Fragmented reality across the auburn visors he'd unwillingly equipped. Panicked gasps for what passed as breath from the intake ducts linked to his chest. A hand reaching outward. A calling without a response. A body frozen in time and a face contorted with horror.

This was the state that Larry had found himself in. Locked in stasis like the days before activation. Aware of his surroundings yet powerless to interact. His senses dulled yet the passage of time felt like eternity. He could see a figure slowly walking toward him. His world shifted from a view of the mound ahead to a fracturing image of the ceiling.

The brown and brittle cave walls began to show snaking lines along his eyes. The cracks grew in size and number. They jumped far past his peripherals. So deep in his view, he could feel them behind his head. Down his back. Along his spine. To the tip of his toes, he could feel his world fracturing.

Then suddenly... it shattered.

What came next wasn't a numbing pain. Or blood-curdling screams. It was nervous gasps. Confused contemplation. Uncertainty. A deep sea of indigo hues swathed his senses. The world around him suddenly shifted and he was free to move.

He could feel something latching onto his leg. Squeezing with the hope of severing the heel from his shin. Larry's body moved autonomously. His hand retrieved the blaster from its holster unimpeded. His core pistons contracted inward on themselves till he managed a suspended sit-up. The barrel rested against a jagged purple arm. He could see glowing yellow eyes with a malicious glaze just past the shoulder. Then in a flash...

*BANG*

His blaster's recoil made his index tremor. The rocky appendage fractured at the impact. Larry was dropped on his head only to quickly curl up as the candy limb smashed into his chest. The sound of a golem groaning echoed into the darkness. The beast lumbered away for cover while Larry rolled to his feet.

He readied his laser, following along as Plymouth left his view behind a deep blue rock formation. Larry's orange boots ground against the brittle floor. He could hear heavy crunches as he took note of the uneven terrain.

After a few moments of staring down Plymouth's hiding spot, he registered his surroundings. Gone were the brown and white hues of mixing chocolates. The milky river from before had dried up. Even the ice cream mound had changed.

Now the ground was rock candy rubble. Deep blues and heavy purples flooded his senses. It was much darker now. The sound of flowing dairy had vanished. The aquifer dried up and replaced with a never-ending rock candy slide. The humming of a thousand tiny pebbles was deafening.

The ice cream mound had been replaced with a massive hard candy plateau. The statue at the top had vanished. Along with that cookie creation. Even his companion, Melodie, had disappeared.

Despite the deafening sound of syrup-soaked gravel, a voice broke through his confusion. "WELCOME!!!" Larry searched the ceiling for that hanging 'L'. It sounded as if the voice was coming from everywhere. It erupted from the bowels and then rained down from above. He could feel all the crystals shutter at its return.

"To my DOMAIN!!!"

Larry held his gun upward. Aqua visors squinted shut searching for the voice's source. He asked the walls, "Who are you? Where's Melodie?"

There was a soft rumble as something grumbled from the rock that the monster had disappeared behind. The voice spoke up, "I am Plymouth. The Great Rock."

Larry nodded along as he slowly made his way forward. He'd seen Plymouth shift there after his first attack. Even if his voice is bouncing off the walls, that rumbling is giving away his position. "Okay, Plymouth. Where are we?"

He planned on keeping the monster talking. Better Plymouth monologue while Larry makes his approach. "This is my DOMAIN!" He shouted it with an infliction copying his first declaration. "You are trapped here. Within me."

Larry carefully stepped over an oddly sharp protrusion, "That explains the interior design." He was just a few paces out from Plymouth now. He just needed to keep him distracted. Plus a bit of information might be helpful. "Thank you for complying with my inquiries. Now how does one leave... you?" He questioned hoping there wouldn't be a butt in his answer.

There was another strong grumble from below. Larry didn't remove his feet from the floor lest he make too much noise. Once Plymouth began speaking again he continued ahead. "Only I may release you from within. If I do not exist neither does this realm."

Larry nodded along releasing the implications of that statement. "So even if I kill you, I'd just vanish along with this world?"

A deep shudder arose from below, followed by a very frustrated groan. "That is the rule." Larry cursed internally. This situation looked hopeless. "However-" Larry's luminescent eyes burst to life, "-Otis says it is... unfair." Plymouth could be heard spitting at the mere thought of what he had to say next. Larry was now right behind the rock, he could hear Plymouth's real voice coming from the cover.

"So... if you win. I'll release you."

Larry quickly loaded a fresh load of tickets, "That is exceptionally generous." He quickly turned the corner with his finger flexed. Though there was no crystal creature for him to blast into colorful chunks. He walked around trying to see if he'd somehow jumped into the rolling ditch.

That rumbling returned once more. Plymouth's cackling roared down from above, "Yes. I agreed to his rule." This quaking was different from the rest. "For 100 years I have trapped trespassers within my body." It felt targeted. "And in 100 years..." Like it was spawning directly below him. "I've never lost."

Larry looked down. The floor was just partially transparent. Just enough for him to see it coming. A massive, spiked chunk of candy was rushing his way. He rolled to the side just in time, the fragmented pebbles rained down as he settled himself. The jagged outcrop settled into place as a new addition to the landscape.

Larry counted his blessings for noticing it in time. Then counted his seconds when another tremor spawned beneath him. He had to run to keep ahead of the spikes. With each second a new one formed under him. His feet were just inches from being pierced with each attack.

Worse than that his retreat wasn't getting him any closer to finding Plymouth. The monster must have been hiding somewhere nearby. If what Larry heard was true, he was inside of Plymouth himself. So all parts of this cave are attached to the monster. Which means he could be anywhere.

Or Everywhere.

Unsure of the effectiveness Larry began firing off energized ticket rolls into the floors. When that didn't work the walls were the next target. Even still he was forced to keep running away from a supposedly omnipotent enemy.

He'd failed to pay attention to his pathing, running himself face-first into one of the previous shards Plymouth had created. When his face panel stopped vibrating he quickly looked down to jump away from another spike. His retreat ran him up the shard which he clenched like a mountain goat on a cliffside.

He stayed alert for a spike to spawn from his current perch. Unaware of the stalagmite that Plymouth had created been created a few feet away from him. He heard it break the surface before he could turn around. The shuddering break from below made him lose his grip. He slipped and unintentionally fell just below a diagonal outcrop.

Larry's hat was nearly taken off his head. He wondered if this feeling in his core was similar to what fleshy beings would call, pissing his pants.

He rolled away and started to run once again. Though the rumbles beneath him finally stopped. He relaxed himself despite being in the middle of a ring of spikes. He could see a refracted figure standing on the outside. A pair of piercing lemon-hued spheres burst to life. Then they suddenly vanished.

Larry felt something latch onto his ankle. It was that same vice grip from when he'd first been taken hostage. He wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. With his pistol all warmed up he quickly placed a powerful blast into the purple wrist below. Plymouth let out a powerful groan. Then came a massive earthquake from below.

It was at this moment that Larry realized where he was. The trap he'd been placed in was so obvious he decided that if he survived this he would be requesting a processor update. He couldn't help but stare at his feet as the massive spike came bursting from the bowels.

He was launched into the air, gaining a bird's eye view of the battlefield. It was from there that he finally saw the monster hiding. He must have been standing there most of the fight. Just below the southern base of the massive candy mound. Atop of which there was a particularly bright yellow crystal.

Larry remembered that that used to be the statue of Nessy. So, what was the significance now? He smacked the ground with a heavy thud. He was lucky to have only been launched by the attack. Looks like a bigger spike isn't necessarily more deadly. Especially when you don't land on the razor-sharp tip.

Larry rolled over to his back. He was still able to see that piercing yellow light. The same hue as Plymouth's eyes. Managing as much power as he could he rolled to his stomach and started clawing his way forward. He clambered up the hill faster than even he thought was possible.

Once at the peak, he pointed his gun at the gem's widest section. He fingered the trigger while asking, "Hey, Plymouth. What happens if I break this?" The feeling of his gun recoil was only empowered by the shockwave of energy that followed. The reverberating bass. The sound of falling stalactites. And the sweet sound of Plymouth's cries of anguish.

Larry was sent back downhill after his successful attack. He finally felt in control of this battle. So why take his foot off the gas? He ran back up as quickly as he could.

Another hand grasped his foot just like before. This time it slung him back down before he could react. After getting thrown around for the third time he wasn't going to just run away.

He bounced to his feet prepared to square off against the beast. Plymouth's features seemed especially jagged. Like he was struggling to keep himself together on a level more literal than emotional. If just one good shot did all that imagine what a few concentrated blasts could pull off. The bot looked up at his target. It's too far for him to hit. He'll have to get past the goliath.

He ran ahead intending to fire a ticket spool through Plymouth's stomach. That was when he made a shocking realization. Plymouth might be big and blocky, but he wasn't slow. The creature dashed ahead to grab Larry's arm. He pushed it away from him and then smashed the bot with a powerful straight punch.

Larry didn't have lungs but that took his breath away. He was getting tired of meeting large fighters who were faster than him. As he managed to return to a vertical position he saw Plymouth rushing his way. Though he wasn't worried about Plymouth's next strike. The main thought he was having was, why do these guys always hit like a truck?

Plymouth jumped up for a shockwave slam. Larry's reactions were cybernetically enhanced so dodging was no problem. The two exchanged blows for what felt like just a brief minute. It was even less than that. Seconds passed as Larry dodged as much as he could. Until he was able to land a powerful blast that took out the monster's left arm.

In response, the beast dipped its left half into the stone below. It came back fully reformed which immediately killed Larry's mini celebration. Then there was a massive rumble. An addition that warranted an exasperated eye-roll from the bot. He dodged the rapidly rising spike but was immediately blitzed by the monster's right hook.

After rolling around a loose wire in his chin he nodded in confirmation, "Initiating backup protocol." Plymouth continued to rush toward him. He retrieved a small square disk from his chest piece. He slid it at his feet with a smirk.

A beam of golden light pierced the cave. Plymouth was too shocked to halt his rush. He instead was gifted a lightning-fast jab to the mouth which sent him stumbling backward. Larry felt a bit of confidence now, "As per Starr Protocol, if I'm ever in a situation where I feel overwhelmed. I can easily gain assistance..."

Out of the light came a shimmering purple visage. It held a pistol with a green light twinkling within the twin barrel. His usual red and orange palette had been swapped for a blue and purple scheme. His eyes glowed a deep amber instead of black. And his usual smirk was a dangerously morose frown.

Larry looked over his twin's shoulder with a questioning glare, "...from... my twin... Lawrie?"

The punisher bot didn't seem very responsive to Larry's confusion. In fact, it seemed laser-focused on the target ahead. Plymouth locked eyes with Lawrie as Larry waved a hand past his eyes.

The rock monster took note of Lawrie's appearance and the clear confusion in his opponent's posture. The monster suddenly relaxed. He took a seat on the ground, resting his hands against the floor, and massaging his fingers between the rocks.

Larry noticed this as well. He and Lawrie stared in awe as Plymouth began humming some incantations. Lawrie turned to his brother, "Should I?" His voice was distorted like he was talking through a blown-out speaker.

"It seems rude to interrupt." The two stood still for a few more seconds until Lawrie grew bored.

"I'm not waiting for him to finish his little prayer." He readied his pistol as he approached. With a whistling return, he asked, "What was his crime?"

"Obstruction of Starr Park business... and kidnapping a Starr Park official. Me."

The more brash police bot blew an auto-tuned raspberry with his synthetic lips, "Not quite enough for the death penalty." He put the gun to Plymouth's temple, "But you're my little brother, so I'll bump it up a few counts."

The rocks beneath them began to glow. Plymouth's eyes suddenly shot open. A bright light burst between the two purple powerhouses. Lawrie's body began to seize up. His arms contorted into grotesque angles that his limbs could only manage with ball-bearing joints.

"Lawrie!?" Larry's concerned cry fell on deaf ears. The lights around them intensified. It was starting to blind him. He blocked the insane burst of light with his elbow.

Then it suddenly stopped. Everything was quiet. Larry looked ahead at Lawrie. The gun was still placed against Plymouth's forehead. Larry was tired of being out of the loop. He openly asked, "Lawrie? You alright?"

The powerful twin stood frozen in time. He hadn't moved an inch since Plymouth opened his eyes. Larry wondered if that freakout had even happened in the first place. Maybe his optics were on the fritz after those stiff hits he'd taken.

Plymouth finally stood up again. His arms were now linked to the floor via a rubble tube that looked more like plastic gutters than stone gauntlets. The rocks pulsed like a throbbing sore injecting a powerful energy into the ground. That light snaked along the jagged landscape until it reached Lawrie's feet. His body began to hum to life on command.

Larry squinted, "Lawrie?"

The older brother rolled his shoulders. His wrists cracked and his rocky neck popped. He bent backward till his head was level with his rear. Eyes first shut, he opened them in a flash. The amber from before was now a bright yellow.

He aimed his gun in the direction he was looking. Directly into the eyes of his little (twin) brother. A brother who didn't know quite how to react to this sudden swap. Larry put up a hand asking one final time, "Lawrie?"

Lawrie's smirk had returned.