1:4:8 Doubles (Part 3)

Lore turned the corner, it looked as though they hadn’t even bothered. The entire building’s orbital corridor was seemingly designed to look as uniform and identical as possible. Ahead, they saw a glimpse of gold; not wanting to lose it, they sprinted. They only got glimpses, never seeing their full target. Lore Breached further down the hallway only to find that their target was Char who was, herself, chasing someone.

“She’s getting away!” Char screamed to the confused yet stationary Lore.
Lore started running after her once again. The faux Char tugged at one of the external doors, failing each time to open it and each time, increasing the effort she put in. She nearly tore it off of its hinges when Lore got close enough to unlock it for her. Under the orange of the Johned system’s sun, the fake’s skin appeared to glow, reflecting the light so effectively, it appeared almost as the source itself. Out in the open, Lore’s map could now display her blip but also a blip off in the distance representing the other fake. They thought for a moment, looking to where she was running; they Breached ahead of her. The flash caught her off guard, causing her to stop in her tracks. Stunned, like a deer in headlights, Lore finally got a good look at her.
“No.” They said it and their acknowledgement of her seemed to wake her from her daze. She bolted past them.
Char caught up. “Why’d you let her go?”
“I know where she’s going.” Lore paused. “It’s bleeding Undulia.”
“What?” She stood with her mouth agog.
She stopped not too much further ahead, Loren was stood there, smiling. She bent over and caught her breath, her hands forced into her knees to keep her from falling.
“How the hel did you get off Illia?” Char scowled.
“Quite easily thanks to this handsome fellow.” Undulia pecked Loren on the cheek. He blushed before reciprocating the gesture.
Lore and Char stared at them, confused. “What about you and Crait?” Lore asked.
Loren let out the deepest sigh his lungs would allow. “Crait is my partner, Undulia is my girlfriend. They hate each other and they date me.” He sounded as though he had explained himself to more than a few people before them.
“Whatever works for you…” Lore shrugged. Char nodded before getting back to business.
“Why are you gold? You look like my aunt after she discovered spray tanning.” Char slowly dropped her hand to her holster.
“Have you seen my options? How else was I supposed to blend in with this pasty arsehole making up half of the personnel?” Undulia scoffed. “I kind of like the gold… Suits me don’t you think?”
“I prefer the real you…” Loren seemed confused by her unexpected enjoyment at being in head to toe gold paint. “This is kinda weird…”
“Yeah…” Char shivered. “Look, why are you here?”
“We’re getting into a good position.” Undulia smiled.
“For what?” Lore knew they were going to regret asking but they didn’t even get chance to before the fireworks started.

Something struck the top of The Slingshot; a big something. After the initial impact, there was no sound. Light poured from the structure as it expanded out. It was all happening so quickly then it wasn’t. A white flash appeared behind them averting Lore’s gaze from the similar view before them. They turned in time to see Undulia and Loren Breach away but they hadn’t quite gone yet. The light was there and the energy tether had formed, ready to drag them to their destination but the entryway hadn’t yet collapsed. Lore looked to Char but didn’t hesitate. They just ran. There was barely a metre between where they had been stood and where Undulia had activated her Breacher. With time extending as it had, they had plenty of it but still they ran; fearing that any second could be their last, they leapt the last few centimetres and followed them into the Breach. Lore had expected to crash on top of Undulia or Loren but instead found themselves skidding across seemingly nothing. Suspended in the space between spaces and held aloft by some invisible force, they tried not to think too much about it and again, ran. Even with time moving at a crawl, the forces being exerted on Loren and Undulia were still enough to pull them through the Breach at a significant pace. Lore had to run to keep up. The pair were blissfully unaware of the straggler they were carrying with them and that remained constant; Lore’s perception of time however did not. As they neared the half way mark, the Breach through which they entered began to close and with its closure, Lore was cut off from their connection to time. The Breach continued as planned with Undulia and Loren being accelerated even faster than before, catapulting them to their destination. Lore on the other hand could only remain where they were. That too changed as, once the Breach was complete, the tunnel it had created began to dissipate also. They started to fall and just before their universe fell dark, a single, purple crack formed.
“Emergency protocols activated.” Lore’s Breacher spoke to no-one. Even Lore was unable to listen as their Breacher activated and took them to safety.

Char ran. With Lore gone, she wasn’t quite sure what to do apart from run. She heard the Lores and Chars in need and so ran to help. The initial explosion hadn’t actually caused too much damage to the main campus bar shattering every window and glass object held within but still, no-one knew how it had occurred. Char climbed in through what used to be a window and made her way to the central courtyard. The explosion remained a mystery until a culprit seemingly came forward. Char watched as the Lores attempted to enter The Slingshot only to be repelled by a swarm of Amalgam; their once humanoid figures now almost indistinguishable from the gas that poured from the facility’s tip. The Lores retreated.
“Amalgam! Status report now!” Potts barked.
Silence. Potts repeated their order but still, nothing came of it. The Amalgam remained, floating, waiting.
After the third failed attempt to ask the Amalgam what had happened, Potts rolled up their sleeve and started scanning The Slingshot with their Breacher. “Damn conduits!” They pressed onwards but stopped just shy of the Amalgam cloud. After their first step, the Amalgam began to coalesce; they didn’t quite return to their solid state but rather a hollow form in-between.
A red light emerged from the cloud and scanned over Potts and two of the nearest Lores. “Advanced sub-dermal storage and processing unit; Biomechanical knee augmentations; Ocular-Cerabellar co-ordinator; High frequency sonic vocaliser.” The hollow Amalgam turned to face the other two scanned Lores. “Tempora powered transportation units.” They began to disassociate as they moved, coming back together after each step; the walking clouds approached then engulfed Potts. Any biological matter was almost instantly rendered from their bones before their bones themselves were atomised too. All that remained, suspended in the cloud were the aforementioned technologies. Eventually, even the technological aspects of Potts were disintegrated but unlike their flesh and bone, the new parts became integrated into the hollow Amalgam’s forms. Their knees became bulkier, a lump appeared in their throats and several wires became visible linking the outer portion of their clouds with an inner formation. The other Lores met a similar fate but their Breachers were all that remained of them. Storm clouds brewed as bolts of lightning sparked between the two Breachers.
Char retreated further into the shadows. “Fflatz Paradocxer…” She looked to her wrist and watched as the life signs of the base ceased to exist. The Amalgam showed no signs of stopping as they dispersed and spread through the campus; arcs of purple, paradoxical lightning fizzled between them. “I suppose, given the choice…” Char set her teleporter to take her away. Before she could transport herself to safety a second explosion rocked the campus and finally, Char got a glimpse at the cause. Two vessels bearing Protectorate insignia screamed through the atmosphere, weapons hot and torpedoes away. The whole campus was mere seconds from crumbling around her. With a tap of her wrist she was away.