Rock whirled around, only to find himself staring down the barrel of another arm cannon. "Oh, I'm sorry," said the owner, "I thought you were one of them."
The cannon reverted back into a giant hand, and Rock was soon looking into the sparkling green eyes of another humanoid. "Them?" Rock asked. "Oh, you mean humans."
"Of course," said the android, hopping over the boulder and landing beside Rock. The lean and slender armored body modelled like a woman brushed her long blonde hair off her shoulders. "We got a few reports that one of them was raiding the fuel plant."
Rock looked at the large factory in the distance, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "Human? I doubt it," Rock grinned knowingly. "Those weaklings couldn't even dream of doing something like this."
The android beside him giggled. "You'd be surprised what those humans are stupid enough to try," she said. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name's Marie. What's yours?"
"Rock."
"Rock," Marie pondered. "I haven't seen or heard of you before. Are you one of the newer Virtuloids?"
"You could say that," Rock said.
Marie looked back at the factory. "What are you doing out here?" she asked, stepping forward.
It was that sudden image of Marie's face accented by the slowly setting sun that made Rock's memory jar. A flash of another woman, almost exactly like Marie, raced through his head and vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Something wrong?"
Rock blinked and shook off his daze. "What are you doing here?" Rock quickly answered Marie with another question.
"I asked you first," said Marie.
"Damaged," Rock said, tapping on the slightly discolored part of his armor. "I caught wind of something happening in the factory an hour ago. When I got in, the drones in the factory turned against me."
Marie blinked in disbelief. "Those wimpy little drones did that to you?" she asked skeptically.
"You try fighting off two hundered at once," Rock retorted.
"The drones turned against you?" she asked, "How?"
"Whoever's raiding the factory must have something to do with it," Rock played along.
"Oh, well it's a good thing you didn't run into the main security turret in the fuel cap storage chamber," Marie said. "Last time that thing went bezerk, it wiped out an entire platoon."
"Lucky me," Rock muttered. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, perimeter patrol," she replied. "I just wait around places like these when we're flushing out humans. Some manage to get away sometimes, and when they think they're safe..." she said, quickly dragging her thumb across her throat, grinning.
It took all of Rock's willpower to stop himself from shivering. "You want to know what I heard?" Rock said, quickly changing the subject. "I heard that some of them were looking for other dead humans to make into a super-powerful robot."
Marie looked at Rock in dumbfounded confusion, and then she burst out in laughter. "God, that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard," she laughed.
"Yeah, stupid isn't it?" Rock grinned, laughing along with and at her.
Marie's laugh faded into a sigh as she glanced at a small device on her wrist. "Oh, it's already time to give it in," she said. "I guess there's no humans for me to axe today," she sighed, dissapointed.
"Tommorow's another day," Rock hummed, trying his best to maintain his composure.
"Well, I'm off to the factory to help clean up the mess. Coming?" she asked.
"I'd love to, but I've got to be somewhere soon," Rock replied.
"Oh," said Marie, a little wishfully. "Well, I hope I'll see you around again sometime," she said, sprinting towards the factory, "See ya!"
"Likewise!" Rock waved after her. As soon as Marie was but a shadow at the gates of the distant building, Rock breathed, "Even the female Virtuloids are cold blooded."
"Hey Rock!" Roll's voice cheerfully piped from his helmet, "The generator's got enough power to bring you back. Do you still have the caps?"
Rock rolled the boulder over with his foot and picked up the crate from the ground. Putting his helmet back on and holding up the crate, he said, "I've got them."
Before he could say another word, Rock was whisked away into thin air.
*****
Rock quickly found himself in the dark underground bunker again, stepping out of the coffin-like machine with the crate under his arm. "Welcome back," said Roll, smiling at him from a computer kiosk at his right, taking off her headset.
"The caps?" Blues asked, standing in front of him with Auto.
"Right here," said Rock, patting the crate gently with his other hand.
"I'll take those," said Auto, taking the crate from Rock, carrying it like a barrel across his chest, and quickly disappearing into the depths of the hideout.
"I take it you're not too damaged?" Blues asked clamly, looking at Rock's melted shoulder armor and the blemish on his side.
"Just a little tired," said Rock.
"Well rest up," said Blues, "You've got a big day tommorrow."
Rock sighed and pulled up an empty chair beside Roll. "How do you like your new body?" Roll asked.
"Awesome," Rock grinned.
"Good," said Blues, "because now I think we'll need it for more than just fighting."
Rock looked up at Blues inquizitively. "What do you mean?" Rock asked.
"It seems like you're new Virtuloid-like body has helped you make yourself a new friend," Blues said.
Rock's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
Roll tapped on her headset in her lap. "I heard it all, you know," she said.
"If you could get that female Virtuloid to open up to you like that with just idle chit-chat," Blues reasoned, rubbing his chin, "Imagine what she could tell us about the inner workings of the Virtuloid ranks, or even Masterframe itself."
"It's promising alright," said Roll cheerfully.
Suddenly, the dim lightbulbs that illuminated the room lit up brightly. "Ow," Roll murmured, shielding her eyes, "Jeez, that's bright..."
"It's been awhile since they've seen light this bright," Blues muttered, looking at Rock after glancing at Roll.
"They?" Rock asked.
Blues replied calmly, "I'm blind."
Rock's jaw dropped silently. He gazed at Blues, and suddenly realized that Blues could not gaze back. "But- then how did you know I had green eyes?" Rock asked.
"Auto told me," Blues replied placidly.
"Oh," Rock murmured, flushing red with sheepishness. "I was wondering why you wore sunglasses in this dark hideout."
"These aren't sunglasses," Blues said, "These are audio-wave receptors." When Rock gave Blues a confused look, Blues said, "You know how a bat sees in the dead of night? It sends out super-high sonic waves that bounce off objects and back to it. These glasses are doing that right now, and they're giving my brain a picture instead of using my eyes. Oh, and Roll, you left the CPU out of the recharger jack again."
"Did I? Oh," she murmured, reaching below the kiosk and fiddling with an assortment of switches.
Rock rubbed his eyes and slouched deeper into the chair. "I'm sorry Blues," Rock groaned, "I just... need some time to adjust... to everything."
"I understand," said Blues, "It's not every day that a guy gets brought back from the dead to save his fellow men." When Roll cleared her throat loudly, Blues added, "And women."
Just then, Auto came back into the room, wiped his forehead and let out a heavy sigh. "The caps are installed," he said. "This batch should last us for another few years."
"Another few years?" Rock asked. "Just how long have you been hiding down here?"
"Six years, four months, and seventeen days to be exact," Blues said quickly.
"And we're hating every minute of it," Roll pouted.
Suddenly, a faint bleeping came from Blues' wrist. "It's ten o'clock," said Blues, looking at his watch, "Time to pack in."
Roll put her headset on the counter of the kiosk, stretched her arms and yawned. "Good," she murmured, standing up and stretching her back. "Night, Rock."
Auto had already vanished from the room and Roll did soon as well. Just as soon as Rock stood up, Blues said, "I'll show you to your quarters, Rock. Believe me, you'll need all the rest you can get."
The cannon reverted back into a giant hand, and Rock was soon looking into the sparkling green eyes of another humanoid. "Them?" Rock asked. "Oh, you mean humans."
"Of course," said the android, hopping over the boulder and landing beside Rock. The lean and slender armored body modelled like a woman brushed her long blonde hair off her shoulders. "We got a few reports that one of them was raiding the fuel plant."
Rock looked at the large factory in the distance, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "Human? I doubt it," Rock grinned knowingly. "Those weaklings couldn't even dream of doing something like this."
The android beside him giggled. "You'd be surprised what those humans are stupid enough to try," she said. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name's Marie. What's yours?"
"Rock."
"Rock," Marie pondered. "I haven't seen or heard of you before. Are you one of the newer Virtuloids?"
"You could say that," Rock said.
Marie looked back at the factory. "What are you doing out here?" she asked, stepping forward.
It was that sudden image of Marie's face accented by the slowly setting sun that made Rock's memory jar. A flash of another woman, almost exactly like Marie, raced through his head and vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Something wrong?"
Rock blinked and shook off his daze. "What are you doing here?" Rock quickly answered Marie with another question.
"I asked you first," said Marie.
"Damaged," Rock said, tapping on the slightly discolored part of his armor. "I caught wind of something happening in the factory an hour ago. When I got in, the drones in the factory turned against me."
Marie blinked in disbelief. "Those wimpy little drones did that to you?" she asked skeptically.
"You try fighting off two hundered at once," Rock retorted.
"The drones turned against you?" she asked, "How?"
"Whoever's raiding the factory must have something to do with it," Rock played along.
"Oh, well it's a good thing you didn't run into the main security turret in the fuel cap storage chamber," Marie said. "Last time that thing went bezerk, it wiped out an entire platoon."
"Lucky me," Rock muttered. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, perimeter patrol," she replied. "I just wait around places like these when we're flushing out humans. Some manage to get away sometimes, and when they think they're safe..." she said, quickly dragging her thumb across her throat, grinning.
It took all of Rock's willpower to stop himself from shivering. "You want to know what I heard?" Rock said, quickly changing the subject. "I heard that some of them were looking for other dead humans to make into a super-powerful robot."
Marie looked at Rock in dumbfounded confusion, and then she burst out in laughter. "God, that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard," she laughed.
"Yeah, stupid isn't it?" Rock grinned, laughing along with and at her.
Marie's laugh faded into a sigh as she glanced at a small device on her wrist. "Oh, it's already time to give it in," she said. "I guess there's no humans for me to axe today," she sighed, dissapointed.
"Tommorow's another day," Rock hummed, trying his best to maintain his composure.
"Well, I'm off to the factory to help clean up the mess. Coming?" she asked.
"I'd love to, but I've got to be somewhere soon," Rock replied.
"Oh," said Marie, a little wishfully. "Well, I hope I'll see you around again sometime," she said, sprinting towards the factory, "See ya!"
"Likewise!" Rock waved after her. As soon as Marie was but a shadow at the gates of the distant building, Rock breathed, "Even the female Virtuloids are cold blooded."
"Hey Rock!" Roll's voice cheerfully piped from his helmet, "The generator's got enough power to bring you back. Do you still have the caps?"
Rock rolled the boulder over with his foot and picked up the crate from the ground. Putting his helmet back on and holding up the crate, he said, "I've got them."
Before he could say another word, Rock was whisked away into thin air.
*****
Rock quickly found himself in the dark underground bunker again, stepping out of the coffin-like machine with the crate under his arm. "Welcome back," said Roll, smiling at him from a computer kiosk at his right, taking off her headset.
"The caps?" Blues asked, standing in front of him with Auto.
"Right here," said Rock, patting the crate gently with his other hand.
"I'll take those," said Auto, taking the crate from Rock, carrying it like a barrel across his chest, and quickly disappearing into the depths of the hideout.
"I take it you're not too damaged?" Blues asked clamly, looking at Rock's melted shoulder armor and the blemish on his side.
"Just a little tired," said Rock.
"Well rest up," said Blues, "You've got a big day tommorrow."
Rock sighed and pulled up an empty chair beside Roll. "How do you like your new body?" Roll asked.
"Awesome," Rock grinned.
"Good," said Blues, "because now I think we'll need it for more than just fighting."
Rock looked up at Blues inquizitively. "What do you mean?" Rock asked.
"It seems like you're new Virtuloid-like body has helped you make yourself a new friend," Blues said.
Rock's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
Roll tapped on her headset in her lap. "I heard it all, you know," she said.
"If you could get that female Virtuloid to open up to you like that with just idle chit-chat," Blues reasoned, rubbing his chin, "Imagine what she could tell us about the inner workings of the Virtuloid ranks, or even Masterframe itself."
"It's promising alright," said Roll cheerfully.
Suddenly, the dim lightbulbs that illuminated the room lit up brightly. "Ow," Roll murmured, shielding her eyes, "Jeez, that's bright..."
"It's been awhile since they've seen light this bright," Blues muttered, looking at Rock after glancing at Roll.
"They?" Rock asked.
Blues replied calmly, "I'm blind."
Rock's jaw dropped silently. He gazed at Blues, and suddenly realized that Blues could not gaze back. "But- then how did you know I had green eyes?" Rock asked.
"Auto told me," Blues replied placidly.
"Oh," Rock murmured, flushing red with sheepishness. "I was wondering why you wore sunglasses in this dark hideout."
"These aren't sunglasses," Blues said, "These are audio-wave receptors." When Rock gave Blues a confused look, Blues said, "You know how a bat sees in the dead of night? It sends out super-high sonic waves that bounce off objects and back to it. These glasses are doing that right now, and they're giving my brain a picture instead of using my eyes. Oh, and Roll, you left the CPU out of the recharger jack again."
"Did I? Oh," she murmured, reaching below the kiosk and fiddling with an assortment of switches.
Rock rubbed his eyes and slouched deeper into the chair. "I'm sorry Blues," Rock groaned, "I just... need some time to adjust... to everything."
"I understand," said Blues, "It's not every day that a guy gets brought back from the dead to save his fellow men." When Roll cleared her throat loudly, Blues added, "And women."
Just then, Auto came back into the room, wiped his forehead and let out a heavy sigh. "The caps are installed," he said. "This batch should last us for another few years."
"Another few years?" Rock asked. "Just how long have you been hiding down here?"
"Six years, four months, and seventeen days to be exact," Blues said quickly.
"And we're hating every minute of it," Roll pouted.
Suddenly, a faint bleeping came from Blues' wrist. "It's ten o'clock," said Blues, looking at his watch, "Time to pack in."
Roll put her headset on the counter of the kiosk, stretched her arms and yawned. "Good," she murmured, standing up and stretching her back. "Night, Rock."
Auto had already vanished from the room and Roll did soon as well. Just as soon as Rock stood up, Blues said, "I'll show you to your quarters, Rock. Believe me, you'll need all the rest you can get."