Stories of the Legends

Chapter 8

The campus was full of automotive life. All the lights in every dorm, college, and facility were on. Robots patrolled the abandoned campus, with several lights coming from their blasters and lights. On the other side of the streets of the campus were several trees in front of sets of tennis courts, in which two figures seemed to be jumping around.
“Oh! We made it!” Asher jumped with joy. “We reached the campus!”
“Not so loud!” Zack whispered sharply. “There are hundreds of robots in there!” Zack was right, as there were several hordes of Zevers all over the campus. Reaching the soybean lab itself seemed impossible. Nonetheless, Asher’s and Zack’s objective was to go into the campus, which seemed even more of a daunting task.
“Alright, what’s the plan?” Asher asked Zack.
“Why do I have to come up with one?” Zack questioned.
“Because you have military experience?” Asher replied with confusion. “Didn’t you do this kinda stuff for a living?”
“NO!” Zack exclaimed. “I was trained for homeland defense, not stealth!”
“Ohh!” Asher said. “Wait. What’s the difference?”
“Homeland defense protects the county,” Zack began. “Stealth involves people spying and assassinating.”
“So what you’re saying is,” Asher began. “You’re lame.”
“HEY!” Zack blurted out. “Homeland defense isn’t easy either! They have to quell riots and act as military police!”
“Ohhhhhh,” Asher realized. “So that’s what my dad did!”
“General Johnson never told you what he did for a living?” Zack asked.
“I knew he did some military stuff,” Asher explained. “But I thought it was more of a logistics thing than an active activity.”
“ACTIVITY!” Zack gasped. “So you think what we’re doing is an activity?”
“Yeah?” Asher asked with confusion. “What else would it be? We’re having fun aren’t we?”
“We are in the middle of an alien occupation!” Zack yelled. “Why are you treating it as a game?”
“Because!” Asher retorted. “It’s like those games and movies where aliens invade, but we find a weakness and launch a nuclear warhead to take it out!”
“THIS IS REALITY!” Zack once again yelled. “WE COULD DIE!”
“Same could be said for crossing the street, swimming in the ocean, driving, flying, and space flight,” Asher said in an attempt to ease Zack.
“You got some weird thought processes,” Zack said with some concern.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine!” Asher once again said. “As long as we-” He trailed off, noticing movement from one of the manholes on the street. There were several robots around the streets. Worried that it was another human, Asher readied his fingers, and with one jab, sent a small flam hurling through the air at one of the trees, setting it on fire. The robots were moths to a flame, quickly gathering to put it out, as the manhole cover slid off.
Ruby then emerged from the hole, with one arm on her mouth and nose. She tilted her head up and breathed a sigh of relief that she was out. Her eyes were drawn to the tree on fire. She quickly scanned the area to decide where to go. Ruby’s eyes narrowed on Asher’s and Zack’s location. With not much time, she made a hasty getaway towards the bushes, diving into the dirt.
“Ruby?” Asher said with confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh shut up,” Ruby said with annoyance. “I came here because I need something, not for you guys.”
“I wasn’t gonna ask that,” Asher confirmed. “I just wanted to know why you were here?”
“Like I said, I need something,” Ruby said again with growing annoyance. Her eyes seemed more enraged than before.
“What’s with the hammer?” Zack asked. “Where’d you get it?” Ruby stayed silent and kept staring at the street.
“I don’t think she wants to talk about it,” Asher whispered to Zack.
“Ya think?” Zack said with heavy sarcasm.
“Yeah I do,” Asher said with full seriousness.
“How did you put up with this kid for an entire year?” Zack asked Ruby. “He’s getting weirder every hour!”
“HEY!” Asher exclaimed with agitation.
“I just avoided him,” Ruby said. “It’s easy once you learn his routine.”
“Well, I can’t do that,” Zack said, loud enough for Asher to hear easily.
“Sure you can, just tell his dad you couldn’t find him or something,” Ruby said with pleasure.
“WHAT DID I DO?” Asher asked the other two.
“Nothing,” Zack said. “I just wanted to irritate you a little bit.”
“I just wanted to see you suffer,” Ruby said to herself softly. She continued to look around the streets to find a way onto the campus.
“Wow soooooo original!” Asher mocked. “Always make fun of the small kid!”
“Look!” Ruby said, pointing to the robots on campus. “Look at the pattern of the robots’ movement. They seem to pace back and forth every fifteen seconds in that alleyway, with only a few robots around.”
“But look,” Zack chimed. “There’s a net laid over the road, with mines every five meters or so.”
“No problem, we’ll send this kid to go,” Ruby said, turning to face Asher. “There’s a wire connecting to what I’m guessing is an electric box. Disable it, and the mines should be deactivated for a short amount of time while its sensors are down.
“Fiiiiiine!” Asher whined. “If I blow up, I’m blaming you both for this.”
“WHY ME?” Zack exclaimed with concern.
“Because you didn’t stop me,” Asher said as he crossed the tennis courts and began carefully sneaking onto the road. He was surprisingly coordinated for someone who was so clumsy. He eventually reached the road, staring down at the deadly net in front of him.
“Here goes nothing!” Asher said to himself, placing the platform of his foot on a small opening between the threads and wires. Asher was surprisingly careful for once.
“I thought this guy was just full of jokes and giggles,” Ruby whispered to Zack.
“Same here,” Zack replied. “I thought he would start dancing or singing to himself. He’s actually taking this seriously.” Asher continued through the net, eventually reaching the alleyway. He set the tips of his fingers ablaze and cut the wires connecting to the net. The red lights on the mines all turned off, giving Ruby and Zack the chance to continue.
“H-HOW?” Zack said in awe and surprise. “How did he do that?”
“He just tiptoed through,” Ruby began. “But it was Asher! Kid couldn’t even balance on one foot a few weeks ago!” Ruby was genuinely impressed, the first time she ever felt this way in a long while. She shrugged it off and got up, grabbing Zacks's wrist tightly, and essentially dragging him through the streets. They eventually got to the entrance of the alleyway.
“Dude, what was that?” Zack asked Asher. “I didn’t know you were so light on your feet. You were like a butterfly.”
“Thanks,” Asher said with glee. “I decided to learn how to dance after I fell on my butt at the dance marathon a few weeks ago.”
“Ohhh!” Zack realized. “So that’s what Ruby was talking about.”
“You were at the dance marathon?” Asher asked Ruby.
“Not important!” Ruby whispered sharply. “The zever robots are about to turn around. The three hide behind old generators and trash bags. The clanking of the robots’ footsteps grew louder and closer with every step until they were only centimeters away. Asher, Ruby, and Zack all held their breath, hoping to fully conceal themselves. The robots stared at the streets, finding nothing out of the ordinary.
The robots eventually turned around, continuing their watch through the alleyway. As the robots began walking, Asher got up from his hiding spot. With his fist in cherry red flames, he slammed the two robots’ heads together and threw them into a pile of garbage bags.
“Well that was quick,” Zack remarked.
“Let’s go!” Asher said with excitement.
“Aaaaaand he’s back,” Ruby said with a sigh. The three continued to the other end of the alley, where they laid their eyes on the campus. The soybean lab’s side door was only a little ways away, across a small parking lot. The door had the number two right above, on a glass window.
“Alright, this is where we split up,” Ruby said with a grin. “I’ll head to the dorms on the west side, Zack will go through the performing arts area, and Asher will go to the main quad.”
“But I thought we wou-” Zack began. Asher covered Zack’s mouth, silencing him.
“Alright, you go,” Asher began. “You go on ahead.”
“I really appreciate your understanding!” Ruby said with a hint of sarcasm. Ruby peeked her head out of the alleyway and proceeded to run off, avoiding any zever robots.
“Alright, what was that?” Zack asked Asher.
“If you said anything, she would’ve gotten mad and we would’ve been caught,” Asher said. “Even I can figure out that Ruby will only do things her way.”
“Alright alright,” Zack began. “So where do I go? This is my first time here.”
“Okay pay attention,” Asher began grabbing a stick from one of the trash bins. He began sketching the campus. “The performing arts building is just north of where we are. The dorms are west, and the rest are smaller dorms and classes and labs. The main quad is in the center of campus, giving me the fun job of sneaking into the heart of the zever operations here. I would recommend going through this path, avoiding the parking lots and the courtyard. You should always be able to see the spire on top of the library. If you can’t, you’ve gone the wrong way.”
“Okay, that makes more sense,” Zack said with a little bit of relief. “So we split up to find the prisoners.”
“Yeah essentially,” Asher agreed. “Oh and one more thing. If you look up, you’ll see some little spheres high up in the clouds.
“Yeah?” Zack said in confusion. “What about them?”
“It was a science project for a magnetism class,” Asher started. “The spheres interact with electrical discharges in the clouds to create energy for the campus. The zevers probably turned them into a weapon so be careful.”
“Okay,” Zack said with a hint of worry. “It shouldn’t be too hard?”
“Oh right,” Asher said. “Lightning powers! Forgot. The one thing I have an issue with is that I have no idea where Ruby went. Oh well, doesn’t matter too much!”
“Alright then, let’s do this!” Zack said, lifting his hand out.
“Yeah!” Asher agreed, giving Zack a high five. They both then got up from the dirty alleyway. Zack proceeded towards the athletic and music facilities. Asher sat in the alleyway, pondering on his best course of action.
“I should maybe check the soybean lab first,” Asher said to himself. “I’m probably not gonna find anything there, but it’s worth a shot since it’s right there!” Asher scanned the area, finding all the zever robots roaming the parking lot between him and the soybean lab.
“Now what do I do?” Asher groaned. “Surely there has to be SOMETHING I can do!” He looked around the alleyway, eventually walking towards the old zever robots. His eyes began to twinkle with an idea. He began salvaging parts and replacing broken parts with one another. Asher welded the pieces of metal quickly, eventually finishing his zever robot armor.
“Now I got this!” Asher said with glee. He walked out of the alleyway, disguised as a zever robot. His arms and legs were very stiff, due to the thickness of the metal. The parts were still nice and light, giving Asher some mode of flexibility. He grabbed the robot’s leftover blaster, adding to the disguise. He approached a group of robots.
“What is your identification number?” one of the robots asked.
“BO-157299,” Asher said in the most monotone voice he could. “I was assigned to join your unit.”
“I was not informed of this,” The robot said. “Go to the maintenance room and get yourself checked in.”
“Yes sir!” Asher said with glee. Asher began to walk into one of the buildings when the robots stopped him.
“The maintenance facilities are the other way.” one of them said. “Tell them you need a memory wipe and a new processor.
“Yes sir!” Asher said again, this time with more disappointment. He continued in the opposite direction, away from the soybean lab. North of the lab was the plant science building. Asher continued past it as there was no personnel anywhere near it. The greenhouses in the back were the only parts of the building still intact. Asher’s stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten a proper meal in quite a while and wanted a quick bite.
“One little detour couldn’t hurt,” Asher told himself. “Could it?” He veered off course anyway and made his way to the greenhouses. He placed his hand on the glass and slowly melted it away, giving him a way to enter without breaking the door or glass loudly. He walked around the greenhouses, finding small green beans, peppers, tomatoes, and some other fruits and vegetables. Asher finds two wires leading up above the plants, powering the lights. Other ends of the wires seemed to be on the roof of the building, as the wires lead out and up the walls of the plant science lab.
Asher harvested a tomato and several green beans for himself and his friends. He decides to also have a quick snack. He’s starved for food but tries to hold himself back from eating all the plants in the greenhouse. Asher opened his bag and shoved all the leftover food inside, making sure they didn't get squished. He attempts to leave before tripping on a wire. He puffed up his face and blew fire into the ground, flipping over and landing on his feet.
“Whoa!” Asher whispered. “That was close!” He decided to follow the wire, which led to the roof of the plant lab. He gained a good view of the buildings nearby, including the dorms and class buildings that were supposedly around the main quad.
“I always hated that stupid grass field,” Asher whispered to himself. “It kills my nose.” He began to sniffle. “Why are my allergies acting up!” Asher whispered with annoyance. “It’s still wi- wii-!” Asher’s sneeze echoed through the campus, alerting any nearby robots to his position. “Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuu-!”
Several robots now surrounded the lab. Asher peered over the edge, finding a small vent near the side of the building. It was hidden and would allow Asher to get off the building without being seen. Asher entered the vents exposed in the top, destroying the fans in front of him. He put up his shirt to prevent inhaling dust. Asher climbed through the vents, eventually running into a problem. The vent was destroyed, with a gap between Asher and where he needed to go. There were several robots in the room below.
“They must have moved inside,” Asher whispered with cloth on his face. Asher saw a few masks piled on top of each other, probably used to protect from pollen. “That’ll do!” He said excitedly. Asher set his fist ablaze, launching himself at the robots below him. There were seven of them, each armed with a bright yellow energy blade. Asher stabbed his fingertips into the first robot, destroying its cooling system, and overheating it. Another robot came charging, attempting to slice Asher in half, only for Asher to block it with his other hand. Asher grabbed the blade and threw both it and the robot into three others. They landed in a small tank of water, destroying it and flooding the robot’s circuits. Another robot charged at Asher. Asher shook off the robot he had stabbed and completely cut off the charging robot's arm. He held the robot’s blade in his hand and set it ablaze, throwing it at the last remaining robot in the room. Asher was once again surrounded by several robot parts, but now in a bio lab instead of the snow. Asher grabbed a mask on one of the tables and put it on his face. He then climbed up to the vent, using a chair to reach it. He soon continued on his way, now not having to worry about dust. Asher eventually felt a small stream of wind, seeing a van and the exit. He set his legs ablaze and kicks it open, escaping. The robots were all pointing their blasters and blades at the main doors, waiting for the already escaped Asher.
“OHHH!” Asher said in relief. “The air feels so good!” Asher was more than glad to be out of the dusty ventilation system, but he still had a ways to go. Asher hid inside behind bushes near the plant lab. Asher scanned the road in front of him, eventually finding the library, one of the buildings that surrounded the main quad.
“So how do I get past all these…” Asher trailed off. His eyes had caught something he could use. A small, six-wheeled robot was traveling around with arms and ammunition for the robots. Asher pulled out his phone and opened up a food delivery app. He ordered just a small burger and told it to come to the plant lab. In a matter of minutes, another small six-wheeled robot drove nearby, stopping right at the entrance of the door to the plant lab.
“FOOOOOOOD!” Asher said with joy. “EAAAAAT!” Asher dug into his burger in seconds. “First the corn and now the burger! I could get used to this!” Asher was now satisfied with his meal. He hadn’t had a decent one in a fortnight. Asher made sure the starship didn’t leave. He had a plan for it.
After Asher was done with his burger, he got started with the starship. He used the GPS tracker on the starship to use it as a surveillance tool. Asher then pulled out his phone and opened the app again and opened the starship's camera viewing tool.
“Alright, away you go!” Asher said as he let the starship go. It continued driving, with Asher following from the side of the road. The starship’s camera gave Asher a way to see any possible zever robots. Asher continued forward, eventually being only across the street from the Library. Asher was close now.
“I’ll be there soon,” Asher said with confidence. “Just wait a little longer.”

Meanwhile…

AAAAACHOOOO!

“What is that idiot doing?” Ruby thought to herself. “I can guarantee that was Asher’s obnoxious sneeze!” Ruby was now far from the alleyway they had started in and was now in the dorm facilities. There were several buildings, some for men and some for women. Ruby was directly in front of the largest dorm. It had two tall trees in front of the main building along with a small path with small bits of broken concrete. Ruby didn’t have time to admire the architecture of the building, as Asher’s sneeze had alerted multiple zever patrols to the streets.
“Everytime he does something stupid, I have to suffer!” Ruby yelled with annoyance. She darted into the large dorm building, pulling out her hammer to destroy the doors in front of her. The doors burst open, with wood chips flying into the air. Ruby landed on the ground loudly, echoing through the concrete in the building. Ruby looked up, and saw the almost completely preserved interior. The walls hardly had any cracks, the stairs on the sides were still in the condition they were in before the invasion, and the lounge area still had their tables and chairs in the same spot they were in before. The only proof of an alien invasion was a two week old pizza on the lounge table.
Ruby walked up the stairs, eventually reaching the fourth floor. Ruby took a left at the hallway once she had reached the fourth floor. She walked down the hall, passing by 14 doors before reaching dorm 416. Ruby pulled out the key she had previously taken and placed it in the key hole. She twisted the lock open, revealing a small dorm room. The room had a small bed, a desk with a light, and a minifridge. Everything was still neat and orderly. Ruby closed the door behind her, and walked to the windows, closing the blinds. Ruby flicked on a lightswitch, giving the room a cool white glow to it. Ruby walked over to her closet, which was sealed with a lock. Ruby unlocked the small lock with the same key, opening the door to reveal a large brick. The brick was gray with three blue disks sandwiched inside. The brick had a small hole on top, the same diameter as Ruby’s hammer handle.
“That’s where you were!” Ruby expressed to herself with frustration. She took the hammer head from her hammer and screwed it off slowly. The hammer head fell with a thud, breaking a small trash bin nearby. Ruby then took the handle and pulled two small cables out. She then did the same with the brick in the closet. Once she linked the cables together, she screwed the handle into the brick, making a new hammer. Ruby attempted to lift the hammer, but to no avail. The hammer was much too heavy. Ruby opened up a small cap at the end of the hammer handle, which revealed a small on/off switch. With the flip of a switch, the three disks began to glow a bright cold light blue. Ruby now lifted the hammer with ease.
“Time to leave,” Ruby decided. She looked out her window, finding almost no robots. With a running start, she ran into her window, using her hammer to destroy the glass. Ruby jumped from above, slamming her hammer into the pavement below. Before any zevers could find her. She destroyed the ground below her with her hammer and magic. A small crater was formed from the impact. All of a sudden, lights in the sky began to illuminate the clouds above the campus.
The lights shone like stars, creating mini constellations in the sky. Electricity began to gather in the clouds, creating small electric bolts that began to multiply between each light source. A web of electric tethers linked each light source together, creating a marvelous display of light in the sky. One specific light source began to grow slowly in the sky, soon becoming the size of the north star in the night sky. It then discharged an enormous beam of energy directly below its position, directly into the concert hall.

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

The yell echoed through the campus, creating a stir amongst the zever robots. The robots began to flood the streets once again.
“NOOOO!” Ruby yelled, “Not again!” She ran towards a campus bus parked on the side of the road near the dorm. She busted the door down and hid inside the bus, powering down her hammer. The Hammer wired down, with the discs in the hammer shutting down, losing all light. In just a few seconds, the streets were swarmed with hundreds of robots running in the direction of the beam of light, like a hive mind.
“It does make sense,” Ruby began thinking. “The robots must all be receiving orders from a central computer. That or they have a program that runs in a certain environment or a reaction to an event.” Ruby peeked through one of the windows, staring at the sea of sentient metal flowing down the street. Ruby looked towards where they were coming from, finally seeing an end to the waves of robots.
Soon enough, they were all far from earshot. Ruby bust through the window of the bus, deciding to head to the source of the light. She attempted to lift her hammer, forgetting to turn it on. It whirred to life, turning the disks on in bright light. The hammer’s weight almost disappeared entirely. Ruby dashed towards where the beam of light had appeared. Ruby then had a thought, “Why am I going this way? I have things to do!” Ruby stopped in her tracks, thinking. She then turned the other way, running to the garage instead, leaving the campus and Asher and Zack.