Chapter 7
#8 of pixel shift
Zora stood Ashley right behind him, at the bottom and waited as Magnus descended after them. Zora turned to look at the door in front of them, it was locked tight.
"Ashley, think you can pick that?" Zora asked as Magnus stepped off the stairs, Ashley smiled before replying.
"Of course I can." She stepped forward and as she waved her hand over the door a symbol appeared, a rotating four pointed star, it had the rune of fire and Earth circling each other in the middle. She then stepped back, taking both her companions hands, she led them to the center of the room. Then she snapped her fingers, activating the spell, the door exploded inwards.
"Well, if there's anyone in there I'll bet they know we're here." Magnus exclaimed, frowning as he followed the others into the underground facility.
The hall they walked down was white; blinding white, metal doors were set in the wall at regular intervals. Zora peered into one of the rooms; it was a small concrete room obviously a cell.
Zora stepped back from the door and continued down the hall, after a while the doors stopped appearing and it was just hall, then a large room opened up several a VR Bed was against the wall Lilly lay in it. The room was dark, no one in sight.
"Do you think there's no one here?" Ashley asked, glancing around.
"Well if the prisoner you're watching is asleep I guess you don't need to be here till she wakes up." Zora replied, frowning he glanced around; he spied a side room and walked over to it. Another VR Bed, this one was labeled Manually Entry.
"I'll go in and get her, Ashley set up some alarm barriers." Zora said becoming too lay down.
"Hey wait, who's this lithian, and why are you trying to save her?" Magnus asked in confusion.
"Her name is Lilly, and it's my job to insure her safety." Zora replied, turning on the machine.
"Protect my sister, if anything happens to her I'll have your head." Zora said with a smirk as he fell asleep.
Zora opened his eyes and looked around, he stood in the middle of a forest, odd, where am I? He thought.
"Oh I'm in the VR Bed." Zora exclaimed, then where's Lilly? He wondered, as he started walking, I have to find her. Suddenly his entire environment changed as he walked around a tree, he now stood in an orphanage, he could feel Lilly's aurora here, he walked across the room and stepped through the door. He now stood in an alleyway, turning back, the door he'd come through was now old and boarded up. This was not selcict, looking down the alley he saw a couple of young imperials, they were yelling at Lilly, who crouched beneath them. Suddenly a rock flew from the shadows and hit one of the imperials on the head, he turned and pointed.
"Hold off on that brat we'll get the other one first." The officer angrily said, while they were distracted Lilly dashed away, a few moments later the officers dragged out a lithian boy, probably Gordon. After they left Zora followed Lilly, the Alley changed around him as he ran, transforming into a hallway. Zora skidded to a stop at the end of the hall and peered around the corner, Lilly stood with her brother, they were folding laundry.
"You're really thinking about running!?" Gordon whispered his eyes wide with fear and surprise.
"Yes, and when you get fed up enough, annoyed enough, to leave this wretched place you can come with me." Lilly replied, "I'll be leaving next week." She finished her load and walked into the next room, Zora chased after her, but upon opening the door he stood in a bedroom not a laundry room. Lilly grabbed a few things from the desk before dashing quietly out the door, Zora followed silently; she crept into the entrance hall. Zora gasped as she took a running leap through the window smashing a rather large hole in it and dashed into the storming night. Zora quickly followed, but upon stepping through the broken window he was in a completely different location, standing beneath a tree he gazed down over a town, he recognized it to be his hometown, the place he met her.
He saw her down below walking into town, he sighed as he also saw officers creeping from either side. He dashed forward, closing the distance in seconds, he tackled her.
Lilly opened her eyes, and looked around, Zora was beside her on the ground, they stood in a white hall, windows showed sky.
"Wondering where you are, rat?" A voice called behind her, Lilly scrambled to her feet, snatching Zora's knife as she stood up.
"I know I'm still in VR, but I'm not in Trance Sleep anymore which means you came across a problem." She replied with a smirk, as Zora sat up behind her.
"Yes, a nuisance, your friends are keeping the main enforcers at Bay." The officer said, pointing at Zora, "But I managed to slip past, you'll die here, nuisance." Zora pulled his bow from his back and within a second he'd shot three arrows, one in the forehead, one in the heart, and one in the neck.
"Not taking any chances, let's go, there should be an inner control room." Zora exclaimed, grabbing her hand as he dashed down the corridor. They scaled a few flights of stairs and down another corridor, before stepping into a big circular room. A control panel was at the center, the room was completely open to the outside, with pillars connecting the ceiling to the floor. Zora walked up to the control panel; there were a few buttons, restart, shutdown, sleep. He reached too press the shutdown button, opening the glass cover.
"Hey, you press anything and she dies!" A familiar voice yelled, Zora turned to see the officer he thought he killed holding Lilly with a knife to her neck.
"How are you alive!?" Zora exclaimed, eyes wide.
"In here I control everything, you killed a decoy. I was gone the second you pulled your bow." The officer replied smugly.
"Tell me something." Zora said, frowning in thought.
"Yes the officer replied." looking a little annoyed.
"Can your decoys hold someone captive?" Zora asked, raising his hands in defeat.
"Course not; they aren't capable of independent movement." He said, chuckling.
"Don't worry about me just press the button; I'd rather die than that button not be pressed." Lilly yelled, "don't fail me Zora, I didn't realize it before but I think I love you, I enjoyed being with you but destroy this thing now!!" Zora nodded, if he timed it right, he turned to the control panel, he could save her, he slammed his hand on the button and spun around, and destroy it. As he ran he ripped his knife from his sheath, watching helplessly as the officer's sword slid across her neck, that's when he remembered, the edge, if I don't get to her before she dies in here she'll die in the real world!! He leaped, watching as the officer dropped Lilly over the edge. Zora slammed his knife into the officer's chest, as he leaped over him, over the edge, and in a free fall his hand reaching for Lilly's tail.
"Lilly!!" Zora screamed, the ground seemed a thousand miles below, but seemed to rush up a hundred at a time. He kept reaching for her, her head was facing up at him, but her eyes were dulling as her life was slipping away.
"Lilly I love you too, and as your protector I won't let you go!" Zora yelled, but her only response was a twitch of her eyelids.
She was getting closer, his hand closing in on her tail, but the ground was doing the same, getting closer with each passing second. Suddenly her arms twitched causing her whole body to spin slowing her decent and allowing him to grab her tail.
Zora awoke and leaped from the VR Bed, he ran into the main room, a couple of officers lay dead or unconscious on the ground. Ashley waved to Zora, Magnus gazed down the corridor looking for more enemies, but Zora ignored it all running up to Lilly he put his hand on her neck feeling for pulse, nothing, she's dead, I failed.
He slumped down against the bed, I failed. . .
"Hey Zora? What's wrong?" Ashley asked sitting down beside him, she eyed him curiously.
"She's d-dead, I f-failed." Zora stammered, his eyes dazed showing his dis emotional state.
"No. . . I'm sorry, so sorry." She hugged him as a few tears trailed down his face.
"She'd want me to finish the job, I'm gonna finish it." Zora stated determinedly as he shakily got to his feet.
"Ok, so how do we shut this thing down permanently?" Ashley asked, frowning, "do you even know where you're going?"
"There should be terminal from which we can destroy the files that make up the program here in this facility somewhere." Magnus said, sheathing his sword.
"Then let's find it." Zora replied, crossing the room to the door, "let's continue down the main corridor." he stepped into the Hall and started walking, Ashley was right behind him, Magnus taking up the rear. Before long they came across another large room, this one was the system control room, according to the sign. There were two beds, one labeled file control and one labeled system control.
"Magnus! You take system control, I'll delete the files." Zora told him, sliding into the files control bed, Magnus nodded and climbed into the system control bed.
Zora opened his eyes, he stood in a big circular room, doors surrounded it. Signs by each door read, slave consciences, renderings, AI files, loader chunks, and saved data. Hmm, guess I gotta delete them one by one. Zora stepped forward and opened the first door, loader chunks; upon stepping through he fell into a pitch black void. He felt like he was falling, but his surroundings never seemed to change, complete darkness surrounded him. Then he saw a green expanse widening below him, at the speed he was falling he estimated he'd be nothing but a red spot, he closed his eyes and waited for the impact. Suddenly he felt his body begin to slow down, opening his eyes revealed an expansive garden with brick paths, and ponds with fish swimming eagerly around. He walked to the very center, a platform surrounded by water except for the bridge he used to cross it. He glanced into the water, that's when he noticed it; the sky was a pretty blue rather than its earlier pitch black.
"State your name." A voice said from behind him, Zora turned to see a humanoid figure, seemingly made from glass but it moved like water.
"Uhm Zora." He replied, frowning, what is this thing, he wondered.
"Error, you aren't an administrator on this system." The figure replied, "Termination activated." Zora watched as it collapsed like a bucket of water being poured onto hot concrete evaporating into the atmosphere. The sky turned a blood red, and Zora turned in circles gazing around him, the ground was breaking apart and falling, chunks were disappearing by the second.
This is bad, he thought, there must be a shut off, in case of a malfunction or accident. He gazed around, finally noticing a weird alter at the top of a hill, but the path to it was disappearing fast. He leaped over the bridge; he landed into the water and almost screamed, the shock of cold was overwhelming like how he imagined being struck by lightning would be. He smiled, that was a stupid thought, pushing himself he swam across the pond over a newly opening hole. Watching as fish exploded into pixels, he climbed from the pond and began his dash up the hill. Suddenly he skidded to a stop, a large hole was opening before him, cutting off the last path to the altar, it being the only chance he could think of to escape he bet his life on this one jump.
He was all too conscious of the ground beneath his feet, and the air in his lungs as he braced himself. Then he dashed forward, feeling his legs bend then his muscles pushed, finally his legs left the ground. He was in the air legs swinging and his arms reaching for the other side, then it was above him and he watched as it disappeared above and he closed his eyes to his fate.