The Genesis Code 1: Lambda (17 page)

Damn! I was careless!

Overseer disregarded the boy as she saw an opportunity. With Corson distracted and Lambda damaged, she could easily make a grab for Lambda and have Foresight force her into Stasis Lock given her weakened state. With this, she could easily win back some of the lost pride Corson had taken from her. She couldn’
t help but laugh to herself as she raced toward her prize.
      

Flawless execution-

“So thoughtless of you, Vera.”

Overseer’s head shot up in surprise.
No! When did she-

Her thoughts were instantly cut short as a metal-plated knee crashed into her head, smashing her into the crowd several yards back. She recovered quickly and rolled out of the hit to land on her feet, but only to see Laura elegantly roll out of her attack and land perfectly. Her freshly brandished Nullifier glimmered in her hand as she stood between Zack and Overseer.

Laura turned her head slightly to Zack. “That one was free. I trust you to dodge on your own next time,” she uttered coldly.

Zack couldn’t feel good about her words. Despite his attention to Lambda, he managed a frigid remark. “This coming from the people trying to kidnap my sister? Don’t make me laugh!”

Laura smiled playfully. “Perhaps you do deserve more credit then I gave you.” She turned her back to him, her tone quickly turning serious.

“Consider this our gift. Take the Lambda unit and leave the Network. In here, Void Reapers can appear much too easily to hunt you. We can’t have them swarming you and Lambda, nor do we have the time to babysit you two.”

Zack ceased his work on Lambda as he noted the damage remaining was enough for her to repair on her own. A slight sense of relief enveloped him knowing that she was safe. The feeling was lost and forgotten as he focused on Laura’s back and then glanced to Corson. He was no fool. Zack knew what they were doing.

“Protecting your investment, huh?” Zack’s words felt jagged.

Corson laughed lightly. “Whatever do you mean, boy?”

Zack was about to retort when Lambda’s eyes sprung open. He felt a sudden tug on his coat collar, and before he could even realize, he was flying alongside Lambda. He quickly looked below him and noticed that Lambda, out of pure reflex, had leapt to the other side of the stadium. She touched down seconds later, leaving the Void Reapers, Laura, and Corson to their brawl.

Lambda released Zack, but when he looked at her, she seemed to be shaking again. The behavior was odd given the current circumstances, but what was more strange was why Lambda was acting like this now.

Zack looked perplexed. “Lambda? You in there somewhere?”

Lambda’s thoughts were completely jumbled. Lost in her matrix of data, she continued to analyze what she had experienced up to this point. No conclusive evidence or existing knowledge could bring her a logical answer to what she had felt just moments before the attack of the lone Void Reaper that damaged her.

What was that vibration?

She couldn’t understand. All signs and data pointed to the emotion known as “fear”. This wasn’t logical. It didn’t make sense to her. She didn’t fear the Void Reaper, nor did she doubt her ability in executing her attack. Did she fear Zack? Why? Lambda saw Zack as a simple bystander. He wasn’t a threat, but yet, why would the emotion register in her data and associate it to Zack as well? The application to this was lost and couldn’t be put in the right context. Lambda’s mind found its parameters confusing and . . . frustrating.

Zack was starting to lose his patience now. He reached out and grabbed Lambda by the shoulders. “Look, we don’t have time for this. Lambda! Snap out of it!” Zack yelled trying to get Lambda out of her trance. Even with him shaking her, she wasn’t coming around.

Damn it! What is wrong?!

He wasn’t getting through to her and the situation was only going to get worse if he didn’t get Lambda on the same playing field soon. He was left with no other option. He hated himself for what he was about to do.

“Damn you for making me do this!” With a swift motion of his arm, Zack slapped Lambda across the face. The act pained him more mentally than anything else. He felt like a part of his soul died in the act. However, it quickly got results.

Lambda shook her head, confused. She turned to Zack with a quizzical look. “Did you strike Lambda?”

Zack firmly grabbed her by the arms. “Listen to me! I don’t know what is going on in that head of yours, but if you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of a war zone! We have to get out of here!”

Lambda found Zack’s tone troubling. The sensation that ran through her as Zack yelled was uncomfortable to say the least. She wanted Zack to release her, but she couldn’t bring herself to force him away. His eyes stared into her like a predator’s. They almost seemed hypnotic as she desperately searched for a logical answer to all that was happening. Nothing was making any sense.

Zack shook Lambda. “Do you understand me, Lambda?” He was firm. However, it was starting to become increasingly difficult to hold back his rising fear. His thoughts went back to the display of the Void Reapers and Corson. He had never seen such raw ability and manipulation of code before as he had seen in the battle with Corson and the Void Reapers. They had to get out of the Network. On this plain, they were Gods of Destruction. He could never face that head on. He didn’t trust in his own ability enough to even try. His only hope was to regroup outside the Network and get to his sister another way. At that moment, there was just too much to handle.

Zack released Lambda. “Now, let’s get out of here before something-”

A burst of lightning cracked between Lambda and Zack, sending them flying back into the stone crowds of people. Zack had barely recovered when a sudden force smashed down on his chest. He gasped from the blow as he felt all the air leave his body. It was a large, silver plated boot that belonged to a tall figure, clad in shining armor of metallic chrome. The figure’s face was hidden by a helmet fit for a knight, with a lightning bolt scar over his armored face shield.

“W-What?” Zack choked out.

The figure summoned a sword that sparked with fury. He raised it above his head as it jetted with lightning. The figure said nothing as he pressed harder down on Zack’s chest.

Zack struggled with all his might, but could do nothing to get his adversary off him. He couldn’t think straight. In a state of panic such as this, he couldn’t find the chance to alter his Avatar as he did against the security guard before. Back then, he was calm and collected. When his mind was clear, he could hack and make his Avatar able to do anything. He could do it, but all he could think of was how he was about to be attacked by the silver figure’s blade.

I wish this pain was fake,
he thought to himself weakly. After all, his consciousness was linked to the Cyber Network. What happened to his body here had a direct effect on his physical body outside the virtual world.

The silver knight suddenly ceased his assault. Zack then began to hear the sound of static. Despite his state, he heard it coming from his opponent in silver. The figure held a hand to his ear.

“You lied about the target!” The figure spoke with heated aggravation. His anger gave way to a slight moment of reprieve as the foot clamping down on Zack’s chest eased ever so slightly, allowing Zack to get but a breath. Even with the small mercy, everything was starting to blur as he was still not getting proper flow of oxygen.

“I know what we agreed! However, you left out key pieces of information!”

Zack could barely comprehend what the silver figure was saying. The figure would speak and then quickly silence. Despite this, Zack began to wonder.

Where was Lambda?

He didn’t get much mileage on the thought as all his mind could process was how he was going to die beneath a masked face, unable to do anything about it.

“Don’t you threaten me! Not telling me the full details falls on you!” howled the knight.

Zack struggled to listen.
Who is he-

The silver knight ceased his call abruptly. The force on Zack’s chest intensified as the silver figure knelt closer to him. Zack struggled even more to keep his life. The figure then whispered chilling words into Zack’s ear.

“Take heed, fellow
knight
.”

Zack’s mind went white as his vision blurred completely. He lost control of his mind. He thought it was the end. Old memories began to surface like flickering frames of film. In his half awakened state, he uttered out one word. He didn’t realize he was starting to cry.

“Rachiel.” The words echoed in his mind. Then, all at once, he was pulled from the white void and spiraled back into the dark stadium. When he started coughing and hacking uncontrollably was when he finally realized that he was still among the living. The pressure on his chest was gone and his vision was slowly coming back. The first thing he saw upon looking up though-

“Rachiel?!” Zack exclaimed in surprise.

Golden hair swayed in the wind. The girl was adorned with a long, white coat, like robes of a priestess. The gorgeous woman’s image blazed with brilliance, as if a sun in the eyes of Zack. The image was glorious. It overjoyed him to see her, but these joyous feelings didn’t last.

“Appear, Chaos Weapon 61: Adjudicator.”

In an instant, the glorious white image of the golden angel vanished and was replaced by the dark aura of Lambda. Above her head, a large hole of darkness expanded outward, like demonic malice. Zack then watched as a giant buster sword cleaved from the blackness and crashed in front of Lambda. The sword looked to be twelve feet in length, and twice as wide as Lambda. With ease, she lifted the weapon out of the cracked surface and pointed it at the silver figure that had attacked Zack. Zack stared at his assailant. The orange lightning bolt on his face pulsed with wrath.

“W-who are you?” Zack whispered as he still hadn’t completely recovered.

The masked assailant retracted his weapon. “Emergency Exit Override. Passcode: War.”

The assailant was then sucked into a black void that generated behind him. The void instantly vanished once it consumed him, leaving Zack and Lambda in a daze as to what just transpired.

“Hostile’s retreat confirmed. Disengaging.”

Lambda retracted her weapon into the negative space from which it came and receded the black hole above her. She found the presence of the silver knight to be troubling as well. Whoever it was, their interest in Zack bothered Lambda.

Zack sat up, still finding it difficult to breathe. They were far from being safe. They had to get out of the Network fast, before any other strange guests arrived.

“Lambda, we got to get out of here,” Zack said struggling a bit.

“What about your sister?” Lambda inquired.

“We will have to find another way. It is far too dangerous to stay here.”

Lambda nodded. “Agreed.” She then trailed off seeming a bit nervous. “A-are you a-all right?” she asked, seeming unsure of herself.

Zack brushed her aside. “I’m fine. Just use that computer brain of yours and get us an Exit Override quick.”

Lambda found Zack’s tone rude. She also found it rather unnerving how he had not shown her any gratitude for attempting to save Zack from his assailant. She herself reacted on pure impulse, but the complete lack of thanks caused a prick in her chest that she could only understand as “anger”. She wasn’t too fond of this emotion either. She was starting to think that having working knowledge of these complex emotions was more of a curse than a gift. That, and for some reason, she couldn’t get out of her head what Zack had said before.

Who is Rachiel?
The complete lack of data concerned Lambda. On top of that, she didn’t know what to make of the squeezing sensation in her stomach. It was discomforting, making her almost want to gag. She didn’t know that she was experiencing anxiety from her own uncertainty.

Seconds later, Lambda and Zack vanished from the place they stood, leaving one battlefield only to land right in another.

*
      
*
      
*

[January 6th - Washington D.C. - Private Location - Parking Garage - Night]

Margret waited impatiently in a dark parking garage lit with dim lights. The concrete that surrounded her gave her the feeling of being entombed as she tapped her finger along her arm. It was a cold night, and it wasn’t like one of her informants on her list to be late.

“He was supposed to be here almost twenty minutes ago. Where the hell is he?” Her words were laced with vexation. Margret never had much patience in tardiness. Time was money, and in the business of information, time was priceless.

A sudden rustle of wind caught her off guard. Her hair flailed in the strong breeze as her body was chilled. Even in her overcoat, she couldn’t get herself to warm up. She shook off the wind as she tried to calm her growing irritation.

“Sorry for the wait-”

The voice couldn’t finish as Margret reeled in surprise.

The man stared at her not amused. “Are you done?” His manner was erect and impatient.

Margret quickly found her center as she cleared her throat. Her stern expression though didn’t leave.

“Were you able to get what I asked for, Marcus?”

Marcus’ eyes widened slightly as he noted the change in her tone.

He smirked. “There is the woman I know.” He opened up the small briefcase he was carrying and handed Margret two folders and a black hard drive, no bigger than a box of matches.

“I will have you know that it wasn’t easy to get what you asked for. I had to call in a lot of favors and pull some strings I didn’t want to.”

Margret took the folders and hard drive from him. She opened up the first folder. The first page read “Combat AI Development Project”. Immediately, she was intrigued.

“What could you find out through your contacts?” she asked as she flipped through the file.

Marcus shook his head. “Not many people would talk when I started probing for information related to the Lambda Project. It appears it is pretty tight lipped. From what I was able to procure, it would appear that Babel is funding the project here in our country exclusively and being very quiet about it. Not even our President knows of it.”