NaNo Session 6

 Part 2 of today's entry. We've passed the 10k word mark and we're caught up on where we're supposed to be! Hooray! See you tomorrow for another section of plot!

Chapter Eight con.

Immediately, he could see through it, all the way to its chrome core and the diagram over it. He focused, struggling to summon the blueprint again-

And then a burst of ice from the Sentry’s left hand. The burning cold instantly killed his focus. It advanced, as the small robot dinosaur rammed it, sending it sprawling backwards.

“Run, run! Go!” Geleth yelled. “Quickly!” Evan glanced up, just in time to see Derek swinging a heavy metal pipe he’d picked up from somewhere and smashed it on the creature’s back. An explosion, heat and flames burst every which way as the right tank fell to the ground, a twisted slag heap of shrapnel.

The Sentry stood up, now missing an arm and its flamethrower weapon, as the Triceratops ran in for another charge. The creature caught it by the horns and threw it, slamming it against the wall.
“No!” Evan yelled, scrambling to his feet. He focused, summoning the pyramid again in his mind, bringing the schematic to mind, focusing desperately on repairing it. His hand sparked with thin lightening, weakness already creeping up on him.

“Kid…” Geleth yanked him back. “There’s no time! Those mechanical contraptions are tougher than they look! It’ll catch up!”

He pulled him out of the room, just as the Sentry stirred and the Triceratops, thankfully, stirred, climbing to its feet. A horn had snapped off, as had part of its metal ‘skin’ exposing the wiring and computer parts below. Evan focused again, shaky, scared, but determined. The glass and metal stirred, swirling around the creature, as the schematic appeared. Immediately, an analysis appeared in the overlay, suggesting ways to improve upon the design.

“Do it!” he staggered back, letting the energies flow. It glowed with bright electric blue and white light…

He didn’t get a chance to see what happened next. The Sentry charged, they ran down the corridor.
“Where-” he struggled to catch his breath. “How much further?”

“Not too much longer now. The ship is just up ahead - we best pray that the little beast could hold off the Sentry, else we’re going to be in trouble.”

“What - is that thing?” Derek asked. “I mean, where did it come from?”

“One of the first experiments. An attempt to meld two different universe’s understanding of technology - you remember how I said that most of the things down here were left untouched because they were too big to move?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, that was only part of the reason. The other part was that. It was supposed to serve as a guard-dog. It went rogue for some unknown reason - tries to kill anyone who comes down here. All hush hush, of course. It didn’t come back up - mostly just urban legends now.”

The hallway ended abruptly before a massive door, partially torn open. Behind them, they could distantly hear lasers bursts and explosions, sounds of impeding battle. Geleth ducked through, the other two following only reluctantly. Evan felt his jaw drop - an enormous ship stood there, gleaming gold hull and brilliant blue glass.

“The Archelon,” Geleth said. “Our ticket out of here.”

Chapter Nine

“How long has this been here?” Derek asked, awestruck.

“About twenty years. That was going to be the next step before the attack - venture into the realm next door. Take a peek at what the neighbors were doing. For me - well, it was a chance to get back home.”

“Does it work?” Evan asked. “How do we board?”

“Well, that’s where you come in,” Geleth replied. “You have the artifact in your skull - put it to work.”

“How…?”

“How do you think? You’re going to have to summon the artifact and open the boarding ramp. Assuming you didn’t spend all your energy upgrading your robot friend, there. We will have to hurry - I don’t know long till the Sentry returns and potentially MagnaCorp’s old goon squad. I’m not sure which would be worse, honestly. They have to know what we’re attempting here.”

“Okay - I’ll try,” Evan took a deep breath, concentrating for a long moment. The pyramid appeared again, he lifted one hand, shaking and trembling from exhaustion. A hatch on the side opened up, and a stairway slid downwards. His knees buckled, a wave of exhaustion swept over him.

“I gotcha.” Derek caught him, dragging him up the stairs and into the ship. They stepped into a gleaming central room, all blue and gold - curved furniture followed the contours of the room. Holographic displays glowed on the walls, evidently showing the ship’s status. Geleth immediately disappeared, into what was presumably the cockpit.

“I can’t focus,” Evan mumbled, falling back on the couch. And then he was suddenly back in the laboratory, facing the Sentry. He felt stronger, tougher - upgraded. He charged the Sentry, lasers bursting from his horns. It crashed into a wall, its feet scrambling for purchase on the ground. He didn’t give it a chance. He fired again-

And then the creature grabbed him, a surge of ice overwhelming him - he was frozen solid. The Sentry left the room…

He came back to his senses, drawing in huge gulps of air. He was back in the ship.

“It’s coming,” he gulped. “The Sentry. I just…saw…”

“What?” Derek demanded. “How?”

“I…I’m not really sure. I kind of…I think I was seeing through the Triceratops’s eyes for a minute…” he trailed off. Derek was staring at him, concerned.

“You were seeing through its eyes?”

“I know. It’s crazy…”

He stood up, legs trembling with the effort. “I’m going to tell Geleth - I know what I saw…”
At that moment, lights began to come on, screens flickered and then became partly translucent, allowing them to see out into the hangers. The Sentry bounded in, hurling the Triceratops against the ship. It’s appearance had changed - it was slightly larger now and its skin had taken on a softer golden sheen.

Without even realizing it, Evan found himself connecting to it, controlling it remotely. He could see through its eyes. He knew intuitively how to use it - the new blueprint had added a new weapon, a third jolt. But he hadn’t upgraded its programming - it didn’t know how to use it.

He activated it. An electric cannon opened up on its back, a bolt of lightening lanced, smashing into the Sentry and sending it crumpling against the metal wall. It stood once more, now damaged, sparks and wires flickering.

The ship lurched, lifting into the air. Evan scrambled into the cockpit, where Geleth was pushing buttons rapidly.

“Portal system engaged. I dearly hope they finished this…”
“The Triceratops! We can’t leave it!”

“Let’s see. Minimal energy returns. Here we are.” He flipped a switch. Immediately, the Triceratops appeared in the cockpit, falling down on the metal floor.

“The ship can teleport people?”

“Limited capabilities, mostly to send people in and out of hostile environments. Now - one more time…also, when did that dinosaur get a cannon on its back?”

Evan focused, the cannon retracted. “I upgraded him back in that lab.”

He pushed a button. “Barely enough to get out. But it should do it. Better stay here, kid. I might need the artifact again. Either way, we’re going to make a pit stop. I know where to take us - before we really get underway.”

The Sentry climbed to its feet, shaking its mechanical head as the environment outside began to shimmer, swelling and distorting as though being viewed from outside a bubble. It took on a faint greenish tinge and then, suddenly, it was gone, replaced by utter blackness.

Chapter Ten

After a moment, the blackness faded replaced by shimmering blue light.

“I’ve set our cooridnates for Aluar - its the closet place we have for a jump between worlds. We can refuel. The ship’s not in terribly good shape, but it should at least get us there. And then…we’re going to Zenith.”

“Where’s that?”

“It’s a refuge, a place safe from MagnaCorp and all other possible enemies we’ve picked up.”
“But if we’re going to another world, shouldn’t we be safe from them?”

“They will find a way through the worldwalls. It’s only a matter of time. Especially since they have your father in custody.”