Chapter 27: Fight as One
Curly took the lead, charging into the cavern with an excited cheer. She couldn't wait to test out the upgrade Malco had gotten for her gun, and was so eager to do so that she got quite a ways ahead of her friends before realizing it. The soldier sheepishly rubbed behind her head with an apologetic smile as they finally caught up, both holding their own weapons.
"You're lucky you didn't disturb anything just now," Quote flatly remarked.
"I have to agree with him. What if you were ambushed without backup?"
"Heh heh… sorry, I guess I got a little carried away. But I'm fine, see? Nothing to worry about."
They stayed together after that, advancing through the tunnel at a slower pace and keeping their eyes peeled for anything that might be awaiting them. Just before the wait started to get boring, Curly noticed a purple blob-like creature creeping toward them with an empty look on its face. She raised her machine gun, not sure what to make of the thing. It definitely wasn't a Gaudi, but it looked so harmless… that is, until its mouth opened to reveal several rows of sharp teeth. More creatures like it were popping out from holes in the ground, all snarling at the intruders.
She just smirked and cast a glance at her allies, ready for action.
"Critters," Malco commented, "but not like the ones in the Bushlands. These are exerting a far stronger magical energy."
Quote was hardly fazed. With the Polar Star in one hand and King's sword in the other, he moved ahead to engage them first. He fired off a few shots at the closest Critter, which didn't respond much and lunged at him. Acting quickly, the soldier slashed down on it with the sword. His swing was rather unimpressive, as he'd never used such a weapon before, but it was enough to cut straight through the monster's tough hide and put it down. Its cohorts charged forwards, only to fall as a line of yellow-tinted bullets came from behind Quote and wiped them out.
Looking back, he saw Curly staring at her rifle in amazement. The attachment Malco had found hummed lightly in the side of her gun.
"Whoa, I didn't think it would be this strong," she said aloud.
"I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't say anything. The Snake sacrifices the rate of fire a bit in exchange for much stronger shots. It also practically eliminates the rifle's cool-down period, so go all out with it!"
Malco stayed in the rear of the group this time, as he was the least armed and not built for combat anyway. He looked on in fascination as his two companions forged ahead through the Labyrinth, working with impressive coordination to deal with any incoming threats. Both soldiers blasted their way through the various monsters attacking them easily, but despite their performance Malco still found ways to contribute. His energy analysis kept the trio constantly updated on their surroundings, which came in handy on several occasions where Critters attempted to ambush them.
He didn't like to brag (well, maybe a little), but Malco found that when he was required to fight off an enemy that had gotten too close he displayed a respectable level of skill with his Fireball handgun. The few Critters that had made it past Quote and Curly didn't last much longer than that, as he would incinerate them with the scorching projectiles his weapon unleashed.
"Aha! Another one down!"
What he found most interesting was how well the two soldiers worked in tandem. They appeared to perfectly cover each other's backs and could react to just about anything at a moment's notice. Neither soldier often strayed more than a few yards away from the other as they forged ahead. It was as if, somehow, they'd formed a mental connection and could work in perfect unison.
They may not have been part of Malco's unit, but wherever they were from their creators had done a fine job in his opinion.
Quote sheathed King's sword and switched to wielding Bubbline alongside Polar Star. Double-checking to ensure that no more enemies were around, he looked back at Curly as she finished off the most recent Critter horde.
"Done! How many did you get?"
"I think twelve," he replied, "you?"
She gave a victory cheer.
"Sixteen! Looks like I win, buddy."
He couldn't help but grin at how ecstatic she looked. It was strange; for all that was at stake, Quote was enjoying himself at the moment. Maybe his programming as a soldier was the reason, but going through the Labyrinth alongside Curly and Malco felt oddly satisfying to him.
Still, he had to wonder how Sue, Kazuma, and Booster were doing back in Mimiga Village. They must have expected him and King to return already… did they know what had happened? Were they still safe? It troubled him endlessly.
"Quote, you awake? You're spacing out again."
He snapped his head up to show he was still alert, only to see Curly giggling softly at him.
"What's on your mind?"
"I was supposed to return from the Sand Zone a while ago. I'm wondering if the others I told you about are okay."
Her smile disappeared, and she solemnly looked down at the floor.
"I'm worried too, Quote… I've been worrying for the safety of the Colons all this time…"
Suddenly he felt bad for discouraging her. The tunnel went silent as all three robots trudged along with their respective troubles.
Silent, that is, until Malco chimed in.
"Chin up, friends. Our situation may be dire, but moping in this dark cavern won't solve it. If we stay motivated we'll all succeed in the end. I'm sure of it."
Quote admittedly felt better after hearing that. In such a trying time, it was comforting to have support in the form of his two allies.
"Of course, at this rate our current odds of victory are-"
"Maybe we don't need hear that," Curly remarked. "Let's just keep moving."
Giving both of them a confident nod, Quote marched onwards in higher spirits. He hadn't gone far before a new kind of enemy appeared to face them. The robots were being stared down by Gaudi of a blue-tinted variety, evidently the "neighbors" they were warned about earlier. Clicking their mandibles angrily, about ten of the large roaches positioned themselves to block the way forwards and even pointed stone weapons at them. More could be seen crawling out from behind the remains of heavily rusted metal structures; this too had evidently once been a camp during the war.
He wasn't deterred. The soldier held Polar Star and Bubbline at the ready, while his companions already had their respective machine gun and Fireball pointed back at the Gaudi.
"How about it, Curly?" he said with a smirk. "There's a lot of them… more than enough for the two of us. I still need to get you back for the Critters."
Quote watched as she grinned back at him confidently.
"It's on!"
It was possibly the most inopportune time to consider it, but Curly found herself wondering what would happen once this was all over.
Their goal was still clear: defeat the Doctor and prevent a repeat of the disastrous war a decade earlier. That was straightforward enough, even if they were zigzagging through an endless series of caves to do so. But after that… what was left for them?
She leaped clear over a small group of the hostile Gaudi and fired down at them, dispatching several immediately. Those left over attempted to give chase, but from somewhere to the side Malco finished them off with his Fireball handgun.
Malco… he continued to express his excitement at finding the other robots he'd arrived on the island with, and not even coming across the countless ruins of their former base camps seemed to make him any less enthusiastic. Curly didn't want to dampen his mood, but the further they went the more convinced she became that he was- for all intents and purposes- the last survivor of Retrieval Team 9. What would he do after their mission was complete?
Her train of thought was momentarily disrupted when a Gaudi managed to literally get the jump on her. It pounced onto her back, biting at her false hair with its mandibles and pinching at any skin it could reach. She hissed in pain and tried to throw it off, but the irksome bug held fast in its grip. Just as she was considering smashing her back into a wall, she felt the Gaudi suddenly let go of her and fall off. A look over the shoulder revealed why: Quote had shot it in the head. He gave her a brief thumbs-up before returning to his own fight.
Quote… he had nothing to return to, didn't he? Curly still had the Colons- once they were rescued she could go back to living with them, and possibly even more Mimiga- yet he seemed to be in this just to "do the right thing." It was admirable to put so much on the line despite no personal benefit, without a doubt, but when that was taken care of he had nowhere to go. From what he'd explained to her earlier, not a soul knew who he was or where he came from. He was nobody.
"Not to me, he's not…"
She paused. Had she said that out loud in her deep thought? A quick glance around showed that neither of her friends had overheard, and instead were continuing to press onward. Curly, for some reason she couldn't explain, felt as if she would've been hugely embarrassed if one of them had caught what she said. Shaking it off, she ran after them and rejoined the fray.
Quote had taken to running along the top of a rusted-out building which matched the new color of the surrounding tunnel. Being surrounded by a warm red as opposed to dusty brown was a welcome change of scenery, but he had to admit he was beginning to get tired of that tunnel. Malco, sadly, couldn't predict how far the exit was.
He holstered Polar Star and wrung his right hand for a moment. The pistol was still serving him well, but his trigger finger needed a break from it. Reaching to his waist, Quote drew King's sword once again and slashed through more Gaudi attempting to attack from behind.
"Hey, I'm at twenty-three!" he heard Curly shout from the opposite side of the abandoned camp, having copied his idea of staying on higher ground. "What about you?"
"I'm not telling you!" the soldier called back, shooting through another cluster of the roaches with Bubbline.
"Aw, why not? Am I beating you again?"
"You don't need to know that yet. Focus on the fight at hand!"
Twenty-three… she was beating him. He needed to pick up the pace. Quote spun on his heels and took down his eighteenth enemy by ramming the hilt of the sword into its head.
Inwardly, he felt bad about having to kill these Gaudi. Even if they were hostile and unwelcoming, they still closely resembled the ones they'd befriended earlier. He forcibly reminded himself of the distinction between the two groups, which at least diminished his guilt.
As much as he was enjoying their romp through the Labyrinth, he could only hope that the others in Mimiga Village were doing well on their own. The situation at hand couldn't be taken lightly, no matter how good the company was.
