Chapter 4: Crystal Tower
The hall stretched on and on, winding its way through the base of Daemon�s crystal tower. Finally they reached what appeared to be an elevator. Silent short nods passed among the four prisoners...this was the chance they needed. The Guardian entourage hustled the four into the lift, and the doors slid shut...and perhaps if anyone else had been in the hall, they might have heard a muffled shout, a few menacing clangs of metal on metal, seen a golden glow between the crack in the lift doors...but no one passed, and these happenings went unnoticed by all in the tower except four.
Moments later that same four emerged from the lift in the upper section of the crystal tower. AndrAIa paused to investigate her fingernails, and Matrix smiled toothily as he spun his gun around one fingertip. There was no sign left of the once-escort...Dot looked troubled, and Bob�s expression was closed and vacant.
"We did what we had to." Matrix said quietly, the pain on his hero�s face making him suddenly solemn.
"I know." Bob replied darkly, then shrugged his black-clad shoulders slightly, taking stock of the surroundings. "Where to?"
They were in yet another hallway, one that stretched out on either side, then seemed to curve inward. The light was brighter than it had been at the base of the tower, but it still held a noxious tinge of green. AndrAIa stepped into the middle of the hall, glancing from one side to the other. She shrugged fluidly and turned back to the others. "Well...pick your poison."
Dot smiled gingerly at her choice of words, then gestured to the right. "Let�s not get any more sinister than we have to." AndrAIa nodded, starting down the right-hand corridor. Dot let her lead, dropping back to walk next to Bob. They walked in silence for a few moments only, before AndrAIa and Matrix suddenly stopped, then backspaced a few paces. "Guards up ahead." AndrAIa whispered. "Daemon�s chamber, it has to be." It was a time for good-byes, and prayers that they were only temporary. Matrix wrapped his arms around his lady in a silent embrace.
Bob turned to Dot, grasping her gently by the shoulders. He had to bend down slightly to rest his forehead against hers, proximity making her eyes a sea of violet. And the violet sea shimmered, as she tried to hold back tears.
"I won�t leave you again." He whispered the words that had become their benediction. "I promise."
"I know." Dot smiled slightly, though it was more an expression that comes from fighting back a sob. Haltingly she brushed a strand of blackened silicon hair from his forehead, then leaned forward to kiss him, only the second time since Mainframe�s restoration.
�I�ve got to get her to do this at times other than major crises...� Bob thought to himself, then didn�t think again for a good while.
Matrix eventually cleared his throat politely. Dot started guiltily, turning to look at her big-little brother, who despite the gravity of the situation couldn�t keep a slightly sly grin off his face. "You guys ready for this?"
Bob laughed, a bit sheepishly, turning back to Dot and sliding his hands from her shoulders to grip her elbows. He shook her, gently. "You be careful."
She nodded solemnly. "You too." He leaned forward to drop a kiss on her forehead, then they turned to the others. Dot paused to compose herself, then nodded once, decisively. "Let�s do it."
There was no use in secrecy, so they merely fanned out across the hall and simply walked straight for the guarded gateway. Two burly Guardians, both showing the telltale signs of the infection, reached for their weapons as one. One barked sharply, "Who are you? You have unauthorized access."
AndrAIa, always the best talker in stressful situations, fluttered her aquamarine eyelashes. "Oh...is it? We�re terribly sorry."
It had little effect on the guards, but it did buy enough time for Matrix and Bob to power up their weapons...
The scuffle was brief but intense, yet at the end, the nauseating green light shone down on four unscathed warriors. AndrAIa smiled piquantly over their victim�s prone forms. "Terribly sorry about that, too."
The last barrier that lay between Matrix, AndrAIa, Bob and Dot was the translucent stone gateway the guards had been protecting. Dot stepped forward, testing it. It seemed unyielding to her touch. She glanced over her shoulder at the others. "A little brute force?"
Matrix grinned broadly, the adrenaline from the previous battle still flowing through him. He pushed his shoulder against the door and heaved. The gate rumbled slightly, but did not give way. "All of us together should do it."
They all pushed on the gate, which shuddered under the assault and spiderwebbed into an intricate design of cracks, showering small chips of the strange translucent crystal down on the four. A couple of the delicate shards cut Matrix�s arms, and one sliced along Dot�s cheekbone, opening a thin line that oozed reddish-purple energy. Bob turned to her, worried, but she shook her head and kept pushing against the door. Finally the gate seemed ready to give way, and Matrix forced the others back.
"Be ready." was all he said, before he drove his foot against the buckling gateway. With a defeated clatter the stone panel burst inward. Blindly Matrix rushed into the room beyond, trailed by AndrAIa, Dot and Bob. They scrambled in and fanned out, weapons trained on the back of a massive high-backed chair set on a dias in the middle of the room. Slowly the milky crystal dust began to fade, revealing a round room surrounded by panes of the strange crystal that seemed to serve as windows. Cold stark machinery, arrays of computer consoles, tangles of pipes and wires filled the room, making it seem a veritable jungle of technology. The room was strange, cold, and silent except for the ticking and blipping of the somehow alien equpiment. For a long still moment, the four wondered if there was anyone in this chilling room after all.
Then, slowly, the chair began to turn towards the intruders.
Slowly, the figure nestled within it became visible.
Slowly, Daemon raised her head.
"Oh, User above..." breathed Dot.