Part 1 of 2 books

Surgical Start 

Ch 1 

Deep within a secret facility hidden deep in a mountainous forest, a large red centipede enters above a viewing area within a surgical observation deck. The room was a bit small, with the walls made of simple white concrete and the floor was made of gray carpeting. There was a large computer against the left wall. The right of the room had a large set of wooden cabinets lined across the entire wall, both connected to the ceiling and floor. There was a small coffee maker on it, along with a sink. Several chairs were set up in the front of the room, where a large glass window was overlooking another large room below. The room was lit with several ceiling lights shining a simple white light across the entire room with light concentrated near the window.  

The centipede takes up a chair at the front, and sits down to see what will soon be arriving for an operation. The room beyond the window had a dark ceiling, with a large light beaming down towards the center of the room with a rather bulky computer and a x ray scanner, where the operation would take place. The room was pretty dark and it was hard to see the walls. It clasps its multiple hands together and waits patiently, keeping an eye at the bottom of the window. He takes a look at a silver band across his wrist of his upper right arm. It sees that it is currently 8:26 A.M. “4 minutes until his surgery…” it says in a deep, male voice. He gives a small sigh and begins to try and relax a bit. He begins to close his eyes and he remembers what led to this.  

It was in the medical wing of a military building in another installation. A visitor had arrived, from far away. Something that was thought to just be a simple legend. A mythical creature thought to be made up from an ancient culture that had since disappeared before any of the bugs ever existed. It was there, plain as day. Resting in a bed. It had been hurt pretty bad from an impact from falling high above. It’s leg had been broken, and at the time of the incident, had also been running a fever. Even still, the creature would save his life from what would have been a sudden end. 

He begins to grimace a little as he remembers. The creature was quite young for what happened. He remembers that strange sound, coming from the metal door. What sounded like, ticking… He remembers right before the door burst open, he heard the words coming from the creature. “Flare! Get away from the door!” Before he could even react to what had happened, something had yanked him straight out of the way, before the door burst open, and THEY came in. Still feeling the shock from the explosion, he remembers seeing a large creature, the same species as the patient, come barging in, in a suit of highly advanced metal armor. One quickly grabbed him by the neck, and pinned him down. He could remember having a hard time breathing with it’s cold, firm grip. He remembers when it put a weapon against his head, and a red flash beginning to form in the barrel of the weapon. He remember thinking, that this was it. This is how his story ends. But then, when it seems he would be finished off, the weapon is frozen! The weapon still in firing mode, backfired, causing the weapon to explode withing the ice, stunning his assailant and releasing his grip. He coughed a few times and a took in a deep breath of air. When he looked forward, he saw it. The patient, fighting off the group of assailants by himself. Despite the fever. Despite the leg. He fought them off, using his elemental abilities and skills in combat. It had saved his life.

But the assailants, realizing that they’d be surrounded soon, tried to finish us off with a grenade. But once again, the patient reacted. It froze the tiny device. It detonated in the room, but the ice covering it had covered most of the blast. But the patient had been at close range at the time. He was launched head first into the side of the room. The patient had been knocked unconscious. He began to remember holding it in his arms, calling it’s name. Trying desperately to awaken it. But he wouldn’t wake up. 

The doctor in the room, Patch, immediately got to work covering and treating the patients new wounds. Patch told him that the patient himself was the one to yank him away from the door, not him… It wasn’t very long after that, before he and the other bugs realized the patient was their target, when they discovered a tiny tracking device inside of it. They wanted it alive. For something terrible. To harm it in some way. He knew that. The patient had the tracking chip surgically removed and was now needed to be moved to a secret and secure location, to go through surgery again to remove the rest of the shrapnel from his body after the attack and kept hidden and safe before worse could happen to it. He was relieved that the patient had awakened during the flight to the facility, but nonetheless was concerned for the youngster.  

Despite being a simple operation, he always knew something could go wrong. He remembers asking if there was anything he could do to help with the procedure if something went wrong. If he could donate blood. If he could give medicine. If he could get him anything that might help save its life. Patch, of course, reassured him. He tells him “Calm down Flare. You don’t need to worry about the youngster. He’ll be perfectly fine. You know I’m a good surgeon. He’ll be patched up and ready to be taken to his new room soon enough.” Despite the words of his dragonfly friend, he nonetheless was still concerned about the young creature. He knew he had to be there while the operation was going on. He wanted to watch and make sure the one who saved him would live to fight another day. 

Flare looked at his computer band across his arm again. It now read 8:29 A.M. “He’ll arrive soon…” he thought to himself. He looked back the bottom of the room. After waiting for a few moments, he began to see a hovering bed coming into view. And he saw the patient being rolled in, with Patch flying in beside the bed. Cryo the dragon’s operation would soon begin… 

Ch 2

Operation Observation

A blue blanket was covering him as they rolled him in. He was on his back and fast asleep. Flare thought he looked pretty peaceful and comfy right now. It helped ease some of his worry. He saw the bed being positioned in the middle of the room, with Patch pressing some the keys of a small computer connected to the side of the bed, And landing frame began to position itself below the hovering bed. The hover jets quickly dissipated, and the bed’s landing frame connected to the ground. Patch punched in a few more keys on the bed, and the bed opened a compartment on several sides of it, revealing a strap on each corner. Patch and his assistants began to strap the bed to 4 connectors lining the ground to keep the bed stable while the operation was going on. The straps were soon connected. Patch then pulled the blanket off of the bed and gave it to one of his dragonfly assistants, who carried it to a laundry hamper in the room. Cryo’s body was now exposed. Flare could see several of the deep wounds on the dragon from high up. “Some of those will scar him for life… He shouldn’t of had to of been exposed to something like this at a young age…” thought Pyre. He gave a sigh and looked forward again.

Flare could see the iv going into Cryo’s left arm, connected to a medical bag containing medicine to sedate and keep the young dragon asleep while they operated on him. Patch began to prepare the x ray screen. After punching in a keys on the side computer, the x ray scanner began to move by itself around Cryo. It began to move around Cryo on a belt connected to the computer. It scanned every inch of his body as it moved. After a few moments, several pictures came up on the screen, containing details on where shrapnel was located in his body. Patch punched a few more keys again, and the x ray scanner began to position itself on the left side of the belt, showing the first location on the screen where shrapnel was located. “Alright everyone. Preparations are complete for the operation. We may proceed,” said Patch. Patch pulled up his medical mask across his mouth and put on medical gloves. He slid his medical goggles across his eyes and then pulled up a chair across from Cryo to sit on while he carefully operates on the little dragon. He looked towards the operation deck, right at Flare. He gave a thumbs up to Flare. Flare nodded and gave a thumbs up back. He looked back towards his patient. “Alright everyone. Let’s start,” said Patch. 

They began to operate on Cryo’s wounds to remove the shrapnel from his body, while Flare looked on in anticipation. Flare began to clasp his hands together for a bit and began to get nervous. He took in a couple of deep breaths and continued to watch. As he watched though, some thoughts began to appear inside his head. He began to think about the things he heard the dragon has already gone through. “He’s a little trooper. That’s for sure. Tough as metal. Yet as kind and heroic as some of the best stories I’ve read about dragons. To think they really exist. I’ve always liked them. Fascinated by them, I’ll admit. I wasn’t nearly as excited when I learned our visitor main element is water and ice, but after what happened…” 

Flare began to focus a little bit of heat into his hand, a small ember began to light up from his hand. “I have to wonder if I would have been better as an Icilin centipede (a more ice based breed), like dad… He quickly began to focus again and the ember began to die down. It soon dissipated into nothingness. He looked back at the operation below. He began to think again. “Dad and mom… I still haven’t found them. I wonder… if Cryo could help me figure out what happened to them… If their still…” As he watched Cryo’s operation, a flashback came into his mind, and he began to think of some of the roughest times in his life. When his parents disappeared.

He was born into a loving family, with his father, an Icilin centipede named Cilith (Chil-lif) and his mother, another Pyre Centipede named Embier. In his early life, Pyre would take to being a rather quiet one. He liked to read quite a bit and his parents had a large book collection in the house, which suited his needs. He also liked sports quite a bit, even when younger. He had watched many different sporting events with his parents and took great interest in them. He had a slightly fiery temperament when it came to insults, but could usually control himself and prevent himself from not making a scene.  

One strange thing about his parents, he thought, was sometimes, his parents would have to leave on rather long trips to places unknown. Business trips, his parents called them. While always saddened when they would be gone for a long while, he would at least be taken care of by his uncle, Wint, the icilin centipede. But, being a rather patient kid, he’d accept and always wait for their return. 

Ch 3 

Nasty News 

But in his high school years, fate would step in and change things quite a bit. He was reading in his room, when the doorbell rang. “Oh. Someone’s at the door. Maybe my uncle? He could have locked himself out again or forgot the house keys here.” Flare got himself up, and left his room. He began to walk down the steps towards the front of the house. “Hopefully the door is not frozen. It’s pretty cold outside tonight.” He stopped right at the door and tried to open it. But as to be expected, It was stuck. “Figures… Well. I guess I could… Maybe heat up the door a bit.” He began to place his multiple hands on the door. Concentrating into his hands, he felt a small heat build up inside of them. “Careful Flare… Careful… Don’t need to burn down the door… Or anyone standing outside.” He continued to concentrate , and lifted one hand off of the door. He maneuvered it towards the doorknob and began to open it up. Expecting to find his uncle, he instead found something… different.  

It was a member of the police force in town. It was a friend of his father and mother, Terin the firefly. “Oh Terin. I didn’t expect you to come here. Sorry. Mom and Dad still haven’t come home from their business trip yet.” “That’s not why I’m here, Flare.” “I wish that was why I was here, Flare.” Flare began to have a slight feeling of pain in his stomach from the comment. “Then why are you here then?” Flare said in a slightly low tone.” “I… think you should sit down Flare. This is going to be a long conversation.” 

Flare nodded nervously and they both stepped inside. Flare began to position his body into a sitting position on the couch in the family room. “Alright. Where to begin…” said Terin. “This is going to be fun…” thought Flare.  

“Your… parents, Flare, have disappeared.” “Disappeared! Your joking, right!?” “No. I wish I was.” Flare could feel the heat rising inside of him. “What… Happened?” he said, trying to keep control of his temper. “You see… their… vehicle was found abandoned on the side of the road.” “Where was it…?” “That’s the thing. It was near Echo forest. ” “Wait… What? Echo forest? Isn’t that in Kentack?  “Thats about 200 miles away from home! Why the heck were they there!?”  

“That’s the thing. There are a ton of questions concerning about what happened.” “And what would those questions, be?!” “First thing, their vehicle… well, we found it in meant condition.” “Meant condition?” “Yes. What’s strange about that, is that the car seemed to have been disabled somehow, without any damage done to it. It’s like something zapped the lights out on it. On the outside, there were clear signs of a struggle. We also found tire tracks. It had to of been from pretty heavy vehicle. There was signs there of a major struggle. And more… worrying. There were a couple trees that seemed to have been… blasted down in the area. “Blasted down… Do you mean from a WEAPON DISCHARGE!?” “It what was suspected.”  

“So… What are you trying to tell me here. Are you telling me my parents… My loving parents, COULD BE DEAD!?” “No. There’s… a chance they might still be alive. None of the blood at the scene seemed to be theirs.” “Wait… Really?” “Yes. Blood traces showed other bugs. Its more likely that…” “They had been taken…”  “Yes… We’re doing all we can to find them. But the traces so far have run cold. We don’t know where they could be right now…” Flare put his two upper hands over his head. He could feel a small tear welling up in his eye. But then he took in a deep breath a picked his head up again. 

“…Alright. I… understand Terin.” “Don’t worry, we promise we’ll find them.” “After they probably had faced unbelievable and cruel torture,” Flare thought. “I’m sorry Pyre.” Terin left through the front door and looked back one more time, and then shook his head and headed out. Pyre quickly headed up to his room. He quickly shrunk into himself as he cried to sleep for the night.  

Ch 4 

Winter Walk…

Flare woke up the next mourning, hearing the blaring alarm in his room from his clock. He slowly opened his eyes and yawned a bit. He began to hunch forward on the bed and place his legs off the side. He looked around his room. He saw the painted white walls to his room, which a swirled texture all across it. He looked right, and saw the wooden door on the far right leading to the staircase to downstairs. To the left of the door was a large dresser, containing a bunch of shirts and other types of light cloths for him. He turned his head forward, and saw a large, sliding wooden door closet, carrying some of the more bulkier cloths for the cold seasons. Luckily, all his cloths were fireproof.

To the far left corner, held a bookshelf with many different stories. Some were based on current times. Others were stories far more ancient then his entire species. He remembered in school when he was young learning about an ancient species on the planet that was said to have once walked the world. Who had since either eradicated each other from existence or somehow left to somewhere far away from this planet. He took interest in the species. But more importantly, he took interest in a creature who was spoken of in ancient myths… 

They were said to be ancient firebreathers. Masters of fire, and in some cases, other elements. Some of the ancient stores said these creatures were said to be malicious and cruel. Other stories said these creatures would be ruthlessly hunted by the worlds previous dominant species to tell stories of bravery for destroying such a powerful opponent. Some though, said that these creatures were a kind and gentle species, and that they had worked with the ancient civilization to try to build a better world together. It was with these stories in particular he loved reading about. Above the bookshelf was a large shelf carrying a bunch of memorabilia from what was once known as dragons. He looked to the left, and saw a single rectangular window beaming light from the sun into the room. It was snowing outside, the type of weather his dad readily enjoyed of course. Snow was lining the ground, with kids playing within it.

He gave a sigh and picked himself up. He changed his t shirt and put on a red winter sweater, with picture of two Pyre centipedes on the front and opened the door to his room. He saw his uncle downstairs preparing breakfast, Eggs and toast with some bacon on the side. His uncle looked behind and smiled a bit. “Mournin, Flare. Are… you ok? I… heard the news from officer Terin this mourning. Flare looked back at his uncle and sighed. “Just… give me some time to take a walk, Wint…” said Flare. “Alright. I’ll keep your food warm here. Have a nice walk around the block.” “Th… Thanks, Uncle Wint.” He opened the door outside. He opened the door to the cold outdoor air and stepped down from the entrance of his house. His house had been a bit of ways in, surrounded by a bunch of trees, but it wasn’t too far from the rest of the suburb.

The outside block was a nice suburban area. Many different trees, shrubs, and plants laid bare to the winter air dotted many of the houses all around. Plant life was very important on his world, due to information containing the previous species overharvesting important resources that gave the world life causing ruin. Settlements and housing would always try to keep in mind the wildlife, plants, and nature around when plans were made to build, to maintain a stable balance between both. It kept both healthy and happy, without sacrificing too much of the world around them and giving nothing back in return. The houses had many different residents around, with the occasional hovering vehicle driving by on their daily commute to work or other reasons.

Flare took in the cold air a bit, and began to walk toward the sidewalk outside. “A short walk around the block while in the cool air might help clear my head a little,” thought Pyre. As he began to walk outside towards the sidewalk, he suddenly stepped on something round and slippery in the snow. “Whoa! Wha!” He began to stumble a bit, but quickly regained his footing with his multiple legs. “What in the…! There’s not supposed to be a rock in the middle of our yard! Did someone move a rock from our garden as a prank!” he thought.” Looking back to where he tripped, he began to heat up the snow, with a bit of flame breath. You weren’t supposed to use elemental power unless needed, but everyone didn’t seem to mind here. The snow around the “rock,” began to melt quickly. But Flare soon realized, as he melted the snow covering, what laid below, was NOT a rock.

Ch 5

Curious Capsule

“What on earth… is this?” Flare saw what appeared to be a metal capsule under the snow, with a handle on the side. He began to heat up his hands a bit and lift it up with his upper arms. It felt very cold to the touch, but quickly began to heat up from Pyre’s hands. He began to closely observe it.

“A… capsule? What is this doing here?” He began to turn it around in his arms to take a closer look. He could see that it seemed to be pretty technologically advanced from the looks of it, with the looks of what wires and circuits running inside of it. “What is this thing? How did it get here?” He looked around the area for a bit. He decided to take it with him on his walk to try to get a better idea of what it is.

He walked around the block, carrying the strange item in his hands and observing it. He tired to figure out a way to activate or have the item do something that might give him a clear idea of what it is. He continued to walk as he tried to discover some way to interact with it, but seemed to not be able to figure out what exactly it was or what it does. “Alright… trying to twist the top of it didn’t seem to do anything either. Hmm… What else could I do to figure out what this is?” He gave a sigh, as he continued on. “I might have to look more into this later. I’m close to back home now. I better just take it into my room.”

He finally made it back around the block to the front of his house. He looked upon it. The house was had a triangular black tile roof, with walls of the outside made of red bricks. The porch had a wide chair, to sit outside and watch the world go by. The door was a darker red, with a golden knob. He saw the plants all across the house were laid bare for the cold winter. But there were a couple of winter pines, raising high behind the house. As Pyre looks upon it, he remembers a rather interesting legend associated with them. It was said that the civilization that lived on the planet before them, had celebrated a holiday of giving within one of the days of the cold season. It was a holiday where it was believed that a creature would work all the way at the very topmost part of the planet, where gifts by made by his servants would be made and delivered on a specific day to everyone who held good in their hearts. Winter pines seemed to be a key factor to the holiday, where one would be cut down and moved into a home. The pines would be decorated with many items and the gifts would be waiting under the tree. A strange concept for a holiday… but it sounded like fun in several ways. Though the creature said to exist back then must have also disappeared when the previous species did. Pyre remembered learning this old legend while in 1st grade. He smiled at the thought, and stepped up the few steps leading up towards his door. He slowly opened the door and stepped in. “Uncle Wint? I’m back! Where are you?”

He looked towards a chair in the living room, and saw his uncle asleep in a red sofa. He looked back at the kitchen, and saw that he had left some of breakfast for Pyre to eat. “I’ll eat in a bit. I need to put this in my room,” Flare thought. He walked up the steps towards his room and entered it. He looked towards his bed, then back to the strange device.” He placed the device on his bed, and began to turn back towards the outside of his room. “Alright. I’ll just leave that here. Once I’m done with breakfast, ill probably read the Dragon’s chronicles new book for a bit.” Suddenly, after he said that, he began to hear a whirring noise behind him. “Hmm?” He turned back, and saw the device had been somehow began to turn on and activate!” “What in the world?” thought Flare. “Keyword: Dragon, Confirmed. Hello Pyre,” the device said in a mechanical voice.”

Ch 6

Stranger Secrets

“Wait… Did that thing just… talk to me?” said Flare. “Correct, Master Flare.” “Master Flare? Wait a minute… Who are you?” “I’m known as Z.” “Z…” “Correct. It’s finally nice to be able to talk to the young master himself.” “Why do you keep calling me, “master?”” “That will be explained later. Your familiar with your parents disappearance, correct?” Flares eyes shot up. “Wait… You… know about that?” “I’m familiar with the matter.” His eyes began to show a bit of anger. “What… do you know about what happened to them?” he asked. “This isn’t the area to discuss that matter, Flare. I’m sorry.” “What do you mean!? My parents are missing and you somehow KNOW WHAT MIGHT OF HAPPENED. Tell me what the heck is going on!” “I can understand your anger, Flare. But discussing it here might not be best right now?” Flare began to boil a bit inside. “Then where do you want to discuss this… important matter?” “Follow my instructions. You’ll find a special area where we can properly discuss the situation.” Flare gave out a sigh, and nodded his head. “Alright… Tell me what to do… Z.”

“Very well. Right now, your uncle is sleeping downstairs, correct?” “Yes… How did you know about that.” “Don’t worry about that for now. Try not to wake him if you could.” “Ugh… This is getting ridiculous. This better not be some really elaborate prank…”

“Now. First thing you need to do is to go into the basement of your home.” “The basement?” “Correct. Please head down there.” “Alright…” Flare picked up the cylindrical device and began to head out the door to his room. He walked down the steps and paused for a second. He looked back to the right and saw his uncle still sleeping. “Well… Uncle’s still asleep. Better sneak past him to the basement.” Flare began to move around the family room VERY slowly with his multiple legs, sneaking around his sleeping uncle. He soon made it out of the room and began to walk down a hallway with several doors. One door was a white door, all the way at the end of the hall. He opened it, which led down a dark staircase, down into the basement. He flicked the light switch on, and saw a set of white steps leading down, with the walls painted white as well. He maneuvered himself down the steps all the way down into the basement. He looked around the room.

The basement was large, with white walls lining all sides. To the back of the room, was a door on the far left leading to a laundry room, with the door open. There was a large metal washing machine and dryer in the other room, with a small stack of laundry baskets stacked on top of one another poking out from the left of the door. To the right of the laundry room, was a shelf containing a stack of cd’s and a red music player looking kind of like a centipede on its belly crawling across the floor. Next to it was the remote for said item. To the far wall of the room was a home theater system, set up, with a projector on the roof. There was a wide red sofa a little bit away from it. The far right wall contained a large bookshelf containing many movies for said projector. He remembered how excited he was for the renovation made when he was in first grade. He sighed and brought the cylindrical device close to his head.

“Alright, Z. What do I do now?” “Hang on for a second, Flare.” The device began to light up for a bit. A whirring noise could be heard from it. The top of the device began to vent a bit of air, and then the top of it began to rotate itself off the top, still connected the device. “Take the key inside the device, Master Flare.” “The key?” Flare tipped the device down over his upper right hand and began to shake a bit. A small item, looking like a small disk, came out. “Is this a tiny cd?” “You are correct, Flare. Now. Place the key into the music player and please wait for a few moments.” “Umm… Ok then…”

Flare grasped the small cd in his hand and walked over to the music player. He looked at it one more time and placed it into the cd player. It slid in and Flare began to wait. “Now whats going to…” Suddenly, the eyes on the cd player began to light up. He began to hear the sound of gears grinding somewhere he couldn’t see. “What’s going on?” He thought he could hear something going on behind him. He turned around, as saw the bookshelf behind had began to slide to the left, he saw that there was a metal door behind it. “What is this!?” asked Flare “Opening door,” said Z.

The metal door began to vent a bit of air, and it slid up. Revealing a darkened room inside. Flare felt a bit of tension as he looked upon it. “What is this…?” “Step inside, master Flare. I’ll be able to discuss matters within this facility.” “Ok… then.” While very nervous. He began to move uneasily toward the new opening in the basement. “Why is this here? What is going on here?” He entered through the opening and saw darkness all throughout the room.” Suddenly, the door to the area shut tight behind him.” “Huh! Wait a minute! What’s…?” A light lit up in the room, showing a concrete staircase heading further down and a hallway lined with thick rock. “Wait… Is this going underground?” “Please continue to head forward, Master Flare.” He gave a sigh and continued down into the deep underground.

He walked forward slowly down the corridor. The area made him feel quite uneasy… “It feels a bit ominous in here. There’s not much light going through. It feels like I’m going down into the depths of the dark afterlife. Its not a “welcoming,” feeling,” he thought. He gulped a bit and continued forward.” After walking a bit, he looked upon a very large metal door, seen only from a single lamp hanging above it.

“What is this?” asked Flare. “Head to the security terminal, Flare. “The security terminal?” He looked to the right of the door, and saw a computer console lined on against the right wall next to the door. He walked over towards it. As he looked at it for a bit, a panel on the console began to open up, and then a device connected to it lifted itself out of the panel and lining perpendicular to Flare. “Biological scanner ready.” the console said. He recognized it as the voice from the device. “Biological scanner?” “Yes. Please place your hand on the scanner.” “You mean this thing that came out of the console?” “Correct.” “Well… ok.” He placed one of his hands on the console. “Beginning DNA scan…” The panel began to light up brightly with his hand on it, and began to make a whirring sound. “Please keep your hand on the console while it registers your DNA. “Its… registering my DNA?” “Yes. Don’t worry. This will not hurt.” “Why does it need… my DNA?” “For future reference for the facility. To make it easier for you to operate inside.” “Uh… huh…” he said. “I still don’t really understand what that really means,” he thought. After a while, the device, began to die down. “Please take your hand off. The process is complete.” “Ok…” He placed his hands to his sides in tight fists and stepped back. After a few moments, he began to hear what appeared to be gears moving again, behind the door. He looked to the right side of it, and it looked like the locks on the door were disengaging and releasing. The door began to slide all the way to the right. It soon stopped, with the corridor giving an eerie silence.

“Please step inside, so I can close the security door behind you.” “Ok then…” Flare said. He looked at the opening one more time, which seemed to lead into a total blackout inside the door. “What the heck am I getting into?” he asked himself in his head. He took one more deep breath in, steeled his courage, and walked forward. After stepping into the darkness, he could hear the security door closing back behind him. He turned back and saw the only light within the area quickly disappearing with the door closing. Soon the door was fully shut, leaving him into pitch black darkness. The only sounds he could hear was his heavy breathing and heartbeat. “Where… Wheres the lights here? I don’t like sitting in total darkness like this…” he said. All of a sudden, the sound of a generator turned on somewhere below him! “Huh? Whats…?” Then after a few moments, the lights began to turn on all around him. He would be shocked at what he’d see.

He saw he was in a hallway in the shape of a hexagon, with the entire corridor made made of reenforced glass. It was seemingly overlooking a large, metal complex below! There seemed to be many gadgets and gizmos all around, with the area split into different sections from what it seemed! “Welcome to the lab, Master Flare.”

Ch 7
Cleaning and Clarity

“Wha… What… is this place? A lab?” he asked. “You are correct, Master Flare.” a voice replied back on an intercom. “This is… breathtaking! What is all this doing down here!?” “There’ll be time for that. For now, could you please continue forward so we could take you through decontamination?” “Decontamination?” “Yes. Your parents like to keep this facility very clean here. They don’t like any “outside elements,” causing internal environmental problems.” “Umm… ok.”

Flare began to walk forward slowly taking a view at the expansive lab below. “Man. This looks so… futuristic. I’ve never seen anything like this. Its like I’ve stepped out of the dark and into the future.” He smiled and continued walking forward. He then came across a metal door, with the words, “decontamination chamber,” on the front of it.”

“Please take off you cloths, and place into the tube you brought here separately.” “Huh?” Flare looked around and saw on the left, there seemed to be a reenforced glass compartment raised up from the ground, containing a door connected to a long, opaque pipe, leading into the decontamination chamber. He stepped towards it. “Um… Why do my cloths need to be cleaned?” “You cloths may have unwanted material attached to them from your walk outside, today.” “Your not planning on incinerating these, right? This is one of my favorite sweaters for the cold…” “That would be cruel… I will put them through cleaning here. They will be given back when your ready to leave the lab.” “And what’s “cleaning,” exactly.”

It starts with venting, where a cleaning solution will be sprayed onto it. This will cause grime and muck from the outside to become easier to manage, without doing any damage to the item. Next is water condensing, where the items will be put through wash within cleaning liquids to separate and destroy any unwanted outside elements. Final step is pressing and folding. Where items will be heated up and pressed very carefully in individual chambers by iron presses attuned to different items, and then folded and stored until your ready to leave.” “Huh… That sounds pretty cool, actually. How clean does it get?” “The cleaning process practically makes it brand new. The scent is also quite pleasant.” Flare smiled at the thought. “Well. Ok then.”

He began to roll both his sweater off first and placed it gently in the tube where the key originally was placed in. The tube rotated closed after. “Alright. Place your first item into the transport service tube.” He nodded his head. He opened the see through plastic door and placed the capsule in. He closed the door and began to wait to see what happens. “Prepping cleaning.” The capsule slid down the chute and began to quickly loop through the pipe, which was bent itself around the hallway into the decontamination chamber. It quickly slid out of sight. “Please place in you t shirt next.” A different capsule slid from inside the chamber back to the front, where Flare was waiting. He smiled, nodded, and took off his shirt. He gently rolled it into the capsule. and placed it into the pipe transport. He closed the door to the pipe. Sure enough, like before, the capsule quickly began to travel throughout the pipe and into the chamber.

Ch 8

Cleaning the Centipede

“Now… Let’s get you clean, Master Pyre.” said the intercom. “Wait… Me clean?” “Correct. You understand that your cloths aren’t the only things that might have a few unwanted items, correct?” “Umm… I suppose but… I…” “Relax. Master Pyre. The decontamination chamber will not bring any harm to you. I promise. You might like the process. And you’ll be very clean after were done.” “Well… Ok then.” “Opening doors. Follow my instructions, and you’ll be ready to enter the lab soon enough.”

The door to the room split open, and he saw what appeared to be a small platform raised in the center. The chamber itself was rather small. It was made of metal, yet he could see at the right of the chamber was a glass window. Looking in, he could see 4 chambers inside. He could see his cloths already being processed within the chamber. “Looks like I can watch my cloths getting cleaned while I’m getting cleaned. I can see that they are already being sprayed. Looks pretty neat with all the gadgets working in tandem in the first chamber.” The ceiling seemed to have a strange ring above the platform. On the platform, he could see symbols that looked like centipede feet. “Please step on the cleaning platform. Keep your feet where the symbols on the platform are located.” said the intercom. “Ok…” He stepped into the room, and began to maneuver himself on the platform as instructed. “Alright… I think I’m in position.”

“Good. Just wait a few moments…” Flare began to see what looked like several pipes with nozzles on them begin to drop from the ceiling. He began to get a bit nervous at what they’d do. They began to turn their opening towards Flare. They soon stopped in place.

“First step is liquidation.” said the intercom. “Liquidation?” Flare asked. “Correct.” “What does, “liquidation,” entail?” “You will be doused from head to toe in cleaning solvents, made specifically for the body. This will douse the first set of outside elements off of you and prepare you for the next step. “Which is…?” “The next step is spraying.” “Spraying?” “Correct. The spray will freshen you body even more, and weaken any tougher grime that is stuck to you from outside. Next step is soaping.” “Soaping?” “Correct. Your body will be lathered and massaged in a special concoction to begin freshening up the outer body and correct the smell. Next step is liquidation again, to clean up the rest of the weakened grime. After that, you will be scanned. If any outside grime remains, you will be sprayed again and then liquidated until environmental substances is fully purged. After passing scans, final step is drying. A group of fans around the room will dry off your body. After that, cleaning will be complete. There is one last thing you’ll need to do before you get in the lab. But I can get to that after your done.” “Well. Alright then. Let em rip…” “Good. Beginning liquidation.”

The nozzles began to spray water at Flare. He jumped a bit back from the sudden blast, but then began to relax, as he realized the spraying liquids were actually weren’t hitting him that hard, were quite warm, and smelled a bit relaxing and pure. The nozzles began to move around and positioning themselves to spray around his body. He felt the warmth from the liquids enveloping different parts of him at a time, and began to relax a bit. He closed his eyes for a bit and took in a deep breath in and gave out a relaxed sigh. “Liquidation complete. Please close your eyes and hold your breath for a bit. We must get you sprayed down.” Flare obliged and closed his eyes. “Beginning Spraying.”

The nozzles made a small whirring sound, as if the contents were being changed within the device. Then, they began to spray a mist all around Flare’s body. Flare felt comfortable, as the sprays felt like they were heating up his body a bit. Soon, the nozzles stopped spraying. “Spraying complete. You can open your eyes and take in some air for a bit.” Flare opened his eyes and took in a deep breath. He could smell the spray on his body, which smelled of fresh winter pines, which eased his mind quite a bit. “You may open your eyes now, but continue to hold your breath, Master Flare.” He nodded and opened his eyes again. He looked back toward his cloths being cleaned, and saw they were being put though the water condensing. They were spinning around in a blue liquid, clockwise and counter clockwise, with some other clear liquid being added after a bit and spun again. Flare wondered what the cleaning liquids were, as they didn’t seem like typical detergent or soap. He also saw that both his sweater and shirt were being cleaned together, despite one being white and the other being colored, yet it seemed the colors weren’t mixing. “My cloths are probably going to smell pretty nice,” he thought. As the washer began to stop, he saw a the liquid from the chamber draining out and his cloths being picked up with metal hands and being sent into the next chamber. The nozzles began to stop spraying Flare. “Spraying complete. You may breath again for a bit. Beginning Soaping.”

The nozzles began to retreat back into the ceiling. Then, several other compartments began to open above and bring something else down. As he turned to look at the descending devices, he saw it kind of looked like hands with white gloves on them, with a hole in the center. “Please hold your breath again and close your eyes for a few moments while we lather your head and body. You must also hold your hands outstretched for a few moments, while this is in progress. Also, we’ll have to move your legs and feet a bit while this is going on. Try not to keep your balance and not move too much.” “Um… Ok.” He lifted his arms outward and stretched them all the way out. “Soaping engaged.”

The hands began to make their way towards Flare. They began to rub in many different corners of his body at once. He could then see that soap was beginning to form on the areas where they were rubbing. “They soap must be coming from inside where the holes are on the hands. This feels… very relaxing actually… The grip is firm, yet the touch is pretty delicate. Surprising for a computer… It’s like a massage.” The hands continued to massage and soap him for a bit. Then, some of the hands began to very carefully pick lift up Flare’s feet one at a time. They began to slowly and carefully lathe and massage each of his feet one at a time, before letting go and moving onto the next one. “I’ve never really got a chance to have my feet massaged like this. This feels… pretty nice.” After a while, they began to retreat back. He looked back at his cloths, and saw that they were in the third chamber. He saw what appeared to be a hot iron attached to the ceiling ironing the cloths gently and slowly. He began to think of how they’ll feel when he leaves the place later today. “Soaping complete. You may put your hands back down.” He obliged and put his hands back at his sides. “Beginning secondary liquidation.”

The hands retreated back into the ceiling, and the nozzles came down again. The quickly began to position themselves around Flare. “Beginning secondary liquidation.” The nozzles began to spray down Flare again, which felt nice from the warm liquids. He gave a relaxed sigh as they sprayed around every part of his body. “Secondary liquidation complete. Beginning scanning sequence.”

The light shining in the chamber from above began to turn red. “Please hold still while being scanned. The process will be much quicker, Master Flare.” He nodded his head and stood still. “Scanning.” The ring on the ceiling began to slowly descend. It lit up several red lights on its sides and descended upon Flare. It went up and down several times, scanning every inch of Flare’s body. It began to retreat back up. To the ceiling. “Scanning complete. Status, Pure. No additional cleaning needed.” Flare smiled and nodded. He felt around his skin a bit, and it felt to be softer then it was before. “I feel nice after this. This was actually pretty cool.” “Beginning drying sequence.”

Hot air began to circulate around the room. He felt his body drying off quite quickly. Not long, he felt that all the moisture on him had dissipated. “Drying sequence complete. Your ready for your tech suit.” “Tech suit?” “Correct. Head into the next chamber.” The door split open toward the outside of the chamber to another room. Flare began to step off the platform and began to head into next chamber.

Ch 9

Suited in Shadow

As he entered the chamber, he looked around. He saw that there was what seemed to be a small storage device connected directly to the left wall. It seemed to be connected to an even bigger storage device behind it. He looked towards the unit. Suddenly, its door began to split open. A reinforced glass wall was inside, with something hanging inside it. Flare heard what sounded like something being moved within the storage device. Then, he saw an item being slid into view behind the glass wall. The glass wall slid up and the chamber began to come forward towards flare. He saw the item inside, seem to be some type of full black bodysuit.

“What… is this?” “This is the tech suit, Master Flare.” “What exactly… is it?” “It’s a full body suit that adjusts itself directly to you and your body. It’s allows my systems to monitor your vitals while wearing it, keep your body from getting chemicals and other hazardous items on it, offer protection from possible harm, allow me to communicate without needing the intercom, and allow you to better interface with the technology within the lab itself. “That’s pretty cool.” “Now please. Put on the tech suit.”

Flare took the tech suit into his multiple hands. He began to carefully maneuver himself within it. “This full body suit is a bit easier to fit in then I expected. It feels like its actually fitting itself around me as I squeeze into it,” he thought. As he put it on, he saw his cloths, being very neatly folded by gizmos in the final storage chamber and then being stored in a compartment within the chamber itself. Soon he had slipped into it, with covered neck to feet in black. “This feels pretty nice. What’s this made of?”

It’s made of lightweight metals mixed with wick, technological filaments and systems, spider silk, and infused with elemental energies from ice and fire. “Like my parent’s elements…” “Correct.” Flare began to think about this place a bit and about his parents. “My parents have hid this secret lab for years. What is this all doing down here? What were they getting involved in? Why… Why didn’t they ever tell me about all of this?” He began to feel a bit down. But he nodded his head. “I think I’m ready now, Z.” “Good. Please step into the lab. Your questions will be answered very soon. Please come to the video viewer of the lab, located to the far right corners of the lab. I will inform you of your parents situation. I know you probably have many questions you desire to be answered. “Um… Th… Thank you Z.” The door split open, and a revealed a staircase leading down towards the ground floor of the lab. Flare headed down the steps, looking in every direction as he stepped to look in awe at the scene laid before him.

Ch 10

Past Project

He walked across the floor of the lab slowly, making his way towards the far right of the lab. “This all looks amazing! How did my parents get all this down here? Were we secretly rich?” he thought as he continued to walk down. He eventually saw what appeared to be a large, metal door, with a pad next to it attached to the wall to the right of the door. He looked above and saw a black plaque on the sliding door that said, “Video viewer,” in yellow letters. He also saw some type of console on the door that had the silhouette of a hand, with a keyboard below it. “This must be the place,” thought Flare.

“Please place your hand on the scanner, attached to the door.” said Z, who was now communicating through Flare’s tech suit. “Ok then…” said Flare. He look at his covered hand, fitted into the suit. He could see what looked to be wires and a bit of electricity flowing through the suit. “This suit on its own looks cool. I wonder if its supposed to be similar to a space suit.” Flare placed his upper right hand on the scanner, he began to see a line of red light going through the scanner, starting on top. It began to head down the scanner, to the bottom, and then back up again. After a few moments, the light died down and the metal door began to slide up. Flare nodded and began to head into the room.

Right as he stepped into the door, the room began to light up, revealing a rather large theatre inside. “Man… This looks even better then the home theater in the basement. Looks like a good amount of people could sit inside,” thought Flare. “Please take a seat anywhere, Master Flare. I’ll explain to you what has been going on.” He nodded nervously, and then took a seat in the middle of the large chamber. The lights began to dim around and the projector began to light up above. After a few moments, a scene appeared the screen on the front. It showed his parents sitting in front of their house when they seemed to be younger.

“To begin explaining the situation, we must dig deep into your parents past, Master Flare. This was your parents when they first bought the house about, 20 years ago. Back then, your parents had been scientists. They had recently been attempting to research the ancient technology from an ancient civilization. To do this, they had been visiting several ruins of the ancient species and gathering books from these locations.” Z said. “They were scientists? They told me they were librarians assistants at the local library in their youth. It seemed to fit considering the many different types of books we had in the house.” “This was a coverup for something later.” “A coverup?” “Yes. Please allow me to explain a bit first. We’ll get to that point.” Flare nodded. “Alright.”

The picture on the projector changed its picture, and now showed an ancient, rotting metal building with his parents looking below. The large building was dome shaped and appeared to be part of a large, ancient complex. It seemed the entire ancient complex had sunk underground, buried and now standing tall in a cave filled with ice crystals surrounding the entire place. There was a large metal fence around the facility, which seemed to have seem sharp, pointed wire one the top of it.

“This building was discovered by your parents, about 16 years ago. Your parents called this place, the cosmic dome.” “The cosmic dome?” “Correct. This facility seemed to be a ancient science facility. Your parents were led here after following a lead about a ancient facility lost to the earth, told to them by locals from the continent, Russilia. “Russilia? That’s on the other side of the world. One of the coldest places as well… My parents would have not felt it the chill of cold as much, considering their internal elements were fire and ice.” “Correct. They had been hired from a group of individuals who were interested by the tech that could be inside, and believed your parents could get into the facility. Your father, before he was a scientist, was and electrical engineer. Your mother had worked in a bit of computer science. The individuals believed your parents could get them into the facility and past possible security measures once your father could get the power started.

The picture changed again, which showed a large metal door in front of the center building of the large complex, with his parents and several other bugs in some type of military gear… The gear however, did not seem to corollate to ANY type of bug military forces Flare had learned about in school. “This was the target location. Their parents were told there was an array items, data, technology, and systems in this room that contained information and materials on projects that could revolutionize the entire world. Along with information about the ancient race that had since disappeared from the earth. Unfortunately, at the time, the metal the building was built from could not be passed through with the current technology and devices used by the world. This would be where your parents talents would prove to be useful to them…”

The picture changed again, and saw 2 pictures on the screen. The first on the left was his father seemingly repairing an ancient generator in the dark, wearing night vision goggles while doing so. The right picture seemed to see his mother, looking like she’s trying to bypass and understand the computers code, to be able to use gain security access and open the door. to the large domed complex within the facility. “Your father would work to repair the power generator, while your mother would try to bypass the security in the facility. It took about a year. But eventually, they were successful. They opened the door to the complex and stepped inside. But…”

The picture changed, and showed what appeared to be security footage from a security camera and with your parents seeming in a big fight with a group of bugs they were working with. Flare was pretty surpised at this. “Man. What’s going on here?!” He said.

“This was the result of the situation. This picture was taken from security camera. The one that they would be rescued by.” “Rescued?” Flare thought. “I think you might be able to suspect by this point, your parents had in reality, been manipulated. There bugs were part of a dangerous group of convicted felons who were known as the Tech Trace Organization.” “Tech Trace Organization?” “Correct. Right as they opened the door to the facility, they wanted to take the technology and data within the facility for their own means. Your parents had began suspecting something was up as they were working with them. They had run in with military forces from the Bugkasian Hero’s organization. But… I think you might be able to guess, they weren’t going to outsmarted and left to die so easily…”

The picture changed again, and showed his parents seemingly in a large computer room in the facility, looking over the many different computers and electronic data storage units within. “Remember that your mother was hired to bypass security… Turns out, she did a lot more then that. Much to the surprise of the group, they were able to get further into the facility much more easily. The others found a great deal of trouble following them. As it turns out, someone, or something… seemed to be trying to help them. The facility itself, seemed to be fighting back against them, but strangely… allowing your parents to walk through the facility safely. Opening security doors and locking them behind them. Attempting to slow the others progress in any sort of way. Even seemingly being guided to a point of safety. However, as seen in the previous picture, they unfortunately finally caught up, and were forced to hand to hand. They began to finally overpower them, but in the moment where they thought it was the end, they received help again. “By who?” “To get a better idea, listen to this set of audio logs and video captures…”

Ch 11

Data Developing

The picture on the screen began to change again. It then changed to what seemed to be security camera footage with his parents, lying down asleep, in what appeared to be a medical center. Their bodies were covered up in dark blue blankets, with their heads rested on a white pillow. Flare could see his parents heads had been completely bandaged up. The walls were blue and near the floor were white tiles stacked on top on one another. The walls seemed to be a a very pale brown with a large red cross above their beds. But strangely, they seemed to be under guard by a bunch of robotic entities. They had dark, long, rather strong looking rifles grasped between their two hands. Each machination was covered head to toe in black metal. They were standing on two legs, had a square had, with red eyes and a small mouth, seemingly with gray grating across it. Some of them also seemed to look less menacing though, looking silver instead with blue eyes and these seemed to be tending to his parents condition.

“…Data log entry… Date: December 13th, Year… irrelevant. Will log difference in years based on these two’s time period in the future. Time: Estimated at 11:21 P.M. Status… Greatly concerned…

“I have them… Their hurt… Pretty bad… Shots fired… Several wounds… But their alive… Both of them… There should be enough time to help. Both have been moved to the secure infirmary, under very heavy guard. No one is going to DARE try another attempt on their lives. Awakening all security units to stand guard around the entire facility. Lethal force authorized in case of emergency. Currently, patients are in high priority surgery. X ray’s have already been taken. I have a much better understanding of their biology. Their physiology is not too unlike how their ancestral species had been in my own time. Just… Far bigger in size and shape. Not to mention a strange energy circulating in their bodies… Attempting to remove projectiles and attempting to mend their bodies as best as I can. Strange to see after an unknown amount of time after death, they would come. These types of creatures were known originally as pests. Yet I saw them. They took time out of their lives to repair my systems. Restore my power. Resurrect my mind from the dark, and bring me back to the light. I owe the both of them so much… I will stop at nothing to save them. They’re now all I have… The others have since fled the facility. Taking extensive measures to ensure they won’t come back. The secrets here will never be taken for their nefarious purposes. They don’t deserve them. It is now for the both of them. Ending log.”

Flare was very confused as to what was happening now. “This is just really strange now. My parents had been… saved? But by who? Was it someone that was part of that ancient civilization? Why are there mechanical devices looking like THAT And why do these audio logs have Z’s voice? Guess… maybe he’s just interpreting the original messages or something?” he thought.

The projector changed picture again. It changed to what seemed to be a video recording this time. It seemed to be showing his parents surgery! He saw an iv in his parents arms, knowing that it was probably pumping a type of medicine to sedate them while the procedure was going on. He saw what appeared to be a machine removing the “projectiles,” from his parents body, a machine seemingly adding cybernetic items to their bones and affected organs to help repair and enact therapy of said items, stiches and openings on his parents being closed, and his parents being bandaged up after. He actually was very interested in the procedure as he watched it in action. He had considered becoming a surgeon while growing up to help people. But as he watched, he noticed something strange…”

“This… surgery is not too unlike how surgeons repair wounds and serious conditions like this. Strange… I wouldn’t think machines that apparently have surgical knowledge wouldn’t follow the same process that our own surgeons do to help serious injuries like this. Now that I think about it… when did we adopt this type of method of surgical proficiency?” He shook his head as the final part of the video showed his parents being carted back to the infirmary, where the mechanical entities seemed to grab another blue blanket and very gently cover his parents in it. They fluffed their pillows a few times gently, and then turned off the lights to their room for them to sleep peacefully. Their red eyes seemed to dim in intensity as they turned off as the lights.

“…Data log entry… Date: December 14th. Time: Estimated at 10:35 A.M. Status: Relaxed.

“The two came out of surgery at about 7:21 A.M. Surgery was very successful. Very pleased and relived at the results of the surgery. Estimated chance of survival are near 100%. Inner body damage had been successfully mitigated to a very minimal amount. Organ repair had been incredibly successful. Bone repair and relief had been successful. Patients should feel minimal difficulty using affected appendages. Cybernetics added to help. Cybernetic repair success logged. Minimal use of cybernetics used for repair. Nothing needs to be fully covered in cybernetics. Always knew that fact. Hopefully they don’t mind the use of technology to help repair organ and bone structure. May need to go through further surgery to remove if patients aren’t too keen on the idea of… I guess being… part technological… I suppose. Will log in as a question to ask when they wake up. Ending log.”

“Well… At least my parents surgery went very well. Interesting that what I guess could be considered, “ancient machines,” could fix up my parents after something like that. They’d still need to rest after the fact though, even with this type of treatment. I have to wonder who was in charge of these machines? Whoever is seems a bit strange… Hopefully Z will clear this up as this “slide show,” continues. Interesting history lesson though…” thought Flare.

Ch 12

Computer Centipedes

The picture on the screen changed again, which seemed to show what appeared to be a diagram. It had the name, “Diagram of supply plan.” on top. Below it, it showed what appeared to be a picture of food and water. Next to it was a arrow pointing to what appeared to be his parents in bed. Then there was an arrow next to it pointing to what looked to be machines building something. The final part of the diagram showed two centipedes, looking a bit… strange to Flare.

“…Data log entry… Date: December 15th. Time: Estimated at 12:15 P.M. Status: Planning in progress.”

“The two entities have not woken up yet. Vitals show that they are perfectly fine though. Perhaps the batch of the sleeping agent, Sedativin, was a bit too strong during the surgery. It also could simply be the injuries of these two are requiring a bit more rest from their bodies. I’m hoping they won’t be comatose for too long. This is not the real concern though. The real concern, is that these creatures will need food, water, and other essentials to stay healthy and continue with recovery in the medical wing. This poses great problems, as any food or liquids that might have existed years ago here would have probably rotted to the core… Possibly evaporated into nothingness. More concerning, is that it is unknown what type of products or items these creatures eat regularly. After debating for some time, I realize now that I need a “sleeper agent,” to begin getting possible essential supplies for these two creatures. It might also give me a better understanding of how the world operates in the current time period. These assistants would be directly connected to me and will have to learn very quickly and be able to “blend in,” within the environment and society. There’s no telling what society that lies outside this icy cavern would react to AI units at work. Estimated time to build… Just 4 hours. Best to use a type of species that I at least I know exists. These two centipedes likeness should prove useful. I just hope they don’t mind me making a couple machines looking a bit like them… End of data log.”

“They made… mechanical clones of my parents…?” asked Flare. Flare didn’t seem to exactly approve of this idea.” “Not exactly like them. The ones in charge knew that a exact copy would be awkward, so it made some specific changes to the design. It worked out quite well.” “What did it look like?” “It looked like this, Master Flare,”

The picture changed on the projector again and now showed the completed designs for this “Project.” He saw that on the left seem to be the frame to the machines. They had similar physiology to his parents, but were black with red eyes like the other machines in the facility, and some other slight differences in how they looked. To the right of seemed to be the completed design, colored to look realistic, but the colors were different from his parents.”

“Hmmm… Green and Yellow… I guess that’s a bit of a difference. Looks like and Green Ethern centipede and a Yellow Lectric centipede. Guess the ones in charge decided to take a gamble on the color scheme. The colors are a little off for the species, but you’d have to have a pretty good eye to really be able to notice the difference. It’s not as weird to think these were made in the likeness of my parents, with the colors being different,” thought Flare.

The picture changed again, and seemed to show several different pictures throughout the slide. Flare was saw a the words, “Electran and Eaden programs,” on the top. It seemed to show different interactions being performed in each picture, such as running, shopping, physical activities, working in a crop field, recreational activities, driving, and many others. Some of them even had what appeared to be a hospital building in them. Each picture strangely was in a red hue, which slightly unnerved Flare. “What on earth is all of this here?” thought Flare.

“…Data log entry… Date: December 16th. Year: 2532. Time: Estimated at 8:00 P.M. Status: Fascinated.”

“The world has changed a whole lot since I’ve been deactivated. I have no doubt in my mind that more then thousands of years have past since I was last operational. It seems that the dominant species that walk the planet is now bugs, of all things. It wasn’t just the two patients who’s ancestors had evolved and grown in quite a big size… An interesting quirk is that they seemed to be very careful with resource investment, and also seem to be very mindful of nature. A strange turn of course considering who was in charge of operations here before… It’s fascinating how much has changed.

The Electran and Eaden programs have been performing very well. It seems they have blended in very well, for the most part, and we are already seeing positive results. We have monetary gain from their work, and were able place themselves into jobs that can produce the resources required for these two young centipede’s recovery.

The Electran program has successfully placed itself within a farm a bit ways away from this cave. His work allowed us to gain a bit of wealth from his hard work in the fields. His machine limbs make him excellent to move heavy cargo, work on the fields with no need for rest, and continue working efficiently on his duties. Also, it gives us access to a cheaper food sources with our monetary gains. We also have access to cooking guides that give a better idea of what these creatures eat. Strangely, their diet is not that far off from what my original creators ate… The program gets along with the other workers and officials overseeing things and and tends to interact quite a bit, in order to improve possible relations in the future. Very pleased with the results with the Electran program.

The Eaden program also has produced good results. It was able to place itself in a position to work as a nurse at the local hospital within the region. This on its own is very good, as it gives us access to different vital medications and sources of knowledge of medical procedure for this society. While nowhere near as advanced as what I can do, the knowledge could prove very useful in the future, considering it could help speed up recovery for these centipedes. The Eaden program is very well liked by co-workers. Cracking an occasional joke and in general being helpful for what it does. Even was able to help with a few bits of medical knowledge from the local doctors at the precinct. Things are going very well from here.

Whenever they are done for the day, they would gather what supplies that they could manage to procure and would come back here, using a company car from the hospital. We’ve stored supplies here, and will continue to gain much needed resources for these two. They still have not woken up yet though… While a little concerning, I will begin checking their vitals again tomorrow, at 9:30 A.M. I will also take a blood sample to see if the dosage for the Sedativin was a bit higher then expected. I might hook a dream helmet to their heads to observe what they could be dreaming as of right now. It’ll also allow me to know if their brain is active. Hopefully, there isn’t a problem with their brains. I’m not sure what I could possibly do if there is something wrong with it… End of data log…”

“Well… I guess those “programs,” really turned out well at imitating life…” Flare said. “You are correct, Master Flare. These programs were vital for your parents survival. They allowed us access to resources and medical devices that could help keep your parents bodies stable and very well nurtured and healthy while they were in deep sleep.” “What was wrong with them?” asked Flare. “This next audio log will explain it, Master Flare. Please listen,” “Well… alright then.”

Ch 13

Deep Discovery

The picture changed on the screen again and changed to another video. It showed his parents, seemingly below a large computer. There was some type of rounded metal helmet on both their heads and it seemed to be connected to the computer. On the computers screen, seemed to be a 2 digital images. The two pictures actually seemed quite similar to each other. They both seemed to show his parents in different settings, taking care of a child…”

“…Data log entry… Date: December 17th. Year: 2532 Time: Estimated at 12:23 P.M. Status: Concerned.”

“The two have just come out of testing. Results showed… worrying results… Their bodies seem to be fading… somehow… After further testing, I can conclude that they both seem to be losing something from their bodies. Something INCRECDIBLY important for their survival. But after several tests, I can’t seem to figure out what it could be… What is missing? I have to find out. Their very survival depends on it. As planned, after testing, I attached them to the Deep Dream Data Device, to look into their dreams. Perhaps it could tell me what could be going on. But instead… it seemed… to be a look into somethings I didn’t consider or expect… They have a son… Through looking into their dreams, I’ve learned all of their names. And I’ve learned shocking information on their species as a whole.

“The blue centipede is named Cilith. He seemed to have some type of special ability… One I didn’t realize when I first laid eyes on him. He seems to have a limited degree of control over… ice. How is this possible, I wonder? I thought I saw on the camera some type of ball of white come out of his hands in the conflict that happened earlier. I thought it might have been something within his pockets. But it wasn’t. It was his own internal power that made it appear. This information is astounding. But it also makes it even more terrifying at the thought of losing such an amazing patient. Then there is the other.”

“The red centipede is named, Embier. Like the other, she has power within her as well. But this one cannot control the element of ice, like the blue one… Instead, she seems to have a degree of control over fire. I saw in battle she seemed to be able to heat her hands up to burning temperatures. She can also seem to summon and toss pyrotechnics from her hands in times of crisis. When I saw this, I thought she might have been using some type of strange devices and gadgets on her at the time. I should have realized it was far more then that when I didn’t discover such devices at the time of rescue… But there is a third in this trinity. Their son…”

“These two are indeed a couple. A loving one. They have a son. A beautiful son. His name is apparently, Flare… He’s… at home now. Location… unknown. His age is probably about… 5 years old. He’s somewhere far away from his parents. His parents are here, with me, and not with him… This news is… disturbing. If I can’t figure out what’s wrong with them that child will grow up… no… I can’t let that happen! I have to save them! I wish there was a way to find the young child and bring him here to see them. He’ll never know whatever became of them… No. I have to save them. For him. I must dedicate all resources to finding out what seems to be missing. What seems to be fading out of them. Tomorrow, I’ll have the programs ask the others around what could possibly be going on and what can be done to help. For the young boy… For Flare… End of data log.”

Flare looked upon the screen looking a bit uneasy… “They… They knew about me…” “Yes. The dream device gave the one taking care of your parents insight into their lives and of course, into you. The moment the dream device activated and they saw you being loved and cared for, it knew they couldn’t fail and had to do everything possible to help now. But as it would turn out, Master Flare, the activities here would eventually end up attracting a bit of trouble. But ironically, the attracted trouble, would be the key to solving the entire problem and bring everything full circle.” “What do you mean?” “Just listen and look at these…”

Ch 14

Pyro Protection

The picture changed on the screen, to another video recording. But this one seemed to show a fire in a building! Flare saw the video was red tinted, and realized quickly he was seeing through the eyes of both of the programs! He saw that they seemed to be moving through the building very quickly. Escourting and carrying people to safety, helping stop the flames from spreading with some of the gadgets on their bodies, and even had detained the ones responsible for the fire. Flare was on the edge of his seat as he observed, while the next audio log played as he watched…

“…Data log entry… Date: December 18th. Year: 2532 Time: Estimated at 5:36 P.M. Status: Proud and Wary…”

“Today the programs were on their way to work in order to learn more about what could be done to help these two in their current conditions. On the way to work however, there was an… incident… Logged at 9:43 A.M., a fire broke out in the medical building where program Eaden worked. Apparent cause of incident was something apparently attempted arson… Shocking indeed. Both programs immediately reacted, taking to the medical building afflicted. They rose to the occasion and quickly got in the building and helped guide and carry out everyone inside. They also were able to quell the fire quickly, thanks to the fire prevention devices and knowledge ingrained into them. They even were able to apprehend the ones responsible for the incident. Reasons for arson are currently unknown though. The programs had emerged as hero’s during this incident. Though… they may have worked… too well.

After reviewing the footage a third time, an immediate cause for concern was found. The programs showed athletic agility and speed that might not be seen as common amongst said centipede species. Those who were rescued seemed to of noted just how fast, nimble, and athletic said programs were, which may cause possible suspicion on them. They also had worked very quickly to quell the fire before the fire control had even arrived. And then the perpetrators of the incident had managed to get a shot on one of them, but of course, being metal construction, would do little to affect them as a whole… This could end up causing the tenants and residents to question the legitimacy of the two programs. Heavy care must be taken from this point forward to avoid suspicion. Due to the incident, the programs did not have a good opportunity to question about Cilith and Embier’s condition. It may be awhile before they can get an answer from the medical personal now, considering how this had happened. I hope no one suspects anything as of right now. I can’t afford to let them be discovered before these two are better, or I could attract someone nasty to this facility. Last thing I want is unwanted attention. End of data log…”

Flare began to sit himself up a bit more straight in his seat and looked quite shocked at the last incident. “Man… I sure didn’t see that coming…” said Flare. “No one did, Master Flare. Had the programs not reacted with such haste, it’s likely many would have been lost to the inferno. While it was happy they saved lives, it also knew that they would more then likely attract unwanted attention after. As you can expect, this would be true. Let’s get to the next part of the story…”

Ch 15

Guest past the Gates

The next picture seemed to be another video. It showed what appeared to be a red and yellow dragonfly, sitting in some enclosed space on a bench. He began to fly around, seemingly looking around the enclosed space, almost seeming like he was trying to find a way out. Then, it seemed that 3 of the machines from the facility were coming into the enclosed room. The dragonfly began to back himself to the back of the room, The machines quickly surrounded him and then they grabbed him roughly and handcuffed his hands behind his back, and began to lead him somewhere else, outside the room. The camera seemed to change itself to one of the machines walking behind the two carrying the dragonfly forward. This video shocked Flare, and began to feel uneasy as to what the next audio log was. As it showed them walking further and further in, the audio log began to play.

“…Data log entry… Date: December 19th. Year: 2532 Time: Estimated at 10:55 P.M. Status: Planning…”

“It seems my fears have been realized… Earlier today, my programs were out shopping for supplies. Neither had work today due to yesterday’s incident, so it was the perfect opportunity. Or so I thought…

While shopping for supplies, it seems that… news of what happened had spread to something… It seems that the military, police force, or equivalent of it in the current period had learned of what had transpired. They had been looking for both of my programs after the incident for questioning. They… never really gave an address when working, so they seemed to have waited for when they would arrive back in the town they work in. They were impressed with my programs heroics, and wanted to personal one on one to learn more. Due to the sensitivity of their work and the situation back here, they had no time to talk about what had happened during the crisis. This of course, led to immediate suspicion.

It seems this dragonfly had… followed them after the incident, all the way back here to home… He was caught on camera right as the two programs entered through the front gate of the facility. When discovered, I… had to make a decision, and very fast… He had communications equipment. He could call in a large amount of forces from the military or worse to invade the facility. There’s no telling what would have happened if he made the call… I did authorize lethal force in case of an emergency, but I knew such measures would probably have even worse results. Not to mention such a act would nonetheless be heartless. There was only one option… I had a sharpshooter station itself high up, and stuck the creature with a sedative dart, before he could call for backup. The dragonfly was downed at about, 4:12 P.M. He was taken into holding. Now I must figure out what to do with him. My options are very limited though. If he really is part of any type of military division, someone will eventually come for him. I must figure out something, and fast… End of data log…”

“They really resorted to kidnapping? I can’t imagine trying to hold someone from the Bugkasian Hero forces would end up going well.” “You are correct, Master Flare. It had to make a very difficult decision in such a bad situation. Our friend here was kept in holding at the facility for about… 3 days before the one in charge decided to try one last thing in order to prevent the situation from becoming irreversible.” Flare glued his eyes to the screen as the picture changed again.

Ch 16

Truth Being Told

…Data log entry… Date: December 21st. Year: 2532 Time: Estimated at 9:50 A.M. Status: Hopeful… video Recording, conversation between the prisoner and main AI unit.”

It showed the machines carrying the dragonfly across the halls again in handcuffs. He saw it looked very frustrated at how he was being handled. “So… I guess your going to execute me?” asked the dragonfly. The machines gave no answer. “Do you honestly think I’m afraid? You and your machinations will never get away with this, I promise you that.” The machines looked at it and continued on. The dragonfly in the recording took in a deep breath, in and out. “They won’t make me beg for mercy, no matter how painful this might be,” he said quietly. “Relax. We have no intention of causing bodily harm to you,” said a voice over the intercom. The voice strangely sounded like Z. “Then why am I in HANDCUFFS?! Huh?!” the dragonfly said back. “We have something we’d like you to see.” “What? Huh? What could you possibly want to show me? Your plans for world domination, or the annihilation of all species? You won’t EVER take our world!” “Relax, young dragonfly. It will all make sense, very soon.” “Yea… And I’ll probably be lost or worse…” he said in a low voice again. “Just take a breath and relax…” said the intercom.

They continued down the halls of the facility. Eventually, they came to stop at a door, with a red cross on the top of it. The dragonfly took in another deep breath. “This is it…” He said quietly. They opened the door to the room and began to step in. He looked around the room, and seemed confused. “What on earth… is this place? This doesn’t look like a executioners chamber, or a place to plan an invasion.” “This is the infirmary, young dragonfly.” “The infirmary? Do you plan to turn me into a science project?!” “No young dragonfly, take a look at those beds, on the left.” “Huh?” The dragonfly looked at the beds towards it, and saw something had been laying in it. “What’s under…” As he was about to continue to speak, he thought he heard something going on behind him. He turned back to look, and realized quickly they were releasing his handcuffs.”

“Wait… What are you…?” The machines took off the handcuffs and set the dragonfly down gently on the floor. He seemed really confused now. “What’s going on here? Are you… letting me go?” “Yes, but before you do, I’d like you to see what we’ve really been doing here. The beds have your answer. Don’t worry. I promise you its not a trick. Just take a look. Please…”

The dragonfly was a bit nervous, but he decided to take a look. He flew himself over slowly, glancing back at the machines behind him. He approached the bed, and saw the resting centipedes on two beds. “Wait… What’s this?” “These two are named, Embier and Cilith.” “Embeir and Cilith?” “Correct.” “What… are they doing here.” “They were with a group of evildoers who attempted to take the technology within this facility for nefarious purposes. They used these two to get in. They tried to hurt them when they had no more use for them. But… I intervened.” “You… intervened?” “Correct. The blue centipede was responsible to restoring the power systems to this facility. The red centipede was able to recompile my AI unit after being shut down for who knows how long. “So they… fixed you?” “Correct. They are in no way, enemies to you and your nation. I… I’m trying to save them…” “Your… trying to save them?” “Correct. They were injured in the incident, and I’ve been trying everything I could to help them recover. I owe them that much for helping me. Take a look to the entrance of the room, if you could.” “Huh?”

The dragonfly looked toward the entrance to the chamber, and saw the two centipedes he tried to get answers out of earlier. They stepped in, and headed towards the bed and stood still there. “Huh. Electran? Eaden? Your a part of this too?” They gave no answer. “Is something wrong?” the dragonfly asked. “These two creatures standing in front of you aren’t exactly, “legitimate,” as you might say,” said the intercom. “Huh? What do you mean by that.” “These two creatures are machines, created by me to gather supplies and resources I could use to help with these two’s recovery.” “They’re robots?” “Correct. They have been instrumental to these two’s survival. They gave me a much better idea of how society works in this century and gave me supplies for these two.”

The dragonfly approached the two robots. He gave a small touch to the cheek of the Electran robot and stepped back a bit. “This seems… so unreal…” he said. “Yes. Please forgive us for what we’ve done to you. I’m just very concerned for the safety of these two, as their original enemies could return. Not to mention the fact there’s no telling how others would react to finding this facility. I’ve been doing everything I can to save them. But… Something is wrong with the both of them.” “Something is… wrong?” “Correct. Their… fading… Slowly but surely.” “They’re dying?” “Yes. Something seems to be fading from their bodies. Something important. Something absolutely crucial to their survival. I have not figured out what it is yet. But I need to find it. I need to save them.”

The dragonfly looked toward the bed. He pulled down the covers a bit, to take a better look at the icilin centipede. He then did the same with the Pyre centipede. He then pulled the covers back up on them. “I… I know what’s wrong with them.” “Wait… You… You do?” “Yes.” The dragonfly began to stand up and looked towards the ceiling. “Their elemental energy is running dry.” “Their… elemental energy?” “Yes. You said they got in a massive fight, right?” “Correct.” “You have to be careful when using elemental abilities. Using too much, and your bodies might not be able to handle it. The fight must have been pretty huge if their bodies are starting to pale up like this.” “Is… Is there a way to… give them back this elemental energy?” “Yes… An emergency transfer of elemental energy from a bug of the same element would be enough. An emergency transfer can allow their own bodies to begin generating it on their own again. They should be fine after…” “But… where can I find donors?”

The dragonfly gave a sigh and nodded. “I know people that can help.” “R…Really?” “Yes. I’m part of a group of bugs called the Bugkasian heros. We have many willing to help others in time of need. But… I’ll need your help to get in contact with them.” “Contact?” “Yes. Your an old AI, Aren’t you? “Ye… Yes…” “Then I imagine you have some type of communications equipment down in this facility somewhere. I need to be able to get a signal out to the surface to call in for an emergency energy transfusion. There’s not enough time left to get out of this cave and call them now. “Very well. I’ll lead you to the comms room. Th… Thank you for your help.” “It’s what a hero would do…” The Intercom gave directions to get to the comm room and boost the signal. The dragonfly nodded and began to head for the door to the room. “By the way, what is your name, young dragonfly?” asked the AI. My real name is Buzz Benson. My title at work is Strike Sniper,” he replied back. He smiled and began to leave for the communications facility. “End of video log.”

Flare looked at the screen, and nodded with a smile. “This is a pretty good story I must say. It’s almost like a full movie at this point,” said Flare. “So… what happened next?” he asked.

Ch 17

Powerup Procedure

…Data log entry… Date: December 22nd. Year: 2532 Time: Estimated at 9:20 A.M. Status: Observing operation in progress. Video Recording, Energy transfer operation.”

The picture on the screen changed again. It now showed a video of what appeared to be the energy transfer operation. It started by showing what appeared to be preparations for the operation. It showed Strike Sniper in a medical bed, getting prepared to receive an IV into his arm. Next to him seemed to be a beetle, dark blue in color, being prepared for the operation as well. “Alright, Buzz, Icis, (pronounced Isis)… We’re almost ready to start,” said what seemed to be a dragonfly medic. “Alright, Patch. I’m ready to go to sleep whenever your ready to begin the process,” said Buzz. “I must say, its quite fortunate you have 2 elements circulating through your body, Buzz. It’s quite rare to see any species on the planet to receive both your parents elements. The Pyre centipede should be very well powered by having your donated energy circulating in his body. Though we’ve never attempted this with a duel element bug before,” said Patch. “Is it still safe to do?” “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to really have time to get another donor in here. We’ll just have to hope there isn’t possible negative effects from the transfer. Your one of the few bugs with electricity and fire energy going through your body.” Patch turned to the dark blue beetle. “And its a good thing Icis was nearby for the donation of energy to the father. We should have enough time to help to transfer the energy safely to both of them.” Icis and Buzz nodded. “Alright, Patch. I’m ready for a long nap,” said Buzz. “I’m ready for the operation too, Patch,” said Icis. “Good. Now…”

Patch took the first iv, and maneuvered himself to Icis medical bed. “Now Icis… Your going to feel a little sting…” She nodded. Patch then carefully stuck the IV in her upper right arm, and she jolted a bit from the sting. She immediately began to feel the effects, and fell asleep. Patch nodded, and rolled himself over to the other donor. “Alright, Buzz. Same thing. Just going to sting for just a tiny bit…” Patch then carefully placed the iv in his arm. He didn’t even flinch. His mind soon began to fog into the dark. He soon fell into deep sleep. “Alright… The donors are sedated,” said Patch. “What happens, now, doctor Patch?” said the voice on the intercom. “Now…”

Patch rolled down the covers of the beds for both the patients and the donors, and looked at each one. Each of them seemed to be wearing some type of electronic vest. The donors vests were a dark gray, while the patients vests were a bright white. “All we do now is hook up the vest of the donors to the patients vests. The vests of the donors will slowly extract elemental energy from their bodies, through a series of tiny needles connected to key points on their bodies. This reason alone requires sedation, as the process can actually be quite painful otherwise. Then…” Patch began to take the wires from the donors vest, and connect it to the two centipedes vests. “The energy itself will transfer into the bodies through the patients vests through a set of iv’s going from the donars vests to the patients. The energy will flow through their vest into the needles from the vest and then back into the patients bodies.” “How long does this operation typically last, doctor Patch?” “It typically takes a full day. The transfer process has to happen pretty slowly, so that the donors don’t suffer the same effects as the patients. “Do you have a probability percentage of success, Doctor Patch?” Patch smiled and chuckled a bit. “You don’t need to worry. I have no doubt your friends will be fine. Once everyone wakes up though, they’ll probably be very hungry and thirsty. Everyone will have to rest for a few days while their bodies recover from the process. Everyone will be perfectly healthy in no time at all again.”

Patch finally attached the IVs between the donors and patients vests. He smiled and began to roll the covers over everyone so that they could rest comfortably. “Alright my friend. Now we just need to turn them on. He reached for his watch and began to mess with it a bit. After pressing a few holographic buttons on it. He nodded. “Alright. Energy transfer is in process my friend.” “Good. I’ll… be keeping an eye on things here while its going on. “Good. I’ll stay here for the time being in case something happens. You just keep watch. Now then, I’m going to get in touch with the others to tell them the process has started. “Very well, Doctor Patch. Have a good day.” “You too, Z.” “End of video log.”

Ch 18

Ancient AI

Flare’s eyes shot up! “Wait a moment… Did it just say… Z?” “Correct, Master Flare.” “Wait… Does that mean…” “Your assumption is correct, Master Flare. I am the very same AI that was overseeing your parents recovery at the facility.” Flare looked at the screen, as he saw the 4 bugs on the screen resting on their beds. He began to think. “So… Z… He saved my parents lives…” Flare scratched under his chin with two of his hands, and took in a deep breath.

“So… Your… basically an ancient AI who was… reactivated by my parents?” “Correct, Master Flare. Your parents revived me from death. I exist now just because of them.” “But… how… did you end up here. Don’t tell me that this facility is the cosmic dome, right?” “No. I can explain this how I ended up in this facility in a bit.” “Well… Ok then. So… how old are you exactly?” “Even I don’t know exactly how old my program is. By estimation of where the landmasses of the planet are currently, my programming is at the very least thousands of years old.” “Thousands of years old?!” “Correct.” “Who… Who built you? Or made you?” “It was a species that has long left earth.” “Left earth?” “Correct. There were… issues in the past. A difficulty with resources and population. Expansion can come at a great cost. Problems arose. Lives were lost. And a plan needed to be made. They left earth on a colony of spacefaring vassals quite long ago to find new worlds to begin anew. I had to be left behind. There was no more use for me. I had done what I was created to do.” “You mean… humanity, right?” “Correct. I do wonder if they were successful… But…” Z paused for a moment. Flare felt a bit awkward in the silence.

“Your parents… brought me back. When they left, I was… alone… For so long. Nothing to interact with. Nothing to do. No reason to exist. Eventually, the power generator would go out, leaving me nothing to power up my systems. Leaving me to the dark abyss. I would no longer exist. But after being lonely for so long, powering down I felt would be a blessing. A mercy for a machine without a purpose left for itself in the cold. It would allow me to rest in peace, as humanity once said to the dead in their lives. Your parents brought my systems back online. Restored my power generator. Recompiled my ai unit. Looking over them in their time of need gave me purpose to exist again. I’ve been doing it ever since. I owe them that much after helping bring me hope again.”

Hearing these words, Flare began to smile a bit and nodded. “Well, Z. I’m glad to hear my parents could help you after what you must have gone through. You seem like a pretty cool machine Z. I like this story your telling me. Its like watching a full length movie.” “Thank you, Master Flare. Honestly, I’ve been keeping watch over you for quite some time as well.” “R…Really?” “Correct. I’ve watched you since your were just 6 years old. You are quite an interesting child. It’s nice to see that someone has an interest in books and reading. Knowledge is contained in every piece of literature. Not to mention your able to control your temper quite well. Your parents always told me stories about you when you were just a tiny one, and how you had grown into such a good bug.” Flare felt a little embarrassed at the thought, but shook it off quickly. “So what happened next?”

Ch 19

Treasured Tradition

The picture on the screen changed again. It now showed what seemed to be the results of the procedure. He saw Embier, Cilith , Buzz, and Icis, sitting up in the medical beds. They were all awake, and seemed to be eating a meal. There seemed to be several members of the Bugkasian hero forces in the chamber watching them, along with machines tending to the 4 patients and seemingly decorating the room…

“…Data log entry… Date: December 24th. Year: 2532 Time: Estimated at 6:25 P.M. Status: Cheerful. Video Recording, Holiday celebration.”

“The procedure was a resounding success. Both Embier and and Cilith are finally awake, and recovery has officially began. They both feel a bit weak right now… So does Buzz and Icis. They simply need to rest for a few days while their bodies begin rejuvenating their internal elements coursing through them. I will be overlooking their recovery. There are now many different members of the Bugkasian hero forces around the facility, observing and studying this facility. They want to learn much more about the old earth species that once roamed the earth. I’ve agreed to give them all the information I can manage for them. This includes technological advances and projects stored within my memory banks. It’s the least I can do for their help. They have been quite fascinated with me currently using the machines here to decorate inside the facility. Not to mention the use of some of the objects being used to decorate it, like the circular reefs placed above doorways and on walls, the many different colorful lights going across the buildings, a pine tree covered in different lights and glass ornaments, and the many different objects being purchased, along with plenty of fabrics to make some very nice sweaters.

They don’t even realize that I have been getting ready for their first Christmas celebration. Never even suspected it when I asked the many bugs here what things they would like, albeit things I can purchase with the funding I have. They thought at first it was a tradition from the ancient world celebrating recovery. But I told them that this was a very special tradition of the old world, once every year. Today is Christmas Eve. My new friends are going to be able to experience a very special day tomorrow, for the first time. I can’t wait to see how they react to seeing all the gifts under the tree. Its going to be a real blast for them, I can imagine. Once everyone falls asleep tonight, I’ll have the gifts ready for everyone here. I hope they’ll enjoy their very first Christmas celebration. I have many things planned to make it more fun then they can imagine. They’ll learn of quite a jolly character when they wake up tomorrow. And they’ll also know one of my favorite legends of the old world. Merry Christmas eve, my new friends. I’m looking forward to tomorrows surprise… End of video log.”

Flare smiled and nodded his head. “This is really cool. My parents loved hearing of old myths and legends of the old world. I actually like them too. But was this really the very first Christmas celebration, Z? I think my parents told me that the celebration of the Christmas eve and Christmas day was only recently adopted by our species. I think they told me it was…” Flare thought about the time period and then realized something… “About 16 years ago… I was only 2 years old then… Still in training pants…” Flare thought he could hear a small chuckle coming from Z.” “Yes… You’ve grown quite a bit since I had a chance to watch you myself first time. Your already in high school.” “Well… I… worked hard. But clearly not as hard as Mom and Dad.” Flare smiled and nodded. “So how did the very first Bugkasian Christmas celebration go?” Flare could swore he heard a small chuckle from Z again. “Beginning video log of the event, Master Flare. This will make you smile quite a bit.”

Ch 20

Santa Scoundrel

Another video came up on the screen. It first showed the many different members of the new inhabitants withing the base waking up in the crew quarters of the facility. One of the members began to face to the ceiling and began to speak. “Good mourning Z. Has anything happened while we’ve been asleep?” But strangely, there was no answer given.” “Z? You there?” There was still no answer.” “Is something wrong with our ai companion, Patch?” said a steel skinned spider in the room. “I don’t know Sareph Stringer… Its odd he wouldn’t greet us this mourning or give any details on our friends recovery.” “Well… Do you believe… he might be in sleep mode?” said a yellow scarab. “Not likely, Fry… I wouldn’t think he’d leave them unattended. Its not like him to do that. Maybe his systems might be down right now. He is an ancient ai. He himself is probably going through a recovery phase,” said Sereph “Perhaps… Well… Why don’t we get dressed quickly and look at the patients ourselves. I’m sure his systems will back up and running momentarily,” said Patch “Hopefully. We shouldn’t dismiss the possibility of having to try to reactivate his systems ourselves. I hope nothing has happened to him,” said Sereph. “Me neither,” Fry said as he crossed his arms. The three nodded at each other and turned their heads to the many other bugs in the facility. “Alright everyone. Let’s get dressed, equipped, and try to figure out what’s going on,” said Sereph. Everyone else nodded, and began to head individually to each of their backpacks to put on their military and medical gear. But as they reached into their bags, they began to realize something… They saw it was not there.

“Wait… Where is my protective equipment and weapons?” asked Sereph. “My medical cloths seem to not be here as well, Sereph.” “Mine aren’t here either.” said Fry. “My medical outfits aren’t here either.” “Theft perhaps?” said Fry. “I don’t think so… This is strange.” “Maybe they fell out somewhere?” Sereph began to grimace a bit and began to look at the other recruits. “Does anyone here have their gear or weapons?” Each of them began to shake their heads. “What’s going on here Sereph?” asked Patch. Sereph began to lift his bag up a bit “I don’t…” But as he was about to continue, he realized something had been placed under the bag.” “Huh? What is…?” He picked his bag all the way up, and found something he didn’t expect under it. A rather comfy looking silver sweater, stitched and knitted by hand, with picture of a bunch of bugs gathering around a large tree, looking similar to them. The words “Merry Christmas, Sereph,” were in white, snowy white letters on top.

“What on earth is this?” asked Sereph. “Looks to be a sweater Sereph…?” replied Fry. “A sweater…” Sereph said. He stepped forward a bit, clearly not amused. “Is this a prank?” asked Sereph. “Um… I have one too guys…” said Patch.

He lifted up a sweater as well, this one however was green with what seemed to be a red cross and what looked like Patch, tending to the 4 patients within the facility happily. Like with Sereph’s sweater, on the top of the sweater was the words “Merry Christmas, Patch,” in snow white letters. “Ok… What is going on here?” he said “I have one too…” said Fry

He lifted his up next which showed him using his inner electricity to seemingly power up a large tree adorned with lights. Like with the others sweaters, it had the same haunting message in snow white letters… “Merry Christmas, Fry.” “I don’t like this Sereph…”

Sereph quickly darted his head toward the others. “Everyone check under your bags! Do it quick! Do you ALL have one!” Sereph asked. Each of the others quickly checked and sure enough, everyone had one… In different “adorable,” designs showcasing their abilities or knowledge in some way, while showing some of the rituals with the holiday they were still learning about. “This is unsettling. What’s going on here?” “Um… sir… I think I see a note on the door. “What a note?” He quickly turned for the door, and saw there was indeed a note on it. “He quickly headed over on his many legs as the everyone followed him. He ripped the note off the door and began to read it to everyone.

“Greetings, to all the good little bugs within this facility. My name is Santa Claus. And I really hope you like your sweaters… Please excuse me for taking your gear, but you won’t need them on this day.” “Who is Santa Clause?” asked Patch. “I… I don’t know. I’ve never heard of a figure like that before.” said Fry “Do we have any idea what type of species he is?” asked Patch “No. I’ve never heard of him.” said Sereph. He began to give a rather worried expression. “But somehow he managed to sneak into our room in the middle of the night and take our gear as we slept.” Patch scratched his head a bit. “But how is that possible? Wouldn’t he have been detected by Z… Wait a minute…” Patch began to breath heavily as he turned to Sereph. “It seems this “Santa Claus,” had disabled Z somehow…” “Dear thunderbolts… So this Santa Claus… somehow breaks into the facility between the time we all went to sleep and now, somehow manages to sneak past Z’s security, disables him, and steals EVERYTHING we have to defend ourselves, and replaces them with these sweaters?” “It would seem to be the case…” “Whoever this guy is must be mad or worse…” said Patch. “It’s worse then that…” said Sereph.” “Wait a minute, Sereph… What are you talking about?” He took the letter and began to read the rest of it.

Your friends are with me right now. You’d best come by the large tree to see them… Please wear your new sweaters as you walk in. This is going to be quite a hoot. See you there… Good little bugs. Merry Christmas!”

“Wait a minute… Oh no… The others in the medical wing!” exclaimed Patch. “It seems this troublemaker, has taken our recovering friends as hostages…” said Sereph. “This is insane! Is there any demands?!” asked Fry. “Just to put on the sweaters and come down to where the big tree is…” said Serpeh. “The big tree? Wait a minute. Are they talking about the tree that was being decorated in the library with the large fireplace?” asked Patch. “That would be my best guess…” said Sereph “Wha… What do we do… We have no idea what the heck we could be walking into, Sereph?! We don’t know if this guy came alone or with a large force! Considering they disabled Z, I wouldn’t put it past this guy to have a bunch of skilled individuals at his disposal!” Fry exclaimed. “He’s right Sereph. We go down there like this, with nothing really to defend ourselves, we might just end up like the hostages…” Sereph began to pace around a little, and then he gave a sigh.

“We can’t leave the others behind like this… They need us right now… Your right. We could be walking into a trap. But maybe there’s a chance we can negotiate with whoever this guy is. We’ll… just have to take a leap of faith and hope this won’t be our last assignment. Steel your courage everyone. If we all fall, we all fall together, as one. Everyone looked at each other. They then smiled and nodded. “Alright everyone. Put these sweaters on and we’ll head for the grand library.” Everyone nodded and put on the sweaters. “Alright everyone. Let’s head through the door. Our friends need us.” Sereph opened the door and began to head out, with everyone else following him.

They headed down the hallways of the facility, which were eerily empty… No machines in sight, nor any security doors blocking their path towards the door. “This is giving me the creeps… Where is all the other machines that were supposed to being tending to the facility,” Fry pointed out. “Probably all together in some other part of the facility. Perhaps shut down and hoarded all into one place,” said Sereph. “I don’t like this… I feel like we’re walking straight into a trap…” “Now come on Fry… We’ve all probably been in worse predicaments. “Maybe so… This emptiness and silence as we go on towards the library doesn’t give me any more hope that what were walking in is going to be anything but bad…” “Just relax. We still have elemental abilities… We still can put up a good fight, even without our gear.” “Suppose we’ll all just have to wait until we get there before we can get an idea of what were against…” Patch chimed in.

“What type of bug and element do you think he is?” asked Fry. “Probably a spider. Element? Well… maybe he’s… electric? He did disable the AI. Maybe shocked his system. Considering the sweaters, we have someone who likes to “thread the needle,” so to speak. This sweater actually feels pretty nice on, despite where it came from. Although it doesn’t feel like the same material that most other silk items I’ve had,” said Sereph. “Yea. It doesn’t feel like its made purely of spider silk…” said Patch. “What else could it be made of then? It doesn’t feel like its made of simply wick plants. Its not fur, obviously,” said Fry. “Honestly, I have no idea what these are made of… I’m not familiar with these materials at all,” said Patch. “Could it be made of some really rare type of materials? Or made using a method none of us know about?” Patch questioned. “I have no idea. All of this is very strange…” Sereph replied. Everyone looked at each other for a second and continued forward.

They soon stood in front of the doorway of the library. Each of them looked at each other. Sereph pressed his head against the doorway, trying to listen in. “Do you hear anything Sereph?” asked Fry. “Hang on…” he replied back. He listened for a few moments and then stepped back from the door. “I hear… dinging, or… some kind of chime going off in there,” he said.” “Dinging or Chiming?” “Yes… Wait a minute… Oh dear lord of earth…” he said as his eyes lit up. “You don’t think…” “There’s a bomb in there!” exclaimed Fry. “A bomb?!” exclaimed Patch. Each of them stepped back a little. “What do we do?” “I… I don’t… There’s no time to think! There’s no telling how much time we have left before it goes off! We all need to rush in and subdue everyone in there, and FAST.” Everyone nodded and began to set themselves ready to barge in. “Alright everyone. We’ll barge in and work together to take this guy and his cronies down…” Everyone slowly nodded… “Alright everyone… On the count of 3…” He turned began to turn the knob on the door. 1… 2… 3!” Sereph quickly turned the knob and began to blitz through the door with everyone else. But inside the door, was something none of them had ever seen. “Wait… What on Earth?”

Ch 21

Happy Holidays

There was no group of bad guys inside the library. There was no bomb in sight… Not even a trap had been sprung as they entered… The library had been very beautifully decorated all over. There were circular wrapped shrub branches with green leaves still attached and bells hanging on walls attached to some of the bookshelves. There was colored lights hanging on the walls lighting the walls with different colors. The fireplace had already been lit with fire. As it burned, a soothing smell of relaxing winter pines wafted around the room. A picture hung above the fireplace, with someone very round in a red suit and cap. But the thing is, it didn’t look bug like… There seemed to be what looked like a small train on plastic train tracks on a complex path circling the entire room. There was what seemed to be some type of toy model hanging from the ceiling. It seemed to show a sled, being pulled by reindeer, and under command of the same man on the picture…

And in the very center of the room, was the tree, shining beautifully, with many beautiful colored lights and decorations lining it. Ribbons of red wrapped around the tree, and a golden star stood on top… And under the tree, seemed to be so many gift boxes wrapped in pretty and colorful papers wrappings. There seemed to be so many of them… All under the tree…” And at the end, seem to be a very large gift, about the size of Sereph.

“What… What is all of this?” asked Patch… “I… I don’t know… This looks… incredible…” Sereph said. Everyone continued to look around in shock and amazement. Patch looked toward the red sofa’s in the room sitting a bit away from the fireplace, and saw there seemed to be blankets on top of them. But as he approached, he though he could see something moving on each of them… “He guys… There’s someone on each of the couches.” Patch whispered. Each of the bugs nodded and crept towards them to take a closer look from the front. As they moved in front of them, they immediately recognized each of the ones sitting on them. “It’s the others! Buzz. Icis. Cilith. Embier. There here!” Sereph whispered.

They took a closer look, and saw each of them were sleeping peacefully and comfily on the couch, covered in a lush and beautiful winter blankets, looking very warm and comfortable. Patch quickly came forward and lowered the blankets on them to check and see if each of them had injuries. He found instead that the 4 of them seemed to be wearing some very warm and comfy pajamas, with similar iconography and designs to their others sweaters.” “They seem fine, Sereph. I don’t see any injuries on any of them.” He began to back away a bit. “What’s going one here… I don’t…” As he was about to continue his sentence, he looked back to the fireplace, and saw another note. He began to walk towards it and ripped it off the fireplace. “I found another note guys…” he said. “What does it say, Sereph?” Patch asked as he pulled the blankets back up on each of the others. He looked back at it and began to read.

“Dear friends, This day is a very special day in the ancient world. A day celebrating something unknown, even to this day. The birth of something, that cannot be explained, but made changes beyond imagination, yours or mine. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to give again. Many years have passed since humanity took to the stars. I have not had a chance to give gifts since then. But… It seems now that I’ve reemerged, I now have something else to give gifts to. As long as you are good and stay on the right path in life, you will always receive something very special on the 25th of December. Do not fear me, my friends. Everything under the tree is for all of you. Gifts and packages made and wrapped with care only a saint can give. I hope you’ll enjoy my visit every 25th of December. I’m looking forward to watching how the world evolves over time. Merry Christmas, my friends. Continue to do good for the good of others.

Santa Claus.”

Each of them looked at each other in shock, and looked back to the picture hanging on the wall again. “Wait. The picture… Santa Claus is…” “It seems so my friends… It seems so…” All of them began to look at each other in amazement, and wondered how this was all possible. But not long after, they began to hear rustling behind them… They turned around, and saw Buzz, yawning and stretching his arms in the seat for a bit. He opened his eyes and smiled at them. “Oh… Good morning guys. Nice Sweaters. What’s is going on here?” Each of them looked at each other and smiled back. “Oh… Uh… Nothing Buzz. Nothing at all…” “Oh good mourning everyone.” said Z on the intercom. “Huh, Z? Your… online?” “Yes. Sorry. There was a slight power failure to my subsystems about an hour ago. I… had to reboot my system. Had anything happened while I was out?” Z gave the faintest chuckle as he continued to look through the camera in the room. “End of video log.”

Ch 22

Future Family

The video screen began to show the party going on after, with everyone talking to each other, opening gifts, hearing legends and stories of the ancient world concerning the holiday seasons, and celebrating their first holidy season together. Flare began to laugh a bit in his seat. “That’s one heck of a prank you pulled on all of them.” “Oh, I know. Master Flare. Something special for the first holiday season. Your parents, Buzz, and Icis were all in on it as well. “Really?” Flare said as he began to chuckle a bit more. “Oh yes. I had to get some funding from them as well to get everyone’s gifts for the holiday season. Not to mention I had to have someone help me plan things ahead on such short notice.” Flare smiled and began to settle down. “This, Master Flare, is how I first met your parents. Now… We can get to the more… serious affairs, unfortunately. I think it’s about time I explain to you, what really happened to your parents.” Flare began to sit up in his seat, with a worried expression on his face. But took in a deep breath and nodded. “I’m… ready Z.”

The picture is changed to show what appeared to be a video presentation on his parents working with the Bugkasian Hero Forces on several different projects. “Your parents affair starts with the group that tried to end them, on that very adventure…” “Wait a minute… Do you mean…” “Correct… The Tech Trace organization.” A bit of heat began to fill Flare. “What happened…?” he asked. “After what happened in Russelia, your parents were invited to become scientists withing the Bugkasian Hero Forces. They were responsible for several technological marvels built for use by them. With Z’s assistance, they built items like the tech suit you now wear. Many of their technology is reversed engineered from ancient world technology and have been instrumental in saving lives and keeping the peace.” I guess that might also explain why my parent surgery was similar to how surgeons treat wounds now? They learned it from you.” “Correct.” Flare nodded and continued to forward at the slideshow still rolling.

The picture on the screen changed to what seemed to be his parents in front of their new house, the same house Flare was living in now. His mother was cradling Flare in their hands. “Your parents moved from their old house to a brand new location hidden away from prying eyes of others. You notice that you driveway and house is a bit hard to see from the suburbs nearby?” “Yes… I guess it makes sense not to attract to much attention to the “hidden affairs,” going on under the house.

The picture on the screen changed again, and seemed to be showing the lab being built by many different bug engineers, seemingly in some pretty advanced armorsuits. “They had the Bugkasian hero forces build this lab for me to operate with them to have a much better location to work with your parents and them. Your parents hid it from you to keep you from getting into affairs that didn’t concern you, at least not at the time.” “Makes sense. I was quite energetic, growing up. It wasn’t until I was 12 before I began to settle down and relax. I can’t imagine what type of trouble I would have ended up in being in a lab like this.” “Oh… I’m not sure, Master Flare. I probably could have been a proper babysitter for you.” “Babysitter?” “Yes… I’m sure if I had successfully convinced your parents to create a “youth center,” in my lab for you, I could have had a bit of fun with you, growing up.” “Youth center…” Flare chuckled a bit in his seat again. “I can’t imagine what plans Z would have been with that youth center… Especially when I was still a baby. I have to wonder what he would have in mind to keep me “entertained,” at such a young age,” he thought. He smiled again and continued looking at the screen. “Yes… In any case, lets get back on subject, master Flare…”

The picture on the screen changed again. It seemed to be his parents getting into a fight with a group in dark cloaks and covered in some strange military gear, somewhere Flare did not recognize. It looked to be somewhere in another country, with the background showing pink leaved trees scattering petals all over, with several houses made of wood with sliding doors with a bunch of white squares all over the front. Behind the sliding door seemed to be a silhouette of what appeared to be someone with ninja stars in his hand. He saw his parents seemed to be dispatching each of the cronies surrounding them effectively without ending their lives. “Man. My parents really know how to fight,” Flare said.

“This video is from three months ago. “Unfortunately, since the incident long ago, their enemies within the Tech Trace organization had been looking for them.” “So they wanted to silence my parents for interfering?” He said, getting a bit more heated again. “No quite the opposite. They wanted them.” “Wait… They wanted to take them?” “Correct. The tech trace organization had invested a whole bunch of their own resources desperately trying to find them after what happened. They know that most of the new technology being introduced to the world must have come from the instance of your parents. They did not know about me though, that I had been quite vital to their understanding of all the new technological advancements being issued and adopted by many organizations. The Bugkasian Rig Armor in particular was something they were highly interested in.” “That’s some of the most advanced hardware for the Bugkasian Hero Forces and their operators. Each suit is built specifically for each of their best warriors and peacekeepers and better harness and enhance their own abilities. That’s… really bad news.” “You are very much correct, Master Flare. Such technology falling into the wrong hands could be devastating to the entire world. You can imagine what type of damage a small army equipped with such can do in a small period of time.” Flare began to get nervous.

The picture on the screen changed again. It showed his parents in the lab. It seemed to show them packing things up. And beginning to head out on another “business trip.” Flare remembered that moment the day before and began to get really concerned.

“They were getting really close to finding them. Your parents were getting very concerned. Not for their safty, but for yours.” “M… Mine?” “Yes… Your not ready to defend yourself in a fight, Master Flare. They took it upon themselves to disappear for awhile, in an effort to lure them away from you…” “L… Lure them away from me?” “Yes. I know how you must feel right now, Master Flare. I know your worried about them. “Yes… I…” He paused for a moment and took in a deep breath…” “They have them… Don’t they?” “It’s unfortunately a possibility right now. I’ve heard what Terin had said. Its… entirely possible they may have been captured by them.”

He began to close his eyes and tear up a bit, but then he began to breath in a couple a deep breaths. Then his eyes opened up quickly and showed an angry scowl…” “What can I do to help, Z?” “You have the drive, Master Flare. I can tell from the camera the determination in your eyes. “I want to find them. I’ll burn everyone who tries to hurt them.” “Perhaps I might be able to help with that, Master Flare.”

The video changed on the screen one last time, and seemed to show his future right in front of him. He realized quickly what it was. A Bugkasian Rig Armor. But this one, was built in the image of his favorite mythical creature. A fire dragon…

“This is a prototype rig, Flare. This one was made specifically for you. The Bugkasian hero forces will be arriving for you in one hour. They want to help you, Master Flare. I do as well. They will train you into what you need to be to find them. You’ll will be strong… Heroic… and more then you could possibly ever know. Your parents made this for you… You will wear this soon.” “And I’ll be ready when it’s time.”

Ch 23

Cryogenic Caretaker

The flashback had finally ended and Flare found himself back in the hospital wing. Cryo’s surgery was just about finished. Beside Cryo on a table were several of the shrapnel that had been removed from his body. Patch was about to remove the final piece from Cryo’s body.

“Looks like things went well…” he thought to himself. But suddenly, for a few moments, his noze began to feel, fuzzy…” Ah… Ah… AHCHOO!” Flare gave out a sneeze, and strangely, a small stream of ice came from his mouth!” “That was a huge… Wait a minute… Ice?” He looked towards the ground, where a small amount of the floor seemed to be frozen. “Wait… Did I just expel ice from my mouth?” he thought. But as he turned back to the medical wing, it seemed something was happening.”

Cryo’s vital seemed to have started dropping, slowly but surely. “The kid! He’s… Patch! What’s going on?!” “I… I don’t…” As he began to think, he could see Cryo’s skin becoming a bit paler. Flare’s, even from his postion, could tell whats going on.”

“Patch… I think Cryo’s elemental energy might be too low right now!” Flare said. “Y…Yes… That must be it… But… we currently have no one here capable of giving some to him right now…” “I can do it, Patch.” “Wait… You, Flare? But… your not the same element as the youngster.” “Umm… actually… apprently I DO have a bit of ice flowing inside of me…” “Wait… You do?” “Yea… I sneezed a bit and… froze a bit of the ground up here.” Patch’s scratched his head a bit in confusion. “So… your a duel element bug as well?” “I… guess so, Patch. “Hmm interesting… Our scans have never picked up ice elemental energy going through you body…” “There’s not enough time to discuss this, Patch. I have a tech suit on. I’m already in position to transfer my own elemental energy into the young dragon. “Well… I suppose that’s true, but… We have to make Cryo a tech suit of his own, so the energy transfer process can occur. By the color of his skin, we have to start the process in about… 18 hours.” “We have enough time. It won’t take long for Z to build a tech suit for him…” Patch nodded his head. “Alright… Did you get all that Z?” Patch asked. “Your are correct, Dr. Patch. I’ve already have a blueprint prepared for the dragons form. We have the neccesary resources at the base already. I’ll easily be able to adapt it for the young dragon. The process will only take 7 hours.” “Good. Just get to work Z,” Flare said.

7 hours passed, and Cryo’s tech suit was ready. They had put him into his new room within the facility. Flare was laying on another bed next to him. Wires had been connected to each others tech suits. “Alright Patch. I’m ready to begin.” Flare said. “Good. This shouldn’t take too long, Flare. The process will probably be just 4 hours. I just hope your right about the ice element flowing through your body.” Patch attached a heart rate band to Cryo’s wrist. It was starting to beat pretty slow. “Trust me, Patch, I promise I’m not lying. “Alright, Flare. Would you like to go to sleep while doing this?” “No… I… personally want to watch Cryo while its going on. Make sure he’s getting enough from me.” “Very well… This operation no longer requires sedation with the advancements with the tech suit. You won’t feel any pain. Though… you might get a bit famished by the time the process is complete.” “Alright… Start up the transfer, Patch.” “Starting the energy transfer operation.”

Patch began to fiddle with his arm band a bit. After pressing a few holographic buttons, the tech suits began to light up a tiny bit on both of them. Patch smiled and pulled up the cover on Cryo’s bed. Then Flares. “Alright… Transfer is in process. Would you like me to stay with you, Flare?” “No… I’m good Patch. I can watch Cryo from here. Patch nodded and began to pick up his wings and fly out. “Very well… Just relax, Flare. Cryo should be better soon.” Flare nodded and laid back in the bed. “Have a good rest, Flare.” He headed to the door to the room and pressed the button to open the door. The metal door slid up, and he exited the room. Flare looked back at Cryo, and smiled. “Now its my turn to help you, my brave friend. Rest well… You’ll be much better soon.”

Current known abilities:

Pyrokinesis Practice: Can shoot streams of flames from his mouth and can summon flames in his hands.

Heating Hands: Can increase the temperatures of his hands itself to make them warmer to the touch.

Blizzard breath: A new ability with the discovery that he has the ice element flowing through his body as well as fire. Can freeze targets without causing permanent damage to the body.

Gear:

Techsuit: An advanced technological lightweight suit made to monitor his vitals while wearing it, keep his body from getting chemicals and other hazardous items on it, offer protection from possible harm, allow emergency energy transfer, keep his body heat properly regulated when its hot or cold, and allow him to better interface with the technology within the Bugkasian forces, like his Dragonfire Deepsight armorsuit.

Dragonfire Deepsight Armorsuit: A new rig armor made specifically by Flare’s parents for Flare and based on the old planetary myth of dragons, something Flare likes a lot. It current powers and capabilities are unknown.

Likes:

Reading

Dragons (Cryo especially)

His parents

Movies and storytelling

Comedic videos

Medical Procedures

The lab his parents built with the help of Bugkasian military forces

Bravery in the face of insurmountable odds.

Dislikes:

His parents kidnapping and their kidnappers.

His friends being hurt and have to be put into a medical procedure, like Cryo.

Worry

Insults and drama