"Nonsense! These robots must be out of their minds!" Alora was shouting. She slammed her stick against the floor. "Ilya! Don't you see? These maniacs say they don't know where Aldoux Weisshafen went." She gestured toward the two security robots standing by the table. These were the robots that recorded all the system's visual and audio data.
"Yeah... He probably locked himself in one of the rooms and hit the bottle," Ilya said, hand on her hip. "You know Aldo... He always does that."
"But this time, it feels different..."
"Different how?"
"Look..." She said, pointing to her arm. "It's like some kind of bad omen is headed here... I'm getting goosebumps."
Just then, the alarm blared abruptly. As the lights flashed with a frantic red glow, Alora and Ilya sprinted toward the control room. Velsil was already there, staring at the screen in front of her, panicked and unsure of what to do.
"What's going on, Velsil?" Ilya demanded.
"I don't know... The thermal cameras detected something. It's at the 12 o'clock position and approaching us fast."
"What is it? Send out the surveillance drones."
The control room window faced exactly the direction the unknown visitor was coming from. Drones, lifting off from the facility and flying towards that direction like a small flock of birds, were visible. The cameras closed in on the target. They focused, and everyone was shocked when they saw the burly figure of one of the Custodians.
"What is this Custodian doing here?" The Custodian finally stopped on a hill, a distance that would have taken minutes to cross on foot. He brought his weapon to his shoulder and aimed it at the facility. "Damn it! What is that man doing?"
"What's the trouble, ladies..." said Lucius Varden, entering the room. He slicked his hair back with his hand and started watching the screen, leaning his hand on the computer console. "This man must be Kaldro the Custodian."
"What does that mean?" Ilya asked.
"Quite a dangerous man..."
As Kaldro suddenly activated his pressure rifle, everything began to be sucked into the weapon with a small vortex. Turrets opened for the defense system, but the metal plates of the facility had already started to tear away. The drone cameras were slowly ripped apart. Bullets fired from the turrets disintegrated before they could reach the man. Everyone saw the communication satellite topple, crash into the ground, and explode. The entire facility had now lost connection with the SWR (Supreme World Republic). As the facility's windows shattered, the entire team crouched to avoid the shards of glass. While the whole facility shook with the force of an earthquake, Varden stepped forward and declared:
"I must stop that man before he destroys the entire facility," he said. Just as he was about to move, Ilya grabbed his arm. Ilya turned Varden towards herself and planted a kiss on his lips.
"Please, come back..."
Varden offered his charismatic smile. "I'll come back for you, sweetheart." They shared another passionate kiss, at which point Velsil shouted from the back:
"Is this the time for that? The facility is about to fall on our heads!"
With immense fury, Varden launched himself out the window using the jets beneath his feet. As the wind pulled him toward the man's weapon, he struggled to remain suspended in the air with his boot jets.
"Stop in the name of the SWR!" he yelled. "This is a resource gathering center! An official institution! Stop in the name of Orve Dailo!"
"Go to hell..." Kaldro was moving his finger to pull the trigger of his weapon when Varden started flying straight up. Kaldro followed him with his weapon, and then suddenly pulled the trigger. With the press of the trigger, a massive kinetic energy blast was released. If that kinetic energy had hit the facility, the entire structure would likely have been leveled.
Lucius Varden could feel his body parts beginning to fuse together and his strength slowly failing under the effect of the funnel-shaped kinetic energy. His power cut off, his circuits scrambled, he plummeted from the sky to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Ilya asked. A surveillance drone had approached Varden and relayed Ilya's voice.
"He has a damned pressure cannon. This weapon is too strong... It gets more powerful with every second it charges." When Varden spat, he coughed up blood onto the ground.
"You're spitting blood..."
"My damn mouth is full of cuts. My teeth were driven into my mouth. I should have made them mechanical too." He slowly stood up. "If I wasn't an Inspector-grade body, I would have already been reduced to scrap metal."
Just then, the sound of the weapon activating was heard. As Kaldro powered up his weapon, the wind once again began to be sucked toward the gun. As leaves, dust, and rock fragments flew through the air, Varden pressed his feet more firmly against the ground.
"What are you going to do?" Ilya asked.
"I'll make sure the weapon never fully charges its energy!" The drone, shaking from the pressure, couldn't transmit the image and sound properly. The drone flying away was imminent. "It draws energy from the capsule on his back. Its energy will eventually run out. My body will hold up... Don't worry! I just need to keep the weapon away from the facility..." He was saying when the communication suddenly cut off. Varden immediately started flying towards Kaldro with the jets under his feet. Kaldro pulled the trigger, and Varden was flung miles away by the pressure. But Varden couldn't afford the luxury of rest.
He pulled out a piece of metal lodged in his leg. He punched a metal plate that was about to fall on him and flung it away. He quickly got back on his feet. Kaldro's weapon had activated once more, and Varden leaped at him before he could gather more energy. The trigger was pulled, and Varden was thrown miles away.
"Damn it!" Ilya shouted, slamming her fist on the table. "None of our security systems are working."
"Why don't we send the robots at him?" Alora asked.
"It's possible they'll all turn into scrap metal with just one shot at them."
"Let's shoot him in the head when he's not looking at us," Alora suggested.
"Is there anyone among us who can hit something miles away? Especially when the atmospheric pressure is constantly shifting due to the weapon's effect..." Ilya asked. "And did you see that man's armor? It looks impossible to pierce it with a simple bullet."
"I wish Aldoux were here..." Velsil said. "...he could have found a way to shoot that man."
"What the hell is that noise?" Goma said, stepping into the control room doorway. "Can't a person get some sleep?" Her hair was messy, and she was busy yawning.
"Sleep? Are you crazy? How can you sleep through all this noise?" Velsil started shaking her. "Wake up, maniac! We were almost killed!"
"Wait a second..." Ilya said. "...I have a plan, ladies, come here." They huddled together in a small circle. Goma was still half-asleep.
"Alora... First of all, I want you to take a spaceship and go to Platoria."
"Why?"
"It looks like Weisshafen has gotten us into serious trouble. When all this chaos is over, we might need to abandon this cursed planet and escape. Also, warn our friends in that colony about the dangers that might come."
"Why me?"
"Because you are the most persuasive speaker among us, the one who understands psychology and the absurdities of religion."
"And..."
"And... you're the prettiest of us all," Ilya added in a weary tone.
"It's wonderful that you admit it."
"So what should I do?" Velsil asked, raising her hand. "Should I get my toy?"
"Your toy can't do anything against that man named Kaldro. But we don't know where Aldoux is. Varden is quite busy, so..." Ilya said.
"In the Temple," Alora said.
"How do you know?" Ilya asked.
"Do you know of any other treasure on this planet that could attract a Custodian's attention?"
"Alright... We'll try our luck there first," Ilya said and added. "Velsil... Take your toy and head to the temple. We must help Aldoux before it's too late."
"Understood, Captain!" she said and started running, giving a military salute. A shout came from somewhere behind. "The damned stairs are blown up!"
"Goma!" Ilya shouted.
"Yes?"
"We have more important business for you. Wake up, woman!"
"What happened?"
"Weren't you the one who wanted to beat up the Custodians?"
"Wait a second..." Goma said, her eyes opening wide. "...are the Custodians you're talking about the ones who look down on us?"
"They certainly are!" Ilya said and pointed outside through the shattered window. It wasn't very clear because it was miles away. The only visible things were an object constantly gliding and taking hits in the air, flying for miles, and the burly thing fighting with it.
"Damn it!" Goma said, clenching her fist. "That's definitely him..."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I want to punch him."
"Absolutely... But you can't approach him directly."
"What should I do then?"
"You'll have to use your snake abilities."
"No..." Goma said in a weary tone. "...not again?"
Varden, who had taken another hit and crashed to the ground, finally managed to find the strength to recover. As he slowly straightened up, he reached into his mouth and spat his broken teeth onto the ground. "My damned teeth!" he yelled towards the man opposite him. "Why didn't I make them mechanical when I made everything else?"
The weapon began charging energy once more. The sound of the weapon was different than before. "Your weapon's..." he started, but realized his voice wasn't carrying due to the pressure. Without waiting for the weapon to gather more energy, he lunged forward. He was slammed onto his back by the hit he took. He tumbled several times and slid across the ground before finally stopping. His head was spinning... It was one of the rare moments his head spun despite being a cyborg. He slowly straightened up and shouted with a laugh:
"It seems your weapon is running out of energy... I wonder what you'll do next."
Kaldro's red eyes glowed fiercely. "I should buy my brother some time." The weapon opened once more. As energy filled the weapon again, everything was being pulled towards it. This time, Varden spread his hands wide. He wanted to take the blast head-on, but he knew that unless he moved forward and attacked, Kaldro would continue to charge his weapon with energy. He waited... He waited, but then the wind suddenly stopped.
Varden glanced sideways and noticed a small earthquake under Kaldro's feet. He realized the man couldn't grip the weapon properly because of it. Something had suddenly burst out from under the ground. The thing that emerged, widening the cracks in the soil, was Goma. She grabbed the man by the arm and yanked him down. Seizing the opportunity of the man losing his balance, Varden lunged forward with great speed, grabbed the man's weapon, and delivered a hard punch to the man's abdomen. Since the weapon was connected to the capsule on his back, the connection was severed, rendering the weapon inert. The hard hit to the man's stomach tore a massive hole in the armor on his chest. Kaldro flew for miles, and the capsule on his back crashed into the ground, crushed and shattered.
Varden looked at Goma, who was at his feet. Goma was holding a drill-like tool in her hand. He reached out and slowly helped her up. As the woman emerged from the soil, her entire skin was covered in wounds. Her excavation clothes were practically in tatters.
"This... How is this possible?"
"A normal human can't move with this excavation engine. Most people's bodies would be ripped apart by the sudden turns, friction, and colliding rocks. But I... I'm not human. I'm more like a snake," Goma said, laughing.
"You're amazing..."
"Thank you."
Goma and Varden cautiously approached the man named Kaldro. The man's helmet was shattered, and half of his face was visible. His bright red eyes being his own surprised Goma.
Kaldro looked like he was in pain, as the mask over his mouth was shattered. Strange green gas was escaping from several points of the tube that should normally have been in his mouth. The man freed himself from the fragmented metal plates covering his body and took two steps forward, naked. As Varden took Goma behind him with his hand, something strange was happening to the man. The green gas was not only leaking from the tubes; it was also seeping from some of the wounds on the man's body.
The pressure cannon was an extremely powerful weapon. It could easily tear apart the wielder's body. That's why it was only used on spaceships. If a human were to carry and use that weapon, they would have to possess an incredibly strong body. A superhumanly strong body... Kaldro must have been sustaining that power by constantly feeding on that green liquid. Because ever since the tubes were shattered, his muscular body had slowly begun to shrink, his frame diminishing.
"Goma..."
"I'll handle the rest. You go save Aldo," Goma had said, seeing as the man opposite her was steadily shrinking into a scrawny figure.
Just then, a small drone approached Lucius Varden. Lucius Varden slowly ascended into the air and asked: "You will tell me where Aldoux Weisshafen is and what is going on at this facility, Ilya. No lies, and with all the details!"