28. Maneater

"What….was that?" Shayu questioned. Among the patters of his domain was a bang from the ceiling. The main Destria tunnel was overhead with dents popping from the corridor behind. Under the ancient ruins was a natural creation far older than one could count. An external tunnel where the lair had been built, the walls aged gray from light brown due to the salt content. It wasn't a big opening, enough for an individual to stand in with the seawater up to Shayu's waist. He swam with nose submerged deeper in the tunnel of rusted love. "Oh these ruins, time hasn't shone on the Destria's blood or former home."

Past and present in the shark lord's head at once. Where he once walked now a rusted heap- where he was born was nothing but a breeding ground for algae. This long hall held nothing dear to him….but this room. He remembered it before. A secret made during the first months of the dragonfall war when dwarves on dragons blotted out the skies, "The days before 'gods' became the center of attraction," out of respect he stood. What waited before him were products that never saw the light of day.

Rust and seawater corroded the walls; one touch and they cracked to reveal light brown rocks. The ceiling above was solid ore, the corridor bent to the right away from the main route in case it was ever pierced through. The contents of this room were fourteen pods. A robot in each but the glass was too far smudged for Shayu to note any met on battlefields, "You were that man's private platoon, weren't you? Yes….I remember well," backup bodies produced for a droid close to his maker's heart. Almost every pod was damaged and full of seawater. When pried open bodies of rusted kosmik.

"Well that manticore could hold use to you," he marked each body with the ends of his teeth. That's when he spotted it. The pod in the far back with debris fallen around it. Metal warped and glass shattered, yet the body inside remained dry. She was a porcelain doll with locks of fire, dressed like a man frozen in ice. Serial information was inscribed on the side of her pod.

Product ID- NAD-0154

Product Code- 'Norn' Urd

Date of Manufacturing- August 3rd 1270

Unit Standard- High Quality

Batch ID- 0110111001

Condition- Operational

Role- Replacement

Manufacturer- Dyson-Destria Laboratories, Maus

"Wew, really dated you by putting the old country on your plate, huh?" Shayu relished in his prize like none other. Dwarven genius that remained undisturbed just to become fruit for him. A sudden splash from behind caught him off-guard. But he wasn't worried, this was but one of his loyal followers. A shark that resembled him in his transformed state with bipedal limbs, circular spinning teeth. Fins so sharp swords cleaved in two in swings of any. "What is it?"

"Problem with the latest shipment through the mines, reports of an ambush," the soldier reported to their general. His open mouth spun and his dorsal fin bounced in riddled anger. His soldier played a feed from their security cams placed on drones themselves.

"That self-proclaimed queen planned all of this? I underestimated how potent the Dyson blood still is," that fisher seemed so airheaded in research...a master guise no less. Shayu sat with their tail as a chair watching the display on the ceiling. A rambunctious lot indeed to handle. The dragon of the GNS was present, "Hmm? What's that idiot doing there destroying our droids-" focus on the other went to the third. Those legs laid in molten black. Shayu cracked the ground thinking of it. "A legbuster."

"Arrange for this unit to be secured and organize the chump grunts. We can't have the other contractors coming and seeing a mess like this, can we? Andromalius would give us a pass...but Sitri? Think again."

"Life is a game, youngling. And the moment they prevent me from doing what I want is game over that's why we're gonna clear this stage."

How he trampled and stomped within the confines of the room preparing their shortcut to get the upper hand once more. The carrier droids that were ambushed were most likely a lost cause, so he needed to prepare something meaty. His little soldier splashed on the way through the tunnels and out the other end. Those faint splashes through the artificial river were oh so similar. Many splashed like that in the rain. One did the same now.

Fields of thunder sparked similar to the skies over Seigen born through the circulations of Shenryu Raidon. Rain dripped in mass forcing everyone to draw umbrellas or use robots as such. One person didn't have that luxury. Lena scurried about not in search of shelter, but navigating a route attached to a text sent by Strider. A brief notice only a bit before.

Hey, no time to explain but there's some stuff going down. If the worst comes to the worst we'll need some help. Don't run in the main streets or they'll see you. Here's a route of the backroads to get here the quickest.

It was like a spiderweb placed on the network, "Turn left," her neuragear directed in her mind behind each slippery step, "In twenty meters turn right," her body trailed on its own after seeing the destination. Lucki's home. Every aspect of her brain told her to slow down, her lungs couldn't keep with the rate. That flame in her heart ached again; every throb scratched with the image of the god that day. Emerald eyes that forced a command upon her...why was that in her head now? No time to question, keep moving forward.

Another turn brought Lena closer. Sirens blared and thunder rolled with thickening raindrops, "Just a little more.." a few turns left. The commissions of trade building came into view. Her final stretch was halted...a straight alley with the left side of the building in the distance. But before the exit stood a figure. He was wrapped in trenchcoats with an arm behind his back. Their left arm rose to point the wall behind Lena. Curious, her eyes faced back. Her first mistake.

Hot white death blew over her head. If she hadn't ducked her body would've been ash. The wall behind now hissed with the air burning; so hot they liquefied the concrete, "It seems that Legbuster of yours isn't around. That's a shame," that voice rocked the earth and seas beyond. It rattled her to the core, "My informant said you were together, perhaps you were seeking him out now?" the man removed his coat and tossed their hat to the winds. A canon the size of a man sat on his right. The face she remembered that night, the one that dragged her into this.

"Zaltras, that's what you're called right?" that white giant of steel and lab-grown muscle was one one forgot easily. Across his chin the dreaded mark of Z. He blended in with the shade and became brighter than white, but what was he doing here now? How many were in the city? Was that other droid here too? Too many questions to count ran through her mind. Another ray called for action.

Lena pivoted on her right heel. She broke into a slide kicking up water and mud for the figure's cannon. Zaltras' canon glowed with a hatred, "If you won't take me to the legbuster, then my eyes will search without you," pulse after pulse struck the ground with the force of a hundred pounds behind each kinetic wave. Lena needed to rely on her neuragear; molten slabs were the only remnants of where she stood seconds ago. Bright balls continued to fire and she continued to move. Her bow sprung and string drawn back.

Lena ran low, her focus was the smallest of gaps upon the unit. She focused on everything from the space between his legs, the speed of his canon, and his movement; every minute detail of his muscle was already imprinted in her memory. Along the bowstrings more and more arrows formed awaiting command. A deep breath before she slid. The heat of the canon blistered over her skull as she dove through the mud and leg gap. Her fingers were a machinegun firing arrow after arrow into the canon's fissures. "Hmm…"

Zaltras knew they were stuck in his core. Another launch and he'd implode, "You!" Lena huffed on her knee, "How did you get a replacement body so quick? And how did this informant know I was taking this route?"

The iron titan didn't waver under pressure. His teeth bared and muscles blackened with crude black blood of the planet, "I didn't think you were foolish enough to remain allied to that rogue unit, yet here you are fighting for him….interesting," his right arm whizzed; fingers softened at the touch of the arrows, "You're a smart woman, don't you know that we have eyes all over this country? Sitting on the end of towns hearing the common folk. Darting through corners so quickly they're almost invisible-acting as a hive mind with free will," oil dripped from Zaltras' right arm. One swift tug freed the arrows with a flaming palm.

Things that hid in plain sight...above the clouds, "Starmen," her eyes thinned on his right arm. Zaltras was a mech in minute form. Weapons galore were their call, but firepower thinned with the size reduction. His thermal canon and minigun served well against many, but in times of desperation, there was another thing to revert . Old fashioned, but the basics were the way to go. Their wrist fell off, replaced with the end of a folded blade that grew and snapped into place. A claymore long and black with an edge thinner than paper; it would be like comparing Dynamo's leg to a normal person.

Along the black back were ridges like teeth. The push of a button sent sparks through the tip.

"Alright….we're doing this then."

....

"Alright, so is that it?" Tome questioned the intensity of their ambush. Surrounding him and Dynamo were the bodies of all twelve zenith droids which walked mere minutes before. They were more compact than other models with softer frames; possibly iron. The group had split into three and carried three metal coffins, "I'm beginning to think that this wasn't an ambush…"

"I think we were the ones who did that," Strider inspected the crates to the best of his abilities, but it required both a key and a code to open, "More importantly….this place."

The corridor of the ancient forge was brightly lit with bulbs of yore against the ceiling. Not a scratch in view of the smooth steel walls and floors. A huge tunnel that went on in both directions endlessly, "Hmm," Dynamo recounted the secrets of these grounds, secret constructs, "The laboratory….someone powered it," an unexplainable emotion rallied within the chambers of his throat. Walking forward there was disarray with the torn ceiling though not a grain of dust against the floor. "Keep moving. There's more to this place than a tunnel," a flick of his heels called out his skates. Not enough to keep up with dragon wings or the one-second-touch leaps of Strider. Fast enough to reach the innermost levels in minutes.

"Gotcha, let's go, shady," Tome spat with wings spread for the chase after Dynamo.

"Yes, I'm the shady one and not the security agent wrapped in this," Strider rolled his eyes and trailed after the two. Finger on his head the entire time. A relay around the winding road that parted to the left. Dynamo remained silent all the while, observing every corner of this home.

"Be careful, one of the main rooms is coming up next- It splits into their deep labs, test facilities, and power room," a wide space gleamed in the distance with Dynamo's warning. The white and gray theme carried across the rooms clearly. Heads ducked, weapons drawn. Doors to the room were gone, they charged into the center.

The room was a giant circle of whites, blues, and grays much like the one in the Giganto outskirts. The walls were tall like the ceiling and light emanated from hundreds of bulbs under the glass floor; one could see the path leading to their test facilities below. In the 'corners' of the room were desks peeling apart and scraps of pages. Computers and televisions once mounted against the walls now face-first against the ground, "Something's wrong here…" Dyson-Destria had some of the most advanced power systems for the time period, but they couldn't power a location of this scale for so many years. "Someone gave this old girl new blood…"

The air was heavy and salt lingered. They looked everywhere and at every side, "What are you picking up?" Strider's head tilted upwards before he focused on the sheer vastness of the laboratories. Rifle at the ready as he walked around the perimeter. Gun aimed at the underside of desks to find nobody; Dynamo already began his search, "I reckon we should find more down there…"

Dynamo was about to agree. Then caught wind of a single sound. A droplet from the roof touched the ground. Danger spiked when his eyes faced the oval ceiling. Directly above them were robots.

A dozen cropdusters and another dozen adapting droids. In the middle was an odd droid, a shark with tail stuck in the roof. Tome wasted not a second to project flaming skyward, "So you're the 'Legbuster' I've heard of."

That shark heard the call for action, while the rest dodged the fire he sprung his body around the flames. His streamline formation straightened with a snap of bone. Teeth inches deep feeding on the scaly shoulder of Tome. A solid punch from the dragon's right tore off the beast, but with some of Tome missing as well, "Interesting," Shayu released his jaws of the meat. Eyes locked on the Cropdusters. Dynamo steamed with bladed heel aimed at one's head. Those legs weren't the typical Legbuster legs, Shayu saw too many to know this. They were far older; slabs of iron that couldn't shrink down. Not to mention the wielder's face.

His fin touched the ground. Shayu's arms sprouted to support his flip, returning to a humanoid form. Gleaming white teeth end red eyes warped with bloodshed lunged for the unit.

Dynamo almost killed a Cropduster. All the others whizzed with bullets aimed at Tome and Strider...yet his edge couldn't move anymore. What blocked the three-hundred and sixty-degree blow you may wonder? The blunt end of a fin far thinner, "You-" Dynamo remembered this face. His eye wasted no time in scanning the model, breaking away from the strike. A picture of their face was taken and matched with the past. Their feet cracked the glass. "How are you-Seapaver!"

He knew this machine, second batch of CC2 soldiers. Made only years after him, one of the first of his kind back in testing. A model among the CC2, "Rex Seapaver-"

"Don't you dare call me that," Shayu grumbled, "That….title, died when you did, Legbuster," he laughed, "Funny story, recently I heard a Legbuster was flying around, at first I thought Proton was showing his true colors- then I thought it was a fraud," his teeth bared craving the blood of the man in front of him. "But I'd never imagined it was the legbuster….hello, Tobias."

"Paver, explain yourself-" that look in Rex's eye made Dynamo rethink his naming. Those weren't simple eyes wanting death, no they were far too concentrated. They didn't want mindless destruction, he eyed the bane of his soul. "Why do you go against your primary objective? Now."

"My primary objective? What exactly would that be?" Every stomp Shayu rallied the cracks more, "Would it be my role to act as an assassin from the depths? Or to protect the innocent? Those do ring bells, but as I recalled, that was given to the combat constructs," Shayu preached, "I am Shayu, contractor of Zenith. I was given free will by my maker and will continue to express that freedom."

"But now let me ask you something, Tobias. Why be so hypocritical? You are free to roam as you like, yet you attempt to question my doings? I can question why you chose to live a lie. I can question why you planned to have us constructs murdered in mass after dragonfall. I have done wrong in my life but am I not allowed to act as I wish? Are you a saint as well, Dynamo? Or should I pull out the history books- oh wait, those days have been wiped from the record. Because you were always a golden example and I am now a heinous villain, right? Dynamo?"

"A man's actions shout the loudest. Your face shouts anger but so does mine, yet I do have my graces to grant you...but you have my sentiments already. We both call this lair a home, if you are a legbuster's frame then show me a performance worthy of that name!"

Brothers met with eyes pressed to each other. The sharpest teeth and the strongest heel. In this dominion of radiation and the dead another will fall to the despair of dragonfall's echo. Glass cracked and engines roared.