Prototype Zero

The rest of the gang watched Takashia and Misery walk into the backroom to get patched up for a while. Kohana pressed a few buttons on her tablet and turned towards the group that still remained.

Kohana: “So…who’s next?”

Iteza, Aione, Shun, and Gabriel and their respective Machina all look around at each other questionably as to wonder who is going to volunteer.

Shun: “Well me and Zero have our own training to do in about a week once my arm fully heals up. So I’ll have to sit this one out today. Any other volunteers?”

A large hand rose out of the crowd.

Iteza: “I’ll go next.”

The rest of the group looked surprised.

Kaida: “You sure? I’ve never seen you volunteer for anything.”

Iteza: “I know it’s a bit out of character for me but I need to get stronger for this tournament. After that fight with Genesis, I’ve realized how far I must go to get stronger. I was able to hold my own against Genesis but after that display of power, I was overwhelmed. I feel like progress was needed to be made.”

Kohana: “Understandable. Let’s see what we have in store for you.”

Tri-Blaze: (I didn’t know he felt that way about our strength after that battle. He doesn’t say much sometimes so he can be tough to probe but he’s usually up front with me.)

Shun: (I didn’t know that he was feeling this way after that fight with Genesis and Kosuke. It must’ve been eating him up on the inside about that. But it’s not like he was brushed aside.) “You fought with everything you had Iteza. I’ve never seen you and Tri fight that hard before. If it weren’t for you, Tri, Takashia and Misery hadn’t stepped in and fought Genesis and pushed him back as much as you had, Zero and I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. I can’t take all the credit for that fight and neither can Zero. It was a team effort. We all fought and we all brought Genesis down…for now.”

Iteza: “I see…Thank you.” (My mind is now clear. Now I know what I must do.) “I’m ready. What’s my test?”

Kohana: “Well first we have to select one that you would like to go with. Would you like to select one or would you like one at random?”

Iteza takes a second to really think his decision over. His face stiffens with concentration and thought and his arms fold. He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out before speaking.

Iteza: “I’ll let the generator decide one at random for me. I know I can handle whatever is thrown at me and Tri.”

Kohana: “Hmmmmm…let’s see what the program has in store for you two.”

Kohana’s tablet projects a small screen that flashes and switches between multiple platforms for different training scenarios and locations. The switching becomes more random and until it finally stops on a location.

Kohana: “This one is…the underwater aquarium. How odd.”

Iteza sobs a little on the inside regretting the chance of fate and luck to be on his side for this one time. He hung his head in shame and disappointment.

Iteza: (Just my luck! Just my luck! Why did I leave it to chance? Oh well.) “Well Tri…let’s do this!”
Tri looked into Iteza eyes and nodded his head. Iteza selected the stage that had a picture of an aquarium. The hologram program begun to change the environment and the main points of the aquarium began to show. Kohana, Shun, Zero, Aione, and Mirage had ascended to the observation deck above as necessary for each trail to avoid being in the way. Kohana’s voice began to ring over the loudspeaker to speak to Iteza and Tri-Blaze.

Kohana: “All right. Your test for this trial is to prevent all the submerged aquarium from sinking under the intense pressure. It won’t be just an easy construction job. This trial has its own surprises of its own.”

Iteza: “I see. Well we have to pull through and make the best of things here Tri.”

Tri wears a confident grin on his face as his cannons flare up and spout small embers from the barrels.

Tri: “I’m ready to go!”

Kohana: “Simulation starting in 3…2…1…go!”

“Simulation start!”

Iteza: “Let’s take a minute to access the situation we’re in right now. Let’s look for key points in the aquarium to focus on and fix.”

Iteza and Tri-Blaze survey the main stage of the aquarium that they are in, searching for the leaks in the aquarium’s structure. Iteza spots a few small leaks in the bolting on the upper levels of the main stage.

Iteza: “Let’s move to the upper deck of the stage.”

Iteza grabbed Tri-Blaze’s shoulders and Tri-Blaze used his cannons to rocket themselves to the upper levels. They landed and Iteza pointed upward toward the rafters. Tri fired a concentrated flame onto the rafters to melt the metal over the small leak in the first hole.

Iteza: “There’s another leak to the east on the lower deck.”

Tri propelled himself down to the lower level to get to the next leak to seal. As Tri went to seal the leak, Iteza is running throughout the aquarium trying to find out where to find the next spot to seal up. While running through the platform trying to find a way around the lower and upper levels, he runs into what appears to be five construction Machina.

Iteza: “Oh, thank goodness you guys are here. Listen there’s something wrong with the aquarium. I think its breaking down under the pressure of the water. You guys need to help fix it.”

The Machina stared at Iteza and began to move towards him slowly. The one in front raised what looked like a construction gun and began to fire at him. Iteza dodged and jumped behind a stone barrier. The nails shot into the barrier but didn’t pierce through to the other side. Iteza peeked over the top to see how far the Machina were from him. Tri’s voice came over the operators watch.

Tri: “Everything alright over there? I heard a few noises over from behind the stage.”

Iteza responds back to Tri-Blaze while running and dodging shots from the worker Machina.

Iteza: “Uh…not exactly. I found a group of repair Machina that work here in the aquarium and I think they aren’t in a cooperating mood right now!”

Tri looks back at the platform where he first left Iteza and sees him running away from the worker Machina. Tri takes off and propels himself upward to Iteza to rescue him.

Tri: “Iteza, grab on!”

Iteza managed to land a hand on Tri’s shoulder as they took off into the air. The worker Machina began to aim at them to shoot them down. The shots came close to hitting them a few times, but Tri’s maneuvering skills kept them out of danger. While soaring high above the main stage, Iteza saw water rolling in from one of the entrances.

Iteza: Over there from the entrance. There’s water flooding in from there. We’ve got to seal that gateway before this place goes under. Head that way!”

Tri and Iteza soared eastward towards the entrance where the water was flooding in from. They landed and proceeded to walk towards the bulkhead where the water was forcefully pouring in from the cracks. Tri began to heat up his cannons when a loud crashing sound came from behind them back in the aquarium. Tri lowered his cannons to look behind him.

Tri: “What the hell was that noise?”

Iteza: “Honestly I’m afraid to find out. But we’ve got to check it out anyway. I hope it’s not another breach in the structure.”

Iteza and Tri ran out of the entrance hallway back into the main structure. The worker Machina were gathered out in front of them buzzing and making strange noises.

Iteza: “This possibly couldn’t get any worse.”

The sound of rushing water grew louder as the water began to rise to Iteza’s calf.

Tri: “What now?!”

The lead Machina began to sleep.

Worker Machina: “Begin construction sequence #11!”

Iteza: “I don’t like the sound of that one.”

The Machina began to come together and combine to become one big Machina using the other workers as limbs. The right hand appeared with a wrecking ball and chain swinging from his right arm.

Iteza: “You can’t be serious…”

-Under the Sea-End