Alex kept creeping through the tunnels below Asgarnia, hoping to soon locate Dr. Kleiner. He wondered if Marshall noticed that he was gone. He was also becoming concerned about Otis.
"Damn it all, I shouldn't have left Otis back at the cabin," Alex muttered to himself. "God knows what could happen to him."
Suddenly, something was skittering in the airducts above him. Alex leveled his new weapon at the duct, prepared to shoot whatever dropped down. He heard an all-too-fimiliar chirping. Suddenly, the duct collapsed, and Otis fell out.
"Otis!" Alex cried. "How in hell did you find me, much less get here?!"
Otis chirped happily and assumed his position on Alex's shoulder. He then chirped a question to Alex.
"I'm down here looking for Dr. Kleiner... Tell me, did you see Marshall on your way here?"
Otis gave a negative chirp.
"Hmm...I just hope he realizes I'm not there with him. He IS kind of oblivious sometimes. Whatever, we need to find Kleiner and get in touch with him. The guard said he was down this tunnel."
A little later, Alex soon came to a large pit full of the noxious fluid once known as water.
"Urgh. I have to cross THIS?" he moaned.
Otis, excited, leapt off Alex's back and into the water.
"OTIS!" Alex hollered in horror.
Otis splashed into the toxic soup, and then surfaced, happily paddling his way across. He appeared completely immune to the water's effects. It clicked in Alex's mind. Otis was from the borderworld, as were the toxins in the water. The substances normally lethal to humans were probably natural to Otis. As he reached the other side, the black headcrab clamped onto a pipe and skittered up the side. He landed on the other end of the pit and shook off the excess water, leaving him with a wet shine.
"Well, glad YOU were able to make it over," Alex snorted. "Now for me..."
Alex scoped around for something he could use to clamber across the poisonous dip. He saw it; a thin pipe that his hand could easily reach around. It was roughly two inches wide, and ran the length of the tunnel. It occassionally dripped, leaving it a little slick in some places. Directly underneath it was a larger pipe that Alex could tiptoe across while holding the top pipe for balance. Seeing no other alternative, he mounted the pipe and secured his balance while his alien companion sat down on the other side and watched.
The pit was about fifty or so feet wide, and with the pipes as slick as they were, Alex would have to take it in increments. The rough texture of the soles of Alex's footwear helped benefit his traction a little. As he took a step forward, he inched his hands across the small pipe above his head. He continued this for a while...
...Nearly over the pit, Alex suddenly lost his footing. His feet slid off the bottom pipe and he was left dangling over the noxious pond below. Using all of his strength, Alex kept clambering the remaining feet with his hands on the top pipe. Right before the edge of the chasm, his hands suddenly slipped off the pipe. For a millisecond he fell before he was able to grab a pipe jutting out of the pit's wall. Grabbing now with his second hand, he pulled his weight up over the pipe until he could reach the ledge. He brought his foot up onto the pipe and stood. He finally picked himself up over the ledge. Impressed with this spectacle of acrobatics, Otis chirped approvingly.
"You have to admit that was good," bragged Alex.
Otis chirped again and scaled up onto Alex's shoulder.
After hours of walking and more pit climbing, Alex came upon a barricade in the tunnel. It was a hobbled-together thing built out of scrap sheet metal and boards. Alex knocked on the gate to indicate to whoever owned it that he wished entrance. A gruff voice answered,
"Yeah, what do ya want?"
"I'm Alex. I'm here to find Dr. Kleiner," he answered.
"Alex, eh? I've heard of you. Hero who saved the borderworld?"
"The very one."
"Welcome sir," the guard said amiably, raising the gate. What Alex saw what unimaginable. Kliener and his escort had converted this large area into a makeshift laboratory, complete with bookshelfs, workbenches, and consoles. Kleiner was again rooting around his lab looking for Lamarr.
"Blast it!" Kleiner cried. "Lamarr? Here, girl! I've got watermelon!"
"Isaac...?" Alex called.
"Yes, what is-- My goodness. Alex! It really is you, isn't it? I had given up hope of ever seeing you again!"
"I know I was gone a while..."
"I'm amazed that you were able to stop the Borderworld storms, but unfortunately, soon after you left, we had greater problems," Kleiner went on. "Kandarian soldiers soon attacked the city for no reason, and we were overpowered in a mere seven hours. The shield spire collapsed, and huge amounts of Borderworld energy were released on the area. As you saw, the landscape was poisoned. The city has been leveled. It's only a matter of time before it's under Kandarian control."
"What about the other scientists?" Alex asked.
"We all managed to make it out safely, and are hiding out here until someone can help us. With you here, it's a great improvement, but it's just not enough."
"Well, I do have some other friends...but they're all back in the city," Alex said. I told the guard at the post to relay my position to anyone who asked..."
Otis peeked over Alex's shoulder.
"My goodness!" cried Kliener. "Is that a headcrab?"
"Yeah, actually. He followed be back from the borderworld, and decided that he wanted me as a friend. His name is Otis."
"I see he still has his fangs," Kleiner noted. "Since he hasn't made any attempt to couple with you, I suppose it's a good idea to leave them as they are. I had to work a little bit with Lamarr to get her to cooperate."
Lamarr crawled out from underneath a box, and immediately saw Otis. Lamarr let out a chirp, perhaps inviting Otis to commune with her. Otis crawled off Alex's back and over to Lamarr. The two began chirping back and forth.
"Hmm, interesting," Kleiner mused. "Let's leave them for a moment while we focus on how we're going to get out of this alive."
