Chapter 12
The sea monster roared again. It was aware of the free midnight snack it just received. All Glitch could do was stare up at it in shock. He had seen a lot up to this point, but nothing prepared him for this. Dr. Axon, Melvin, and Rev were all just as flabbergasted. Feeble had really just jumped into the monster's mouth.
"What the hell'd he do that for?!" Glitch couldn't keep his outrage hidden.
"He thought its insides were a weakness," Rev sighed.
Glitch facepalmed himself. Feeble just became robo-chow for nothing.
They tried coming up with something. Glitch would've much preferred using a couple of missiles on the sea monster, but they had to approach it differently now. Feeble was in there. If they blew up the monster, he would get blown up with it.
This, at least, was their presumption. The sea monster was ready to advance on the remaining group when it was knocked backwards again by a strong barrage of ammo from an unknown area. The monster cowered from the flurry of hits. Glitch looked behind him to see where the attacks were coming from. A sizable wave of unmanned aerial vehicles dotted the snowy night air up above. The weaponized crafts were fairly small, clearly remote-controlled. Glitch exchanged a confused glance with Dr. Axon. It was a drone strike, but from who?
Glitch looked at it more closely. A recognizable red and white insignia on the sides of the drones gave him his answer.
The drones neutralized the sea monster in under a minute. By the time the strike finished, the front of the monster's armor was broken and shattered, and a handful of its tentacles was missing. It gave a final, pitiful grunt before limply collapsing into the snow.
Feeble!
He'd never left Glitch's mind. It was clear he hadn't left the others', either, as they all rushed forward. But something utterly disgusting stopped them dead in their tracks. Glitch, Rev, Dr. Axon, and Melvin were all met with a wave of mucosal fluid from the dead monster. Its body released it all naturally.
The four of them were still in the middle of complaining from the messy surprise when something slid out of the monster's mouth. A mucous-covered Feeble proudly hopped to his feet to meet them. "I did it!" he cheered. "Captain Iron-Eye's done it again! Another wretched beast slain by the blade of the greatest Droid captain to have ever lived!"
"Way to go, Feebs," Glitch sarcastically mumbled.
The fluids in his eyes burned. He managed to wipe out most of it and blink through the rest. A small group of armed Droids caught his attention from the top of a snowbank. They shone lights on the party of five below. Glitch shielded his optics from the bright beams. He peered up past his hand. The head of the armed Droids stood at the front with his gloved hands behind his back. Glitch spotted Colonel Alloy.
"Colonel?" Glitch barely knew what to say. "What are you…how did you…"
"Let's worry about gettin' outta this cold first!" the Colonel yelled down to him. "Then we'll talk!"
...
"You're looking for Exavolt's base?"
Colonel Alloy gave Glitch a swift nod on the other side of his mug. He withdrew it from his lips. "Yes, we are," he sighed.
"How'd you know it was out here?"
"Your buddy."
Glitch peered at him over his own cup of antifreeze.
"Thanks to Shooter," Alloy said, "we learned Vex was a spy sent by Dr. Exavolt. We raided his place and found info on him after finding out he stole Krunk's chip."
"He stole Krunk's power chip?" Glitch quickly pulled away his drink. "How? And when?"
"Around the time of the invasion, apparently," Colonel Alloy answered. "Krunk thinks he snuck into his garage while he was drunk and got it that way. It makes perfect sense, the cameras were conveniently disabled."
Glitch lowered his optics. Krunk's Morbot power chip had been taken. Again. This time, by a bot who used to be his friend. He hadn't felt upset in a while. The time he enjoyed with Rev in Ridgebolt mitigated that. Hearing what Vex did while he'd been away just made the fury rise inside him again. Colonel Alloy's face brimmed with sympathy as he looked at him across their table.
"Shooter told me what happened to ya."
"Yeah." Glitch concentrated on his antifreeze. He watched the warm drink swirl around in the mug. Should he tell him? Should he tell him about the third robot?
No. He hastily decided against it.
An audibly vexed huff from the Colonel drew Glitch out of his thoughts. He slumped deeper into his chair.
"How long have you guys been out here?" Glitch asked him.
"Three weeks," Alloy groaned. "Been here for almost a whole frickin' month tryin' to find the damned thing. It's like it doesn't even exist."
It was obvious to Glitch how burned out and fed up the Colonel was. It wouldn't have been surprising if he went without sleep. His cup of antifreeze was his third one already since his team took Glitch and his group in.
"So what brings you and the new posse out in these parts?" Alloy asked after another sip. "You didn't almost end up being that thing's dinner for no reason."
"There's another Morbot gateway 'round here," Glitch said. "We already found the power chip. We were lying low 'til the blizzard passed over before we tried getting to the gateway. That's when the monster came at us." Glitch shuddered. "That thing was nuts. Thanks for bringin' it down for us."
He noticed the Colonel slumping even deeper into his chair with his head limp in the middle of his response. Glitch reached across the table and lightly prodded him.
"Colonel? Colonel!"
Alloy jolted awake. "Wha…?"
"Colonel, you're exhausted," Glitch gently stated. "You've been at this for three weeks. It's dangerous to be out here for as long as you guys have. Don't you think it's, I dunno, time you called off the mission?"
Colonel Alloy angrily shot up in his chair. "Call off the mission?" he snapped. "There's no way in…"
He stopped himself. Glitch watched his face falter, then dull with defeat. Alloy knew he was right deep down. It was clear as he somberly glanced around at the other soldiers in the tent with them. They'd reached their limits, too. It would only be another week or so before they ran out of supplies. They couldn't afford to risk more lives in these conditions by trying to have more resources flown in. Alloy finally faced forward at the table. His expression told Glitch he had accepted the reality of his situation. "Alright," he mumbled. "We'll cut our losses and head home. Unless…"
Glitch put aside his mug to hear the Colonel out.
"You might be luckier than us!" Alloy lit up somewhat. "I don't suppose you'd be up to lending us a hand?"
Glitch looked down with a small sigh. He had a lingering feeling that was coming.
"What do ya say?" Colonel Alloy proposed.
"I can't do it." Glitch shook his head at him. "Sorry."
"You're the best I got, Glitch." Alloy didn't let up.
"But you don't even know where this place is," Glitch disagreed. "What makes you think I'll have a better chance?"
"You have Dr. Axon," the Colonel pointed out. "He's got technology more advanced than ours. He might have the right kind of tools to locate the headquarters."
Glitch felt himself getting agitated. He couldn't believe Alloy was still trying so hard to get him back on his team. Even if Axon could pinpoint the location of Exavolt's base, that wasn't what they were there for. The Morbot gateway was their objective. Helping the Rebellion wouldn't just sidetrack Glitch's party. It could put them at risk, too.
"Colonel, no." He turned Alloy down.
"But Glitch…"
"Look, I get your mission's not going well. But I don't plan on failing my own."
He finished his cup, then rose from the table to leave the tent.
"Don't you need all of the power chips?"
Colonel Alloy's question halted him. Glitch glanced over his shoulder.
"Vex made off with Krunk's chip," the Colonel reminded him. "You're gonna need that one, too, at some point, right?"
Glitch froze a little. It dawned on him that Alloy was right. Once the Morbot gateway in Droid Town was restored, he'd need to be able to activate that one, too. The power wouldn't be accessible without every gateway. Glitch exasperatedly hung his head. He just couldn't win for losing.
"Fine." He reluctantly took up the Colonel's offer. "I'll do it. I'll help."
Alloy gave a hopeful smile.
"But only because I'm gonna need the chip," Glitch clarified. "And I still got a score to settle with Vex."
He certainly didn't forget about that. Stopping Dr. Exavolt was more important in the grand scheme of things. But if helping Colonel Alloy's team got him closer to Vex, that was definitely a plus. Glitch saw the Colonel out the corner of his eye and suddenly felt a tad penitent. His motives for helping seemed selfish, admittedly. He didn't at all mean for them to be. He understood how much Alloy missed having him around.
Or maybe he just needs the extra manpower. Glitch begrudgingly entertained the possibility. What if Alloy was just desperate to get the job done and saw him as an open opportunity?
He gave the Colonel one last scan with his eyes. As he studied his tired, longing optics, the second thought was mooted. It became obvious that Alloy wasn't looking for an expendable bot. He was looking for a friend.
Glitch left the main tent. He walked over to one of the others close by on the campsite. He found Dr. Axon, Melvin, and Rev awake inside. Axon busily tinkered with one of his handheld gadgets, while Melvin cared for the owl. He hadn't parted from the group since they left the cave. He'd taken a liking to Melvin for some reason. Rev affectionately rubbed the owl's chin. She pleasantly looked up at Glitch when she saw him. The Rebellion provided everyone with sleeping bags and supplies, a surprising amount considering they didn't have much of their own. Feeble was already conked out inside a sleeping bag in the far right corner.
Dr. Axon looked up from his device to see Glitch entering the tent. "Ah, hi, my boy!"
"Hey, Doc!" Glitch greeted him back. "Say, uh, listen," he said, "there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Oh?" Dr. Axon put his work down. "What is it?"
"The Colonel wants us to help him find Dr. Exavolt's base," Glitch told him.
Axon's expression changed slightly.
"I know." Glitch immediately noticed his doubtfulness. "But he's plumb out of options. He thinks you might have the right resources."
Dr. Axon uncertainly fiddled with his device. "Oh, Glitch, I do not know. We are quite busy ourselves."
He moved closer to Glitch and held up the device to show him the screen. Glitch tried analyzing what he saw to the best of his ability. He hoped Axon didn't expect him to understand all the readings.
"Think of this as a digital wind vane!" Axon continued. "I have been keeping track of the weather. The data tells me we will receive more storm-level winds by tomorrow afternoon."
Glitch looked up at him. "Another blizzard."
"Correct." Dr. Axon nodded his head. "Feeble told me the gateway is not much farther south from here. If we set out early enough, he can get us to it before the blizzard arrives. We might even beat it back here. I do not mind assisting the Colonel, but he will need to consider tomorrow's conditions."
Glitch went over the options. Finding the gateway ahead of the blizzard, versus helping the Colonel find the base first and possibly getting caught in it. He definitely liked the first choice better. "We'll focus on the gateway first," he decided. "I'll tell Colonel Alloy about the blizzard."
"Alright, then!" Dr. Axon agreed with Glitch's decision. "I will try searching for the base myself in the meantime."
Glitch headed out of the tent. Their trip had already been quite dangerous. Helping Colonel Alloy wouldn't bring even more perils, hopefully. Glitch held out faith in Dr. Axon's technological know-how. With luck, they would find Exavolt's base soon, that way they wouldn't need to stay in the polar regions longer than they had to.
Glitch stopped and thought for a moment. He found himself wondering what Exavolt's top-secret headquarters would have in store for the Droid Rebellion. Alloy told Glitch about the invasion—about the new Milbots. A strong tinge of worry tugged at Glitch's circuits. He considered a question he didn't like the possible answer to.
What if Colonel Alloy's team wasn't ready?
Glitch looked around at the camp, at the exhausted Droid soldiers coming in and out of the tents, at the half-empty supply boxes. His doubts only rose more. Alloy and his men weren't at all prepared. If they couldn't stop the new Mils in Droid Town, at full capacity, what chance did they have now?
But it wasn't Glitch's call. He knew how the Colonel could be. He was a good leader, but a stubborn one at times.
Glitch stepped back into the main tent. Colonel Alloy's making a mistake, he worriedly thought.
...
He got up with the others a few hours later. They'd beaten the sun. Glitch sat up in his sleeping bag and rubbed his optics as a lamp got switched on. His conversation with the Colonel about the blizzard went over fairly well hours before. Alloy didn't like having to wait a bit longer to reach Exavolt's base, but he realized how dangerous the storm would be. It would be suicide to try braving it. Dr. Axon found the headquarters' position after some digging. It was located within a mountain range northwest of the campground. That explained why it was so hard to find by satellite.
Dr. Axon estimated the trip there to be a day long by vehicle. The fact that it was much closer than the Rebellion thought excited the Colonel. Glitch was happy for him, too, in all honesty. It was nice to see Alloy with a pep in his step for a change. His mission hopefully wouldn't take any more of a nosedive than it already had.
Glitch exchanged a few parting words with Shooter before they started their journey. "Make sure he stays put until after the blizzard, ok?" he joked.
"Sure thing!" Shooter gave a dutiful thumbs up.
Glitch bumped fists with him. "See ya, man."
He set off with the others.
...
They headed south on snowmobiles. The sleek, speedy vehicles carried two passengers each. Dr. Axon rode with Feeble, Rev rode with Melvin, and Glitch had one to himself. His snowmobile made it beside Rev and Melvin's. Rev glanced at Glitch as he drove solo. He chuckled at her. She was visibly envious from her passenger seat.
"Lucky!" she poutingly called over to him, raising her voice over the wind.
"You wanna ride back with me?" Glitch yelled back.
"Maybe if I get to do the driving!" Rev jived.
"We'll see!" Glitch tossed her a wink.
The little cave owl hooted in Rev's clutches. He was happy to tag along.
"The lil' fella got a name yet?" Glitch asked.
"Dipper!" Melvin answered from the wheel. "Miss Rev helped me pick it out!"
"I think it's adorable!" Rev nuzzled Dipper's feathered head.
Glitch eased his snowmobile up to Feeble and Axon's. Feeble was the one doing the driving despite his terrible sight. Glitch cringed at the idea. He wasn't the only one not to like it as Dr. Axon conveyed his fears during the reckless ride. Feeble didn't even seem concerned—or even aware—of how much swerving he did. He almost sent their snowmobile careening.
"Maybe let me drive, Feeble?!" Dr. Axon nervously offered.
"Ye dare question the voyaging skills of the great Captain Iron-Eye?" Feeble snapped, taking offense. "Why, if this were me ship, I'd send ye off the plank!"
Glitch fell back to avoid hitting them. Feeble thought controlling the snowmobile was no different from controlling a ship.
The ride in the snow was surprisingly as peaceful as it was thrilling. The cold morning sky was a hazy, partly cloudy blue-gray that tinted the polar surface. The sun was just a small, fuzzy white circle in the air. The group's snowmobiles left behind trails in the sparkling snow. Glitch wished he had time to stop and admire it for a while longer. The tundra might've been freezing, but its beauty made up for it. Somewhat.
"There!"
Feeble's sudden scream almost prompted Glitch to draw to a stop. He didn't have a choice but to when the elder Droid slammed the brakes in front of the other snowmobiles. Glitch and Melvin screeched to a halt close behind him. The stops were hard enough to kick up snow. Glitch accidentally flung quite a bit of it onto Melvin, Rev, and Dipper with his caterpillar tracks.
"Erh, my bad," he muttered.
"You're good." Rev brushed the snow off. "Looks like Feeble found the spot."
"Aye! Righty, then!" Feeble leaped down onto the snow. He turned and faced the others. "This be it, laddies!" he announced to them.
Glitch, Melvin, and Rev joined him and Dr. Axon. They all looked forward at the grand, icy structure looming above them only slightly farther ahead. It glistened, almost mystically, against the morning polar backdrop. Broken sheets of ice surrounded its base. It was all sitting over water. Glitch understood why they had to stop. There was no way they would be able to reach the mass over the ice on their snowmobiles. They were going to need to travel the rest of the way on foot.
Axon studied the structure up close through a pair of binoculars. "A glacier," he quietly noted. He pulled the binoculars from his face and glanced at Feeble. "And the Morbot gateway is on the other side, I am assuming?" he asked him.
"You be right, old friend," Feeble answered. "But to reach it, we must travel through it."
"Through the glacier?" Rev blinked at him.
"Yep!" Feeble adjusted the rucksack on his back before starting forward on his cane. "Off we go, landlubbers!" he exclaimed.
The others quickly followed him.
The trek over the ice wasn't as difficult as it looked from the distance. Still, the task of stepping over the water to reach the next sheet was unnerving. It took no time at all for Glitch to feel the cold of the glacier as they approached it. It was subtle through his winter gear, especially once he made his way through one of its multiple crevices with the rest of the group. He had to wonder if this would end up being a repeat of the dry caverns. He wasn't in the mood for another Mil soldier takeover.
"Whoa! Glitch, look!"
Rev's enthusiastic squeak made him snap his head up. Glitch stared ahead. The crevice quickly widened into an opening. It was like a large room built inside the ice, finished off with tall Droid statues that doubled as decorative pillars. The room apparently served as a rotunda of sorts. It spanned into a vast network of smaller passageways. Glitch supressed his annoyance. Of course there were tunnels.
"My, how breathtaking!" Dr. Axon's exclamation echoed off the ice. "This is all manmade!"
"Indeed." Feeble nodded.
"By who?" Glitch glanced around.
There was a quick flash overhead. It came down the moment Glitch lifted his optics to see above him. The figure delivered a strong blow, knocking the wind out of him. Glitch struggled to see around him after hitting the ice below his feet. The others were treated to the same experience. They were all subdued to the ground at the mercy of sharp weapons. The wielders held down their captives, ready to strike if they thought of retaliating. Glitch dropped his head onto the ice. Not again, he dismally thought.