The announcer's soprano voice sounded over the chatter of the waiting crowd.

"Welcome, to the weekly Robo-Melee Battle Royal in the baby division, Gentleladys and Gentlemen! My name is Tamara OneUpU, and I will be your host today.

Let me tell you; we are expecting some action! The personal shields won't work again, and my boss told me to say to you, KEEP IT CLEAN." Tamara laughed. It was wild and free belly laughter. "I say *bleep* it! Everything is fair in love and Robo-Melee!"

The crowd cheered and hooted while Flora and a few others groaned.

With just these few sentences, the atmosphere shifted from some nerds admiring robots to a mob out for blood.

"I'm not going to introduce you or your bots. Most of you will soon be waiting in the loser's corner, and your bot will be scrap metal. I'm not wasting my time with duds."

Flora joined the crowd and whistled in the way German's do when the referee in a football game messed up.

"Let's get the massacre started! Three! Two! One! Destroy!"

The lights in the room went wild. Then the spotlights focused on the arena.

Simultaneously, the cages around the drones vanished. The noises of the up powering machines competed with the cheering people. Hundreds of LEDs adorning the robots started blinking in all the colors of the rainbow.

Overwhelmed by the attacks on her sensory systems, Flora closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

Aidan pinged her for Human-Machine Connection, and she complied.

After a few moments, Flora opened her eyes slowly.

The situation escalated. Not only the machines emitted sounds and lights, but the audience had also joined.

Like trigger-happy wild west residents, they shot their guns in the air or at other contestants.

A big brawl overtook the flank of the ring to Flora's left. The drones idled while their owners slugged it out. Opportunists rolled over and shredded the helpless machines.

Directly under Flora's nose, the Blade-Roller Extreme fought with Grabber Driver, a drone with two robot arms with spinning hands.

Just now, it had caught a spinner drone and hurled it at Aidan. The Blade-Roller span away, slicing the projectile in the process.

On the back of the Grabber, two more spinners chipped away its durability. While it grabbed one of them, Eduardo joined the fight. His drone launched its spear at the Grabber.

Out of nowhere, the koala head fell from the sky. Its lower parts had transformed into what Flora only could describe as a giant butt.

WHAM!

The butt smashed into the Grabber and the surrounding spinners. Side thrusters in the form of stubby koala arms ensured the Grabber had a hard time freeing itself from the bottom.

Eduardo's spear was stuck, as well. The creaking cranks of the drone tried to haul it in, but the higher mass of the butt-pile won out.

Aidan jumped between the opponents and severed the rope connecting the spear to Eduardo's drone. Disarmed, it fell victim to the incoming vultures.

Meanwhile, Aidan had joined the pile. Sitting on the top of the koala head, he sawed on its thrusters.

"Incoming spider drone from the right, Milady. Probably originating from InsertMeme Here."

"Aito, kill it as soon as it breaches my area." A plasma slug grazed Flora's shoulder. "Retaliate to everybody who attacks me, ignore stray shots."

The octopus has mounted one of the spotlights. It blended into the wall, invisible to casual observers. From above, it overviewed the fights and had a clear line of sight to Flora's area.

Flora looked for the spider drone, but couldn't find it until her AIs highlighted it. Pointing at it, she glared at InsertMeme.

The operator shrugged and grinned.

A cloud of darts hit Flora. An electronic porcupine next to him had attacked.

The mech-suit stemmed most of the darts, but two struck Flora's neck.

Poisoned: Crippling Poison: - 2x1 HP/sec, - 2 Physical Micro-Control. Remaining time: 30 sec.

The next ping came from Aidan, and Flora approved of it wholeheartedly.

Aidan tore into the koala head, avenging his Lady.

Of course, Aitoshuri didn't stay idle. She targeted a noggin as well, InsertMeme's.

The AIs' attacks destroyed property and owner.

Ignoring the poison, Flora cheered.

Without the koala's thrusters to counteract, the Grabber flung the butt away. The Blade-Runner sat still on top of it and soared through the air.

Full of glee, Aito beeped because she spotted the jellyfish near Aidan's flight path.

Obliging his colleague, the Blade-Roller catapulted to the flying fish. It cut four of its tentacles, but sparks enveloped the Blade-Roller as well.

!

Even before the robot hit the ground, Flora cast the spell. She felt through her nock-link that the electricity attack had stunned the robot and disabled Aidan's control over it.

The Blade-Roller smashed into the floor and slid into the next opponent, which resembled a vacuum cleaner.

"Disengage. We will recuperate." Flora wanted to avoid destroying household appliances.

While sipping a health potion and still channeling the healing command, Flora surveyed the arena.

More than half of the machines had turned into scrap metal. Between the wreckage, tarnished drones were still battling it out.

The fighting outside the arena barrier had intensified. Flora's turrets shot without a pause. No enemy dared to approach her, but now and then, a shot flitted by. Whether it hit or missed, Flora didn't care. Her focus was on the proceedings inside the arena. She knew she could leave the outside in Aito's capable tentacles.

The only action she took was repairing the mech-suit after the Blade-Roller reached 90% HP.

"Ready for the next bout, Aidan?"

"Yes, Milady."

Looking for another victim, Flora found a peculiar scene. A ball with helicopter blades protruding from the equator attacked a bunny drone. First, the steel bunny was winning, but then it froze, and the blades mowed it down.

Flora's eyes followed the ball to the next opponent, and the same happened.

Name: Copter Comet

Owner: Chooper Cutsug

Aito highlighted the owner. He was a big blond guy surrounded by friends. His muscles bulged under his Daredevil T-Shirt to such a degree Flora doubted he could wipe his butt without help.

Nick-Name: Chooper Cutsug

Clan: Badmove

Level: 13

Rating: A

A girl next to him pointed in the arena, and then two of the group left.

The Copter Comet rolled to the area and attacked a sturdy drone with a spatula-like flipper in the front.

Retaliating, it flipped the ball to the opposing side of the drone, where a thorn was attached.

Name: Flippy Guêpe

Owner: Chocolatine Lycée

"Aidan, attack Copter. Aito, find Chocolatine."

The woman stood a few meters to Flora's left. She had a brown bob and held a controller in her hand.

Two familiar guys closed in on her. Chooper's friends had arrived.

Flora burned with rage. She had speculated the sudden victories of Chooper involved foul-play, but a part of her hadn't wanted to believe it.

For a moment, she contemplated whether she should wait until they start messing with Chocolatine. She had no proof of any wrongdoings yet. But then one of the guys went invisible, and that removed any lingering doubts.

"Kill them!"

Aito opened fire. Flora's AI wasn't playing around; she activated Rapid Fire right from the start.

Her first shot made the invisible guy reappear. Her second shot hit him right between the eyes.

As Aito fired her third shot, Flora used the plasma-sword-focus' lightning cantrip on the other guy.

The spark flew out of the sword, electrifying him. Then it sprang over to his friend. The young man had no health left and disappeared.

Aito switched marks and rained beams on Flora's initial target, killing him with a headshot. The little octopus aim was excellent, Flora noticed proudly.

Chocolatine was still engrossed in the Robo-Melee, not noticing the massacre around her.

Satisfied, Flora grinned.

Meanwhile, Aidan had harassed the Copter Comet and prevented him from fleeing while Flippy Guêpe stung and flipped him.

When Flora shifted her concentration back, the rotor blades of the Comet were broken, and his formerly shiny globe dented.

The Blade-Roller had battle scars as well, so Flora initiated another round of healing.

When the Comet tried to wobble away, Aidan clipped him, and Chocolatine arrived from behind. Employing three different saws, Aidan pushed the drone on Flippy's spatula.

Wedged between chainsaws, the spatula, and the Flippy, the Copter Comet had no chance to last.

After his lights went out, Flippy threw him away and turned with her thorn to the Blade-Roller.

"This is how you repay me saving you?" Flora snorted. Of course, Chocolatine's actions were perfectly alright with Flora. Killing robots was the name of the game. Even InsertMeme's attack on the outside hadn't exasperated her, because it was one against one.

But to send your friends? Coward!

Flora looked over to Chooper Cutsug, and her eyes met the gaze of his female spotter.

"Looks like we've been found out. Notify me when the henchmen can leave the loser’s corner. Aito, stay sharp."

After a short check of her bars, Flora swallowed another health potion. Grease with life's Blood and the stray shots had decreased half of her health-bar. But her mana-bar looked fresh with only the top missing.

"Time to use more skills."

A ball with thrusters and feet like a kangaroo jumped on the Flippy, joining the fight.

The three machines battled it out; temporary alliances were made and broken. Metal clashed with metal until only one robot was able to move.

The three-way melee had ended with the Blade-Runner winning.

No pause for the wickedly awesome; a new opponent had found the Blade-Runner.

The cuckoo clock rolled on tank treads in front of the Blade-Roller.

"Dodge Aidan!"

The clock chimed. Out of a door on the clock face, a mini-beer-glass appeared and dumped its content on the spot Aidan just had vacated. The liquid bubbled on the floor.

"Acid!"

The Blade Roller attacked the flank of the Cuckoo Clunker. It looked wooden and had drinking and girl-chasing soldiers carved on it. But the saws only produced sparks.

"What kind of material is this?" asked Flora, intrigued. "Maybe the crafter had refined it? I will definitely refine the next robot. A pity, I learned about the technique after completing the Blade-Roller."

Aidan pinged, and Flora cast "Wheel of Steel."

The skill originated from the driver class. It transformed regular wheels into weapons. The combination of Robot Armor and Wheels of Steel turned the Blade-Roller's saws into indestructible armaments.

Aidan hopped on the roof of the drone. His next attack looked more effective: gashes appeared.

The Cuckoo Clunker accelerate abruptly, and the Blade-Roller tumbled from its roof.

!

"Duck, Milady."

Flora flattened herself. A bullet hit the top of the potion guzzler and shattered some vials. A second one flew over her head.

Lying on the Turret-Traps, she activated the shield of the multi-tool-scepter. Only then she dared to take a peek.

Chooper Cugsug and at least three of his friends ran into Flora's direction while firing their weapons. Amongst them were two batticles and a mech-suit.

"You've chosen the wrong clan to cross, bitch." The mech-suit user yelled.

The other audience members cleared the path for them. Like scared mice, they scampered in all directions. Out of the corner of her eye, Flora spotted InsertMeme Here, ducking behind a bench.

"Help me, and it won't be to your disadvantage." Flora messaged him attached to a party invite.

"I want the blueprints of the octopussy."

"Deal."

The turrets unleashed a barrage, while Aito concentrated her fire on Chooper.

Flora rolled behind the towers and emptied her quick-access slot of traps.

"Aito needs help. They are focusing on the Octopussy, Milady."

"They won't get away with it!"