[10] Bardock - FoF Production Ruins

[Bardock]

A grunt echoed in the silence as Bardock overturned a large slab of concrete. Amongst the chunk of rock and drywall, broken pipes and nests of severed electrical wires were scattered. Keeping his balance, the saiyan eased over a split-level pile of melted steel. He could see a slew of busted up computers, their contents beyond repair. So much for that. What he was looking for was the service shaft he had traversed in order to find the game?s power source with Bebi and the others so many hours ago. Obviously, the core had been damaged (if it was still intact at all), and thus ended the game. Reijin?s theory of encapsulation seemed to have less and less subsidy for every event that transpired. It was a good thing too, or else they would have all perished if their minds had suddenly been unplugged from an alternate reality. If Bardock could get his hands on the core, somehow make it operational again, he could send out a beacon that would attract Kao like a moth to flame. The youth would be grasping at straws to get the game online again, and carry out his father?s ?noble? work. If the sublevels had caved in, it might have damaged the control rods. The saiyan was no mechanical genius (hell, he wasn?t that smart at all), and if the rods were broken, he wouldn?t know how to fix them, unless he could find emergency replacements somewhere. The mission was dangerous. Bebi had warned that destruction of the power source would cause it to explode, initiating a chain reaction that would destroy the entire asteroid.

At least that would solve the demon problem, he mused sarcastically. Then he stopped, a crazy, abstract notion striking light in his brain. Why not? Wipe the slate clean. Blow the little fuckers to kingdom come. Of course, there was the matter of getting himself and rest of those that mattered to him off the asteroid, a concept that none of them had managed to figure out. Seeing that little obstruction as a bit of a problem, Bardock let the idea simmer on the backburner. It would always be an option, at least, albeit a chaotic, genocidal one. It could also be, as Bebi admitted himself that the information of such capabilities of the power core was indeed as false as the rest of the ?facts? he had stolen. It could even be that the power core was a mere ploy to yank them around by the collar. He supposed it didn?t matter. He had nothing better to do anyway, a thought that made him smile at the remembrance of the angel?s order.

A deep cold had settled around the ruins, reminiscent of the one that had shrouded his dream. Bardock breathed heavily against it, seeing the expelled air turn to frost before him. As he sorted through the rubble, trying to locate the duct, his thoughts turned to memories that crept up on him like they often did. A voice echoed in his mind, a voice that he knew to be his own.

?I?ll be back. I need to take care of some things first. In case that damned Brim does something before I get back, if ever you should need me, contact me on this. I?ll find you, I promise.?

But he didn?t find him. Goten was dead. How, when, he didn?t know. All he knew was that Kao had gotten to his grandson first. Goten needed him, and Bardock hadn?t been there.

?Listen, kid. You got a lotta friends. They?re prolly gonna help you find your dad. They?re prolly gonna take care of you until then. But I want you to know, I?ll take care of ya too. If you need me?you call me. I?ll come running.?

But he hadn?t come running. Burter Junior was gone too. The black-haired fighter didn?t even know his killer. Had it been Brim? Kao? Another player? Another promise broken.

I?ll find you. I?ll come running.

Where were you when they needed you most?

Bardock gritted his teeth and shunted the thoughts. He had faced his fears. He was another step closer to making himself whole again. He would not regress now. Now was the time to concentrate, to get the core running again, to find Kao, and avenge Kakarotto and Goten, and claim vengeance for himself. Nothing else mattered at this point. The others had chosen their path, and he would not follow, because he had not been asked. Bardock had learned that much. If no one wanted you around, don?t assert yourself, or you?ll look like a fool trying.

A feeling of relief flooded him. It wasn?t the service shaft he had found, but he had managed to locate a stairwell to an underground level. It was a good start. The walls were strung with a line of halogen lamps, most of which were broken, but some of which flickered on and off, giving Bardock enough light to navigate his way downward. Soon, his coal black eyes would adjust to the darkness. Time had crafted and refined his kind into perfect killers, and any hunter was benefited by the ability to see in pitch black. It wasn?t flawless sight; it wasn?t as daylight to him, but it was better than most species?but certainly not better than say, Jack, a demon who lived in darkness and saw as other creatures did not.

Bardock proceeded with caution. Things still lurked in the unknown, and he would have to be careful not to fall prey to them. His hearing compensated for anything his eyes could not interpret, and they were far more reliable in any case. Should there be a distinct smell Bardock retained the ability to sniff out trouble, again, not as well as his former demon comrade. His tail twitched in anticipation, the only sound ringing out the vibrations of his footfalls, which he quieted as much as possible while stealthily stealing through the hallways. This part of the production building had remained unharmed, the structure more, sturdy and better supported.

The saiya-jin wondered what was down here, other than the power source. He slipped around the corner of a corridor and came to a halt, eyes widening.

?What?the hell?is this??


OOC: Two. Burter can either give me an event, or I am capable enough to finish it on my own.