Experiment S20-9C

Chapter 5

Somewhere Far North, Murik's Flying Fortress

Violette peeked around the corner, wary of any robot guards lurking about. Finding none, she waved to Sammy, who slunk down the hall with absolute silence. Both of them hugged the wall as they peered around another corner, checking the scanner in Violette's hand before proceeding. The dark brunette could feel the brilliance of a crystal by now, no doubt about it, but there was a chance that it was the one the mad scientist already had before coming here.

Sammy had suggested taking that one too, but Violette had pointed out that they weren't in any position to provoke an all-out battle in the frigid north with Cybertel still out of it. So he relented, albeit unwillingly. He knew she had a point and was probably right on the matter, but that didn't stop his longing to just end it here and now, today. Murik had been a thorn in his side for longer than he cared to admit. It was hard to recall how or why this struggle had started in the first place. They just always... had.

Now though, they were drawing closer to where the last crystal was located. Murik was probably in the middle of gloating about his victory or just now laying his hands on it after laboriously looking for it in the snow.

"You know~," mused a sudden female voice behind them, "most guests knock before coming in."

Sammy and Violette whirled to spot one of Murik's Elites standing calmly, watching their reactions with sly amusement. It only took a split-second for Vega to react, stepping in front of Violette and raising his fists ready for a fight.

The Elite put her hands up, "Hold on there, big boy. I'm only here to chat. The robots that were just dispatched to this location will be doing the fighting."

Just then, the sounds of many metallic footsteps could be heard.

"Sammy," Violette tugged on his sleeve, "we need to get out of here."

"Right," he nodded, reaching to scoop the girl into his arms and then jumping into a ventilation shaft conveniently nearby. The Elite watched them go with a quirky grin.

"So," she said to herself, "that's who Cyber's been hanging out with these days."

Meanwhile, Sammy led Violette through the ventilation system, going mostly by feel and the brilliance that marked the crystal they were after. Violette paused every once in a while to check the scanner, but they were getting very close now, making good progress overall.

Well, until the shaft panel collapsed under their weight, sending them crashing into the room below.

- - - Unknown Cabin - - -

Hundreds of miles away huddled in an unused cabin, Sigma and Theta's heads perked up, spinning to look towards the door that led to the raging storm outside. Laythan noticed the looks on their faces and paused in his task of placing another blanket over Cybertel.

"Is something up, guys?" he asked.

Sigma's expression switched from surprise to minor annoyance. "Sam just set off the alarms."

Theta glanced at the other android, "Do you think they're both okay?"

Shelly smiled cheerfully from the chair she was seated in, hugging a cup of hot cocoa.

"I think Sammy is just fine! He always pulls through, right Laythan?"

The blonde grinned back at her in reply. "Yeah, he does. Besides, by setting off the alarms, that proves that they're alive, right? I'm sure they'll make it."