Chapter 3: Welcoming Committee
"Pleasant." said AndrAIa with a sweeping gesture as soon as everyone had arrived and situated themselves. They were in a dark but relentlessly unsullied alleyway. It was hard to tell what she meant, at first. The city was spotless, sharp-lined and stark against the greyish energy-sky. No rubble or trash dotted the streets, nothing was out of place...nothing was moving.
That was the eerie part.
Bob pushed past the others, trying to get a better glimpse at the city that had been his home. While the others were vaguely uncomfortable in that perfect gleaming city, Bob was deeply disturbed by it. He knew how things should have been. This was not it. He stepped out onto the street for a better look.
He was pulled right back into the alley. "Bob, what�re you doing?" Matrix gestures at the alley opening with his gun. "It�s dangerous out there."
Bob shook his head. "Matrix, there�s nothing out there. Look for yourself." He stepped out into the street again, a little bit out of defiance...how dare they keep him back in his city, his home...well...what was once his home. Still, he knew Matrix was right. They had to watch their step. The others followed him into the street. He felt Dot�s hand on his shoulder, and he slumped a bit as the unfocused anger within him drained away. What would he do without her?
�The same thing you did before, without her.� A coldly logical piece of his processor replied.
Bob shook off the thought, turning a weary smile to his companion, hoping to ease her mind a bit. Dot squeezed his shoulder again lightly, then turned to locate Matrix and AndrAIa. "So, what�s the plan?"
Matrix eyed his sister warily. "You�re the one who�s supposed to have the plans..."
Dot grinned slightly. "Well, let�s see what we�re up against, first. Bob, you know the way to the Principle Office here?"
Bob nodded mutely, and they headed off into the city and whatever lay within.
As they neared the center of the city, signs of life increased but the eerieness refused to be shaken. Sprites hurried to and from wherever they were going, eyes on the ground. No one spoke to another, or looked up from his feet, or stopped for a rest. It was all mechanical, and very disconcerting. Veins of lime-green marked the temples of many passer-bys. One young male sprite with lavendar skin and hazel eyes did glance up in passing, staring at a stock-still Bob for a long moment before shaking his head and trotting off towards his original destination. "Epson." Bob murmured to the others as he began walking again. Several times Bob seemed to recognize the city-dwellers. As many times, they either behaved as if they were caught doing something wrong, or ignored the foursome completely. By the time they were well within the city, Bob had fallen into a deep depressed silence.
The journey was unpleasant at best, but they were not bothered by anyone. Finally, Bob stopped so short that the others nearly bumped into him. His gaze was focused skywards, where a long slim crystal spire rose from what seemed to be the very heart of the city. It was six-sided and pointed at the tip, uniformly colored a milky-white with a greenish pearlescence that shifted queasily with the light from the energy sky.
"Well, that�s new." said Bob dryly.
"Daemon�s hideout." was Matrix�s short reply.
"Guys..." AndrAIa said warningly. When they turned to her, she pointed to the top of the spire. A rectangular pane in the crystal had gone transparent on the side facing them. And while they could see nothing, they could feel it. Something, some languid menace, was watching them. After a long moment, the pane grew opaque again, as is frosted over from the inside. Dot shuddered involuntarily.
"We�d better...do something." was all she said.
She watched in dull satisfaction as the milky panel grew opaque again. Delicate fingers clutched the railing attached to the back of windows for a moment. How pleasant...they would save her the fuss of retrieving them. She could hear the guards stirring behind her, restless.
When she showed no sign of turning around, one spoke.
"What shall we do �bout the intruders, Mistress?"
*Bring them to me.* she replied shortly, stepping down from the windows and pacing lightly to her chair, breath coming in its usual short wheezes. The Guardians each offered an arm to assist her. She settled in her large high-backed chair, then swivelled to face the windows again. Spidery fingers steepled before her, she sat back to watch...and wait.
"We�ve got company." AndrAIa pulled out her trident and struck a battle-crouch; Matrix unholstered his gun and did the same. Bob gazed around the semi-circle of once-Guardiams before them, one arm flung protectively in front of Dot in a by-now accustomed gesture. She, for her part, had her own gun aimed at the intruders...though they did not seem the least bit phased by the groups resistance.
"Stand down. You cannot escape." The tallest of the Guardians intoned, gaze travelling over the four coldly.
Matrix spared a glance at his companions. "They�re...shielded, somehow."
Bob nodded, gravely. "Daemon must have done this. She must have the power..." He sighed, shaking his head. "We can�t win this one. Not like this."
Matrix protested. "What about not believeing in the no-win scenario? We can take these guys out! We can-"
He was interrupted by AndrAIa�s hand on his arm. "Matrix...they can�t be hurt. They�re shielded. There�s no way to fight them, not out here." She stressed the last two words, her aquamarine eyes boring into Matrix�s. He frowned harshly for a moiment, then blinked rapidly as he took in the meaning of her words. He turned to look at Bob, who nodded back, mouthing the words, �not out here.�
As the de-facto leader, Dot stepped forward, fingers outspread in a gesture of surrender. The head Guardian gazed at her frostily, commenting in a harsh voice, "You make the intelligent decision. Give over your weapons."
Dot handed over her gun, AndrAIa her trident. Matrix eventually gave his gun into the Guardians� possession, prodded all the way by the others, even though he knew he could...and likely would...summon it back to him before the fiasco was ended. The four were marched off to the central building and its crystal tower at gunpoint. AndrAIa held fast to Matrix�s arm. Dot led her group, head high and slender form drawn up to its full height. Bob did not interfere, yet one hand hovered at her side protectively. Together they reached the base of the crystal tower, and watched in silence as the panels slid apart with a soft but ominous hiss. Their Guardian entourage prodded them inside, and the doors closed soundlessly behind them, leaving no sign of their passing.
Within the tower the same eerie silence that ruled outside was almost thick enough to be cut with a knife. The light was diffuse, green and sickly as it filtered through the milky walls. The Guardians brought the group to a halt at a heavy stone desk that blocked the hall leading back to the rest of the tower. As one of the Guardian escorts cleared his throat, a delicate sprite, middle-aged with a thin mint-green face raised her head as if it weighed too much for her slender neck, fixing the group with weary navy eyes.
"CaMi..." Bob said softly, leaning forward slightly to see the sprite better. A spark flickered in the navy depths, though her expression did not change in any other capacity.
"You came back, you silly boy." Her voice was alto, like brushed aluminum; even her obvious exhaustion could not hide its beauty. She was about to say more when lime-green pulsed fiercely at her temples and she backed off, the legs of her chair screeching against the floor. She winced, then gestured towards the hall beyond her desk. "You know what to do. You�re cleared." she told the Guardians. As the four prisoners were marched past, she seemed to gather some of her strength. "I�m so sorry, boy..." she whispered. Bob caught her gaze and nodded, then her infection pulsed again and she turned away.