Chapter 7: Unexpected Discovery and Uneasy Confessions. (L)

Everyone was standing outside Joshua's room, trying to talk to him. What fools they were...attempting to call out to someone who wasn't there. No, he had decided to go elsewhere, none would think of searching for him there...Heh...No-one even knew where the place was. It was only a short amount of time before he had made it to his destination. A huge, broken down town stood before him. Exactly the way he remembered it.

"It's like I never left..." Joshua sighed to himself.

Some of the old, burnt buildings had began to creak silently in the afternoon wind, giving Joshua the impression that he wasn't alone. He shook the thought from his mind before he pressed on. The stone path echoed his footsteps through the town, none heard it though. Totally empty...no signs of live since he left...

"That was so many years ago..." Joshua smiled.

>Heh. I didn't want to see this place again...and I'm acting all relieved. I wonder if...<

A small hill stood in the center of town. At the peak seemed to be a single headstone. Joshua slowly walked up to it, before sitting down. The carvings were still visible, the touch of the headstone was warm. He smiled, tears streaming down his eyes as he read the description....

'Rachel Hart. 1991-2000. Died in the Disaster. A friend, always around...a young love.'

Joshua sat there, crying as he read the words. It was still there. The painful memories...A large graveyard was far beyond. Buried there...was all who died in The Disaster...and his mother. He clenched his fists tightly, got to his feet and walked down the hill. The orphanage 'stood' nearby. The floor was still burnt black, but something caught his eye. A trap door. Opening it cautiously, he stepped downwards into the shadows.

Everything was dark, but Joshua drew his sword, illuminating the chambers with light. It seemed many of the walls were stained with blood. It smelt like a massacre. The blood seemed to have dried many, many years ago. He progressed forward, loud cracks of glass shattering uinderneath his shoes. A corpse, it's body missing from the waist down had many deep gashes on his chest. Joshua stumbled back with shock.

"No...I can't let fear overtake me. I'm going to find...the...purpose of this place..." Joshua calmly sighed.

He moved on, placing the body nearby, hoping to bury it later. A huge wall of stone blocked his progress, but he hacked it down with his swords. It took a while, his injuries still stung his body. Moving on, he found another body, without a head. He found it lying nearby, a look of sheer terror on it's face. Two doors. One was locked, so Joshua decided to move on until he found a key...or something.

Many cages lined up against the walls of the rooms. Odd shaped bones scattered the floor, making Joshua regret moving on. A few containers of chemicals were nearby, as well as multpile injectors. This must have been...a torture lab...experimenting on...somethings...or someones...It was inhumane. He grew angry, but left the room. Why was all this happening down here? Was it...

He looked down. An old staircase. Well, there WAS an old staircase. When Joshua trod on the first step, it all crumbled beneath his feet. He leapt back, holding onto the edge. A small rodent, a rat raced over and looked down at him.

"No...Don't..."

The rat lashed at Joshua with it's tail, causing Joshua to lose his grip. He fell, until there was a loud crash. It took a few minutes for him to regain conciousness, re-adjusting his things, before he painfully got to his feet. One last door stood in front of him. He slowly opened it. Nothing. A simple testing lab with a broken capsule in the corner. Joshua sighed with relief, only to activate something. A small crackle, before an image came to live.

"Hello? Ahem...If anyone is watching this...then our fears have been realised. The subject had managed to kill everyone in the facility. Storms and natural disasters were increased during his captivity, but worsened after his break-out. At least what we assume. We planned on developing something that the government wanted from us. A weapon. Something capable of killing human life without regrets..." the hologram spoke.

"Me...? I'm...a weapon?" Joshua asked himself.

"His DNA was supplied to us from an unknown source. Some say it was from a young boy. Of course, we managed to adjust it, creating a human shell. His body was the age of a fifteen year old, what was not expected was the difference between the images. The subject should've looke much different. We didn't mind. Our purpose was to create a weapon, nothing more. We added growth chemicals...as well as other medical treatments to increase his endurance, his physical strength and mental ablitiy. Some sort of Dark power seemed to be able to be used in a simulation..." The hologram continued.

Joshua looked down at his hands. Had they really been created from another...? Was he merely a copy?

"Our tests proved he would be stronger than the original. But would also feel a deep hatred towards him. He knows nothing but violence. Emotions are nothing to him. He laughs through the pleasure of the thought of killing others...According to this...he escaped...not too long ago...He'd be heading for me now. I have little time left...So, if the original is watching this, you have to stop him! You must...bzzzzzzzttttt...."

Joshua watched the hologram vanish, and a large tentacle retreating into the shadows. He followed it, only to find a large pool of water below him. He couldn't surface. Something was dragging him down. He looked and his mouth opened, bubbles escaping.

"U...Uter..."

"Crustaceon Chaos...boy. You've learned too much....that scientist always talked...too much. No matter. I'll drown you here, Master Devan knew something would lure you here."

Joshua tried to pull free, his arms were quickly binded, as he was dragged down further. His body seemed to buckle as they went further down into the depths. Water got up his nose, causing him to cough. Using the Force, he managed to slash through a tentacle with his sword. Grabbing it, and cutting through the other one, he sliced off the one binding his legs.

>Air...I need...oxygen!<

His foe's blood floated in the water, before more tentacles grew, lashing out to grab Joshua. Around his waist, dragging him back down before placing him in front of his face. He grimmaced at the sight, before he felt himself being thrown in another direction. A large wall of stone...he crashed straight into it, his body knocked out from the impact. He floated to the surface.

"Escape...No. You cannot be found..."

Crustaceon Chaos reached out for Joshua, only to be repelled by a bright light. It shone around Joshua's body. His eyes slowly opened. His lungs almost bursting, he broke through the surface, inhaling large amounts of oxygen. It wasn't over yet. The foe emerged from the water, it's eyes glaring down at him. Joshua looked up, his body too tired and weak to move. He fell to his knees, before a large barrage of laser fire collided into Crustaceon Chaos, driving it back into the ocean.

"J...Jazz? Man...I'm glad to see you..." Joshua sighed, before passing out.