It was dead silent in the corridor. Outside the robots sounded as pouring rain with the echoing smatter. Lyner let go of all thoughts, becoming the hunter they were trained to be. They counted the seconds. Their target was real and had a physical body. No matter how well they could hide their step the airflow and presence of physicality could not be masked.

The figure stopped just out of reach for Lyner to do a quick attack around the corner and leaned against the wall.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, my Lyner. I still often think about our last meeting. Do you remember?"

Lyner bit their lip hard enough to make it bleed. The voice was confident and venomously sweet with an inhuman clarity. The voice was not produced by vocal cords, lips and tongue. It was a little speech box producing the mechanical vocals in their throat.

"Olle… " Lyner wheezed out, their voice weak from years of unuse.

Add could not stop themselves from shivering and signed over and over that they should run.

"I'm ecstatic to know you are alive- " Olle continued in a sensual whisper, the speech machine cutting in and out at the deep notes, each syllable an assault on Lyner's senses. Their blade heavy in their grip.

Add pulled at Lyner's sleeve but the hunter was still as a statue. A number of robots could be heard galloping over one another behind the shadow.

"Now I can kill you myself."

The shade turned the corner and Lyner immediately slashed open their abdomen. Acid and chords spewed out. With inhuman force Lyner was kicked and flew across the hall into the mist. Lyner rolled on impact like a ragdoll and could feel the bruising imprint of a foot on their chest.

Add dashed after Lyner. The cyborg ghost of Olle reached out for their coat collar but turned around to crack the silicon skull of a collector who pounced on them with claws and laser eyes.

Where one fell two more followed and a whole army of mad-dog robots pounced them with a programmed need to collect all precious materials in the labyrinth.

The cyborg crushed head after head leaving behind them a pile of machine corpses for the other collectors to lick up once it clicked that the pile of prime materials weren't sending out identification signals.

Add reached out and picked up Lyner where they laid in a puddle of mudd.

"Can we run now?" Add stressed and without another word Lyner put into action their plan of using their knowledge of the tunnels to outmaneuver their adversaries.

The pair ran for their lives. As soon as they had gained some distance and found a nook to hide behind Lyner got out their spy cup. Add waited with agitation to hear how close behind their pursuers were and where to go next.

Lyner's expression turned grim and winced away from the cup.

"It’s hard to get a read. I have to assume we are surrounded. Our only way out is to the chasm. I have no way of knowing the cyborgs' proximity. We have to leave this sector."

Add slid a hand down their face and sighed. "Guess we are shit out of luck. We sneak away and climb, yeah?"

"Sneak away and climb," Lyner repeated with a cold smile.