Factory Reset

Chapter Seven: Heart-Ache Escape

B-64 trilled fondly as he ran around the red concrete track, lightly waving at the security force there. He had nothing better to do, and since the fence surrounding his little trotting ground was enclosed in a, electrified, fence that was at least a meter thick and close to five meters in height. No way he was getting over that.

The security surrounding him were polite enough to wave back but did nothing more than observe him stretching his legs. Being someone that did not need oxygen to survive had it's good applications, he could, in theory, run indefinitely, and he could also survive in space, for a short while at least.

B-64 had often busied himself with trying to memorise certain aspects of the compound to ease his overactive mind, but found that it was a momentary relief. He had memorised the guards pattern of rotation once, but he then learned that the rotation and guards on duty changed every two months.

His paws, albeit a little rough, were extraordinarily light. He had force behind him, allowing him to run much faster than what was typical of that planet. He had even managed to surprise what he could only guess was a veteran guard by running the two hundred meter long stretch of track in little under ten seconds, even managing to dent his own energy reserves, though not by much.

He was, after all, a top of the line B-Series captain. It was expected.

The walls were a solid concrete, dark grey with large spiked balls at the top. Along it were countless strips of wire intertwining with each other, roasting anything that came into contact with them.

The green grass was nice to lay in, but since B-64 had very little time to his name, he needed to be as active as possible. The officers were in the corner of the field, encased in a solid brick of concrete with lead-lined, bullet-proof, reality anchor glass.

That day was like many others. But it was nearing the end of his hour outside that something happened.

His ears twitched as he heard the faint sound alarms being rung, then finally a red flashing light started to activate. The guards in the booth looked shocked, and even some scared. On his last jog over to them, one mouthed, "Breach..."

The officers grew more chaotic. They scrambled to get out of the brick-booth, pushing one another in a desperate bid to get out. B-64 stood still, observing them. What could they mean by, "Breach?"

But then he heard it. He heard chattering, like a thousand tiny voices penetrate his ear. They were low, almost like a whisper, but high, almost whiny. The door burst open, a metallic creature standing almost two meters in height.

It had the body of a feral ant, gleaming metal shining in the sunlight, pincers rubbing against one another in a flurry. The familiar sound of rustic metal scraping against one another sent a chill up B-64's spine, inadvertently activating his core.

Heat began to rise in his stomach, and he realised what had happened. An increase in adrenaline can cause his systems, no matter how damaged, broken, or overridden, to activate and bring out his shield and dagger.

Despite everything that they had done to him, he felt compelled to help the poor officers. He kicked the ground hard, sprinting towards the gigantic ant.

The creature roared, a thousand shrieks bellowed out of it's maw. B-64 then shut off his sound recipters, his systems once again kicking into action. He kicked his paw against the ground, pushing himself in the air.

As he flew through the air, he let loose his core.

Red Boson-Energy flew through his body, created by his own generator inside his body. Red streaks of plasma leaked out from underneath his green claws, sliding them to their full length, the red viscous substance corrosive to the touch.