Post by Guardsman Patrick on Oct 12, 2006 23:19:59 GMT -5
Chapter 9: The Tower’s Completion
A crane, large enough to dwarf Ulptian in size, stretched to the top of the nearly 80 ft tower to drop the gigantic statue of the dragon that symbolizes Andorg City on the top of the giant glass dome. When the statue settled into place with a large crash, all the Gym Masters began to breathe again.
Finally, it was finished, everything had been done, and now the Master’s masterpiece stood before them. Pairon let out a glorious roar, and Ulptian didn’t hesitate to join in. The two dragon’s voices together marked the final second the tower was incomplete, and they held it into the first seconds of completion.
“Well, I have to say, we didn’t do too bad a job,” Patrick said, lifting a wine bottle on the end of a string that came from the very top of the tower, “So Alex, since you’re the leader of this outfit, how about you doing the honors?”
“Alright, here goes,” Alex took the bottle from Patrick’s hand and lifted it as high as he could, “As leader of The 3 Gym Masters, I hereby christen this, the Genesis Tower, that it may never fall into the hands of anyone, our enemies, or the people that are helping us make it.” The bottle shattered when it hit, spraying maroon wine everywhere. All that hung on to the small string was to top of the glass bottle, cork and all.
They all stood for a couple of seconds, taking in that moment, the feeling of success, of victory.
“Well, there’s no sense in standing out here all day,” Rachel started toward the tower.
“Right behind you,” Patrick hurried after her, followed by Ulptian and Pairon.
Alex was the only one left in the clearing, staring at the tower, a strange sort of grin playing across his face.
“Are you coming?” Patrick yelled from the opened doors of the tower.
“Yeah,” Alex returned, not breaking his vision on the tower.
Alex finally hurried into the tower, just as the huge metal doors were beginning to close. All was dark for a moment as the doors sealed shut. Finally, the hum of a generator started and the lights kicked on. Air conditioning began cooling the huge room that made the base of the tower. There, in the middle of the blue-gray marble floor of the room was a silver statue of the 3 Gym Masters themselves.
Alex was at the very front of the statue, looking into the distance with his Light Blade in hand. To his left was Patrick, looking very realistic, standing with his hand on his blade's handle, looking as though he was ready to draw. Rachel was to Alex’s right, her sword stabbed into the ground in front of her, ice near the hand guard of the single-sided katana. Her hair seemed to be blowing slightly in the wind. All three of them looked alert and fierce.
“Wow,” Pairon was the first to break the silence. “This place doesn’t look half as bad as I was expecting.”
“How bad were you expecting?” Patrick asked, not really intending for him to answer.
“Worse than this.”
“Well, we might as well explore a little.”
There was a circular shaft running through the exact center of the room, having two doors of the same color, almost invisible, on it. Alex walked up and pushed the up button and placed his hand in the hand scanner. It wasn’t long before the air lock on the doors hissed and the elevator opened.
Lights, visible through the sides of the elevator, flew by quickly as it kicked into action, going up higher and higher, the tiny screen above the door counting up with each floor, finally stopping on floor four. The elevator swished open to reveal a large circular room, complete with red fading walls that started out deep red near the floor and faded into white slowly toward the top. Red shag carpet made the room match and each piece of furniture was perfectly aligned. It was just how Alex liked it.
Alex walked over to the large flat screen TV and flicked it on. He watched a game of azerrball as he backed up and stepped behind a small tiled counter. He leaned down to open the tiny refrigerator hidden behind it. Alex appeared again with a cold Coline in hand. He walked a few steps and threw himself on the couch to see the scores. Andorg
Charmers down by 2, leading the way for an end goal.
Patrick stepped out of the elevator and looked around calmly at the large room. The elevator screen read “Basement Floor 1”. The room had a similar paint style to the one Alex was now in. The only difference was it was done with yellow. Patrick went passed all the furniture, taking no real interest in it, and took his sword, sheath and all, off his back to place it beside his bed, propping it against the wall. Next he took off his hat and his large leather belts that crossed his chest, laying everything in a neat little pile beside his bed.
As he wandered around the room, looking at everything there, the weights, the laptop, the small kitchen like area, he began to smile. All this was his, everything, and he didn’t have to look at it through a shop’s window and wonder how he was going to get it.
The smile faded quickly though. He felt cold and hollow. Something was amiss. The feeling was growing, consuming the room around him. He hurled himself to the bed and began strapping on his things, and just as he placed his hat on his head he heard an ear-shattering scream. Rachel, Patrick thought to himself. He ran to the elevator and slammed his hand on the scanner. As the approval sounded, he flung himself through the doors.
Every floor seemed to go by slowly, and each one seemed to make the elevator move slower. Then the elevator stopped, as the screen above the door stopped at four. As the doors slid open, Alex flung himself into the cramped room.
“What’s going on here?” Alex asked after hitting the tiny button that had a black 8 painted on it.
“I’m not sure, but it isn’t good whatever it is,” Patrick was pacing as he answered, rubbing his temples.
“Let’s hope that it isn’t anything serious,” Alex turned to look at the screen displaying the floor numbers, only to see a small red six.
“Come on, hurry up,” Alex impatiently urged the elevator that seemed to be taking an eternity.
After about twenty long seconds, the elevator doors slid open. Alex jumped out and landed on the couch in Rachel’s room, shards of ice breaking off as it bounced slightly. Alex drew his blade and after a second, red flames wrapped the sword entirely, making the ice retreat at a rapid pace. There on the floor was Rachel, unconscious and covered with a thin sheet of ice. Her blade was tossed aside, stuck in the desk that her computer sat on.
“We have to get her to a hospital,” Alex said to Patrick, beginning to pick Rachel up off the floor.
“No, she’s just unconscious. She will wake up in a little while. We just have to get this ice off of her,” Patrick was pulling the ice off of her jeans, being careful not to miss any of the pieces.
“What do you think happened?” Alex was working on getting the ice off her face. He pulled each piece with care. He didn’t want her to have any blemishes, least of all any caused by him.
“Let’s get some warm water in her and cover her with something other than ice,” Patrick was already over at the little kitchen retrieving a glass from one of the cabinets. Alex was on his way over to the bed when he saw Rachel’s eyes open a little. She looked scared for a moment, but then smiled as she saw Alex carrying her over to the bed.
“You’re going to be all right,” Alex whispered to Rachel, looking down at her.
“Thank you,” were Rachel’s last words before she fell unconscious once more.
Rachel shot straight up in her bed, hyperventilating as she looked around her room.
“About time you woke up. I was beginning to worry,” Alex’s voice seemed to come from nowhere. Rachel looked to the side of her bed to see Alex sitting on a stool, looking tired and hungry.
“How long was I out for?” Rachel began to take the wraps off her head, small heating pads falling out each time she went around.
“Almost nine hours,” Patrick said as he walked over to her bed with a tray of food fresh from the oven in the room.
“Nine hours, huh?” Rachel seemed surprised as she began unwrapping other bandages on her chest and wrists.
“Yeah, that’s long enough to keep you awake tonight.” Alex joked, taking a taco from the plate Patrick held out to him.
“So, what made you go unconscious in the first place? Of course, if you don’t mind me asking,” Patrick held the plate out to sit on Rachel’s lap, making sure she had a hold on it before taking his hands off it.
“Well, it’s a little hard to explain. I was looking around my room, checking out the computer and such, when I noticed a reflection of something in the computer screen. Of course I turned on it and drew my sword, because you can’t be too safe,” Rachel seemed to be having a hard time remembering everything clearly.
“All I had time to do was scream before whatever it was attacked me,” Rachel shivered, though the room wasn’t cold at all. She seemed distant, staring off into the distance of her mind.
“Do you have any idea what it was?” Alex glanced over to where Rachel was looking; only seeing the indigo wall.
“It looked…dark. It looked like a black cloud. It was cold… it even froze the sweat on my skin. I didn’t know what happened. I turned and it froze me… I lost my sword at that point. It felt like it was pushing me, like standing against a gale. Then I blacked out,” Rachel covered up with more blankets, clutching the bandages she had just taken off.
“Get some sleep. I could use a little myself,” Patrick said through a long yawn. He put the plate he had just washed away and stepped into the elevator. Alex glanced over and saw Patrick hit the up button on the elevator, though his room was on the bottom floor.
“I think I’ll get some sleep too,” Alex walked over to the elevator as well, hitting the up button as Patrick had done and waited for the elevator to arrive again from where Patrick had stepped out.
The doors opened after about thirty seconds and Alex stepped in, turning towards the doors again. As the doors closed, Rachel turned toward Alex and smiled at him until the doors shut entirely.
The elevator rushed up the shaft, climbing up the tower, the tiny screen above the door counting higher and higher. The elevator shifted and jerked slightly as it slowed to a halt on the twelfth floor.
The doors opened under the night sky, right under the large glass dome that housed the top of the tower. The large open hard wood floor was entirely clear, shining under the soft moonlight. Alex looked up to see the gigantic stone dragon that was placed on the top of the tower. Ulptian and Pairon should have been sleeping on the statues wings, but neither of them was there. Alex thought that they must have gone hunting.
Across the room Patrick was lying on one of the cushions that had been placed in that room. Alex stepped closer, looking at the sky as he walked. Alex continued to walk when he felt his sword being tugged gently. Alex turned to see if someone was there, but there was nobody in sight. Alex turned back around and continued walking until he felt his sword being tugged again. Alex didn’t hesitate. He quickly drew his sword and swung around again to see if anyone was there. There was nobody there. It was then that the blade began to shimmer, glowing slightly pink around the edges.
Alex turned again and nearly fell backwards when he found himself face to face with Patrick.
“Are you following me or something Alex?” Patrick didn’t sound happy at all. He showed no real emotion in his face, but had a bite behind his words.
“No, I was just curious about you going upstairs, rather than heading off to your room,” Alex tried to explain, but Patrick still looked angry at him from behind his visor.
“You don’t have to worry about me Alex, I can handle myself,” Patrick seemed to relax a little, but still seemed angry to a point.
“I’m not worried, I just think you’re hiding something, and I don’t understand why,” Alex tried to make the words come out how they were meant to, not accusing him of wrong doing.
“Alex, of course I’m hiding something, my whole family was just murdered. Do you think I can just trust everyone now and just spread the word about my entire life?” Patrick was angry again, almost biting Alex’s head off with just those words.
“I just wanted to know what it…"
“You’re one to talk Alex! You hide more than I do!” Patrick was furious as he spoke, clenching his fist until it shook.
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, with a mix of anger and shock on his face.
“Don’t play dumb Alex, you know damn well what I mean,” Patrick grabbed the handle of his sword and drew it. As he held it out to Alex, it began to glow slightly, having a yellow haze around it, “You and I are not so different Alex.”
Alex stared down at his sword and it began to glow brighter, the red flames around it began to form, flowing slowly around it. Patrick sheathed his sword and turned away from Alex and began to walk.
A crane, large enough to dwarf Ulptian in size, stretched to the top of the nearly 80 ft tower to drop the gigantic statue of the dragon that symbolizes Andorg City on the top of the giant glass dome. When the statue settled into place with a large crash, all the Gym Masters began to breathe again.
Finally, it was finished, everything had been done, and now the Master’s masterpiece stood before them. Pairon let out a glorious roar, and Ulptian didn’t hesitate to join in. The two dragon’s voices together marked the final second the tower was incomplete, and they held it into the first seconds of completion.
“Well, I have to say, we didn’t do too bad a job,” Patrick said, lifting a wine bottle on the end of a string that came from the very top of the tower, “So Alex, since you’re the leader of this outfit, how about you doing the honors?”
“Alright, here goes,” Alex took the bottle from Patrick’s hand and lifted it as high as he could, “As leader of The 3 Gym Masters, I hereby christen this, the Genesis Tower, that it may never fall into the hands of anyone, our enemies, or the people that are helping us make it.” The bottle shattered when it hit, spraying maroon wine everywhere. All that hung on to the small string was to top of the glass bottle, cork and all.
They all stood for a couple of seconds, taking in that moment, the feeling of success, of victory.
“Well, there’s no sense in standing out here all day,” Rachel started toward the tower.
“Right behind you,” Patrick hurried after her, followed by Ulptian and Pairon.
Alex was the only one left in the clearing, staring at the tower, a strange sort of grin playing across his face.
“Are you coming?” Patrick yelled from the opened doors of the tower.
“Yeah,” Alex returned, not breaking his vision on the tower.
Alex finally hurried into the tower, just as the huge metal doors were beginning to close. All was dark for a moment as the doors sealed shut. Finally, the hum of a generator started and the lights kicked on. Air conditioning began cooling the huge room that made the base of the tower. There, in the middle of the blue-gray marble floor of the room was a silver statue of the 3 Gym Masters themselves.
Alex was at the very front of the statue, looking into the distance with his Light Blade in hand. To his left was Patrick, looking very realistic, standing with his hand on his blade's handle, looking as though he was ready to draw. Rachel was to Alex’s right, her sword stabbed into the ground in front of her, ice near the hand guard of the single-sided katana. Her hair seemed to be blowing slightly in the wind. All three of them looked alert and fierce.
“Wow,” Pairon was the first to break the silence. “This place doesn’t look half as bad as I was expecting.”
“How bad were you expecting?” Patrick asked, not really intending for him to answer.
“Worse than this.”
“Well, we might as well explore a little.”
There was a circular shaft running through the exact center of the room, having two doors of the same color, almost invisible, on it. Alex walked up and pushed the up button and placed his hand in the hand scanner. It wasn’t long before the air lock on the doors hissed and the elevator opened.
Lights, visible through the sides of the elevator, flew by quickly as it kicked into action, going up higher and higher, the tiny screen above the door counting up with each floor, finally stopping on floor four. The elevator swished open to reveal a large circular room, complete with red fading walls that started out deep red near the floor and faded into white slowly toward the top. Red shag carpet made the room match and each piece of furniture was perfectly aligned. It was just how Alex liked it.
Alex walked over to the large flat screen TV and flicked it on. He watched a game of azerrball as he backed up and stepped behind a small tiled counter. He leaned down to open the tiny refrigerator hidden behind it. Alex appeared again with a cold Coline in hand. He walked a few steps and threw himself on the couch to see the scores. Andorg
Charmers down by 2, leading the way for an end goal.
* * *
Patrick stepped out of the elevator and looked around calmly at the large room. The elevator screen read “Basement Floor 1”. The room had a similar paint style to the one Alex was now in. The only difference was it was done with yellow. Patrick went passed all the furniture, taking no real interest in it, and took his sword, sheath and all, off his back to place it beside his bed, propping it against the wall. Next he took off his hat and his large leather belts that crossed his chest, laying everything in a neat little pile beside his bed.
As he wandered around the room, looking at everything there, the weights, the laptop, the small kitchen like area, he began to smile. All this was his, everything, and he didn’t have to look at it through a shop’s window and wonder how he was going to get it.
The smile faded quickly though. He felt cold and hollow. Something was amiss. The feeling was growing, consuming the room around him. He hurled himself to the bed and began strapping on his things, and just as he placed his hat on his head he heard an ear-shattering scream. Rachel, Patrick thought to himself. He ran to the elevator and slammed his hand on the scanner. As the approval sounded, he flung himself through the doors.
Every floor seemed to go by slowly, and each one seemed to make the elevator move slower. Then the elevator stopped, as the screen above the door stopped at four. As the doors slid open, Alex flung himself into the cramped room.
“What’s going on here?” Alex asked after hitting the tiny button that had a black 8 painted on it.
“I’m not sure, but it isn’t good whatever it is,” Patrick was pacing as he answered, rubbing his temples.
“Let’s hope that it isn’t anything serious,” Alex turned to look at the screen displaying the floor numbers, only to see a small red six.
“Come on, hurry up,” Alex impatiently urged the elevator that seemed to be taking an eternity.
After about twenty long seconds, the elevator doors slid open. Alex jumped out and landed on the couch in Rachel’s room, shards of ice breaking off as it bounced slightly. Alex drew his blade and after a second, red flames wrapped the sword entirely, making the ice retreat at a rapid pace. There on the floor was Rachel, unconscious and covered with a thin sheet of ice. Her blade was tossed aside, stuck in the desk that her computer sat on.
“We have to get her to a hospital,” Alex said to Patrick, beginning to pick Rachel up off the floor.
“No, she’s just unconscious. She will wake up in a little while. We just have to get this ice off of her,” Patrick was pulling the ice off of her jeans, being careful not to miss any of the pieces.
“What do you think happened?” Alex was working on getting the ice off her face. He pulled each piece with care. He didn’t want her to have any blemishes, least of all any caused by him.
“Let’s get some warm water in her and cover her with something other than ice,” Patrick was already over at the little kitchen retrieving a glass from one of the cabinets. Alex was on his way over to the bed when he saw Rachel’s eyes open a little. She looked scared for a moment, but then smiled as she saw Alex carrying her over to the bed.
“You’re going to be all right,” Alex whispered to Rachel, looking down at her.
“Thank you,” were Rachel’s last words before she fell unconscious once more.
* * *
Rachel shot straight up in her bed, hyperventilating as she looked around her room.
“About time you woke up. I was beginning to worry,” Alex’s voice seemed to come from nowhere. Rachel looked to the side of her bed to see Alex sitting on a stool, looking tired and hungry.
“How long was I out for?” Rachel began to take the wraps off her head, small heating pads falling out each time she went around.
“Almost nine hours,” Patrick said as he walked over to her bed with a tray of food fresh from the oven in the room.
“Nine hours, huh?” Rachel seemed surprised as she began unwrapping other bandages on her chest and wrists.
“Yeah, that’s long enough to keep you awake tonight.” Alex joked, taking a taco from the plate Patrick held out to him.
“So, what made you go unconscious in the first place? Of course, if you don’t mind me asking,” Patrick held the plate out to sit on Rachel’s lap, making sure she had a hold on it before taking his hands off it.
“Well, it’s a little hard to explain. I was looking around my room, checking out the computer and such, when I noticed a reflection of something in the computer screen. Of course I turned on it and drew my sword, because you can’t be too safe,” Rachel seemed to be having a hard time remembering everything clearly.
“All I had time to do was scream before whatever it was attacked me,” Rachel shivered, though the room wasn’t cold at all. She seemed distant, staring off into the distance of her mind.
“Do you have any idea what it was?” Alex glanced over to where Rachel was looking; only seeing the indigo wall.
“It looked…dark. It looked like a black cloud. It was cold… it even froze the sweat on my skin. I didn’t know what happened. I turned and it froze me… I lost my sword at that point. It felt like it was pushing me, like standing against a gale. Then I blacked out,” Rachel covered up with more blankets, clutching the bandages she had just taken off.
“Get some sleep. I could use a little myself,” Patrick said through a long yawn. He put the plate he had just washed away and stepped into the elevator. Alex glanced over and saw Patrick hit the up button on the elevator, though his room was on the bottom floor.
“I think I’ll get some sleep too,” Alex walked over to the elevator as well, hitting the up button as Patrick had done and waited for the elevator to arrive again from where Patrick had stepped out.
The doors opened after about thirty seconds and Alex stepped in, turning towards the doors again. As the doors closed, Rachel turned toward Alex and smiled at him until the doors shut entirely.
The elevator rushed up the shaft, climbing up the tower, the tiny screen above the door counting higher and higher. The elevator shifted and jerked slightly as it slowed to a halt on the twelfth floor.
The doors opened under the night sky, right under the large glass dome that housed the top of the tower. The large open hard wood floor was entirely clear, shining under the soft moonlight. Alex looked up to see the gigantic stone dragon that was placed on the top of the tower. Ulptian and Pairon should have been sleeping on the statues wings, but neither of them was there. Alex thought that they must have gone hunting.
Across the room Patrick was lying on one of the cushions that had been placed in that room. Alex stepped closer, looking at the sky as he walked. Alex continued to walk when he felt his sword being tugged gently. Alex turned to see if someone was there, but there was nobody in sight. Alex turned back around and continued walking until he felt his sword being tugged again. Alex didn’t hesitate. He quickly drew his sword and swung around again to see if anyone was there. There was nobody there. It was then that the blade began to shimmer, glowing slightly pink around the edges.
Alex turned again and nearly fell backwards when he found himself face to face with Patrick.
“Are you following me or something Alex?” Patrick didn’t sound happy at all. He showed no real emotion in his face, but had a bite behind his words.
“No, I was just curious about you going upstairs, rather than heading off to your room,” Alex tried to explain, but Patrick still looked angry at him from behind his visor.
“You don’t have to worry about me Alex, I can handle myself,” Patrick seemed to relax a little, but still seemed angry to a point.
“I’m not worried, I just think you’re hiding something, and I don’t understand why,” Alex tried to make the words come out how they were meant to, not accusing him of wrong doing.
“Alex, of course I’m hiding something, my whole family was just murdered. Do you think I can just trust everyone now and just spread the word about my entire life?” Patrick was angry again, almost biting Alex’s head off with just those words.
“I just wanted to know what it…"
“You’re one to talk Alex! You hide more than I do!” Patrick was furious as he spoke, clenching his fist until it shook.
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, with a mix of anger and shock on his face.
“Don’t play dumb Alex, you know damn well what I mean,” Patrick grabbed the handle of his sword and drew it. As he held it out to Alex, it began to glow slightly, having a yellow haze around it, “You and I are not so different Alex.”
Alex stared down at his sword and it began to glow brighter, the red flames around it began to form, flowing slowly around it. Patrick sheathed his sword and turned away from Alex and began to walk.