The pedestal remained unmoving, unchanging. There was nothing to indicate that anything had happened at all. Nothing outwardly, at least. Red felt inwardly that the strong pull to arrive at the pedestal had faded. It had faded, and it had resulted in nothing.
"What?" he whispered, staggering backward slightly.
They had put everything on this plan. Everything had been put on this strange sensation in his mind. Everything had been based on the inclination that there would be some sort of benefit as a result. But there was nothing. Red's hopeful excitement was replaced by bewilderment.
He pounded on the pedestal with his fist to no avail. He ran his hand around the edge, trying to see if there was some sort of secret, but there was nothing. There was nothing he could find and nothing telling him what to do next. He had been supposed to simply place his palm on the top of the pedestal and call it a day.
A low, grinding laughter filled the chamber. Red turned to find the leader of the gearborn keeled over in mock amusement. The robot had clearly noticed him trying to get the pedestal to do something.
"I must say, this was quite the plan you concocted. I'm not sure what the goal of your plan was, but managing to distract me and draw me away is quite the feat. What were you hoping to accomplish, though? Did you hope that your sea's heart would come and save you?"
"It is only fitting for a human to be stopped by their own desire for salvation. Foolish of you to think you'd find salvation from an inanimate object. You would have been better off waging an assault with the measly force you possess," the gearborn glanced back and forth between them, waiting for one of them to make a move.
"Run!" Zara screamed.
That broke them both into action. Derrin moved into a fighting stance and prepared to dash across the chamber if need be. Red began reaching for his shockblaster. He hadn't drawn the weapons on purpose. Had the gearborn been paying close attention, it was possible that he'd have seen the light or sensed their power. Now Red wished he had taken that risk. However, instead of turning on the stronger opponent, the gearborn turned to him.
"Your arrival has interfered with our work, human. I think you shall be the one to pay the price…"
Then he moved.
Time seemed to go to a crawl for Red as the gearborn moved in his direction. The gearborn moved at such an incredible speed that it was hard for Red to keep track of it in the moments before the robot arrived. There was nothing that he could do about it either.
The robot moved across the space at a seemingly leisurely pace. However, by the time it took the gearborn to reach him, Red had barely begun to move his fingers around the hilt of his gun. In the blink of an eye, the gearborn had him, and then they were both moving.
Red felt him slam back into the cave wall with enough force to make him groan. The metallic hand closed around his throat, making him gasp. The unhuman-like face stared down at him in distaste.
"You are such a puny creature, and yet you had the guts to try something this ridiculous. I must applaud you humans; you are the only ones capable of doing something so stupid with so much confidence."
Red choked, trying to breathe. Bloody hell, why was every damn thing he encountered always trying to suffocate him? His breathing grew ragged as his body failed to take in the required air to keep him upright. In only a few short minutes, Red knew that he was dead. That was assuming the robot didn't simply snap his neck.
The robot leaned in closer, its eyes glowing red in the dim cave light. Its presence felt like an ominous pressure on the back of his brain. The feeling of terror he had experienced against the Herald was crawling back from the depths of his mind. Only, this time, it wasn't doing so because of the gearborn's power.
"It is quite unfortunate for you that you got in the way of our research. Quite unfortunate indeed. I don't have the time at the moment to play with worthless toys. Perhaps the woman will finally be willing to speak after she witnesses her friend's blood covering the ground. I'm sure it will be enough to make her break."
The tightness on his neck increased. The hand crushed harder, threatening to simply crush his entire neck. In the background, behind the fog that was overtaking his brain, Red heard the sounds of clashing steel.
Derrin had jumped into the fray and was attempting to reach him. However, it wouldn't be enough. Despite all of his skill, Red knew the creature facing him was far too much. It would kill him and then kill Derrin, and there was simply nothing he could do about it.
It felt far different to feel himself die, knowing that there was nothing that he could do to stop it, than it had when he had options. There were no options now. His fingers fell away from his gun as his arm dropped limply to his sides. The last thing that he would see was those cold, ruthless burning eyes. Their malice and hatred of life threatened to break his very soul.
But he did not die.
The hand that had been crushing his throat released. The gearborn's arm fell to its side, and its eyes seemed to change shades. The redness of hatred was replaced by… was that horror in the creature's face?
The robot stiffened as if it had been struck. Its mouth opened, trying to find the words to speak, but none came out. Then, as if it had always been, the gearborn split in half; each half fell away in opposite directions in a smoking heap as the leader of the gearborn, the biggest threat on the island, fell dead at Red's feet.