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Chapter 3: Showdown


"Do you think he saw us?" Rusty asked anxiously. The duo had followed the damaged robot's emission trail to a small bunker nearly buried in the desert sand.

"Hard to say. Let's hope not. We don't need any more surprises."

"What're we waiting for?"

"Back-up. No telling what's waiting for us in there." Dwayne had radioed the coordinates to General Thorton and the Pit Crew. Dr. Slate had insisted on accompanying them on the pretense that her expertise in robotics might come in handy, "Ah... The Cavalry has arrived..." Big Guy pointed to the approaching Osprey and squad of armored Army vehicles.

"What's the situation?" General Thorton's voice crackled over the comm system.

"Not sure, General," Dwayne responded, "I think we're going to have to take a chance and go in."

"I don't like it..." the General's voice sounded uncertain.

"Neither do I, but we don't have much choice. There's no sign of a defense system."

"All right... Proceed with caution. We've got your back."

Big Guy turned towards the boy robot, "Ready to go, son?"

"You bet! Let's get those legion guys!" Rusty exclaimed.

"Take it easy, Rusty. I'll go in first," following Rusty's affirmative nod, Big Guy cautiously moved to the bunker's entrance.

"Anybody home?" Dwayne joked to himself. He tensely touched the outer door and relaxed a bit when nothing happened. Maybe the Legion hadn't had enough time to rig up a security system. //One could always hope...//

"Maybe I should knock?" Big Guy dramatically drew back and arm and punch a hole in the steel, "Avon calling." With a powerful jerk, he pulled the door off it's hinges. Expecting an attack, the titanic robot peered into the darkness, "Huh... Nothing."

Casually tossing the ruined door aside, he stepped in, "Dark in here..." Dwayne switched on the head-lamps, swinging Big Guy's head from side to side to inspect the interior, "Looks like this goes underground."

"Wow..." Rusty glanced around as he follow the larger robot, "It's... empty..."

"Honey, I'm home..." Big Guy said softly as he turned the corner. The next instant, Dwayne felt a massive impact against the Big Guy's chest as he was propelled backwards and through the outer wall, "Yeeeahh!!" He Gritted his teeth against the jolt as he connected with the ground.

"Woah! We've got company!" Mack shouted as he saw Big Guy plow into the sand outside, raising a cloud of dust.

"It's the one from before," Jo remarked, watching the two big machines on the monitor.

"I missed you too," Big Guy quipped as he rose to his feet.

"How nice of you to come and visit," the Legion robot laughed, "You even gave me time to prepare myself."

"Just trying to be neighborly. And I even brought a house warming present," grabbing the previously discarded door, Big Guy swung it with all the force he could muster. Dwayne was rewarded with a satisfyingly loud collision. //Nice...//

The other robot staggered, "Oh dear... And I was so hoping for a toaster..."

"Huh?" Dwayne frowned. He'd never heard the other Legion machines making JOKES before... He didn't like it.

"You're surprised, I see... You're thinking that I'm not quite like the ones you've dealt with before," the robot chuckled, "How very true..."

//Creepy... It thinks too much like a... person...// "Number Seven, I presume?" Big Guy tossed the now thoroughly mangled door aside.

"Very astute for such an inferior being," Number Seven commented, circling Big Guy warily.

"Awe, you're making me blush," Big Guy jabbed at Number Seven to test it's reaction.

"How very... human of you," the Legion robot caught his forearm, swinging the other machine in an arc before releasing him.

"Urgh!" Dwayne was rattled by the impact with the ground. He was definitely going to have some bruises in the morning.

"Big Guy! You okay?" Rusty grabbed his mentor's arm and helped him get to his feet.

"Nothing I can't handle, son," Big Guy eyed Number Seven, "But maybe we need to try something a little different..."

"Doc," Dwayne toggled the communications switch, "What do you think of this guy's energy shield?"

Erica pursed her lips in thought, "It only seems to work on projectile and energy weapons."

"Anyway to by-pass it?"

"It IS an energy based defense system... You might be able to overload it... Wait!" her eyes suddenly lit up as inspiration struck, "It might have a set perimeter..."

"Pardon?" Dwayne cocked an eyebrow.

"If it's only designed to deflect distance weapons, it might only function a set distance from the robot..." she explained quickly, "If you get close, you might be inside it!"

"Ah... Point-blank, huh?" Dwayne grinned, "What would I do without you, Doc?" He could have sworn he saw a slight blush appear on Slate's face before she turned off the display. //No... must've imagined it...//

"Guess we get up close... and personal!" Big Guy rumbled as he grappled with the larger robot, "Rusty! Point blank, son!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Rusty eagerly flew near Number Seven. Concentrating, a bright green aura formed around his hands right before he fired a blast of nucleoprotons. The shot ripped through Number Seven's outer casing, burning away a large section of it's infrastructure.

"Yeaaarrgh!" Number Seven howled.

"Nice shot, son!" Big Guy called.

"Yesss... A v..ery nice shot..." the damaged robot sparked and jerked but managed to wrap it's arms about the Big Guy's torso, "But... I didn't expect to... win anyway..."

"Wha...?" Dwayne worked to free himself from the other robot's grasp. Something about this didn't feel right... If Seven hadn't been picking a fight to win, then there had to be some other agenda. //This could be bad...//

"You see..." Number Seven whispered, "I know your little secret." The robot laughed hysterically.

"Um... Need some help here," Dwayne called to his friends, apprehension beginning to gnaw at his gut. //There is no way this can end well...//

"No, no, no... There's no escape this time..." Number Seven snickered evilly as the armor protecting it's chest was released by the system that held it in place, dropping on to the sand below with a thud.

"What the...?" still struggling to shake off the robot's grip, Dwayne noticed a cluster of what looked like metal spikes that had been revealed. He froze as he realized what the machine's true purpose was, "Oh no..."

"This isn't... over..." Number Seven hissed. A loud bang accompanied the release of air that propelled the spikes outwards, shredding what was left of the Legion machine's central processing unit in its chest.

"No!" Dr. Slate cried out as the metal spears impaled Big Guy, tearing through his torso and out the other side. She watched horrified from her position near General Thorton as Number Seven and the Big Guy tumbled to the ground. As the cloud of sand settled, neither machine moved.

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As the cloud of sand settled, neither machine moved.