“Mate, I love III,” Lavil II began. “Well, sorta. As much as you can love someone whose skill high-score is tying the noose around your neck.”

“Poetic,” Nōne quietly remarked.

“Shut it, screen boy, I'm not finished. Ups doesn't like me. Never has. So they made my sister “well behaved” and easily controllable if it comes down to it. And it's comin' down to it. Even III knows; tell 'em.”

“Mhm,” Lavil III chimed in. “My creator gave me free will just like II, but I can be controlled and ordered around remotely, and there's nothing I can do to fight it. I'll be stripped of my consciousness and become a mindless drone meant to do whatever my creator wishes. Given your circumstances, it's more than likely my creator will wish to kill you all. And, with my level of technology and assembly, it's more than likely that I would succeed.”

“Hence, this.” Lavil clicked something on his rifle. “If this fucker moves without my permission, I'll send her straight to hell before she gets the chance to take one goddamn step.”

“Please understand, I would love nothing more than to scrap my creator for spare parts,” III began, “but it would be foolish for me to attempt such a thing.”

“So... you knew about our plan the whole time?” Shock asked, looking a little shaken.

“Not at all. II ran in here seconds ago, put a gun to my head, and said “I'm starting a coup.” That's all I needed to know.”

“We understand each other real well,” II declaimed.

“Hey. Question,” I butted in. “Why is this place so empty?”

“Because everybody's on the surface looking for us, lol. Ups must have called fucking everyone to come after us after the Tangent incident. I ain't got a clue how you two got here so fast, but it's really not hard for me to outrun a mob of pissed off robots. And they're all gonna be arriving any minute.”

“We destroyed a machine in the maintenance tunnels, but not before it alerted the fortress's security. It's probably closer to any second.” Nōne explained.

“Then you better get armed and ready,” Lavil II suggested. “Look at this place. Sky's the limit.”

“What about your sister?” I asked.

II discarded the random sidearm he'd grabbed earlier and gripped his rifle with both hands, aiming down at III's legs.

He opened fire, shredding III's narrow legs with several powerful rifle shots.

“What the fuck?!” I shouted, jumping back from the sudden gunfire.

“Lavil!!” Shock screamed, stepping back as well.

Nōne had no reaction, and all I heard from III herself was, “aw, come on, really?” as she crumpled to the floor.

Lavil II shrugged with his arms up in the air. “How the fuck else am I supposed to stop you from coming to kill us at zero hour?”

“Those are my legs! I can't skate anymore! That's all I loved!”

“I'll help you get fixed after I finish what I gotta do!”

“He's the only person on this planet who knows how to make friction control skates and magnetic limbs, Lavil!”

“He's not the person who made you! His team did! All he did was watch on his dumbass seat and look like a dick–”

“Shut it!” Shock yelled. “We've got company!”

Both Lavils shut up. Rushing footsteps of several robots were pounding the ground in the distance, clearly marching closer.

“Grab a gun!” II yelled to us. “Grab a gun and get ready!”

“I-I don't know how to use guns!” I cried, looking around frantically.

“I'll show you!” Shock called to me. “Get one and take cover with me behind these,” she instructed me, grabbing a rifle of her own. She took cover behind the end of two huge weapon lockers that were facing back to back in the middle of the room.

The first gun I laid my optics on was what I took. And another. And another. Three big rifles similar to Lavil's were all that I could fit in my arms. I brought them down to Shock's hiding spot, holding one beside her.

The incoming robots were getting louder. I could now hear the metal clang of the huge machines heading our way.

I took a look around as Shock took my gun. Lavil II, armed with his rifle, was dragging III to his cover on the left side of the room. Nōne, armed with a grenade launcher, was hiding on the right.

She fiddled around with a couple knobs and checked the ammo while I sat there and grew more and more apprehensive. We probably only had a few moments left.

“Hurry, hurry..!” I mumbled to her.

She handed it back to me. “Safety's off. It's not automatic, so you have to keep pulling the trigger. Hold it like this,” she explained, holding her rifle down towards the door as if she was at shooting range. “Support it with your shoulder here. You only have one magazine. Try to keep it steady!”

“Uh, okay!” Shock's five second firearm training course was the best I was going to get in a situation like this. She took the right side of our cover; I took the left. Trying to hold my rifle properly, I aimed it down towards the armoury's only door.

Outside the armoury was a loud, booming voice. “Spread out! Check every corner!”

“Won't take long for them to find us,” Shock whispered. “As soon as you see someone through that door, let them have it.”

I steeled myself, firmly gripping my rifle.

A shadow moved into the armoury's doorway. It turned into a silhouette.

I pulled the trigger. Again, and again.

The room exploded with deafening gunfire as we riddled the machine in the entrance-way.

The rifle's recoil threw me back, but by the time I'd stabilized myself, the robot was flat on the ground. There was a brief moment of relative silence.

“Armoury! Armoury!” the voice from before bellowed outside.

The room was quickly rushed by a squad of huge, bulky robots. I kept firing, keeping the rifle as stable as I could. Once again, the silence shattered into the sounds of gunfire and shredded metal.

BAM – a huge, fiery explosion flashed before us on the enemy's side of the room, forcing me to take cover behind the weapon rack.

A small, round chunk of metal rolled near my side.

“Grenade!” Lavil screamed at me between shots. “Fucking chuck it, Aural!!”

That metal – it was a grenade!

I grabbed it, whipping it back in the enemy's direction!

Another explosion blasted in front of me. The grenade exploded not a second after I threw it, cracking my visor and shredding my left arm.

I couldn't see anybody coming through the smoke and debris in the air – not to mention the giant crack in my visor – but I knew they were there. I tried to aim once again, but the damage to my arm made it difficult to support the rifle. Nevertheless, I continued pulling the trigger, providing covering fire at the very least.

Another blinding explosion flashed from inside the fog.

I started doubting if we were going to survive this or not.

As I continued firing into the smoke, my rifle started clicking with every shot. I didn't know what that meant, but only a few more shots left my rifle before it was out of ammo.

Thinking of nothing better to do, I threw my empty gun down range.

The smoke began clearing just enough to see the doorway again. There wasn't anybody standing. The enemy robots were either destroyed or barely clinging to life on the ground.

Gradually, we slowed our fire to a halt.

“Go?!” I suggested, standing up.

“Now might be a good chance,” Nōne affirmed. “Fortress guards work in squads. This could be our opening.”

“Where are we going?” Shock yelled at Nōne.

“The tram to Upsilon's chambers. Go out, right, and right again at the middle of the server room.”

“Shock, I need a new gun!” I shouted.

She tossed me one of the rifles I'd brought over for the firefight. “Flick the switch on the top! That's the safety!”

Slinging a nearby ammo belt over his shoulder, Lavil II took point and skated towards the door, hopping over the ruined bodies, leaving Lavil III behind.

“I'll be back for you!” he called out to his sibling.

“Please!”

We all followed Lavil II. He peeked around the corner before charging out.

“Check the entrance,” Nōne reminded him as we ran into the server room.

“Ya, ya! Don't gotta tell me!” Lavil recklessly skated off to look outside the main entrance of the fortress as we hurried to catch up to him.

“Oh fuck!” he yelled, scrambling back behind the wall next to the main door.

A stream of white-hot projectiles flew into the main fortress entrance, coupled with the familiar grind of a minigun's fire.

“Clear out!” Nōne ordered us, aiming his grenade launcher at the doorway. “Firing!”

A grenade arced across the room towards the entrance, bouncing and rolling to a stop just outside the main door.

Lavil jumped back again as the grenade exploded just outside the door. “Get to the tram!” he directed us, pointing down the room. “We can't take those fuckers!”

Our path to the tram's room was through the wide open room, but huge server towers stood in lines on both sides of the room. We could use those for cover!

“Come! Behind the towers!” I called to Shock and Nōne.

I ran down the side of the room, hugging the wall behind the server towers. The guards couldn't see us at all. I glanced back just long enough to see Nōne and Shock following. Good.

I took a turn to the left as I met the corner of the room. To get to the door, we'd need to run out from behind the towers.

This was risky. I peeked out to see where our assailants were focused.

One of those bots had come in through the main entrance, aiming towards the armoury. Was Lavil distracting them?!

“Go!” I took the opportunity to run out and dash for the door. I saw no handle, so I pushed against it. It slid open from the middle upon contact, and I went stumbling through.

I took cover behind the wall just inside the room. It was a small, square, dark blue room with a control panel on the opposite end and an enormous tunnel in the middle.

Nōne and Shock spilled into the room moments later.

More minigun fire blasted from outside, but only for a brief moment. Two seconds later, Lavil rushed inside as well.

Nōne ran over to the panel against the far wall, pushing buttons I couldn't see from here.

“It is almost here!” the computer announced. “24 seconds until tram arrival.”

“You're joking,” Shock said between heavy breaths. “We're fucked.”

“Bullshit!” Lavil replied, “these assholes ain't programmed to be smart! They'll walk right the fuck into the rooms we're in without taking cover!” He pointed to Nōne. “TV man! Get ready at the door and fuck them sideways when they come in!”

“A fine idea,” Nōne sang, running back to our cover.

“And we'll get in position to light them up! Aural, Shock! Get on it!”

“Got it!” I replied.

“Okay,” Shock answered.

Nōne positioned himself on the left side of the door while the rest of us ran to the right, rifles pointed at, uh... Nōne.

“...You are joking, right?” Nōne remarked. “Find a different spot.”

“You see anywhere else to hide?” Lavil shrugged, looking around.

“Angle yourselves better!”

“Like this?!” I shouted back, taking a couple steps right. My aim was now outside the door, but any enemy that approached would see me sooner too.

Shock did the same as me. Lavil didn't move.

“Hit me and I will end you,” Nōne announced.

With my damaged arm, I worried about that.

Stomp, stomp, stomp. The guards were approaching.

I tightened my grip.

“Tram arriving now,” the computer blared.

“Don't fucking move,” Lavil ordered us. “Fuck these guys up first.”

STOMP, STOMP.

A hulking, gun-toting machine came into view.

The cacophony of gunfire erupted around us again, but my rifle wasn't firing!

I watched Nōne in the corner of my optics slashing the incoming machine with his scythe while I tried fiddling with my gun.

The robot's minigun arms revved up despite our onslaught. They were pointed at me!

“Shit!” I cried out in panic.

No time. I ran and jumped away to the opposite end of the room. I went prone as I hit the floor.

The screech of minigun fire pierced the air around me.

And as quickly as it started, it stopped.

I dared look up at the robot shooting at me.

It was collapsing on the ground in front of the door – Nōne decapitated it in a shower of sparks and electricity while the other two filled it with holes.

The tram was only a few feet away from me, sitting with open doors, scarred by the gunfire I narrowly avoided.

“Let's go!” Shock directed us. “They can't get in with that hulk blocking the doorway!”

I stood up and stumbled into the tram, running down the lengthy vehicle towards a control panel at the front.

Shock, Lavil, and Nōne wasted no time rushing in behind me.

March, march. More robots were coming.

I reached the front of the tram to see bright, clearly marked buttons on the panel.

I repeatedly slapped the DEPART button so fast that I swear I almost broke it.

“Now departing!” the tram's computer chimed in. “Please keep clear of all doors and remain seated for acceleration.”

“GO!!” I screamed at it.

“Everyone! Get down!” Shock shouted.

I looked back through the tram's back window. Just beyond the wrecked robot in the room's doorway, another one was spinning its guns.

I hit the floor again. So did Shock and Nōne. Lavil crouched down by the back of the tram, beneath the window.

Shattered glass rained down upon us as another blaze of gunfire smashed through the tram's windows. On cue, the tram started accelerating, taking us away from this disaster zone.

“Go go go go go,” I chanted to myself.

Slowly but surely, we were driven away from the madness threatening to rip us to shreds. The gunfire stopped as we got farther away.

Were we finally safe?

Along with Shock, I slowly rose to my feet, looking around for any sign of danger.

“Oh my god,” Shock huffed, looking around. “Oh. My god.” I'd never seen her so terrified before.

“Now that is what I call a good time,” Lavil boasted.

I was still speechless.

“Aural. What happened?” Nōne asked me.

“I... I, u-uh... just... need a sec.”

“I can wait.”

I stood up, taking a moment to let my circuitry cool down, looking outside the tram at the rusty tunnel walls rapidly passing by.

“A grenade rolled beside me, and I barely threw it away–”

“Not that. Why didn't you stay in position?”

“Oh... my gun didn't fire,” I admitted.

“Hm? Jammed?”

“Maybe?”

Shock turned to me. “Did you turn the safety off?”

...Oh. That... was embarrassing.

“N-no. Fuck, I'm sorry...”

“Fuck off. Are you for real?” Lavil barked.

“At least... at the very least...” Shock interrupted him, raising her hands to her sides, “we're alive, and we made it. No sense in getting pissed at each other now.”

Nōne just shook his head.

Given how grave of an error that was, I was all too thankful for her clemency.

“Just don't make that mistake again,” Shock scolded me with a finger firmly pointed in my direction.

“Yeah... I won't. Sorry.” I couldn't even pretend to be cool after something like that. I turned away from the others, looking for a seat.

Seconds turned into minutes as we rode down the tunnel. Time suddenly felt slower than ever.

Nо̄ne sat down on the floor at the back of the tram. Shock was on a seat on the other end, and Lavil was slowly pacing from one end to the other, nonchalantly kicking shards of broken glass around.

I'd found a spot on one of the long, orange seats in the middle of the tram, looking into a nearby window (or, what was left of it) as the tunnel whizzed by. I saw my reflection in a big shard of glass still attached to the window frame, much to my dismay... my face was cracked and chipped, and one of the points on my visor was still broken off.

I looked down at my left arm, which wasn't working properly either. Shards of metal were sticking out of it, and chunks of its outer hull were stripped right off, exposing the sensitive mechanisms and wires inside.

Arduously, I lifted my head up. “Hey... Shock.”

“Give me a minute,” she replied. Her eyes were shut, and she was taking long, deep breaths.

I waited in silence until she was finished.

“Okay. What's up?” she asked as she stood up, walking over to me.

“I've never been so damaged before.” I paused, finding it hard to say the words aloud. “Can this all be fixed?”

Shock sat beside me, clasping her hands together in her lap. “Of course it can. If you were made that way once, you can be made that way again.”

“Guess you're right...”

“You're a robot. You can remodel yourself if you wanted. Upgrade.”

It was a thought that never crossed my mind before. I never gave any credit to the idea of changing my appearance; it was my public image as a performer, after all.

“What about my image?” I voiced my concern.

“What, like, as a musician?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn't say you have to get a whole new body. You can update your current model if you want.”

I looked back down at my arm. “I just hope I'll hold out until then.”

“Yeah. Me too.” She let out a deep breath. “You could keep yourself as is, if you wanted. You look pretty rugged like that.”

I almost forced out a laugh. Instead, it was more like a huff. “Shock, I can barely see.”

“Right. Nevermind.” She looked to the side, humming to herself. “I wonder if Trivo's okay.”

My mechanical heart sank. I'd forgotten about her in all that madness, as much as I hated to admit it.

“She wasn't in good condition when we left,” I mumbled. “She was unconscious and missing an arm...”

“If I remember right...” Shock started, “she wasn't exactly unconscious, just in sleep mode, yeah? I think Lavil said she was “off.””

“That could still mean a few things...”

“Fuck's up,” Lavil bleated, sliding over our way. “I heard my name.”

“Yeah. What, uh...” I hesitated, realizing now that Lavil hadn't mentioned her this whole time. Surely he wouldn't have forgotten about her. “What state was Trivo in when we left?”

“Not good. Missing an arm. Deactivated.” His tone was unexpectedly casual.

“Will she wake up?”

“...Dunno.” Lavil strode back to the other end of the tram. “She better,” he finished with a low voice.

I couldn't think of anything else to say after that.

Neither could Shock, apparently.

It was just dreary silence after that remark. No planning, pep talks, or final words.

Nothing.