The Legend Of BA-55

Chapter 16

The shock of being betrayed by his best friend made BA-55 transform into human-form.

Crossfire lashed his claws out at Nate's chest, accidentally catching just the fabric of his shirt, tearing it into three scratches, exposing his chest slightly. That was enough to get Ghost to jump onto his younger brother, knocking him off of his best friend.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Shouted the pinned wolf, who thrusted his claws towards his older brother. Ghost jumped back, grasping his forehead where he was injured. Before he knew it, a strong force of something slammed into his head, sending him airborne until he crashed head-first into a tree. Pain slashed across the back of his cranium, the force of the blow changing him into Soli and the wind got knocked out of him. He found himself crippled near its roots seconds afterwards, nauseous and nearly unconscious.

He opened his eyes to see nothing but large, multi-colored spots. He heard the sound of something running away, then a small gasp. "Solomon!" Called a deep, familiar voice, he soon recognized as Nate's, before he was surrounded by darkness.

~

Urutho grinned, turning his head from the computer screen to Katjaa, who was still in her cage. She was in the back corner of the cage, and breathing heavily, showing she was asleep.

"They're gonna kill each other out there," a monotone voice suddenly interjected. Urutho turned to the voice, looking straight into the robotic, glowing red eyes of one of his creations. It was nothing but a skeleton, a literal skeleton of an owl. Urutho beamed. "That's the whole point of this," he murmured in his raspy, haunting voice.

"Oh, I'm starting to follow now," the owl spoke after a moment of thoughtful silence. "That's why you only sent one of us."

Urutho gently stroked the owl's bony back with a long claw. "Good owl," he complimented. "I mean, they'd kill each other before we have to kill them."

~

Red, yellow, blue.

Red, yellow, blue.

Red, ye-

Soli jumped up from the array of colors, soon realizing it was just a dream. He looked around himself, taking a moment to pry his memory of where he was at and why. But he somehow couldn't remember. It was daylight, and he noticed his shirt was off by the strange chill of the wind against his skin. Looking down at his bare chest, he noticed ten long, dried scars that he didn't remember getting. Looking up at the tree, he noticed a pocket knife drenched in dried blood shoved deeply into the bark. In brutal horror, he noticed the blood was his own. His head began to throb an awful lot, making him suddenly grasp his head, and slide back down the trunk of the tree he was underneath. The sharp bark scratched his back, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his head.

Where the heck was he? Why was he out here? What'd happened last night? What happened to his shirt? Where was everybody? These were all questions that repeated in his head. Why couldn't he find the answer?

He leaned his sore head against the tree, to soon realize that hurt as well. Groaning, he lifted his head, wondering how he could've possibly slept last night.

Something scurried inside a bush, making Soli jump slightly and switch his focus to it. Out of the bush peered a pair of dark, brown eyes, whose somber features were illuminated by some sort of electric blue-ish light. He suddenly felt wary towards the sudden presence, and leapt to his feet, pulling the pocket knife out of the tree with inhumane strength. The figure in the bush seemingly jumped as well, revealing his thin face. Soli swore he recognized it, but couldn't tell by his face alone. He bore his teeth, nearing the man. "Who are you?" He growled. The man seemed taken aback, rising to his feet. "Soli, what do you mean?" The man asked.

A new fear jumped into Soli. How did this guy know his name? He slowly lowered the knife, trying to register who he was. But no matter how hard he thought, he could not name the lank man. It either started with a 'R'... Or... 'N'...

"Soli, it's me!" The man cried, noticing Soli's confusion and emerging from the bush. This only made his raise the knife again. "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" He shouted.

"Soli, you've known me since college! What the heck do you mean?!"

This was just getting ridiculous. "Well, if you're that desperate, why don't you just tell me your dang name, already!"

The man took a small breath, sweat now dripping from his forehead onto his torn shirt. "Nathan Currin," he answered in a smooth, southern accent. "You usually call me Nate." Soli was still blank, making a small tear form in 'Nate''s eye. "COME ON, WHAT THE CRAP IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WE'RE BEST FRIENDS! I'M A BANDMATE WITH YOU IN FAMILY FORCE 5!" He suddenly exploded. "WHY DO YOU NOT RECOGNIZE ME?!"

Feeling threatened, Soli grabbed the man, who whimpered softly. He pressed the knife to 'Nate''s arm, a small drop of blood dripping out instantly. "Soli..." 'Nate' whispered. "Don't do this... Please... I'm your best friend..." This didn't stop Soli from cutting the man from the shoulder to the middle of his arm. Nate let a small cry out his mouth, tears now streaming from his face.

What happened next was something Nate would remember forever. Soli, his bestest friend he'd ever had, pressed the knife to his neck. "I have no friends," were the four words he muttered before he dragged the knife across his throat.