E. Revolution

-=3rd Revolution=-

::Linearity

“Hey, I’m not done with that yet!”

“You should have been done with it ten minutes ago! This is work time!”

“But I wasn’t able to eat my entire breakfast!”

“That’s ‘cuz you slept in, again!”

“Fine, fine…man, you’re such a meanie, Orange…”

“Only when you don’t pull your weight, Apple.”

Orange placed the half-eaten candy bar on the counter and turned back to the console while his companion, a chubby copper-top named Apple, made puppy-dog eyes at him. That didn’t really get him anywhere, and soon the technician turned to his workstation as well.

The room they were currently in was divided in two: the first and smallest part was the control console, where Apple and Orange were. The second half was, in actuality, much larger, and was nothing more than a white room with a couple of chairs and tables. Sitting in the center, on a plain mat, was Ness, legs placed Indian-style. His eyes were closed and his hands rested on his knees.

“Okay, it’s time to get started,” Orange muttered to himself. He leaned over and grabbed the microphone to his right. As he spoke his voice echoed through the room on the other side of the sound-isolated window.

“Hey Ness, we’re about ready for the psychic resonance test now. How you feeling?”

Ness’ eyes fluttered open. When he spoke he did not look up. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Okay then. Mr. Apple, if you would be so kind…and stop trying to eat behind my back!”

Apple held the candy bar, which he had stealthily arrested, mere centimeters from his open mouth. When Orange scolded him he covered the treat in its foil wrapping and put it in his pocket. Reluctantly he turned to the console and input some commands through the keyboard, then pushed a small lever next to him. “Schumann preset configured and in place. Psychic resonance sphere active at 40% augmentation. I’m ready when you are.”

Orange nodded and turned back to the microphone. “All right, Ness, let’s begin. This is the usual drill, so you know what to do.”

Ness nodded and closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. After a few seconds of silence the table next to him began to vibrate rapidly. Soon after it lifted roughly off the ground and was heaved across the room, then set down gently by an invisible force. The chairs soon befell a similar fate. After a few minutes of rattles, screeches, and bumps, the furniture in the room reconfigured itself so that it was the exact mirror image of what it was before. Ness opened his eyes after finishing his first test and peered up at the window.

“Good…psychokinetic centers of the I.B. are working fine.” Orange leaned back and took a look at the small screen in front of him, which displayed a spectrographic analysis of Ness’ brain. The ‘brain’ was a flat, blue circle, and a series of jutting, multicolored spikes represented Ness’ brain activity. At the time a particularly large spike came out of the upper left quadrant of Ness’ I.B.

“Okay…next we’ll do a check-up on your telepathic abilities. Remember how this goes?”

“You hold up the cards and I try to guess the correct one, right?”

“Right. Let’s begin.” Orange reached under his chair and pulled out a set of large, plastic cards with several basic shapes on them. He spread them out in his hands, after which he showed them face down to Apple, who plucked one and hid it from view. This process was repeated four more times, until the entire deck had been taken from Orange’s hands. Silently, Orange shifted back to the microphone and held it up. “Okay. Your turn.”

Ness nodded. “The first one is a star.”

Apple nodded and held up the first card he picked so everyone could see it. “Check.”

“The next one is a circle. Then comes a square and a triangle. The last one is a diamond…”

Twenty minutes later Ness found himself sitting in the SANCTUARY cafeteria in front of Apple, who was scarfing down his lunch happily. Ever since the attack on Fourside Ness had found that his appetite was not what it used to be, and seeing Apple ingest the quantities of food that he did made him extremely conscious of that fact. The idle chit-chat that made up most of the hour involved Apple explaining the details of the latest experiment, complaining about Orange, or both. Either way, Ness was quiet most of the time.

“…so then I decide to reverse the feed on the machine, but Orange gets all, ‘what the hell are you doing, you’ll ruin everything,’ and I’m like, ‘but I did my research, I know this is correct,’ and he tells me to get out of his way before I make him look bad! Can you believe it?”

Ness nodded quietly and nibbled at the corner of the sandwich in his hand. He understood that Apple was merely venting, and that, in truth, he and Orange were actually good friends.

After finishing his lunch and bidding goodbye to Apple, Ness headed to the Silent Garden, where he knew he’d find Poo, who was supervising the reconstruction and fortification of the dome. The Garden itself now looked like a ruined temple of sorts, with debris littered all over the landscape.

“Ah, Ness,” Poo gestured for Ness to come closer as soon as he saw the boy enter the room. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you. It’s about the incident the other day.” He was obviously referring to the attack that destroyed the room they inhabited currently.

Ness gave the agent a shrug. “I told you pretty much all I know,” he mused. “Besides, I kind of blacked out once Paula showed up.”

“Really? You never told me that…”

“I didn’t think it was important. It isn’t really, is it?”

“…probably not. Still, be careful next time.” Poo stopped and yelled a few orders to the reconstruction crew, then turned back to Ness. “By the way, Paula said she wanted to see you.”

Ness’ meetings with Paula were characterized by an odd, uncomfortable silence that dominated most of the time he was with her. He usually went to her room whenever he received a request for him to do so, but Paula would normally be preoccupied with something whenever he arrived. Today she was busy playing the piano.

Ness took off his cap and sat down on the piano bench next to the girl. Her punctuated silence spoke volumes, and Ness new not to interrupt her before she finished, at which point she acknowledged his presence. After that they spoke for a while about this and that (mostly about Ness, since Paula disliked revealing her private thoughts).

“Do you have any pictures of yourself when you were younger?” Paula floated the question towards Ness with the tact of a butterfly. It was so unexpected that Ness failed to realize how completely irrelevant it was.

“No…at least not here. Do you?”

“Only one.” Paula pointed to a small picture frame on her nightstand, and Ness instinctively went over to it. The picture looked like it had been taken several years ago; Paula looked about ten years younger that she did now. The only thing visible besides Paula’s infantile form, which was dressed in a yellow dress, was a flower garden in the background. Ness held the picture up to his eyes and scrutinized it, while he ran his fingertip over the small scar on Paula’s forehead.

“I don’t remember when it was taken,” mused Paula, who had sidled up to Ness. “I can’t remember who took it, either.”

“That was ten years ago…it’s alright if you can’t remember,” replied Ness. He put the picture back on the table, and then turned to Paula. “At least you have it…isn’t that enough?”

Paula was about to utter a response when the lights flickered in her room. Both she and Ness stopped their exchange to look up at the ceiling, and then back down once the lights stabilized.

“What was that?” Ness asked, more to himself than anyone else. “Do you think something’s wrong with the generators? Paula…Paula?”

Ness caught sight of Paula’s ribbon as it followed its wearer out the door. She had left so silently that Ness was unable to hear her. Instinctively Ness sprinted towards the door and ran towards Paula, who was walking quickly.

“Hey, wait!” Ness stepped in front of the girl and planted his arms on her shoulders, shaking her slightly. Surprisingly, Paula’s glassy eyes regained focus and gazed timidly at the boy.

“What happened? Is there something wrong?”

Ness furrowed his brow and shook his head. “I…don’t know,” he said blankly. “You just left and…your eyes were so different…”

“Really? I didn’t notice anything unusual…”

Ness released his grip on Paula’s shoulders and relaxed, taking a deep breath as he did so. Something about this was not right…it was just like the last time. Was Giygas attacking again? If so, why? And why did Paula go into a trance every time he was near?

“Stay here,” commanded Ness, turning away. “Don’t go out of your room, understand?”

Paula tilted her head to the side. “I do not comprehend. Is there something wrong occurring in SANCTUARY?”

“Maybe. That’s why I’m going to check it out, but you have to stay here, okay?”

“If you insist…I will do as you say. Good luck.”

With those last words Ness bolted towards the hallway that led to the central office. Surely he’d be able to find Professor Andonuts there, or maybe Poo; then they’d be able to clear up whatever was happening. Sure enough, after opening the doors to the C-Block hallway, he saw the familiar black ponytail and piercing eyes.

“It’s another Giygas attack, confirmed,” said Poo as he ran, with Ness trailing behind. “It manifested in the machine room and put the generators offline. That’s why the power went out while the emergency power supply kicked in.”

“So what do you think it’ll be this time?” asked Ness between heaving breaths. Psychic power or not, his physique was still nowhere near that of Poo’s.

“We’re about to find out.”

Poo came to a halt in front of the service elevator and activated it with his keycard. The large platform soon came up to meet him, and he stepped on wordlessly. Naturally, Ness followed, and within a minute the platform rumbled to a halt and the metal bars slid apart, revealing the generator room.

It was odd that, despite Giygas’ nature as a chaotic being, its most recent incarnation seemed like a well-oiled, it somewhat dirty and disheveled, machine. Giygas had torn nearly every machine in the room apart and used them to build a mechanical monstrosity. It had two left arms and one right arm, and two asymmetrical legs that shuffled along the metallic floor when it walked. The closest thing it had to a head was a protruding stump from the torso that trembled with uncontrolled fury.

“Oh man…” Ness’ pupils dilated. This manifestation felt different from the others. It wasn’t easy to put it into words, but…it almost seemed like this creature had its own will…

“Go get help! I’ll stay here and keep it busy!” Poo snapped Ness out of his reverie while he pointed his outstretched palm at Giygas. The monster wasn’t advancing on them yet, but the agent knew that eventually there would be a fight. At least by getting the kid out of the way he wouldn’t have to worry about him getting hurt.

“What are you waiting for? That’s an order! Go outside and use the communicator to call for help!”

“But…”

Ness was about to protest when Giygas hefted its huge right arm and brought it down on the very spot where the two humans were. Poo leapt to the side and grabbed Ness’ arm in time to heave them both to safety, then jumped to his feet and put up his fists. He shot Ness one last look before sprinting towards the monster.

Giygas raised its two left arms and swiped horizontally at the lithe human in front of him, only to hit nothing but air. Poo landed on one of the extremities and used it as a ramp to run up to the body, at which point he thrust out his hands. The very air around Giygas’ head rippled and shrieked, then ripped the head from the torso, eliciting a gurgled scream. Poo slid his hands to the side, using his telekinetic powers to hurl the head to the side, and then used another psychic wave to topple the creature. He landed nimbly on the floor before shooting a look at the elevator. Fortunately, it was gone.

Good boy. A smile crept across Poo’s features. Get going…

His attention was drawn back to the machine-Giygas, which had just recovered from the blow. The broken mass of machinery had reintegrated its head and was now rapidly charging towards him.

Let’s see how I fare against it this time.

Ness practically forced the doors to the elevator open too soon and bolted towards the node just outside. After fumbling for his card and sliding it through the reader, he punched a button and brought up the communication menu. When presented with the list of available recipients he pushed one at random, hoping it would be someone who could help him out of this mess.

“This is Research, Apple speaking,” the chubby scientist’s voice rang out over the intercom. Not surprisingly, he was eating, and there were crumbs littering his chest.

“Apple! It’s me, Ness! I need help…we found Giygas and Poo’s fighting it in the machine room!”

“What?! Oh no…” Apple dropped his food and grabbed his computer. As he typed he shot a look at Ness through the communications screen. “Listen, stay put, okay? I’m already sending out an alert to the other troops, they should be there soon enough. Just stay there, okay?”

Ness heard a deafening crash from the machine room and his stomach plunged. What if the troops couldn’t get here soon enough?

Meanwhile, the machine room was rocked again by a second impact. Broken pieces of machinery lay sprawled along the floor oozing black oil. Mixed in with the oil were drops of red.

Poo clutched his right arm, which hung limp at his side. His breath came in short rasps, and his clothes were in tatters. He had dismembered the machine-Giygas several times over, only to have it regenerate and rebuild itself at the expense of the generators in the room, all of which were heaps of scrap by now. Poo knew he had been outlasted, but he still clung to the possible arrival of backup troops. It was getting hard to stand, though…

Poo managed to dodge one final swipe, but his footing was less than stellar and he collided with the wall. This gave Giygas the opening it needed, and with a roar it charged up the slanted elevator shaft. Poo could only watch as he struggled to his feet.

It’s going for the main hall…Ness!

Ness took a step back as something pounded on the elevator door from inside and made a dent in the metal doors. That meant that Giygas had gotten past Poo, and it was only a matter of seconds before the monster bust out and went for him. Frantically Ness opened up the intercom again and called Apple.

“Ness! Are the troops there yet?”

“Apple, it’s here! I’ve only got a few seconds before it busts out! I need to do something!”

“Oh no…” Apple’s brow furrowed. “The troops are still at least five minutes away…what do we do?”

Ness was jolted by another blow to the door. This time the doors creaked in agony. One more blow would do them in.

“I’ve got it!” Apple’s voice screeched over the communicator. “It’s a long shot, but if you can lead it to the research room where we conduct our tests, we might have a shot. Got it?”

Ness nodded nervously. As soon as Apple closed the communication there was one final pound and Ness saw a mechanical claw reach out from the elevator shaft. Soon enough the creature emerged from the machine room and Ness took off for the laboratory as fast as his legs could carry him.

After signaling to Strong that Giygas had been diverted to the laboratory, Apple turned on his console and began typing at it frantically. Orange, who was watching from the sidelines, peered over his shoulder in order to get a good look at the screen.

“The psychic resonance sphere’s at 60% augmentation! You’re going to kill him like that!”

“I know what I’m doing,” replied Apple harshly. He typed a few more commands into the console and brought up a dimmed diagram of the Inverted Brain diagram from before. “According to this, his mental processes should even out at anything over 50% augmentation.”

“It’s too risky!”

“I know that! But Ness is being chased by that thing and this is the only way out.”

Orange gave a shrug and sighed in defeat. “Fine, you win,” he said. He sat back down at his own console and booted it up, then began typing. Apple glanced at him.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m helping, obviously. What’s it look like?”

Apple shook his head nervously. “Um…okay. Thanks.”

Orange chuckled to himself. “As long as we’re going to trash the research lab, we could at least do it right. Now,” he cracked his knuckles dramatically and began typing. “Let’s make some fireworks!”

Ness was now almost to the research room door, the mechanical giant hot on his heels. At that point there was no time to fumble around with a keycard, so Ness did the only thing he could really think of: he used a psychokinetic wave to knock down the door and a good part of the outer wall. Hoping against hope that he’d be safe, Ness rushed in and nearly tripped over the tables in the research room.

“Ness!” Apple grabbed the microphone and nearly yelled into it as Ness turned to face the hole in the wall. Giygas was clawing at the hole in an attempt to force his way in.

“Listen to me! When I give you the word I want you to blast that thing with all you’ve got!” This time it was Orange who spoke. “It’s the only way we’re getting through this!”

Ness glanced at the control booth and nodded wordlessly. Slowly he steadied himself and called forth his powers, just like he had that very morning. He saw Giygas finally make his way through and lunge, but he didn’t move. Everything was erased, everything except for Giygas, the control booth, and him. All he had to do was wait for Apple’s signal…

Apple completed his calculations and hit a final key on his keyboard. “Now!”

Ness let out a feral scream and put both hands forward, pushing with everything he had. The walls began to vibrate under the force; the very foundations of the base were rocked. Apple and Orange were knocked to the floor as the glass on the booth shattered.

Giygas was halted in mid-lunge, and every gear in its body strain. Its claws opened in desperation and its monstrous legs gripped at the floor, tearing it. Its arms made their way slowly towards Ness’ neck, trying to squeeze the life out of him even before they touched; every second was pure agony. The claws came closer and closer to the screaming boy, until they quivered with anticipation. Then they were blown to pieces, and Giygas’ body was hurled back. The monster was ripped into a million pieces, each hurled in a different direction. There was nothing left.

Apple brushed the glass shards off his back and climbed to his feet. Orange had been hit in the head with a stray piece of debris and was unconscious. Slowly, almost incredulously, the scientist surveyed his surroundings. He couldn’t see or hear the machine monster anymore. That meant that Ness was…

“Oh no…Ness!”

Apple ran to the door connecting the booth and the research room and tried to force it open. After a few kicks the door simply fell to the floor, unhinged, and Apple ran through to Ness, who had fallen to the floor. Blood was flowing from his ears.

So it came to pass that SANCTUARY had to rebuild its facilities for the second time ever, and only a few days after the first. The base had to live without power for two days until the main generators were up and running again, and the research program was all but cancelled due to the fact that the research laboratory had been destroyed. That was nothing, however, compared to the injuries sustained by two SANCTUARY agents, and one teenage boy…

“How are you feeling?”

“…I’ll live. I can’t say the same for the kid, though…he’ll be out for days, and even then it’s going to take some time for him to recover.”

Professor Andonuts lowered his rickety frame carefully onto a chair next to Poo’s bed in the infirmary. The agent’s arm was in a sling, and several different machines of varying size and function beeped, hissed, and whirled placidly to indicate that he would live another day.

“If I were you I’d be more worried about myself.” The comment had been floated not as a reprimand but as a sort of signal for the agent to count his own blessings; although Ness was in far worse shape than he, there was no time for Poo to worry about anyone other than himself.

“You know, since the base has been destroyed we’re putting everything on hold for a while.”

Poo raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? What if there’s another attack?”

The professor chuckled heartily. “Then, my dear boy, we run away.”

“Typical…”

Suddenly the professor’s eyes lit up and he reached into the pocket of his coat. “That reminds me…there’s something I want to show you.” The bony hand came out of the coat pocket with a dirtied sheet of paper in it. Poo watched his commander unfold the paper and place it on the bed, at which point he picked it up and held it in front of him.

“It’s a rubbing of the Scaraban tablet we…acquired…from the Fourside museum last week.”

Poo nodded; he didn’t need the explanation to know what it was. Immediately his eyes focused on a particular set of glyphs which had been circled with a red marker. He held out the paper so that the professor could see.

“And what are these?”

“Those,” said Andonuts, who plucked the paper from Poo’s hand and put it in his pocket once more. “Those…are the second part of the Message.”

Poo said nothing; he knew more than anyone what the Message was, and why it was capitalized.

“So what does it say?”

Professor Andonuts leaned on his cane. He had committed the Message to memory. The researcher then took a deep breath:

“We slew the giant of the sky

But his essence remained;

We hid him in our pyramid.

We know he will be set free once

Time destroys our people

For his is an immortal soul

Poo had heard the first part of the Message before; Professor Andonuts recited it regularly, and the agent could have very well done that in his place. But he knew not to interrupt, and instead let the researcher continue.

“When our calendar will expire,

At the turning point between

The first and the second era.

So it has been written by us;

So this too shall come to pass.

The future will be in our hands.”

 
Poo’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. Incredulously he stared at his elderly friend, who had cast his gaze downward.
 
“That last verse is…the same as what’s written in the ancient prophesies of my home land…”
 
There was a curt nod of confirmation. “The Dalaamese prophecy and the second part of the Message fit, word for word. Of course, if that’s the case…” Andonuts raised his gaze once more. “Then you know the rest of what I’m about to say.”
 
Poo’s eyes wandered from the commander’s wrinkled face to his hand, which lay on his lap. Slowly his lips parted and spoke, almost mechanically, the words that he had learned when he was young: 
 
“When the chosen boy reaches the 
point, he will find the light.
The passing of time will shatter.”
 
The nightmare rock will reveal the 
path of light…”
 
Andonuts nodded. “…and then we will begin …”
 
Finally both men locked eyes, and the words flowed from their mouths in soft, whispered chorus.
 
“The revolution…”