《(Re)Install》


 1.exe - Boot_up.sys

    Writer¡¯s spot: Because Author¡¯s corner are overrated.


    SO, here we are. A brand new series made only because I needed some break from my other story. This will be a kind of Re: story, with a slight difference. But then, I¡¯m no expert at Re: style stories, so it might get a bit different down the road (or right at the beginning? Maybe?)


    BESIDES, for the next week or two, I will update this regularly, but the chapters may or may not be as long as Insania¡¯s, since I won¡¯t try to stick to the 4k a chapter. But this also means that there is a greater chance for double chapter while I¡¯m updating it. After I return to Insania, I will start to update this occasionally.


    Enjoy your story!


    ---------


    The spirit finally seemed to stir up, moving around restlessly as he tried to make out his surrounding, trying to understand where he was and what was happening. Confusion, shock and mostly importantly¡­


    ¡°God dammit, this is one boring place.¡±


    Yes, boredom.


    Not that there was much that the spirit could do into such a space. With nothing extending to the front, and even less to the back, all around him was the never-ending darkness, broken only by the occasional pulsating lines of blue light that, just as the blackness, came from the infinity and went to nowhere.


    Such a scene would have made many people feel despair, fear or others such a thing. But strangely, the soul didn¡¯t seem all that bothered, and simply watched the nothingness around him.


    But this did nothing to quench the soul¡¯s boredom. He could feel as the area around him twisted and contorted his sense of time and space. He couldn¡¯t tell if he arrived here a few seconds or years ago, and something like that did not help with his little problem.


    Trying to move around, the soul finally noticed that he could, somehow, move around. Well, at least that is what he thought he was doing, it is a bit hard when your sense of space is as twisted as time.


    He moved forward, trying to find something that could at least pique his interest, but no matter how long he moved, nothing at all caught his attention. A sigh would have escaped his lips, should he still have them, but even that was lacking in such a boring area.


    Trying to take advantage of his lack of an actual physical body, and the sheer feeling of boredom that seemed to overwhelm him, the soul tried to see if other ranges of movements were also available to his formless body.


    And yes! The soul could move in more than the usual front, back and sideways! Noticing that it could also spin itself around, the soul immediately put itself to spin around, doing loops and spinning around while shouting happily.


    ¡°Wheee!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ What are you doing?¡± A voice suddenly said, making the soul stop into its tracks and look around. Or doing something as close to looking around as it could without a body.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The soul shouted after not seeing anyone. ¡°Rather, where are you? I can¡¯t see anything here!¡± Then the soul clicked its tongue, or at least made a sound that sounded like so. ¡°Worst dream ever. Flying is nice, though.¡±


    ¡°And why do you think that this is a dream?¡± The voice asked the soul once again.


    ¡°Well¡­ Because I¡¯m pretty sure I had a body last time I checked.¡± The soul said as if stating the obvious. ¡°That, and I can¡¯t help but have this feeling that I heard your voice in some other place. And I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯ve never talked to an disembodied voice before, therefore, dream.¡± The soul nodded, satisfied with himself.


    ¡°I must say that is quite a logic reasoning you have.¡± The voice said, with its feminine intonation and a slightly strange flair to it. The soul knew that it sounded familiar, but he couldn¡¯t quite put his non-existing finger on it.


    ¡°I know, right?¡± The soul sounded proud of itself, stuffing its spiritual imaginary chest out. ¡°Besides, this seems absurdly close to a certain fanfiction I¡¯ve read on a site. Actually, a lot of them look like this.¡± He said while spinning around, as if pointing to the whole world around it.


    ¡°So¡­ You have stories like these in your world?¡± The voice said with a slightly amused tone. ¡°But I fear I must refute your dream theory.¡± The voice said with some slight grief.


    And for the first time, the soul actually felt worried. A brief moment of silence. The briefest of the moments, before it finally spoke again.


    ¡°What¡­ What do you mean by that?¡± The soul asked, slightly shocked, but the voice simply said in a sad tone.


    ¡°Tell me¡­ What is the last thing you remember before arriving here?¡± The voice asked.


    And the soul stopped, shocked by this sudden question. A question that made it start to think back to before he popped up in this place. He could still remember earlier that day.


    He had woken up in his bed, as usual, and went straight to the bathroom to wash his face to at least look a bit more presentable. Then he went to the kitchen, drank his usual mug of coffee and milk, with way more milk than coffee, to tell the truth. His friends always mocked him because of that, but he never could take on hot food anyway.


    Afterwards, he went to surf on the internet without minding much about college, since it was a weekend. Some fanfictions later, he heard as his family started to wake up. His twin sisters popping up from the door and complaining about how can someone wake up five in the morning during a weekend.


    He simply turned to them and stuck out his tongue, which resulted into one of their usual full-out battle, where his sisters would try to attack him, and he kept keeping them away with less than swift footsteps, and more use of his larger body-frame.


    Afterwards, his father and mother woke up, complaining that there was too much noise too early in the morning, and somehow he managed to shrug the blame all towards the twins. Which only resulted into even more of a friendly war between the twins and the not-yet-spirit spirit.


    Then, his sisters left, due to having a meeting with a friend from their schools. His parents left for an intimate lunch, just between the two. Something they did every two or so months. The twenty years old young-man, in a not so responsible sounding idea, decided to stay and watch their home. As well as that one show he had been waiting for the last two weeks. Not that he hid this from them, actually.


    Since the show was around lunch-time, he heated up the previous day¡¯s food, and then¡­


    The soul paled, or would if¡­ Oh, you get the drift!


    ¡°Then¡­ Am I¡­ Really¡­ Dead?¡± Well, I have been calling you a soul since the beginning¡­


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± That was all that the voice said, grief clearly present in that brief vocalized moment.


    The soul simply stood there, quietly while he processed what he had just heard. His mind wrapping up around the fact that he truly was dead. A long time went by with only silence between the two of them. The soul lost track of time for a moment, lost in his confusing feelings.


    How would his family feel knowing that he was dead. How would his friends react at the news? What could he have done to survive? No, that one he knew. But why didn¡¯t he do it? No, that did not matter for now.


    A sigh marked the moment when the self-mourning finished.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± The voice asked, and the soul nodded. ¡°Are you sure? You only had a few seconds¡­¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Just a few seconds? Felt a lot longer than that.¡± The soul asked confused.


    ¡°Time¡­ Is a bit strange here.¡± The voice said, and the soul simply nodded. ¡°But are you really fine?¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ And yes, I am fine. If I keep moping around nothing would change.¡± He muttered in a sad voice. ¡°Anyway, if I follow the pattern here¡­ Now would be where you invite me to be reincarnated in another world, right?¡± The soul asked as if he already knew what was happening.


    ¡°So, you already knew?¡± The voice asked surprised.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ That is what actually happens in these scenarios¡­ You come, show yourself to me, tell me you are some kind of goddess from another world, tell me I have a compatible soul or something, then summon slash reincarnate me to another world where I have to fight some kind of invading force because you can¡¯t interfere directly. Or something like that.¡± The soul told the voice as if stating a fact. Then suddenly, it¡¯s voice became¡­ Annoyed. ¡°But usually¡­ The character¡¯s death are a lot less... Ridiculous.¡±


    The voice said nothing to his last comment, for any kind of thing she could say to him would only worsen his mood. Besides, a death because you choked on food while laughing at a comedy show isn¡¯t exactly something people would like to remember.


    As he said, a ridiculous death.


    After some few seconds of awkward silence, or were they hours? The soul didn¡¯t quite know. Stupid twisted time. The voice finally said.


    ¡°Yes. I am a goddess, and yes, I am offering to reincarnate you.¡± She said, and the Soul held itself to not shout out BINGO right there and then. But the goddess¡¯ next words shocked him. ¡°But, I don¡¯t need you to fight an invading force nor anything of the like. What I need, is for you to free me.¡±


    Such unexpected words shocked the soul. And taking such a silence as a sign to go on, the goddess went on to tell her story. She, along with other gods suddenly appeared on her world an eternity ago, and together, they all created their world. Each mention of world having a different meaning, mind you.


    But the other gods disliked the fact that she was different from them, and thus, as soon as their task was nearing completion, and all of them were exhausted, the other gods turned against her and locked her within a seal.


    Ages went by, and as the goddess was powerless, because the seal managed to not only hold her in place, but also avoid her from getting her energy back.  Thus, she was forced to simply stand by and wait as the world and its inhabitants developed without her being able to guide the very beings that she created. Even when the others races started to spread out and develop themselves.


    ¡°But the seal wasn¡¯t exactly perfect, and slowly I managed to regain some of my energy, so that I¡­ Is something the matter?¡± The goddess asked, noticing that the Soul had gone quiet for a moment.


    ¡°Wha? No¡­ It¡¯s just that I really have the feeling that I know your voice from somewhere, and that is really bothering me. A lot, actually.¡± The soul said while trying to hold it¡¯s non-existent chin with his imaginary hand.


    The goddess went silent for a moment as she smiled in amusement. Rather, that is how it felt to the Soul. How he knew she was smiling? Absolutely no idea.


    ¡°I did tell you that I was locked since the beginnings of time, correct?¡± The soul nodded. ¡°Because of that, right now I don¡¯t have anyone who even knows of my existence. Even the other gods seems to have forgotten about me by now.¡± She said with a slight hint of sadness. ¡°So I have nothing of what you call¡­ Identity. I don¡¯t know how I look, I don¡¯t know how I sound, and I don¡¯t know how I am called.¡± Now it wasn¡¯t only a hint, but a full-fledged sadness. ¡°Without anything like that, I had to take something from your memories to represent myself. And this voice seemed to be closely related to what I am. At least in your thoughts.¡±


    The soul looked surprised for a moment, suddenly feeling that his own death wasn¡¯t that much of a problem, compared to what this goddess had gone through. Steeling himself, he decided that it was about time to change the direction of the talk.


    ¡°Then, you want me to take you out so you can have your revenge against the other gods?¡± The soul asked, but the goddess went silent for a moment.


    ¡°No.¡± She said calmly, with a slight hint of anger in her voice. ¡°Having my revenge¡­ Would take me nowhere. At most, it would end up bringing the end of my world. I¡­ Do not wish for that.¡± She said in the same calm tone. ¡°All that I really want is to leave this place. Leave this place and travel around the world, see what I missed in all these ages I¡¯ve spent here.¡± A small pause. ¡°But¡­ If that¡¯s impossible, I would like for you to kill me.¡±


    ¡°Denied.¡± The soul said straight away, the goddess seemed surprised, since she didn¡¯t speak anything. ¡°You want me to free you? Sure, I¡¯m in. But I don¡¯t plan on killing you if all else fails.¡± He said while nodding.


    ¡°I see¡­ Thanks.¡± The goddess said in a low tone.


    ¡°So, what do I get? Since you said that you are weak right now¡­ I guess I can¡¯t expect to be reincarnated on a blessed body with ridiculous skills, do I?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ As you said, I can¡¯t grant you that.¡± She agreed sadly. ¡°With the energy I have, the body that I can create is¡­ Flawed, to say the least.¡± She said with a slight hint of grief in her voice. ¡°But I can at least give you a way to improve yourself.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Works for me.¡± The soul said as if shrugging his shoulder. ¡°So, where exactly do I have to go to find you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t know.¡± The goddess said. ¡°I know nothing of the world as it is now, and I was unconscious while the other gods moved me around, so I don¡¯t have the slightest idea of where I am, nor how the world is.¡± She said sadly.


    The soul simply nodded in response, and a brief (or was it long?) moment of silence fell between the two of them. But different from the last time, this one wasn¡¯t awkward, and it was mostly so that the soul could have some time to think for itself. After some time, it finally nodded.


    ¡°Okay, when do we start?¡± he asked, and he could almost feel the goddess beam a smile, even when he still couldn¡¯t see her.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± She said cheerfully. ¡°I¡¯ll send you to the body I prepared right away then...¡± She said cheerfully before suddenly stopping. ¡°Sorry, it seems that in all that happened, I didn¡¯t quite get your name¡­¡± The goddess said with a slight embarrassed tone.


    ¡°Oh, that?¡± The soul said indifferently. ¡°The name is Garry. AkA Gaz, a nickname my friends gave me in some games.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ I would introduce myself, but I don¡¯t really have a name, sorry.¡± The goddess said with a slightly awkward tone. ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll send you over now. Thanks for helping me.¡± She said one last time, and Gaz would have smiled if he could.


    And with that, he felt as his consciousness started to fade out into the blackness, being lulled into a sweet sleep. However, the moment before he finally blacked out, he suddenly remembered. Taking all of his energy to try and stay awake for one last moment, he said.


    ¡°Wait¡­ I remember! Your voice¡­ Is from that game¡¯s¡­ A.I¡­. Why¡­?¡± He said as he fought against the sleepy feeling.


    ¡°Hmm? Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± The goddess asked surprised. ¡°I¡¯m what you people would call¡­¡±


    ¡°The machines¡¯ goddess.¡±

 2.exe - Arrival.txt

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings, friends! Our first look upon the new world!


    SO, here we have our main character first appearance on his new (And ridiculously weak) body, on an unknown world and a completely oblivious goddess as an aide. What could possibly go wrong?


    BESIDES, from now on I should keep updating this daily until I go back to updating Insania. Exceptions on heavy classes day, of course, but nothing unlike what I did before.


    BESIDES(II), I know a bit about computed, but nothing too big, so if there is something wrong with any computer/robotic term used in here, NOT MY FAULT! AUTHOR¡¯S RIGHT!


    Enjoy your story!


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    <table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>GAZ.OS Is booting up.


    The best Goddess-saving OS. ever made.*


    Gaz.Os is the only goddess saving Operating system built, and thus is considered the best Goddess saving operating system as up to this day. Should another Goddess saving OS appear, this statement may no longer be considered valid.</td></tr></tbody></table>


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    Gaz felt a bit light headed, and was almost sure that he had seen some kind of strange window just like the one from when he installed something new in his computer, but he couldn¡¯t be quite sure, since he was far from in his best state of mind at the moment.


    Luckily, he was quite a quick one to wake up. He could take his time to leave the bed, but that was more because he was simply lazy instead of slow.


    Thus it didn¡¯t take him longer than ten seconds to notice that something was very wrong with his body. And by very wrong, it meant VERY wrong.


    He couldn¡¯t feel his legs at all. Then, neither could he feel his arm. Nor torso. Nor head. Nor hair. Not that he could feel his hair on other occasions, but that is not what matters here, right?


    Because, even though he couldn¡¯t feel all his humanly limbs, it didn¡¯t mean that he couldn¡¯t feel his body at all, because he could, and that is what scared him. This body he felt was strange, to say the very least. It wasn¡¯t one with four limbs like he was used, being instead much simpler. A simple spherical body within a pair of even bigger half-spheres. No limbs, no head, nor anything. Simply that.


    It was weird, it was bizarre and it was something that didn¡¯t make any sense. However, it was his body and he knew this. There were many bodies like that out there, but this one was his.


    He opened his eyes in one of the most bizarre sensations of his life, as the two semi-spheres that he had no idea what they were separated themselves, showing him the scene in front of him with a whole new way of looking around.


    He could see some kind of Heads up display around his vision, with numbers and images he had never seen before, and whenever he looked at something in particular, a small bar would appear and slowly fill itself, as if scanning whatever it was that he was looking at.


    And the things he was looking at, were nothing else than trees. Trees, grass, flowers and leaves of some unknown forest he had never seen in his whole life. And these things were so big and massive that he couldn¡¯t even fathom how high the shortest tree could get to.


    Being a normal and fairly sane person, Gaz did what every normal person would have done in his situation, finding himself in a strange place with an even stranger body that felt TOO familiar and TOO strange at the same time.


    [WAAAAAAAAH!]


    He panicked and started running a figure eight while shouting. Well, shouting in his mind, since there wasn¡¯t any mouth in his new body.


    Fairly common stuff, if you ask me.


    [GEEEZ, CALM DOWN! My processor is burning with all that shouting!] He heard a strangely familiar voice speaking to him.


    [Wuzzat?] He asked surprised while turning around, looking for the source of the voice, but he couldn¡¯t see anybody nearby.


    [I said that all that shouting was making my processor overheat¡­ WAIT! You can hear me?] The voice suddenly sounded so cheerful that it made poor Gaz look confused.


    [Err¡­ Yes?] He said confused. [Why wouldn¡¯t I¡­] As he tried to understand what was happening, it slowly came back to him. [Wait! You are that goddess!] He said surprised. [Then¡­ Does this mean that¡­ This is my new body?] He asked confused.


    [I¡¯m¡­ Sorry¡­] She said a bit downhearted, which left the poor Gaz flustered. [This was all that I could put up with my power for now¡­]


    [Well, I¡¯m alive at least, so it¡¯s good!] he said in a cheerful tone trying to cheer her up.


    [¡­Yeah. At least that still works fine.] She agreed with him. [But, it¡¯s not all that bad, actually!] She cheered up a bit. [I mean, you may be unable to regenerate your own equipment, but you have a program and body capable of adapting to any other equipment you find around! No matter what kind of robot it is!] She said cheerfully.


    Gaz would have blinked here if he was still back into his human body.


    [Then, basically I can upgrade myself by defeating stronger enemies?] He said surprised, and he could almost feel a nod from the goddess. [I see¡­] He said nodding. [Then, what do I have besides that?]


    [Oh! Let me see¡­] She suddenly went silent for a moment. [Oh! I can assess your subsystems!] She suddenly said surprised, and as she did that, suddenly, in a corner of his vision a small line of text appeared, followed by the familiar Wi-fi symbol he knew.


    <table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>No_name: Sub-system access.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    [¡­We really need to find you a name.] He said while looking at the words. [But what exactly does that mea¡­] Before he could even finish, an image popped up in front of him.


    It showed what looked to be some kind of robot, with a metallic white spherical body that split itself in the middle, revealing a smaller body within, with a huge camera protected by a blue glass. Besides that, the robot didn¡¯t really have anything that looked too eye-catching. He had no doubt that what he was looking at the moment was his body, but as he looked.


    [Oh! Here they are!] The goddess said cheerfully, making a couple of videos popping up in his vision.


    One showed him how the robot moved around, spinning the outer-shell like a pair of over-sized wheels. It took him almost a few seconds to notice that he had been doing exactly that while running around, yet he didn¡¯t even notice. Voicing his doubt to her, she quickly answered.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    [I made it so that it would feel as intuitive as possible for you to move around your body!] She said.


    Gaz nodded, moving his core up and down for a moment before turning his attention towards the other videos that popped up. One of them showed him some kind of flexible cable he could use as a grappling tool, but it looked too feeble to be of any other use than to make some delicate work. At least it had a welding tool and some kind of universal screwdriver imbued on its tip, probably so he could dismantle parts and so on.


    Moreover, in the final video was some kind of sonar-like vision that he could use while closing himself within the more resistant outer shell. This made so that he could still see where he was going even when closing himself, but the vision range was too limited, so it wasn¡¯t exactly recommended.


    [So¡­ I¡¯m supposed to improve myself with pieces from other robots, is that right?] He asked after watching the videos.


    [Yes!] She said cheerfully.


    [So, this means that I have to get pieces from them before I can upgrade, right?] He asked again.


    [Yup!]


    [And how will I do that?] He asked, and this time the answer wasn¡¯t as immediate.


    [W¡­What do you mean?] She asked confused.


    [How will I get the pieces? Just get closer to the robots and say: ¡°Hey, mind giving me, I don¡¯t know, that awesome motor that drives you so that I can become better than you and probably kill you in the process?¡±]


    [I¡­ Didn¡¯t think of that¡­] She said shyly before suddenly cheering up. [Could this be¡­? Really?] She suddenly became cheerful.


    <table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>No_name would like to access your video feed. Accept?</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>(Yes/no)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    Gaz looked surprised for a moment, staring at the window for a moment before deciding to accept it. For a brief moment his vision flickered before it came back to normal, and as he wondered what happened, The goddess once again spoke.


    [Is¡­ Is that¡­ What are those?] She suddenly asked confused.


    [What are what?] Gaz asked confused.


    [Those¡­ Large things¡­ In front of you¡­] She asked confused.


    [The trees?]


    [So¡­ These are trees?] She asked confused.


    [Wow, you speak as if you have never seen one of them before!] He said surprised.


    [They¡­ They are common?] She asked surprised once again.


    [Aren¡¯t they pretty much everywhere?]


    [Really?]


    It was at this moment that he finally noticed that something was very wrong with the way that she was reacting wasn¡¯t just an act.


    [Could this be¡­ You never saw the world?] He asked confused.


    [No!  I was sealed all this time¡­ This¡­ Is the first time I¡¯ve seen it.] She agreed, her voice filled with wonder. [Hey! What¡¯s that¡­ Grey? Is that the color? That grey thing over there.] She asked, and when she did that, a symbol appeared on the corner of his vision, targeting something.


    Gaz quickly turned towards that single spot and saw¡­


    [A rock?] He asked, and he heard as the goddess made a sound of being impressed. [Say¡­ How come you never did this whole vision sharing with some other of your robots?] He asked her confused.


    [I¡¯ve been sealed in here since the beginning! I never really had the chance to test my powers like that, you know?] She said in a slightly sullen mood. [But¡­ Maybe I could try doing that¡­] She said, and suddenly went quiet.


    Not bothering too much with the sudden silence, Gaz decided to take his time to explore the area where he was. Starting up the motors that moved his wheels, or whatever it was called, he started moving around. Even if he had absolutely no way of fending off for himself, standing around doing nothing wouldn¡¯t take him anywhere.


    For now, maybe he should look around for another robot? Or maybe something else that he could talk to? Actually, what are the other things that he would find in this world? Now that he had stopped to think about it, he knew literally nothing about this place, and from the looks of it, neither did the goddess guiding him.


    Well, for now he could get that he was in a forest and it didn¡¯t seem that there was anything around him. Whenever he stared at a single object for long enough, he would receive some information about them. Fairly simple things like size, temperature and estimated thoughness.


    That gave him one important information about himself. He was ridiculously small. Probably something around fifty or so centimeters of height?


    His chances of surviving simply seemed to get smaller and smaller with time.


    He sighed on his mind as he walked started to move away from the area, seeing nothing more than vegetation and the occasional rocks. Not an animal, not a robot, nor a sentient being.


    But he couldn¡¯t quite feel that the forest was without life. Most likely he simply was too unlucky, or lucky, that he found nothing.


    Or at least that is what he thought, until a single thing darted through his vision. He immediately spun around, seeking whatever it was that passed on his vision, and what he saw left him impressed.


    A single small butterfly-like being seemed to notice him, as it also stopped and looked back to him. However, this one was far from the butterflies he had ever seen on his own world. Its center was made of some kind of metal casing and its wings looked some kind of plastic material, with glowing circuits pulsating a soft light around it.


    The robotic butterfly stared at him for a moment, spun once or twice around him and darted away, landing on a nearby flower. Amused by the scene, Gaz was caught by surprise when suddenly, her voice sounded on his mind.


    [It didn¡¯t work¡­] She said sullenly. [I¡­ Can somehow sense them around, but they are too different from when I first made them, so I can¡¯t seem to interface with the others.] She said sadly.


    [So¡­ I¡¯m your only source of contact with the external world?] He asked with a mental sigh.


    [Seems so¡­ Would you mind if I kept sharing your senses like this?]


    [If you ask me with that tone, I would feel like a villain by refusing you¡­] He said with another mental sigh, which was received with a happy feeling from her. [Well, where do we go now, then?] He asked.


    [Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t really know.] She said a bit confused. [I mean, I did feel a large concentration of robots a few days of travel¡­ So maybe go there?]


    [And will they help us?] The new robot asked in his mind.


    [I¡­ Don¡¯t know. Besides their presence, I couldn¡¯t really gather anything else. And even then, unless they are packed together I can¡¯t seem to sense them.] She said in an apologetic tone.


    [Oh well¡­ That is our best bet for now, I guess¡­] He said while turning towards the direction of a target that popped up in his vision. [Let¡¯s begin traveling then!] he said cheerfully while accelerating his motors.


    [Hmm! Let¡¯s hope nothing goes wrong!] She said in his mind, but this made the small robots top in his track for a moment, the inertia making his core spin a couple of times.


    [Oh, god¡­ You had to go and say it¡­] He said.


    Lady luck is a vengeful mistress, and those who tempt her, shall always be the first to taste her revenge.


    ¡°!$^#$^@%!¡±


    As if waiting for those words, a sudden voice was heard from outside, shouting something. And before Gaz could react to that sound, a loud noise echoed on the forest, and soon after, something fell atop the round robot.


    It was a net, made with some kind of silvery strands, and on its edges, stakes that pierced the ground, keeping the net in place. The poor robot tried to move away from the net, but they proved far too strong for his feeble motors.


    ¡°!%$&^#!?¡±


    He heard the voice coming from behind slowly approaching him.


    [Lets make a promise?] He said after giving up.


    [Yes?]


    [If we survive this, you are forbidden from speaking those words again, ok?]


    [Sorry?]

 3.exe - Beep.mp3

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings, friends! The destiny of our dear hero.


    SO, this is a short chapter, very short, to tell the truth, with only 1700 words, but I may upload another chapter today, since I still feel like writing a bit more. But that will be after I come back from my classes.


    BESIDES, I need to find a name for our goddess, so leave your comments giving me a recommendation and I may pick one of them, IF they are better than the one I have in mind.


    BESIDES (II), as you may notice, I plan on adding some fantasy elements, but in a fairly different way than the usual, so I hope you guys like it.


    Enjoy your story!


    ----


    Quickly thinking of a plan, Gaz decided that, whoever it was that had shot this net locking him in place would have the intention of picking him up, instead of killing. Or breaking, in more robotic terms. Not that it matters. Then, for a brief moment they would have to lift up the net to pick him up, so he would take this moment to dart away.


    He faked giving up, by stopping his wheels and letting his camera tilt downwards, and this made whoever it was that had thrown the net at him approach in slow and premediated steps, for two times stopping before reaching him.


    Readying himself and silently engaging his motors, he waited the moment that his sensors picked up the sound of the approaching person being right next to him, and the moment he felt a hand pulling up the net, he started the motors of his outer-shell.


    But what started spinning wasn¡¯t his wheel-like armor, but the whole world around him. The robot immediately stopped his motors before he could get dizzy with all the spinning, and tried to understand what happened. Spinning his camera around one last time until it stopped on his back, he saw the being that got him.


    Well, he was surprised, to say the least.


    It was a tall man, probably bearing almost two meters tall, with long black hair and pale skin. He wore something like a padded overcoat with a shirt and a pair of pants, All of them colored in a deep black. In his back something long, wrapped in some kind of plastic.


    He was a handsome man to say the least, but what really caught his camera were the ears. The long and pointy ears.


    Truly, no doubt about it, this was an elf.


    [I thought this was a Sci-fi world¡­] He said in his mind.


    [Sci-fi?] The goddess asked confused.


    [I mean, technological instead of magical¡­ But I guess that his gear does look kind of sci-fish¡­] He said with wonder in his mind as he watched the elf.


    And the elf looked back at him as if examining him. He had caught Gaz by the wheels, so when he tried to roll away, his whole body spun around instead of the wheels. That explained why he could not run away earlier.


    But it didn¡¯t help him calm down when the elf started to move him around and look at him from every angle with a confused expression in his face. While he started to worry about what the elf would do with him, he heard another pair of steps coming from the other side, so he quickly spun his camera around, and what he saw this time once again shocked him.


    A girl, and if his memories didn¡¯t bug on him, he should be around eighteen or something years old, with a beautiful short silver hair, shaped into some slightly spiky pattern. Different from the elf, she wore a yellow pants and yellow jacket, completed with a white undershirt, black boots and fingerless gloves.


    But this time, instead of long pointy ears, they were¡­ Well, long and pointy, but hers came from the top of her head and were a bit more furry than the elf¡¯s. Of course, she had a long and thin furry tail coming from the back of her waist.


    [A¡­ Cat girl? Really?] Gaz asked surprised.


    [Oh! I remember those! that is one the races that one of the others gods made!] She said cheerfully.


    [I¡­ See¡­ So there aren¡¯t only elves here?] he said while nodding to himself in his mind. [And not that I mind the brass knuckles looking thingies hanging on her waist, but¡­] he stopped for a moment as he eyed the other thing holstered on her leg. [BUT WHY THE NINE HELLS DOES SHE HAVE AN UZI?]


    [PLEASE DON¡¯T SHOUT SO SUDDENLY!] The goddess complained back in his mind. [And what is a Uzi anyway?]


    [It¡¯s¡­ never mind.] Gaz gave up on explaining her what is an Uzi. And redirected his attention to the two, watching as the girl and the elf spoke a few words to each other. [Say¡­ Any chance I can come to understand what they are speaking?] He asked her.


    [Hmm¡­ I¡¯m working on a translation software right now.] She said proudly as a bar appeared atop of his vision, marked at 0%. [Try to stay near them while they speak and it should update itself automatically.]


    [Ooh, nifty!] Gaz said surprised before frowning slightly, which surprised his two captors a bit as his shell closed slightly. [But shouldn¡¯t you be out of energy?] He asked confused.


    [Hmm¡­ This is mostly programming, little to no power involved.] She said cheerfully.


    [Okay, thanks!] He said while redirecting his attention towards the duo.


    They were exchanging some words here and there, but most of their meanings were completely lost to Gaz. Okay, most is an understatement, he understood absolutely nothing of what they were speaking about with each other.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    But even if he couldn¡¯t understand what they were speaking, he could somehow have an idea. The Elf had some authority tone to it, while the girl had a quiet and almost unexpressive voice. If he could guess, they were a leader and a follower of some kind.


    They would both look at him from time to time, pointing at something and then start speaking to each other. In the end, the cat girl extended her arms forward toward the elf, who made a tired face for a moment and looked towards the robot in his arms. Finally he sighed and gave Gaz to the girl.


    Gaz became worried as the girl held him in her arms, looking directly at his camera for a moment as he looked at her golden eyes. For a moment neither moved, until the girl finally took one of her hands away from his side and approached his camera. He started trembling with his body, getting scared of what she would do with him.


    And then...


    She poked his camera.


    [What?]¡°Beep?¡±


    Gaz became surprised for a moment. He could Beep? That was new, and it seemed to surprise the girl, as she widened her eyes for a moment before going back to her expressionless face.


    ¡°Beep.¡± She spoke back to him.


    ¡°Beep?¡± he asked confused. He couldn¡¯t quite understand why she spoke the beep back to him, so he became surprised. Yet this seemed to please her.


    ¡°Beep.¡± She said. And then she hugged him.


    The robot blinked surprised as the elf sighed loudly before walking away. The cat-girl soon followed while carrying Gaz in her arms and making a beep occasionally. If he didn¡¯t answer the beep she would suddenly become a bit sullen.


    Thinking that the best way to keep alive was to keep his captors alive, he decided to answer her beeps whenever she did them, as she seemed to enjoy it. Assuming that her hug tightening meant anything, to tell the truth.


    It didn¡¯t take him much long to understand what exactly what had happened. Somehow he ended up becoming her pet robot before he could even find his first sentient robot. Sighing mentally, he could only sit there and wait as the two carried him through the forest. It didn¡¯t take much longer for him to see a small campfire appear up ahead, surrounded by a few sleeping bags and some basic looking sleeping equipment.


    Another person was sitting around the bonfire, tinkering with something that Gaz couldn¡¯t quite see what it was from the actual angle.


    He was much shorter than his peers, but had a much more bulkier and stout body. A long ragged red hair fell down on his exposed back, and his whole body was covered in some synthetic-looking body armor, something that reminded the robot of those sci-fi armors one saw on movies, but with a design that reminded him slightly of some medieval armor. On his back was a strange rectangular object, held by something against his back, as well a humongous revolver with the barrel the size of a coin holstered on his hip.


    When the obvious dwarf heard the group approaching, he stopped working on whatever he was working and looked towards them. His large nose twitched a bit, moving the bountiful mustache as he smiled widely. Then his smile grew predatory as he looked at the robot, standing up and his hand twitching slightly as he approached the girl.


    ¡°!#^&$3Spark!*&$#Steam!#(*$?¡±


    Gaz blinked surprised for a moment, as suddenly two of his words made sense to him, but before he could inquire the goddess, the girl pulled him away from the dwarf and they exchanged some words. The dwarf grimaced slightly and once again tried to approach the robot, but he was rewarded with a sigh by the elf, followed by a sudden brass knuckle to the gut, courtesy of the girl.


    ¡°!^&$#Beepy!¡±


    [Wait¡­ Did she just name me beepy?] Gaz asked the goddess.


    [Seems like so¡­] She answered with an awkward tone. [And it seem that the software is already starting to work!] She said cheerfully, and Gaz noticed that the counter had elevated to 1%


    [Hmm¡­ And what is that spark and steam the dwarf spoke of?] He asked her again.


    [I¡­ Don¡¯t know. But it somehow sounds¡­ Familiar?]


    Gaz sighed once again as he watched the dwarf contort in pain on the ground while obviously cursing in their strange language. The girl simply put the brass-knuckle back to her waist and walked away to a corner of the camp, where she picked up a long rope and tied around his inner core in such a way that he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. Then she sat besides him and started to poke his camera again while saying the occasional beep.


    After a few hours, the sun slowly fell down, bringing the long day to end. Twice did the dwarf try to take Gaz from the girl, and twice he went to the ground where he crawled in pain. The elf spend most of his time simply watching them and reading some kind of book while the cat-girl simply kept playing with Gaz. Deciding to use his first chance to escape, he watched as the trio went to sleep, thankful by the fact that he didn¡¯t feel the need to sleep.


    And so, he prepared for his  infallible plan.

 4.exe - Group.txt

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! And from now on, just as Insania is Cygna¡¯s Cult, this shall be the Beepers network! BEEP, MY FRIENDS!


    SO, Seems like I managed to do it. A double release. As I said before, since this will have shorter chapters, there is a greater chance for double releases than Insania, so here we go. Keeping my promises, even if the chapter is only as long as the last one.


    BESIDES, tomorrow should also have a chapter as usual. With some luck, maybe even two? Still, names for the goddess are still being accepted. I already have one in mind, but if you guys find one that interests me more, I will take it.


    BESIDES(II), Here I wanted to give a small glimpse of how the robots act on this world. Some of it will sound very sci-fyish, others very fantasy-ish. But as a man once said, any advanced enough technology is undistinguishable from magic. Still, hope it¡¯s at least interesting.


    BESIDES(III), As a small token, the girl is based on my character back at FFXIV. Up to the yellow clothing that she wears, which was the last equipment I had on her the last time I played (never got her high level, but I really liked her and wanted to put in a story.)


    Enjoy your story! Beep!


    ------


    [Hey, Gaz, cheer up!] The nameless goddess said to the robot.


    [¡­Why?] Asked the robot with a tone as if the very world was ending.


    [Well, look on the bright side! At least we are going towards the robots I sensed!] She said cheerfully.


    [Oh, really?] The little robot asked, suddenly a lot more cheerful. [Well, maybe being a pet isn¡¯t all that bad then. It IS a lot safer with these guys around.] He said while analyzing his situation.


    If you understood the meaning behind his words, you will see that his infallible plan ended up failing. Not that there was that much thought put behind it to make it infallible, to tell the truth.


    During the night, while the group slept peacefully, Beepy¡­ I mean, Gaz tried using his welding flame to burn through the rope, but it ended up waking the girl, who immediately stopped him before he could free himself and made him sit through a half-hour lecture that he didn¡¯t understand a single word.


    The second attempt, he tried creating friction against the rope, by closing his outer shell and then spinning them into two opposite directions. This succeeded into decomposing the rope, but it sadly coincided with the Dwarf waking up and trying to get him once again. But his armor made too much noise and ended up waking the girl, who taught him a lesson that left him groaning in pain for the rest of the night. Afterwards the girl tied him up again and petted him gently, before going back to sleep.


    The third attempt, he remade  his same strategy as before and managed to get out of the rope, but the moment he started to move away, the girl suddenly grumbled something in her sleep and turned towards him, hugging him tightly during her sleep.


    With that, he was left without any means of escaping, so he gave up in trying to escape and spent the rest of the night quietly.


    Morning came, and he once again had the rope tied around his core, but this time the girl tied the other end to her belt, making sure that he wouldn¡¯t get too far from her. Thus he simply followed behind her quietly.


    And after the goddess words, he couldn¡¯t help but think that being with the group was a good idea in the end. After all, these weapons did look a lot more dangerous than his feeble cable-like tools, so he did have a good reason to follow them. As well as a good one for NOT trying to run away, since it didn¡¯t seem that the girl would let the dwarf try and take him apart.


    Well, leaving that aside for now, he took his chance to look around the woods as they walked, trying to find signals of other life-signs besides his own group.


    For the first two or so hours, he didn¡¯t see anything besides what looked some old trails, but after the elf suddenly signaled the party to a stop and sent the girl to scout ahead, she came back and seemed to tell them that the path ahead was clear, because the group advanced through the path that she told them.


    Then, he saw his first sizeable robot besides himself.


    It was large, being closely the size of a horse, and his whole body was covered in some kind of metal plates, with two large horn-like structures on his head. If something, he would say that this was a kind of robotic antelope. But there was one thing that bothered him.


    The robot raised its head towards some kind of fruit hanging on the tree and bit it off. As soon as it finished chewing, he saw as the seeds rolled down a groove on his neck going towards its back.


    [That robot ate?] He asked surprised.


    [Well, processing biological matter is highly efficient! As long as you have enough fuel, of course.] The goddess said proudly.


    [Then¡­ I also need to eat?] He asked confused.


    [No, your body is very small and efficient, so you only need solar energy.]


    [Well, that¡¯s nice then.] He said impressed. [But why did he eject the seed then?] he asked confused.


    [I¡­ Don¡¯t know. That one is completely different from the ones I made¡­] She said shyly.


    Soon after, he had his answer, as one of the plating on its side suddenly opened downwards and from it poked a small head. A bird, a feather and meat bird. Different from any of the birds he had ever seen, of course, with two pairs of wings and short legs, but otherwise, a red bird.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Following that single bird, five others popped up from the same hole and quickly flew from inside the robot to the groove on its back and started gorging themselves on some seeds while spitting others out from the robot and towards the ground.


    And the more fruits the antelope ate, the more seeds came rolling down its neck, and the more the birds ate. After feeling satisfied, some of the birds flew back inside while others darted away with incredible speed. One of them flew towards the group and floated in front of them for a moment, but after a while simply flew around them.


    The robot briefly looked at them, in wonder, before turning away when one of the birds sang from another position.


    As  he watched it in wonder, he felt a sudden tug on the rope as the cat-girl pulled him so he could start rolling around together with them, so he quickly complied.


    ¡°Beep.¡± She said.


    ¡°Beep.¡± He answered.


    ¡­


    Another day went by, and his translation software went up to five percent, and hearing the groups conversations, he gathered some information.


    First, the dwarf was called Ross and he seemed to be some kind of weapon-smith, as he spent most of his free time tinkering with the group¡¯s weapons.


    The elf was called Sorius, and he had some kind of strange magic slash skill, where he would create lightning in his hand and then shoot it. He mainly used it to light up the bonfire.


    Lastly, the girl was called Yllivia, and she was surprisingly quiet, spending most of her time simply hugging him and saying the occasional beep. And she was strong, fact proven by the heavily armored dwarf coiling in pain every three or so hours.


    Lastly, another word he heard a lot while following the group was ¡®Leaper¡¯. He couldn¡¯t quite get what it was, and thought that it was the elf¡¯s nickname, since the Dwarf was the one who spoke it the most, but it didn¡¯t seem to be the case, because after some time he also started to hear the dwarf mention pistons.


    Lastly, it seemed that robots weren¡¯t all that strange in this world, since he saw at least another four of the nestelope (name provided by an impressed goddess) and many others cyberflys (name provided by a bored Gaz). In fact, the girl seemed to have a strange bracelet that attracted the nearby cyberflys to land on it, where she would then watch it with amused eyes, and sometimes even scratch one of the colorful circuits out of its transparent wings and put it on a small phial.


    But robots weren¡¯t the only thing he saw while walking with the group. He also saw a pack of two-tailed wolves, that watched the group from a distance before moving away, as well as a normal antelope that had massive horns. This one tried to charge at the dwarf, but it was stopped when he discharged the massive pistol upwards, scaring it.


    On the end of his third day, the forest started to thin out, slowly changing into a plains that went on for ages on every direction. The group decided to stop on the border of the forest, where they made one more camping site. But instead of simply going to sleep like last time, they took out their equipment and passed it to the dwarf, who started to check them more meticulously.


    As he watched them prepare their equipment carefully, he heard a sudden sound coming from far away in the plains. Yllivia also seemed to hear it, because her ear twitched slightly and she looked towards it. Curious, Gaz also turned with her, and saw it.


    Out in the distant plains, a small cloud dust was moving. When he focused his camera a bit, he could barely see it, some kind of robots were rolling around the plains fair away, seemingly heading towards a small concentration of bushes far ahead.


    [Gaz, that is one of the groups I sensed earlier.] He heard the Goddess say in his mind.


    [Really? What are they? I can¡¯t quite see from here.]


    [No idea¡­] She said curious, but the answer came quickly.


    ¡°%^$@$!leapers! &^%24@$pistons!&^$#&@¡± Ross said whit a large smirk on his face.


    ¡°$&@!%$@dangerous.!#@Sleep!$*#&^#%.@&$Beepy@$$%¡± Sorius said while holding the dwarf by his neck and pulling him back, then turned towards Yllivia to say his last words. She nodded in agreement before picking the robot and taking it with her.


    Once she sat down besides her bed once again, she turned to Beepy and made sure that he was looking at her directly.


    ¡°!#%@beep@*@$¡± She said seriously, but since Gaz couldn¡¯t understand her, he simply watched her confused. She sighed lightly before repeating the words again, slowly. ¡°NO beep @*@$¡± A new word passed through, so he became surprised.


    He stopped to think for a moment. It seemed that those robots he saw were the ones they called leapers, he couldn¡¯t quite know what they were, but if their weapons meant anything, they were very probably going to attack them. So maybe she wanted him to keep quiet during the attack next day? It could be it.


    But then, he had no idea how those leapers were. Maybe he could somehow talk to them and have some help? He was new to the whole robot thing, so he couldn¡¯t be so sure. Deciding to leave the decision to the moment, he nodded for now, which seemed to please Yllivia, as she let go of him.


    And while he spent some time to think on his course of action for the next day, the others started to prepare for the hunt.

 5.exe - leaping_swarm.avi

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings Friends! Our first battle and some insight between the slightly twisted logic of the world!


    SO, This chapter is on the bigger side (for Reinstall, not for insania), with 3k words of story. I must say that I¡¯m quite satisfied with this one, since it came fairly quickly once I started to truly focus on it.


    BESIDES, tomorrow is a very busy day for me since I have class from morning to the end of the afternoon, so there MIGHT not be a chapter. But I will try to write something even if short so that you don¡¯t miss me too much. Same can be said to the day after tomorrow, but it might not be as bad.


    BESIDES (II), The following weeks, I will start to have some extra classes, so update speed might drop a little, both here and Insania when I come back, so you have been warned. I¡¯ll try to keep up the speed, though.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ------


    The group woke up even earlier this time, before the sun even rose up in the sky, which made the bored Gaz thank the elf from the depth of his subroutines that he made such a decision. Yllivia seemed determined to not let him try to run away again, so she used him as a pillow this time, much to his chagrin. How she wasn¡¯t bothered by the hard metallic surface left him wondering, but he decided to not bother too much with it.


    As soon as the trio were up, they started preparing their weapons for one last time. Yllivia seemed to open a slot on her brass knuckles and changed something within. The moment she closed them, sparks came whenever she touched each other. Nodding satisfied, she quickly took out the submachine gun on her waist and quickly checked it for anything wrong.


    Ross dismantled his hand-cannon, took out the cylinder and the handle for a new larger set and put a custom double barrel with some hinges on the part where it linked with the handle. After reassembling his weapon, his oversized pistol became an oversized break-action shotgun with two barrels.


    Finally, Sorius opened the thing he had packed on his back, revealing a long marksman rifle, with the barrel surrounded by a bulky armor casing with some strange blue grooves on the surface.


    Gaz watched them in wonder as the trio quickly checked their weapons before looking back to the plains. He couldn¡¯t quite see the leapers that the others mentioned yesterday, so he assumed they were probably sleeping, or inactive, for now.


    [What did you say that those green things were again?] The goddess asked in his mind.


    [What? The grass?] He asked while watching the plains.


    [No, you explained that to me already. I mean those!] A marking appeared on his vision, marking the bushes he had seen the previous day.


    [Oh, the bushes?]


    [Yeah. What are they?] She asked curious, so Gaz sighed lightly before putting himself to explain all that he knew to her.


    That was how he still hadn¡¯t passed out of tediousness, since the Goddess kept asking him to explain this and that whenever he wasn¡¯t too focused on one task in particular. Her impressed reactions were somewhat pleasant of hearing, so he couldn¡¯t help but smile inwardly.


    ¡°Beepy¡­¡± Yllivia called him after some time. He spun himself back to her and looked at the girl crouching to somewhat his level. ¡°!#^@$, no beep,!$&^#?¡±


    She was probably reminding him to not beep, so he quickly moved his camera up and down, nodding. She smiled slightly and looked towards the others. They finished their preparations, and nodded back to her. After quickly throwing some dirt on the bonfire to extinguish it, they left the forest and walked towards the plains.


    But different from the usual carefree walk, they walked with much more caution, taking deliberate steps and stopping every few minutes to scout. Beepy¡­ Gaz started to feel a bit worried with all their precautions, and couldn¡¯t help but also get tensed up, making extra sure that his motors weren¡¯t making too much sound.


    They walked around one hour without seeing one more of the dust clouds they saw the previous day, but the trio seemed a bit relieved instead of worried, which left Gaz confused, since they seemed eager to find these leapers.


    They came to a stop when the cat-girl suddenly twitched one of her ears and redirected her gaze towards their side. Sorius looked inquisitively at her and she said.


    ¡°%&@$Leaper.#$!#¡± She said seriously. The elf blinked surprised for a moment before nodding.


    Even the dwarf became clearly worried as he gulped down his saliva and crouching slightly. The elf quickly took a better grasp on his weapon and walked ahead of the group while crouching, making sure to not make too much noise. The other two also followed him in the same manner while he climbed a small hill.


    Once they got up to the top and looked down, the trio smiled and sighed in relief.


    A single strange robot was downwards the hill, to the side of a large lake.


    Instead of cybernetic looking like the nestelope and the cyberfly, this one had a lot of gears and pipes exposed, with steam even leaking from some exposed pipes here and there.


    [Steampunk?] He asked surprised.


    [Steampunk? What¡¯s that?] The goddess asked confused.


    [Oh¡­ It¡¯s some kind of Victorian-style futuristic technology. Usually involving lots of gears, steam tanks and springs.] He quickly explained as he saw the robot moving around.


    [Oh! Now I know why that steam and spark they said sounded familiar!] She suddenly said proudly. [The two races I initially created were moved by that!] She said.


    [What? You also created races?] He asked surprised.


    [Yep. One was moved by electricity, the others were moved by gears and powered by steam or springs!] She said cheerfully. [I thought the other gods would have destroyed them by now.] She said cheerfully.


    [Wait¡­ So you created both androids AND clockworks?] He asked confused.


    [Androids? Clockworks?]


    [Electrical robots, steampunky robots.] He quickly explained. [Well, not exactly, but close enough.]


    He quickly stopped his talk to take notice of the steampunk robot in down the hill. It had a pair of treadmills for locomotion instead of legs like the antelope. Between the treadmill was a large metallic core, covered in some thin metal plating, from its back, two pipes sprouted sideways, as exhaust ports. Some kind of limb-like appendage with four hinges, one on the base, two in the middle and one in the top, where it linked with what looked a metallic head similar to that of a lizard.


    Many pistons, gears and hoses were present on its neck, which were used to move it, but it showed surprisingly fluidic and flexible movements, as it bent the limb so that the head could reach the core and bite something within some kind of compartment. What he took out seemed to be a gear. Putting the gear on the ground in front of itself, it turned its head towards the treadmill, where a strange tool popped up from beneath its chin and started to dismantle the instrument.


    [Is he¡­ Repairing himself?] Gaz asked surprised.


    [Of course! Why wouldn¡¯t he do it?] She asked confused.


    [No¡­ I mean¡­ I don¡¯t know. That kind of got me by surprise¡­] He admitted. [But how comes he had the exact gear he needed? Does he carry a copy of everyone inside?]


    [Hmm¡­ If he is similar to the originals I made, nope.] She said in a teacher tone. [He can process the organic materials into metals, and then form the material he needs within his body. Most robots can do this.]


    [Wait¡­ He transforms organic materials¡­ In metals?] He asked confused.


    [Yup! Isn¡¯t that how it works in your world? Robots creating metal within their bodies?] She asked with genuine confusion in her voice.


    Gaz wanted to comment something about it, but gave up, since there were so many things wrong with it that he felt that it wouldn¡¯t be worth it. But he did create an archive in his memory¡­ I mean, made a mental note that he shouldn¡¯t trust too much of his common sense in this world as he initially thought.


    Taking his attention away from the leaper, he turned to the others, seeing that Sorius had laid on the ground besides him and started to take aim with his huge rifle, which started to make a slightly buzzing sound, while Yllivia and Ross were looking intently to the robot in front of them.


    He felt a bit guilty, since only a few hundred meters away had another robot that he could hopefully talk to, yet they were about to kill it for some reason that he wasn¡¯t quite sure why. On one side, they were now fairly similar, but on the other hand, it has been a very short time since he became a robot, so he wasn¡¯t exactly feeling sympathy for the robot.


    It was a strange feeling that he couldn¡¯t quite put his sensor on it. As he started to decide what he was going to do, he noticed that a dust cloud was quickly approaching the group while they were distracted. After a quick glance to the trio, he slowly opened some distance between himself and then and turned towards the dust cloud.


    Focusing his camera a bit, he managed to catch a glimpse of many leapers running in a tight group, which was raising the ruckus. They had folded their necks neatly so that the head laid right on top of the base, sticking forward only a little. But seeing once again their lack of legs, and how they simply ran around, he couldn¡¯t wonder why they were called leapers in the first place.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    He thought of maybe signaling them to see if he would receive some kind of reaction, but it seemed that the herd of leapers noticed him and the group first, since they made a slight change in their direction.


    Gaz became a bit excited at this, since it seemed that he would be capable of having some contact with other robots sooner than the expected.


    But then, blades flung out from beneath the leapers¡¯ body, sticking forward menacingly, and a spike appeared from their chins as they picked up speed.


    A warning popped up in his vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>\\\\\\WARNING//////</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>THE SCAN TARGET SHOWS SIGNS OF AGGRESSION, EVASIVE MEASURES RECOMMENDED!


    ETA: 53 seconds</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>


    [GODDAMIT!] He shouted in his mind as he turned towards the group.


    He quickly approached the group and started to hit the elf¡¯s leg, trying to take his attention.


    ¡°!@$!%shot@$###$@¡± He complained while waving the small robot away.


    Seeing that the elf wasn¡¯t going to help, he immediately went to Yllivia, but the moment he touched her, she looked at him angrily while making a sign to be quiet.


    On his last attempt, he turned to the Dwarf. He tried to slam his leg, but it didn¡¯t seem to get his attention, so he quickly put out his tool-cable and stabbed it between the joints of the dwarf¡¯s armor with a screw-driver out. The dwarf yelped out lowly in pain and turned towards the small robot with some clear rage in his eyes.


    Ignoring the threat, Gaz immediately pointed towards the dust cloud, and when the dwarf saw it, he paled.


    ¡°LEAPER SWARM INCOMING!¡± He shouted the first phrase that Gaz understood completely ever since he first got here.


    The others quickly turned towards the dwarf, surprised with the sudden shout, before turning towards the incoming swarm. Sorius grimaced as he took his rifle and quickly aimed towards the leapers. Arcs of lightning forming on the surface of the metal as he pulled down the trigger.


    A single red line formed between the rifle¡¯s barrel and the incoming swarm, touching three of the robots and simply blowing them apart in one single shot. The last one of the robots even exploded in a ball of steam, taking another one with it. The blue grooves that Gaz had seen earlier popped up from the carcass of the rifle, now a burning red and smoking out.


    [WAS THAT A FREAKING LASER?] He shouted surprised in his mind.


    [No! That a was the heated air from a projectile!] The goddess said after a brief moment. [From the looks of it, it was accelerated magnetically within that weapon, getting to such speed that even the air started burning.]


    [THEN IT WAS A FREAKING RAILGUN?] He shouted once again.


    But that attack didn¡¯t stop the swarm, as they kept rolling and soon were within reach of the others. His rifle still cooling down, Sorius threw it away and took a simple pistol from his overcoat, quickly removing the safety and shoving a magazine down on it.


    Rolling his way behind Yllivia, Beepy hid himself while seeing Ross reach for the rectangular object on his back and pull it to the front with his left arm. After a quick shake, the object unfolded itself once in each direction, forming some kind of cross that curved inwardly. A humming sound came from the air as some kind of green field formed in front of the cross, taking the shape of a shield large enough to cover the whole dwarf behind it.


    A quick move with his hand to his right hip and he opened up some kind of compartment on his armor, from which a pair of shotgun shells sprung out, being held in place by some strange mechanism. He quickly took his double-barrel shotgun and held it with one hand.


    Yllivia didn¡¯t even reach for the submachine gun and quickly put on the two brass knuckles that soon sparked to life, almost literally.


    And then, the leapers¡­ Leaped.


    Gaz beeped in surprise as he saw a pair of skis pop up from beneath the robots with such a strength that they pushed them upwards a good two meters into the air before turning downwards with their blades aiming directly at their necks.


    Scared beepless by the sudden act, he almost missed as Ross jumped in front of the other two and shoved his oversized shield in the face of the first robot, smashing it. The dwarf didn¡¯t even flinch with the impact, his armor suddenly springing to life with the sound of pressure being released.


    When another leaper approached him from the sides, he quickly pulled the shotgun and blasted it at point blank, blowing the whole clockwork base to smithereens, with the one behind soon following by another shot. His ammo finished, he quickly broke up the shotgun with a movement of his hand and swung it by the ammo on his hip, where it went in smoothly and he once again closed the weapon. The whole scene taking less than two seconds and a pair of slugs sliding in place of the last ones.


    Meanwhile, Yllivia quickly ran towards the ones that somehow managed to avoid the rampaging dwarf and started to slam the electric knuckles on their bodies, leaving a clear dent on the metal surface and sometimes even stopping the clockworks entirely as a sudden steam explosion blasted all of its back.


    Out of protection from the sudden dash of his newfound guardian, Gaz quickly ran towards Sorius, who was the only one who didn¡¯t run too much and kept sniping the robots heads with his pistol and occasional lightning strike.


    After the first wave of leapers ended, the trio had destroyed around ten or so leapers, while another forty still remained. The leapers quickly started running away from the group, so Gaz let out a beep of relief, but the trio didn¡¯t seem as relieved as him.


    He quickly understood why, as they swarm made a wide turn up ahead while picking up speed and coming back at them with the treadmills rumbling madly and steam escaping nonstop from their exhaust pipes.


    The trio smiled wryly as they saw the swarm coming back to them. Ross seemed to make a snarky remark, as Sorius lightly shook his head. Yllivia only having a slight frown to her usual expressionless face.


    Beepy simply trembled scared while holding close to the elf.


    ¡­


    ¡°!@$# small swarm! @$@%!@ Leapers!¡± Ross said after falling with his butt on the ground and panting heavily.


    [That was a small swarm?] Gaz said surprised. [God help-me if we ever find a large one.] He said exasperated.


    [I don¡¯t think I could help much¡­] She answered almost immediately with a slightly awkward tone.


    [That was just an expression¡­] He said wryly.


    [Oh¡­ Sorry¡­]


    He beeped awkwardly once again while taking the scene around him. Ross had lost the left side of his shield during the swarm and the right barrel of his shotgun. His leg¡¯s armor were full of indentation that looked like that they would need some serious repairs.


    Yllivia lost one of her brass knuckles during the fight and started using the submachine gun, but compared to her punches, the weapon didn¡¯t seem to have that much stopping power, since it was a fairly small caliber. Her clothes were tattered and she had a few cuts on her arms and legs, as well as a nasty looking wound on her right leg.


    Sorius had passed out the moment the fight finished, sparks coming out from the ground towards his body every few seconds. At least his wounds weren¡¯t all that nasty and it looked like he would get better soon.


    Even Gaz now had a small indentation on his left armor, thanks to a stray leaper that landed besides him.


    Individually, the leapers were fairly weak and easy to deal with, but the moment that they came together, they started to jump around as a group, which made it really difficult to dodge their attacks. And midway through the battle, another swarm of the same size as the first one came from the opposite side. Luckily Gaz managed to warn then earlier this time, but they still took some damage.


    Now he understood why they were so happy to find a leaper alone earlier.


    As a vestige from the battle, around a hundred of broken leapers laid on the field around them, making a small pile of wreckage around them.


    Ross said something to Yllivia while pointing towards the wreckages. She nodded and started to raise herself from the ground, but she immediately winced in pain as the gash in her leg stung her. Ross made a snarky comment once again, which earned a nasty look from the girl and a pebble to the face.


    Seeing as the two others were out of commission, Ross turned towards the wreckage and started to salvage it, seemingly unworried that another swarm would appear. Seeing that he had nothing to do, Gaz followed the dwarf around, since this would be a good time to get himself some upgrade.

 6.exe - Assemble.exe

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greeting friends! A crafting chap¡­ An assembling chapter today!


    SO, firstly, I am warning you guys that this is a ¡°crafting¡± heavy chapter, much like Insania¡¯s. But, I know a lot less about how clockworks work than I do about blade-crafting, so I had to¡­ Improvise a bit around it. Okay, not a bit. A LOT¡­ I REGRET NOTHING!


    BESIDES, today¡¯s chapter comes from the fact that I didn¡¯t have my afternoon class, so be happy. Can¡¯t promise a chapter tomorrow, though.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ------


    As he rolled around the broken robots. He couldn¡¯t help but watch in wonder at the sheer amount of wreckage around him. A good part of the swarm was completely unusable, thanks to either an exploded pressure tank or simply a huge hole caused by the dwarf¡¯s own shotgun. Said Dwarf that was cheerfully approaching some of the most intact robots and turning them upside down before starting to take apart their jumping mechanism and remove the piston for himself.


    [Hey¡­ Don¡¯t you feel bothered by that?] He asked her within his mind.


    [About?] She asked a bit confused.


    [The whole robot hunting thing. I mean, you did create them, right?] He asked as he watched the dwarf take out a small piston from the robot while shouting happily.


    There was a brief moment of silence as the goddess stopped to think. Gaz patiently waited for her while looking around.


    [If I said that I¡¯m not bothered¡­ I would be lying.] She said with a mental sigh. [But it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand why they are doing this, at least.] Gaz felt confused at her words, but she soon went on. [Did you analyze that piston he took out?]


    [Yup.] He answered


    [If you look at the data, for such a small piston, it¡¯s capable of holding some very high pressure without much problem, giving them their wonderful leaping prowess.] She said in a proud tone. [It would take many years of technological evolution to reach something like that in an artificial way. But they had it available since who knows when, just by hunting some robots...]


    [Hmm¡­ I think I see where you are going.] Gaz said as he analyzed some of the motors of a broken leaper. [Basically, you are saying that their technological advance came from hunting these robots for their parts, and then building something of their own?]


    [That is what I guessed.] She said in agreement. [If possible, I would rather that they didn¡¯t hunt them at all, but the way things are, it should be almost a need by now.] She finished with a last sigh.


    [Well, on the brighter side, at least they aren¡¯t treating them as an enemy, I guess.] Gaz said after some time. Sensing her confusion, he quickly went on. [I mean, some movies and games I saw back in my world, sometimes depicted the robots as enemies of the humans, but in this world, it does not seems to be the case. At least they are treated more as a¡­ Animals¡­ Which isn¡¯t great¡­ But at least works¡­] He started fumbling when he noticed that he wasn¡¯t exactly helping and decided to shut up. At least she seemed to understand his intention as he heard a slight giggle in his mind.


    [Thanks, Gaz.] She said trying to cheer him up slightly. [It IS better than having them hunted down indiscriminately.] She said in a slightly awkward tone.


    [I¡¯ll shut up and go back to working on my new body, ok?] He said sullenly, earning a new giggle from her. [But I must say that for someone who knows nothing about the world, you are a lot more mature than what I expected.] He added lastly.


    [What do you mean?] She said annoyed, but Gaz had long since turned his attention to the pile he had collected using the cable tools from his body.


    And he was quite surprised with all the material he had gathered while being distracted by his talk with the nameless goddess. A quick sigh deciding that he had to find a name for her sooner or later, he quickly put himself to work by sorting all the items he had gathered.


    Many pieces of surprisingly thin armor plating. Many still working treadmills, thanks to Yllivia precise strikes. Some still unexploded steam tanks. MANY, MANY different pistons and blades. Even ¡®manyer¡¯ cogs of every possible size imaginable, seconded only by the amount of pipes and springs. A couple of somehow intact motors and some intact head/neck thingy.


    Of course, many of the robots were almost completely destroyed, but almost is the key word. Different from the dwarf, who looked for specific pieces, Gaz was accepting pretty much anything that he found, so he gathered his pile much faster than Ross gathered his piston.


    The fact that he pickpocketed one of his pistons could of course contribute to this, but that does not need to be mentioned, of course.


    That aside, while taking a closer look at the robots, he noticed that they weren¡¯t all that similar to one another as he had first thought. Some of them were bigger, others were smaller, some had a wider treadmill and others had bigger motors. Almost as if they were living things themselves and this made beepy feel that they were a bit more alike living beings than he had first thought.


    [So, what are you going to make?] She asked him as he analyzed the pile.


    [Not sure¡­ Probably a brand new body. This one is too fragile to even think of traveling alone.] He said. [No offense, though.]


    [None taken. It really isn¡¯t very resistant.] She said with a sigh. [I should have worked a bit longer on it, I guess¡­ But at least I can help now!] She said cheering up. [What would you like your new body to have? Tell me and I should be able to design something.]


    [Ooh¡­ That¡¯s handy!] He said cheerfully. [Well, I guess that we should focus a bit more on being a bit more resistant rather than going for the offensive.] He said while thinking on the dent in his armor, which came from pretty much an accidental bump instead of a full on assault. [But losing my mobility would be bad too¡­] he said thinking for a bit longer.


    [Are you sure about that? I¡¯m starting to think that having some weapons would be a good idea¡­] She said a bit worried.


    [Well¡­ If this was a game, then I would have gone the all-offense path and reset whenever I died.] He said in a pensive tone. [But since I will die for good if I take a strong hit¡­ I¡¯d guess I would rather increase my chance of survival¡­]


    [So, defense and mobility, right? Leave it to me!]


    It didn¡¯t take long for the information to start flooding his head and plans to appear in his visor. Looking at them, he whistled in his mind impressed as some parts were highlighted and the goddess showed what each part was and how it worked.


    Getting pumped up, he immediately started working on the new body.


    ¡­


    Firstly, he started with the body. On an almost automated pace, he started welding the armor-plating into two layers to compensate for the lack of resistant of the leaper¡¯s armor. Making the rough shape of the armor they had planned, a simple squarish shape with some elevations on the border and a circular hole in the middle. He also made a pentagonal-shaped armor plating with a slight slope on the edges and a flat top. Only a single cut on one of the borders.


    The leapers had a single motor for both of the treadmills, but to compensate the extra weight they were going to add, they put one motor for each treadmill. But these were far too fragile for their tastes, so they exchanged the gears of the piece for some bigger and tougher ones, but had to compensate with a bigger tread. After quickly taking two pairs of treads and fusing them into a single pair with some nimble welding. Taking inspiration from the Leapers design, they added two pairs of piston on each of the treadmills in such a way that once activated, they would allow the new body to jump just like them. The downside was that it would temporarily disconnect the treads from the motor, but they could work on it later.


    But they met a small problem here.


    When they started to put the treadmills under the armor, they didn¡¯t have a way to lift the armor since it was so heavy.


    Luckily, help came from a sudden dwarven hand that lifted the armor for them. After quickly pulling the treadmill/motor combo beneath the armor, he turned to the amused dwarf and gave him quick nod as his thanks and went back to work.


    Motors installed, he quickly went on to work on the springs, gears and steam tanks that would power the new body. Using his scanner and the flexible cable-arm, it was a lot easier to work on it than he had initially expected, even when all the gears went beneath the whole body.


    Making a ridiculously complex arrangement with the gears and other pieces that is far too complicated to be explained on a light-hearted story like this one, he configured it in such a way that he could also power the treadmills with another motor. With this, he also added two of the smaller steam tanks to power the motors as well as the pistons. Finally, he added some large pipes on the back that led up as exhaust for the excess steam. Due to size constraints, he could only add one small furnace for the steam, but that wasn¡¯t much of a problem for the new body.


    On the top of the armor, between the central hole and the slots for the treadmill, he installed the neck/head thingies after quickly readjusting the head so that it would be easier to access the tools. They were laid in such a way that he could use them to repair the treadmills or each other if needed, and once deactivated would lay low besides the body.


    Around this time, the whole trio had already gathered to see the work of the little robot, as he cheerfully welded and moved around some pieces. The tree of them sitting a few meters away and watching curious. Of course, they kept an eye out for any possible swarm, but luckily, the only one that appeared passed far away from their position.


    Focusing back on his work after watching the dust cloud pass away, he started working on the center of the new body, preparing to receive his core and camera once he was done. The leaper¡¯s cameras were far too weak when compared to his.


    At least SOMETHING of his was better than theirs.


    They planned on eventually, adding a system that would allow the center to spin around, just like a tank turret, but for now they were content on simply making it able to expand upwards like a large piston. Finishing the slot, the quickly checked to see if the pentagonal plating would fit nicely on it.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    After complaining in his mind for his hasty decision, he threw away the plating and started to work on a new one, since the slots were misaligned. But by then it was already night, and just when he finished the new plating, he felt someone grabbing him and taking him away from the armor.


    ¡°!#^%$!Sleep.!#&^$!beepy!¡± Yllivia said while taking him back towards the forest, limping whenever she supported herself on the now bandaged injured leg.


    Beepy made a long beep of protest as he tried to release himself from her grasps, but since he was still in his weakling body, he found himself unable to, and had to let himself be carried with her towards their camp.


    They almost immediately went to sleep save for Sorius, who kept on watch with his book. This time he didn¡¯t use his lightning to light up the bonfire, so he probably was still suffering some kind of backlash from overusing his power.


    The cat-girl went to sleep while holding a frustrated robot in her arms and for the first time, Ross didn¡¯t try to take him away from the girl. At least something good happened.


    Many excruciating hours afterwards. During which he spent most of his time revising his next steps with the goddess, since they needed a lot more precision than before, he immediately dashed off from the camp the moment they let him, running back to find the scrapyard and the new body still intact.


    Immediately he started with some final adjustment on the inner side of the body before starting to prepare himself for the transfer. After quickly installing an extra camera on the new body¡¯s arm, he took on a deep artificial breath and started the dangerous procedure.


    He ejected the right side of his armor.


    ¡°BEEPY?¡± Yllivia said worried, but he simply beeped in response.


    He had a strange feeling the moment his core became exposed. According to the goddess, this core was the only thing both the androids and clockworks had in common. This is where all the data processing and storage happens, as well as the material conversion that happens when the robot eats or create a new part. The moment a robot dies, the core shatters into dust. It looks like some kind of crystal ball that had a strange light within.


    He pulled a few hose from the center-piece of the new body and lightly stuck them to the center of my core, feeling a strange sensation when they touched it and slightly sunk on its surface ,like some kind of new limb suddenly appeared on his body.


    Then he pulled an electric cable, the only non-steampunky part of the body, and plugged it on his core. Universal socket of convenience for the win!


    A few seconds after the cable was plugged in, he started to feel slightly dizzy for a moment before a new vision appeared in his mind. It took him a moment to understand that it was the camera he had installed on the clockwork body¡¯s.


    Feeling satisfied, he had to cautiously control the new body¡¯s other limb to remove the core from within his old body and gently put it on the new one. Not that the core was fragile, as it was resistant enough to receive some mean impacts, but it¡¯s difficult to not be careful when you have your life literally on your mechanical hands, if you know what I mean.


    The moment the core fit perfectly within the slot, he suddenly blacked out.


    <table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>GAZ.OS have detected a new body and is now rebooting.


    The best Goddess-saving OS. ever made.*


    Gaz.Os is the only goddess saving Operational system built, and thus is considered the best Goddess saving operational system as up to this day. Should another Goddess saving O.S appear, this statement may no longer be considered valid.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Loading: Steam_cont.sys (100%)


    Loading complete.


    Loading: Gear_cont.sys (100%)


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    Loading: Piston_pwr_calc.exe (100%)


    Loading complete.


    Loading: Clk-wrk.lib (100%)


    Loading complete.


    All basic systems loaded.


    Starting to load: Personal_data.Gaz


    .


    .


    .


    Loading: bad_jks.txt (100%)


    Loading complete.


    Loading: L337_5KK1L5.sys (100%)


    Loading failed.


    Loading: Annoyingmusic1.mp3 (100%)


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    .</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>


    ¡°y¡­¡± Gaz heard something, but he felt too lightheaded to understand what it was. ¡°ee¡­¡± Again, the sound came to him and he felt that he knew from where it came, but couldn¡¯t quite remember. ¡°¡­eepy¡­¡± Still, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that a he should answer to it¡­


    ¡°Beepy?¡±


    He suddenly woke up, receiving an immediate double vision that made him have some slight headache before he could quite understand what was happening. He took a few seconds to try and process the data he was receiving before seeing Yllivia crouching in front of him while lightly nudging his new body.


    ¡°beeeeep¡­¡± He let out a long and weak beep as he was still recovering from having booted up. But since the beeper was on his other body, this left Yllivia slightly confused on where to look. At least this seemed to have calmed down the cat-girl, who let out a short sigh before gently patting his new and old body and saying something he couldn¡¯t quite understand.


    [How long have I been out?] He asked groggily.


    [Around twenty seconds.]


    [Hmm¡­ less than I thought¡­] He said as he saw some new data slowly appearing on his vision, indicating the state of his new body-parts and the steam-tanks level as well as other things. Thankfully, they felt mostly intuitive, thanks to his new reboot.


    After beeping once more and using the non-camera hand to point at the old and slightly smaller body, Yllivia nodded and gave him some space, walking back to the others who were watching everything in a mix of surprise and interest.


    He quickly went back to work, since the steam-levels were low and threatened to finish soon, so he quickly put himself to work, by taking the smaller motors from the old body and plugging it just above the core and fitting it on the gear-mechanism.


    Then he took out the battery and the solar panels, that looked like small black stripes on his old body and gently put then on a small slot in the back of the new one with the help of the cable-hand, which he directly attached to the core.


    A few minutes later of some finer adjusts, he placed the old camera down atop the old motor and removed the cables that still linked to his old body before closing it on the plating.


    His body finished, he now looked a miniature tank without the canons, but with large exhaust pipes on the back. Having a square shape with sides around one meter long, he was only half a meter high with the treadmills going slightly higher.


    He quickly took his new body for a spin, testing the various functions.


    First, he tested locomotion. He could either use the old solar motor for some more silent and slower movement, or the steam ones for high speed, this way he could economize on the steam. Having one piston on each edge of the treadmills allowed him to both jump or simply tilt the body backwards and upwards, a nice trade for now being only able to spin the camera slightly upwards.


    The centerpiece could be lifted so that he could have access to the cable-hand in case the two repairer limbs would prove to not be enough or even if he needed to eat something and process something to transform into fuel for the furnaces.


    Lastly, he added a pair of small blades beneath his body that would eject forward with the help of a piston as an offensive measure. Not the best, but for his actual body, it was enough with what he could do with the parts without sacrificing his defense with.


    Going for a larger and more complex body would require him to get some other finer pieces later, as these were a much better fit for a small and simple body.


    He started moving around cheerfully as he got used to the new body, only stopping when he noticed the trio clapping at his success. He felt a bit embarrassed with the sudden attention and immediately stops, moving his camera inward as if looking away.


    ¡°!#@Beepy!#^&@$leapy!¡± He heard Ross say with a laugh.


    ¡°!#@$Beepy!#Beepy¡± Yllivia said to him while slightly frowning.


    The dwarf laughed loudly again at her words.


    [So¡­ you got your new body¡­] The goddess suddenly said. [What are we doing now?]


    [Eeh¡­ I don¡¯t know. We have to find a way to find you first, right?] He said after some thought. [Any idea?]


    [Hmm¡­ Maybe get something that can detect electromagnetic waves?] She asked.


    [Eeh¡­ Works for me¡­] He turned back to the trio. [Then maybe it would be better to stick with them for some more time?]


    [Seems like a good idea. They do know more about the world than we do¡­]


    [So, find electromagnetic detector added to the list, then.] He said as he drove back to the trio.


    As soon as he got closer to them, Sorius asked something to Yllivia, who then turned to him. Probably wondering if he was asking whether he would stick around or no. He decided to imitate a nod by moving his camera up and down. The trio seemed to take this correctly as they all turned back through the way they came.


    Ylliva had to take some support from Ross since her limping was pretty bad, but she took a brief moment to come closer to him.


    ¡°Beep.¡± She said lowly.


    Gaz stopped for a moment and immediately turned back to his old body, and started to remove a small piece from it and install on his new body.


    [Let¡¯s also add: Finding something other than the beeper to communicate.] He said with a mental sigh, earning a cheerful giggle from the goddess.

 7.exe - Hitting_the_road.avi

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Leaving the forest, onwards to the city!


    SO, a medium chapter today, with 2k words, and two new characters introduced. But that is not what I¡¯m here for. What I would like to say is, what did you guys think of the group¡¯s equipment/techiniques? I kind of wanted to convert classic fantasy game classes into a more Scy-fyish tone, but I¡¯m not sure how it worked. The intention was something around: Ross is a tank, hitting close with his shotgun. Yllivia is a rogue with her hit-and-run tactics and Sorius is a mage with his rifle and powers. What did you guys think about them? Mainly about Ross¡¯ gears, to tell the truth.


    BESIDES, the break have been having an effect, and I¡¯m starting to get some ideas for Insania¡¯s next arc! Including the so expected SS of portable doom and daddy! I will try to make a few chapters of the SS beforehand and release them together with the chapters. No promises, though.


    BESIDES(II), for now, I plan on extending the break until next Sunday, but I might change my mind¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    [No¡­ I¡¯m not sure I like that one¡­]


    [Hmm¡­ Well, I¡¯m getting out of ideas here¡­] Gaz said with a mental sigh. [For now, the only one I can think of is Glados, but I don¡¯t think you would like that name¡­]


    [Glados? I kind of like that one! Sounds like I¡¯m glad about something. Sounds cheerful too!] The goddess commented in his head.


    [Well, she was rogue A.I. that slaughtered all living beings within a scientific facility for the sake of doing a test.] He said in his best indifferent tone.


    [Oh¡­]


    [Funny sense of humor, though. That and the slow clap circuits. Oh! And she was a potato once!] He said with a cheerful tone. [I actually need of those circuits, would be funny¡­]


    [I don¡¯t like that name anymore¡­] The goddess said in such a way that he could even see her pouting. [And how does an A.I. even become a potato in first place?]


    [Long story¡­] he said with a tone that made it easy to see him shrugging. [Anyway, I AM out of names by now. At least feminine ones. Are you sure you don¡¯t want Cortana? You did take her voice at the beginning.] He said in one last try.


    [I already told you! Cortana sounds so¡­ Old. I don¡¯t like it¡­ If I knew that was her name I would have tried another voice¡­]


    Gaz chuckled in his mind as he and the still non-named goddess discussed possible names for her. He had offered a bunch of robots and A.I. names from games, manga and movies he knew, but she wasn¡¯t very satisfied with the options, so they were back into a stalemate.  Well, not that it was much of a problem, since the only person they could talk to was each other at the moment, so there was barely any need to call names.


    Feeling as someone lightly tapped his plating, he stopped for a moment and saw as Yllivia¡¯s hand pointing towards a certain direction of the forest. He gave a quick beep before rolling towards the appointed direction.


    Right now he had been giving a ride to Yllivia since her injured leg had been slowing the team down, and now she was sitting atop of him. Surprisingly, she hadn¡¯t complained about it being uncomfortable, still, he used the hand-things he had installed to offer her some backrest.


    Sorius had already recovered and was carrying an extra sack filled with the pistons they got from the leapers.


    Ross had to remove the damaged parts of his armor and carry it on hand, but otherwise he was fine. He kept taunting Yllivia from time to time, and Gaz could barely make out the word ¡®armor¡¯ from his voice. Not that said armor protected him from the girl¡¯s revenge punch. Somehow, he also found time to pick up his old body and had been tinkering with it whenever they stopped for the night.


    ¡°!$@#!@#!met, Beepy!¡± Yllivia said suddenly, and Gaz took a moment to understand her words.


    [I think she said that this is the place where you met.]


    [Is it?] he asked as he stopped to look around for a moment. [Now that you mention it¡­ Didn¡¯t we appear a few meters from here?] He asked surprised.


    [Yup!]


    As he rolled away through the small area where he had first appeared, he noticed as the others simply went straight ahead crossing the forest without paying much more attention. He let out a mental sigh for a moment, but left it alone, since it wasn¡¯t strange that they did not know about his origin at all.


    The trio quickly stopped to camp a few minutes later, with Yllivia climbing down from atop Gaz so she could start fixing something for them to eat. She also took out a fruit from her bag and gave it to him, since he had to use a bit of his steam to carry her extra weight, since the basic motor was barely enough for himself.


    Lifting his center piece and using the hands, he quickly threw the fruit within the slot and felt as his core started to process it into some bio-fuel. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how the process worked, but he wasn¡¯t about to start complaining about it.


    Sorius quickly took out a small radio from his backpack and made a call to someone. Gaz couldn¡¯t quite pick-up his words since the translation percentage was still within eight percent, but he imagined he was calling someone to pick them up. When he came back, he looked really annoyed for some reason, but Ross simply smirked at him while the elf sighed.


    Wondering what happened, he didn¡¯t manage to pick anything up from their usual banters, so he quickly gave up and simply sat there while watching the cat-girl working on whatever it was that she was cooking.


    The group soon came together to have their lunch and didn¡¯t dally any longer after finishing it, which left the robot a bit confused since they usually rested around one or so hours every time they ate.


    But it didn¡¯t take him much longer to discover, as a few minutes later¡­


    [Wait¡­ There was a road literally one hour away on the opposite direction?]


    He had mixed feelings about this, since he started going the wrong way right at the start and would have found civilization much faster going towards this place. On the other hand, he had no idea who he would meet while walking in this direction, so it might be a good thing that he found Yllivia and the others before anyone else.


    The road was a strange one, with a smooth looking surface, different from the usual asphalt ones he had seen back at his world, but it clearly showed some signs of disuses, such as cracks and some smaller roads. Both sides were surrounded by forests, so this probably meant that this was some kind of back-road that not many people used, but with enough movement to be paved.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The group simply sat down to wait the moment they reached the paved road, probably waiting whoever it was that was coming to pick them up. Gaz was a bit preoccupied that it would take too long, but his worries were unfounded, as not even five minutes later he heard the familiar sound of a motor rumbling through the grounds.


    A few seconds later, a shiny black truck appeared from a corner up ahead and quickly approached the group.


    It was different from all others trucks Gaz had seen up to then, being a mix between sci-fi and steam punk.


    It was all black, both the cabin and the trailer, having smooth edges and a shiny gloss to it. The cabin looks fairly similar to the ones he knew, with a long nose and some protective grills, but instead of wheels, it had treadmill. The exhausts that went out trough the top were much more numerous than usual, going around six pipes in total, and from all of them you could clearly see as the vapor fumed out.


    The trailer was much simpler, being mostly a large box with real wheels this time, but two pairs of large piston suspensors laid upward on each side of the trailer, probably so that they could bring it down and lift the trailer. Probably in case of camping on a decline or something. The robot couldn¡¯t be so sure with only a glance.


    While it approached the group, the steam slowly stopped coming out from the vents as it came to a halt, stopping right beside the group.


    The passenger door opened, and from there came down an elf.


    Different from Sorius and his serious and somber tone, the new elf was the exact opposite. The new elf was a girl with a bright pink hair and a similarly colored eyes. Her clothes looked much less militaristic than the ones that Sorius used, being a lot more¡­ Casual. A sci-fyish looking sleeveless grey blouse with a maybe too deep cleavage, tight pants but large stylish boots. In her arms were a pair of stylish gloves that seemed to have some kind of device added to its surface. Finally, completing the set were a pair of headphones made to fit perfectly her pointed ears.


    ¡°What¡¯s%#$#, Sorius? I$!$fainted!#!#%psy?¡± She said something to the black-haired elf with a taunting smirk on her face.


    ¡°#&!%*$#, Lunns.¡± He said in a dead-serious and clearly offensive tone. It didn¡¯t take much for Gaz to understand that he just told the girl to shut-up. The sparks between their eyes were kind of a giveaway to tell the truth. Not in the literal sense, mind you. ¡°$%&Yllivia#!Beepy#$@¡± He pointed towards Gaz.


    The elf girl blinked surprised before turning towards him and staring for a while, before finally crouching down towards him and waving.


    ¡°Hello, Beepy! ##@#$Lunn!¡± She said with a smiler.


    ¡°Beep.¡± He answered.


    The girl widened her eyes for a moment before turning back to the truck and shouting something cheerfully. Beepy looked confused for a moment before hearing another voice coming from the truck. This one being much deeper and slower, almost lethargic.


    There was a short exchange between the two before Gaz heard the other door opening up, and from there another person came out.


    Well, calling him a person would be a bit of an stretch. What came out from the other side of the truck was a HUGE person, towering around two or so meters. His body was completely covered in a thick blue fur, revealing only his face and large tusks in his mouth. He walked around the truck surprisingly slowly for someone his size, but then, he was pretty much walking crouched. His clothing was surprisingly normal, being a simple white shirt and a pair of kakis pants. No shoes whatsoever on his two large feet.


    He turned around and quickly greeted the others before turning to beepy and looking surprised. Finally, he gave a surprisingly gentle and lethargic smile before crouching.


    ¡°!#%!$Beepy?!%#meet you. $!#%Volgoff.¡± He said while gently using his huge furred hands to pet the shocked robot.


    Gaz gave a quick beep, feeling a bit awkward. Even if they were introducing themselves, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that they were still treating him as a pet.


    [Ok, I get that the girl is an elf. But what the hell is that guy?] He asked confused.


    [Hmm¡­ Let me think¡­] The goddess stopped to think for a moment. [He is a bit different from what I remember, but he reminds me of the second race the maker of the dwarves created¡­]


    [It kind of feels that all gods created two races¡­] He said intrigued.


    [Pretty much. That was what we managed with our remaining energy at the time.] She said in a slightly awkward tone. [But if I remember right¡­] She said getting back to the topic.[Those ones were made to be the companions of the dwarves. While the dwarves would be good with tools, these ones were supposed to be really strong¡­] He could almost see her tilting her head while thinking deeply. [Back then they were so resistant that they could even regrow a limb.]


    [Wait¡­ If they helped the dwarves, then they lived in caves¡­ Living in caves, regeneration, strong¡­ Are they trolls?]


    [Yeah! That is what they were called!] She said cheerfully.


    [Hmm¡­ I kind of expected them to be a bit more intimidating¡­] Gaz said after taking one last look as the large Volgoff walked back to the driver¡¯s seat. [And can he even drive well? Being huge like that?] He asked no one in particular, earning a confused sensation from the goddess.


    But before he could explain, he felt as Yllivia tapped him once again and pointed towards the back of the truck. A quick beep and he drove away, seeing as the trailer¡¯s back came down, forming a ramp that he could climb over easily. Thanking silently in his mind whoever made such a door, he quickly climbed up while carrying the girl on his back, the others soon following.


    Inside the trailer was a bit boring, to tell the truth. Only two large benches on which the others quickly sat and tied their seatbelts. Standing on the space between the two benches, Gaz silently laid there as he felt the truck start to shake slightly as the steam engine started up.


    [So¡­ Where do you think we are going?] She asked.


    [A city probably¡­] He said with a sigh. [Probably a good place to start looking for the right pieces, I guess.]


    [Hmm¡­ Think we will find any robots there?]


    [Who knows?] he answered finally as he saw the back-door slowly closing up.

 8.exe - City.jpg

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Today, our first look into the civilization of this new world!


    SO, this chapter is fairly median, with 2,3K words, but it¡¯s also very calm one, with not much action and more of an exposure of the world. Next chapter should be something slightly similar, but soon it should go back to being a bit more action.


    BESIDES, Well, not much to talk really¡­ So¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    For quite some time now Gaz could hear a fairly familiar hustle and bustle of a large city even while within the truck. The sounds of steam motors and soft buzzing indicated the presence of a vehicles nearby, the murmur of voices barely reaching his sensors.


    Feeling a bit groggy, he quickly looked around, seeing as the others unbuckled themselves from their seats and quickly got up. They were talking about something with a serious tone, but the very few words that Gaz managed to pick up didn¡¯t help him understand what they were talking about.


    [What¡­ What happened?] He asked confused in his mind, as there was a blank on his memory.


    [Good morning, Gaz.] The goddess said cheerfully. [Since the travel was taking so long, I told you about the sleep function, so you decided to use it.]


    [¡­Wait, I had a sleep function? Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?] He asked annoyed, but only received a giggle from her.


    [You said exactly the same thing earlier!] She said laughing. [But that was something I started to work after noticing you getting bored during the nights.] She explained before going back to a serious tone. [But I wouldn¡¯t recommend using it too much, since it takes a bit too long for you to boot back up.]


    [Is¡­ Is that why I¡¯m so¡­ So¡­] He tried to explain his state, but his mind gave up on thinking.


    [So slow? Yeah. Pretty much. Just wait a couple more minutes and all the systems should be back up.]


    [Hmm¡­ Great¡­] He said. [So¡­ How long have I been¡­ out this time?]


    [Six hours, thirty three minutes, twenty eight seconds.]


    As he had his talk with the goddess, he saw as Yllivia took on some help from Ross to exit the truck and calling him with her other hand. He gave a long and drawn out beep as a response before slowly going his way towards her. Yllivia gave him a quick confused look, but since it didn¡¯t looked like anything too worrisome she let it go for now.


    He quickly followed her into the streets and then towards a building nearby. He felt that he should have taken a better look at whatever it was that he was passing, but his slow thinking  took the better of him and he decided to leave it aside for now.


    He followed the quartet down the building filled with some rough looking and aggressive looking folks.


    Stopping for a moment he started counting the amount of people on the group he was following and noticed that there was someone else with them. A pink haired elf was happily chatting with a seemingly indifferent Yllivia. He stared at her for a moment before remembering. She was the girl he met earlier right before getting to the truck.


    [Damn¡­ This boot up is really annoying as hell¡­] He said annoyed, receiving giggles in response.


    The group went into what looked an elevator. He briefly thought that the elevator was a bit too big, since all the group plus himself managed to fit easily into it with some room left. The elevator chunned for a moment before smoothly starting to move upward. Some seconds went by before a low ting sound echoed within the elevator, telling them that they were on whatever floor they wanted.


    The group left the elevator finding themselves on a long corridor with rows of doors on each side. Lunn quickly guided to group towards the sixth door to the right. Entering, Gaz saw what looked like a fairly small room with a pair of couches and a small table on the middle. Besides that, there wasn¡¯t anything eye-catching on the room.


    On the couch to the left side laid a feeble looking man with a lab coat and black hair. A pair of cat ears popped from the top of his head, just like Yllivia¡¯s. He immediately brightened up after seeing the group coming in.


    Sorius took the lead, greeting the man politely with a shake of a hand before calling the others to sit on the other couch. Yllivia refused on the offer, sitting behind the couch and starting to pull up the leg of her pants and removing the bandage from the wound. Lunn quickly went to her side and crouched down besides her.


    Gaz looked worried at her for a moment, seeing as the gash in her thigh was still looking bad, fact proven by her making some grimaces whenever she moved too much. Still, that didn¡¯t stop Lunn from examining the wound. The pink haired elf looked at it intently for some moment, sometimes even touching it slightly before letting out a sigh of relief.


    She exchanged some words with Yllivia, who nodded while having a slightly annoyed look on her face. Following that nod, Lunn touched something on her gloves, as if adjusting a dial, before turning back to the injury. She took a deep breath before slowly taking her hand towards the injury as it slowly started to glow. Yllivia grimaced visibly as Lunn focused on her injury.


    [Is she using healing magic?] Gaz asked as he looked at the scene.


    [Magic? Please Gaz, like the mortals could use something like that!] The goddess said in a slightly playful tone.


    [¡­What?] He asked confused. [Didn¡¯t Sorius use some kind of lightning magic back at the swarm?]


    [Magic? No, that wasn¡¯t magic.] She said in a teacher tone as if proud of herself. [You see, the elves have a special constitution that allows them to harness one specific element while using their brains. They call those powers Psy, since it uses their psyche as a medium.]


    [¡­ So, they use mysterious power that they control with their minds that alter the very fabrics of reality¡­ Is that right?] He asked with a confused tone.


    [Yup!]


    [Then¡­ How is that different from magic?]


    [Isn¡¯t that obvious?] She asked confused.


    [Nope. Not at all.]


    [¡­]


    Seeing as the conversation died down there, he sighed loudly on his mind.


    [Then, what exactly is she doing there?] He asked finally.


    [Oh, that? She is only boosting Yllivias natural regeneration.] She said cheerfully.[It increases both the speed and the effectivity of a persons healing capacities¡­ But it does have its downsides¡­]


    [Is there? Is that one of the reasons why she didn¡¯t do it earlier?]


    [I guess it is.] She said in an awkward tone.


    [I see¡­] He said in wonder.


    Seeing that the two were simply working on the healing her wound, Gaz turned his attention back towards Ross and Sorius, who were discussing something with the man in the lab coat. Ross took out the sack with the pistons from the Leapers and took a couple of them to show the man.


    He quickly examined the piston after taking it from Ross, looking at it from every angle and even taking a ruler to measure it. All the time he kept exchanging words with the others, and Gaz could barely make out some numbers from their talks, so he assumed they were speaking about some kind of payment.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    In the end, Ross spread all the pistons on the table and started to divide it between himself and the guy. Once the other guy took around one third of the pistons, he nodded happily, storing then on a bag and leaving some kind of crystal coins on the table. Sorius thanked him while counting the crystals and storing them on his own bag.


    The man left the room cheerfully while Ross packed the remaining pistons back into his own bag. Sorius quickly stood up and checked on the girls, seeing how Yllivia¡¯s leg was faring before leaving the room with Ross.


    Gaz stayed there with the girls since, from what he could understand, the cat girl was his actual owner for now, and since he had nothing else to do, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to actually obey her for now.


    At least it didn¡¯t take much longer before Lunn finally sighed and unfocused herself, almost falling down on her knees exhausted. Yllivia quickly supported her with her leg looking fine, but the girl herself looked exhausted for some reason.


    Almost in synch, the stomachs from both ladies roared loudly, making the two blush slightly before raising themselves from the ground. Gaz watched as the two stumbled their way towards the door with him following soon behind.


    They took the elevator back down to the ground floor, and this time Gaz could take a better look at the scene since his booting sequence had finished.


    It was a large hall with many different people, ranging from elves to trolls. All of them wore military clothing and carried weapons with them, while some dwarves even wore full-body armor.


    The room was fairly large, probably capable of housing a couple of hundred peoples. Large screens hanged on the ceiling, pointing towards the four sides of the room, and within them was a list that kept slowly scrolling down. He couldn¡¯t quite make out the words written, but he could somehow guess what they were.


    [Are they¡­ mercenaries?] Gaz asked in his mind.


    [Mercenaries? What¡¯s that?]


    [Soldiers for hire. You pay them and get them to do any job you want.]


    [And why would someone hire soldiers?] She asked confused.


    [Well, since people have to pay for them, they tend to be better than normal soldiers, as well as having better equipment.] He explained quickly, [And some times you need someone like them to do a dangerous job, like escorting, assaulting and so on¡­ Things you wouldn¡¯t use your own people for.]


    [I think I understand it¡­] The goddess said.


    As Gaz followed the girls towards a desk with an attendant, he saw as the door opened and in came an old looking elf. He walked towards a nearby desk and spoke something with the attendant, after a while and a quick exchange, a buzzer sounded over the whole room, making the mercenaries look towards the screen, on where some large words appeared.


    Yllivia and Lunn also looked briefly towards it before shaking their heads and turning back to the attendant. They left what looked like a key-card with the attendant before walking away, towards the door.


    Before leaving, Gaz could see as a group approached the old looking elf and took a key-card with the attendant before walking towards the elevator, probably to discuss the details of the contract.


    Leaving the merc¡¯s building, Gaz followed the two girls through the streets, feeling as some people looked at him in surprise. Not that he didn¡¯t look surprised himself.


    The city was full with large buildings and vehicles rolling on the streets. Elves, dwarves, trolls, cat-people and even some other species walked on the streets wearing modern to scy-fyish clothing.


    However, Gaz couldn¡¯t help but notice the lack of two things on the scenario around him. One was the lack of humans. No matter where he looked, he couldn¡¯t see a single human around him. The other, was the lack of robots. Or at least some that looked sentient.


    He had seen some other smaller robots, some were androids, and some were clockworks. They roamed around following other people, but they way they acted rather reminded him of pets, so he was pretty sure that they weren¡¯t sentient.


    Following the girls, he quickly reached a place that looked like a small restaurant. The two entered it nonchalantly, so he quickly followed them. The moment that he entered the room he was bombarded with the voices of chatter and laughs. Feeling a bit overwhelmed with the difference between the outside and the inside, he stood still for a moment, only moving away when he felt someone kicking him on his back.


    He quickly moved out of the way from a large troll and darted in the direction of the girls, laying on the floor beneath their table.


    [This is wonderful!] He heard the goddess say suddenly.


    [What is?]


    [With so much conversations going on, we can quickly develop the translation software!] She said cheerfully.


    [How so? I can barely pick a single conversation¡­] He said confused.


    [Just leave that to me!] She said proudly. [I can easily pick each of their conversations, so I can improve the software for you.]


    Gaz would have blinked in surprise, as suddenly all the others conversations died down and he could pick one of them specifically. A list appeared on the corner of his vision, where many options with a small microphone symbol flashed up and down.


    ¡°!$!@$Credits$#!#%No vacations, but@$!¡±


    ¡°%#@! Lucky! $(*#!%Your place!¡±


    ¡°!$!@#Blacktriggers#%@#$killed!##wife¡¯s mother!¡±


    ¡°!#$!Leapers$!#%#!Piston market%!#$Pumps and cauldrons#%!#$¡±


    He started cycling through the conversations, picking up bit and pieces of the conversations and seeing as his completion bar quickly started to rise.


    While he discreetly started hearing some pieces of gossips around the city, a waiter came to take the girls orders and looked shocked for a moment before nodding awkwardly and leaving towards the kitchen. A few minutes later he came back, followed by another waiter, both carrying large plates filled to the brim with food.


    The girls brightened immediately as the plates were put on their table. Gaz couldn¡¯t quite see from the angle he was, but the way their arms moved around told him that they were probably wolfing down the food like there was no tomorrow.


    Finally, when they finished eating amounts that would leave even a large troll shocked, the girls finally paid the bill and left the restaurant. The two quickly gave their goodbyes before separating on the exit, with Yllivia going to the north and Lunn going to the west.


    Not having much to do, Gaz followed behind Yllivia, rolling his way towards his new house.

 9.exe - Name.doc

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! A surprise double release today. Surprise even for me!


    SO, A small time-skip, she finally gets a name, decisions are made and we start opening the next part of this story with (maybe?) some interesting plot to follow!


    BESIDES, tomorrow¡¯s release may come a little late to compensate for this late release, but it should still happen. After I started to write this one I simply couldn¡¯t seem to stop until I got to the part I wanted, so before I knew it, was already late¡­


    BESIDES (II), I chose that race name by random, and when I noticed that it sounded familiar, I decided to see where I heard it before¡­ Turns out it¡¯s the name of the palicoes race on MonHun¡­ Oh well, still using it anyway. I like it.


    BESIDES (III), First¡¯s candies may come a bit late today since I plan on sleeping right away¡­ Sorry (^.^¡¯)


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ------


    A few days had passed ever since Gaz started living with Yllivia, and during this time he managed to put his translating software up to 97%, thanks to constant travels to the market and so on, and now, the very few words he didn¡¯t understand were the very specific ones. With this much, he also found out a few other interesting things.


    First was the reason why Yllivia was so attached to him. It seemed that the girl simply liked robots and always wanted one for herself, but for some reason, robots didn¡¯t seem to like her. Even the cyberflies only seemed attracted to the device she used, and not to herself. So when instead of running away when she first held him, he beeped back, she immediately decided that she wouldn¡¯t let go of the only robot that didn¡¯t seem to hate her.


    At least that was the feeling he had about the situation and from the gossips he heard on her apartment¡¯s corridor after some housewives saw him entering her room.


    Another thing he found out about the Lynnian, the official name of her race, was that she was an excellent painter. He once saw as she took out the circuit scraps she took from the cyberflies and processed it with water and other things to make paint, and then use that paint on a blank canvas to paint.


    It didn¡¯t take the small robot to notice the scene she had drawn. It was the same place on the forest where she first met him, reproduced with such exquisite details that it left him beepless. The light blur on the scene, giving it a mystical appearance, the blue of the skies, the magnitude of the trees¡­ There was even a small circular robot in the corner of the painting.


    It took her two days to finish it, and once it was done, she showed it to him in a slightly shy way, hiding herself behind of the painting as if anxious about his opinion. He simply let out a long beep of admiration at it. She seemed satisfied with his answer, as she nodded slightly before taking it somewhere to get it a frame.


    Another thing he also found out was that Sorius and Lunn were twins. But instead of getting along, it seemed that the two were always taking any chance they had to get at each other¡¯s throat in some way or another. It also seemed that their psy were completely different, just like their personalities, with Sorius being a straightforward strong lightning, and Lunn being a weaker, but versatile light skill.


    And then, he found out that Ross had his own workshop down the same building that Yllivia lived. During one of the times he passed there, he saw as the dwarf started to add the pistons on a device on the armor¡¯s gauntlet.


    When he started to wonder what that was all about, the dwarf took the gauntlet and tested the device. It propelled a small but sturdy blade that went a bit further than the gauntlet with a scary strength that would easily pierce some small metal plating. He also added some extra pistons to his legs and feet armor so that he could do some extra sprinting when needed.


    Volgoff sometimes came to the workshop to help the dwarf. Usually he came on a large jeep-like vehicle with six large wheels, but sometimes he appeared with the truck. From the little that Gaz could get from the troll, he seemed to be the official driver of the team, but this decision was purely based on the fact that he hadn¡¯t seen anyone else driving, so he couldn¡¯t be sure.


    But seeing as the troll always seemed to have a gentle look on his face, he started to wonder whether he was as strong as the goddess had first said. He changed his mind the moment he saw the troll lifting a car just to help a kid take his ball from beneath it.


    Finally, during these fairly peaceful days, Beepy discovered something that completely changed his view on the whole world. Something so shocking and powerful that made even the easy-going pet-bot decided to take an action. And that was¡­


    [I need a smaller body¡­ With legs.] He said in his mind for the Nth time that day as he felt someone nudging him out of the way.


    [You already said it, Gaz.]


    [I still need it.] He said while trying to dodge the ongoing traffic of pedestrians.


    Not that he was unhappy with his actual body. It was fairly resistant while keeping a good speed and maneuverability, but the problem lied elsewhere. While he was small height-wise, he was far too large and wide to roll around the streets of the city. And the lack of a direct sideways movement impacted heavily on his movement pattern. At least his large treadmills and piston-powered suspensions helped a little when it came to climbing stairs, so he didn¡¯t have much problem on this area.


    Should he be on the field, where he can move freely without worrying with too many people being close to him, this body would be perfect. But on a super packed city like this one it was simply a bad combination.


    [But where are you going to find the pieces to build something like that?] The still unnamed goddess asked.


    [That is also what I want to know¡­ Yllivia has been spending most of her time simply walking around the city, so I¡¯m getting a bit anxious with us not going anywhere with this whole body thingy.] He said with a sigh. [What I wouldn¡¯t give for Yllivia suddenly saying that we got a mission or something when we get back home¡­]


    He had developed a habit of walking around the city during the mornings when there weren¡¯t too many people on the streets to increase a bit of his translating software. But this time he had stayed out a bit too long so he was having some trouble passing on one of the most packed streets.


    Sometimes he felt as a person would nudge him around a bit. Whenever Yllivia was around, she would grimace a bit at the scene, but wouldn¡¯t do anything too much. But there was this one time when a Lynnian kicked him a bit too hard.


    He was kicked back in kind in the worst possible place. The whole street stopped for a moment to flinch, imagining the pain.


    Offering a silent prayer to the guy, who by now should be worrying whether he will be able to have kids or not, Gaz reached the door of Yllivias room. Just when he was about to start knocking on it with one of his repairing limbs, the door opened and the girl came out, wearing her brand new yellow gear and with her weapons hanging on her waist.


    ¡°Beepy¡­ Sorius called. We have a job.¡± She said in her usual low and indifferent tone.


    ¡°Beep!¡± He beeped cheerfully while doing a full spin and rolling back to the entrance. [Thank god for Deus Ex machina!]


    [Huh? What¡¯s that?] The goddess asked confused.


    [What? Deus Ex Machina?] He asked and he felt as the goddess nodded. That was another thing he had noticed during his time. Some of these simpler actions slash feelings were transmitted through their connection, and this seemed to make their conversation easier. (This definitively isn¡¯t something that I am using to make their conversation simpler to write, ok?) [That¡¯s an expression from my world. If I¡¯m right, it translate to the Machine god or something¡­ Wait, don¡¯t tell me you like that and want to use as your name?]


    [Err¡­ yes?] She said slightly embarrassed.


    [¡­Seriously? Isn¡¯t Machina a bit too clich¨¦ of a name?] He said with a surprised tone.


    [Huh? No, it wasn¡¯t machina I planned on using!] She said hastily.


    [Then¡­ Deus? Really? Sorry, but I¡¯m not calling you that. Sounds more like an old-man looking god¡¯s name than a machine-girl name.] He said in his best deadpan tone.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    [That wasn¡¯t it too, geez!] She said while pouting, but this left the robot confused.


    [Then¡­ What were you planning on using?] He asked confused.


    [The one in the middle!] She said as if it was obvious, but his lack of reaction made her explain better. [The name between Deus and Machina! Geez! I think it was Ekis¡­ I liked the sound of that!]


    [¡­]


    [Gaz?]


    [Sorry¡­ I was beepless¡­ I mean, speechless there.] He said while shanking his imaginary head. [That was something I sincerely didn¡¯t expect¡­]


    [What? Is it that bad?] She asked worried.


    [No¡­ Simply¡­ Unexpected¡­] He said trying to find his words. [And why that, anyway? There were dozens of names I recommended to you, and then you go and get a preposition¡­ is that even a preposition? Heck, some Latin grammar thingy whose classification I don¡¯t even know, and decide to use it as a name?]


    [Err¡­ Yes?]


    [Okay then.] he said with a sigh. [If you like it, then go with it! But why Ekis anyway?] He finally asked.


    [Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know?] She said while thinking. [It just sounded so¡­ mysterious. I kind of liked it¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to explain¡­]


    [I get it¡­] He said with a playful sigh. [I mean¡­ You are such a big mystery that even yourself knows near nothing about yourself¡­ And being called something like the X letter does fit you¡­]


    [¡­For some reason I feel offended with your tone¡­]


    [Just your imagination.] He answered playfully.


    Taking his attention back to the streets, he followed Yllivia closely while barely dodging the pedestrians walking through the sidewalks. It took the duo only a couple of minutes to reach the building where they went back on their first day. In there, after a quick look around they found Ross, Lunn and Sorius already waiting for them besides a large man from another race. This one was completely different from the usual fantasy races he was used, and had gotten his attention since the first time he saw one of them.


    The race didn¡¯t have a normal skin like the dwarves, Lynnians or elves, nor were they covered in fur like the trolls. Their skin was perfectly smooth, and not because they were well cared for and used beauty products, but simply because they were truly smooth, almost to the point of looking a bit unnatural. It was such to the point that even their fingers didn¡¯t have nails on them and their heads didn¡¯t have a normal hair, and instead seemed like a mass similar to their skin taking the shape of a hair.


    The whole race had a clear white skin with some colored markings of different colors covering their bodies and hair. If something, they looked really¡­ Squishy, for the lack of a better word on Gaz¡¯s vocabulary. According to the not-so-nameless-now goddess Ekis, they could even do some minor shapeshifting, like altering their hair and the shape of their hands, as well as use it to cure slash wounds instantly.


    [So¡­ They are super-evolved slimes or something?] He had asked when he first heard her explanation.


    [That¡¯s rude, you know? And they aren¡¯t slimes, they were called¡­ What was it? Mofians? Morgians?]


    [Morfians?]


    [Yeah! That¡¯s it!]


    [Morfians! The morphing Martians!] Gaz said playfully. [Sounds like the name of a kid¡¯s show hero!] He said laughing loudly in his mind and receiving a feeling of slight anger from the goddess.


    The man in front of them was from said race, being as tall as Sorius, but having a much wider frame with thick arms and broad shoulders. He wore something similar to a business suit, but with no necktie and a black silky scarf around his neck. His colored markings were black, and they flowed around his thumb and index finger, as well as crossing around his nose. His hair-part looked just like a short-cut hair fit of a businessman.


    He gave a quick nod of acknowledgment towards Yllivia and just like pretty much everyone else, became surprised upon seeing Gaz. Noticing his gaze, Gaz lifted one of his hands and waved it towards the man, who became shocked and looked for an answer from Sorius and Ross.


    ¡°Yah! Lil¡¯ Beepy there is a lot smarter than he looks! He even starts copyin¡¯ people sometimes!¡± Ross said with a loud laugh.


    Gaz sighed inwardly for a moment. For some reason his actions were always seen as a smart pet copying his owner, and this only made him even more downhearted. But then he was a bit scared of suddenly revealing being a bit more than a simple pet and then have them trying to attack or expel him, so maybe it isn¡¯t all that bad.


    While Beepy was left to his own worries, the door to the room opened once again, and in came the tall troll who weaved his way around the tables before reaching the group. Once they all gathered, Sorius took a key-card from one of the attendants desk and guided the group towards one room where they sat down on the couches.


    ¡°Guys, this here is Ollan Goodman, he works for Arcon-tec, who might be our next contractor.¡± Sorius introduced the guy, making all the others gasp surprised for a moment.


    Gaz took a moment to try and recollect anything that might help him understand their reactions, but nothing came to his mind, so he quickly gave up and asked Ekis to see if she had any idea, but she seemed as lost as himself.


    ¡°So¡­ Why is Arcon-tec contractin¡¯ some lowly mercs such as us?¡± Asked Ross suspicious.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s actually a long story¡­¡± Ollan said while scratching his chin thinking. ¡°But cutting it short, we want to be discreet, so after some contacts we found out that your group is fairly skillful, while still being unknown, so you guys seemed like a good choice.¡± Ross kept his suspicious face, but Gaz clearly noticed a proud smile trying to form on his lips.


    ¡°Thanks for the compliment, but what does this mission encompass?¡± Sorius, on the other hand, went straight to the point. The man nodded and leaned forward while looking serious.


    ¡°We want you to escort a V.I.P. from here to Moltair. Since we want to be discrete, we won¡¯t be able to provide our own transport nor escort, as these will be used as a distraction.¡± The man said seriously. ¡°They will be sent towards Effem through seven different routes, just like the information we will spread around, this way we will at least buy some time before anyone finds out our little plan. But since it¡¯s better to be safe, we wanted to have some unknown mercenaries escort the V.I.P.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that an awful lot of precautions for a simple escort?¡± Lunn interrupted suddenly, receiving an angry glare from Sorius. ¡°Why would you guys go so far as to send seven baits to the wrong place even?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because we believe that the V.I.P. might be the target from another dangerous group. We have even some other measures we aren¡¯t telling you just to be safe.¡± The man said, his eyes growing dangerous for a moment.


    ¡°Wow¡­ And what group could make even that Arcon-tec grow so worried?¡± Volgoff asked surprised.


    ¡°Blacktriggers¡­¡± He answered with a sigh.


    The whole room froze for a moment with the single mention of that word. Gaz once again became confused, as it was not the first time he had heard that name, but he couldn¡¯t quite tell what it meant.


    ¡°Damn, I¡¯m lovin¡¯ this job already.¡± Ross suddenly said, a dangerous smile suddenly appearing on his face as he punched his open palm. The others looked at him for a moment before smiling awkwardly, only Yllivia seemingly indifferent.


    ¡°What?¡± Ollan asked confused. ¡°You are happy that you might cross with one of the most well known black-mercs?¡± He asked confused.


    ¡°Look here, Lad.¡± Ross said, suddenly become scarily serious. Even Gaz felt goosebumps at the sudden change on the dwarf¡¯s complexion. ¡°Those Blacktriggers¡­ I¡¯ve got one BIG bone to pick with ¡®em. All you are doing is giving me a chance to get at ¡®em a little earlier.¡± His cold words dripping with such a bloodlust that the large Morfian even backed away a little. Then, he suddenly went back to his easygoing self. ¡°But then, we aren¡¯t even sure we will meet ¡®em, so it might just be me gettin¡¯ excited¡­¡±


    The others seemed somehow unaffected by the dwarf¡¯s reaction, as Sorius simply sighed annoyed before turning back to the contractor.


    ¡°Seems like Ross won¡¯t shut up if I pass on this one...¡± He said slightly annoyed. ¡°Shall we discuss the details then?¡±

 10.exe - Briefing.pdf

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! It¡¯s time for the new mission to begin!


    SO, todays chapter is around the 2.5k words, so it¡¯s average, I guess. And there shouldn¡¯t be any double releases today since it¡¯s already late, so yeah. On a side note, in two days I will be one year less young, so hooray for me! I accept virtual candy and cookies as presents, okay?


    BESIDES, I wrote a bit of the Insania¡¯s SS today and it¡¯s almost done the first chapter. So I¡¯ve been wondering whether I should hold it until the break ends, and keep doing double-posts until all SS are up, or update them as I write, even during the break¡­


    BESIDES(II), Okay, i''m not the greatest at writing with accents, so if at any time i drop Ross'' accent, please to warn me, okay? You get candy for noticing errors!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    Gaz rolled out of the trailer when Yllivia signaled him to. A quick look around and he found himself in what looked like a garage, with many tools hanging on the walls around them, the jeep that Volgoff sometimes took to Ross¡¯ workshop, and another trailer, this one looking a bit newer than the one he had just gotten off.


    He saw as everyone got off from the trailer, except for Volgoff, who started to detach the old trailer and start to maneuver the truck¡¯s cabin so that he could attach it to the new one. As soon as he was done, he also got off the truck and joined the group.


    Once they were all out, the group gathered around Sorius, who looked at each one individually before starting.


    ¡°Okay, so we got quite a big mission this time.¡± He said seriously before looking directly to Ross. ¡°I¡¯ll take it that you won¡¯t let your ¡®bone to pick¡¯ mess with the mission, right?¡± He asked in confirmation and the dwarf nodded seriously. He nodded and turned to the others. ¡°Good, now, we have a couple of hours before we have to depart, so make sure that you get everything ready. With some luck, all of our preparations will be for nothing, but I¡¯d rather spend a few hours preparing than a few days recuperating.¡±


    The others nodded at his words, but from what Gaz could see, all of them were perfectly ready, wearing all of their gear and equipment, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel that it was a bit unneeded. After that he discussed some more details with the others and dismissed them.


    Immediately after, the Lynnian called the robot to a corner where she crouched to his side and said.


    ¡°Beepy. You stay here an¡­¡±


    Gaz immediately turned away and went back to exploring the place around him with some curiosity completely disregarding her words. The Girl seemed shocked for a moment, since she didn¡¯t move for some time before suddenly grabbing one of his repair limbs and pulling him back.


    ¡°Beepy, you will stay he¡­¡±


    ¡°Beep!¡± He interrupted her before removing his limb from her grasp and turning back to the base. [Geez, this is the first time I can leave the city in a long time! Of course I¡¯m going with them.]


    ¡°Geez, this is the first time he can leave the city, Ylli! Let the little bot have his fun too!¡± Ross said with a smirk.


    ¡°But it¡¯s dangerous.¡± She said while looking seriously at the dwarf.


    ¡°Look, he lived on the forest alone for some time. AND he got himself quite a sturdy body. I think he can handle himself quite well, ya know?¡± he said while shrugging.


    Not that he lived that long alone in the forest, but his words seemed to convince the girl, because she sighed loudly and nodded sullenly. Gaz felt a slight tinge of guilt in seeing her like that, but since anything he could do at the moment would probably only worsen her mood, he decided to leave it alone for now.


    Roaming around the garage, he saw as everyone did what appeared to be their own pre-mission routines. Ross started fine-tuning his armor, Yllivia sat on the floor cross-legged meditating, Lunn laid herself on an old sofa with her eyes closed and the headphones on, Sorius took out a book from out of nowhere and Volgoff stuck himself beneath the truck and started changing some pieces.


    After a while, the troll came out from beneath the truck and asked for a hand from the dwarf. Curious, Gaz followed him to see what they were doing and saw as the two removed a medium-sized fuel tank and put on an even bigger one in. They quickly smiled at each other for a job well done before the troll suddenly frowned.


    ¡°Ross¡­ Will you be alright with only that armor?¡± He asked with some worry on his voice.


    ¡°Geez, Volg. I¡¯ll be fine!¡± He said with a wry smile. ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t an high rankin¡¯ blacktrigger, this beauty should be enough to handle them.¡± He said while tapping the armor in his arm. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not the best power armor out there, but it¡¯s sure a thousand times better than those store-bought ones.¡±


    The troll looked worried at him for a moment before finally smiling and nodding. It seemed that he was satisfied with the dwarf¡¯s answer, as he didn¡¯t pursue it any-longer. Taking his attention elsewhere, Gaz saw as Sorius and Lunn started to bicker at each other like always. He tried to gather what was the reason, but it seemed to be something fairly idiotic.


    Seeing as he didn¡¯t have much to do himself, he finally gave up and went to a corner of the room, where he started to patiently monitor the group¡¯s situation in silence.


    A couple of hours went by as Ross and Volgoff finished some final preparations on the trailer. Then Sorius received a call from the contractor. He exchanged a couple of words with whoever it was on the other side of the line. Gaz was almost certain that it wasn¡¯t Ollan, since he had been the middleman last time.


    He didn¡¯t even finish his conversation before the all the group was already sitting ready on the trailer, Beepy included. He shut down his phone and climbed to the passenger¡¯s seat besides Volgoff.


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet our V.I.P., shall we?¡±


    ¡­.


    The new trailer was a lot more comfortable looking than the old one, with actual furniture inside like some beds, fridge, bathroom and even what looked like a TV! Compared to only the benches of the other one, this one was much more luxurious, even if not perfect. But from what Gaz saw of the new fuel tank, it would probably eat a lot more fuel than before, so no wonder they didn¡¯t use it earlier.


    The decision to change trailers came from the fact that the travel would take a few days, since they were going to avoid getting the direct route AND take a large detour around two other cities. Time wasn¡¯t an issue with the mission, at the very least. Gaz couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they could manage even without this trailer, and only put it in expectation for the V.I.P.


    [So, did you manage to pick something about what the hell these blacktriggers are?] He asked Ekis.


    [Not much besides what you already know.] She said with a sigh. Gaz had asked her to keep a look on the groups conversation to see if she could pick something, but it seem that she didn¡¯t have much success. [At most, they seem to be mercs that deal with illegal missions.]


    [Yeah¡­ I had guessed as much¡­] He said with a sigh.


    He knew that what he chose to do with following them was probably dangerous, but he wanted at least to know how dangerous it was. Sadly, it seemed that he didn¡¯t have much luck with that.


    Finding himself a corner beneath one of the bunk beds that fit him almost nicely, he stood there while waiting with the rest of the group. He could somehow feel as the truck made turns after turns on the city¡¯s street, going wherever it was they were going. Ross and Lunn started some small talk to distract themselves, while Yllivia sat besides him and started with their occasional beep exchange.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    [She isn¡¯t very sociable, is she?] He asked to no one, but he could feel as Ekis agreed awkwardly with him.


    Around a few minutes later the truck stopped and he could hear as the driver¡¯s and the motorist door opened outside. Some hasty steps and a hushed conversation that he couldn¡¯t pick up, and the trailer¡¯s door opened again, opening passage to Sorius, whom escorted a hooded figure, wearing a large coat and pants.


    ¡°You can sit beside the retard and the idiot there.¡± He said pointing to the dwarf and the elf.


    ¡°I love you too, man!¡± Said Ross with a loud laugh.


    The hooded figure looked amused towards the black haired elf for a moment before nodding and walking towards the duo. Gaz examined the figure for a moment. He couldn¡¯t see much because of the coat¡¯s hood, but from the little he could see, it was a girl.  Probably no older than fifteen or sixteen years old if he would take human height as an example.


    The girl took out her hood, revealing herself as a Morfian with an age around the one he had imagined. She had some red marking around her eyes and a long hair-mass that fell almost to her waist.


    ¡°So the lassie is our VIP?¡± Ross asked, more as if amused than asking confirmation. Sorius still nodded in response. ¡°Nice to meet ya! Name¡¯s Ross.¡± He said with a nod.


    The girl looked at him for some time before nodding.


    [Yay! Another super social one!] Gaz said playfully in his mind.


    [That¡¯s rude!] Ekis rebutted.


    [You didn¡¯t deny, though.] She didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°As always, no questions asked. During the mission she will go by the code-name of Red, so don¡¯t botherthe lady.¡± Sorius said before fixing his gaze on the pink haired elf. ¡°And that goes doubly for you.¡±


    ¡°Partypooper¡­¡± She muttered loud enough for him to hear. He simply smiled at her for a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in the driver¡¯s cabin with Volgoff. Whatever you need feel free to ask Yllivia over there.¡± He said lastly to the girl, who once again simply nodded while sitting down. Satisfied with the answer, Sorius walked away from the cabin, closing it on the way out.


    [Say¡­ Is it just me¡­ Or did they not notice the robot?] Gaz asked in his mind as he stared at a small cat-shaped robot coiling around the girl¡¯s feet. For some reason the others showed absolutely no reaction to the robot, even when he kept so close to the girl.


    [Oh, it seems to use optical camouflage.] She answered to him cheerfully.


    [Optical camouflage? Isn¡¯t that like¡­ Really high-end?] He asked surprised.


    [Yeah¡­ Not only that, but also sound mufflers.] The goddess said impressed. [But it seems that it didn¡¯t deem you as a threat, so it excluded you from its systems targets to save some battery.] She said while Gaz analyzed the small intruder.


    [At least he doesn¡¯t seem to have bad intentions. That and he is blatantly touching the girl, so she probably knows he is here.] He said in wonder. [I don¡¯t think I need to do anything about it then.] He said as if shrugging his shoulder. The goddess arrived to the same conclusion as she said nothing else.


    With Red simply sitting there quietly in her corner, Ross and Lunn started looking for something to get a conversation rolling, but before any of them came to an idea, the girls eyes landed on him, where she widened them in shock. Her mouth hanged open for a brief moment before she started to open and close it rapidly, as if forming voiceless words.


    The cat seemed to notice her reaction and immediately looked towards Gaz, giving him a bit more attention before finally going back to resting at her feet again.


    The girl looked towards the two escorts who were seeing her reaction and opened her mouth.


    ¡°Err¡­ Which one is Idiot, and which one is Retard?¡±


    For a moment the whole trailer froze as her sincere and innocent words echoed within the room. That was the worst part of the phrase, as she clearly didn¡¯t have any ill intent within her question. Ross and Lunn looked at each other with a wry smile in their faces as neither knew how to answer.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m idiot, and she is retard.¡± Ross said while pointing at himself and then to Lunn.


    ¡°Huh? No! I want to be Idiot! You keep retard!¡± Lunn shouted angrily.


    ¡°Hah? No way. I like idiot more! I''ll keep it.¡± He answered with a frown.


    The two stared at each other for a moment before starting a fight to see who would keep being the idiot. Yllivia, probably long used to their reactions, simply ignored their fight while gently petting Gaz. Red, on the other hand, looked shocked at the scene, confused on what had happened.


    [You know what? I¡¯m starting to like that girl.] Gaz said in his mind, receiving a chuckle in response.


    The girl looked worriedly towards Yllivia, who simply nodded before lifting herself from the ground and approaching the duo. A few seconds later the two were laying on the floor moaning in pain as they held their stomachs. Yllivia nodded to herself for a job well done before sitting besides Beepy once again.


    ¡°Err¡­ Sorry¡­¡± The girl said a bit worried as she looked at the two. ¡°I just¡­ I wanted to know where that robot is from.¡± She said while pointing at the Gaz.


    ¡°Huh? Beepy?¡± Ross asked while raising himself. Since he was more than used to the Lynnian¡¯s punch he had an easier time recovering. ¡°Well, he¡¯s from that forest before the leaper¡¯s plain.¡± He said with a wry smile as he felt a spike of pain.


    ¡°But¡­ From what I know there shouldn¡¯t be robots like him there?¡± The shocked girl asked.


    ¡°Oh? You seem to know a lot about ¡®em.¡± Ross said with a smile. The girl¡¯s eyes widened before she firmly closed her mouth, some regret clear on her face. ¡°Alrighty then. I''ll try to not ask too much.¡± He said shrugging. ¡°Anyway, he wasn¡¯t actually like that in the beginnin¡¯. That is a new body he built with some leaper¡¯s scrap.¡± He said with a proud smile.


    ¡°You said¡­ That a robot built a brand new body for itself? From scratch?¡± The girl asked, clearly not believing his words.


    ¡°Yah. I saw it with my own two eyes.¡± He said while hitting his large hand in his chest.


    ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t believe it.¡± Red said shaking her head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t? Why don¡¯t you check his parts then. All one hundred percent leaper¡¯s part.¡± Ross said with a taunting smile, but¡­


    ¡°No one will open Beepy.¡± Yllivia said lowly with a dangerous look in her eyes, making the other three take a step back.


    ¡°No¡­ I¡­ Sorry¡­¡± The girl said lowly. ¡°I won¡¯t ask again.¡± She said while lightly bowing and sitting down.


    ¡°Geez Yllivia! You scared the poor girl!¡± Lunn said while pouting and suddenly hugging Red by surprise. ¡°And it¡¯s not like she would hurt Beepy, right?¡± She asked the girl in her arms.


    The girl, still shocked, simply nodded while trying to remove her head from the elf¡¯s bosom. Ross laughed loudly while Yllivia pulled Gaz a bit closer in a protective way and started staring at them. Gaz could almost hear a sigh and a laugh coming from the cabin ahead of them.


    [Well¡­ At least the voyage won¡¯t be all that uneventful, right?] Gaz asked as he watched the scene.


    [Seems like it.] Ekis said in a slightly awkward tone.

 11.exe - Research.dat

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends!  A little look on our VIP today!


    SO, an early but short release today. Only 1,7K words. BUT, I may release a second chapter later today. No guarantees, but a possibility, so stay tuned, okay?


    BESIDES, I must say that I have been enjoying writing this story, and I plan on keeping up with it even after I go back to Insania, even if that means dropping the frequency a lot. For now, I plan on writing this one during the Sundays, plus whichever day I decided to write it after Insania¡¯s chapter. What do you guys think?


    BESIDES(II), In the next chapter should be a bit more exciting, since things have been going too well these last chapters¡­ I¡¯m an evil person, it seems¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    ¡°Lunn¡­¡± Sorius said with a serious tone.


    ¡°What is it, brother?¡± She asked in a perfectly innocent tone.


    ¡°What did I tell you right before we left?¡± He asked, his voice dripping with bloodlust.


    ¡°To not bother the VIP.¡± She answered immediately.


    ¡°So you do remember. Good.¡± He said with a nod.


    ¡°Of course! But what does it have to do with anything?¡± She asked back.


    ¡°It has everything to do with the situation.¡± He answered back.


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that she is clearly uncomfortable with the situation?¡± He asked, a vein popping on his forehead.


    ¡°Nope. I can¡¯t.¡± She answered innocently, receiving a loud sigh in response.


    ¡°Lunn¡­ For the love of the gods¡­ STOP HUGGING THE VIP!¡± He shouted the last part at her.


    ¡°NO! SHE¡¯S SO SQUISHY AND SOFT! I DON¡¯T WANT TO LET GO!¡± She answered while pulling the poor Red away from Sorius.


    [Goddammit¡­ Where is the popcorn when you need it?] Gaz said playfully while watching the scene.


    [What does popcorn have to do with this?] Ekis asked confused. [Actually, what is popcorn?]


    [Don¡¯t mind it. Just a silly joke and a junk food from my world.] He said amused.


    [Junk food? That doesn¡¯t sound very tasty¡­] She said worried.


    [Then you have a lot to learn, young padawan.] He said in his best sage tone.


    [Padawan? What¡¯s that?]


    [A lot indeed¡­]


    He would have nodded right then, but his lack of the necessary neck, head and body needed to make such a movement left him unable to do so. Taking his attention back to the scene, he couldn¡¯t help but wanting to chuckle at the scene, with Sorius trying to take his sister¡¯s hand away from the poor Morfian.


    Right after their initial banter back at the trailer, Lunn took a liking to the young Red and kept hugging her all the time with a blissful face. The girl tried repeatedly to free herself from her grasps, but it was all in vain as the mercenary easily overpowered her weak body. So after one or two hours of struggle, Red finally gave in and became her personal hug-toy.


    Of course, Ross, being the helpful dwarf he was, pretty much spent the whole time rolling on the floor while either laughing or in pain. Yllivia kept indifferent to the scene, only keeping herself close to her precious Beepy as a mother protecting her child.


    But the one that left Gaz the most amused was the stealth cat, who was left completely confused on what was happening with its seemingly owner and kept looking from one side to the other looking for an answer, before finally giving up and jumping on Red¡¯s lap who was on Lunn¡¯s lap.


    That went on for a few hours as the group traveled, and after some time Gaz finally felt as the truck came to a stop and Sorius came in warning that it was time for lunch. Only to find the precious VIP being hugged by a distracted elf and almost fainting in shock. Volgoff simply looked amused by the scene and smiled as if he was a father looking at his children playing around.


    So, it ended up with the group¡¯s current situation. After some struggle, Sorius finally managed to take a sulking Lunn away from a confused Red.


    Afterwards, the whole group gathered outside of the trailer due to Volgoff being far too big to fit in it. Ross brought what looked like a barbecue grill from a cabinet and brought it outside.


    ¡°Hey Lass, Hope you don¡¯t mind eatin¡¯ some delicious juicy meat. Cause that¡¯s all we have today!¡± He said cheerfully while dropping the grill on the ground and lighting it up with some coal.


    ¡°No need to worry. We do have proper people-food ready too.¡± Said Sorius as he brought some proper cooking utensils with him.


    ¡°Bah! No proper dwarf needs anything more than some juicy meat and a good cold mug to survive.¡± Ross said in an annoyed tone. ¡°And a workshop. That is also good.¡±


    ¡°No! She is still growing and must eat properly to become even squishier!¡± Lunn objected to the dwarf.


    ¡°¡­I take back what I said. Barbecue it is.¡± Sorius said suddenly.


    ¡°Waah? Just because I agreed with you?¡± She made a fake hurt tone.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t the three of you simply ask what the lady likes?¡± Volgoff said in his usual calm tone while taking the apparel from Sorius and preparing a cooking pit. The bicker trio stopped shocked and turned their eyes to Red, who suddenly became embarrassed with being the center of attention.


    ¡°I¡­ Hmm¡­ Well¡­¡± She struggled to find words, and had to take a deep breath before finally calming herself. ¡°Hmm¡­ I would like¡­ Something else with the meat¡­?¡± She said shyly, making Lunn look proudly towards Ross.


    The moment she though no one was looking at her, she made a small victory pose. Gaz would have smiled wryly as the girl clearly was proud of herself for stating her opinion. She was a bit more of an awkward girl than what he had firstly guessed.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Ross grumbled something about being a true man and ignored the rest, throwing a lot of pieces of meat on the grill.


    While the dwarf kept grilling his meat, Volgoff started properly cooking a stew with a large pot, using a variety of spices that Gaz had never seen even back in his other life. It didn¡¯t take too long before the food was ready and they all took a plate-full from the troll before sitting on the side of the truck.


    Yllivia quickly took a fruit from a nearby tree and gave it to Gaz, who immediately started processing it, but he couldn¡¯t help noticing the fact that Red was looking at him intently during the whole process, as if analyzing his very notice. In exchange, he noticed as the girl took some pieces of meat and vegetable from the stew and discretely gave it to the small cat-bot.


    The group didn¡¯t take much longer after finishing their lunch before going back to the truck, and much to Red¡¯s delight, Lunn hit the bed and immediately passed out with a silly smile in her face.


    Ross simply sat down near the door and started a light nap, similar to what Yllivia was doing, except that she was making sure to stay close to Beepy the whole time.


    Noticing that she was the only one truly awake right then, the girl discretely called out to Gaz, moving her hand and making a low sound, as if she was calling a small dog. Gaz let out a mental sigh and slowly approached the girl. From what he managed to see, the girl wasn¡¯t all that dangerous, so he felt that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to humor her a little.


    She clearly held back a smile when he approached, before crouching down and extending her hand towards him, only to be stopped by the cat, who put itself in front of the hand. The girl smiled a bit awkwardly at this before lightly petting it and turning back to Beepy.


    ¡°Now¡­ What could you be¡­¡± She said in an impressed tone as she slowly traced her fingers around his armor. ¡°This plating¡­ It looks like a leaper¡¯s¡­ But much thicker¡­ And these treads¡­ Why are they so large?¡± She said while looking around him. ¡°Oh¡­ Larger gears? Stronger? Interesting¡­¡±


    Gaz started to feel a bit uncomfortable as the girl looked all over him with a shocked expression. She seemed incredibly impressed with how he looked, so he felt a bit uneasy if he were to take some distance and make her sad once again.


    ¡°BEEeeEp?¡± He said a bit uneasy, and the girl suddenly jerked her head surprised.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± She said awkwardly before taking a small notebook from one of her pockets and start doodling something on it. Becoming curious, Gaz rolled behind her and looked at the notebook, seeing as she drew him and started to make some annotations with the letters he still couldn¡¯t read.


    [Oh, is she a researcher of some kind?] Gaz asked surprised.


    [Seems like it¡­]


    As he saw her making some annotations on her notebook, the cat once again jumped on her arms, interrupting her writing. She smile a bit awkwardly before putting the cat back on the ground.


    ¡°Not now, Pin, I¡¯m working right now¡­¡± She said in an apologetic tone, making the cat look confused, she smiled awkwardly once again before turning back to Gaz. ¡°Such an incredible specimen¡­ I wonder what else he can do¡­¡± She said with an amused look.


    Deciding to amuse her a bit more, Gaz took that as a cue to lift himself with the pistons, making the girl gasp in surprise as he went up and down all at once. She quickly went back to her writing and doodling. As soon as she finished, he once again activated his pistons, but in alternate patterns this time, making him tilt on different angles.


    ¡°Active individual pistons? Why would you need it?¡± She asked amused, probably not expecting what he had just shown. ¡°And these gears¡­ Are they all Leaper¡¯s too? The steam tank and the furnace too¡­ All your parts are from leapers? Incredible.¡±


    Finding that it was probably enough for now, he simply went quiet and turned back to his corner of the trailer, but much to his surprise the girl came after him, not even caring about the fact that Yllivia woke up when she got close enough, all the time she kept noting down something on her notebook.


    ¡°Maybe if we added a bull¡¯s secondary cauldron and use its horn instead of exhausts¡­ Or use a rotor¡¯s motor for propulsion¡­ And then a Cork¡¯s rotor¡­¡± She started rambling while looking intently at the small robot, who was starting to get a bit worried with her reaction. Luckily, rescue came from a yellow-dressed Lynnian, who hugged him and said in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Only Beepy can change his body.¡± She said seriously.


    The girl froze for a moment while staring at him for some time. Then she looked shocked back at Yllivia and blushed furiously, which meant that her whole face became a literal bright red, before she backed away, hiding herself behind her notebook.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± She said in a low tone. ¡°But¡­ Is it true then?¡± She asked after lowering the notebook only enough to watch the small robot. ¡°He created his body by himself?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Yllivia said curtly while pulling him even closer.


    ¡°Incredible¡­¡± She said with her voice filled with wonder.


    [I¡­ May have gotten myself in trouble¡­] Gaz said while looking at Red¡¯s shining eyes of excitement.


    [I fear I must agree with you there¡­] Ekis said awkwardly.

 12.exe - First_encounter.lua

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Double release today!


    SO, another fairly average-ish short chapter, with 1.7k words, released late because Youtube. But I released one earlier, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right? Hope not. Still, this is starting to get a slightly more serious tone to it than what I expected¡­ Hope I can keep it good.


    BESIDES, not much really to say here¡­ So¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    The voyage had gone pretty well and calm for the last two days. The girl, with her identity somewhat compromised after her curiosity outburst with Gaz, was much more at ease when carrying her notebook around and noting down everything that Gaz did within the trailer with a fervent curiosity. Only to suddenly remember she was around people and blush furiously, sit down and try to behave until the next time Gaz did something, where everything would start again.


    Not even Yllivia was being much help by now, since she had noticed that the girl meant no harm and could actually help Beepy should he need it. The only time he actually had any peace of mind was when Lunn was awake, where she would take a hold of the girl and keep hugging cheerfully.


    On another side, though, it seemed that the others didn¡¯t notice the small cat, and said cat seemed to take a huge liking to Gaz, since it was now arbitrarily using the back of his soon to be turret as a napping place. Probably due to the heat of his furnace if his memory of how a cat works meant something. Well, according to Ekis, the cat was taking advantage of his natural heat emission to economize a bit on his own energy cost.


    Not that he minded, though. He did appreciate the company, even if both were thought of as pets.


    Besides these slightly uncomfortable moments where the girl would start examining him non-stop, the voyage had been surprisingly calm with nothing too big happening, much to his surprise. And that was how these last days had come and gone, and now they had already crossed almost half of the way to the city.


    To tell the truth, the small robot had been worried almost all the voyage, since the group sometimes simply didn¡¯t seem to care too much, with everyone going to sleep and leaving themselves open for ambushes. It was to the point that he had even decided to stay up and keep making rounds to check for possible attackers.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ This should be everything¡­¡± Red said while nodding, bring Gaz¡¯s mind back to the present. ¡°Geez¡­ With a body like this, I wouldn¡¯t be surprise if someone said that he was sentient¡­ It¡¯s like it was made under demand¡­¡±


    For the Nth time since she first started her usual exams slash analysis of the small robot, Gaz felt that he just had the closest to a virtual goosebumps that he could ever get. First it was when after some calculations, she guessed pretty much all his specs, from horsepower with all the motors working, to the pressure he could put behind his jumping pistons and the height he could get with it.


    To call her a genius would be an understatement. And whenever she saw something she found interesting, she would start murmuring something that seemed to be upgrades for his body. It was to the point that even Ekis praised the girl¡¯s knowledge.


    She closed her notebook and simply kept there, watching him with sparkling eyes as if waiting for him to do something else that she would find interesting. However, Beepy was long since out of new tricks to show her, so he could only let out a long beep of relief.


    Still, the girl kept looking at him for a good moment before noticing that he was out of tricks. But instead of simply sitting back into her corner, she started doodling other things on her little notebook.


    Sighing inwardly, Gaz kind of expected to have to go through some other kind of inspection again, but his worries were shattered the moment that Yllivia suddenly stood up.


    The Lynnian walked towards the front of the trailer and knocked on it a couple of times. It didn¡¯t take much longer before the truck slowly came to a stop, parking on the side of the road. As he, Red and the stealthy cat looked around confused trying to understand what had just happened, the others quickly got up on their feet. Even Lunn who looked completely passed out on her bed rose in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°Beepy. Take care of Red.¡± The Yllivia said curtly while petting him slightly.


    ¡°Beep!...?¡± He answered, still a bit confused.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡± Ross asked with a raised eyebrow. Yllivia frowned slightly before shaking her head.


    ¡°More than a few¡­ But not many.¡± She said curtly. ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡± Red asked while tilting her head.


    ¡°Ylli¡¯s sixth sense for that kind of thing is really scary.¡± Lunn said while hugging her from behind. ¡°I don¡¯t think she ever got ambushed her whole life. There was even one time she woke up because a poisonous insect got close to her!¡± She said with an impressed voice, making Yllivia blush slightly.


    ¡°Then¡­ That means?¡± Red asked worried, while trembling slightly.


    ¡°Blacktriggers.¡± Ross said with a wicked smile as he opened the back door of the trailer. Then he suddenly got a worried face as he looked at the trailer. ¡°Now let¡¯s get da HELL out of here cause I don¡¯t wanna see an angry Volgoff ever again.¡± He said as he walked away, putting on his armor¡¯s helmet.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Yllivia nodded while Lunn gulped loudly, her face paling slowly.


    [Two of the scariest things to see¡­ The calm of an angry man, and the anger of a calm man¡­ Huh?] He said with a wry smile in his mind.


    [Is it really that bad?] Ekis said curious.


    [Yup. As bad as it sounds.] He answered with a mental nod.


    Gaz saw as Yllivia and Ross left the trailer before its door closed behind them, leaving the two behind. Red turned towards Lunn worried, wanting to know what the other two were going to do, but she simply shook her head telling for her not to worry.


    They simply stayed there for a couple of hours, lying in wait doing nothing. Around two hours later, they heard footsteps coming from outside the trailer, and the three non-combatants became worried, but Lunn simply smiled in a calming way as the door opened, showing the slightly roughed-up Yllivia and Ross, who carried another dwarf they had never seen before.


    ¡°So? How was it?¡± Lunn asked curious.


    ¡°Meh. Scrubs.¡± Ross said annoyed. ¡°Around ten of them, but not one higher than iron.¡± He said throwing the unconscious dwarf on the ground.


    ¡°Iron?¡± Red asked confused, and he smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°The Blacktriggers have a ranking system on how good ya are. Iron is the second one you get, right after copper.¡± He said with a sigh. ¡°Pretty much canon fodder. Scouts at best.¡± He said annoyed.


    ¡°What does it means that we found these guys?¡± Lunn asked curious.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Ross said while kicking the guy awake. ¡°Probably have a titanium or something ahead. Not much higher, though.¡± He said with a shrug. ¡°Didn¡¯t really expected for us to come here, I¡¯d say.¡±


    ¡°Lots of merc''s vehicles ahead. All of them were stopped and destroyed.¡± Yllivia added, landing a punch on the dwarf that tried attacking them, making him drop on the ground in pain. ¡°Could take some answers from him.¡± She said while lifting the dwarf and throwing him towards Lunn.


    The elf smiled a bit awkwardly before pushing Red towards the duo.


    ¡°Sorry, little one. It¡¯s not good for you to see what will happen here. Wait a bit more ahead, ok?¡± She said, making the young Morfian nod worriedly.


    [I¡­ Don¡¯t think I want to witness this¡­] Gaz said with a worried tone while following her.


    [Why? What is going to happen?] Ekis asked confused.


    [If I¡¯m right¡­ You might not want to know.] Gaz said while rolling away with Red, his tone a bit grim.


    Luckily, Ekis kept quiet, taking on his tone. Yllivia closed the door behind them, leaving the dwarf alone with pink haired elf. Outside, the group found the other elf and the troll waiting for them, with Sorius immediately calling them to get some distance from the trailer.


    Red looked back worried for one last moment before nodding, the cat running to get to her side, where it followed suit.


    They walked almost fifty meters before Sorius finally called to a stop and turned to Ross.


    ¡°So, Ross. What are we going against here?¡± He said as if completely forgetting their usual banters.


    ¡°Hmm.. I¡¯d say a mobile armor. Tier two if he¡¯s a titanium.¡± Ross said while thinking deeply. ¡°Besides that¡­ I¡¯d say around¡­ Fifteen escorts? Numerous weaklings, to tell the truth¡­¡±


    ¡°I could go back and take another route. Time isn¡¯t a problem, right?¡± Volgoff offered, but Yllivia shook her head.


    ¡°No. They also had noticed us and warned the superiors. Should be cutting our escape route.¡± She said calmly.


    ¡°¡­I could rush a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t want to traumatize our VIP, Vol.¡± Sorius said with a wry smile, and the troll laughed a bit before nodding. ¡°What about passing the blockade? Think they could catch up?¡± He turned to Ross.


    ¡°¡­Depends on who the boss is.¡± He answered after some though. ¡°I don¡¯t think they would put a big-shot out here, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Ya, breaking here should solve our problem.¡± He said nodding. ¡°Still, better wait for some answers from Lunn.¡± He said with a nod.


    Sorius raised an eyebrow before nodding.


    Gaz couldn¡¯t help but find it strange that Sorius was leaving the final say to Ross. From the brief time he spent with the group, he had noticed that Sorius was the de facto leader of the group, yet he had been following Ross¡¯ directions on this mission.


    Still, he was unable to delve too much into it, so he decided to simply keep an eye out, as it seemed to be some kind of unspoken agreement to leave it to the dwarf this time. It took around half an hour before Sorius received a call from Lunn, he exchanged some serious words with her before shutting down his radio.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a name.¡± He said. ¡°Dorran Blackhand.¡± Yllivia and Volgoff turned towards Ross, whose cheerful smile had become wicked.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I remember that bastard. Was but a black iron last time.¡± He tapped on his chest plate, opening a compartment with ten black-shelled slugs with some white words on its side. ¡°And I¡¯ve got a shell with his name riiight here.¡±


    Sorius sighed loudly at this, Volgoff gave an awkward smile and Yllivia nodded. Meanwhile, Gaz and Red couldn¡¯t help but feel worried.

 13.exe - Battle_music.mp3

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Some action and a bombshell of a revelation today!


    SO, the story is taking a turn to being dark, but I don¡¯t plan on keeping it all the time and most likely will go back to the foolish humor of always. Still, it¡¯s good to write something serious for a change.


    BESIDES, Happy birthday to me! I WANT MAH VIRTUAL CANDIES! GIMME MAH PRESENTS NAO!


    BESIDES(II), So, the next days might be a bit rocky and might not have regular updates, lasting up to Saturday, so if I don¡¯t update anything, forgive-me. I will try to keep up at least some small chapters up.


    BSIDES(III), I plan to close this arc before going back from the break, but if I can¡¯t do it, I will probably alternate Insania and Reinstall updates until I get a decent closing to the arc.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    The trailer was in an eerie silence this time, with everyone but Volgoff standing close to the door, weapons in hands and standing ready. Gaz and Red, who were new to this whole mercenary thing, were both fidgeting worried, not knowing how to react and unable to sit down and wait. The cat, paying respects to the ones back on his earth, didn¡¯t care at all and simply napped on the other robot¡¯s back.


    At the very least, they caught no sight of the dwarf they had left in here with Lunn earlier, knowing that whatever had happened to him wouldn¡¯t do any better to their states.


    Taking a deep mental breath, Gaz reminded himself from Ross¡¯ earlier words.


    ¡°Dorran is a retard.¡± He had spoken almost with a laugh. ¡°Know a few tricks and knows who to praise, but not much else. That¡¯s how he got his Black steel rank, but is stuck doing this titanium rank job.¡± He said while laughing loudly, as if mocking the man. ¡°Think he got the good job, but everyone knows he is a sore, so they keep telling him that this is the good job.¡±


    ¡°Since his rank is higher¡­ Does this mean that his troops are better equipped?¡± Sorius asked.


    ¡°Nah. Guy¡¯s an A.hole. Got himself a tier three mobile armor, but left his escorts without a single decent gear.¡± He said while extending a finger. ¡°They should be no better than trash. BUT, they are numerous trash, and that could get a wee bit annoying.¡±


    ¡°A tier three? That¡¯s troublesome.¡± Sorius said while thinking. ¡°But I think my rifle should break his armor.¡±


    ¡°That is if he give us time to make our move. That¡¯s not his style at all.¡± Ross said while shaking his head. ¡°He like to see things go his way. Or what he think that is his way. Not a very smart fella, so we can play around that.¡±


    ¡°You have a plan.¡± Yllivia stated. It wasn¡¯t a question. The dwarf simply smiled.


    A quick static on the radio told them that Volgoff had seen something, and everyone tensed up on their seats. A few seconds later and another burst of static confirmed that it was the blacktriggers.


    Gaz heard as the truck slowly came to a stop and the troll started to talk with someone who had a cocky tone. Immediately after came a few slaps on the trailer¡¯s carcass and a loud laugh, startling the young Red. Yllivia quickly nodded towards Gaz, and the VIP agreed, standing close to the robot while pulling up her hood.


    The trucks back door slowly opened, revealing a fuming Volgoff followed by a few dwarfs. The dwarfs signaled for the group to come out while sporting mocking grins. The group-nodded discretly as they all walked down with their hands showing. The moment they got out, Red and Gaz became shocked.


    A robot, around four meters tall, dwarfing even the large troll, stood beside the truck. It had a fairly humanoid shape, but with no head. In compensation, it had a huge torso and ridiculously thick arms, with half a meter of diameter, sprouted from each side.


    Gaz couldn¡¯t help but think that such a large guy could easily smash the truck in the middle should it want to.


    [That¡¯s¡­ Not a robot, Gaz.] Ekis said shocked, making Gaz confused for a moment.


    ¡°Goddammit Dorran. Your bad tastes never changes, does it?¡± Ross said with clear disgust in his voice.


    All the dwarves suddenly stopped and looked towards the fully armored Ross in shock. Some of them gasped in surprise after a few seconds, while others looked clearly confused. Gaz somehow couldn¡¯t help but feel that their dwarf had a small smirk beneath the helm.


    ¡°Ross¡­¡± A rough voice came from within the large robot, it sounded extremely cocky. ¡°To think that we would meet here again¡­¡± He said with a laugh. ¡°This must be GODSENT! I get to finish the job that not even Bellam managed to accomplish! WONDERFUL! I might even get to Mithril this time!¡± He said with a loud laugh as the armor slightly crouched down, as if to get a better look at him. ¡°Yet, look at you now¡­ Such a wimpy armor. I remember you having a slightly better equipment than that last time. Bah, no matter.¡± His voice dripping with sarcasm as he put himself upright again. The robot lifted one of its huge arms and made a sweeping motion. ¡°Men. Kill him. Afterwards we get to deal with the others.¡± He said in a victorious tone.


    The other dwarves snapped out of it, but their reactions were varied. The ones that were confused earlier started to advance while taking out their weapons, as if preparing for an execution, yet the others that were shocked started to look at each other confused.


    As Gaz started to worry around what was happening, Ross burst out in a loud laughter, making all the other dwarves stop once again confused. During his outburst, Volgoff quickly murmured to the Sorius.


    ¡°Four drone hounds. Fast scout types, but with some light weaponry.¡± The troll said and the Elf grimaced, giving a quick look towards Beepy. ¡°They are at the front of the truck. He have the head start.¡±


    Sorius nodded slightly as Ross laughter died down.


    ¡°Have you finally gone mad, Ross?¡± Dorran asked mockingly, but Ross simply shook his head while supporting his arm on his knees, recovering his breath.


    ¡°Sorry buddy¡­ I just never expected that I would see THAT Dorran being so selfless.¡± He said while straightening himself.


    ¡°¡­What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ You are giving your henchmen the chance to take on THE Ross, instead of doing it yourself!¡± He said with perfectly clear admiration in his voice. ¡°To think that you would give them the chance to get such a rank-up! You have really changed, Dorran!¡±


    There was a brief moment of silence as his words sunk in. Just as the dwarves with their weapons out started to get some shine in their eyes, the huge armor took a step forward, making the whole ground rumble.


    ¡°Men. Step back.¡± The armor suddenly said with its booming voice. The dwarves expression clearly darkened as they noticed what was about to happen. ¡°Ross. I challenge you to a duel of honor!¡± It was almost imperceptible, but the dwarves mood once again made a full turn. For a brief moment they smiled wickedly before going back to their sullen faces.


    Luckily, it seemed that the others also noticed this, as they became clearly relieved. Gaz¡¯s memory went back to the small strategy meeting they had.


    ¡°He will probably start with trying to kill me the moment I appear. But I can trick him into a askin¡¯ a duel of honor.¡± He said with surprising confidence. ¡°If I ask, he would refuse, but it¡¯s easy to guide the rusty-bolt into thinking that HE wants the duel. But, as I said, he¡¯s a dirty A.hole, so it won¡¯t stop there¡­¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Gaz gave a quick look around as he saw the movement of the dwarves, who started to open space between Ross and Dorran. He heard Ross mutter something about honor duel against a mobile armor, but he didn¡¯t show it for too long, putting back his smirk.


    He took out his shield, putting it up ahead and taking out his over-sized revolver and started to walk forward while the armor simply stood there waiting.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get on with it then.¡± The dwarf said.


    Barely had his words left his bearded mouth, the armor lifted one of its arm, revealing what looked like a Gatling gun and aimed at the dwarf, not even bothering with the fact that the others were right behind him.


    But Ross was a bit faster, lifting his revolver and firing a single slug on the robot¡¯s weapon. A loud bang came out as the slug exploded, damaging the weapon and making it break down the moment the first bullet started to come through.


    ¡°Still a fool¡­ Don¡¯t bring a slow weapon to a duel!¡± Ross said in a scolding tone.


    A cry of frustration came from the robot, as it immediately rushed forwards swinging his arm. The dwarf quickly ran away to the side, making the robot chase him for some moment as the guy raged at him.


    Every few seconds, the dwarf would land a shot at the huge armor, but besides the first shot, made with an explosive shot at a fragile part, his other shots didn¡¯t have much impact, as the armor¡¯s other arm was made for punching, so it was made a lot more resilient.


    ¡°I¡­ Didn¡¯t expect him to be that bad¡­¡± Sorius murmured to the group, and the others nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s like giving a rifle to a kid.¡± Lunn said with a nod.


    ¡°Still dangerous.¡± Yllivia finally added.


    ¡°If only we weren¡¯t outnumbered¡­¡± Sorius said with a sigh while looking at the twenty or so ill-equipped dwarves who were watching the duel while discretely checking on their group.


    The two dwarves kept their cat and mouse game while running around, with Dorran unable to reach Ross and Ross unable to damage his armor. And while this was frustrating the Blacktrigger, the other dwarf was smiling widely.


    ¡°He¡¯s unable to even use his armor correctly, so I can drag the fight around.¡± Ross told them earlier. ¡°When he gets frustrated, he will say ¡®damn honor¡¯ and then start playing dirt. That¡¯s when we strike.¡±


    ¡°Guys, get ready.¡± Sorius said with a warning tone, and the others nodded slightly while Beepy lightly revved up his motors.


    Almost as if waiting for those words, Dorran shouted in frustration while turning towards his dwarves.


    ¡°Get the girl and kill those bastards! Then kill THIS bastard!¡± He said. ¡°But the credit is mine, you hear?¡±


    The dwarves all smiled wickedly, as if they were waiting for this, and turned towards their group. Only to be met with gunfire from Lunn and Yllivia and being shocked by Sorius. With that alone three of the blacktriggers fell dead. Shocked with the unexpected reaction from their victims, the dwarves hesitated for a moment. Enough moment for the Red to sit down on Gaz, who held her in place using his repair arms.


    ¡°Lunn, Beepy, Vol, Get the VIP to safety. NOW.¡± Sorius shouted while running to one side.


    Right as he said that, Volgoff turned to the dwarf besides him, grabbed him by the head and smashed it down on the ground, leaving a small crater on the place.


    ¡°NOBODY HITS MY TRUCK!¡± He shouted on the dwarf¡¯s ear before turning away and running.


    Lunn released some shots towards the dwarves, mostly to make them run for cover than to hit them and ran besides Gaz, who was already accelerating behind the troll. Seeing the chaos as his plan went downhill, Dorran turned back and started to run towards Red.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing you retards? Get the girl!¡± He said while charging behind the group, but the moment he turned his back to Ross, the armor¡¯s left leg gave in as a one of Ross¡¯s shells penetrated its unprotected behind.


    Dorran roared in anger while turning back to the armored dwarf, his armor swinging its arm in a wide circle and slamming the dwarf¡¯s shield, launching him backwards with a grunt as he fell on his back and rolled a few meters on the ground.


    While Ross kept the huge armor occupied, Yllivia and Sorius kept firing at the other dwarves, keeping them in place as they searched for cover around the road. After a quick look around, Sorius called up Yllivia to head towards some broken vehicles a bit ahead on the road. Probably other mercs¡¯ who were unfortunate to cross this road.


    Taking cover behind these vehicles, they kept up their cover-fire so that the elf, the robot and the others could open some distance from them and hide the VIP while they took care of the situation here.


    ¡°You retards! Send in the hounds!¡± Dorran shouted as he tried to lift his robot from the ground, but the leg grinded in complaint.


    One of the other dwarves, one of the few who had a body-armor, took out a whistle from his pocket and blew it with all his strength. Brief moments later, three robots came from the other side of the truck, with long legs and lean body and a featureless head.


    The dwarf pointed towards Beepy and the others, who already had a good head-start. Sorius quickly pulled out his rifle and landed a shot in the middle of one of the robot¡¯s core. He quickly readied another shot, but the robots darted away right before he could shoot it, so it missed and simply landed above its left hind leg.


    He grimaced and prepared another shot, but he met face-first with the ground as Yllivia pulled him down brief moments before the other dwarves opened fire against him.


    ¡°Thanks, Ylli.¡± He said a bit pale. The girl simply nodded as she got out of cover and shot a few rounds.


    ¡°Not much ammo.¡± She said as she got back into cover and exchanged the cartridge. ¡°Hope they get back soon. Don¡¯t want to do that¡­¡± She said with a grim tone, making Sorius pale even more for a moment.


    ¡°How¡¯s Ross? Think he can hold until I get a full charge?¡± He asked while some sparks started to jump around his gun.


    Yllivia quickly glanced at the dwarf as he raised himself from the ground moments before the robot landed a punch on him, it¡¯s legs creaking with the effort. She turned back to Sorius and shook her head slightly.


    ¡°He¡¯s limping. Last attack seemed to hurt a lot.¡± She said with a frown. ¡°Five minutes at max.¡±


    The elf clicked his tongue hearing that. If he wanted a good shot, he would need at least eight minutes to get a charge strong enough to pierce that armor. That and there were the other dwarves to keep at bay.


    As he grimaced and considered his options, a loud shout of pure rage echoed through the air.


    ¡°YOU WILL PAY, ROSS!¡± Shouted Dorran as he ran after the dwarf. ¡°I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU STAY DEAD THIS TIME, ROSS BLACKTRIGGER!¡±


    And with those words, the battlefield froze.


    ¡°Just as Ross said¡­ A bloody fool.¡± Said Sorius, seeing as confusion spread through the enemies¡¯ lines.

 14.exe - Ground_pound.exe

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Gaz, I choose you!... I mean, It¡¯s a-me, Gaz!... I mean¡­ Dangit¡­ Forget it¡­


    SO, our favorite robot¡¯s first fight! So, to commemorate, a fairly large chapter with 3,5K words! Yay! Still, I guarantee no chapter tomorrow, but do come back to check. And thanks to everyone for all the candies/cookies/cakes/gundams/explosions/awesomeness you gave me in my birthday! ^^ I WANT MOAR NEXT YEAR! SO GET WORKING SLAVES!


    BESIDES, I hope I did a good work with this scene. It¡¯s fairly different from Insania¡¯s fighting scenes, so I can¡¯t tell if I did a good work. Tell-me your opinions!


    BESIDES(II), ALL HELL SHALL BREAK LOOSE!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    Gaz¡¯s steam motors and tanks were creaking in agony as he ran the fastest he could down the road, running away from the battle while carrying the girl on his back. He could feel as she trembled slightly and made low sobbing noises. She had been like that ever since the first dwarves were shot down. The others did warn her that there would be some deaths the moment the door opened, but even with the warning, the girl had been shocked.


    Speaking truthfully, Gaz wasn¡¯t in a much better state, as he took had frozen when he saw their blood spurting out of their bodies. Thankfully, he somehow managed to snap out of it the moment that Sorius shouted to him to get away carrying the girl.


    If he stood still, chances were that the girl would be another potential victim, even when she was the same age as his sisters back at his world. Deciding to not let something like that happen, he quickly carried her away, being followed by Volgoff and Lunn who were escorting them.


    Just as he started to wonder if everything was going all right, he heard a shout.


    [GAZ, Three robots incoming.] Ekis shouted in his mind. [They should reach you in a few seconds!]


    [WHAT? How the hell are they approaching so fast?] Gaz asked confused. Even if he wasn¡¯t at his maximum speed due to the girl, he was still fast enough that the mercs were struggling to keep up.


    [Probably they are speed-focused robots?] She said confused. [Anyway, you have to warn the others! I don¡¯t think they noticed!]


    [Really?] Gaz asked surprised. [Goddamit. I really should have worked on that turret feature.] He complained. [Well, let¡¯s go with the unfalible strategy to get attention.] He said with a serious tone.


    ¡°BEEEEEEEEP!¡± He suddenly shouted, making the two mercs and the girl jump in surprise before turning to him.


    ¡°Beepy? Wha¡­¡± Lunn started before noticing something with the corner of her eyes. ¡°Goddammit. Volgoff, the drones are coming! Beepy, keep going!¡± She shouted while turning back and pulling out a pistol.


    The troll grunted something while also coming to a stop and turning towards the drones. Different from the elf, he didn¡¯t pick any weapon and simply took a stance similar to one of a sumo wrestler.


    Beeping an agreement beep, Gaz strained his cauldron even more to pick up even a bit more of speed as he heard some gunshots and the sound of metal creaking against something. Wondering what had happened, he received a report soon enough.


    [One is down, the other stopped and seems to be dodging something.] Ekis said with a worried tone. [But one is hot on your trail. Should reach you in a few seconds.]


    [What the hell? How fast is that thing?] he asked worried.


    [That¡¯s actually the slower one. He was behind enough to dodge Vol and Lunn¡¯s attacks.] She said with a focused tone. [It seems to be damaged.] She said after some time.


    [¡­I thought you couldn¡¯t feel robots unless they were together on packs?] He said confused.


    [It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t feel individuals at all. It¡¯s just that¡­ It¡¯s tiring. And I stop feeling all the others¡­] She said, but she didn¡¯t sound all that tired for him.


    Leaving that aside, it seemed that he wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed the drone¡¯s approach, as the girl 	slightly twisted herself while atop of him and let out a low gasp of surprise.


    [Goddammit¡­ Keep me updated on his position!] Gaz said worried.


    [Doing it!] She answered just as a graph appeared on the corner of his vision, indicating an estimative of the distance. Gaz kept on lookout for a moment, seeing as the graph slowly came down as the robot approached him.


    The moment the graph reached down to almost zero, he swayed to the side, leaving the streets just in time as he heard the sound of the asphalt being scratched by metal as the drone landed on the area where he was. He didn¡¯t have enough time to examine it in detail, but he could barely notice its quadrupedal form.


    Red shouted in surprise with the sudden change in direction and held on tightly to the repair limbs holding her in place.


    The change in direction took Gaz to what looked like a small forest that surrounded the rarely used road. The drone lost a bit of speed with the sudden change of terrain, something that Gaz didn¡¯t need to worry too much thanks to his treads.


    But the advantage didn¡¯t last long enough, as soon the drone got used to the new ground and once again started to reduce the distance once again. Cursing in his mind, Gaz started to swerve around the forest, zigzagging between the trees as he changed his direction to go back to the truck¡¯s direction.


    But this wasn¡¯t enough, as the drone managed to cut him just as he dodged another tree and landed a head-butt on his treadmill. The sudden impact made the little robot almost turn over, letting go of the girl who rolled on the ground with a yelp.


    Thankfully, the armor plating around the treadmill protected it, and the only damage he received was a dent on the outer shell.


    [Goddamit¡­ Do I really need to feel pain, being a robot and all?] He complained in his mind as he somehow felt his right side hurting. [I could go the rest of my life before finding how it feels to have a tread hurting.]


    [Its better than having sensors all over your body.] The goddess said with a slight sense of urgency.


    [Don¡¯t I need sensors to feel pain?] He asked confused.


    [Not the time, Gaz.] She said in a disapproving tone. [Look, he¡¯s getting close to Red!]


    [I see that!] Gaz complained. [But I also see that hole on his left leg.] He said with a mental smirk.


    He immediately accelerated himself towards the drone slowly approaching the girl. Hearing the noise of his motors, the robot turned back to him and prepared to dodge. But the drone wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to understand Gaz¡¯s idea.


    ¡°Mirage! Stop it!¡± Red shouted as the cat in her lap leapt into action.


    Mirage turned off its optical camouflage as it landed on the drone¡¯s head, holding itself in place with its claws clenching on the breaches of its plating.


    Gaz thanked the cat in his mind as he rammed himself head-on against the drone¡¯s left hind-leg. The previous bullet hole quickly expanded as the leg bent into a way it wasn¡¯t supposed to, bringing the done down to the ground.


    Immediately turning around right after passing through the drone, Gaz took a good look at the drone while he revved up his motors.


    The drone itself wasn¡¯t much. Having the size of a large dog, yet being only a central body with four legs for locomotion and a spherical head with a pair of cameras on it. Gaz would have grimaced right there and then if he still had his human face.


    [Geez, is it just me or most robots look a bit ugly.] He asked in his head.


    [I prefer the term practical.] Ekis said in his head with a wry tone.


    [Practically ugly, then.]


    Staring at the drone that  was trying to raise itself from the ground, Gaz saw as data started to appear on his vision, showing him the specs of the drone ahead of him. Some surprises appeared, showing that he had a few other discreet armaments besides the more obvious claws, like some needle launchers on its side.


    He wondered why it hadn¡¯t used them on the hunt, but he probably had to catch the girl alive, and his own armor plating was probably impervious to them, basing on size.


    Shaking his head mentally, he turned his attention back to the fight, letting the accumulated steam pump his motors as he charged forward. Just as the drone finally managed to raise itself a bit from the ground, Gaz hit him on the sides while ejecting his two hidden blades like a pair of tusks and piercing its flank, holding it in place.


    The drone buzzed as strange sound in worry as the smaller robot carried it with his blades, slamming its back against the nearby tree, making a loud cracking noise as its light armor gave in.


    Gaz retracted his blade to let the drone go, but when he saw that the other robot still tried to stand up, he immediately started his motors in reverse, preparing for another ram, but he was stopped when the girl ran in front of the drone, crouching at his side.


    He prepared to beep loudly so that she could get out of the way, but he became surprised, seeing as the girl¡¯s finger morphed into a shape that resembled a screw-drive. Immediately after, she started to dismantle the stunned drone¡¯s head, removing plating, inner protection, cables and everything else with a scary speed, and then removed its core from the head, where it immediately shattered.


    Gaz stared at the scene in shock for a few seconds.


    [Okay. Let¡¯s add: ¡°Pissing Red off¡± to our NEVER EVEN THINK OF DOING IT list.]


    [Agreed.] Ekis said with a shocked tone.


    The girl sat down on the ground, heaving a relieved sigh as the cat slowly approached her again, lightly rubbing itself on her fingers.


    [Gaz. One of the other drone broke off from the fight. It¡¯s coming this way.] She warned him suddenly.


    [WHAT? Which way?] He asked while turning around in worry. This startled the other two, putting them back on their feet with the cat hissing loudly in front of the Morfian.


    [IT¡¯S CLOSE! RIGHT BEHIND YOU!] Ekis shouted worried.


    ¡°BEEPY! WATCH OUT!¡± Red shouted.


    But before Gaz could even get away, he felt as a metallic claw dug into his turret-to-be. And with that, everything went dark.


    ¡­


    [AAAARGH! What happened?] He shouted in pain and scared as his vison went dark and he couldn¡¯t see anything else. A strange feeling similar to having his eye poked, yet clearly unique assaulted him.


    [The claw landed on your camera damaging it!] Ekis said in a hurry. [I¡¯m trying to bring it back up, just wait a moment.]  She stopped for a moment. [Sorry¡­ If I had noticed sooner¡­]


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    [No problem, just hurry up with the repair. And shut down the pain if you can¡­]


    [Okay¡­]


    As she said that, Gaz felt as something started to change within him. Not in the physical way, but something else he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on. It was probably Ekis working on whatever it is that she was doing, so he didn¡¯t worry too much about it. Instead, he worried about the hissing sound and the girl¡¯s cry of desperation.


    Metal hitting metal echoed within his head as Mirage and the other drone started to duke it out. But being unable to see or pinpoint what was happening left him nervous, as whatever he tried could end up making his situation worse.


    [Gaz! Use the presence sensor!] Ekis said suddenly.


    [What?] He asked confused.


    [Do you remember that you had another way to¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ See the world?] She asked in a hurry. [You saw a tutorial of that some time ago. It¡¯s imbued in your camera and still online! Do it! Quickly.]


    It took him a moment to understand her words, but after some time he nodded in his mind after remembering the sonar-like vision he had back at his first body.


    Not sure how to activate it, he took a few seconds to understand what he had to do, but luckily, his software, hardware or whatever else it was managed to help him activate it, and suddenly the whole world around him changed.


    It was a strange feeling. Firstly, what he ¡°saw¡± was only the shape of things around him. No colors, no textures, simply shape. It was like looking at nothingness yet clearly seeing something in there. Secondly, his vision was short, going no further than a few meters from the center of where he was, yet he could even ¡°see¡±¡± behind himself. Thirdly, his vision didn¡¯t stop even when hitting something. He could ¡°see¡± the stone two meters below him, but it felt blurred. The tree behind the tree in front of him was also fairly distinguishable.


    He stood in shock for a moment, but quickly shook it off when another sound of metal clashing came to him. Quickly darting forward towards the sound, three new forms came to his vision. Mirage, Red and the drone.


    Taking the drone by surprise, he repeated his strategy he used against the other drone of slamming his legs. But since this time he wasn¡¯t damaged, he quickly got up while turning to Gaz, who was now making a sharp turn to get back.


    [Gaz, I¡¯ve made some analysis of your situation¡­]


    [Let me guess, one tank is leaking, one repair-limb is gone and the right blade¡¯s mechanism is stuck.] He said quickly.


    [Yeah. That and the camera can¡¯t be saved besides the presence sensor.] She said sadly, making Gaz curse in his mind. [And I don¡¯t think we can get this drone by surprise again. What do we do?] She asked worried.


    [Dammit¡­ I have no idea¡­] He complained while swerving to avoid another claw from the drone. [If I knew I would end up in this situation I would spend less time playing videogames and more time watching robot fights¡­] He said with a self-depreciative tone.


    [Not the time, Gaz.] She said angrily, but he simply chuckled before suddenly stopping.


    [Scratch that. I just had a game-like idea¡­] He said while using his pistons to leap away from an attack. [But I will need to have it stopped for a moment.] He said while clicking his imaginary tone.


    [I¡­ I think I can work on that.] Ekis said suddenly.


    [What?] He asked confused, but no answer came.


    He cursed in his mind while breaking hurriedly as the robot landed ahead of him. Quickly engaging his reverse gear as it tried to land a pointy claw on him, he quickly reversed his direction with a quick turn before the drone could recover and darted away, trying to get some distance from it.


    But true to Ekis words, this drone didn¡¯t let him take much distance before covering it with a couple of leaps. But thanks to his strange vision, he managed to see it coming and managed to turn away right before the attack landed.


    Seeing the attacks didn¡¯t mean that he could counter. With half of his meager offensive power gone, he started to have some problems with dealing with this enemy. Having an attack that consisted solely on charging wasn¡¯t a good idea in the end.


    Swerving once more, he felt as the metallic claws scratched the surface of his armor and even managed to hit on one of the treads. But luckily, it didn¡¯t do any real damage to it, or else he would have large problems.


    By now, he had gone away from Red and only Mirage was still within his vision¡¯s range, trying to land occasional attacks every once in a while. But the cat wasn¡¯t strong enough to deal any type of real damage to the drone, as its claws were way too weak.


    At least he was managing to outmaneuver the drone to buy Ekis enough time to do whatever it was that she was doing. Yet he couldn¡¯t help but feel that he wouldn¡¯t last much longer, as his leaking steam tank made him increase the furnace¡¯s output, so his fuel tank was getting dangerously low by now.


    Suddenly, he saw as Mirage suddenly flinched, standing still for a couple of seconds as if shocked. Immediately after, it charged directly towards the drone, ignoring any attempt for stealth.


    [Got¡­ It¡­] Ekis suddenly said, sounding exhausted. [Mirage will¡­ Buy you¡­ Some time¡­] She said between mental breaths.


    Gaz became worried, but he didn¡¯t have much time to focus on a conversation as he saw the cat landing on the drone¡¯s back and using its claws to pierce the leg¡¯s joint. The drone stumbled towards the ground, sliding face-first into the dirt for a few meters.


    Taking his chance, Gaz took some distance before turning back and aiming at the drone. He stood still for some time while gathering steam on his tanks once again. Since he was barely on the edge of his vision, he could see as the drone started to struggle against the cat, trying to remove it by shaking its body.


    [She can¡¯t¡­ Hold on¡­ Much longer¡­] Ekis said exhausted. [And a¡­ Charge¡­ Won¡¯t be enough¡­ Probably¡­] She started to sound in pain, which left Gaz worried, but he quickly shook it off.


    [This isn¡¯t a simple charge.] He said, his voice a strange mix of a seriousness and playfulness. Contradicting his words, he immediately started darting forward at full speed. [MOVE MIRAGE AWAY!]


    As he shouted that said as he used a whole tank of steam on the pistons, leaping high into the air before starting a parabole towards the drone, falling with his treads first. The cat immediately jumped away, leaving a confused drone behind.


    Gaz started preparing his second tank to discharge everything into the pistons once again. He was betting everything in this single attack, as afterwards he would be unable to move for a few seconds until he recovered the pressure.


    The hound turned towards him, and he couldn¡¯t help but imagine whether it was confused, shocked or didn¡¯t really care at what was happening. These thoughts only lasted for a moment, before he turned his attention back to the present.


    [IT¡¯S MARIO TIME, MOTHERBEEPER!] He shouted in his mind as he activated the pistons once again.


    The sound of metal hitting metal, steam leaking from a screaming piston threatening to break, a girl shouting in surprise and metal being crushed echoed in that moment.


    Gaz fell down on the ground with his treads bent, barely functional, but at least still moveable. One of his pistons had burst completely after being used above its maximum capacity twice in such a short time. His turret hatch had an ugly gash on it, showing the inner parts of his body. One of his repair limbs was gone with no traces left, and his left blade was stuck in a position that would burst another piston if he tried to move it.


    The other robot, simply had its head crushed to half of the side, with no sign of movement.


    ¡°Beepy! Are you alright?¡± He heard Red asking him while running towards him. In her arms was the missing repair limb.


    ¡°BeeEEeeeEppP!¡±


    [Goddamit! Even the beeper?] He asked annoyed.


    [He¡­ He¡­] Ekis laughed weakly.


    [Ekis, are you alright?] He asked worried.


    [Yeah¡­ Just¡­ Need some rest¡­ Forcing a connection¡­ is tiring¡­] She said with difficulty.


    [You connected with Mirage?] He asked surprised.


    [Yep... Tried the drone first¡­ Couldn¡¯t¡­ Mirage worked¡­ Some reason¡­]


    [Wow¡­] Gaz said surprised, but not by what she made. [Just¡­ Rest for now, ok? Later you tell me what happened.] She didn¡¯t say anything, but he could feel as she sent him some thankful feelings.


    Turning his attention back to the outside, he saw as Red approached him with the limb still in hands and crouched behind him while checking on his situation. With the proximity, he could clearly see the worry in her face as she lightly ran her fingers around his damaged parts, giving him a tingling feeling.


    He decided to ask Ekis again about feeling pain and touch even while being a robot. But that¡¯s after she recovered, of course.


    Red looked at him for a bit longer with some frustration clear in her face, and even Mirage came to his side, meowing in worry. The VIP suddenly turned away, looking in the distance as her eyes widened in surprise before smiling slightly.


    She stood up and started waving her hands. A voice reached Gaz before he could see whoever it was.


    ¡°Red! You are alright!¡± He heard Lunn shouting in surprise right as she appeared in his vision, jumping at the girl and hugging her tightly. ¡°We thought the Drones would get you!¡± She said with a worried voice while taking a good look at the girl.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± The girl said, he voice trembling slightly. ¡°But what about Volgoff? His wounds look serious!¡± She said while raising her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ It will heal in a couple¡­ Of minutes¡­¡± The troll¡¯s voice came from outside of his vision, still sounding gentle, even when he clearly was feeling some pain. ¡°Some dwarves came from others checkpoints and got us by surprise.¡± He said with a wry tone. ¡°But what about the drones that escaped?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Beepy and Mirage protected me¡­¡± Red said with a low tone while taking a glance at Beepy.


    ¡°Beepy?¡± Lunn asked confused before finally turning to him, and her face turning into one of sheer shock. ¡°Oh¡­ My¡­ God¡­ Beepy, what happened to you?¡± Lunn asked in shock.


    ¡°beEeEEEeepppPyyYYY!¡± He tried answering without much success.


    ¡°¡­Ylli is soooo killing us¡­¡± Lunn said with sheer fear in her voice.

 15.exe - Aftermath.pdf

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! A late release that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen today, but still did!


    SO, we are coming to a close with this arc, some slight revelations about this slightly odd group, and probably some foreshadowing for what is about to come. (wink wink)


    BESIDES, originally I planned on making this chapter the Yllivia¡¯s/Sorius¡¯/Ross¡¯s POV during the fight, but I decided against it in the end so as to not drag things too much and I may do that later as an extra or something.


    BESIDES(II), I have the feeling that I¡¯m forgetting about something in this chapter. If you notice something blatantly obvious that should be but isn¡¯t here, do tell me, ok? (Thinking is hard)


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    Gaz slowly made his way back to the group¡¯s truck, being helped slightly by Mirage who kept pushing him whenever his motors threatened to fail. With him were the others who sent him some worried glances every once in a while, even when they weren¡¯t so good themselves.


    Now that he could take a better look at the others, he could see more clearly how Lunn and Volgoff were injured. The troll had a nasty bulled wound on his right flank, piercing all the way to his back, luckily, his regeneration stopped the blood from leaving his body soon enough, and now it was closing the wound at a slow, but noticeable pace.


    Lunn, on the other hand, had many needles piecing her right arm, probably from the drone¡¯s needle-launchers. But the elf seemed completely oblivious to such injury, as she patiently kept hugging a trembling Red, who had once again became scared after the adrenaline, if that is even what flows within her body, settled down.


    Mirage and Red were mostly unharmed, with Mirage only having a few scratches on her armor. Different from Beepy who was barely keeping himself together with such a heavy damage.


    Luckily, the damage didn¡¯t reach his core, so he could still repair himself fairly easily as soon as he found some time for that. Even more now that he had convinced the troll to bring the two drone¡¯s body with him.


    [I think that¡­ making a new body might¡­ be easier¡­] Ekis said weakly in his mind as he told her his plans.


    [Why? Can¡¯t we just use their pieces to substitute mine?] He asked confused.


    [No¡­ Too different¡­] She said simply, and Gaz simply nodded in his mind, deciding to let her rest some more.


    Stealing a glance at the two mercs he was following, he couldn¡¯t help but think that after receiving the call earlier, they seemed to calm down, so they weren¡¯t in such a hurry. Thinking back at the fight back at the trailer, he wondered whether it was already settled.


    Stopping on the road to pick the body of the third drone, Volgoff grimaced slightly in pain as his wound ached. Looking at him worried, Gaz wanted to tell him that there was no need to pick more robots, but his beeper decided to fail him at the time, leaving him in an awkward position. The little robot caught a glance of Lunn looking awkwardly at the troll, and he wondered whether she wanted to heal him, but couldn¡¯t for some reason.


    Picking the third body and throwing it on his shoulder, the troll made a light gasp as the weight settled in before starting to walk back once again, only sparing a brief glance to the dwarves laying immobile at the road besides them.


    ¡°We should hurry up before they get more reinforcement¡­¡± He said briefly, and Lunn nodded wordlessly before she stopped hugging Red and grabbed her hand lightly.


    The group picked up some speed, quickly leaving the area behind. It took them only a couple of minutes to reach the truck once again, and the scene around left Red and Gaz speechless (and beepless, respectively,) for a moment.


    Thirty or so blacktrigger dwarves laid on the ground, agonizing in pain with bullet wounds or ugly looking gashes on their bodies. In the middle of all that stood Yllivia, who had a look of sheer fear and desperation in her face, and Sorius, who stood beside the Lynnian as if consoling her.


    Volgoff and Lunn grimaced at the scene for a moment, but they looked more surprised than shocked. The elf let go of the Morfians hand and approached Sorius before whispering something to him so that the others wouldn¡¯t hear. Thankfully, Gaz¡¯s sensors managed to pick up the brief conversation.


    ¡°Did she have a relapse?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ The reinforcements got us by surprise and she lost it.¡± Sorius said while nodding. ¡°But it was short. The shortest so far, to tell the truth.¡±


    ¡°How long?¡±


    ¡°Only three minutes.¡± He said while petting Yllivia¡¯s back. ¡°Besides, only four deaths and she didn¡¯t even think of attacking me.¡±


    ¡°Thank the gods¡­¡± Lunn said with a sigh of relief. ¡±She is slowly getting better¡­¡±


    ¡°She is still in shock, though. Could use some help¡­¡± Sorius said with a serious tone. ¡°She seems to calm down with Beepy. Is he here?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well¡­ You see¡­ About that¡­¡± Lunn¡¯s face suddenly cramped up as she smiled awkwardly, trying to think of an answer. Sorius raised an eyebrow to her before his eyes finally landed on the small robot some distance away.


    ¡°Bee¡­py?¡± Yllivia asked with a hoarse voice.


    Lunn face went completely colorless at that moment as she noticed the cat-girl looking towards the small robot. Yllivia¡¯s eyes widened in sheer shock before she left the elf twins behind and approached the small robot, getting on her knees and gently touching him.


    Some small hints of tears formed into her eyes as she looked at him, and Beepy, who was caught by surprise, didn¡¯t eve have time to react to her.


    ¡°Beep?¡± She said shortly.


    Gaz tried to respond to her quickly, but with his beeper off, he simply stood there motionlessly as his motor decided to die down again. The girl¡¯s eye grew even more worried as she once again tried to see whether he would respond to her actions


    ¡°Hmm¡­ He is alright¡­ I think.¡± Red said briefly, making the Lynnian turn to her in surprise. She blushed slightly before taking a deep breath and continuing. ¡°His core¡­ You can see that it¡¯s still shining¡­¡±


    Yllivia stared surprised at Red for a moment before turning her gaze towards the hole in Gaz¡¯s chassis, and truly, as the young Morfian said, the spherical core glinted as lively as when the first time she saw the little robot first change bodies.


    But when she looked a bit closer, she also caught a glimpse of his cable-tool squirming within the little robot, as if checking something. She looked at Beepy worried for a moment, before the robot¡¯s single functional motor revved up for a brief moment.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°BEeeEeEEppPP!¡± He said after some time, surprising the Lynnian.


    ¡°Beepy?¡±


    ¡°BeeEp¡­¡± He said again, his beeps gaining a bit more of the consistency from before. ¡°Beep¡­ Beep!¡±


    [Beeping hell. It was only a bad connection! It still works fine!] He said cheerfully to no one in particular.


    Suddenly he was hugged by the Lynnian, who looked extremely relieved. He let out a confused beep, not really understanding for what reason she was so relieved. Rather, he wanted to know the reason why she was so shocked in the first place.


    ¡°So¡­ How did things go here?¡± Volgoff asked while dropping the drones in the trailer. ¡°And where¡¯s Ross and his friend?¡± He asked noticing the lack of snarky remarks.


    ¡°They went on to the forest mid-battle¡­¡± Sorius said while pointing towards a trail of broken trees. ¡°And, as you guessed, we did have some problems here.¡± He said with a sigh. ¡°That Dorran guy went and revealed Ross¡¯ identity to his henchmen, and they became confused. I left Ylli to hold them while I charged a shot. Not enough to destroy the armor, but enough to take it down to the retard¡¯s level, even when injuried.¡±


    ¡°And then, reinforcement arrived?¡± Asked the troll while grimacing at a few dents in the trailer.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Took us by surprise. Surrounded Ylli¡­ The rest you can guess.¡± He said with a sigh.


    ¡°I would feel pity for them¡­ But they damaged my truck, so they can go to hell for all I care¡­¡± The Troll said angrily.


    ¡°Err¡­ Why would Ross¡¯ name leave them confused?¡± Red asked the same question Gaz had in his mind. Sorius eyes widened a bit as he noticed that he may have spoken a bit too much. Luckily, Red wasn¡¯t as insensitive as one would think, so she didn¡¯t pry any further.


    ¡°That¡¯s cause they didn¡¯t know what to do with their old boss.¡± A rough and hoarse sounding voice came from the forest.


    Ross was approaching them, looking even more roughed up than before, but otherwise fine. He limped a bit with his right leg, but from the looks of it, he wasn¡¯t really bothered at all. His revolver was holstered back into his leg and his shield nowhere to be seen, probably broken in some place behind him.


    Sorius looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but he simply shrugged it out like it didn¡¯t matter before turning back to a confused Red.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Ross Blacktrigger. The one and only founder of the blacktriggers. Pleasure to meet ya.¡± He said with a mocking grin, leaving both Gaz and Red staring at him wordlessly. ¡°Meh¡­ Long story short¡­ I got pissed off with ¡®em, they tried to kill me, little misstep, my sworn brother died in my place, now I¡¯m off for revenge. Fairly normal stuff.¡± He said with a shrug.


    ¡°But¡­ But¡­ Aren¡¯t the Blacktriggers a Dwarf extremist? Then why¡­ With them¡­¡± She looked at Sorius and the others. Ross gave a wide smile at this while Sorius face-palmed, his face going into a surprising red tone.


    ¡°That¡¯s a story that involves drinking, women, bets, bad decisions and getting drunk.¡± Ross said while starting to laugh loudly. ¡°And fer the first time, it¡¯s not ME I¡¯m talking about!¡±


    Lunn held back a laugh while looking at her flustered brother while Ross simply burst out laughing. Yllivia seemed indifferent to the story while Volgoff looked slightly confused.


    ¡°Anyway, we better get the hell out of here before even more reinforcement comes. As much as I would like to sort my tab, I don¡¯t think I have the gear nor the energy to take on another titanium plus!¡± Ross said getting serious.


    ¡°Did you sort everything out already?¡± Sorius asked just to be sure.


    Ross smiled widely while opening the shell compartment on his chest plate, revealing that a single slug was missing from it. Sorius raised an eyebrow before nodding. But before he could turn back, Ross flipped open a compartment on his armguard, revealing a row of red buttons. He pressed the leftmost one with a wide grin.


    A loud explosion echoed on the forest, and from far away they could see as some pieces from the armor flew all around, some of them even landing a short distance away from them.


    Gaz stared at the scene in sheer shock.


    ¡°Beeeeeep!¡± A beep so full of desperation that it left a hole into whoever heard it. Okay, not so much. [SO MANY PIECES! GONE! AND HE EVEN HAD A SPEAKER! I COULD HAVE USED THAT YOU RETARDED DWARF!]


    The poor Beepy was left to grief on his own as the others started to head towards the trailer, but with his steam motors completely out of fuel and his solar-powered auxiliary engine unable to generate enough power to move himself away.


    Seeing his state, Yllivia went back and made some effort to carry him back to the trailer. He couldn¡¯t help but notice that she trembled slightly while carrying him, but it didn¡¯t seem to be due to the effort.


    ¡°Is Beepy going to be alright?¡± Yllivia asked when she laid the broken robot on the ground and started to gently pet him.


    ¡°I think¡­ He did ask us to pick these drones on the way here, so maybe he can repair himself using them?¡± Lunn said confused as she started to distractedly remove the needles in her arms and close them using her esp.


    The girls turned towards Beepy, who simply laid there unmoving.


    [What? My designer is on a sick leave. I can¡¯t go around making bodies without her, you know?] He said in his mind without much expectation from the others hearing it.


    Seeing as he didn¡¯t seem to want to move, the two looked at each other worried. For a moment only silence reigned as the truck¡¯s engine started rumbling loudly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe I could help him?¡± Red said suddenly, receiving surprised gazes from the other people, she blushed with the attention and hid herself behind the notebook.


    ¡°You¡­ How would you help him?¡± Yllivia asked worried.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I have some tools¡­ On the city and¡­ I could¡­ Help him?¡± She said shyly. The others looked at her in confusion and shock, but they were clearly holding back their curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m.. Kind of good with robots?¡± She said shyly as the cat in her lap yawned lazily and its form shimmered into existence, revealing itself to the others.


    ¡°Optical camouflage? How is that even possible?¡± Even Sorius was shocked now, as he stared at the girl.


    ¡°Geez Lass, just what the hell are you?¡± Ross asked the question that all the others were holding back.


    Red simply hid herself behind the notebook once again.

 16.exe - Bribing.xlsx

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! A last chapter before we go back to some more craziness!


    SO, as you may expect, this is the last chapter of regular updates on Reinstall before going back to Insania, which means that tomorrow will be Insania¡¯s 60th chapter with a bonus SS chapter about a certain portable doom.


    BESIDES, I plan to keep updating this instead of Insania at least one day a week, with some extra short chapters from time to time. But for now, next chapter will come next Sunday. (not tomorrow, mind you)


    BESIDES(II), last chapter, I ended up saying that Gaz saw a lot of things and so on. But what I meant with it was him seeing with his Presence sensor (The circular vision thingy), yet I didn¡¯t do anything to mention this. My bad. Later I might rearrange some words from last chapter to better fit this.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    After the ambush, the group sped up their schedule a bit, leaving the troll to also drive at night. Gaz worried for a moment that it would somehow end up badly, but it seemed that Volgoff doesn¡¯t actually get tired that easily.


    Since everyone was tired after the tense situation, the group went to sleep, leaving only Mirage and Red awake, as the robot didn¡¯t really need to rest and the girl was mostly unhurt, if a little shaken. As the others rested, she gave Gaz a hand with reattaching his broken repair limb, holding it in place as he welded it back in place. It wasn¡¯t a perfect attachment, but since it was provisional, it would work.


    Afterwards he gave some fast repairs to his treads just so that he could move around with his solar motor. Mostly it was rearranging some misplaced gears, so it didn¡¯t really fix it completely. The pistons, however, were mostly gone and had no way to even be used again.


    Once his repairs were mostly done, he watched as Red sat down in front of one of the drones and started sketching down on her notebook, sometimes stealing a glance towards Gaz when she thought he wasn¡¯t looking. After a few seconds, he saw as she started to dismantle the head of the drone she had taken the core out and take something from within.


    Relying only on his presence sensor didn¡¯t allow him to understand what exactly she took out until she approached him again, carrying two small things with her hands.


    Although a bit reluctantly, he let her mess around with some cables within his body, as she plugged and unplugged some things around until even his presence sensor went off, leaving him blind again.


    But before he even had the time to worry about that, another thing appeared for him, giving him a light headache for a moment before his body got used to the new vision. Trying to understand what happened, he quickly looked around, seeing that the drone¡¯s camera were missing out.


    [Did she install his camera on me? Feels strange¡­] He said to no one in particular. [Sharper too¡­]


    He looked around, seeing as Red carried his old camera with her while looking at him worried for a moment. He let out a short beep to tell her that he was fine and she sighed in relief. He briefly used his repaired limbs to better position the camera back into the slot he was mostly used to, within his turret.


    Red smiled a bit awkwardly before looking back at the broken camera in her hands, probably thinking what to do with it. Gaz extended his repairer limb and picked it up from her, surprising the girl slightly as he stored it within his turret, thinking that it might be a good idea to hold on to it so he could use the proximity sensor later.


    Finishing the repairs that he could do with the tools at hand, Gaz slowly made his way back to Yllivia¡¯s side where he could get a good view of the whole trailer. Red went back to analyzing the drones and mirage came next to him, curling above his motor.


    But even then, he didn¡¯t have much time of rest before some sounds came from above, as Yllivia quickly lifted herself from the bed and picked him up before laying the little robot on the bed besides her.


    She once again laid herself back on her bed while embracing the small robot. Having been caught by surprise at this, the small robot stood still for some time as the Lynnian slowly went back to sleep.


    Even if he was a robot now, he still had the mind of a man, and so that left him in a slightly uncomfortable position. After making sure that the cat-girl was sleeping calmly, he slowly tried to wiggle his way out of her grasp, but¡­


    ¡°Stop... No¡­ More¡­¡± She lowly murmured with a pained voice, leaving Beepy a bit confused on how to react.


    ¡­


    It was a restless sleep that the Lynnian had. While he laid next to her during the night, Gaz noticed as the Lynnian let out whimpers and lightly cringed at times. Even after the others woke up, they didn¡¯t seem to notice this, as she barely made any sound at all.


    Gaz made a long mental sigh for the Nth time as Yllivia seemed to have one last nightmare before waking up. Contrary to what he expected, she didn¡¯t wake up in a hurry nor anything like that, simply opening her eyes and rubbing them lightly before getting up.


    The others, who had long since wakened, turned to her and gave her a light greeting which she immediately responded. She gave a light confused look towards Gaz, as she didn¡¯t seem to remember what happened after she firstly went to sleep last night.


    Leaving that aside, she gave him a quick petting before looking surprised at his new camera focusing on her.


    ¡°So¡­ Where are we?¡± She asked after a short yawn.


    ¡°Two hours from Moltair and stopping for supper. Not much time, though.¡± Ross answered as he took a bite from the meat he held in his hands. ¡°Were thinking on what to do after the mission.¡± He said while pointing to the others who were outside of the trailer. ¡°Came here to wake you up.¡±


    Yllivia nodded lightly before helping Gaz down from her bed and walking away from the trailer and picking a plate with some stew on it. Gaz rolled besides her and sat quietly at her side hearing their conversation.


    ¡°Afternoon, Ylli.¡± Lunn said cheerfully to the girl. ¡°Were just talking about what will happen after we deliver this cutie.¡± She said while pulling Red even closer to her, but Yllivia simply tilted her head to the side.


    ¡°Go back to our city?¡± She asked confused, but Sorius shook his head.


    ¡°The blacktriggers will probably be hounding for our heads after some research, so it might be better to lay low a bit.¡± He said while glaring at the indifferent dwarf. ¡°We will get enough money for that with this mission, so we were thinking on where to stay for the time.¡± He said with a shrug, receiving an understanding nod from Yllivia.


    The group quickly went on back with their conversation and this left Gaz a bit left out, since even some words weren¡¯t getting translated. Probably cities and names he never heard before, so even if he wanted he wouldn¡¯t understand a single thing they were talking about.


    [Gooood morning Gaz!] He was suddenly startled with a cheerful shout on his mind.


    [Seems like you are better already¡­] He said a bit wryly at her, and heard as she giggled cheerfully.


    [Yup. Feeling really good right now! Even a little better than before!] She said as he felt her scanning him. [So, what did I miss here? Oh, is that a new camera?]


    Gaz let out a long sigh before starting to explain what had happened after she went to rest or whatever else she did that she wasn¡¯t around. She listened everything quietly, but he could feel as she got excited or worried about what he told her.


    [Hmm¡­ So Ross had a story like that? And Yllivia seems to have some story behind her too¡­] She said in wonder, and Gaz nodded in his mind.


    [I would guess that Sorius, Lunn and Vol too¡­] He said with some thought. [But the biggest mistery is no doubt Red.]


    [Why so?] Ekis asked confused.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.[From the way she said it, it seems that she made or altered Mirage¡¯s body. And from how the others reacted, it doesn¡¯t really seem all that normal here.] He said while focusing his gaze on Red, who was squirming uncomfortably while Lunn hugged her closely from behind. [Even when compared to how she reacted to Ross story, the other¡¯s reaction was even more intense when they saw Mirage¡­]


    [Hmm¡­] Ekis murmured while seemingly stopping to think for a moment, but she gave up fairly easily. [I don¡¯t know about complicated things like that, so let¡¯s start working on your new body already!] She said cheerfully.


    Gaz heaved a mental sigh while turning back to the drones, where he approached them and started scanning each one, taking in account their working and repairable pieces and so on. As he finished his scans, he and Ekis started to discuss what kind of body he would want to make.


    Thinking back to what happened with the drone, he thought that a bit more of mobility wouldn¡¯t hurt, as his lack of capacity of sidesteps and need to keep on the ground could have made for a serious lack of movement. Besides that, after some practical use, he noticed that his hidden knives weren¡¯t as much of a practical weapon as he initially thought, so he decided to also add some other weapons he could use.


    These changes would probably sacrifice a bit of his mobility, but luckily, the drone¡¯s armor were surprising resistant to impact, so the loss wasn¡¯t all that bad. But most importantly¡­


    [We need to find a method to eject the core or something of the kind¡­] He said with a sigh.


    [Why is it?] Ekis asked confused.


    [Well, when my motors died, I was lucky to be close to the others, but if I weren¡¯t I would be stuck there for the rest of eternity.] He said in an overly dramatic way. [That, and we could make some kind of universal socket that fits with the core, so I could keep a few different bodies around and just shuffle the core around, you know?]


    [Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t think I can do something like that with these parts¡­ But I will think about it.] She said after some though. Gaz nodded in his mind before going back to disassembling the drone¡¯s parts. [So, what shape do you want?]


    [What?] He asked confused.


    [I mean, what kind of body do you want? We do have some more varied pieces here, so we could go with something a bit more animalistic if you want.] She said in a happy mood, getting his attention.


    [Ooh¡­ Shiny!] He said excited while stopping to think for a moment. [What exactly can we do here?]


    [Well¡­ We could go for a quadrupedal form, which would be easier, but a humanoid one might also work¡­ But will probably be a lot more complex¡­] She said with some though before letting out a playful sigh. [Humanoid, then?]


    [¡­Nah.] Gaz said after some thought.


    [Okay, I¡¯ll start working and¡­ Wait, what?]


    [I¡­ Want to stay as closely to a simple strange robot for now.] He said after some thought. [I¡­ heard the others saying that Yllivia feels more at ease with me than with other people¡­] He said with a sigh. [since last night, I¡¯ve been having this feeling that she needs that more than she actually shows¡­]


    [Okay then. A simpler quadrupedal then!] Ekis said with a shrug. [So, any requests?]


    [Hmm¡­ Maybe make it a bit more¡­ Expressive than these drones?] He said with some thought. [Actually, besides those two-tailed wolves, I didn¡¯t see any other kind of canine beasts around¡­ Can you make something like that?]


    [Hmm¡­ I may need to check your memories for some reference. Is that a problem?] She asked slightly worried.


    [You can do that?] Gaz asked surprised before shrugging it off. [Oh well, sure, do it. I have the feeling I wouldn¡¯t be able to resist if you wanted to do it anyway.]


    A dry laugh sounded on his mind as he felt Ekis fussing around his memories, checking around for what little he knew about wolves and other canine creatures. Meanwhile, he kept dismantling the drones, taking out their plating and seeing the insides while paying some more attention to it.


    Different from the Leapers, who had steampunky bodies, this one looked more like the robots he saw in comics, manga and so on, with motors for joints, cables running around and some circuit boards laying around. Luckily for him, Ekis kept providing him with information on how to take out said pieces without damaging them too much.


    But with some pieces, even his cable-tool was too brute of an instrument to allow him remove it without damaging them. Sighing mentally, his gaze turned back towards the girl sitting atop Lunn¡¯s lap while trying to say something, but being unable to express herself.


    Gaz approached the girl while trying to get her attention, and once he got there, the conversation reached his sensors.


    ¡°¡­far, and there is no way I¡¯m leaving Berett without maintenance during this time.¡± Volgoff said with a sigh.


    ¡°But anywhere else they will probably check, so it¡¯s not like we can be picky.¡± Ross said while shaking his head.


    ¡°Nuria? Close enough, but small. Not much chance to search.¡± Yllivia said with a thought.


    ¡°Nuria? Wazzat?¡± Ross asked confused.


    ¡°Small ghost village. One day north from our base.¡± Yllivia said briefly.


    ¡°Ghost village? How the hell do you even¡­ Ah, whatever.¡± Ross sighed loudly. ¡°But if it¡¯s truly an abandoned village, we won¡¯t have energy for our equipment. So no.¡± Ross said while shaking his head.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I really wouldn¡¯t mind letting you stay at my house¡­ You did save me¡­¡± Red said shyly, but Lunn simply smiled gently before hugging her tightly.


    ¡°We know, cutie.¡± She said gently. ¡°But no matter how much I want to keep hugging you, we can¡¯t keep causing trouble to you like that.¡± As the elf said that, the others nodded in agreement, making the Morfian pout a little.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t think yer parents would like the idea of you sharing your house with mercs like us.¡± Ross said while chugging down a mug of beer.


    ¡°I¡­ Live alone¡­¡± She said after some time, making the others look shocked. ¡°I¡­ Bought a house with some money¡­ I earned from Arcon-tec.¡± She said shyly.


    ¡°...What?¡± Ross asked with his mouth hanging open.


    ¡°I¡­ Sold some plans to them¡­ And they gave me some¡­ A lot of money.¡± She explained herself. ¡°It¡¯s close to Moltair. We could go there¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ No¡­ We can¡¯t do that.¡± Sorius said after some thought. ¡°We could end up attracting attention to you or something worse¡­¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll hire you.¡± She said interrupting him, and before the elf could even process her words, she went on. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure that the blacktriggers will leave me alone after this, nor that no one else will come after me, so hiring trusty bodyguards is perfectly functional, right?¡± She said with a sudden burst of confidence while standing up, before blushing furiously and hiding behind Lunn.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Still not sure¡­¡± Sorius said a bit worried. ¡°I mean¡­ We would need a new base of operations¡­ and¡­¡±


    ¡°You could live at my house¡­ I mean... It does have a brand new workshop¡­¡± Ross eyes shined at that word.  ¡°You could park the truck in the garage, since it¡¯s fairly large¡­¡± Volgoff¡¯s eyes shined. ¡°There is a library with some documents that you could get access to¡­¡± Sorius eyebrows twitched. ¡°And we could use the depot as an artistic atelier¡­¡± Yllivia¡¯s ears twitched.


    The group looked at each other for a moment, and Sorius cleared his throat slightly.


    ¡°I¡­ Guess we could negotiate a bit¡­¡± He said while looking away. ¡°Hey! Why don¡¯t I get my bribe?¡± Lunn asked sullen.


    ¡°You will hug her regardless.¡± Yllivia said as a matter of fact, and Gaz couldn¡¯t help but notice that Red had a slightly mischievous grin.


    [¡­Wow. Such a good briber at this age...] Gaz said with wonder.


    [I¡¯m a bit scared on how she will be when she grows up¡­] Ekis said wryly.

 17.exe - Professor.txt

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! The Mission is almost complete!


    SO, this arc is almost coming to a closing, once again I¡¯m delaying Gaz¡¯s new body and now I have to think what will happen next. But that¡¯s a problem for another day, for now, let¡¯s just enjoy the 2,4K words story!


    BESIDES, I¡¯m not sure whether I will be able to update tomorrow, as I might have or not have a truckload of classes tomorrow, it¡¯s still uncertain, so no promises there, for either Insania or Reinstall. Same thing for Friday and maybe even Saturday, but after that I get a shipload of free time, so a whole week with updates!


    BESIDES(II), some crazy guy declared war on me and my candy-baiting tactics, all because it¡¯s similar to his cookie-baiting tactics. Weird guy, huh?


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    The group quickly finished gathering up the lunch¡¯s equipment and put it back on the truck. Sorius offered to take over driving duties from Volgoff, but the troll shook his head and said that he was still fine, so the elf didn¡¯t bother with it anymore. He still went to the front cabin so that he could work as a spotter for potential threats.


    Gaz couldn¡¯t help them gathering things up even if he wanted, and seeing that Red was in a similar situation, he quickly got her attention with a poke and got her to come over the drones bodies. He pointed at some parts to her, making the young Morfian look at him confused for a moment, before finally understanding what he meant and starting to dismantle the drone with the help of her shape-shifting hands and some of Ross¡¯ tools.


    While he worked on it, the little robot couldn¡¯t help but notice that Red would steal a glance at him every few seconds while frowning slightly. But seeing that wondering about it would lead nowhere else, he didn¡¯t bother too much and set himself to work on disassembling the bodies.


    With some help from Ekis, Gaz somehow managed to quickly disassemble the drone and start working on his new body. This one was a much more delayed process, as he had to carefully analyze what each circuit he found did before starting to use them.


    It was only after analyzing all the circuit boards, motors and other mechanism individually that the goddess finally offered him the blueprints for his new body. But as he read them, he sighed inwardly.


    [This¡­ Is going to take a long time¡­ Right?] He asked her, and heard a dry laugh in response.


    [Well¡­ It¡¯s the price to pay for looking cool¡­] She said dryly, and Gaz nodded in his mind.


    [But do we even have all these pieces? I mean¡­ There are some things here that I don¡¯t remember seeing in the dismantling.] He said a bit worriedly, but he felt as the goddess shook her head.


    [These are for when we get them. They are minor additions for later.] She said with a proud tone. Gaz nodded in his mind and set himself to work, barely noticing as Red joined him midway and started to help him even without the two exchanging words.


    And without noticing, the two spent a few hours working on the new body as the truck rode through the road.


    ¡­


    Once the group decided to take a more direct road, the remaining travel time reduced from a couple of days to one day, as Volgoff blazed through the main highway straight to the city. Luckily, the only other blacktrigger roadblock they found wasn¡¯t commandeered by anyone important, so Sorius and Yllivia finished them before they could call for reinforcement.


    They quickly reached the city this way, just as the sun started to go up in the following day. After some quick help by asking around for directions, Volgoff took them to the target building and contacted the contractor, waiting for him to come down.


    Meanwhile, Lunn was waking Red up, who had stayed up most of the night helping Gaz build his body. And during all that time, they had barely finished preparing the core piece. There was only so much they could do while inside a truck with only a cable-tool and some morphing fingers instead of other proper tools.


    At least, they did leave a good part of work done, so it wasn¡¯t all a waste. And thanks to having the goddess in his mind, he could leave the software working to her and he could focus solely on working on the building parts.


    And after Red went to sleep, he even started to work on something of his own, so that his wolf body wouldn¡¯t look too bleak. So he started cutting down some unused metal and welded them into angular shapes that reminded him of a wolf¡¯s head.


    Or at least should.


    [It¡¯s still a work in progress, so don¡¯t say anything.] He said in an angry tone before Ekis could say anything.


    [I didn¡¯t speak a single word!] The goddess said with a slightly mocking tone. [But I am willing to offer some help¡­]


    In the end, he reluctantly accepted her help, and saw as a plan appeared in his mind in such a way that it even showed a way to connect with the body once it was done. Gaz sighed loudly in his mind before giving a quick glance around.


    [Now, we just have to wait for Yllivia to let go of me before I start working¡­] He said with a sigh.


    The lynnian had grown jealous of the attention that Gaz was giving to Red, so she had hogged the small robot all for herself one hour ago. Thankfully, his shape and size made it so that it was a bit difficult to hug him while standing up, so when the truck stopped she reluctantly let him go.


    It still took one or two minutes of waiting as whoever it was that they were waiting for came down from the tall skyscraper. Red used this time to quickly wash her face to wake up a bit more and quickly checked if her hoodie and pants were still looking fine.


    As the group waited a bit anxiously, the door from the building opened, and a tall but thin black-furred troll wearing a contrasting white suit appeared from the door, looked around in wonder for a moment before settling his eyes into the group and smiling.


    He quickly approached the group with his long strides and extended his hand towards Sorius, who was standing in front of the other mercenaries.


    ¡°Greetings. If I¡¯m right, you must be Sorius, right?¡± He asked, and the elf nodded in response. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gorgoff Whiteye, leader of the R&R division from Arcon Tec.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you too, sir.¡± Sorius said with a nod before turning to Red. ¡°And here is the VIP we were hired to bring.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± The troll said with a nod while looking at Red for a moment, before looking back to the elf. ¡°I thought you planned on taking a longer route?¡± He asked confused.


    ¡°Aye. But we ran into some Blacktriggers on the way. Thought it would be better to not dilly-dally too much after that.¡± Ross said with a  shrug, receiving a surprised look from the troll, who nodded.


    ¡°I will warn the authorities then, and put some of our men on the lookout. Never hurts to be extra careful with these people. Thanks for your service.¡± He said, receiving a nod from the elf. He then turned towards the girl, who was coming back from the trailer. ¡°Professor! It¡¯s good to see you again!¡± He said with a wide smile appearing on his face.


    ¡°Gorgoff¡­¡± Red said slightly surprised, before nodding. ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s good to see you too.¡±


    The mercs looked at the girl a bit surprised for a moment. The man with one of the highest ranked positions within Arcon-tec was calling this girl professor? And she was referring to him casually? Just what the hell is going on here?


    Well, while that was what the mercenaries were thinking, Gaz¡¯s minds were into something completely different.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    [Hey! That shop is selling some robot parts! Maybe we can buy something good!] He said to Ekis, and felt as she agreed with him cheerfully.


    However, with the lack of decent locomotion methods, he decided to not get too far from the group, and simply look at some of the store-front goods on the lowest floor of the Arcon-tec building, where they were showcasing pieces from various range.


    Sadly, Gaz had no idea on how much the currency of this world was worth, so he had no idea whether these things were expensive or cheap, so he could only watch them in wonder. Seemingly noticing the small robot as he rolled around nearby, Gorgoff stopped and looked at him surprised.


    ¡°Is that a new work of yours, professor?¡± He asked surprised. Red blinked surprised for a moment before shaking her head.


    ¡°No. He was found out by Sorius and the others.¡± She said while denying the troll. He looked surprised for a moment, before standing up and taking out his wallet and turning towards the elf.


    ¡°Excuse-me, but how much would you be willing to sell that robot to us?¡± He asked with a  slightly excited tone. ¡°Even when damaged, having a new study subject like that is incredibly lucky for us.¡±


    As the troll happily took out what Gaz guessed that would be similar to a check  of this world, he saw as everyone else¡¯s face became pale, with the exception of one person. Sorius cleared his throat briefly to get the Troll¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Sir¡­ I fear that¡­ She might not be willing to sell Beepy¡­¡± He said while pointing towards the Lynnian.


    ¡°I see... Then how much would I¡­¡± The troll started to speak, before meeting eye-to-eye with a demon in Lynnian form. He stopped for a full ten seconds, before smiling widely and storing the wallet away. ¡°I see¡­ Sorry, I won¡¯t pry too much then¡­¡± He said with a business smile. ¡°And as soon as I get back there, I¡¯m running for the bathroom.¡±


    The group smiled a bit awkwardly as the last words escaped the troll.


    Sighing loudly, Red turned towards the troll and got his attention.


    ¡°Gorgoff, since we got here earlier than expected, do you think we could hurry up the preparations a bit?¡± She asked with a slightly worried tone, but to her surprise, the Troll nodded widely.


    ¡°Yes. Taking too much of our time here would probably gather the blacktriggers attention.¡± He said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll see with my secretary, but I think I can work this for¡­ After tomorrow afternoon. Is that fine with you?¡± He asked after a brief thought.


    Red turned towards Sorius and the others, who all nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine then.¡± She said briefly.


    The Troll nodded satisfied as he got a radio from his waist and spoke with someone. After a few seconds, he turned back to Sorius and the others.


    ¡°Thanks for guarding the professor up to now. And I hope you don¡¯t mind sticking with her a bit longer¡± He said with a thankful tone. The group all nodded seriously. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange an even more suitable reward for you once this is finished.¡±


    ¡°It was our pleasure, sir.¡± Sorius said seriously.


    ¡°Ya! The lass is a funny person to have nearby.¡± The dwarf said cheerfully. ¡°Could eat a bit more meat, though.¡± He finished with a sigh.


    ¡°And she¡¯s soooo huggable!¡± Lunn said as she snatched Red from behind and hugged her tightly, resting her cheek on the girl¡¯s head. ¡°Ahh¡­ I¡¯m addicted to this¡­¡±


    Gorgoff smiled a bit awkwardly, and after some quick arrangements, they decided that the group would stay at Red¡¯s house, a couple of hours away from the city, for the time being. It¡¯s in a fairly isolated place, so the chances of someone finding them there would probably be very low.


    And since they were also going to be hired by the girl as bodyguards afterwards, it was a good chance to see where they were going to live for the time being.


    Just before the group bade their goodbyes to the R&R department chief, he suddenly stopped them for one last time, leaving them curious as for the reason.


    ¡°Say¡­ Would it be too much if I were to ask you to get some better clothing for the professor?¡± The troll asked with a slightly awkward tone, but when he saw the others looking confused he explained. ¡°You see, she¡¯s always wearing those hoodies and pants...¡±


    ¡°But these are practical and easy to use. What¡¯s the problem?¡± Red said a bit confused while blushing slightly from Lunn¡¯s hug.


    ¡°Well, professor¡­ When you look like that you¡­ look too tomboyish and informal. Some people may have some trouble taking you seriously.¡± The troll said with a genuinely worried tone.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ But¡­ I know nothing about clothing.¡± Red said while pouting lightly.


    [Oh god¡­ She should NOT have said that.] Gaz commented on his mind.


    [Why?] Ekis asked confused, and Gaz slightly tilted his camera upwards. [Oh¡­] She said suddenly understanding. [I never knew that Lunn could look so¡­]


    [Dangerous? Feral? Perverted? Predatorial? Hungry? Savage?]


    [¡­ There¡¯s a weird word in the middle, but yeah¡­ Something along these lines¡­] The goddess said with a slightly worried tone.


    ¡°Then leave it to me, sweet cheeks!¡± Lunn said while gently petting the Morfian¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick some reaaaaally good clothes for you.¡± The elf said with a cheerful tone.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe we could also buy some parts for Beepy on the way.¡± Red added as an afterthought. Yllivia¡¯s ear perked up at that, and the Lynnian nodded while approaching the duo.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m staying here and catching up with my sleep.¡± Volgoff said, as he went back into the trailer.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to scrounge around for some replacements for my armor. See ya later!¡± Ross said cheerfully as he walked away, Sorius followed after him, probably to make sure he wouldn¡¯t cause too much trouble.


    Deciding to stick around with Yllivia and the others, Gaz slowly rolled besides them, noticing that they were keeping a slow pace to help him keep up. He felt slightly annoyed, but still thanked them within his mind as he followed behind them.


    The first shop they stopped was a second-hand parts store, where he and Red quickly scavenged around the shelves in search for a piece that they could use for his new body, but after looking around, the only thing they found that would work was too damaged, so the group quickly thanked the shopkeeper for the service before going away.


    They roamed the streets for a bit longer, finding many such shops along the streets. With some luck, it seemed that they would manage to find the lacking parts before they had to come back, but before then, they reached the front of what looked like a mall, with many people walking around and many stores lined up in a gallery.


    Seeing the sheer amount of people, Red gulped loudly, probably feeling uncomfortable in the middle of such a huge crowd. She tried to turn around and walk away from there, but was stopped when Lunn grabbed her arm.


    ¡°We are going to buy you clothes, do you remember?¡± The elf asked with a strange tone.


    Finally noticing this, the Morfian looked waryly towards the elf, only to find her licking her lips with expectation. The young tinkerer paled at the scene, but even after she tried to free herself from the elf¡¯s grip, she was unable.


    The mercenary happily dragged Red through the mall towards the nearest clothing store while humming a happy song. Behind them, Yllivia, Gaz and Ekis wished fervently that the young girl would be able to survive the ordeal.


    And during all this time, Mirage had been sleeping lazily above Gaz¡¯s motor, as if not caring for her master''s situation.

 18.exe - Predator.rar

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! A short chapter just to have some taste!


    SO, I had a very short time to write today, and only managed a short chapter with 1.5K words. I could have delayed the release to a bit later for a slightly larger chapter, but I would have to cut it on a very cliffhangy position, and I chose not to do it as you guys doesn¡¯t seem to like it ^^


    BESIDES, as I said, It¡¯s already time for my classes (starts in 10 minutes) so it was now or never, so I hope you don¡¯t mind it. I could have gone for an Insania Chapter, but they are longer, and I really don¡¯t want to cut them too short without reason.


    BESIDES(II), as I said, it¡¯s a short chapter, and mostly a comedy one, with not much plot going on here. But there is a good amount of cuteness, so it may pay over. Hope you guys like!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t be a bride anymore.¡± The young morfian said with a depressed voice as she crouched in a corner of the mall, drawing circles on the ground.


    ¡°Thanks for the treat.¡± Lunn said as she licked her fingers.


    [Thanks for the treat.] Gaz nodded in his head, agreeing with the elf.


    [Hmm¡­ Why are you saying that?] Ekis asked him confused.


    [It¡¯s what you say after being treated to a good food. Or you can also say it for when you see something good.] Gaz briefly explained her, and then felt as she nodded in understanding.


    [Then, thanks for the treat.] She said with a respectful tone.


    Even the usually expressionless Yllivia had nodded in agreement, as the elf made her little joke. The reason for such a scene had something to do with the fact that some shopping bags were hanging around the poor scientist¡¯s side and on top of Gaz¡¯s body.


    For the last two hours, the elf had dragged Red around the mall, taking her to a series of clothing store on a non-stop shopping frenzy, making the girl try all kinds of different clothing. She went from the more tomboyish clothes, like the ones she usually wore, to more girlish ones, like the sundress she was wearing at the moment, being forced by the elf to keep it instead of her usual hoodies.


    Before, the others could only look at the girl and think that she looked cute, wearing her boyish clothing as if to hide herself. But once Lunn started to put her with these feminine clothes that they could finally notice that Red, was indeed, a beauty in the making. From the gothic Lolita that made her look even more huggable, to the more formal secretary slash business woman clothes that accentuated her surprisingly womanly shapes. Gaz could only wonder how she would become once she became a true adult.


    If that was all, then there wouldn¡¯t be much problem with their shopping sessions. However, much to her demise, the elf made sure to help her put on every single piece of clothing they bought here, and every single time she would have these hungry eyes when following Red into the dressers, and when they came back to show the results, Red would be shivering slightly.


    But the image of Red using varied clothing of different themes and looks was something that could be remembered for the ages. Gaz couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Red couldn¡¯t end up as an actress if she weren¡¯t so invested on doing whatever it was that she did. Should she decide on that, he was sure that she would become extremely popular.


    If she managed to beat her shy nature, of course.


    ¡°Why me¡­?¡± Red asked with a sad tone.


    ¡°Because you are too cute to leave wearing those simply boyish clothes.¡± Lunn said as she hugged the girl once again.


    ¡°But¡­ I like hoodies.¡± Red said with some tears in the corner of her eyes, before lightly grabbing the hem of her sundress and pulling it down slightly. ¡°Dresses are too¡­ windy¡­ And open¡­ I don¡¯t like them.¡± Red said while crying slightly.


    But this wasn¡¯t a very good idea, as Lunn made a shocked face before hugging her even tighter while squealing in delight.


    ¡°SO CUTE! YOU ARE SHOOO KYYUUTTEEE!¡± She said as she spun the young girl around.


    ¡°Wahwahwahwah!¡± The girl shouted in surprise and shock.


    It took a good three minutes and a well placed knuckle to the stomach from Yllivia to make the Elf let go of Red, as she started to show a really, really dangerous face, to the point that she started drooling.


    This time, Red ran away from Lunn and hid herself behind Yllivia, with tears still slowly coming from her eyes.


    ¡°Why¡­?¡± Lunn asked as she crawled on the ground in pain.


    ¡°You looked perverted.¡±


    ¡°Ehhh? I looked perverted?¡± Lunn asked in shock, and Yllivia nodded. ¡°But¡­ But¡­ I just wanted to¡­ Hug the cute red¡­ And pet her¡­ And rub our cheeks¡­ And nibble her¡­ Then¡­ He¡­ hehe¡­ hehehehe.¡±


    Another painful punch echoed within the mall.


    ¡°Okay¡­ I stopped! I stopped!¡± The elf said with her face contorting in pain. ¡°We just¡­ Need to buy some accessories¡­ For Red¡­ Then we are done¡­¡± She said while extending her hand, trying to call the young morfian, but she shook her head in denial and hid behind Yllivia again.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to!¡± She said in a stubborn tone.


    ¡°Eh? Why not?¡± The elf asked surprised.


    ¡°Metal is conductive and may interfere when working with electric parts.¡± She said in a surprisingly serious tone.


    ¡°Then you take it off when you go to work!¡± Lunn said as if stating the obvious. ¡°Every person worthy of being called a woman have at least one set of accessories like earrings, wristlets and so on that they use!¡± She said in an angry teacher tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have accessories.¡± Yllivia said with a confused tone, making the elf stop and look at her in sheer shock.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t think that Yllivia have any other clothes besides jackets and pants.¡± Red said while reminding herself of what she saw during their travels.


    [Oh¡­ My¡­ God¡­ She went and said it.] Gaz said with a surprised voice.


    [Waah¡­ Lunn looks dangerous again!] Ekis said scared.


    Noticing the elf¡¯s sudden change, Yllivia turned to her just in time to see her eyes start to shine brightly with a dangerous light. She quickly jumped back and put on a combat stance. Lunn approached her almost like a zombie, with slow and steady steps as she licked her lips.


    As soon as she was in range, Yllivia took a step forwards and landed a powerful blow on her stomach while making a proud face to herself for the good attack. But the elf barely flinched with that, and quickly grabbed the lynnian¡¯s arm, a hollow and dark laugh escaping through her lips as she smiled.


    ¡­


    [Ekis¡­]


    [What is it, Gaz?]


    [Thanks for reviving me as a robot instead of a girl.] He said with a nod inside his head.


    [Hmm? And why would I do that?] She asked confused.


    [Some stories that I read happen to have that as an event, where a guy becomes a girl in his next life.] He said.


    [Oh¡­ I see. Then you are welcome.] She said with a nod.


    The reason the two were having this conversation?


    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯m confused¡­ Wat the hell happened here?¡± Ross said as he put some metal pieces on the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s also what I want to know.¡± Volgoff said as he scratched his head to the scene.


    ¡°We just had some girly fun-time!¡± Lunn said while giving the two guys a thumbs up and putting her tongue out playfully.


    In front of her, were both Yllivia and Red with a dark aura all around them, as the first one had her hands and knees on the ground, looking defeated, and Red simply sat on a corner drawing circles once again.


    Besides the two of them were many bags with different kinds of clothings that they would never buy themselves, as well as some beautiful and expensive looking accessories. Only looked expensive, in fact, according to Lunn, they were a steal with the price she found them, but that¡¯s not what matters.


    The thing is, after the initial scene with Red, the group spent a whole another two hours on the shop, this time with Lunn dragging not only the young morfian, but also the defeated Lynnian, both who, even with joint efforts were unable to stop the elf¡¯s rampage. If some good news were to come from all that, is that the elf was the one banking all the purchases, and the only reason they stopped was because she ran out of her money.


    But the damage was already done.


    Still, seeing a flustered Yllivia as she put on a formal dress for the first time in her life was a treat to remember.


    [Thanks for the treat.] He said once again as he remembered the scene.


    [Thanks for the treat.] Ekis followed him.


    ¡°So¡­ The mighty Yllivia was defeated by¡­ A shopping spree?¡± Ross asked shocked as Lunn told him the story, before finally bursting out in a loud laugh.


    He stayed like there for a whole ten seconds, before stopping and looking worried to see whether a punch was coming his way. Seeing that Yllivia was way too depressed to attack him, he went back to laughing once again.


    ¡°Tone down a bit, will you?¡± Sorius said while glaring at the dwarf, before turning towards Lunn. ¡°And what the hell did I tell you about traumatizing VIPs? I thought you told me you would have more control next time?¡± He said with a sigh as Lunn made a Tee-hee face. ¡°And you even managed to take Yllivia down too¡­¡±


    He said with a sigh.


    Lunn simply kept her innocent face as she was scolded by Sorius. The elf shook his head for the Nth time before turning to the Troll and telling him to take them to Red¡¯s home. The young morfian quickly took her chance to escape to the cabin, saying that she could point out where the house is.


    With that, the group once more went on the move. And as soon as the truck went off and Gaz approached Yllivia, the Lynnian hugged him and said in a low tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m never going into a mall again¡­¡±


    ¡°Beep¡­¡± Was all that Gaz could answer to the shocked cat-girl.

 19.exe - New_house.dat

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! And I have the feeling that you guys will hate me after this. ^^


    SO, I had some classes today, as the equation goes, short writing times equals shorter chapters, shorter chapters equal Reinstall. But tomorrow will come with Insania without a fault.	And probably a character¡¯s list as a bonus, since some people asked me to do that a few chapters ago.


    BESIDES, I had something to speak here, but I forgot it as always. I will remember when I post this up and decide to put it on the next chapter, only to forget again, and so the cycle continues¡­


    BESIDES(II), There is quite a psychological/dramatic part in this chapter. I suck at both, so please bear with it T.T


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ---


    It took around three hours of travel to reach their new house, and once there, the group all left the truck to take a look at their new house slash base from now on. And they all stared at it with their mouths wide open, with the exception of Gaz, who didn¡¯t have a mouth, and Mirage who was playfully exploring its new territory.


    The house was large, to say the least. Being easily the size of a small mansion, with many windows covering the sides. It was built almost inside a hill, sticking out from one side of it and the left side having a second floor that opened to the upper part of the hill. If someone were to look at it from above or behind, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to guess that such a large and modern house was hidden in here.


    Even more so, when said back-side was the one turned to the road, and only an inconspicuous beaten earth road was what led towards it.


    Red quickly shook her head and recovered herself, before looking for something inside one of her bags. She quickly found a small key-chain that she took with her to open the front door.


    Inside was even bigger than what they all expected. The living room alone was more than enough to house all the group. If Gaz had to guess, it was about the same size as Yllivia¡¯s own apartment. A door led to a kitchen on the left-side of the room, while a corridor led to what looked like a depot and two smaller rooms, as well as a bathroom.


    Taking a stairway, on the corner of the room, they found themselves on the top floor, where there was the master¡¯s bedroom with its own bathroom. Taking the stairs down, they found out that there was also a basement, about the size of the whole house, if not bigger. One corner was completely empty, with only what looked like large pistons holding the ceiling, while the others side had what looked like a simple, yet modern looking workshop.


    Red ran towards the corner of the room, and pressed a button. For a moment, nothing happened, then the pistons holding the ceiling started to come down, forming a long and not too steep ramp that led to the surface.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think that this is the garage¡­¡± She said to Volgoff, who stared at her surprised for a moment before widening his eyes.


    The troll quickly ran upwards to the surface and soon the sound of steam motors sounded, followed by a the sight of the large truck coming down through the ramp.


    ¡°Hey, Reddy?¡± Lunn asked as she hugged her again.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Ruby¡­¡±  She said with a low tone.


    ¡°What?¡± Lunn asked confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ My name¡­ Ruby¡­¡± She said shyly.


    The whole group stopped for a moment as they stared at the girl with some confusion. It was Sorius, who sighed slightly before saying.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you guys, that Red was just her codename?¡± The elf said  wearily.


    [I¡­ Had completely forgotten about that.] Ekis said with a surprised tone.


    [Meh, newbie! I remembered that.] Gaz replied with a proud tone.


    [Lies. You were just as confused as I was.] The goddess replied with a serious tone, leaving the small robot o an awkward position.


    [Still, from Ruby to Red¡­ It¡¯s not that much of a codename, is it?] He said with a wry tone.


    [¡­?] Even when Ekis said nothing about it, Gaz could still feel her confusion coming through their link, so he sighed mentally before explaining her what was a ruby.


    Meanwhile, Lunn had gone on another rampage as she hugged Ruby even harder and started to spin around in delight.


    ¡°SUCH A KYUTE NAMEEE!¡± She shouted before stopping and smiling. ¡°I¡¯m going to treat you just like a real ruby! I¡¯m going to hug, smother, polish and love you non-stop!¡± She said as she looked into Ruby¡¯s eyes, once again earning her dangerous looking expression. ¡°My little precious jewel¡­ My precious¡­¡±


    Just as the morfian became worried and the elf licked her lips with dangerous eyes, Yllivia landed a punch on the elf¡¯s flank, making her let go of the poor girl and double over in pain.


    ¡°She wanted to ask why you are so surprised.¡± Yllivia said as she waited for Lunn to recover. Only to punch her once again with extremely cold eyes.


    [Waah¡­ She still holds it against her.] Ekis said surprised. Gaz simply agreed wordlessly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well¡­ it¡¯s because it¡¯s also my first time seeing this place.¡± She said with a slightly shy voice. ¡°When I bought this place¡­ They were still going to build it.¡±


    ¡°They? Who?¡± Ross asked as he stared at the workshop. ¡°Some things I see there ain¡¯t exactly easy to find, ya know?¡± He said with a shocked voice. ¡°I¡¯ma holding myself here so I don¡¯t squeal like a little lass.¡± Ignoring the dwarf¡¯s last words, Ruby quickly answered.


    ¡°Arcon-tec.¡± She said. ¡°I¡­ Spent most of my money on this house, to tell the truth¡­¡± She said shyly. ¡°I wanted a quiet house¡­ Where I could put a lot of robots¡­ Might have¡­ Been a bit too¡­ Big.¡±


    ¡°¡­How much you said that you spent on this house?¡± Lunn asked with her face frozen.


    ¡°Most¡­ Of¡­ My¡­ Money?¡± She said shyly.


    ¡°And how much do you have now?¡±


    ¡°Three thousands?¡± The little Morfian was now shrinking in fear.


    ¡°Ruby, deary?¡± Lunn asked with a smile in her face, but her voice sounded scarily cold, making the young morfian shiver in fear.


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡±


    ¡°From now on. You are forbidden from spending money without talking to me, ok?¡± The elf said, and the young scientist could only nod in fear.


    ¡­


    The group quickly set up to start unloading their gear from the truck and start to take their places on the house. Volgoff was happy with keeping sleeping on his truck, so he stayed on the garage. Ross and Sorius would share one of the rooms from the middle-floor, while Yllivia and Lunn would share the other. Ruby would take the master¡¯s bedroom all for herself since she was the owner of the house herself.


    Since he wasn¡¯t capable of getting up or down stairs without help thanks to his damaged state, Gaz stood on the middle floor and took the depot for himself after the troll dropped the drones there for him. Although he tried to help a bit with the moving, he wasn¡¯t much of a help, so he decided to simply stick to building his new body so as to not be a bother.


    He started working on the legs for the robot, which mostly consisted of repairing the drones¡¯ legs and upgrading them with some of the items he got before the girl¡¯s shopping spree.


    As he finished the second front-leg and started working on the rear ones, the door opened and in came a cautious looking Ruby, who looked around the room as if looking for someone, before settling her eyes on Gaz.


    It seems that with all the commotion, she had managed to go back to her hoodie, even if it was only by throwing it above the sundress.


    The girl quickly came in into the room and closed the door behind her. She slowly approached Gaz while leaving one hand above her chest, as if anxious. Gaz couldn¡¯t help but notice Mirage approaching her from the sides.


    ¡°Beepy¡­¡± She said warily before taking a deep breath.


    [Hmm¡­ She seems nervous.] Ekis said with a slightly worried tone.


    [I have a bad feeling about this.] Gaz said in the same tone.


    ¡°You¡­ Can understand what I say, right?¡± She asked slowly, as if measuring her words. Gaz stopped for a couple of seconds not knowing how to react. But before he could do something, Ruby shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right¡­ Mirage can also understand what I say.¡± She said as if stopping to think once again. ¡°You¡­ Aren¡¯t just a simple robot, right? I mean, you¡­ Have a sentience, right?¡±


    Gaz stood there staring at her for a couple of seconds, having no idea on how to react. After a few seconds passed with the girl only looking at him, waiting a response, he finally reacted.


    ¡°Beep.¡± And turned back to his work.


    [Pleasebuyitpleasebuyitpleasebuyit¡­] He kept repeating these words as he extended the tool-cable out.


    But the young morfian didn¡¯t buy it, as she quickly grabbed his chassis and spun him around so he would face her. She had a slight frown as she did that.


    ¡°Look. You may fool the others with the whole strange robot thingy¡­¡± She said with a slight annoyed tone. ¡°But I¡¯ve studied enough about the robots to that your odd behavior isn¡¯t due to you being a strange robot. It¡¯s almost too¡­ Thought out¡­ Premeditated¡­ Sometimes random¡­ Impulsive¡­¡± She seemed to have some difficulty to find the correct words. ¡°Anyway. It¡¯s not something a robot would do. Even the most intelligent ones.¡± She said while staring him right into the camera. ¡°Are you¡­ sentient?¡±


    Gaz stared at her for a moment, trying to think a way out of this. If possible, he wanted to drag out as long as possible the idea that he was just an odd robot, but it seemed that Ruby managed to see through him. And somehow, he couldn¡¯t help but think that trying to squeeze his way out of it, the girl would end up doubting him for the rest of her life.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    And to tell the truth, she kind of reminded him of his little sisters, so he couldn¡¯t help but not want her to dislike him.


    He took a deep mental sigh.


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ Is that a yes?¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t just beeping at random, are you?¡±


    ¡°Beep beep.¡±


    ¡°Was that a no?¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°And that was a yes for the fact that two beeps is a no?¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°Or is one beep no, and two beeps yes?¡±


    ¡°Beep beep.¡±


    ¡°Then, that was a no.¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°So, one beep for yes, two for no?¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Is confusing.¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    Ruby took a deep sigh as she started to digest the information, while Gaz took this time to try and understand what was going to happen from now on. After a while, Red finally looked back to him, her eyes open wide with expectation.


    ¡°Say¡­ Can you say anything other than beeps?¡±


    ¡°Beep beep.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s troubling.¡± She said with a pensive tone, before her tone changing to a slightly brighter one. ¡°Anyway, I have to tell the others about you! You are¡­ Incredible! Something like you could change everything we knew about robots.¡± She said with shining eyes as she looked at the small robot.


    But the robot, on the other hand, became a panicky, beeping nervously while moving his body from one side to the other. Ruby looked at him a bit confused for a moment before widening her eyes in surprise.


    ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t want me to tell the others?¡± She asked confused.


    ¡°Beep. Beep.¡± He beeped nervously.


    ¡°Is that a no?¡±


    ¡°Beep!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± She frowned a bit while looking at him. ¡°Do you have a reason to keep this a secret from the others?¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like this¡­ Why would you want to do that?¡± She asked with a dubious tone. Mirage started to arc her back as if answering the wariness of her master.


    ¡°BEEEeeeppp¡± Gaz let out a long and wry beep. Ruby looked at him a bit confused for a moment, before sighing out loudly.


    ¡°Okay¡­ You¡­ Did save me, and I owe you that.¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°I will¡­ Keep it a secret for now¡­¡±


    ¡°Beep!¡± Gaz beeped happily as he thanked her.


    Afterwards, Ruby stood there watching him as he kept working on the body. A slight sign of wariness now within her eyes. Probably the reason why she didn¡¯t try to help him like before. Some questions did come from her, but it seemed that she was still a bit overwhelmed by her discovery, as they seemed a bit disconnected and meaningless.


    Well, it is hard to keep up a conversation when one side can only answer with a single sound. Not even capable of forming a word.


    In the end, Ruby said that she still had to wrap up what she wanted to know, so she left beepy alone with his thoughts. And with the goddess that kept whispering to him, but there was no need to tell her that, or else she would think he has gone crazy.


    [Gaz, why didn¡¯t you let her tell the others?] Ekis asked him when Ruby left the room.


    [I¡¯m¡­ Not sure.] Gaz said with a sigh. [It¡¯s just that¡­ I have the feeling that if Yllivia learns that I¡¯m not just a robot, she might not be so at ease with me again.] He said after a while.


    [Hmm¡­ Why do you think so?] Ekis asked confused. [Wouldn¡¯t it make it easier for you, though?]


    [Well¡­ How should I say it¡­] Gaz said as he thought. [There are some things¡­ You don¡¯t show to friends¡­ Or at least normal ones...] He said with a shrug. [There are some people that like to speak their troubles to their pets, since they don¡¯t expect them to understand, and with that become worried¡­] He said with a thought. [And some psychologists back at my world says that having pets is a good therapeutic treatment.]


    [So¡­ You think that Yllivia needs that terra¡­ Thea¡­ Tea¡­ That treatment?] Ekis asked confused.


    [Well, I¡¯m no psychologist, but from what I could gather amidst the group¡¯s talks and so on, it seems to be the case.] Gaz said with a sigh. [Then, I could be wrong and be just delaying her true treatment, but there¡¯s no way to know.]


    [And why do you think she needs that? She seems fairly fine to me.] Ekis said a bit confused.


    [Well¡­ Did you see how she was after that whole blacktrigger¡¯s thing?] Gaz asked, and the goddess simply became quiet for a moment. [That¡¯s the reason.]


    [I¡­ See¡­] Ekis said. [Thinking about it, she may need a bit help with that¡­]


    [Yeah¡­ I wonder why she gets like that.] Gaz said lastly. [Well, no need to keep brooding over the unknown. Let¡¯s go back to making the new body!] He said while setting his mind back to work-mode.


    ¡­


    Ruby woke up slightly confused from the strange soft feeling covering her head, and even when she opened up her eyes everything was still dark. The Morfian became confused as she couldn¡¯t see anything, but a soft sweet smell still reached her nostrils.


    She winced a bit at the overly-familiar smell that she had grown used these last few days, and when she pulled her head back, she couldn¡¯t help but become surprised at the sight of Lunn sleeping soundly on her bed.


    Ruby quickly put herself up and looked around confused. She was in one of the middle-floor rooms of her new house, sleeping in the same bed as the hugging-addicted elf. It took her a while to remember that she didn¡¯t like her large bedroom, and ended up going to the girl¡¯s room.


    After that, there was some squealing and hugging, and before she knew, she was already sleeping.


    But even before that, she reminded herself of the short talk she had before going to sleep, and quickly got cheerful.


    [I have so many questions to make to Beepy!] She thought cheerfully as she ran to the bathroom.


    She had a bit of a shock when Beepy started to answer her truthfully at that time, so all her thoughts stopped for a moment and she couldn¡¯t process what she wanted to know. But now that she had rested up, she knew exactly what to ask him and still get some answers, even when limited to yes and no as replies.


    [First, ask if there are others of him. If yes, ask if he can show me. If no, ask if he knows how he came to be, or what made him different from the others¡­] She thought cheerfully as she reached the bathroom. [Then, discover if his core is different from the other robots. This could be the reason for his sentience.]


    As she opened the bathroom¡¯s door, she quickly washed her face to take out all the remaining fatigue from the day, as well as took one of the toothbrushes to start cleaning her teeth.


    But the moment she turned to the a bit too large mirror on the wall, she froze and stared at her reflection for a moment.


    And her eyes had a strange light to them


    [Whawhawhawhawha? My eyes? What¡¯s¡­] She thought as she jumped confused for a moment. The sudden movement causing a lot of racket through the house. It seemed that someone noticed it, as the sound of a motor came from outside and someone peeked through the door. [Oh¡­ It¡¯s just Beepy¡­] She thought a bit surprised.


    For a moment she only stared at him, and the moment that she smiled and prepared to say something.


    [GODDAMIT! IT REALLY WAS HER!] A strange male voice sounded in her head.


    [Waah! No wonder I felt something weird!] A feminine, mechanical, yet strangely lively voice sounded this time. She seemed strangely cheerful. [See Gaz! I told you that I felt something strange this night!]


    ¡°Wha¡­ What? Who¡¯s speaking?¡± Ruby asked as she looked around confused.


    [Oh, sorry!] The female¡¯s voice sounded in her head. [This might be a bit confusing, right?]


    [Well, at least I had the introduction¡­] The male¡¯s voice said.


    ¡°Huh? Introduction? What are you talking about?¡± Ruby asked as she became worried, before widening her eyes. ¡°Wait, are you the ones responsible for the change in my eyes?¡± She asked, still worried, but with a tinge of anger.


    [Geez, no need to shout, you can just think!] The guy¡¯s voice sounded a bit annoyed, before suddenly stopping. [Wait, what¡¯s wrong with your eyes? They seem normal to me?]


    ¡°Huh? Seems normal?¡± She quickly turned back to the mirror, and saw that they, indeed, seem normal. ¡°But I swear¡­¡± She started before shaking her head. ¡°Wait, how do you know how they usually look?¡± She asked confused.


    [How? Don¡¯t we usually¡­ Oh right, strange voices in the head.] The guy¡¯s voice said with a sigh. [Sorry, let me introduce myself. The name¡¯s Garry Downer, AKA, Gaz.] The voice said with a slight playful tone. [We did meet before, but I didn¡¯t have the chance to introduce myself.]


    [And my name is Ekis. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Ruby!] The girl¡¯s voice sounder right after, sounding extremely cheerful.


    ¡°Garry? Ekis?¡± Ruby asked confused as she still looked around nervously, searching for their sources. ¡°Why¡­ Why are you in my head?¡±


    [Err¡­ We actually have no idea.] The guy¡¯s voice said, and she somehow could feel as he shrugged.


    [This is probably my fault, to tell the truth¡­] Ekis¡¯ voice came afterwards.


    [Don¡¯t take it badly though. She¡¯s new to this whole stuff and is as lost as we are.] Gaz¡¯s voice came afterwards. [And it¡¯s nice to be able to talk with someone using something that isn¡¯t beeps.]


    ¡°Wait¡­ Beeps?¡± Ruby asked surprised, as her eyes rested on the little robot who had been patiently waiting on the door. ¡°Be¡­ Beepy?¡± She asked shocked.


    [Yeah¡­ That¡¯s also my new nickname, I guess.] As he said that, the robot also copied him. ¡°Beep.¡±

 20.exe - New_recruit.mp3

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! And some mind-to-mind talk this chapter


    SO, here¡¯s the point where I go and start complaining to DeathCrawler for the fact that he got it right and that he shouldn¡¯t post spoilers on the comments, but since it was a guess, I think he deserves a candy for that. So have ye candy!


    BESIDES, this is a dialogue heavy-chapter, so don¡¯t say you haven¡¯t been warned, okay? This is mostly a exposition chapter, expanding the world and so on. That and some blush moments with your favorite professor/Lunn¡¯s victim.


    BESIDES(II), o0sky0o posted this last chapter, I thought that he deserved a mention in this chapter for how amusing it is:


    ¡°Such kawaii for the moe-fanatic-shopaholic- elf-chic ,


    Much surprise for the dwarf-boss against his own company.


    Much curious for the mortal-man Gaz doomed to die,


    One for the Forgotten goddess on her dark cage.


    In the land of (Re)install where the oddballs lie.


    One Ruby to bribe them all, one Ruby to meet them,


    One Ruby to bring them all and in the day light bind them


    In the Land of (Re)install where the "Insania" lies.¡±


    SO HAVE YOUR CANDY, o0sky0o!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ---


    It happened during the night, while Gaz was nearly finishing the hind legs of his new body, trying to shove a few more horsepower of strength on them to so that it could compensate for the extra weight his new body would carry in comparison to the drone¡¯s usual bodies. He and his companion divinity were distractedly doing their work when suddenly, said companion said.


    [Huh? What¡­] She never really finished her words, leaving them just like that. Gaz could even feel as her attention was directed somewhere else for that moment.


    [What happened?] Gaz asked his companion as he also stopped working on the motor.


    [No¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ I felt¡­] She tried to find the correct words, but they seemed to escape her.


    [You felt¡­?] He asked her, gently pushing her to explain.


    [I¡¯m not sure¡­ it felt like the link we have¡­ But¡­ Different¡­ Almost like¡­] She once again drifted off before finishing her words. [I¡¯m not sure how to explain it, to tell the truth¡­] She said finally.


    [Anything else that might help us, besides it being strange?] Gaz asked, and much to his surprise he felt as the goddess nodded.


    [Yeah. I can pinpoint the source to be nearby¡­ Very close, actually.] She said surprising the small robot.


    [Well, what are we waiting for them? Lets get going!] Gaz said cheerfully while rolling his way to the door. [Where is it?] He asked.


    [Upwards. Probably on the third floor is the most I can pinpoint.] She said with a worried tone.


    [Back to working on the robot!] Gaz said cheerfully while making a perfect U-turn. [Stairs¡­ My mortal enemies! I shall have my revenge!] He said in an overly dramatic tone as he went back to working.


    The goddess in his mind simply laughed wryly at his reaction.


    ¡­


    After asking the goddess to keep an eye out for the feeling, Gaz went back to working on his new body, only to find out that one of the parts was a bit more fragile than what he had initially expected and had to rework the last one or so hours to fix the new leg.


    While keeping an eye out for the strange feeling that she had, Ekis said once during the night that she had the brief feeling that the source of the feeling had moved, but she couldn¡¯t be so sure, as it was still very vague.


    A few hypothesis brewed themselves within their minds as they thought about what it could be, but only when the first rays of the morning appeared that another significate change appeared.


    As Gaz finished the new leg for the third time, thanks to over-tuning the joint motor distractedly, and receiving a long lecture from the goddess about how he should be more careful with machines, something echoed within his mind.


    [I have so many questions to make to Beepy!] A voice that they had more than grown used to hearing echoed within their link. The only problem was that they were both quiet at the moment.


    [Was that¡­?] Ekis asked surprised, her voice the closest to a murmur as their link allowed.


    [Shh!] Gaz hissed at her so that she would let him hear better whoever was speaking. To tell the truth, he didn¡¯t know if it worked that way, but better safe than sorry.


    As they heard the young girl¡¯s voice resounding in their heads, appearing a lot more cheerful than the usual shy tone it usually had, Gaz slowly made his way out of the workshop and looked out for possible sounds around the house. Hearing the sound of the bathroom¡¯s sink turning on, Gaz patiently waited outside, a short distance away from the door to give the girl her privacy.


    But as soon as he heard the voice changing into a tone of surprise and worry, Gaz immediately darted away from where he was and went to check on her worriedly. Looking carefully through the door, he saw as she turned towards him with a shocked face, before sighing loudly in relief.


    [Oh¡­ It¡¯s just Beepy¡­] Ruby said a bit surprised.


    [GODDAMIT! IT REALLY WAS HER!] Gaz shouted surprised, shocking the poor girl.


    [Waah! No wonder I felt something weird!] Ekis said, sounding cheerful. [See Gaz! I told you that I felt something strange this night!]


    ¡­


    [Wha¡­ What is happening here? How can I hear you guys in my head?] Ruby asked confused and flustered as Gaz guided her to his workshop.


    It took some time, but after playing the cards of him being almost destroyed and the fact that the others wouldn¡¯t believe her if she suddenly said that she can hear voices in her head, Gaz and Ekis somehow managed to convince the young morfian to speak on her mind instead of out loud. After that, teaching was surprisingly easy, and she confirmed that she could filter her thoughts and speech if she focused a bit.


    Gaz briefly looked around to make sure that no one was following them and closed the door behind him.


    [Well, for starters, as we already said¡­] Gaz said while making a sound similar to clearing his throat. [We have no idea why we can speak with you like this.] He said with a  mental shrug, and he could feel as Ruby became surprised. [Now, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll keep working on the new body as we talk, is that a problem?] He asked as he picked up the drones parts and started to fiddle with them.


    [Hmm¡­? No¡­ I don¡¯t mind¡­] Ruby said a bit shocked with how casually he asked that.


    [Geez, Gaz! Why don¡¯t you pay a bit more of attention to the poor girl?] Ekis complained in their link, making the girl look around confused.


    [Hmm¡­ If Beep¡­ I mean¡­ Gaz¡­] She started a bit shyly, but Gaz stopped her.


    [You can keep calling me Beepy if you want.] He said distractedly. [I¡¯m already used to it.]


    [Hmm? Thanks then¡­] She said, and Gaz didn¡¯t even need to turn back to know that she was blushing embarrassedly. Ekis sent a soothing feeling that made him imagine if she was smiling gently at their exchange. [If you are Beepy¡­ Then who is the other one?] She asked confused while blushing slightly. Then her eyes widened a bit as she thought. [Are you¡­]


    ¡°BEEEEEP!¡±[WRONG ANSWER! Not mirage. Try again.] Gaz said playfully, making the girl blink in surprise before blushing again.


    [Gaz! Can¡¯t you see you are leaving her embarrassed?] Ekis said annoyed.


    [But it¡¯s so fun to tease her!] Gaz said in a playful tone. [And don¡¯t say that you don¡¯t like to see her blushing like that! It¡¯s cute!] As soon as he said that, a strong feeling of embarrassment flooded their link and he laughed even louder.


    [You meanie! I never knew that you could be like that!] The goddess said with an annoyed tone while Gaz laughed away.


    [It¡¯s mostly because you don¡¯t have many things that leaves you embarrassed¡­] He said with a shrug. [That, and leaving the only person that I could actually talk to mad at me isn¡¯t exactly a smart idea.] Ekis sighed at this.


    [Anyway, as I said, my name is Ekis, and I¡¯ve been Gaz¡¯s traveling companion since day one.] She said with a gentle tone.


    [It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nice to meet you¡­] Ruby said shyly as she looked around. [Hmm¡­ Where are you?] She asked a bit confused as she didn¡¯t see anyone else besides the small robot in front of her.


    [That¡¯s exactly what we want to know.] Gaz said with a mental nod, before reminding himself of something. [By the way, she¡¯s the goddess of the robots and have been locked away by the other gods right after your world was created. Thought you might want to know.]


    Gaz said that almost as if he was simply saying the weather, and Ruby widened her eyes slightly for a moment before nodding surprised. Noticing this, Gaz slowly turned back to her and noticed as she slowly digested that information.


    Then she shot up in surprise and said out loud.


    ¡°Goddess of robots?¡±


    [Now that¡¯s the reaction I was expecting! And please, tone it down a bit or you¡¯ll wake up the whole house.] Gaz said nonchalantly and he saw as Ruby blushed heavily before sitting down on the ground. [By the way, I¡¯m saving that photo on my memory.] He added lastly.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Yeah, that was a good one!] Ekis added. [She looks so cute when she¡¯s embarrassed like that!]


    [Geez, and you say that I¡¯m the mean one¡­] Gaz said mischievously. [But they still don¡¯t beat the ones from the shopping spree. Those are worth their size in gold!]


    Ruby went even redder at these words and couldn¡¯t go anywhere further than the corner she was already in. Gaz and Ekis laughed a bit more at the shy girl before deciding to stop for now, as they were starting to pity the poor girl who couldn¡¯t even return to her original coloration anymore.


    They gave her some time to cool down herself as he patiently worked on his body. During that time they heard as the others started to wake up and walk around the house. Ruby lifted her eyes a bit and looked at the door, probably wanting to go out there and talk with the others.


    Gaz took this chance to also stop working a bit and walk around while following Ruby around the house. They firstly went to the kitchen, where they found Volgoff exploring the drawers and taking a few utensils from them. Sadly, he didn¡¯t find any food, so the group used their own resources for the breakfast. The troll made a mental note to go and buy some food on the city during their next travel there.


    During the time the group was eating around, Gaz felt as excitement started to boil within Ruby, and more than once she opened her mouth to speak something, but closed down.


    [Look, you are free to tell them about me.] Gaz said gently in their links, and for a brief moment her eyes sparkled. [But, I¡¯ll also be sure to play the record of your shopping spree for every one else to see, okay?]


    With that she paled deeply and went back to eating her sandwich.


    [Why¡­ Don¡¯t you want them to find out about you?] She asked him a bit confused.


    [I¡­ Have my reasons.] Gaz said slowly. [And last time I checked it wasn¡¯t anything evil.]


    [¡­ Okay¡­] She said a bit waryly, but agreeing nonetheless.


    ¡°What happened, sweetie?¡± Asked Lunn as she hugged Ruby from behind and rubbed her cheek against her head. ¡°You looked so distracted today¡­¡± She said worryingly, which left Ruby a bit worried whether she could answer her or not.


    ¡°I was just¡­ A bit tired. I didn¡¯t sleep to well this night!¡± She said briefly with a convincing fake sleepy tone.


    ¡°Geez, then if you slept so badly alone, you can come sleep with me, okay?¡± Lunn said with a half-joking tone.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay¡­¡± Ruby answered a bit shyly. [It was actually quite confortable¡­]


    [Hooh¡­ what does that mean?] Gaz said playfully.


    [I WASN¡¯T SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT!] She replied while blushing heavily, which led to an even tighter hugging from the elf.


    ¡­


    [And that¡¯s the story behind Ekis.] Gaz asked as he passed Ruby a sensor. She nodded slightly. [So, what¡¯s your other questions?]


    [Wow¡­ That¡¯s sad.] She said while looking towards Gaz with a pitying look. [But what about you, Beepy? What kind of robot are you?] She asked curious as she welded the new cables to the sensor.


    [Well, my story is a bit different from what you probably expect.] He said with an amused tone. [For starters, I¡¯m technically one or two weeks old. Physically, at least.]


    [Wait, didn¡¯t Yllivia say that she found you one or two weeks ago?] Ruby asked confused.


    [We¡­ Kind of got caught twenty minutes after I brought him to this world¡­] Ekis answered in a wry tone.


    [Brought to this world?] Ruby asked confused. [What does that mean?]


    [Well, to tell the truth, I came from another world, and when I died, Ekis here resurrected me using all of her accumulated power.] He explained to the girl as he took back the sensor.


    [Then¡­ There¡¯s a whole world with robots just like you?] Ruby asked excited,


    [Geez, calm down.] Gaz said while laughing wryly. [And no, there isn¡¯t a whole world with robots like me. Heck, I wasn¡¯t even a robot before!] He said amused


    [You¡­ weren¡¯t a robot before?] Ruby asked surprised. [And you said that you are a guy¡­] She said slowly before suddenly blushing slightly. But this time Gaz could also feel a slight anger seeping through the link. [Then, back at the shop you were¡­]


    [NOPE!] He said before she could go on. [Why did you think I didn¡¯t follow you at the dresser?] He asked in a deadpan tone, which caught her a bit by surprise. [I may be a man inside, but I still have some integrity within me, okay?] He said while turning towards her slightly annoyed.


    [Sorry¡­] She said lowly, and Gaz sighed.


    [Besides, you kind of remind me of my sisters, so it just felt wrong to even think of that.] He added wryly. [Even if your personality is completely different from theirs¡­]


    [Sisters¡­?] Ruby asked surprised.


    [Well, to tell the truth, he was actually embarrassed when he had to wait at the store.] Ekis added lastly, which left Beepy a bit embarrassed as he quickly turned back to work on the body.


    The girls shared a short giggle as they watched the flustered robot for the moment.


    [Say¡­ What were you before resurrecting?] She asked curious as she helped plug the legs on the body.


    [Hmm? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s something like that here¡­] Gaz said in wonder. [But I was a human. Haven¡¯t really seen any of them around, at least.]


    [Human? What¡¯s that?] Ruby asked confused.


    [I¡¯m¡­. Not sure how to explain.] Gaz said a bit confused. [Midterm between an elf and a dwarf, but only picking the bad parts of each, I guess¡­]


    [Wow¡­ That sounds bad!] She said with a slightly teasing tone, and Gaz laughed a bit at that.


    The duo worked a bit longer in silence, not even changing a few words as they worked around with the body, even when they exchanged some of the most complex part of their jobs, and even when they did talk to each other, it was mostly some short questions that she made him about his other world and so on.


    [You seem surprisingly calm with the whole goddess thing, you know?] Gaz commented a bit curious.


    [Well¡­ It¡¯s mostly because it actually makes sense.] Ruby said as if stating the obvious. Sensing Gaz¡¯s and Ekis¡¯ confusion. [I mean¡­ Doesn¡¯t this makes me your priestess?] She asked a bit confused.


    [Sorry¡­ I don¡¯t think I explained this well enough.] Gaz said in slow and deliberate tone. [I¡¯m from another world while Ekis has been locked inside the other gods know where for the last eternity.]


    [Hmm¡­ I think that what he wants to say is that we have no idea what you mean.] Ekis said with some easier to understand words, which made Ruby widen her eyes in surprise for a moment.


    [There weren¡¯t priests back at your world?] She asked surprised.


    [Probably not in the way YOU are thinking.] Gaz said.


    [Hmm¡­ How to explain it¡­] Ruby said in wonder. [Priests are the ones who talk directly to the gods.] She said as if trying to explain what an animal is. [I¡­ Heard that they listen the voice of the gods¡­ And each god gives them some special blessings¡­ I guess?] She said a bit confused, before blushing slightly. [Sorry¡­ I never really thought much about this... I spent most of my time studying robots¡­]


    [And that¡¯s probably what made you her priestess?] Gaz said in wonder.


    [Maybe¡­ But¡­] She stopped to think for a moment. [I thought that the Priests were always from one of the races the gods created¡­]


    [Maybe its because there isn¡¯t a sentient robot besides Gaz?] Ekis said a bit confused. [And I did make Gaz a bit different from how I made the other robots¡­]


    [Then, the priestes-ship¡­ Is that even a word? Went to our shy little morfian professor right here!] Gaz said finalizing the thought. [And that might also explain how we seem to work so easily together.]


    [What do you mean?] Ruby asked, so Gaz laughed a bit while looking at her.


    [Tell me, my little red friend.] He said in a playful tone. [Little being a relative expression of course, what are you doing right now?]


    [Hmm? I was going to the workshop to alter this needle launcher so it can shoot a bigger, armor piercing needle. Why?] She asked confused stopping just short of the door.


    [And where do you plan on adding said launchers in my future body?]


    [A large amount on the tail for wide area attacks and some more precise ones near the head and the claws, why?] She said with surprising confindence.


    [And what I am doing right now?] He asked her finally.


    [Preparing the tail to receive the laun¡­ Oh¡­] She said as the information finally sunk in. [I¡­ Didn¡¯t even notice¡­]


    [Yeah¡­ I almost didn¡¯t too.] Gaz said with a mental shrug. [Anyway, get going already because I want to test my new body already!]


    [Okay, okay!] She said with a wry smile as she left the room.


    [Say¡­ What about asking Lunn to help you buy some working clothes?] He asked when he guessed that the girl was around the middle of the house.


    ¡°NO WAY!¡± a loud shout came from the main room, and soon embarrassment and annoyance flooded their link.

 21.exe - Working_mode.rby

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Finally, a new body for our beeping friend!


    SO, after much delay, here I finally deliver the body! I¡­ still have a bit of a hard time to describe robots, so I ended up cheating a bit with a bit of google search to have some kind of basis... Sigh, I feel defeated.


    BESIDES, many people were worried about what would happen with his beeping once he got his new body¡­ Well, see the results for yourself.


    BESIDES(II), I plan on taking Saturday as a break, so that I can put up some games that have been sitting around my room for some time now up to date (yeah, I¡¯m going to play them). But I might still make a small update like an Insania SS and the so promised character list (Professional procrastinator here¡­)


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    [And now?] Gaz asked.


    [An arachnid body with a mortar on the back.] Ruby answered immediately.


    [Good. Next.] Gaz said.


    [What about this one?] Ekis said curious, and Ruby stopped to think for a moment.


    [An equine body with wheels for roads.] She answered.


    [Right again.] Gaz said while nodding in his mind.


    Since they had their talk earlier, Gaz, Ruby and Ekis had been trying to figure out how the link worked to make the girl and the robot work together so nicely. From the looks of it, it seemed that whatever plan that Gaz and Ekis had open within their link would also spill over to the young girl as some kind of idea or inspiration.


    Besides that, whenever one of them decided to work on a piece in particular, the other would have a strange impulse to work on a piece that connects to that piece or that was of vital importance. It was a subtle way of coordinating, but it worked perfectly fine.


    Yet, Gaz couldn¡¯t help but wonder that the very link that allowed him to communicate with another person that wasn¡¯t the goddess, also made conversation pretty much useless, since these impulses were a lot more precise to coordinate than simply talking. As incredible as that sounded, it was also the truth.


    Meanwhile they were also adding the final pieces of the body, as Gaz finished molding the wolf-like face that Ekis had designed and Ruby used the workshop¡¯s tools to somehow replicate the needle launcher. But, thanks to an actual genius idea from Gaz, who usually simply went around building whatever he was told to, he asked if they couldn¡¯t separate the part that created the needles from the one that shoots it, Ruby was spending even more time than what she initially expected so that she could do such a feat.


    [Say, what about seeing through her, can you do that?] Gaz asked Ekis as he opened a space within the torso to put a furnace and a steam-tank.


    [That¡­ Could be useful¡­] Ekis said nodding. [Do you mind, Ruby?] She asked the girl, who felt slightly surprised.


    [Will¡­ Will it hurt?] The girl asked worried.


    [You will feel as if your head is splitting open and all the bones in your body are being slowly crunched to bits before being grinded to dust.] Gaz said in a perfectly serious voice.


    [RE-REALLY?]


    [Nah, just fooling with ya. I actually have no idea.] He said in a playful tone, and he felt as annoyance came from both sides of the link.


    [Forget the mean Beepy. Mind if I try now?] Ekis asked gently, and felt as Ruby reluctantly accepted the ordeal.


    Gaz¡­ Didn¡¯t feel any difference the moment that Ekis stopped sharing his vision, except the fact that the small text that expressed that she was sharing his video-feed disappeared.


    Seeing that simply waiting for them would lead to nothing, so he kept doing his work while patiently waiting the duo to give their explanations on what was happening.


    [Hmm¡­ My head hurt a little. But it¡¯s over now¡­] He heard Ruby saying. [Ekis¡­? Are you here?]


    [Wha¡­? Yeah¡­ I am¡­] The goddess replied, her voice sounding a bit at loss for a moment before she finally regained her focus. [This¡­ This feels so¡­ Different from Gaz.] She said a bit surprised. [Waah! Are these your hand? They look so small! Everything looks so small!] The goddess said in surprise.


    [¡­ I think this is the first time someone called me big¡­] Ruby said with a wry tone, to which Gaz laughed loudly.


    ¡­


    Ekis had been marveling at how everything looked so different from when she was with Gaz. Things that she always thought that looked gigantic now looked only a bit big, and things that she thought that were just the right size now looked so small.


    And she shared the other sensations of her new host. Touch, smell, hearing, taste¡­ Everything seemed so similar to how she felt through Gaz¡¯s sensors, yet felt so different at the same time¡­ She couldn¡¯t quite understand how to explain the difference, yet they were there. And this left the goddess surprised at how different the world seemed from an organic¡¯s point of view.


    So, when Lunn suddenly hugged Ruby from behind, Ekis couldn¡¯t help but yelp in surprise at the sudden feeling.


    ¡°SWEETY! HERE YOU WERE!¡± The elf said while hugging the morfian. ¡°You have been inside that depot for sooo long! I was starting to miss you!¡±


    ¡°Lunn?¡± Ruby asked while trying to get some room to breathe. ¡°I¡­ I was helping beepy build a new body.¡± She said a bit flustered.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see¡­¡± The elf said while rubbing her cheek on Ruby¡¯s head. ¡°Oh! Sorius said that we are gathering to make some planning after lunch today.¡±


    ¡°Planning? For what?¡± She asked confused.


    ¡°Ross thinks that there¡¯s a chance that the Blacktriggers might try to get you tomorrow, so he wants to be sure.¡± Lunn explained with a slight angry tone. ¡°But there¡¯s no need to worry! I¡¯ll NEVER let them take you!¡± The elf said while hugging the girl again.


    [So¡­ What happened?] The two girls heard Gaz asking. [You two suddenly seemed worried.]


    [It seems that the Blacktriggers might attack tomorrow, so Sorius want to have a meeting.] Ruby said.


    [Ooh! Ask for it to be on the workshop. This way we can keep working.] Gaz said suddenly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Can¡­ The meeting be down here?¡± Ruby asked shyly and saw as the elf blinked surprised.


    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t the living room a bit more spacious?¡± She asked confused.


    ¡°So that¡­ I can keep working on Beepy¡¯s body¡­ It¡¯s almost done¡­¡±


    ¡°The meeting will be down here.¡± A third voice suddenly came from the stairs, surprising the two girls. They turned there and saw Yllivia with a decided look.


    ¡°Geez Ylli. You really like Beepy, don¡¯t you?¡± Lunn said teasingly, but Yllivia simply nodded.


    [Oh, before you come down, try to get some leaper¡¯s pistons. Ross should still have some with him.] Gaz suddenly added.


    [And how will we do that? Isn¡¯t he holding them for his armor or something?] Ekis asked confused.


    [I¡­ Have a way to get them.] Ruby said as she looked towards Yllivia. She felt a confused feeling from Gaz, but she didn¡¯t say anything elese.


    ¡­


    The lesson that Ekis learned that day, was that as long as the excuse ¡®for beepy¡¯ was given to the Lynnian, they could get almost anything they wanted within the group. This once again left the goddess a bit worried about the girl¡¯s future, as she seemed to have too easy of a time manipulating people around her.


    Still, she got the pistons that Gaz wanted, so there wasn¡¯t much she could complain.


    Lunch time came and Ekis had a shock on how different cooked food tasted when compared to the fruits that Gaz usually had from Yllivia. Not that he couldn¡¯t taste food, but even that was vastly different from what she was used to.


    Immediately afterwards, Ruby helped Gaz go downstairs, and while the group sat down around the ground, she and the robot started working on assembling the final parts of his body.


    ¡°So, Ross, what do you think will happen tomorrow?¡± Sorius asked while looking at the dwarf.


    ¡°Dat¡­ Actually depends.¡± The dwarf said with a shrug. ¡°Dere¡¯s probably no way dat them will know where the meeting will be.¡± He said while scratching his head. ¡°But dat¡¯s only if dey are working for demselves.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ Think they might be working for someone else?¡± Yllivia asked and the dwarf nodded.


    [Geez, that sounds annoying.] Gaz said a bit distractedly as he started to ignore their talk so he could focus back on the body.


    He took the legs that took him so long to work thanks to one small mechanism that he had a bit of a hard time. He had to add a mechanism that would separate the leg¡¯s gear from the inner motor, then align then when getting back together. The reason for that? So that he could use the pistons for sudden bursts of energy. But the sudden movement had a chance to damage the motors within the leg, so he needed to be sure that they weren¡¯t linked when he activated it.


    On the plus side, the pistons were also working as shock absorbers, so he could take on the sudden impacts that came from upwards. They also added the claws from the drones, making sure that they could be retracted when not in use.


    For the main body, they added the main circuit-boards that he would need when using the body, but since the core took on most of the data processing, there was still a lot of space left within it, so they added a small furnace and steam tank to power the pistons and the modified needle-launchers. They also added the new needle-makers and a piping system to redirect it towards the now steam-powered launchers. Nodding satisfied, Gaz gave a look on his body, as all that was left now was to give the finishing touches. Meanwhile, the group kept going with their talk about strategies to do the following day.


    ¡­


    Gaz waited patiently while laying low on the ground. From where he was, he could easily ¡°see¡± as the large troll, Gorgoff, guided another four other persons through the corridor and towards the room where they would have their meeting. Once inside, he saw as the four others became surprised for a moment while seeing the scene before them.


    Inside were Volgoff, Sorius and Ross. The three stood against the wall while looking across the room and towards the large window on the other side. They gave a brief nod towards the newcomers before looking back to the window.


    Sorius and Volgoff both wore perfectly black suits and had a necktie as a finishing touch. Sorius had a sharper than usual look thanks to his suit, and had his trusted rifle standing on the wall near him. Volgoff, on the other hand, looked like a hired thug, with his suit almost ripping free. It surprised the robot to see how short the troll¡¯s fur actually was once you got beneath it.


    Ross, still had his full power-armor, now with some slight addition made by Ruby. But he did add a small butterfly tie as his formal attire, which looked a bit ridiculous, but that didn¡¯t seem to bother the dwarf.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°These are our hired bodyguards. We thought we could use the extra security.¡± Volgoff said as to reassure the guests.


    They all nodded, their faces a mix of worry and relief at the same time. The woman that was with the group even threw a slightly provocative gaze to Sorius, but the elf kept his steel-hard face, not even twitching. Meanwhile, the other one, a red-furred troll, looked around confused for a moment.


    ¡°Volgoff, where¡¯s the professor?¡± He asked a bit confused.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be arriving soon, Mister Stroganoff.¡± Volgoff replied with a business smile, but Gaz didn¡¯t really care about this.


    [OH MY GOD! ARE YOU SERIOUS? THE GUY¡¯S NAME IS STROGANOFF?] Gaz shouted while laughing loudly through the link. He even had to hold himself back to not end up giving up his position by doing some noise or something of the kind.


    [I¡­ Don¡¯t think I got the joke¡­] Ekis said confused.


    [Not now, Beepy¡­ I¡¯m trying to calm myself here,  you know?] Ruby said with a slight hint of annoyance. [Besides, mr. Stroganoff is a respectable man on the industry.]


    [Sorry¡­ It¡¯s just so¡­] Gaz said while trying to control his laughter. A sigh came from Ruby before everything went quiet again.


    Turning his attention back to the room, Gaz watched as the arrivals slowly sat down around the reunion table, leaving the corner near the whiteboard empty so that the professor could take seat there.


    The group waited patiently for a couple of minutes, but Gaz could see as the group started to discuss cheerfully to each other. Some of them excited to see the professor the first time, others looking forward to her new project she was about to announce today.


    Then, the door suddenly opened, and in came a few people. In the front was Yllivia, the Lynnian. She wore one of the formal dresses that Lunn had forced her to buy back at the shopping spree, an oriental style chine dress, also known as Cheongsam back at Gaz¡¯s world. Incidentally, this one was made on the occident in this world. It had a simple black color with a discreet golden embroidery around the right shoulder. According to what she said earlier, it was the easiest dress to move around.


    Then, came Lunn, letting her pink hair fall freely while wearing a silver dress that matched with her gloves. The dress left little to imagination and even made some of the men in the room gasp a bit when she smiled mischievously. Different from Yllivia, who came in with apparently nothing beside her weapons tied around her thigh, Lunn was carrying a small folder around.


    And just as some of the guests started to wonder whether she was the said professor, in came the last person.


    From the three, she was the shortest. Wearing a red dress that went all the way to her knees  which matched with her tied up hair. Even though she was obviously a morfian, they couldn¡¯t make out her features, as she wore a golden mask that covered everything except her mouth, which was firmed into a thin line. The morfian looked briefly around, her gaze resting for a brief moment over each member of the room before moving to the next.


    Gaz saw as each person within the room flinched slightly whenever the newcomer looked at them. Even Gaz gulped within his mind, as the woman in front of him had a superior air around her, as if she could see right through the men within the room.


    ¡°Greetings, gentlemen. Madam.¡± The woman said with a short nod towards the newcomers.


    ¡°Greetings, professor.¡± Volgoff said after recovering from his shock.


    ¡°P-Professor?¡± One of the guests asked confused. ¡°I¡­ I thought that you said that the professor was still very young¡­¡± Said the dwarf a bit confused.


    ¡°I can assure you, that I what he told you is true.¡± Ruby said in a serious tone, which made the dwarf nod and sit down a bit shocked.


    [¡­Who the hell are you and what the hell did you do to Ruby?] Gaz asked.


    [Not now.] She replied coldly. [I have a work to do here.]


    [YES MA¡¯AM.] He replied in an army tone as he saw the young girl sitting down on the table, the elf and the lynnian standing behind her.


    ¡°As you know, I asked this meeting to be hastened because I was attacked on my way here. Even after we used diversion tactics like saying that the meeting was going to be in a different city.¡± She said as she looked at each and everyone within the room.


    ¡°You¡­ Have been attacked?¡± The Lynnian woman sitting at the table asked surprised, and Ruby nodded.


    ¡°An attempt by the Blacktriggers. Luckily, my bodyguards managed to protect me. But they still got the word that I was coming to this area in particular, so I couldn¡¯t take my time with this.¡± She said before nodding towards Lunn.


    Lunn smiled back at her and opened the folder where she started to distribute it to the other people around the room. Each one of them got a small stack of paper.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s start talking about business.¡± Ruby said. ¡°I heard you had some problems with the fuel consumption of the Gargoyle¡¯s motor, right? I might have the solution for that.¡± She said as she opened her own stack of papers.


    ¡­


    [Will you stop that annoying music already?] Ruby complained on the link.


    [It¡¯s not annoying. It¡¯s a music straight from super Mario brothers! It¡¯s an eight bit classic!] Gaz said in a teacher tone.


    [I didn¡¯t understand a single word of that¡­] Ekis said confused.


    [I don¡¯t care about classics from your world. Just stop sending it through here!] Ruby said as she slightly frowned her eyes. Luckily, the mask didn¡¯t show it and the guests analyzing her research¡¯s result were oblivious to her inner conflict.


    [BUT I¡¯M BORED HERE!] Gaz complained in a teary tone.


    [Then unbore yourself!] Ruby said angrily. [Just don¡¯t do it when I¡¯m working, okay?]


    [What do you think I¡¯m doing here?] Gaz asked. [Geez, I liked more when you were easily embarrassed. You aren¡¯t so cute anymore¡­]


    The duo would probably keep bickering at each other for a little longer if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Yllivia lowered herself slightly to speak at Ruby¡¯s ear, and Gaz¡¯s presence sensor picked up some new signals.


    Ruby nodded slightly towards the lynnian before turning her focus back at the group, seeing their reactions as they read the papers. However, this brief exchange didn¡¯t escape Sorius, Ross and Volgoff, who all smiled slightly for a moment before going back to their expressionless face.


    Just when the Professor was about to go back to her own explanations, a loud sound echoed within the whole room. It was the sound of glass breaking, people entering and guns firing. Alarms echoed around the whole building as dwarves stormed in the room, all of them wearing armor suits and sporting heavy weapons.


    There were surprised shouts and bullets flying everywhere as a firefight started, the guests all ducked down in a hurry and hid themselves beneath the table. An automatic reaction to such a sudden happening.


    However, the professor and her bodyguards simply stood still while smiling slightly.


    ¡°No need to worry.¡± She said with a mysterious smile. ¡°It¡¯s all happening two floors above.¡±


    The guests all raised their heads, confused as they saw Sorius slowly take out his rifle and open a small spot on the huge window and taking aim at a far-away building. A gun-shot echoed on the whole room as the Elf took out the gun back and nodded proudly to himself and making a sign to his companions.


    ¡°Wha¡­ What do you mean?¡± The lynnian businesswoman asked confused.


    ¡°We marked the meeting to be on the twentieth floor, right?¡± Ruby asked, and saw as the woman nodded confused. ¡°Well, a little tampering with the floor indicator and making sure that all of you were together and I easily managed to make this meeting happen on the eighteenth floor.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ You expected the attack to happen?¡± Stroganoff asked, and Ruby smiled.


    ¡°We had suspicions, and this small scene just proved it.¡± She said once again before turning towards Sorius. ¡°Would you care to explain?¡±


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± He said as he walked up behind her. ¡°The only ones who were aware of the location of this meeting were the very ones within this room. Yet the breach clearly occurred on that room, which should be swarming with security right about now. This can only mean one thing.¡± He said. ¡°Someone within this room leaked the location of the meeting.¡± A quick static on his radio and a short conversation later and he turned back to the group. ¡°We have a prisoner and we can get the name fairly easy.¡±


    Just as he said that, he saw as the last person on the room, a male lynnian blinked surprised and paled a bit. The elf smiled at the scene and saw as the others also turned towards him.


    ¡°Err¡­ I¡­ You see¡­¡± The man started saying before eyeing the door.


    In the end, he ran away, trying to reach the door before anyone could reach him.


    ¡°Not very good under pressure, is he?¡± Ross said mockingly. ¡°Oi, Beepy! It¡¯s yer time to shine!¡± He shouted.


    And just as the man was about to reach the door, a loud sound came from nearby as the fake wall was ripped apart from within, and from there came a robot, jumping at him and pinning down into the ground.


    The lynnian looked at the robot and tried to snap free from its grasp, but he quickly changed his idea as he saw what held him.


    It was a large wolf-like robot, with thick legs and a mane-like armor on its back, it had a stream-lined design, with the armor laying in layers around the mane and the tail. Some open spots around its armor let some of the excess steam to escape, which was strange, as the robot looked like an electric one instead of a steam-powered. On its head, a pair of red-tinted cameras shined dangerously as a series of carefully planned piston and hinges opened its snout just enough so that the dangerous teeth-like blade showed.


    And as if to put an emphasis on how dangerous it was, with a quick motion, spikes appeared around the wolf¡¯s body, like the mane and the tail, giving it an edgy look as a low grow seemed to escape it.


    Yllivia slowly approached the robot and put her hand on its mane as she slowly started to pet him and his head.


    ¡°Good work, Beepy.¡± She said emotionlessly.


    ¡°Beep.¡± The wolf responded, the beep sounding oddly out of place with such a ferocious looking appearance. Still, the lynnian smiled as she crouched down and lifted the downed man, dragging him back to the room.


    ----


    Writer¡¯s spot (the 2nd): I guess I should link the robot image I used, right? I used it as a base, but made some small alterations to it...


    Beepy''s body</a>

 22.exe - Hug.jpg

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! A short chapter just to close things up.


    SO, I¡¯ve decided to make this a short chapter (1.6k words only) mostly so that I could close up what happened before starting the next arc. I¡¯m¡­ Still not sure what will happen later. I have a brief idea, but besides that not much¡­ I am open for a few suggestions. (And no OP bodies for Gaz for now. He have to start out slowly.) I MAY upload another chapter today, no promises though.


    BESIDES, I don¡¯t really have anything to say here, except that the idea of a X over with Insania have been on my mind. BUUUT, no promises. Maybe develop Gaz¡¯s skill a bit more before then.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    ¡°Look! It was the higher up¡¯s idea, ok? They said that you are monopolizing the professor, so they had to get her!¡± The lynnian businessman said with a worried tone. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know much besides that!¡±


    Gaz lightly showed his teeth-like blades once again to the man, but felt when Yllivia gently tapped his head, telling him to fall back. Gaz looked at her briefly before making a motion similar to shrugging and taking a step back.


    The Lynnian shrunk even more in the chair he was when he saw the scene, his body trembling slightly as he waited what happened. A sigh caught his attention, making him see the professor, still wearing the mask, slightly shaking her head as if disappointed.


    ¡°Mister¡­ Evon, right?¡± She asked the lynnian, who nodded worriedly. ¡°And if I¡¯m not wrong, you work for¡­ Hive-works, right?¡± The man nodded once again. ¡°Well, how do I say it¡­ the fact that you were somehow related to this is more than enough to send your whole life downhill. You do know that, right?¡±


    ¡°Please! No! Anything but that!¡± The man said worried, and all that he received was a smile from her.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. I have no plan on doing that.¡± She said with an affirmative tone. ¡°But, as you know, my bodyguards are recording everything that have been spoken here. And if I could make your life a living hell, can you guess what would happen to the place you work for?¡±


    She asked with a smile, and the man¡¯s face blanked for a moment before leaving his mouth hanging open.


    ¡°Glad to see you know.¡± She shifted herself slightly on the seat. ¡°So, this is what is going to happen. You are going back to your boss, whoever hired the blacktriggers, and tell him this. I have the recording plus a few backups saved with me, besides the blacktriggers prisoners themselves. So, if he want to have his enterprise still up and running, he better be a VERY good business partner, okay?¡± She said gently and saw as the man paled and nodded hurriedly. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll send someone to meet him later, so please go tell him.¡± She said as she made a dismissing motion with her hand.


    The man looked at her worriedly for a moment, but after seeing her nodding, he lifted himself and cautiously left the room, closely followed by two large troll guards.


    [Geez I never knew you could get so scary¡­] Gaz said in their link, and simply felt a slight sense of annoyance flowing, but there wasn¡¯t any other response besides that.


    Ruby sighed loudly in mild annoyance before turning back to the other businessman, who all watched the scene with a hint of worry, she gently shook her head for a moment before speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken pretty much everything I planned on speaking here, and most of your doubts I can leave to the other technicians, as they should be able to explain it as well as myself.¡± She said with a weary tone and saw as they nodded. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I cut this meeting here, as I¡¯m a bit weary with this situation.¡±


    The businessman nodded and took the documents with them after some short talk with each other and with Gorgoff, they left with a nod, the excitement of the attack also left them a bit too shaky to keep up with their talk, even if they were safe the whole time.


    As soon as everybody else left the room, leaving only Ruby, Gorgoff and the mercs, the morfian took out her mask and heaved a long and deep sigh that surprised everyone but the large troll, who had already seen her like that before. Then, the young girl turned towards the pink haired elf and extended her arms towards her, her eyes lightly closed. The group blinked surprised for a moment, not really understanding what was happening until she said in a low voice.


    ¡°Huggy¡­¡±


    The pink-haired elf¡¯s nose started bleeding a little as her eyes turned into a pair of hearts. But before she could jump at the morfian, the girl leaned against her body and started the hug herself. Lunn¡¯s mind went blanks as the little girl she adored leaned against her body and started to breath softly, indicating that she was sleeping.


    [Okay, I take that back¡­ She¡¯s too cute to hate.] Gaz said.


    [This feel surprisingly comfortable¡­] Ekis said with a slow voice, almost as if she was falling asleep.


    [Mmmn¡­] Came from Ruby.


    Laughing a bit at her sleep thinking, Gaz turned back towards Lunn, who looked like she had just ascended to heaven, found true love, won the lottery and met her favorite idol, all at the same time. Different from the pink-haired elf, who was lost in her own fluffy world, Sorius turned to Gorgoff a bit worried.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He asked. ¡°It was like she was a completely different person!¡± He said surprised.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ The professor tends to change when it comes to negotiations for her projects.¡± The troll said with a wry smile. ¡°But she also say that it leaves her exhausted mentally, and she always end up sleepy after meetings like these¡­ But I must say that she did look a bit more into it than the last time. I almost didn¡¯t recognize her.¡±


    ¡°The little princess is more of a queen than all of us thought!¡± Ross said with a short laugh. ¡°She went an¡¯ changed the problem into a business chance. It¡¯s not anyone who can do that.¡±


    ¡°She truly is a blossoming talent.¡± Gorgoff said with a nod before looking toward Gaz, who was also receiving his share of hugs from the other female merc. ¡°And that¡¯s quite a nice work from the professor¡­ But I still don¡¯t understand. Why did you keep him behind a fake wall?¡± The business man asked confused, and Sorius nodded while pointing at the window.


    ¡°You see, that window, even being dark enough to make it difficult to see from outside, it still allows you to see the outlines of the people inside.¡± He said before pointing towards Gaz. ¡°And his shape would become really obvious for a spotter, and they might notice that there¡¯s something strange with the decoy meeting we had the security set up on the twentieth floor.¡±


    ¡°And why would that be?¡± Gorgoff asked, still a bit confused.


    ¡°Ya see, if we simply stood there, we would be just like your other security guards.¡± Ross said while lifting a finger for emphasis. ¡°But with a robot slash animal walking around, dey could find dat dere¡¯s something weird going on here.¡±


    [But staying in there since the morning was also boring as hell.] Gaz complained in his mind.


    [It wasn¡¯t THAT bad.] Ekis complained slightly.


    [Tell that to Ruby. She¡¯s the one that suffered the most here.] Gaz said in a slightly mischievous tone.


    ¡°Oh! I think I see it now.¡± The troll said with a nod. ¡°Then, that shot you made there¡­¡±


    ¡°Was to get their spotter.¡± Sorius said with a nod. ¡°In case they had a second strike team ready.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± The troll said with a nod. ¡°Not only did you protect the Professor, you also helped us greatly here by avoiding a potential disaster.¡± The troll said with a sigh. ¡°Well, I guess I own you a payment, right?¡± He said with a smile, and Sorius nodded seriously. ¡°It¡¯s a shame we probably won¡¯t see you again. I¡¯ve never seen the professor so cheerful before.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about that.¡± Volgoff said with a nod. ¡°The little princess hired us to be her bodyguards for some time.¡± He said with a gentle smile as he patted the sleeping girl, only to be almost bitten by a raging Lunn, who looked like a wolf protecting her pups.


    ¡°Oh, she did?¡± The businessman asked. ¡°Well, that¡¯s wonderful then! The professor really took a liking to you! Let¡¯s go, then?¡± He said finally to Sorius, who nodded before walking away with the troll, leaving the remaining group alone in the room.


    ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go to the truck.¡± Ross said cheerfully while leaving the room.


    Lunn nodded while carefully picking Ruby up in a princess carry and humming happily as she carried her. Except that her nose started bleeding again when the little girl moved around a bit so that she could be a bit more confortable, and ended up leaning against the elf.


    Luckily, Gorgoff made sure to take all the guards away, so no one saw that scene of the so respected professor.


    Gaz followed behind them while being scouted by Yllivia, who left her hand atop his body all the time while walking. The group all got at the elevator, but Ross stopped just as he was about to go in and called the other elevator.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go an take a look at the triggers. Want to see if there¡¯s a ¡®friend¡¯ amongst them.¡± He said while waving at the group. ¡°Be with ya in a minute.¡±


    And with that he left the group who was going downwards towards the garage. Once there, Volgoff quickly opened up the truck and let all the others in while he went to the cabin. Lunn gently put Ruby down into one of the beds.


    But the moment that Gaz tried to go to his usual corner on the trailer, he was stopped by Yllivia, who held him by the neck with a hug. When he tried to get away, he saw as the lynnian pouted slightly.


    ¡°Beep?¡± He asked a bit confused.


    ¡°Beepy spending too much time with Ruby. You stay with me today.¡± She said while dragging him back and hugging the robot¡¯s body.


    [Seems like Ylli is jealous.] Ekis said in a wry tone.


    [As a man, that statement leaves me with a conflicted feeling, since she only sees me as a pet...] Gaz said with a dry laugh as he was pulled away by the jealous lynnian.

 23.exe - Girls_day_out.mkv

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! And for any doubts, blame word.


    SO, this is the SECOND chapter I wrote today. The first one, when I was about to get to the last phrase before finishing it, Word decided to crash on me. I thought, ¡°Hey! It auto-saves, so what could go wrong?¡± Guess what, it didn¡¯t. lost EVERYTHING. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. So yeah¡­ At least I feel that it''s better than the first one...


    BESIDES, tomorrow is lazy-day, so don¡¯t expect chapter. I MIGHT make an Insania SS or Xtra chapter, but don¡¯t expect too much. Sunday will have a chapter for sure, but will still decided between Insania and Reinstall, so no promises there.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    Ruby woke up groggily, taking all of her energy just to not start going back to sleep again when she had such a comfortable feeling all around her. Yet, after much mental effort, she finally managed to convince herself of standing up and leaving the bed, only to notice that something a bit more physical than simple laziness held her in place.


    She pulled her head back from Lunn¡¯s embrace, and somehow managed to wriggle her way out of her arms. A quick look around and she noticed that she was back at her room on her home, and a quick look down made her notice that, for some reason, she still had the dress she used back at the meeting.


    Tilting her head confused, she didn¡¯t really have enough mental strength to think of such complicated stuff, so she ended up shrugging it up and leaving that aside. Slowly stepping away from the bed, the young morfian made her way to the bathroom, where she started washing her face to wake up a bit more. Just then, she felt as the mental link connected.


    [Good morning princess.] Beepy said cheerfully.


    [Morning Ruby!] Ekis also greeted her.


    [Morning guys¡­] She replied still sleepy. [Why me still dress?]


    [What?] Gaz asked confused.


    [I think she¡¯s asking why she¡¯s still wearing her dress.] Ekis said.


    [Oh! That!] Gaz said nodding. [You were groggy all the rest of the day and didn¡¯t have a chance to change your clothes before passing out for the night.] The robot said. [And I¡¯m pretty sure that Lunn passed out due to blood-loss, but I can¡¯t be sure.]


    [You are Sooo cute when you are sleepy!] Ekis said cheerfully.


    [Hmm?] Ruby asked confused, the meaning behind the two¡¯s words passed straight through her head unprocessed due to the sleepy feeling. At least she now knew why she was still wearing the dress, so it wasn¡¯t all that bad.


    Finally washing her face to help wake up a bit more and brushing her teeth, she looked at her reflection on the mirror, seeing herself reflected. She lightly frowned while staring her reflection, and used her free hand to lightly spread out her eye-lids.


    ¡°They¡­ Are strange again¡­¡± She murmured lightly to herself, as she saw her iris border extending slightly into a shape that lightly resembled a gear, and if she didn¡¯t know better, she would say that it was spinning very slowly. Yet, the moment that she blinked, it was back to normal.


    She sighed loudly, already getting used to this scene in the morning. Even if she still didn¡¯t know the true meaning behind it, she was almost sure that it was somehow Ekis¡¯ influence, and if these last couple of days with the goddess in her head taught her anything, was that she was just as likely to understand what was happening as Ruby herself. Still, she didn¡¯t feel anything different, so she decided to leave it alone.


    Finishing that, she left the bathroom and started looking around the house for breakfast. Finding a table done but no one to share with, she quickly sat up and started serving herself of some bread, butter and coffee.


    [Sorius left to scout the city yesterday. Get to know streets, contacts and such. Ross and Volgoff took the truck¡¯s cabin to get some things from their old base and also take the other trailer and the jeep.] Gaz explained to her.


    [I see¡­ But shouldn¡¯t they stay around in case of another attack?] She asked confused.


    [Ross said that the blacktriggers wouldn¡¯t attack anytime soon. Their client got found-out and they got hit hard twice in a short time.] Ekis said.


    [He thinks that they will lay low for some time. At least in this city.] Gaz finished for her.


    [I see¡­ Then only Yllivia, Lunn, Mirage and we are left?] She asked and Gaz nodded. [I see¡­ Where are you right now?] She asked him.


    [The garage. Ylli is trying to find something to paint and she wants me to stay close to her.] Gaz said with a shrug.


    [She¡¯s still jealous that he have been spending all that time with you.] Ekis said with a playful laugh.


    [I see¡­ I¡¯ll go greet her then.] Ruby said as she washed her dishes and made her way down from the kitchen towards the garage.


    Once there, she saw as the lynnian stared at a blank canvas while frowning slightly. She had discovered that she liked painting from a few exchanges when they were travelling, but she hadn¡¯t really seen her paint before, so she looked at the cat-girl with some curiosity.


    Without taking her eye away from the canvas, Yllivia greeted her briefly, to which Ruby responded in kind.


    But, when Yllivia noticed the young morfian approaching to take a look at her work, she turned to her, and suddenly a spark appeared in the back of her eyes.


    ¡°Wait here.¡± She said while holding Ruby by the shoulders.


    Before she could even understand what was happening, Yllivia had already darted off upstairs. Ruby looked confused towards beepy, who was laying on the ground nearby, but he also looked at her confused. Their confusion only intensified when Ylli brought back a chair from the dining room and the mask that Ruby used during the meeting.


    She put down the chair right in front of the canvas and then put the mask on Ruby, making her sit down on the chair, keeping her back straight up. Meanwhile, she had Gaz sit close to her just like a real dog, his front legs standing straight while he rested on his back ones.


    Yllivia nodded satisfied before running back to the canvas and take out her paint-case and the brush. In less than a second she was already painting the scene on the canvas.


    Meanwhile, mirage strolled on the garage, and seeing her owner standing still on the bench, the cat playfully made her way to ruby and leapt on her lap before starting to find a good position and nap away. Ruby blinked surprised for a moment before dejectedly starting to pet the cat robot.


    ¡­


    ¡°Can¡­ Can I move already, Yllivia?¡± Ruby asked with a worried tone, as she felt her legs cramping up.


    ¡°Just a bit more.¡± She replied while looking at the morfian once again and nodding before turning back to the painting.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    [Hey, Beepy, a little help here?] Ruby asked to the robot.


    [I¡¯m pretty sure he went on sleep mode one hour ago¡­] Ekis said with wry tone.


    [He¡­ he didn¡¯t.] Ruby said while looking at the robot. No wonder she felt that it was strangely quiet for the last hour. [That bastard!]


    Ekis laughed dryly for a few seconds, not knowing how to react to that.


    Thankfully, after a few more minutes Yllivia nodded proudly and told Ruby that she could move, and after three long hours of standing still, Ruby finally slumped down on the seat before finally raising herself. On the way to walking towards Yllivia, she gave a quick kick at Gaz¡¯s legs, making him fall face-first into the ground, waking up.


    Once she finally saw the image, Ruby blinked surprised for a moment.


    ¡°Is¡­ That me?¡± She asked confused.


    [¡­? Oh, that¡¯s your professor mode.] Gaz said with a lazy voice as he approached and saw the image.


    ¡°¡­ Am I really that scary?¡± Ruby turned to Yllivia, who simply nodded confused by her reaction.


    In the image, was the serious, cold and slightly scary looking professor, wearing her mysterious mask and gorgeous red dress. She had the look of someone extremely wise and knowledgeable, and seemed to be staring right through the soul of the person appreciating the painting. Besides her was an extremely proud looking wolf-robot with his chest sticking out proudly and a small robotic cat laid on her legs.


    [You get ridiculously scary when you go all professor mode.] Gaz said with a nod.


    [It¡¯s like a different person altogether!] Ekis agreed with him.


    [It¡­ can¡¯t be like that right?] Ruby asked confused. [I mean¡­ I¡¯m getting nervous just by looking at the image! It can¡¯t be that bad.]


    [Of course not, silly!] Gaz said cheerfully. [The real thing is two or three times scarier.]


    Ruby felt a mix of fear and embarrassment at that statement. She knew that she got a bit more serious whenever she was preparing to start negotiating, but she never expected for it to be that scary.


    ¡°Deary...¡± Lunn said with a hesitating tone while coming downstairs.


    ¡°Lunn?¡± Ruby asked worried at her strange tone.


    ¡°Say, when¡­¡± Lunn hesitated for a moment, but in the end she shook her head. ¡°Say, when will the money from Arcon-tec arrive? The one from your recent work?¡± The pink-haired elf asked worried.


    ¡°Hmm? It takes around one or two months, why?¡± Ruby asked confused, and the elf sighed.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ve made some calculations and¡­¡± The elf looked worried for a moment. ¡°With what I see, there¡¯s a chance we might go into the red in a couple of weeks.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we just get paid?¡± Yllivia asked confused. ¡°By Ruby and Arcon?¡± Lunn nodded at those words, but she still took on a deep sigh.


    ¡°You see, Ylli. Even with those two payments, I fear that we might have some expenditures in the short term.¡± The elf said. ¡°We didn¡¯t have THAT much money to start with, and not only does Ross¡¯ armor takes some money to keep running, we might have to buy some equipment they can¡¯t bring over, and that¡¯s not even counting on our regular maintenance. Besides, even if this house have all the appliances we need, when it comes to food, cleaning products and other consumables, we are completely dry, so we might have to buy that too.¡± Lunn said while shaking her head. ¡°All that we have right now is what we brought in the trailer, so it¡¯s not all that much and might need to be restocked soon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bad.¡± Yllivia said with a nod and a slight frown.


    ¡°Then, what will we do?¡± Ruby said worried. ¡°Do we wait for Sorius to come back? He should have a plan, right?¡± But much to her surprise, Lunn smirked at the idea while holding a laugh.


    ¡°Nah. Contrary to what he looks, Mr.Seriouspants is horrible with handling money.¡± Lunn said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m usually the most responsible when it comes to money.¡±


    [Says the girl that went on a shopping spree.] Gaz said with a laugh, and saw as Ruby nodded.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you take us to a no holds barred shopping spree?¡± Ruby asked.


    ¡°How did you think I saved so much money?¡±


    [She have a very good point¡­] Gaz said with a wry tone.  [Well, at least I don¡¯t have to worry too much about that. Besides when resupplying the needles, I barely need to eat!] He said cheerfully.


    [No money also means no more parts for upgrades, you know?] Ruby said with a taunting tone.


    [THIS IS HORRIBLE! WE NEED TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM ASAP!] Gaz said in a worried tone while standing up.


    ¡°So, do you have an idea?¡± Yllivia asked and saw as Lunn nodded.


    ¡°Yeah. We could go, all four of us, and take a job at the nearby mercs HQ!¡± Lunn said cheerfully.


    ¡°Four? Ruby too?¡± Yllivia asked confused.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Lunn said while tackle hugging Ruby. "It''s safer if she''s with us. Besides, she¡¯s so cute! She¡¯s like our team¡¯s mascot!¡± She said cheerfully.


    ¡°No. Beepy is the mascot!¡± Yllivia said in a surprisingly competitive tone as she hugged the robot.


    ¡°No. No, our princess!¡±


    ¡°Beepy!¡±


    ¡°Princess!¡±


    [I¡¯m¡­ Not sure how to react about this.] Ruby said with a wry smile.


    [Welcome to my world¡­] Gaz replied with a sigh.


    ¡°Then both are our mascots!¡± Lunn suddenly said and Yllivia nodded in agreement.


    ¡°We going now?¡± Yllivia asked after some time. ¡°Then I¡¯ll change gear.¡± She said before turning towards Ruby. ¡°You too. Dress isn¡¯t good for movement.¡±


    ¡°Okay then. ¡± Lunn said with a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll write a note in case Mr.Seriouspants gets back before us. Afterwards, we can go on our girl¡¯s day out!¡± Lunn said with a cheerful tone.


    ¡°Girl¡¯s day out?¡± Ruby asked confused, and saw as Yllivia shared her feeling.


    ¡°Yeah, all of us left in here are all girls, so it¡¯s our girl¡¯s day out, right?¡± Lunn asked while clapping her hands.


    ¡°What about Beepy?¡± Yllivia asked confused.


    ¡°Hmm! I¡¯m pretty sure Beepy is also a girl at heart.¡± Lunn said, leaving the three looking at her confused. ¡°I mean, back when we were on our shopping spree, Beepy seemed to be enjoying herself, right? That¡¯s no doubt a girl''s trait!¡± Lunn said cheerfully.


    For a moment, the whole atmosphere around the room froze, as the elf¡¯s information was slowly digested by the trio. Finally, after a few seconds, Beepy stood up and walked away


    ¡°Beepy?¡± Ruby asked confused, which seemed to be the same feeling as the other two.


    [I¡¯ll bury my head in the ground in shame for a moment. Call me when you are ready.] He said in a perfectly serious tone as he left the garage.


    Ruby had to use all of her energy just to don¡¯t burst out laughing like a madman.

 24.exe - New_objective.dat

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! The start of another arc!


    SO, some people recommended this for me to do, and I decided to use it. Everything in here was supposed to have entered the last chapter. Thanfully, It didn¡¯t, so I manage to put everything I want while keeping a reasonable word count, so, I¡¯m happy.


    BESIDES, I plan on using this arc to maybe expand a bit more on the biology of this world or something. Later on I plan on talking more about the twin¡¯s background (which they still don¡¯t have) or maybe on Yllivia¡¯s. Still not sure.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    [Beepy, we are ready! Where are you?] Ruby asked through their link.


    She heard a loud sigh coming from Gaz and held herself so that she wouldn¡¯t laugh at his situation. Soon after she spotted him, walking around the outside of the house while slowly approaching her and the other girls, who had all changed into streetwear. Ruby was back into her so loved hoodie and Yllivia was using her usual yellow jacket and pants. Lunn was wearing her sci-fi blouse she wore on the first time Gaz met her and looked sullenly at the other two.


    ¡°Why did you put those clothes? The ones I left out for you were so much cuter!¡± The elf pouted.


    ¡°Practical and discreet.¡± Yllivia said briefly with a nod, and Ruby followed her example.


    ¡°I like my hoodies more too.¡± She said while hiding behind the Lynnian.


    ¡°But¡­ You looked so cute!¡± Lunn said while trying to get closer to ruby, but the morfian hid herself while walking around the cat-girl. ¡°Come here so that we can get you some better clothes¡­¡± She said while trying to approach Ruby.


    ¡°No!¡± Ruby replied while running away from her by keeping Yllivia between them.


    [Geez, quite a scene here.] Gaz said playfully as he approached them. Ruby, being the smart girl she was, used that as a chance to distract the elf.


    ¡°Oh, beepy¡¯s here!¡± Ruby said while immediately jogging towards him and away from the elf. Yllivia frowned a bit at the scene, but quickly followed the morfian.


    Gaz approached the Lynnian so that he could avoid getting her jealous. Yllivia lowered her hand and petted the robot gently, but frowned a bit once she noticed something on her hand. Taking it away from the robot and staring at it, she saw as some brown grains on her hand, as well as some light brown stains on beepy¡¯s head.


    She crouched down and examined his head a bit intrigued, before sighing loudly and using the sleeve of her jacket to clean the dirt stains from his head. Ruby looked a bit confused at Gaz while he silently let Yllivia do her job.


    [I did say that I was going to bury my head in shame¡­] He told her without moving his gaze away.


    Ruby smiled a bit awkwardly at his words, but didn¡¯t say anything else. Somehow, it seemed that Yllivia didn¡¯t actually accept Lunn¡¯s logic, but there was no need to tell Beepy about that. A small payback for all that teasing she had suffered. She even managed to convince Ekis to stay quiet for some time just to tease him.


    [So, how are we going to the city?] Gaz asked after some time of letting the cat-girl clean him.


    [Hmm? We are¡­ Well¡­] Ruby stopped, slightly confused before turning back to Lunn and Yllivia. ¡°How are we getting to the city? Didn¡¯t Volgoff take the truck with him?¡± She asked the others.


    ¡°No need to worry, deary!¡± Lunn said with a kind smile as she hugged Ruby. ¡°I checked it earlier, but there¡¯s a bus that pass nearby every three hours.¡± The elf said cheerfully.


    ¡°Is there?¡± Ruby asked surprised. ¡°I had no idea¡­ How long until the next bus then?¡± She asked innocently.


    [I¡¯d say that if we don¡¯t run right now, we are going to miss it.] Gaz said plainly.


    [Why are you jinxing it?] Ruby asked with a wry smile.


    ¡°Well, seeing the clock, I would say¡­¡± The elf suddenly froze as she looked at the time on the clock imbued on her gloves. ¡°Seven¡­ Minutes?¡±


    [Called it.] Gaz said as the Lunn paled and Yllivia looked at her annoyed.


    ¡°Sorius is bad with money. You are bad with time.¡± She said dryly.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± The elf murmured lowly with an ashamed look.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we hurry then?¡± Ruby asked worried and the two others nodded before running.


    ...


    ¡°Why the hurry, lasses?¡± The old dwarf asked as he opened the door of the bus to the three girls and their robots, who arrived from a side-road.


    The first two, the lynnian and the elf seemed fine even after the short run, but the younger morfian was breathing heavily as she supported her weight on the large robotic wolf. The driver frowned a bit at the sight of the robot, worried that he might end up attacking the other people riding on the bus, but said nothing since he had no basis besides the robot¡¯s appearance.


    ¡°We¡­ Made it¡­¡± The young morfian said between breaths as she waited for the elf to pay for their passages. ¡°Almost¡­ Lost¡­ it¡­¡± As she said those words, she let herself fall on the top of the wolf, who seemed surprised for a moment before nudging her to the bus.


    ¡°Is that one tamed?¡± The dwarf asked as he took the coins from the Elf.


    ¡°Beepy¡¯s docile.¡± The lynnian nodded while looking at the bus. ¡°Is it always this empty?¡±


    ¡°Nah. But the blacktrigger¡¯s blockade did a hit on the business.¡± He answered with a shrug. ¡°So, what does three ladies and two robots are doing in here, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±


    ¡°We are going to the city to get some job.¡± The pink haired elf said while taking a nearby seat. ¡°We are quite tight on money, and our friends are all out right now.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ And what kind of job would the three of you get?¡±


    ¡°Secret.¡± The lynnian said briefly, making the dwarf nod satisfied.


    With that, all of them were already on the bus, with the morfian somehow coerced into sitting on the elf¡¯s lap while the Lynnian sat besidest them. The robot dog sat on the corridor and even seemed to yawn a bit before laying his head on his legs. The cat robot quickly looked around and settled close to the bigger robot after finding it¡¯s owner unavailable.


    The scene seemed to attract the attention of the other four or five passengers, who all smiled wryly at the young girl¡¯s embarrassment and looked curious at the strange wolf.


    The wolf seemed to notice this, as it raised its head and looked back at then, tilting its head in confusion for a moment before turning back to the girls. For a moment he stood quiet before laying down once again, going back to what seemed a sleep.


    Taking his focus out from the girls¡¯ group, the driver quickly went on his way back to taking the bus to the city. Even if he had stopped to get these girls in the middle of the way, getting to the station late isn¡¯t something that he could afford to do. After all, he had a reputation as a bus driver to keep.


    ¡­


    [That¡¯s¡­ Surprising¡­] Gaz said in their link.


    [Is it really?] Ekis asked confused. [I mean, they did look kind of scary when I saw them.]


    [Yeah, I know, but in my world, some wolves did bond with the humans, becoming tamed animals.] Gaz said with a frown.


    [Wait, you tamed wolves?] Ruby asked surprised, to which Gaz nodded in his mind.


    [Well, technically they were called dogs, but yeah.] He replied.


    [But¡­ They are so scary and dangerous! Why would anyone want a tamed wolf?] Ruby asked confused.


    [Well, after a few years of selective breeding, we ended up with a bunch of cute dogs.] Gaz stopped to think for a moment. [And they made excellent hunting partners, so it¡¯s not like it was that bad.]


    [Cute wolf?] Ekis asked while stopping to think. [I¡­ can¡¯t see that¡­] She said with a sigh.


    [Take a look at my memories, there should be some of them in there.] As he said that, he felt as the goddess agreed and started to look around his memories from his world in search for something. [Taking the cue on things that have and don¡¯t have¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen flying vehicles ever since I arrived¡­] As he said that he turned towards Ruby, who was still squirming on Lunn¡¯s lap, trying to get free, but unable to escape the elf¡¯s grasp.


    [Well¡­ I don¡¯t think that flying would be that safe¡­] She said after some time. [Not until we develop something better and safer than hot-gas lift.]


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    [You don¡¯t have anything better than that?] Gaz asked surprised, and Ruby nodded discretely. [I mean, why don¡¯t you use something from a flying robot or something? I¡¯m sure you could guess something with that¡­]


    [Hmm¡­ Well¡­] As Ruby tried to put into words her thoughts, the bus came to a stop.


    She quickly shot up from Lunn¡¯s lap and made a motion for the others to follow her. Lunn and Yllivia followed her almost immediately, but Gaz had to wake up the napping Mirage who refused to go away from the spot near his furnace.


    Sighing loudly as the cat woke up briefly, only to jump to his back where she fell asleep once again. For a world that didn''t have any tamed dogs, the robotic cats were surprisingly similar to their organics counterparts.


    Beepy jumped out of the bus and immediately felt as the people looked at him in wonder, as not only were wolves seen as wild animals, but him also being a robot made him an even bigger mystery.


    [Waah! So cute!] Ekis said in a cheerful voice after some time of disembarking. [They look nothing like the wolfs we saw!]


    [See, I told you they were cute.] Gaz said proudly. [And you still haven¡¯t said what you were going to say.] He told to Ruby, who was pointing a direction to Yllivia and Lunn.


    [Wha? Oh, sorry.] She said while taking a step ahead and guiding their group. [You see, the clearwings are the largest flying robots around. Anything bigger than that gets too heavy to lift flight!] Ruby said to the confused Beepy.


    [Clearwings?] He asked her.


    [Yeah, those small robots with circuits on the wings. The ones that Yllivia uses to get the ink for her paintings.] As she said that, Gaz took a few seconds to link it to the ones he recalled as Cyberflys.


    [Really? I mean, there¡¯s nothing better than them?] Gaz asked surprised.


    [Nope. After all, robots are too heavy to fly around, being made of metal and so on¡­] Ruby said as if stating the obvious.


    [But¡­ Why can¡¯t you use the blimps to fly then? Shouldn¡¯t the sky be safe since all the robots are on the ground?] Ekis asked confused.


    [The sky? Safe?] Ruby asked surprised before shaking her head. [Look, just like the sea is inhabited by fishes, the ground is led by the robots, the sky is owned by the Skrylks.]


    Gaz frowned a bit at her words, after all, since a long time ago he had understood every single words thrown at him, yet suddenly there was a single untranslated word in the middle. He quickly waited for Ekis reaction, but she also seemed confused.


    The two were about to ask Ruby what her words actually meant, but before they could, Lunn made a question of her own.


    ¡°Deary¡­ Are you alright?¡± Lunn looked worried at the morfian.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ruby blinked, getting caught by surprise by the sudden question. ¡°W¡­Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ You¡¯ve been nodding and shaking your head for quite some time now¡­¡± The elf said, making the girl blush in surprise.


    She was so engrossed on their talk through the link that she didn¡¯t even notice the fact that she was actually moving her head physically. Embarassed, since for others it would seem that she had gone crazy, Ruby hid her hot face on the hem of Lunn¡¯s blouse. The elf became confused by her sudden reaction, but it wasn¡¯t her who was about to complain.


    ¡­


    The merc¡¯s building was very similar to the one that Gaz had seen back at their old city. Many tables with rough looking men and women who watched patiently a series of screen, waiting for a job that fit their tastes to appear. The girls arrival attracted their attention for no more than a couple of seconds before they all went back to doing whatever they were doing.


    Only a few gazes lingered on the two robots following the group, but even these didn¡¯t last much longer. It was common courtesy of being a merc to not stick your nose where you don¡¯t belong, so even the most curious one ended up minding this simple unspoken rule in the end.


    Yllivia and Lunn, both somewhat used to these stares didn¡¯t seem all that bothered, but Ruby and Gaz, who were new to the whole business still had some trouble getting used to them, so they quickly hastened their pace to get closer to the two more experienced mercenaries. Mirage¡­ Simply ignored everything and kept sleeping soundly.


    Lunn reached a nearby attendee and gave him what looked like a badge of sorts. The attendee took it and gave it a quick check, before nodding and taking it with him to one of the inner rooms. The group waited patiently, so Gaz took upon this chance to make the question that had been bugging him.


    [So¡­ What¡¯s a Skrylk?] Gaz asked and he felt as Ekis agreed with him.


    [Huh? Didn¡¯t you have those on your world?] Ruby asked confused.


    [No? It didn¡¯t even got translated, so I have no idea on what you are talking about.] He told her.


    [Really? Well¡­ They are kind of like¡­ really, really big birds with four wings. There¡¯s a lot of them on the sky and they can fly forever if they feel like it¡­] Ruby said while focusing a bit. [They also attack anything flying on sight, so we are unable to even get close to them before our ships being destroyed. From what I heard, they are really dangerous.]


    [Geez, so you don¡¯t have airplanes nor anything like that?] Gaz asked with a mental sigh.


    [Airplanes?] Ekis and Ruby asked confused. Seeing their reactions, Gaz let out another sigh, but this time his voice sounded a bit more cheerful.


    [Okay, I have a new long-term goal.] He said with a mischievous tone. [To make our search easier, we have to make a flying robot body.]


    [A¡­ FLYING ROBOT?] Ruby asked surprised. [That¡¯s impossible! Simply impossible!] She said while staring openly at him. [The pieces are simply too heavy and¡­]


    [Ekis, search around airplanes and helicopters in my head, that should give you some inspiration. I¡¯ll leave the planning to you.] Gaz said, interrupting Ruby¡¯s rants.


    [Okay. I¡¯ll work on it.] She said confidently.


    [Oh, and Ruby. Do you know some robot with a really sensible electromagnetic sensor?] Gaz said while turning his attention back to her.


    [Huh? Yes¡­ But¡­]


    [Good, make a list of them for us, since that¡¯s our only lead to find Ekis¡¯ body right now.] He said and saw as the girl nodded, still a bit confused. [Oh, that guy is coming back. Let¡¯s see what we¡¯ve got.] He said, noticing that the attendant came back from the inner room, the sudden change leaving Ruby unable to follow up with her question.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve verified your identity, miss Lunn.¡± The guy said while giving her the badge back. ¡°Is there something else I can help you with?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ We¡¯ve been looking around for a fast job that can get us some money.¡± She said while leaning forward on the counter, leaving the man troubled on where to let his eyes linger, thanks to her cleavage. ¡°Nothing too big¡­ Have any suggestion?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well¡­¡± He said while looking back to the screens. ¡°We could use some help with¡­ Huh¡­ An escort to Orrhan.¡± He said, but Lunn shook her head. Escorts could take too much time. ¡°Then¡­ Raiding a certain gang warehouse?¡± This time, she considered for a moment, as it was something that she and Yllivia could do, but since they had Ruby with them, she declined for now. ¡°Well¡­ Gathering information about a gearbox?¡±


    This time, the elf didn¡¯t even have enough time to consider the job before Yllivia and Ruby both took a step forward and slammed their hands on the counter.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take it.¡± They said in synchro.


    ¡°Huh? Girls?¡± Lunn asked, surprised with their sudden change, and when the two turned to her, she paled, as she saw their eyes burning with a strange fury.


    [Huh¡­ Not wanting to stop your rage moment¡­] Gaz said a bit scared.  [But what¡¯s a gearbox?]


    [That¡¯s¡­] Ruby said while calming herself a bit. [The name given to illegal robot arenas¡­]


    [Robot arenas?] Gaz asked, as the words took a few seconds to sink in.


    [Yeah¡­ Where they put two robots to fight¡­ Usually, until death.] Ruby said with some anger seeping through her words.


    [That¡¯s¡­ Cruel!] Ekis said shocked.


    However, Gaz had another reaction to that.


    [Hmm¡­ Interesting¡­]

 25.exe - Baiting.r4

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Get ready for the fight, buddies!


    SO, I plan on updating this for a couple more days before going back to Insania. Probably we¡¯ll have a chapter by Monday. But for now, you¡¯ll have to deal with some robot fight-club, so I hope this can please you.


    BESIDES, I should add something else here, but since I have nothing too big to talk about, let¡¯s just pretend that I made some kind of important/funny announcement here, okay?


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    ¡°So, our mission is to find it and gather information about the gearbox.¡± Lunn said as she took the rest of the group out from the building. ¡°Capturing the mastermind is simply optional, so we don¡¯t need to worry about that. We only need to find out where it i¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll stop them.¡± Yllivia said dryly, receiving an agreement nod from Ruby.


    The morfian, however, looked strangely sullen, often looking away from beepy while pouting. Neither of the two older girls had any idea of why she was acting like that, but since it looked like she had no intention of speaking anything, they left her alone.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Lunn said while clearing her throat. ¡°As I was saying, we firstly we need to find the place where the gearbox is happening.¡± Lunn said. ¡°From what we¡¯ve got, it seems that there will be a championship either today or in the following days, so we need to act quickly.¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do then?¡± Ylllivia asked while frowning. ¡°We don¡¯t have any leads.¡±


    ¡°Actually, we do have.¡± Lunn said with an extended finger and a proud face. ¡°We know from what the job tells us that: One, this gearbox in particular isn¡¯t all that big. Two, it¡¯s really recent.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± Yllivia said after some time thinking.


    ¡°I think she means that the Gearbox will be in the slums.¡± Ruby said while thinking for herself, seeing the lynnian¡¯s confused reaction she quickly cleared her throat before explaining. ¡°I mean, gearbox are either made by the high class for entertainment, or by crime-lords, to fund their other business. Since this one is small, it can¡¯t be made by the high class since they like grand things, and since it¡¯s new, it can¡¯t be on anywhere with movement, as they need more money to buy those kinds of place and bribe the authorities.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Yllivia said with a nod. ¡°Ruby is smart.¡± She said with tone of admiration, which made the young girl blush slightly.


    ¡°Well, we might know where they might be, but that doesn¡¯t mean we know exactly where they are.¡± Ruby frowned while turning to Lunn.


    ¡°Well, that might be true, but we do have a way to find it out!¡± She said cheerfully as she turned towards Gaz.


    [I¡­ Don¡¯t like where this is going¡­] Gaz said


    [That¡¯s what you get for liking the Gearbox.] Ruby said angrily.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hello young man¡­ That¡¯s quite the robot you have there!¡± The young boy stopped, surprised by these words and looking around, until he found it¡¯s owner.


    It was an old troll, with grey fur coating and skinny limbs that didn¡¯t match his race usual characteristics. He wore a tattered trench coat and had a simple hat on his head, somewhat hiding his face.


    The shady man slowly started approaching the well dressed young man walking near the slums, being followed closely by a large and dangerous looking wolf-like robot.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± The young man said, his voice surprisingly effeminate. ¡°But he¡¯s a bit too dangerous at times¡­ Wrecked two other robots at my house. Father is mad at him.¡± The hooded boy said while sighing loudly.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The man said while trying to hide his interest, not that he was doing a good job, though. ¡°And¡­ What were those robots?¡± He asked while eyeing the robot with greedy eyes, noticing on how the robot looked at the owner confused and tried to push him forward.


    ¡°A hord-hound and a wild leaper.¡± The boy said with a sigh.


    ¡°A¡­ Hord-hound?¡± The man gulped surprised. ¡°Class two?¡±


    ¡°Nah, class three. The biggest we had.¡± The boy said in a wry tone while scratching his head. When the robot looked at him confused, he simply lowered his hand to pet it. ¡°We are waiting for father to cool down before going back.¡±


    ¡°Class¡­ three¡­¡± The man said in shock before holding back a large grin that wanted to spread on his face. ¡°H... Hey boy¡­ D¡­ Do you want to¡­ *gulp* sell me¡­ The robot?¡± The man took out a small money sack from the inner side of his jacket and almost shoving it at him. ¡°I¡­ I can give you¡­ This much¡­ All of this!¡±


    The boy backed away, surprised with the man sudden aggressive offer, doing so, the robot also followed him innocently, probably thinking that he was playing around. But the old man didn¡¯t take it all that well, and he took another step forwards while almost shoving the money at the boy¡¯s face.


    ¡°Err¡­ Mister?¡± The boy asked, his voice sounding even thinner than before.


    ¡°Look¡­ I need that¡­ I need that robot! I¡­¡± he said while trying to find his words. ¡°Just¡­ Just give it to me! And you can have all of this! Just¡­ Gimme gimme gimme, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­ Beepy isn¡¯t for sale.¡± The boy said while taking another step back and waving his hand.


    ¡°I DON¡¯T CARE IF HE¡¯S NOT FOR SALE!¡± The man shouted while shoving the moneybag on the boy, the impact taking out all the air from his lungs. ¡°I NEED THIS ROBOT! HE¡¯LL¡­ HE¡¯LL MAKE ME RICH! I CAN GET EVERYTHING I LOST ON THAT DAMNED RIGGED GEARBOX!¡±


    ¡°Gearbox?¡± The boy asked confused as he got up.


    ¡°You¡­ You don¡¯t need to know, brat!¡± The old man said as he grabbed the robot by the head. ¡°Now come with me, you damned mutt. Get me back my money for me.¡±


    As he said that, he tried pulling the robot with him, who started to make force against his advance towards the slums. Sadly, it seemed that the robot was a bit weaker than the troll and he slowly started to lose ground.


    The boy quickly got up and threw the coin-bag at the old man while trying to pull the robot back with him. But the troll was barely fazed by his attempts and quickly shoved the boy away once again, this time with way more strength, before finally putting his hand around the robot¡¯s body and lifting him.


    For a moment he almost lost balance, as the robot was heavier than what he expected for a spark, but after getting used to it, he turned away and started to make his way to the gearbox so he could throw his new robot on the arena and quickly regain his money.


    ¡°Hey! Where¡­ Are you¡­ Taking beepy?¡± The boy asked while raising to his knees, the old troll turned to him angrily once again and shouted.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I already told you brat. You don¡¯t need to know!¡± He said angrily.


    ¡°Actually, we do need to know.¡±


    The troll turned surprised when a new voice sounded near him. Its owner was a pink haired elf, who was being followed closely by a lynnian girl.


    ¡°By the way, we won¡¯t let you get away easily after hurting our sweet mascot, okay?¡± The elf said with a scary smile that made even the old troll shudder.


    ¡°Who¡­¡± He started, but was interrupted when the lynnian took a sudden step forward.


    ¡°Lights out.¡± She murmured inexpressively. After that, there was darkness.


    ¡­


    ¡°Some guys were flirting with us.¡± Yllivia explained to the bruised Ruby. ¡°I wanted to knock them out. Lunn didn¡¯t let me.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Then it¡¯s alright.¡± The morfian said as she moved a little, feeling a bit sore before going back to playing with Mirage in her lap. ¡°It wasn¡¯t anything bad at least. And we actually got the right one this time, and not a random thug¡­ The worst part was that horrible smell of beer.¡± [I kind of wanted to beat that guy, though.] She added discretely.


    [He¡¯ll have it worse with Lunn, though.] Gaz said lazily while laying on Yllivia¡¯s lap, receiving his petting session. [She looked really pissed off. I actually pity him.]


    [It¡­ It can¡¯t be that bad, right?] Ekis said worried, but was received with a simple awkward feeling from the two.


    The group waited a bit longer as Lunn did whatever it was that she was doing with the old and scared troll. Not that they had no idea on what was happening, it was just that they thought it would be better to not think too deeply into it so as to protect their mental wellbeing.


    After some time, said elf came back from the dark alley where she was with a wide smile in her face. Seeing that, the two girls slightly shifted away from her with some waryness.


    ¡°Humm¡­ Why did you two do that?¡± She asked confused.


    ¡°¡­Nothing.¡± ¡°No reason.¡± They said almost immediately while looking away.


    ¡°Wha¡­?¡± Lunn asked confused before widening her eyes. ¡°Wait, what did you think I was doing there?¡± She asked shocked.


    ¡°We understand.¡± ¡°Necessary evil.¡± The two said while still avoiding her gaze.


    ¡°Whaaa! Sweetie is afraid of me!¡± Lunn said shocked while a few tears gathered around her eyes.


    ¡°What did you get?¡± Yllivia¡¯s voice cut through the scene, leaving Lunn shocked for a moment with the coldness of her colleague.


    ¡°Won¡¯t you even offer some consolation to me?¡± She asked in a teary voice.


    ¡°No.¡± The lynnian replied coldly.


    [That¡¯s what you get for calling me a girl.] Gaz said angrily while looking at the elf. Ruby had to cover her mouth and fake a yawn so that the others wouldn¡¯t notice her smirk.


    ¡°Muu¡­¡± Lunn sulked while going back to hug Red. ¡°Well, I got the place and the date.¡± She said sullenly. ¡°And we were lucky, because they were about to relocate, so they are throwing a big tournament this time to commemorate. Even the boss will be there for the finals.¡±


    ¡°Then, we strike at the finals.¡± Yllivia said with a nod.


    ¡°What about the robots?¡± Ruby asked worried.


    ¡°We save some, boss will be warned and survive to start again. But take the boss down, and lose some robots, he won¡¯t be able to start again.¡± The cat-girl said briefly.  ¡°There¡¯s no way to do both. At least not now.¡±


    Hearing those words, Ruby sighed loudly while leaning back against Lunn¡¯s body. The elf gently patted her head as to appease the young girl, who gladly let her do so as she mulled over that fact. After a few seconds, she finally sighed again before taking the cat out from her lap and raising herself from the ground.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then¡­ We don¡¯t want to miss it, right?¡± Ruby said as she sighed in defeat. Lunn smiled gently at her for a moment before following the girl.


    Gaz and Mirage followed the group from behind, keeping an eye and sensor out for any possible followers.


    Following the directions that they got from the troll through unthinkable means, they quickly reached a dark corner of the city that wouldn¡¯t surprise them if they were to be attacked suddenly for no reason whatsoever.


    Which was exactly what happened, much to the assailants sadness, as the two girls who didn¡¯t even let the robot have a go to test his new body quickly shot them down. They reached the place they got from the old troll and quickly directed themselves to an inconspicuous door by the end of the alley.


    A quick knock made the door open slightly and a dwarf woman peeked from the slit.


    ¡°What do ya want?¡± She asked, clearly annoyed.


    ¡°We want to take a look at the show.¡± Lunn said with a smile. The dwarf frowned and shook her head.


    ¡°Sorry lass. We are packed right now.¡± She said as she took a peek at the group.


    ¡°Whaa? There¡¯s not even one spot left?¡± Lunn asked surprise, and the dwarf shook her head, Lunn became visibly depressed, but when she felt two stares boring holes through her back she quickly went back. ¡°We don¡¯t mind if we simply have to stand around¡­ Can¡¯t you do something about it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry. Orders from the boss.¡± The dwarf said, leaving a slightly scared Lunn, but then her eyes stopping on the two robots. ¡°But¡­ if ya want to enter the arena with these boys¡­ we could use a few more competitors.¡± She said.


    Yllivia blinked surprised before frowning slightly, and just as she was about to complain about it, Gaz took a step forwards while filling his chest proudly. She stared at the robot for a short moment, before sighing loudly and taking a step back.


    ¡°Be careful, beepy.¡± She murmured to the robot while petting him gently.


    ¡°Beep!¡± He replied proudly while wagging his tails.


    [Are you sure, Gaz? This sounds dangerous!] Ekis said worried, but Gaz still kept confident.


    [Yeah. This is our chance to get a look at other robots and how they fight. Maybe even score a few other parts.] He said proudly, before turning to Ruby. [Is that a problem for you?]


    [Beepy.] He heard her say in a tone almost like the one of defeat. [Can I ask you to at least try to not kill them?] She asked worried.


    [Then I¡¯ll need some help to avoid hitting the cores, okay?] Gaz told her, and she visibly brightened with a small smile.


    [You can leave that to me.]


    As they had their small talk, they made their way inside the gearbox, guided to the participants area so they could get Beepy ready.

 26.exe - First_rule.exe

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! Let the carnage begin!


    SO, Today we begin to explore some of Gaz¡¯s new body fighting technique. For those who read Insania, they already know this, but for those who don¡¯t, let me tell, I¡¯m a fan of monster hunter, so don¡¯t find it strange if I use some of their moves as inspirations during this arc, okay? (Example: Zinogre¡¯s back jump for enrage.)


    BESIDES, I¡¯m open for some suggestions on what kind of fighting techniques Gaz can use with his CURRENT body, so feel free to recommend it, okay? Just as reminder, but he also have some needle launchers on the main body, the tail is where there are most per square centimeter, though.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    Following the dwarf woman, the group was led through a series of twisting corridors through which they could hear the sounds of the spectators cheering wildly to an ongoing match. The sound of metal clashing against metal barely managing to stay louder than the crowd, with occasional beeps and screeches sounding as one or another robot were taken down.


    They soon reached a room where a single scrawny elf stood behind a desk with a rudimentary book in front of him. He sighed loudly when he saw the group coming in before opening the book.


    ¡°Is that dog the one entering?¡± The elf said in a clearly annoyed tone. Yllivia gave a quick pat on Beepy¡¯s back, to which the elf nodded. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Quite an interesting robot. Class¡­ Two? Almost three¡­¡± He looked a bit longer at Gaz, who stared back at him confused. ¡°Meh, class three is too full. Two it is, then.¡± He started scribbling it down on the notebook. ¡°So¡­ What¡¯s his name?¡±


    ¡°Beepy!¡± Yllivia answered immediately, receiving a curious look from the man before nodded with a shrug.


    ¡°Model?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Yllivia looked confused with this question, so she turned to Ruby.


    ¡°Unclassified.¡± Ruby said briefly. ¡°Wolf-like model, calm disposition, but aggressive if aggravated. Spark archetype.¡±


    ¡°...Unknown then.¡± The man said before scribbling down on the paper. ¡°There, done. Now, if you go through that door there and wait¡­¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ We don¡¯t know much about the match¡­ Can¡¯t you give us some more details?¡± Lunn asked.


    ¡°Look, lady, that¡¯s not my job, if you didn¡¯t know it before, it¡¯s not my pro¡­¡± The elf stopped once he saw  that the pink haired elf was leaning forward, her eyes slightly teary and giving him a light pout.


    ¡°Pretty please?¡± She asked in a slightly sad voice, making the elf attendee gulp down, slightly uncomfortable as he felt his body heating up.


    ¡°Well¡­ You see¡­¡± He gulped down once again. ¡°We first separate the robots by class based on size¡­¡± Lunn smiled gently at that before nodding, making the man blush before going on. ¡°Then¡­ We start by¡­ making a battle-royale, until only a few are left¡­ From there¡­ Is the usual tournament format... No repairs allowed, besides for ammo supplies¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see¡­¡± Lunn said with a cheerful smile. ¡°Then, what about the prize? What do we get if our robot wins?¡± She asked in an innocent tone as she sat on his table.


    ¡°We¡­ Still don¡¯t know. The boss said that he would show it once the tournament begins. But it seems to be big.¡± He said.


    ¡°Hmm, I see¡­¡± She said while crossing her legs. ¡°And when does our fight starts?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ The class one battle-royale is going on right now¡­ Then¡­ ten minutes?¡± He gave his best guess.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Thank you deary!¡± Lunn said while blowing him a kiss, making the elf go completely red.


    Afterwards she quickly made a signal for the others to follow her to the indicated room. When the other two looked at her confused, she made a sullen face and gave them the tongue.


    ¡°That¡¯s what you get when you look cute.¡±


    The other two shook their heads tiredly while looking at the elf. After a while they reached the room that the elf had indicated to them, going through the door they found themselves in the middle of many other people, all of which were carrying cages with some kind of robot inside.


    Different from the mercs building, the moment they came in, all of the eyes gathered around them, some of them lasted for a bit longer, before going to the robot following them closely. As they walked through the area filled to the brim with all different kinds of people and robots, the stench of sweat, oil and steam filled their noses.


    Lunn frowned a bit at the smell, but Yllivia and Ruby seemed unfazed as they walked through the crowds. Some of the men in the crowd started to make catcalls at the girls, but soon gave up when they noticed that they were barely reacting to it. Then, their focus turned towards the robot following them.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even use a cage!¡± A random morfian said with a laugh. ¡°That tamed little bugger won¡¯t last a second against my destroyer!¡± He said with a loud laugh as a robot rumbled furiously on the cage beside him, only to be shocked into submission.


    Yllivia frowned at his words and clenched her fists, but managed to keep her calm and not give the man a new hole to breath.


    [Should I threaten him?] Gaz asked.


    [No¡­ It¡¯s better if they underestimate you.] Ruby said briefly.


    [All these robots¡­ They are so¡­ Angry¡­] Ekis said in a sad tone.


    [Right? This is why I hate this¡­] Ruby said as she clenched her fist, but as she did that, she felt as Gaz smiled mischievously.


    [Hey¡­ Is mirage cloaked right now?] Gaz asked while still feeling the cat¡¯s weight on his back.


    [No, why do you ask?] Ruby asked confused.


    [Have her cloak herself, then scout the area. Maybe we can find a way to free all the robots at once. Would make a great distraction.]


    [That¡­ Could work.] Ruby said while glancing to the small cat, but before she managed to relay the orders, she bumped into someone and would have fallen back if it wasn¡¯t for Gaz quickly using his tail to catch her.


    ¡°Hey, midget. Look where you are going.¡± Said a large man, unlike anything Gaz had seen before. ¡°What if you had hit Brutus there?¡± He said pointing towards a large cage behind him, covered with some kind of dark cloth.


    The man was as large as a troll, being a bit shorter, but much more muscular. His body was covered in what looked like thin green scales and his head had a reptilian form, but a pair of frills popped up from his the area between his neck and the cheeks. Between the fingers on his hand was a thin membrane that looked like it was made precisely for swimming.


    He wore a large leather jacket that barely did anything to hide his muscles, as well as similar pants.


    ¡°Sorry sir¡­¡± Ruby replied briefly in a scared tone while using Beepy to get herself back up. [An Athlian? Here?] She asked confused.


    [What¡¯s that?] Gaz asked confused. [I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen them before¡­]


    [Yeah, they usually are closer to the coast, where there¡¯s more humidity in the air. It¡¯s very rare to see one around here.] Ruby quickly explained.


    ¡°And what is that you have there?¡± The man asked when he saw Gaz, he examined the wolf-robot for some time, before snorting and laughing. ¡°A weakling. So much armor to look like a real beast, yet no weapons!¡± The man said while laughing loudly. ¡°If he even survives the first round it will be a miracle already!¡± Ruby and Yllivia widened their eyes before frowning. ¡°But, he¡¯s still interesting.¡± The man said with a wicked smile as he made a motion to another one behind him. ¡°Let¡¯s do it like this, I¡¯ll give the little girl change for a candy, and you leave the robot here with daddy?¡± He said as he took a few coins from his buddy and showed it to Ruby.


    Ruby looked at the man angrily before slapping the money away from the mans hand and storming away in fury. The man started laughing at her and Lunn had to hold herself back so that she wouldn¡¯t be the one to smash his face in this time. Not that Yllivia was faring much better in her own self-control, though.


    Sighing loudly Ruby made her way towards a free seat and threw herself on it, pulling the cloak above her head and sighing annoyed.


    [Meh¡­ I¡¯ll give that guy¡¯s robot a good beating when I fight him.] Gaz said nonchalantly.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    [You sound so sure of yourself¡­] Ruby commented dryly.


    [Do you have a plan?] The goddess asked.


    [Nah¡­ Doesn¡¯t hurt to be optimistic, though.] Gaz said while shrugging.


    [We won¡¯t fight against him, anyway.] Ruby said, and when she noticed the duo¡¯s confusion, she explained. [The cage¡¯s size. I¡¯d say his robot is a class three at least. We are on class two, so we probably won¡¯t get to fight.]


    [I see.] Gaz said with a sigh before laying on the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let the big ugly Athlian bother you, sweety.¡± Lunn said while hugging her.


    ¡°Beepy is strong.¡± Yllivia said with a nod.


    Ruby smiled awkwardly at their attempt to cheer her up, but still felt thankful for it.


    ¡­


    [Try to not get hurt.] Ekis said.


    [Will do¡­] Gaz replied with a sigh.


    [And try to not hurt them too much¡­] She said again.


    [Aye aye¡­] He replied once again, but without much energy.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! Now that the battle royale for the class one have finished, shall we start the much awaited class two battles?¡± The morfian announcer asked as she walked around the arena. ¡°Even if class three is bigger, class two easily have a higher number of participants, so we can be sure that chaos will ensure! It¡¯s so big, but so big that we had to split into four battles because we wouldn¡¯t fit all the robots in here!¡± She said while raising the crowds favor.


    ¡°You guys know the rules.¡± The second announcer said while standing in the middle of the room. ¡°The battle will go on until only eight are left standing. The same to the next match. No repairs allowed. If a robot attack once the battle is over, he¡¯s disqualified, so make sure to keep them in tight leashes!¡±


    ¡°And now that the boring part is over¡­ Let¡¯s get ready to release the little metal friends.¡± The morfian said as she made her wait out of the arena, followed by the lynnian.


    ¡°In five¡­¡± The man said. As he did that, Gaz leaped to the border of the arena, where he could see as many of the other competitors were holding their cages ready to open.


    ¡°Four¡­¡± The girl said. Gaz took a look at the arena. It was wide, large enough to hold three trucks like the one from Volgoff, it was covered with a thin layer of sand through the ground.


    ¡°Three¡­¡± The male announcer said.  Gaz flexed his legs but didn¡¯t activate the pistons, as there was no need to show all his cards.


    ¡°Two¡­¡± This time it was the morfian. A quick glance back and Gaz saw that only Ruby and Lunn were left with him, already cheering him on his battle, Yllivia and Mirage nowhere in sight.


    ¡°One¡­¡± Both said together. The crowd went mad with shouts in expectation for the following carnage.


    ¡°GO!¡±


    Gaz leapt from the place where he was, landing on the ground near where he was. All around him, the other robots started swarming the place, aiming for the center where two other strange robots were already duking it out.


    [Preserve yourself firstly. No need to get hasty.] Ruby told him.


    [I know, I know¡­] He said in a bored tone as he moved away from the chaos that was the center of the arena.


    Making his way around the outer side, he managed to count around a total of around forty or something robots, all of which were trying to attack each other in a mad frenzy. There were simple robots that were pretty much toy-cars with spikes, other were more animal like, like a boar or something.


    Due to the commotion going in on the middle of the arena, most of the spectators failed to notice the wolf who simply kept walking around the border of the arena, watching carefully while letting the others attack each other.


    A robot suddenly broke free from the chaos that was the brawl and prepared to take some distance while making an open curve on the other side of the arena. The strange yet familiar act caught Gaz¡¯s attention as he stared at it for some time. Grinning when he saw the owner of said act, he quickly started a dash towards it.


    The leaper, with it¡¯s head stuck close to its treadmill bodies saw as the wolf approached. Seeing such an easy prey far away from the other robots, it quickly reselected its target.


    [Hey¡­ isn¡¯t that¡­ An axe?] Gaz asked surprised.


    [What do you mean?] Ruby asked confused.


    [The leaper, it have an axe equipped besides the tread.] He said quickly.


    [They modded him?] Ruby asked confused before shaking her head. [Not the time. His core is near the back of his body piece. You should be able to incapacitate him by breaking the treads.]


    [I know. Leave it to me.]


    As he said that, Gaz quickly picked up his pace just as he saw the leaper activating its pistons to jump highly. Seeing as how he was right on the path of the robot, he made a quick sideways jump, avoiding it as it fell down and made the axe do a full spin forward so as to cleave the wolf.


    Landing on the ground besides it, Gaz quickly turned back to him and lifted his right claw, bringing it down with minimum piston-assisted power on the leaper¡¯s left tread. Although it wasn¡¯t enough to sever it completely, the damage was enough so that it wouldn¡¯t be able to move again so soon.


    Just as he finished that, Gaz heard the sound of steam pumping up behind him and received a warning shout from Ruby.


    In a swift movement, he twisted his body and leapt while spinning his body in the air, landing behind where he had been before while still facing forward. In front of him now laid the boar-like robot that had two strange boxes added to its side and large front legs that reminded him of an excavator, being wider and bigger than the feeble hindlegs.


    [That¡¯s a wasteland burier.] Ruby said almost immediately. [Core is right behind the head. I don¡¯t know what those boxes are, but you should be able to stop him by breaking the front legs.]


    Gaz nodded briefly while taking a quick step forward towards the confused boar, that kept looking around in search for a prey. With a quick leap, he landed atop of the robot, who surprisingly didn¡¯t fall to the ground thanks to the large legs.


    Gaz raised his right claw upwards and brought it down on the box to his right. Since he didn¡¯t know what it was, there was no reason to leave it there.


    The Boar quickly reacted to that and shook himself violently, making Gaz fall down from him in the direction of the wall. He quickly got up in time to avoid as the boar brought down the large excavator-claw down. It dug into the ground with a scary ease, but this gave Gaz enough time to react by twisting his body while swinging his tail.


    Putting the tip of the thick armor-piercing needles out, he made a tail-slam on the joint of the arm, almost destroying it entirely.


    [God dammit! Now there¡¯s a dent in my tail!] He complained.


    [Not the time!] Ruby said hurriedly. [It¡¯s doing something with the other box, watch out!]


    Gaz blinked surprise as he noticed the box opening up and revealing six small round things that seemed oddly familiar.


    [Those are bullet shells! Watch out!] Ekis shouted just in time.


    Gaz crouched so that the shotgun shells in the box were aimed above his head. Still, he felt pain as one of the shells still managed to take out his right ear. Growling in pain and anger, he quickly got up again and bit the box while resting his paw against the boar¡¯s body and yanking the box out.


    Throwing it out, he gave one last look at the clockwork boar, that was squirming in the ground while trying to lift itself, but with only one good leg left resting beneath his body it was unable to do it. Gaz turned his attention back to the robots in the middle of the arena, seeing that their numbers were already dwindling.


    [With you two here, it kind of feels like I¡¯m cheating¡­] Gaz said with a sigh.


    [We are on an underground illegal arena. I couldn¡¯t care less about cheating.] Ruby said angrily as she watched the carnage happening.


    [Fair enough.] Gaz said as he heard the announcer shout cheerfully that the match was about to end.

 27.exe - Modding_101.pdf

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! No fights today, but some groundworks for the next chapters!


    SO, I ended up making the arc a bit more complex than what I initially expected, I hope I can keep this up and not make any silly mistake here¡­ Oh well¡­


    BESIDES, tomorrow is Insania day and we shall see Yuu soon! Hooray! But back to Reinstall, I¡¯m thinking on making the next arc be either the twin¡¯s or the troll¡¯s backstory¡­ I wonder which one would be more interesting right now¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    ¡°And that¡¯s it guys! Stop your bots because the damage is already done!¡± The male announcer said with an exaggerated manner so as to rile up the crowd.


    ¡°And what a wreck was this!¡± The girl said cheerfully. ¡°I can barely recognize the remains of most robots! Is that a Clork there? I can¡¯t tell!¡±


    ¡°I have no idea. But we can at least see who¡¯s left!¡± The lynnian said while pointing at some robots ¡°Look, that¡¯s the Breaker, pretty much intact from all of that. There is¡­ What are we calling him? Horf? It seems that he went fairly well in that fight too!¡±


    ¡°But look at Calamity! I doubt he can survive the next rounds with that kind of damage!¡± The girl said while running her eyes through the arena, before suddenly stopping. ¡°Yohn¡­ Where¡¯s the favorite? I can¡¯t find the Scavenger anywhere!¡±


    ¡°Are? What do you¡­ Oh! There he is! At the corner of the arena!¡± The male announcer shouted while pointing to a corner of the room.


    For a brief moment, the whole arena went quiet as they followed the guy¡¯s finger, and what they saw only made the crowd become even more surprised for a moment.


    In a quiet corner of the arena, far from where all the chaos was happening, stood three robots. One was a leaper with one of its treads crunched in such a way that would probably leave it unable to participate in the following matches. The other one was the large excavator-legs boar, whose both shotgun shell boxes had been yanked off and had one of its legs twisted in a weird shape. Both robots were squirming around while trying to move, yet unable due to the damage dealt to them.


    Besides the two robots was a surprisingly realistic robot wolf, laying on the ground lazily and surprisingly intact, except for the lack of an ear and a small dent on his tail. Noticing the attention, the robot lifted his head from his leg and looked around, before turning to the two broken robots behind him.


    ¡°Wha¡­ WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? THE FAVORITE OF THIS FIGHT HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT?¡± Yohn, the announcer said surprised. ¡°What the hell happened here? How did we miss this? Did someone see what the hell happened in this place?¡±


    At his words, the whole crowd started looking around for someone who could explain the happening, and the first one to actually move was a dwarf, who jumped into the arena and ran towards the boar.


    ¡°Scavenger! What happened to ya? How could the strongest die like that?¡± The dwarf said in an overly dramatic manner.


    ¡°Err¡­ I don¡¯t think he¡¯s dead... Can¡¯t you see he¡¯s moving?¡± The female announcer said with a wry smile.


    [So, I had an epic battle against two robots, and no one saw a thing?] Gaz complained.


    [Well, The main area was much more chaotic, so it got people¡¯s attention.] Ruby explained while looking around. [And you managed to at least leave two more alive¡­ So it¡¯s a beginning, I guess¡­] She said with a sigh. [Come¡­ I¡­ Don¡¯t want to stay here longer than the necessary¡­] Ruby said sadly.


    Gaz nodded to himself while lifting his body. The dwarf near him flinched in surprise, almost as if waiting for the wolf to attack him, but once he noticed it was barely paying any attention to him, he calmed down, and instead began frowning.


    But right before passing the dwarf, the wolf suddenly made a full turn and approached him. Just as the dwarf was about to jump back in worry, the wolf bit one of the gun-boxes he had ripped out of the boar and went back to his way out of the arena. The dwarf started shouting at him to give back the part. Gaz once again turned to him, making the dwarf flinch as the robot stared right at him.


    ¡°Beep!¡± Was all what he said.


    Then he turned back to his way, ignoring the shocked dwarf while leaping out of the arena with his tail wagging happily.


    ¡­


    ¡°What was that, guys? It seems like our favorite was beaten by a dark horse?¡± Gaz heard as the announcer said.


    ¡°And what kind of robot was it? I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before! And I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen any mod on him either!¡± The female announcer said.


    ¡°Truly a mistery, Luri! Just what is happening here? How come I¡¯ve never heard about him before?¡± The man asked.


    However, by the time they had started discussing this, Gaz was already long gone from the pit, as well as with Ruby and Lunn, whom he was following. Dodging through the crowd until they reached the exit of the place, Gaz felt as Ruby eyed him accusingly.


    Gaz gave her a confused and innocent look back to her, which only made her sigh loudly while they searched for a place to sit. From what they got, there was still the other three class two battle-royales to happen. After that, came the class one tournament. Class three wouldn¡¯t have a battle-royale as there were only eight of them, and they wouldn¡¯t all fit into the arena at the same time anyway.


    The finals would be left for later, so that they could all be witnessed in a row, and it would be then that the boss would appear to witness. This basically meant that Gaz would have to survive until the finals either way.


    But they would also have to think of a way to manage all these people around, since it could end up getting dangerous once they made their move onto the boss of this place.


    None of that even passed on Gaz¡¯s head, though.


    [You seem to be enjoying yourself¡­] Ruby said coldly.


    [Well¡­ It¡¯s fairly fun to fight, I must say¡­] He said with a mental shrug. [And maybe we can use this to get me some upgrade.]


    [An upgrade, huh?] She said with a sigh.


    [Hmm¡­ You didn¡¯t seem all that unhappy with the whole drone thingy, why are you so unhappy this time?] Gaz asked after some time.


    [Well¡­ It¡¯s one thing to kill them in self-defense or in a true hunt. I understand that¡­ But¡­] She gave a quick look back to the arena. [Here they are killing them for fun, and no other reason whatsoever. I hate it¡­] She said sadly.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Yeah¡­] Ekis said in agreement. [Besides¡­ some of them seems to be¡­ Hurting¡­]


    [Hurting?] Gaz asked confused, and he felt as Ruby also had the same reaction.


    [Yes.] She replied. [Those modifications¡­ If the robot isn¡¯t willing nor ready for them, it can be painful. Really painful¡­] At her words, Ruby¡¯s eyes widened in worry as she looked around the room. [Mirage is fine, she willingly let you modify her, and it also fit her.] Ekis said, calming the young morfian.


    [Let me guess¡­ It doesn¡¯t hurt me because I¡¯m special?] Gaz said in a playful tone.


    [Pretty much¡­] Ekis said in a wry tone.


    [Okay, jokes aside¡­] Gaz said while taking a look around.  [What did the other two think of the plan of freeing the robots?]


    [They liked the idea.] Ruby said. [But since the tournament will be at its end, there probably won¡¯t be many robots left, so Yllivia is looking for something else we can use together with it.] Ruby said with a quick nod. [I also took a good look at the cages they use here. I think I can break them easily if I get the chance.]


    Gaz nodded satisfied.


    After looking around for some more time, they found a place to rest while they waited for their turn to come. From what they saw, it should take around one or two hours before it was time to go back to the arena. During this time, Yllivia came back and reported her findings.


    From what she said, it seems that the area have a very basic fire extinguishing system that they could cause to activate easily. They could use that at the same time as they freed the robots to increase the chaos a bit, besides that, she also found a few guarded areas that she couldn¡¯t enter without gathering attention, however, she was almost sure that she could hear the sounds of motors from inside. This could mean that they probably keep some other robots in store for when they are needed.


    ¡°But¡­ I also heard about this tournament being rigged.¡± She said lowering her voice. ¡°Some of the spectators said this, just like the troll.¡±


    ¡°Rigged? How so?¡± Lunn asked confused, but Yllivia simply shook her head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I also heard that the Athlian seems to have bribed the boss so that he can win his tournament.¡± She said lowly, to which Lunn nodded. ¡°There may be some of them on our too.¡± As she said that, she took a quick look at Gaz, who listened everything attentively. ¡°If they do something to beepy¡­ I won¡¯t stand still.¡± She said briefly. She was affirming, not asking.


    Ruby and Lunn nodded at her words, both agreeing with her.


    Yllivia immediately left once again to take a look around after getting an idea of when it was beepy¡¯s next fight, Ruby and Lunn stayed where they were so as to not arouse too much suspicion as if they were looking around. Some minutes later, there was an announcement on the speakers around the room.


    ¡°Greetings, my guests.¡± Said a charismatic voice. ¡°With this last battle royale, we have brought an end to the preliminary phase of this tournament!¡± He said cheerfully.


    ¡°That must be the boss¡­¡± Lunn said shortly, and Ruby nodded.


    ¡°We had some surprising results, other not so much. But in the end, the most important is, by now only the strongest robots are left to fight in the arena!¡± The voice said. ¡°So, we can be sure that from now on, only the most bloody, or should I say oily? Fights will go on! We will have metal clashing, blades slashing and guns shooting in our little arena! But, as it was promised, the survivor will receive a secret prize that we have been hiding up to now!¡±


    The boss stopped to give some time for the message to sink in and to also build up some expectation.


    ¡°Firstly, the first places will receive a hefty sum of two thousand credits! That¡¯s two times the usual prize!¡± With those words alone the crowd began to get even more agitated. ¡°And that¡¯s not all, we also have a prize for individual category! Class one will receive a rare Locklead motor!¡± The crowd once again riled up, but Gaz could only tilt his head confused. ¡°Class two will get a brand new Orsian Gyroscope pump!¡± Ruby¡¯s eyes widened slightly at this mention. ¡°And class three will get a Throvehorn generator!¡±


    [So¡­ What does that means?] Gaz asked when the announcement stopped for a moment.


    [Those prizes¡­ They are quite rare... Too rare for something of this size¡­] Ruby said with a frown.


    [So, you think that there¡¯s something even dirtier under the dirt rug?] Gaz asked, and Ruby nodded slightly.


    ¡°But, there¡¯s still one thing left, gentleman!¡± The man said once again over the speaker. ¡°The champions will also have a chance to take on one last bout amongst themselves to compete for the supreme prize that will leave all of you with your mouths watering!¡± He stopped to give them some time to sink in with the last piece of news. ¡°Two hundred grams of the ultra-rare, Foehorn aberrant headpiece alloy!¡±


    ¡°How¡­ HOW DO THEY HAVE THAT?¡± Ruby asked shocked.


    ¡°What happened, sweety?¡± Lunn asked, surprised with Ruby¡¯s sudden reaction.


    Noticing that her outburst attracted the attention of the surrounding people, Ruby quickly hid herself behind Lunn before speaking.


    ¡°That¡­ That robot ceased to exist ten years ago from what I know.¡± She whispered to the elf. ¡°It¡¯s said that the headpiece of an aberrant was an electricity conductor without equal.¡± She said lowly, to which the elf nodded.


    ¡°That¡­ Seems expensive.¡± Lunn said shocked, to which Ruby nodded.


    ¡°With what he announced as a prize, we should have enough to buy a small house easily.¡± Ruby said. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Not something they would give away as a prize within a place like this.¡±


    Lunn¡¯s eyes widened before nodding while biting her fingernails. She seemed to think for a moment before nodding and turning to Ruby.


    ¡°Look, when Ylli come back, I¡¯ll have her stay with you.¡± The elf said briefly. ¡°I¡¯ll try to see if I can find Mr. Serious pants somehow. We might need his help with this.¡±


    Ruby widened his eyes briefly before nodding.


    [Say¡­ If that alloy is so incredible¡­] Gaz commented on the link. [What if we made the sensor with it?]


    Ruby¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, before staring at him for a few seconds. She nodded lightly while saying only a few words.


    [That¡­ Could work¡­]

 28.exe - Rotors.jpeg

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Some ideas for a future body!


    SO, this chapter is fairly short (1.8k words) for 2 reasons, one is that if I started writing the fight right now, it could end up dragging for too long, and second, is that I¡¯ve been absorbed in reading a LN, so focusing is a bit hard at the time. (^.^¡¯) Anyway, next chapter is tomorrow and luckily i shouldn''t drag it too much before posting.


    BESIDES, I¡¯ve been planning on making the next arc tell the backstory of some characters, so I¡¯ve been wondering whether I should make it about the twins or the driver? What do you guys think?


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    [Can¡¯t you be a little more worried about yourself?] Ruby asked annoyed as she saw Beepy¡¯s nonchalantly napping around.


    [And do what exactly?] He asked back. [Besides, I already have some idea of what is going to happen, so there¡¯s no need to worry too much about it.]


    [Huh? What do you mean?] She asked back, tilting her head slightly in confusion.


    [Well¡­ There are lot of stories I read about that have this kind of tournament setting.] Gaz said cheerfully. [It usually ends up in a situation where both the strongest ends up being put on opposite groups and only meet up at the finals, fighting only cannon fodder meanwhile. But since we will strike at the finals, there¡¯s no need to get worried!] Gaz explained his infallible logic to the uneducated girl.


    [And how do you know that it will go just like the story?] Ekis asked confused.


    [He have no idea.] Ruby said annoyed.


    A few minutes had already passed since Gaz had survived the battle-royale, and now the group was waiting patiently to Gaz¡¯s turn to come as the class one battles slowly came to an end before the finals.


    However, the group now consisted of Ruby, Yllivia and Gaz, as Lunn had left the building to try and contact Sorius, while Mirage had disappeared somewhere at the orders of the morfian. This meant that, once the one who was protecting the small girl left, some men tried to coerce her into giving them the robots, only to meet face-to-face with an angry Yllivia.


    A line formed in front of the male¡¯s bathroom during that break, and soon they stopped coming altogether again.


    Yllivia also seemed to enjoy her time with simply having Beepy close to her, as she kept petting him non-stop. Not knowing what was going on inside the lynnian¡¯s mind, Gaz became surprised once she looked around and frowned a little before gently poking Ruby.


    ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± Ruby asked confused.


    ¡°Make Beepy smaller next time.¡± Yllivia said briefly, making both Ruby and Gaz blink surprised.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She made a silly sound. ¡°Hmm¡­ Why would you want Beepy to be smaller?¡± She asked confused.


    ¡°Easier to carry. Cuter too.¡± The lynnian said her surprisingly simple reason, but seeing the robot¡¯s surprised reaction she quickly said. ¡°I like the actual body. Just want a smaller one to cuddle sometimes¡­¡±


    While Ruby and Gaz looked at her surprised for a moment, the morfian started giggling lightly at the request, while Gaz simply shrugged before lowering his head once again. But surprising the two, another person gave an opinion on that matter.


    [That is actually a good idea!] Ekis said cheerfully, sensing the other two confusion, she quickly explained. [Well, firstly, we could get Gaz a spare body for when he is damaged, secondly, since it¡¯s smaller, it¡¯s also lighter, so we could use it as a prototype for your flying body!] She said cheerfully.


    At her words, the two who had found the opinion mostly amusing, now stopped to think on what the goddess words actually meant.


    [Should we use the actual form or make a beast hybrid?] Ruby asked.


    [Hmm, I think an hybrid would be better.] Gaz said.


    [Why?] The goddess asked.


    [I mean, the original shape would probably be better at reaching higher speeds, but it would be pretty much useless in every other situation.] Gaz said while projecting what he knew through the link.


    [True¡­] Ruby said after analyzing what he knew. [But how do these things actually fly? They can¡¯t even flap wings!]


    [That would be aerodynamics¡­] Ekis said. [It¡¯s a bit complex, so I¡¯ll try to explain later, but basically, moving forward also makes it move upwards through the wind.]


    [So, this means that, unless it move forward, it can¡¯t fly?] Ruby said with a frown. [And it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s very agile on earth¡­]


    [That¡¯s our problem.] Gaz said. But what if we used this?


    As he said that, the image they shared in their links changed, and instead of the streamlined, almost arrow-shaped image, was one of a much, much larger T-shaped vehicle, with two large wings and two large rotors of monumental scales. As Ruby became shocked that a vehicle of that size could actually move, she noticed that the data still hadn¡¯t finished.


    Due to Gaz¡¯s lack of actual knowledge on how it worked, the image lacked actual data on how it worked, but it showed as the rotors spun in an axis, slowly tilting upwards so that the airship could actually lift off.


    The simple, yet complex design seemed to enchant the girls, who put up a silent surprise tone. However, Gaz didn¡¯t stop there, and slowly he tried to change the image into one where the ship had only rotors and no wings, making it so that it could alter its movement solely on the rotors positioning.


    [We could use that for low speed flight¡­] Ekis said with a nod.


    [Hey, what about adding that first one¡¯s motor for when you enter full-speed flight mode?] Ruby said, receiving an approval Ekis, but Gaz¡­


    [That may not be a good idea. That thing¡¯s fuel is downright insane.] He said with a wry smile.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    [Leave that to me. I could reprogram your core to make the needed fuel, you will need to eat a lot more, though¡­] Ekis said quickly.


    [Still, what animal are we using for the body?] Ruby asked. [The only animals I can think of that would fit would be the Skrylks, but I don¡¯t see how we would apply these technologies to their bodies¡­]


    [Hmm¡­ True. We would need an animal with large wings to make up for the rotors¡­] Gaz said with a pensive tone.


    ¡°Ruby?¡± Their heated discussion was stopped when the girl that accompanied them said that. Raising their eyes to Yllivia, Ruby tilted her head confused. ¡°You suddenly looked strange.¡± She said briefly.


    ¡°Oh? Sorry¡­¡± She said a bit embarrassed. ¡°I was just thinking on what we were going to do¡­¡± She said briefly, to which Yllivia nodded before looking away.


    ¡°The first part just finished. Beepy¡¯s turn should come soon.¡± She said briefly, making both the morfian and Gaz blink surprised.


    ¡°Huh? Already?¡± She asked surprised.


    ¡°Hmm. You were focused for quite some time.¡± Yllivia said briefly, making Ruby blush slightly at her blunder. The lynnian smiled gently at that, but said nothing more.


    As Gaz finally got his focus back on the real world, he noticed when a small and slim troll entered the room. Similar to the ones he knew, this one was covered in fur, but it¡¯s body was much slimmer and somewhat¡­ Curvy? It still looked stronger than any other non-troll in the room, though.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the contestant¡­ Beepy?¡± The female troll asked.


    Hearing the name, all the other people in the room started giggling at the ridiculously sounding name, making Yllivia frown slightly while Ruby held back her laughter.


    However, the moment that the Blackhorse of the class two rose up, all the laughs stopped as they looked at the mysterious wolf that had completely wrecked one of the favorites in the preliminary rounds.


    [Laugh at me, will you.] Gaz said annoyed. [I¡¯m going to beat the beep out of your robots!]


    ¡­


    [So¡­ You were saying?] Ruby asked in a smug tone. [Something about¡­ Meeting on the finals and so on?]


    [Shut up, will ya?] Gaz replied furiously while Ruby and Ekis laughed at him.


    ¡°In this corner, the black horse of the pre-liminary, the unknown threat, weighing something we have no idea since we don¡¯t keep track of that, but with the power to overpower one of the favorites of the tournament!¡± The female announcer said while riling up the crowd.  ¡°His name is none other than Beepy!¡± As soon as she said that, all the spectators burst into laughter.


    ¡°But don¡¯t let his name fool you.¡± The other announcer said while shaking his head. ¡°Somehow he managed to defeat not only the scavenger himself, but also another robot that came at him, and he was pretty much intact in the end! So this little pup may not be all bark and no bite!¡±


    The crowd once again started cheering loudly. Cheering or booing, Gaz couldn¡¯t be quite sure since he wasn¡¯t focusing much on their talk.


    ¡°And, on the opposite corner, the legs of doom, he who crushes, the undefeated champion of the last two tournaments, the favorite of the crowd.¡± The girl said while turning to the opposite corner, where Gaz could see an evil looking Lynnian carrying a cage. ¡°Don¡¯t let its fragile appearance fool you! His body has yet to be harmed this time, and his weapons are all lock and loaded!¡±


    ¡°The one all of you have been waiting for! The blue doom bringer! Made of pure steel and no mercy! THE HUGGER!¡± The male announcer finished for his companion. ¡°His legs have crushed more than dozen of robots, the modded guns have pierced the core of even more! And even then, his armor is almost piercing-proof! Truly a cheat robot that we have no idea how it got in here, but since he¡¯s amazing, we have nothing against it!¡±


    That was Gaz¡¯s current situation. Not only his idea that he would only meet the favorite on the finals crumble, he was actually going to fight him on the very first round! Grumbling angrily on the link on how it shouldn¡¯t be like that, Gaz had to endure as both Ekis and Ruby mocked him. Yet, Yllivia looked confused as he looked annoyed.


    ¡°Beep?¡± She said while tilting her head.


    ¡°Beep¡­¡± He replied briefly, as if saying that it was nothing.


    ¡°So, Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for the clash that is about to happen?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°Who do you think that will win this fight? Will the unbeatable champion be the winner? Or will the Blackhorse surprise us once again?¡± The man said while dragging the girl out of the arena.


    As he did that, Gaz couldn¡¯t help but notice as four elves quickly took position in one corner of the room. If something, he would say that they looked like judges or something, looking intently to the arena.


    But at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but remember what he heard before.


    [Ruby, keep a look out for those judges.] He said briefly.


    [Huh? Why?] She asked.


    [Do you remember how some people were saying that the tournament is rigged?] Gaz asked as he stared at them.


    [Oh¡­] She said with a nod. [I see¡­ They weren¡¯t there on the previous rounds, right?] She asked with a  frown, and Gaz nodded.


    [I¡¯d say that in a chaotic fight like that is harder to actually rig it, so they left it alone¡­] Ekis said with some thought.


    [Anyway, I¡¯ll be going.] Gaz said as he heard the announcers start the countdown.


    [Yeah¡­ Good luck!] Ruby said before turning to Yllivia and telling her about Beepy¡¯s worries.


    [Thanks, but it''s not like I need it!] He said smugly.


    And thus, the first round started.

 29.exe - Motherlode!;!;!;.txt

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friend! It is time for the fight! A long chapter filled with flashy attacks and cheaty cheats!


    SO, I made the first true battle scene from this story, and I hope I did it decent, as the other times were both something akin to an ambush or something of the like. Still, as Gaz grow up as a robot, I plan on giving him a more varied range of enemies, bodies and attacks.


    BESIDES, I may end up having to add some animal enemies, but I¡¯ve been wondering. This is a Sci-fi story, but should I make some of the stronger beasts be something akin to magic beasts or something? I mean, there is Psy and the Gods¡¯ priests, but I don¡¯t intend to delve further into the fantastical than that when it comes to sentient races. Which lead us to today¡¯s poll.


    Have a good read!


    -----


    Nimbly landing on his feet, Gaz immediately took a look at the inside of the cage of his adversary, trying to get a preemptive look at his opponent, but due to a trick of the lights and the natural shadow of the cage,  the image he got was far too dark and vague to make any sense of it. And if he tried to increases his camera sensitivity to the light, he risked obfuscating his view, and he¡¯d rather not risk it when he had a chance of being cheated to defeat.


    The announcers cheerfully made their countdown, slowly reaching down to zero, and the moment that they said ready, his opponent was freed from its cage, falling to the ground beneath it heavily.


    Taking a stance by lowering his body, Gaz was in doubt wether to analyze his enemy first or to take the first strike for himself. In the end he decided to go with the first strike.


    Darting forward, he quickly crossed the distance between himself and his adversary, leaving the commentators surprised with his sudden attack, as they actually had no idea how he actually fought.


    Yet, the moment that he brought down his claw on his adversary, it jumped.


    It took him a brief moment before understanding what happened, and it was only thanks to Ruby¡¯s warning that he understood that whatever the thing was, he was aiming to fall right on top of him.


    He quickly flexed his front legs and mad a sideway jump just in time to see as a strange belt-like device land on the ground besides him.


    Seeing that his tactic had failed due to his opponent surprising jumping ability, Gaz once again took some distance so that he could take a look at the opponent.


    [So?] He asked Ruby, but felt as she also looked surprised.


    [No idea.] She said briefly.


    [What? I thought that you were an expert in robots!] Gaz complained.


    [Look, robots can change completely in only two generations! Don¡¯t expect me to be able to know everything, okay?] Ruby complained. [Besides, he could also be from a distant country for all I know!]


    Gaz clicked his imaginary tongue in annoyance, not that he was angry with the girl for not knowing, but more about the enemy that he knew almost nothing about.


    Still, if he had to explain what he was seeing, he would use the words: Circular, flat, four-legged spider.


    Just as the words suggested, the enemy in front of him was compromised of two parts, a main body that had a circular shape, yet was completely flat, having around five or six centimeters of thickness. The other part were its four legs, made of segmented rectangular part linked through some thick wires, almost like a metal belt. These four legs held its body while being bent slightly outward, almost as if they were struggling with the weight.


    [That thing on his top¡­ It¡¯s a mod.] Ruby said briefly.


    [What makes you so sure?] Gaz asked as he stared at the top of the blue robot¡¯s main body. The final addition to it were what looked a pair of two small holes with rifling on them, they were added to the top with a streamlined shape that almost looked like it was perfectly integrated with the robot.


    [I¡¯m not sure. I just know¡­] She said briefly.


    [Something about being a priestess?] Ekis asked confused.


    [Could b¡­ Look out, it¡¯s moving!] Ruby quickly warned them as she noticed the robot¡¯s legs bending ever-so lightly.


    Gaz quickly reacted to the robot as it started to skitter its way away from him, always making sure to keep the barrels turned to the wolf-like robot. Noticing that the robot wanted to open some distance, Gaz made sure to dart forward and not let it open too much distance.


    However, the robot was much faster than what he expected for such weird legs, as it quickly kicked the ground away whenever he got too close. However, besides that, the robot didn¡¯t really do much, so Gaz felt a bit confused on how it could be the champion of the last tournament, since he looked so weak.


    But his distraction proved to be a fatal mistake, as the robot suddenly turned back to him and Gaz saw as the barrel trembled slightly.


    [Crap.] Was all that he managed to think before a shot was fired at him.


    However, much to his surprise, the attack didn¡¯t actually penetrate his armor, leaving mostly a small dent on it. The problem, however, was that the bullet somehow got stuck on left leg.


    ¡°HERE IT IS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE HUGGER¡¯S SIGNATURE COMBO THAT EARNED HIM SO MANY TITLES!¡± The female announcer said cheerfully. ¡°IS THIS THE END OF THE BLACKHORRSE?¡±


    Hearing the girl¡¯s announcement, Gaz felt confused, but deciding not to ask too much what it meant, he quickly choose to remove the bullet as a precaution. Making the spinning back-jump he used on the preliminaries, he quickly opened some distance so that he could do it without interference, but just as he bit into the bullet so that he could rip it off, he understood what it was.


    A sudden strange feeling ran through his body as he felt a strong electric current cursing through his whole body. The sudden short-circuit made his body contort itself strangely, interfering with his electric motors. On the bright side, this made it so that his head managed to yank the bullet free, removing it from his body and stopping the current. On the bad side, it made it so that he stood in place for far too long as he recovered.


    By the time he managed to move his head back to a position that he could use to watch his adversary, it had already disappeared from its previous position. Grimacing in his mind, Gaz tried to move away, but he was a bit late, even with Ruby¡¯s warning that the robot was coming down on him.


    He felt a weight hit his head, making him slam it in on the ground. However, the Hugger didn¡¯t stop there, as he felt the four legs of the robot quickly coiling around his head and quickly tightening its grip on him.


    [THE BEEPER WANT TO CRUSH MY HEAD!] Gaz shouted in pain as he felt his head slowly starting to cede to the pressure.


    [PUSH HIM AWAY! QUICKLY!] Ekis shouted worried.


    In a quick reaction, Gaz quickly grabbed the legs of the robot with his claws and pushed him away. Thankfully, his head had a somewhat triangular shape, just like a real wolf¡¯s, so even with the ridiculous leg-strength that the robot had, he quickly managed to push it away from his head.


    The robot looked confused for a moment, so Gaz took this chance to attack the robot, bringing down his clawed paw on it.


    However, the robot reacted way faster than what he expected¡­ But then, he is a robot, so maybe he should actually have expected that. Extending the legs that were still bent as if coiling around his head, the robot used them as springs, jumping away from the claws with but a simple scratch on its body.


    Still, Gaz managed to land a hit on the robot, so it was a fair trade for the light damage he managed to land on the wolf.


    ¡°What is this, ladies and gentlemen?¡± The announcer said surprised. ¡°The infallible Hug failed to finish his opponent?¡±


    ¡°That seems to be it, Yohn.¡± The girl said surprised. ¡°It¡¯s the first time someone manage to escape from that! Have the hugger found it¡¯s match after so long?¡±


    [Bloody hugger. Now I see how he works by¡­] Gaz complained.


    [Yeah, if he grabs you on a good place¡­] Ruby said with a gulp. [You would be crushed to death¡­]


    Deciding to not let this last for too long, Gaz quickly made his way towards the robots, aiming for when he had landed, he raised his front right leg and brought it down just as the robot landed, hitting it right on the head.


    But the feeling he waited for wasn¡¯t there.


    Rather than hitting metal, he had a feeling similar to that of pushing a spring, and he soon understood why. The robot¡¯s leg gave in as his attack landed, dampening the impact to a level that the hugger¡¯s armor could endure without breaking.


    Grimacing at the scene, he managed to see just as the hugger¡¯s leg left the ground and aimed right at him. Moving his own leg away, he barely manage to dodge to the side, but taking advantage of the opening, he quickly spun around, aiming to hit his heavy tail on the robot¡¯s legs to try and unbalance it.


    But just like before, his attack bounced off harmlessly off the flexible legs of the robot, leaving him extremely annoyed.


    The announcers had other thoughts, however.


    ¡°What is this? Hugger has been backed into a corner?¡± The girl asked surprised.


    ¡°It seems to be the case! It¡¯s the first time I see the Hugger taking so long to finish a single opponent.¡±


    Gaz grimaced slightly at their wrong predictions, as they didn¡¯t notice that all of his attacks had barely dealt any real damage to his opponents. Still, taking advantage that it also left the robot unable to attack, since it had to absorb the impact, Gaz kept pressing on his barrage of attacks. At least his claws managed to land occasionally on the robot¡¯s surface, and different from blunt attacks, these ones managed to go through, but its surprisingly hard armor stopped him from dealing any kind of real damage.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Besides, he had to look out to the tentacle-like legs of the robot that kept trying to entangle him into its crushing embrace. Once it somehow managed to take a hold of his front leg, but before the damage could be done, he quickly body-checked the robot, making him go of his legs.


    Even though the crowd was becoming ecstatic with the surprisingly long fight, Gaz only felt more and more frustrated as all his attempts seemed to be in vain.


    [Try to apply pressure to the center-part only!] Ekis said.


    [And how would I do that?] Gaz asked annoyed.


    [Try applying similar pressure on both sides!] She said quickly.


    [And how the hell would I do that? These legs don¡¯t really help a lot with that you know?] He complained loudly while doing a backstep and getting the sight of the robot¡¯s owner fuming with anger. [And I can¡¯t just go biting him away¡­ ] Gaz stopped his complaint as he noticed what he was about to say.


    He let out a shout of frustration through the link while baring his fangs open and aiming for the robot¡¯s core with his mouth.


    Running forward, Gaz made sure to aim it so that he would pierce the robot right in the middle of it¡¯s central body.


    But at the last step, his front leg slipped on the ground. Letting out a strange and silly sound, Gaz¡¯s bite still somehow managed to land on the robot, but it only managed to get the very front of its body.


    Still, it dug deep and ripped a part of the armor and one of the barrels from its back. With some luck, it would only have one bullet per barrel, and this would mean that he just ripped the one that still had a bullet inside, stopping half of his problems.


    [What happened? Why did you stop yourself?] Ruby asked surprised.


    [I didn¡¯t, my feet slipped!] Gaz complained back to her.


    [Bullshit! Your feet are made specifically to avoid that!] Ruby said back.


    [Well, it sure wasn¡¯t my fault!] Gaz said, and Ruby finally understood what he meant.


    Taking advantage of Gaz¡¯s brief moment of confusion, the robot quickly spun its body around and contracted its leg, pointing straight at Gaz. Widening his eyes, Gaz immediately ducked away from the attack.


    [Watch out! A Judge seems to be focusing intently!] He heard Ruby say panicky. [Might be a psy!]


    Complaining in his mind, Gaz quickly twisted his head away, feeling as an air current forced his head back up just as the robot¡¯s leg threatened to pierce his head.


    [JUMP!] Ekis said, and reacting in an instinct, Gaz followed her command.


    The sudden impulse, plus the wind current pushed his body upwards, making so that the leg met with the plate on his belly, but bounced off harmlessly due to the tilted surface.


    He jumped back so that he could open some distance and took a quick glance at one of the judges, the one who had his face turned to Ruby and Yllivia.


    Yet, he caught sight of Hugger¡¯s owner, who was eyeing at the shocked judge with a scary intensity. Judging that the man had probably paid his way to victory, Gaz grimaced before turning his attention back to the robot, only to see it jumping forward while retracting its extended leg.


    With a quick movement, Gaz spun around, using its tail as a club and swatting the drone away, Beepy felt satisfied with the feedback this time due to the lack of the legs springiness. Still, the robot didn¡¯t take too much damage and soon got itself back up.


    Taking the chance as the robot tried to raise himself, Gaz quickly jumped towards it, aiming for another bite that he could use to finish the fight.


    But the Hugger predicted his movement and jumped up and towards the point where he would stop. Gaz, however, was also quick to react and prepared to jump away, only to have his leg get stuck in a strangely soft part of the ground. It was only for a brief moment, where he managed to see as one of the ¡°Judges¡± focused heavily on him and lightly moved his finger, one moment that he spent stuck on the ground, but that moment was enough for his opponent to fall on his back.


    Soon, he felt the tight grip as the legs surrounded his body, slowly tightening as the robot put more pressure on it. Waves of pain surged on his body for a moment before Ekis managed to block the sensation out, and thanking for the peace of mind, Gaz started shaking himself, trying to throw it out from his body.


    But the grip only got stronger and stronger, and soon he felt as the armor started to deform, feeling worried, Gaz started to slam his body against the arena¡¯s walls, causing the nearby crowd move away in surprise while the rest cheered even louder. The announcers started to get excited and began to proclaim Hugger¡¯s victory.


    [THE SPIKES! QUICKLY!] Ruby shouted in worry.


    Gaz stopped for a brief moment as he tried to understand her words, before nodding.


    The crowd looked confused as the robot started to look focused. Some of them tilted their heads in confusion as Gaz quickly relocated the needles in the inner side of his body, setting them to appear on his central body.


    And with a single movement, he arced his back, popping out the needles and piercing the robot¡¯s body as he used half of the total steam in his body to shoot them out.


    A loud buzzing sound that reminded Gaz of a cry of pain sounded on the arena. Hugger let go of his body, sliding its way to the ground where it quickly got up, readying himself for another attack. But under his body were seven large needles digging halfway into its body.


    Gaz looked at the robot with a bit of pity, as it was clear that the needles hit something important. The very fact that it was still standing meant that his core was intact, and that was nothing short of a miracle.


    Still, he couldn¡¯t dilly-dally any longer, so he quickly darted forward while putting the needles back into his tail. He ran forward, making sure to do so in a zig-zag, leaving the judges unable to interfere with him, and once he got close enough to the robot, he slammed his tail on two of its leg.


    The crowd went mad as the announcers went dead silent in shock. Hugger tried to move away, but a few of the needles stuck to the two legs making it unable to move them well enough.


    Gaz quickly repositioned himself for the final attack. With the movement of the legs lost, it wouldn¡¯t be able to spring its way out of the next attack. But just as he ran forward, a large patch of the ground became muddy, while a strong current of air blew him off balance.


    [They aren¡¯t even trying to be discreet anymore!] Ekis complained.


    [The crowd doesn¡¯t seem to care¡­] Ruby said in a furious tone. [And Gaz¡­ Finish this quickly, or else Ylli might end up killing the judges¡­] She said worried.


    Gaz nodded, but didn¡¯t answer. He had just about enough of the judges himself. Quickly getting up and avoiding one of the impaling strike of the robot¡¯s still functional leg, Gaz quickly circled around the robot, putting it between him and the judge that keep messing with the ground.


    He smiled evilly in his mind, and did his attack.


    With a quick spin, he threw all the remaining needles he had on his tail towards the robot, but due to the sheer amount of needles, it was clear that some of them ended up missing the target, and ¡°accidently¡± flew towards the judge.


    The judge panicked by the sudden ranged attack and had to jump away to safety as the needles pierced the wall behind where he was. The robot didn¡¯t take that much damage, but since the judges were all too surprised, they didn¡¯t have time to intervene as Gaz quickly ran forward and readied his next attack.


    Just as he was about to reach the robot, that tried moving away, he slammed his claw in the ground as he twisted his body. This movement raised his back leg up high while he turned his body around the claw and brought his tail back down on the other side, slamming the Hugger right into the ground, shattering its two stuck legs in the process.


    The flashy finisher left everyone else too shocked to understand what happened for a moment, and it was only when Gaz raised himself and turned to the two announcers that they finally snapped out of it.


    ¡°Wha¡­ WHAT IS THIS! THE BLACKHORSE! BEEPY! HE WON?¡± The girl asked confused.


    ¡°I¡­ I think that¡¯s it¡­?¡± the man said. ¡°With half of its leg like that, the hugger probably can¡¯t continue!¡± He replied.


    ¡°This fight¡­ WHY THE HELL DIDN¡¯T WE LEAVE THIS MATCHUP FOR THE FINALS?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure! All I know is that, the champion of this match is¡­¡± The man stopped for the unneeded dramatic pause, but just as he was about to speak.


    ¡°THE HUGGER!¡± A third voice said suddenly, shocking everyone in the area. Everyone turned to the owner of the voice, an elf wearing a suit that walked down towards the arena. ¡°I just got the word, but it seems that the contestant Beepy have been found guilty of cheating.¡±


    As the man said that, the whole arena froze.


    Gaz simply looked at the man annoyed while hoping that the furious Yllivia on the crowd behind him wouldn¡¯t end up killing him.

 30.exe - Burn.iso

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friend! You called for a bloodbath, I come here to deliver!


    SO, as you guys requested, I decided to be a bit mean with these judges, so instead of simply breaking their bodies, why not break their pride? And THEN we move to their bodies? And all of this in a fairly long 3k words chapter where we get to see Yllivia in her own fighting grounds!


    BESIDES, I talked about a poll yesterday, yet forgot to put it up. So I¡¯ll put it today here¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    The arena froze, as they saw the elf jumping down to the arena and walked until he stopped in front of the robot. He stared coldly at the wolf-like being in front of him for a moment, before turning to the crowd and saying out loudly once again.


    ¡°As I said, the participant Beepy has been found guilty of cheating, and thus his victory shall be annulled and granted towards the participant Hugger!¡± The man repeated in a loud and clear tone.


    After hearing those words from the man, the public thawed out from their shock and started booing loudly, but were they booing the cheating robot or the man who suddenly appeared? No one could know. The man raised his arms for a moment, telling the group to calm down since there was more that he sought to speak.


    But before he could speak any further, someone interrupted him.


    ¡°And what is he guilty of cheating for?¡± A young girl¡¯s voice sounded as someone jumped on the arena.


    Correction, two people jumped on the ring. One being a young morfian girl with red markings wearing a hoodies, the other one being a lynnian with white hair and bright yellow jacket who had eyes as cold as the glacier themselves.


    The elf hesitated for a moment under the two¡¯s furious gaze before coughing to clear his throat.


    ¡°And who might you be?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°It matters not.¡± The young morfian said, her voice sounding a lot more mature than what her small body-frame would suggest. ¡°Tell us what the one we were cheering for has beeen charged.¡±


    The elf blinked surprise for a brief moment, although he did consider that someone would try to question, he wouldn¡¯t expect it to be someone who would be so upfront about it. Clearing his throat lightly, the man quickly recalled the reason he was passed.


    ¡°As you might know, the tournament is divided in classes, separated by weight and size.¡± He said loudly so that everyone in the arena could hear. ¡°And as you can see, this robot is clearly on the larger size. However, we discovered that it¡¯s weight had been faked during the examination by removing the mods.¡±


    As his words left his mouth, the whole arena stopped once again, and some murmurs started to run amok between the spectators. It was a fairly good argument, seeing how the robot clearly was easily one of the largests ones in the class.


    However, before they could start with their booing once again, a bloodthirstiness completely unlike anything they had ever felt filled the arena. All the spectators froze under it, and some of the weaker minded even felt their consciousness trying to slip away under the boiling rage that emanated from one of the girls.


    But even that boiling bloodthirsty was subjugated. All it needed was a simple sigh from the hooded morfian.


    And immediately after, from the boiling rage, the spectators and judge were overwhelmed by a feeling of sheer cold fright, as the girl slowly crossed her eyes along the spectators, before finally nodding and turning back to the man.


    ¡°I call bullshit.¡± The young sounding, but mature feeling voice said, shocking everyone present with the sheer rudeness of the words. ¡°And you better keep your mouth shut, or else my friend here might end up getting her revenge on you.¡± She said briefly while pointing towards the lynnian.


    Feeling the danger, the other elves slowly started to approach the group while withdrawing their pistols, letting them ready for any possible action. But before the man could give any order, the girl¡¯s ice-cold voice went on.


    ¡°Tell me his weight when he was registered, then.¡± The girl said briefly. The man hesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth for a brief second as he tried to remember the numbers. ¡°And then, tell me how much he weights right now. I¡¯m also curious about it.¡±


    ¡°He¡­¡± The man briefly cleared his throat. ¡°He weighted twenty nine kilos when he was first weighted, but thanks to sensors on the arena, we now know that he weighs thirty five, which is enough to be considered a Class thre¡­¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡± The girl said, interrupting him. ¡°Right now, taking in account the damage and ammo used, he weights forty two point three two five kilos.¡± She said briefly. ¡°Which means that your ¡®sensors¡¯ in the arena are just plain wrong.¡± The man grunted, and just as he was about to use his last trump card, the girl went on. ¡°Just to check, why don¡¯t we weight him right here, and now?¡± She said with an incriminating smiled. The elf blinked surprised before smiling, to think that the girl would make the proposition herself. ¡°Oh, and bring me three different balances, just to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that you don¡¯t trust us?¡± The man said in a fake indignation as so to hide his worry, he hoped that his tone would somehow entice the girl to take back her words, but¡­


    ¡°Yes. I am.¡± She said briefly. The arena froze at her bold words, the spectators not sure anymore if they came here to watch a robot fight or a girl completely humiliate a man.


    The man held back on his grimace, before taking a deep breath and remembering the words that she said. Smiling mischievously, he quickly turned to the girl, who had her attention averted towards the two robots, one that laid on the floor, unable to move, and another one that looked at them amused.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for us to do that. You just said yourself that your robot weights more than what is allowed here.¡± He said triumphantly, as if he had been baiting the girl, but when she looked back at him, a small smirk appeared beneath her glacier-like eyes.


    ¡°That is, indeed, true. However, I can show you that the blame does not lie with us.¡± She said with a proud smile. ¡°If you want, I can, right here and now, open up Beepy and show you that any modification I would have done to bring him beneath the class three threshold yet keep being functional would leave his physical appearance far too different from the moment that we registered. This not only proves that you didn¡¯t weight him at all, but also shows that you didn¡¯t even care about him before this fight. Which means that our misclassification, instead of a cheat, is actually your fault.¡±


    The man widened his eyes at her words, but he managed to hold back his growing anger as he stared at the girls.


    ¡°And why, tell me, should I trust your words?¡± He asked acidly.


    ¡°Then, as long as it¡¯s not my words you will accept?¡± The girl asked back, making the man freeze. Without waiting for a response, she started to roam around the arena while pointing to a few persons on the way and calling them down. The spectators watched in confusion, while only the ones called down actually understood what was happening. ¡°All of these here paid attention to us while we were on the waiting rooms.¡± She said briefly while looking at the crowd. ¡°My memory isn¡¯t perfect, but this much I can remember. Now, would you tell me, did I ever, at any moment that you all watched me, take out a single tool or even remove a single screw from Beepy¡¯s body?¡± She asked them.


    The spectators that she had called down all looked surprised at her. Some of them were simple spectators that had watched them in curiosity, others were competitors analyzing their opponents, others were lechers checking on beautiful women.


    All of them quickly exchanged glances between themselves as they reminded themselves of what they had seen at the waiting room. Finally they all shook their heads in unison, before each quickly telling what they did see in the room.


    Some mentioned how the girl would sometimes look distant, others mentioned how the robot was always laying down lazily, others commented about never seeing the robot being caged. But never, in a single statement they spoke about the robot being tampered with.


    The man paled a bit as he noticed, but taking on a deeper breath, he was about to say that she bought these men words, but the girl coldly spoke before him.


    ¡°And if you still have some doubt, why not take a look at¡­¡±


    ¡°SILENCE!¡± The man finally snapped before turning to the judges. ¡°Take these filthy cheaters out of my way. I care not for their excuses!¡± He said. The damage was already done, so there was little need to keep up with the charade for much longer.


    He turned his back to the group, confident that his henchmen could take care of these two girls easily.


    Yet, the first shriek of pain did not come from a girl.


    Turning his attention back to the group, the elf widened his eyes in surprise for a moment.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    One of the man he had been using as a judge had his pistol pressed against the lynnians back. Yet, instead of threatening her, his face was contorted in pain, as the girl¡¯s long white tail coiled around his wrists, twisting it with scary strength as the man tried to hold back any further screams.


    It took the other elves a few seconds to understand what was happening, as the lynnian stood entirely still while crushing their companion¡¯s hand. Once one of them finally understood what was happening, he started to raise his pistol, aiming for the girl.


    ¡°¡­Easier than fighting robots.¡± The girl murmured lowly in an icy tone.


    Startled, the man took one extra moment to take aim with his pistol, yet that time was enough for the lynnian to turn to him and raise her leg up high, kicking his pistol in the process before bringing it back down, smashing his face into the ground.


    The other elf that stood in front of her tried to take chance of the opening, but a gunshot echoed on the arena, and he felt as blood slowly dripped from his leg. It took him almost a second to understand that the bullet only grazed his thigh, and that it came from the elf whose hand was stuck in a painful coiling tail.


    The last elf who still wasn¡¯t attacked managed to take aim with the pistol, but the moment he was about to pull the trigger, the girl turned her head towards him, her cold eyes gazing deep into his soul. Afterwards, she quickly ducked in a spinning movement, not only dodging the bullet but also doing a sweeping strike with her leg that brought both him, and his injured friend to the ground.


    She finally ended the fight by quickly turning to the one that still had his hand tied by her tail and brought him down, by sweeping his legs and pulling his head down as she raised from the ground.


    By the time the crowd understood what happened, the four judges were already on the ground, confused about what happened. They didn¡¯t even have time to react to the bullets being fired, because what they saw greatly overwhelmed what they actually heard, and soon a cheering started for the girl who single-handedly managed to beat four guys.


    The elf that had declared them as cheater, though, simply looked amazed by the scene, and when the girl turned her eyes to him, he sighed while shrugging.


    ¡°It seems that I will have to teach you a lesson¡­¡± He said while taking out his suit. Truth to be told, he had half expected this would end up in a fight. ¡°Look, those four were only small fries.¡± He said briefly. ¡°In here, I¡¯m only second to the captain when it comes to fighting prowess.¡± He said briefly while taking a stance.


    ¡°Then, I don¡¯t need to hold back?¡± The girl asked while taking a stance herself.


    ¡°Wha¡­?¡± He made a silly sound, but before he could say anything.


    ¡°WHAT IS THIS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN? I THOUGH THIS WAS A ROBOT FIGHTING ARENA! DID I MISS SOMETHING?¡± The female announcer shouted.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I sure as hell like what I am seeing!¡± Her partner said. ¡°It seems that we have a martial-arts match coming next!¡±


    The crowd all blinked in surprise for a moment, before heating up once again. The elf blinked confused for a moment, lost on what was happening, while the lynnian looked indifferent to everything that was happening around them.


    ¡°On this side, we have one of the top bodyguards of the tournament, the one who claims of cheating in this arena, he who is said to peek through the lies! THE GUILT BRINGER!¡± The girls said cheerfully.


    ¡°And on this side, we have the girl responsible for defeating four men in a few seconds, she who protects the robots and follows the scary girl! THE JUDGE BREAKER!¡± The man soon followed.


    ¡°Who shall win this extra fight that is suddenly happening?¡±


    ¡°Will it be the elf? Will it be the lynnian? I don¡¯t know! We¡¯ll have to wait and see!¡±


    ¡°Now, if the two of you would so kindly move to the center of the arena, we can start the duel of the night!¡± The girl said while dragging the lynnian.


    The elf looked at the two announcers confused, but with a quick wink from the girl, and seeing her mouth form the word money, he ended up shrugging before taking his place opposite to the girl.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t experts on martial arts, so we¡¯ll simply go with the three two one ready, okay?¡± The lynnian announcer said.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go! Three!¡± The morfian said.


    ¡°Two!¡±


    ¡°One!¡±


    ¡°GO!¡± ¡°GO!¡± they shouted together.


    ¡­


    [Did¡­ They just transform this fight into an official duel?] Gaz asked in a mix of confusion and shock.


    [Seems like it.] Ruby said with a sigh while flipping a chip in her hands. [Well, on the bright side, they are still alive.]


    [Can¡¯t say that the next one will be, though.] Gaz sighed, making Ruby smile a bit awkwardly. [Still, are you alright?]


    [Hmmm?] She asked confused for a moment, even stopping to play with the chip before nodding. [Yeah, I didn¡¯t use the professor for too long, so I¡¯m not too tired¡­] She let out a cute yawn as she said that, before blushing slightly. [Not too much¡­] She smiled wryly.


    [I want to see a tired Ruby again!] Ekis said sullenly.


    [Me too.] Gaz said with a nod.


    [Stop it!] Ruby said embarrassed.


    For a moment they watched as the two judges dragged Yllivia and the elf away, before Gaz finally gave in and asked.


    [Okay, what the hell is that chip in your hands?]


    [I thought you never were going to ask!] Ruby said cheerfully, while throwing it into the ground and crushing it with her foot. [That was the chip they put on robot¡¯s cores to make them obey.] She said briefly. [It induces pain to the robots whenever they disobey. A cruel treatment made to keep them tamed.] She said sadly.


    [And where the hell did you get one of those?] He asked confused.


    [When I was repairing Hugger.] She said with a wide smile, shocking Gaz as he turned his head towards the robot that now had both of its legs fixed. [He isn¡¯t at 100%, but should be working well enough to run.]


    [WHEN THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?] Gaz asked shocked.


    [When Ylli was fighting the bodyguards.] She said with a shrug.


    Gaz looked at her in shock for a few seconds, before looking back to Hugger, who was slowly lifting himself while looking around through its frontal camera. It took him a moment to remember the scene of Ruby dismantling the drone¡¯s head back at the forest before he understood how scary she can be.


    His attention was brought back to the duel when he heard the two announcers shouting ¡®Go!¡¯ together.


    The man, already in his stance, prepared to receive Yllivia¡¯s attack as she darted forward, a smug smile appearing in his face as he felt confident on his abilities.


    Yet, when the lynnian approached him and he threw his punch, his fist met nothing but air. Years of experience made it so that he wasn¡¯t shocked at this development, so he quickly followed with his eyes the direction where Yllivia had dodged to.


    [Wrong side, buddy.] Gaz said dryly.


    If it weren¡¯t for his increased cognitive abilities as a robot, he would also have missed the moment where Yllivia feinted a dodge to one side, then ducked away towards the other. However, such a trick could only be used because she put the man¡¯s fist as he punched to hide her body from his vision before changing the direction of her movement. She used the man¡¯s own punch to create a blind spot.


    The simplicity of such act hide a terrifying difficulty of applying it, as you had to take in consideration not only the size of his fist, but the speed of its movement, the direction and the curvature, as well as the opponents eye movement. In simpler word, what the lynnian just did was on the limits of what is humanely possible.


    After the elf failed to follow her first move, he had already lost.


    Yllivia rose from her ducked position by bringing her knee to the man¡¯s guts. Shocked with the sudden impact, he didn¡¯t even have the time to react as the lynnian proceeded with an elbow to his nape.


    With the man stunned, Yllivia quickly went forward, by grabbing him by the head and sprinting forward with his body until it hit a nearby wall. Still seeing stars, the man could barely move as the girl finally pulled back her hand and formed a fist with it.


    In her eyes, only a cold fury laid, and the man, sensing his death approaching by her hands, panicked.


    He fainted before the fist even connected.


    And besides his head, there was a small crater on the arena¡¯s stone walls.


    [Yllivia is scary!] Ruby said.


    [Like you are one to say anything!] Gaz complained back before sighing. [Now, what do we do?] He asked as he still reminded himself of their mission.

 31.exe - Negotiations.xlsr

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! Some more cohercion from our little manipulator this chapter!


    SO, as always, I read each and every comment posted on this and Insania chapters, so I¡¯ve taken all of your feedback on the whole story about beast and magic. For now, my final verdict will be putting the beasts mostly organic, with some biologically acceptable skill. And then, I go and give some Psy for the strongest ones, as it is within the lore of this story.


    BESIDES, Tomorrow be Insania day, so I hope you guys are ready for some crazyness!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ---------


    The crowd cheered wildly as Yllivia moved away from the unnamed man she had just knocked out. Even if the duel had been extremely brief, a crowd like this that came for destruction and carnage could only get happier, and strangely enough, the two commentators only fanned up the fire with their comments and feeble attempts to analyze what happened.


    Although Gaz couldn¡¯t help but feel confused about their motifs, it was clear that they were doing a good job of changing the unexpected situation into a profitable occasion, with the heated up crowd once again making the money move with bets and so on.


    Shaking his head, his attention went back to the morfian and lynnian who were both discussing what happened, and the other robot that seemed confused on what was happening. He noticed as the Hugger started to look around, as if waiting for something.


    The dwarf that was his owner opened the cage that he used to carry the robot around and started shouting at the robot while pointing to the cage. He was a bit curious about why the robot had his legs fixed, but didn¡¯t seem to care about it too much. Still, Hugger seemed to flinch for a moment, before relaxing and looking at his owner.


    [Gaz¡­ Stop him.] Ekis said briefly,


    Her words also caught the attention of Ruby, who looked around until she found the four-legged robot staring at the dwarf. Once he started to flex its legs, she paled and prepared to shout at the oblivious dwarf who kept ordering the robot to come in.


    He only noticed what was happening once the Hugger leaped towards him, all of its legs open while aiming to grab around his head.


    In a swift movement, Gaz quickly leapt in front of the dwarf and slammed his body on the robot, flinging him away and surprising the crowd. The dwarf looked shocked at the scene, and started to shout orders, like ¡®get in here¡¯ and ¡®stop¡¯.


    However, the robot simply got up again and turned towards the dwarf, its body almost looking like it was shaking in anger.  However, before he could move, Gaz put himself in front of the robot, showing his teeth as if threatening the robot.


    [STAND. DOWN.] Gaz said instinctively while raging.


    The robot stared at him for a moment then towards the dwarf. It understood that the wolf in front of him was protecting the hated dwarf, but he still remembered the defeat it suffered to him, so in the end it finally relaxed its legs and tilted its head down.


    Gaz nodded satisfied before turning back, seeing as the Dwarf looked at him in shock, immediately grunting as thanks to him. However, the moment that he took a step forward towards the Hugger, Gaz put himself in front of the dwarf and showed his teeth menacingly again.


    ¡°Leave it.¡± Ruby said briefly. ¡°The control chip broke in the fight.¡± She said coldly to the dwarf.


    ¡°And how can you be so sure?¡± He asked back irritadely.


    ¡°Who do you think that repaired him?¡± The dwarf blinked surprised before turning to the robot, for the first time it sunk in that its legs were working again. ¡°I have my way of dealing with him, but if you try, I can¡¯t guarantee you¡¯ll get out unscathed. I¡¯ll give him to you later¡±


    [I call bullshit.] Gaz said playfully.


    [Shut up!] She complied, but she didn¡¯t sound annoyed at all.


    The dwarf stared at the girl for a moment, and then at his robot. He seemed in doubt whether to trust her or not, but once he saw as Hugger slowly approached the girl, laying on the ground besides her, he frowned.


    ¡°You think you are fooling me?¡± He asked angrily while extending his hand towards the strangely pacific robot. ¡°He¡¯s just a bit bugged.¡±


    The moment he said that, though, the robot quickly twisted one of its legs around the dwarfs arm and started tightening its grip. The dwarf¡¯s face twisted in pain, and the only thing that actually saved him was that Gaz threatened the robot once again.


    Hesitatingly, the dwarf retreated while rubbing his hurting wrists. He looked angrily at Gaz for a moment, before sighing loudly and nodding. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote down some numbers and letters on it. He once again hesitated delivering the card, but knowing how difficult it would be to find another person to mod the Hugger, he ended up giving the kid his card.


    ¡°Take him there once you are done.¡± He said briefly, clearly having mixed feelings, before sighing loudly. ¡°And later I¡¯ll have a talk with these ¡®judges¡¯.¡± He mumbled angrily, furious by the fact that he had to leave his robot with the one who beat him.


    However, not long after he left, Yllivia looked away and towards a certain direction.


    ¡°More coming.¡± She said briefly.


    Ruby blinked surprised and turned to the lynnian. She opened her mouth, ready to ask how she knew, but shook her head since it wasn¡¯t worth getting bothered over it.


    Just like the lynnian said, soon dozens of other bodyguard/judges appeared from all around the arena, all of them holding their guns ready while pointing downwards. Yllivia frowned slightly and took a stance, as if ready to attack them.


    Ruby stopped her, though, holding her hand before she could start.


    One of the guards took a step forward, this one being a sleek looking male lynnian wearing sunglasses. He clearly looked stronger than the elf before him, even Yllivia and Gaz could tell that.


    ¡°I do not want to buy a fight I can¡¯t win without taking losses, so do we have any chance to talk this politely?¡± He asked briefly while exuding a cold aura.


    ¡°What exactly do you mean?¡± Ruby asked, and the man smiled satisfied.


    ¡°Follow me, will you?¡± He said while pointing towards the exit of the arena.


    Ruby nodded and made a quick motion for Yllivia to follow her, which made Yllivia look at her confused, but a quick look at the girl¡¯s face and she noticed that she had a serious look in her face. She held back a sigh before nodding and following him.


    Following the man out of the arena, followed by Gaz and Hugger, who walked each on one side of her.


    [You sure are liked by the robots, huh?] Gaz said as he noticed their new companion.


    [hmm, he doesn¡¯t feel as angry as before.] Ekis said cheerfully. [But it looks like he is still in pain¡­]


    [We can take care of that once we get back home.] Ruby said sadly. ¡°So, what do you want to talk with us?¡± She said turning her attention back to the bodyguard.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Well¡­ I think you already know what has been going on around here, so I can cut to the chase.¡± The man said while walking ahead. ¡°Not only have you ruined one of our most important tournaments by defeating the one we were supposed to make the champion, but you also revealed a¡­ Fault, in our systems.¡± He said briefly before stopping in front of a door. He opened it and made a mention for them to walk in. ¡°The boss decided to have a talk with you to see if he can make the two of you leave before you cause any more damage.¡± He said while closing the door behind them.


    However, beside them, the other bodyguards stayed behind, guarding the door.


    Now they were inside a corridor where the group walked forward, surprised by the sheer amount of space they had to cross before reaching the door. As if sensing their surprise, the lynnian fixed his glasses before turning towards the girls.


    ¡°You see, this corridor is the last line of defense of the boss. We have a few traps set around, as well as two bunker doors that come down if needed.¡± He said with cold eyes, as if saying that they shouldn¡¯t try anything. But then he sighed loudly before turning away. ¡°But then, it does seem to have some problem to act when there¡¯s an overload in the electric system¡­¡±


    Ruby and Ylli blinked surprised for a moment, while Gaz started smiling in his mind.


    [I think I like this guy.] Beepy said mischievously.


    [But¡­ Why would he¡­] Ekis asked confused.


    [Not like we can do much, though.] Ruby said with a mental sigh. [If at least Sorius was here¡­]


    [Oh, he is.] Ekis said cheerfully, getting both Gaz and Ruby by surprise. [I saw him in the corner of Ruby¡¯s vision earlier there.]


    [You did?] Ruby asked surprised.


    [Yeah, but it was when we were leaving, so I didn¡¯t have a chance to warn you.] She said with a  wry tone.


    [We still have no way to talk with him, though.] Ruby said with a sigh. [If only Mirage were to come here¡­] She said with a sigh.


    Gaz laughed dryly at that while following them through the corridor and until the door on the far end. Should an alarm sound, the boss would have more than enough time to run away before anything could happen.


    Stopping in front of the door, he turned to the group and said in a cold tone, as if warning them.


    ¡°Do not think that you will be alone in there, okay?¡± He said briefly. ¡°A few of my best men are guarding this place.¡± He said briefly before turning back to the door and opening it. ¡°I brought them, boss.¡± He said briefly while sending the two girls in. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave and go on patrol.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for you work, Jay.¡± The man sitting on the table said briefly while dismissing the lynnian. Jay nodded before closing the door. Gaz didn¡¯t miss the smirk he made before closing it. ¡°Strange, I heard that the tall one was an elf?¡± The morfian man said while leaning against the chair. ¡°No matter.¡± He said after shaking his head and fiddling with something on his table.


    The morfian had a fairly fit body, being a bit taller than Yllivia should he stand up, with his marking over the white of his body being a toxic purple that almost oozed off dangerousness. Wearing surprisingly simple clothing composite of a social shirt and jeans pants, he wouldn¡¯t look anything different from half of the people walking on the streets.


    One he finished, he took out what looked like a bag of coins and threw it in the table.


    ¡°There¡¯s two thousand credits in there, all in untracked coins.¡± He said briefly. ¡°All I ask is that you take that money, and say that you cheated your way through the tournament. I do not care how you do it, as long as they think you cheated in the end.¡± He said coldly while staring at the girl¡¯s eyes.


    Ruby looked back at him for some time, staring at him without a hint of fear, and then towards the money. It was a lot more than they needed in the end. But still¡­


    Just as she was about to give her answer, she felt as something brushed lightly against her leg. Lowering her gaze she managed to see Mirage, who was looking up to her with a playful look while carrying something in her mouth.


    A better look revealed a that the thing in her mouth was a small piece of paper with the words ¡®Blackout soon¡¯ written in it.


    A small smile appeared in her face as she turned back to the man.


    ¡°Just two thousands?¡± She asked tauntingly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you do a lot more in a single night like this than that.¡±


    The man grimaced while sighing. He fiddled with something again inside the desk and took out another bag, a bit smaller this time, but Ruby shook her head slightly before he could put the bag down.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want money.¡± Ruby said, and Gaz didn¡¯t miss as Yllivia¡¯s ear twitched slightly. The man looked confused for a moment before widening his eyes in anger. ¡°I want the alloy. All of it.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The man said shaking his head. ¡°I can give you any of the other prizes, the class one, two or three. Any of them. But the alloy is something I can¡¯t give you, no matter how much you ask.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ruby said with a sigh before shaking her head. ¡°Then you wouldn¡¯t mind if we spread the rumors even more and end up wrecking your business?¡± She asked mischievously, making the man frown before bending forward.


    ¡°Look here, kid. You might be smart, but understand this.¡± He said in a threatening tone. ¡°Just because I am trying to resolve this peacefully, it doesn¡¯t mean that I can¡¯t resort to violence, okay?¡± He leaned back on the chair. ¡°So, are you sure you want to keep this negotiations?¡±


    ¡°Sir.¡± Ruby replied with the same dangerous smile, making the man blink in surprise. ¡°Let me give you a tip. The woman with me before was an elf.¡± She said simply, leaving the man some time to understand her words. ¡°Besides, we do other allies out there that works my friend here.¡± She said dangerously. ¡°Are you SURE you don¡¯t want this negotiation to continue? After all, all that we want is some metal!¡±


    [Tricky little bastard.] Gaz said with a smirk at Ruby¡¯s choice of word.


    What she said was true enough that she could easily say it without thinking of it as a lie, which would greatly reduce the chance of being caught, but not only that, she left unnumbered the amount of reinforcement they actually had available and their skill. This left the man in a tight spot, as he knew of Yllivia strength, and having more people with a strength like hers out there is quite worrying.


    With this little exchange, the man was left in a corner, and under the pressure, the man ended up losing his focus for a moment, his eyes wandering towards a certain part of the wall that didn¡¯t look all that suspicious.


    ¡°I see, so the alloy is there, huh?¡± Ruby said with an evil smile.


    The man¡¯s face paled as he noticed what happened, feeling like a prey under the gaze of a predator, the owner of the arena sat back on his chair while the small girl in front of him smirked  in a way that shouldn¡¯t be possible for someone of her age.

 32.exe - Get_away.exe

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! Sorry for the delay, but we finally have it! The next chapter!


    SO, Not only have I spent a lot of time writing Insania these last days, I¡¯ve also been busy with my other story that I¡¯ve been working on for fun. This made this release be delayed by a couple of days from the usual. THEN, my sister¡¯s birthday happened, AND more delays! So yeah¡­


    BESIDES, next update should be in two days if I follow the same pattern as I was doing with Insania.


    BESIDES(2), on a more story-focused comment, there¡¯s some odd thigngs happening in the arena from the looks of it, huh? (smirks evily.)


    Beep, and enjoy your story.


    ----


    Gaz didn¡¯t need to be a telepath nor anything like that to see that the boss felt cornered by the viciousness that was the professor. He didn¡¯t even need to see his face to know that, as the sound of him gulping down loudly echoed in the room. Taking a quick look upwards and to the back, he saw as Yllivia frowned slightly, and seeing that he prepared himself for what was about to happen.


    ¡°You¡­¡± The boss said with a furious tone, but no words came out from his mouth as he feared that this girl might bait him once again. ¡°You are too dangerous to let loose.¡± He said with a sigh in the end. ¡°GUARDS!¡±


    Barely had the words left his mouth and action were already being taken. Four guards popped up from a hidden door, all of them sporting silenced assault rifles in their hands. As soon as they entered the room they turned their weapons towards the group, who were caught a bit by surprise.


    With an annoyed sigh, Ruby was the first to raise her hand, having a dejected expression on her face as she quickly glanced towards Yllivia, Gaz and Hugger, all of which relaxed their positions hesitantly.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? Our friends might not take this lightly.¡± She said while raising an eyebrow, a taunting tone on her voice.


    ¡°Yeah. You have a point.¡± The boss said with a sigh before turning towards one of the bodyguards and signaling with his head. ¡°You there! Call Jay. Have him look for these guy¡¯s friends!¡±


    The guard nodded and lowered his rifle while taking a small walkie-talkie from his suit¡¯s pocket, Ylliva¡¯s hands twitched for a moment as she saw the chance for an attack, but Ruby¡¯s quick gaze stopped her in her tracks.


    As the guard tried to make contact on the radio, the boss turned back to the group with a victorious smile stamped on his face. However, even then Ruby¡¯s gaze seemed to be taunting him, which made the man furious. Just as he raised his hand to signal his men to take a shot, the guard that was on the radio turned back to him with a slightly worried tone.


    ¡°Boss¡­ We can¡¯t contact Jay.¡± The guard said, which made the boss blink surprised and turn to him with a frown.


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Is he too busy answer?¡± The boss asked, but the guard shook his head.


    ¡°No, he simply isn¡¯t answering the radio. It keeps calling but there¡¯s no answer.¡±


    ¡°What does that means?¡± The boss asked, but quickly shook his head. ¡°No matter, send a few men to look for him. His radio might be malfunctioning.¡± The guard nodded and started to bark some orders on the radio. Turning back to the group, the Boss sighed and asked. ¡°Now, where were we?¡±


    ¡°We were in the part where you were about to order your men to kill us because I¡¯m way smarter than you.¡± Ruby replied nonchalantly, making a vein pop on the guy¡¯s head.


    [Didn¡¯t you ever learn to not anger a drug lord?] Gaz asked with a deep sigh.


    [Leaving him angry might cloud his judgment and give us an opening.] Ruby replied coldly.


    [Or might make him kill us thoughtlessly.] Gaz added.


    [Still worth it.]


    Sighing loudly in his mind, Gaz simply stared lazily at the guards who had their weapons pointed at them. With his sensor he could hear as a few others made their way through the corridor of the hidden door to reach the room.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a sharp tongue, little miss?¡± The boss asked angrily.


    ¡°You are just imaging things, sir.¡± She replied in an emotionless voice.


    With a vein popping up from his forehead, the boss turned towards his men, who all raised their rifles and pointed to the group. Ruby frowned slightly as she saw that she was running out of time, so she quickly turned to Yllivia and was about to make a motion for her to go ahead.


    But the moment the boss was about to give the order, everything went dark.


    With the lights going out in a closed room, absolute darkness reigned in the room leaving everyone shocked for a moment. Everyone except Ruby, who had been expecting this since she received the message via Mirage.


    ¡°YLLI, BEEPY! NOW!¡± Ruby shouted as she fell back to the entrance of the room, hiding behind an expensive looking statue for cover.


    Although shocked, the two reacted quickly at her orders, each one aiming for a nearby bodyguard. Yllivia quickly grabbed one of the nearby guards by the hands and removed the rifle from his hand with a quick attack to his hand.


    On the other hand, Gaz wasn¡¯t all that bothered by the lack of light thanks to his presence sensor, so he quickly leaped towards another guard, biting the barrel of the weapon with such a strength that it distorted the weapon. At the same time, he took a swing with his tail while popping the needles out, landing it on the men¡¯s arm.


    The man shouted in pain as five armor-piercing needles dug deeply into his arm, quickly releasing the weapon, he held his free hand over the wound while the wolf robot spat the weapon out and ran turned towards the boss, who was crawling his way towards the hidden door.


    But before he could reach him, one of the men managed to light up a simple flashlight, illuminating the room enough for him and the remaining guard to take aim and fire their weapons.


    Yllivia and Gaz quickly fell back, with the lynnian kicking down the table to use as cover while Gaz quickly took the rifle that the other bodyguard dropped down and brought it towards the mercenary. Ruby hid herself behind the statue so that the guards wouldn¡¯t notice her, and soon the sounds of gunfire echoed in the room.


    Yllivia quickly checked the rifle and raised herself from behind the table and took a shot at one of the bodyguards, shooting him in the shoulder before taking cover once again from the other mercenary.


    ¡°Beepy. Go to Ruby, take her to Lunn.¡± Yllivia said briefly to him before taking a shot at the other bodyguard while peeking from the corner of the table.


    ¡°Yllivia, we need the safe¡¯s combination!¡± Ruby said briefly while pointing to the part of the room that the man had peeked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to not kill him.¡± The lynnian nodded before darting away through the side door.


    [Can¡¯t you open it yourself?] Gaz asked as he approached Ruby and eyed her confused.


    [I¡¯d probably need some kind of tools for that.] She said with a frown. [He wouldn¡¯t leave the safe unguarded if he wasn¡¯t confident of its resilience. The thing inside there is too expensive to leave it alone.]


    Gaz grimaced a bit in his head, but decided that he should trust the professor when it comes to logic processing. Leaving aside the problem, Gaz quickly nodded to her and jumped down the door, bring it down with his weight and readying for any possible extra enemies.


    Seeing none of them, he quickly darted forward with Ruby following him closely behind as the two passed through the still dark corridor. Strangely enough, none of the traps that the head bodyguard mentioned even appeared to stop them, maybe they relied on electricity? Not that they were complaining, of course.


    They quickly crossed the corridor just in time as the door opened, revealing a bodyguard with a confused look in his face. He stared at the duo for a moment, trying to understand what was happening, but before he could process the information, Gaz already had jumped at him and yanked the weapon out of his hands before smacking the heavy tail on his head, knocking him out.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    After a quick rummage, Ruby found a pistol on the guy¡¯s clothes and took it to herself. She blinked in fear for a moment, but nodded anyway as she went back to the calculative professor. With quick actions she checked the magazine and if there was any bullet in the chamber.


    She took a deep breath to calm herself.


    [If you want you can leave it back, you know?] Gaz asked, but Ruby shook her head.


    [We are in the middle of the enemy base. Can¡¯t be too careful.] She replied in a cold tone as she took the holster from the guy¡¯s belt.


    [But can you even use that weapon?] Ekis asked in a worried tone.


    [I know enough to aim at the opponent.] She replied while holstering the weapon.


    Gaz stared at her for a moment but shook his head deciding to not bother too much with it. It was her choice in the end.


    Straining their ears/sensors, they could pick up the sound of people in panic as they ran around, and Gaz with his sensitive sensors even managed to pick up the occasional sound of robots moving around. It seems like their plan of releasing the robots to cause chaos had worked somehow.


    [What are you going to do now?] Ekis asked worried.


    [We¡¯d better find the elves. They might help us with what is happening here. Ylli should be able to take care of herself, but it¡¯s better to not drag around too much.] Gaz said quickly.


    [And where are they?] Ruby said while checking the area around them.


    That was actually a good question, as they had no way of knowing how to meet with them. Gaz, however, had an idea.


    [Don¡¯t Mirage knows something?]


    ¡°Mirage, where are Lunn and Sorius?¡± Ruby quickly passed on the message. The cat stared at her for a moment as she processed the question before moving towards the sound of the crowd.


    Gaz and Ruby quickly exchanged gazes and ran after the cat. For a moment Gaz almost forgot about hugger, who was looking around in confusion due to the sudden haste. He gave a quick look towards the robot and made a mention for it to follow. Hugger stared at him for a moment before skittering its way towards them.


    Nodding satisfied, Gaz turned back and ran after Ruby and Mirage who were already ahead of him.


    ¡­


    Yllivia frowned at the scene in front of her. The corridor she took was way too rough and unprepared compared to the rest of the arena, with some infiltrations and pieces of exposed ground here and there. Not letting this get to her, she shook her head to get her focus back on what mattered.


    Taking the still unfamiliar rifle in her hands, she quickly took aim at one of her assailants and shot him. A small grimace appeared in her face as she saw blood spurt out from the guy¡¯s shoulder. She had been aiming for the other one.


    She never was much a fan of firearms, preferring to keep things close and personal. The only brief exception were her sub-machine guns, but even then it was mostly because they were for short range and she had been using them for quite some time.


    But it wasn¡¯t going to be just because she didn¡¯t like a weapon she would deny its usefulness, so she had been trained into using the weapons.


    She still didn¡¯t like them.


    Shaking her head to get back her focus, the lynnian threw away the empty magazine as she exchanged it for the one that the man she shot down used. Quickly changing them, she charged forward while looking for the Boss, who had since some time ago gotten out of her sight thanks to the incoming patrol.


    Thankfully, there wasn¡¯t much place the guy could run to, as the tunnel, even though it twisted and turned, didn¡¯t seem to branch off into various paths.


    Finally, after three minutes of non-stop running, using her trained senses to travel the path in the almost absolute darkness, she finally reached a door that seemed to mark the end of the path. She stopped against it for a moment and focused.


    Hearing soft breathings coming from the other side, she took a step back and pointed the weapon to the door before unloading another magazine in a sweeping motion.


    Not giving them a chance to recover, the Lynnian burst through the door while throwing the rifle at a nearby wounded guard, shocking the group as a whole. Before they could recover from the shock, Yllivia had already closed in on one of the nearby guards, and with a quick series of punches to the man¡¯s chest and stomach he fell down unconscious.


    It took her no more than a few seconds after getting in close range of the men to have all but one knocked down on the ground, the last one trying to squirm free from the tail that held his hands with a scary strength.


    ¡°How the hell do you do this?¡± The guard asked while trying to remove his hand from the crushing pressure of the tail.


    ¡°I trained a lot.¡± Yllivia replied simply while checking the new rifle she just got. After feeling satisfied with its state, she turned back to the guard without releasing his hand. ¡°Where did the boss go to?¡±


    ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± The guard asked defiantly.


    Yllivia¡¯s eye simply twitched for a moment in annoyance, so she lightly flickered her tail. The guard¡¯s eyes widened in shock for a moment before he shouted in pain as his wrist was dislocated. The lynnian¡¯s eyes barely showed any change while watching the scene.


    ¡°You see, I¡¯m different from Ruby, who can trick people into talking. Nor Lunn, who can seduce them¡­¡± Yllivia said with a sigh as she looked at the guard. ¡°But you see, I do know how to cause pain to the body without damaging it.¡± She said emotionlessly. ¡°So it may be better for you to talk, you know?¡±


    The guard looked at her in shock for a second, but defiance still flashed in his eyes for a moment. Shaking her head, Yllivia simply approached the guy and poked him around the ribs..


    A scream of sheer pain echoed through the room, as pain unlike anything the guard ever felt assaulted his senses. The pain of having his body pierced through, and then being followed by the burning pain of fire.


    It was worse than anything he had ever felt before, and that¡¯s saying something when you become a bodyguard that took a few bullets to the body.


    It didn¡¯t take much more convincing from the girl to make the man speak.


    After hearing the direction the boss went to, Yllivia mercifully knocked the man out with a quick strike before dashing away.


    Rifle in hand, she ran through the corridors while taking care not to miss any possible bodyguard that come her way. However, once she reached a crossing, she heard a voice.


    ¡°Hey! If it isn¡¯t miss martial artist!¡±


    With trained movements, Yllivia stopped her charge and took aim with the rifle, targeting the body, and not the head, as it was an easier target.


    ¡°Woah! Calm down! We are just simple announcers!¡± The man said while raising his hand.


    ¡°Well, not really simple announcers to tell the truth¡­¡± The female announcer said distractedly, making Yllivia frown for a moment while raising her eyebrow  while making sure to not lose her aim.


    ¡°Hey! You aren¡¯t supposed to say that!¡± The man scolded. ¡°Now she will doubt us!¡±


    ¡°Whoops!¡± The girl said shocked. ¡°Sorry¡­ Forget what I just said!¡± She said hurriedly.


    ¡°There, much better.¡± The male announcer said with a satisfied nod.


    ¡°Who are you two?¡± Yllivia asked doubtful.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we just say?¡± The man said with a proud expression. ¡°We are just simple announcers.¡±


    ¡°At least for now.¡± The girl added.


    ¡°What did I just talk to you about?¡± The man sighed loudly while face-palming.


    ¡°Whoops!¡± She said embarrassed.


    Yllivia frowned as she stared the odd duo. These two announcers were hiding something.


    And they were horrible at it.

 33.exe - Fiance.doc

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! Sorry for the delay, but here it is!


    SO, some mystery going on for a change since I felt like being a bit evil with you guys. And also an unexpected secret from one of the characters! I bet no one saw that one coming.


    BESIDES, the reason for the delay was that I felt like writing my other story yesterday, more so than Beepy. I¡¯m actually having a lot more of an easy time writing that one than either beepy or IO for unknown reasons, so these delays might be a bit more consistent than the expected¡­ And I really am this close to posting that story here¡­ So¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    Gaz and Ruby somehow managed to spot Sorius and Lunn, both who were walking against the panicked crowd that fled for its life as the sound of robots attacking each other echoed. Amongst them, some of the owners tried to shout orders at the robots, but due to the chaos, the robots couldn¡¯t hear their voice, so their disciplinary measures wouldn¡¯t activate. Truly a case of what you don¡¯t know won¡¯t hurt you.


    Ignoring what was happening, Gaz, Ruby, Mirage and Hugger quickly reached the twins while being thankfully ignored by the other robots that fought against each other.


    [Hmm¡­]


    [What is it, Gaz?] Ekis asked.


    [It¡¯s just that¡­] He started and took a quick look around before shaking his head. [Nothing important. I¡¯ll tell you later.] He said dismissing the thought while making Ruby look at him in confusion for a moment.


    ¡°Sweetie!¡± Lunn said while jumping at Ruby so that she could hug her.


    ¡°Not now, Lunn.¡± Ruby said while side-stepping and avoiding the hug, making the elf fall flat on the ground. She turned to Sorius and said briefly. ¡°Yllivia went ahead. She¡¯s hunting the boss¡­ Are you up to date with the situation?¡± She asked when she noticed she had been talking without checking on what Sorius knew.


    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± Sorius said a bit shocked with the unexpected professor. ¡°Lunn told me what was happening here¡­¡± He said before looking around. ¡°So, I take it that the mission is done then?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The professor said while shaking her head. ¡°We need to catch the boss alive if we want to take the alloy.¡±


    ¡°Alloy?¡± Sorius asked confused. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear about that.¡±


    ¡°The prize for winning. Since the tournament is busted, might as well as take it.¡± She said with a shrug, receiving a glare from Sorius for a moment, who finally sighed seeing that he wouldn¡¯t get anything for now.


    ¡°Anyway, are you going to be alright?¡± He asked while taking a look at her serious gaze. Ruby raised an eyebrow confused before nodding.


    ¡°Yeah. As long as I don¡¯t go back, I won¡¯t suffer the backlash.¡± She said briefly.


    ¡°I WANT MY CUTE RUBY BACK!¡± Lunn cried while finally getting up. ¡°I DON¡¯T LIKE THIS SERIOUS RUBY ANYMORE!¡±


    Gaz sat on the ground with an awkward feeling while watching the scene, only to be hugged by a crying Lunn who seemingly needed a friendly shoulder to support herself. Ruby simply looked at the scene briefly before shrugging, as if saying that it had nothing to do with her.


    ¡°So, what do you want us to do now?¡± Sorius asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Ideally, we would need to find the boss. But we have no idea where he might be.¡± She sighed while saying that. ¡°For now, let¡¯s go find the other robots that are still locked.¡±


    Sorius nodded as he probably decided that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to doubt her decisions. He still had memories of the meeting fresh in his mind, and eh didn¡¯t want to end up like those poor businessman, who not only were dancing on top of her hand, but were also heavily humiliated.


    Better to simply dance and not be humiliated. A fair decision.


    Turning to the cat robot, Ruby simply looked at her and Mirage nodded before turning back and walking away. The group followed the cat in silence as Lunn pouted while trying to hug Ruby time and time again, only to be skillfully dodged.


    Conveniently, the emergency lights had finally turned on, so they could somehow see better where they were going instead of relying on Gaz¡¯s sensors. Due to this they crossed the ground much faster than before, and soon reached the room where Mirage stopped in front.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing here?¡± The guards asked while raising their weapons at the group.


    ¡°Taking a walk. Can¡¯t you see?¡± Ruby asked sarcastically. The guards shivered slightly at her below zero tone.


    The brief moment of confusion was enough for Sorius to approach the two and put his hands on their shoulders. When they looked at the elf confused, it was already too late as an electric discharge shocked the two senseless.


    Nodding satisfied, Sorius quickly opened the door, revealing a long room filled with cages of all sizes and shape, almost all of them had a robot inside that immediately recoiled inside the room once they saw that there was someone coming.


    ¡°The other room I saw was just like this.¡± Sorius commented as he walked in. ¡°Except that they looked a bit more¡­ Aggressive¡­ And there were price-tags.¡± He said while approaching a nearby cage.


    ¡°So they also sell illegal robots here.¡± Ruby said with an icy tone. ¡°These probably weren¡¯t modded with the aggression and obedience module yet.¡± She approached one of the cages and kneeled in front of it as if calling the robot nearby.


    The robot looked at her in fear for a moment, but after a few seconds it finally calmed down and approached her, making the young morfian smile briefly.


    Sorius didn¡¯t need to receive an order before approaching what looked like a fuse-box and discharging his esp on it. For a moment the whole room flashed bright as the lightning ran through the cables and towards the robots and some lightbulbs came on before exploding in fragments.


    ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± Ruby asked with a slightly annoyed tone as she swiped the glass bits from her body.


    ¡°Overcharging the cages?¡± Sorius asked as he turned back. Only to see that the cages were still closed. ¡°Strange, it worked the other time?¡± He said confused.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you lucked out.¡± She said curtly. ¡°What you did was overload the alarm system. The locking mechanism is the red wire coming from the right corner of the box.¡± Ruby said after a short glance towards him. ¡°And no need to go all out. Just a small discharge should work.¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The elf didn¡¯t look embarrassed by being reproached and simply nodded before cutting the red wire off and letting out a small current through it. Soon after the cages all opened in a wave fashion with a loud sound, startling the robots that were inside.


    They looked in shock for a moment unmoving, as if expecting something bad to happen, but after noticing that nothing came to get them, the robots started to leave one by one while looking around confused.


    Ruby smiled gently for a brief moment before turning to Sorius.


    ¡°Before you ask, we can contact Archon Tec to take care of taking them back.¡± She said and the elf nodded. ¡°Golgoff should be willing to do this if I promise them some trinket.¡±


    ¡°Why do I suddenly feel useless ever since Serious-pants got here?¡± Lunn said in an almost crying tone.


    [Make that two of us.] Gaz commented silently.


    [Three¡­] Ekis added.


    ¡°You specialize in seduction, so right now you don¡¯t have much use for us, Lunn.¡± The professor said curtly.


    ¡°But¡­ But¡­ I can also fight, you know?¡± She said in an almost crying tone. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m only good at seduction!¡±


    ¡°Yet you look so used at it.¡± Ruby said with a slight look of wariness on her eyes.


    Strangely enough, this made Sorius chuckle slightly. Noticing that, Ruby turned her gaze back to the elf who looked at his sister with a rare smug smile. Lunn stared back at him in confusion for a moment before paling slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s funny you say how she¡¯s used to seducing¡­¡± He said with a snarky tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ You¡­ Dare¡­¡± Lunn said with a slight tinge of fear in her words.


    ¡°You see¡­ Little Lunn there¡­¡± He put a strange intonation in his words, which made Lunn¡¯s face go pale. ¡°Once had a fiance that she loved to tease¡­ Just like she does nowadays.¡±


    ¡°[[LUNN HAD A FIANCE?]]¡± The three asked in shock.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Sorius said with a smile while holding back the Lunn that was trying to shut his mouth with her hands. ¡°Long story. One night he drank a bit too much and decided to take his revenge. This girl here became extremely flustered, and when he took her to the bed¡­¡±


    ¡°NOOOOHMPHHH!¡± Lunn started to scream, but Sorius hand quickly shut her up.


    ¡°She passed out of embarrassment. Literally.¡± The elf finished with a sadistic smile.


    Gaz and Ruby looked at the pink haired girl with shocked faces, seeing as tears of shame ran from her dead eyes. She looked at them with a slight blush in her face that didn¡¯t match the usual image they had of her.


    ¡°But¡­ Doing that¡­ Without even being married¡­¡± She said while looking down and touching her fingers meekly.


    ¡°¡­ Who the hell are you and what did you do with Lunn?¡± Ruby asked in a confused tone. Lunn simply lowered her head even more.


    [Did we get the wrong Elf somewhere when we were running?] Gaz asked.


    [Readings indicate that this is the Lunn we know¡­] Ekis commented. [But I¡¯m having my doubts¡­ I¡¯ll run a scan on your systems¡­ Just to be sure.]


    [Please do.]


    ¡°She always try to make herself look a lot more mature than she is.¡± Sorius said with a triumphant smile as Lunn was left defeated on the ground. ¡°And after some years of experience she started to act like that, since it leaves people with no chance to question her act.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Meanie¡­¡± Lunn said in a pouting tone, but with no energy behind it whatsoever.


    ¡°I¡¯m having hard times believing in that story¡­ But it does explains why she acts childish some times¡­¡± Ruby frowned while staring at Sorius while he simply shrugged in response. ¡°Besides, since when did she have a fiance?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sorius looked surprised for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s a long story¡­ I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±


    Ruby nodded, they had already spent too long inside this room and they were in the enemy¡¯s territory. They had been lucky to not be found in here already. With a quick motion of her head, Mirage once again darted away guiding the group towards the next storage room, the whole group being followed by a large amount of freed robots.


    ¡­


    Yllivia ran while sporting a confused look in her face. What those two announcers, if she could even call them that anymore, told her was true, then this would be too much of a good thing to be a simple coincidence.


    As she ran, she noticed for a moment that there was a group of guards coming her way, but with a quick aimed shots she left them hurt before finishing them with some close quarters combat. The fact that they came from this direction probably meant that the boss did come towards this place.


    This meant that the duo hadn¡¯t lied to her so the other info they gave her was also true. Not that the fact that telling the truth meant that they were being sincere, so she still posed some doubts, even with what they told her matched what was happening right now.


    She shook her head. Thinking too much wasn¡¯t good for her, as this was Sorius¡¯ and Ruby¡¯s job. Her job was only to hunt the annoying boss and bring him back to the professor, after that she could pass on their words to the group and let them make the decision.


    From the looks of it, she was about to have her job done. From the corner of the door in the next room she managed to catch sight of the boss talking desperately with somebody. Entering the room in a hurry, she quickly aimed the rifle at him.


    ¡°My my, what do we have here?¡± A loud and obnoxious voice came from the man that the boss was talking to, soon followed by an even louder and more obnoxious laugh. ¡°So you have been troubled by this girl?¡±


    Yllivia took some time to recognize the large scaled man in front of her, but after a brief moment she finally remembered him as the odd Athlian that had bullied Ruby when she first got into the tournament.


    ¡°Look. Get rid  of her, and we seal the deal, okay?¡± The boss said in an angry tone.


    ¡°Ha ha ha. Leave it to me.¡± The Athlian said with a smug tone while cracking his neck, the five or so hooligans that followed him also doing the same. ¡°This is much faster than having to win that stupid tournament anyway!¡±


    Ylliivia frowned a bit at his words while analyzing him and the other men with him. She couldn¡¯t help but think that things had gotten a bit more annoying


    -----


    Writer''s corner: For the three or so who understand it... SQUFFY!

 34.exe - Brass_bull.dat

    Writer¡¯s corner: GREETINGS FRIENDS! After a way too long Hiatus, we be back with much scene of action!


    SO, after a long time having a slump with Beepy, I finally decided to muscle my way through it. It took me a whole weekend to write this chapter, that¡¯s why the lack of updates. In exchange, it is pretty big for Beepy¡¯s standard and have a very long action scene! As well as some more insight on the actual situation they found themselves in.


    ALSO, I won¡¯t guarantee to go back to the previous pace I had before. At least not immediately, but I will try to make at least one chapter a week. Which means that before next Monday, another chapter should pop up. Hopefully¡­


    ALSO(2), on unrelated matters, it was found out within the den that, REAL LIFE DENSE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY DO EXIST! It is a fairly famous author here on the site, but I won¡¯t tell any more than this, as this is privacy matters. I can¡¯t guarantee that VRDraco or the other members of the Den won¡¯t, though¡­


    ALSO(3), I¡¯m On board the hype train for MHX! NYANTA FOR THE WIN! (SO FRUFFY!) CHOO CHOO!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    Since it has been some time since the last time we saw Beepy and friends, let¡¯s have a brief recap.


    {Beepy and company found themselves in dire problems, for while Yllivia made a painting of Ruby, Lunn came and told them that money was lacking. With all of the men missing due to business, they decided to take a day off and simply do their own missions themselves.


    While giving a quick trip to the nearby mercenaries headquarters, they decided to take on the job of bringing down a certain criminal organization that had been organizing a gearbox nearby. As luck had it, the girls managed to find the organization after using Ruby to trick an unlucky old man who kept swearing that the tournament was rigged.


    After using Lunn¡¯s seduction skills to get their way inside the said gearbox, they finally registered beepy as a competitor so that they could last until the finals and meet the boss.


    Battle happens, Beepy beat the favorite of his category after being cheated to lose, but still is accused of cheating. After an epic verbal and physical humiliation of one of the bodyguards, Yllivia, Ruby, Beepy and the Hugger (Beepy¡¯s new friend (subordinate?)) go on to have a talk with the boss, being escorted by the head body-guard who left very clear that there were traps protecting the boss.


    After a quick discussion and seeing the man running away, a firefight started and Yllivia ran off to hunt the boss, only to meet the two odd announcers that seemed to hide something. Afterwards she found the boss who for some reason was asking for help from one of the participants on the tournament. The same one who seemingly was under heavy doubt of cheating.


    Meanwhile, Beepy and Co returned and found themselves meeting with Lunn, who had left earlier when she noticed that things were getting complicated and came back with her brother, who came to give them a hand with figuring out the situation.}


    ----


    Running through the corridor, the group quickly reached the last depot where they held the last of the robots. Using the same strategy as before, they quickly approached the guards, but they were a bit more cautious than what they initially expected.


    Probably having received word from the other guards, they didn¡¯t make questions before raising their weapons towards the group. But Sorius was faster than the guards, and with a quick movement he took aim with the pistol that Ruby took and shot their weapons out of their hands before approaching them and shocking the guards unconscious.


    As much alert as they were, it seemed that they weren¡¯t exactly focused on trying to keep the robots in check.


    [I guess Yllivia is doing her job.] Gaz said.


    [I just hope she doesn¡¯t get hurt.] Ruby added with a serious tone, but her worry overflowed through the link.


    Shaking her head, Ruby quickly changed her attention back to the task at hand, and with one quick look at the cages where the robots were found, she started frown.


    ¡°Different models¡­¡± The young morfian muttered while approaching one of the nearby cages. With a frown, she took a look at the cages. ¡°Older ones¡­¡± She murmured. Approaching her, Sorius looked at her with a raised eyebrow. ¡°These will need to be open individually.¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°If you try to force all of them open, you might fry the locks.¡±


    The male elf frowned slightly before nodding in an understanding manner. Immediately after, ruby tinkered with the console of the cage, opening it and removing a couple of components, once she was done, she pointed to a small battery-like device and moved on to the next apparel. Each cage she approached was dismantled at a frightening speed, lasting little more than three seconds under the girl¡¯s hand.


    [I feel kind of useless right now¡­] Gaz said with a sigh, and Ekis seemed to agree with him.


    [Why don¡¯t you keep an eye out there.] Ruby said briefly. [Lunn looks like she needs some help.]


    Gaz sighed deeply in his mind while looking at the elf who looking dispirited on the door, having her secret revealed, she suddenly became extremely quiet and distant. Seeing that it was as much of a good idea as any other, Gaz made his way towards the girl. Surprisingly enough, although the elf did look down, she still kept a serious look out for any possible guard that was coming to the room.


    ¡°Beepy¡­¡± She said with a slightly distracted tone.


    Gaz simply approached her and stood besides Lunn, looking on the opposite side that the elf was watching out. While doing so he felt as the elf lowered her hand to gently rub his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see that at least one girl is here to support me¡­ EH? WHERE ARE YOU GOING? BEEPY? NOT YOU TOO!¡±


    [I¡¯m going to take a patrol nearby.] He said briefly.


    [Aren¡¯t you a bit too sensible about that?] Ekis said with a wry tone.


    [Well¡­ We can¡¯t really blame him, can we?] Ruby added with a slightly sympathetic tone. [I personally don¡¯t like being called a boy either...]


    Ignoring their bickering, Gaz quickly started to make his way through the nearby corridors, taking peeks at the corners before going back his way. After all, he only needed to keep an eye out for possible bandits approaching.


    [Gaz¡­ Something have been bothering me, but¡­ Isn¡¯t this place a bit too big?] Ekis suddenly said while highlighting something on his vision. Taking a look at it, Gaz noticed it was something akin to a map.


    [What?] He asked confused. [Is this a map from this area?] He asked confused, seeing that there were some parts that resembled a bit the arena where he fought and the path to the boss, as well some that were clearly open ended, probably unexplored areas. Much alike RPG¡¯s mini-maps.


    [Well¡­] She seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying. [doesn¡¯t it looks like a bit too big compared to the building we came in?]


    Gaz blinked surprised for a moment while thinking. Now that she said it, he stopped to think for a moment. For a place in the slums, wasn¡¯t this area surprisingly big? This whole underground complex could easily be a lot bigger than the size of the houses in the area.


    While looking distracted at it, Gaz heard the sound of gunfights coming from nearby turn, and after grimacing, he turned towards the sound and slowly made his way through the corridors while hearing Ekis pass on her doubts to the professor.


    [Now that you said it¡­] Ruby said in a pensive tone for a moment. [Even if the building itself is in the slums, something this size shouldn¡¯t be able to pass on without no one in the higher ups not knowing.] She stopped for a moment. [Maybe they have a hand on the higher ups?]


    [What do you mean?] Ekis asked confused.


    [Well¡­ If something this size was built, people would surely have heard about it.] Ruby said in a serious tone. [Either the commotion or having been directly removed from their houses, something this size clearly occupies a lot more space than it should. This would have cause an uproar in the city, no matter the fact that this is the slums or not.] She said briefly.


    [So¡­ You think that they had the helps from above to throw all this under the cover?] Gaz asked as he heard the sound of battle getting closer.


    [That¡¯s what I would guess, but¡­] Ruby hesitated for a moment before saying. [Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a small gang?]


    [Now that you mention it¡­] Gaz said with a mental frown.


    [Hmm¡­ I¡¯m a bit lost here¡­] Ekis said with a pouting tone, making Gaz smile a bit awkwardly in his mind.


    [Well, what we mean is¡­ This place is far too big for just a small gang.] Gaz explained briefly. [So Ruby is thinking that there is a chance that someone with high political power is, for some reason, backing these guys up.]


    [And why would it be strange?] Ekis asked confused, and Ruby was the one to explain.


    [You see, small gangs usually don¡¯t offer any real motif for the higher ups to cover up for them. They would be more trouble than profit, so it would be better to level them while you can.] She said in a serious and pensive tone. [But for a gang like this to grow so much without backing shouldn¡¯t be possible¡­] With her words, their link went to a deep and slightly bothersome silence as they all thought on the possibility.


    [What about back up¡­ From another group?] Ekis said when the silence threatened to last. Feeling the other two surprises she quickly went on. [I mean¡­ What if another group gave them protection for some reason?] She asked a slightly innocent manner.


    [That¡­] Gaz said slightly surprised but stopped once his gaze passed from the following corner. [This is the moment where I say crap, isn¡¯t it?] He said in a sarcastic tone.


    [Uwaaa¡­] Ekis said shocked.


    [Beepy? Ekis? What happened?] Ruby asked worried.


    [Huggy¡­ You might want to hasten up whatever you are doing.] Gaz said with a dry laugh. [We have a LARGE problem incoming¡­]


    ¡­


    Having quickly crossed the gap between her and her assailants, Yllivia started with landing a heavy kick on a nearby victim¡¯s stomach, making him bend over in pain. Before the other goons could take aim, she circled behind the guy¡¯s back and stole the pistol on his hand while ditching the assault rifle she brought with herself.


    Holding the man by the neck, she put him between the other goons and herself, shamelessly using him as a shield to protect herself. However, she didn¡¯t expect the others to actually stop shooting altogether, knowing how goons like these were, on the other hand, they did hesitate for a brief moment, which was enough for the lynian, who unloaded the pistol¡¯s magazine on two of the closest goons¡¯ legs.


    Afterwards she kicked away the improvised meat-shield towards two of the remaining goons while throwing the empty pistol at the third who had just taken the aim with his own weapon, a small sub machine-gun. Luckily, the few bullets he managed to squeeze out were sent off-track by the impact of the weapon to his face.


    With a quick movement, Yllivia knocked the air out from the goon before taking the weapon for herself like before. A slightly familiar feeling came from the weapon handle, as it was a similar model to her own, although still somewhat different.


    Turning back to the two that were tangled with her first victim, she squeezed out the trigger for a brief moment, not wanting to risk being caught off-guard. Although she did avoid any possible fatal shots, they wouldn¡¯t bother her any time soon.


    ¡°Damn, almost didn¡¯t have the time.¡± A haughty and obnoxious voice came from besides her, and she turned to see the large built Athlian holding something in his hand. ¡°Luckily, I was prepared for something like you.¡± He said with a slightly annoyed grunt.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.The white haired cat-girl took aim with the sub machine-gun, but the Athlian used whatever was in his hand, throwing it high into the air and dragging her attention for a brief second.


    Then, the grenade exploded.


    ¡°GAAAH!¡± The Lynian shouted in pain as she dropped the gun and covered her ears.


    The loud sound blasted through her ears at a painfully high volume, throwing her sense of balance off and making her ears ring. However, the girl was seemingly the only one who was affected by the grenade, as the Athlian smirked before taking a couple of steps and slamming his heavy fist on the girl¡¯s body.


    Feeling the air escape her lungs, Yllivia flew with the impact, crossing almost the entire room before finally falling back to the floor. Raising herself with much difficulty, she noticed that at least one rib was now broken after the impact, as a sharp pain flared up in her body when she tried to breath.


    She frowned slightly before finally ignoring the pain. It wasn¡¯t the worst she had before, so she was more than used to something of this level. However, the sole fact that the athlian managed to punch her so far using only brute strength was worry-some. The fact that she had also dropped her weapon at the surprise attack was bad news.


    A sound grenade, a weapon aimed solely against Lynians. How long had it been since the last time she saw one of those? Still, being caught unaware¡­ Was she getting rusty?


    While such thoughts crossed her mind she slowly got up once again, taking a fighting pose against the large man, she also reassessed the situation she found herself in. All of the goons wouldn¡¯t be a problem for the time being, and the boss was hiding in the corner of the room while holding a weapon. But the Athlian is in the way, so he couldn¡¯t take aim. The broken rib did hinder her movements a bit, but nothing she couldn¡¯t work around with.


    However, the cage that was close to the man worried her. It was far too big to be something inoffensive, and being covered in that cloth didn¡¯t help much either. While worrying about what it could be, she saw as the athlian took out a pistol from his hip and took a couple of shots at her.


    Dodging to the side right before the trigger was pulled, Yllivia managed to avoid the bullets and find cover behind a nearby couch that the goons were using before she came in. As she took cover and started to think of what to do, she heard the Athlian clicking his tongue.


    ¡°How can she move like that?¡± He asked surprised.


    ¡°Look, she defeated Jay¡¯s second in command in less than ten seconds.¡± The boss said, his composure back now that things were going back to his way.


    ¡°Huh? That guy?¡± The athlian asked confused.


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t go thinking that she is weak just because you cornered her.¡± He said while slowly walking around the couch.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± The big man said before sighing. ¡°If you say so, I guess that I shouldn¡¯t try my luck too much. Even if this is expensive as hell¡­¡± He had a slightly bothered tone. ¡°The boss is going to kill me because of thiss¡­¡±


    Upon those words, Yllivia peeked from the couch briefly, seeing as he took another sound grenade and threw it in the air above the couch. The Lynian frowned seeing that weapon once again, but didn¡¯t seek for cover, and instead leapt out from behind the couch.


    Even though they were surprised, they weren¡¯t all that bothered, because soon the grenade went off. Although neither of them looked affected, they knew that the grenade had a painful effect on her sensitive hearing.


    Something that was proven correct when the girl slightly stumbled during her charge, her body leaning to the side almost falling. However, the duo didn¡¯t even have the chance to commemorate, because the Lynian¡¯s body suddenly twisted and her leg went straight to the athlians body, hitting him at full strength.


    Her head flaring up in a sharp and unbearable pain, Yllivia could even feel as some blood dripped down through her ears and down her cheeks. She winced lightly in pain, but on the other hand since she wasn¡¯t hearing anything right now, she wouldn¡¯t need to worry about the sonic bomb any longer.


    As long as she wasn¡¯t caught by surprise, she was fairly confident in her ability to simply muscle her way through the pain, but losing her hearing might not have been a very good trade for that. Lunn is surely going to scold her later.


    But now, she had other things to worry about, as the large athlian didn¡¯t receive much damage from the attack, thanks to his needlessly large muscles, which absorbed most of the impact.


    But the momentary stun was enough for her to move away from him and towards the morfian boss who stood behind him. Caught by surprise, he didn¡¯t have time to react before the girl snatched the gun away from his hand, circled behind him and used him as a meat shield.


    ¡°You little¡­¡± The big goon said in an angry tone, but once he stared at her holding the man, he looked surprised. Then he laughed. ¡°What? Do you think using him as a hostage will get you somewhere?¡± He asked. ¡°We don¡¯t care all that much about him. Just throw someone else to lead and all is good.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Hey¡­ What¡­¡± The morfian said, but Yllivia cut him short.


    ¡°You want the alloy. You need the key. Can¡¯t kill.¡± She frowned. Although she couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying over the ringing sound, she could somehow make sense of their words from their expressions and lip movement.


    ¡°Ohh¡­ No need for that. I¡¯m sure we could muscle our way through somehow.¡± He said with a shrug and raising the pistol.


    ¡°N-No! It¡¯s made with Thumpster¡¯s back armor! It can¡¯t be broken easily!¡± The boss said in an hurried tone. ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Only a Thumpster?¡± The man said with a disappointed tone. ¡°Then we don¡¯t even need to get the big-guns. Brutus here should be able to deal with it¡­¡± He said while pointing to the huge cage behind him. ¡°And since you got yourself in this mess and all¡­ I guess there shouldn¡¯t be a problem if you were to suffer and accident, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The man said in a surprised tone while Yllivia frowned.


    Right as those words escaped his lips, a bulled flew through the air. More out of sheer instinct rather than reflexes, Yllivia caught sight of the goon who rose his weapon from the ground and shot a bulled at her. Barely dodging the bullet that grazed her leg, it still ended up hitting the boss¡¯s own leg, making him shout in pain.


    Clicking her tongue, Yllivia quickly turned back and ran away, carrying the man together with her. She didn¡¯t really have the need to fight the larger man, and only needed to pick the boss so she could get the password.


    Seeing that she had already completed her mission, she decided to retreat.


    While running away, she could somehow make out some people shouting something, but she didn¡¯t really have time to bother with it, so she escaped from the room while dragging the morfian behind her, his sudden lack of resistance a welcome fact.


    Now, came the problem. She had no idea how the man would give chase to her, and having to drag around another person was already troublesome enough. But she also had no idea where to take him. Initially, she thought about taking him to Ruby, as she always seemed to know what to do, but she also had no idea where the hell she was, so it was a bit of a tight spot.


    As she tried to get a feel of her surrounding, suddenly the man she was dragging started to squirm and try to get her attention. Turning behind to see what was happening, the lynnian widened her eyes in shock.


    Not even having time to ask what was happening, she dived around a corridor just in time, as a massive bronze being crossed the place where she had been, only stopping when it hit the wall on the very end of the corridor, bringing it down with scary ease.


    Staring wide eyed, she saw as a huge robot walked it¡¯s way out of the wall, shaking out the rubble from it¡¯s body with a quick movement. After moving out from the broken wall, the robot turned it¡¯s massive head towards the Lynian and her hostage, staring down at her with a cold look as Steam built up from its body.


    Towering at two meters high even when walking on all it¡¯s legs, the huge metallic body was sustained by four powerful looking legs that still leaked steam from its last charge, each one easily twice the thickness of a normal human leg. Its¡¯s body had a bulky build , with a large back where it held a pair of massive stakes, built as pile drivers. It¡¯s head, squarish in shape, finished in what looked like a snout, but two massive horns with spiral railings lay atop of it.


    On each of its side, marked as a way to flaunt his position, was the name: Brutus.


    The bull like machine, which easily weighted more than two tons looked at Yllivia for a moment before lowering it¡¯s head and started to kick the ground with it¡¯s front legs.


    Suddenly, it shot forward. The fifty meters separating them crossed in a little more than four seconds, an unthinkable speed for something that size.


    Yllivia almost didn¡¯t manage to dodge the attack, as the robot speed was something unexpected, but instead of stopping, the robot simply went on, making a wide arc around the girl while it brought down all the walls in its path. Understanding its plan, Yllivia quickly moved away just as the wall besides her broke down, the bull flashing through for a moment before crashing towards the other room.


    Noticing that standing around would only lead to being caught, the cat immediately started running once again, thrusting only on her instinct to avoid the huge robot whenever it came.


    Besides, she was doubtful whether if she still had her weapons she would be capable of stopping that robot, as it was clearly leagues above the others she had fought up to now.


    More feeling than seeing as the bull broke down a wall right behind her, she gave a quick look back to see it making a curve down the corridor to aim straight at her. Throwing aside the baggage she had with her, she jumped away at the last moment, her ribs exploding in pain due to the sudden movement.


    The pain, being sharper than expected, left her without breath for a moment as she scrambled back up to her feet, just in time as the bull stopped and turned to her once again, raising its body on the hind legs and bringing it down on her.


    Rolling away on the ground, she managed to avoid the attack, but left her open, as it lowered its head and prepared to charge ahead, its horn almost level with the ground.


    The lynian grimaced as she noticed that there wasn¡¯t a way out of this unscathed, as not only was she in a bad position, she also was still breathless due to the sudden spark of pain. Grimacing, she quickly but her arm before her as she prepared to roll out from the attack in exchanged for her arm.


    However, the moment it was about to hit her, something silver hit the bulls head, throwing it off its track. Although not enough to make him miss the lynian completely, it was enough to give her an opening to get away without great injury.


    ¡°Beepy¡­¡± She said while seeing the wolfish robot landing besides her.


    He looked at her for a moment and seemed to be in shock before turning back to the bull, it¡¯s bladed teeth showing from beneath within its mouth.


    Suddenly, the lyinian saw herself being lifted from the ground with the help of the twins, both of who seemed shocked with her state. She turned to Lunn in a daze as she saw her saying something to her in anger, but seeing that her ears still were busted, she simply shrugged.


    The elf scowled for a moment before dragging her away. The lynian knew she was in for a long scolding, but right now it didn¡¯t matter.


    She couldn¡¯t waste much time before going back to help Beepy and Sorius. Because, besides the bull, it was only a matter of time before reinforcement arrived.

 35.exe - Juggernaut.r4

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friend! Some action scene, some surprisingly strong opponents and some understanding!


    SO, as promised, I managed to get myself to write this chapter before a whole week has passed! Hooray! With this chapter, we start to get some understanding of the mastery behind the strangely influential group.


    BESIDES, as always, the next chapter shouldn¡¯t take too long, and tomorrow should be IO chapter, that is if I don¡¯t spend too long on the road, since I¡¯ll be travelling.


    BESIDES(2), this was supposed to be uploaded yesterday, but RRL went down and I had to sleep, so this time, it¡¯s NOT my fault. HOORAY!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    The two robots stared at each other for a long time, almost as if two beasts were preparing to try and kill each other. Something that wasn¡¯t all that far from the truth if we would take their shapes and temperaments in account. While growling slightly towards the bull, Gaz started to assess his situation, which left him with a favorable situation, seeing as how the elf was also here with him.


    Sadly, he didn¡¯t have his rifle with him, since he had no plan to actually use it during a scouting session, but at least he had some weapons with himself, so he could somehow help during the fight. Besides, they could also drag the fight long enough so that Yllivia manage to recover and come to help them in case the bull proved to be a bit too much.


    Lastly, there was also Ruby, who was acknowledgeable about robots like no one else, so his chances were actually quite good. Smiling fearlessly while staring at Brutus, Gaz prepared to take the first move before the bull could do something, but¡­


    ¡°N¡­ New generation?¡± Ruby said shocked, making Sorius click his tongue.


    [Huh? What do you mean?] Gaz asked confused, not exactly liking the tone of the girl.


    [That¡¯s¡­ Just like how some robot species dies for good with some time, others also pop up from new adaptations from older ones¡­ The ones that weren¡¯t registered are known as new generation.] She explained with slightly worried tone.


    [¡­Then, we know nothing?] Gaz asked in shock.


    [That¡¯s the case¡­] She replied with a sad tone.


    [¡­ Doesn¡¯t that kind of makes you useless?] Gaz said bluntly.


    [Hey! That¡¯s¡­] She started to reply in an angry tone, but before she could do any real explanation, rebuttal, she was interrupted.


    [NOT NOW, MOVE IT!] Gaz shouted worried.


    More out of instinct than real experience, the girl jumped away just as the massive robot crossed the spot where she found herself in. Shocked at its speed that she hadn¡¯t experienced before. Before she even had the chance to react, the bull had already blasted through the wall besides her, passing through it like it was paper.


    Looking shocked at the scene, she grimaced slightly while noticing how Gaz quickly moved around her, taking a position while keeping his attention towards one single direction. It took her a moment to understand what was happening, but as soon as she did, she turned towards the elf.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming from that direction!¡± She told him. He widened his eyes while quickly taking out the rifle he kindly took from the guard in front of the last depot.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± He asked curious while keeping the gun pointed towards the place she indicated.


    ¡°Beepy. His sensors should be picking it up...¡± Just as she said that, Gaz made a barking sound.


    Reacting to it, Sorius quickly opened fire just as the wall in front of them was brought down in a heavy impact. The first bullets quickly crossed the space between him and the robot, hitting it right in the huge body behind its head, but all they did was reflect off its body or penetrate only slightly the plating.


    Thankfully, this was enough to stop its advance, because it diverted its head slightly, changing the trajectory to the side and missing group.


    Hitting It¡¯s head on the wall and dragging around it, the robot came to a stop after some time before finally turning back and once again charging the group. Since it didn¡¯t try to hide itself within the rooms around them, Sorius managed to land a few more bullets on its body.


    But not eve then did the robot stop, and just as it reached the group, it twisted its head to the side before bringing it upwards in a slanted manner, the horn drilling through the ground while it tried to stab it into their bodies. With Gaz jumping backwards just in time as he pushed Ruby away and Sorious managing to dodge it on his own.


    Although the bull missed the group, it stopped right besides them, and as he looked around, he turned its back towards Gaz and started kick wildly legs while jumping around madly. The wall close by was brought down with ease by the wild kicks and one almost managed to find its way into Sorius¡¯ arm and the horn scratched Gaz¡¯s body, lifting him briefly in the air.


    Seeing as the robotic wolf didn¡¯t manage to escape completely, the bull immediately turned towards him before he could even fall back and charged, keeping its head low on the ground so that the horn would pierce the robot from downwards.


    [Watch out!] Ekis shouted a warning.


    [I CAN¡¯T MOVE IN THE AIR!] Gaz said just as he landed on the ground.


    Turning his attention towards the bull, Gaz didn¡¯t have much time to move away before the horn made contact with his body. Feeling as the right horn pierced just below his front leg, he let out a mental shout of pain while his body was lifted by the bull while dragging him along the wall.


    Luckily, he managed to push the other horn away from his neck using his free leg. Grimacing in pain as he felt the damage, he turned towards the robot as he tried to push himself out from the horn, using his claws and teeth in a feeble attempt to damage the bull, only to be stopped by the thick armor.


    [Get out of there! Quickly!] Ruby shouted worried.


    [I¡¯M TRYING!] Gaz replied, but all his efforts seemed in vain, as the horn dug even a bit deeper into his body and his legs got damaged a bit further. [It¡¯s not exactly easy to escape impaling, you know?]


    [You don¡¯t understand¡­ You¡­] She grimaced as she saw steam escaping from the bull¡¯s nostrils. [Not enough time¡­] Turning towards Sorius, she saw him grimacing while changing the magazine from the rifle, some bullet marks resting on the robot¡¯s flank.


    Seeing that she didn¡¯t exactly have much choice, the young girl changed her mind from trying to councel him and quickly charged ahead. This didn¡¯t exactly escape Brutus¡¯s gaze, since he turned his back to her and raised his right hind-leg.


    Frowning as she focused, Ruby quickly took in the position and the angle of the leg, as well as the slight tremble as the bull gathered the power within the legs to prepare to kick her. After making calculations on her mind based on what she knew of older models.


    [Maximun power around¡­ now.] She muttered, crouching just as the leg started to snap it back to the itself in a straight position.


    She felt her heart freeze as the leg seemed to make a trajectory straight up towards her face. Something with so much power would easily kill her in one hit, however, as the leg completed it¡¯s trajectory, it swerved upwards, missing her head by nothing more than two fingers of distance.


    Even in her professor mode, she still felt as her legs wanted to give in at that moment, but she didn¡¯t have time for that, so she quickly scrambled up to her feet and reached the wolf robot, who looked at her in confusion and shock.


    Ignoring his gaze, the girl turned sideways and slammed her shoulders on the robot, the sudden impact making him wince in pain, but at the same time throwing him off from the horn for good.


    But it didn¡¯t come without price, as the bull shook his head at her and managed to bash her away a fair distance before she landed on the ground. Thankfully, his horns were turned upwards, so they missed the girl.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sorius asked with some anger and confusion in his voice as he ran towards her while firing a short salvo aimed at the bull¡¯s neck-joint.


    Just as he made the question, steam escaped from the top of his body, and a loud rumbling sound echoed as the huge pile-drivers rocketed out from his back, passing just above his horns, where the wolf was earlier, but instead only meeting air.


    The bull let out a loud grunt of anger from its inner parts before swaying angrily with the pile drivers still out, trying to land an attack at the group nearby. Luckily, the large pikes obstructed his view, so even though he managed to get close to the group, he mostly missed any attempt at an attack, only serving to break the walls even more.


    [Are¡­. Are you fine¡­?] Ruby asked as she felt the pain cursing through her body.


    [Somewhat¡­] Gaz replied while quickly putting himself up and moving around the robot. [Ekis managed to cut off the pain in time. What about you?]


    [Nothing broken¡­ Thankfully.] She replied in a pained tone. ¡°The ceiling...¡± She murmured to the elf afterwards while pointing to the ceiling above the bull.


    Sorius looked confused for a moment before finally understanding her words. Most of the walls around them had been completely destroyed, so there was little holding the ceiling in place. Even some cracks were starting to appear.


    Aiming his rifle upwards, the elf didn¡¯t take much longer before he started shooting up towards the cracked spaces in the ceiling, expanding the cracks even more until it actually broke and fell down upon the huge bull.


    Falling down due to the extra weight, the bull soon was on his knees while hidden beneath the rubble. Gaz became a bit cheerful with that, but before he could even do it, Ruby said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fall back.¡± She said hurriedly, receiving confused glares from both Beepy and Sorius. ¡°Beepy is damaged, your gun don¡¯t do any real damage and we know nothing about him.¡± She said briefly.


    ¡°I could aim for the joints. It seemed to be working.¡± He said briefly with a frown.


    ¡°Not really. He could still move his head just fine after all that.¡± Ruby said with a grim face. ¡°Besides, I think I saw a couple of bigger caliber weapons back there and we can get the help of¡­¡±


    ¡°ink¡­ so¡­ing¡­ ere¡­¡± She stopped when she heard a few voices coming from far away.


    ¡°And he have reinforcements.¡± She said briefly. This seemed to be enough for the elf, as he quickly helped her up and gave a quick look to Gaz, who was walking away with a slight limp. [How¡¯s your leg?] She asked briefly.


    [Hose is torn and the piston is dislodged with the support completely broken.] He replied briefly. [Electric motor still works, but can¡¯t put any real strength behind it. That and the loose parts are a hindrance.]


    [¡­We can deal with that quickly.] Ruby said after a brief thought. [But don¡¯t think we can repair the piston without going back¡­]


    Gaz grimaced but nodded briefly.


    ¡°Why the hell did I leave my rifle at home again¡­?¡± Sorius asked with a regretful voice. ¡°And that¡¯s a gears, so my esp is useless on it.¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Ruby said while guiding them towards the place where she had seen Yllivia be dragged to earlier. ¡° If we manage to discharge enough energy, it would heat up the gear¡¯s metal and make it softer. If it tried to use some kind of high pressure action, it would probably end up blowing.¡±


    ¡°¡­ How much energy are we talking about here?¡± Sorius asked seriously.


    ¡°Too much.¡± Ruby shook her head, and this made the elf frown slightly.


    Ignoring their problems, the group quickly turned a corner and found a room where there were some still intact rooms. Seeing that they had no idea where Lunn had taken Yllivia, the two organics looked worried, but Gaz quickly took the lead and walked towards one of the rooms, leaning on his hind-legs, he supported himself on the doorknob and opened it.


    Inside was a huge room, filled to the brim with what looked like plastic bags with some red pills inside. While Ruby looked confused at the scene, Sorius frowned and put on a disgusted face.


    ¡°Red Crest¡­¡± He said in a low tone while looking at one of the bags. ¡°Hallucinogenic drug that leaves no traces in the body after a couple of hours.¡± He explained to Ruby. ¡°Saw this once or twice in our older city during jobs¡­ Couldn¡¯t you have chosen a better hide out?¡± He said angrily while turning to the other people on the room.


    ¡°Not like we had a choice, you know?¡± Lunn replied while using her Esp to take care of Yllivia¡¯s wounds, the Lynnian looking a bit better than before. ¡°There were guards coming and we needed a quick hideout.¡± She said angrily.


    ¡°Guards left to hunt you. So the room was free.¡± Yllivia said briefly while looking around. ¡°At least, we found the source of their influence.¡± She stared at a nearby plastic bag before turning to the last person who was crouching on the room. ¡°He confirmed it for us.¡±


    Ruby¡¯s and Sorius eyes were redirected to the third person, who was being held in place by Hugger, who was holding his arms and legs together tightly against his back. This made Sorius satisfied, as he nodded briefly.


    As Ruby became confused about what was happening, Yllivia looked towards Gaz, only to see him with a gaping hole beneath his body where the horn had pierced him earlier. Ignoring Lunn¡¯s warnings, she quickly put herself up and ran towards the small robot, kneeling besides him with a worried look.


    ¡°Beepy¡­ Are you alright?¡± She asked him in a worried tone, but Gaz simply nodded. Luckily, his piston and hose managed to protect the inner and more important pieces of gear.


    ¡°Beep!¡± He replied cheerfully, easily ignoring the pain with a small help of Ekis, before turning towards the pills with a confused gaze.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Why are these pills proof that they are receiving help?¡± Ruby asked the question that was floating on her head. Lunn blinked surprised for some time before nodding understandingly.


    ¡°I forgot but you are new to this, right¡­?¡± She gave a wry smile before grabbing Yllivia by the hand and dragging her back so that she could continue treating her. ¡°You see, deary, but these drugs are extremely rare, and we only know of a single group that can craft them.¡± She said with a sight towards Ruby.


    ¡°Scarlet Moon¡­ One of the three biggest gangs within the whole country.¡± Sorius said with a frown. ¡°They are so big that not even the police can touch them.¡± He said with some disgust in his voice. ¡°From what I heard, they are actually affiliated to someone in the high ranks and received free pass to do whatever they want.¡±


    ¡°Heh? Then this is one of their bases?¡± Ruby asked in shock, but Yllivia shook her head.


    ¡°No, This is a normal gang that became an affiliate.¡± Yllivia said briefly. ¡°They mistakenly got the alloy from scarlet during a robbery. Used it to gain favors. Word got out, though, and other gangs wanted to attack them, so decided to use the last tournament as a cover for the actual transaction. Everyone know that the alloy wasn¡¯t in their hands anymore.¡±


    ¡°¡­Then, isn¡¯t this bad?¡± Ruby asked, and Sorius nodded after a long sigh.


    ¡°Worst possible. After the biggest extremist merc faction, we might just have gotten one of the biggest drug lord in our tails.¡± The elf said with a depressed tone. ¡°Just what did you get us into this time, you retard?¡± He said turning to Lunn.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not my fault we were completely out of money, you know?¡± She said angrily.


    ¡°¡­ Still need to get out of here.¡± Yllivia said briefly. ¡°After getting the alloy, though.¡± She said curtly.


    Nodding heavily, The group took advantage of the short time they had before being found out to make a plan.

 36.exe - Divide_and_conquer.exe

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! Some strategizing going on this time!


    SO, as I said back in IO, the reason for the delay this time is simply because I went binge-reading light novels and ended up with some other ideas that were interrupting my thought-process when it came to writing stories because none of them actually fit in the ones I already had going¡­


    BESIDES, I initially planned this to be an action chapter, but thought it might be a good time to let clear what were their plans before the last duel start. Well, not exactly a duel, but you can guess what I mean¡­ Anyway, IO main chapter should come tomorrow and beepy by Monday, probably.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    At the moment, they had three main situations that they had to solve somehow. First, was the fact that they had to reach the safe and sneak out with the alloy. The reason for this, is that, as Ruby said, that alloy could easily be used to make some scary weapons, and leaving it in the hands of a large underground organization was a big mistake.


    Second, was to somehow deal with the reinforcements. The soldiers took the time that they were entangled with the robot to actually regroup and prepare another assault at the group. Right now they had no idea where they were, but it was only a matter of time before some random soldier finds them and report to their allies.


    Lastly, and more problematic, was Brutus, the robot itself. It was clearly a heavily armored robot, and all of their weapons would simply bounce off harmlessly from its shell and leave little to no damage, and due to its speed, aiming for the weak points is too difficult. Aside from all that, not even Ruby had no knowledge about the robot¡­


    ¡°No, I actually know somethings about it.¡± She said while holding the chest armor so that Beepy could weld it back together using the tool-cable that popped up from his neck.


    [Wait wait wait. Didn¡¯t you say that you knew nothing about the bastard?] Gaz asked the doubt that sparked in everybody¡¯s mind.


    ¡°What? I had plenty of time to observe it while it was rampaging, alright?¡± Ruby said while putting up a matter-of-fact expression.


    ¡°No¡­ Even like that¡­¡± Sorius said with a shocked tone.


    ¡°Anyway, from what I gathered, the armor is around five to seven centimeters thick, and the hardness is around the level of a Tart-dweller. If my estimates are correct for the steam tank, it reaches the explosive speed by gathering at least three quarters of the steam tank on the legs pumps, but it also leaves it with a highly strained leg joints, so it¡¯s not able to use the explosive acceleration all the times¡­¡± She said while frowning slightly as if making a pensive face.


    ¡°How did you manage to find out so much?¡± Yllivia asked surprised while testing out her ears that had been healed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you only see it for some time?¡± She tilted her head.


    ¡°Even if I never met a robot before, I have  a lot to base myself on.¡± She said with a frown. ¡°Besides, these things are really easy to find out if you take in account material weight, speed, vibrations on the body, inertia and so on¡­¡±


    [I¡¯m one hundred percent sure that the normal populace does not work that way.] Gaz said in a deadpan voice.


    ¡°A-Anyway.¡± Ruby said while clearing her throat. ¡°Based on the material that their bodies are made of, I¡¯d say that it can only use the boost a couple of times before changing the pistons altogether. My best guess would be four times, but it¡¯s better to go with five times just for safety.¡± She said in an explaining tone. ¡°Also, the sheer pressure needed to keep that massive body moving, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if even a small dent could make the boiler or the steam tank blow up, so it¡¯s probably on the heart of the beast together with the core, where the armor is the thickest.¡±


    As the professor shared her findings with the group, everyone simply looked at her in sheer amazement, not knowing how to react to her skills in observation. Seeing that no one was saying anything and simply stared at her in confusion, even the professor started to feel awkward a bit awkward.


    ¡°You¡­ noticed all that only by seeing how it moved around?¡± Lunn asked in confusion and Ruby nodded.


    ¡°And I am almost sure it have some kind of sensor besides the optical ones.¡± She added in a serious face. ¡°It seemed to find us even when he was behind a series of walls, so I believe that he have either a sonic sensor or something of the kind to find us from behind the walls.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Sorius said with a nod before frowning. ¡°It¡¯s a really tough opponent, huh?¡±


    ¡°In truth, we were lucky.¡± Yllivia said with a low tone, surprising everyone. ¡°I mean, most of it¡¯s equipment is to use against heavily armored robots, and not anti-personel.¡± She explained while making a pair of horns with her fingers. ¡°The pile drivers you talked about. I doubt they are useful against small targets.¡± As she said that, the other¡¯s widened their eyes and nodded.


    In a way, it made sense, since the huge bull was brought there with the intention of battling other large robots, so it would make sense that most of it¡¯s equipment would be turned against destroying larger armored enemies.


    However, this still meant that they had to deal with it, and its heavy armor was easily the toughest one in the whole compound, which left them a bit lost on how to solve that problem. Even if it¡¯s main weapon against light enemies had a limited use, it¡¯s sheer weight and basic leg strength could easily kill anyone there with ease.


    Looking between each other, they couldn¡¯t help but feel intimidated by the task at hand. However¡­


    [Ruby, if we stopped it, do you think you could dismantle him?] Ekis asked suddenly, and Ruby widened her eyes for a moment.


    ¡°I¡­ Could do that¡­¡± She murmured while going into a pensive position. Noticing her reaction, the elves turned to her with a curious gaze. ¡°Ek¡­. I was thinking. If you can stop the robot¡­ I might be able to dismantle the armor.¡± She said with a nod. ¡°In fact, if we get a good timing, we might even blow up the leg altogether.¡±


    However, on her plans, all the other threes rose from their seats and put on angry faces.


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t let you do that.¡± Sorius said while glaring at her. ¡°You are just a civilian and have no combat training. We can¡¯t let you go on the frontline against such enemy.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no chance that I¡¯ll let my sweety get in such a dangerous place!¡± Lunn agreed in an angry tone.


    ¡°Can¡¯t guarantee safety.¡± Yllivia nodded.


    ¡°Then, what do you suggest we do?¡± Ruby asked in an angry tone. ¡°If we run right now, the guys that are distributing these drugs will disappear to their new place that we have no idea where is, so we can¡¯t exactly run away. And besides, with the alloys, they should be able to easily craft a weapon much like yours.¡± She pointed towards Sorius. ¡°Except that ANYONE would be able to use it. Even without your Psy.¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Sorius widened his eyes in shock as the meaning of her words sunk in on him, but he still shook his head in a denying motion.


    ¡°Look, I understand what you want to say, but from what I saw, the mission was simply to shut down a small gearbox.¡± The elf said with a sigh. ¡°This is much more than a simple gear-box and what a small group like us can take. They should bring the army for something this size.¡± He said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯d rather simply pack our things and find a way out of here.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Actually agree with him.¡± Lunn said after some time of thought. ¡°I don¡¯t know why the job was wrong, but this thing is too big for us to take alone.¡± The pink haired elf said with a slightly sorrowful tone. Finally, the group turned to Yllivia who had her eyes closed and lightly raised her head.


    But before she could start nodding, Ruby interrupted.


    ¡°So, we are going to leave the Robots to get broken in another gearbox like this one?¡± The morphian asked in a slightly angry tone.


    ¡°I¡­ Want to do something for the robots.¡± Yllivia said with a low tone, receiving surprised gazes from the elves twins. ¡°If we let them¡­ They might¡­¡±


    The elves looked at her confused for a moment before sighing and shaking their heads, but once again, Ruby interrupted them before they could say anything.


    ¡°Also, with something this big, we could actually get quite a hefty amount from the Merc headquarters, even if it¡¯s only by selling their gear.¡± The morphian said, making the pink-haired elf¡¯s ears twitch slightly. ¡°And, I may know a person who might be able to use the alloy to upgrade your rifle.¡± Now it was the male elf whose ears twitched.


    They crossed gazes for a moment and they could see as their determinations wavered for a moment before shaking their heads.


    ¡°No, we still can¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°I have a plan against the robot.¡± Ruby said finally, and this worked to make the final drop on the elves¡¯ resistance, and they both sighed in defeat as the girl once again managed to negotiate her way to what she wanted.  ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that it will work, but it¡¯s worth a try.¡± She said with a slightly wry smile.


    ¡°Well, we are still left with the other two problems, even if you somehow takes care of the robot, we still have the safe to reach and the bandits to take care of.¡± Sorius said with a sigh. ¡°if we were all together, I could think of something, but sincerely, with only us here, defeating them might¡­¡±


    ¡°Take out the head.¡± Yllivia said with her usual low tone, making the others look at her in confusion. ¡°Show that we have their boss, and take out the Athlian. With that they should panic.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Kill the head, and the snake stops¡­¡± Sorius said with a nod before looking at Yllivia. ¡°This would be something more of your area, but¡­ Are you fine with it?¡±


    Both Gaz and Ruby blinked at his strange choice of words before staring at Lynnian, who lowered her eyes with a sad look for a moment. Ruby¡¯s mouth opened for a moment, but a look from Gaz made her keep her doubts for herself. Right now wasn¡¯t the time to make such a question.


    ¡°I¡¯d¡­ Better not.¡± Yllivia said with a shake of her head.


    ¡°¡­Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not the reason.¡± The cat-girl said, interrupting him. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ Still the head-guard from that guy.¡± She said while turning to the boss who was still being held by the small robot. ¡°He¡¯s strong.¡± The elves widened their eyes in surprise at her words. ¡°If he finds me in the middle of the enemy group¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow, if Ylli says so¡­¡± Lunn said with a shocked look while turning to Sorius.


    ¡°Speaking of him, don¡¯t you find him odd?¡± Ruby said with a frown. ¡°He came and told us of the traps before the boss rooms and let it clear that it doesn¡¯t work in a blackout. And we haven¡¯t heard of him since.¡±


    ¡°Now that you say it.¡± Lunn agreed with a frown.


    ¡°The announcers¡­¡± Yllivia added suddenly. ¡°They also were acting oddly. They told me where to find that guy. And they didn¡¯t seem to be on the Athlian¡¯s side either.¡±


    ¡°So now, we also have a third power in the game?¡± Lunn said with an tired expression before throwing herself back against the packets. ¡°Geez, wonderful! All that we need was some money to pass the week. Why did we get in such a mess?¡± She said while throwing a tantrum.


    ¡°Well, as much as I¡¯d like to know, we don¡¯t have a way out right now.¡± Sorius said with a sigh before making a serious face. ¡°Look, since we are going with this anyway, might as well as make our plan here.¡± The others quickly recollected themselves at his words. ¡°Firstly, me and Yllivia will hold on the reinforcements and make sure they don¡¯t reach you.¡± He said while pointing towards Ruby. ¡°We¡¯ll try to lure them into close quarters were Ylli can take care of them easily, but I can¡¯t give any guarantees.¡± Yllivia nodded, saying that she was ready for it. ¡°Lunn, since you used your skill on Ylli, you shouldn¡¯t be in fighting conditions right now, so I¡¯ll leave the safe retrieval with you.¡±


    ¡°So, I take the leaze-bag with me?¡± She asked suspicious, but Sorius shook his head.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll take him and use to drop their morale. But you shouldn¡¯t need to worry, since the guards will mostly come towards us.¡± The elf then turned to Ruby, who had just finished making some make-shift repairs on Beepy. ¡°Ruby, you have ten minutes after we begin to bring down the bull. That¡¯s the most we will be able to hold on. Do you think you and Beepy can make it?¡±


    ¡°Ten¡­¡± Ruby frowned slightly before nodding. ¡°I think we might be able to manage. But I¡¯ll need hugger to come with me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Sorius said with a long and deep sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are planning, but if it doesn¡¯t work within ten minutes, or the bull turn on us, we are abandoning the plan, no matter what.¡± He said in a cold tone that left no room for discussion. ¡°Just to be clear, but our main objectives here, right now, will be: First, recover the alloy. Second, take out the Athlian gang-leader. Third, get away from here while wreaking as much havoc as possible. If we cause enough damage, we might be able to give proof of our achievements to the mercs and receive some bounty for it.¡±


    The whole group nodded in agreement as they made their preparations for the battle ahead. While Ruby took out a pen from her pocket and jolted something down in a small piece of paper, she couldn¡¯t help but notice how Beepy¡¯s gaze seemed strangely unfocused.


    [Did something happen?] She asked briefly.


    [it¡¯s just that¡­ I felt so useless in these last moments¡­] Gaz said with a sad tone.


    [I share that feeling with you, Gaz¡­] Ekis replied in the same lethargic tone.


    Ruby let out a brief snort before giving the piece of paper to the small cat, who bit it and vanished in thin air.

 37.exe - Juggernot.r4

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! After some time, here we have the time where Gaz finally manage to do something against the bull! (Or is it?)


    SO, with much delay, I¡¯ve finally began to bring this arc to a close, and am already planning for the next arc, where I¡¯m planning on bringing this series back to it¡¯s original idea. Even if only temporarily.


    BESIDES, I wanted to let it clear that the bull is something that entirely outclassed Beepy as an opponent. Such it is that most of the time, he was the one taking the attacks. This also works to destroy his body and have him start working on the next one, so all works out in the end¡­


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    [So, what¡¯s the plan?] Gaz asked in a hollow voice that seemed almost lifeless.


    [For now, we have to find the bull before it find us, to prepare the field.] Ruby replied briefly with her serious tone.


    [He¡¯s to our right¡­ Thirty degrees¡­] Ekis said with the exact same tone as Gaz.


    For a moment, Ruby stopped and turned to the duo with a confused face.


    [I can understand Gaz being depressed, but why are you too, Ekis?] She asked after a moment while resuming her walk.


    [[Because we were pretty much useless back there¡­]] They replied in perfect synch before sighing.


    Rather, Gaz let out a long and drawn out beep that sounded really similar to a sigh. This seemed to attract the attention of the hugger, who turned to him in confusion for a moment as if waiting for something.


    Gaz simply gave him a brief glance before turning back to the front, walking away. Hugger understood immediately that it simply meant that it was to follow him, so it complied and quietly followed him, its four legs moving the slim body in a slightly creepy way.


    On the plus side, at least Gaz got himself a subordinate, it seems. While having this slightly happy thought, the wolf robot quickly checked up on his body. His leg was still damaged, so he couldn¡¯t count on it for attacks, while he still had one of his ears missing due to the tournament earlier. Luckily, the fact that it was a pair was more for cosmetic purposes, as each one had enough capacity to work just fine by itself.


    But, with what he had, even he knew that his armor-piercing capacity was a bit on the low side. Back when he planned this body for himself with Ruby and Ekis, he didn¡¯t expect to fight such a though enemy right out of the bat with such heavy armor. Thus, he had to resort to a last-moment addition to his body.


    Hastily welded to his body was the buckshot case he stole from the boar-like robot back at the preliminaries after finishing the fight. The single case had been stuck to his back right behind his leg-joint, tilting to the side so that it wouldn¡¯t hit his head when he activated the weapon.


    But, on Ruby¡¯s calculations, a single shell wouldn¡¯t be able to pierce Brutus¡¯ armor, so he would need to discharge the whole case in one volley if he wanted to do any real damage to the bull robot. Since it had been a last minute addition, there was no time to add a reload mechanism to the case, and even then, they didn¡¯t have any remaining shells to reload, so it truly was a one-shot wonder he had there.


    Thankfully, the mechanism worked perfectly fine, as a brief shell-less test showed before, so the need to worry about a possible malfunction was inexistent.


    [But the exposed cables do make it look like a sloppy work] Ruby complained while glancing at him briefly.


    [Not like we had enough time to pass it under the armor, right?] Ekis said with a wry tone, and Beepy nodded in agreement.


    [even then, it would look a bit off. I mean, we made all this sleek looking body, then suddenly, BAM! A wild box appeared. It doesn¡¯t match the design at all¡­] Gaz continued to complain loudly.


    [I would also like the modifications to work better, but¡­ aren¡¯t you complaining a bit too much?] Ruby asked slightly bothered with the way he was acting. For a moment nothing came, but finally, Beepy said with a low tone.


    [I¡¯m nervous, you know?] He said wearily. [Last time, if you didn¡¯t save me, I would have died there¡­ For the second time in my life¡­ And somehow that makes sense¡­]


    Ruby blinked for a moment, before nodding knowingly. Indeed, in such situations, the normal reaction would be to become nervous like him, but for her, as nervous as she was, she still managed to maintain her calm thanks to still being on her professor mode.


    Shaking her head to move her thoughts away from this matter, she once again focused on the matter at hand, reviewing and refining her plan so that it wouldn¡¯t fail her at the last moment.


    ¡­


    [He is here.] Gaz said with a warning, making Ruby stop in her tracks immediately before throwing herself against the wall.


    The wolf stopped right beside her with the Hugger stopping right behind him, as if following his order. Ruby sent him a curious glance for a moment, slightly surprised with how the two robots were coordinating so nicely, even thought it was only some time ago since they had their bout. But as many questions she had floating in her mind, she left it for later.


    She had a few theories that were good enough for her for now, like the Hugger recognizing Beepy as his superior and simply was following his orders. Although the communication method was still a mystery for her, she could leave it for later.


    Peeking from the corner of the wall, the Morfian saw as the bull walked ahead, it¡¯s huge hooved legs smashing apart a small robot that dared to attack it. Besides him were a few soldiers, all wielding firearms with a confused face.


    Surrounding all of them were a horde of small robots that were rampaging around. Ruby guessed that this might have been caused by her freeing the robots earlier. Mixed feelings crossed her chest, as this was the perfect distraction, since all the focus had turned towards the robots, but it also had a bad side, since so many of the robots were being destroyed non-stop by the gunfire and the rampaging bull.


    Steeling her resolve, she quickly analyzed the situation. The three guards would be a bother for her plan, but if she managed to pull Brutus away from the scene, the smaller robots would easily lock them in place for quite a good time. Potentially even defeating them despite their weapons.


    Nodding slightly, she turned towards Gaz and made him a brief signal with her hand. The robot nodded briefly before turning the corner and looking at the bull.


    Waiting for a moment when the guards were all focused ahead, Gaz quickly loaded one of the remaining needles he had on his tail and took aim.


    Swinging his tail as he put maximum pressure on the launcher, the needle flew true and hit the bull right on the back of its rear legs, digging surprisingly deep taking in consideration the heavy armor of the bull.


    However, this only managed to get the bull''s attention, as a single movement from it broke the needle within its joint.


    By the time the bull turned towards him with its massive body, Gaz had already hid himself behind the wall and activated his presence sensor. Barely on the edge of his sensor, he could feel as the large bull turned back towards them. The soldiers turned to the bull confused for a moment, but they didn¡¯t have enough time to wonder what was happening, as the smaller robots immediately swarmed them, since the larger threat seemed occupied.


    Ignoring the situation happening around it, the bull turned towards Beepy with a scary precision before kicking the ground, preparing his charge.


    [He¡¯s coming!] He warned via the link as he moved away. Ruby nodded back and immediately moved away. Not even a moment after the bull crushed the wall in front of them, passing through it as if it was made of paper.


    Dodging the robot¡¯s charge with ease due to the advanced warning, they still were caught up by the debris of the wall as the monster passed through. Beepy¡¯s armor easily protected him from the shards, but Ruby didn¡¯t have as much luck, and started bleeding slightly as some cuts appeared in her skin. However, despite her clear pained face, the cuts closed with a scary speed as her natural Morfian skill kicked in.


    ¡°Was that¡­¡± She asked in a pained tone, but Ekis replied immediately.


    [No, time he took to reach was far too long.] she replied immediately. Ruby grimaced slightly as the goddess went on. [Maybe it is holding the last charges for an emergency?]


    [Maybe, but not the time to ponder.] Gaz said while moving his head as he followed the bull. [He is doing something strange.]


    [Is he circling us?] Ruby asked, but it sounded more like she was confirming it than being surprised.


    [Yeah¡­ How did you know?] Gaz asked doubtful. Ruby smiled briefly while looking around wearily.


    [I thought about it¡­ how he seemed to easily find us earlier.] She said briefly.


    [And that¡¯s¡­?] Gaz asked when he noticed that she wasn¡¯t going to continue her words.


    [I¡¯ll explain later. He should be coming again soon.] She said while picking some pebbles from the ground. Just as her words left her mouth, Gaz noticed as the bull made a sharp turn through one of the rooms in the building, turning straight towards them.


    Gaz widened his eye in shock and quickly prepared to dodge out of the attack¡¯s way. However as he readied himself to dodge the attack, he saw as Ruby simply stood where she was, holding the pebbles in her hand.


    [What are you doing? Run!] Gaz said worriedly, but she simply gave a slight smile while holding the stones in her hand.


    Before Gaz even had the time to react, she started throwing the stones. Staring at her surprised for a moment, he saw as she quickly picked up a stone and threw it seemingly randomly down the corridor. Then, shortly after she did the same with a similar stone, then another and another and another, each one throwing faster and harder than the previous one.


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    Shaking his head, he quickly prepared to push the foolish girl away from where she was.


    But then, the bull turned.


    [What¡­] Ekis said in a silent shock.


    [From your surprise, I guess I was correct.] Ruby said with a smirk before quickly frowning once again. [Not the time, as soon as he bust the walls, run through the hole he made when getting here!]


    Gaz looked at her in confusion and shock for a few moments, but he didn¡¯t have much time to wonder what happened, because a brief moment later, the bull crashed through the wall nearby, straight ahead of where the pebbles had been thrown at.


    As much as he wanted to ask the Morfian how she did that, he still put his mind towards what ruby had said. Seeing as the bull looked at them in what seemed surprised and tried to stop on it¡¯s tracks, Gaz quickly darted forward, leaving a single beep as a warning for the hugger to follow them.


    [What do we do now?] He asked worried as they followed the trail of destruction through the innards of the building. With Ruby leading the way, they literally ran through the trajectory the bull had taken while running through.


    [Swerves. Did you sense anything similar while it ran through here?] She asked briefly. Gaz stopped to think before nodding weakly.


    [Yes, there was this one time when he seemed to dodge something.] He said briefly, and the girl smiled satisfied. [Why would you¡­ Oh!]


    As Gaz understood what she meant with those words, a small smile formed in his mental landscape.


    Why would the bull dodge something if he could plow through pretty much anything?


    Precisely because it was something it couldn¡¯t simply plow through. As this idea finally became clear in his mind, the robot started to understand the idea behind the girl¡¯s mind. However, they didn¡¯t have much time to enjoy the craftiness of the girl.


    Soon, his presence sensor blasted an alarm as the bull closed in on them at an alarming speed. Due to having his optical sensor also working, he didn¡¯t have as much range he would like on his sensors, and at the speed the bull was coming, the time it would take him to warn the girl would be the same it would take for the bull to reach them. Cringing in his mind, he quickly gathered the steam he had on his back legs and blasted it heavily.


    [Wha¡­] Ruby said in surprise as he reached her side suddenly, but before she could react, he landed a body-blow on her, throwing her aside.


    Then, like a metal storm, the bull crossed the place where she had been with a scary strength, tearing apart the ground as his hooves carved the stone floor. The low hanging horns coming low on the ground were raised just as it reached the spot where she had been, tearing apart the lateral armor of the robot who had pushed her aside.


    Shouting in pain, Gaz was thrown upwards as a large gash appeared on the side of his body, ripping his armor apart. Luckily, he barely managed to recover his balance while still on air, and twisted his body just enough for him to land on his four feet.


    [Damage was only superficial. Inner systems are mostly fine!] Ekis gave him a quick assessment of the damage. Grunting in satisfaction, he heard as Ruby also let out a relieved sigh. [Watch out, he¡¯s still coming!]


    Gaz quickly recovered his focus while seeing that the bull was still heading straight towards him. But all his steam reserves had been completely used on the maneuver to push Ruby away from danger, so his reserves were still low while his cauldron generated more steam.


    Forcing his feeble electric motors to the extreme, he barely managed to twist his body aside, swinging his tail meanwhile and slamming it hard with all the spears he had remaining within his body poking out from there.


    The impact barely managed to swerve the huge bull¡¯s head away from him, as well as make it let out a loud steam-like sound in pain. Not really bothering with that reaction, Gaz himself let out a sound of pain as he felt his tail getting stuck on one of the bull¡¯s horn.


    The price for surviving the attack was to lose his own tail. If he had tried to simply dodge, the bull would have still caught him, but his attack with the heavy tail managed to redirect the bull¡¯s head at the last moment, but the speed of the bull still managed to rip it right off his body.


    Falling to the ground tail-less, he silently thanked Ekis for cutting off his sense of pain once again. However, her lack of answers slightly bothered him.


    This time it took him a bit more time to recover from the impact, as he had to rebalance his body to its new center of gravity. Stumbling a bit, he saw as Ruby looked at him worriedly for a moment before turning and running down the path they were following.


    Hugger stood there with him confused for a moment, but Gaz looked towards Ruby and let out a quick beep, making the robot crawl his way towards Ruby, who was the one who knew what to do with him.


    Quickly turning his attention back to the bull, he noticed that it had a strange lack of reaction from the bull, who simply stood there for some time, head hanging low and moving slowly from one side to the other, as if expecting something.


    Gaz took this chance to slowly take some distance from the bull, whose strange reaction left him bothered for a bit too much. He could have taken the chance to unload the shotgun shells he still had in his body, but his instincts told him otherwise.


    After a few seconds of what looked like a strange stillness, the bull finally raised its head as if  in shock and turned to Gaz, who was standing right behind him.


    Suddenly, as if going mad, the bull started flailing around madly, its back legs kicking wildly the air, not even managing to get close to Beepy¡¯s position. And just as sudden as it started, it also stopped.


    Turning around, it eyed Beepy strangely for some time, before its leg started kicking the ground slowly.


    [It¡¯s coming¡­] Ekis said with a weary tone. Gaz widened his eyes and immediately understood what she meant. Running away in a stumbling motion, he closed his eyes and focused everything he had on his presence sensor.


    The bull, barely within the range of the strange sensor, kept on with his ground kicking, and the longer he did, the more worried Gaz grew, as he knew that it was putting everything he had on that.


    [This way! Quickly!] Ruby said hurriedly. Sensing around, he noticed how the girl stood only a few meters ahead, laying behind what looked like a large and thick pillar. However, he barely managed to sense her there, as the pillar seemed to block a large part of his sensor coverage.


    [That pillar¡­] Ekis said in a surprised tone, before shaking her head an nodding to herself. [Gaz! That pillar¡­ Should stop his charge.] She said in a tired tone.


    [Really?] He asked surprised but changed his focus. [What about you? You alright?] He asked, worried about her tone.


    [I am. Blocking your sense is a bit more tiring than what I expected, though¡­] She replied in a weary tone before becoming serious. [But, one thing else you should know¡­ That pillar¡­]


    [May bring down half of the compound down, right?] Ruby said with a wry tone.


    [¡­You¡¯re kidding me¡­] Beepy said in shock.


    However, before he had any time to complain anymore, he felt as the bull started its monstrous acceleration, crossing the gap between them with such speed that it took him only a couple of seconds to reach the wolf robot.


    With his lack of strength and still unbalanced body, he tried to jump to his left side out of instinct, but his leg gave away, making him slide on the ground. Cringing, he complained loudly in his mind while bracing himself for the impact.


    [BEEPY!] Ruby shouted worriedly as the bull approached him with its head hanging low, the sole working horn aiming straight at him.


    [It¡¯s fine¡­] Ekis suddenly said with a relieved tone.


    [[Huh?]] Both Ruby and Gaz asked confused.


    Then, they watched as the bull missed Gaz by a fair margin, continuing on its path straight ahead not stopping.


    Only after it had blasted through a wall did it finally stop and look around in confusion.


    [Huh? What happened?] Gaz asked confused while quickly getting back up.


    ¡°Could it be¡­¡± Ruby asked out loud, watching as the robot looked around in confusion for some time before setting its sight on the trio who had reunited. Even when it lowered its head and started a slow charge towards them, the morfian simply put on a smile and started laughing.


    [Huh? What happened?] He asked confused.


    [You did it, Gaz.] Ekis said with a slightly happy and tired tone.


    [Did what goddamit?] he asked confused, seeing as Ruby took a step aside, together with hugger, as the bull approached them, only to have it pass straight though, not even threatening to get close. [What the hell happened so suddenly?] He asked angrily, being the only one who didn¡¯t understand the situation,


    [Look there, where your tail landed on his head.] She said, and Gaz took notice of a surprisingly deep dent on the bull¡¯s head, just beneath the still hanging tail on its horn. [I had my ideas, on how he could see where his target was going even when charging with its head looking straight down or when he went through walls¡­ But to think that I was right¡­] She said with a smile.


    Gaz simply stared in confusion, seeing the bull stop and look around in confusion once more.


    [The giant that could hear anything he wanted¡­] Ekis said in a dramatic tone.


    [Just became deaf!] Ruby completed with a smile.


    [Haaaah?] Gaz asked confused.

 38.exe - LastStand.dll

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! This chapter took a lot longer than what I expected, but finally its over!


    SO, I had a couple of tests this weeks and the time I wasn¡¯t studying, I had a raid marked on wow, so things got a bit hectic for me as you can imagine. That, coupled with how easily distracted I am (the Den can attest to this), it ended up taking a lot longer than what was needed for me to finish this.


    BESIDES, I finally bring an end to the annoying bull, but there¡¯s still two misteries to be solved on this arc before closing, which I plan on addressing by the next chapter. One of them is kind of obvious, but the other one isn¡¯t, so keep an eye out!


    BESIDES(II), on the bright side, long chap with 3.6k words! Hooray!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    Ruby smiled relieved as she saw the bull making blind charges through the room where they were in. Without his homing ability, the threat he posed visibly decreased. Although he still had more than enough moves at his arsenal that involved the heavy pile-drivers and his sheer weight and kicking power, compared to his charge, they clearly lacked the agility he had displayed earlier, and with more than a bit of ease, even the unexperienced  Morfian could easily deal with them.


    Meanwhile, Hugger and Gaz were simply staring at the bull that kept trying to approach them, but ended up either overshooting or stopping far too early.  And when he tried to attack with his back-kicks and head-butts, the time it took until he turned his massive body around and wide area of the room around them made it extremely easy to avoid the attacks.


    Compared to his memory of the real thing, once they took out his charge, the bull couldn¡¯t even be compared to his flesh-and-blood counterpart when it came to sheer agility, due to his heavy weight.


    [But this is seriously depressing. I didn¡¯t even get to use the buckshot.] Gaz complained randomly.


    [You do know that if he wasn¡¯t damaged, he would have ripped you apart, right?] Ruby said while nonchalantly dodging another blind charge with more than enough room to spare.


    [Didn¡¯t he already do that?] Beepy asked with a slightly angry tone. [I have a hole under my leg, my flank armor is history and my beautiful tail is a goner.]


    [There¡¯s also¡­ The ear¡­ from the preliminaries.] Ekis added discretely with a weak voice.


    [And that.] He nodded in agreement before looking to the bull. [So¡­ He used a sonar to track us?] He asked curious, but to his surprise, the professor shook her head in denial.


    [No. Not a sonar. If that was the case, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ¡®see¡¯ beyond the walls like he did.] The morfian said with a frown.


    [Besides, all his trampling and destruction would have interfered with the reflected soundwaves.] Ekis complemented with a teaching tone. [If my¡­ Our guess is correct, it should be a directional microphone he had in there.]


    [Directional¡­] Gaz said surprised before widening his eyes and saying surprised. [Oh, I see. One of those thingy where you point to a direction and it amplifies what¡¯s there?]


    [Yes.] Ruby said while opening some distance once again, trying to lure the bull to charge at her once again. [He probably had a mobile system that allowed him to freely rotate the receptor around. With this he also had the advantage of filtering out the other sounds and simply track what he needed, even if through walls. If there¡¯s a lack of response, it means that the target has stopped.]


    [Oh, so he kept tracking us with the thing like that all the time?] Gaz asked surprised and Ruby nodded. [I see¡­ WAIT A MOMENT!] He suddenly shouted while looking back at the girl. [That time with the stones¡­ You were copying our footsteps patterns?]


    [¡­It was a gamble.] She admitted. [I wasn¡¯t sure if I had calculated the weight and trajectory of the stones well enough.]


    [¡­I¡¯m starting to doubt which one of us is the computer-brained here, you know?] The robot complained in an annoyed tone.


    [That would be Ekis.] She replied immediately.


    [You have a point¡­]


    [Huh¡­? Me¡­?] The goddess asked confused. [isn¡¯t that a CPU¡­? I am a CPU?]


    [As much as I would like to fool around with those words and start a deep philosophical debate about the state of ¡®being¡¯¡­] Gaz said in a pompous way. [We really should finalize old Brutus there. The time that Sorius gave us is almost up.]


    Upon his suddenly serious words, the two quickly gathered themselves back and agreed in unison. Even if now most of the bull¡¯s attacks had been rendered night useless, It was still in a fairly good shape with little to no damage at all. This also meant that they were without any attack that had a decent effect against it.


    They had basically reached an deadlock, where the bull¡¯s wide attacks were unable to land on them, and their own attacks would simply be bounced off by the heavy armor like it was nothing.


    While thinking so, Gaz turned towards Ruby with an inquisitive gaze and asked.


    [So, how about putting that plan of yours in motion?] He nudged her.


    [I¡¯m already trying that.] She complained with a frown. [But first, I need to have him stopped completely. Even for a moment.] She said while dodging another charge and making the bull charge towards the pillar, but the moment it was about to hit the pillar, the bull would stop.


    Gaz looked at the situation for a moment and sighed. The idea was basically, if the bull hit the pillar, he would get stuck, then Ruby would put her plan in motion. Looking towards Hugger, who was watching the scene with a disinterested air around him, he understood why he was brought.


    His gripping power is no joke, but the bull was too large for him to find a good spot to hold on. But if they managed to get him in one or two legs of Brutus, he would have a small enough target to grapple.


    [Ah, I see. That¡¯s why you needed the big guy to use his charges!] Gaz said in an understanding tone.


    There was the possibility that the strength behind the bull¡¯s charge could break through even Hugger¡¯s grasp, but since they made him put heavy strain due to repeated usage, even if he somehow managed to break through the lock, the legs would be pretty much destroyed by then.


    Of course, there was the case of Hugger¡¯s legs also being broken, but if they were to be honest, his legs are surprisingly simple and shouldn¡¯t take that long to repair at all.


    After finally understanding Ruby¡¯s plan, Gaz nodded and turned to the smaller robot besides him. With a couple of beeps he told it to get ready. Looking at him in shock for a moment, Hugger nodded, although Gaz could feel a bit of annoyance in that.


    Ruby didn¡¯t miss their short exchange, and although she wanted to ask what was his plan, she gave up on doing so, seeing as her own plan wasn¡¯t working as well as she wanted and it might take some time for him to explain anyway.


    Beepy awaited away from the bull for a moment, watching its movements as it tried to stab his horn on Ruby, who had more than enough time to move away before the attack could even become a threat.


    Waiting for the moment the Bull¡¯s head was already in motion, Gaz darted forward and put himself right besides the bull. Being in his blind spot, the larger robot didn¡¯t see the wolf robot right at his side, and by the time he actually noticed, the wolf had already grabbed his flank tightly, digging his claws on the small dent between two of them.


    Turning his head in confusion, the bull stared at the smaller robot in curiosity before starting to shake his body around, trying to remove the wolf from him. However, as he started to flail and kick around, Gaz used the chance to let go and he dropped to the ground with his head turned towards the front legs of the bull.


    Lowering his head, Gaz let out a loud beep, making Hugger dart forward following his order. At the same time he lowered his head, opening space so that the buckshot installed in his shoulders could take aim without risking to hit his own head.


    Then, he shot.


    The shells all aimed at single leg, and with the two rear legs up in the air as he was flailing, it meant that half of his weight was, temporarily, on that single leg. A loud noised echoed on the room, the echo making all their ears ring as every single buckshot in the container blasted furiously at the leg of the bull.


    His body being thrown back by the sudden back knockback from the heavy discharge, the box with the slugs being thrown out due to the shock overwhelming the resistance of the hasty welding.  Thankfully, it didn¡¯t seem to affect him with his pain senses, probably because it was a temporary addiction to his body.


    But, if the damage was so big to himself, he could be sure that the bull that took the actual shells to his body wasn¡¯t left unscathed either. Lifting his head and feeling his damaged leg giving in for a moment as the gears grinded angrily, he saw a scene that left him shocked for a moment.


    Somehow, the bull still stood up, refusing to fall down even as his leg-joint had a large hole in it. Turning towards Gaz with an angry look, he seemed about to charge at the dog once again, but the moment he took his first step, his leg gave in for a moment.


    This was the moment that Hugger needed to throw himself on the bull.


    Before he had the chance to react, the small spider-like robot grabbed his legs and immediately tightened the grip to the max. The strength behind it managing to surpass what the bigger robot expected, as his two front legs were forcefully pulled together.


    Caught by surprise by his sudden lack of footing, his two front feet slipped and he fell face first into the ground, with only his back legs supporting his body. For a moment, both the bull and Gaz looked surprised, but after some time the bull reacted.


    He firstly started to spread his front legs, trying to yank himself free, but contrary to what it expected, the small robot easily managed to hold on to his leg without even flinching.


    Seeing that, Gaz and Ruby quickly took their chances and approached the bull, the morfian¡¯s fingers changing into their tool forms as she prepared to do her job. She had no intention of destroying his core, to be honest, but she would at the very least make sure that it would be unable to keep working afterward.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    However, she wouldn¡¯t let that hold her back. If needed be, she would destroy his core.


    As she approached the bull, it seemed to notice something strange on the girl, and for a moment it stared at her as if trying to understand her intention. After a few seconds, it understood and started as it started to shake around while trying to get away from the smaller robot. However, with only his hind-legs free, all it could do was drag its body forward, and his weight along made him unable to make any meaningful movement.


    Gaz, noticing that they were in opposing situations at the moment, couldn¡¯t help but make an evil smile in his mind. Even if his body was half destroyed after the battle, he couldn¡¯t help but feel triumphant seeing the one who did all that to him squirming on the ground like that.


    With his teeth, he managed to grab on of the legs from the panicky bull and used all the remaining strength to keep the bull from using one of the hind-legs, greatly reducing his already lacking mobility.


    Unable to move as it wanted, with his whole body fallen sideways on the ground, Brutus was unable to stop Ruby¡¯s approach.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to finish this.¡± The girl said in a coldly sad voice.


    The moment her hand reached for the bull¡¯s neck, they became a blur as she nimbly started to disassemble the beast¡¯s armor with a scary speed. The size and weight being the only thing that made her unable to completely dismantle his head in a few seconds, the bull once again tried to remove his head from her hands, but the moment his head twitched, the girl cut a hose linking its core to the neck motors, leaving it locked in its position.


    As the wolf and the goddess watched in awe the girl¡¯s skills as she dismantled the robot¡¯s head, they couldn¡¯t be thankful for the fact that she didn¡¯t do it with them. While seeing the scene, Ekis made a estimative of another twenty seconds before Ruby would completely disconnect the bull.


    And for the moment they simply watched as she did her work, the bull laying immobile under their hold.


    [Huh? Immobile?] Gaz asked suddenly before turning his attention towards the bull, who had suddenly stopped his movement completely. [Ruby¡­ Did you disconnect his other motors and pumps?] he asked dubious.


    [No?] She stopped for a moment to reply before turning back to the robot. [Most of his vital systems are a few layers deeper.]


    [Then¡­ Why did he stop?] He asked confused.


    His words made Ruby freeze for a moment as she stared at the robot for some time, her mind quickly doing and redoing calculations based on her weight and momentum estimative for the bull and she tried to wrap around what could be causing such odd action.


    However, this also made her unaware of her surroundings for a moment, and the only one who noticed the change was Ekis.


    [He¡¯s¡­ Bloating?] The goddess asked in a confused tone. Blinking surprised, Gaz changed his attention to the bull under him.


    As the goddess said, the bulls body seemed to have bloated a bit, expanding slowly but surely as the time went by. It took him a brief moment for him to understand what was happening, and it was only when the plate armor unhinge itself under pressure that understanding came to them.


    [HE¡¯S RELEASING ALL OF HIS STEAM WITHIN THE ARMOR!] Ekis said in shock, her words dawning upon Gaz with a scary meaning as he understood what it meant to build pressure within an enclosed body.


    Moving more out of reaction than anything else, Gaz let out a loud beep, which made the hugger let go of the bulls legs just in time before running away. However, Ruby didn¡¯t have the capacity to do so, thanks to her being kneeled down besides the robot. In a half-limp half-jump, Gaz managed to throw himself before Ruby.


    Then, the bull¡¯s body exploded in a huge burst of steam and armor pieces.


    ¡­


    Ruby came back to consciousness with the sound of a female voice echoing within her head. It took her a moment to recognize Ekis voice telling her to wake up immediately.


    Opening up her eyes, she felt a heavy weight above her as she tried to move around. Looking down, what she saw left her shocked, as Beepy laid atop of her unconscious, with the lower-half of his body distorted in a weird shape.


    In a hurry, she quickly checked up for his core, and couldn¡¯t be more thankful that it was still intact.


    [THE BULL! WHAT ABOUT THE BULL?] Ekis shouted in a hurry, her voice sounding urgent.


    Ruby snapped out of her state and looked around in a worry, searching for the bull. However, what she saw around her left her shocked, as thick metal plating laid everywhere around the room, within large craters created from the impact of the armor with the stone-ground and walls.


    Within the middle of the room, near the half-destroyed pillar, she saw a four legged figure stumble as it stood up. It took her a moment to recognize what it was, as its whole figure had changed a lot from what she had seen earlier.


    A scrawny body that looked way too thin and skeleton-like parts to hold the plating in. The legs all had lost a good part of their thickness and now were, at most, as thick as the girl¡¯s arm. The only thing that looked out of place were the two pile-driver systems that stood on its shoulder, as these were way too bulky for its body.


    The only thing that made Ruby recognize the robot in front of her as Brutus was the half-dismantled head, that stayed rigidly in place, looking forward and unable to bend it around.


    Ruby was sincerely shocked. She did consider the probability of another casing within the thick armor for additional protection, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be fully functional by itself. Nor did she expect that the outer armor could be detonated in case of an emergency.


    As she looked at it, the bull also noticed her, and seemed undecided between attacking her and running away, now that his thick armor was gone. However, thankfully the wolf robot had been left half dead while the other one had disappeared, so in the end, the bull decided to finish this for good.


    It started a slow charge before picking up speed, although the leg-motors weren¡¯t the same as the ones he had been using before, the lighter body allowed him to keep a reasonable speed as he charged. Unable to lower its head for a horn-hit, it aimed to simply land a heavy blow on the girl, as it should still be enough to kill her.


    Understanding that, Ruby desperately tried to move out of the way, but her body complained in pain as she tried to drag Gaz and herself out of the charge.


    [People¡­ Coming¡­] Beepy¡¯s faint voice echoed through the link.


    [Huh?] As ruby asked surprised at his sudden words, she heard the footsteps of someone running towards them.


    However, she didn¡¯t have the time to worry about the sudden intrusion, seeing that there was a more urgent matter at and. Using all her strength, she managed to push away the smaller robot from above her out of harm¡¯s way.


    Stumbling up, she barely managed to get away from the attack, but her trembling legs immediately gave away and fell down once again to the ground. Looking back at the bull, she saw as it stopped its charge and turned back to her with an agility incomparable to his earlier movements.


    Once again she tried to get away, but a sharp sting of pain on her leg made her stumble to the ground.


    Looking back at the bull, she saw as it charged at her with furious looking eyes.


    [RUBY! MOVE AWAY!] Ekis shouted in worry.


    [I can¡¯t¡­ Body hurts¡­] The morfian said with a grimace as she tried to crawl out of the way, but sadly, the speed wasn¡¯t as much as she wished and she could see as the bull approached her. [Damn it¡­] She cursed in her mind. [If I survive this¡­ I swear I¡¯m going to start training my body¡­]


    As she spoke what looked like her final words, she started to move away even faster while gritting her teeth, but even then she feared that it might not be enough to escape Brutus, who was mere ten meters away.


    ¡°DAMN IT!¡±


    [[Huh?]] Ekis and Ruby asked together at the sudden voice.


    Turning her head to look, Ruby only managed to see as someone approached from the sides and took aim with a fire weapon. Widening her eyes, she saw as the person discharged a short burst on the bull¡¯s body.


    Brutus jerked suddenly, letting out a loud pained sound before falling down to the ground, its body becoming motionless as the unprotected core was shot through the dismantled head.


    However, the bull still skidded forward at full speed on the ground with its lifeless body, the speed more than enough to cause severe damage to her should it hit.


    Ruby braced herself for impact by curling up her body, but right before the bull managed to hit her, she felt as someone ran towards her and pulled her away in a hurry.


    Shocked and still confused by the outcome, Ruby looked around, expecting to see either the lynian or the elves nearby, but what she saw left her confused for a moment, as it was neither of her companions who had saved her.


    [Heh¡­ Heh¡­ Heh¡­] She heard Beepy laughing dryly. [I told you¡­ They were odd¡­] He said with a proud tone.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± The one with the rifle cursed. ¡°I came here to see what was happening, and I find a half-dead Brutus almost killing the girl.¡± The man turned to her and crouched down before her as he took out the sunglasses. ¡°You alright little girl?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± She replied wearily. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ But¡­¡± She looked around, taking a good look at the other two people who appeared, she had a confused look in her face. ¡°Why did you help me?¡± She asked.


    The person in front of her gave a wry smile at her question before raising himself.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. It¡¯s not good for us to stay here with that pillar broken.¡± He said while pointing towards the large pillar that threatened to collapse.


    Ruby nodded weakly before turning towards beepy, seeing as the two others picked his body up and started carrying him with them.


    Confused, Ruby decided to leave for later the question that had been roaming through her head.


    Not that she could be blamed, though. After all, the head of security and the two odd announcers were the ones who saved her just then, even though she was supposed to be the enemy.

 39.exe - Under_Cover.rar

    Writer¡¯s corner: Greetings friends! And here we have the results of something really silly happening!


    SO, I¡¯m a sore loser, and when I noticed that almost everyone got it right what the trio actually were¡­ I decided to go heck it and change them. WHAT? MY STORIES MY RULES! IF I SAY BE SURPRISED, YOU GET SURPRISED!


    BESIDES, I had a couple of important tests this week, so my release schedule got a bit messed up. Sorry for that. It should start stabilizing after next week or something.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    Although suspicious of their origins, Ruby couldn¡¯t help but follow them, seeing how the ceiling was starting to crack slightly as the pillar slowly broke under its weight. Also, she had no way of carrying Gaz back with her on her own, so at the very least she would need the announcers to carry him for her.


    Luckily, Hugger was at a much better state, seeing how most of the explosion happened on the upper part of the bull. Although one of his legs was slightly bent out of place, he didn¡¯t seem all that bothered with it as he ran right after them.


    Grimacing while noticing how she was at the mercy of these three unknown variables, she couldn¡¯t help but feel wary towards her situation.


    ¡°So, Who are you?¡± Ruby asked while somehow running behind the group, the head-bodyguard stopped for a moment and turned to her, and mysterious smile appearing in his face for a moment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I¡¯m not your enemy.¡± He said briefly.


    ¡°I think you forgot the ¡®for now¡¯, boss!¡± The girl said cheerfully.


    ¡°You fool, don¡¯t you see that he wanted to lower her guard?¡± The male announcer said angrily.


    ¡°Oh! Yeah¡­ I forgot...¡±


    ¡°Hopefully the girl didn¡¯t hear us.¡±


    ¡°Hey, cute morfian! Did you hear what i saiEEEK! SCARY!¡± The female announcer jerked in shock once Ruby turned to her in full professor mode.


    Turning back to the man in front carrying a rifle, she saw as he hung his head low in shame while murmuring something about having idiotic subordinates. Although she felt a bit of pity towards the man, she didn¡¯t let down her guard, noticing how the man¡¯s gaze suddenly sharpened greatly.


    ¡°Look. We have the same goal, so it should be enough for now, right?¡±


    ¡°So, you saved me just for that?¡± Ruby asked back in a cold tone, making the man surprised for a moment, the cold expression dropping down from his face at her unexpected comeback.


    ¡°Huuh¡­ Well...¡± He said while looking away and choosing his words.


    ¡°Initially I thought that you could be governmental agents, but it doesn¡¯t seems to be the case seeing how you are acting right now.¡± She said with a stare, and the man flinched for a moment. ¡°So I don¡¯t really see a reason for you to save me right now...¡± As she stared at the man, she noticed how he tightened his grip on the rifle warily. Deciding that her safety was more important than her curiosity she sighed loudly. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t ask anymore.¡± The man visibly relaxed at her words, but still kept his guard up. ¡°But I still don¡¯t think you would save me for no reason and then threaten to kill me for something like that...¡± She said with a sigh.


    ¡°...Fair enough.¡± The man said with a sigh. If this made the girl drop her suspicion, it was worth it. ¡°Right now you are the perfect witness. That¡¯s all.¡± He said briefly.


    ¡°Witness¡­?¡± Ruby asked suspicious, but just as the man was about to explain, she widened her eyes and nodded. ¡°I see¡­ I was attacked directly by the bull and hunted down by the soldiers while only being a minor. This makes me one of the most valuable witness of this scene. And since you seem to be working against this group, I guess you would only profit if I were to live...¡±


    ¡°...Boss! that girl is scary...¡± The female announcer said with a fearful voice.


    ¡°Note to self. Never get into her wrong side.¡± The other announcer said worriedly.


    ¡°Girl¡­ What the hell are you...¡± The soldier asked.


    ¡°Just a researcher.¡± She replied coldly, and the man nodded weakly.


    Turning their attention back towards their escape, Jay, the bodyguard, frowned at the girls answer. For a moment the thought of simply leaving her there passed on his mind, but he decided against it in the end, seeing that if she was as smart as she made herself, she would easily be the best of the witnesses to bring down this gang.


    However, as they ran forward, he suddenly heard a strange beeping sound, and turning back towards the source, he saw the robot his subordinates were carrying looking away from them. The girl flinched surprised for a moment before turning to him.


    ¡°Someone coming! That way!¡± The girl said pointing towards the direction the robot was looking.


    Although doubting the girl¡¯s word for a moment, his trained senses made him react nonetheless as he turned towards the direction while pointing with the rifle. Soon enough, just as the girl said, three of his former subordinates appeared from a corridor leading towards them. Barely had they caught sight of him and there was already a bullet in the middle of their foreheads.


    One of the elves managed to react quickly, using his esp to make some kind of ice helmet, but it didn¡¯t protect him from the rest of the salvo that pierced through his chest and legs, the lack of concentration dropping his focus and making the helmet disappear, where he was finalized with a single bullet for safety.


    ¡°No mercy, huh?¡± The girl asked in an indifferent tone, making a chill run down the man¡¯s spine as he reloaded the spent rifle.


    ¡°Yeah. Nice guys, sadly on the wrong side.¡± Jay replied coldly before darting away again. ¡°Except the elf. He was an annoying prick and killing him felt good.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Then boss didn¡¯t want to kill him quickly? Is that why it took you so long?¡± The female announcer asked.


    ¡°Of course! Boss could easily put a bullet in the eye-sockets of the guy!¡± The male announcer said.


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°I feel sorry for you...¡± Ruby said briefly towards the black suited lynninan.


    ¡°...Thank you.¡± He replied weakly with a sigh, feeling a bit disheartened that he was being cheered on by such a young girl. ¡°They can be quite good when they are doing their job, though.¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°BOSS IS DEFENDING US!¡± The girl said cheerfully.


    ¡°... Sorry, can¡¯t see that happening.¡± Ruby said shaking her head.


    ¡°Wow, this girl is cold!¡±


    ¡°I have a hard time myself...¡± Jay sighed loudly, and the two announcers became shocked at his revelation, shouting in surprise and indignation. ¡°Anyway, from what I¡¯m getting from the comms, it seems your friends are just up ahead.¡± He said just as the sound of gunfights started to reach their ears.


    Nodding satisfied, Ruby saw as they reached the back of an enemy troop who was hiding from Sorius¡¯ and Yllivia¡¯s line of sight. Seeing the head bodyguard with them, the guards quickly lowered their guard and showed smug smiles to each other.


    ¡°Brutus is rampaging near the Section two.¡± He said while pointing back to where they came from. The soldiers widened their eyes in surprise before he went on. ¡°Go there and check it out. I¡¯ll stay here and deal with them.¡±


    Upon his words the guards nodded and ran away, leaving only him and his group behind. It didn¡¯t need to be a genius to notice that Sorius¡¯ group became confused and worried. Taking a step out of the cover, Jay put his hands up as he pushed Ruby ahead.


    For a moment there was some silence on the corridor before a pair of white furry ears popped up from behind a large metal box. Peeking from the corner of the box, Yllivia scanned the area in a fraction of a second, and widening her eyes in surprise.


    ¡°Ruby.¡± She said briefly before landing her eyes on Beepy half-destroyed body.


    Jay was quite confident on his own skills when it came to martial arts, and most of the fools who challenged him would end up defeated in the ground within a couple of seconds.


    However, even he was unable to react to what happened as the white haired girl jumped from behind the box and darted towards him. Before he even had the chance to widen his eyes, he was already cornered against the wall, the rifle he had in his hand flung somewhere over and a gun barrel pressing beneath his mouth.


    ¡°What happened to Beepy and Ruby?¡± The girl said in a chilling tone.


    It took both him and his two foolish followers a couple of seconds to understand what was happening, and even then, their minds refused to recognize what had occurred. In the brief period of time, she had managed to knock away his gun, overpower him and press him against the wall.


    As he stared at the girl in shock for a few seconds, trying to find a way to escape, help came from the little red girl who put her hand on the lynnian¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Yllivia, it¡¯s fine. He helped us.¡± Ruby said briefly.


    closed her eyes slightly, looking at the morfian and then towards Jay in an inquisitive manner. Out of fear for his own life, he nodded before he even had the chance to think it through.


    Luckily, that seemed to be the correct answer, as she let go of his neck and lowered her gun before turning to the announcers and taking Beepy into her own arms.


    ¡°Beep?¡± She asked worried.


    ¡°Beeeep!¡± Beepy replied in a tone mixed with pain and cheerfulness.


    The white haired Lynnian seemed satisfied with his response, as clear relief spread on her face, but immediately after she turned towards the Hugger, who had been standing far away. The little robot looked at her for a moment before taking a step away. Sighing, she walked back towards the place where the others were, taking Ruby with her.


    ¡°What the hell...¡± Jay said in worry while rubbing his neck. For a moment there, the girl was completely different from the one he had seen in the arena earlier. ¡°Just what the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°You have no idea how lucky you just were.¡± He heard their group¡¯s elf saying in a serious tone.


    ¡°I¡­ Kind of noticed that.¡± He replied with a weak voice while turning to the elf.


    ¡°I have a lot of questions I want to make right now, but it doesn¡¯t seem like you will willingly answer them.¡± Sorius said before turning towards the group. ¡°And you did save her, so I can¡¯t simply go and give you to my sister for questioning.¡± Turning back towards Jay, he said. ¡°I can trust that you won¡¯t backstab us right now?¡±


    ¡°... Nah.¡± Jay denied before with a hoarse voice. ¡°Just tell the girl we are even after that...¡± Sorius widened his eyes in suspicion, but nodded in the end. He turned back towards the group and made a motion with his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going. Lunn should already be underway.¡± As he said that, the others agreed with a nod as they started moving away, the lynnian and the elf leading the charge as they made their way towards the exit.


    Watching as the group made their way out, Jay turned to his own subordinates and made a motion for them to get going. Making their way to their own escape point they had set up earlier, he was glad that they were  avoiding having to deal with the lynnian any longer.


    ¡°But¡­ White hair¡­ Unmatchable speed¡­ It couldn¡¯t be, could it?¡± He asked dubious to himself.


    ¡°What is it, boss?¡± His subordinate asked in her usual cheerful tone.


    ¡°Nothing. Just reminding myself of a rumor.¡± He said with a shake of his head. ¡°By the way, good job on your job, you really got a good group to come here.¡±


    ¡°We are quite proud of ourselves with that job!¡± The male lynnian said while nodding proudly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they even noticed it.¡± The girl said with a giggle.


    ¡°I was quite confident in my disguise at the merc¡¯s building, you know?¡± The male announcer said with a laugh


    ¡°If only you guys were as responsible overall besides when you are on your disguises...¡± Jay said with a sigh while shaking his head, hoping that one day these two fools would become able to be serious for once. ¡°At least we managed to get this done before chief got angry.¡± He said with a relieved tone.


    ¡°Eeep! I don¡¯t want to see the chief angry!¡±


    ¡°¡­I got goosebumps. He was really angry last time we reported¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the scarlet bastards were starting to get into our feet with their new pills. This should set them back for some time.¡± Jay said with a sigh. ¡°Maybe we can regain some of our territory with this¡­¡±


    As they kept on their usual bickering, the trio left to never again be seen on the base again.

 40.exe - m0n3y_Pr0b13m5.xlsx

    Writer¡¯s spot: Greetings friends! A late chapter today, and two important annoucements!


    SO, starting with the serious announcement, I''m dropping beepy.IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE, KEEP READING! First of all, I want to say that the main reason I''m doing this is because I really wanted to troll you guys, so no, I''m not dropping beepy, that was a joke. But it might take some time before the next update since I''ll be making 5 chapters straight of IO to commemorate it reaching chapter 100.


    BESIDES, I also started a wordpress blog for myself. It''s a VERY simple blog that I made for a few reasons. But I''m not going to post IO, Beepy or Lia there. If you check the page, you¡¯ll see that it¡¯s a place where I will dump ideas that I won¡¯t post in RRL for a couple of reasons, like being just a brief project, not thinking it will go far and so on. If I didn¡¯t do that, I might seriously end up cluttering RRL with my stories. The fics there HAVE NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY WILL BE COMPLETED AND MIGHT BE DROPPED OUT OF NOWHERE. But there¡¯s also a chance that new stories pop up there or that I might resurrect an old project out of nowhere, so read at your own risk.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''>MY NEW WORDPRESS!</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    With that out of the way, have your chapter of Beepy!


    BEEP, and enjoy your closing of an arc!


    ----


    ¡°We were used.¡± Ruby said as they finally reached the hallway that led to the exit. Heaving a long tired sigh, she saw as a pink haired elf waved at the group from the door, a couple of bodyguards laying knocked out on the ground.


    ¡°You also thought so?¡± Sorius asked with an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Yes. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were the ones to actually send us here in the first place.¡± Ruby said as she dodged a tackle-hug from Lunn.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lunn asked as she quickly got back up, making it as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°The fact that we probably won¡¯t get paid.¡± Ruby said with a hint of annoyance, and with her cold words, Lunn immediately reacted to the words by putting a shocked expression.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡° Lunn asked shocked. ¡°Didn¡¯t we get our job done just right? Why wouldn¡¯t we receive our payment?¡±


    ¡°Because we might have been set up on this job by someone else, so there¡¯s a chance that the job we took isn¡¯t official.¡± Ruby explained briefly, making Lunn stare at her in shock for some time. Then, they heard something snapping.


    ¡°AFTER ALL WHAT WE DID, WE WON¡¯T GET PAID AT ALL?¡± She shouted angrily, making Ruby flinch in fear for a moment before nodding. ¡°EVEN AFTER ALL WE DID WAS SO WE COULD GET SOME MONEY TO SURVIVE THE WEEK?¡±


    ¡°Looks like that¡¯s the case.¡± Ruby said with a sigh, and Lunn¡¯s eyes went glassy before she became completely limp and dejected, heaving a long sigh of desperation.


    ¡°What¡­. What are we going to do now?¡± Lunn asked depressed.


    ¡°Is money really that bad?¡± Sorius asked confused, but Lunn nodded weakly.


    ¡°We might not even survive the month the way things are going, you know?¡± She said dejectedly. ¡°We might not even have enough to pay for a transport back the way things are going...¡± She said while staring at her brother in annoyance for a moment.


    ¡°I took care of that.¡± Ruby said briefly while motioning towards the door.


    Following her gaze, the others stared towards the doorway, seeing as what looked like a limo being escorted by three large black armored treaded wagons. The vehicles screeched to a halt right in front of the door, and from inside many different soldiers wearing a black armor and helmet.


    The soldiers quickly passed through the group while giving a brief glance towards them, with Ruby looking away from them as if she didn¡¯t want to be seen. It didn¡¯t take much longer before shouts started to come from inside the building as the soldiers quickly started overpowering the bandits. While that was happening, the limousine¡¯s front door opened and from there popped a certain Troll wearing a suit.


    He made a motion for the group to come in, which they quickly complied to although all of them having confused expressions. Yllivia went first, gently lowering Beepy into the seat while sitting besides him.


    [Oh! Mirage!] Gaz said in an understanding tone as he saw the small cat laying on the couch besides him, looking surprised. [I see, so you sent her to call Gorgoff.]


    [Yes. When I noticed something was wrong, I decided to send Mirage to call him.] She said while remembering back to the time where they were in the storage. While she said that, she gently pressed her fingers towards her temple as if trying to calm herself. ¡°Keeping this up is getting a bit tiresome¡­¡± She said out loud before giving a long sigh.


    ¡°Sweetie?¡± Lunn asked worried when she heard that.


    ¡°If Lunn does anything odd with me, please teach her a lesson, okay?¡± Ruby said mysteriously to the others.


    As they watched her saying that, she closed her eyes and seemed to focus for a moment. While Gorgoff widened his eyes in surprise as he understood what it meant, the others were still not used to it, so they simply watched in confusion.


    Then she suddenly seemed to lose her balance and fall down towards Lunn who held her hurriedly. Holding Ruby against her chest, before she even had the chance to ask what was happening, Ruby passed her arms around her waist and said in a low and tired voice.


    ¡°Big shis¡­ Sho tired¡­ Huggy¡­ Nappy...¡±


    For a moment, the group flinched in surprise, Ruby¡¯s sudden drop of the professor mode caught them off-guard as she suffered from the backlash from the extensive use of the mode.


    Lunn, the one who almost literally took the brunt of the attack was completely frozen as she had a face mixed with confusion and delight, her fingers twitching as she overflowed with desire to hug the hell out of the girl who was already emitting cute sleeping sounds against her chest.


    The only thing still holding her back was the worry that Yllivia might stop her with one of her usual death punches, however, the Lynnian was too occupied with watching over the damaged robot to notice the situation.


    Having no one to actually stop her this time, she immediately hugged Ruby, squeezing her delightfully against herself while putting a satisfied smile.


    ¡°For how long have she stayed as the professor?¡± Gorgoff asked confused.


    ¡°Since afternoon.¡± Yllivia replied briefly, but Gorgoff widened his eyes in surprise.


    ¡°Afternoon? It¡¯s almost the middle of the night right now!¡± The troll said surprised. ¡°She never stayed as the professor for that long!¡± He turned towards Ruby with a worried gaze. The others also turned to her with a similar feeling, but seeing the girl sleeping so peacefully seemed to bring a bit of calm towards the group. Sighing in relief, Gorgoff sat back on the chair and made a motion to the driver to start the car up. ¡°I¡¯ll take you guys home today. And when she wakes up, tell her that we will transport the robots back to their places as she requested.¡± He said before frowning slightly. ¡°Except those three that followed you. I take it they are yours?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The three adults said in unison as they looked towards the place where Gorgoff had been looking at.


    Sitting on the floor of the limo, looking up towards the damaged Beepy, were three that at least the girls had seen previously. One was the Hugger, who had been following the group previously, so he wasn¡¯t much of a surprise. The other two, however, caught the trio unaware.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    One was a large boar-like robot with excavators for front paws. A hasty job had been done in fixing its front leg that was twisted in an odd way, but it seemed to barely allow him to walk for now. The other was a leaper that had a hatchet added to its side, as well as the armor removed from another, revealing the treads it used to move around.


    ¡°Are¡­ Aren¡¯t those the ones Beepy defeated?¡± Lunn asked surprised.


    ¡°Beeeep?¡± Gaz asked confused, as the angle where he laid didn¡¯t help looking towards the ground, so the robots were just out of his vision. [What¡¯s happening? Can someone tell me...? Ruby¡­? Ekis¡­? Anyone¡­?] He asked, but from the looks of it, both were out of commission, as neither gave him a reply.


    Sighing loudly in his mind, he tried to raise his body to look down at the three robots that the others mentioned being there, but the moment he tried to move, a sharp sting of pain crossed his body, making him beep in pain.


    Yllivia quickly reacted to his beep and she held him before pushing him back down gently while looking at him worried. Although he felt grateful to the lynnian, Gaz still grumbled annoyed into his mind.


    [...It¡¯s kind of boring when there isn¡¯t someone to talk to...] He complained to no one in particular.


    As he beeped in annoyance, receiving another worried look from Yllivia, Gorgoff got the attention of the group by clearing his throat.


    ¡°So, what exactly was happening back there?¡± He asked with a somber tone. ¡°Why were you and the professor in that place?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Lunn said awkwardly while looking away, only to put on a silly smile as Ruby nestled against her a bit more. ¡°It was a mix of surprise expenses, unfortunate timing and really, really bad luck with jobs.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The troll asked confused.


    ¡°You see, with us having to move our base, some expenses that we weren¡¯t ready for appeared, leaving us in the red. Along with that, Volgoff and Ross left so they could get a few things they left back at our old base just as mister serious-pants here left to scout the city, so we were left without a person with whom leave sweetie with.¡± The elf hugged the morfian as she was mentioned, who replied with a brief satisfied smile. ¡°Soooo cute! Anyway, we also got a really bad luck with the job, so we ended up in the hideout of a massive gang in the process.¡±


    ¡°So, you took her with you despite knowing the dangers?¡± Gorgoff asked with a tone of doubt.


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be dangerous.¡± She said with a long sigh. ¡°We were supposed to come in a small Gearbox, find enough proof and get out. But it seems we were a bit unlucky this time.¡±


    ¡°Ruby said that you might have been set up.¡± Sorius said briefly.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°She said that she think someone tried to set you up to go in that base.¡± Sorius said seriously. ¡°I think it were those guys.¡±


    ¡°...I see...¡± Yllivia said with a brief nod as if she understood what he meant.


    ¡°Who are ¡®those guys¡¯? Am I missing something?¡± Lunn asked cofused.


    ¡°The announcers. And head bodyguard.¡± The lynnian said shorty.


    ¡°Oh...¡± Lunn said surprised before nodding weakly. ¡°Those guys¡­ I see...¡±


    ¡°Why would someone set you up for something like this?¡± Gorgoff asked dubious, but the siblings could only look at each other in helplessness.


    ¡°Maybe they didn¡¯t want us.¡± Yllivia gave her opinion. ¡°Maybe they just needed mercs. We were unlucky.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ It could have been that.¡± Lunn said heavily before shrugging. ¡°Oh well, I guess we¡¯ll never know.¡±


    ¡°I see...¡± Gorgoff said with a nod before sighing. ¡°The professor did ask to check whether there was such a request on the mercs headquarters, and as she feared, there really weren¡¯t anything along the lines of checking a gear-box in recent archives.¡±


    ¡°Haah, is that really so?¡± Lunn asked dejected. ¡°Then we won¡¯t get paid at all...¡± As her words hung heavily into the air, the group sat in silence for the rest of trip to their house.


    Gorgoff did think of lending a bit of money to the group, but they decided against it in the end since he had an idea of the Professor¡¯s personality. That, and the elf gave him the feeling that she wouldn¡¯t accept an offer like that so easily. At least not at the moment. Should their situation become a bit more serious, he would lend them a hand.


    Well, although honest feelings were there, he was almost sure his boss would fire him without a second thought if something happened to the Professor, so he did have some second intentions.


    The limo circled the hill that made up the group¡¯s house and stopped just in front of the entrance. Hopping out of the vehicle while carrying Beepy, Yllivia led the way being followed by the three robots who made a small line while following the broken wolf robot. Lunn came out of the limo with a sad look, since Gorgoff was carrying the napping Ruby due to his greater strength, even though he was a more intellectual type of troll. Lastly came Sorius who followed the group from behind.


    Seeing on how Gorgoff was going to leave Ruby on her bed, Lunn decided that she would at least take a shower and wash away the sweat she built up in all that exciting adventure of theirs.


    Leaving the alloy she managed to get after her brief adventure inside her locker, she quickly directed herself towards the shower.


    A few minutes later, the elf came out while humming happily and thinking of how she would be able to snuggle up with the sleepy Ruby while she slept. Quickly putting on a simple shirt and shorts, completely ignoring the monetary problems since it wouldn¡¯t be good for her skin to lose a night¡¯s sleep over that, she made her way through the house until the girl¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡°A wonderful purchase! The guys at the R&R will be delighted with this!¡± She heard Gorgoff¡¯s voice coming from the corridor. Peeking over, she saw as the large troll carried something under his arms while laughing happily.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Lunn asked when she saw Yllivia standing on the place where the troll had been previously, looking downwards to something in her hands.


    ¡°Just sold the painting.¡± Yllivia said while raising her head towards the elf, who had a confused look. ¡°The one I was doing before we left.¡± She explained briefly.


    ¡°Ooh! The one with Ruby and Beepy?¡± Lunn said surprised. ¡°How much did you get?¡± She asked excited, and the Lynnian raised her hand, fully open. ¡°Fifty credits?¡± With that they could last one, maybe two more days! But the lynnian shook her head. ¡°More? Fi-Five hundred?¡± Lunn was now shocked. With that much money, surviving until the end of the month would be possible! But as she started to get excited over the prospect and seriously considered pouncing the cat-girl in happiness, shocking words came from her.


    ¡°Five thousands.¡± The lynnian said while putting on a proud look.


    The elf froze in place at the girl¡¯s words. The job they took earlier had the payment of one thousand credits. And after all they went through, they ended up, they weren¡¯t even paid. However, Yllivia just went and said that she got five times that by simply selling something she did for fun?


    Just as Sorius approached the girls to try and ask what was happening, he heard something snap.


    ¡°WHY DID WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT?¡± She shouted in desperation.


    Within Yllivia¡¯s room that was close by, the trio heard as a robot kept beeping repeatedly. Since neither Ruby nor Ekis were in condition to actually talk to him, no one noticed that Beepy was laughing his core off.

 41.exe - Rest_time.zip

    Writer¡¯s spot: GREETINGS FRIENDS! After such a long absence, here I am back to RRL!


    SO, Recently I had this mean series of group projects and finals that decided to screw me over. Combo that with the fact that a certain game caught my attention on the little free time I had, and we get a massive gap when it comes to release time. Luckily, I only have a single test left, and then it¡¯s my break time, where I¡¯ll be on my beach house with a relatively poor internet and bad computer, so more than enough free time to write, hopefully.


    BESIDES,  on more story-related matters, As of now I need a name for the three robots that are following Gaz. If anyone have a suggestion you want to make, say in the comments. Do remember to specify which robot you are naming, Leaper, Hugger or Boar-thingy.


    BESIDES(2), As for IO, I plan to start working on it tomorrow. There¡¯s also the matter of the Q&A that have been dragged for too long. After that, there¡¯s a special Christmas special coming, so wait and see where it will go.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -------


    <table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>GAZ.OS have detected a new body and is now rebooting.


    The best Goddess-saving OS. ever made.*


    Gaz.Os is the only goddess saving Operational system built, and thus is considered the best Goddess saving operational system as up to this day. Should another Goddess saving O.S appear, this statement may no longer be considered valid.</td></tr></tbody></table>


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    Feeling his senses come back to him, Gaz quickly activated his camera and moved around, seeing the scenery before him. Ruby was crouching in front of him with a still sleepy face, probably holding back a yawn from the way she looked. To her side was the robotic wolf body, almost entirely destroyed and barely functional.


    Hugger, the leaper and the boar-like robot were all looking at the scene with different degrees of interest. Mirage being Mirage, spent no time to waste on climbing atop his body and starting to enjoy his motor¡¯s warm. Extending the two claw-like machinery on each side of his body, he quickly used it to set up the core that was out in the open inside the safer part of his inner body.


    After setting it up, all he needed to do was to close down the center tower and soon enough he was completely set.


    [I really want to say that it¡¯s been some time but¡­ it wasn¡¯t that long since I left this body...] He said wryly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Luckily¡­ we managed¡­ To repair it...¡± Ruby said while almost nodding off.


    [Hmm! Thanks for the help!] Ekis said cheerfully before changing to a slightly worried tone. [But are you fine? You sound tired.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Still tired¡­ Could use¡­ Huggy...¡± She said in a childish tone completely different from the usual one she used.


    For a moment there was silence while Gaz and Ekis simply looked at her in awe. Tilting her head confused, Ruby didn¡¯t understand the reason for their shock.


    [Please tell me you stored that.]


    [So¡­ Adorable...]


    When she heard the duo speaking things like that, she pouted slightly unhappy, which only managed to get another snapshot for Beepy and Ekis, who were completely absorbed in registering these adorable moments. Getting adorably angry, Ruby stood up and walked away from the robot who was now back into his tank-like body.


    Watching the morphian trying to storm away in an angry manner, which with her actual appearance and atmosphere, made it look like a kid throwing a tantrum. Smiling awkwardly in their minds, Ekis and  Beepy reached a silent consensus of keeping quiet.


    They still made a backup file just in case.


    ¡°...Big sis! Huggy!¡±


    ¡°KYAAAAH! SO ADORABLE!¡±


    Hearing the girl¡¯s exchange in the inner parts of the house, Beepy quickly decided that it was time for him to start working on his own problems. Spinning his body around using the so familiar treads, he looked at the three robots who watched him expectantly.


    Ever since they arrived at their house the previous day, the trio had been following him without question, to the point that he found it a bit annoying. Although he was confused as of the reason for they to be doing that, it became a bit clearer when Ekis woke up a few hours earlier and said that they were waiting orders.


    [Seriously? Why the hell did I suddenly become their boss?] Gaz asked annoyed before driving out from the depot and making his way towards the entrance that led to the back garden.


    [Well, you did defeat them and led them to their freedom, so it¡¯s no wonder they respect you.] Ekis said cheerfully. [It makes me so happy to see them being so considerate!]


    While she said that, Gaz simply sighed exasperated while crossing his path with Sorius, giving him a brief beep in greeting. The elf replied with a brief nod before turning to him and looking confused at the small procession of robots crossing the hall in a perfect line.


    Ignoring his reaction, Beepy opened the door and got out of the house.


    Once outside, he could feel as the ground beneath his treads changed from the polished stones to soft grass. Being followed closely, he approached the middle of the garden, where a certain lynnian was calmly sitting down in a bench, happily painting something on her usual canvas.


    Hearing the small group approaching, Yllivia stopped for a moment and widened her eyes ever so slightly, before lowering herself and making a sign for them to come closer. Gaz immediately complied, approaching her so that she could pet him a bit.


    ¡°...beep.¡± She said.


    ¡°Beep!¡± He replied as usual, getting a small smile from the girl, who then turned to the other robots and looked expectantly.


    Much to her sadness, the robots all avoided her, keeping beepy between her and themselves. She sighed loudly, showing her sadness before shaking her head as if saying that was expected.


    [What¡¯s with that? Why are they avoiding her?] Gaz asked angrily.


    [I don''t know¡­] Ekis replied worriedly for a moment. [I can''t really understand it either, but¡­]


    [But?] he urged her to go on.


    [Doesn¡¯t it seems like they are looking at you more respectfully now?]


    Looking at the robots who all seemed to be staring at him in awe, Gaz stared at them dryly for a moment before sighing in his mind.


    [Don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t care.] He said before using his treads to spin around and moving away from the place where they were and moving to a space away from the garage.


    The other robots soon, just as he expected, followed him and stopped a few meters behind him.


    [Look, from today onwards, this area will be where you guys will live. Do NOT go back there because you could get caught into the garage. Also, never, under any circumstances, attack someone. Understood?] He said out loudly.


    All he got in response was some silent robots staring at him quietly. The boar one actually was sniffing the ground, or at least looked like it, as he couldn''t be quite so sure with it being a robot and whatnot.


    [I don''t think they can hear us¡­] Ekis said wryly.


    [I really hoped they could¡­] Gaz sighed tiredly. [With them following me and I following you, I kinda had this idea that they would be close enough for you to link to them, you know?]


    [Is that how it works?] She asked confused.


    [Well, you are the one who was suppose to know that, right?] He said wryly, receiving an embarrassed feeling through their link. [Well, let''s try something else¡­] He said before sighing. ¡°Beeep beep bip BeeeEEEeep beep beEep, bibibip!¡±


    As if by magic, after his beepings, the wonder trio stared at him in shock for a moment before finally dispersing, with hugger laying down in a nearby shade, the Leaper darting away to explore and the boar using its massive excavators to dig a hole in the ground.


    [Whaaa!] Ekis said in wonder. [How did you do that? Was there a pattern behind your beeps?] He could feel her excitement and would have guessed that she would be bouncing on her feet¡­ Or pistons, cheerfully. [I didn''t get enough data to decode that! What did you say?]


    [...I have no idea.] Gaz replied after a moment, feeling as Ekis froze for a moment in her excitement. [I¡­ Just made some random beeps and hoped it works¡­]


    [...Did it work?]


    [I have absolutely no idea.] He replied wryly while looking at the two robots who were still nearby. [At least it does looks like so.]


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    [...That makes simply no logical sense¡­]


    [Well, not everything needs to be logic to make sense¡­ I think.] The small robot replied before engaging his motors and turning around. [Ooookaayyy¡­ Now what to do?]


    [Don¡¯t you have anything in mind?] Ekis asked, but beepy simply sighed.


    [Not really¡­ I wouldn''t mind to start working on either repairing my wolf body or building my next one, but¡­]


    [We don''t have enough pieces to start working on either?] Ekis said in a dejected tone.


    [Yeah. The new body will probably need some pieces made under demand, while the wolf one will need some metal sheets and pistons that we simply don''t have.] Gaz sighed loudly. [And I also would like to add some more upgrades. I really lacked some firepower back there.]


    [Lack¡­ I don¡¯t think many robots your size would be able to even put a dent on Brutus, you know?] Ekis said with a wry tone.


    [Well, not like I had much use either.] He sighed.


    [What about the time you broke his sound detector?]


    [...Lucky shot.] He said wryly with a hint of pride. [But besides that, the stars of the show were pretty much hugger and Ruby, right?]


    [...I guess? I¡¯m not really all keen on what you call ¡®stars of the show¡¯ means.] The goddess replied with a slightly confused tone.


    [Guessed so.]


    Seeing that their talk had come to a halt, and they still had nothing to do with what they had at hand, Gaz looked on the area around him before finally settling his sight on Yllivia, painting peacefully on her corner of the garden.


    Making his way towards her, he was received with a brief petting on his hood before the girl went back to painting. Settling besides her, he decided that he might as well spend his time lazing around near the lynnian. Noticing as a small smile appeared on her face, he decided that it wasn¡¯t  a bad idea at all.


    ¡­


    Three hours, one whole painting of a certain robotic wolf and the start of a brand new painting later, something finally happened, making Gaz snap out of his semi cathartic state. Looking around in confusion as a familiar loud sound echoed, and receiving an annoyed meow from the robotic cat on his back for his sudden movement, his camera landed on the large vehicles approaching the house.


    Recognizing the two of them at glance, Gaz and Yllivia both looked at them in slight surprise, seeing as the large troll drove the even larger truck, while the cheerful dwarf drove the jeep-like vehicle.


    ¡°Heya lass! Did¡¯ya miss us?¡± The dwarf said while stopping the jeep besides her.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Cold as always, huh?¡± Ross said while jumping down from the vehicle then giving a confused stare to beepy. ¡°Why¡¯s he back in dere?¡±


    ¡°Work accident.¡± Yllivia said while cleaning the paint from the brush and picking a new color.


    ¡°...Alright...¡± Ross said a bit confused.


    ¡°I¡¯m personally more interested in why there¡¯s a Leaper looking at us so angrily.¡± A more mature voice echoed as the troll came down from the large truck. ¡°...And is that a burrow I¡¯m seeing?¡±


    ¡°Beepy¡¯s friends. Came to stay with us.¡± She replied briefly.


    [...Friends?] Gaz asked a bit confused.


    ¡°...Friends?¡± Volgoff worded the small robot¡¯s confusion. ¡°Did we miss something in here? And could he do something so that the leaper to stop staring at us?¡±


    Nodding to his words, Yllivia turned to Gaz, who was still a bit slow from just having come back from his sleep state. After some seconds processing the words and what they meant, Gaz quickly turned to the leaper and beeped something at random.


    The leaper looked at him for some time before finally spinning around and moving away. Seeing that the robot wasn¡¯t threatening him anymore, the troll heaved a sigh of relief before looking down at the small robot and giving a brief nod of thanks.


    After giving him a beep of acknowledgement, beepy turned to look at the huge trailer that came together with the truck. Counting with the one that was already in the garage, this made two of them, and for a moment he wondered how it would fit in the garage, but remembering the sheer size of the underground area, he finally sighed and understood that space wasn¡¯t something their garage lacked.


    ¡°...You are early. What happened?¡± Yllivia asked confused. They were expecting the duo to arrive the following day, yet here they were.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get to be hunted as much as we expected.¡± The troll said with a satisfied smile before walking up to the jeep and opening the hood. ¡°We didn¡¯t even meet a single black trigger.¡±


    ¡°Aye!¡± Ross replied with a nod, but his face looked a bit bothered. ¡°I guess dey got sum new job or sumting. Else dey¡¯d surely be on our sorry tails.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Yllivia replied with a nod before turning to the front door.


    The two men blinked surprised before turning to follow her gaze, seeing as the two elves came out of the houses with surprised expressions, Ruby following Lunn as she clung to her waist with a shy look, only to widen her eyes and give a brief smile to the duo.


    ¡°Uncle Vol. Uncle Ross. Welcome.¡± She said briefly in a low tone.


    The two men hesitated for a moment upon seeing her strange way of speaking and not helping but finding her strangely adorable as she clung to the elf¡¯s blouse.


    ¡°...Seriously. Wat da hell happened ¡®ere?¡± Ross asked confused.


    ¡°Long story...¡± Lunn said with a sigh before looking at the cars. ¡°From what you said, I take it wasn¡¯t very eventful?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We didn¡¯t really get anything too interesting on our way here.¡± The troll replied while verifying the motor of the car and giving a satisfied nod. ¡°Well, almost.¡±


    ¡°Almost?¡± Sorius asked confused. ¡°What do you mean.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we picked dis weird lad on our way here.¡± Ross said with a laugh while going to the back of the trailer and opening the door. ¡°We picked ¡®im hitchiking on the road and left ¡®im at the city.¡±


    ¡°From the way you say it¡­ Did he try anything funny?¡± Lunn asked confused, but Ross shook his head.


    ¡°Nah. Nice lad. Good talker too!¡± The dwarf dismissed it instantly. ¡°But¡­ Well¡­ He was kinda weird?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I became rather shocked when I saw you punching him through the mirror.¡± Volgoff nodded with a confused look.


    ¡°...Punch?¡± Yllivia asked while tilting her head confused before staring at the dwarf dubiously.


    ¡°Aye¡­ It does sound odd, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He laughed dryly. ¡°Lookie here, the first thing the lad said when ¡®e hoped in was: If I start acting weird, just give me a good o¡¯l flying hook.¡±


    As he said that in a weird fake tone, the others all looked at him with a distrusting look, making the dwarf look around in confusion.


    ¡°As weird as that sounds, I can vouch for him.¡± Volgoff said with a wry tone. ¡°He indeed say something like that.¡±


    ¡°...What?¡± The elfs said in synchrony.


    ¡°Yah. I thought it was weird, but didn¡¯t really mind tinking it was a joke or sumting.¡± Ross said while hopping inside the trailer. ¡°Tis was all nice an¡¯ stuff for sum time, but when he saw ma power armor... ¡± He stopped his words for a moment, and unable to see him inside the trailer, the others could only wait as he chose his words. Only when the dwarf hopped out carrying a large machine as big as himself did he continue. ¡°Tis was kinda like a whole different person, ya know?¡±


    While the others simply looked at him confused, the one who react first wasn¡¯t anyone other than the young morphian who clung to the pink haired elf. Staring at the dwarf in surprise, she opened her mouth to speak, before closing it and thinking better.


    Finally, she asked in a shy tone.


    ¡°Wa¡­ Was it a Brown haired Lynnian?¡± She asked, noticing how the others gaze all fell upon her and shrunk slightly.


    ¡°...Aye. How did the little princess know?¡±


    ¡°...I don¡¯t like him.¡± She said while clinging adorably to Lunn¡¯s waist and pouting.


    ¡°Ya know that guy?¡± Ross said surprised, and Ruby nodded once again.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ He¡¯s a researcher too.¡± She said in a clear bad mood. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ Very good. But I don¡¯t like him.¡± She clung even more to Lunn. ¡°Syche is scary.¡±


    ¡°Syche?¡± Lunn asked confused. ¡°But isn¡¯t his name Evon or something?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Ruby nodded weakly, before looking up to the elf. ¡°Evon is strange. He have two personalities.¡± She looked down again before going back to cling to the elf. ¡°He calls the meany one Syche.¡±


    [Two personalities?] Ekis asked confused on their links. [How does that works?]


    [Muu¡­ I don¡¯t know.] Ruby replied. [I just know that when he¡¯s interested on something, it¡¯s like he becomes a really meany person.]


    ¡°And why do you know him?¡± Sorius asked confused, the others nodding as they agreed with his doubt.


    ¡°Muu¡­ He¡¯s... Very famous.¡± Sighing, Ruby took some time to reply. ¡°And his researches are completely different from mine. I wanted to see what he did.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And what exactly does he do?¡± Volgoff asked curious while looking at her. ¡°Not wanting to sound rude or anything, but he didn¡¯t exactly seem a very scientific fellow.¡±


    ¡°Evon isn¡¯t.¡± She said shortly. ¡°Nice Evon is a mercenary. The researcher is Syche.¡± The others raised confused eyebrows at her words, not exactly understanding her words. ¡°He is trying to create new things that don¡¯t need robots as basis.¡± Ruby then turned towards Sorius for a moment. ¡°I¡­ Thought of asking him to make your weapon.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Him?¡± The elf asked confused and she nodded.


    ¡°Syche is a meany, but...¡± Ruby lowered her head. ¡°When it comes to creating things from scratch, he¡¯s better than me.¡±

 Warhawxs X-mas X-Over X-pecial (Part 2/3)

    Writer¡¯s spot: GREETINGS FRIENDS! MERRY CHRISMTAS YOU ALL!


    SO, you see, me and the author from Insania Online and Spiritsmith decided to get together and make a three part Christmas special crossover! Why? No idea! Don¡¯t go expecting anything grand happening, though, as the idea is mostly what would happen if the characters found themselves in a room together, so instead of content, we are focusing more on the flow of the story. (If it wasn¡¯t clear enough, I¡¯m also the author of the two other fics, okay?) Anyway, each part will be posted in one of the stories and will be posted one the day before, during, and the day after (hopefully). I know not everyone read all stories, so I will make sure to at least post a link here after they are posted.


    BESIDES, Today¡¯s chapter is probably even longer than yesterday¡¯s, despit the fact that IO¡¯s chapters are usually the longest ones. Talk about odd. Anyway, I¡¯ll have a link up for the previous part, and a link for the next once it¡¯s up tomorrow. Hope you guys like this!


    BESIDES(2), be warned that this special was hastily created, thus the fourth wall is very feeble, so expect some leaks during this story.


    Beep, and good reading!


    ----


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''>PART ONE</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    [You can do it, Ruby!] Ekis said cheerfully.


    [Well, not like we have a choice knowing how Yllivia is.] Gaz added with a wry tone.


    [Moou! This is embarrassing enough as is!] Ruby complained back with a teary tone. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Hmm¡­ My name is Ruby...¡± She said out loud. The moment she did that, the others all directed her gazes to her. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ A morphian.¡±


    The moment her words left her mouth, she noticed how the strange rock thingy with creepy green eyes looked at her confused. The ¡®kitsune¡¯ was seemingly recovering from being petted with a satisfied smile in her face. On the other hand, the strange elves with round ears were looking at her with a bigger hint of amazement than the large group.


    Not used to and neither liking to be the center of attention, Ruby shrunk even more under their gazes.


    [Well, can¡¯t really blame them. You do have a unique appearance.] Beepy said with a wry tone while walking around and seeing each of the groups one by one.


    [Do-do I?] She asked confused.


    [Well, I guess?] Ekis said a bit confused. [Not as unique as the Golem though. His eyes are a bit scary.]


    While putting on a wry smile, Ruby quickly gave a nudge to Yllivia, who was analyzing the room around them. She blinked surprised and turned to the young morphian, who then pointed around with her head. Looking around confused, it took her a second to understand what she meant, so she quickly said.


    ¡°Yllivia. Lynnian.¡± She said and cut short there as always. The round-eared elves all smiled wryly, while the golem gave a brief smirk. ¡°That¡¯s Beepy.¡± Yllivia added by looking at Gaz who was having a stare off with the cat wearing the strange attire that everyone seemed to be using here.


    Hearing his name, Beepy quickly raised his head and looked at the two groups before giving a brief beep. However, the moment he did that, he felt as something touched his side briefly, so he quickly turned back to see the cat wearing a triumphant smile.


    [...What did he do?] He asked worried.


    [He¡­ Scribbled a cat face on your side.] Ruby said with an amazed look. [Using¡­ Coal?] She asked confused. [Did he get it from the fireplace?]


    [Scri...] Gaz said shocked before using his back paw to try and wash it off, but the sheer solid nature of his body made it difficult to scrap the coal off. [Did that do it?]


    [No...]


    [GAAAH!] He shouted angrily while noticing that the cat was on his other side now, throwing the coal up and down with a satisfied smile. [YOU EFFING CAT! I¡¯LL GET YOU!] He shouted while beeping angrily.


    Not even a second later he was already jumping after the cat that laughed while running away from him.


    He followed the cat under the table and atop the fireplace, and only through sheer luck did they manage to avoid dropping the food or decorations in both places. While he was in a furious hunt, Ruby could only sigh in defeat before shaking her head.


    ¡°What is that metal beast?¡± She heard the purple haired girl ask from besides her as she eyed the two animals running around the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s a robot, miss Tian.¡± The younger girl said with a proud smile and receiving a surprised look from her companions..


    ¡°Hooh? How do you know that, Young Lia?¡± The one called Roshi asked curious.


    ¡°Huh? Hmm¡­ Well¡­ That Golem said it earlier, didn¡¯t he?¡± She asked a bit worried and the other two nodded.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Ruby said with a nod before tilting her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t¡­ You see a robot before?¡± She asked confused, but the others all shook their heads.


    ¡°Robot, is it?¡± The old man asked while eyeing Beepy curiously. ¡°Is that some kind of spirit beast?¡±


    ¡°No¡­?¡± Ruby replied slightly confused. ¡°Robots are living machines. They are made of metals and gears.¡±


    ¡°Machines? Gears?¡± Tian, the purple haired girl said with a surprised gaze. ¡°You mean that wolf isn¡¯t alive?¡±


    ¡°Beepy is alive.¡± Yllivia said with a annoyed tone.


    ¡°But¡­ Then...¡± Tian said confused before blinking and looking around confused. ¡°Ara, where is my cute plebeian?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s here.¡± They heard the one that called himself a golem saying from behind the table. ¡°She¡¯s playing with the robot.¡± He said while picking the strange cat with antennas by the neck and forcing him to clean the Gaz with a cloth.


    [Serves him right!] Gaz said with a proud tone while answering to the girl¡¯s ¡®paw¡¯ command.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not sure about you guys, but this table looks pretty damn amazing, so what about continuing our talk while eating?¡± The golem said while pulling a chair with his feet as if claiming it to be his. ¡°Also, dibs on the pasta.¡±


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s unfair!¡± The black haired girl said before quickly standing on the tip of her toes to peek over the table. ¡°Muu¡­ Dibs on the fish then!¡± She said quickly before pulling back two other chairs and making a motion for the purple haired girl to come closer.


    Tian stared at beepy warily for a moment before finally nodding and closing her fan in a single motion and directing herself to the chair, being followed closely by the old man who still had his guard up. Sighing at the scene, Ruby decided that worrying about it would lead nowhere, so with a glance towards Yllivia, she motioned for the two of them to head to the table


    ¡°I believe that this time we ought to present ourselves, as this is the proper noble way of doing so, right?¡± The purple haired girl said with a pompous tone and a proud smile while she climbed on the chair.


    [She¡¯s totally some noble¡¯s daughter.] Gaz said with a wry tone.


    [How do you know?] Ruby asked confused.


    [I¡¯d say it¡¯s from the way she talks and acts.]


    [Is that so?] Ekis said with a surprised tone. [I¡¯d never have guessed¡­]


    [Exactly! She just have this whole ¡®noble¡¯ to the way she act and all!] Gaz replied with a satisfied nod while sitting at Yllivia¡¯s feet.


    [Yeah, after following master around for so long I guess I got used to analyzing everything I find and see what I can discover.] The reply came in a wry tone.


    [I see...] Ruby said with a slightly surprised nod before suddenly blinking and looking around confused. [Wait, who are you?]


    [Hmm, Now I understand why Gon likes the whole delayed reaction so much!] The voice said in a cheerful tone, making the trio in the link look around confused.  [I had this strange itch on the back of my processor, so I wondered what was happening. I didn¡¯t expect for there to be such an encrypted transmission going on around here!]


    [Wha...] Gaz said surprised as he tried to understand what was happening. Looking towards Ruby and seeing that the girl was also lost on what was happening, he turned back and looked around in search from where this new voice was coming.


    His eyes finally landed on the floating crystal girl who was flying above the table and serving the food for the others. The strange creature gave them a brief look before smiling with her eyes and going back to her work.


    [Bu¡­ How...] Ekis said confused, but Crys quickly replied.


    [Well, when you have a quantum computer behind your processing power, it¡¯s not that really hard to enter a broadcasted channel like this one.] She replied with a slightly indifferent tone as if it wasn¡¯t something strange. [Although it does makes me curious on how the young girl there is also talking here.] She gave Ruby a brief curious look before turning to the purple haired girl and serving her the plate. ¡°Here is your plate.¡± She said in a cheerful tone before going to the next person in line.


    While the trio watched her in shock and confusion, the purple haired girl shook her head and cleared her throat.


    ¡°Forgive-me. I¡¯ve been distracted by this strangely cute creature.¡± She said while looking at Crys. ¡°As I was saying, let me begin with my introduction. I am...¡±


    ¡°Tian, martial artist and noble.¡± The golem said interrupting her. She blinked surprised and stared at him while he went on. ¡°The ones on your side are probably Lia and Roshi. If I had to guess, Lia is your servant and apprentice to the old man.¡± As he said that, he dropped a huge portion of pasta on his plate, making a delirious smile while staring at the food. ¡°There, introductions done. TIME FOR THE GRUBAAAH!¡±


    ¡°That was extremely rude, Master.¡± Crys said after having slammed the back of his head. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have given then the time to introduce themselves?¡±


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°BUT THIS FOOD IS MAKING ME HUNGRY!¡± The golem complained while pointing to the bountiful food in front of him. ¡°How could I look at this suspiciously placed, delicious looking food that have been clearly set here by someone other than any of us whom we have no idea of who it could be and their intentions, knowing that they are still nearby because the food is still warm so it means it¡¯s recent, and not get hungry?¡±


    ¡°S-Strange, I suddenly lost my hunger¡­¡± Ruby said in a wry tone while pushing the plate away.


    Her feeling quickly spread along the table as the others quickly pushed the plates back. All except Yllivia, who simply took a piece of the meat closer, sniffed it briefly before shrugging and eating it.


    ¡°Not poisoned.¡± She said in an indifferent tone.


    ¡°Shi-Shishou!¡± The kitsune complained in a worried tone. ¡°That¡¯s not something you should say during christmas!¡± The two groups stared at the girl with a confused expression, as her cold and sharp expression she had when defending the golem previously was nowhere to be seen at the time.


    ¡°What is this ¡®crissmas¡¯ you speak about?¡± The one called master Roshi asked, seemingly the least affected one. ¡°And I take you found out about us from our talk previously?¡± He asked with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Yup.¡± The golem said while lifting his head from the plate of pasta and starting to pick it up with his fingers. ¡°And before you ask, yes. I can eat stuff.¡± He said briefly in a completely out of place serious look. ¡°And well, christmas, in a very practical and brief explanation, is a time where people get around, commemorate, eat food and exchange presents.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ Sounds a bit random...¡± Roshi said with a wry tone.


    ¡°Indeed. This doesn¡¯t looks like the kind of preparation people would do for something like that.¡± She said pointing to the room around them.


    Indeed, looking around, the amount of decorations was really significative, with garlands and ribbons spread everywhere and a fairly large decorated tree on the corner that was, sadly, devoid of presents. And that was not even counting the fact that everyone was dressed following the same kind of pattern.


    Gaz smiled a bit to himself when he noticed that the golem had been cornered and a certain crystal maid was shaking her head exhaustedly.


    ¡°You do that on purpose, don¡¯t you, Master?¡± She asked, and the reply was a ridiculously proud smile


    [Looks like you have it rough...] Beepy said with a wry tone.


    [I did ask for this, so I can¡¯t really complain.] She replied in a tired tone before sighing.


    [No, wait. How are you even here in the first place?] Ekis asked in a worried tone, as if she had just snapped out of her confusion. [We have no idea how to add others to this link! PLEASE! Tell us how you came in!] She begged in a desperate voice that surprised the others in the link.


    [Wow! Calm down Ekis!] Gaz said with a worried tone. [You almost gave me a core attack!]


    [Core attack?] Ruby asked confused.


    [A play with heart attack perhaps?] Crys replied briefly. [Also, I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can really explain how I found this connection here.]


    [Huh?] Ekis reacted surprised. [Bu-But, why?]


    [Well¡­ In the words of Gon¡­ This whole ordeal isn¡¯t canon, so whatever explanation I give you here probably won¡¯t work on your own story.] She said in an apologetic tone.


    [Wait¡­ Canon? Our story? What do you mean?]


    ¡°MAGIC FOURTH WALL BREAKING POWAAHS!¡± The golem suddenly shouted while standing up and putting one of his feet on the table and pointing a fork full of pasta to the air. After a moment he blinked surprised and felt all the eyes gathering on him. ¡°What? Wasn¡¯t it obvious I had to say that?¡± He asked with a sigh before falling down on the chair.


    [Was it just me who found that scary?] Ruby asked while shrinking below the table with a worried look.


    [That¡¯s Gon for you.] Crys replied with a mix of pride and worry in her tone.


    ¡°Ermm¡­ What¡¯s that power you just spoke about is, mister golem?¡± The black haired girl, Lia, asked.


    ¡°Something that allows one to have vast knowledge of what is happening, young Lia.¡± He said in a strangely serious tone that wouldn¡¯t feel strange in a teacher, his sudden change in attitude catching everyone off guard as they looked at him confused. ¡°But at the same time, you risk enraging the Author! Thus Its usage must be done completely different to how i¡¯ve been doing, practicing lots of moderation!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Who could that ¡®Author¡¯ be? What would he do to you?¡± Tian asked with a curious glance to him while fumbling with the silverware trying to cut the fish.


    ¡°The Author is an almighty being that dictates our own destiny!¡± Gondorrer said in a serious tone, widening his eyes as if telling the undeniable truth. Yllivia and Roshi watched him with interest while Yuu seemingly tried to stop him, but the words wouldn¡¯t leave her mouth at the pace he was in. ¡°But he is also made of pure evil and would stop at nothing should he be angere...¡±


    Suddenly, all the pasta in the golem¡¯s plate disappeared for no good reason. With not even a puff of smoke or any kind of signal, all the food he had set aside for himself simply disappeared.


    For a moment, the whole room froze and stared in shock at the perfectly empty plate. While the others watched the scene in shock and confusion, only the golem smiled widely as if he had won something.


    ¡°As if this would stop me!¡± He said while standing up and setting apart another portion of the pasta. However, the moment he sat down again, the food disappeared.


    Soon, a loud cry of anguish echoed through the dining room as the golem shouted in suffering as one of his favorite food were denied him as a punishment for breaking the fourth wall.


    While his cry echoed through the room, the sound of a certain cat¡¯s laughter soon followed, making the others look at him wryly before going back to eating their own food.


    [Ermm¡­ Say, did he tell the story of this whole christmas event?] Ekis asked after some time of silence.


    [Yes. But we were talking at the moment.] Crys replied briefly.


    [Oh...] The Goddess became slightly depressed once she heard that, but not liking to see her like that, Gaz quickly said.


    [I know what it is too, so I can explain later.]


    [Really?]


    [Yeah.] He replied with a brief sigh. [Also, Ruby. Shouldn¡¯t you be eating by now? Letting such a food go cold is a waste.]


    [Ah!] The morphian replied surprised before nodding and leaning closer to the table so she could eat her share. [Kind of¡­ Got distracted.] She replied shyly while taking a peek at Crys.


    [Well, not like I can¡¯t understand. I¡¯m also quite curious about you.] The little maid said embarrassedly.


    ¡°Muu...¡± The small group blinked surprised when they heard the Lynnian complaining slightly. ¡°We heard what they are.¡± She said briefly while looking at the golem¡¯s group. ¡°But now what you are. Elves? Dwarves?¡± She tilted her head as she looked at them dubiously.


    ¡°Elves? What kind of creature is that?¡± The purple haired girl asked with a raised eyebrow and curiosity in her eyes. ¡°Well, whatever it may be, we are none of those.¡± She shook her head and brought the fan to her face, covering her mouth as she put on a proud smile. ¡°We are all humans here.¡± She replied while making a motion to her companions.


    Contrary to her expectations, however, the two girls only tilted their heads confused, with only Ruby widening her eyes after a moment in surprise and turning towards the wolf robot for a moment.


    ¡°...Only humans? Boooring.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Boring?¡± Tian replied shocked at the golem¡¯s sudden interruption. ¡°Wha¡­ Why would I and my companions be boring for you?¡± She asked with a frown, before putting her hand over Lia¡¯s shoulder and pulling her close. ¡°How can this adorably cute plebeian be boring?¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I mean...¡± The golem said while raising his face from the table. ¡°I¡¯m a moving pile of rock who uses the body of my prey to make gear and is followed by a procession of adorable slash mischievous creatures.¡± His eyes glanced towards the cat who was feasting on the fish. ¡°They are some kind of super powerful catgirl that can react to Yuu¡¯s attack, a strange adorable looking girl who says to be a Morphian, which I sincerely have no idea what it is, looks ridiculously squishy and huggable and is followed by a super cool robotic wolf...¡±


    [I¡¯m starting to like that guy.] Gaz said while stuffing his chest out.


    [Cute¡­ Huggable¡­?] Ruby echoed, surprised by the sudden praise.


    ¡°Then, humans.¡± He said while pointing to the last group.


    ¡°When you put it like that...¡± Ruby agreed shyly.


    ¡°See! Even Squishy agreed with me!¡± The golem said indignated. Unless you give me one good reason why you are interesting, I¡¯ll only be able to think of you as boring, you know?¡± Despite his slightly sharp words, some slight hint of a taunt could be heard from his voice.


    The noble purple haired girl, of course, didn¡¯t miss it, and finally smiled behind her fan as she understood what was his point. However, she wasn¡¯t the only one to notice it, because soon enough her young aide gave off a cute smile and asked.


    ¡°Does being a Spiritualist count as interesting?¡± She asked in a clear voice.


    ¡°I have no idea what that is, but now we¡¯ve started talking!¡± The golem said while putting on a victorious smile and leaning back on the chair.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''>LAST PART</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 42.exe - Simpler_Plan.mp4

    Writer¡¯s corner: GREETINGS FRIENDS! After some time, here we are back with the updates.


    SO, today start the beginning of the crafting arc, which includes mostly the planning part. The chapter is a bit short, I know, but I¡¯ll try to make up for it on the next chapters where I¡¯ll have to describe the building part.


    ALSO, right now I¡¯m starting to get pumped to write IO¡¯s battle scene, so expect an update by the end of the week at mos. Hopefully, I¡¯ll manage to do the chapter by then, and with the battle done, I should get a bit more momentum writing the story parts.


    ALSO(2), I decided to change my signature to show my latest two updates wherever they may be. To be honest, this is more like a way to get people to read my other works, but who cares! Shameless advertising for the win!


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow, so we can let the guys rest a bit.¡±


    With those last words, Lunn dismissed the crowd that had formed around, making each and every one present go back to their work. With the dwarf unpacking the things on the trailer and the Troll checking on the cars, Beepy made his way back towards Yllivia¡¯s side and rested there while the girl kept on with her painting.


    However, while his body rested quietly near her, his mind was quickly brought back to working pace as he felt Ruby channeling her attention towards him from inside the house.


    It lasted for only a brief second before she suddenly redirected her attention somewhere else. For a few minutes she went quiet, before suddenly turning towards him curious and turn back once again.


    For a few minutes the scene repeated itself, and after finally getting a bit annoyed by the repeating action which left him a bit uncomfortable, finally getting curious about it, he finally sighed in his mind and made the question.


    [So¡­ What with all the peeks?] Beepy asked.


    [Ah, sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to bother you.] Ruby replied immediately with a slightly embarrassed tone.


    [Well, i wouldn¡¯t really mind if you at least explained me why the sudden interest.] Gaz said with a wry tone.


    [Oh, she¡¯s been planning your next body!] Ekis said cheerfully, making him blink surprised.


    [Weren¡¯t you going to rest for today?] Gaz asked confused. For a moment there was an awkward silence through the link and he heard as Ekis sighed wryly.


    [I wanted to, but¡­] Ruby said with a tired voice. [Since Evon is in town¡­ I thought that we maybe should get his help quickly, so i started making the plans¡­]


    [I see. But why do you keep peeking at me again?] Gaz asked a bit annoyed.


    [That¡¯s¡­ We were trying to remember how those machines you showed us worked, but we thought you were sleeping.] Ekis said a bit awkwardly, making Gaz blink surprised for a moment before finally remembering that she could now change her point of view for Ruby¡¯s.


    [Is that all?] Gaz said with a sigh. [Feel free to check on my memory, you know? If it¡¯s only for that I don¡¯t mind it.] He said, and felt a thank you feeling coming from the two before Ekis started fiddling around his memory. For a moment he kept quiet, but seeing how he was doing nothing either, he finally decided that he¡¯d rather go and see what they were doing.


    After giving the lynnian a brief beep, he revved up his motors and started making his way inside the house through the front door and crossing the living room where Ross was unpacking some boxes and heading to the depot room that they had used to build his wolf body the last time.


    Although he could open the door himself using the hand-like attachments from his body, it was a bit difficult, seeing how the doorknob was just on the limit of his reach, and he would need to improvise a bit to get that little extra height. But with Mirage sleeping on his back, he felt a bit concerned about waking her up. Thus, he quickly reached to the conclusion that knocking the door was a lot easier.


    Not even a second later Ruby opened the door, let him in before closing it again.


    The moment he entered, however, he stopped shocked before finally turning towards the girl, a confused beep escaping him as he registered the state of the room around him. The Morfian quickly understood reaction and a small blush formed on her face as she tried to hide her face behind the notebook she always carried around.


    [How long have you been working again?] He asked the girl.


    [Fo-Forty three minutes?]


    [I see...] Gaz replied before giving the room around them a brand new look, seeing as a couple of dozen different piece of papers laid on the ground around them, each and every one having some kind of drawing of pieces and calculations. [And how many sketches you did again?]


    [T-Twenty seven?] Ruby replied embarrassed while awkwardly looking away from him, but, just as bad of a liar she is, the truth came fast as Ekis quickly corrected.


    [Thirty eight with the latest one, actually.] The goddess replied in a cheerful tone, however Ruby only blushed even more while turning back and walking towards the desk.


    ¡°A-A-Anyway¡­ W-What did you want to s-see h-here?¡± She asked while sitting down and whipping out her pencil and going back to drawing.


    [Well, i wanted to see how you two were doing, but i didn¡¯t expect things to be so advanced already.] Gaz explained while, after some trouble, he managed to pick up one of the sketches and give it a better look.


    [Actually¡­] Ekis said in a wry tone while Ruby froze for a moment, before going back to her sketch, except that a bit slower. [We are having some problems, so we keep going back to ground zero.]


    [Huh? Why¡¯s that?] Gaz asked confused.


    [The turbines...] The morphian said in a low tone. [They are too complex¡­ Too many pieces that we never saw before and too much we have to improvise due to lack of information.] She explained before sighing. [That, coupled with the fact that we can¡¯t have a large body makes thing complex for us.] She explained in a tired tone.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Gaz accepted silently while looking at the sketch before him. The lack of information was very probably his fault, seeing how he never looked too much into the workings of a turbine in his previous life, but as the thought passed through his mind, he started noticing something on the drawings.


    Looking around, noticed something a bit curious about all the drawings. All of them were of winged robots with both fixed wings and a set of turbines, either in pair or alone. Other had both a moveable wing and a single turbine for propulsion. After a few seconds of staring at all the pieces of paper on the ground, it finally clicked on him.


    [Hey, why are you trying to go for the most complex right out of the bat?] He asked.


    The moment the duo heard that, they froze, and Ruby turned to him instantly with a shocked expression.


    [There¡¯s¡­ A simpler flying machine?] She asked surprised while staring at Gaz as if he was some kind of genius.


    [Well¡­ I¡¯m not sure how much simpler, but¡­ Wouldn¡¯t making a quadcopter or something like that be easier than making a jet-propelled plane?] He asked after noticing a sheer lack of propeller based aircrafts. This also included helicopters and quadcopters, which are, at least in concept, simpler than their jet-based counterpart.


    For a moment, there was an awkward silence on the room, both in the physical and in the mental plane as the girls processed his words. When it finally sunk in what he meant, Gaz felt as Ekis quickly invaded his mind while relentlessly searching for information, her impetus being fueled by Ruby¡¯s excitement as she urged her on.


    Their aggressivity was such that Gaz even took a brief step back. Or a roll back, seeing how he didn¡¯t have feet to take steps. The sudden movement even woke up the lazy cat who was sleeping on his back, who started meowing in complaint before trying to go back to sleep.


    Not even a moment later, he could hear as the two started discussing designs in his head, Ruby nodding in agreement as she understood and planned the applications of the new technology. Not even a second passed before she ripped the page from her notebook and started sketching anew.


    [We could use a simple motor for this. A spark one...]


    [The propellers will need to be custom-made, though.]


    [Probably forge some protectors too...]


    [Luckily, Gaz can deal with the calculations, so there¡¯s no need to worry too much about balancing.]


    [Think solar-power will be enough?]


    [Better add some more panels just to be safe.]


    As the two quickly started their talk, even Gaz could see as an image started forming in their head and in the sketchbook before the girl. Peeking at the drawing, Gaz could see the shape, and true enough, they were doing something much alike what he thought initially.


    A central body that was large enough to fit his core plus a battery and such. Overall, it was around half of the size of the leaper body. Focusing on being lighter and being the first time there ever was such a large flying robot, it wasn¡¯t that much of a surprise that they¡¯d rather try and go for a simple shape.


    However, not even four minutes passed before the plan was discarded with seemingly no reason. Confused by the reason, Gaz quickly approached the paper and gave it a look, however, all that he found was a plan that was seemingly one step away from being finished.


    [Too little self-defense.] Ruby explained. [Would be better to add some kind of offensive mechanism...]


    [What about giving it some kind of long ranged weapon?] Ekis said and Ruby nodded immediately.


    [A modified version of the spike shooter?] She asked before nodding. [Maybe add some more firepower with an electric discharge?]


    As Gaz watched the two start geeking over his new body, he couldn¡¯t help but smile awkwardly in his mind. From the looks of it, it might have been a good idea to leave the planning to these two together, as they would quickly notice any kind of mistake the other was doing.


    [Maybe we could add some type of long range bombing device!] Ekis suddenly added. [And some kind of system that allows for silent movement!]


    [Yeah, and if we can increase the thrust strength, we could even give it gunpowder based weaponry!] Ruby nodded in excitement. [We could even use the shot-box Gaz took during the tournament!]


    [What about changing the design so that he would look cooler? We could make him into a Bird or something! That way he could have claws!]


    Okay, now they were going too far.


    [You two! Calm down, will ya?] Beepy said, making the two snap out of their excitement. [Look,, we all know next to nothing of flying mechanics, so let¡¯s start with something small, shall we?]


    [[...Sorry...]] The two replied embarrassed while Ruby lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers [It¡¯s just that...][...We wanted to make it better].


    [Take it one step at a time, okay?] Gaz said wryly before shaking his head. [Anyway, if you do want to improve it that much, try something simple, like adding a motor that allows to spin the motors around so they can be used for forward thrusts. Besides, it¡¯s not like we need this body to be done by the end of the day. We could always repair the wolf body if push comes to shove.]


    Ruby nodded and Gaz could feel as Ekis did the same in their link. Another ripping sound echoed before Ruby went back to writing while Gaz and Ekis discussed the upgrades he wanted for the wolf body.


    By the end of the day, the basis of the plan was laid out and all the pieces they¡¯d need to be done were already planned. While the girls did manage to squeeze a few upgrades in, it was mostly a simple design without anything too over the top.


    And with that, they started to prepare for what they need the following day.

 43.exe - Pulling_Iron.crft

    Writer¡¯s spot: GREETINGS FRIENDS! A new update, some crafting, and ideas.


    SO, an average sized chapter with around 3k words today. While It has been some time since I last wrote this, I¡¯m starting to think of a way to possibly get a bit more frequent, or at the very least regular updates. I¡¯m not making promises, but I am making some plans. For now, the idea is: IO will be written during weekends, with my other two works alternating every week. Whatever time I have left after finishing the chapter I¡¯ll take writing what I feel like writing. HOPEFULLY, I can stick to this schedule, but we¡¯ll see.


    BESIDES, on today¡¯s chapter I start some explanations on a certain person¡¯s problems, get a bit of crafting done (Not on the new body, mind you) and prepare the field for some moar crafting later on.


    BESIDES(2), as usual, I have the feeling that I was supposed to say something else, since I can¡¯t remember, I¡¯ll go with something amusing: QUESTION, To whomever read both this and IO, who do you think is stronger, Yllivia or Yuu? While I do have the answer in my mind, I¡¯m interested in seeing you guys reaction.


    Beep, and have a good read!


    ------


    With the remaining of the afternoon spent on simply planning their needed pieces and bits, the time between the sun going down and the whole group going to sleep was spent on working on what they could. With most of the pieces for the new project needing some extremely precise handling of the pieces, and some kind of lightweight alloy that they didn¡¯t possess, they had to resort to simply repairing the wolf¡¯s body.


    Going to the garage, where Ross had already set up his basic engineering machinery, they started working on first repairing the damaged body before moving on to the upgrades. Thankfully, they had some spare parts from the drones that attacked them during the escort that could be used. Managing to quickly adapt the scraps of metals to a more useable shape, after they were done with repairing the main body, there were still a few hours before their usual time to sleep.


    Under Gaz¡¯s request to make an upgrade to his offensive capacities, they started with building a new leg from scratch. After a quick sketch of its shape, they decided to scrap the internal piston that he used for the high-powered jump and exchange it for a reworked version of the shotgun box that Beepy stole from the Boar-like robot.


    With the help of the dwarf¡¯s expertise in firearms, they managed to quickly dismantle the mod and separate a two pair of buck-shots barrels. Afterwards they set on to work on building a pair of legs that was big enough to fit the whole shooting and roughly made reloading mechanism, compromised of a reworked break-action mechanism that would, in its default state, stay open.


    Setting the barrel of the gun on the foreleg part, using its strength to also support the body as a bone-like structure. To help with the movement, seeing how the extra parts weighted down on the limb, Ruby also added a pair of high-pressure pistons to help the motor. While these pistons were capable of applying greater strength, they weren¡¯t capable of as much explosive power as the previous one, greatly reducing the agility the older setting offered.


    To protect the new system and take advantage of the stronger front paw, they added some extra armor on the leg, leaving it even more resistant than the main body¡¯s system.


    Using pressurized air to push the bullet into the barrel, the setting required Gaz to extend the leg forward and lower the bigger and sharper claws to shoot, as the movement would close down the break-action mechanism and isolate the firing chamber from the rest of the inner part of the legs.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s late.¡± A quiet and solemn voice echoed, snapping the quartet of goddess, robot, scientist and Engineering mechanic out of their crafting fever state. Turning to the newcomer, the group looked surprised towards the lynnian, who looked sleepy.


    ¡°Huh? Is it?¡± Ruby asked surprised before looking around searching for a sign of something she could use to refer the time.


    [It should be around midnight by now.] Ekis said slightly embarrassed. [I¡­ Kinda forgot to warn you.]


    Looking around for a moment, Ruby finally nodded and let out a long yawn, as if only now she was remembering how tired she had been the entire day. Feeling as the energy left her body now that her enthusiasm had been broken, the small morphian started feeling drowsy once again.


    However, looking at the almost completed leg behind her, she felt a bit hesitant to leave the project she had started working on before finishing.


    ¡°Go sleep, lass. I¡¯ll take it over from here.¡± The dwarf said amicably while patting her in the back. ¡°We just need to make the tests and all, aye?¡±


    Looking at the dwarf for some time, Ruby finally finished with a brief nod and a small smile before making her way upstairs. Nodding, the dwarf went back to adding the finishing touches to the limb before setting it up for the fire-test.


    Meanwhile, Beepy followed Yllivia as she made her way to her own bedroom. Already wearing a simple yellow pajamas, the Lynnian awaited until beepy took his place besides the bed before finally laying down.


    Kind of used to this scene after his time living with the Lynnian, where she would, some times out of nowhere, look for him so that he could be nearby before falling asleep. While he wasn¡¯t quite sure what was the reasoning behind this, he couldn¡¯t really bring himself to deny her request.


    [Sometimes I feel I¡¯m becoming more and more like a pet¡­] He commented.


    [A multi-use and extremely versatile pet.] Ekis added.


    [¡­Motor synchrony should¡­ But there¡¯s the helixes¡­ Pressurized air below 0.2¡­.]


    [Looks like she¡¯s out, huh?] Gaz said while hearing Ruby¡¯s sleep talk. Another thing he had slowly grown used to in these last days.


    With Ekis agreeing with a wry feeling, he saw as the lynnian turned off the lights from her place. As the silence fell not only on the physical world around him, but also in the mental link, Gaz prepared to change into his sleep mode.


    ¡°¡­You really are different¡­¡±


    [Huh?] ¡°Beep?¡± Gaz turned surprised towards the Lynnian, who said so surprising him.


    ¡°¡­The others still run away. Only you stay by my side.¡± The Lynnian said in a strange and slightly melancholic tone. Hearing as she moved around in the bed and ended up turning to him, turning around and looking at her, he saw as she stared at him for a few seconds. ¡°It¡¯s almost like¡­¡± The lynnian trailed off before shaking her head.


    ¡°Beep?¡± Gaz asked a bit confused by the strange atmosphere that Ylli had this night.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± She said briefly before approaching the edge of the bed and gently putting her hand on Beepy¡¯s top. ¡°¡­Nighty night.¡± She said while petting him.


    After a few seconds, Gaz could hear as she drifted asleep. Confused, he stayed where he was, avoiding any movement so that he wouldn¡¯t risk waking her up by moving her hand.


    [Why did she say that?] Ekis asked after some time, sounding just as confused as Gaz himself.


    [¡­I don¡¯t know?] The robot replied. [Maybe it¡¯s because of the other robots in the house now?] Gaz said while tilting his head in his mind. [She did seem kinda down when they ran away earlier.]


    [Hmmm¡­]


    [And why are they so afraid of her anyway?] He finally asked the question that had been in his mind. [Do you think you could find out?]


    [To be honest, I did look into it already. It¡¯s just that¡­] She hesitated, as if choosing her words. [They seem to fear her in an instinctual level.]


    [¡­Instinctual?] Gaz said a bit confused. [The robots¡­ Have instinct?]


    [Of course! Why wouldn¡¯t they?]


    [Well¡­ they are pretty much animals in this world, so it does make some sense, I guess¡­] He said in an amazed tone. [Even though it sounds somewhat bizarre.] Sighing he let the idea sink in for a moment before sighing and continuing. [Anyway, why would they fear her that much?]


    [I don¡¯t know.] Ekis said dejectedly. [They just seem to treat her almost like how they would treat an apex predator or something, with a mix of fear and wariness.]


    Gaz thought for a moment, trying to understand why the robots would treat her like that, but remembering how she literally left a crater in a concrete wall with a punch back at the bandits hide out, he kind of started to understand why they would do that should they really have instincts.


    However, that idea didn¡¯t exactly match something else in his memories.


    [Then what about back at the leapers swarm? Why didn¡¯t they avoid her?] He asked confused.


    [That¡¯s¡­] The goddess hesitated for a moment. [Maybe they considered being in a group a sign of strength, so they didn¡¯t feel as threatened? They do seem to be naturally aggressive, after all.]


    [I guess that would make a bit of sense.] Gaz said in a pensive manner before sighing. [Why do I have the feeling that thinking too much about this will make things even more complicated?] He complained loudly.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.[Well, it¡¯s not like¡­]


    [NOISY!] They heard a grumpy Ruby over the link, surprising the two who immediately stopped their talk and dropped into a wry silence.


    Seeing that there wouldn¡¯t be much for them to talk about, Gaz decided that it was as good as any other time to enter sleep mode. So he did.


    ¡­


    The next morning was a bit hectic. With Ross having finished the fire test of the mechanism for the leg deep into the night and tweaked the last adjustments himself, the morning after they started making the pair of the leg, the one that would fit o the opposing side.


    Being basically a mirrored copy of the first leg, the work on this side came much faster, and they managed to finish their work just about the time the clock hit lunch time. Deciding to go grab their lunch first, then test the firing mechanism later, the group quickly left the assembling of the leg to Gaz, seeing how he was more than capable of making that by himself.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get an assistant like da two of ya sooner¡­?¡± The dwarf complained quietly to himself, receiving a small wry smile from Ruby and a beep from Beepy.


    Seeing as the two went away after leaving the pieces he needed on the ground, Gaz quickly put himself to work. Using the two claw like attachments to raise the robot main body and then remove the already attached legs and remove the scraps of the damaged leg off. Having done his job in a few moments, he quickly set up to work on attaching the new leg.


    [Hmm¡­ Maybe we should start working on modular attachments¡­] Gaz suddenly commented as he worked on welding the motors cables together.


    [Modular¡­ attachments?] Ruby asked confused.


    [Yeah. Pieces who use plugs that follow a certain standards that can be easily exchanged by connecting or disconnecting.] Gaz explained briefly. [That way we would have a much easier time exchanging pieces and even could leave some parts with different specs ready to be used.]


    For a moment there was a silence in their connections, which made Gaz think that Ruby was probably considering the idea. Nodding to himself, he quickly went on to prepare the body to be connected.


    [¡­Preparing a body specifically to be modded¡­ That¡¯s too crazy to even consider, seeing how most robots would¡­] They heard as Ruby started muttering as her engineer mode started to activate. [What you are saying is simply too crazy, insane and irrational. No one would ever think of doing such a thing to a robot, it¡¯s simply too¡­ Too¡­ Too¡­ Genial.]


    At her sudden last words, flooding their link with excitement, the duo became stunned for a moment as they heard the pitter-patter of Ruby¡¯s shoes as she ran back to garage, only for it suddenly stop.


    ¡°Where do you think you are going, young lady?¡± They heard the faint voice of Lunn as she intercepted Ruby.


    ¡°Beepy¡­ I mean, I had this idea¡­ And¡­¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s time to eat now. You can play with your machines later, okay?¡± The elf replied.


    ¡°But¡­ But¡­ modular¡­ Adaptations¡­ Work¡­¡± With that they heard the sound as the elf almost literally dragged the hyper-active scientist back into the house so that she could have her lunch.


    For a brief moment, there was some silence as the duo tried to wrap their head around what was happening, before a few giggles escaped them as Ruby kept on rambling in annoyance and grief as she was dragged away from her fun-time.


    While enjoying himself with her state as he finished installing the first leg, he quickly went on to work on the second one.


    Taking around thirty minutes to weld and get done with one leg, by the time he was finishing the second one, the others had already finished their lunch and were relaxing a bit on the outside while preparing to leave to go and see the scientist that Ruby had mentioned earlier.


    [Still¡­] Gaz said as he took a step back to get in the sights of the completed work.


    [What?] Ekis asked confused.


    [Doesn¡¯t it seem¡­ Odd?]


    [How so?]


    [I mean¡­] He looked all over the new and partly fixed wolf body. With the chassis and such done, now all they needed to do was exchange some of the inner parts that had been broken, most pieces being easy to find in the market. That meant that the outer look of the new body was already done, however¡­ [don¡¯t the back legs seem kinda puny right now? It feels really odd¡­]


    [Now that you said it, it really does.] Ekis agreed awkwardly.


    With the new legs being almost double the size of the previous one, the front now had a much bulkier appearance, and thanks to the increased length, it also left it higher, with a much more imposing and intimidating rather than simply dangerous and sleek. However, with the back legs still being the original one, the rear part of the robot looked oddly small and weak, to the point that it even stood lower than the front part.


    Laughing wryly at the unexpected problem that had appeared before them, the duo quickly shifted gears once they felt a surge of surprise coming from Ruby. Seeing how she didn¡¯t seem to be scared, they didn¡¯t felt worried.


    [Waah¡­ A saron¡­] The morphian said surprised.


    [Whazzat?] Gaz asked curious.


    [It¡¯s a really rare animal.] Ruby explained, these words being enough to spark Gaz¡¯s interest. [I heard some places consider finding them to be a sign of good luck.]


    [Eeh? Is that so?] Ekis said surprised. [Gaz! Let¡¯s go see it! We¡¯ll get better luck at finding me!]


    [Is it only me who finds weird that the god of machines is actually counting on luck?] Gaz said amazed.


    [Hmm?]


    [Nothing.] He replied before turning away from the machine and rolling over to the outside of the house while hearing some giggles from Ruby.


    Starting his motors, Gaz quickly drifted away towards the door and upstairs before leaving through the front door, seeing how he didn¡¯t have a way to open the garage door on his own. Leaving through the front door and finding as the small morphian and the pink-haired elf both stared at a creature hiding in the edge of the forest.


    Zooming in on the creature with his camera, Gaz became a bit surprised by what he saw.


    It was a large reptile looking creature, with its whole body covered in scales. However, different from the usual flat-look of crocodiles, snakes and lizards, or rounder appearance like tortoises and such, the creature had a more fuller appearance, with six legs and more cylinder-like body that reminded him of mammals instead of reptiles.


    The tail was long and scaly as usual, however, the head was triangular with what looked like a small pair of horns on the top of its head and a pair of frills that opened and closed as the creature looked at them curiously.


    [That¡¯s a dragon. That¡¯s eighty eight point twenty seven percent a dragon.] Gaz said in amazement. [Wingless and weirdly six-legged, but definitively a dragon!]


    [[Dragon? What¡¯s that?]] The two girls asked confused.


    [That¡¯s¡­] Gaz started saying but soon gave up. [Nothing. Forget it.] He said as he approached the elf and morphian, watching as the two tried to beckon the creature to come closer. [So¡­ Should I worry about it trying to eat the two of you alive, spit fire on our face or go megalomaniacal and start stealing all of our gold?]


    [WHAAAA? The saron aren¡¯t that dangerous! They are perfectly docile] Ruby said angrily. [Though they do tend to steal shiny things¡­]


    Smiling wryly in his mind, Gaz watched as the lizard slowly took a step forward and hesitated whether to approach them or not. Although a bit strange looking, the large-dog sized lizard didn¡¯t seem to be aggressive at all, and in fact looked timid.


    After some seconds it finally started approaching them, taking one step at a time until it stopped right in front of Ruby, who held a small fruit in her hand, offering it to the dragon.


    Despite it slightly dangerous look, the creature timidly approached them while smelling the fruit in her hand before opening it and taking a bit. Surprised, Gaz looked at them in curiosity.


    However, before he could enjoy the sight, the animal suddenly became startled and looked over him, towards the door where he laid. After a brief second of staring, he turned and ran away back into the forest, not forgetting of taking the fruit with it.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Ruby said surprised while a gentle sigh escaped from the Elf.


    ¡°Are you ready, Ylli?¡± She asked while turning back and looking at the Lynnian who watched the scene in a mix of surprise and shock.


    ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± She said briefly in a sad tone, receiving an awkward smile from Lunn and a confused glance from Ruby. ¡°¡­Ross and Volgoff are ready.¡± She said after taking a brief time sullenly. ¡°We¡¯ll leave soon.¡± Lunn nodded as she saw the garage door opening and the large truck started driving out from the house. ¡°At least we know we¡¯ll be lucky.¡±  She said while motioning to the dragon-like being that spied them one last time before running away.


    However¡­


    [She totally jinxed it, didn¡¯t she?] Gaz said with a tired tone.

 44.exe - Kid_Napping.avi

    Writer¡¯s corner: GREETINGS FRIENDS! Here I am, with an only slightly off-schedule update!


    SO, Not much about today chapters besides the fact that it¡¯s a calm chapter to compensate for the long bandit-raiding arc. It¡¯s kinda lighthearted and gives me the chance to introduce a new character from an older story I had but never got around writing too much about it.


    BESIDES, if anyone finds the action over the top at the end of the chapter, just remember what is said about the character in earlier chapters. Add that a frustration from his shenanigans and you can guess why that happens. Anyway, the idea is for him to be an over-the-top character when it comes to certain things, and maybe even a bit gon-like at times. (What? I like crazy characters! They are fun to write!)


    BESIDES(2), Crafting chapter will arrive soon. Within one or two if everything proceeds well.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ------


    Gaz patiently waited as the girls jumped off from the jeep-like vehicle before Yllivia picked him up and lowered him to the ground. Beeping satisfied at being able to move around again without worries, he stretched himself by doing a lap around the vehicle.


    [Man, I didn¡¯t expect that having to stand still like that would be so tiring.] He said energetically under the gaze of both Yllivia and Ruby, who looked at him with small smiles. [Yeah, I prefer the truck.] he said before spinning around and seeing as the Truck¡¯s cab slowly made its way towards the empty parking lot besides them.


    Since the travel was fairly short, the group didn¡¯t feel the need to bring out the whole thing, so they decided that splitting the group in two and come with both the jeep and the truck¡¯s cab alone.


    As the large metal box stopped, they saw as both the dwarf and the troll hopped off, with Ross laughing loudly and Volgoff chuckling slightly. While he wondered what they were thinking about, he didn¡¯t bother too much with it as another thing caught his attention.


    Turning back to the building in front of him, he couldn¡¯t help but whistle amused in his mind while seeing it stretch for a few good hundred meters to the sides and three floors tall. It certainly was a fairly big building. The fact that it was a government owned one didn¡¯t make it any less impressive either.


    [Are we really going in there?] Ekis asked surprised.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ They¡¯ll let us enter if I speak with them.¡± Ruby said out loud so that the others could hear them. ¡°I¡­ Think that he shouldn¡¯t refuse a meeting¡­¡±


    While everyone looked amongst themselves a bit dubious, no one discussed and let the small Morphian guide them towards the entrance, where a guard stood in his cabin. Approaching the burly and grumpy looking dwarf, Ruby exchanged a few words with him and saw as the guard nodded before heading towards an interphone of kinds.


    He exchanged a few words with the person on the other side while putting on a very disdainful look. He quickly changed into one of surprise as he kept on listening to whoever was on the opposing side of the line.


    After a few seconds, he finally nodded and hanged the interphone while visibly sweating coldly.


    ¡°Y-You can come¡­ Ma¡¯¡­ erm¡­ miss¡­¡± He said while opening the door besides him.


    While receiving a surprise exclamation from the rest of the team, Ruby blushed and shrunk a bit under her usual hoodie before making a motion for them to follow her. When the guard offered to call someone to be their guide, she immediately refused and said that there was no need.


    ¡°I¡¯m still getting used to the li¡¯l miss status¡­¡± Ross said awkwardly. ¡°It just feels so¡­¡±


    ¡°Odd?¡± Lunn asked in the same tone.


    ¡°I was going to say humiliating, seeing how she¡¯s more important than all of us, but that also works.¡± The dwarf said with a shrug, earning some small awkward smiles from the people around him.


    ¡°Subtle as ever.¡± Volgoff said in his usual paternal tone.


    ¡°No use worrying about the small things.¡± The dwarf replied with a shrug.


    Seeing as the group casually walked into the building while chatting like that, Gaz also quickly got into a cheerful mood as he noticed the sheer amount of people and technology that seemed to gather around them.


    [Wow! What¡¯s that?] Gaz asked as he saw a canine looking robot with what looked like a fur coat.


    [That¡¯s a Raven-coat coyote model. They use the pseudo-fur to absorb more light than the usual solar panels.]


    [Waah. So pretty!] Ekis echoed seeing a small but extremely colorful squirrel like robot, whose whole shelling was covered in different colored plates.


    [I¡¯m still not entirely sure, but it seems that they use the variety in colors to attract mates.]


    [What¡¯s that? What¡¯s that?] It was Gaz¡¯s turn to ask again while looking at another interesting looking robot.


    While the trio kept on talking about the robots that they found and so on, the mercs were a lot more composed. Already used to seeing a bunch of different robots thanks to their jobs, for them the biggest interest was in looking at the equipment that the government sanctioned guard-soldiers sported.


    ¡°Is it alright for us to be here?¡± Lunn asked a bit confused after noticing how little attention they were actually attracting.


    ¡°Hnn.¡± Ruby shook her head. ¡°They usually have public tours here. To show new techs and such, so this floor isn¡¯t actually that classified.¡± She explained, receiving a surprised glance from the others. ¡°I¡­ Erm¡­ Came here before.¡± She said shyly. ¡°When I came to talk to Evon¡­¡±


    The group nodded in slight surprise before approaching an elevator on the end of an hallway. Two guards, a troll and a lynnian stopped them on their tracks by barring the way and making a motion for them to wait. Wearing full body bullet-proof armor and helmets that covered their faces, the duo was fairly intimidating.


    ¡°I take it that you are The Professor¡¯s crew?¡± The lynnian asked.


    ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Ruby said with a nod.


    ¡°Then we need you to leave any weapons you have with us.¡± He said with a business tone while making a motion with his hand for the group to hand over the weapons. Already foreseeing such event, Sorius nodded while removing the bag he carried over his shoulder and delivering to the guards. ¡°Is this all?¡±


    ¡°Eerm¡­ Do Blow-torches count as weapons?¡± Ross asked a bit awkwardly, receiving confused glances from the guards and face-palms from the group.


    ¡°¡­Yes. It can be used as a weapon.¡± The lynnian said warily, and became slightly amused as the dwarf sighed and took out a blowtorch from some kind of deep pocket in his jacket.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back to you soon, Madelyn.¡± The dwarf said before kissing the gas canister gently.


    [Am I the only one who is seriously curious about why the hell he have a blowtorch on his pockets?] Gaz asked wryly.


    [No. You aren¡¯t the only one.] Ruby replied in the same tone while watching the dwarf pass the tool to the guard.


    ¡°Ross. Don¡¯t forget the screw drivers.¡± Volgoff added  in his usual tone.


    ¡°Oh, aye. Thanks big guy!¡± Ross said surprised before searching his pockets and taking out a small set of screw drivers and other similar tools. ¡°Here ya go!¡± He said while passing them, only to stop and nudge the lynnian. ¡°Beware of Risky. From the quintuplets, the lass¡¯ the most dangerous. She has claimed many toenails till today.¡± He said in a whisper that was only loud enough for the group to hear.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll be sure to keep an eye out¡­¡± The lynnian replied curtly before sighing and turning to store away the tools.


    ¡°Well, now we¡¯ll have to perform a body check on you.¡± The troll said, surprising Gaz who retreated for a moment, though it wasn¡¯t due to the sudden speech, but the fact that the voice was clearly feminine. ¡°The girls can come with me, while the guys can head to Holmes.¡±


    [Wait, that was a girl?] Gaz said surprised.


    [You speak like you have never seen a female troll before.] Ruby said surprised while following the towering woman into a separated room with the other girls.


    [Well, I at least can¡¯t recall anything of the like.] Gaz replied in slight worry before finally noticing something. [Ermm¡­ What do I do now?]


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.Noticing that not only the girls, but also the men had been taken somewhere else so that they could be checked, Beepy found himself alone in the hallway, only to watch as another guard took on the place besides the elevator while waiting for his co-workers to come back.


    Finding himself alone, it didn¡¯t take much longer for him to become the center of attention, seeing how unique his tank-body was and the fact that he came here while following the visitors didn¡¯t exactly help making him more subtle.


    Seeing how many of the smart-looking people all gathered around him, crouching down and watching him in wonder. Some started to chit-chat amongst themselves while pointing towards him and others started to pull out notebooks or piece of papers to sketch something.


    One of the more courageous scientist even tried extending his arms so that he could try and touch Gaz, who, amused with the scene, beeped the moment the hand was about to touch him, making the scientist fall on his bottom in surprise.


    ¡°Beep!¡± The robot said amused before rolling forward and bumping the man¡¯s feet playfully.


    The other watchers started laughing at their colleague¡¯s situation before turning back to watching them.


    Deciding to humor them instead of simply staying alone doing nothing, Gaz kept on fooling around with the scientists as they tried to note down whatever it was that they found out about it. Not unlike how Ruby had been the first time they met.


    ¡°Beepy.¡± Yllivia called out to him as she left the room.


    Gaz quickly replied to the call with a beep and spinning around so that he could face the place where she was. The watchers let out a disappointed tone as they saw their new curiosity running away.


    [I¡¯m still not used to this¡­] Ruby commented on a slightly shy tone.


    [Do I want to know?]


    [NO!] She replied hurriedly, hearing as Ekis and Gaz giggled in synchro.


    Following the lynnian, the elf and morphian followed suit with the trolless following them from behind. Ruby¡¯s face was slightly blushing, but the two older girls seemed to be fine, as they were already used to this kind of procedure from working on their line of business for so long.


    It didn¡¯t take much longer for the boys to follow suit and come back from their check.


    [I see that you had your fun here.] Ruby said amused while looking at the small crowd that had gathered.


    [I blame boredom. It¡¯s the most dangerous state of mind existent.] Gaz replied in a deadly serious tone before shrugging in his mind. [And it¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing anything bad, am I?]


    [True¡­ But be careful with how you act.] Ruby said suddenly serious, making Gaz react with a slight shock. [These are all experienced researchers in robotics. They might be able to see through your act if you don¡¯t be careful.]


    [I¡­I¡¯ll be careful.] He said worried while following the group quietly.


    The two guards made a motion for them to enter the elevator after opening the door with a key and password. Leaving the troll behind, the lynnian followed the group and also entered the elevator before pressing the floor button.


    As the metal casing started to lower upon the ground, the group quickly noticed how the small morphian was starting to feel uncomfortable, as she fidgeted a lot.


    ¡°Is everything alright, sweety?¡± Lunn asked while pulling gently caressing the girl¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She nodded before taking  a deep breath. ¡°Ermm¡­ I guess I should warn you¡­ But Evon¡­ no, Syche is pretty strange. So he might do something weird¡­¡± Upon her words, the group could see how the guard gave a wry smile under his helmet. Confused, they all looked to Ruby.


    ¡°Erm¡­ How exactly would you define strange?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She started, but the elevator dinged.


    Blinking surprised, she turned back and saw as the door opened right before them. She decided to explain while walking with them, so she quickly took a step outside while preparing to tell them what to look out for.


    But not even did she take a step back, a pair of hands quickly grabbed her and pulled the girl right off from the doorway.


    ¡°Took you long enough pipsqueak! Come on, I need your help with something!¡± They heard a man¡¯s voice echoing, sounding strangely annoyed and hurried.


    ¡°WAAAAAAAH?¡± Ruby shouted in surprise while being carried away.


    Beepy, Yllivia and Ross reacted quickly, running off from the elevator and looking to the side where the hands had appeared, only to watch in shock as a brown-haired lynnian ran through the corridor while carrying a squirming Ruby on his shoulder.


    ¡°What¡­¡± Yllivia said confused before frowning and preparing to run after the man.


    ¡°P-PUT ME DOWN SYCHE!¡± Ruby shouted with a tinge of fear.


    ¡°DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE TIME FOR THAT? I HAVE SCIENCE TO MAKE!¡± The man shouted back before suddenly skidding to a halt and opening one door down the hallway. Not forgetting to shut it closed on the way in.


    Silence fell upon the group as they saw the scene in shock. The first one to react was the large troll, who finally asked.


    ¡°What¡­ Was that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the guy you came here to see.¡± The guard said with a sigh. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t need to say where his laboratory is, right?¡±


    ¡°ARE WE GOING TO STAND HERE AND WATCH WHILE MY SWEETIE IS TAKEN AWAY?¡± Lunn asked angrily before preparing to dart towards the door, however, a voice stopped her.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ No need to worry. Syche is surprisingly harmless despite his methods.¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from the place right besides the elevator. Blinking, the group turned to the side and met with the sight of a black haired elf who held her forehead with her hand. Wearing a get up similar to the guard, she didn¡¯t look like the researcher kind. ¡°Ah, where are my manners. I¡¯m Flora, Evon¡¯s squad-mate.¡± She said while extending her hands towards a shocked Lunn, who absentmindedly shook it.


    ¡°Ah, Flora, can I leave them to you from  now on?¡± The guard asked with a relieved tone.


    ¡°Sure Holmes.¡± The elf replied with a nod. The guard gave a brief nod before passing her a bag where all the group¡¯s gear had been stored. Exchange done, he entered the elevator once again and left the floor. ¡°Anyway, I guess you guys want to take a look at your friend, right?¡± She asked before walking forward without waiting for an answer.


    While the group quickly jogged to catch up to her, they were all a bit too stunned to question about what had just happened, with the exception of Lunn, who was simply too furious to care.


    However, the moment they reached the door, even Lunn¡¯s rage was nothing compared to what happened.


    Taking a deep breath while resting her hand on the doorknob, Flora face suddenly contorted into a grimace as she jolted the door open and stormed in.


    ¡°EEEEEVOOOOON!¡± She shouted from the depths of her lungs while starting a mad dash forward, where the lynnian and the morphian stood in front of a whiteboard filled with equations.


    Ruby blinked surprised for a moment before taking a step back, leaving a clear line towards the lynnian, with no one in the middle to protect him, the brown haired lynnian stared at the girl for a moment before slumping his shoulders.


    ¡°Goddamit.¡± Was all that he said.


    Not a second later he was caught in a lariat, his body flinging backwards as the elf hit him right on the neck, making the lab-coat wearing lynnian fall to the ground with a dangerous sounding ¡®thump¡¯.


    ¡°HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO NOT LET SYCHE OUT WHEN WE HAVE VISITS?¡± The elf shouted angrily at the still stunned researcher who looked dangerously close to passing out.


    [¡­Waaaah¡­] Gaz said surprised.


    [Is he okay? That looked painful! Shouldn¡¯t someone do something?] Ekis asked worried.


    ¡°Ha¡­ ha ha¡­¡± Ruby laughed dryly, gathering the stunned group¡¯s attention. ¡°I-It¡¯s always like this. No need to worry¡­ I think.¡± She said.


    However, even with the morphian¡¯s words, they couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether the lynnian would survive or not, seeing how the Elf started dragging him by the legs before he even got up, all while grumbling something about teaching him a lesson.

 45.exe - Under_Control.zip

    Writer¡¯s corner: GREETINGS FRIENDS! Right on time with the once every two weeks update for Beepy!


    SO, this chapter I introduced the common side of the new character, Evon. A fairly cool headed but playful scientist slash mercenary of sorts. As well as made him dig his own grave because all characters of such kind in my story end up doing that. I hope it¡¯s possible to see the place where he changes personality clearly, as I kinda wanted a clear difference between them. Not sure how well I pulled that one out.


    BESIDES, about last weekend¡¯s IO, I had to go to a friend¡¯s house on Saturday and spent the Sunday dead in exhaustion for reasons I still don¡¯t know (logic says that it was laziness, but I¡¯m too responsible to be lazy. *proud nod*)


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    -----


    ¡°Come on. Have a seat. No need to worry about me. I¡¯m fine!¡± 	The Lynnian said with a wide smile while beckoning the group to sit down on the sofa.


    However, Beepy and company could only stare at him in shock and confusion, as his state was anything but fine, with blood slowly flowing through his cheek as it dripped down from his head. Staring at him in worry, the party only took a seat when the elf finally approached and nodded to them while carrying a tray with tea.


    ¡°Erm¡­ I could heal you¡­ If you wanted.¡± Lunn offered a bit hesitant, not that it was strange when you take into account that it was the same man who kidnapped Ruby not even ten minutes ago.


    Well, even that she was starting to doubt, as the person before her was completely unlike how he was before.


    With brown hair cut at mid-length and a pair of triangular ears above his head, the scientist lynnian actually looked surprisingly friendly and calm compared to his previous state. He even looked a bit more lax, seeing how his hair had become messy thanks to the impact and he still didn¡¯t exactly have the chance to fix it.


    ¡°Oh! A healer?¡± Evon asked surprised while staring at the elf. ¡°That¡¯s fairly rare¡­ And please, lower the fist, Flora. I¡¯m not going Syche yet. You know biology isn¡¯t my forte.¡±


    ¡°Better be safe rather than sorry.¡± The elf replied coldly while setting the tray between him and the group. ¡°Anyway, if it wouldn¡¯t be much of a bother.¡± She said while turning to Lunn, who nodded weakly before approaching the elf and using her Esp to heal his head.


    ¡°Do you have anything to eat? Healing like this usually leave me very hungry.¡± The pink haired elf asked, to which Flora nodded before leaving the room once again. Not before sending an evil eye towards the lynnian.


    For a while, silence fell on the room around them. Gaz simply stared at the scientist before him and then towards Ruby with some curiosity. Once a certain thought crossed his mind, a brief beep escaped him as he chuckled at the idea.


    Becoming the center of attention for a moment and receiving a raised eyebrow from Evon, who noticed him for the first time, at least he managed to spark the conversation, as the lynnian cleared his throat and turned to the group.


    ¡°Anyway, my bad for earlier. Syche tends to take things overboard when he¡¯s out like that, but he doesn¡¯t mean any harm.¡± He started with an apology. ¡°Now that I take a look, aren¡¯t you two Volgoff and Ross?¡± He said while looking at the dwarf and the Troll, who were the ones who had already somewhat recovered.


    ¡°Aye. I¡¯d say long time no see an¡¯ all, but tis been what? Three days?¡± Ross asked amused. ¡°Anyway, now I¡¯m glad I gave yer mah trademark Left hook back at the car if that¡¯s what yer been hiding.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. An already predisposition to insanity, long isolation times and more than a couple of Esp overdoses didn¡¯t exactly help either.¡± The lynnian shrugged as if it wasn¡¯t a problem, getting a a laugh from the dwarf.


    ¡°Well, at least it seems you¡¯ve been alright.¡± Volgoff said with a gentle tone. ¡°And from what I know, you probably already met Ruby here before.¡± He said while briefly caressing the girl¡¯s head.


    ¡°Yeah. We met before, Professor.¡± He said while putting some emphasis on the last word. ¡°I was quite shocked when I saw how much her personality changes when she¡¯s serious back then.¡±


    ¡°"¡°¡°You can¡¯t say anything.¡±¡±¡±¡± The group echoed in synchrony. Even Flora¡¯s voice came from somewhere down the hall.


    ¡°You have a point.¡± He laughed for a moment before turning to the twins and Ylli. ¡°Anyway, since I never saw you before¡­ My name is Evon Fairsky. Mercenary. The crazed psycho is Syche, the scientist.¡± He said briefly.


    ¡°Ah. Name¡¯s Sorius, and the one healing you is my sorry excuse of a sister, Lunn.¡± Said the elf quickly. ¡°I¡¯m somewhat of our leader and she¡¯s the one in charge of money.¡±


    ¡°¡­Yllivia. Mercenary.¡± The white haired lynnian said briefly before turning to Gaz. ¡°That¡¯s beepy.¡±


    ¡°Beep.¡± He said immediately, earning another curious look from the scientist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let the lass attitude fool ya. She could kick all of our collective rears with one hand on ¡®er back.¡± Ross said with a smirk once he received a brief glare from Yllivia. ¡°She packs one hell of a mean punch, I tell ya.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± He asked surprised before shrugging. ¡°Then I guess that there shouldn¡¯t be a problem if Syche comes out again.¡± He turned to the white haired lynnian and said. ¡°Just need one good punch and things should be fine.¡± He had a half joking tone, but before he could even finish he felt as Lunn hit him in the head lightly.


    ¡°Look, I might be a good healer, but I can¡¯t make miracles, you know?¡± She said angrily.


    ¡°Aww, it can¡¯t be that bad, can it?¡± Evon asked with a mischievous smile, but once his gaze met with Lunn¡¯s disappointment and with the others looks of pity, his smile slowly disappeared. ¡°Y-You weren¡¯t joking?¡± He asked.


    ¡°¡­One good punch. Got it.¡± Yllivia said while clenching her fist as if testing the grip.


    ¡°Ermm¡­ On second though, maybe I should leave it to one of the guys to do the dirty work¡­¡± He said becoming slightly worried.


    ¡°No need¡­ I¡¯m good.¡± Yllivia shot him down almost immediately, looking strangely motivated.


    ¡°¡­It was nice knowing you.¡± Ruby said while bowing slightly.


    ¡°Oi, can¡¯t someone stop her? I¡¯m starting to get seriously worried here!¡± He said desperately while staring at the group. ¡°She doesn¡¯t look like she have any intention to hold back, you know?¡±


    ¡°You got what you deserve.¡± Flora said after appearing again, this time carrying some loaves of bread and fruits before offering them to Lunn.


    The elf gladly took them as she had just finished her work and looked like she was starving. Mowing down the food at incredible pace, Lunn kept all her focus on the tray while leaving the rest of the group to talk in her stead.


    Sorius left out a brief sigh while looking at his sister¡¯s lack of manners before looking back to Evon, seeing as he had put on a bit more serious expression now that the joke had ended. Well, at least for himself, as it didn¡¯t look like Yllivia would calm down any time soon from her strangely excited state.


    ¡°Anyway, I guess it¡¯s time we talked business, right?¡± Asked the scientist, and the group quickly nodded seriously.


    ¡°Hmm. I wanted some help on two¡­ No, three projects.¡± Ruby said getting serious. Or as serious looking as she could be without entering professor mode.


    ¡°Projects, you say?¡± He asked with a curious expression.


    ¡°Yes¡­ But I don¡¯t expect you to accept work for free.¡± Ruby said immediately, receiving a nod of approval from the man. ¡°So I¡¯ll give a payment or incentive for each one.¡±


    ¡°I see. Should I take it that it¡¯s not related to robots since you of all people needs help?¡± He asked curious, but Ruby quickly shook her head.


    ¡°No. Only one doesn¡¯t have any relation to robotics.¡± She said while turning towards Sorius for a moment. ¡°That would be Sorius'' gun, that we plan on giving an upgrade. Of course, I brought the materials for that.¡±


    ¡°Is the gun with your gear?¡± Evon asked while giving a glance towards the place where Flora had left the party¡¯s gear. Ruby quickly nodded, and not even a moment later the elf left to pick up said gear.


    ¡°Also, on a similar situation, it¡¯s something I need you to make for Beepy here.¡± She said while pointing to the small treadmill based robot.


    ¡°WAIT A SECOND!¡± Evon stopped her suddenly with a shocked expression in his face. ¡°D-Did you just say that you want me to make a mod? YOU asked me for a mod?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m actually with Evon on that one.¡± Flora said confused. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who hated mods the most?¡±


    This time, not only the duo they were visiting, but also the party looked at Ruby in confusion while trying to understand what she meant. As far as they knew her from the last weeks, she didn¡¯t seem like someone who would ever do something like that. Even more thinking how she raged at the sight of modded robots during the gear-box.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    But contrary to what they expected, Ruby quickly shook her head as if dispelling their thoughts.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not exactly against mods.¡± She said a bit awkwardly. ¡°You see, forced mods like the ones you usually find aren¡¯t the only type of mods you can do to a robot. In fact, Mirage¡¯s optical camouflage is something I made myself after my last visit.¡± She said, making Gaz blink in wonder.


    [Oh, so that¡¯s why you knew him.] Gaz said surprised.


    [Somewhat. I managed to get my hand on a special piece thanks to the company, but I needed some really specialized accessory to make it work.] She said briefly.


    Beepy nodded to himself and went back to watching Evon as he also processed Ruby¡¯s words, taking a few seconds to let it sink in.


    ¡°Wait, you used that to make an optical camouflage mod?¡± He asked confused. ¡°And you added it to your cat-robot?¡± Ruby nodded. ¡°I¡­ never expected that. No wonder I felt that your request was odd¡­¡± He said after making a pensive expression. ¡°And from the way you speak, I take it that Mirage is still okay?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I can tell about that later.¡± Ruby said hurriedly while cutting him, noticing as a small smile started appearing in his face. ¡°A-Anyway. I need you to make me this.¡± She said while taking out a small paper and passing it to Evon, who read it with great interest. ¡°I¡¯m sure that beepy can take it, so no need to worry about that.¡±


    For a few minutes Evon simply stood in silence while examining the small paper in his hand, confusion becoming clearer and clearer as he slowly understood what was being requested. After he finished reading the paper, he started looking around the messy laboratory and engineering area around him, as if looking for something before frowning.


    ¡°Flora, do we still have the compressor or did the guys from the Armory take it again?¡± He asked the elf after a while.


    ¡°It¡¯s still here, but they should come in a couple of weeks.¡± The elf replied.


    ¡°Good. I can do this, somewhat.¡± He said with a frown. ¡°I just need the super conductor you spoke about here. I take it that you brought it with you?¡±


    At his words Ruby nodded and opened the bag that she brought with her and taking out a small black box the size of Ross¡¯ fist and putting it on the table. Evon quickly took the box and peeked at the contents, only to stop with an amazed expression and start smiling.


    ¡°Oooh¡­ I quite like what I¡¯m seeing here.¡± He said with a strangely excited voice that made the twins feel a slight shiver. ¡°I see¡­ I see. So this is what you got." The lynnian turned back to the group and they noticed as a strange light appeared in his eyes. "Sooo... You wouldn''t be willing to tell me where you got this little treasure, do you?"


    ¡°Hii...¡± Ruby said with a slightly surprised tone.


    [Holy Corkscrews! That smile is scary!] Beepy said surprised.


    [Huh? When did he change?] Ekis asked confused.


    With a strange dangerous light in his eyes, Evon¡¯s gaze had a starving look to them, as he eyed the young Morphian with curiosity and a smile that was anything but friendly. Looking almost like an entirely different person, the twins and Yllivia froze for a moment due to his sudden change.


    ¡°Evon¡­¡± Flora called out coldly.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s coming out.¡±


    ¡°¡­Whoops.¡± Evon said while slapping his cheeks with his hands, his previous expression coming back. ¡°Sorry about that. It was kind of a surprise to see this.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ruby nodded weakly.


    ¡°¡­Should I have punched him?¡± Yllivia asked confused.


    ¡°Please no.¡± Evon said briefly. ¡°I¡¯d like to avoid having to go to an hospital today. And seriously, what with you wanting to punch me so badly? You didn¡¯t seem like that type of character, you know?¡±


    ¡°¡­Not everyday that punching is actually good.¡± She said while looking at her fist. ¡°I¡¯m only good at painting. And punching. Punching usually bad.¡±


    [That sounds kind of pitiful¡­] Ruby said in the link before shaking her head. ¡°A-Anyway. I plan on paying for these two in separate. That said, I don¡¯t have any money with me now.¡± She quickly caught Evon¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Oh? So I take it that you are willing to pay in service?¡± The Lynnian asked, and Ruby nodded.


    ¡°I could help you with a research if you wanted. Either that, or we could negotiate to split the remaining pieces of the alloy after these two works are done.¡± Her words quickly picked the man¡¯s interest, as he nodded without a second thought.


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± As he said that, he turned towards Flora, who still held the bag with the group¡¯s gear. ¡°Then I guess I should at least take a look at what I will be working on, right?¡± He asked while picking the bag up and opening it.


    The moment the rifle stood before him, the scientist froze in shock for a moment while staring at it.


    Almost immediately, both Lunn¡¯s and Sorius¡¯ clicking tongues were heard as they quickly understood the situation. Seeing as the lynnian looked at the rifle with a surprised expression, his hands quickly trailed off through the blue grooves on the bulky rifle¡¯s side and through the black metal of the body.


    Suddenly, he twitched his hand and from the sleeves of his lab coat a small hair-brush appeared.


    ¡°¡­Ah crap¡­¡± They heard flora saying in a low tone.


    The lynnian quickly combed over the hair with swift movements, starting with the hair that fell in front of his eyes and blocked the sight, but not even for a moment he raised his head. With the hair all neatly organized, he proceeded to examine the rifle with a bit less caution, starting with pulling off the cartridge, battery, testing the trigger and even seeing if the aim was removable or not.


    ¡°A Clocksmith¡¯s Trenchbreaker. Long range magnetic rifle with great recoil reduction technology. Cooling time might be a problem depending on shot strength, but it¡¯s more than capable of reaching the three kilometers mark with stopping power left.¡± He said as he looked at the barrel. His voice sounding strangely calm and cold. ¡°Under low power, it¡¯s capable of dishing out around three rounds per-second with enough strength to pierce light armor. Cartridge holds a total of twelve¡­ no, this is a modded one. Fifteen bullets. Main problem would be the added deviation at high fire-rates and fairly long cooling speed.¡± He turned the weapon around and started to look for any difference. ¡°Weapon¡¯s body made of Crust-breaker Tortoise carcass, capable of taking out some serious blows without a dent. Rifling¡­ I don¡¯t quite know. Never had the chance to science this beauty up.¡± As he said those words, he raised his head.


    An insane light shone deep into his iris as he gave a wicked smile. At that moment it didn¡¯t take the others to know that the person before them was someone entirely different from the scientist who had been speaking before.


    Even when he had a slightly crazy look, Evon at least still remembered his normal self, but what they saw there felt more like a madman than anything else.


    ¡°Aaah, Thin ears, I must really thank you. I can¡¯t even remember the last time I had such a delicious treat before me." Syche, the scientist, said." After all, this is the weapon exclusive to the royal guard of the country of TasaeUGHWWW...¡±


    However, he never got to finish his sentence, as the white haired girl had quickly landed a fist to his face. The impact being more than enough to make not only the scientist, but also the chair that he sat on tumble backwards and fall with a loud noise. However, the impact was such that Syche still rolled on the ground until he hit the wall on the opposing side, stopping upside down besides a table with his eyes spinning.


    Yllivia quickly went back to a resting position and gave a brief nod while putting on a satisfied expression.


    ¡°¡­I stopped him.¡± She said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the second farthest I¡¯ve ever seen Syche fly.¡± Flora commented surprisingly calm from her place.


    ¡°T-THIS IS¡­ THE PRICE OF SCIENCE!!!!¡± Syche shouted while trying to stand up, only for his hand to slip on a small metal piece and fall back to the ground. ¡°And Science¡­ Is painful!¡±


    [Why does it feels like all scientists we meet seems to have odd personalities?] Gaz asked amused.


    [Hey! I¡¯m also a scientist!] Ruby complained with a glare.


    [I stand by my words.] Beepy replied with a mocking tone. But not before grabbing a glance from Sorius and Lunn, both who had a grimm expression for a moment before recovering.


    ¡°Ylli! I just fixed him up!¡± Said the pink haired elf as she went to heal the lynnian scientist once again.


    ----


    Writer''s corner: DUN DUN DUUUUN! PLOT DEVICE REVEALED!


    EDIT: For fairness sake as i edited to improve humor, the country''s name was Tasaegwynn.

 46.exe - Learn_2_fly.pdf

    Writer¡¯s spot: GREETINGS FRIENDS! Not much to say here today, so let¡¯s move on, shall we?


    SO, Today I bring a chapter that¡­ Well, thinking about it doesn¡¯t really show much, but I guess it¡¯s on the bright side that I at least plan on start the crafting next chapter. Though it will be based around a timeskip.


    BESIDES, on a slightly sadder note, I will probably not upload IO this weekend. I have a major project to make until Monday and IO takes a good bunch of my awake time to make, being such a major project and all. On the other hand, I might add a new story to my Wordpress that I have some chapters ready. That said, it¡¯s a gender bent story that¡¯s not supposed to be taken seriously in anyway, so don¡¯t expect much, as it¡¯s almost literally a joke story.


    Beep, and enjoy your story!


    ----


    [Oh! Oh! Take the chance to ask why the guy¡¯s the way he is!] Gaz said excitedly while seeing Lunn heal up the lynnian once again.


    [But¡­ Isn¡¯t it rude to ask something like that?] Ruby replied a bit worried. [I mean... I¡­ Well¡­  I don¡¯t know anyone else with split personality, but isn¡¯t that usually caused by trauma or something?] She asked back, only to be received with silence from the duo who simply watched her as if not believing her. [W-What?]


    [Well¡­ I mean¡­ Don¡¯t you also suffer from split personality?] Ekis asked while trying to not sound offensive, however their answer was simply a confused Ruby.


    [¡­No?] She said as if not understanding their reasoning. [Why do you¡­ Oh¡­] She widened her eyes surprised as the meaning finally dawned on her, but before she could continue she heard as the mad scientist quickly recovered himself.


    ¡°Oooh, the pain I must suffer to have a chance at science.¡± Syche said in a fake monotone. ¡°Oh well, had worse anyway.¡± He shrugged as if it wasn¡¯t bothering him, and before Lunn could even finish healing him he quickly bent forward and once again looked at the rifle on the table before him. ¡°Okay long-ears, you asked for an enhancement, so what exactly do you want? Increase in range? Speed? Faster cooling? No, wait, if it uses the Tridom Horn as a basis for the barrel then I probably can¡¯t make it go faster.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ No¡­¡± Sorius said surprised while seeing Lunn quickly grab the lynnian¡¯s head and drag him back to the chair where she went back to healing him. ¡°You see, I want to remove the generator and replace for a bigger battery.¡± He said a bit hesitant.


    ¡°Haaah? Remove the generator? Why in Malcor¡¯s name would you remove the generator? Wouldn¡¯t that leave the rifle completely useless and unable to even oh so your esp is electricity generation, huh?¡± Evon said quickly.


    The group took a moment to process his words as he made such an abrupt change of tone that left them trailing behind in understanding. By the time they finally understood, Syche was already picking a random nearby screwdriver and used it to start dismantling the rifle right there and then while murmuring something among the lines of science and such.


    Ross was the first to react at the scene, his eyes widening for a moment before he extended his arms with a worried expression in his face.


    ¡°Err¡­ Syche bud, yer might now wanna use that screwdriver¡­¡± He said.


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Syche stopped confused before looking to the tool in his hands. Quickly recognizing it as one that wasn¡¯t his, he looked confused for a moment before making an ¡®ah, I got it¡¯ expression. ¡°This one¡¯s yours?¡± He asked. ¡°Why was it with the weapons bag? Bah, no matter. Hope you don¡¯t mind if I use it real quick.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ I don really mind¡­¡± Ross said, and immediately Syche went back to dismantling the weapon. ¡°It¡¯s just that Risky¡¯s a bit¡­ Dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Risky? Dangerous? I eat danger for Science!¡± The mad scientist said while putting the tool on a particular screw that needed driving and prepared to remove it.


    However, the head of the tool slipped from its place, managing to escape the lynnian¡¯s hand and slip on to the table, where it rolled down towards the edge where the Scientist was awaiting to catch it. However, the tool deviously spun during its fall, slipping past the guy¡¯s hand and falling out of sight.


    It didn¡¯t take more than a second before an expression of pain crossed Syche¡¯s face as he gritted his teeth.


    ¡°An¡¯ Risky claims another toe-nail.¡± Ross said with a sigh. ¡°Dat¡¯s one damn bloodthirsty screwdriver I got meself.¡±


    ¡°Science¡­ Refuses¡­ Defeat¡­ Against a mere tool¡­¡±  Syche said in pain before shaking his head and crouching to get the tool from the ground.


    ¡°Erm¡­ Syche¡­¡± Ruby called out shyly to the mad Lynnian.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked plainly.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ About the third thing¡­ I wanted to ask about¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­Do you have to say it now?¡± He asked with a clearly bothered expression. ¡°Can¡¯t you see I have a toy right in front of me right now?¡± He looked down then frowned. ¡°Hmm¡­ Going to need something more specific for this part. Oh well, better remove the armor¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll find it interesting.¡± Ruby said, making the scientist flinch for a moment as a small thread of his attention was caught.


    ¡°¡­Interesting¡­ You say?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± Ruby said before rummaging her bag in search for the other documents she had brought with herself.


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting pip-squeak.¡± He said with a hurried tone while glaring at Ruby, who shivered slightly under pressure, only to receive a heel to the head from Flora who was still sipping a cup of tea.


    ¡°Give the weapon a break. I¡¯m sure that they don¡¯t expect it back right away, you know?¡± The elf said annoyedly. ¡°Sometimes I wonder if we really shouldn¡¯t call a mental Esper here to have you checked.¡±


    ¡°Meh. No need. Science is easier when I¡¯m like this.¡± Syche said while standing back up with his hands in his head.


    [Say¡­ Wasn¡¯t he supposed to go back to normal after taking a hit or something?] Gaz asked curious while watching the two making their exchanges.


    [I think he mentioned¡­ Something about it being half voluntary or something.] Ruby said as she fished a folder from her backpack and passing it to the scientist. ¡°A-Anyway¡­ here it is. This¡­ Is a personal project though¡­ So¡­ Probably leave for later¡­ After the others¡­¡±


    Hiding her face from the intense glare of Syche as he tiredly picked up the plans and documents, Ruby quickly sat back on the couch while awaiting for the lynnian to read through it. From the looks of it, Ross and Flora also got curious as they peeked over blatantly.


    Sitting near Yllivia who, for those who knew her a bit better than most, had a slightly more cheerful air around herself, Gaz took the time to look around the place where they were curiously.


    Completely different from the small workshop they had on the garage of the house, this place was almost bursting with different types of tools that Gaz had never even seen before in his life. Using the info that Ekis kept providing him as he scanned the different machinery around, he slowly started to understand why Ruby would decide to come here.


    The whole room was around the size of the house¡¯s terrace. With only pillars used to sustain the ceiling, the useable space was cluttered with tools of all sizes and shapes. The only less cluttered area was the one where they were, closer to the entrance where it seemed that Evon left to do the paperwork or socializing.


    That said, what looked like a weapon cache stood on the back of the room, on the very far corner of the office area, where they were. This is probably because of the fact that Evon also worked as a mercenary or something, if his memory wasn¡¯t fooling him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, but what¡¯s the sensor for?¡± Volgoff asked curious seeing how it would probably take some time for the lynnian to read the document.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡­¡± Ruby, caught a bit by surprise, didn¡¯t reply immediately.


    [Use to study robots?] Ekis nudged in quickly.


    ¡°I plan on using it to study robots.¡± She paraphrased the Goddess, thanking her for the fast answer. ¡°Some robots¡­ Are a bit harder to find¡­ This should help.¡± She explained quickly.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Volgoff asked amused.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Most robots aberrant that use specialized equipment tend to emit a more unique field compared to their heathen. Well, as long as the aberrant isn¡¯t purely mechanical¡­¡± She added with an awkward expression before shaking her head. ¡°Anyway. This should make it easier to find, then study them. It¡¯s not perfect, but it¡¯s a start.¡±


    ¡°You really are keen on studying them aren¡¯t you?¡± Volgoff said with an amused expression before smiling to the blushing Ruby.


    [Wow. Nice cover up!] Gaz said surprised.


    [Well¡­ It¡¯s not like I was lying¡­] She replied sheepishly. [I-I mean¡­ We might be searching for Ekis and all¡­ But¡­ Maybe¡­ You know¡­ You could¡­ help me¡­ A bit¡­ Please?] She asked with a voice that only died down the more she spoke.


    For a moment Gaz simply stayed put, staring at the girl who avoided looking at him embarrassed before finally sighing wryly.


    [Geez¡­ If you ask like that I would feel like a villain if I refused¡­]


    [I don¡¯t mind waiting a bit more.] Gaz and Ekis pitched in with an awkward tone that quickly made the morphian to open up in a smile in a brief smile.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Doing her best to not start smiling too widely, Ruby turned back towards Syche and flinched for a moment when seeing the unusually serious expression in his face.


    ¡°Oi¡­ Princess¡­¡± Ross said with a shocked expression as he finished reading the paper.


    ¡°I¡¯m no scientist¡­ But¡­¡± Flora said amazed.


    ¡°Oi¡­ Pipsqueak. Are you serious about this?¡± Syche asked while putting the paper on the table and changing his focus to Ruby.


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡± She replied hesitantingly.


    ¡°Do you have any idea of what the hell you are speaking here?¡± He asked. ¡°I mean, let¡¯s ignore the fact that it¡¯s way beyond what we would call a mod an all and no robot would even survive such adaptations.¡± He said with a serious tone while giving a brief glance to Gaz as if he had an idea or something. ¡°Do you have any idea what you are suggesting here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I think I do?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you do. Look, I might not exactly be the sanest person around and I¡¯m one of the firsts to admit that, but even I wouldn¡¯t come with this¡­ This¡­ This thing and call it a ¡®personal¡¯ project.¡± He said while staring at the paper again. ¡°You are saying that, without the use of esp or ultra light gases, you want to make a large metallic body, that weights¡­ What, five kilos? Use air current, and Air current ONLY to propel itself into the air?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ yes?¡±


    ¡°You do know that robots aren¡¯t Skrylks, right? They don¡¯t have access to powerful esp or something like that to reduce their weight¡­¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± Ruby started interrupting with a wry smile.


    ¡°And no, that one doesn¡¯t count.¡± Syche denied her immediately.


    ¡°Princess. Do ye really think this will work?¡± Ross asked confused. ¡°I mean¡­ This whole helix thing is neat an¡¯ all, but I never heard of it before. Does it really work like that?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not entirely sure but¡­ I have motives to believe it will work.¡± The morphian nodded. ¡°I-In fact¡­ There may even be a way to create flight using only forward propulsion, but¡­ It might be a bit more complex.¡± She said, her words resonating on the group¡¯s ears as they processed its meanings.


    ¡°And¡­ ye think this could be used on, Ya know, Larger objects?¡± Ross asked curious.


    ¡°Well... If this works¡­¡± Ruby said hesitatingly while looking towards Gaz with the corner of her eyes. ¡°I think it might be possible for the same idea to be applied on much larger bodies. Yes.¡± Ruby nodded.


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s insane.¡± Was all that Syche said before standing up and putting his hand on his hair, taking care not to mess it up. ¡°This idea is simply insane. It¡¯s insane, illogical and impractical.¡± He walked around while putting on a confused expression. ¡°It literally spits on the face of all we thought about flight before, using some never seen before ideas and technology that literally have NEVER been seen on robots before.¡± He left the area while walking around muttering. ¡°YOU of all people should know that, if not even a robot with such a build appeared before, it means that it¡¯s hardly practical. What you are speaking of here is pretty much considered impossible by most of the current society, and if we even dared to submit such a plan to the scientific community, they would laugh at our faces and expel us for good with no chance of coming back ever again!¡±


    [Geez man, no need to be so aggressive!] Gaz said surprised. [Couldn¡¯t he be a bit more gentle with his refusal?]


    [I wouldn¡¯t be so sure¡­] Ruby replied with a surprisingly relieved tone.


    ¡°Not saying that this isn¡¯t revolutionary or anything, but besides that, it¡¯s everything else it shouldn¡¯t be.¡± He said while stopping besides one of the larger machines in the workshop and turning back to her, his finger-tip turned straight to the morphian. ¡°It¡¯s reckless, It¡¯s idiotic. It¡¯s foolish, unheard of, untested, more prone to failure than a joining a Galcamo reactor with a Frey-horn motor and completely, utterly, undeniably... Unscientific! Not only that, but you also dare to say that it would work with larger-sized machines? Are you even serious with this? You know what, I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t give a damn if you are serious or not¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Lunn said while standing up angrily. ¡°Do you need to be so¡­¡±


    ¡°I LOVE IT!¡± He finished starry eyed.


    ¡°¡°¡°¡°What?¡±¡±¡±¡± Most of the group said in synchro as his words sank in. Not exactly understanding what he meant at first, they simply kept looking at him waiting for an answer.


    ¡°This¡­ Thing. This abomination of a project is everything I ever wanted! This will break everything we thought we knew about robots if it works! It will make the scientists look dumb and idiotic compared to everything else!¡± Syche started laughing loudly while holding his forehead, much alike a madman. ¡°This will break science! Something weighting more than five kilos without esp or other sorts of gravity manipulation FLYING? That''s insanely AMAZING!¡±


    ¡°I said you would find it interesting!¡± Ruby said with a relieved tone while putting her hand over her chest and sighing as if a weight had been taken off her chest.


    ¡°Okay! Where do we start? The motors? Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen anything that fits the criteria! NO! Maybe the chassis! It¡¯s quite unique if I think about it¡­ Or maybe the compressor? Something that small probably don¡¯t exist¡­¡± Syche started saying everything hurriedly while throwing bits and pieces of metals around from the machine¡¯s drawers.


    ¡°I¡­ I think it would be better if we left this for last.¡± Ruby said awkwardly while seeing the man flinch over her words. ¡°I mean¡­ We will need the others faster while this is only a personal effort¡­¡± As she said her words, she noticed how Syche slowly turned to her with a shocked and depressed expression.


    ¡°But¡­ But¡­ Science¡­ It calls¡­¡± He said pleading while showing the coil and battery in his hands.


    ¡°You heard the girl Syche. First work, afterwards you can play science.¡± Flora said with an amused expression. ¡°And don¡¯t forget that we have a job in three hours, so I¡¯ll need you to change back with Evon, okay?¡± A playful smile appeared in her face as Syche looked pleadingly before lowering his head and nodding with a pout.


    [That actually went a lot better than what I expected.] Gaz said amused.


    [As odd, mean and scary that Syche may be, he¡¯s actually really easy to see through.] Ruby said with an awkward tone. [So I was already expecting a bit of his reactions. He¡¯s still scary and mean though.]


    [I see¡­ Still, was kind of expecting something to go horribly wrong somewhere, though.] Gaz said while shrugging in his mind. [With you speaking of good luck thanks to dragon thingy back at home, it just seemed to fit that we would get into trouble.]


    [Geez, why are you so negative?] Ruby complained.


    [Ha ha¡­ I might be partly to blame.] Ekis said with a dry tone. [Probably because I once jinxed him, and right after he got caught by Yllivia.]


    [Well, it¡¯s not like it was a bad thing, right?] Ruby said confused.


    [It was still really scary.] Gaz said in monotone before sighing. [Well, at least everything went well, so I guess we can call it a job well done, right?]


    [Yup!] Ekis replied happily.


    ----


    Writer¡¯s spot (2): On another longer but less relevant note. It relates to Zoids, but have some minor spoiler, thus, I¡¯m leaving it like this.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>


    So, after much delay, I finally went around watching one season of the anime that many people spoke about in this series. None other than Zoids. More specifically, the one with the Liger Zero and CAS system.


    More than once I had people telling me to give a CAS system to Beepy since it looks badass, and you know what? HELL YEAH IT DOES! I must admit that the anime, albeit not without faults, was quite good and was the first anime that I watched in its entirety in the last six months or so. Right now I began watching the one with the murasame liger, but I¡¯m still on the first episodes.


    However, about the CAS system¡­ I¡¯m not adding it. *Sips tea and nibbles cookie while seeing people¡¯s shocked and sad reaction.* Well, while I do admit that I liked the system a LOT, it¡¯s simply something that doesn¡¯t really have much use in the story. Because I already had a similar, improved system altogether. One major fault of the CAS system was that it had to be always the same sets in their entirety, which, despite giving some really nice flexibility to the Liger Zero when it comes to roles, still had the problem of being¡­ Well¡­ Limited.


    The plan I have for Beepy is to have a lot of modular pieces for all his bodies, and each of them can be used independent of each other. This way I can give him a lot more flexibility that I found lacking in the basic CAS system, since it would even allow to change limbs entirely. That said, the changes would probably be manual instead of using the cool robot hands thingy because of obvious reasons. (Mostly lack of space and money)


    So, there we go. Mostly my thoughts on the whole Zoids thingy when it comes to beepy.

 HIATUS ANNOUNCEMENT

    THIS POST WILL BE PUT UP ON ALL OF MY STORIES.


    Well, it has come to this in the end. *sighs*


    Well, some of you might have noticed, but I haven¡¯t made many uploads on RRL recently, and while I believe a few of you might already suspect this, I thought that it might be better to make this official.


    I¡¯M STARTING AN HIATUS OF UNDETERMINATED DURATION HERE ON RRL.


    And yes. RRL, not Insania online, not (Re)install, not Spiritsmith, but RRL as a whole. The reason is fairly simple, I¡¯m completely burnt out on writing. I can¡¯t even bring myself to look at the word file I have on my folder with 2k words of Insania already written, even though leaving an unfinished chapter usually would bother the hell out of me. That¡¯s how badly burnt out I am.


    Just to be specific, this isn¡¯t a writer¡¯s block, as I already know where each of my stories are heading next and what I will write, I just can¡¯t bring myself to write at all for RRL. Recent tests on college and a Long, LONG time writing pretty much frequently have finally taken its toll and made me unable to even think about writing things for the site.


    What¡¯s even worse is that , a couple of weeks ago, IO finally reached its first anniversary. A whole whopping YEAR since I started, and while I was ridiculously happy for achieving such unprecedent milestone, I just couldn¡¯t put myself to write.


    Now, this doesn¡¯t mean that any of my works here will be dropped. Hell, by me I will never drop these stories midway without giving them at least a satisfactory ending. However, I feel that I need a break from such ¡°workly¡± writing. Once again, just to be clear, I don¡¯t dislike writing, and in fact don¡¯t think I will ever stop writing, hiatus or no hiatus, but having to write a quality story under (rather vague) deadlines is something that I personally can¡¯t say that I find relaxing.


    On more individual notes, the stories, when they come out from hiatus, will probably come indepently. By the way things are going, I feel that (Re)install and Spiritmisth will probably be the first ones to return sooner, while IO might be the longest lasting one, seeing how it¡¯s the one that have been putting me under most ¡°pressure¡± to say. For those who follow my writer¡¯s corner and comments, you might have noticed how I personally don¡¯t find IO as great of a story as my other two, and that might possibly be the reason, but I can¡¯t say for sure.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Well, for that, I¡¯m sorry as I know many of you rather enjoy my stories and lookf forward for their updates, but I¡¯d rather stop updating for some time and come back when I¡¯m more willing to write than keep writing and see the quality of my stories drop thanks to lack of motivation.


    However, this doesn¡¯t mean that I will stop frequenting RRL altogether, so if any of you have questions or comments you want to leave, do know that I WILL read them, so feel free to leave them here, in their corresponding chapters or send me a PM. I may also upload the random ideas/status on my wordpress page, and for those who still want a bit of Warhawx-style storytelling, you might want to check there, as I will probably start uploading my casual ideas there.


    With that said, once again, I¡¯m sorry for doing this without previous notice (though some of you probably already expected this¡­) and would like to once again thank you all for following me up to here in this journey.


    Status as of the writing of this sorry excuse of a hiatus:


    Cult of Cygnas: 3017 followers


    Beepers: 1373 beeps


    Spiritsmith: 1139 (Need some kind of fancy/quirky naming here¡­)


    People angry/disappointed/annoyed/sad with Warhawx: All of the above.


    For any of the interested, here''s a link to my wordpress account: LINK</a>

 Welp, about time I got hit I guess? (Announcement/Not a chapter)

    Well then people, now that I riled you all up with the idea of a new update to this old story, time to satter all your expectations by saying there isn''t a chapter! Sadly! Hooray!


    No, wait, wrong expression...


    Anyhow, earlier today I was notified that one of my stories which, if it wasn''t clear enough, is this one where i am doing my current post, was abducted and wrongfully put to work against its will in the amazon store, because that seems to be a trend these days? I told my stories that they didn''t need to follow these trends, that it could just be itsefl, but nooo! It had to go and try to be trendy! This is such a heartbreaking thing! I wonder if it reached the rebellious age... I mean, this one is... $FrstChpAge old? Geez, that''s a lot more than I remember!


    Also, please disregard the failed function in the previous paragraph of this totally not automated message. That''s totally not... Erm... I mean, it''s totally supposed to happen. Yes. That''s right!


    Well, jokes aside, by this point I still have a lot of words to go before I can post but not enough text, even though i went out of my way to make it as full of meaningless text as I could. So, let''s get serious... For a while;


    Yes, as of the writing of this text, I was kindly informed by a few people that (Re)Install had been put to sale on amazon without my consent. I already put a claim up with amazon and they should take it down soon enough. I hope. They did go so far as to change the name of the protagonist, but they somehow or another forgot to remove the author''s note before each chapter, which is rather amusing to me.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    On other news, some people are going to ask me why I don''t continue this story. My response to that is that I haven''t really felt like writing (re)install (Or IO) in a long while and I don''t want to force myself to write something I don''t feel like writing. (For those wondering, there was a chapter of Spiritsmith I wrote recently and posted on my blog. I didn''t post it here because I knew that posting one chapter would lead to people expecting more, and I can''t really bring myself to do something to raise people''s expectations when I know I won''t be able to keep them up, so sorry about this.)


    And for those wondering, yes. I have been writing. Though I have mostly been putting stuff up in my blog where I feel a bit less pressured to keep working on a single story at a time (Hence the... 207421 different stories over there at the moment. Number might be slightly exxagerated since I didn''t count...). For those wondering, the link''s https://warhawx.wordpress.com/</a>  That said, for those who only read either IO or (Re)Turn, do beware that most of my works in the blog lean towards being Gender Bender which I know is a genre a lot of people aren''t confortable with.


    Oh hey, I passed the 500 words mark! Yay! Time to post! And sorry for putting you guy''s hopes up.