Chrono Trigger: Time of Illusion Chapter 3
By Nihon Soba
Darkness.
In the upper right corner, a red light turned on, blinked. In the front, text blaxed forth:
R-66Y R-SERIES MODEL
MANUFACTURING FACTORY: GENO DOME
SILICA MATRIX CORPORATION, 1998 C.E.
The text vanished, and was replaced by more:
TIME: UNDETERMINED
ERA: UNKNOWN
...INTERNAL CLOCK ERROR. BEGIN REBOOTING SEQUENCE...
Robo came to, his ancient optic sensors flaring to life. The mechanical sound of his internal computer booting up was heard, and echoed in the silence. The silence... no, it was not silent. There was a slow and steady hum throughout the area, quiet enough to be unheard to the nonscrupulous listener. The sound of heating systems. The sound of propulsion mechanisms. The sound of pumping coolant...
All this passed though Robo's positronic brain in less than a few seconds. He knew that he was inside a type of spacecraft. But right now, that was beside the matter. What had happened to him?
"Systems reactivated... where am I?" he spoke to himself. He expected no answer to his question.
The touch of a smooth hand was registered upon his shoulder. The old robot turned around, confused at having not sensed anything earlier. He tried to see who it was, but his optic sensors were not 100% functional, and he could only see a vague form in the darkness.
"Shh... don't talk." came a soft synthesized voice. "And please don't move, it is difficult enough to repair you as it is."
Robo knew that voice. "Minako?"
His optic sensors came to full power, and through his peripheral vision he could see the form of the chrome female android, hunched over him, tinkering around with wires and cables that could only be his own. A compartment on his back was open, his mechanical innards splayed out.
"Yes, it is me." she said. "I am sorry for your present state, Robo. I'm doing all I can to repair you... it seems that you were not built that well to absorb that much damage."
"Damage?" came the confused robot's reply. "What danger?" He slowly turned around, disregarding Minako's earlier request that he stay still. "I have no recollection of danger... oh, I am sorry!"
Turning around, Robo had a full view of Minako Aino. She was hunched over repairing him, yes that was certain. But the blue, tattered jumpsuit that she was previously wearing was gone.
Whoever designed her body, he thought, did it well.
Minako had no flesh body, as most of the others of her model did. Instead, she had replaced it with a sleek, silver-chrome body designed by a black marketing manufacturer. And though it was not flesh, it was no less perfect. She was kneeling, on one leg, beside Robo, but when she saw him she inadvertantly shrank back, her luminous eyes flashed. Her body was of metal, but of a flexible, extremely smooth material Robo had never seen before. And her body... it was sculpted to a perfect replica of the female form, breathtakingly beautiful. Proportioned correctly, with all the parts appearing as they should, though without any orifices, all of it the shining color of mercury...
Minako did not move to conceal her "nakedness", just knelt there, her yellow, almond shaped eyes boring into Robo's round optic sensors. He soon realized just what he had been doing for the past minute and quickly turned back around, ashamed. If her body were human, his face would be flushed red.
"I-I am sorry--"
The female android shook her head, her metallic black strands of hair moving side to side. "Don't be. I have nothing to hide." she said, though when Robo turned around, she lowered her head and clasped a silver arm around her breasts.
Why am I feeling like this...
"My form is of a metal found on one of the planets of our solar system. I had it sculpted in this form in order to make use of certain human-proportioned devices that I would not have been able to in a more bulky form."
Then why do I feel... shame? I am not human... but why do I feel like this?
Robo still remained with his gaze averted from her. "I understand. But for the sake of modesty, I shall remain facing this way."
Minako tilted her head, her smooth face devoid of any expression. After a moment of silence, she went back to Robo's side, various wires of his insides connected to a poratable computer, its monitor reading a series of numbers. She knelt there, typing commands into the keypad, connecting several more wires.
Thank you, Robo, she silently thought.
"How did I end up like this, Minako? What has happened? Last I remember, we were on the Tengu and going to investigate an anomaly..."
Minako paused, not too sure what to do. "Your memory banks," she spoke. "there is no recollection of what has happened?" The female android typed in something to the small computer. "Let me help you acess it." Though as she did so, Minako felt what could only be guilt.
Robo could not see what Minako was doing, but he was able to sense that his memory banks were being searched and sorted through. And then, the memory of what had happened hit him in full force.
The anomaly, the strangness of it. The probe crashing against it, tearing the ship apart. The gruesome, unexplained deaths of two crew members. Utema frantically struggling in his pressure suit as he watched the humans die in space, himself being drawn into the anomaly that was the Black Hole...
"Oh god..." Robo uttered, his synthetic voice filled with sadness and horror. He clenched his head with his mechanical fists. "I have failed them..."
Minako stopped what she was doing, offered her sympathy by soothing words. "There was nothing any of us could do about it, Robo."
"But... how could I have prevented it? Why couldn't I? All those people..."
Minako kept on repairing Robo while she talked. "Under the circumstances, there was nothing at all that we could do." she said while reconnecting several wires and typing in commands to the mini-computer. "I've learned that if you brood over something like that for too long, it can lead to severe consequences. I can't see how humans or anyone can live with these strange emotions..."
But Minako herself was a contradiction to that statement.
"I... I guess you are right." said Robo, still turned away from her. "Emotions can be harmful, not all of them feel good, but that is how I and others know that we are alive! Minako, you are just beginning to experience them, do not have contempt for human feelings."
The female android was silent, her naked body kneeling down to repair the body of the bulkier, older model robot before her. The silence lasted for several minutes. Robo did not wish to disturb her, keeping himself from interrupting the repairs. He also wanted her to think about what he said with a clear mind, if such a thing could be applied to robots.
There was a loud snap as the compartment on the back of Robo was shut, the sound of it echoing in the near-silent, empty room on the ship. Minako stood up, chrome hand placed on a slender hip, observing her handiwork. She brushed aside several strands of her black, metallic hair from her almond-shaped glowing eyes.
"I'm finished. You should be able to function properly now."
Robo stood up, his metallic joints creaking. He had obviously been sitting there for quite some time. He tested his mechanisms by clenching and unclenching his fists, but walking several paces, and by swiveling his head. He then turned toward Minako, his optic sensors leveled at her face, not daring to look downward.
"You must have stayed by my side, fixing me for hours, even days. Thank you, Minako."
She lowered her head, an arm grasping her shoulder. Her voice was one of embarassment.
"You-you're welcome." she replied, pausing to look Robo in the face. Then her eyes narrowed. She was--for emotions were still a new thing to her--experiencing the newest human emotion to her; shame. And she did not want to show her weakness to Robo. She narrowed her eyes and folded her slender arms in front of her.
"Anyway, I need your expertise right now." she said, abruptly switching the subject. Robo's blinking sensors revealed nothing as far as emotions. "I need you to help me find a way for us to get out of this cell."
"Cell?"
"Yes, cell. We are prisoners, you know." Minako stated with what seemed like minor impatience. Robo was still confused.
"Prisoners? What do you mean, Minako? I only remember being sucked into the anomaly, and nothing after."
"You do not recall any events, Robo? Try and find it in your memory banks."
Robo nodded. A soft whirring sound came as Robo searched through his memory banks, and his optic sensors flashed rapidly. After a moment, the noise and the flashing subsided, and Robo shook his head.
"The data is corrupt. I cannot access it anymore."
Minako made a sound that uncannily resembled a sigh, emulating human frustration even as she was experiencing it. She sat down against the wall, her arms wrapped around her slender chrome legs, a position she used before. However, she was not solely frustrated by Robo's ignorance.
The problem was how she would relate the events to him...
* * * * *
Space was deep. Silence pervaded the eternal void, a universe of vaccum and stars, the chaos that gave birth to order and life. The order existed as the planetary bodies, the stars, and the gaseous beginnings of stars, the nebulas. But the chaotic void that birthed life was just that; chaotic. And not everything was of order...
Minako clung to Robo's metal body, the two of them somehow tumbling through the void, being drawn in by the Black Hole, the anomaly that destroyed the Tengu. She and Robo had witnessed the deaths of the entire crew, helpless to do anything. The whole thing had happened so fast that there was no time to react. Somehow, two marines were eviscerated instantly by something unknown. Their death screams burned their way into Minako's mind as one would burn data into a computer. Robo had been hit by flying debris when the ship ruptured and his metal form was lifeless, wires hanging out of his torso. The sole human survivor was the ship's captain, Utema. He was wearing a pressure suit when the disaster struck. Now, he was being drawn into the anomaly as well, frantically thrashing, trying to get away, his face hidden behind the mirrored faceplate.
Minako, in a state of semi-shock, just clung to Robo, watching as Utema was drawn into the Black Hole, and awaiting the same for her and Robo. Somwhow, she was hearing the sound of weeping. In her current state, Minako thought it was somehow herself weeping at the spectacle that just took place. But it was not.
Unknown to any of the three, the Nu that Minako had seen was maneuvering flawlessly through the vacuum of space, following them into the anomaly, tears streaming down its expressionless face, tears that instantly froze and crystallized in the cold of space, leaving a trail behind it.
* * * * *
Minako was still clutching herself, shivering, when she finished retelling the events that took place. Her body was not built for showing extreme human emotions such as crying. She could only sit and shiver in the corner where she sat, her bare chrome skin glistening in the dark room.
Robo was still sitting where he was, not wanting to disturb Minako in her fear and sadness and frustration. In truth, Robo was feeling the same way she was. His body was built before they added mechanisms to emulate human emotions. His version of Minako's shivering was silence.
"There was nothing we could do." said Minako after a while, lifting her head up, her eyes narrowed. "Robo, we are not human. We were not built to withstand this... trauma." she was shivering uncontrollably now. "It is best that we not think of these events, else it will make us go mad."
Robo was not listening. "All those people..." he muttered.
Minako sighed. "We are still alive. And maybe Utema is too. Let us stop this pondering and deal with what is now."
Robo was still muttering to himself. "If only I had reacted faster..."
The female android's head was in her hands. "Robo, stop."
"Why did this happen?"
"Robo..."
"If only I had--"
"Robo! Enough! Quit your regretting and deal with it!"
Her shout echoed in the small room. But it's effects were not gone. Robo slowly turned his head toward Minako, his optic sensors flashing.
"Don't you regret it?" he said menacingly, his voice rising. "Don't you regret anything that happened?"
Minako's eyes were narrow, yellow slits. "Yes, I do." she said as if through clenched teeth. "But I am dealing with it. Why aren't you?!"
"I have!" he yelled. "But unlike you, I don't despise humans! It is my job to protect life, and in that job I failed!"
"So what?" she snapped. "So have I! And I don't despise humans to the point of relishing their death! You are just a blubbering fool!"
"And you are nothing but a shell! A pathetic emulation of a human! Your form is human, but your mind is not! You faker! You ARE nothing but an emotionless android! You are a disgrace, Minako! Or should I say N-546?!"
Robo's harsh words stuck a deeper blow than Minako's did to him. She stood up, shameless of her nudity, her fists clenched, walking toward him. Robo stood up, his optic sensors flashing red. Minako's eyes were a brighter, blinding yellow color, narrowed into slits. Her body literally trembled with anger.
"Take that back," she said softly.
Robo said nothing, facing her, his fists clenched as well.
"TAKE IT BACK!" she yelled, swinging a chrome fist towards Robo. He stepped back, and the fist connected with nothing but air. It was his turn. He threw a punch, his fist propelled by momentum and boosters, flying out toward Minako, a chain following the fist out of his arm. It connected solidly with her stomach the sound of metal against metal, and the sheer force of it threw her against the wall she was sitting against earlier. She cried out, hitting the wall, and fell to the floor.
Robo's fist instantly withdrew after what he had done. His optic sensors stopped flashing red, and he rushed to Minako's side.
"Oh my god, I didn't mean it... I'm sorry..."
But his words fell on deaf ears. Minako shot up, drew back her arm, and threw a punch, her metal alloy fist clanging against Robo's bronze shell. Her skin was of a sturdier material, one of the sturdiest available. Her fist tore through Robo's shoulder, ripping wires that she had repaired earlier. Her other arm tore at his arm, ripping it from it's socket. Robo's metal arm fell to the floor with a metallic clank. She was not done yet. With her hand, Minako grasped Robo's head, squeezing, the bronze of his skin creaking in protest. One of his optic sensors burst, turning black. He cried out like she did, helpless against this furious android that tore at him.
"Now I will make you pay, R-66Y." she hissed, bringing back an arm for the final blow. Her eyes were slits of gold showing out in the shadows that her metallic hair cast upon her face.
"Minako," Robo spoke, his voice weak, the sound of his wires spewing electricity out. "I... am sorry. I take it back." his remaining optic sensor was a dull yellow. "I.. do not want to fight you, Minako. I acted in haste... forgive me."
"Why?" she asked angrily. "Why do you yield? I could destroy you this very moment. Get up!"
Robo looked her in the eyes with his remaining sensor. "You're... beautiful..."
Minako's fist stopped clenching, and she shivered, her eyes widening a bit. "What?"
Robo struggled to stand up. "You're beautiful, Minako. And in the life span of emotions, you are but a child. I do not want to see you consumed but hate. If you really despise humans, then learn from their mistakes. Many a human have lost their emotions to hatred. Do not become like that, Minako." he made no move to defend himself from Minako's fist. "Please..."
Minako looked at Robo, in his pathetic state. Wires and metal skin that she had painstakingly repaired earlier were torn and spurting electricity. His one optic sensor was looking into her own eyes.
"R-Robo..."
Her fist fell to her side, and she stumbled, falling to the floor. A strong metal arm stopped her in mid-fall, supporting her. For a moment, it seemed that she would fall against him for support. But instead, she turned the other way, and ran to the corner that she was sitting in earlier. She leaned against the wall on her side, her face averted, both arms clasped across her chest.
Robo felt sorrow and pity. "Minako--"
"It's all right, Robo. Do not feel pity for me." she said in a suprisingly sturdy voice. "Instead... please accept my forgiveness. I overreacted as well, to a higher extreme. I am sorry." she made a motion of wiping tears, which Robo saw as an emulation of human emotions. "Please, let me repair you."
Robo obliged, assuring Minako that it was all right and that he understood. He had gone through processes of emotional awakening similar to hers. As Minako made her way to repair him, Robo thought he saw something wet glisten on her metallic cheek.
Tears...? But she is a robot... how is it possible?
There was a loud clanging sound from outside the room. In the wall in front of Robo and Minako, a door materialized, almost as if it had grown from the wall itself. The door opened by lifting up with a soft humming sound, and the figure of a humanoid (by the looks of it) was seen standing outside the door.
"What is this?" asked Robo. Minako had said earlier about the two of them being "prisoners" in the ship, but she never mentioned anything about the captors.
"It's them," Minako growled, adopting a defiant stance, hands on her hips. "I didn't tell you earlier, but they are our... captors, you might say. I don't remember much of how we got here... just that somehow I powered down in the anomaly and when I powered back up, I was in this cell. They took my uniform, probably to search it for weapons of any kind." she said, with a hint of anger in her voice. "Then, they brought you in. This was only around 5 hours ago, according to my internal clock. You were all busted up, and I did my best to repair you." she then shook her head sadly. "Until I lost my temper..."
Robo picked up his broken arm and spoke. "Don't think about it. I don't hold any grudge against you now. Like you said, what's done is done."
The figure in the doorway slowly began to make its way into the light of the room. Judging from the dark outline of it, the humanoid was rather tall, topping both Robo and Minako by several feet. Apparently, it was wearing some type of bulky suit, possibly armor. It's hands were rather large, almost as big as the head of the creature. Each hand had five long fingers, and in one hand he carried something that could only be Minako's blue jumpsuit. The figure threw the jumpsuit to Minako, who accepted it with a dangerous look in her eyes. She shamelessly suited up, then resumed her defiant pose.
"You might as well come into the light, you bastard..." she muttered.
Whether the creature understood Minako or not was uncertain. But he did, in fact, come into the light of the room. And when he did, Robo uttered a sharp gasp.
It can't be!
The partial suit, like body armor. The long, willowy arms with huge, five-fingered hands. The equally large feet that resembled avian creatures. The face... the face... even partially hidden by a mask, there was no mistake of who the creature resembled.
"It can't be... Lavos?!" excalimed Robo, pointing with his remaining arm at the creature. Minako turned her head toward him, giving him a confused look.
"Lavos? What are you talking about, Robo?"
"Lavos" began to speak. Its voice was unlike any human voice, and the language equally unlike anything Earth has ever known. The voice of the creature was very deep and meanacing, and the language sounded like.. like... it was impossible to explain. Something harsh and raspy, not sounding very friendly. The language seemed to be composed entirely of consonants, though it had a kind of harsh, dangerous beauty to it. It was only apparent that the creature was talking to someone else over some kind of communicator when another similar voice responded in the guturral language from a speaker somewhere on the creature's suit.
"But.. how can it be? We destroyed Lavos! I don't understand!"
The creature silenced its speaker when it heard the word "Lavos" from Robo once again. It cocked its head in a bird-like manner, taking large steps toward the robot.
"Lavos..." it slowly sounded out with the harsh voice it used. Then the creature uttered out a string or words that sounded something like "K'rchhk atchh khrrxz ekxkt...", which was answered by another similar voice over the unseen speaker. The alien then looked at Robo's torn arm socket. It muttered something else into the unseen communicator, then just stood there beside the door.
Minako was suited back up now, standing up with her arms crossed. "What do you mean by 'Lavos'?" she inquired.
Robo glanced toward her, giving a wary gaze to the alien.
"You don't know about it... not many people do at all. In fact, I think only me and my six companions know about it. You see, what you thought was Lavos--the large, quilled life form that burst from the earth circa 1999 C.E.--was actually the outer shell of the real creature."
"Shell?" Minako's eyes slanted downward, as if in skepticism.
"Something like that. Well, actually it was more like a... an armor of some sorts. To me, it seemed to possess both organic and inorganic qualities. Anyway, when we destroyed the 'eye' of Lavos, an open hole was left behind. I remember going inside... it was like a cavern, not organic at all. I don't have any firsthand information about anything else, because I was not chosen to fight Lavos himself. I can only give you descriptions from what the others told me. Lavos himself was suited up in giant, metallic armor, with multiple arms and several hose-like devices attached to the armor. And behind that, was Lavos himself. I was given mulitple descriptions of it, and generated an image that was correct, according to the people who had seen and fought Lavos." he looked back at the alien, but still spoke to Minako.
"That alien life form before us... it is the exact image of Lavos."
The female android dropped her arms to her side, her eyes widened. "Lavos..."
The alien cocked it's head again at the name 'Lavos'. It seemed about to say something until it heard something and looked behind. Another identical alien entered the room, looking at the two robots before it. It then turned toward the first creature, and the two exchanged words in the unintelligable language. The first one--after what seemed like an argument with the second--made its way to Robo, kneeling beside the robot in order to be level with Robo's broken arm. From an area on its suit,the alien produced a variety of strange looking tools, accompanied by a small box with an equally strange logo on it. With its multi-jointed fingers, large and long yet suprisingly nimble and articulated, the alien began to repair Robo's broken arm area, taking the arm out of Robo's hand first. The robot did not protest, though he wondered why his captors would be repairing him.
After what seemed like only a few minutes, Robo's arm was almost connected. All but the smallest wires were repaired, and the actual reattaching of the arm was still left to be done. Now, the alien took the small box and opened it, taking into its hand what seemed like a strip of metallic cloth. It applied the object to Robo's arm socket, and then pressed a button on the inside of the box. The 'cloth' melded to the shape of Robo's arm, completing the reattachment, and what seemed like tiny metal pieces moved around inside the arm, reattaching the smallest wires that the alien could not reach--nanobots.
Robo's arm was completely repaired in less than a third of the time it took Minako to do it. He tested it out by moving it, swinging it, and clenching his fist. The alien stood up from its kneeling position, towering over Robo. The other alien walked toward Robo, and the two of them began talking again, apparently discussing something involving Robo.
Minako stepped toward Robo. "I don't like what they seem to be talking about..."
Suddenly, the two creatures moved to both sides of Robo rather quickly for their size, and both grasped an arm. They lifted him with little effort, as if he were made of lightweight aluminum. Robo was startled, and he struggled against his captors, but to no avail.
"Robo!" Minako shouted, rushing to his side, intent on stopping the captors. One of the aliens looked toward her, no expression seen behind the mask it wore, not intimidated.
But Minako was not to be underestimated.
Her eyes flashed, her hair whipped past her as she dashed toward the alien. She lept into the air and kicked with her slender chrome foot. The creature made a gesture as if to bat it away, but to no avail. Its arm was knocked out of the way, and the kick connected solidly with the alien's midsection. It made a loud, frightening sound of anger that seemed like a scream, then knelt on one knee, clutching its chest. The other alien let go of Robo's other arm and stood with its arms open. It then stretched one out, opened its hand, and a green bolt, followed by a blue bolt of electricity from the suit, flew out of its outstreched hand and struck Minako in the chest. She flew back and hit the wall, currents of electricity streaming about her, her form limp. Her eyes were still luminous yellow, though they were nearly shut in emulation of pain. She was still alive.
"Minako!" Robo shouted, rushing to her side. He was caught before he could reach her, and lifted up once again. He struggled against the two aliens that held him, but to no avail. Their arms, though gangly looking, were incredibly strong. He was carried out of the room slowly, giving Minako a last, worried glance.
Minako saw that glance and lifted an arm to show that she was okay. But the bolt had messed with her internal system somehow. She felt herself powering down, her sight diminishing. Luckily, the body she had purchased was strong. She wouldn't break down. For now, though, she could not stop from powering down until her system rebooted itself. Dimly, she saw something before she powered down. Before the door that the aliens had created vanished from sight, a small, squat blue creature rushed into the room.
"A Nu?" Minako wondered out loud. But after that she could say no more, for her systems shut down and she powered down, the light in her eyes blinking out.
* * * * *
The room that Robo and Minako were in was small. But the rest of the ship was not. Long corridors in the ship were tall and wide enough to accomodate several of the strange aliens that created it, very large by human standards. Large catwalks going over areas where the aliens worked at computers and other unnameable devices could be seen, as well as large areas that served as holds. One of the ship's holds was not being used at the present, and it was dark and nearly empty. It was located near the rear of the large starship, occupied only by what looked like a few large crates. Even the hum of the ship's engines was muffled, and silence prevailed.
But not for long.
The air in the hold suddenly began to swirl, crackling with blue bolts of electricity. There was a flash, and suddenly a swirling blue hole was ripped in the now turgid air. The blue miasma spit out the form of a human, which fell to the floor with a loud clang. The portal then imploded, leaving the air quiet and still again.
Except for the human.
"What... what be this?" Glenn said softly, getting up from his sprawled position. He was still dressed in the armor that he had worn earlier, his sword at his side. He could barely remember anything, except the swirling blue void of the gate. Then, it came back to him as he looked farther back:
The clearing in the forest. The Nu using the strange machine. The Nu discovering Glenn, grasping him by the arm, and hurling him into a gate that it had spawned seemingly out of nowhere. And now, this dark, metal-smelling area.
"Where am I?" Glenn asked himself, standing up, his armor creaking. He looked around, but his eyes were not adjusted to the darkness yet. He kept one hand near his sword hilt, just in case. Nothing could be heard besides a silent, steady hum in the background. In a few minutes, Glenn's eyes had adjusted to the dark, and he could make out the forms of large box-like objects spread randomly in the area. He wandered around for a while, looking for a familiar exit of some kind, but found none.
"There must be some way out of this place... and some way to find out where I am." the knight muttered to himself, stopping to tie back his hair and keep it out of his face. Just after doing so, Glenn heard a soft creaking sound coming from near the other end of the dark area. He thought he could make out the form of something scurrying out of sight in the corner of his vision, and when he turned that way to see better, he noticed a shaft of light piercing the darkness. A shaft of light that came from a recently open door.
"Where there's a will, there's a way." Glenn remarked to himself with a slight grin. "However, I wonder what it be that I saw..." But Glenn did not wish to sit and ponder in this dark, open space. An oppurtunity had been given to him to get out, and he rose up to take it.
Quickly yet quietly, Glenn made his way to the door, and with equal swiftness exited the hold area. He did not notice earlier, but the thing that he had seen earlier was none other than a Nu--the same Nu that had stowed on the Tengu and was making its way toward the cell where Minako and Robo were being held.
* * * * *
The two armored creatures had let go of Robo eventually, and were now acting as his "escorts." Outside of the room where he and Minako were kept, there was a long, wide corridor lined with pipes and circuitry. It looked as if it were in a state of neglect or disrepair. There was some sort of lighting system--halogen, perhaps--on the ceiling and walls that kept the corridor bright. The sound of the ship's systems was louder in the hall than it was in the room, Robo noted. And pieces of the ceiling were missing in several places. Like stated before, it was as if the ship were in neglect or disrepair of some sort.
Robo marched forward, his metal-shod feet making clanking sounds as he walked. The Lavoids--Robo's name for the strange aliens that resembled Lavos--walked at his pace as well, though their large, bird-like feet made hardly a sound. They did not talk while they walked with him, only stayed by his side to make sure that he did not attempt to escape. It seemed as if they were walking for hours down the same corridor, until the two Lavoids abruptly stopped. One of them took waved a hand over the wall beside him, and a keypad appeared. He (assuming it was a he) typed in a series of numbers, and a door materialized.
The two Lavoids led Robo into the room, which was larger than the one he and Minako were in. This room was well lit, with what looked like large chairs and a computer that took up one of the walls. There were three more of the aliens inside the room, and another door to the side of the computer leading into yet another room.
The two Lavoids that escorted Robo into the room brought him to sit in one of the chairs, stepped back and bowed to the others (and strangely enough, to Robo as well), and left the room. There was the sound of someone--human, by the sound of it--screaming as the two Lavoids exited the room. No sooner than they had left, two others entered the room, carrying in their arms between them a dark-skinned human male, bruised and bloodied, the person who was screaming. Robo was startled, and stood up from his seat to see the human whom the aliens had brought into the room.
It was Utema.
.