Chapter 5
Armadi
7:57 AM
The sound of someone struggling with the door to the laundry room prompted Maya to jump from her spot in front of the warming stove. She stepped towards the aging wooden door and turned the knob with her free hand.
"Oh, thanks. Didn't realize that anyone was over here," she heard Sissera say as the door creaked open. Maya turned back to her duties as the tenrec stepped inside, dragging a bag of soiled clothing inside.
"Yeah, it's breakfast time, so I figured that I'd fix everyone something to eat this morning after yesterday."
"That sounds good, what is it?" Sissera asked as she began pulling clothes from the bag and placing them into an empty washing machine.
Maya pulled a bottle of cooking oil from an overhead cabinet and placed it on the counter. "The usual, eggs, toast, and things like that," she said as she opened the bottle and looked over to her companion. "Oh my," she continued when she spotted the blood-stained bandages among the other clothes.
"Vladimir," Sissera answered without being asked.
"Oh, yes. How is he?"
"He's doing better, and he'll be fine. He bruised a few ribs, and he's got some pretty bad cuts from shrapnel, but he's not hurt too badly."
"That's good to hear," Maya said as she poured some oil into a pan on the stove. "When will he be back on his feet?"
"He's pretty tough, and refused to stay bed ridden, so he's already getting around alright. I wouldn't recommend sending him out anytime soon though. Not for a few days at least, and he probably won't be completely better for a few months."
"I figured that when I saw him. He'll be missed tonight then, but I guess even he needs time to recover after something like that."
Sissera paused from loading the machine and asked, "Tonight? Are we heading out again?"
"Yeah, I hate to set out again so soon, but I have this feeling that we don't have much time to waste. Robotnik gets craftier every time he hatches a new plot."
Sissera sighed and closed the lid on the washer. "I know, I just hope that everyone is rested up enough. Are you sending everyone again?"
Maya cracked an egg and emptied it into the pan. "No, actually. It doesn't sound like Vladimir is in any shape to go, so someone's got to stay with him. I need you and Seltic to go, and the other boys unless something else comes up, so I guess Marcus and I will stay behind."
"Alright then, when are we leaving?"
"After lunch, everything willing. Hopefully Robotnik won't be expecting you back so soon."
"I should have known that Maya was sending us off again when she cooked so much for breakfast," Kyros announced to the others as he hopped down from the hovercraft's access hatch.
"I'm still exhausted from last time, I don't think I've gotten more than three hours of sleep," Tantalus added.
"I feel you," Seltic said, slinging his pack around his shoulders.
"Tired or not, we've got a job to do, and the sooner we start the sooner we get done," Stanley chimed in.
Sissera rubbed her eyes and yawned. "You never get tired, but you're right. I think we should just get it over with. What exactly are we here for this time?"
Kyros stared at her blankly for a moment before answering, "What else? Since we know Robotnik has certainly hatched a new scheme, but don't know what it is yet, we're just supposed to conduct a little surveillance. Maya stressed safety, I'm guessing because of what happened to Vlad, but with the time she's given us we'll have to take some risks."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Seltic asked.
"Well, for one we're expected to avoid confrontation at all costs. You know, the usual. However, she wanted us to break into no more than two groups, but we don't have time for that. Instead, we're all going to branch off and hit each of the target zones."
"What are the targets exactly?" Stanley butted in.
"I was getting to that. Anyway, Seltic, you and Sissera are going to head off to the two security computer hubs in the new construction zone. Maya wants you to try and steal as much security footage as possible, which should tell us a lot if Robotnik still has it lying around.
"Stanley, you're going to head off to the construction zone and snoop around in general. Don't take too many risks, but if you can get into one of the buildings or close to a build site, don't hesitate.
"Tantalus and I are going to spy around in some of the storage facilities. If we can't get the security footage, or figure out what's going on by looking at the buildings themselves, we might be able to guess by looking at the materials that are being used."
"Sounds good," the squirrel said.
"Any questions before we head for Robotropolis? Everyone know where their target location is?"
The team fell silent, and after a few nods, Kyros continued, "Alright then, let's go. And remember, since we're splitting up, be extra careful. We absolutely cannot afford to blow this again. I don't want to be back here this time tomorrow."
The sight of the immense forms of the storage structures ahead sent a sobering chill down Tantalus' spine. Flowing shapes of scores of worker robots clouded the vast windows lining the facilities, and swarms of buzzbombers, spy-eyes and utility aircraft darkened the skies above. He frowned at the unpleasant concoction of smells filling the air, and crept from an alleyway to get a better view. An uneasy feeling washed over him as he studied the dozen entry ways into the nearest building. The lack of armies of SWATbots and security robots was unusual in the extreme.
Regardless, he took a deep breath and steadied himself. He felt himself growing nervous without Kyros making the decisions and barking orders, and his legs felt weak as he shuffled towards an adjacent ladder. With extreme attention paid to the sounds around him, he scaled the ladder, pausing after each clang of his boots against the metal.
As he mounted the third level of the scaffolding, he sighed in relief and took note of an approaching cargo truck. He slid over to the edge of the catwalk and poised himself to leap down to his target as it passed by. The truck ground by, devoid of any defenses to halt the squirrel. As the house-sized machine passed under him, he hesitated momentarily before dropping onto the roof.
His heart raced as his equipment banged onto the metal plating. He dropped flat and crawled forward, hoping to avoid the prying eyes of any overhead spy drones or buzzbombers. The lack of any cover or hatches to exploit sent another feeling of panic across him, and he desperately scrambled towards the break between the two enormous cargo containers. As he reached the break, he threw himself between the containers and landed on the containers' couple. He shut his eyes for a moment to calm himself.
The sounds of workers checking the containers trickled into the crevice, convincing him to flatten himself against one of the containers and pray that none of the machines checked too closely. The already dark couple point grew pitch black as the truck hefted itself through the cavernous doors leading to the storage facility.
Tantalus waited for the machine to grind to a halt before peering out from the opening. The lack of ground activity outside of the garage spoke nothing of the armies of workers directing the flow of materials into and out of the building. Scores of roboticized creatures filled the building, with dozens of large robots loading and unloading the trucks, and others supervising. In the center of the floor, he spotted two combat specialized robots. If either discovered him, he would have no hope of making it out alive. He pulled a hand held camera from his pocket and aimed it at the nearest group of workers. At the sight of interesting boxes or materials he snapped off a handful of shots.
He froze as the target workers halted and scanned the area, angling their ears around in search of the nearly silent camera's shutter clicking. He wasn't out of the woods yet.
Seltic groaned as an unknown condensing liquid overhead dripped onto him. He squinted upwards at the source, shielding his eyes from any further drops. Sickly yellow light filtered between the skyscrapers around him, sporadically highlighting the cluttered alley before him. He loathed the idea of returning to the same area he had been only a day earlier. Maya could have easily asked them to gather this data while they were here before, but given the circumstances he passed the blame to himself and Kyros.
He paused at an intersection to gather his bearings and ran the plan through his head once more. Thankfully he didn't have to enter the same computer building, as even Robotnik would have the sense to increase security for a few days after such a gravid breach. His destination was several blocks away, where the computer system archived security surveillance recordings for a few months before they were deleted.
With his route determined, he turned at the intersection and sloshed through the standing water down the alley. Given the buzzbomber incident yesterday, walking so boldly through the city was against his better judgment, but he was growing indifferent with fatigue.
The winding path between the abandoned buildings flashed vaguely through his mind as he rounded each corner, and his sour mood rose at the unexpectedly early sight of the security substation. The building stood apart from its surroundings, covered with untold hundreds of fiber optic cables and landlines. Seltic skipped over to the near corner of the building and made a quick glance around the structure to spot any defenses or robots.
"Amazing," he whispered to himself as he noted no interloping sentries.
He stretched and pulled the computer from his coat pocket, searching the surface of the building for a potential site to interface with the system. A network hub used commonly throughout the city caught his eye as he scanned the building. With renewed enthusiasm he hurried to the hub and connected his computer to a free port. With a little luck, Robotnik would still be using outdated security schemes on this network and he would be able to access the files.
The computer responded to his commands as he ran through the routine procedure of analyzing the network, and finished with an ominous security warning. Seltic's mood sank again as he read the message and realized that retrieving the data wouldn't be as easy as he had hoped. He groaned and slumped onto a nearby crate as he read the computer's estimated time before it could determine the security keys. It wouldn't be the first time he had to wait idly for an hour for something to happen, so he decided to get some sleep while it churned away.
He was too tired to think much about being discovered for the moment.
Stanley stood in awe at the skeletal forms of the dozens of skyscrapers lining the horizon and filling the city blocks before him. Giant cranes and construction vehicles filled the voids between the structures, and armies of robotic workers milled around their various levels. He ducked into the shadows as a roboticized skunk hefted an iron girder by, flattening himself against a building until it passed by.
He peeked around the corner and realized that any close inspection of the buildings would be impossible, with the number of robots surrounding them. Another band of robots appeared from the construction zone and headed for his alley hiding spot, provoking him to dart off down the street towards the nearest intersection.
He silently dove around the corner into cover and waited for the approaching robots to pass by. While he crouched in the shadows, he spied an open window to an abandoned office complex. He stood and carefully slid the window completely open and pulled himself inside. The rotten wood floor creaked under his weight, and he threw himself into the corner of the room where no one would be able to see him from outside. After waiting a moment to ensure that nothing had heard his noisy entry he began tiptoeing towards a doorway opposite him.
After tortuously trying to keep the creaking to a minimum, he was glad to find a stair case in the adjacent room. With no windows nearby to potentially reveal him to the security forces, he began meticulously scaling the staircase, taking care to check each ancient wooden step for stability.
Each floor conveniently had a lobby area next to the stairwell, and he took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of the closest construction site with his camera. He puzzled over the structure of the buildings, each appearing to be intentionally left as skeletal templates. None of the floors of the buildings were in place, and most even had one or more walls missing. The roofs of the buildings also seemed to be completely placed, yet failed to cover the entire building. Despite this, each appeared to be in an advanced stage of construction, with robots placing communication, power, and gas lines throughout the masses of steel and iron.
Satisfied with his progress so far, Stanley mounted the stairs again and proceeded to the roof. He had convinced himself that there were no robots in the building, and carelessly thundered up the final flight to the roof. Instead of finding soot-choked sunlight behind the exit door, he was met with the perplexed gaze of a roboticized female possum.
He felt his stomach drop as the robot's face faded from shock to anger. Before it could attack, he jumped down the stairs, hoping against odds that the damaged wood would hold under the stress. "Halt intruder, and prepare to be roboticized!" the possum shouted after him.
Stanley rolled into the room at the base of the flight of stairs, angling himself to face the robot as it pursued him. He hesitated for a moment as he waited for it to emerge from the stairs, and pulled a hand held EMP emitter from his belt. The machine leaped down the stairs, and smashed into the landing before the final steps down to Stanley's level.
It let out a surprised gasp as its weight partially collapsed the stairs around it. In its moment of surprise, Stanley pointed the device and thumbed an activator. After a moment of charging, the room was filled with an instantaneous flash of light, followed by the robot reeling. Its eyes crossed and its joints locked up as the energy fried and fused electrical circuits, and after an ultimate pained sigh it fell into the room.
Stanley cautiously approached the fallen machine and wiped his forehead. After calming himself for a few seconds, he pulled his headset's microphone down and prepared to announce his ordeal to the others.
"What is that infernal alarm blaring for, Snively!?" Robotnik bellowed to his nephew from his throne.
Snively glared at his computer console and grit his teeth. "Well, sir, it appears that one of the robots in the construction zone has gone missing. It's no longer responding to communication, and can't be located."
Robotnik scowled and continued, "So? Why would I care what happens to one of those blasted machines?
"Sir, it doesn't appear to be an accident. If I had to guess, there are intruders in the area."
"I don't have time to deal with them right now, just ignore it."
Snively turned and looked to the giant man, and replied, "But sir! They might interfere with the project!"
"Even they aren't foolish enough to try anything in the vicinity of thousands of potential death sentences, Snively. The robots will deal with them if there really are any out there."
"Well, apparently the robots can't deal with them," Snively muttered.
"Are you questioning me, Snively?"
Snively perked up and offered, "Oh, no sir! I was just saying that I'd tell the robots to handle it!" He held down a button on his computer console and said, "Attention, all robots be prepared to deal with possible intruders. Do not halt work to investigate."
Robotnik coldly looked away towards his computer terminal, and said, "Fine, that'll do."
Sissera jumped at the feeling of the vibration of her comm-unit, signaling a broadcast from another team member. She pulled her headset's microphone down and flipped the unit's power switch. "Who broke radio silence?" the impatient voice of Kyros demanded over the radio.
"Me," the apparent voice of Stanley replied. "I just wanted to let you guys know that I had a little run in with one of the locals."
Kyros let out an irritated breath. "So I suppose the big Dr. knows we're here. Are you safe now?"
"Yeah, I used one of the EMP thingies Seltic whipped up for us. I don't think any of the other robots know that I took this one down."
"Huh?" Seltic groggily said over the net after hearing his name.
"Stanley just waxed a bot. We're probably going to have trouble sooner or later, so everyone be on the lookout. Is everyone in their positions? Anyone else having problems?"
"I'm fine," Seltic added.
"I think things are okay here now," Stanley said.
"Great, how's it going Tantalus?"
A silence over the net was followed by a nervous, "Fine... I'm in the facility now."
"Sissera?"
"I'm on the way, the path is a little different than on the maps," she said into her microphone.
"Good, I'm in position too. Everyone be on your toes, and don't take any unnecessary risks. Remember that unless said otherwise we're all going to meet back by the hovercraft in four hours. Now, I'm cutting the radio. Keep it that way unless there's an emergency, we can't risk Robotnik tracing the signal." The transmission faded with a static pop, and she folded her microphone away.
She was still over a dozen blocks away from the security depot, and the dismal sea of gray buildings surrounding her struck an intense uninviting feeling. The faint howl of wind sounded down the abandoned street, and an odd window spilled pale light. She gathered the courage to begin down the street again, warily inching her way towards an alley a block away.
Thunder cracked overhead, signaling the approach of another of an endless stream of storms. She tensed as rain began to mist the street, and noisily dropped her equipment box at the sound of another intense explosion of thunder. She hunkered down and waited for the sounds of approaching robots. The rain began to pick up, drowning out the background silence.
She grabbed her things and clambered for the alley under the protection of the racket the rain was beginning to make against the metal junk strewn about the road. As she rounded the corner of the alley, her body stiffened. Just an arm's reach away stood the figure of a SWATbot. Without wasting a moment, she desperately grabbed for her gun and darted back into the false-safety of the street.
Through the beating rain, she remained flat against the closest building, waiting for the SWATbot to come looking for her. Curious of the delay, she peeked around the corner. The sight of the horribly battered and disabled machine calmed her nerves, and she slung her weapon back around her shoulder. She recollected herself and grabbed onto an ancient fire escape ladder next to the robot.
After the grueling matter of keeping quiet for the entire climb, she found herself on a catwalk. From the looks of it, it had been constructed much more recently than the ruins below. She found a dark corner and pulled out her computer, and began analyzing the layout of the district she was in. The old map was outdated even for the city of Mobotropolis, and the renovations that Robotnik made after seizing the city were further complicating matters. These office buildings had long ago been converted into factories, charged with constructing legions of SWATbots and producing any number of other objects or ammunition.
She studied the schematics for a moment to find a potential route, and set out again, staying in the shadows as much as possible. Much to her distress, she could hear robots working in the surrounding factories now, and security robots would certainly be nearby. She puzzled over the apparently low level of activity however. Robotnik rarely shut down any factories for any reason, and if his project required such an extensive reworking of his factories, it was great indeed.
Her progress was halted as she came upon a newly constructed building, likely a maintenance bay from her brief analysis. Frustrated that the building was in her path, she began to recklessly search for an alternate route. She hopped atop a crate and peered into the bay, and found it to be empty. With no activity in sight, she jumped back onto the catwalk and casually walked towards the corner of the building.
"Sound coming from this way. Investigating," a monotone robotic voice blurted out from a direction she couldn't determine. In a panic, she dove for the nearest cover available. Heavy footsteps clanged loudly on the metal catwalk, approaching her. A moment later, they stopped.
"Silence, possible interference. Checking heat signatures," the robot continued, out of sight. With curiosity overcoming her common sense, she peeked up over the crate she hid behind. Where she expected to see the menacing red eye-slit of a SWATbot, only the image of a deer came into view. Or what had been one before Robotnik got his grubby hands on it and transformed it into his slave.
It continued to survey the bleak environment, tilting its large ears around to listen for movement. Sissera snapped back to her senses and decided to return to the safety of cover. Her face contorted with terror as he mud-slicked boots slid against the smooth wet metal of the catwalk, and she crashed into another pile of debris. To her horror, the deer snapped to attention and whirled around to face her, its glowing red eyes transfixed on her.
"Intruder detected!" it shouted as it raised its arm in her direction. She scrambled to her feet and thrust herself towards the protection of a metal crate, dodging the incoming laser beam by only a fraction of a second. The deer's robotic reflexes were far superior to hers, and it managed to burn several fist sized holes in her skirt and the wall behind her with its arm-mounted laser.
She spotted another ladder leading down and dashed to its safety, hoping against all odds that none of the other robots in the vicinity heard the commotion. As she hit the ladder, she wasted no time in sliding down the slick metal. She slammed into the ground several stories below, and after taking a moment to recover grabbed for her comm-microphone. With the deer out of sight, she raced down the alley for the street. As she burst from the darkness into the abandoned street, her attention was caught by light glinting off metal above her. From the catwalk, the roboticized deer launched itself, landing with an echoing crack as its weight shattered the concrete beneath it.
It turned to face her and snarled, revealing unnaturally sharp metal teeth. She stepped back defensively as it snatched a metal pole from the ground. As it hurled itself at her again, she dropped to the ground, causing the deer's swing to go wide. With all of her strength, she planted her boot into the deer's chest, knocking the robot off balance. She exploited the moment by jumping to her feet and unslinging the plasma gun from her back. The ornery weapon clicked as she managed to deactivate the safety, and she began cautiously backing away from her assailant.
The deer regained its composure and shouted, "Halt and submit your self to Robotnik! You can't escape the inevitable!" It blindly dashed towards her, preparing to apprehend her at any cost.
Desperate to put distance between herself and the robot, she sprinted into another nearby alley. As she entered the alley, she turned and set herself up to be ready when the robot followed. A sigh of relief passed her lips as the ready indicator on her gun flashed on, moments before the deer burst into the alley. In an instant that seemed an eternity, its face shifted from a determined scowl, to confusion, then to outright terror. It scrabbled backwards to avoid the weapon, but it was too late. As she squeezed the trigger, their world was bathed in a blinding flash from a burst of purple-glowing plasma rocketing from the weapon.
The deer's attempt to escape was cut short as the plasma burst engulfed its shoulder. As the plasma struck its target, it detonated in an incredible explosion that knocked Sissera from her feet. Flying debris shot past her on all sides as she landed over a meter away from her firing position.
As the scene settled, she rose to her feet, with a particular image striking her as odd. She had never seen one of the robots react with fear before. With her weapon still drawn, she slowly approached the fallen robot. She was surprised to find it mostly intact, and above all still functional.
Instead of grabbing thoughtlessly at her with its remaining hand, it simply looked on in a state of confusion and horror. It weakly uttered, "No... p-please, don't kill me... I... didn't want to do it... I... couldn't... stop..." The deer trailed off, closed its eyes, and let out a muffled sigh.
Sissera was shocked. Never before had she seen one of the robots act in any such a manner. She was beginning to feel genuinely sorrowful for shooting it, but her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed the rain still sprinkling from above evaporating as it touched the robot's body. At first she thought it was simply heat left over from the plasma impact, but soon she began to feel growing warmth from the machine's shattered remains. As the exposed metal within began to glow with heat, a terrible realization struck her. She immediately began to run for her life, faster than she could ever remember running. She dove into a nearby alley to place the building between her and the fallen machine, and raced to gain distance.
Her efforts were hopeless though, as the heat growing within the machine melted through its reactor wall and released the energy inside An incredible blast of energy ensued, collapsing the building behind her and hurling her further down the street. She found herself disoriented and unable to move, with a sinister blackness encroaching on her vision.
"What on Mobius was that!?" a startled voice shouted over the comm-net after a moment. "Everyone okay?"
"Snively! Shut that alarm off permanently!" Robotnik shouted, jumping to his feet and startling Cluck. The mechanical bird let out an irritated series of squawks and glared at Snively alongside its master.
"Sorry sir, but I think this is serious."
"What? One of the robots accidentally fell into a smelter and was destroyed? I don't have time for this!"
"No sir, there was an explosion near security substation seven. One of the robots nearby reported running into an intruder less than a minute beforehand. It is no longer responding."
"Fine, Snively... send a team of SWATbots to see what happened. If those pesky freedom fighters intend to bomb my city, then I have no choice."
Snively sneered and mouthed, "I told you so," to his computer screen. He pressed the intercom button and spoke aloud, "Attention, any SWATbots near security substation seven, investigate the source of the explosion. All workers remain at your posts."
"Sissera isn't responding on her radio, who's the closest to her?" Kyros addressed the team.
"Me, I think. I'm already on the way," Tantalus replied.
"Good, I guess everyone heard the little twerp's broadcast, so our stay is past welcome. Tantalus, I'm on the way to help, everyone else head back to the hovercraft and get it warmed up. Try to avoid any confrontation, but at this point expect anything."
"Thanks Kyros," Tantalus said before folding away his headset's microphone. The smoke billowing from an unseen source several blocks away filled him with anxiety. As he set off down the road he pulled his laser rifle from its holster and aimed it at every odd shape along the way. He felt himself overtaken with awe as he rounded the street corner and caught sight of the debris from the explosion.
Damaged buildings leaned into the street, spewing black smoke from growing fires. Rain from overhead began to spout steam from the fires, and the deepening mud in the street sloshed under his hurried footfalls. He nervously eyed each alley and street he passed, expecting legions of SWATbots to appear and carry him off to his doom.
He slowed as he reached the large mass of debris blocking the street, anxiously looking for any sign of Sissera. Dread began to fill him as time passed, bringing the SWATbots closer. In desperation, he thrust the barrel of his rifle into the rubble pile and began to remove the debris at the edge. He jumped slightly as part of the mound collapsed, revealing the horribly damaged remains of a roboticized deer. The robot stared blankly into the sky, its mouth hanging limply.
As he looked over its shattered body, he heard a peculiar weak moan from a distance further down the street. He snapped to attention and leaped from the pile, glancing down the street in hopes of pinpointing the source of the sound. At the sight of a figure lying prone in an intersection behind the obliterated building, he bolted from his position. The distinct image of Sissera, lying haphazardly in the mud, became apparent as he neared her.
He slid to a stop next to her and knelt down. "Sissera, can you hear me?"
Her eyes opened slightly and searched randomly for him as she mumbled something incoherent. He snatched up her gun and threw its strap around his shoulder, and carefully tried to lift her from the ground. She let out a sharp cry as he touched her, and her face tensed in pain. He panicked and looked back down the street for any signs of the approaching robots, seeing a shadow forming in an alley next to them.
He raised his laser rifle and aimed it at the spot, prepared to fight to the bitter end. As the figure drew closer, he partially squeezed the trigger to snap off a shot at a moment's notice. He tensed his finger and drew aim as Kyros appeared from the shadows.
"Kyros! Man am I glad you're here."
"Did you find Sissera? We don't have long," he questioned the squirrel.
Tantalus grew serious-faced and pointed to her lying in the street. "Yeah, but she's in bad shape."
"Come on, they're catching up with us!" Kyros yelled to Tantalus from a street intersection. He looked back intently as the squirrel carefully carried Sissera along. Frustration overcame him as he saw a SWATbot racing towards them in the machine's normal stiff fashion. If he never had to fight his way out of Robotropolis again it would be too soon. "Watch it!" he shouted as he drew aim on the robot and placed three glowing beams of energy through its body.
Tantalus dragged to a stop beside him and huffed, "How much further?"
"Stanley and Seltic are bringing the ship in to pick us up, and I hope they're nearby." Kyros motioned for Tantalus to follow him, and set off down another street in the general direction of the city's exit. He groaned as two more SWATbots appeared from a factory hangar and opened fire at him. One beam struck the dirt in front of him, and the other spattered off his body armor.
Kyros grunted in pain as his armor absorbed the impact and hefted his rifle to bear as one of the robots droned, "Intruder alert, surrender yourselves to Lord Robotnik."
"Beat it, dumb-bots," Kyros said as he emptied the remaining energy in his clip into the two. They stumbled and fired blindly as they were cut down, landing in crumpled heaps of smoldering metal. He once again signaled for Tantalus to move up to him as he slapped a new energy pack into his rifle.
The sight of nearly a dozen SWATbots began to concern Kyros. "This isn't good, we've got to get out of here, now," he whispered to Tantalus as he removed a grenade from his belt. He hurled the bomb towards the approaching mob of machines and hunched over, covering his ears.
Glowing hot fragments of metal armor and components blew past them as the grenade detonated, obliterating most of the SWATbots and disabling the rest. A smile formed on his face at the result, and he inched his way further down the path. He halted in shock as he reached the top of a hill, and stared on at the robot choked street below. Mixed in with the legions of SWATbots, a combat specialized roboticized alligator caught sight of him. Several red beams of focused light ripped through the air past his head, and he retreated back to Tantalus in cover moments before dozens beams followed. "This is getting bad, fast. We're cut off from the exit, and there's a combat robot up ahead. I don't know if these lasers are going to be enough."
He puzzled over the sound of the SWATbots announcing their standard warning in the distance. Thundering pulses echoed through the cityscape as heavy laser cannons opened fire, and the distinct hum of a hover engine became apparent over the SWATbots being demolished.
The alligator suddenly soared overhead and landed in a heap several meters away from Kyros. It rolled over and let out a pained growl as it clutched at several massive holes in its body where the laser cannons hit home. With dogged determination, it crawled towards Kyros and began to draw aim at him with one of its weapons. Kyros prepared to empty his weapon into it moments before the hovercraft burst into view, throwing several SWATbots into the air as it hurtled through their lines. Its heavy laser cannons opened fire again, reducing the alligator to dozens of flaming metal chunks.
Kyros jumped into the street and flagged the hovercraft down, relieved beyond words that they had arrived. He pulled the door back as it slowed to a stately slide, and hopped inside. Tantalus quickly followed suit, hefting Sissera into the bay of the craft.
Kyros burst into the cockpit and said to Stanley, "Move over, I'm driving."
"Sissera! What happened?" Seltic exclaimed as he entered the passenger bay.