A/N. Just want to thank all of you once again for favouriting, following, and reviewing! I can't believe how much attention this story has gotten since I published it just under a month ago.
Reboot sequence activated. Your system shut down because of a problem. Would you like to restart previously running processes?
Yes yes yes.
Medibot lay on the ground and let all his system process start up once again before he let himself push away the cracked and dented wall of the lift and get onto his wheel again. Not having legs meant getting back up was a lot more difficult. He had to grab onto something to pull himself up.
Brushing off his coattails - which were torn and very dirty now - he stared at the mess of debris before him. His first instinct was to find Makina and start him up again, but knowing that robots couldn't exactly die and could always be fixed back, he made finding the human mercenaries a priority.
In the silence of the basement lift shaft, with faint atmospheric noise echoing above, Medibot got to work, moving away debris as best as he could. He picked up dented shard and moved them aside, ignoring the thin scratches it left on the metal of his hands.
The entire roof of the lift shaft had caved in. With a few good kicks it could probably break open. It was as if someone had taken the lift and smashed it like a can. There was barely any room to stand. The lift door would have broken open had it not been for the life shaft wall. The only way out was up.
Medibot found both the mercenaries on the floor, blood leaking from several small gashes, but nothing looked too serious. He bent over, unable to squat, and shook them gently. "Herr Pyro? Herr Doktor?"
Near his wheel Makina started up again, his eyes lighting up once again. With a metallic groan, he pushed himself up, shaking off little glittering bits of glass. "Bloody hell. You okay Doc?" Makina asked, feeling one shoulder droop a little. Probably a loose screw.
"I'm fine Herr, but I'm not so sure about these two," Medibot replied, looking down at the two mercenaries. It was fairly impossible to check them properly in this little space and with the only light source being their eyes. "Maybe you can climb up, try to find a way out."
Makina looked up and nodded, gingerly picking his way past the unconscious mercenaries and reaching up for something to grab on. Once he had a good grip, he hauled himself up, pushing away the 'emergency exit door' of the lift. He climbed out and stood on the top of the lift cabin, looking up for an exit. There was the basement level door, which was a short climb away.
"There's an exit. Small climb though, and unless you can wake them up then we have to… carry them." He clearly wasn't very excited about the idea of having to carry the two mercenaries and he had no clue what was in the basement, but he bet Gray thought they were dead and they could work on their own time.
He swung himself up and while clinging to the edge of the lift shaft, used his one free hand to pry open the basement door. He hauled himself out and took a look around the dark, dust-filled basement. It didn't seem like anyone had been down there in ages. Deciding it was safe, he stuck his head back into the lift shaft.
"No one's here. If can drag Pyro and Medic out and I'll pull them up," he called down. Medibot answered with a yes, and some shifting could be heard from inside the crushed lift as medibot struggled to carry the mercenaries.
"A-actually, could ve ah, swap places? I can't exactly… climb, vithout legs," Medibot pointed out. Makina paused. Oh right.
"Okay. I'll come down and pull you up here first."
Makina climbed back down into the lift shaft and grabbed his friend by the hand, lifting him up onto the top of the lift cabin. From there Makina climbed back up onto the basement floor and pulled Medibot up, before he dropped back down into the lift shaft again.
Picking his way carefully through the debris, Makina headed back down into the lift and hefted the BLU up first, simply because he was closer. He grunted with the effort, but managed to haul the doctor up to where Medibot could grab him, before Makina went back for Axel.
After both mercenaries were up on the ledge safely Makina got himself back up out of the lift shaft, sitting down next to the two mercenaries. "They okay Doc? I mean, we've got a little more time on our hands now but we can't stay here for long."
Medibot sighed, the robotic noise escaping him as realistically as it could get. He gently shook the both of them, barely getting a response. "Vell zhey're not robots like us Herr Makina. After impact like zhat it's not as easy to get back on zheir feet."
Axel rolled onto his side, quietly swearing as he propped himself up, aware of the aching that was slowly seeping into his muscles. He blinked wearily, his vision still blurry and his face still a bit sticky with blood. He wiped at it with a hand. "The hell happened…?"
"Gray got someone to cut the lift cables," Makina explained briefly as Medibot helped Horst to sit up. "At least now, if my assumption is correct, he thinks we're dead. Which gives us a lot more time to work with. I'm not saying it's reason to not get out of here as soon as possible but at least we have a little more time to think. You two okay?"
"I'm… fine…" Horst muttered, rubbing his head and effectively messing up his hair in the process. Makina offered a hand to Axel, who accepted it wordlessly and let the robot pull him up. For a moment the four of them stood around in silence, getting acquainted with their surroundings. With barely any light there wasn't much to see, so Axel sparked a small floating orb that would follow them around, serving as their light source.
There was a faint dripping sound ahead, but there was no oil smell nor any chemical smell. Water, presumably. Having cleared his head, Horst gave the place a quick sweep of a gaze. "Uhm… I don't suppose eizher of you know about zhis place?" It didn't seem like it, the way the two robots also stared blankly.
"Truth be told we don't. So I guess we just walk," Makina said, starting off towards the sound of dripping water, with only the light from his eyes and the little floating orb to guide him. Makina's solid metal legs made clinking noises as each step came into contact with the ground. Medibot's wheel made a very faint whirr, and the mercenaries tried to trod as carefully as possible.
There was nothing of interest in the basement. It seemed like a big maze of walls and turns, the only doors leading to empty rooms with suspicious stains that could have been blood. Chucked into corners were barrels of oil and dusty crates filled with nothing, and life was completely void in the basement say for the occasional beetle or two.
"We're getting nowhere like this. We should split up, try cover more ground. Who knows how far this places goes?" Makina suggested. The group looked at each other for a moment, silently deciding who should go with who.
"I'll go vith you. Herr Pyro can go vith zhe Medibot," Horst said. it was a sensible decision. Leaving the two bots on their own was slightly risky on their part, seeing as how neither of them were exactly fit for combat. Makina gave Medibot and Axel a brief nod, before he turned and headed left with the doctor.
Having nothing to say to the robot, Axel remained silent as he walked in the opposite direction, the floating orb following him closely. All around them the air was dense and thick, and a certain vibe of creepiness hung around like lingering cigarette smoke.
A beetle scurried across, but aside from there, there was no signs of life at all in the basement.
…
Makina and Horst walked along in silence, checking every room for anything of interest. The only things that had turned up from their search was dust and insects, and at some point a large spider which Makina killed in an instant. He did not like spiders, Horst did not like spiders. Win-win for all, except the spider.
As they took a turn, they noticed something odd. The place had gotten… neater. Crates were stacked nicely, barrels of oil put together in a corner with a small broken radio, a small pile of magazines and some tools sitting atop them, and among the dust on the floor, there were new shifts. Someone had been there, and not very much longer ago.
Both of them noticed it, but none of them said it, for fear that whoever was near would hear them. Makina unsheathed his kukri, while Horst - essentially weaponless - readied his fists for any attacks. The place turned eerily silent for a moment, before something grabbed Makina by the leg and dragged him to the floor.
"WHAT-" Metal clashed against the floor and Makina thrashed around like a fish out of water, trying to free himself as his attacker pounced on him, yelling about getting off his territory. Horst stepped forward and grabbed the Soldierbot, pulling him away from Makina so he could scramble to his feet.
"You?!" Makina snarled, glaring at the Soldierbot, who oddly did not struggle from Horst's grasp. He just parted his metal jaw in surprise.
"Didn't think I'd see you again Mac!" He grinned. Clearly they knew each other, but Horst hadn't been given the go to release the bot yet.
Makina looked away. "I wish I didn't see you again," he muttered to himself. "Medic, let him go. He's… harmless. Unfortunately."
Horst complied and let the Soldierbot out of his grip. "So Freedom. Want to explain what you're doing down here?" Makina asked.
Freedom rubbed his hand along the crate that had the radio and tools. "You know Mac, after that failed escape attempt some time ago when you were brought back to Gray, he was going to incinerate me, so I just camped out here. Been doing so ever since. I don't have much place to go but- wait, are you escaping again?"
"Yes. And this time I have a little more help."
Freedom eyed Horst up and down. "It's a Medic. And not even a robot at that. It bleeds. Get rid of it is what I say." Horst took a little offence at that, but decided not to say anything.
"Look Herr Makina, if zhis 'Freedom' is vasting our time zhen ve should go. Who knows how long it'll take for us to get out of here?" Horst asked, irritation dripping from his words. He was tired, he missed Helga, he missed Schnaps, he missed his comfy bed. And he would never admit it but he missed just sitting down and doing paperwork, but only a little.
Makina nodded and they brushed past Freedom, who took a little time to register what they said. "Wait! Are you two trying to get out of the basement?" He called after them. When no reply came from the two walking away, he sighed. "Because I know a way out!"
At that the two of them stopped. They looked behind, considering the offer from Freedom. Then they nodded.
"Okay Freedom, but I'm really trusting you this time…" Makina drawled out, hoping Freedom really knew what he was doing this time as the Soldierbot excitedly grabbed his radio and lead them the other way.
