You Think He'd Have LearnedP27

Having found his room, the Warden was so tempted to crawl into his disheveled bed. He shook his head trying to call up some self-control within himself and with a heavy sigh he sat at his work station, looking over the blueprints.

He spent a few minutes gazing over the measurements and descriptions until finally slinking down to examine the components themselves. He began to pick apart the bits that didn't require the use of a tool to remove, saving that daunting work for last. 

As far as he could tell as each piece was taken from the pearly-white dome, nothing seemed to be damaged beyond functionality. Of course there were a few singe marks on the spare rivets and wires, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be overlooked. He still had more to inspect as well.

He picked up his wrench, after looking back and forth to it several times, trying to convince himself that he didn't need it only to heave another sigh and began twisting and turning the bolts that held the more extravagant parts in place.

After some time more he finally reached the innermost intertwined pieces. With a quick turn of his wrist he dislodged a scorched metal bit, protruding wires around a corkscrewed base. It resembled a spark-plug of sorts, yet one could tell it's purpose was well beyond that. 

However, the Warden examined this particular piece with a concerned brow. This was the problem, he decided. This had not been made the same way as his original had, it's form had been severely dented and the wires were frayed so much so that it would have been impossible to repair them. 

He hissed under his breath, cursing his counterpart for not providing him with the proper materials for the one part that actually mattered. Then again, he should have been able to spot this problem long before it had become a problem. He hissed again, this time at himself.

The Warden continued to look from the blueprints to the little spark-plug in his hand until something struck him. His lovely, wonderful, precious Jailbot had been made of similar parts, and with the same care and hard work as his original machine had.

He began to mentally dismantle his most beloved contraption, examining each and every bolt, rivet and screw that went into his creation before a sharp pang of anger interrupted his process. His Jailbot was gone, already carelessly torn apart and replaced by that thing. The Warden's hands began to strangle an invisible neck as he spouted more curses directed toward his Future-self. 

He paused for a moment, as the image of the other Warden's eyes bulging, gasping for air began to fade. The man might have been an inconsiderate jerk, well frankly he was quite obviously much more vicious than that; he was still the Warden after all, he was still the happy-go-lucky jailor somewhere underneath that black uniform and plum-colored cape. And any happy-go-lucky jailor that had put so much love into making himself what the Warden considered to be, essentially, his son wouldn't possibly possess the heart to toss out his innards like they hadn't mattered at all. 

Jailbot was still here, in one place or maybe even several, and the Warden could find his components and use then to fix his time-machine. The only problem with that, he groaned upon realizing; where would he start looking?

The idea of searching for the storage room sent an unwelcoming chill down his spine. The idea of his Future-self throwing Jailbot's remains in there seemed highly unlikely to him; then again, hadn't he himself done the same thing before? Hadn't he also learned his lesson from that experience? One look at his surroundings, so unlike his SuperJail, sent an annoying twinge of regret through him. Obviously he hadn't.

Still trying to convince himself that Jailbot wouldn't be anywhere near Storage, the Warden began to think of other places his counterpart might have kept him.

One thought of a possible place came to him after a few moments of consideration. Though it hadn't occurred to him at the time to look around as he was far too consumed with anger to notice anything but that mechanical monstrosity, parading around in the view of the Observation room. He knew where that room was, and that was a start as good as any. 

Of course, he could always ask where these parts were, though the thought of asking the other Warden for any sort of help at all was a new sort of 'low' he was not willing to sink to. He doubted Jared would help if he knew. And for similar reasons concerning his Future-self, the Warden was not willing to ask his former assistant for help either. 

That was just fine, he nodded. He didn't want their help anyway. He got himself into this mess, and he could very well get himself out.

Taking the little spark-plug with him, he brushed himself free of the chipped flakes resulted from his tinkering and set off for the Observation room.

Meanwhile, the Future-Warden arrived at his assistant's office, a spacious area though quite simple in design apart from the few spare monitors displaying various feeds from a few key cameras littering the short desk. 

"Sir!" The tiny man saluted quickly, rising from his chair to give his commander a proper greeting.

"I was just about to send the retrieval-party on their way."

The other Warden, seemingly humming to a tune that had no real structure simply dismissed him with a wave. He placed his arms behind his back, running his thumb over his dully aching hand.

"Not to worry about that, Jared. It seems we have other issues to deal with presently. I'm afraid we are threatened with retaliation, how soon though I am not sure, perhaps today or maybe even a week from now. Have our forces prepared as quickly as possible." Though this piece of information coming from anyone else would have been spoken with panic or at the very least concern, the Future-Warden's words slipped through him as though they were a nuisance; something to keep him from enjoying his most recent succession.

Jared nodded, saluting once more. 

"Sir, what would you like done with him?" He said, referring to the younger Warden.

"I doubt he'll be in the way for us much more, no, I took care of that." The Future-Warden took his leave at that as Jared made the necessary transmissions to those in charge of their various troops. 

It wasn't but minutes later that a quaking clash like thunder tore through the upper parts of SuperBase, sending tremors down it's supports to shake the very lift the Warden currently found himself in as if it were dangled on the thinnest thread.

A red light began to blaze from the rows of buttons and the lift came to a sudden stop. The sound of metallic panels suddenly locking into place could be heard within the cabin. 

The Warden began to panic, pressing every button he could find in hopes one of them would get the elevator to move again. Another tremor shook him quite roughly, even more so as the lift no longer seemed to be held up by it's lead, instead it seemed to be bolted into the chamber that contained it.

Another distant rumble, this time however there was no tremor to follow. The Warden could hear very faintly a unison of propellers whirring and the even more faint sound of shouting and people hurrying about. He tried to make out as clear as he could what was being shouted. He jumped back, either from the blast he heard and felt that time within his tiny space or his own fear at the word 'attack'. They were being attacked? He tried to push that thought out of his mind, but the rocking of his elevator only forced it on him even harder.

He continued to press button after button, coaxing, begging the lift to move again. He even tried shouting for help outside the lift, banging on the doors frantically. His only response was the little red light flashing rapidly in his face.

The only thing he could think to do now was brace himself, arms and legs against the walls of his enclosure. The continuous shaking proved this to be a good idea, though his quickly rising anxiety did not allow him any praise for it.

The rumbling continued, slowly becoming increasingly louder which meant increasingly closer. The shouting had faded, though through the chaos that was undoubtedly happening beyond him, he could hear the sharp cutting through air from a carrier or two. 

His poor, tiny elevator tossed him around so viciously he felt that whatever was holding this lift in place would soon break and he would plummet to his death. His timing could not have been quicker. The shriek of the panels outside the lift's casing pierced throughout the cabin space as a calamitous quiver detached the braces in one harsh, unforgiving second.

He felt instantaneously sick to his rising stomach, trying with all his might to keep his organs from slipping out of his throat as they felt as though they surely would. He had managed to take a hold of the panel of buttons as the lift fell at an alarming speed. How long his grip would last was an entirely different question; already he could feel his fingers loosen around the few inches of aluminum that so neatly kept the controls aligned. 

His legs began to elevate in the shift of gravity as his sliding hold desperately tried to maintain contact. The lift was hurtling at a pace too fast to measure and on top of everything else he was trying to hold down, including himself, the Warden found it difficult to stave off the urge to vomit. Thankfully the contents of his stomach had long since digested, however dry-heaving was not at all an acceptable substitute.

He didn't have much time to concentrate on keeping his lurching under control, all at once he felt as though every breath of air he had taken in had been forced out of him as his body suddenly slammed against the floor of the lift. He had broken his nose, shattered it more like, and chipped his yellow glasses on the aluminum panel.

Writhing in the pain that immediately followed the Warden had not been able to hear the bell chiming his arrival to the first floor. The doors refused to open at for a moment, however another shudder surging throughout was just the motivation they needed to creak apart in a jerking spark-ridden spasm.

He had to cough for a few minutes more, if only to know what it was like to breathe again. His nose crinkled against his cracked glasses and after wincing quite a bit, whimpering to himself that he had to do it; he took a shaking hold of it and in one clutching grip he pulled the bloody cartilage down to it's proper place, not without expelling a shrill cry of agony.

Somewhere inside SuperBase as he was hurriedly barking orders to his fleet of soldiers, robots and what few aircrafts he had left, his counterpart clung to his face, confused and shocked at the sudden heavy twinge in his nasal passages.

Though thin and limber as he may be the Warden couldn't seem to hold himself up at first. He had feeling in his limbs, which only meant he could feel the pain every inch of him was in, still he tried to maneuver his legs to a position fit for standing. The first few tries were failures, another blast set him off balance. After holding onto his knees, giving himself somewhat of a brace he managed to keep his stance.

He looked out beyond the doors of the lift, nothing appeared to be damaged however much the attack from outside suggested it might be. His head was now quite fogged with the sudden rush of blood throughout his body, he couldn't remember exactly what it was he was looking for now. 

The tiny weight of something still held in his hand reminded him instantly. His heart leaped at the sight of the right floor. The Observation room was only a two-minute's walk, or in his case a ten-minute's crawl from where he stood.

The Warden slowly placed his foot outside, judging if the floor was indeed sturdy enough to support his trembling frame. Seeing that he'd successfully taken his first step he tried the other foot. The attacks from above seemed to have ceased for the time being, building this broken wall of confidence just the slightest to reassure him as he headed down the corridor.

Though the shaking had stopped, he could still hear the mayhem going on outside and above him. He inched along the wall, almost clinging to it for support. He had to stop a few times to wipe away the blood pouring from his nose, only to flinch from it's tenderness.

Finally he reached the Observation room, twisting the handle only to find it locked. He tried knocking and to no surprise, there wasn't an answer. Shaking himself into focus, instantly regretting doing so, he pressed the first series of buttons that came to mind. The little red light above the handle changed to green and a sharp click sounded his granted access.

Upon entering he found the only light in the room was the beam cast from the hall. He fiddled around in the shadows to find the switch, tripping over his own feet in the dark.

"Are you frightened, Warden?" Penna's strained voice broke out.

The Warden jumped a little, falling back against the wall.

"W-what? What's going on?"

He found the light-switch and flicked it quickly. The sight of the Interrogator, fierce-eyed, gripping the iron bars of her compacted cell startled him quite a bit. She too was greatly surprised to see him, as bloodied and bruised as he appeared, still trying to catch his breath. However she only betrayed her shock for a hardly-noticeable second.

"The hell are you doing in there?" He asked blankly, looking around for any sign of Jailbot's remains. He felt a huge wave of happiness overcome him as he spotter the shining white body discarded in the far corner.

"I suppose I should be considering this as my punishment." She responded, almost pleased with herself though she remained as heated as ever in her stare.

"P-punishment? For what?"

As if on cue another quake soon shook throughout the base. Penna felt herself unable to hide her smirk in that moment.

"How bad is it out there?" She questioned, eying him up and down.

"Looks like they've got us outnumbered, I didn't expect them to get here quite this early." She finished with another smirk.

The Warden shifted his gaze from her to Jailbot, slowly stepping over to them. He wasn't sure how to feel about her in this state, as wild she looked and as eerily-satisfied she spoke. He felt something was wrong and he shouldn't stay much longer.

"Why are you here? Come to let me out?"

"I-I think I found a way to fix my machine. I didn't know you would be...down here."

Should he let her out, he thought? He could probably guess the code easily. Still that unwary feeling tugged away at his mind, telling him that she looked likely to strike at anything she could get her tightly clenched hands on.

He looked to his creation's parts once more, judging how much he could carry in one trip, and with the obviously broken lift he would have to find the stairs. He hadn't the first clue where they might be, but before him the sharp-eyed Interrogator would know.

He cleared his throat, exerting as much forced-confidence her vicious glare would allow him.

"I might need help getting this back upstairs if I'm going to make it one piece." He began to reason, gauging her reaction closely.

Her expression softened gradually and the feat of what she'd found herself in soon replaced the hollow face she tried so hard to keep up.

The Warden tiptoed to the steel door, extending his fingers along the keypad.

"Hey," Penna began, her exhaustion taking over any steadiness in her already panicked voice.

"What I said...about killing you when I had the chance, I didn't mean it."

"Oh sure you didn't." He chuckled, pressing down they 'enter' key. A series of beeps chimed from the mechanism and the heavy steel-clad door swung open with an incredible relieving ease.

He stepped to the side, allowing her to exit as she pleased. This time she was the one to clear her throat, unsure how to thank him exactly.

"Ahem... So, uh, you think you've figured it out then have you?" She said, heaving a chuckle of her own.

"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't see it before. I'm just hoping this time the thing actually works." He sighed, looking over the functionless frame of his beloved masterpiece.

Penna peered over his shoulder, still carrying a doubt that she had actually been set free so soon. She expected at any second for the other to come bursting in and forcing her back into the cell.

"Jailbot?"

"Yes-- here can you hold this?" He spoke, concentrated in his tone as he pushed his thumb against a latch, causing the 'chest' piece to pop up. He gently handed her the wide yet thin sheet of metal.

It felt shockingly light in her hands, making it easy to do as requested. Though she would have done so regardless, feeling the need to express her gratitude in some way.

The Warden began to pick apart what was left inside the nearly empty shell, setting bits and pieces that were far too complex for her to describe, despite seeing many similar things in her employment.

He examined the little spark-plug in his hand and was about to decide which parts to take and which to leave until a shudder so loud and so forceful knocked the two of them down.

Heads swimming and ears ringing, they clambered to their feet, using the other as support.

"Forget it!" The Warden cried, grabbing as much as he could carry in his arms. "I'll take this half and you take the other!"

Penna didn't waste the time to nod as she dove into the silvered cavity, scooping all the chunks of complicated metal she could.

The two sprinted toward the stairwell, Penna leading at a pace the battered Warden could barely keep up with. Still, they managed to find it, tucking the precious components as tightly as they could to themselves while trying to avoid being knocked about by the unforgiving tremors.

As they reached the top, they had to pause, rapidly gasping for air that began to taste of unsettled rock and smoke. Their break was a short one, taking off once again to the Warden's room.

Inside they immediately set down the parts they had as he hurriedly sorted them. The chaotic scene from outside his window; full of gunfire, men shouting and running, an endless stream of dismembered limbs flying every which way from both sides of the fight was all he needed to tell him it was time to get the hell out of here.

Safely inside his explosive-proof dome, the Future-Warden watched the havoc displayed before him. He kept a close eye on a monitor that showed the power remaining for his newest creation. It was decreasing faster than he expected. It didn't help the matter that the black-steel Jailbot-X had hardly any time to rest from his debut. 

The menacing contraption pushed ahead, dissolving as much of the enemy as he could. He fired, projected and blasted away any and every form of ammunition in his arsenal. True he had made a dent in the Resistance, but he could not keep this up for much longer.

Jared and the others, Alice and even the good Doctor were all playing their part in defending as much of SuperBase as they could. The ground forces were keeping most of the insurgents at bay, however the entire threat was raining down on them maliciously from above. They had twice over the amount of aircrafts in the sky than the other Warden did and they would soon make short work of his defenses.

He kept his eyes on that one monitor, not even for one second allowing himself to panic. He searched his mind for something, anything he could use to give his invention the extra boost needed to save them all. Suddenly it came to him, he still had plenty of excess leftover from Classic Jailbot! Of course, he could use that!

Pulling a lever to lower his seat from the view his dome provided, the other made an immediate haste to the last place he left his old mechanical wonder.

It did not take him long to arrive, even the resulting trembling from those vile scumbags didn't seem to faze him at all. 

He stopped suddenly, staring slack-jawed at the gaping door he was very, very certain he had locked. Feeling his fury begin to overcome him he practically leaped inside, growling an incoherent mess of swears and cursing.

"HOWL! Argh! GODDAMMIT!" He slammed his fist against the wall, nearly piercing it with his rage. The cage he left her in swayed lightly, completely empty. His only hope for a power-supply had been ransacked as well.

He knew where they were, and he would make damn well sure they both would realize the severity of their actions.

Only three more pieces remained to attach before the Warden could finish it off with a replacement plug he had managed to fashion from the heart of Jailbot's own power-supply. 

He and Penna had worked silently, though quickly. Both seemed to have the understanding that there really wasn't that much to say. He was far too absorbed with making sure every piece to this godforsaken puzzle would be put back in it's exact place. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of what had happened the first time he used this version of the machine.

The image of Jared, his Jared, fading in and out like that only to be swallowed up by the wave of white light frightened him more than what he was able to hide. It had to work this time, it just had to.

With a quick shove the replacement plug was inserted. He was thankful the other's remote still functioned and with it he commanded the oval-shaped door to open.

"Think it'll work?" Penna asked, her tone strangely genuine to him, absent of her normal sarcasm instead portraying actual concern.

"I sure as hell hope so," He responded, annoyed, angry, exhausted and broken.

The two looked at each other for a moment, not entirely aware of how one stood with the other.

The Warden was first to break the silence.

"You could come with me if you want." He shrugged, deciding that he might as well throw that offer out there, guessing that odd expression she wore meant she was expecting to hear it.

She scoffed, shaking her head to burst into an obnoxious snicker.

"I'll be honest with you Warden-- and I mean this in the nicest way possible; after this, I really hope to never see you again."

Her laughter faded, and that odd sincerity took over once more.

"At least not from my side of the cell." She added. "Besides, is it really necessary?"

"H-how so?" The Warden replied, eased from offense by her additional comment.

"Do I really need to come with you to save myself? I've only ever begged you for mercy once and I think once is enough for anyone."

"Ah, yes so this is the kind soul who let you out, is it Howl? I expected much better of you Warden... Such a disappointment."

The panting form of the Future-Warden, his face devoid of every emotion other than pure loathing. He swept across the room in a furious blur, taking a murderous hold of his Interrogator's neck. 

The younger Warden's only instinct in that instant was to jump into the cabin of his machine, the oval door swooping down to secure him inside. He watched the two struggle for a panicked moment, his nerves burnt out from fatigue.

Dropping her hands from the choking hold around her windpipe, Penna extended her arm as far as she could, reaching with all her strength for that tiny remote. She grinned the widest she ever had at her employer as her twitching fingers wrapped around it.

All it took was one little push of a button and the room filled with blinding, green light and a clash that made the explosions just outside the window seem like mere whispers.

The Warden had disappeared, as did his last image of his Future-self and his employee.