-We have to save Goal- said Rufus in panic.

-Rufus, we have the codes, if we go out there we'll die- said Tony.

-But they have Goal!- he reiterated.

-yes, but they think she has the codes, whereas we have them, if we let them go now we'll have time to save ourselves- continued his friend.

-And are we leaving Goal in their hands?- he annoyingly asked.

-Rufus, they're not gonna harm her- tried to calm him down Doc.

-Don't you care at all that Patrick betrayed you?- he continued, always with a high pitch in his tone.

A lot of them bowed their heads.

-That was definitely a cheap shot…we couldn't have predicted it- said Tony, embittered.

-Now I see how he could always anticipate their moves- added Doc.

-Yes, but we can't think about it now! We need to think about escaping- said Tony.

-I don't give a shit about you plan, we have to think about Goal first!- burst Rufus.

-Our plan will allow us to save ourselves!- burst Tony in return.

-NO, your plan will only make you cowards who only think about saving their own skin- he retorted, furious.

Tony was about to say something but the words went the wrong way through her throat.

-She's the general's daughter, isn't she?- said Doc in an attempt to ease the discussion –they're not gonna hurt her-

Rufus glared at him.

-You're wrong! That Argus doesn't care, he may even…- he paused before saying that last word –kill her…-

-Rufus, if you go out there you might be the one to die- scolded him Tony.

Rufus closed his fists.

-I don't care- he looked at Tony with the same determination he had in his failing attempts to reach Elysium.

When she heard that words, Tony burst.

-SO YOU'RE GONNA THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY AFTER…- but she was stopped before she could finish the sentence.

-I DIED A LONG TIME AGO, TONY- said Rufus all in one breath –I'M JUST A LAB WASTE-

The girl felt terrified, how could she ever retort to such harsh words?

-as a matter of fact- he continued, lowering his voice –Ellie wasn't even my mother- he concluded with gritted teeth, as if he wasn't entirely convinced about those words.

That said and without allowing anyone to stop him, he ran toward the exit.

Tony turned, lighted a cigarette and crossed her arms, stomping her feet on the ground like she used to do when she was really nervous.

-Are you really gonna let him go?- sadly said Doc.

-If he wants to get killed for a girl he has just met, be my guest- she burst, but her look was very concerned.

At that point Doc took advantage of his short height to stare at her in the eyes.

She frowned.

-What?!- she said, annoyed.

He shook his head giggling.

-You're not good at lying, sweetheart-

Rufus was running towards the shuttle that had just landed on a square down the valley, oblivious to the small dwellings destroyed after the explosion he heard before.

-Goaaaal!- he screamed -Gooaaaal- he arrived short of breath.

Patrick was carrying Goal on his shoulder as an act of force.

-Rufus!?- said the girl panicking –Rufus go away, don't follow me- but Patrick closed her mouth with his hand, smirked and entered the facility.

-Well well, the little waste brother-

A voice came closer to Rufus forcing him to turn. Argus was in front of him, his face uncovered.

-but you always sneak on people's back- said Rufus staring at him intensely –you are…-he said trying to remember his name.

-Argus! I'm Argus and you're the one that nearly killed me on the tower- he said, annoyed.

-Hey, you're the one that took out the guns-

-Arguing with him is pointless, Argus, he's dumb just like his mother…- the voice came from the same monitor of that night, but this time an image was showing too.

-Father?!- exclaimed Rufus.

-Don't call me that, I'm not you father- said the man in the monitor.

Rufus gritted his teeth, had he been standing in front of him he would have probably punched him.

-I'm the supreme commander of the organon, Rufus- the man then spoke to Argus –Hurry up, I'm waiting for you on Elysium-

-You…damn you- said Rufus.

Argus sighed.

-Machina, take care of all the rebels- exclaimed Argus walking in front of Rufus and heading to the shuttle.

-Wait, give me Goal back! And who's Machina anyhow?-

Argus turned his head smiling maliciously, then he waved, Rufus looked behind him. There was a being, definitely not human, at least two meters tall and entirely made of metal, with an expression that wasn't reassuring at all. Now things were going to get ugly, Rufus thought.

Goal was pushed in a room, the door locked behind her.

-HEY LET ME OUT!- screamed the young girl.

-Goal, calm down- said Cletus, who was behind her.

-Cletus! CLETUS- said the girl –Please we have to save them, we have to help Rufus- she told him panicking.

-Why do you care so much about that waste of a human being?- he burst.

-He's not a waste, he's a person, Cletus! Your brother- she added in the end.

-I know…-he said looking away.

-Did you know about it?- she asked.

He shook his head.

-We've just recently found out we used to be three…-

The girl looked at him, Cletus wasn't lying. After all she had known him for plenty of years, if he had known about such a thing he would have told her.

-Both Argus and I grew up on Elysium since we were found fit to live there, there was a flaw in Rufus…he was more human, they told us-

-And what's wrong about that, Cletus!- the girl grabbed his arms, but he looked away –you're human too, you have a soul!- she said with certainty.

The boy didn't have the courage to look into her eyes.

The girl sighed.

-Who told you?- she eventually asked –Who gave Argus the order?-

Only in that moment Cletus looked at her.

-Your father, he's an ally of the supreme commander and of Patrick-

Goal opened her eyes wide and she let herself fall sited on the bed.

Her father? General Ulysses had always been so loving and kind to her…she couldn't believe it, but he was the only one who could give Argus certain orders.

-Your father was looking for an army he could use, without killing people among his ranks, so…-

-So the experiments started and 19 years ago they made you and created the organon- continued Goal with a low voice.

-Yes, the security forces are just robotic clones made for the only purpose of obeying to their commander- explained Cletus.

There was silence, too many notions for Goal to learn.

Her father had been in cahoots for 19 years to destroy the planet…But why waiting so long…

-Robotic…- muttered under her breath Goal, then she looked at Cletus –if they're robots, why did they experiment on you?-

The boy shrugged.

-Maybe we weren't up to their expectations…I don't know- Cletus looked out window that overlooked Krem. Goal moved closer to him.

Too many questions needed answers, answers that Goal would have found no matter the cost.

But now who would have helped Rufus and his friends?

-Machina won't leave tracks…it's the strongest mechanized weapon Elysium ever created, that Deponian…what does he think to do?-

Cletus was looking at Rufus, he couldn't understand what pushed him to anticipate his inevitable death.

-Cletus- Goal caught his attention, were those tears? –You can save him-

Rufus pulled back, but that thing was standing there motionless and it was rather scary.

-As soon as you're done I'll be waiting for you on Elysium and we'll start the operation- said Argus before entering the shuttle, the doors closed.

However the metallic thing didn't wait any longer, it moved closer to Rufus and strongly punched him in the stomach.

-Ouch…you could have at least…warned me- said Rufus with a broken voice, then it hit him again in the face, pushing him a few meters away.

Meanwhile Goal was watching it all horrified from the shuttle.

Rufus slowly stood up touching his face with the hand.

-Hey easy, I need this pretty face- he said breathlessly.

-You talk too much, you waste- spoke the machine.

-Ah so you can speak- surprisingly said Rufus.

-Sure, but I don't communicate with garbage-

-Are we done offending?- pointed out Rufus.

-You see? You don't realize, but you're the offense in this world- said the machine.

-It feels like talking to my father…- underlined Rufus.

-Mister Seagul programmed me, yes-

-You don't say…- concluded Rufus.

-And now I'm sorry but you and your rebel friends must die- the machine fling towards him but this time Rufus managed to avoid it rolling sideways.

-You think you can run forever?!- said the android.

-One can try!- answered Rufus in a hurry.

At those words the machine extended its left arm and grabbed Rufus by the throat. It slowly put him near itself.

-That's not fair!- said the boy while he tried to get rid of Machina's tight hold with his arms.

The android sneered, then its right arm turned into a long blade and it stabbed the boy with it.

Rufus didn't have the time to fight, or anyhow he couldn't have done that, that machine's strength was scary and its speed made it unpredictable. He only felt a strong heat where he had been hit, at the level of his eye.

Before pulling the blade out, the machine moved closer to his face, the blade, placed deeper and deeper, had Rufus spit a huge amount of blood from his mouth. Then Machina lifted Rufus bringing him to its own height, the boy instinctively touched the enemy's mechanic arm pointlessly trying to remove the weapon.

-You see- it whispered in his hear –you're so useless not even your friends came to rescue you, but they're hiding in their homes watching me kill you, unaware, or maybe not, that they're next and so they'd rather enjoy some other moments of life- he concluded distancing his face.

Rufus couldn't have retorted if he wanted to, words went down the wrong pipe and wouldn't come out.

He was starting to lose his strength, if at first his hands were tight on the mechanic arm now they had let go. If he kept on losing blood, not even his innate ability would have saved him.

-Here, die slowly without bothering anyone- harshly said the machine, pulling the weapon out with violence and throwing him to the ground.

Rufus lifted a hand, his sight was blurring and each sound was muffled to his hears.

Barely lucid, the boy slowly and hardly tried to stand up, all the weight on his legs and a hand pressing on the wound, he turned to Machina, blood running warm on his neck, dirty clothes, one step at a time he dragged himself towards it, struggling.

In that moment the battleship took off, raising a huge dust cloud while dark clouds concentrated in the sky.

-You're a strange human, I had been told you were flawed but I didn't expect you to look so desperately for death - sneered Machina.

After pronouncing those words, it pulled out a gun from the same arm it previously stabbed Rufus with, a laser gun that it pointed at him.

Whereas Tony, who had watched the entire scene horrified, couldn't stand looking anymore, so she started running toward Rufus. But Machina was ready to pull the trigger and…

FSHHHUM

Like a ray cutting through the air, the bullet went off like a shot, but…it hit Rufus only glancingly on the hat, making it fall.

-Ok, think it like that, he's my brother, ok?!-

Machina looked down.

Cletus deviated the shot with his stick, hitting the android's arm.

-Rufus- Tony was there on time to grab Rufus, who had reached his limit and fell to the ground.

-I'm sorry…- said the young girl in tears.

Rufus' eyes were dull and expressionless, the boy was gasping hardly.

In the meantime the first drops of water from the sky announced rain.

-To…ny?- said Rufus faintly.

-I'm here! I'm here now- said the girl, her voice shaking.

-Will you take care of him?- asked Cletus, without looking away from Machina.

Tony was still terrified.

-I was a coward- she said gritting her teeth.

-That's not time for remorse!- urged her Cletus –You have to get away from there-

The girl held Rufus, while the boy fainted after one last look to the weeping sky.

-How touching, I may puke- exclaimed Machina.

Cletus glared at it.

-Shut up, you mass of junk- he said scornful.

-Since when are you so sentimental?- retorted the android.

But Cletus didn't answer.

In that moment Bozo, who Doc ordered to do so, reached Tony, grabbed Rufus in his big arms and they went away together.

Machina sneered.

-Alone at last- immediately exclaimed the metallic thing, looking at Cletus like a lion does its unaware prey. Now Cletus knew that, if he wanted to win, he had to be smart, after all his adversary was just a machine.