Post by DB on Nov 3, 2007 14:13:53 GMT -5
It was a dark place. A very dark place. The skies above were dark from smog, and the air was almost difficult to breath. The ground beneath was soggy from residue unknown, and stuck to the soles of Nik’s shoes. The architecture of the city itself, well, it was maybe best described as technological-gothic, but few original buildings still stood, though that was misleading. They did not stand so much as they did not fall down. They slumped inwards, doors and windows broken in, looking on the edge of breaking down as the rest of the original city had, leaning and crumpling against the dark grimy buildings of metal besides them.
It was a dark place. Dark and foreboding.
Already Nik regretted leaving the forest, and the words of the hedgehog Beast were beginning to seem to have some truth to them now.
But… he was stubborn, so he continued to wander through the streets, tired and nervous, looking for a sign of life. More specifically, for human life.
Unfortunately, he had yet to find any.
When he’d left forest, it was solely on the idea that he’d find someone here, someone that’d help him get back home. Tired from exhaustion and starving (as he had refused the Beasts’ offer to eat their food), it was with that hope he’d managed to sneak out a back window while the Beasts were bickering out front, found a moving platform, and somehow, maybe through miracle or sheer determination, made his way here. Now if he’d only been able to find his way home like that.
It was obvious that there was someone in this city, even if he hadn’t seen anyone here yet. There were factories in the distance, spewing dark clouds into the air and maintaining the perpetual night, and he could hear clanking sounds of some poorly maintained machine or another steadily doing whatever work it did. But as of yet, he’d not seen a single person.
And he didn’t a few moments later, for, instead, a small hovering camera seemed to appear from where from around a corner. It glided silently through the air with fluidity, but paused suddenly to hang in place as it spotted Nik.
The overlander blinked at the machine, but in some way recognizing what it was for from similar devices back home. Clearing his voice, he waved at it.
“Uh, hey there. I heard there’s a war going on or something, but I’m not on the Beast’s side so you don’t have anything to worry about or anything- I’m just trying to find a way home. Can you help me?”
The hovering machine just continued to watch Nik, and he frowned. Maybe this wasn’t a camera as he’d thought, and what he just said wasn’t being relayed anywhere. In which case, he’d more or less just made himself look very foolish.
Then again, it didn’t matter, no one was around to see it.
Nik sighed, and then perked up at the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching nearby. Someone had heard him! The footsteps sounded a bit too… heavy, however. But maybe whoever it was was wearing thick boots. With the ground being so filthy and all, he wouldn’t of blamed them.
Turning to the sound with a smile, he waved. Though, his smile faded with what turned around the corner.
Robots?
His frown returned as the humanoid robots slowed and approached, wrist mounted lasers carefully aimed. Nik’s wave adjusted to a two handed gesture of surrender, showing them his hands were empty.
“Hey, I’m unarmed! I just told you I wasn’t on the Beasts’ side! I’m just trying to find a way home!”
Silently, the robots glanced among themselves, and finally, one spoke.
“Follow,” stated one, turning and walking away. The other two stood silently, waiting for the overlander to comply, weapons still aimed. Still frowning, Nik complied. There was… something terribly off here, and Rob’s words were hanging heavy over him. But there had to be a better explanation. Had to be. Maybe wherever he was going now, he would get his explanation.
And he was quite right, though not in the way he had hoped
After a bit of walking, Nik had been brought to a large building central to the city. On the way, he’d not seen a single human being, or any other life form, for that matter. All he’d seen where robots, robots, and more robots. Most of what he saw were the same humanoid robots he were being led by, tall dark things with broad shoulders and domed heads. However, occasionally, but often just a glance, he’d catch sight of strangely Beast-like robots. For some reason, it brought a chill to him, though why he didn’t know, and he wrote it off as perhaps being a breeze, as it was actually rather warm around here. All the machines, working day and night, must have been the cause behind the warmth, and perhaps the clouds above helped it not escape. He didn’t know, really.
Eventually, after even more walking down some halls, his escorts had led him in front of a large door. Imputing a command to the keypad besides the door, the lead robot led him through, the other two following close behind, and keeping a close eye on Nik.
Nik stood fidgeted as he walked into the room. The journey here had been completely silent, though he had voiced a few questions to the robots. However, they’d not answered, and had continued to march ahead. He’d hoped that wherever they were taking him he’d find more people but… this room had a distinct lack of living things besides himself… it was rather hard to see in, as there were barely any lights. Only a few blinking monitors, but nothing that lit the room up much. All he could really see were wires, wires, and more wires everywhere. Hanging from the ceiling, coming from consoles, and in the center, an apparent hub, with which even more wires came from, of which in the center of a bright light suddenly sprang to life.
“WHERE IS MEADOWOOD.”
Nik blinked. The light, or whatever it’s source was, was speaking to him? And asking him something he didn’t have a clue over…
“Where’s what?”
The source repeated itself.
“WHERE IS MEADOWOOD.”
Nik shook his head.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re asking! I’ve been saying since I’ve got here that I don’t know w-“
“WHERE IS MEADOWOOD”, the voice interrupted. Each time it had asked, its ‘voice’ had always been the same, smooth tone; despite that it was more or less a demand. With each repetition of the question, it did not ‘raise’ its voice, but instead simply continued to speak in the same dead, monotone manner. This time, however, the question came with an addition. “YOU MAY BE SPARED IF YOU GIVE THE DATA REQUESTED.”
Nik stared.
“What?”
“IF YOU GIVE THE LOCATION OF MEADOWOOD YOU WILL BE SPARED.”
Nik gawked at the light. Was it… was it serious? His stomach sank… maybe… just… maybe Rob had been speaking the truth. Maybe the Beast was being honest with him, but he, not thinking that a beast even could be honest, had just marched off into … into his death or something!
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about! I don’t even know what ‘Meadowood’ is! I’m not part of whatever war is going on, okay?”
There was a pause, and the light did not reply for a few moments. And then…
“WHERE HAVE YOU COME FROM, IF NOT MEADOWOOD?”
Nik shifted uncomfortably.
“Uhm… Technopolis.”
“ARE THERE MORE OF YOUR KIND THERE?”
“… yeah…”
”WHERE IS TECHNOPOLIS?”
Nik’s frown deepened.
“… I don’t know. That’s why I came here. I thought someone here would help me get back home to there…”
Another pause.
“YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE MEADOWOOD OR TECHNOPOLIS IS?”
“… that’s what I said, yeah.”
“…”
Nik fidgeted again, and took a side step back. “I… you know what? I don’t think I should be here. I… I’m just going to go now…”
The guard robots reacted quickly, stepping in Nik’s path, blocking him from leaving the way he’d come.
“NO”, came the simple reply of the light. “YOU ARE A PRISONER OF DOCTOR ROBOTNIK. YOU MAY NOT LEAVE, UNLESS YOU ARE TO GIVE THE INFORMATION REQUESTED.”
Oh yes, this wasn’t good at all. In fact, cue panicking.
“Dude, look! I JUST TOLD you I don’t know where anything is! And I’m not PART of this war, okay?? I don’t want anything to do with it- I just want to go h-“
”IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE INFORMATION REQUESTED OR ARE NOT WILLING TO SUBMIT IT, THEN THERE IS NO FURTHER USE FOR YOU. YOU WILL IMPRISONED, AND WHEN AND IF YOU ARE WILLING TO SHARE ANY INFORMATION YOU MAY HOLD, NEGOTIATIONS MAY BE MADE. YOU HAVE UNTIL AFTERNOON TO DECIDE BEFORE YOU WILL BE ROBOTICIZED AND DISMANTLED.”
With that statement, the three robots guarding Nik stepped forward, two grabbing on to his arms, and the other holding it’s wrist mounted laser at ready, in case the overlander attempted to make an attempt to flee.
“What??? NOW WAIT JUST A SECOND HERE!”
However, the light didn’t seem to notice, or, more likely, it didn’t care. Before Nik knew it, he was being drug off… where to, he didn’t really know. Well, not that he was completely clueless, whoever or whatever he’d just spoken too said he was going to be imprisoned.
But whatever was to come, there was one thing that stuck in Nik’s mind.
He really, really should of listened to the hedgehog.
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