Shell Shock

Writers: Denny and Leila
Rating: PG-RG
Warnings: Ratchet/Azimuth. Violence.
Disclaimer: We value our lives too much to even dare think about claiming Ratchet and Alister as our own. We borrow them for an RP, so don't worry. [Put the Wargroks back into your cage!]
Summary: Everyone's nightmare is to wake up in a cold, dark place without a clue where one is. Sadly, that's what's happened to us. What's even better, we have monsters and weird encounters to endure as well. And then there's them…
Lucky, right? If I ever get out of here, I will need some therapy sessions.

Chapter 5

-

Ratchet's suspicions were confirmed the next moment unfortunately. The form moved towards the workers, revealing a dome with gears and wires and bolts insides. With his arms clasped behind his back, the robot turned his head from one end of the lined up workers to the other, them shaking as his red optics narrowed. Untangling his arms, he jumped and threw his body forward the closest worker.

"WHAT. TOOK. YOU. SO. LONG, YOU MORONS?"
Both Lombaxes covered their ears, flinching at the shriek that Nefarious hurled out. Ratchet noticed from the corner of his view that Alister lowered the hand with his wrench, the limb shaking as his face contorted into a snarl even as his ears were still flattened against his head. When the elder crouched down, Ratchet snatched him around the wrist and pulled him down before he jumped their cover.

"What... Let go!" Alister hissed, taken by surprise and being pulled by Ratchet. He tried to free himself from the boy's grip, but it was surprisingly tight - no winding made it possible to break out. Only after they had vanished behind the corner once more, the elder could free himself, an infuriated glare in his eyes. "What was that for?"

"Do you want to get us caught?" Ratchet hissed back. He looked around and listened, tried even to smell if anyone was coming. Once he had confirmed they were still safe he turned back to the elder, voice still low but calmer. "I didn't see any guards but you can as hell bet they were close around. You said before we need to avoid a fight if it's possible - this isn't like Pollyx Industries where we or rather you knew against what we were getting against. We're now completely at disadvantage on ev'rything. Numbers, weapons, information - physical condition." He had problems to swallow with his slowly thickening, sticky-dry throat. When was the last time they had drunk something?

Azimuth listened to him, first unwillingly, then with his ears drooping as he realized the truth in the other's words. It was undeniable - they did not have the means to fight against their enemies, yet to speak of their physical condition. His attention stayed on the younger's neck, as he realized that he seemed to have problems with swallowing. They had to get water, quick -
... And he should maybe focus on something else.
"... So what should we do?" He asked as he looked aside, his gaze fixed on the corridor to the facility.

"I guess we have to work our way around." Ratchet hadn't noticed before due to his surprise to find this hall, but the heat seemed to suck moisture away with every breath he took. "Stay low so they don't see us and ring the alarms. Maybe we can get information by eavesdropping on Nefarious out there. We need to find out if they have organic people here they need to supply with water and food."

"... Sounds like a plan." The elder gulped, feeling how his throat turned drier with every word he said. "Let's go." Putting away his wrench, Azimuth slowly turned into the direction from which they had run away. With a quick wave he asked the younger to come with him as he examined the environment attentively. Right now they were rather well hidden, but that would change every second. They needed to move on; just to which spot? To a lower floor, probably - and as he realized, that factory seemed quite large. Now only to find a good climbing site...

"I don't care if the molecules are unstable, you should have finished this project two weeks ago!" Again Nefarious' voice hollered in a crescendo, thankfully not as loud as before. They could see him from the entrance as he towered over a prone worker trying to scramble away. Alister, still grim but calm this time, tipped Ratchet on the shoulder and pointed to a ladder leading to a platform two cubits beneath them. As they hurried to the ladder, Nefarious' words still reached them. The robot likely had screamed himself into rage and would go on for a time - maybe they would still catch some information even when they moved away from his direction.

"B... But sir... if the molecules are unstable this whole project could fall apart!"
"LIES!" Nefarious screamed, a crack in his vocal processors audible. "Are you defying my genius? Are you BOYCOTTING ME?"
Azimuth, as he reached the top of the next platform, dared a glimpse down. Nefarious had grabbed the worker at the collar, pulling him up into the air. Oh boy. More aggressive than normally.
"Could it be that you wish to be ANNIHILATED? If so, your wish has come true." Tossing the worker aside, Nefarious turned away, his voice as high as possible.
"ANNIHILATE HIM!"

A low humming started to fill the room, not unlike that of the nanosects from the Toxic Swarmers - just that the sound was much deeper. Ratchet felt his ears twitch as he turned his head back and forth and looking down he saw Alister's do the same. It was impossible for him to say where the sound was coming from; it seemed to flow through the whole room, around the cauldrons, the cranes he had discovered to the left, coming from the ground.

"O... Oh oh... NO!" The worker shivered as if he was the manifestation of shivering, his arms raised to cover his face. "Please... Doctor Nefarious! Please show mercy! I... I won't say anything against your plans ever again!"

"So you DID intend to boycott me!" The robot screamed, his optic twitching. "Then THIS is just what you deserve! INITIATE SUPER WAVY DEATH SCENARIO BEAM NUMBER 198!" And as he hit the button, the buzzing sounds around Ratchet and Azimuth seemed to be drained and focused right above the worker who, nearly scared of his pants, tried to take a run for it - sadly, before he could reach any significant distance, a blindingly flashing beam crashed down from the ceiling, filling out the whole room with its light. A scream was heard, and, as the light subsided, there was nothing at the spot where the worker had been.

"Now let this be a lesson to you all." Nefarious sneered before he turned back into the direction he had come from. "Now BACK TO WORK! I won't tolerate any more delays, you hear me?" And with that, he walked off the visible range.
... Not that either of the Lombaxes had been able to seen anything in their current position right now. It would appear to be a rather challenging task to do so if an 160 pounds heavy robot worker was lying flat on your body.

"Get off me!" Ratchet hissed wriggling on his back under the unyielding hard form of the robot. The cubic form he grasped his hand around at the clothed arm had confirmed but he didn't do more than groan, either because the beam had still hurt him somehow or because he was simply in shock or denial that he was still functioning.

"How about... both of you get off me?"
As the younger Lombax realized now, he and the robot were lying on the general who was on the ground with his back. Odd. Why had he suddenly turned on the visor on full reflection and was looking aside?
Too bad that the robot was still unconscious/believing that he was dead.

"Ugh, sorry General, I'll have him soon off. Just hold on a bit, err, down there." With that Ratchet writhed some more, slowly getting his arms under the robot.

Azimuth groaned. By the stars, does the universe hate me? It was already bad enough to have a robot crash out of nowhere on him - Ratchet luckily did almost weigh nothing compared to that. Meanwhile Ratchet twisted just like that it rubbed right through his armor over his fur and the skin beneath and the image coupled with the sensations the younger evoked involuntary, it all drove Alister nearly crazy in embarrassment.

"... Could you please hurry? The... Uh... robot isn't very light. Or so. Uh." Azimuth's fingers tipped nervously around on the ground, just to distract himself from the embarrassing situation they were in. Oh my, did the Lombax have to move up so that his face was over his? The elder couldn't help but look at the younger for the time being. Oh the embarrassment.

But it got even better.

As it seemed, the inner debate on the robot if he was dead or alive was over. A groan and yelp escaped his vocal processors out of relief. "I... I AM ALIVE!" He exclaimed, stretching his arms in euphoria. Nothing bad itself - if the robot's elbow hadn't hit Ratchet's back of the head as he did so. And so, the Lombax ended up with his mouth on Azimuth's.

Ratchet quickly pushed himself up on Alister's chest, away from the other's face. His whole head had turned into a light bulb, so hot it went to the tips of his ears as he stared at the elder's covered eyes. Alister's lips still were open, he too was panting and Ratchet stopped himself from licking over his own which tingled oddly from the contact. They stared at each other, not saying anything and the whole situation threatened to drift into awkward territory.
That was until the robot, in his ecstasy as he rolled of Alister, grasped around Ratchet.

For the brief connaissance with robot, Azimuth felt his first moment of gratitude towards the worker.
... Weighed against the other misfortunes the elder had had to suffer because of him, it didn't change the fact that Alister hated him now already.
Quickly the general sat up, seeing how the robot had wrapped his arms around Ratchet's torso, rolling on the ground like a Thyrranoid that had just found a new mud hole to roll in. His exclaims were no less enthusiastic either as they varied between "I'M ALIVE!" and "I LOVE YOU SQUISHIE!" all the time. For Alister, that scene was more than welcome as it distracted him from whatever sensation he had felt before. Even the tingling of his lips seemed to fade away as he chuckled over the amazing need for cuddles the robot displayed.

"LET GO OF ME, BLASTIT!" What the hell was it with people obsessed with physical contact with him since, err, around yesterday?

"But... But you're so squishy, Squishie! Just as squishable as life!" The robot whined, still not letting go. "I NEED TO SQUISH YOU FOR I SURVIVED!"
From the side, faint chuckling reached Ratchet's ears.

"Not funny." Glaring to the side, Ratchet glowered at the General. As answer he got only more chuckling and an amused smirk, the General enjoying the bizarre view. Huffing in annoyance, Ratchet crossed his arms or at least tried to as the worker still had his hug around them and his torso. At least it wasn't uncomfortable. The robot seemed to know how much strength he could apply without hurting him. Besides, and Ratchet calmed at the thought, the worker had every reason to be out of it - the beam was supposed to vaporize the target without a trace. If it teleported the people away and they landed somewhere outside the facility or ran away or hid in fear they could die still, nobody saw them being alive after vanishing inside the beam - and to the rest it seemed they had been annihilated.
"Is okay, calm down." Ratchet rolled his eyes but bent his restricted arm and petted the worker on his.

"You don't know how much this means to me! I am alive! Nefarious spared me, an inferior, useless robotic life form!" The robot went on, swirling around with Ratchet in his grasp. "I've never been so happy before! Do you know that feeling, Squishie? It's like renaissance! Wee!" The worker rubbed his cheek against Ratchet's, constantly humming. "I would love to kiss you, even!"

"... Now, now. We don't want to exaggerate it, do we?" Alister got onto his feet and reached out for Ratchet, pulling him out of the surprised robot's grasp.

"Hey, I wanted to squish him a bit longer!" The robot protested, sitting up. "He's so soft, kinda like a teddy - perfect to celebrate that I'm alive." For a moment he seemed to ponder something as he tilted his head and Ratchet wondered what came now. "Not that I wouldn't like to squish you anyway, you look really cute for an organic."
"Err, thanks I guess?" Ratchet replied, deciding the robot meant it as a compliment.

"... Really cute actually. Like a cuddly teddy bear." The robot tilted his head. "You sure I can't squish him a bit more?" He asked, this time his question directed at the elder who was still holding Ratchet at his wrist. "He's so cuddly after all."
"... I don't think that he'd like it." Alister replied, smiling secretly.
"Aww... Come on!" The worker whined, sobbing halfway. "Just a bit more! I'll answer all of your questions that I can answer - And..." Leaning in to Ratchet, the robot whispered something into his ear. "Even what my scanners see under your partner's clothes. Yup, they're just that good!"

"No thanks, I'll pass." Ratchet nearly reared back and scowled at the robot. Jeez, this one was either way out of it or wanted that badly to have him back for cuddling. A heavy hand on his shoulder startled him to Alister's annoyed expression.

Clearing his throat, Azimuth tried to ignore what he had overheard just now. "... Anyway. You are willing to answer any questions we might have?"
"Yes, yes! Quite sharp you are." The robot nodded with a wide grin on his face. "What do you want to know? I can tell you about it. Just let me cuddle him afterwards!"
"Hm..." Azimuth tapped onto his chin as he thought. "Well... Then let me ask you something. Do you have any water or food supplies in this facility?"
"What? What r? What is that what r?" The worker replied, blinking confusedly. "Is that some kind of upgrade you need for your armor?"

Ratchet slapped a hand over his eyes, shaking his head. Oh boy - the Lombax knew where this was going. Drawing his hand away, he bent his wrist outwards in an explaining gesture.
"He means H2O."
"Oh, why don't you say that right away you need something to drink?" The worker exclaimed in realization and Ratchet shook his head again. Robots.
Shaking standing up, the robot pointed down the gangway to several doors with blinking panels. "We have some organic fellows here who drink the stuff, the canisters for this section of the facility are over there."

"I see." Azimuth's gaze followed the robot's finger and rested on the containers a bit far away. "Then let's go there." He began walking into their direction, giving a sign to Ratchet as he did so. But, after a few steps the elder stopped and turned to the robot. "Why don't you come with us, um..."

"My name is FL-183F6EX. But my friends call me Bar. Like the Chocolate Barry Bar." The worker said with a chuckle.

"All right." Azimuth smirked faintly. "Bar, do want to come with us?"
The robot hesitated, shifting his weight from one side to the other. "I don't know really..."
"You can cuddle Ratchet all the time then."
"OKAY! I'M IN!"

"Hey!" Ratchet exclaimed incredulously. "You can't promise this him just like that, I didn't even ag-" He never finished the sentence as a hand snatched his wrist and Bar already pressed him against his chest again, cooing like a baby. Looking over his shoulder to the elder, Ratchet glared at Alister's amused smirk. This one corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other added even more smugness to the expression and the golden Lombax promised himself he would get the elder back for this.

"I see you are very content now, Bar. Why don't we go on?"
Despite the squees and wees coming from the robot, only a nod was given Azimuth as an answer. Said Lombax couldn't hide his wide grin anymore, especially as he loved the sight of Ratchet being cuddled.

Struggling as Ratchet might, Bar refused to release his hold even as he hobbled after the General. "I can walk myself!" He yelled against the chest and debated to manifest his Constructo Pistol to scare the robot - but he had another, non hurtful idea. He redirected his movements; instead of pressing against Bar's arms he wriggled down. A few seconds later, Bar looked down to see his arms empty, still locked in the same position as when he had been hugging the young Lombax.
"Miss me?" Ratchet grinned from the side at the robot who stared at him, then back at his empty arms, then back at Ratchet who had his hands behind his head.

Azimuth could barely hold his laughter, exhilarated by the scene before him. They better not go on... Or he'd-
"What! What is this sorcery?" Bar shouted in disbelief, still not trusting what he saw. "You can't be serious! Is there actually room for magic in this world?"
Now that did it. Alister could no longer hold back his laughter, laughing so hard that he had to crouch down. What an odd robot they had encountered, really - so odd that it was already too funny to describe.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just that good." Even Ratchet grinned at Bar's honest disbelief as he shrugged at him, but he frowned at Alister's outburst. He didn't mind it - far from it. Seeing the elder so carefree was a welcome sight and sound, the only time when he had seen him so open when Alister broke down in the other corridor before what the younger of course didn't want to see repeated. But the other's laughter was so loud, Ratchet wondered why nobody had found them yet, with how noisy Bar already had been. Maybe it was really safe up here, but the younger didn't want to push their luck. Striding over to Alister he pressed a finger against his lips, hushing. Trying not to look at Alister's lips.

Azimuth, who had been laughing contently all the way through, startled at the sudden touch at his lips. His laughing ceased immediately as his puzzled gaze met the younger's. Not because of the action was he confused though - it was because of this new yet familiar tingling sensation on his lips. ... Just like... Then.
A hushing sound came from Ratchet, with a supporting glare accompanying it. The elder blinked at him, startled yet again, this time by his voice.
... Why, what was with this situation? Why was he startled?

"I don't mind that you're laughing. Just please, don't do it so loud. That would be so ironic if we were caught now after Bar's jubilation didn't draw the attention to us." Ratchet spoke firmly, while his stomach knotted at the intent gaze of these amber eyes, combined with the contact of his finger with Alister's lips and the memory of what had happened only a few minutes ago. With an quiet, relieved sigh he drew his finger away - is it just me or did Alister's ears drop? Why does he look disappointed? - and he directed his glare towards the robot, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Apropos you - you should keep that volume of your voice processor's down or else Nefarious will likely learn you're still alive. Considering how mad he was before, I don't think he'd be pleased to hear about you again."

If the suit had been away, the Lombax was sure Bar's jaw just had dropped, if he had one. "... You... You are right!" Bar hushed. "God... I nearly threw my life away! AGAIN!" He whimpered. "I'm so careless... it was the same reason why I had been selected to be eliminated... Ah..."

"What was Nefarious so mad about anyway?" Uncrossing his arms, genuine curiosity spoke out of Ratchet's voice, his green eyes wide. Unstable molecules?

"I think we have time for this later." Ratchet turned to the General who was calm again, though smiling. "There's some water waiting for us, or have you magically obtained some and didn't tell me?"
Grumbling at the teasing he followed after the elder while Bar followed him, trying to whisper while it turned out a - at least - low call. "Hey, I can tell you now if I get a hug again? Please?"

"... Hm. Tempting offer indeed." Alister replied, smirking nearly deviously as he looked at Ratchet. "I'm sure he'd love to be cuddled again." At the sudden death glare coming from the younger his grin only grew wider.
"Really? YES!" Bar shouted, ready to jump onto the younger Lombax, but Alister stepped between them and shook his head with a smile.
"But... I think it'd be better if we got some water first."

"… I'll get you back for this." Ratchet muttered towards the General's back. He had flinched at Bar's enthusiastic jump so he was half grateful as the elder stepped into the way before his annoyance at him flared up again. The elder was teasing him for all it was worth. With a scowl he went before the others and he was he absolutely positive he could feel the elder's smirk at the back of his head.

"I can't wait to see that." Alister chuckled as he watched Ratchet stomp ahead. My, teasing him was really fun, wasn't it? Trying to suppress his smile, the elder followed the other Lombax, a Bar right behind him.

Ratchet felt even hotter in annoyance which sucked as the temperature made him already too warm. The armor's integrated cooling system could only do so much and when he concentrated on the canisters in front of them on the gangway to get Alister out of his mind for a few seconds, the thirst returned for true in his mind. Speeding up he jogged the last cubits, then stopped at the canisters looking for an opening to get the water out.

Bar tripled beside the Lombax with surprising lightness in his movements. He stared at the canisters which appeared to be sealed - probably to keep the water fresh.
"Wait a second, I'll open it." He reached behind the canister and pressed something, opening the lid as a result. Colorless, shimmering water was in there, red light reflecting on it as the fire in the facility was.
Alister reached the both of them and looked into the canister as well. Finally! Water! His gaze wandered to Ratchet who was staring at the liquid inside.
"... You first."

Ratchet looked at him first with his gaze asking "Are you sure?" before Alister nodded and lifted a hand over the water. Still hesitating Ratchet slowly leant over the canister, supporting himself against the smooth sides. He dipped his head to the surface and dived two hands into the water, relishing the cool feeling. Water drops splattered back into the canister as he pulled them out; he stared for a second at the quickly leaking liquid caught in his hands before he jerked them to his face, downing what was left. It flowed down his throat, cooling the burn and it tasted better than any drink he had ever had in his life - and it wasn't enough. He sunk his head to the water again and drunk directly from the surface, though not in frenzy with the first thirst quenched.

"He seems kind of thirsty." Bar remarked, watching the Lombax drink. "Much thirstier than the other squishies around here."
"Understandable." The elder replied. "We didn't get to drink anything since over a day."
"Really?" Bar eyed Azimuth. "Then you're thirsty too?"
"... Maybe." The Lombax crossed his arms sighing faintly. As if that wasn't out of question.

Ratchet ears perked and he lifted his head away from the water, some of it running down his chin and over his neck. He really wanted to drink more, his throat was all sticky now and swallowing felt weird but Alister needed it just as much as he did.
"Your turn now, General." Tilting his head to his companions he swallowed the last gulp.

"Thanks." The elder stepped beside the younger and looked at the canister before he bent down and started to drink as well. First slowly, then more and more the elder felt refreshed, the heat that had built up in him decreasing bit by bit.
As he was done, he straightened his back, stepped aside and wiped over his chin. He hadn't drunk too much, just enough to silence his thirst.

"Do you have some bottles near? We can't lug around a whole canister and either return here every time when we're thirsty." Ratchet's eyes flitted the gangway they were in to both sides, also peering down if anyone was maybe under them. Thankfully everyone seemed to have left after Nefarious outburst but Ratchet knew his general luck - only when you are out, cheer.

"You should be glad then that you have me here." There was no denying the grin Bar directed at him as he knelt down next to the canister. "Or else you'd have walked past without even noticing." He pushed with one of his three fingers against an indentation. It yielded against the pressure, then followed as the robot withdrew his finger. A drawer rolled out from the inside of the canister. Several blue bottles stood there, waiting to be filled.

"Wow, quite a service for a facility working for Nefarious." Ratchet still didn't hesitate to grab one bottle and dunk it right into the canister. He snickered at the thought of how Nefarious would react knowing that two of his biggest enemies used the supplies intended for his employees and workers.

"The irony." Alister smirked as he did the same as Ratchet, filling up a bottle with water. He would pay for seeing Nefarious' face if he knew.

Bar watched them as they were filling up bottles, shifting his weight from one side to the other. As it seemed he was trying to say something. Azimuth frowned, turning to him.
"Something the matter?"
"Nothing, really." The robot tipped on the ground. "I was... just wondering what you two are actually doing here."

Ratchet held the bottle under water although it was already filled, staring at the rippling surface. "We... don't really know." He pulled the bottle out, closing the cap over the opening and putting it as well into his manifestor.

"What? You can't tell me you're not knowing what you're doing here! This is a super-secretive place and the guards are very sharp, they find everyone." A tremor ran through the robot, shaking his head as if he needed to dispel a haunting image from his mind. "... Maybe a bit too sharp." He added before he started looking around him frantically. "They might even be here right now, watching us!"

"... Wonderful. Just what we needed." Alister rolled with his eyes. Now these guards could pop out of nowhere any minute? Perfect. Just... perfect.
"... And... I should add, these guards are weird. In more than one way." Bar looked at the ground.

"Like they can shapeshift?" Ratchet added. The fur on the back of his neck stood up and his hands prickled too inside the gloves.

"Yeah, they do, it's quite crazy- Hey!" The two Lombaxes started as Bar yelled suddenly, pointing a finger towards them. "How are you two even here then? If you saw them changin' form then they must have been looking for you because all the other times they just pop out of nowhere, dragging you away-" The tremors returned, five times worse as a broken sound which unsettlingly resembled a hiccup interrupted Bar's words. He noisily sucked air in through his vents, even audible through his suit before he continued. "Anyways - I meant it when I said they're sharp. They act mostly on their own except when Dr Nefarious expletively tells them a command and they're fucking scary as they almost make no noise even when they run. They're like ghosts. I still can't believe they're a product of the first steps of this project."

"So Nefarious deliberately created these monsters?" Azimuth's voice trembled slightly, not with fear, but with slight anger. "Of course. Of course. What else to expect from this scientist."

"Hey, it was never intended!" Bar's voice rose as he began pacing but stopped short time later, looking around. Then with a speed the two Lombaxes hadn't expected from the robot he snatched both of them at an arm and dragged them inside a storage room.

"Safer inside here." With a whirr he gingerly sat down against a wall, shaking his head. "I've never thought I'd be spilling my processor out to some strangers. I think I've already said too much. Heh, the others were actually right when they said my processors are too loose."

"We appreciate it." Azimuth looked at Bar with a frown before he sat down before him as well. Now that the robot was already skeptical if he should talk to them, Alister figured to make the effort of making it more comfortable for Bar to speak. "Why would it be safer inside here? You mean they can't get to us in this storage room?"

The robot laughed out suddenly, clapping a hand against the side of his head. Alister's leant back away from the other, staring wide-eyed while Ratchet's stomach knotted. The sudden mood change of the so far cheery worker disturbed him, even more as the laughter had a sharp edge. "Hell no, they could likely crawl through one of the vents inside or stuff like that." Great, did he have to say this? Ratchet found himself looking for a grid behind which a wavering form lurked and nearly jumped as one was directly over him to the right.

"It's cause they bother less with people inside rooms. They disturbed some of the work pretty bad 'cause they're emitting a frequency which messes with some electric systems - the more, the merrier the sparks flew. So they were reprogrammed to stalk the outside corridors, a few sometimes straying into the hall." Bar finally calmed down, tapping with his finger on the ground. "I've got already four times scared by them when I turned around and - BAM - my face was almost in theirs. I bet I broke some bolts the last time when I jumped backwards."

The robot shivered suddenly. "But that's nothing compared to the first time I met them. That... that was just awful. Terrible. Disgusting." He cowered up, teetering slightly. Alister raised his eyebrow in surprise, curious now.

"What do you mean with this?"
"... Not going to tell you." The worker eyed Azimuth briefly before staring at the ground. "Too awful to remember."

"How were the guards even created? You said it wasn't intentional?" Ratchet decided it was better not to push Bar, his distress unsettling the younger Lombax. Though with how the robot apparently was peering at him intently - not that he could tell with the suit over Bar's head - not saying anything made him wonder if he would block this question too.

"... As I already said, it was an accident." Bar shuddered. "A welcome accident to the doctor, though. After all, that way he got very obedient, effective guards which are... different. In lots of ways." The robot reached out for the ground, just scraping over the surface before he spoke up again.

"I'm scared of them." He whispered. "Neither organic nor robotic. Neither consistent nor untouchable. That's them. They aren't bound to the laws of the universe." His fingers formed a fist. "I know. It looked like this isn't the case, but the truth is that everything is made from an illusion. Every boundary is a temporary seal placed onto them, nothing else. Nefarious is bathing himself in his foolish belief to have complete control over them, following illusions to escape the truth. They are not bound by the doctor. They are not bound by the universe. They are not bound by anything."

A pause. Bar's voice shuddered as he spoke on. "No. They are bound, even if only temporarily. I just know that they can't stay bound forever - not after seeing it." The shell made small clicking noises as he raised his hand and buried his face.

"Right now they are following Nefarious blindly. I don't know what the doctor has done to them to make them so obedient, but I believe a bet on it being a lucky shot wouldn't be that far off. After all, they would never bend before anyone on their own accord." The robot shuddered as he closed his eyes. "This is why I know that Nefarious won't be able to hold them back forever. It is not in their nature to abide rules for such a long time. It simply isn't in their nature. They will try a way to regain their freedom. Eventually they will try. And then… One day…" Bar paused, his voice growing inquieted yet distant.

"One day, their minds will be theirs again - and then, it will be all over."