Testing: A Little Sci-Fi Adventure (Chapter 9)

Chapter Nine,
How Young Are You To Fear?

SOL, Old Uranus Gateway,

“Welcome to Sol, first galaxy. Before you land, please present your papers and registration numbers. Thank you and have a nice visit.”
“Bienvenue a Sol, galaxie premier. Avant vous deport, voulez-vous presenter votre papier et nombre le registration. Merci beaucoup et-”
The repetitive holodrums of the greeting announcements ringed out in the cold, clammy silence. It had been three months since Isaac had seen sunlight, and he was pretty sick of it. They had been traveling from Beyond Three to the old, ruins of Sol. Isaac just could not figure out why they were heading right into the den of the Republic. Every time he tried to retrieve answers from his teammates, they would change the subject. He exited the room, and walked out to the viewing deck. The fake atmosphere was cold and sharp. Shards of ice tore at his face as he stood out, looking at the shadows of the gas giants.
“Isaac? What’s wrong?” Layenne questioned from the doorway. She had become bolder and livelier over the years.
“Oh, Layenne. Nothing. It’s just that I can’t get why we’re traveling to the House of the Republic.” Isaac put on a fake smile. He never really liked to worry others.
Layenne looked at him suspiciously, her eyes scanning his face for misgivings. She flew over to the railing and perched herself next to his hand, looking out at the frozen sun. Isaac felt slightly better but his instincts told him that trouble was arising in the heart of evil. He recollected all the stories he had heard of this forsaken place. The only things that lived in the desolate wastelands were abominations and freaks, victims of genetic testing. Even the humanoids that managed to survive in the harsh winters were twisted and mutated, in both mind and body. The only true inhabitable place was the first salvation of mankind, a small planet by the name of Earth.
Two hours of dreary travel later, they arrived at the first bastion of mankind. The great steel doors opened as the bolts slid out of place. Above them, surveillance drones collected data about the ship. Hiryu activated the auto-dock sequence and yawned. Naomi was in her room, changing appropriately for their mission. Isaac went into the hall and activated the GPRS. The screen flashed and Isaac filled in the tax and stay forms. He had to make sure that the data that he entered inside the terminal was unidentifiable and untraceable.
“Isaac. Get changed, we’re leaving. Make sure you wear thick clothing.” Hiryu called out from the cockpit. Isaac walked unhurriedly to his room. On his bed was a thick coat, obviously left by Naomi. He put it on and went back out. Everybody had gathered in the hall and were clad in the warmest possible apparel, all except for Hiryu. Without a word, they exited the craft and walked out into the harsh bellowing blizzard.
After hours of walking through the thick snow, they seemed hopelessly lost. Everything was blanketed in a heavy covering of contaminated snow, ice, and grit. The main town was far behind them and the headquarters for the Republic was a dot in the distance. Isaac was about to jump on Hiryu to force out some answers when they saw a silhouette approaching them. Hiryu went to meet this man and had his hand hovering mere millimeters of the handle of his blade. The stranger took out his blade and attacked Hiryu. Hiryu repelled the first blow but an entity sent waves of fire into him. The man sheathed his sword and stood there.
“What do you want?” The man shouted so loudly that some snow was blown away.
“I need a new sword.” Hiryu said calmly while getting up.
“For what? You still haven’t mastered that.” He pointed at Hiryu’s blade which was lying on the snow.
“For my friend.”
“Hah! And since when did you think that I would give family swords to people who weren’t in our family lineage?”
“Since seventeen years ago.”
“You-! That was a mistake! Your disgraceful father forced me to take him in!” The man clenched his fists.
“Well?”
There was a long pause as the man took his time to contemplate the situation. He seemed numb to the cold and wind which pounded the party.
“Come with me.” He turned around and walked into the blizzard. Hiryu shrugged and followed. Isaac watched as one by one, the members of the party went into the storm. He shook his head and strode in after them. He could feel the ever ready frost
on his ears.

***
SOL, Earth,

They had trudged through the blistering cold for what seemed like hours before they came to a tall leering cliff. The top of it was clouded by a wall of heavy, dark, bellowing clouds. Isaac though he saw two blue eyes glint out from up there but it disappeared the instant it appeared. His attention was brought back to the strange man when he heard him chanting a small prayer. A thin ray of light came from within the cracked wall of the cliff and within moments, they were transported into ... something.
Isaac wanted to speak but Naomi clasped her hand over his mouth. She put a finger over her lips and released her hand. Isaac nodded and walked on. The man took off his thick fur hood and reviewed the bunch with a sneer. His face was ageing but was strong. He was pure bald and had dark black eyes that have seen many centuries. From his looks he looked not a day over 40 but Isaac knew that this man was much more that what appeared before them.
“Well, since you all managed to drag yourselves here, why not come inside for a cup of tea?” He mentioned sarcastically. Isaac was wondering what he was talking about when before them stood a small, clay abode. There was but one window and one door and it only had one room. A chimney stuck out at an odd angle.
“Thank you for your gracious offer.” Hiryu retorted. They made their way inside the house.
As Isaac walked in, he noticed that the land outside vanished and instead, the space was filled with green blueprint lines.
“Don’t tell me you’re goin to stay in my doorway.” The man quipped. Isaac walked inside the room and seated himself on the hard floor. The house was not especially cozy, and it had but one bed, one table, one chair, one stove, and some crockery and food. One single rose located in the center of the table stood out. The man lit the stove and strangely, the pot and tea sachets arranged themselves on it. The man took out a small flask and took a strong whiff of it. The smell of fresh herbs and flowers filled the room and enticed their noses.
“Don’t waste my time. What d’ya want that new sword for?”
“You know. You always do.”
“I want to confirm it.”
“Him.”
“Him? That scrawny kid? You’ve got to be kiddin-” He narrowedly jumped out of the way as a kick flew at the space that was once his head. He landed on the table and consequently smashed it.
“Heh heh heh… you’ve got to try better than that boy.” He stepped out of the rubble and the table rebuilt itself, piece by piece.
The man stared at Isaac for a few minutes with a mischievous grin. Isaac looked around, Naomi was glaring at him, Layenne was also surprisingly, surprised. Maÿrn was covering her mouth, eyes wide with fear. Glave was standing next to Hiryu, both were grinning. Isaac was understood the situation as much as a rock understood mathematical theory.
“I could give him the *** sword… but there is a small problem.”
“What is it? The annex? You did that to every single one of the team remember.” Hiryu motioned.
“Ha ha ha ha. So I did, so I did. No, this is different. Because of that daring move, I have something better in plan for this feisty little monkey.” Isaac was red with fury. Being insulted constantly was not something he held lightly. “Come with me boy.” He walked out of the door and before him, the grids merged and twisted to form a single, wooden door. Nothing about it was exemplary. Behind it was nothing.
“Walk through that door, boy. Your, heh heh, sword, is behind it. All you have to do is claim it.”
“Simple enough.” Isaac snorted. He noticed some of his friends peeping through the window. They zipped back inside the moment they saw him.
Isaac twisted the brass doorknob. He heard the lock click open and he opened it. In front of him was emptiness. He was pushed inside and as he turned around, the door slammed shut and the lock snapped into place. He looked on, there was nothing around him. Everything was colorless. There was no way to describe it, it was so empty that there was not even color there. The door disappeared and as Isaac pondered over the next course of action, a hole opened next to him. Light hummed around its rim as a wisp of smoke floated out of it.
The hole closed and that smoke wafted around the place. He could hear something echoing in the nothingness, somebody calling out his name. There was more than one; he could hear lots of voices, one by one, calling out his name. They were dim and faint, but they existed. The smoke was missing, before him was a mirror. It was but a small hand mirror, made of diamonds, pearls, and rubies. The face of it was water and it rippled when Isaac came closer.
Isaac saw something swirling around in it, the figure slowed and focused. Isaac could hear his name being called even more loudly.
“ISAAC!” Maÿrn flew halfway out of the glass, her waist-down was still in the mirror but the rest of her flew at him, hands outstretched. She wore a dreamy, frightening expression as she embraced Isaac. Isaac was too stunned for words. She lowered her lips closer to his. Her face was a pale blue and an aura encircled her. Isaac could feel the cold breath coming from her.
He woke himself up just before they came in contact and quickly, he sent forth a powerful jab into the unholy creature’s midsection. It screamed in pain and chocked out some black blood. The vision flew back into the glass and the mirror dropped to the invisible floor and disintegrated. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief and looked around for an exit. His name was still being called out but one voice was missing. The one he banished. He felt a tap on his shoulder. Ice flow through his veins where those fingers touched.
Isaac looked behind him. His brother was standing there, pale green. It chuckled and approached Isaac, Isaac took a few steps back and saw the impersonator lose a leg. It just fell off, with slime oozing out of the wound. The thing reached for Isaac and in doing so, the muscles tore and split, making sores and open wounds all over the arms. Maggots fell out of them as they stretched around Isaac’s chest. Then it opened its mouth and the stomach and waist tore apart to accommodate the enlarging mouth. Pieces of flesh and skin hung freely over the wretched body. Isaac screamed and jumped out of its grasp and landed a few hundred meters away. The monster was losing hair and it was leaning to a side. Pieces of it was falling of when it spoke in a dying, broken voice.
“Isaac….I…need…you… Let… me…survive…in…you… Let…me…live…”
Isaac was rooted to the spot. Part of him felt the brothers love to sacrifice himself, while the other told his to destroy the thing. He could feel cold sweat running down his vest. The creature came nearer but before it could reach Isaac, it broke apart. The slime fell onto the surface and the limbs and features peeled off. Rotting flesh was abundant and the smell was damnation. It muttered it’s last words before collapsing into as a cadaver.
“This…is…your…fault…Isaac!”
Isaac shivered and fell to the floor. The body disappeared slowly but the stench lingered. The final words of his dead brother repeated themselves. Another voice was missing from the constant echoing. The sound of a pane of glass shattering contrasted with the usual silence. Isaac was shivering and slowly turned around again. He felt a tear run down the side of his face. The figure called out his name, her voice was happy and light. Isaac shut his eyes. He wanted to block out the images that portrayed themselves before him. The pictures appeared inside his mind. They were torturing him, toying with him. He wanted to flee, but there was no escape. He felt the last string that held his mind together, snap.

***
SOL, Watch of Rheine,

Isaac could hear the melody of a sensuous piano plying from an opposing room. He lay on a silk bed, pure white with lice stitched into the comforter. Isaac felt so comfortable that he wanted to sink even deeper into the amazing divan. Suddenly his senses awoke, he recalled the past events. He felt a shiver go through his spine. He crawled out of bed, checking to see if there was a floor, and grabbed his shirt and jacket which hung from an enormous ivory cupboard.
Isaac descended the stairs that led out of his room. He took utmost caution and each of his steps were placed perfectly so that not sound made its way before him. When he reached the bottom floor, the piano playing stopped smoothly and he heard a chair move. Isaac opened a small gap through the thick ivory doors and looked around. He saw a beautifully decorated room where every single thing was white. There were patio doors that opened a view to a magnificent sea. Marble covered the floors and a few pillars were scattered around the area. There were sofas, couches, tables, chairs, steps, and lush white plants smartly placed to create a beach-house effect. A fire, which was white, lay in a ornamental fireplace, crackling merrily. There was a dining table on the balcony. Two plates of food were placed upon it and on one end; a wansome man was feasting himself. He chewed gracefully and when he had swallowed his last bite, he smiled at the direction of Isaac.
“How long are you going to watch me eat? Come! Join me! I assure you that this is a splendid meal.” His voice was warm and joyous. Isaac came out, knowing that Weiss had sensed his presence, and walked out into the loggia.
He looked at the food carefully, and cautiously he sat down on the pallid rattan chair, a rarity. The view was breathtaking. Below him was a great cliff and at the bottom, waves crashed and pounded onto the rocks. Clouds were all over the sky and the breeze was cool. He looked at Weiss, he resting himself on the chair with his legs on the stone railing.
“Go on, eat. You must be starving. I’ll bring you back to your friends after you feed.” He said casually.
“How do I know you aren’t going to give me to the Republic?”
“Well? You wouldn’t be here if I wanted to right? Now just relax your mind and lighten up.”
Isaac looked at the spread. Eggs, mushrooms, salad, meats, and a glass of some strange orange drink. He ate the food slowly, the taste of such heaven has never before set foot upon his tongue before. He felt fantastic. The food was an instant cure to all his problems. Quickly he gobbled it all down. The drink was zesty and had a strange fruity flavor. When he was finished, he lay back happily and looked back out into the horizon.
“What you just ate was food from a glorious empire. What remains of it, you have visited. All this too, I managed to save from its fall. This ocean, this paradise, is merely a recreation. The original was but a much better sight.” Weiss let out a small sigh. “I thought that I could perhaps restore the beauty of the planet by joining this organization… it’s too late now. Do not make the same mistake I did Isaac. It is impossible to bring beauty back into the universe. The republic’s claws are very much bigger and stronger than you think.”
Isaac looked at Weiss. He had the look of a caged bird, unable to spread his wings and fly. Isaac actually felt pity for a member of the Patrioicas Luminos. Suddenly, Weiss got out of his chair and stood at the edge of the balcony. The scenery rippled and wavered. Then with a motion of his hand, it tore apart. The picture underneath was horrible and dark. The cliff was there but it was undeemable. The ocean was gone and charred dirt took its place. The sky was blood red and seemed to drip onto the ground. Weiss shoulders sagged and then he turned around.
“We should probably be going.” He smiled, serenely, and took out his sword. A blinding flash of light later and they were standing on some familiar gridlines. Isaac looked at Weiss, who rubbed his hand on in his hair, and promptly vanished. Isaac walked towards the small hut and gently opened the door. He was surrounded with staring eyes and a suspicious one. There was momentary silence.
Naomi jumped out of her chair but instead of running and hugging Isaac, she stepped away from him, slowly. Only Hiryu, Glave, and the old man remained where they were.
“How did you? Its impossible!” Naomi shouted, tears in her eyes.
“How did you escape from-” Hiryu was silenced by the old man.
“Who did you meet, Isaac?” The man asked.
“A friend.” Isaac calmly responded.
“Who did you meet?” His voice grew louder.
“A friend of mine.” It wasn’t Isaac who spoke this time. Behind Isaac stood a man of shining armor. It grinned and walked into the cramped room.
“Long time no see, Dean. I see that you managed to hide from us all this while. Too bad, all your efforts were in vain.” Five brought out his infamous twin sabers and this time, he ignited them with a blue flame.