The Fall of the Society

Chapter 58: Shock and Awe

     The replicants gathered in front of Rose raised their glowing hands in front of them as they all turned to blue. A blue aura encased them before a beam shot out of their hands and hit Rose hard. Barely having time to react, Rose barely got a shield up in time and the spinning, fiery shield took the majority of the attack, but she was still thrown off balance and slammed into the wall behind her. Sid looked on, his hands still in his pockets, watching Rose. A cut had opened under her left eye, blood began to stream down her face. She glared back at the replicants and her aura blazed white. Swinging her arms up in front of her caused a wave of white-hot flames to roll across the floor, colliding with and turning to dust the replicants in the front row. A blue barrier flashed into being before it impacted the second row, pushing them back, but holding off the attack.

     Sid wondered how long she would be able to perform at this heightened, euphoric level. The cut below her eye was streaming blood down her pretty cheek as she sprung forward and slammed a fiery tendril into the blue protective shield, pushing the replicants back a few inches every time she made contact. A new glow started to emanate behind the barrier as hands changed from being multicolored to all being blue. Rose dodged to the left as a massive beam of blue energy flashed through the barrier and decimated the wall behind where she had been standing. Debris rained down across the room, deflecting off the replicant's shield. A smirk crossed Rose's bloody face as she launched into a fresh attack, throwing massive fireballs into the barrier. Cracks began to appear over the surface of the shield as the replicants prepared to engage their plasma beam for a second time. The entire building seemed to shake under the power of the blast now emanating from their enemies, as dust and debris fell from the ceiling.

     When the glow disappeared from the attack, Rose came back into view, a purple aura surrounding her. She had taken the brunt of the attack with no damage to herself, which likely kept the building from caving in on top of them. In a flash, Rose shot forward and slammed into the blue barrier, which buckled before shattering and disappearing into nothingness. The concussion from the impact knocked the two rows behind the shield to the ground violently. As they began to stir, Rose sent out a wave of rolling purple fire that burned her downed opponents so quickly they did not have time to put up their defense. The wave made its way almost to the back of the room before a few of the replicants managed to put their barrier back up with enough power to stop the attack.

      As the replicants stiffened their defense they began to move forward, pushing their shield into Rose, who faltered and took a step back. Their hollow eyes stared on, emotionless at the loss of their kin. They continued to push their way into her, forcing her toward the rubble that was once a wall. Sid finally took motion and slid in behind the distracted replicants. A flash of his blade and the remaining few replicants fell to their knees before collapsing to the ground, headless.

     Rose panted as her aura dissipated. "What are they?"

     "They are hollow shells, created in a lab," he said flatly.

     As the two examined the remaining figures on the ground, the crackling voice came back over the speakers. "How do you like my new soldiers? They are going to cement the Society as the main force in the world. No one will be able to stand against us once we take care of you!"

     Sid rolled his eyes and leaned in close to Rose before whispering in her ear. "We need to find the laboratory in which they are producing these things, it plays a major role in our success here today."

     "Whisper all you want! Your secrets will die with you today!" the voice of Scion cackled through the sound system within the facility. "Those were just the base creation we have; they will only get stronger from here!"

      The two ignored the now manic cackling of their quarry and exited through the door behind where the replicants had been standing. A small room led to a winding passageway, that gradually spun further into the earth.

       "This section is not new construction like the area above, they are building over a facility that already existed," he told her as the smell turned from paint and construction to mold and earth. "I wonder what caused them to update it, there is a good chance I would not have found it yet if they had left it alone." He looked around at the walls, "This is very old, much older than the Society is, it must be his original laboratory."

      "What does that mean?" Rose asked curiously. "Will you be able to complete your plan still?"

     Sid smiled at her, his dazzling white teeth flashing in the low light. "It may actually make things better."

     They continued moving downward, passing nothing new as the corridor continued to spiral into the earth. Finally coming to the end of the descent, they opened a door that led into a large circular room. In the center of the room was a formation of large metal polls with a large shiny ball posted on top. Rose approached the first totem and looked at her reflection in the mirrored surface of the ball.

     "My pupils are really dilated," she laughed before circling around to the inside of the formation. "What do you think these are?"

     Before Sid could answer, another voice rang out. "They are a safety measure to keep trespassers out."

      Rose looked around and saw a tall dark-skinned man standing on the far side of the room, between two of the polls. The man reached his hands up and placed one on each of the balls beside him. His eyes burst with power as electricity began to arc out of his form and from totem to totem. Rose had no time to react as something latched onto her shoulder and flung her backwards out of the formation as the entire room lit up with light as the lightening arced all around. She could feel the electricity burning her flesh as it danced about her, the entire room engulfed in the attack. Covering her face, she was forced out against the wall as the attack climax and began to rescind.

      "One down, one to go," the dark-skinned man's voice rang out in the midst of all the smoke the attack had created. "You got lucky young one, the old man was fast enough to throw you free of the conductors or else you would be the one that was down."

     The smoke began to clear, but Rose was still unable to see the man on the opposite side of the formation. Sid was still standing in the middle of the totems, but she could see he had taken a considerable amount of damage.

     "Was that it?" he laughed weakly. "I thought you had more power than that without these amplifiers."

     Much to Rose's surprise the man laughed. "Here I thought you gave up already!" the man laughed. "I got another dose for you if you like!" His hands were still on the spheres and lightening began arcing all around the room once more. With a better view Rose saw as the center of the formation exploded with power, pushing her against the wall. This time she was not being shocked as she was before, the walls absorbing much of the energy that would be reaching her. The attack went on much longer this time before the man finally let off and allowed the smoke to clear once more.

      "You still hanging in there?" the man's voice rang out. "Or was that finally enough to put you out of your misery?"

       Sid was now resting on his left knee with his right hand on the ground. "Not quite," he gasped. "Just like your master, you fail to grasp what lies within someone who is truly strong." He raised his head and made to smile at the man, but there was not enough flesh left on his face to finish the gesture. Looking over his shoulder at Rose she could see his teeth where his cheek should have been. His flesh was blackened and split all over, bone exposed in many areas. "You pat yourself on the back before the job is done."

     Laughter filled the chamber from two sources now as the speakers crackled back to life. "Finish him once and for all Augmenter, it is time to move to phase two."

     "Of course, sir," the dark-skinned man said smoothly. "Farewell and I hope you do not take any of this personally." His eyes flashed yellow more brightly than before and the entire room exploded in electricity.