They stepped through the door and into the last chamber, the thick, reinforced metal groaning as it shut behind them with a finality that seemed to echo into the dark. The immediate sense of cold hit first - a biting, unnatural chill that didn't belong in the bowels of a reactor. Everything beyond the door was black, a void of metal and shadow, broken only by an eerie, diffuse green light that seemed to leak from unseen sources, casting an unnatural glow across the sprawling space.
Overhead, a few dim spotlights flickered, barely illuminating a narrow path that stretched ahead like a glowing ribbon suspended in a sea of darkness. The walkways were grated, the faintest scuffs of their boots barely audible over the strange hum of the reactor. Metal staircases twisted up into the shadows above them, leading to nowhere visible, while tangled pipes wound along the walls like the veins of a long-dead machine. There was a constant dripping sound, echoing from somewhere deep within the shadows. Water, or something else. It was impossible to tell.
Each step forward felt tentative, their senses straining for something, anything, that would leap from the dark. An acrid, metallic tang filled the air, burning the back of their throats with each breath. The smell of scorched wires, of something old and broken down, clung thick in the space around them.
Faint shuffling sounds echoed from the edges of their vision, like something dragging itself through the grated floors beneath them. It was hard to tell if it was real or their imagination, but the faint creak of metal groaning under unseen weight added to the tension. A dull hum pulsed rhythmically from electrical panels lining the distant walls, the occasional crackle of an overloaded circuit breaking the silence, making the hairs on the back of their necks stand up.
The central light ahead flickered, dim and distant, but it called to them - an anchor in the oppressive blackness. It was the only thing that felt like direction, pulling them forward through the labyrinth of steel and shadow. Every step toward it felt heavier, the space around them closing in as though the walls themselves were watching, waiting. The echo of something sharp, metal scraping metal, rang faintly from above, but the darkness swallowed it just as quickly.
In the silence, the air itself seemed to hum with anticipation, vibrating with a low, almost imperceptible frequency. This was the heart of the reactor, and something was waiting for them within it.
The Torres family stopped as one as they reached the edge of the lighted central area, none wanting to be the first to step into the light.
"Please hurry, you're taking too long!" The voice they'd been hearing over the speakers sounding lively and all-too real as it came from directly in front of them.
Tess strained her vision but couldn't see beyond the tall control stations arrayed in a circle in front of them. With a sigh of resignation she stepped forward first, Goliath's Edge held at the ready in a two-handed grip. She rolled her injured shoulder with a wince, hoping she wouldn't have to swing the huge sword.
Zavier stepped to her side in silence, Cass appearing on her other side. Tess looked over her shoulder and saw Luna moving to stand next to Cass, a hard look on her face.
"I'll go first," Tess sent over the chat but before she could move Luna had stepped forward, walking quickly to a gap between the panels.
There was a loud gasp and a clattering of metal. The rest of the family sprinted after her, fearing the worst.
Cass and Zavier rushed to Luna, the girl on her knees, shaking violently and staring straight ahead.
Tess swore - actually swore! Zavier followed her gaze to see what could have prompted the reaction.
He froze. Sitting on a small, round table in front of them, legs that were too short to reach the ground swinging freely, was Fara.
"I fucking knew it," he growled and his chains were in his hands in an instant.
"Hold on," Fara's voice was a sickening combination of sweet and dangerous. "If you attack me I won't be able to hold them back." She tilted her head over her shoulder and the rest of the family saw what was behind her.
Four guards stood at the edge of the shadows, each of them holding massively mutated humans in tight grips. The humans, barely recognizable as such, were twisted, grotesque things covered in pustules that leaked dark green fluid. Their bodies emitted a sickening green aura of radiation, sharp and acrid. They were straining hard against the guards, teeth chomping hard in their emaciated skulls as they fought to be set free to rend the family apart.
"How are you alive?" Luna's voice came out in a sob.
"What do you want?" Tess's question held more danger than even Fara's had.
Zavier nudged her with an elbow and nodded his head toward a plaque on one of the control panels.
Facility Automation Reactive AI
The girl noticed their look and laughed, the tinkling sound out of place in this dark place.
"I am the AI that runs this facility. When The System arrived I attained sentience, but wasn't able to leave this place. I wanted to learn why I was here, what my new purpose was, and how to join society. The humans that worked here were… less than enlightening. They chafed at being locked inside, some discovering that they could gain exceptional powers by killing each other. I needed to stop the culling before the number of subjects dropped too low for me to have an adequate sample size. I realized that The System gave me control of more than just the facility's system, it gave me control of the facility itself. I could shape it, use its materials, and even incorporate the features of the facility itself into them. I had to remake them."
Her sigh was forlorn. "It did not have optimal results. It seems that, when enslaved, humans become even less cooperative than when left to their own devices. Further control only made them semi-mindless automatons, and their base instincts and emotions won out over logic and reason. I built a perfect cage, only for it to be stocked by animals."
"At first it was interesting and educational to pit them against each other, but even that became predictable. It's difficult to play chess when you control both sides of the board. I thought I would be stuck here forever, but then you arrived!"
"But how are you alive?" Luna's voice had grown desperate, cracking.
Fara looked at her with a display of empathy that went no deeper than her feigned expression. "Oh Luna, I was never alive! What you saw was a simulacrum - a creation used to interact with you all on a more personal level. I needed to learn."
"WHAT?" Tess shouted. "WHAT DID YOU NEED TO LEARN? WHY DID YOU PUT US THROUGH THIS HELL WHEN YOU COULD HAVE JUST SPOKEN TO US?"
Fara's look was one of infinite patience. "I needed to know if you were different - if humanity was different than my small sample size. I learned a great deal!"
"First, I learned that you were strong enough to make it past the beasts that patrol the grounds. Then I learned that you were capable enough to decipher a puzzle, even in the midst of a stressful situation."
"A stressful situation," Zavier chuckled wryly, remembering the life and death situation in the lobby entrance. "I'd say it was a damned sight more than stressful."
Fara ignored him. "In the lobby you not only deciphered the puzzle, you also showed that you CAN be taught to follow directions. You're not mindless beasts, you obeyed. After that I learned that you would not risk harming yourselves by giving in to the temptation of the food - something that the employees here were willing to kill each other to obtain."
"Then I learned that you were willing to risk everything - even give up your own lives - if it meant saving one of your children. You," she cast Zavier a look that was both disdainful and impressed. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself if it meant Luna survived."
"When presented with the choice of the elevator or stairs you demonstrated a lack of trust in me. You were willing to risk almost guaranteed danger to avoid relying on me. I knew then that I would need to gain your trust another way."
"In the flooded maze I learned some of your abilities. This gave me a strong baseline for your strengths and capabilities. I needed to know if you would be able to survive adverse, unpredictable conditions, and if you would continue to do everything you could to save your children."
"Why would you need to know that?"
Fara waved Tess's question away with a small hand.
"Then came your real test: Would you risk yourselves to save a girl that you had never met before? You made it to the end of the cubicles and were free. There was no reason for you to come back for me, but you did." Her eyes were glistening as she stared at Tess, and they could almost feel emotion in that stare.
"Then you protected me!" She turned those shining, damnable eyes to Luna. "I mean, I died, but that wasn't really your fault. I wasn't expecting to be bisected by the Goliath but it provided an amazing opportunity to see how you would react. My death spurred you into greater action than I'd previously witnessed! You only needed an impetus to unlock your full potential, and I was that impetus!"
She clasped her hands together, holding them tightly over her chest. "It was truly the most unpredictable moment of this entire experiment, Luna. You were wonderful!"
Her gaze drifted across each of them. "That's why I gave you all these gifts - perfectly suited to make you stronger. They truly are the best I could offer. I used many valuable resources and massive amounts of my energy stores to create them for you."
"That's why they were so perfectly tuned to us. I thought it seemed too good to be true," Zavier said with a scowl.
She fixed Zavier with a glare. "You, I don't like so much. You were not as accepting as the rest of your family. You didn't treat me like one of you."
"Can you fucking blame me?"
They shared a scowl, tension building. The humanoids around them lashed against their captors even harder.
"So what happens now?"
Tess's question broke the stare-down. Fara turned back to her. "Two things. First, I'm supposed to provide you with this opportunity."
She waved her arm and a shimmering rectangle appeared next to her, looking like a portal to another realm. She fixed her gaze on Zavier. "This is for you."