The Search for Xanar

Prologue

Pedro cursed as he rose from his icy sheets.

He stretched and pooped his Joints in place before changing into his standard uniform.

A white tactical gear, with white boots, white fur coat, and white, white and white!

He sighed deeply, the thought of braving this facility for 2 more months made by him shudder.

For a moment the smiling image of his partner, Barney flashed in his mind.

He cursed at his partner, Once for signing them up for Boris' Trench thanks to his slacking off, Secondly for abandoning him here after Barney got summoned for a contract in V-33, it astonished Barney how swiftly he finished up his time!

"I should be with.... with Cassie at least," The Halfman whispered, he thought of his girlfriend, her wavy Auburn hair, her supple green eyes, Her freckled cheeks.

Her scent of Blueberries and that french accent that drove him mad....

He sighed deeply, He moved to inspect himself in the mirror, His pale red eyes swept through his body, He frowned as he combed his short blonde hair, he disliked the dull luster of his skin but what could he do about it? He was out of Moisturizer.

 He stepped outside to the hallway and was met with.....

SILENCE....

Oh misery, Just two more months and perhaps...

Music at least! They should play music at least in this Arctic shell of a prison!

It was a 'Rehabilitation' Centre for rusty Agents, More like punishment for slacking off!

There were only 5 people in this whole facility, The 3 lab coats that studied and improved the various items that made their way there.

And the two dealers that guarded them.

Well.... one since Barney had gone, The higher-ups had yet to send a replacement for him, Pedro understood why.

Their forces had been spread thin, especially since the Apple eaters had started attacking their bases.

This one was deemed low priority so he guessed that's why...

Still... the lab coats kept to themselves most of the time, the facility lacked a diverse selection of entertainment.

Even the food was sub par at best, At least they had Blueberry muffins, they reminded him Cassie though.

He set about his daily tasks as usual, Have some breakfast, Sweep through the security cameras, Check the drones, Check on the lab coats, Rinse and repeat.

A massive waste of his wits and talents, he should be striking deals with powerful entities or Fighting in wars but here he was.... a glorified janitor to an ice Coffin.

His days were rarely ever eventful here, except for the one time a wandering beast happened upon the facility by incident.

He needed only to use the sirens to drive it off... a bummer, he hoped it would be more stubborn at least.

He rushed through his meal like always, Today was Bacon and Blueberry Pancakes with hot cocoa, However Staying alone in the mess hall often left him in low spirits, the closest thing to a companion was the drone that provided him food.

It looked human enough but it's speech was limited to just food provision, It's monotone voice dampened his mood everytime he heard it.

Even thoughts of Cassie rarely kept him happy here.

The Cameras showed him nothing but an endless white storm outside the facility, He sometimes wondered how anyone could build anything here given the violent climate here.

Pedro quickly moved on to the Maintenance of the drones.

Pedro had finished his duty with them when he realized he hadn't replaced his weapon yet.

The standard issue Shard pistol, a gun that shoots a lazer capable of cutting through steel, his favourite firearm had gotten worn out, he cleaned it every night before he slept yet....

He wouldn't be surprised if it blew his arm off one day, It was temperamental like that, sometimes it didn't even shoot!

A dud!

What's worse, the other firearms here hadn't been encoded to him yet!

He laid out complaints but they all fell on deaf ears, Two months... just two more months and perhaps Cassie...

No wait... would she still be with him? He proposed to her and left for almost 6 months, would she even be his Girlfriend, let alone Fiancee if he returned?

He shuddered, perhaps he'd have Eureka pay him that favour she owes him when he returns.

He sighed and went out to complete his final duties.

"Hmmm, they seem chatty today," The lab coats sounded awfully cheerful today, usually they were quieter than he was and that's saying a lot!

He opened the door and was immediately met with a kiss!

Kathy.... One of the Lab coats, A blonde woman with soft brown eyes and Rosy cheeks was kissing him.

He pulled away exasperated.

"S-sorry! I got too excited!" She flushed.

"..... There's improvement with the tests?" Pedro paid no mind of the Kiss ever happening.

Kathy seemed hurt but quickly composed herself, "Yes! The Veil Gun is able to create smaller tears look!" She pointed at her two colleagues, Benjamin and Barton, Clones of Barry Balor, The Crypt Chaser.

They had Dark Bronze skin like their Progenitor and Long curly hair, Benjamin's was black while Barton's was Chestnut.

Barton was holding a small red Gun with a small glass Cylinder attached at the butt end, inside was Purplish red substance.

The nuzzle of the gun was 2 cm long with a glossy purple glow to it.

To demonstrate it's power, Barton pointed the pistol at the wall and pulled the trigger.

A Scarlet coloured Portal appeared in front of them, it was about the size of a walk-in closet, with veiny tendrils leaking out from it's side. 

Pedro stepped in front of the portal and observed, he saw a scores of lush grassy fields from within the portal and a couple of humanoid figures going back and forth, a couple of them stopped and stared at Pedro and the others in astonishment.

One of them, a little child waved at them, Benjamin waved back.

A smile crept across Pedro's face.

"We don't even need to pass through the endless trails.... just right to the point! How do you select the pathway?"

"There's a calibration on the left side of the pistol, You set the perimeters and boom!" Benjamin explained.

The crowd had become larger and some folks were coming with weapons now, Pedro ordered Barton to close the portal at once.

"Recruitment... no making deals will be easier as well, no more ships needed... How many more of these have you-"

"We have about 2," Kathy spoke.

"oh...." Pedro's smile melted away at once.

"B-But we have other Important inventions as well, besides with this the higher-ups might oversee the production of the-"

"Let me see the other inventions," Pedro... for once found interest in the lab coats today, Perhaps they'll grant him the requests he'd made previously.

He spent most of the day inspecting the other inventions and relics, A glove capable of healing wounds with a touch at the cost of one's vitality.

A mask capable of erasing one's presence at the cost of Face Amnesia for it's wearer.

....Each item had radical side effects but Pedro had fun experimenting with each of them.

Kathy kept trying to gather his attention all the while, he ignored her, Had she always had a crush on him? or is the isolation getting to her too? Either way he wouldn't entertain her the slightest, Two more months and he'll be with His Cassie.

His apathy hurt Kathy's pride.

The day passed along quickly and he found himself sharing a drink with the Lab coats by the time his duties were finished, Almost 6 months here and they'd started to lighten up.

Though Kathy still looked down from-

*Beep

The alarm for a veil breach, Someone was coming here? Now? Perhaps a new Dealer or....

"Barney? No he'd have told me, so would the Higher ups...."

His face paled immediately, Kathy must've understood his thoughts because she ordered the clones about, "Grab all the important items! We're being-" The words failed to come out.

*Boom

When Pedro came too, The lab was a mess, Debris and furniture littered the room, He spied Benjamin laying underneath piles of debris.

Barton was nowhere to be seen as for Kathy, she was being choked out by a tall beautiful woman, She had Frosty white hair and supple green eyes, There were wings emerging from her back.

2,4,6... 8 of them, all purple, they looked transparent on first glance, but on second he could see them a bit clearly and on third he swore they were on fire. 

She wore a checkered jacket of white and blue, with knee high boots and a pair of jeans.

Her appearance was different but he'd recognize her anywhere, "Cassie.... what-"

SNAP

Kathy immediately went limp, Cassie dumped her on the floor like a sack of potatoes.

She then turned her attention towards Pedro, "I'm too eliminate everyone here.... I'm afraid that includes you my love," She said sadly.

His face was a mask but his mind a torrent of conflicting emotions, mostly anger, "Who?" he simply asked.

Cassie fished out a badge from her jacket, It had Burning Treant wearing a Crystal Crown on it.

"The King's justice.... I thought it'd be Apple eaters instead,"

"We formed an alliance,"

A couple of figures stepped out of The Sting ray shaped ship behind Cassie, they all wore various attires and were of different races, mostly not human.

"No one will be coming I'm afraid, this Facility isn't deemed important enough for the hassle," One of them snarked.

Cassie shot him a reproachful look before focusing on back on Pedro.

"Since when were you-"

"Over a decade.... before we met,"

Pedro sighed deeply, was she watching him this whole time, was their meeting, Barcelona, Was everything an act from the beginning?

"I'll make it as painless as I can,"

"I.... just have one question, was any of it real?"

She stepped closer, just enough to meet him eyes to eye.

"It was the most real thing I ever felt!" She kissed him.

He yearned for this moment, for her touch, her scent, her love.... yet all he felt was the bitter cold.

Her wings wrapped themselves round his body, draining him of his body heat, his fingers went numb and his Joints stiffened.

She pulled him deeper, he saw no point in resistance, perhaps this was the best outcome for him?

He could hear the others in the background, they were jeering him, whooping and snickering in the background.

He blocked them out as best he could, if he was going to die, At least let him die enjoying this moment for what it's worth.

'Blueberry' his final thoughts.