Metallic Knights

I edited the post! John's next to post, so that's a thing.

Like a blazing ring, CompassMan's blade orbited him. It was a genius weapon; combining attack and defense, Meter's saber was generated by hardened energy emitters, and could be controlled via his mind, or his hand directly. The robot master, loyal to New Harmony, weaved in and out of cover as his opponent laid down shot after shot from his buster.

Spring, a brutal Malevolent, had deep cuts throughout his chassis, and a look of frustrated rage on his face. CompassMan's silver and red armor was unscathed, and his fair skinned face was unmarked. It was easy to tell that even with the advantage of a buster, Spring was getting his ass kicked.

The Malevolent watched as CompassMan dodged and deflected his shots. In frustration, Spring brought back his leg and punted a car. His pneumatically powered leg sent the vehicle sailing towards CompassMan, who grinned.

"You think that'll stop ME?!" Meter leaped over the vehicle, grasping his saber and slicing through the car for good measure. He landed in front of Spring, who lifted his blaster. CompassMan sidestepped a point blank shot from Spring's buster, and ducked under a kick. Spring's attacks were powerful; perhaps powerful enough to damage CompassMan. However, he was too sloppy and unfocused to land a strike. Meter swung his saber, slashing Spring's arm completely off, destroying his buster.

Spring fell backwards, screaming in agony at the wound. "DAMN YOU!!!"

CompassMan stood over Spring, his saber at the Malevolent's throat. "You're going to pay for every human you've killed, murderer scum!" Meter's glass, jutting visor retracted, his eyes filled with disgust as he looked down on the enemy. "Any last words, before I cut out your integrated circuit and cut your body to pieces?"

The Malevolent clenched his teeth, hatefully staring up at Meter. "REINFORCEMENTS! Where the fuck are my drones?!"

The Robot Master chortled, placing a hand on his hip as he lifted his saber. "My colleague has probably already torn them apart. Between you and me, you're probably lucky you didn't fight him. He usually smashes Malevolent. He's strong, but inelegant."

"Well, here's something 'elegant,' asshole," Spring murmured. "You're about to get shot in the back."

Suddenly, on cue, a burst of energy struck Meter from behind, scorching the area between his shoulderblades and blackening his armor. The robot stumbled forward, bewildered as Spring stood on his hand and threw a kick. "SPRING SHOOT!" The kick dented the armor plating on Meter's ribcage, and sent the robot flying. "HAH! SKULL! Hit him again!"

Skull, aiming his smoking gun, stood across the street. He'd been waiting for a chance to attack Meter from behind, and from afar. His armor had gone through heavy repairs, along with upgrades. "I think I'll use my new buster." Skull's bleached white lips were set in a grin. His "human" eye beamed with glee, the skeletal eye on the other side of his face glowing a sickly lime-green. He lifted his left arm, and his hand shifted into a thin, pointed buster-rifle. Skull fired, and the white burst of energy pierced Meter's knee from behind. The seconds shot struck the robot master on the elbow, sheering his arm off and disabling his saber. CompassMan fell to his knees, bracing himself on his arm.

Meter remained stoically silent despite the damage. He looked to his side; Spring was smirking at him, and bringing back his foot. "Hey Skull! Watch this! I'll kick his fucking head off!" Skull folded his arms, watching with an amused smirk. Meter looked back at Skull, a calm, but disappointed expression on his face.

"...Grave. I remember you. We trained together." Meter's words cut through Skull's calm exterior. "You'll be brought to justice, traitor. Even if I die here, someone will put a stop to your shenanigans."

Skull sighed. "Well, that 'someone' clearly won't be you. Spring. Hurry up and kill him."

"No, Grave. That someone is five seconds from shooting Spring."

Skull's eyes widened as he noticed Pastoral. On the opposite side of the road, the brown robot master was aiming at Spring.

"Silver Splash." Pastoral's left cannon fired a rapid burst of energy that hit Spring from the side. The burst toasted Spring's armor, blasting a hole in his metal ribcage, and tearing open the robot's scalp. Spring, stunned, stumbled slightly as CompassMan stood and whirled around.

With a clenched fist, CompassMan finished his fight with Spring; he punched the malevolent's head clean off, sending it rolling down the street. Meter curved his fingers like a tiger's paw, and stabbed his arm into Spring's chest, tearing out the robot's integrated circuit. He couldn't move well, but he remained on his feet despite his devastated leg.

Skull fired his buster and blew off CompassMan's hand. Meter gasped; not at the pain, but that the integrated circuit between his fingertips was destroyed. He could feel Spring's soul completely disperse; a lost signal on the wind. Meter had only disabled Spring. For all intents and purposes, Skull had just killed him in cold blood.

"YOU MONSTER!!!" Meter howled. "He was your ally!"

"He killed humans, didn't he?" Skull stood, arms akimbo, tauntingly sneering at Meter. "You just said we deserved to be punished. I thought I'd save you the trouble. He was worthless to me, and he was an unrepentant murderer. What's wrong with killing someone like that?"

Skull waited for Meter's answer. "Well? Answer me. What's wrong with what I-"

PulseMan's right buster came up and fired. Skull ducked out of the way, darting into an alley. Pastoral watched as Skull sprang from wall to wall, landing on a nearby rooftop. "WOW, Pastoral. You constantly whine about me pulling off sneak attacks, but here you are, shooting at me MID SENTENCE. How rude can you be? BUT, unfortunately, I've got no reason to fight you here."

"'Cause you're a dirty two-faced coward with ugly green eyes who runs away from a fair fight?" Pastoral growled, staring up at Skull. He stood in front of CompassMan, knowing that Skull could shoot the impared robot at any moment. "If you want to talk big, how about you act big for once and fight me head on?!"

Skull's eye twitched slightly, his grin faltering into a scowl. Pastoral could read people well; his words seemed to hurt every once in a while.

"Well, PulseMan, as much as I'd love to flatten you, I've got a friend who's spoiling for a fight. BACKBONE. Attack."

Pastoral tensed up, looking around. The ground suddenly shook and cracked. Underneath us! Thinking quickly, Pastoral grabbed Meter, and sprang up and out of the road. The pavement burst and crumbled as a robot master tunneled out of the ground with great force, sending concrete flying in every direction.

A single, bleach white, shining robot stood at the center of the crater. He'd smashed his way out of a sewer to attack Pastoral and Meter from underground; likely to avoid CompassMan's powerful sensors. Backbone beat his chest. "Which one shall I destroy, master Skull?"

"Both. Start with the brown one." Skull beamed with pride at Backbone, as the robot prepared to fight.

"You seem to be PulseMan, one of the irksome twin Robot Masters." Backbone leered up at Pastoral, lifting his fists and preparing himself. "I've prepared myself to destroy the two of you for your crimes against my master. I'll allow you the first blow."

Pastoral raised an eyebrow at Backbone. The robot was oddly honorable, especially considering Skull was his boss. "CompassMan. Warp out of here for repairs. If you see Sonata...tell her I said get well soon."

For a moment, Meter ignored Pastoral, sizing Backbone up. His sensors were normally used for pathfinding, but he was talented at scanning for strengths and weaknesses.

"...Pastoral, don't fight this guy. He's got hydrolic lifting systems that are three times as strong as ours, his armor is thick enough to take far more than you can dish out, and he's outfitted with jets. I don't know who built him, but it seems he's designed specifically to kill you. Let's warp back, and alert Cavatino."

Pastoral patted Meter on the shoulder. "I'm not backing down. If we leave, they'll probably start taking out humans in retaliation, or they'll go after other robot masters. I'm going to fight him, and I'm going to win. End of discussion."

Meter grit his teeth. "...Just don't let him kill you."

"Naturally," Pastoral replied coolly. Meter's body glowed, then shifted into a large mote of light. He shot into the sky, courtesy of New Harmony's Robot Master Transport system.

Skull gave Pastoral a mocking salute. "I'd love to stay and watch, but I got stuff to do. BACKBONE. Don't bother returning if you fail. Either succeed, or kill yourself."

"Understood, master."

Badgram wrote:My next chapter's coming soon!

Octave sprinted forward, leaping out of the wide, shattered window to the several story drop below. Beneath him, barreling downwards at an equal speed was Slash, his back facing the ground as he stared at Octave, chuckling loudly. 

“Shut the hell up!” Octave maneuvered himself in the air, pointing his feet downward in a bent pencil dive. Clutching the side of the hilt of his saber, Octave’s blue energy blade shone as power rushed into it. 

“Burst-Raider!” Octave’s attack, infinitely more powerful with his original saber, fired shot after shot downwards at Slash. Rather than aiming directly at Slash, Octave scattered the launched sabers all around the Malevolent, the flurry of deadly blades surrounding and enveloping the laughing psychopath. 

As the bursts hit the ground, Octave lost visual contact of Slash in the dust kicked up by the impacts. When he landed, Octave treated through the cloud slowly with his saber raised. Chuckles echoed all around the robot master, only confusing Octave on the actual location of Slash. Situationally, Octave realized he had made a mistake attempting to track his enemy through all this mess, but it was too late to run. Any deviation from his search would open him up for an attack on his flank. 

“So… Kicking you out of that window. Didn't work out as well as I thought it would, huh?” Octave commented coyly as he neared a burned out car in the midst of the debris. 

“Die…” Slash growled, following with more echoing laughter. With each cackle, Octave’s eye twitched underneath his visor. When he reached the car, Slash was nowhere to be found in or around it. 

“About that laughing. You can't annoy me to death, you know. And you can't psych me out. Stopping would be the correct tactical move if you ask me.” Octave turned at the creak of metal coming from behind him. A silhouette of a lion dashed behind the car. Before he could assess what was happening, the vehicle flipped head over heel towards Octave, the wind it created kicking away most of the dust in its path. Octave dove to the side, rolling over both shoulders and raising his saber just in time to guard against Slash’s attack. Pushing and swatting, Octave knocked Slash off balance and closed in for an attack.

In a stunning show of speed and agility, Slash drove his claws into Octave’s left shoulder and jumped, dragging their deeply driven edges along with him as he flipped over Octave, removing his blades on the other side. 

Octave turned sharply to face the dangerous Slash. Enraged, Octave instinctively went to form his left hand into a fist, only to find himself unable to use his left arm at all. 

“You son of a…” Octave clenched his teeth as Slash grabbed his chest, laughing uncontrollably and pointing at the crippled master. 

“Funny, huh? You find this whole thing funny?!” Octave could feel his rage grow in the pit of his stomach. Unbeknownst to him, Octave’s eyes normally bright blue eyes began to shine through his green visor that normally hid his eyes through their shining green hue. 

“Y-yes!” Slash’s uncontrollable laughter forced him to stutter and kneel forward in an attempt to calm himself down for the next brawl. 

“I am a warrior of New Harmony! Given physical form to protect the humans who live here from the likes of you!” Octave’s saber followed suit with his eyes, glowing brighter than ever before, and soon it became coated in unnatural blue flames. “I spent my whole life destined to be another sword in the crowd, pulling myself up to become as powerful as I am today… And I will not let you, a fucking two bit junk droid, kill me!”

Slash’s joyous chuckles stopped as he opened his eyes to see Octave literally burning with energy. His entire body lot aflame, as if those blue fires from his eyes and blade engulfed his entire body. Slash had seen this before, but never in a New Harmony Combat Master. 

“Head-Hunter.” Octave said with an eerily calm demeanor, holding his burning saber out to the side. The blade grew to almost the length of Octave’s entire body. “Time-Skimmer.”

In the blink of an eye, Octave seemed to teleport in increments of left to right, closing the distance in less than a second. In a feeble attempt to block the incoming attack, Slash raised his two sets of claws in front of him. 

With the broad side of his saber, Octave swatted Slash on the side of his body, knocking the Malevolent away and into a wall down on the other side of the block. Before he could regain his stance, Slash looked up to see Octave falling right above him, landing on top of him with his weight behind both feet, digging Slash deeper into the rubble he sat on top of. 

“Burn!” Octave shouted, driving his massive saber into the ground next to Slash’s head. The chunks of concrete and rebar lit aflame, consuming Slash into its path of destruction. Moving his boots from Slash’s chest, Octave stepped aside and watched as Slash darted off, his laughter fading into screams as he rolled around in puddle of drying rainwater in and ill fated attempt to diminish the flames. 

“Where’s the laugher now?! Isn't this tucking hilarious?! I've never seen a metal lion scream!” Octave rambled psychotically as he lifted his saber, the licks of blue flame rising in height and heat as he did so. 

As Slash’s cries peaked, SaberMan sheathed his blade, returning his right hand into its origInal form. The fire died suddenly, as if under his supreme command and bent solely to his influence. Slash’s frame had melted and contorted into a form resembling and melted candle as the metal in his body dried, welding itself into the concrete like a metallic statue. With a slow, menacing pace, Octave approached Slash and grabbed his arm by the shoulder. With a chuckle, Octave tore the limb from its socket, revealing hidden mechanical parts and wire. The yellow energy coating the claws between each knuckle on Slash’s severed arm faded, cut off from its power supply. Following mutilation with sheer brutality, Octave drove the sharp spikes from Slash’s arm into his own skull, dragging the blades down into his face, revealing the deeply hidden and protected integrated circuit within. 

Slash’s body fell limp, the only signs of motion the faint twitches in his remaining arm and both his wide open eyes, all of which stopped as soon as Octave planted his fingers inside Slash’s head, tearing out the integrated circuit. 

“Never mind. I prefer the look of terror on your face right now. Suits you better than that shit eating grin.” Octave place the circuit into a pocket within his frame’s combat jacket. Though his left arm was limp, most of the energy in his frame used up, and his body severely damaged, Octave drew his saber, ready to challenge the owner of the slow, dragging footsteps behind him. 

“Octave…?” Solo sighed, his eyebrows raised with confusion and worry. He clutched his buster arm with his free hand, the weapon heavily damaged and dented to the point of invalidity. Across his face was heavy burning and tearing on his synthetic flesh. Whatever battle Solo had just escaped from, he barely left with his life. 

“Solo! Are you okay?” Octave’s visor, saber, and mouth guard returned to their slots within his body, his burning blue eyes fading into their normal shine. 

“Are you?” A stiff breeze shot through the air as Solo retreated a single step, maintaining the distance between him and his brother in arms after Octave took a step forward. In Solo’s eyes Octave saw the same fear and astonishment Sonata had on her face after he had unjustly impaled her. This act of mercilessness was uncalled for in New Harmony combat master, but required for Malevolent. 

A thought that raced through both master’s heads as the heavy dose of fear set in.

MOAR!

...When you can of course.

Well, Manny, sometime tonight you'll get your wish. Putting together a post.

Gasp:

To his credit, Backbone was serious about giving Pastoral the first shot. The brown robot waited for at least five minutes, and the malevolent waited, stock still and prepared. Patient as a stone, the bleach white robot leered at PulseMan, awaiting his attack.

The robot master knew that words were meaningless, and he decided to forgo taunts. He bent his knees, and surged forward. Each step left a whisper quiet, coarse sound as the treads of his boots pushed off, propelling him as fast and serious as a cheetah. Pastoral's gait managed to throw off Backbone's sight as he moved into a blind spot, getting in incredibly close.

PulseMan threw a kick hard enough to break a building's support beam like a toothpick. The sound echoed against Backbone's side, but the robot turned, his serious eyes spotting Pastoral. The robot replied with a powerful swing of his arm. Pastoral ducked under the blow, his right arm converting into a cannon and glowing golden with lethal energy. His left fist chambered and swung. The blow caught Backbone on the chest, then repeated itself. A volley of left jabs echoed off of Backbone, managing to back him up a few steps. Backbone planted his foot as Pastoral's right arm came around.

The robot master's cannon connected with Backbone's chest, and discharged. The ever powerful "Gold Knock" detonated as his charged shot fired, generating a golden flash that could be seen for miles down the road. However, Backbone stood tall, a dent in his chest, but no further damage.

Backbone's fist looped around, catching Pastoral on the side of the head. The blow sent him sailing down the road and against a concrete wall, destroying it and sending dust and rubble sailing in every direction. Pastoral stood, his visor cracked.

Leaning forward, the malevolent glowered at Pastoral. "A solid effort, PulseMan. Now, allow me to return your gift." The robot's back opened, slots with small barrels jutting from his back, shoulders, and calves. Jets of white flame suddenly blossomed from his powerful flame, and he surged forward like a bull with built in jets. Pastoral dove out of the way, and Backbone charged through the building. His powerful arms tore through solid metal, glass, and stone like a bullet through lettuce. Pastoral rolled over his shoulder, and spotted Backbone sailing towards him again. He jumped out of the way, avoiding a charging punch.

Backbone didn't have much control over his direction, but he had immense speed and power. He was the bowling ball, and Pastoral was the pin. The robot master avoided charge after charge, leaping and sprinting, avoiding each charge. Backbone jumped up, and came down hard as Pastoral evaded his crashing blow. The ground was crushed under his weight and force, as Pastoral brought around his buster and lined up a shot.

He charged his left cannon and fired a splash of silver busterfire. The shots hit without fail, but they pinged off their target. Pastoral holstered both cannons, and watched as Backbone sailed towards him. He didn't intend to dodge this time.

His strategy was to take the bull by the horns.

As Backbone burst towards him, Pastoral moved just far enough to keep his body out of the way, but close enough to grab hold. He grasped Backbone by his angled helmet, and was ripped off his feet, riding Backbone as the two tore down the road. PulseMan found purchase on the malevolent's shoulders and aimed his buster at the robot's neck.

With a defiant shout, he fired point blank into the robot's collarbone. Backbone was thrown off course, and the two crashed into a building. The malevolent grasped Pastoral by the throat, tearing him off and thrusting him through a wall. The robot master proved tougher than Backbone anticipated. Pastoral fired his buster again and again, striking Backbone center mass, a few shots straying and hitting him in the face. Unwilling to endure anymore, Backbone tossed Pastoral off, and moved forward.

"I'll dismantle you with my BARE HANDS." Skull's acolyte felt his temper flare, as he brought back his fist and thrust it forward. Pastoral caught the punch, and felt a servo in his shoulder stutter. The robot redirected the blow, and replied with a strike of his own; a left hook to Backbone's jaw.

Pastoral gasped as a knee caught him in the stomach. The force of the blow knocked him upwards and through the ceiling of the ceiling. He landed on the roof of the building, and Backbone leaped up to join him.

Recovering, Pastoral threw a kick. The bedrock shattering blow struck Backbone on the side of the head. The robot kept his composure, and replied with a punch that knocked Pastoral off his feet. The smaller robot master sprang back up, but the recovery was too late. Backbone grabbed Pastoral's helmet, and slammed it down against the gravel on the ceiling. Activating his jets, he dragged Pastoral's helmet across the ground, and sprang over the side of the building.

Backbone lifted PulseMan by the head, and when he landed, he swung the robot master down hard. The blow cracked pavement for several meters, and left Pastoral on the ground, unmoving.

"...Yours was an honorable fight." Backbone stood over Pastoral, lifting his hand. "I'll destroy your body, but I'll leave your integrated circuit intact for the master's usage. Such is the mercy you've shown my people."

Before Backbone could land the killing blow, Pastoral suddenly turned onto his side and fired a charged shot directly at his shin. The blast knocked Backbone off his feet, and Pastoral followed up with a powerful kick, knocking Backbone off the ground. The robot flew several meters, landing on the balls of his feet. Backbone rubbed the damaged area. His armor was pocked with burns and dents.

Pastoral was faring far worse. Sparks came off of his damaged armor, and his skin was autorepairing slowly. The robot stood, small pops and snaps coming from his metallic skeleton. He was damaged badly, his left arm hanging limp.

"What causes you to fight so fiercely, Pastoral? My master told me you would be tenacious, but that word only scratches the surface." Backbone folded his arms. He genuinely wanted a response.

"...Because humans have souls too, and they're all counting on me to succeed." Pastoral wiped his visor. A cracked piece of opaque glass fell from it, revealing a fire in his eyes that Backbone couldn't help but respect. "I am their fury. I am their patience. I won't be intimidated, and I won't be cowed by overwhelming force. If you think you can beat me, then stop talking and bring it."

Backbone uncrossed his arms, and activated his jets.

"Very well, Pastoral. We will fight to the death." The malevolent's voice was somber and grave.

“No, I won’t go anywhere until you tell me what the hell that was!” Solo retreated in kind with every step Octave took towards him. Despite the fact that his buster was most likely unable to fire until further repairs, Solo raised his weapon towards Octave.

“I-I don’t know. That’s the first time something like that happened.” Octave stopped his slow paced towards his brother in arms, his head lowered in shame at the act he had just committed. New Harmony Combat Masters prided themselves as paragons of the Wastes, using superior tactics and skill to overcome the sheer brutality and cruelty of Malevolent Souls to defeat them. Though some Souls were more benevolent than others, and even their leader was an amoral tyrant, they were better in every way than their lesser cousins. Octave, however, always felt he rode the line. Now he feels he’s crossed it.

“What’s happening to you, Octave?” Solo’s defensive posture melted into a slouch, his body too damaged and his heart too heavy to continue taking up arms against a person he considered one of his closest friends.

“It all started when I met my bro… That Malevolent. My connection with him must be messing with me harder than I first thought.” Octave analysed himself, staring at his saber as his head raced.

“I don’t know, man. Looks to me like you’re becoming Malevolent.” Solo limped forward, stepping in closer to Octave now that he was almost certain he wouldn’t attack.

“If that happens, I’ll just leave New Harmony before I cause anymore damage.” Octave sighed before looking up at his comrade, deactivating his blade and returning his right arm to its normal, humanoid appearance.

“No.” Solo, finally reaching Octave, his weapon also away, placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “If you ever leave, you know Pastoral will come to bring you back.”

“Yeah, I know.” Octave placed his hand on Pastoral’s shoulder, the two mirroring each other’s grasps.

“That’s why I’ll kill you myself.”

Before Octave could reply, a loud whistle shot through the air as an unidentified flying object came barrelling towards the two Masters. Octave grabbed Solo with his free hand, tossing the damaged soldier far out of the way. In a last minute attempt to prevent any damage to himself, Octave drew his saber as he swung his arm in a backhanded motion. On impact with his energy blade, the black, hammer shaped object exploded, sending Octave flying backwards from the shockwave produced.

“Octave!” Solo, the damage sustained from his previous bout with Commando, stacked atop the powerful throw from Octave, left his body immobile and his buster completely offline.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Octave shouted, his voice muffled from the rubble of a collapsed building sitting on top of him. “Who threw that?!” In one might exertion, Octave lifted the debris off of himself and scanned the rooftops for the assailant.

In response to Octave’s exclamation, a large, green drone descended from a nearby rooftop, forcing the concrete to tremble as it landed. In similar fashion to the all too familiar Sniper Joes, the enemy had a single large eye in the center of its head. The chest was rounded and bulky and became more and more slim as the torso faded into the codpiece. Its arms and legs were thin in comparison to the rest of its body to allow for improved mobility while its forearms, shins, and feet were large plated like its chest and head. This was the Hammer Joe, an improved model of the Toymaker’s Joe Drone line. While the Sniper Joes were small and built for agitation tactics, the Hammer was built for one on one combat with an enemy master.

“Octave, don’t use that fire! You might not be able to calm down this time!” Solo shouted from his stationary position. While Octave nodded, confirming he heard what Solo had said, the red robot worried that the very same fires Octave used to defeat Slash would consume and destroy him as well.

The Hammer Joe held out its empty, open palm, another small hammer generating into his grip. Unlike the previous weapon the drone used, this hammer was long, requiring two hands to wield. Its head was large and presumably heavy enough to crush Octave in a single blow.

In an impressive feat of speed, the large Joe closed the distance between itself and Octave, rearing back for a deadly swing of its hammer. The faster Octave, leaped into the air as the strike approached. Adjusting his position in the air, Octave flipped forward, repositioning himself so his body was facing towards the Joe with his belly downwards. With his saber raised and charged, Octave fired four shots of his Bust-Raider ability, all of which the Hammer Joe deflected with his mighty hammer.

“Son of a…” Octave landed lightly, rolling backwards to reduced the stress on his chassis. He’d need every ounce of strength to keep himself calm, and Self-Repair functions drained a lot.

The Hammer Joe placed the bottom of its weapon onto the floor, opening its left palm and generating another small hammer. With a single, powerful swing, the hammer soared into the air directly towards Octave and followed close behind it in a mad dash. The situation the drone placed Octave into was tricky. No matter where Octave moved to dodge the hammer, the Joe would follow him. If he were to stay and attempt to deflect it again, the hammer would blow up, leaving Octave open to be turned to scrap.

“Asshole!” Octave leaped into the air, soaring above the projectile hammer and descending down onto the drone. But the Hammer Joe was quick.

Octave’s vertical strike met the center of the Joe’s handle. As Octave’s weight came down upon it, the Joe tilted its handle, redirecting Octave’s blade and opening him up for an attack. On queue, the Hammer Joe swatted Octave’s back with the brick of its hammer, sending the robot master tumbling across the ground.

Before his stagger was complete, however, Octave regained his footing, his momentum stopping suddenly when he dropped his saber into the pavement. The instant he stopped, Octave lunged to begin yet another forward dash, tripping forward and falling face first into the floor. The damage sustained by his hull from that attack was massive, and Octave’s mobility suffered for it.

The master gritted his teeth as the Hammer Joe walked with a slow taunting pace towards Octave.

“Okay.” Octave shot air out from behind his tightly clenched teeth as he closed his eyes, lowered his head, and stood upright. Dragging his feet across the ground slowly, he shifted into an attacking stance; knees bent, saber raised to his shoulder level, and feet spread apart evenly. With a perfectly still pause, Octave dashed forward as fast as he could muster, the concrete he was previously standing on shattering from the sudden force he expelled.

As the blue master closed the distance in a blinding speed, the Hammer Joe once again drew its projectile hammer and threw it straight ahead towards Octave’s head, preparing to strike with his held hammer once Octave dodged. At least, finally, the Joe was becoming predictable.

Almost too fast to see, Octave shifted his weight backwards towards the floor behind him and placing his free hand on the floor to prevent a fall. Now sliding forward, the flying hammer shot straight above Octave. When he return upright and running, Octave reared his saber back to clash with the attacking Joe, its hammer raised high above its head to strike down on top of Octave from a distance his saber could not match.

“Time-Skimmer!” Octave, standing completely defenseless under the hammer, suddenly disappeared as the huge weapon descended to the floor. Confused at the loss of its target, the Hammer Joe scanned the area around it frantically.

Finally, too late to save itself, the Joe realized that its hull had received critical damage. Looking down, it saw its chassis severed, the edges melting from the energy damage, and its inner workings of circuitry and shifting metal plates exposed. Drones like the snipers or hammers, were nowhere near as complex as an actual Soul. They could not feel pain or fear, even in the most grim of moments. However, if any kind of Joe had ever come close to understanding the concept of dread, it was this defeated Joe as it fell to the floor with neither one of its intended targets destroyed.

But, all of the simple programming that made the Hammer Joe the entity it was disappeared as its single, square-shaped, yellow eye’s light dimmed and died.

“Asshole.” Octave retracted his saber as he walked back towards Solo, a slight limp in his step as his right leg touched the ground.

Octave dealing with his dark side? I like it.

"Good, good. Let the hate flow through you..."

“Fiera!” A voice called out from the midst of heated battle. In the center of New Harmony’s downtown city district, the fight to hold the last beacon of civilization raged fiercest. With little more than the B-Ranked combat masters to back her up, the highly skilled Fieramente waged war to stop the drones who teleported into the city from razing the entirety of New Harmony.

Swaying from side to side as she rolled across the battlefield with the wheels placed on the sides of her feet, Fieramente darted towards the endangered combat master Capo, cutting apart the Sniper Joes that stood between her and her ally. Stand atop Capo was a red Sniper Joe, varying from the green clad drivel it commanded. With its boot planted on Capo’s chest, the commanding drone aimed its buster directly at the young master’s head, seeking to destroy his integrated circuit and kill him.

With a leap, Fiera spun her body around with her leg lifted in the air. Turning her hips at the hit connected, the powerful kick sent the heavily armored Sniper Joe reeling backwards and away from Capo. As the drone recollected itself, shield and buster now readied to do battle, Fieramente ejected her wrist mounted Burnout Cutters into the air, revealing small handles at the bases of each blade. She grabbed hold and shot forward, leading with a dual slash directly on the Joe’s shield, knocking the dense metal rectangle from a defensive position and opening up the drone’s body for a following attack. As Fiera reared back to finish her assault, she saw the Joe’s buster light up, primed to fire in a desperate attempt to save itself from bodily harm. Unlike the weak but rapid busters other Joe’s wielded, this red commander boasted a heavy buster, a weapon more than capable of destroying a master’s frame in a single shot. Too late to back off and avoid the shot, Fiera sped up her attack, hoping to land the strike before the round was fired.

Suddenly, in a green flash of light, the red Joe’s shot fired, but never came close to hitting Fieramente. Capo, or ShiftMan’s ability of creating small barriers of injury made him an extremely effective defensive measure in partnered combat scenarios. His long but slim barrier defended Fiera from taking any damage from the buster, and allowed her to follow with her fatal strike. Leading with a shallow cut to the chest, Fieramente raised her right hand into the air as she lowered her other arm. In an instant, the energy heated blade cut through the center of the Joe’s frame, slicing it almost perfectly in half.

Drones have no Souls and no integrated circuits to hold them. Not only were fatal blow allowed, they were required. Their work as additional opponents who accompany Malevolent forces could prove fatal.

“Good work, Capo.” Fiera exhaled sharply, the stress of the situation hitting her heavily as she withdrew her blades.

“Thanks, ma’am. I would’ve been dead without you.” Capo sighed, looking down at the floor in a sort of shame.

“You’ve got to work on offensive measure with that neat power of yours, Capo. When this is over, I’ll help you create those faster and we’ll figure out a few moves together.” Fieramente put a single hand on Capo’s shoulder, patting the side of his helmet with the other.

“I would be honor-”

“TyreWoman! We need your help! There’s a Malevolent here and he’s crushing our forces!” A voice came through both Fiera’s and Capo’s communications relay inside their helmets, a heavy static distorting the voice but not enough to make it ineligible.

“It’s Fiera, and we’re on our way.” Fieramente released her soft grip on Capo’s arm and ran ahead, expecting him to follow. For a moment, Capo admired the powerful master. She was the youngest A-Ranked Master, much younger than himself by a long shot. It seemed impossible, and it appeared that as time went on, the younger masters would become weaker and weaker until their defensive forces became no more, but Fieramente was the counter to that argument. His mind racing for only a split second, Capo soon followed behind his younger, but enigmatic leader.

---

Needle stood feet above all of the robot masters who stood before him. Built unlike most frames, with his head as an extension of his neck and his shoulders placed above eye level, Needle’s figure was almost as imposing as Duet’s. Atop his flat head sat a platform-like plate with three metal spike upon it, the outer lances shorter than the center one.

In a daunting move, Needle lurched forward, the plate on his head firing forward and impaling a cowering combat master as his two comrades fled. Connected to a chain, the plate of spikes retracted back to its source, the now locked down master sliding off of the weapons in a cold, smooth motion.

Running in opposite directions, and now too far away to dispose of in the same manner as the first, Needle lifted both of his arms towards his enemies and slotted away his humanoid hands for cannons. Simultaneously, Needle fired large, cone shaped projectiles as the fleeing masters, hitting both in the back with several spikes and on in the back of the head, killing the combat master instantly.

Almost as if he could sense the presence of rage and defiance, Needle turned to face his two new opponents. Without a mouth, Needle’s expression rested solely on his eyes and voice.

“You seem angry.” Needle’s deep voice boomed calmly, completely unphased by the three murders he had just committed. To Fieramente, his entire act was unforgivable.

“Fiera… This guy’s no joke. Maybe we should call somebody…” Capo stepped behind Fieramente, talking softly over her shoulder.

“Then you go do that!” Fiera shot as she activated her Burnout Cutters and mouthguard. Now completely ready to battle, TyreWoman dashed forward to combat the Malevolent.

In a feat of surprising agility, Needle bounded over Fiera shooting downwards at his quick foe. Dodging with ease, Fieramente turned around and ran back towards Capo.

“LOOK OUT!” TyreWoman jumped and extended her leg straight outward, kicking Capo backwards. Before she was able to take evasive maneuvers of her own, Fiera was struck by two of the projectiles, both hitting her on the torso. Simply because her frame was far superior than the ones of the master who had just perished, the striked proved little to actually damage her.

“You’re resilient. I’ve been getting bored here. It’s been like blowing up a nursery, there’s just no sport in it.” Needle stated simply and calmly, as if the weight behind the demented words he had just spouted was nothing.

With a shout, Fiera detached her left Burnout Cutter and threw it, the deadly blade spinning horizontally as it flew at head level straight towards Needle. Once again Needle jumped upwards, soaring into the air higher than a frame his size would normally go. Ready to launch the same offensive as last time, Needle noticed their was something wrong, Fieramente wasn’t charging forward, and she wasn’t where she was standing when he jumped.

Looking back up to his level in the sky, Needle looked in horror as Fieramente, with her remaining blade, came charging towards him. Though his body was facing downwards to allow him to shoot, Needle flipped around to aim and attack TyreWoman, but it was too late. Her Burnout Cutter dug itself straight through Needle’s chest and out the other side. With her free left hand, Fiera punched Needle in his oversized eyes over and over again as they fell straight downwards. As they came close to the earth, Fieramente leaped backwards, flipping before she landed next to her previously thrown blade now implanted into the wall.

“Considering the niche I was built for…” Needle’s ever creepily calm tone persisted, despite the pain he must be enduring from that aggressive of an assault. He slowly sat upright as he paused, glaring at the far off Fieramente with one of his plated glass eyes heavily fractured. “You’d think I would have gotten a sword.”

Needle stood up and darted in the opposite towards the onlooking Capo. As Needle’s darts came flying at him, Capo set up a barrier in the shape and size of a doorway directly in front of him. To create a large barrier would overdrive FigureMan’s frame, causing him to shut down. Creating shields the exact shape and size he needed was necessary, but could prove fatal in a combat situation.

Though Fieramente was fast, there was no possible way she would get to Capo before Needle would. When the barrage of needles ended, and Needle closed the distance, Cap stood ready to fight. Or at least hold the line until Fiera could get to him.

“Back off!” Capo raised his hand towards Needle, who came sprinting only a few yards away. He created a short barrier at Needle’s feet, tripping the large master up and sending him forward towards the floor. In yet another surprising feat of agility from the blocky Malevolent, Needle rolled using his forward momentum, rearing a punch when he came back onto his feet.

Despite Capo’s best attempt to block the strike with a small shield, the barrier broke and the punch came through, connecting to the side of Capo’s face and sending him tumbling backwards. Knowing that in seconds he would have to fight Fiera as well, Needle shot a hail of projectiles with both hands towards Capo.

In a last ditch attempt to survive, Capo formed a short but curving shield that protected himself completely while on the floor. The blue energy barrier became lighter in color and dimmer in shine with each needle that hit against it. By luck alone did Capo survive, his barrier breaking on contact with the exact last spike that Needle fired.

Fieramente closed in behind Needle, who turned sharply and shot the platform atop his head straight for Fiera’s face. Her reaction time one of the best of the speed based masters in New Harmony, the young warrior fell to her knees and bent her body backwards, sliding forward while moving under the fatal spiked attack. Before Needle could retract his helm, Fiera rose and jumped, slashing the chain and robbing the Malevolent of that weapon.

In a retaliatory strike, Needle shot the side of Fieramente’s left knee, sending her to the floor, reeling in pain while lying on her side.

“FIE!” Capo came running to assist his ally before Needle could kill her. With tunnel vision and no regard for his own safety, Capo failed to protect himself from Needle’s projectile that planted itself in his right eye.

“CAPO!” Fieramente shouted before tearing the spike from her leg and lunging forward to swipe at Needle.

“Funny. I thought he’d protect himself from that like all the other fucking times.” Needle mused as he stepped away from Fieramente’s limping slashes. As she aimed to eject her cutter from her wrist and launch it at Needle, the large Malevolent swatted her arm away and planted a frontal kick in the center of Fiera’s chest, knocking her backwards and into an uncontrollable roll.

As Fieramente’s body rolled across a street and into a plaza, Needle marched slowly to follow her. Suddenly, the robot master’s forced retreat was halted by an impact. Her heavy, metallic frame shattered rock as she impacted against the side of a cement fountain, her limp body falling down into the large, shallow, bowl shaped pool at the base of the decorative fountain.

“This is the closest I’ve come to feeling truly alive. What is your name?” Needle leaned over the knee-high wall between himself and his unmoving opponent.

“Fiera...mente…” The proud warrior of New Harmony propped herself up with her arms and stood, facing Needle in a defiant, but weakened stance.

“Fieramente. Prepare to meet your death to the embodiment of malice and depravity.” Needle sighed as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, pieces of his metal plating began to shift as the center of his body elongated, the bulky torso that once held his eyes became a head, giant spikes protruding at upward slanted angles along the sides. His arms extended, his left hand’s fingers became eerily long and his right hand’s buster became a narrow cone shaped lance that attached to his arm. Almost rounded edge on the bulky, circular body he once had became jagged with spikes. The space below his eyes, which was just another section of torso, became a mouth, Needle’s teeth shaped like daggers with their edges dented and fractured over countless battles. The look in his eyes, which was once calm and unamused, became wild and feverish.

Needle’s breathing intensified as it stepped closer and closer to the damaged Fiera. Certain death seemed near, but the only thing on Fieramente’s mind was an oddly ascending sense of peace. She did not think of death, but instead that Octave, no matter his skill, would probably lose to this creature too.

Before the killing blow was drawn and ready to strike, an explosion rang through the air as a seven story building behind Needle collapsed. From it came dust that, over the course of a few seconds, seemed to give itself form.

The creature Fiera had heard about from reports of the latest outing into the Wastes had appeared. It took the shape of a human-like being devoid of a head, similar to Needle’s previous form. With its single, red eye, it shifted its gaze from Needle and Fiera to Capo’s body. Its arm extended suddenly as it grabbed hold of Capo’s frame and began walking towards the warring pair in the fountain.

Needle growled and fired his sword sized lance at the even more monstrous creature. Before the spear could hit its mark, a massive blue barrier deflected the strike with ease. Fiera audibly gasped as she realized that, somehow, this monster had stolen both Capo’s body and ability. As the being darted towards Needle, in a flurry of reforming and deforming its body, the still agile Needle bounded away, the devil giving chase.

“I…” Fieramente staggered towards the edge of the fountain and pulled herself up and out of the shallow pool, falling over onto the floor on the other side. As her self-repair sequence began mending her wounds, the full weight of near death had finally hit Fiera for the first time. She was young, and General never liked wasting potential, so Needle was her first bout against an actual Malevolent. She would need to become stronger, faster, better. Needle was a threat that, should he not meet his end by the end of this battle. would surely be a threat for all of New Harmony.

Right there, on the ground, suffering from wounds that humans would had died from by now, Fieramente vowed to be the one to kill Needle. By her hand and hers alone.

When New Harmony recovers from this invasion, General would be sure to oblige her request.

Vale wrote:Dude, writer's block is a real bitch. AND I went through like 3 drafts doing this, and when I finished this version I just decided to post it. I think it turned out well, introducing a character I'm starting to like, Fieramente. Expect her on the main roster. Anyways, I'm sure John's can't be long after this. He had forever to finish his next post.

Fiera did a power slide in the middle of battle?

That's pretty badass if you ask me.

Fiera is pretty badass, if you ask me.

For all the punishment he received, Pastoral wasn't out of the fight yet. Backbone stepped toe to toe with him, the two exchanging attacks. A flurry of strikes passed as PulseMan dodged, ducked and slipped under each one. Backbone couldn't help but admire the smaller robot's sheer speed and battle sense, but it was a war of attrition; the smaller robot could not land a hit strong enough to destroy his adversary.

Backbone threw a haymaker, and Pastoral ducked under it, moving to Backbone's side. He grasped the robot master's back, and lifted with all his strength. Pulling Backbone up and over, Pastoral suplexed the hulking machine. As Backbone recovered, Pastoral pounced on him, fists clenched. He threw a storm of blows, but the pale white malevolent shielded himself with his arms.

The blows put pockmarks and dents in Backbone's armor, but did little else. The moment Pastoral stopped, Backbone reached up and grasped Pastoral's throat, yanking him off the ground and tossing him backwards. "No effort is futile, PulseMan! Fight to the last, so that I may cherish this victory!"

PulseMan didn't waste a moment; he lurched forward and swung his fist. The blow genuinely caught Backbone offguard. Using the momentum, Pastoral turned and threw a kick, striking Backbone in the side of the head. He charged his left cannon and fired a volley of shots which pinged off the enemy robot's armor. Backbone fired his thrusters and charged forward as each silver bolt was deflected. Some of the shots hit the pavement, others richocheted off into the air. Most crashed into the surrounding buildings as Backbone surged forward.

I'll just dodge it. Simple! Pastoral braced himself to move, but his ankle and leg stuttered. He'd taken more damage than he knew; his leg had grown unresponsive. Backbone plowed into him before he could move. The blow sent him reeling down the street, tumbling end over end. His eye scraped the polycrete ground, taking off the "human" cap and leaving his glowing blue optic exposed. He came to a stop in the middle of the road, laying on his side.

"...Your valor was greatly appreciated. Of all my battles, I'll remember this one." Pastoral willed himself to stand, and pushed himself to his feet. He'd finally hit the wall; his body couldn't move as he willed. "I'll make your death quick, collect your chip, and give it to my master in tribute. I regret to inform you that he may wish to destroy it."

Pastoral wiped his nose, his visor half shattered. He had nothing to say, and he certainly didn't intend to give up. Curse it. He's shrugged off everything I have...except one thing. He calmed himself, and prepared to use an attack he saved for only the mightiest opponents. His body may have quit, but his soul was still ready to attack.

Backbone lifted his fists, walking within striking distance, preparing to rip Pastoral apart.

Suddenly, a strike caught Backbone on the shoulder. Another robot master's foot connected with enough force to knock him off his feet. He tumbled aside as the new arrival landed beside Pastoral.

"Vesper." Pastoral dusted himself off as Vesper stood in front of him, staring at Backbone. She then turned her eyes towards her comrade, her jaw clenching.

"Did he do this to you? In a fair fight?" Vesper narrowed her gaze, keeping an eye on Backbone as he stood, his eyes gleaming with rage. "Here. Grab on." Vesper quickly picked Pastoral up onto her back as Backbone charged forward.

"I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE!!!" Backbone tore across the street towards Vesper, who jumped over him. Even with Pastoral's additional weight, she avoided the attack easily, bounding over a tall building as Backbone missed his mark. She landed in the street, letting Pastoral down.

"Vesper, I'm not sure you can take him. His armor is too thick, and he's got strength and speed in equal measure." Pastoral removed his helmet, revealing his damaged eye. His legs shook as he stood; not out of fear, but structural damage. "Even if you can dodge and fight back, it would take weeks to actually whittle him apart."

"I gathered. Can you still combine?" Vesper smirked. "It'd be unconscionable to do this without you, brother. After all, he's your opponent."

Pastoral nodded, grasping Vesper's hand. In a rush of bright light, PulseMan vanished, and Vesper's armor was drastically altered; brown highlights, sleeker, stronger armor plating, and an increased power output marked their combination.

Backbone tore through a building, spotting Vesper. "WHERE IS HE?! We weren't finished!!!"

Vesper turned towards him, taking up a fighting stance. "He's right here. Come and get him."

The Cathedral; a gothic style, church like building with giant stone walls and painted glass windows. This place, above all else, was the spiritual center for almost all of New Harmony’s Robot Masters. It was here that Lady Opera could most often be found, meditating in the hall’s easing main room. No human was allowed to step foot in this abode, for in a world where Souls risked their lives every day to keep humanity safe, there needed to be one place they could truly be at peace.

The archways, beneath which contained the tall wooden door, contained the phrase, “Go in peace, until all are one.” A saying Lady Opera repeated at every induction of a new master. One that Octave grew tired of only decades into his life.

“Lady Opera!” Octave tackled the door, forcing it open and splintering the wood that stood in his path. At the end of the seemingly endless room rested Lady Opera, who knelt peacefully before a wall containing the name and designated number of every combat master ever born. All except one.

“Yes, Octa- oh my.” Opera stood sharply as briskly paced towards the fretting master.

In Octave’s hands was the limp, Locked-In body of his comrade, Solo. Seemingly lifeless, Octave set his friend down on one of the many pews that sat inside the Cathedral. As he looked towards Lady Opera, whose walk quickened the closer she came to Solo, Octave noticed another body, dents beaten deeply into its frame and some limbs spread feet from their original position.

“Who is…” Octave paused, almost afraid to finish his question. Though she did not seem it with her pink and white color scheme and kind features, Octave always had a feeling that, given the right circumstances, Lady Opera could fight and kill almost every Malevolent or combat master who opposed her.

“A Malevolent who was sent to kill me just before the invasion started. What is wrong with Solo?” Opera sighed before turning her attention to the red body just in front of her. In a sort of lunge she moved next to him, placing her hand on Solo’s chest.

“He took a lot of damage. I’m surprised he didn’t get locked in sooner.” Octave, unable to take his eyes off of the viciously beaten corpse, spoke distantly to the hyper focused Opera.

“I can overdrive his self repair unit and unlock him, given time. He is going to be combat ready soon.” Opera, as if taking the burden of Solo’s battle wounds personally, exhaled heavily with relief as she began emitting a low, green light from her hand over Solo’s chest. “Are you injured?”

“I’ll be at 100% by the time I get back to the fight.” Octave turned and began walking down the center aisle between the pews. His stepps dragged across the floor, as if a weight were pressing itself on top of his shoulders.

“Octave. Is everything alright?” Opera, unmoving from her position in healing Solo, lifted her head and spoke as Octave stopped.

“I… Don’t really know anymore.” Octave lowered his head and gazed at his hands, sitting limply at the sides of his body.

“This invasion will be a massive blow for us. No matter the challenges we face today, the ones that come next will be stronger and stronger. If you do not have the strength to overcome it, Octave, I fear you will not survive.” Lady Opera’s grimness became uncharacteristic. The ever optimistic spiritual leader’s face darkened and her tone grave. To Octave, it had seemed she peered into his Soul and could see what lurked inside.

“Lady Opera? Do you know what’s wrong with me?” Octave turned sharply, his eyes wide with hope. It was a look Lady Opera had not seen from Octave since he was young and new to the world outside the Domain.

“I can feel the rage and pain within you. It has grown from the flame you used as strength to an inferno that destroys all around you until the fire dies. But I can not discern the exact problem unless you tell me what is happening.” Lady Opera, now certain Solo’s frame was now sturdy enough to heal on its own, stood upright and paced towards Octave.

Octave turned away, facing the doors through which he had previously entered as a way to temporarily distance himself from Opera. “I figured.”

“Go and help win our city back from those who would destroy us, as you were born to do. Survive this battle and we shall talk.” Lady Opera stood in place as Octave began walking away, confidence infused to his stride.

“I pray you learn not to turn your back on those who only help. Souls are weakest when they are alone.”

Though he did not react, Octave heard every word Opera spoke as he exited the door, jetting off in a blue and gray streak towards the city when she had finished. Octave never did hang on her words as much as the other Souls who walked through those doors, but even one as stubborn as he had to admit she was right.

If Backbone had a mouth, he'd be slavering with rage. In place of facial emotes, his eyes glowed brighter with fury as he stared down the combined Vesper and Pastoral. Vesper's visage was all that was present, and on the surface it appeared that she'd simply recolored her armor. With no added bulk, her power and speed were all that Pastoral's addition augmented. ChargeWoman stood confidently, but there was something beneath the surface that Backbone could see; another consciousness danced behind her eyes, and her movement algorithms somewhat resembled her teammate's.

Vesper's armor was now a thing of impressive beauty; sleeker than it had been, and marked with brown and silver, the hard points of her body had a sleek, waving pattern, like fluid wings. Her helmet was smoothed, and her eyes were marked with a surrounding brown. Smirking, she waved her hand forward. Backbone needn't be asked to attack.

"I'll rip you apart, then kill you both!" His thrusters pulsed, and he burst forward.

Watch out. Pastoral's thoughts informed Vesper's decisions. Attack his footwork! Go for his legs! With the clarity of a spectator rather than a fighter, he now saw the error in his previous attempts. He'd tried to match strength with strength, and come up wanting. What the combination needed was power and guile in equal measure. Vesper nodded, and moved to the side, charging her boots. They vibrated, dimly glowing as she sidestepped Backbone's melon sized fist.

Her boot glowed like a burning star when she attacked. Her leg swung and cut a deep gouge in the side of her opponent's calf. She closed the distance, sweeping her foot behind his heel and drawing back, before thrusting a powerful kick. The blow put a dent in Backbone's chest as he reeled back. His quiet dignity from before vanished as he descended into blind fury. His fists lashed out, throwing a flurry of powerful punches.

Pastoral laughed internally as Vesper dodged each strike with casual ease. She was always faster than him by an order of magnitude; her speed in close quarters was nearly on par with Octave's. As an uppercut passed her body, she stepped back, and caught Backbone's fist. Pastoral's strength strained with hers, and they blocked the blow. "Cowards! DIE!!!" Backbone fired his thrusters, bulling back the gestalt robot master. Vesper's boots dug into the pavement. She brought back one of her arms, and her arm turned into a device that was normally unfamiliar to her; Pastoral's cannon. She brought the weapon around, compelled to cry out the name of PulseMan's famed attack.

"Gold Knock!!!"  The blow impacted on Backbone's cheek, and knocked him back on his ass. Jets still firing, he was lifted upwards, flying end over end until he had the wherewithal to deactivate them and land on his hands and knees. Pastoral deployed his left hand cannon for Vesper's use. She held back the urge to bark "Silver Splash," but she fired the attack anyway. Bolts of silver, lined with crimson due to her own energy output mingling with his, the bolts damaged Backbone's body fiercely, tearing off chunks of his pale body. He shielded himself against the gale of energy, and when he looked up, Vesper was already gone.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" He looked around, eyes burning with rage. Vesper came down from the sky with a charged up kick, her boot whirring and glowing. The axe kick landed on the side of his head, and tore out one of his eyes, cracking the cement in front of him. Vesper turned and thrust her left boot in a volley of kicks that set the beast stumbling backwards with each single blow. Before he could roar with anger again, she thrust her foot through his chest, destroying his voice box.

Vesper reached out a hand and plucked free his integrated circuit, relieving the Malevolent of his body. "Pastoral? Shall we?" She regarded the teetering form of Backbone's now empty husk of a body.

Let's.

Vesper formed one of her charges in her hand, stuffing it into the hole in Backbone's chest. She punted the body so hard that it sailed into the air, then she prepared Pastoral's cannons, charging both. The two grinned in concert, dedicating the victory to their homeland.

The shot rang out like a cannon as Vesper fired a Piercing Star at the corpse of Backbone. The shot tore the robot in half, activating the charge. In a burst of colorful, dirty fireworks, the robot was vaporized. The tiny bits of shrapnel that remained bounced off of buildings and lightly peppered Vesper, who lowered Pastoral's visor, satisfied.

That's a good name for an attack. Dirty Fireworks.

"You sure you need MORE attack names, Pasty?" Vesper spoke aloud to the internal musings of her brother.

Nah. You keep it. Thanks for bailing me out, sis, but I think we need to spend some time apart.

Vesper felt a wave of concern. Honestly, she could work like this indefinitely, but she worried that the effort of fusing was more than she figured it to be. But, having said that, Pastoral was in poor condition. The idea of him fighting by himself nagged at her. "You're not well enough to fight on your own. How long can you keep us fused?" She decided not to betray the worries on her mind, and remain professional.

Pastoral was silent for a moment before making himself heard. You're easy to work with. I'd say we have two more hours of heavy combat before I can't continue. If we keep that up when we unfuse, I'll be too spent to fight at all.

"Then we'll do it. With us together for two hours, you won't need to fight when we're done. I'll complete our objectives, then take you straight to the doctor for repairs."

Got it, sis. Pastoral sounded confident; he never discounted a word that a superior said, other than SaintMan. Let's head for the next enemy and give 'em hell.

"Since when do you curse?" Vesper grinned. She felt Pastoral bristle with annoyance. "Not the alter boy you used to be?"

The people I fuse with tend to bleed into my personality. You're a bad influence, sister. Pastoral internally tutted. For shame. Corrupting a poor boy li-

"Can it. We've got work to do." Vesper felt a sudden impulse that she couldn't control. She opened her mouth, tilted back her head, and swallowed Backbone's integrated circuit, letting it fall into the dedicated storage unit in her stomach. She shuddered; normally only Pastoral bothered to perform the act, since it was so akin to the human concept of cannibalism. But, it would prevent Backbone's fragile circuit from falling into harm's way, so she didn't object. The two sped off to locate their next target.

Author's Note. wrote:If you assumed there was any sexual innuendo before reading this note, you're going to hell.

Can Pastoral keep his and Vesper's fusion going until the battle ends? What harrowing challenges await our heroes on the other side of this terrible brawl? Find out next time, on Metal and Metools!

Metallic Mettle!

Metallic and Knights!

Close enough!

*Screams like a fan girl*

(Sonata and Meter’s repairs are completed by Manhattan and the two join Cavatino, who is clearing out a strategic placement to allow better defenses for the outer regions of New Harmony. After they clear the area of Drones and two Malevolent, with the help of Fiera, they are attacked by the Yellow Devil)

“Can I fight?” Sonata gripped her shoulder as she spun her arm around, now freely able to move it after some time since the incident with Octave.

“I’d say no if the situation were not so dire, but we need all the master we can spare.” Manhattan’s voice was sustained at a yelling volume despite his energy torch was now deactivated. Being human, what seemed like an eternity of repairs during an invasion wore heavily on the heart and ears.

“There! All done. Good luck, and… Avoid whatever did that to you.”

“Don't think I will.” Meter stood from the table, his body’s self repair sequence with the added Manhattan touch bringing him to almost perfect health.

“Last I checked, Cavatino was outside on guard duty. You two should check in with him.” With a wave, Manhattan returned to his computer and began typing his notes on repairs and rearmaments.

Outside the lab, Sonata and Meter looked out into the vastness of the lush green New Harmony countryside expecting to see Cavatino waiting for a Malevolent foolish enough to attack him, but were met with Solo waving his hand and running towards them at the crest of a nearby hill.

“Solo, what is it?” Meter ran to meet his comrade, Sonata following close behind him. When the three met at the base of the hill, Solo’s single eye visor slid out of his helmet and over his face.

“Human infantry stationed at a nearby defensive position fell. I came in response to the S.O.S., but Cavatino beat me there and sent me to defend the lab. It's pretty hairy back there.” Solo’s visor lit up, accompanied by a beep. Shortly after, coordinates flashed across Sonata and Meter’s Heads Up Displays, showing them a nearby location covered in red.

“We’ll go back him up. You sure you want to stay here? It's been pretty quiet.” Meter’s voice faded from its frantic and worried tone for but a moment as he stepped closer to Solo. In a way, he was implying that Solo accompanied him rather than Sonata, a thought he felt guilty for but also justified. While Sonata was brave and skilled beyond her years, any situation that worried tactician Solo about Cavatino may have been too much.

“No, Lady Opera didn't finish healing me before I bounced.” While Solo shared Meter’s worry, he also had the same belief in Sonata as Pastoral. After her amazing feats in her first venture to the Wastes, there was little Solo could think of that could kill her now.

---

No matter how powerful or godly one may seem in the battlefield, every hero has a number of enemies he can face at once and not survive. Cavatino knew this, and has known this for most of his life. Blessed with destructive anti frame abilities led a younger Cavatino to believe he was invincible until General taught him that very lesson.

Yet here he was, surrounded by hundreds of drones roaming in a pack to push their assault to the outer regions of New Harmony’s borders by assaulting their defense placements.

Among dozens of the burned and mangled bodies belonging to the brave I'll-equipped human soldiers, Cavatino made his stand, smashing and destroying every drone that came into reach as they surrounded him. With a mighty yell, Cavatino grasped the helm of the closest drone and turned him towards a cluster of its allies as they opened fire, all of the buster shots impacting the struggling frame of the drone rather than him. Using his unique power set, Cavatino crushed the drone’s frame into a hunk of scrap and sent it flying towards the firing squad before expanding it rapidly, the sheer force of the flame-free explosion tearing dozens of unintended targets apart.

Before he could turn and battle another side, a single buster round impacted the small of his back, the impact too weak to heavily damage him but more than enough to hurt. Turning to unleash his wrath on his attacker, Cavatino saw a semicircle of at least two hundred drones charging their busters.

While most would look at this site and despair, Cavatino smiled. He’d only been fighting for an hour and these two hundred enemies were all that remained.

Well aware of the environmental factors involving the ground beneath New Harmony, Cavatino knew that beneath his feet were hundreds of pockets containing trace amounts of iron. Yelling as he strained, the mighty FerroMan lifted his hands and slowly lifted a slab of rock to protect him from the volley.

Now fully protected by the rock wall, Cavatino watched as chunks melted and broke off under the fire. With a calming breath, Cavatino awaited his final charge, waiting for the first sign of a pause in the continuous buster fire. When the pause came, and all fire ceased, it was followed by the sounds of battle against an unknown new party.

“Help’s here, Cav!” Meter shouted from the other side of the rock wall. Leaping over, Cavatino landed on the ground to see Meter dashing through the horde of drones as his blade spun around him. Sonata fell back from Meter’s charge, slicing through the enemies on Meter’s flank with her energy laced tomahawk.

Launching off his iron-laced rock wall, Cavatino leaped into the air towards the melee, landing on a unaware Joe preparing to fire on Sonata. With a touch of his hand Cavatino turned the drone into a compacted cube.

Within seconds the trio nearly halved the number of drones on the grassy hillside ditch lined by sandbags and auto-buster turrets. Intent on not wasting his own or his comrade’s energy, Cavatino leaped into place in front of Meter and Sonata.

“Get behind me!” Cavatino ordered, causing the two weaker masters to promptly stop in place and watch.

A single drone husk, lying damaged at Cavatino’s feet suddenly rose to the air lifelessly as he lifted his hand. As he stood there, the surviving drones feebly formed a firing position, using each other's shoulders to prop their cannons as they readied to fire.

When Cavatino’s open hand closed into a fist, the destroyed Joe was compacted violently into a sphere and began to burn bright and red. Visible magnetic waves formed and warped the air around it as drones were pulled from their firing squad and crushed into and adding onto the sphere.

The larger the ball became, the faster the drones were pulled into it as Cavatino focused more and more of his energy into his devastating ability. At the very end, when only a few drones remained, they attempted to futilely crawl away before falling victim to the attack.

“That was…” Meter, at a loss of words, placed his hand on the still straining Cavatino, prompting him to release the large sphere of frames.

The ball collapsed and disconnected from most of the unmelted frames, leaving a massive scrap heap.

“Wow Cavvy. I didn't know you could do that.” Sonata’s jaw fell in awe as she progressed towards the pile. Before she got to close, Meter stopped her with a single arm, his eyes affixed to the ground.

“I don't like to. It's cruel, even for a drone.” Cavatino turned away from the scene towards Manhattan’s lab. Before he got more than a few steps away, something drew his attention back towards Sonata and Meter.

“Move!” Cavatino cried as he grabbed Sonata and leaped, narrowly avoiding a large, sweeping pillar of sand as it knocked the hundreds of drones down the hill.

Moving in tandem to Cavatino, Meter leap after the two, all three landing in the mud soaked pit. The mess of their landing being their last concern, they turned to see their attacker, one only Cavatino and Sonata recognized.

With a low hum, the bright yellow sand came together, forming two legs at first, absent of toes. When its torso formed, arms sprouted on each side and at the top its body was indistinguishable from its head, aside from a single red eye.

Pastoral internally grimaced. He was acting cool, but maintaining the fusion was more work than it looked. Every single move Vesper made added to a pressure that for now, he maintained with poise and calm. Fortunately, Vesper, an S-rank robot master, never wasted frivolous movements in battle, but the strain was adding up with each passing second.

"Enemy located," Vesper calmly noted. As she leapt to the top of a building, she looked down and saw allies locked in battle with a vile opponent. Seeing the Yellow Devil again gave Pastoral a cold shiver that Vesper noticed. "Something wrong, Pastoral?"

As the two looked down at the battle, Pastoral "voiced" his concerns. That thing...it has Integrated Circuits inside. We have to overpower it and recover them.

Vesper nodded. "If all else fails, destroying it may be the only opti-"

No. Pastoral's thoughts grew so insistent, Vesper wasn't sure whether or not she believed them. They may be our enemies, but nobody deserves that. Let's go.

Leaping off the building, Vesper stared ahead. She'd jumped hard, and was heading straight for the Devil. On the ground, Cavatino was giving the wrong beast hell. The Devil hardened its skin, throwing a wide, street sweeping blow as its gelatinous body grew. Cavatino dove over the attack, grasping a car by the tires and lifting it. The red robot master disassembled the car's metallic parts, destroying it and transforming it into a cloud of shrapnel. Cavatino launched the mass of swirling, stinging metal at the Yellow Devil.

The creature solidified, and the damage plunked off like snowflakes against a tree trunk.

Vesper's attack was not so ineffective. As the fused Robot Master descended, she extended her boot and kicked hard. The combined force of Vesper's charged boot and Pastoral's additional muscle made a crack in the creature's armor.

Vesper was surprised, but Pastoral was not. I cracked Crystal's armor with a full force attack not long ago. If we stop using energy attacks and focus on brute force, then the hardening is nothing! With another punch, Vesper and Pastoral knocked out a chunk of the Yellow Devil's armor.

The Yellow Devil, desolidifying, took offense to the attack. It silently lurched forward, and swung down a fist the size of a car. Vesper burst out of the way, dodging. When she jumped back in to attack, the creature hardened its structure, clear yellow skin forming tringular, diamond-like lattices. What's wrong with it? It doesn't know we're too strong for that to work?

"It's a dull creature. A drone, for all intents and purposes." Vesper charged Pastoral's right cannon, gold energy pooling. "It can't learn like we can!" She leapt up, and swung her arm.

In that instant, Pastoral learned something. Rather than slamming the muzzle against the creature's skin then firing, Vesper fired a split second early. As energy washed over and weakened the structure, her fist hit home, generating more of a crater than a crack as her knuckles plowed through the weakened crystal. Pastoral's program reflex was overwritten.

Vesper had improved the Gold Knock for him.

The Yellow Devil stumbled backwards, a huge crater in its makeup. As it attempted to heal, Vesper froze. Her body seemed to waver, physical form shining.

Sonata, watching the skirmish, widened her eyes. "She's glowing! Is this a new attack?!" Cavatino studied them for a moment, before shaking his head.

"...No. Look at the strain on her face. Pastoral is trying to hold together their fusion." Cavatino shook his head, disappointed. "They must have been in heavy combat before this." Cavatino raised his voice, shouting at the fused robot master. "Pastoral! Give it up! You've done well, but you're at your limit."

Internally, Pastoral was in turmoil. He felt like a man spinning two ton plates, his strain and agony keeping his physical form teathered to Vesper's. This...is...nothin'...I can hold it! The fusion stabalized. Vesper wiped her brow, having shared the strain.

"Don't worry. I'll finish this here and now." Vesper prepared both cannons. "Just hang in there for a little longer!"

THe Yellow Devil had already recovered. It lurched and stomped forward, single eye glowering, and integrated circuits teathered together with wires. Vesper and Pastoral charged their shared weapons, and fired.

"CHARGING STAR!!!" The cannon-shot was so bright that even Cavatino shielded his eyes. For a moment, everything was obscured by the glow, until the shots, having blown through their target, reached the horizon and were safely out of the way.

The Yellow Devil had guarded; the arms that it used to block the attack were evaporated despite being hard as diamond. But, the creature slowly reformed, marching towards Vesper and Pastoral.

Vesper's physical form seemed to snap. Suddenly, her armor was back to its normal configuration, and Pastoral was on the ground nearby, looking on with shock at the Yellow Devil. Vesper ground her teeth. It wasn't that the attack had been ineffective.

It had worked too well. Gravity's chip, close to the Yellow Devil's shoulder, had been destroyed.

As the creature prepared to attack, Vesper stood her ground. Cavatino prepared to lend a hand, but the battle was already over. A drone, the Yellow Devil wasn't smart enough to listen for additional reinforcements.

Octave darted towards it from behind, his blade shining. He slashed through the creature, reached inside, and grasped hold of the cluster of circuits. "I'll be taking these!" He tore them out, and suddenly, the Yellow Devil completely froze.

It's most often used ability, hardening its diamondlike skin, was gone. It could no longer use Dynamo to electrify itself, and it could no longer use Gravity to fly. As Octave turned to deal the finishing blow, the creature suddenly sank down into the ground, its eyeball vanishing into an open sewer. It had escaped yet again; this time, it limped off the battlefield weaker than it came.

Victorious, Octave tossed aside the integrated circuits, a wide grin on his face. "THE WINNER!" He turned towards his allies, pointing towards himself pridefully. His revelry halted when he spotted his brother.

Pastoral was exceptionally beaten up. Covered in scrapes, dents, and unable to stand due to a malfunctioning pheumatic in his knee and hip, he was on his hands and knees on the ground. Worse yet, he had a haunted expression on his face.

"DAMMIT!!!" It was rare that Pastoral cursed, but he punched the ground with his fist as he howled the word. "...I destroyed one of the circuits..."

Sonata questioningly approached. She was heavily hesitant, but she managed to summon the courage to speak to the grieving twin. "...Integrated circuit? What do you mean? What happened?"

Pastoral looked up at Sonata, sitting cross legged on the ground. "When we destroy a robot's chassis, its soul is still stored in an integrated circuit. It's like knocking them out. But...to destroy the circuit is to disperse the soul. It's just like murder."

Octave, listening to the screed, cut in. "Gravity was a prick. You did us all a favor."

Pastoral's expression darkened. He managed to get to his feet, despite one of his legs constantly stuttering and twitching.

"Don't say that. If we kill enemy robots, we're no better than them."

Octave folded his arms. "What? Just because we fight fire with fire, we're on their level? We spare circuits, they build that yellow devil and New Harmony has a crack in its righteous armor. I'm not sayin' we go out and commit genocide, but murder in a centuries old war ain't murder."

"We don't fight them on their terms. We fight them on ours. This isn't a human war, it's ours." Pastoral standoffishly tensed his boot, grinding a dent in the ground.

"You don't represent me, Pasty. Mind your damn business."

Cavatino cleared his throat, and said a few calm, simple words. "Sonata. We're leaving. Pastoral, talk to your brother." He grasped Sonata's shoulder and led her away. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would I?" There was an edge of malace to the words.

Pastoral, hearing that, turned to Octave. "...What's Cav mean by that?"

Octave shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear casual, but Pastoral knew there was something Octave wasn't divulging.

As Cavatino and Sonata exited on beams of light, Pastoral and Octave stared each-other down.

It seemed they had a lot to discuss.