Mission 17: Six Robots [Archive]

Phard

September 6th, 2009, 01:44 pm

“Run!”

The small crowd complied, rampaging through the town. Six robots, twice the size of ordinary humans in weight and height laughed mechanically, shooting elemental spells at random. Each robot had its element; Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Dark and Light. It was easily to spot which was which, as the Fire Robot was holding a fireball, the Light Robot shooting beams of pure energy, and the Earth Robot hurling large boulders.

Bardus stood in the middle of the road staring upward, his mouth agape. He had seen many strange things on his travels with Alex, but this was something new. Alex needed to see this.

Turning his back on the Robot’s, he began to walk briskly toward a café. A man sat on one of the outdoor tables, perfectly calm despite the panic that had enveloped the town.

“Sefen-”

Alex raised his hand. Sipping his coffee, he waved Bardus over.

“The town is being attacked.”

“Hmmph.”

The two men sat at the table, one sipping every so often, the other casually observing his nails.

“They really don’t have any form of security do they?”

“No. I find it most unsettling. I must say, these contraptions are quite interesting.”

“Clockwork operated no doubt.”

“Yes but, they seem to be affiliated with the elements. One for each. Someone is behind this.”

Alex sighed. “Who would want to attack a defenseless village?”

“Someone with no morals?”

“Perhaps.”

They sat for a few more minutes. The Robot’s were nearing, the sound of their destruction becoming louder and louder. Alex’s cup rattled noisily in its saucer.

“Shall we?”

“Yes, let’s.”

They stood up together and strode purposefully onto the road. Villagers called to them, to let them know they were marching directly toward the monstrous metal men. But they didn’t listen.

“Who are you, and what is your business?” Bardus asked them in a loud voice. Alex smirked.

The robots stopped what they were doing and all swiveled their heads toward the voice. They tilted their heads slightly, apparently seizing them up.

“We come, we kill.”

Alex raised his eyebrows. This was something he did not expect.

“They are imbued with the power to talk?”

“Perhaps. Or maybe that is the limit of their communication.”

“We come, we kill.”

Bardus grinned. “Thought so. Whoever made these was clever, but not that clever.”

The Robot’s were getting restless. Many of them were twitching, one of them squashing a terrified female with its foot. Alex nodded knowingly.

“They have no consciousness. Whatever they are doing has been set in their clockwork. They have one task, and it seems to destroy this town and everyone inside.”

Bardus held a grim face. While he and Alex were trained in combat, six Robots powered by the elements and physically imposing might be their hardest challenge yet. The was a brief moments silence, then everything happened.

The Robots, fed up with waiting began their attack. Two of them charged directly at Alex and Bardus. Alex propped his Fluxe in front of him and shot at one of them. The attack seemed to bounce right off it.

“Sefen! No good!” Bardus roared. He unsheathed his sword and took a defensive stance. “I’ll buy some time. Get help!”

Alex turned his back and obeyed. He knew Bardus was more than a match for one Robot, but together, they would fail against six. They would need more manpower…

The Earth Robot swung his hand toward the floor. Bardus dodged in nimbly, but was hit by the shockwave. Such was the strength of the Robots’ fist, that it cracked the cobblestone and caused the ground nearby to quake. Bardus ran toward the hand, still lodged in the floor, and swung his sword. It made contact and cut cleanly through.

The Robot showed no emotion. His steel face did not register any pain or loss. It simply stood up, with one arm missing.

The other Robot had not been idle. The Water Robot had run behind Bardus and summoned a gigantic wave. Bardus barely turned around in time to see the wall of water about to hit him. With only a second to react, he sheathed his sword and jumped as high as he could, allowing the wave to sweep him away. The other Robots seemed happy with the result, and continued with their destruction.

Alex had not been idle. Running to the Academy of Arcane Arts, he managed to summon an able group of magicians. Ready for battle, they marched back toward the town square, and to the Robots.

People ran screaming, houses were alit and there was a continuous boom of thunder. With every step the group took toward the Robots, they seemed to lose confidence, but Alex urged them on. Before long, they had arrived, and the Robots noticed them.

“Whoa, they’re huge!”
“We do not have the abilities for this!”
“What are those things?”

“We come, we kill.”

With that, the Robots launched into battle. The group of Mages split up, creating tens of targets. They fired while retreating, arcs of fire, water, earth, wind and light smashing into the Robots. At first, the spells seemed to work, but after some time, the Robots grew resistant to them. Alex let blast a few notes on his Fluxe, but it didn’t affect the Water Robot at all.
A small group of Mages fired simultaneously at the Wind Robot, and the combined spells wounded it. It stumbled backward, losing its footing and falling onto the floor. The ground shook violently.

“Fire in groups of ten!” Alex yelled. The scattered Mages created small groups and provided cover for each other. A squad of fire Mages fired together, a massive trail of fire smashing into the one armed Earth Robot. Its head caught fire, even though it seemed to be made entirely of metal. The crowds seemed to have grown in number, and many people were firing anything they could at the Robots. Arrows, Darts, Bullets, even throwing Axes.

Alex ran for shelter, as the Light Robot seemed to pick him as a target. He smashed the window to a shop moments before he jumped through. The Robot, temporarily confused, moved on. Alex heaved a sigh of relief. Then he realised that Bardus was missing.

“Charge!”

A furious waterlogged man, sat atop a palomino horse. His sword glinted in the sunlight, eager for a target. Behind him, at least a hundred villages ran, armed to the teeth and as angry as the horseman. The wave smashed into the Fire Robot, forcing it to the ground. Bardus beheaded it, and the crowd roared in approval.

Three of the Robots were either dead or severely wounded. On the other hand, two hundred villages and mages stood ready for battle. The Robots wavered temporarily, but then charged.

The Water Robot stood in front of the Dark and Light Robots, summoning another wave. It crashed down on the militia, slowing them. Two Earth Mages fired their staffs, two thick vines wrapping themselves around the Water Robot’s torso. Bardus pulled alongside it and reared on his horse. Then he thrust his sword into the Robots chest.

Pulling out his sword, the Robot fell to the floor heavily. Now there were only two.

The Light Robot held his hands out In front of him, a thick force field surrounding itself. Bardus, Alex and the mages walked through it, unaffected. However, the mages had lost their ability to cast spells. Many of them drew swords or daggers, but the others left, feeling exposed without their magic.

The Light Robot began firing at them. One blast landed at the feet of Bardus’ horse, causing Bardus to fall. Another sent Alex spinning across the floor. A stray foot squashed one of the mages, and a swinging hand picked up five more. The Robot continued its swing and opened its hand at the end of its trajectory. The Mages flew through the air, yelling in fright. Gravity took hold, and they landed on nearby roofs with a sickening cracking noise.

Alex and Bardus stood side by side, readying their weapons. Alex tuned his Fluxe in a few seconds as Bardus unsheathed a short dagger. Nodding to each other, the both charged.

Bardus darted around the Robot, stabbing it with his dagger. Alex attracted its attention, creating a diversion. It worked, and Bardus had stabbed both of its legs countless time. The metal fell on itself, and it collapsed in a heap. Bardus was panting heavily.

The Dark Robot stood above them, watching them with interest. Then its head opened up, and a man sat in it, his hands on two controllers.

Alex’s eye widened in disbelief. A man was controlling this Robot? What does this mean?

“You have done well young warriors. You and your friend have managed to destroy all but one of my creations.”

“Creations? What are you talking about?”

The man sighed. “You don’t understand,” he said simply. “This is a test.”
Bardus stood next to Alex, leaning heavily on his sword. “Did that man- just say- test?”

“I believe so.”

“You see, I had to find out who had the most prowess in this sorry town. For generations, these inhabitants have been living in ignorance and as sluggards, not wary of the perils they do not face. Their borders are protected by one man. Me!”

Alex frowned. Either this man was crazy, or he was telling the truth. From the way he was acting, it had to be the former.

“I need someone to help me protect these borders. Orcs come and go, and I have to battle alone.”

“Perhaps the reason these people have become ignorant, is because you deny them the opportunity to fight!” Alex called out.
The man opened and closed his mouth. “That may be the case, but I will not be proven wrong. No, no, no I won’t!” And with that, he closed the Robots head and swung a large Robotic blade at Alex.

Bardus shielded Alex, and held his sword in front of him. The Dark sword met Bardus’ and they rebounded off each other.

“Light and Dark will not abide together!” Alex reminded Bardus. Drawing his dagger, Bardus threw it at the Robots head. It punctured the eye.

A loud screaming noise came from the head, and the Robot fell heavily to the floor. Alex and Bardus ran toward it, and it opened with a hiss.

“You have no right to kill as you did,” Alex said, stony faced.

“Now, you must die.”

Bardus lifted his sword high above him and brought it down into the man’s chest. His eyes widened, and then all the air left his body.

[complete]

[man that was a weird mission.]