Chapter Ten
Ratchet
Gayge is hounding me about needing to get Siren and Glitch back to base, so we get them up and make sure they're fine and aren't, y'know, still possessed. Once we're sure they're not going to kill us, our little procession walks back to the air locks. Gayge leads, Sprocket brings up the rear, and it's pretty much a little rebellion sandwich.
Siren presses the button to let us back into the compound. "We have to hurry," she says. "Tronyx isn't gonna be far behind us. We've gotta get everyone we can find ready for battle."
"I got it," Gayge says. "Sprocket, where did you hide everyone?"
Sprocket tilts his head to the left. "In the bunkers."
Gayge breaks off and goes to help them. Meanwhile, Crescent takes a turn in the opposite direction to go do stuff with bionic crap, I guess. Eclipse turns toward the strategy room, Sprocket goes to the armory, and Siren heads for the infirmary, which leaves me just one place to go.
I turn down a rarely-used hall and stand in front of a door with a weird-looking spider hanging in front of it. After squishing the spider, I open the door, look at what's inside, and smile at my marvelous creation.
"Hello, little friend."
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Gayge
The hall leading to the bunker looks unused, except for the thousands of footprints that have worn their way into the dirt floor. I follow those and come across the first bunker. Upon opening the door, at least a hundred eyes have turned in my direction.
"Tronyx has sent out a clone of me!" I say, kind of making it up as I go along. "She is intelligent and ruthless. We won the round, but it won't be long before Tronyx sends out the big guns. We need all of you to be ready for whatever comes ahead!" With that I turn on my heels and go spread the word to the other bunkers.
When I come up out of that hellhole, the air is filled with orders being barked, boots slapping thick metal, and confused mumbling. It's the kind of environment I thrive in. Breaking off towards the strategy room, I find Eclipse talking with an assistant of hers.
"Make sure Kraken and Pollux stay in the field hospitals," Eclipse says. "And put Matchbox in tech with Crescent and Scope."
I extend a questioning hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I need Matchbox out in the field. He's the best explosives guy I've got."
Eclipse stares at me. "That's why we need him in tech. He's going to be a lot more helpful making grenades than throwing them."
I get the feeling this is going to go on all day, so I let up. "I'll go scout out their armies," I say, turning on my heel and walking out of the room.
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Crescent
Bionic pieces keep pouring into the tech room, waiting to be upgraded. It's just me, Scope, and Matchbox in here, and Matchbox doesn't have a clue what he's doing. I've gotta replace him...
"Hey, Matchbox?" I say, motioning for him to come my way. He saunters over, hands in his pockets. "Can you go to Eclipse and ask to be transferred to Pluto in field operations? Tell them I sent you. And ask Eclipse to send me Klondike and Harlem." Matchbox looks almost relieved. He nods and runs out of the room. I continue to work on the influx of wires and metal, hoping this battle will start soon. Maybe then there'll be less to do.
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Glitch
Recon work is my forte. This is not. They had too many people on the scouting party, so I'm stuck in the armory. I'm handing out weapons to people who aren't normally in field ops. A lot of them look battle-ready, but there are a few who hide fear behind their eyes. My hands are in a back-and-forth motion, going from the gun rack, to the line of people, and back again. But suddenly I turn and there's no one there to give the gun to. I hear sobbing and look down.
I'm stomach-to-face with a boy of about eight, who's trying hard not to cry. Is this the level we've stooped to? I ask myself, bending down to talk with the boy.
"Hey, buddy," I say softly, "what's your name?"
The boy sniffles. "B-Benjamin..."
"Hey, Benjamin," I say. "My name's Glitch."
He looks at me. "That's not your real name. It's too weird." I laugh.
"Hey, kid!" An impatient voice from the back of the line makes its way to my ears. "You gonna stop crying or what?"
I stand up. "Button it, hotshot!" I shout at the guy, squatting back down to Benjamin's level. "You're right, that's not my real name. It's a nickname. I've got one because I've been in battle before. All the bravest fighters have one. And now, since it's your turn, I'm gonna call you..." I try to think of a fierce name, "Blackhawk. I'm gonna call you Blackhawk. You know why? Because I know you're gonna be brave."
I hand him the gun, which is too heavy for him. "Go kill me a Motor."
Blackhawk smiles and runs away, yelling, "I won't let you down, Glitch!" I smile, thinking that if he dies, he will die knowing that he was the bravest soul on the battlefield.
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Eclipse
The strategy room is filled with the sound of clicking on keyboards as an assistant walks up to me.
"The troops are ready whenever the intel is," he says.
"Good," I reply, touching my earpiece. "Gayge, come in. This is Eclipse. Do you read me?"
There's some static over the airwaves as I get a garbled reply. "I read you, Eclipse. All quiet so far, but I'm sure I'll see something soon."
"Okay." I turn off the com, thinking of what could possibly happen after this big of a fight.
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Sprocket
I doubt this rifle I'm testing is ready for use in actual combat. But it could use a road test, and it's probably going to come in handy if I lose my blades. So I load it into the compartment attached to my metal spine. My back closes and it almost looks like normal skin, aside from a couple nuts and bolts. I pull a T-shirt on as someone walks in.
"Don't you ever knock?" I say hastily.
"Sorry," a timid voice replies.
I turn around and face a girl I've never seen before. "Hey, do you know what weapons they handed out to the non-specialists?"
The girl thinks a bit. "Uh, the B-2ON assault rifles, I think."
I can't say I'm thrilled; the B-2ON is all right, but I'd rather be giving them Q1-C1rifles. But hey, what can you do? "All right. Are they using normal or tracer rounds?"
"The lead strategist pulled about thirty aside and gave them tracer rounds. The rest are all using normal," says the girl. I nod. Eclipse is probably planning to have snipers with tracer rounds on the top of the cliff. It's a good idea.
"Okay. Thanks," I say, looking in the mirror. With my all-black ensemble, I definitely look ready for battle.
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Siren
The infirmary is thinning out considerably as rebels feel the urge to get up and fight. Surgeries are performed, last-minute upgrades are made, and soon it feels like we might actually win this fight.
"Siren?" I hear a voice over my earpiece. "It's Eclipse."
I put my hand to my ear. "I read you, Eclipse. What's up?"
"I'm putting you under Gayge's command," she says. "I know you're normally the leader, but I feel like in this situation we need a specialist overseeing things. That all right with you?"
Well, if I had to be under someone's command, I'm glad it was Gayge. "Yeah, that's cool. Siren out."
_______
Gayge
A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen... An old song my mom used to sing flits through my head. It's a classic, probably older than her parents. But it definitely reminds me of what surrounds me now: absolutely nothing. I'm sure to see something soon. Still, I can't be sure.
I peer over the top of a cliff and finally see it. An enormous army of Motors ready for deployment. At the head of the troops stands another robot, but it doesn't look like a Motor. Taller, sleeker, and more intelligent-looking, I bet that's the leader. But where's Rove?
My answer comes as I'm hit on the head from behind.
A/N: Oh my gosh. Guys. I'm almost at 400 views. Like, what?! Thanks so much, readers! Please keep voting/commenting/sharing if you still like this story!
**Side note: I don't own Frozen or "Let it Go". That's all Disney's thing.
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