Chapter 29: Oppression

Curly didn't like to think of herself as a soldier. She had been built as one, and she was certainly a capable fighter when the need arose, but she tried her hardest not to fully identify with the concept. Knowing that she had most likely been a Mimiga-killer before losing her memory tormented her to no end, and only heightened her desire to be something- anything- other than what she'd been made for. Still, as she and Quote walked into the large chamber and stepped between the scrapped corpses of dozens upon dozens of soldier robots, she couldn't help but feel that some malicious force was out to get them personally.

Wreckage was thrown all over the tall, rectangle-shaped room. Rusted limbs, heads, and bodies with their false skin ragged and torn littered the dilapidated catwalks or floated gently in the water below- the bottom half of the chamber had flooded. More robotic body parts could be seen crushed under fallen rocks or metal support pillars, with some hands- whether or not they were still attached to their arms- clinging to broken guns.

Something had torn its way through these soldiers easily, and whatever it was could have still been there.


Quote was just as unsettled by the sight of so many dead robots, but his attention was on their surroundings. The room was extremely dark, with the walls being almost black in color and no light from anywhere other than dim red bulbs in sparse locations. Below the damaged catwalks, any light seemed to disappear entirely thanks to the murky water. Curly was the only thing he could clearly see in the chamber due to her vibrant blonde hair and pure white skin. Her eyes traced nervously over the wreckage and robot corpses.

"What happened here?" she asked aloud. "Was there a battle ten years ago?"

"That's what it seems like. I wonder what they were fighting… could it have been a rabid Mimiga?"

Curly shook her head.

"No. There's no way a Mimiga could have done this much damage, even with the red flowers."

"What are you two talking about?" Quote heard a voice ask in his head. "Let me connect to your photoreceptors and see with you."

"Wait," he warned, "Maybe you shouldn't-"

It was too late. Malco could see the destruction through his and Curly's eyes, and judging by his unnatural silence it was anything but pleasant for him.

"What is this?" he finally said. "Who could have done such a thing? So many soldiers… have they been here for the last ten years?"

The three robots were quiet, all contemplating the same question but with no clear answer. After a while, Malco spoke up again.

"The teleporter is almost ready… you two should come back now. It doesn't seem like you can go any further."

Quote wholeheartedly agreed. He turned back to the entrance and started toward it, eager to be out of there.

"Hold on," Curly said in an alarmed voice, "something's moving near you!"

On instinct, he whipped Polar Star out of its holster and visually searched the area for a possible enemy. He didn't find one, but he did see what she meant: one of the robots was slowly dragging itself along the adjacent catwalk inch by inch with a mangled hand. There was nothing left of it from the waist down, and one of its arms was also gone. All that remained of the soldier was charred dark gray save for a barely-visible red light in its eyes. Its outer layer of false skin had been blown off completely, revealing a horrifying skeleton of wires and metal rods. The robot appeared not to notice either of them until Curly rushed over to its side with a worried expression. Quote joined her, as it was in no condition to attack either of them.

"R-r-reinforcements…?" it choked out in a raspy male voice, though its lower jaw was snapped off entirely. "You are too late… our entire division has been wiped out. T-the enemy cannot be defeated with our current armaments… return to the surface and join the remainder of the army."

Somehow, it was functional enough to recognize them both as fellow soldier robots. Quote looked at it with a growing sense of dread. Just what had happened?

"I can't believe he has been operational all this time," Malco remarked in a quiet voice. "Perhaps he can tell us… what they were… fighting…"

His voice died down in the receptors of the pair. It wasn't immediately clear why, but before long Quote suspected he'd found the answer. He'd been so focused on listening to the robot's speech that he hadn't noticed a small "9" printed on its left temple in faded red ink.

"I-I-Inform the Malco-class units in Grove Outpost that Retrieval Team 9 has been terminated. For future operations, they are to be transferred to…"

The damaged robot continued rambling while he and Curly shared a look of horror. Malco had gone completely silent, but a subtle humming sound in their heads indicated that he was still linked to them, and for the first time Quote found himself genuinely concerned for his well-being.

"…and ensure that their mental stability is maintained. Excessive amounts of stress can cause their systems to go haywire, leading to potentially disastrous..."

"Let's get back to him," the female soldier whispered. "I can't imagine how he's taking this."

He discreetly pointed down at the robot, unsure of what to do about it.

"We shouldn't just leave him here," Curly admitted. "Even if he was fighting against the Mimiga, abandoning him would be wrong. Quote, can you pick him up by-"

Her instruction was cut off when the entire chamber began to shake. Floodlights along the walls went online, nearly blinding the pair with the sudden illumination. Worse still, the final blast door slammed shut to trap them both. Without a handle on their side, they couldn't pull it open.

"Alert! The enemy is aware of your presence! Evacuate the area immediately! Retreat! RETREAT!" the robot at their feet blared.

As the shaking worsened, Quote felt the platform he stood on coming loose. In a moment of blind panic he tackled Curly and dragged her back onto solid ground. He hadn't acted a moment too soon, as the catwalk crumbled apart and fell into the water below, bringing what was left of the damaged soldier with it.

"You need to get out of there!" Malco shouted into their receptors, finally speaking again. "There's an enormous magical force in the room! Hurry, you have-"

The audio crackled and stopped altogether from some unknown interference. Quote helped Curly to her feet and looked around for another way out of their predicament. He couldn't see one, but with the floodlights on he could see what was causing the chamber to rumble.


Back in the camp at the end of the Labyrinth, Malco had momentarily stopped working on the teleporter to take in everything that had just occurred.

Team 9… it was gone. All of the robots he had worked with ten years ago were destroyed or offline, with him as the only survivor. What purpose did he have now, if they were all gone?

Internally he realized that question was irrelevant. He could mourn his loss later, at that moment he needed to help the two robots that were still alive in the compound. Malco grabbed the Fireball and prepared to go after them, but paused in mid-step. He wasn't built for battle like they were, and against such a powerful enemy (whatever it was) he would only get in the way. Though it frustrated him to no end, he had to stay where he was and continue working on the teleporter. Once it was finished he could rush to their aid, and then the three could finally escape the Labyrinth.

"My friends… please be safe…"

Within his inner computer, a subtle anger at their whole situation slowly began to build.


Curly gripped her machine gun tightly as something enormous pried itself free from the wall on the opposite end of the room. It was at least ten times her size, but describing it was difficult due to its bizarre appearance. The… thing was shaped like an oval with large, wispy spikes protruding from the front. Its entire figure was covered in yellow-brown moss that seemed permanently affixed to it due to age. A wide hole shaped like an eerie smile was visible on the front of the creature, and inside countless pale blue eyes peered out at the soldiers. Their new enemy was surrounded by five smaller versions of itself which hovered defensively in front of its "face."

"We'll have to fight our way out of here," she said with a shaky but determined voice. "Doesn't matter how many soldiers this thing's destroyed, we still have people counting on us. You with me, Quote?"

"I am. Based on how those small ones are floating, I think its weak point is that patch of blue eyes."

The gigantic mossy creature emitted a low but powerful roar from somewhere on its body once it had broken free of the wall. Curly steeled herself for battle, not feeling confident in their odds but nevertheless ready to give it everything she had.

At her side, Quote was testing his theory by firing Polar Star at the beast's center. The first few shots slipped past the smaller creatures and struck the large one's eyes with impressive accuracy. However, the damage done appeared negligible; it was still slowly moving toward them. Moreover, the miniature beasts repositioned themselves to better protect their leader.

"Split up!" he said, running onto the scaffolding on the right side of the room. "If you can distract those small ones I'll be able to get a clear shot!"

Curly nodded and took the opposite path, standing on a stable enough catwalk. She opened fire on the creatures with her upgraded machine gun, aiming for the defenders to get their attention.

"C'mon, you… uh… stupid moss bags! I'm over here!"

They responded to her attack by scrunching themselves up before releasing a white blur of a projectile from each of their eyes. She just barely managed to dodge them, rolling aside and feeling their heat scrape past her. Jumping back to her feet, Curly shot at them once again to give Quote more time. The smaller beasts had evidently grown annoyed with her, as two of them began approaching while still returning fire.

"At least they're further away from the main one… except now they're coming for me!"

Once her machine gun needed a moment to cool down, she started to backpedal across the catwalk away from the aggressive orb-creatures. They pursued her slowly but relentlessly, and their energy shots were more accurate than she'd initially assumed. Two or three of them managed to strike her in the chest at the same time, knocking her to the ground with a searing pain. The attackers closed in on her, but stopped when a series of explosions rocked the chamber, followed by an enraged roar from the main beast.


Quote had put his partner's diversion to effective use, managing to go unnoticed by the defenders and reach a better vantage point. Settling into a kneeling position, he waited for all five of the small creatures to move away from their leader and unloaded every missile left in the launcher. He couldn't hold back a satisfied grin as he landed seven direct hits in the center of the large beast and listened to its roar of pain.

Unfortunately, that grin faded quickly when the ones protecting it realized where he was and turned to focus their energy shots on his position. Quote scrambled to his feet and leaped off the elevated platform he'd been standing on before the white-hot projectiles utterly demolished it. He landed on the catwalk just below, using Bubbline to rain more attacks on the largest creature.

"What is this thing, anyway? It's like nothing we've ever seen…"

He noticed Curly still holding her ground against the opposite wall, attempting to score a few hits of her own while the defenders were preoccupied with him. Quote noticed that they appeared to act as one for the most part and would focus all their attention on whoever attacked their leader. If that was the case, then he'd just found an easy solution to the fight. All he and Curly needed to do was alternate between distracting them and firing on the large creature. Sadly, he hadn't counted on the beast itself to begin attacking.

With another mighty roar, it unleashed a blast of white energy which was even bigger than its five defenders. Quote watched in horror as it exploded mere yards from where Curly was standing, destroying her platform and sending her plummeting towards the water with a startled cry. He didn't even have a chance to see if she was okay, as the six creatures had turned their full attention on him and sent a barrage of their projectiles his way.

If what Malco had said was correct, his partner's Air Tank should have activated once she became submerged. She would be safe in that regard, but he didn't know the extent of her injuries from that last attack. Quote weaved between more of the white-hot energy balls, grimly aware that if she couldn't make it back up to his position soon he might not be able to defeat their enemy.


Curly only felt the water around her for a moment before, as expected, the device implanted in her lower back formed an air bubble around her whole body. It also appeared to negate any liquid friction, allowing her to move freely without being hampered by the pressure. The only downside was that this lack of friction caused her to land much harder than she should have on the flooded chamber floor. Her entire body was stinging from the sudden energy blast she'd taken, and her back ached even more thanks to that landing, but from what she could tell her injuries weren't serious.

Gripping her weapon anxiously, she looked for a way back up to the arena. Even underwater she could still hear Quote's gunfire and the roars of the large creature, stressing the need to get into the fight again. Her eyes landed on a pile of sunken rubble which formed a hill leading toward the surface of the water.

"I hope he's doing okay…"

He wasn't, as another quake rocked the area and her partner suddenly fell into the water with her. Curly gasped in terror and ran for him instead while he struggled to swim. She gave him a hard tap on the shoulder and pointed to the hill.

"We can go back up this way. Hurry, before you get too much water in your body!"

Quote couldn't speak with his mouth tightly shut, but he nodded to show he understood and trudged after her. It pained her to watch him slowly fight his way through the water, holding his breath as much as he could. Curly had eventually gotten so nervous that by the time she'd made it up the hill she grabbed onto his waist and all but pushed him onto dry land. Water leaked from every small crevice on his parts, but at least he could breathe again.

The massive orb-shaped creature gave another roar, furious that they'd survived, and did the last thing she had expected: it stopped levitating and fell straight down into the flood with her. Curly didn't react fast enough to avoid the resulting enormous wave, which threw her high into the chamber.

Her panic as she began to plummet back down halted when she realized that she now had a clear shot at the beast's eyes. Its defenders had submerged with it, so there was nothing to stop her other than her own fall. Lining her sights up quickly, she rained down countless shots on the target's face. Perhaps by dumb luck, not a single one of them missed. Curly didn't have time to enjoy the agonized roaring, and instead tensed up in anticipation of her hard landing.

It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would when she finally collided with something solid. Her body was certainly feeling it, but somehow she'd managed not to snap any of her limbs in the fall. Of course, that was thanks to what had broken it.

"Ugh… are you okay…?"

Quote was on his back below her with his arms still grasping onto her body. She stared in bewilderment at the pained look on his face before realizing that he'd dropped all of his weapons and dove to catch her.

"O-oh, god! You didn't need to do that!" she sputtered.

"I'll be fine… we should move before that thing shoots at us again."

Curly got off of him gently and looked around. All five of the small beasts had stopped moving altogether, laying scattered around the chamber (with one even floating in the water below). The large one, meanwhile, had not risen from where it fell and was quivering violently. More incoherent growls and roars echoed from its body, but it wasn't attacking them anymore. In fact, its body sported a considerable amount of damage from their combined efforts.

"I think we did it!" she said with a sigh of relief. "We beat it, Quote!"


The male soldier sat up, groaning from the force of Curly having landed on him. Not that he was angry, he'd intentionally caught her and would do it again if he needed to. Still, it left a great deal of pain in his chest and arms.

"We won?"

Quote looked at the beast with her, noticing its bits of scorched moss and red, injured eyes.

"Heh… yeah, we did it!" he said with a more confident tone. Somehow, they'd managed to survive and avenge Malco's old team.

Curly helped him get to his feet, at which point an idea came to him. He extended his flat palm in the same way that she'd done earlier with a grin. While she gave him an odd look at first, she responded to the gesture by slapping her own hand against it and beamed at him. Quote didn't exactly understand the point of it, but seeing how happy she looked was worth it in his view.

The brief moment of triumph hardly lasted a minute. A familiar humming sound rang through the air above them, and he looked up with a grimace to see Misery emerging from a teleportation nearby. She was staring at the defeated creature with an enraged snarl.

"Aaargh! How did you manage to injure it?!"

Curly had noticed her as well and glared up at the witch.

"You! You're one of the Doctor's minions! The Colons had better be safe, you hear me?!"

"SHUT UP!" Misery almost screeched, now looking at her and Quote. "You're no mother, you're a stupid machine who almost killed them just now!"

He saw his ally freeze with a worried expression.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you even know what this is?!" their enemy hissed, pointing at the recently-defeated creature. "It's the Core! If it's killed, this whole island will fall to the Earth below! Everyone here will die, understand?!"

Thinking back, Quote remembered hearing a Gaudi mention something about not disturbing whatever was keeping the island afloat. He would have gone pale in the face if his skin was any less white as he realized the gravity of what they almost did. Neither he nor Curly responded, which led to the blue-haired witch's expression only growing more frustrated.

"You didn't even think about it, did you? You just barged in and shot everything you could see. This is why I HATE robots!"

The ring of a second teleportation sounded, and Quote looked above the damaged Core to see the very last person he wanted to meet again hovering as well. From his white coat to the ugly blue helmet he wore, there was no mistaking his identity.

The Doctor was back.