-Chapter 1

"You don't understand what I'm telling you, do you?"

Blake looked down at me from eight feet in the air with his blue LED eyes. He just stood at attention; waiting for me to say something. I swiped the sweat off my brow and crossed my arms in frustration. It was blistering hot mid-day, and it didn't seem like it was getting any cooler. Damn California heat. I was tired, the boys were all tired. It's only four o'clock p.m. and it seems like they're already running on empty. We got up at five this morning and have been practicing ever since; and I guess they didn't do all too bad today. They deserved a little break. But could we afford it? We had a big match coming up. Seven thousand just for showing up, and an added ten grand if we win. I could do a lot with seventeen thousand dollars.

No, I had to get this right. "Shane," I called to Blake's "twin" as you can call him. "Show Blake how to do it." Shane perked up and stood off the table he was resting on. He then got into a stance and held his fists up to his chin. He took it from there with a sequence I just got through teaching him. He ducked to his left, then right, stood upright, swung to his right and left and tied it together with a straight uppercut. Blake watched intensely and cocked his head as his brother finished. I put my hands on my hips and looked up at Blake. "What is there not to get?" I asked. He slowly looked behind him and down at me. He turned and tried the sequence again, executing it perfectly. Every swing, every dodge. Perfect. Just like his brother carried out.

"Yes! Oh my god, was that so hard?" I asked with a smile; he finally got it. Blake's engine ran fast and hard a few seconds, like a purr of a muscle car. He was happy he finally did something right.

I walked over to the control panel at the edge of my make-shift boxing ring in the junkyard-like backyard of my parent's old housing complex. The sun simmered the crystal-like dirt that collected in the backyard, creating a blanket of sand over the once green, lush grass I used to run through as I was a kid.

Tires, old machine parts, almost anything anyone needed to keep a robot in working condition sat in unorganized piles all along the entire fence around the acre backyard. The only hard part was finding parts I needed for not one, not two, but four robots. The twins, Blake and Shane, are different in all the same ways. They were built the same time, contain the same parts, look the same, and treat each other like brothers. They each own two different personalities, though. Blake is the trouble maker, while Shane is the one that usually tries to keep Blake out of trouble. They both used to have a matching red color coat over their armor, but recently, they wanted to change for once. I just got them painted a striking midnight blue. All of their dents were removed, they both have new parts, just like new cars they were repaired and refurbished.

Spark is my biggest, tallest, and probably best robot I've ever owned. In fact, he was my first robot I've ever owned. My dad helped me repair him after I found him in pieces after a street match downtown. They just left him there. He was in so many pieces; covered in graffiti, dents all over his body. And they just left him there in the street after he lost what didn't seem to be his first match. So I took him in. My dad wasn't much into robots then, but his machinery was close to that of a car to start with; so he knew how to fix him up. We were best friends ever since. Never lost a match together, never will.

I like to compare his personality to that of Bumblebee from that old movie, Transformers. They act almost exactly alike most of the time and have some of the same looks. Me and my father, we didn't have much we could build him up on, but we did have a gray 2015 Corvette on the lot. We used much of it as the outside plating of his armor. Some interior mechanisms were used, but he's still more robot boxer than car.

One thing that's similar in every last one of my robots is the voice system I put into their wiring. They're from junk cars I found off the lot. They all can talk and hold basic conversations. I also upgraded Blake and Shane's system to voice control from a couple of smart phones. They're conversations are a little more in depth than the others, but it's still the same basic wiring.

I walked past one of my repair tables on my way to the control panel. Zack was on it, leaning against the fence behind him watching our practice from a distance. He looked horrible. His whole lower half of his body is missing; literally, missing. We have no idea where any parts of his legs are. He can barely move his arms without pinching vital cords or something falling off of him. He's covered in dents and the orange-yellow color coat he used to have is almost nonexistent. His last round in the ring tore him to pieces.

He rocked himself in boredom as he watched the others fight across the yard and whined when he saw me pass. I stopped at the end of the table and slowly turned as he continued to make the unbearable high pitched noises. His voice box was broken. "No, don't do that," "Pleeezz," he pronounced the best he could. He sounded like a lawn mower running on empty.

"I told you already, not today." He looked away from me. I tried to explain. "Look, it's mid-day and I still have a lot on my plate. I have to make sure the boys are ready for their next fight, find transportation," He kept his gaze across the yard. I could hear his motor running slower and slower every second. He was getting ready to shut down. "But it's going to be ok," I placed a reassuring hand on his lesser damaged arm. He was burning up. Between the California heat and his motors running so hard, his dull armor cooked, burning the palm of my hand; but I stayed firm until he returned his attention.

I had to talk real low so my neighbor brawlers wouldn't get any information on the match and try to join in. "It's a High-Roller match. The bet is up to ten grand. And, when we win this, it's all going towards you. I'll make sure you look and feel just as good as the boys. I promise." I smiled at him and turned to walk away before he could ask any questions.

As I walked, I could feel the weather change. It got a little cooler and I could see rain clouds moving in from the east. Couldn't stay outside much longer. I ran through the programs I had installed on the boys and made sure I had everything ready to go tomorrow. This match was either going to make or break us. I couldn't risk putting anything off until tomorrow. Looks like we're just going to be getting a little wet.

"C'mon, boys. Let's do some runs." I called across the yard. I turned to see Blake and Shane. They both stood upright, side by side. They looked nice. Fresh coat of paint, new engine parts, and I upgraded their voice mechanisms; they even sounded perfect…Everything Zack isn't.

I looked over at Spark and Zack having a conversation about the incoming weather. I promised him I would win him this fight; I can't let him down. We practiced through the rain and heat until light of the next day appeared to the west.