Episode 110

In the dark bedroom, Deedri places her aetherphone upon the nightstand, pulls the bed covers around her tighter, and sighs with a worried hint. She blinks her auburn eyes, the dimming phone display light reflecting off her anxious, distant glances. Gritting her teeth briefly, she hisses in a slow breath and releases it through her nose. She curls her claw tips into a section of tightly balled up comforter and settles her head upon the pillow. Her tufted, furry ear flicks back. Modoran lifts his head up from behind Deedri and blinks to some consciousness. "Hey. You okay?"

Deedri uneasily breathes out and tenses under the sheets, rolling slightly towards Modoran. "I'm just really worried."

A comforting smile appears on Modoran's dusky bluish gray face. He wraps an arm around Deedri and gently draws her close. "It is going to be okay. We have nothing to hide any more."

Gradually mustering a smile on her fair face, Deedri frees a hand from the impromptu stress ball and intertwines her fingers with Modoran's hand. Scooting back into his embrace, she sighs deeply and searches her thoughts. "I know. It's just... I don't know. It all made sense, in the moment. But... I just keep on thinking and thinking..."

Propping himself on his elbow, Modoran cranes his head around Deedri's furry, tufted ear and meets her gaze. "You are overthinking it. It's all out in the open now. Everyone else has to figure out how they are going to handle us."

He rolls his dark blue eyes and smirks with a faint chuckle. "We have made quite the first impression, whether we wanted to or not. No taking it back now."

Wrestling with twinges of anxiety, Deedri closes her eyes. Modoran lowers his face closer to hers and whispers softly. "It is going to be okay."

Opening her auburn eyes, Deedri smirks, releases the ball of comforter, and guides Modoran into a kiss with her free hand. Moments of quiet after, she parts from the kiss and combs Modoran's grayish white hair with her fingers, smiling. "I know. I'm glad it's out there. I'm just still... Worried?"

Modoran furrows his brow and gently squeezes Deedri's hand. "About what?"

Twisting her mouth unsure, Deedri narrows her gaze distantly. "Um, uh, thinking if your family is going to be, I guess, okay with me?"

Blinking blankly, Modoran pauses in thought a moment, and an amused smirk emerges on his face. He holds Deedri close, smiling warmly, and laughs softly. "You stood up against one of the more annoying Evuukian nobility, scolded him about proper procedures, and then taught him a lesson that over half the Evuukian houses have wanted to for years. I would not be surprised if some house offered you an honorary award."

Deedri glances around, fighting the impish grin slipping out, and faint hints of color tint her cheeks. "I guess. I just hope it'll be seen for the self defense it was."

Modoran shakes his head with a chuckle and gazes proudly into Deedri's auburn eyes. "The only way it could have been better was if it was a dumpster behind a Lennie's."

Squelching a reflexive snort, Deedri covers her mouth and snickers devilishly. "Gods, having someone of nobility shit behind their dumpster would be a step up for Lennie's."

Modoran grimaces in between a laugh and drops his head down. "They would totally pay for that kind of clout, too."

Rolling her eyes in playful disgust, Deedri flicks her furry ears low and quips. "It's three in the morning after a show, where else are you going to go?"

Both Modoran and Deedri laugh and pull each other closer. Regaining a bit of composure, both enjoy the quiet, close moment. Modoran smiles at Deedri, whispering. "Feeling better?"

Deedri nods slowly and sighs out loud. "Yeah... Thank you. I love you."

Modoran meets Deedri with a kiss. "I love you, too."

Pausing with a loving gaze at Deedri, he starts to shift over to his side of the bed. "Well... We should probably get some slee-"

Halting, he glances down briefly and lifts an intrigued eyebrow towards Deedri. "Okay... THAT tail brush was on purpose."

With a flash of playful guilt, Deedri grins eagerly, squeezes Modoran's hand, and guides her arm around his neck. "Well... I'd sleep better if I didn't have all this nervous energy."

Modoran nods, nonchalant smirking, and follows Deedri's direction. "Well. I believe I can help you with that."

---

In a large auditorium, Chad, Veevi, Tassilda, Trakenthin, Modoran, and Deedri sit behind a long table upon stage. From the seated crowd, eager fans line up behind a microphone. An assistant motions for the next person to step up and adjusts the stand for their height. The young woman suppresses her excitement, steps up close, and eagerly inquires. "Hey! Totally been a fan of this show and ESPECIALLY this season! My question is for Modoran."

A crack in Modoran's nonchalant facade reveals itself briefly, and he musters up a muted smirk. "Yes?"

The young woman draws in a long breath and continues. "SO... With the big reveal of you and Deedri being together... How long have you been hiding this from everyone? AND, when did you first start thinking about her?"

Modoran blinks a moment, chuckles awkwardly, and glances over at Deedri. "Uh, yeah, how long have we been hiding this... Um... Two months?"

Reaching her hand over, Deedri grasps onto Modoran's forearm and gently squeezes with an encouraging smile. "Yes."

Recollecting his nonchalant attitude, he projects his confidence and presents a laid back smirk towards the audience. "It was not long after meeting her that I was thrown head over heels. So, I always was interested. It just was not until recently that we figured it was mutual."

Trakenthin cocks his head to the side and twists his dark bronze face curiously. "Literally thrown?"

Modoran glances over and nods with a shrug "Yeah."

Narrowing his gaze into his memory, Trakenthin's hazel eyes search for a few moments, and he chuckles to himself. "Oh. Then. Understandable."

Murmurs of discussion between different groups drone up from the audience. Bubbles of intelligible words rise out of the debates.

"...wait, what does he know?"

"Oh, it's definitely real. He can barely keep his cool..."

"...they're so cute together..."

The young woman rushes back to her group seated in the audience, and the gathering excitedly discusses between themselves. A young man steps up to the microphone. Stating his question to the team, Samantha stands at the far back wall with an eager grin, sorting through her notes. She keeps an aetherphone pressed to her ear and rests her clipboard upon a foldout table. "Oh, Howie, this weekend has been a GOLD MINE. Oh. My. Gods."

Brushing back stray locks of her brown, shoulder-length hair, Samantha's hazel eyes watch the fan questions. Her attention settles upon Veevi, and she observes the sparks of irritation slipping out from behind the attentive, staged smile. "Yeah. I can tell she's definitely NOT liking having none of the attention. Gods. I can't wait for when it finally boils over. This has to be eating her up."

Slowly nodding her head, an evil, plotting grin grows upon Samantha's fair face, and she chuckles quietly. "Yes, I'm sure she'll stir something back up. Get those ratings back where they should be."

Off to the side, Gerald glances over from his mounted camera, frowning, and grumbles to himself. He resumes observing the question and answer forum, a tinge of disapproval spreading on his face. The fans react to the latest question. Another young woman approaches the microphone, following a prompt from the assistant. She gazes over at Veevi and speaks up to the mic. "Hi, um, my question is to Veevi."

Veevi's fuzzy ears perk up, she snaps her interested stare over with a sharp grin on her tan face. Tossing her pink hair back, she sits up in her seat and flutters her pink pupil eyes. "Finally! Someone asking the pressing questions. What do you want to know?"

The young woman smiles brightly and works up to the question. "I know it probably hasn't been long enough for anything new to happen, but... Do you have anything to say about Odellon getting you into a movie with him?! I could totally see you starring with him!"

With the struggle to maintain her confident exterior, Veevi manages to subdue a twitch of her cheek and laugh dismissively. "As much as I would LOVE to say something, I can't reveal anything at the moment. You know how it goes. Lawyers negotiating contracts in secret and movie scheduling is just so demanding."

She smiles towards the young woman and winks with a giggle. "But, we'll see! I mean... Odellon would have to be insane to refuse a proper actress like myself starring with him in his next project."

Delighted with the satisfactory answer, the young woman steps away from the microphone and finds her seat back in the audience. Veevi smiles confidently to the murmur of the audience. Her hand clenches the table edge, sharp nails digging into the table's wooden underside. The surge of fan conversations wane. New sounds crest over the background noise. Shouts muffle in from pairs of exit doors along the long wall. Surges of loud, fast foot traffic travel down the length from the other side. A growing cacophony of metallic clangs echo louder by the moment. The recording crews along the back glance around, searching for a source in their confusion. Samantha blinks at Gerald. "What the hell is that noise?"

Gerald shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know-"

A loud slam shakes the nearby metal double doors. Another hard hit resonates and rattles loose bits of the supports. The crew quickly vacates away from the door. The blatant confusion and fear grow in the crew, and the fans nearest the pounding exit doors move away. Chad stands up from his chair, stares at Samantha's uncertain body language, and picks up his microphone. "Everyone! If you could, please move away from those doors and clear a way for us."

Tensions drive the large group of people away towards the opposing wall. Chad signals the team and readies his sword. Trakenthin joins up with Chad. Modoran and Tassilda follow up behind and prepare themselves. Maintaining a distance behind the team, Deedri trains her furry, tufted ears ahead. "It sounds... Robotic?"

Veevi glances between the team moving forward and the cowering crowd. She starts to trail far behind the team, slows her progress, and stops in the middle of the room. Between the team forming around the rattling doors and the mass of fans and crew, she draws a deep breath and turns towards the people. "Okay! Let's just gather over here and move towards the other exit doors! Just follow me!"

With a solid pound, the middle post breaks loose and the metal doors bend out to the sides. Stepping through, a battered, rusty construction bot staggers in. It lumbers forward with jerky motions, scans the area, and pivots towards the Chad and Trakenthin. Narrowing his stare at the robot, Chad tilts his head unsure and calls out to the rest of the team. "That looks like a construction droid... A REALLY old one."

Trakenthin glances over at Chad and holds his blade at the ready. "What is it doing here?"

Donning his shield, Chad wields his sword expectantly, grimacing. "Not sure. But, it looks like something is wrong with it."

He pauses in thought, stares at the machine, and shouts at the construction droid. "Robot! State your designation!"

Upon the faded yellow, orange, and black paint, faint traces of gloss reflect the overhead lighting. The humanoid robot halts a moment, shakily stands up straight, and rotates its armored head towards Chad. "P-P-P-Processing r-r-r-request... This unit's d-d-d-designation is Foreman Zero Zero."

Blinking his brown eyes with a hint of disbelief, Chad twists his mouth curiously and glances around at the rest of the team. "Foreman Zero Zero. State your function."

Foreman Zero Zero shudders, sways upon its legs, and states in wavering inflections. "Construction and surveyor-"

It declares in a strong monotone. "PRIORITY OVER-RIDE. NEW BEHAVIOR DICTATED."

The team exchange awkward, perplexed glances between each other, crew and audience far behind searching similarly for some kind of explanation. Foreman Zero Zero's form perks up, servos activate, yellow spinning hazard lights flash, and hydraulic motors groan. "MUST BREAK TARGET INTO COMPONENT MATERIALS."

A wave of shock widens the eyes of all in attendance. Chad readies his shield and yells out. "Anyone got a clear shot?!"

Both Modoran and Tassilda shout. "YES!"

Modoran finishes flowing a surge of magical energy into his bow, the power charging up the arrow. Lining up his aim, he releases the arrow, and it streaks immediately into the armored head of Foreman Zero Zero. With a final gesture, Tassilda flings forth a swarm of magical bolts up into the air. The dozen bolts swirl upwards towards the ceiling and sharply zip down in a pelting barrage. The bolts of force burst powerfully upon the metal chassis of the robot, and the series of impacts tip the machine off balance. Chad motions his sword forward and rushes with his shield leading. "Bash and stab!"

He slams his full weight into the teetering droid and shoves it completely off balance. Trakenthin charges afterwards, lifts his massive blade up, and drops it down upon the intersection of metal head and torso. With a few hacks from Trakenthin and stabs by Chad, a plume of acrid smoke vents from Foreman Zero Zero, and the robot's systems audibly power down.

In the moment of silence, Chad steps back with Trakenthin and glances around at the situation in the room. From the open doors, faint sounds of yells and lumbering thumps waft into the room. Drawing in a long breath, Chad straightens his posture and turns towards the team. "Sounds like there's more. Okay..."

He addresses Trakenthin, Modoran, Tassilda, and Deedri with a firm tone. "First, we need to get everyone here to safety. I think the best chance is to head to the main hall, since it leads to the main entrance. If that's clear, good. People can evacuate, then we start figuring out what to do from there."

Searching for reaction from the team, he sighs with traces of nervousness. "Sound good?"

Trakenthin nods in conformation. "Yes. I agree."

Tassilda stretches her arms out and ties her raven black hair back, smirking. "Time to get serious."

Modoran grants a thumbs up, and Deedri nods. Chad gazes past the team, narrowing his stare at Veevi, and calls out. "Veevi!"

Veevi startles and sheepishly glances over her shoulder. "Uh, yes?!"

Summoning up a confident smile, Chad nods at Veevi. "Help direct people out of here."

Darting her eyes around, an awkward smirk overlays the fear on Veevi's tan face, and she musters up some composure. "Uh, ah, yes! I can do that!"

Shifting his attention over, Chad spots Samantha on her aetherphone, narrowing his glare, and shouts. "SAMANTHA! Stop talking to Howard, and CALL THE GODS DAMNED AUTHORITIES!"

Samantha blinks blankly and notices the combined attention of crew and fans all focusing upon her. Chad pivots around, eyes the smoldering droid, and rolls his shoulders. "Okay. Keep it close. Let's clear the path out of here."

---

Lounging upon the couch in the living area, Bach idly scrolls through an aethersite on his phone and yawns. Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda pulls a fine tip paint brush away from a figurine and fights back the urge to yawn. She grimaces and squelches most of it. With a few wags of her long fluffy tail, she glances over her shoulder, narrowing her emerald green eyes, and sighs. "Don't start that. It's too early to be doing that."

Fluttering his eyes, Bach pulls himself up against the arm of the couch and shudders further awake. "Sorry. Just a slow day. It's been really peaceful and quiet."

Cideeda parts a smirk on her light brown face,perking up her furry ears, and lifts an amused brow, grumbling playfully. "Oh, Now you've gone and jinxed it. You really should have left it alone."

Cocking his head to the side, Bach gazes over towards Cideeda and snorts with a shrug. "Really? I mean... What could possibly happen on a Saturday, around this town?"

Cideeda shakes her head of short, multi-colored hair, focuses her gaze back upon the armored humanoid figure in her hand and picks off some excess paint off with a claw tip. She states a few quick phrases in a dialect of fvalian. Bach pauses his aetherphone browsing and ponders a moment. "What did you say?"

With a humored smile, Cideeda flicks her tail and eyes Bach over her shoulder. "Don't tempt Fate. Fate might be listening."

Sitting up in his seat on the couch, Bach narrows his attention over at Cideeda, tilting his head to the side, and smirks intrigued. "Okay. So... Anything I can do to appease Fate to avoid bad fortune?"

With a toothy grin, Cideeda chuckles and slowly shakes her head playfully dismissive. "Unfortunately, if Fate has decided, it's going to happen. There's very little you can do to sway her once she's decided to include you in events. The best you can hope for is to thank her for the good and ask her to keep you out of the bad."

Crossing his arms, Bach searches around his mind and twists around a humored grimace upon his light tan face. "If she has already decided, then what harm does me stating things are peaceful and quiet do?"

Cideeda places the war game unit on the table top. Her emerald green eyes admire the drying paint, and she angles her examining stare around it. "It's complicated and bigger than that. The context you said it in matters more than you think. You sounded bored. And, Fate is always making decisions on how the many events all around us are going. So... You have to be careful to not ask to be added to those events."

Contemplating on the subject, Bach rocks his head side to side, glancing around uncertainly, and awkwardly smirks. "Yeah. I don't know how I feel about THAT."

An understanding smile appears on Cideeda's face, and she turns in the chair at the dining table, facing Bach. "Well, that's how everyone feels, at first."

From the hallway archway, Sotalia walks in with her aetherphone in hand and glances between Bach and Cideeda. "Has anyone checked the local news? I just got a message from Tassilda that some robots are attacking that convention center?"

Aristespha's voice echoes from down the other end of the hallway. "I just got one from Deedri! The same thing."

Aetherphones chime out alarms, and Dretphi calls out from her room. "Guild Alert!"

Bach and Cideeda check their aetherphones, and Sotalia taps on the message of her device. Everyone reads the alert in surprise. Sebastian hovers over next to Sotalia in the hallway. He peeks out into the living area and addresses the team. "Any objections?"

Shaking her head, Sotalia pivots swiftly around and sprints off to her room. "Getting ready now!"

Movement and equipment sounds out from Dretphi's room, and she calls out. "No. We should go!"

Aristespha calls out from her room at the end of the hallway. "I will tell the guild we are responding and see if Deedri can give me any more info!"

Cideeda scoots her chair back, quickly closes up her paints, and places her projects safely in the middle of the table. "I'll get the humvee started after I grab my gear."

Bach quickly pulls himself off the couch onto his feet. "Okay. Let's do it."

Sebastian nods at both Bach and Cideeda with a proud smile and darts back down the hall. Bach and Cideeda move towards the hallway archway, Cideeda cracks a toothy grin at Bach, winking at him. "Peaceful and quiet, huh?"

Bach contorts his grimace, averting his gaze with twinges of embarrassment, and groans with a trailing sigh. "Yeah... I shouldn't have said anything."

He gazes down at Cideeda and smirks with a chuckle. "Is there a shrine for eating your own words? I might need to visit that one."

A curl of warmth fills Cideeda's smile, and she glances up at Bach with a quick claw tip squeeze on his forearm. "Oh. There's a few. I'll show you all of them next time we go."

---

An arc of electricity flashes out and lights up the large T-intersection of the main halls. The construction droid rattles, the many status lights flickering erratically, and shudders in place. Trakenthin charges forth, swings his large, two-handed blade low and drives the sharp edge into knee joints. The robot tumbles forward and crashes onto the tile floor into an echoing clatter of metal. Tassilda steps forward, finishing the gestures of a series of incantations. "Step back from it!"

Trakenthin yanks his blade clear, hops back, and stands next to Tassilda. Thrusting her palms forward, magical flows rush out to her fingertips. Streaks of electricity launch out into long, continuous arcs. Crackles of power spark along the metal chassis of the droid, and it shakes violently, the barrage of electricity conducting through the machine. Smoke billows out in dark plumes, and blue-white light flashes from the divides between joints. Releasing the spell, Tassilda shakes off the remaining magical miasma from her black nailed fingers and keeps her light blue on black eyes trained expectantly upon the failing droid.

Moments later, Trakenthin cautiously approaches the machine, pokes it a few times with his great sword, and waits in anticipation. He glances over his shoulder at Tassilda and shrugs. Tassilda nods, pivots around, and watches Chad drive his blade deep into the neck segmentation of another construction bot. Chad steps away from the droid, and Modoran draws back an arrow in his finely crafted bow, flows of magic swirling around his forearm. The energy sinks into the bow, radiates out to the string, and condenses onto the arrow. Taking careful aim, he waits with his dark blue eyes wide and body tense. The robot shudders, status lights sporadically flick on, and garbled speech spews forth. "DAMAGE DETECTED. COMPENSATION SYSTEMS-"

A streak of prismatic energy ends upon its head, and the armored frame shakes with the impact, the arrow piercing through the thick metal exterior. Chad squints and studies the machine. His head snaps towards a detail, and he rushes up to the robot. Jamming the tip of his sword between a gap, he drops his weight down and frees open a maintenance door. Reaching quickly inside, his gauntlet covered hand grips onto a device, and he yanks out a cylinder. The robot immediately ceases all function. Moments of relative quiet later, Chad glances at the power cell in his hand and tosses it to the side, sighing. "Okay. That wasn't too terrible. But... I don't think we want to deal with more than two at a time."

Trakenthin nods and walks over towards Chad. "Agreed. Still dangerous. Seems dysfunctional?"

Searching around the area, Modoran alternates his gaze down the halls of the intersection and twists his mouth uncertainly. "Yeah. They do not seem to be working right at all. Well, I mean, they are supposed to be construction bots. Still, I was expecting a little more out of them? Sounds a little strange, I know."

Chad narrows his attention upon the nearby downed droid and carefully inspects it. "These things are ANCIENT. I'm surprised they are working as well as they are. But, something is definitely not right with their programming."

Quirking an eyebrow on her gray, patterned face, Tassilda guides a stray lock of raven black hair over her swirling horns and rests her hands on her hips. "Well, you'd think that civil service robots shouldn't be trying to murder the civilians they should be servicing."

Cocking his head to the side, Chad wrestles with an uncomfortable grimace, briefly gritting his teeth in thought. "Well. Yeah. There's something else going on here. But... I can't figure it out."

Deedri shakes her head and droops her furry ears. "Well, I think we should be thankful that who or what worked on these robots flubbed it. I hate to think of the harm they could cause if they were doing more than bumbling around."

Drawing in a long breath, Chad surveys the area slowly and stares down both runs of the main hall from the perpendicular part of the intersection. He straightens his posture, pivots, facing the team, and addresses the party. "Okay. First, Deedri and Tassilda, any word from the other team?"

Perking her furry, tufted ears up, Deedri smiles hopefully and nods. "Yes. The guild put out an alert, and they are on their way here."

Tassilda smirks and stretches her neck, rolling the strain in her shoulders. "Also, I think they're contacting some people they know in government or something. Hopefully, if there's anything else coming, they'll take care of it."

Chad wrestles with his thoughts upon his face, searching his mind, and ponders out loud. "Okay. Priority one. We need to make sure no one inside this place is trapped or hurt. If we can, we take these things out. But... I think we should hold back on that, so we don't waste time fighting them."

Pauses, he sighs uneasily and frowns slightly. "Since time is important, I think we need to split up to cover more ground."

Pointing at Tassilda and Trakenthin, he motions down one run of the intersection. "Tassilda and Trakenthin, could you go down that way and check for any one who needs help?"

Both Tassilda and Trakenthin nod in acceptance. Chad smiles appreciatively and glances over at Modoran. "Modoran, you okay with teaming up with me and heading down the other direction?"

Modoran slowly nods and glances over at Deedri, wincing apprehensively . "Yeah, but what about Deedri?"

Chad gazes over towards Deedri and sighs. "Deedri, do you think you'd be okay to stay here and help point people in the right direction? I hate to leave you alone, but..."

With a confident smile, Deedri straightens her posture and nods. "No, it's fine. We've cleared out everything leading up here. The main exit is just down the way we came..."

She perks up her furry ears and steps towards the middle of the intersection. "And, I can easily hear anything coming from right here."

Resting her hands on her hips, she grins with a tint of smugness. "SO, I'm not sticking around in plain sight if I hear metal clanking closer and closer. And, I do have a few offense spells, too."

Her ears droop, and concern fills her face. "Also, someone needs to make sure the people you find don't wander off right back into trouble again."

With an exhale of relief, Chad bows respectfully to Deedri. "Thank you."

He pivots, starts walking towards Modoran, and calls out to everyone. "Okay! Report in every ten minutes, and don't engage any more than one bot at a time. Sweep and return back here!"

An aetherphone chime rings out from Chad's pocket, and he fishes out his phone. Tapping the answer button, he sternly answers the call. "YES, Samantha?"

His brown eyes dart around, and his brow furrows. His distant stare widens in a surge of shock and frustration, and he growls out into a loud groan. "You've GOT to be kidding me! How did you lose track of her?!"

Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, and Tassilda watch curiously, exchanging uneasy glances. Chad pinches the bridge of his nose, hisses a sharp breath through, and exhales harshly. "NO! It's fine! I'll look for her. Just see if you can use any of the cameras you all jammed up this place's ass to find her! Okay?"

Chad firmly presses the end call button on screen, plops his phone into his pocket, and sighs out his frustration through his nose. "As you may have guessed... Somehow Veevi got separated from the group when a broken bot spooked everyone. People are okay and got out, but she's nowhere to be found."

He draws in a long breath and grimaces. "I'm going to go look for her. Modoran. You can either stay here with Deedri or join up with Tassilda and Trakenthin. We need to at least sweep one branch to make sure we help who we can."

Smirking nonchalantly, Modoran chuckles with an eager hint. "I will check down the path. You can join up with me after you find her."

Chad blinks and slowly shakes his head in mild protest. "I don't want to send you out into danger alone-"

Waving off the concern, a confident grins grown on Modoran's dusky bluish gray face, and he gestures out an incantation with his free hand. "Do not worry. I got good hearing, long range, and stealth. I am well suited to scout out ahead."

Wrestling with his judgment, Chad nods at Modoran with a smirk. "Okay. I'll try to get back to you all as soon as possible."

Trakenthin and Tassilda move down one end of the intersection, Modoran slinks into transparency along the other run, and Chad rushes through the remaining stretch. Deedri eases out a calming breath, surveys the area, and walks into the obscuring cover between two Next Adventurers of Nexus displays. Closing her auburn eyes a moment, she listens to the distant sounds of Trakenthin, Tassilda, and Chad. Her furry, tufted ear hunts for the softest sound down Modoran's path. With a nod, she reopens her eyes, slips off her pack, and inspects her medical supplies.

---

Motioning down the hall, Tassilda instructs a few fans exiting the safety of a closet. "Down to the main hall, take a left, and look for Deedri."

The people rush off, running for safety. Trakenthin glances around at the empty vendor stalls and slowly steps over towards counters, carefully inspecting the area. "Nothing here."

Tassilda rests her hands on her hips, surveys the vicinity, and nods. "I think that might be everyone down this way. We should follow back and-"

A loud shout echoes out from the end of the corridor. Displays topple over, metal rattles, and sounds of struggle erupt into the air. A tall young woman backs away, steadies herself at the ready, and hoists up a long metal support tube. Stepping through the freshly tossed debris, a battered construction robot with heavy hydraulic arms staggers forward and pounds its reinforced feet up on the tile floor. Summoning up courage into her frantic tan face, the young, tall woman grips the pipe firmly with tensing muscle definition in her arms, gritting her teeth between panicked breaths. She tosses her long silvery hair back, narrows her piercing hazel eyes at the approaching bot, and plants her feet, readying herself. She rears the length of the metal back and swings hard at the armored head of the machine, slamming the display support piece solidly upon the chassis. The weaker aluminum bends around the reinforced shell of the robot. The young, tall woman releases her grip upon it. Hydraulic claws of the droid clamp onto the tubing and work at prying it off.

The young woman backpedals, spouting out a few grath curses, and searches around behind her. Her piercing hazel eyes widen briefly, and she draws out a metal replica greatsword from a display piece. Gripping with both hands, she assumes a practiced stance, repositions her feet, and readies the faux weapon at the construction bot. Trakenthin momentarily squints his eyes. In utter surprise and shock, his hazel eyes spring wide open in recognition. Dropping the visor of his helm, he charges forward in a full sprint. Tassilda blinks blankly, regathers her awareness, and follows close behind.

Keeping her distance from the lumbering humanoid machine, the young woman studiously watches the robot's movements and waits. The droid steps forward, leading with a heavy arm swing. The replica greatsword interdicts the path of the attack and directs the force away, the woman side stepping with the maneuver. Building up momentum, the young woman pivots around tightly, pulls her blade with the motion, and guides the arc towards a torso joint. The metal of the sword and robot chassis ring out. Flecks of rust stained paint flake off. A few sparks spring forth from the impact. The woman follows through, pulling the sword into another arc, and spins with the momentum. Shifting her footing, she swings down, powers the mass up and over, and drops the blunt blade down with all her force.

The large sword crashes onto the head of the construction droid, driving a deep dent into the protective plating. A satisfied grin emerges upon the woman's tan face. The droid remains motionless and inert, She pants loudly, blinking back to her senses, and yanks on the blade. A few powerful tugs later, the blade remains lodged in the dented chassis of the construction droid. The machine stirs back to life. Sensor arrays scan the area, status lights flash online, and a hydraulic motor winds up to full power. A powerful sheering claw clamps down on the middle of the sword. With a groaning whine and rush of fluid, the edge of the cutter presses through the cheap metal of the replica. A sharp snap rings out into the surrounding hall, bouncing off the hard tile floor and through the cavernous passages. The woman stumbles back, regains her balance, and hoists up her blade. Blinks blankly at the empty space where the majority of the weapon used to be, she cringes. "Oh, shit..."

Prying the blade out of its mechanical skull, the droid's sensors focus upon the young woman, and it lumbers forward. Stepping away, the woman glances over to the side, and her piercing hazel eyes widen in awe. Trakenthin lunges forward from his sprint, swings his blade with his full might low, and drives his sword behind the knee joints of the machine. The sharp edge severs electrical connections into crackling sparks, slices hydraulic lines into sprays of fluid, and shatters apart structure into metal fragments. The robot topples backwards. Trakenthin stands up, pulls the greatsword with his motion, and drives it up. From up high, he slams the massive blade down upon the torso cavity. The machine's frame buckles under the powerful blow, caving in. Moments later, acrid smoke bursts forth from the cracks and hydraulic fluid spews out onto the tile work, pooling around the machine.

Stepping cautiously away from the shuddering pile of robot, Trakenthin positions himself defensively in front of the young woman. Tassilda finishes an incantation, points her finger, and releases an arc of electricity. The current conducts through the bot, and the surge of power renders it inert and motionless.

Quiet returns to the area, and Tassilda sighs out her relief. "Well. THAT was quite too close."

Flipping up his visor, Trakenthin gazes at the young, tall woman with anxious concern. "Shayuri, are you okay?"

Shayuri blinks in utter astonishment, smiling awkwardly, and nods with a laugh. "Uh, um, yeah! I guess I am. Yeah... Huh..."

She brushes back her long, silvery hair with her hand of reddened knuckles. Spotting the injuries, Trakenthin tenses, worry slipping into his tone. "Is your hand okay? Do you need a bandage?"

Averting her piercing hazel eyes away, Shayuri notices the traces of smeared blood on her knuckles and rubs her hand with a bit of embarrassment. "Oh! I'm fine. Really. When that robot walked into my hiding spot, I punched it."

She twists her mouth, rolling her eyes at herself, and sighs. "It wasn't very ineffective... To say the least."

Tassilda rests her hands on hips, cracks a humored smirk, and glances around the area. "I have to say that was impressive regardless. Before we converse more, was there anyone else with you? Did you see anyone go by?"

Shayuri ponders a moment and shakes her head. "No. I think I'm the only one that went this far. When the robots broke in, I decided to run away and find somewhere quiet to wait it out."

Straightening her tall frame, she bites her lower lip and shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not the best at hiding, so I figured out running them was a better plan. Of course, I got tired and tried to rest behind a counter."

She furrows her brow and glances over at the downed construction droid. "And... So, here we are."

Hints of relief appear upon Trakenthin, and he glances over at Tassilda. "Think we can head back."

Nodding in agreement, Tassilda glances between Shayuri and Trakenthin and smiles amused. "Yes. No need to stay around here longer than we should. All that noise may have-"

Loud clanks and rattling metal echo down the hall. Tassilda, Trakenthin, and Shayuri slowly pivot and stare down the long, wide corridor. From two side branch passages, a pair of construction droids amble out, sweep their sensor packages, and stagger towards the trio. Tassilda quickly gestures up an incantation, flows the magical energy into her hands, and grips hold of the condensed power in her hands. "Oh, of course. It's ALWAYS when you are almost done that real trouble shows up."

Trakenthin narrows his glare ahead and contorts his face in thought, grimacing. "Two is risky. Weaken them first from a distance."

With a frown, Tassilda glances up at Trakenthin and shakes her head. "Yes. That would help. But, I'm still quite apprehensive about two versus two."

Searching his mind, Trakenthin's hazel eyes widen and a hopeful smirk appears on his dark bronze face. He turns to Shayuri and smiles awkwardly, gazing hopefully at her. "Have you handled a proper sword before?"

Shayuri glances around nervously and takes a deep breath in. "Yes. My mother has taught me the basics."

Nodding, Trakenthin turns his blade around and offers the handle of his greatsword to Shayuri. "Could you use this to defend yourself? Hope it will not be needed."

Springing her eyes wide open, Shayuri nods, grips hold of the weapon, and hoists up the weight competently with her upper body muscles flexing. "Wow! Um- Yes! YES. I'll try to keep out of the way, but I'll hit what you two tell me to."

Trakenthin glances over at the attention from Tassilda. "Any issues?"

Tassilda guides a stray lock of raven black hair over her horn, narrowing her light blue on black eyes, and cracks an intrigued grin. "To be honest, I am curious what she might be capable of with a real weapon."

She pauses a moment and narrows her scrutiny upon Trakenthin. "But, what are you going to use?"

Trakenthin reaches his hand down and taps a button above a section of his hip plating. A compartment opens up, and a holster pops out. Trakenthin draws the long barreled, electromagnetic pistol, twirls it into a firm grip, and powers it on. A high pitched whine rises up from the background, and the weapon's status lights flick into ready states. Tassilda and Shayuri question in chorus. "You have a gun?"

Rolling his eyes with a groan, Trakenthin nods with a faintly frustrated frown. He engages a switch on the plated bracer on his opposite arm and positions his forearm in front, an energy barrier materializing. Focusing ahead, he levels his aim. "Engage from a distance. Aim for the legs. Immobilize if possible. Move past when an opportunity arises. Run to the meetup."

Tassilda brings the energy in the palms together, holds her hands out, and surges up the flow. "That is a plan I can work with."

Shayuri nods excitedly, tightens her grip on Trakenthin's two-handed sword, and grins eagerly. Trakenthin picks his target, disengages the safety, and squeezes the trigger. A three round burst of thin projectiles flash down the corridor and plunge into the reinforced leg plating of a bot. Loud cracks sound out, and faint vaporous projectile trails dissipate in the still air of the hall. The robot stumbles a moment, gradually regains some coordination, and continues forward slower.

Tassilda nods and shifts her aim to the other. Shayuri readies the blade. Trakenthin sets up for the next shot.

---

Walking fast down the main hall in formation, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia navigate around knocked over displays, toppled decorations, and the occasional smoldering ruins of a construction bot. Sebastian's voice sounds out from the sword at Aristespha's side. "So, where did Deedri say she was?"

Aristespha narrows her distant stare ahead and frowns slightly. "At the T intersection ahead, I believe."

The group moves forward. Cideeda lingers back, kneels down next to a disabled droid, and briefly inspects the wreckage. "Damn. These things are old but built tough. It's really weird to see them in use."

She rushes back up to the team, and Bach turns his gaze towards Cideeda. "Any idea why they are attacking people?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda adjusts her vest and rests her hands on her holstered laser pistols. "Someone programmed them to do it. Just can't think of how they would do it."

Stretching her arms out, Sotalia checks her cape, brushes back her fiery orange, wavy hair, and furrows her brow. "These are building robots, right? I wouldn't think going on crazed rampages would be something they could do?"

Holding her hands up at her sides, Cideeda grimaces uncertainly, revealing a canine with her confusion. "You're right. These aren't routines or functions they should even have anywhere in their programming. Either someone somehow added new functions to antique robotic systems that goes against their design, which is REALLY hard."

She narrows her distant stare into her mind and frowns. "Or... Someone figured out how to twist something existing to do this... Which isn't that easy either. The robots just wouldn't randomly do this."

Dretphi lifts up her visor, contorting her face uncomfortably, and ponders out loud. "This seems to take significant effort. Why? What is the purpose?"

Slowly shaking his head, Bach frowns, adjusting the fit of his helmet. "Yeah. I mean, if you are this good at making these old machines work, I would think you could find far better things to do?"

Aristespha's violet eyes spot movement ahead between two large displays, and she signals the group. A moment later, Deedri slips out from hiding, waves down a hall, and motions people towards her. A few lost fans rush up in stale, strained panic. Deedri calmly assures them and checks them over. A few quick inspections later, she ushers them down the hall and directs the fans past the team. The people quickly vacate the area, and Deedri notices everyone, signaling them over with blatant relief on her face. "Oh good! You're here!"

The group gathers around in the middle of the T-intersection. Deedri breathes easier and smiles appreciatively. "Thank you, I'm so glad you all are here."

Aristespha nods and surveys the surroundings quickly. "I hope we can help."

Sebastian's voice sounds out from the sword. "Where is everyone?"

Flicking her furry, tufted ears around, Deedri blinks her auburn eyes at the blade on Aristespha's side and cocks her head in confusion. Aristespha smirks awkwardly and quickly rolls violet her eyes. "Long story. Do not be frightened. Come on out, Sebastian."

Sebastian's ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha, and he bows respectfully. "Pleased to meet you."

Deedri perks up her furry, tufted ears and blink, memory sparking in the back of her mind. "Oh, yes! We were told something about this a long time ago about your group and... Well, we'll talk later."

With an understanding grin, Sebastian nods and glances around the hallway intersection "So, what's the situation?"

Deedri draws in a long breath, thinking a moment, and pantomimes through the explanation. "Trakenthin and Tassilda went down this hall. They reported back they reached the end and found one more fan. They are taking it slow coming back, since they ran into some robots after they thought they cleared the path there."

She shifts her attention over towards the other run of the hall. "Modoran went that way. He's only found one bot patrolling a dead end with no one around and found a few people. But, he's by himself."

Gazing down the intersection hall, she points distantly behind the team. "Chad went off to try to find Veevi. She got scared off and ran away down another part of the convention center. The last radio message I got clearly, he hadn't run into anything. But..."

She frowns sharply and grumbles in a mixture of concern and frustration. "For some reason his calls are all distorted, and I can barely make out anything."

Sebastian holds his chin and sorts through his thoughts. Drawing in an ethereal breath, he addresses the team. "Okay. Rough draft of a plan. Cideeda. Go and meet up with Trakenthin and Tassilda. You can keep quiet, scout a path for them, and help them get back here. Dretphi, Sotalia. Give Modoran some backup and help him clear out what's left. Maybe shutdown that one bot, if it's an issue. Aristespha and Bach. Stay here and keep this area clear."

The team mulls over the assignments. Bach cocks his head to the side, furrows his brow, and gazes down the hallway behind him. "Shouldn't someone go check on Chad? If his radio signal is acting up, he might not be able to call in for help if he needs it."

Sebastian grits his teeth briefly, and his visage crosses his arms. "Yeah. Maybe once we get a group back, then we can check in on him. But... I don't want to stretch us too thin."

Staring down the intersecting hall, Bach smirks with a bold tinge. "I can go. We've already traveled part of this path, and he's reported not seeing anything. How about I head down that direction and see if I can get him on the radio?"

Noticing the apprehension on Sebastian's transparent face, Bach grins confidently and stands up straight. "Hey. I think I can handle one of these bots if I run into one... But, I'll try not to."

Sebastian pauses in thought and gazes to Bach. Lifting up a smug eyebrow, Bach chuckles with a humored shrug of his shoulders. "Come on. These ain't cyber zombies, security droids, or golems. I've put down worse."

Matching his brother's enthusiasm, Sebastian grin proudly and laughs with a shake of head. "Yeah, you know... I definitely think you got a point there. Okay... Any objections?"

With no objections, Sebastian signals the team, and they all split down their paths to their tasks. Drifting up higher into the air, Sebastian maintains a watch. Aristespha and Deedri coordinate medical treatment efforts and reinforce their defensive cover.

Overhead, the convention center lighting flickers momentarily. Just above the background noise, a very faint, low, rhythmic thump barely vibrates large windows to the outside. Deedri halts briefly, flicks her furry ears around, and furrows her brow unsure.