Phase
three : Road to Redemption
Chapter 20:
Thrown like Trash
Darkness and emptiness filled the isolated room, in an unknown location within what appeared to be a cell of some sort; nothing like any of the containment areas of DreadZone that people were familiar with...
An eerie silence surrounded the verpardi gladiator, and he lay on the cold metallic floor of the room. Uncomfortable as it was, he tried to move himself into a more relaxing position but struggled to do so; he still felt limp and in need of much rest. His body ached from the slight movements he made…
Nanotech would be nice…
Thinking to himself, Ace continued to lay there motionless, tired and dazed… trying to drift off into another nap, until a loud clang and the turning of gears echoed out, only just a few metres ahead of him within the poorly lit room.
He was startled and couldn’t help but finally open his eyes and lift himself slightly; staring ahead of him as the large, heavily armoured door opened up slowly, with a piercing light lashing through - almost blinding him - he raised his right arm to block the light from his face.
After the door came to a halt and was situated at the very top, a large opening was present and Ace moved his arm away, to glare out into the open while somebody came walking to the doorway - out from the bright light.
His vision was still blurred slightly, but he could see this person’s silhouette as it walked up closer, but who could it be? He was quite tall, with a medium length haircut and long pointed ears.
But something else caught his attention; this man appeared to have a tail, which was quite long and pointed at the very tip…
Ace’s eyes widened.
The man stood at the entry of the cell, looking down at Ace with what appeared to be dark blue eyes. Ace knew whose eyes they belonged to immediately.
Kurt Swiftblade.
Ace couldn’t mutter a single word. More silhouettes appeared from the bright lit background of the markazian… although they didn’t come near the doorway, staying at least a metre or two behind of Kurt, as all pairs of eyes looked on through into the prison cell…
“Kurt… is that you?”
There was no answer. Instead, Ace was exchanged with a frown from the markazian warrior. He closed his eyes and sighed, which Ace took note of clearly.
”I… don’t know what to say, but… I am sorry for what I’ve done… I should… I should have-“
Kurt then shook his head slowly, holding his head down in shame and turning away from Ace, beginning to walk back towards the small crowd behind of him,
”No Kurt, wait! I can change! Come on, don’t go… I will make it up for you, and the team!”
Kurt ignored Ace this time. Ace was determined to get up and talk with him head on, but he simply couldn’t move. Trying with all his might, he attempted to lift himself onto his knees at least but his body would not obey; it was as if he was paralysed, something didn’t feel right about this…
The floor from beneath him began to shift. Ace felt himself begin to slip slowly from the centre of the room and backwards and he panicked; gritting his teeth in annoyance, trying with all effort to move his arms and get grip on the metallic surface, watching Kurt and his team members walk further away into the light and the doorway started to close again, with the rugged churning sounds of gears turning and iron sliding against one another roughly.
Even so Ace could also hear something else underneath of him… something he struggled to listen to amongst all the tension and loud sounds within the cell. But from what he could make out…
It sounded like a huge grinder.
Seeing the door ahead of him slam down shut, he slid closer to the end of the room, closing his eyes tightly… accepting the grisly fate that lay below him, after trying in vain to escape it.
Feeling himself slide off the platform and down into the dark below… it was an odd sensation which made him feel numb, trying his best to keep his eyes closed, not looking forward to what lay underneath him as he could hear the turning saws below… which he thought of them to be.
But the sounds became fainter as he continued falling… and a breeze of fresh air surrounded him and even some light specks of water.
Utterly confused, he was about to open his eyes… until he impacted with something ridged and hard.
Hitting the side of his armoured body with sheer force, he yelled out angrily as he fell down even further, feeling the rest of his body come into contact with what appeared to be sharp, rugged rocks - although not quite sharp enough to puncture his battle suit, but still irritating enough to bring back the pain of the bruising he had acquired earlier from battle, along with some new ones.
Only just seconds later, his unprotected face came into contact with something pointed…
Cussing out in pain, he tried to place his hand over his right cheek but found it impossible to do so as he continued to fall and roll… until he finally came to a halt, flat on the ground.
Ace lay still for a moment. His head was spinning, hurting and aching… it also didn’t help that he was completely confused with what just happened.
He dared to open his eyes to see where he was. He definitely wasn’t in any containment cell no more, or any building for that matter. The air was fresh here, and damp… with a grey, rocky surrounding and a few trees.
He turned his head slightly to look into the dull silver sky, as a light rainfall poured down, gently touching his skin. He could also see something familiar flying off into the horizon - the box shaped DZ Carrier.
He didn’t think much of that. The pain in his head was still ringing and he lifted himself to get onto his knees, placing both hands over his head as he groaned. After rubbing his forehead, he noticed something odd; his visor was missing. And something else that felt wet caught his attention too, his right hand was crimson in patches – a millisecond later clarified it to be his own blood - and he sighed annoyingly, coming to realize he had a very deep gash on the side of his face, which only made his headache even worse.
Great… just great…
Ace tried with what strength he had left to stand himself up, struggling slightly as his body ached but he managed to do so; standing up onto his feet but keeping his hand over the right side of his face, due to it bleeding and stinging at the same time – it was a very uncomfortable sensation.
Ace looked all around him, and had no idea where he was. He began to walk around the area, making his way down from the rugged hill and it wasn’t long until he spotted something shining from a distance; and it looked very familiar.
With a sigh of relief, he moved over towards it and picked it up with his right hand, examining it, taking note that it was; indeed, his HL Launcher.
But what was it doing here? He thought.
Then he remembered that only he was able to use it, as it was a custom weapon; built so that only if he was holding it, then it was functional. To anyone else, it would be useless so therefore, it would have to be dumped alongside him.
***
Strolling down from the rough terrain and into a wet grassy woodland, Ace came to realize that he truly was discarded from DreadZone. He was on an unfamiliar planet - no DZ cameras were present, not even any DZ gladiators and robots… nothing at all. Although he did try to think of why they would take away his visor.
They probably took my visor to amuse themselves. Idiots... I hope they try them on and suffer brain damage.
Still frowning angrily, the pain continued to throb on the side of his face. His blond hair started to become more drenched in the light rainfall as well, and he looked all around him, trying to determine what planet he was on and if there were any civilizations nearby. And out in a distance, he could finally see a roadway and some air traffic high above.
Still holding onto his Launcher, he was unsure of what to do once he saw somebody… should he attack? Should he ask for help? He really didn’t know. Walking down a suburban street, it felt odd. No one was present outside, contradicting to the number of homes here, but he felt as if he was being watched from all directions.
Ace didn’t like this feeling, so he held up his Launcher and continued to walk, desperate to find someplace dry to rest and set his mind straight, to think of what to do from this point onwards…
Then he was stopped by incoming sounds. Sirens were ringing through his head and it only got louder as they came closer, hurting his aching head even more and he clenched his teeth, hoping it would stop… but he knew what was coming - especially once he saw the flashing of red and blue lights around him.
Ace opened his eyes again and looked ahead of him. Watching large and heavily armoured robots walking towards him; all armed with taser styled weapons. Now he knew for sure that he wasn’t in the Shadow Sector anymore.
”Surrender. You are under arrest, by command of the Solana Security Squad!”
Ace knew he stood no chance against this force - especially in the state that he was in - so he began to lower his Launcher slowly. However, before he had the chance to put it to the ground he was immediately struck by a taser canon from the back... then to the left… both shots causing him to growl angrily and he fell to the ground. Luckily for him, his armour and suit protected him from the shock. But being hit at all made him wince and sting, so he lay there on the ground.
The Police bots moved in on him and pinned him down roughly, grabbing both his hands and locking them securely in front of him.
Ace was lifted by his arms, taken away by several of the large robotic guards and straight towards an armoured Security vessel several metres ahead, where he was tossed into the back and locked up immediately.
Utterly frustrated, he groaned again, beginning to feel even worse than before. He attempted to move himself up so that he could sit against the wall of the vehicle, as it was starting to lift off into the sky, to prepare for space travel.
At least now he knew that his DreadZone days were over, and perhaps, even the end of his own life if he were to be sentenced harshly for what he did…
***
Feeling incredibly sore, Ace could not sleep at all. He needed to know what was happening: what his fate was; when this outcome would arrive. He currently knew nothing. Nobody would talk to him. He didn’t even know of his current location. The security vessel had stopped though, but he couldn’t see much outside the small window of the vehicle.
Hours rolled by, and Ace still wasn’t taken out of the vessel. He was feeling tired from the waiting, his body felt weakened and limp… even hunger was bothering him. But he was craving for nanotech more, as the right side of his face had started to swell up, causing more discomfort.
After a long period of silence he could hear iron footsteps outside. He stood up to see if they were coming to take him out…
And he waited…
And waited…
...waited…
…
..
But nothing. Silence followed again and he sighed, annoyed that he still had to wait even longer for any information…
…right until the whole entire vehicle jolted forward and then backwards, startling Ace greatly and he immediately lost balance and fell forward… crashing into the steel wall in front of him, he cursed loudly as it was the sore part of his face that had connected with the wall and he struggled to nurse it with his hands due to being bound with thick metal.
His wound starting to bleed heavily again and he scowled fiercely; standing up straight and kicking the wall opposite him several times out of rage, with what strength he had left in his battered body.
He tried to calm himself down again and breathe slowly; to try and ease the throbbing on his head and aches within his body. Sitting down against the wall with his eyes closed tightly, he had one of his hands on the side of his face whilst it continued to bleed and throb… he could only wonder where they were heading off next, as the security vessel was travelling at high speeds again,
“Hyperspace boosters initiated, inmates prepare to be induced by cryosleep…”
A loudspeaker spoke. Ace slowly opened his eyes and peered up at the roof, seeing a shaft opening up, revealing a vent with a visible gas, seeping into the room. He knew what was going to happen, so he lay down onto his side, actually welcoming the cryosleep gas as it eased its way down to his level, causing him to drift off into a calm, peaceful, and somewhat frozen, sleep.