The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 137: ANT-V (2)

Sentinel soon left the angry croaking far behind them. However, the quakes from the behemoths fighting were still sweeping the area. Jason groaned in pain as the side effects truly kicked in. His brain shut down to cope with the agony, leaving him unconscious. When Sentinel understood that Jason was out for the count he sighed heavily.

The kid should have never been put in this situation. I got ahead of myself when I understood what he was capable of with his Power. We should've swept this area and made sure there was nothing that could have threatened him!' Sentinel was cursing himself as a building ahead of them toppled over. 

A cloud of dirt was thrown into the air as they raced through it. Sentinel's cybernetic eye had planned a course to run that would allow them to navigate the new obstacle. Sentinel jumped, slid, and climbed around the debris that had resulted from the impact. With his biomechanical body, it was no problem navigating such things while carrying Jason. 

'Maybe I should have the Emperor send him back to Highrise? That way he can continue inventing while keeping him away from the front lines.' Sentinel frowned as he thought about how useful the serum would be. Right now, Jason was the only person who had successfully recreated any version of it. As such, his value had just increased many times over. 

'He'll still become a Pillar in the future... It'll just be in a supporting role.' Sentinel nodded his head as a plan came to mind. 'We can have agents watch over him from a distance. I'm sure we have a few in Highrise. Keeping him safe and happy should be the highest priority.'

There was just too much at stake now. With the invasion from the Alliance and the wars between the Lords of the Empire, there was too much to gain by having someone who could increase the average fighting power of an army on their side. 'I should tell the Emperor to increase Highrise's Lord's benefits to help protect him as well. That should motivate them...'

Meanwhile, as Jason entered a comatose state, his mind was strangely active...

"What the hell?" Jason glanced around at the black space. "Where am I? Weren't we just running from the Fog Crawlers?"

Jason frowned, as all he could see was deep darkness. The sound of dirt being scratched at caused him to look behind himself. A sudden light shone from somewhere above, like a spotlight. Illuminating a spot in the distance. Jason felt weirded out by what was going on, but he felt drawn to that source of light. His feet began to move on their own, carrying him towards the phenomenon. 

As he drew closer, a mound of dirt appeared within the light. The earth surged upwards along with the scratching noise and a familiar-looking creature appeared. Jason's eyes went wide as he stared at the terrifying creature, which glanced at him. The giant ant did not seem to care about his presence as it walked a circle around the hole it had created. 

Jason's fear subsided as his mind told him he was not in any danger. Although he wondered why that was the case, he could not help but watch the beast with curiosity. Eventually, it lay down and Jason realised what he was watching. This creature had surfaced to die peacefully, just like what happened in the strange graveyard he had discovered near Highrise.

Jason was unsure what to think as he watched the last moments of its life. However, before he could come to terms with it, something else happened. A new light shone in the distance and his feet began to carry him towards it. This time his body froze a few feet from the edge of the light. Jason's eyebrows arched. The image inside the light this time was the ant's body inside a workshop. With another him studying it. It was strange to be staring at his own back. He noticed details about himself that he did not like.

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The light faded, along with the mirage it held. Just like before, a new light appeared. When he approached this one, it displayed the same workshop. The ant's body had undergone modifications. Mechanical components had replaced parts of it, while other parts were now armoured. When he looked around, the mirage of himself was nowhere to be seen. But then, he heard his own voice talking from the darkness.

"Let's call it ANT-V." His own disembodied voice chuckled. "All Natural Terrain Vehicle..."

Two blue eyes sparking with electricity suddenly lit up in the darkness on the opposite side of the light from himself. Jason felt his palms become sweaty as he stared into those cold eyes. A spark of electricity briefly lit up the figure, showing that it was indeed his mirage. The bolt jumped from the fake Jason and struck the ANT-V. A few seconds passed and the mechanical legs began to twitch. Its head slowly turned from side to side as its large, red cybernetic eyes came to life.

Jason felt a chill creep down his spine as he wondered what he was watching. Was this something he was capable of? Or was this just a dream? Either way, he did not like how his mirage looked in these scenes that were playing out.

"It's alive!" His mirage began to laugh in the darkness as electricity danced around his eyes.

Jason was plunged into darkness as the image faded. Before long, a new light shone in the distance. This one was much larger than the ones before it and he felt a need to run away rather than approach it. From this distance, he could see its image clearly. A war was being fought. In a city that he did not recognise. There were strange vehicles flying in the air, firing at an army on the ground. Power's flew everywhere. He saw the faces of people he knew on that battlefield. His Gramps, Dani and Adam were there...