When everything wants you dead, living in itself is an act of rebellion, and Olle was nothing if not a rebel. Though they lost their cause long ago the fire never burned out. Mechanical corpse after corpse piled up behind the cyborg as they swaggered down the network of squeezing tunnels and grand cathedral halls.

The biotech spider monsters stalked Olle endlessly once their sensors as much as caught wind of them. They were made to be a treasure trove of materials. Metals, plastics, silicon. The only part of Olle that still had the body parts they were born with was the upper half of their head and spine. With no tongue or traditional digestive system Olle instead sustained themselves on the energy reserves so kindly offered by the sleepless horde of robots from hell. They chased Olle and Olle drained them, a perfectly working system.

Slicing up another hell beast with their claws the cyborg spilled out its insides into a pile of steel. copper and a few scattered black stars. Olle picked out the shards of black obsidian, holding it carefully between their fingers as it had not yet stopped singing its song of resonance that allowed it to cut steel like butter.

"Pity. I guess I will have to find you the old fashioned way." Olle mused to themselves, turning to face the sponge-like cavern wall in front of them.

The cyborg headed in and followed their sensors to hunt down any collectors that might have gotten ahead of them and could pose a problem for their Lyner. Olle much rather liked the idea of climbing the labyrinth and hunting the little traitor then having them die at the hands of some mindless droids.

***

Add saw how Lyner's arms were shaking and suggested a ledge where they could rest at. Once they had gained some ground, Add could be strapped on and find a good angle to clamp down and take on Lyner's backpack. They could hear collectors and animals in the chasm below them but it appeared that they had gotten out of the firing line.

Sitting down to cook with Lyner had begun to have a familiar feeling to it, that sunken scarred face was still a bit difficult on the eyes but was not without some charm.

"Can't believe we got out of that one. And don't worry about the hat, there's plenty more where that came from." Add jokingly knocked on their head. "Sorry about your blade though. I bet it has served you well."

"You fought bravely. Do not be sorry about a tool being used for its purpose. We survived, now we move on."

"What a cold, cool answer."

Lyner rolled their shoulders and stretched their abused limbs. It was cramped and dark on their little cliff. Add pinched their nose and blew air to clear the annoying lid in their ears. After a few moments of silence, Add turned to their companion.

"Hey. Are you alright? Who was that we met at the Y-junction?"

Lyner stared into nothing and lowered their head, the wound on their lip reopened. Add could not understand what had caused such a reaction and courisly prodded on.

"You know each other?"

Lyner remained silent which only made Add want to know more.

"What was that name you used? Can you sign it to me?"

"Stop asking questions." The hunter huffed.

"Just give me the name at least and I promise to drop it for now."

Lyner looked at Add like the archivist had pounced them in their face. With gritted teeth Lyner held up their arm, closed their right hand into a fist in level with their shoulder and moved it over to their heart, mouthing out "Olle" for emphasis. A strong and unmistakable sign that was made with such disdain, Add could not help but imagine what this Olle might have been like and what horrible things they had done to affect the hunter so much.

"Is Olle the reason you left your home?"

"No more questions. That was the agreement. You should think about how far we need to go before we reach ground you recognize."

"Ok. I understand. We will talk more later. You know it would be for the better for us both if I knew who is chasing us and for you to work out whatever mental blockage this Olle causes you."

"Enough." Lyner glared back and rested their head on their knees.

Add scooted over and tried to lay a comforting arm around their shoulder but Lyner jerked away dismissively.

"Eat. We will continue on soon."

Add nodded, munching on some crispy meat, wondering why the old soldier was being so difficult. Maybe they needed a bath and a bed. Hopefully parts of the hive would still be up there and they could enjoy some civilization.

"Hey, Lyner?"

The soldier gave a tired look of suspicious irritation but Add continued when Lyner made no motion to oppose them.

"What's your favorite food?"

"... I used to enjoy mussels soup."

"Mussels? I don't know that sign."

"A creature from the sea, similar to a snail with a soft body and a hard shell."

"A sea, huh? I've heard of seas, but I've never seen one for myself. Largest body of water we have in my sector is our water plant."

"Why did you ask this question? Do you wish to share your own answer?"

"Just making conversation. I'm curious about you. In my opinion hotpot is the best. You can throw in anything you like and share between a whole group." Add signed excitedly with a sheepish grin that only grew as the soldier let out a relaxed sigh.

“I’ll promise I’ll make you some when we get back up home.”