Merlin: We are so disapointed with you guys.
DE: We thought you enjoyed this story.
Merlin: But seeing as nobody reviewed the last chapter, even after we asked you to vote on which way the story should go,
DE: We now consider ourselves corrected.
Merlin: Especially you Akiko. Come on, I even insulted you in order to get a response, and still nothing, not even an angry outburst.
DE: I'm acctually surprised that you are still alive. I bet that Akiko has banned herself from the computer for a while, and that's why she doesn't know Merlin insulted her or that we've put up a new chapter. When she does find out, be prepared for something very heavy to fall on Mer partway through a chapter.

Anyway, as nobody voted, we picked the path that it felt easiest to write. Enjoy!


Merlin

"U and A now!" Max yelled. "Mom, start driving and don't stop for anything! Everyone, form up over the van and try to hold them off!"

We all rushed to obey before the enemy came upon us. Now even Ella could hear the droning of the robots' engines. We flew above the tree line, the leafy branches shielding the van from view. Hopefully that would give Mom and Ella a bit more protection.

I noticed that the bots were moving closer, and now I could see what they looked like. They were the same boxy type that we had seen in Toronto, their single eye lens now covered in a more protective frame. Their legs were thicker now too, and they flew by using rockets that were installed on the back of the legs. Each robot carried an Everine (my name for the wolverine Eraser) in their arms, and there appeared to be about 100 of the fliers. That meant 200 things we had to kill.

"Iggy!" I called. "Take as many out as you can now! It's a two for one special!"

He pulled a large ball of wires and tubes out from his bag and stuck it on the end of a crossbow bolt. He easily pulled back the taunt string and set the bolt in place.

"Twelve o'clock, ten degrees up, hold it steady," Gazzy instructed, guiding his friend. "Shoot!" he cried, and we all watched as Iggy's bolt flew in to the centre of the swarm, and exploded with a bang and some fireworks. Twenty of the iBots were blown to bits, their furry payloads screeching as they found themselves plummeting to earth.

"Great shot Ig!" Max called. "You got any bigger ones?"

"We've got about three more of the same, and ten small ones," he answered. "Gazzy's carrying the big one, but it's to big to shoot at them!"

"Next time I tell you to stop making bombs, don't listen!" She yelled. "Okay, Iggy you keep shooting them with your three shots, Everyone else, grab a small from Gazzy and throw it when you've got a good shot! Fang, take the big one! Total, I need you to find a clearing where we can group them together after they land." Ah, I see what she's planning.

"I'm not running away! I'll tear them to shreds!" That dog just didn't get it, he wouldn't be more then a snack for one of those hybrids.

"Go Total!" Angel cried. He seemed to think about it for a moment, then hurried to follow his owner's direction.

"Angel, Merlin, as soon as we're on the ground, focus on the Erasers with me. Fang, Nudge, you take care of the robots and watch Iggy and Gazzy's back while they bomb the heck out of everyone."

We split up and headed towards the flying army before they could react intelligently. I swooped in between the bots, kicking their rockets to force them off course and stabbing their Everine passengers with my knife wherever I could. Soon, even the primitive brains of the iBots figured out that they could fight better if they dropped off the hybrids in the woods, and the entire fleet dived into the trees for a second before rising up again.

Remembering Max's orders, I followed their route and found myself landing on top of an Everine's head. I stomped down hard and used him as a platform to help me jump into a tree. I leaped down onto another, landing dagger first. Ignoring the smell of his blood, I slashed at the one I had stunned with my jump. Jumping again, I waited for his companions to investigate the commotion. I didn't have long to wait before my hunting started again.


MAX

You know, considering that we started out outnumbered about thirty to one, we weren't doing too badly. Iggy's bombs had made a real dent in their forces, taking out fifty more robots and thirty Erasers. Now Angel and I were working together to fight off the rest of the Erasers. We kept on the move, Angel convincing them to fight each other while I settled for the traditional method of punching and kicking the crap out of them. Above us, Nudge and Fang were making short work of the shoddy robots. Nudge was especially dangerous for them, as she could pull them into the trees or each other with her magnetic ability. The crashes usually resulted in as satisfying boom as the left over fuel exploded, and I had a feeling that Iggy would find lots of new materials if he had enough time to do some scavenging.

A clawed hand swiped towards me, passing just over my head as I ducked. Guess I'll have to pay more attention to what I'm doing now. The Erasers had started to regroup, meaning that instead of one on one fights where I chose who to fight, they were now coming after us with their numbers again. I kicked the one who missed me into a tree, and prepared for the charge of two more. As expected, they ran forward, mouths open and paws out wide. Unexpectedly, one jumped over my head and landed behind me, trying to get at my back. I dived to the side, trying to get them both in front of me again before they had a chance to hit me.

I was slightly disappointed that I didn't even get a chance to hit one before he went flying though the air into a boulder. I saw Merlin nearby with his arm stretched out towards the fallen Eraser, and realized that he had come to my rescue.

"I didn't really need any help you know," I called as I slammed the second Eraser's head into the ground. "I've taken on worse before."

"Better safe the sorry," he answered, throwing his knife at another that had just come out of the woods. Soon the knife floated back to him, ready for another throw. "You know, I was expecting these Everines to be more of a challenge, what with their being part wolverine."

"I take it Everine is your name for these things?" Now why didn't I think of a name earlier?

"Yeah, and I named the fliers iBots." Oh, that one's good.

Angel walked out of the trees, a large Everine beside her, clearly under her control. "I think that the Erasers were smarter, and that made it harder."

"Still, they make up for it in numbers," I said. "Let's lead them to the clearing that Total is finding for us. Can you locate him Angel?"

"Yep, just follow me." She turned around and started running deeper into the forest, her brainwashed bodyguard following close behind.

"Merlin, you go with her, I'm going to check on the van and make sure they're all right."

"Fly to the max, there's not much time left. I can hear more of them in the woods."

I nodded my acknowledgement to him and took off, finding the road quickly, and heading down it at close to maximum speed. I caught up with the van just in time, as two iBots were in the process of shooting up the vehicle. Fortunately, they were aiming for the wheels, but even that would put a serious cramp on our getting out of here. I clotheslined one as I came by at super speed, which nearly dislocated my arm in the process. We crashed into the roof of the car with a loud bang, which made my mom think that the van was being boarded. She sent the van into a sharp turn which must have put it on two wheels, and both the robot and I were sent rolling onto the road. Lucky for me, I landed on top.

I hopped up and started running after the meandering menace on wheels, and realized where my own driving skills came from. With a little luck, she would take the last iBot out without needing me.