Sikhail's punch went through the smoke, causing it to disperse. The young lady weaved her hands again, sending another scythe his way. He threw another punch, dispersing it again. Scythe and punch clashed and disengaged over and over again. It was like a song and dance where two partners learned the other's flow and pace.
***Have you understood the ending yet? That which you do not understand cannot be touched***
"Oh? I've punched you, and it's not working. I can understand that," Sikhail replied.
***What else have you learned***
"Clearly, bullets don't work either," Sikhail stated.
***See, you understand. Not dumb, but unfortunately, you decided to walk down here***
"What makes you say that?" Sikhail asked.
***Nothing you do works. What else would one learn? It's a surprise. My attacks are more potent***
"So that work of art was your doing?" Sikhail wondered.
***Soon, your turn will be near***
"Do you consider yourself invincible?" Sikhail asked.
***A foolish question from a feeble mind. If you can't beat me, then to you, I am***
"Conceited, but logically arrogant. I have no problem with that," Sikhail replied.
***I need your approval? Fool***
Instead of meeting the scythe with his fist, he slammed his palms together. An overflowing aura poured out of him, restrained.
(Crackle)
(Crackle)
Illusory blue energy clung to the Holo-suit, forming a second layer.
(Clang)
The scythe was caught in his palms, held in place. She was shocked. She tried pulling out, but it remained stuck in an iron grip.
***Impossible***
***What? I am anchored here, fixed in space***
He exerted pressure. She coughed. A shadow. It rises. It screams. There is no light, nothing to create a shelter it can run to. It wobbles and wiggles towards its mother. Pale, she slashes out, kills it, and consumes it.
With more pressure, she coughs out additional shadows. They all die just as easily.
Her scythe shatters. She vomits a mouthful of blood. There are many shadows this time. She does not bother with them, not daring to stay behind even a second. She flees deep into the compound, into the safety of her home.
The shadows are helpless. Their mother is gone. The next second they're gone. The last thing they saw was a blue light. The other was a strange Supernatural force. Individually, two gentle forces. Together, a sharp blade.
"I can at least free you from your pain," Sikhail muttered.
The shadows did not scream. They did not flee. They just stood there, sticking out like a sore thumb. When they *died*, they simply faded into the background.
There were no words of deception, no pleas, nothing.
"The blood from a serious injury. Shadows that made a plea. Shadows that are simply organic. The method becomes clearer and clearer. Two are joined together. Fused. How?" Sikhail asked.
(No response)
"Why?" Sikhail asked.
(Silence)
He took out his guns and stared at them while saying nothing. His fingers kneaded his palm, and the gun disappeared. He wiggled his fingers. A small vortex of pure energy in the middle of his palm. No form, no substance, no identity. Raw energy. He kneaded his palm again. The gun appeared. He gripped it. The energy hugged the gun.
(Click)
(Click)
(Whirrr)
He looked around and saw shadows as far as the eye could see. None of them made a move.
(Grrrr)
(Gaaahhh)
He took his gun and started playing with it. He could see them running for the exit, pounding on the doors. He broke the locks. They all piled into the doorway, fighting to leave. The door broke as they rushed out.
(Helppppp)
(Thank youuuuuu)
Each death throe was a heartbeat pumping a death sentence through his veins. It circulated through his arms, legs, torso, and toes. He pulled the trigger when it flowed through his hands and fingers. The execution of a young lady in a thin dress appeared in his mind. His conviction was resolute.
A flashback.
The lead instructor was a veteran with many years of active combat. He said that no such thing as black and white existed. That was a half-baked attempt to raise children in some straightforward manner.
In reality, most decisions were made on the spot with limited or even a lack of knowledge. Decisions like those were instead made based on the perception of life or death.
Snapping back to reality, a laser-like bullet flew into the distance. He walked forward. The floor was largely like the 2nd one. The layout and positioning of objects were similar. He found a panel. Pushed it. A block of shaky debris fell off. A bullet was barely hanging on.
He jumped down. He looked around.
10th Floor
There was a giant vat bubbling with liquid. Green. It looked slimy, the glass was cool to the touch, and the contraption shook whenever a hand touched the glass. Human bodies. There were human bodies in the vat.
Alive?
Or dead?
Something was pumped into them. The lines were medical-grade woven steel. Probably smaller tubes inside them. This meant the bubbling liquid could be toxic. The bodies looked…
Fine.
Perfectly fine.
He expected mutilation. He expected cuts on the chest. He expected paleness from a lack of blood. It made sense if he factored in what the young woman told him, that they were all willing.
Giving up your life to live in a tube without control. What part was willing? How was this any different from being an experimental specimen?
He walked up to the vat and got up close. Paid closer attention. A woman of unknown age. Bags under the eyes, perfect fingernails, and toenails. The torso and legs were normal. The finger.
The fingers. Underneath, the tips had calluses. Old damage.
He scanned them using the Holo-suit.
(Beep)
(Beep)
The palm was grafted. Heavy scar tissue. Then nothing 6 months ago. The liquid had some sort of regenerative property. There was an additional compound. Some sort of binding agent. It would otherwise be undetectable. Without factoring in the compound, it was combustible.
The fingertips were used extensively. There was blood on them. Two sets. The attacker and the defender. She fought back, dumped into the vat after losing.
Another body. Another woman of unknown age. The body is perfectly fine other than the heavily scarred foot and ankle. Injuries are about a year old. A man of unknown age. Injury to the right arm and right leg. Odd places to get hurt. Was half the body paralyzed? It must've been tough to fight back in such a scenario. An unknown with a youthful appearance. A young adult, probably? There are no injuries anywhere on the body. Maybe a volunteer? Different from the rest. Very different.
He turned to the thick tubes feeding into the vat. Walked around and looked at everything. Not much else was valuable. He looked back at the tubes. Started tracing them backward. It split into many smaller tubes.
What?
There were only two compounds. How could there be more than two? A closer look at the tubes. A scan to confirm his thoughts.
The same two compounds. Different grades. Higher purity. A small amount could cleanse a huge amount of impurities. However, this lab had deep pockets. Funds shouldn't be an issue.
He strongly wanted to cut these tubes and see what was inside. The young lady might have already told someone about the intruder.
Do it. It made no difference. No blade, though. Tube was too thick. Had a wide surface area. Ripping it was not a solution. A concentrated attack would explode it. That would be fine after he figured out what was inside. The bullets weren't sharp enough.
No other options. The best choice was to head deeper, onto the 11th floor. He went back to the vat. Bent down. Kept on pushing at the base. One section went in further than the rest.
Despite how heavy it was, he pulled it out. Kept in place by a spring. This was the only 'secret' entrance detailed in documents on the 1st floor. This couldn't be the only entrance. There was clearly an unofficial official entrance. He went in leg first as he slid down a chute.
The chute stopped a few feet away and dropped into a box. He turned on his internal lights. Found a light switch. Turned it on. Some kind of elevator. There was a panel with buttons.
Control Room
Observation Floor 1F
Observation Floor 2F
Observation Floor 3F
Dorms/Dining
Control Tower
Lab 1F
Lab 2F
Lab 3F
Lab 4F
Forbidden
A hidden floor? Forbidden?
The cobwebs, thick layers of rust and caked dirt in every crevice stood out. It was clear that this place existed before the company built over it and abandoned it. Did the elevator correspond to the floor? Except for the bottom floor, the other eight were clones. Was the elevator a secret floor?
It didn't add up.
Could it be?