"Let go of her, Red! Mom gave it to me!"
"Ha! How would you know, Pink! We never knew her!"
"Don't bring up mom like that, Red!"
"WILL YOU THREE STOP IT?"
The three stopped to look up at their oldest brother. Yaridovich had grown a little testy when he remembered his own mother. He never knew why he was left at the orphanage. He thought that there was no good reason for his mother to have just left him to a life of misery. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but he didn't ever see Smithy as a father. He still remembered the night that he was left at the orphanage, and had gained a fear of water due to the fear he felt alone in the rain.
"Red, you give Pink back her doll and shut up! Green, you just ignore them and go." Yaridovich scowled, slinking off, leaving his younger siblings mystified and slightly scared. He stormed down the hallway, muttering to himself, until the familiar sound of metal wings clanking together snapped him out of it.
"Yari, what's wrong?" Bali asked, flapping next to his side, curiosity written over her face.
"It's nothing, Bali. Just leave me alone." He said, slouching down. He had a bad habit of doing this, and it was starting to affect his posture.
"It didn't sound like nothing." Bali retorted, flying circles around him, her eyelids drooping in slight irritation. "You get so stressed lately! Why are you being so pessimistic? I overheard father saying that he'll tell us a special plan! That should lift your spirits!"
"Why do you see so much out of him?" Yaridovich asked, not even turning his head towards her. "There's something that's off about him, and you know it!"
"Not to interrupt, but there's something off with all of us." A voice said from behind, causing the two of them to stop and turn around. Behind them was Boomer, his helmet hiding his eyes, and his katana safely protected in its hilt. "You're smart; Yaridovich, but you realize it a little too much. You just think you're better than us because of it. And Bali, it's possible to be too cheerful. You're seeing too much good in people. Not everyone is good, you do realize that?"
With that, Boomer walked off, as his older brother and younger sister watched. Angrily, Yaridovich yelled towards him.
"Oh, yeah! Says the antisocial loner! How would you know what's really wrong? You just slunk off into a depression whenever YOU hear about your family! Code of honor, huh? Then why did they abandon you?"
This broke a small nerve with Boomer. When he was dropped off at the orphanage, it was revealed on the back of his blueprints that the code of honor was written on the back. He held a high honor towards his family, yet only felt it belonged to his blood relatives. So, he thought of Yaridovich as easy game to attack.
"You DARE to slander the name of my family?" Boomer yelled out, jumping out as Yaridovich, who was quickly landed on, and a brawl was soon started, fists flinging at each other, and throwing each other around. Bali flew above the brawl to avoid getting hit. However, the noise attracted their other siblings to watch in either fear or amusement.
"Fight, fight, fight!" Exor and Mack chanted at the same time, pumping their fists in the air.
"This is terrifying!" Axem Green said, trying to hide behind Axem Yellow. "They're going to kill each other!"
"Yeah! And then I'll be next in line to be heir to the throne!" Axem Red happily said, believing the lie that he had overheard.
"I'm getting father!" Bali called out in fear, flying off as fast as she could.
"You think you're so great, just because you're the oldest?" Boomer said, trying to grab onto Yaridovich's skinny neck. "You're just a tiny twig! You'd get snapped in two in the battlefield!"
"Oh, and you're better?" Yaridovich asked, socking Boomer in the stomach, making the samurai unleash a cough. "How are your asthma attacks going to help you in combat?"
"FRONT AND CENTER, MACHINES!"
As soon as they heard this command, all the machines, including Yaridovich and Boomer, stood up straight against the wall, each saluting out, as their father and leader, Smithy, patrolled the halls, with Bali following, as she joined the others against the wall.
"Very disappointing!" Smithy said, eying Yaridovich and Boomer, who were now scratched up, a few dents in their metal as well. "If you behave this way at home, how would you behave in the battlefield?"
"…Yes, sir." Yaridovich and Boomer said at the same time, their straight postures starting to falter.
"And Bali?" Smithy said, turning back at his eldest daughter.
"Yes, father?" Bali asked, an eager shine in her eyes.
"NOBODY LIKES A TATTLETALE!" He barked, as the once hopeful shine faltered, as her antenna drooped.
"I'm raising you to be a powerful army. NOT a bunch of immature brats!" Smithy said, and then turned to Axem Pink. "Axem Pink, heal these two, and then you all will meet me at the conference room. ON THE DOUBLE! Dismissed."
"Sir, yes, sir!" They all said, though Bali, Yaridovich, and Boomer's were slightly hesitated.
"Like, that was a totally stupid thing for you two to do!"
Boomer and Yaridovich were now in the Axems' room. They were bandaged up in places, and Axem Pink was currently mixing up two homemade medicines for them to take. Smithy forced Axem Pink to take up medical school, despite protests, and she was quickly growing up to be a skilled physician.
"Don't say anything about blaming each other, either." Axem Pink quickly said, as she each gave them small glasses filled with the medicine, as they each drank them, despite the slightly bitter taste they gave off. "Because it's actually both your faults."
She placed her medicinal items back up, and sat down between them on her bed, which they were currently resting on.
"Look. Our parents had reasons for giving us up for adoption." She said, gingerly patting them each on the backs, trying to avoid any wounds. "But fighting about it doesn't do a single thing. Sure, what Red said was totally stupid, but that doesn't mean you have to be stupid in return."
She hopped off her bed, and starting walking over towards the hallway, but not before she turned around to look at her brothers.
"Are you guys coming?" She asked. "You banged yourselves up back there. Who knows what father will do to you if you're late…"
"I have gathered you today for a very important plan. It will take a few years' time to start out, but I know what we shall do."
Smithy had finally gathered his children into the room to tell of his plan. However, they were oblivious to the dangers that would lurk ahead, yet Smithy didn't seem to care. He saw them simply as cannon fodder for this plan.
"There is another dimension aside from ours. It is called the Mushroom Kingdom. There are plenty of resources there. As you know, the Factory dimension is low on very crucial resources, like food and energy. However, the Mushroom Kingdom is full of what we need!"
This was all a lie that he wanted his children to believe. In reality, the reason he needed the Mushroom Kingdom to create his true motive: to take it over and create a bigger world of machines.
"However, the Mushroom Kingdom is very dangerous. There live vicious races of creatures that are willing to tear apart any outsider in their own turf war. That is why I am giving you new titles. You are no longer just my children. You are my new lieutenants. Despite the risks, I feel like you are strong enough to defeat them. Together, all of you will be able to save Factory for deteriorating. Will you do it? If not for me, for the sake of Factory?"
The other machines had to think it over. True, Factor was much depleted lately. The rain was rusting out a lot of the city, which caused it to be nearly unlivable. Also, food was low, and many of the poorer citizens had to live with next to nothing. They shared silent glances, some of hope, some of hesitation, before Yaridovich gave the final answer.
"We do it for the sake of Factory."
"Excellent. Meeting dismissed." Smithy said, as his children began to part. "Oh, Exor. Yaridovich. Could you stay here for a moment?"
The two eldest machines stopped, and turned (or hopped, in Exor's case) back towards their father.
"Yaridovich, I know you seem to have a bit of tension with me lately." Smithy said, putting a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "However, due to this mission's risk, I might not be able to make it out alive. That is why I'm giving you a promotion. Promotion to leader. Will you accept it?"
This changed Yaridovich's thoughts nearly immediately. He pretended to think about it, rubbing his smooth pointed face (he was thinking of growing a mustache for a while, but the promotion confirmed his thoughts).
"I shall accept your offer, father." Yaridovich said, as Smithy smiled, his pointed teeth sharply smiling.
"What about me?" Exor asked. "Why did you need me?"
"Why, Exor, you're the crucial part of this plan." Smithy said. "You are the blade that shall pierce the Heavens. You will break through an obstructive barrier, and you will also guard our own dimension as well."
"I will do my best." Exor beamed.
"Excellent." Smithy said, and then each gave them a goblet. Exor's goblet contained a black liquid that had orange and blue swirls in it. Yaridovich's goblet contained a thick orange liquid. Smithy's simply contained normal high grade oil. He rose up his goblet in a toast, as his sons did the same. "To Factory's safety!"
"To Factory's safety." Exor and Yaridovich repeated, and the three drank from the goblets, with Yaridovich and Exor slightly wincing from the weird taste as the drinks were finished.
"You two are dismissed." Smithy said, as the two left. When they did, he laughed to himself. Their drinks were actually potions that were of his making. Exor's would massively change his size, making him much bigger, and would also make him a living portal to connect Factory with the Mushroom Kingdom. Yaridovich's contained a very malleable metal that would allow him to shape shift and multiply himself, with the unfortunate effect of being much heavier, meaning swimming would be near impossible.
Smithy didn't care. This was all part of his plan. He smiled to himself, as he looked at his most pried possession. To the average eye, it looked like a normal hunting trophy. However, it was a creation known as Smelter, and it would change the lives of his children forever…
