"Mai!" Naru yelled as he struggled against the armoured human blocking his path. How had she managed to get inside? What was she thinking? He raised his arm to block the muzzle of the rifle as it was jerked towards him. The human was knocked off balance, but quickly recovered. Naru wasn't a combat model. He hadn't been designed with the ability to fight. He stumbled to the side with a grunt as the human swung the butt of his rifle at his chin. He staggered and held the injury before grabbing the weapon. The human would surely turn it on him if he pulled free. He held on for dear life as he was shaken this way and that.

The whole time, his eyes returned to Mai. He continued to try reasoning with the armoured human. He told him over and over that he had to stop the machine. Mai was a human. He had to listen to him. She was going to be killed. Either the human didn't believe him, or he wasn't listening as they fought. The androids closest to them had stepped back. They were looking at each other, wondering whether they should intervene and help. If they subdued this human, then the others may back off and let them go in exchange for his safety, but there was an equal chance that they'd open fire. Two other men were already pushing their way through the crowd to reach the NA200 as he fought.

"Stand down! Stand down or we'll shoot!" another voice yelled, his rifle already raised and aimed at Naru from one of the walkways above. He didn't open fire. He couldn't. Not with his colleague so close. A couple of deviants did their best to innocently block the shot, forcing the human to alter his aim. Naru was desperate. Mai had already been lifted off her feet. He almost froze in horror as he watched. Everything seemed to slow as the connector drew back and snapped forward into the base of Mai's skull. He felt his thirium pump stutter, his LED flashing red as he yelled.

Naru's cry had barely left his lips when a deafening alarm sounded. The shrill pitch almost blew out his audio processors. Naru was jostled by the hoard of androids. The human he'd been wrestling with stumbled back as everything ground to a halt. It was bizarre as the humans processed what was happening. The androids were faster. About ten of them threw themselves at the machine holding Mai. All of them were non-deviants, programmed to assist any human in need. There was confusion between the armoured men as a pre-recorded voice rang out.

"Warning. Biological matter detected in rig two-three-four. Emergency shut down in progress. Warning. Biological matter detected in rig two-three-four. Emergency shut down in progress." It repeated the message over and over. Naru couldn't allow himself to hesitate. He forced his way through the stunned crowd to the spider rig, where the androids were tearing the metal limbs down in twos and threes. The androids on either side were left hanging limp until the machines could be reactivated, or a few of them managed to slip down if they hadn't been fully connected yet.

"Mai!" Naru cried as he pushed through. He helped another android to lower her body to the cold metal floor of the pod. Since Mai had been freed, the non-deviant androids ambled back to their previous positions, awaiting execution without a care in the world. "Mai…" Naru trailed off worriedly, resting a hand on her bare shoulder. He barely registered as a female android knelt on Mai's other side. He could barely focus as he took in Mai's pale skin. There was blood dripping to the floor beneath her head, where the connector had been snapped off. The jagged end was still embedded in her neck. It wouldn't be safe to simply pull it free.

"You know her? Do you know her medical history? I'm a doctor," the android said, understanding as Naru shook his head numbly. He was clearly in shock at what had just happened. Had the machine not been stopped, the human girl would be dead. She may still die if they didn't get her to a hospital and have her neck seen to. She wasn't sure whether it had been broken on impact, but the nerve damage was likely extensive. Naru looked up at the medical android, only able to register her green eyes since they were without skin and hair.

"Sh-she runs a coffee shop. She shouldn't be here…She shouldn't be here…" Naru stammered as his plastic hands trembled and gripped Mai's limp hand like his life depended on it. The android nodding her agreement as she felt behind Mai's neck with a frown. She looked down intently, likely running some medical scans. She shifted her fingers and tightened her grip on Mai's slick skin, feeling the red blood slow as she pinched down around the intrusion. She didn't note any breaks in the bones, though a couple segments may have shifted alignment. They wouldn't know until she'd had an x-ray to confirm.

"Someone call an ambulance! This human requires immediate surgery!" she shouted, unsure anyone heard through the noise. It wasn't ideal. The humans were confused, and the deviant androids were in an uproar. This was their chance to do something and take over. A few had already started making a break for it. The humans weren't stopping them. They were too preoccupied with stopping the alarms and figuring out how much trouble they'd be in for this. The medical android cursed under her breath about useless humans and did her best to stem the bleeding while trying to call another android for help.

The only calm in the huge room came from the non-deviant androids, who remained patiently waiting in line as they'd been ordered. Over at the spider rigs, the braver deviant androids had decided to free their comrades. They were tugging at the mechanical arms, ripping them down. They were doing their best to break the machinery completely. Some of the armoured humans were yelling out orders for them to stop, but they didn't fire their rifles. That would only add to the chaos. They were also severely outnumbered. They had bullets, but they didn't have an indefinite supply. They were still reeling from the fact they'd somehow let a human get caught up in the machinery. As far as they were aware, every android was scanned in at the main gates.

Outside, a loud thrumming sounded. The medical android seemed relieved as another skinless android stopped by and reassured her with an interface. Help was on the way. Naru looked down at Mai, unsure what to do or say as her glassy hazel eyes stared up at him. She looked dead, but he could read her vitals. She was still breathing, but she didn't move. When he gripped her hand, she didn't even twitch in response. There was nothing in her face or body to tell him she was aware of him on any level.

"What happened? Why is she…" he trailed off, keeping a tight hold on her limp hand. He knew she was still mentally active. He could read the flow of her vitals. Her heart was racing almost fearfully. If she was scared, that was probably a good sign. It meant she was still in there somewhere, aware of what was happening. But why isn't she reacting? Why doesn't she say something?

"I think the machine severely damaged part of her brainstem, or at least some of the surrounding nerves…Her basic functions are still running on autopilot, but I have no idea how much is still working. She clearly can't move or speak, but I don't know if she can hear or see…If she's aware at all, she probably wants you to stay close," the medical unit added soothingly, knowing that Naru was going into his own form of shock. If he'd had skin, it would have been pale. He was shaking with overstimulation. His stress levels were approaching the eighties as his LED span red. Naru nodded his agreement as he raised Mai's hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. There was no way he was going to leave her side. They'd have to shoot him first. They looked up as the doors burst open and a blonde android strutted in with confident authority. A group of uniformed medical androids flooded in behind her.

"Emergency medical team. We're here for the human," the blonde android announced as she glided down the steps. One of the armoured men instantly fell in step beside her, giving her an update and leading her down like she was his superior. She nodded politely as he updated her before murmuring out a few quiet instructions. The man peeled off with a nod and disappeared into the crowd. "You have medical training. Please accompany us to assist," the blonde added kindly as she looked down at the medical android pinching Mai's injury around the shards of debris. The medic nodded her agreement before shifting to allow other medical androids to carefully get Mai onto a stretcher. She was already updating them, though her hand never left Mai's neck.

"Please, I don't want to leave her," Naru said desperately as he was pushed back. He recognised the blonde android as another RT600, like the one who'd been in the truck with them earlier. Her blue eyes dropped to Naru's hand, which still held Mai's tightly. She nodded with a kind smile. He was clearly young, in both android and deviancy terms. It was almost unheard of to find an android so attached to a human.

"Of course! Please, come this way." She gestured to the open walkway that led outside. A few more androids had made a break for the exit, but most were hanging back uncertainly. The non-deviants remained in line awaiting instructions, but a few deviants had slowly started to interface with them to spread the code. Naru got to his feet and rushed alongside the other androids as they carried Mai outside. He never let go of her hand.