Chapter 147 - Secrets Of The Dark Temple

Dageer, Tech, Metal, Timer, Bliar and Captain Hilix had been walking for the last few hours, and were starting to run out of water. They hadn't prepared to be on the temple for so long, but since they got trapped inside, they had no option but to walk until they found an exit.

They were still on the same corridor, and no matter which direction they went, all they found was some dead droids, which had run out of battery. Their comlinks were offline, and Dageer could only hope that Brain or Captain Narza didn't send anyone to look for them, otherwise more clones would be lost in the temple.

"Sir! Look!"

Dageer had been so lost in his thoughts that Timer had to shook him. Something had changed, and the corridor opened in a gigantic room, bigger than any else Dageer had ever seen. Pale green mist was flowing in the room, making it impossible to see it entirely. Strangely, the mist didn't seem to float outside of the room, as if an invisible wall was stopping it.

"Activate your filters."

One of the biggest improvements that the Phase II armor had was the filters on the helmet, enough to safeguard the soldiers from most of the toxic substances, as well as filter the water so the clones would be able to battle on aquatic planets without having to worry about air supply.

When he confirmed his men had all turned on the filters, Dageer stepped inside of the room. Now that he was inside of it, he thought it was more appropriate to call it a hall, since he couldn't see the end of it. When he looked up, he discovered that the walls followed a weird pattern, as if they were under a stair.

"Tech, scan the area. And let's keep quiet. We don't know what is in here."

Hell Squad's mechanic and expert with any kind of device, Tech always had a scanner with him. The blue screen rippled, and then showed the design of the room.

"That mist is interfering with it, but there is something in the middle of the room. And by the measures the scanner is showing - or rather the ones that it isn't - I think the temple is hollow. That room is everything it has."

"That is impossible. We have been walking for hours, how can it be? Even if someone is messing with the walls, we..."

"Silence. Listen."

Dageer interrupted Metal harshly. Amidst the green mist, he could hear someone talking. The voice was so faint that he almost thought he was imagining it, but the other clones also heard it.

"Who is that? I-I can't understand what i-it is s-saying."

"S-So cold. We h-have t-to see what it is."

A gush of wind blew the mist away, revealing an altar in the middle of the hall. Something was glowing red above it, and Dageer thought it was beautiful. And powerful. If he could see it, the nightmares would go away. He had to take it. He would be able to forget everything. Jedis, the Republic, all the brothers that he lost, Berro.

"B-Berro... Ughhhhh!!!!"

Searing pain made him fall to the ground, holding his head, and then guilty washed over him. How could he want to forget his brothers, and all the sacrifices that they had done? How could he want to forget Berro, the cheerful clone that had been one of his best soldiers and above all else, friend?

"You want so many things... I can give them to you... Come... Come..."

"N-No..."

"Yes... Come... Come... I will give you power... Power..."

"N..."

His mind was blank, and the voice was so tempting... Dageer was almost giving up when someone pushed him, and he fell sideways on the cold ground. The impact cleared his mind, although he felt like he had been sleeping for a month, and his reactions were slow.

He got up, and grabbed his DC-17, aiming in at the altar, but what entered his sights was Captain Hilix. The clone was walking towards the altar, and had crashed on Dageer on his ways, but kept on walking. And it wasn't only him, all the others were also moving in the same direction.

"Captain! Come back here! Timer! Tech! Metal! Bliar!"

None of the clones answered him, and kept limping towards the altar. Dageer ran forward, and looked through the black visors of Captain Hilix's helmet. His brother's eyes were fixed on the red glow, almost shining. He seemed to lost all of his strength, and when Dageer pushed him back, the captain fell backward without any signs of resistance, then got back up again.

Seeing his efforts were futile, Dageer when to the altar. He had to destroy whatever was controlling the minds of his brothers before anything bad happened.

When he approached, he saw that the origin of the red glow was a small crystal, the size of a finger. It was floating above the altar, with nothing under it.

"You want power... Come... Take it... You will be powerful... With me..."

The voice once more resounded inside his head, much stronger this time. However, he blocked it, just like he had blocked Ventress went she was torturing him.

"Get... Out!"

"Shhhiiiiiiirlllkkkkk!!!!!"

There was one more yell from the voice, and it disappeared. Dageer opened his eyes, wanting to destroy the crystal, but to his dismay, he saw that Timer was just about to touch it. The clone grabbed the crystal, the red glow escaping through the gaps between his fingers.

For a moment, Timer stayed put, as if the red crystal did nothing. Then, slowly, he started to rise up in the air, and his feet stopped touching the ground. Suddenly, Timer's body arched in pain, and he left the most terrifying scream Dageer had ever heard in his life.

Without much time to think, Dageer smacked his DC-17 on Timer's wrist. With a sickening sound, the clone's hand went limp, and the crystal dropped from it, and started floating a few centimeters above the ground.

Instantly, Dageer heard the voice again, once more trying to persuade him. Knowing that if he waited any longer things would get worse, Dageer took off his helmet, and trapped the crystal inside, together with the voice.

The moment the voice disappeared, all the clones being controlled fell to the ground, holding their heads.

"Aghh... My head..."

"What happened?"

"Ouch! My wrist! I think it's broken."

Dageer stood quiet, holding his breath. He was waiting to make sure the green mist wasn't poisonous, but after some time, nothing happened, and he decided it was safe to breathe normally.

"Tech, give me your belt."

"Yes, sir."

Tech took off his belt, and Dageer emptied one of the compartments that held DC-15A magazines. Carefully not to touch it, he pushed the crystal inside the compartment, and closed it. He crystal had only been exposed for two seconds, but his soldiers' eyes had become blank again, and only returned to normal after a few seconds.

Without time to explain, Dageer waited for them to get up, and walked towards the same corridor that they came from. Now that the red crystal was secure, he suspected that they would find the exit easily, and all Dageer wanted was to get as far as possible from the temple.