armour will protect you from their fire for a short time, their combined fire will eventually burn through.”]
Kayden pressed himself against the wall of the bunker as another beam of energy lanced by him, missing him by a hair. When it dissolved he peeked out from cover and watched several robots dart around, reminding him of a cloud of oversized flies. He quickly ducked back behind the wall once more when they started firing, noting that they seemed unwilling to come as close as the first robot.
Great. He thought sarcastically to himself. So they’re capable of learning too.
Calling on his nanobots one more time, he formed them into a thick shield capable of withstanding a powerful explosion. With a grunt he hauled the heavy shield in front of the opening, carefully keeping it in front of him so that it absorbed the fire from the robots’ energy beams. Knowing he didn’t have long he slipped the ‘nozzle’ of his tube over the top and pushed down the plunger on his canister, releasing about half of the remaining gas. At the same time he called on his nanobots to create a simple metal rod at the edge of the platform – one which extended high into the sky.
[“Over that large of an area, the effectiveness of the explosion will be somewhat diminished.”] Ali warned him, reading his thoughts.
Noted. Kayden said as he braced himself for the oncoming explosion.
It came a moment later when the volcanic lightning from above hit his makeshift lightning rod, igniting the gas which Kayden released. The force of the fireball rocked the platform, destroying one of the antigravity generators and causing the entire platform to tilt slightly sideways. When the intense heat washed over him it set off warning bells in the electronic heads-up-display of his helmet.
When the heat and light finally faded Kayden tentatively glanced over top of the shield, bracing himself for an attack as he did. There were no energy beams to greet him – only the sight of charred metal and smoke. As he looked closer he saw a telltale blue light through the haze, and called upon his nanobots to grab the damaged robot and bring it back to him.
Ali, I want you to help me take a closer look at one of these things. I want to know if it has a weakness.
[“I recommend pointing the eye away from you.”] She replied jokingly.
Rolling his eyes, Kayden watched as a tendril of nanobots snatched the still-recovering robot from the ground and pulled it back towards him. He made sure to point the eye outwards as it got closer, grabbing hold of its damaged body as soon as it was within reaching distance. It lacked the telltale sheen of energy shields and had the paneling at the back torn cleanly off, exposing the wiring underneath. Other than that though, it looked blackened but relatively functional.
[“Kayden.”] Ali said instantly. [“There is a port for your control cable.”]
He paused for a moment as the circular spots on the wall behind him began to glow again, signifying that the rest of the robots had renewed their attack on his bunker. Think we can give it some new instructions?
[“That would be within the bounds of using your technical powers, yes. I will assist you.”]
Knowing it wouldn’t be long until more robots came for him, Kayden kept a firm hold of the struggling robot as he used his biological hand to pull the control cable out from the pedestal. He quickly jammed it into the port in the control panel and felt the entire platform begin to sink. The robot quickly stopped struggling, the light from its eye flashing through several different colors as he gave it a new set of instructions.
When he finally withdrew his control cable and plugged it back into the pedestal, causing the platform to stabilize once more. He released the robot from his hand only for it to hover in place for a moment before turning around and ‘looking’ at him. Its blue eye flashed and it bobbed up and down before emitting a series of high-pitched chirping noises at him. It then turned around, looking at one of its broken comrades on the ground.
“Yeah…sorry about your friend there, buddy.” Kayden said. “You guys weren’t giving me a lot of options.”
The robot didn’t reply out loud. Instead, its eye turned green and it emitted a stream of nanobots that quickly welded together the cracks in the second robot’s metallic body that Kayden made with his enormous fireball. He watched warily as the robot quickly came back to life, its eye flashing blue as it rose off the ground. When it stopped at eye-level it made a similar series of chirping noises before turning around and facing the opening of the bunker.
“So…no hard feelings then?” Kayden asked as the first robot positioned itself next to the second one, allowing its comrade to return the favor and heal its broken paneling.
Suddenly, a third robot darted through the smoke towards them. Before he could react though, Kayden’s new robot companions fired energy blasts at the unsuspecting bot, quickly overloading its shields. To his surprise they then tucked their fins inwards and rushed forwards, becoming projectiles and slamming into the hostile robot at the same time. The hostile robot bounced off the far wall of the bunker before falling to the ground at his feet.
“Well damn.” Kayden said, kneeling and grabbing the robot before it could fly away. “I guess these things are full of surprises.”
In moments the two captured robots worked their magic and Kayden had another working robot to add to his quickly-growing swarm. As he considered his next move, the wall behind him partially gave way to reveal a cluster of angry-looking robots, their eyes glowing intensely. Before he could do anything though, ‘his’ robots returned fire, melting the hostile robots’ shields.
Recovering from his surprise Kayden fired a tendril of nanobots at the robots, quickly circling them and dragging them to the ground. The movement was enough to cause the rest of them to retreat momentarily, allowing Kayden and his new allies to quickly off the 3 unlucky robots. When they were finally broken he backed off, keenly aware of the fact that there were now twice as many entry points into his little bunker.
The soft glow of green light filled the dark space for a moment, signalling the resurrection of reinforcements. When only 2 of the broken robots rose to meet him though, he furrowed his brow in confusion before looking at the broken shell of the 3rd.
“What about that one?” He asked out loud.
As if to answer him, his 5 followers surrounded the broken shell before their eyes turned yellow. They emitted another stream of nanobots, but instead of repairing the broken robot they quickly consumed its metallic body. When there was nothing left of it the reality dawned on Kayden.
So there are limits to how much they can heal. He thought to himself. It looks like their nanobot swarms were running low.
[“You may be able to supplement their nanobot reserves with your own.”] Ali suggested.
Suddenly, the platform came to a stop. Kayden peered out both ‘windows’ of his bunker, and when he saw no other robots he tentatively disconnected his control cable from the pedestal and climbed out. When he saw that they were now wedged safely against the other side of the canyon he practically sprinted towards the solid ground, kneeling over and breathing a sigh of relief only once both his feet were firmly planted on volcanic rock.
A deep metallic voice boomed from behind him. “Well done.”
Whirling around, Kayden saw Cyrius’ standing next to Zerya. He tensed when he saw the swarm of robots swirling around the pair, but when they made no move to attack him he relaxed slightly. Shaking his head as his reprogrammed robots returned to the swarm, Kayden replied.
“Does that mean I passed?”
“You passed my test, yes.” Cyrius replied, glancing over at the tilting platform with the small bunker in the middle. “An…unconventional tactic, to be sure. But it appears it was effective nonetheless.”
“What are those things?” Kayden asked, nodding towards the swirling robots.
“They are my drones.”
“I’ve never seen anything like them, even in the Vrul records we recovered.”
“That’s because they are entirely unique. I will tell you more…if you are able to survive the other tests.” Cyrius responded.
His mind swimming with the possibilities of potential knowledge Cyrius might have, he quickly agreed. “Deal. What’s the next test?”
“Come with me.” Zerya replied, nodding away from the canyon.
Kayden wordlessly followed, leaving Cyrius and his drones behind. They walked in silence for several minutes, the ambient temperature around them dropping considerably. The terrain gradually turned into rolling rocky hills, obscuring their destination. Finally, when Kayden was about to ask where they were going Zerya suddenly stopped and turned towards him.
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“We’re here.”
Kayden looked around, seeing only what looked like the husk of a dead tree in the small valley in front of them. It was surrounded by pools of silvery liquid that looked suspiciously like mercury, and its dead-looking branches barely extended 1 meter away from its withered trunk. Seeing no obvious objective, he turned to his Kel host and shrugged.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Down there is an ancient, powerful creature. You must kill it.”
“You mean behind the tree?” Kayden asked, turning his head and squinting at it in confusion.
“No, not behind the ‘tree’. It is the tree.”
Kayden turned back to Zerya and repeated her request back to her to make sure he understood. “The tree is an ancient, powerful creature that you want me to kill.”
“Correct.” She nodded.
“I… okay then.” He said, shrugging and shaking his head.
“Oh. There is one more thing. Remove your helmet for a moment?”
“I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that simple.” Kayden grumbled as he retracted his helmet, tasting the breathable-but-smoky air for the first time.
The second his face was exposed, Zerya pulled an aerosol spray from her robes and doused him with an orange gas. Kayden waved his arms frantically as he backpedaled, snapping his helmet shut as he did. He felt a slight tickling sensation in the back of his neck as he squared up to Zerya.
“What the hell was that?” He demanded.
“That was my way of making sure you don’t use your technological powers. Your A.I. companion will also be absent for the remainder of this test. You are on your own.”
Narrowing his eyes at her, Kayden shook his head as he reminded himself about the potential rewards of passing their tests. Deciding he had nothing left to say he turned away from her and marched down the hill, refocusing on the task at hand. He started to brainstorm ideas on how he was going to cut down a tree without access to his technological powers when a slight movement from one of the metallic ponds caught his eye.
Knowing this was likely another part of the test he paused warily, watching for any other signs of movement. His decision was immediately validated when what could only be described as a slime creature crawled out of the puddle. Its outer skin was translucent, giving Kayden a clear view of its vital organs beneath a layer of slime. Its formless body slithered along the ground like a sentient puddle, leaving a trail of clear ooze in its wake.
When a second slime monster crawled out of the puddle and followed behind the first, Kayden began to move again. He broke into a jog in a wide arc around the monsters, trying to put the tree between them and himself. Much to his dismay, all the action served to do was cause yet more slime creatures to crawl out of the other puddles, encircling the tree protectively while drawing themselves to their full height – almost 4 meters tall.
Fine, I get it. He thought to himself as he glanced up at Zerya’s smirking face. You want me to fight the slime monsters too.
Deciding that there was no use delaying the inevitable any longer, Kayden turned suddenly and sprinted towards the wall of slime. His legs pumped beneath him and he closed the distance quickly, hoping that the sudden change in tactics would be enough to catch them off guard. When there were only a few meters between them he dropped his shoulder and roared, hoping his momentum would be enough to carry him through the creatures to the tree beyond.
The impact was like that of a bullet hitting a pool filled with jelly. At first, the frontmost slime monster’s ‘skin’ rippled precariously, giving Kayden hope that his strategy was a good one. That hope was quickly crushed when the creature’s body enveloped his, absorbing the momentum of the attack. He thrashed and struggled from within the beast’s body, unable to break free to the open air. To his horror even his enhanced genetic strength didn’t help – any movement he made was sluggish, like trying to run underwater.
When a message in the heads-up display of his helmet began to warn him that he was in a toxic environment that would quickly melt his armour, Kayden knew he had to try something else – and quickly. Realizing he had another biological power he could call upon, he tried to channel it into the slime creature’s body through his hands only for nothing to happen. His brow furrowed in frustration and he tried to splay his fingers out further in the hopes that it would activate, but nothing seemed to help.
I guess Ali was handling a lot more in the background than I realized. He thought to himself. I can’t even activate the power without her.
Refusing to give in to his mounting despair, Kayden closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He mentally tuned out his surroundings, instead focusing on the physical feelings his body experienced whenever he used his bioelectrical powers. As he did, he felt a strange sort of pressure mounting behind his teeth, and every hair on his body began to stand up. When the feeling became unbearable he tore his eyes open and grunted in release.
Normally, when Kayden used his electrical powers Ali helped him focus them in a specific direction or towards a specific purpose. Without his A.I. girlfriend’s help though, the electricity shot out of his body in all directions like a star exploding. He held onto the feeling as long as he could, emitting rapidly-dissipating pulses of energy outwards from his body.
Against most opponents, the attack would be both ineffective and inefficient. The short-range nature of the pulses would necessitate that Kayden be pressed tightly against his opponent, and the fact that he was spraying electricity everywhere instead of in a specific direction meant that most of the energy would be wasted. Fortunately for him though, the slime monster was pressed against him from every direction, countering both concerns.
In milliseconds, arcs of lightning vaporized the slime around Kayden. Its clear body apparently made an excellent conductor, causing the energy to jump between its vital organs. Whatever functioned as its heart, brain, and stomach were hit almost instantly, causing them to stop working. The creature collapsed around Kayden like a wave of liquid, stunning both him and the nearby slime creatures.
Recovering quickly, Kayden grinned. “Alright, who else wants some?!” He shouted.
What followed could only be described as the messiest 20 minutes of combat in Kayden’s life. Unlike the drones, the slime creatures seemed to lack any ability to learn from each other. He allowed himself to be absorbed repeatedly, using his powers to shock and kill each creature from the inside out. In the end though, he was left standing in a knee-deep puddle of slime, panting to recover from the exhaustion of having to use his powers repeatedly.
Collecting himself for a moment, Kayden slogged through the slime towards the tree. He reared back with his prosthetic arm before slamming his fist into its petrified bark, causing cracks to spread across its surface. He roared at his success before striking again and again, breaking through the thick exterior only to pause when he saw what was inside.
In many ways, the creature’s interior looked like that of a human. There was what looked like layers of muscle and fat, along with red blood seeping from the wound Kayden created. It writhed and moved unsettlingly underneath the bark, causing Kayden to shudder with disgust.
Enough of this shit. He thought to himself.
Rearing back one more time, Kayden plunged his fist deeply into the creature’s body. Once it was wedged inside he channeled as much energy as he could into it, shocking the creature and causing it to emit a concerningly high-pitched whining noise. As he continued his assault though, the noise began to fade into nothingness and the creature stopped moving around his arm.
When he was sure it was dead Kayden removed his arm and turned around to see that both Cyrius and Zerya had joined him.
“How did I do? Did I pass?” Kayden asked.
“You passed mine, yes.” Zerya answered.
They went silent for a moment as Kayden looked between the two. “Wait. You’re about to tell me that there’s a 3rd test, aren’t you?”
“Yes. The final test – one that forces you to combine everything that you’ve learned about your technological and biological powers.” Cyrius answered.
Sighing, Kayden nodded. “Fine. Let’s get this over with then.”
The scene in front of him blurred and changed one more time. Instead of standing in a valley surrounded by slime, puddles, and the husk of a tree he stood on a metal platform at the top of a mountain. Clouds of black smoke drifted below them, and above him he could see an entire galaxy’s worth of stars. As the world came into focus though, his opponent on the other side of the platform consumed his full attention.
Taking a breath, he locked eyes with the Voidborn Queen.