It was a noisy morning when Lavender came back to the lab and Roll had offered her the last of breakfast. Magnet noticed her bags were less intense and her smile was more relaxed than the previous night. The five Wi-lights had exchanged goodbyes with the others as they departed for the hub ship launch site. The young woman had laid out the plans for each wi-light brother throughout the train ride, and Magnet made it clear to listen to every detail.
"Each of you will be assigned to a specific asteroid when you land on Omega based on your functional capability. Magnetman will be transported to Alpha since it has the largest systems of computers and circuits out of all of them. With your management skills, I have no doubt you can pull it off." She complimented Magnet before continuing.
"Asteroid Glimmer is small but covered in a thick crystal surface, so Gemini will be needed to make a precise cut to the inner rock layer. I have put Snakeman in charge of Beta for now, and Topman will navigate the mazes of tunnels underneath Omega." Lucy pulled out a metallic container with a odd colored ring and handles. Magnet felt a small electrical buzz as he held it briefly.
"This is a conduit container made to handle the energy elements. It will make sure the energy won't surge and the ring will allow you to hold it without hurting yourselves. Make sure you don't break the containers or allow any small openings. Once you have the crystals secured, there will be a teleporter waiting on Alpha for all of you to teleport them and yourselves." All of the brothers had nodded along to the plan before the ship came to view. It was smaller than expected with a sleek design and the ISEE logo on its sides. Astroman exited the main hatch with a thumbs up and brought the brothers inside.
"Thank you for this Lucy." Magnet said.
"I really have to thank you Magnetman. I couldn't do this alone. Just remember the protocols we went through and you should be fine." Lucy eyes shone bright as she took his hand. As they approached the main door, Magnet heard the voice of Doctor Wily calling his name. The doctor was holding a peculiar object with a oddly pleased face. Lucy let go of the scarlet robot's hand as Wily patted his shoulder.
"Thomas will be busy handling the presentation with GAMMA for a couple of days, so I want all of you to communicate with me through this. I'll keep track of your conditions and send them to the lab." The old doctor said. Magnet held the object curiously as Wily started to turn away. The rectangular object was a bland black color with only a speaker and a single blinking button.
"Thank you Doctor Wily." Magnet said. The doctor turned to him and smirked, walking away with his hand in the air.
Lucy waved goodbye as the hub's door shut and the locks secured it in place. A soft hum emanated throughout the ship, quickly becoming louder as the Wi-lights took their seats. Magnet grabbed the seat closest to the front as the countdown commenced throughout the computer. The ship's thrusters rumbled and all of them felt the vibrations through their legs. Magnet felt an odd sense of excitement and nervousness as they reached the five second mark. As the number finally hit zero, the air became heavy with a sudden blast of pressure. The brothers gasped in surprise as they were pushed against their seats. The ship vibrated intensely as they ascended into the outer atmosphere, to an area far beyond reach, and there was no turning back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ship soared up the sky like a star, leaving nothing but a cloud trail behind. The figures of Doctor Wily and Lucy watched it for as long as they could before it became a blur and disappeared back into the car. Far from the lights of the car and peeping eyes stood two figures with enough space to neither see or speak to each other. The taller dark blue ninja followed the trail to the sky, his eyes squinting to spot the disappearing ship. His hand gently touched the side of his neck as he took a deep breath. He looked to the car driving out of view and back to the sky before walking away.
The other figure was smaller with a young teen's build, a heavy brown coat and a dirty yellow scarf covering most of his body. A lime green cat sat comfortably on his shoulder with its tail curled around the arm. His brown hair watched the cloud tail dissipate, stroking the cat with a resigned look. The cat, however, did not look pleased.
"I saw it too. They don't want to do this. But what am I supposed to do?" The figure asked. The green cat nuzzled his cheek and purred softly.
"I can't just go there myself, no matter how much I want to." The figure said again. The cat stopped purring and growled softly.
"Of course I don't plan to let this slide, but we need to have a different approach. We'll need to wait and see how they take this." He finished. The green hopped off his shoulder with a slow blink and trotted away. The figure sighed, tucking in his scarf to follow the green companion.
"Don't screw this up Light." He muttered before teleporting away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magnet could finally hear his core pounding as a pair of hands shook him awake. He opened his eyes to see the red eyes of Snakeman staring back, a small relieved smile etched across the face. By his sides were Top and Gemini chatting away while looking throughout the endless cargo and screens.
"How long have I been out?" Magnet asked.
"Roughly three hours. You were knocked out by the ship's hyper speed. We just slowed down a few minutes ago." Snake explained. The two latched onto Magnet's hands, pulling him up from his seat. As his legs adjusted to the ship's individual gravity, he looked at the main screen into space and felt his core skip. The void was a canvas, adding nothing but a background for the millions of stars he could see. The bigger stars shone in a multitude of colors, a flickering luminescent red to a barely visible ocean blue, and the large rock lazily cruised by the hub ship added to the wonderful atmosphere. Magnet had reads books and astronaut accounts of being in space, and he expected it be a quiet place that would send a feeling of dread and wanting to return home quickly. Now it was a beautiful image he wouldn't want to erase from his memory.
"Like it bro? Took me off guard at first as well." Snake hissed. Magnet didn't hear his words and approached the main panel, his eyes still fixed on the cosmos outside. He watched the way the dim and bright stars would flicker amongst each other, as if they were talking. How the void appeared still, and yet became alive when he only paid attention to the stars themselves.
"Mags? Are you okay?" Top asked and finally snapping Magnet back to reality. The scarlet robot rubbed his head sheepishly and turned to his brothers.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Snake, how long do we have until we reach the asteroids?" He asked.
"With our steady speed and the asteroids moving to our direction, I would say about three more hours." Snake answered.
"Okay then. You guys can walk around the ship and do whatever you want. We'll do the strategy when we start to get closer."
The brothers nodded and did their own tasks throughout the journey. Snake had walked to the storage room and began conversing with many smaller robots. It was adorable to watch the little robots chirp along to the conversation, even if their processors couldn't understand where he was going with it. It was clear though he favored the purely animal robots, stroking his two pet search snakes Hebi and Cleo. At some point, Top also joined in and slept beside two giant brown robot cats.
Gemini had surprisingly joined in the star watching and was able to identify constellations instantly. Magnet listened to his explanations ranging from the origin of Leo to the symbolism of Pisces before listing off reasons of why the Gemini constellation was the best. However, Magnet found it more relaxing to simply watch the stars talk to each other, and watching the cosmic dust float like a shifting blanket.
"And all of the other constellations are all alone, but the Gemini is never alone. That's why I'm not alone. Because I got my clones and a system of stars in my name." Gemini finished explaining.
"That's nice." Magnet muttered.
"You weren't listening to me, were you?" Gemini grumbled.
"I dozed off." Magnet said in a apologetic tone.
"Oh now that's funny. "Info-man" has a preference on what he wants to hear." Gemini air quoted certain words and his smirk widened. Magnet wacked his brother hard on the chest, causing Gemini to gasp and check his armor for scrapes. "Not funny."
"What do you plan to do when we get to the asteroids other than our functions?" Magnet asked. Gemini closed his eyes to think of an answer before opening them again.
"I'm definitely going for those crystal caverns on Glimmer. The reflections those things make must be incredible."
"Of course. Be careful near the energy element though." Magnet said.
"Sure thing Mom." Gemini laughed.
"Gem, I'm serious."
"Okay okay." Gemini responded, and his smug smirk slowly dissipated as he stared through the window. Magnet looked out to notice the silhouette of Mars slowly approaching from the darkness. The rusty red color and dark blotches along its surface glowed faintly in the minimal sunlight. As Magnet looked closer, four large celestial bodies trailed along the planet's outer ring. He could recognize the asteroid Omega's mountainous craters, the clusters of dome's scattered around Beta, and Glimmer's glistening surface. Gemini's tiny gasps of admiration shocked him out of his trance and turned to the control panel.
"Get your brothers."
The narcissist robot disappeared before returning with the others, but Magnet was already at work. Everyone exchanged nods and took a position among the hub. Top clicked the screen to the hub's rotators and his hands gripped the shifting wheels tightly, while Snake hovered over the thruster controls. The ship produced a slow hum as the thrusters pushed them toward the colossal asteroid.
"Keep it steady Top. We need to catch up with Omega until the launch pad is seen. Snake, keep the thrusters at the lowest power."
"Got it."
"What if the the whole 'bathing in bright light' thing starts happening?" Top asked with his eyes focused on the launch pad.
"I have a plan for that." Magnet reassured his brother. He did not want any of his brothers to start getting nervous at this moment. Omega grew closer and Magnet gave a gentle push to the control panel. A faint glow shimmered from the scattered craters with a bright pulse appearing every couple of seconds. He didn't realize he held his breath until his respirator started to ache.
"It's like it has a pulse." Top murmured.
An alarm erupted from the control panel, the danger sign blaring from the screen making the brothers' stomachs drop. The panel hummed in a uncomfortable volume as light sparks zapped into Magnet's palm. Omega glowed a warm red and vapors appeared to pour from the craters, slowly enveloping the entire surface. He watched as the brightest part of the light curled in itself and a long tail of red light extended toward them. As the ship glowed a faint red, Magnet felt his body buzz. His head felt heavy but his limbs were tingling, and his chest felt an unfamiliar warmth. It felt as if a ember was placed next to his core and pulsed in replacement of the usual humming.
"Magnet what is-?!" Top started.
"Hold on Top. I don't think it's doing anything wrong yet. Just keep moving forward and don't do anything stupid." Magnet spoke softly with his hand over his core area, feeling the warmth throughout his body.
"But my chest-!"
"Do not be afraid brother. It will be alright." Magnet reassured and managed to keep Top calm enough to push closer to Omega. The red light extended itself around the hub until the inside glowed the same hue. Top was refraining himself from shaking, but Magnet felt strangely calm. Seeing the launch pad grew difficult as the light intensified and blinded the screens.
"Snake I need you to pull back a little so we can see the launch pad." Magnet ordered. To his shock, both he and Top fell backwards by a sudden boost in power. The light was turning a blinding white through the panel and windows. Gemini clutched his chair in shock before looking toward the one responsible for the boost in speed.
"We're heading faster into the asteroid!!" He exclaimed.
"Snake, I said pull back!" Magnet ordered. Snake did not respond and only continued to increase the thrusters. The hub flew at a terrifying speed into the red light. The warmth that pulsed in Magnet's chest was fire compared to embers. He grew as he gripped Snake's shoulders and whipped him around. He had a double-take by how calm Snake's eyes were, a small smile showing his fangs.
"We must head to the asteroid now. The doctor needs us to do it." The green robot sneered.
"We need to pull away from the light! At this rate, we'll crash into Omega!" Magnet said.
"We do this now or never come back." Snake kept repeating the words and pushed the thrusters to their limit. Magnet could feel the hub shaking and the burning in his chest grew worse.
"We are going to crash!!" Gemini shouted in a terrified voice.
Magnet had no time and tackled Snake from the controls. His hand reached for the thruster and felt Snake's claws dig into his shoulder. The reptilian robot kicked him off and the calm eyes were wide and malicious. The bodies of his brothers glowed a brilliant scarlet and Magnet steadied himself, his arms stretch out towards Snake, whose body was shaking uncontrollably. He raced to put the thrusters to full stop. Although it felt forever, the ship came to a close stop and Gemini slumped over the rotators. The blinding red light slowly dissipated back to a dim glow. The brothers sighed in relief before realizing Top was clutching to Snake's head and forcing eye contact between the two. Silence was shared between everyone before the reptilian robot groggily opened his eyes.
"What the heck happened? Why are we on the floor?" He asked.
"What happened is you almost killed us! What were you thinking hurtling us straight into the asteroid!?" Gemini demanded and Snake recoiled from the volume of his voice. Magnet didn't have time to listen to their petty argument, and looked over the damages throughout the hub. The rotators had only suffered minor damages and the cargo was squished together. He clicked the button toward the thrusters and the worst had happened. Whether it was Snake's maintaining high power for too long or the energy element, but the thrusters were overheated and no longer active. The hub no longer faced either Omega or Mars, but slowly rotated among the blankets of stars.
"We are heading off course. Isn't there anyway for us to use the rotators to steady the hub?" Magnet directed towards the recovering Topman.
"Not without power to the thrusters. And the communications down too." Top shook his head.
"Which leaves us stranded. Way to go Snake-" Magnet grabbed Gemini's face harshly, leaving the shiny robot shocked by the anger in his leader's eyes. He bit his tongue and retreated to his chair, leaving an exasperated Magnet and a confused Snakeman by his side. As the hub continued to spin, he pressed multiple buttons to try reactivating the thrusters. The backup starts were fried beyond his repair, and the coolant in the lower levels wouldn't be of much help. By the fifth attempt he had given up and leaned against his chair, watching a comet pass by Mars. The beautiful whitish blue tail the celestial body left behind contrasted with the slow red pulse within Omega. Magnet wished he could've painted this picture in his processor for the rest of his life. He was starting to regret taking this job for Lucy. She had meant well, but now there was a higher chance of him and his brothers floating in the endless abyss than starting the hub back up and getting to Omega. At least he could admire the comet shooting by, its blue light dancing around as it made a sharp turn toward him.
He bolted up realizing the comet had turned towards the hub. It curled and twirled through the abyss like a dance. Snake had noticed Magnet's sudden jolt and cursed upon looking towards the comet. Gemini and Top didn't have time to look before the comet passed the hub, clipping the right side and bathing the front in blue "dust".
As the cameras came online, the group as the comet made its way to Omega sharply turning towards the main crater. The pulsing became rapid as it descended into the hole until it was like a strobe light. Then it stopped. Magnet wondered what happened as Omega became a regular looking asteroid apart from its tall structures. The blue comet erupted from the crater once more and quickly approached the hub. From its center, the scarlet robot could make out a darker core within the blue light. Moments before it reached the front, it seemed to make a full stop and hovered in their eyes. The blue light simmered down and the dark core became pronounced and longer. Then the core had eyes, and the form of the individual was full. All the confusion, shock, fear, and relief building in Magnet's core came together in one brief shout.
"SHADOW?!" His three brothers, in their moment of shock, shouted with him as they stared at the ninja robot. The latter stared into the screen with a calm face and the blue glow disappeared from his body. He pointed towards Magnet then to the asteroid several times.
"The thrusters are broken. Could you help us get on the launch pad?" Magnet shouted. To his dismay Shadow only tilted his head confused, which meant he didn't hear him.
"Boy it would be great to have the communicators on." He sighed.
"I got this." Snake spoke up. He tapped on the screen to get Shadow's attention and, to everyone's shock, started to use sign language with the ninja. Shadow leaned over the glass to look at the thrusters and nodded before disappearing out of view. Snake turned to his dumbfounded brothers. "What? I was bored and learned something new before we came here. And Shadow is a quick learner."
Magnet hummed in approval before the ship jerked forward slightly. The sky whirled right and Omega was in their line of sight again. They were closer than expected and they reached the ground after a few minutes. The hub screeched from scraping against the hard rock and Magnet forcefully opened the doors. The pillars of towers emerged high and proud from the craters, lights from inside shining bright and little robots scurrying across the rocky surface. Tiny helper bots greeted him and his brothers, and they chirped in delight over the little pats they received.
Gemini had opened the cargo door and dozens of smaller robots filed out with documents, sample boxes, robot critters, and gadgets of all sizes poured out and headed towards Omega's main entrance. The ship creaked one more time as Shadow landed close enough to the group for Top to walk up and lightly hug him. The ninja froze upon the contact, and the orange robot backed up when he realized it.
"Why are you here?" Magnet asked. Shadow made a weird motion before pulling out a crystalline object. The crystal was the size of his hand, oval in shape and a dark vein-like crack down the center. It was a beautiful red color with a slight transparency in its deeper layers, and a light white center within that pulsed slowly compared to before. Top wasn't wrong in that the energy element acted like a heart. It was both creepy yet beautiful to the robot masters watching it glow.
"I'm sure this is what you are looking, right?" He said.
"How-! I-I mean yes! This is great Shadow but-! H-How are you even holding that without being affected!?" Magnet stammered with joy and almost grabbing the element. He caught himself when he saw his brothers flinch.
"It still feels warm but I'm sure it was nothing compared to what you four experienced." Shadow explained.
"In that case," Magnet called for one of the small robots and a conduit container was presented, "I'm sure this will help for the long run." The lid closed slowly around the crystal. The mechanisms locked with one another and the crystal laid gently on the glass.
"So these are what you have been forced to find?" Shadow asked still gazing at the enclosed crystal in a fond look.
"We refer to these as energy elements, and the ISEE institute wants us to gather the other three before returning to Earth. It shouldn't be too hard now that we got the ship here, and the rest of us can head to the other asteroids." Magnet said.
"Why can't we just have Shadow gather the energy elements? It doesn't affect him anyway and I don't want to explode." Gemini asked.
He had considered that option from Shadow's display of overcoming the energy element's mechanical overloading. The crystal appeared to make a wave of energy that is visible to the naked eye, and this energy seemed alive. It was drawn to them and seemed to blanket the ship in a harmless red hue before it turned aggressive. This reaction resembled that of a curious living creature that would attack at the sign of a threat. He wondered if it had to do with Snake's behavior. Whether it was Snake's unannounced behavior that caused the energy to turn aggressive or some other anomaly, Magnet concluded the mission was more deadly than he previously calculated. If they were to have another anomaly happen, he wouldn't be there to help them overcome it. Shadow's immunity to the crystal's surges could make him the key to getting the crystals without harm. He could do all of the work for them and would have less damages. Lucy could have her energy elements and they would return to Light Labs for further instructions.
He thought about their previous conversation in the city tunnels and Shadow's clear distaste for humans. The ninja wanted nothing to do with humans, especially the thought of being cared for by them. He was aware that robot masters were obliged to follow the functions given to them, and as Magnet looked into the ninja's eyes in response to Gemini's question, Shadow could care less about doing their functions for them. Magnet wondered why he bothered to show up if he was adamant on not following human orders. Perhaps it was payback for nursing him back to health. That possibility was becoming more plausible and Magnet decided the ninja had no business helping them anymore. This mission was their function and he was making sure they stuck to it.
"Thank you for the assist Shadow, but we are okay now." He said directly looking at Gemini at the second half. "We'll go do the rest of our function."
"Magnet, our ship is still broken. It's going to take a while for it to jump start." Snake interrupted.
"Well-" Magnet started before Shadow walked in front, effectively cutting him off.
"I can get you to the asteroids and save all of you time." He said. He approached Gemini first and extended his hand with a weird look. As Gemini took it, Shadow hooked his arm and launched up at impressive speeds, and Gemini's scream quickly faded away towards the glistening surface of the asteroid Glimmer. No one muttered until the rapidly approaching ninja landed on the asteroid with a silent grace contradictory to his launch.
"I wish I get to do that. But this is my place." Top muttered with disappointment.
Snake patted him sympathy and hooked onto Shadow's arm. His reaction of being launched was more ecstatic than Gemini's, and the ninja returned shortly for Magnet. The scarlet robot nodded his head towards Top and felt himself fly through the cosmos. He felt no resistance against his armor, and the sensation was the closest to flying he knew. Shadow harshly tugged back and Magnet fell forward. He managed to grab a wall to one of Alpha's towers. He was happy to see dozens of tiny robots chirping happily. One of the flying drones grabbed the conduit container and flew to the higher floors. Magnet leaned against the door to cool his circuits from the thrill ride, and a warm pulse steadied his core.
"I hope you are content with your path."
Magnet had forgotten about Shadow and turned to say thanks, only to find no one standing in his place. He waited to see if the ninja would return, but closed the door when he didn't and walked higher up the towers to carry on with the mission. Lucy and the doctors would be pleased to see the progress they made already.