Elements of Earth: The Element Trials

Synchronous; The Brutal Trial: Part 2 - The Middle

3 and Kira made their way a little further along the wall, trying to look as though they might run into the labyrinth. "Kira, do you know which cavern the guards led the Nickel boy into?"

"I don't." She chided herself for not keeping track of which elements were escorted through which passages. True that the labyrinth's paths crossed many times, what labyrinth wouldn't be a maze, but their enemies' quickest path out would be to follow their path in.

The wall Kira and 3 had their backs to and the wall on the far side across from them had no entrances to the labyrinth, but the other two walls had five on each side. "But he probably came into the auditorium near the opposite side from us. We were watching the closest entrances too carefully not to see someone climbing up." At least before they started arguing.

"Then that means that three of the ten already come out of the entrances closest to the far side and only one from the ones near us."

"Do you think the rest actually got lost? Or are they fighting each other in the dark?"

"They could just be watching from the shadows." 3 shook her head. "But that's not my point. Even if it's only by a little bit, the odds are better along the opposite wall. If after this fight both of us are still mobile, I think we should run for the opposite side."

"But if the other elements are waiting to strike..."

"Then running out in the open will draw all of them out. They'll be drawn together by the chase. Presented with so much competition they will lash out at each other, reducing their numbers by the time they get to us. But we can't hesitate. We'll have a head start, but more distance to cover. And we will definitely have a welcoming party when we get there. It's your call."

Kira checked the battlefield. A few more seconds. "I'll decide after this." Kira came to a stop in front of the dead Nickel boy. "Are you ready?" Kira crouched in anticipation.

3 dug the soles of her feet into Kira's thighs. From a distance, the other elements wouldn't see her muscles contracting, just one element carrying her wounded companion on her back. Last time I was in this memory I didn't get a good view of what 3 did so I split off a small persona. Not enough to give it form or identity, just enough to give me 3's perspective when it re-merges. Meanwhile, I sink into Kira's consciousness. Even in this mental body, I'm somehow tired of running. "Ready."

Kira slipped her hands into her element pouch. When she removed them they were caked with powdered silica. Then she counted aloud to make sure their timing was perfect. "Omega..." She shifted her feet and tightened her muscles. She put her hands together around an imaginary ball. The microbes in her skin extended her network out through her palms. They reformed the rest of the silica coating her hands into a layer of insulative Quartz. "Beta-"

The air between her hands crackled and hummed. She closed her eyes and quickly began to shoot up from her crouch. Kira shrugged 3's arms off her shoulders. 3 started falling back when Kira threw her hands into the air and roared, "Boom!" She sent current through her hands into the pocket of ionized air she'd created resulting in a bright flash and crack of sound.

3 activated groups of micro-magnets in her legs, pulling her muscles tight like a bowstring, and launched herself into the air. She didn't jerk the fibers enough to damage them this time, not as she had before.

Kira thought she would have made it a few inches off the ground but 3's launch had propelled her right back into the ground. Good. She took half a second to regain her balance and sprinted straight at the bronze battalion.

Estrellita's persona finally managed to get the panel on the back of the robot open. The screw heads use nonstandard patterns. Rather than a Philips or flathead, or even a hex head pattern, it used a five-pointed star with a pin in the middle. She had to measure the pin's diameter with calipers and 3D print a custom screwdriver. It was too soft for the cordless drill so she had to unscrew all forty-two screws by hand. But now that it was open, she had no idea what she was looking at. Sure, she recognized the O-ring around the edges was meant to keep this compartment air and watertight. And, of course, she knew that underneath the five large heat sinks must be the power amplifiers for the electrical signals to control the head, arms, and legs. But even though she had all of Estrellita's knowledge gained from her robotics hobbies and from when she had designed her own motherboard, she couldn't make heads or tails of this machine. Where did it get its power? What are all those glass tubes? And what is supposed to fit into those two circular slots on the left and right sides?