A/N: It's been really long and a wild ride, but here we are! This is the final chapter. After this, we'll have the epilogue, and that's it! I am planning a sequel so if you liked this, please be sure to follow me as an author so you can be notified when I begin to post the sequel. Thanks for supporting me!

Dark clouds had begun to roll over the horizon, as if predicting the coming battle. Tension between the small group of mercenaries and the giant robot army grew as both became more and more aware of each others presence.

Still, neither made a move. It was like a chess game that had gone to the point of a standstill, carefully calculating every move and predicting the enemy's response.

The smell of rain began to waft around, though the rain that was threatened by clouds had not yet been released.

"Hm. Rain might be useful. Do you robots short circuit easily?" Spy mused. The smoke that drifted in elegant tendrils from the amber end of his cigarette did little to put the assassin at ease, though he refused to let anyone in on his discomfort and anticipation.

Makina did a quick scan of the clouds. Rain was sure to come within the next hour or so, unless winds picked up and pushed the clouds off first. Unlikely.

"No. Afrer that last incident with the fire sprinkler, I think Gray made everything more waterproof. Olivia wouldn't have cut costs." He paused for a moment. "You're uncomfortable."

Spy frowned, pulling his hood over his head. He didn't think a robot of all things would catch on so quickly. "No, I am not," he said, trying to hide his discomfort.

"You are. Your posture says it all. Normally you don't cross your arms so close to yourself." Makina looked at the Frenchman. "Guess we're going to die if you have bad feelings about things."

Spy pursed his lips, taking a deep drag of his cigarette in a poor attempt to calm his beating heart. The ambers on the ashy end of the stick reignited and brightened, burning away paper and small flakes of ashes falling to the ground.

"We're all going to die at some point. I suppose I just wished for us not to die in such ugly condition." He looked down at his cigarette and tapped the ashes off the end before dropping the stub to the ground and stamping it out.

"I'd tell you we have a chance, but you wouldn't believe me. Since we're going to die we might as well give it our all. Maybe some stroke of luck will come from our efforts." Makina cast his eyes to the ground. Around him the team was preparing to move out and into the fray of battle. It was a rather sad sight. It was like watching people walk to their graves.

He turned his head as a hand touched his shoulder. Medibot stared at him, the mechanisms behind his lenses just barely visible through the blue light as they shifted. "Zhey're ready. As zhey'll ever be... I suppose."

Makina nodded. Medibot was clearly as uncomfortable as he was, though he made it a little more obvious.

"Are you though?" The Sniperbot asked. "Because if you aren't... I would never ask you to walk into battle."

Medibot looked away for a moment. "No. I vill never be ready. But I know you are, and it is only my duty as your personal Medibot and friend to follow and protect you. Zhat's my job."

If he could smile, he would have. "Thank you. You know I will do the same." He would have said more, but having his upgraded rifle pushed into his hands by Engineer cut him off. The short man nodded to him and turned to pick up the last of his items.

"It's time to go. Ve're all ready," Medic said as he passed the two robots. He had his Medigun in his hands and while he seemed solemn as if he knew the risk of death was high, a lust for revenge burned behind his crystal eyes that were just shaded by his cap.

The team arranged themselves so that they kept their two healers most protected, flanked by Spy on one side and Demoman on the other. Makina seemed to lead the group, Pyro was a little behind him with Engineer. Miss Pauling, Bidwell and Heavy brought up the back.

Very slowly, they made their way towards where Olivia's army swarmed like ants at a crumb.

"When ve get close, ve split up," Medic instructed. "Spy vill go on his own in a disguise into the heart of the robots. Demoman, Makina and I vill cause a distraction on zhe east side, causing zhe robots to swarm zhere. Spy vill zhen sap zhem, leaving a relatively clear path straight to Olivia." He paused for a moment and let the group soak in the information. "Easier said zhan done, of course."

They fell into a hushed silence as the sound of robots got terrifyingly close and loud. The fringes of the colony were just visible, and the group split up as instructed. Spy disguised into a Scoutbot and cloaked, disappearing completely from sight. Demoman, Medic and Makina broke away from the group and rounded to the east side, everyone else laying in wait for their signals.

Pyro noticed Bidwell looking rather uncomfortable. He squat down next to the suited man and unclipped the ventilator of his mask so his voice wouldn't come out muffled. "You alright?"

Bidwell exhaled, irises wide with adrenaline. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little nervous. I mean, I've encountered the robots before but there's so many out there."

Pyro awkwardly reached out a hand to pat his shoulder. His hand was shockingly warm through the rubber suit. "I wish I could tell you we're going to be fine but we're probably going to die. At least you'll see some friendly faces in hell." Bidwell couldn't help but chuckle a little at the joke, though the icy feel of fear gripped harder at his heart once the humour was gone.

Pyro gave him a little thumbs up and clipped the ventilator back. Bidwell noticed the grip on his flamethrower had tightened considerably.

Spy had wedged himself into the colony of robots, feeling incredibly uncomfortable within the sea of metal, but managing to maintain his cool. He had the modified sapper with him, silently praying to whatever God there was that it would not fail him.

The robots seemed mostly idle, roaming around in a small area but always on the watch for mercenaries. Idle beeping that was irritatingly almost in sync rang out through the ghostly town.

All was quiet while the distraction prepared themselves. Demoman had set a clever stickybomb trap so their distraction could also blow up some robots while they were there. Makina had taken position up on a low roof where he was lining up his shot to destroy as many robots in one go. Medic had everyone overhealed and an Ubercharge ready in case things turned pear shaped. Engineer had disappeared to build a sentry in a corner.

"Ready lads?" Demoman asked. He loaded the last grenade into his launcher, clutching the weapon tight in his hands. The plan was to fire a grenade into the cluster, blowing up at least four of them and alerting the rest. They would then charge for the team and right into the stickybomb trap, destroying at least another eight of them. The rest was sentry work as Spy sapped them.

The level three sentry beeped quietly, Engineer giving a thumbs up. Spy was getting antsy in the swarm. What was taking so long? He was ready to leave and check on things when a faint pop was heard and a blinking red grenade arched in the air, landing somewhere off to the left in the middle of a cluster of robots. The following explosion brought shared of metal and parts flying around and the robots began to move.

The plan was good so far. Spy following along, pretending to reload the fake weapon in his hands as robots all around him pushed and shoved to get first blood.

A fizz and boom told Spy a sticky trap had gone off, pushing the robots back a little. As soon as the robots got into proximity of the sentry carefully perched on a low roof, things turned hectic. Robots dropped and sparked and screamed static all around him and t was absolute madness. The Frenchman weaved his way cleverly through the robots, going deeper into the swarm. He wanted the biggest range he could get on the sapper.

He was thankful for the lack of spatial awareness the robots had. None of them bothered to check their surroundings for Spies, all too eager to kill the known mercenaries. It allowed him to easily weave through the swarm till he got to where he decided was a good place. With a swift move, he grabbed the nearest robot and jammed the sapper onto it.

The little device got to work. It began to pull energy to keep itself running, robots all around him screeching and halting where they were, doubling over limply. He took the golden opportunity to backstab as many as he could as the distraction team fled their position and joined back with the rest.

The others were not having it so good. The distraction had not attracted as many robots as planned, leaving the rest with having to shoot and burn and cut their way through thin waves.

The attacks were simple and predictable, and relatively easy to fend off. The mercenaries had seen enough robots to know how each of them fought. Miss Pauling and Bidwell were having less of a good time.

Bidwell hadn't noticed the trembles through the ground as the massive Soldier stormed up and loaded its barrage of overcharged rockets as he pistoled the robots around him with elegance and slight distress. Pyro caught on quickly as he heard the deep boosh of rocket launches. He grabbed Bidwell and yanked him behind his flamethrower, standing his ground in the face of gleaming blue rockets.

If Bidwell yelled something, Pyro didn't hear it. Blood was roaring in the pyromaniac's ears as he waited for the rockets to get a little closer. With a strong blast of air, the rockets reflected and turned back on their shooter with impressive speeds. The giant soldier had no time to react before the rockets blew itself up. Pyro blasted a ring of fire around them to push the robots back a little and give Bidwell time to recover before he disappeared into the fray again. The suited assistant stared in shock after him, heart slamming against his chest.

Heavy had been Ubercharged, mowing down any robot that tried to get close while laughing off bullets and rockets that uselessly bounced off and exploded against him. Behind him, Medic had a vicious snarl that could kill. His Vril powers kept the Ubercharge running for longer, couple with a protective barrier he could use once the invincibility wore off.

The robots surged on in wave after wave, coming from all sides. A growing pile of scrap metal was forming at the feet of the mercenaries, hands reaching for something they'd never touch. The pile of metal served as a good barrier against the oncoming robots - it was easier to gun them down as they clambered over smoking metal in an attempt to reach the mercenaries. It was like that, that the mercenaries pushed their way through the crowd.

The ground trembled once more, forcing the mercenaries to turn their attention to a massive Heavybot. It stood taller than a tank, the minigun in his hands not mini at all. Behind it trailed four giant Medics, their healing beams trained on the giant. It stared down at them, glaring like God that was determined to send all of them to hell.

"Move it!" Spy snapped. The team split apart, scattering and shielding themselves with scattered metal bodies on the ground. Half of them ducked into an alleyway, the other half scrambling for cover behind thin pillars that didn't seem like they were going to stand very long against the vicious rain of bullets.

The Heavybot stormed past, not quite firing as it couldn't sense any mercenaries around. Pyro peeked out from behind the pillar, retreating just as the Heavy clicked and turned, firing in his way. Hot, white pain shot up his arm as a bullet clipped it, Pyro gasping in pain. Instinctively, he reached up to clutch at the bleeding wound.

"Ye okay lad?" Demoman asked from the other pillar. He shied away from the edge of the pillar as a bullet pinged off it, carrying chips of cement with it.

Pyro shoved the pain into the furthest reaches of his mind, where horrible things lurked. He nodded, managing a thumbs up. Once the Heavybot stormed by, leaving Pyro in a position where he could sneak up from behind without being detected, he made a move. Gesturing for Demoman to follow, they left their hiding spot, following the Medibots behind.

The Heavybot was still oblivious to them following, searching around for the mercenaries. It never once did turn behind until heat seared from the back and both its Medibot crumbled under heat. Pyro yelped as the flamethrower clicked empty. He knew standing in the face of a giant Heavybot was no good, and threw himself to the side. In hindsight, it was a terrible idea as pain jolted through his arm again.

Medibot hauled Pyro to his feet, quickly training the Medigun onto him. Relief flooded Pyro as the blue beams healed up the bullet graze, leaving the firebug feeling energised and ready to go again. He unclipped his ventilator. "We can't fight that." His voice was laced with panic and stress.

"You can't, but he can." Medibot gestured up to the roof where Makina still remained. The Sniperbot was lining up his sights onto the Heavybot, waiting patiently for the rifle to charge up. A small ping told him the rifle was ready and at max power, and he stilled his inner processors as he pulled down the trigger.

The Heavybot screeched as the bullet drove past its internal processors and straight through the battery. A horrid, acid smell came as the contents of the battery leaked, pooling out of the Heavybot as it crashed to the ground. Makina waved to them.

"It's a clear route to Olivia now. Get going before she sends more robots!" Medibot shoved Pyro back out into the open, the rest of the team following. They ran across the street, leaping over crushed and burnt metal. The massive blue tanker was only several metres away, but standing in front of it were two robots - a Pyro and a Medic, and Olivia.

She watched them with cruel, cat-like eyes, her lips formed into a tight line. She looked older than she should have seemed. She also looked ready to murder.

The team slowed down, coming to stop a respectable distance from Olivia. She crossed her arms.

"You killed my father. You killed my entire army of robots. Which is impressive, to say the least. A scraggly group of six mercenaries, two office assistants and two robots I should have incinerated a long time ago? You made it awfully far." She took a step backward. "Now I'd like to introduce my two latest inventions. All that research my father put in, all that planning he did to capture the two of you? It's paid off. I didn't need to have to physically with me to know how to create the perfect mercenary. Watching you already gave me all I needed to know."

Medic narrowed his eyes. The newest Medibot looked scarily like him - with legs instead of a wheel, and a similar hat to his own. It was slightly unnerving. The Pyrobot also looked scarily like Pyro himself. Light gleamed in Olivia's eyes and her mouth set back into a tight line. "Robots. Get them."

Both robots by her side activated, eyes lighting up and their gears running smooth as honey. As they walked, the Medibot's hands sparked with blue energy and the Pyrobot's, fire.

"Stay back," Medic instructed. He and Pyro nodded to each other, walking up to their metal counterparts. The mercenaries behind them readied their weapons in anticipation.

Medic was content to wait for the first move, but Pyro wasn't so patient. He lunged, hands catching fire. The Pyrobot mirrored his actions, easily swatting him away. It punched at him, flames going dangerously near to Pyro. On the other side, Medic had attacked as well. The two pairs began to wrestle with each other, fire and energy channelling through the air.

Every punch was deflected and every move predicted, and Pyro became scarily aware of how the Pyrobot seemed to be able to know how to counter his every hit, every blast of fire. It was like it was a clone of him with the same mind, but made of metal.

Medic was having the same trouble. No matter what he did, the Medibot could counter it with ease and efficiency.

Engineer had his shotgun aimed at the angry firefight going on, flames bursting into the air. He wanted to shoot, but he couldn't for fear of hitting their own Pyro in the back. Makina had joined the watching group. "Aren't any of you going to do something?" He hissed.

"We can't shoot or we might hit our own team."

"Not them, Olivia's gone!" The sudden realisation of Olivia's disappearance struck them, followed by the sound of the tanker starting up, had the mercenaries running straight for the open hatch. By the time they got to the tanker, the hatch was barely open. Makina had just barely enough time to jump up and scramble through before it slammed shut, leaving everyone else outside.

The inside of the tanker felt foreign and constricting. Makina shook his head, as if it would help ease the tension. Normally bot deployment carrier tanks weren't this empty, but now when it was so empty… it was somehow more constricting.

Makina weaved his way around through the tank. Working with Gray personally had taught him his way around the tanker better than any other robot, and he found the driver's hatch with little problem. Olivia was in the driver's seat, and if the situation wasn't so dire, Makina would have found the size of the chair compared to Olivia quite comical.

Drawing his kukri, he approached, grabbing the top of the chair and swivelling it around. He did not expect Olivia to have a shotgun in her hands.


Pyro rolled to the ground again, just barely dodging the next blast of fire. The battle was getting tiring, and unfortunately for him and Medic, humans got tired. The robots were still countering their moves flawlessly, tirelessly. There wasn't going to be and end to it until one of them tripped up.

"Zhis is ridiculous," Medic panted, hands sore from constantly being deflected by the Medibot. His fight was a little less aggressive than the Pyros, but it was clear the Medibot was still out to kill him. "If… if zhey can only mirror our moves zhen…" He parried off a punch. "Pyro!"

"Whh!" Pyro made another blast of fire, growling in exasperation as it was dodged. The metal on the Pyrobot remained shining, not a single burn on it.

"Switch vith me! Zhey only know our own moves, but we've trained togezher! We can fight zhem off!"

Pyro seemed to get the idea. He got to his feet, making a run for it before the Pyrobot could chase him. Medic gripped the Pyrobot, swinging it onto the ground. He knew how to fight it without getting burned himself. Countless days of post-battle training with Pyro had taught him many tricks. The robots however, had no idea how to counter this new foe. It stumble, confused, and aggressively blasting fire wherever it thought Medic would be.

Likewise for Pyro, he had a far easier time fighting the Medibot. He blasted flame after flame, catching it here, there, everywhere. His knuckles were sore from all the punching, and he began to use long range attacks more. Twisting around, he hauled himself up onto the Medibot back, searing its face with his hands. The metal melted under his hands, and Pyro must have underestimated how hot it could be. The rubber gloves did nothing to protect himself from the burning metal, and he leapt off, biting back a pained screech as he ripped off the gloves to stares at the red burns.

Medic charged up his energy and released it in a powerful blast of electricity. It coursed through his body harmlessly and out of it, striking the Pyrobot with full force. It shrieked and screamed static, smoke billowing out as its circuits fried. When the energy dissipated, it slumped to the floor in a smoking black pile.

He turned to find Pyro doubled over on the floor, hands awfully red. Kneeling down, he carefully took Pyro's hands in his. The doctor was tired and to heal his hands would drain him of all his energy, but his morals didn't let him not do anything about it. He let the last bits of his energy heal the Pyro's hands, before he himself slumped back into a sitting position.

"Hhh…" Pyro unclipped his ventilator. "Thanks man. Oh boy." He lay down on his back, pulling off the gas mask as a whole and running a hand through his hair. "Thanks. I owe you."

Medic watched him with tired eyes. "It's nozhing." His gaze drifted to the tanker. "I vonder how Makina is doing."


Makina stared hard the the small girl with the giant shotgun. Just like with the chair she was seated in, the size dynamic was quite comical. He didn't say anything about it.

"Congratulations. You found me," Olivia sneered. "But are you going to kill me?"

Makina took a step forward, and Olivia cocked her shotgun. She had a little bit of trouble holding it. "I killed that stupid Scout, and I will have no problem killing you too."

The grip on the kukri tightened. "You know I'm not afraid of dying, Olivia. You know I'm not afraid of getting shot. I have no reason to be."

"Okay." Olivia fired the shotgun. The bullets blasted off his looser arm. Makina made no more room for thought. He did a quick search in all his files and dragged back up the one he'd been trying to suppress for months.

human_ active.

All his human emotions were suppressed in that moment, and he didn't realise his own cold, calculated movements as he ducked the second shot and thrusted the kukri forward. A shriek and splattering blood brought him back to his senses. In front of him, Olivia's face had frozen into one of horror and anger, the kukri straight through her chest and out the other side of the chair. Blood continued to stream around it.

He turned the chair away from him and reached forward to turn off the tank's engine, before leaving without looking back. The base of his feet left bloody footprints on the floor.