i saw Dalgon moving quickly out of the camera black zone and through the range of several cameras, the newcomer on his tail, headed back to the armory. then, out of the corner of my eye, i caught movement: quickly, i locked my gaze on the moniter that had shown it, and caught a glimpse of what i had feared. it was the largest and strongest of the security bots, old but, unfortunately, reliable. it had only ever been driven away at high cost of life, and it's battle scars shone in contrast with the grimy, tarnished brass and bronze that composed it's armor. it was there only for a few seconds, then it and it's dragon-like form was gone down the corridor and after Dalgon, moving faster than the cameras could track. quickly, i glanced at the countdown again, then spoke into the microphone, specifically targeting Dalgon's location. "if you can move faster, do it. the Guardian has detected your presence, knocked out the cameras so that i couldn't see it, and is now stalking you. if you fight it, there is a small chance that you can beat it, but there is something that will definitely destroy it, or at least damage it to the point that it deactivates. get to the armory; in one minute and fifteen seconds, i will open it, and you will have twenty seconds before it reaches you to set up the trap: otherwise, the Guardian will tear right through the armory door like tissue paper. once you are inside, look for a long, black crate labeled FIM-92 STINGER. once you find it, open it and take the weapon inside, then wait in the corridor for the Guardian. it will come barreling down that hallway, and due to the materials that make up it's processing systems, there will be approximately a ten-second delay between it recognizing the weapon and it's response. you need to fire the weapon, and HIT, during those ten seconds. if you miss, there won't be enough time to reload, and if you wait longer than ten seconds, the Guardian will dodge the missile all together. if you manage to hit it, the weapons fire will destroy it and you'll be safe for the time being, but if you miss, your on your own, because any defense i can throw up against it will be easily destroyed."
a mechanical voice announced that one minute remained before systems reboot, and the message went out all over the Facility using the same speakers that i did, and then began to count down from 60. i bit the nail of my thumb anxiously as i watched events unfold before me.