Chapter 26: Barricade

Quote barely even had a moment to look at the "tank" before Malco stuffed the items he'd been carrying into his arms and ran up to inspect it. He took the time to reload his missile launcher with the rounds provided and fiddled around with the "Mk. 2" attachment until the weapon had been upgraded. Now, if the message relayed by a screen on the device indicated was true, it could target multiple enemies at once, fire up to three missiles simultaneously, and even had a homing mechanism. Curly whistled, just as impressed with it as he was.

He looked at the last item Malco had given him. Like the enhancement to his missile launcher, it was a device that appeared to plug into a weapon. However, the bright red box (which had "Snake Rifle" printed on its side) didn't fit into any of the guns he carried, and there was no way it could be applied to King's sword. Quote stared blankly at it for a moment, then its vibrant color gave him an idea. It matched the paint job on Curly's weapon perfectly.

"Hey, can you put this in your gun? I think it was meant for that."

Shrugging her shoulders, she did as asked. The attachment fit perfectly into a slot on the side of her machine gun, which made a slight whirring sound as it updated itself.

"Wonder what this thing does. Did Malco tell you?"

"No, he dumped all this stuff with me and ran off to look at the tank,"

Curly chuckled.

"Can't say I blame him. C'mon, let's go check it out."

The enormous vehicle was shaped like an X, with four metallic arms connecting the treads to the cavern floor and ceiling. Its boxy, orange center had multiple ridges and small openings in its exterior shell, with one large hole having been blasted open in the hull. Small cannons lined the sides of the core, each pointing outwards. Almost every part of the tank was heavily rusted or damaged, presumably having not been used in years.

"Amazing! I remember seeing a file on this a few hours ago. It's called the Tunnel Prowler, and it was apparently used for various demolitions during the war."

Malco's voice came from the other side of the tank, as he was busily examining an exposed circuit board.

"It doesn't look like it's moved since the war, and it's pretty beat-up, but if I can manage to reactivate it then we may be able to put this thing to good use. Who knows? Maybe it has enough firepower to destroy the boulder obstructing our exit!"

Quote looked further down the tunnel, where- sure enough- the way forward was blocked. The enormous rock was twice his height and at least five times wider than him.

"Couldn't I just blow it up with the missile launcher?"

"Aw, where's your sense of fun?" Curly asked. "There's a tank here, so we should use it. We can't just pass up a chance like this!"

"In the interest of time, you can give it a try if you wish."

Stepping closer to it, he knelt down and took aim. The boulder looked like it had weathered countless attempts to be moved, but that didn't deter him. Quote pulled the trigger, releasing a missile that violently exploded on contact with his target. To his frustration, once the smoke cleared it was obvious that he'd failed to destroy the rock, or even scratch it for that matter.

"What's this thing even made of?!"

Malco, from behind the tank, gave a disappointed sigh.

"It seems this vehicle is completely inoperable. That's a shame, I was hoping we'd be able to use it… oh well."

He rejoined the two soldiers, staring up at the obstruction in the tunnel.

"You failed to destroy it? Strange that it hasn't suffered any damage whatsoever."

"We could try pushing it out of the way," Curly suggested. "Let's move to the right of it and just shove as hard as we can."

Quote nodded silently, unable to think of an idea of his own. The three robots positioned themselves beside the boulder and placed their hands on it.

"Ready? PUSH!" Malco cried.

The small tunnel was quickly filled by the sound of them straining to push aside the rock. Even with three people using all of the force they could, it didn't budge in the slightest. The only thing they were moving was the gravel and dirt beneath their feet. Before long they had given up their efforts, as it was far too heavy for them.

Curly panted hard.

"Well, that didn't work. Now what should we do?"

Malco gave an alerted beep and looked toward the ceiling.

"Get ready for trouble, it seems. I'm detecting Balrog nearby!"

Quote drew Polar Star from its holster in a flash as the suitcase-shaped entity crashed through the roof of the tunnel and landed a few yards away, just in front of the tank they'd been inspecting.

"There you are! I was wondering where Misery had sent you two… hey, since when did you have a third friend?"

He and Malco stared at each other, both with unfeeling expressions.

"Hold the phone," Balrog continued, "I know you. You were in the Bushlands earlier, right? You stabbed me in the back. Pretty gutsy if I do say so myself!"

Quote was growing tired of his nonchalant behavior and aimed Polar Star squarely at his large face. To his shock, Curly didn't react similarly. In fact, she was smiling eagerly at their foe.

"Balrog, you're just the person we need! This boulder's in our way, wanna help us move it?"

Both of the other robots as well as the Doctor's minion stared at her in disbelief.

"Curly, you can't really be asking him for help!" Quote exclaimed.

"For once I agree with soldier boy. Did you forget that we're supposed to be enemies when I hit you on the head?"

She didn't appear angry with Balrog at all.

"I'm aware of that. But if you're stuck down here too, then you'll have to leave this way at some point, and that means moving the boulder. Why not just help us escape in the meantime?"

He frowned at her.

"I can't just disobey the master. Misery and I are bound to his will whether we like it or not, and between you and me I don't like it. But there's nothing I can do. Besides, I can tunnel my way out of here through the ceiling, where none of you can climb."

Malco spoke up at last.

"This may not be my area of expertise, but I suspect you don't really want to fight us. If it is any compromise, you can move the boulder on your own accord and pretend we never met."

Balrog's frown evened out until his perfectly blank expression- which, Quote realized, bore an odd similarity to his own- returned.

"If you DO wish to fight, your odds against the three of us aren't good."

"…"

He lumbered past them to the boulder and, with a mighty grunt, shoved it aside easily. The effort didn't appear to cause him any strain whatsoever.

"I didn't see you, understand? Just be ready… if we meet again, I may not be able to show you mercy. I wish it didn't have to be like this."

Curly didn't look fazed at all, and just gave him a thumbs-up.

"We won't tell a soul. Thanks so much!"

Giving Quote one last glance, Balrog leaped up and vanished through the hole he'd arrived in. The three robots were alone again, looking into the tunnels beyond where the boulder had just been.

"You know… maybe he isn't such a bad guy after all," Curly remarked. "He's done terrible things, but if he's telling the truth then he didn't have a say in any of it. The Doctor is the one at fault here."

Malco nodded.

"All the more reason to bring him to justice. Now, those Gaudi said there is a nest of their violent neighbors up ahead. Are we ready to face them?"

"Locked and loaded," Quote replied shortly.

"Excellent. Let's move out!"