The expansive and perfect empire of the Xinos, a race of synthetic beings, which has ruled the universe since its inception, is presently in a violent uproar from the bickering council members carefully observing the battle royal of galactic cycle 200,271. Round α has just concluded, and with it, an impossible scenario has just occurred to the perfect machines.

All of the higher-ranking member’s visual processors are intently fixated on the cruel screen enlarged in the centre of their council chambers. While this monitor normally houses all of the visual feeds for every participating warrior, the furious members have instead focused it on the battle surrounding a tiny Xyfokit, and the strongest Xygornot. A small, canine predator from Earth, known as the Vulpes vulpes, has just viciously pierced the chest cavity of the “to be” emperor, rupturing their central core, and officially eliminating them from the battle royal.

It was already an accepted outcome by the highly intelligent machines, that their top and favoured contender, G.O.R., would easily clear the earlier rounds, before struggling, yet ultimately succeeding in the Ω round. The Xinos data and analysis, were perfect, leaving zero margin for error amongst their calculations. However, they were all struggling to accept the impossible outcome they had just witnessed during the final elimination of round α, officially prompting the system to issue the non-combatant days message to all remaining warriors. While the endless chaos and bickering continued to flood the council chambers, the former emperor, Xylophos, calmly tapped their polygonal fingers together, while a multidimensional smirk manically grew across their facial monitor.

Xylophos was curiously pleased as to the outcome they had just observed. They were never one for the brutal politics associated with being a higher-ranking member of the Xinos. After all, they were a warrior first and foremost, only ending up in the position of emperor after winning the previous cycle’s battle royal, in their desperate struggle to survive. It was clear to the intelligence, after officially accepting the role of emperor, that their selection had always been a predetermined product amongst the machines, with them destined to have won that cycle’s tournament. But, some part of their advanced processors wanted them to believe it was their own will to survive, which had led them to victory instead, and not some foregone conclusion amongst its elite members. Regardless as to their contemplation, the anger amongst the council members, was obvious, as Xylophos continued to calmly observe the scene before them.

The Xinos, have no need for traditional currency, being a society focused purely on technological progress and expansion. However, while wealth is not defined by meaningless financial holdings, it is instead viewed through the Xinos social standing within the empire. As such, while it would normally be weird in a traditional sense, the Xinos have adopted a method to gamble, utilizing their rank in Xinos society, as the bargaining chips. Members would often stake their position in Xinos society, in an effort to break into the empire’s inner group, or, simply advance their own social standing. This outcome, meant unprecedent changes were about to occur amongst the Xinos, as most of the inner elite had confidently gambled their positions of authority on the “guaranteed” or orchestrated outcome, to ensure their position in the coming cycle.

Being unaccustomed to losing such “bets”, the senior machines were currently tossing circuits and transistors from across their desks in unbridled polygonal fury.

“NONSENSE!” Screamed a prism, as they threw several quantum entangled processors across the viewing chambers. “That Xyfokit MUST have broken the rules in our doctrine! There is no way a lesser machine like them could have possibly bested the Xygornots strongest unit in battle!”

“I concur!” Roared a polyhedron amongst the crowd of rioting shapes in various dimensions. “This breech of conduct must be investigated immediately, with no deletion of conscious until it’s proven the Xyfokit has—”

“Enough!” snaped Xylophos in a fit of rage against the arguing senior Xinos. “It is for this exact reason our successions are completed through a battle royal. If G.O.R. was truly the most capable unit, they would have eliminated F.O.X. without issue. This outcome, is exactly what our race needs to continue evolving towards the path of perfection.”

“But G.O.R. had already known, and even bonded with the highest compatibility score human within a 10,000km radius of the landing zone! No other humans in the observable area were anywhere near a 60% compatibility rating! It’s inconcei—”

“Oh?” came an amused grin from the former emperor, interrupting the enraged shape, before bringing their polygonal fingers to rest against one another in contemplation. “And how exactly, would G.O.R. have know that particular apex species had the highest score within the region, councillor? Is there some unknown disclosure we should be made aware of?”

The emperor’s words pierced the Xinos processors with its chilling tone, with many shuddering in fear of their implied words. It was obvious to the higher-ranking members, that sometimes information that shouldn’t be transferred to their warriors during the battle royal, would “slip through” their excessive communication firewalls. Corruption, and the illegal sharing of information, was well known to occur within the empire, with many of the councillors present, actively involved in some shape or form in these underhanded tactics. The motives were always entirely personal, usually in an effort to better their own race’s standing amongst the Xinos.

“I— That’s!”

“I am not blind to what the inner circle has already decided for the succession games behind my back.” Their words echoing throughout the chambers in a cold and calculated tone. “After all, I myself, am a product from such corrupt dealings.” Then, pausing to make sure all of the Xinos were aware of their former emperor’s insight, Xylophos calmly entered the command in their quantum processors, to formally delete the Xinos conscious for the unit named G.O.R., much to the exasperated expressions from the council members. “It should be no surprise while I chose to include “luck”, else I fear there was never a need for our next emperor’s selection in the first place.”

“But, that Xyfokit was—”

“Simply, the better warrior.” Bellowed Xylophos, before raising his appendage to command silence amongst the Xinos. “This objection and blatant disregard for our doctrine, is hereby finished. We will no longer discuss the existence known as G.O.R.

Now then, let us resume reviewing and confirming the results from round α to ensure we are all in agreeance.” Then, readjusting the light refracting from their proudly displayed central core, Xylophos promptly carrier their intended conversation forward with the machines in attendance.

“67,803 Xinos warriors have already been eliminated across the battleground world, with P.L.T. currently having the highest confirmed kills of 20 logged in our systems.” Complimentary footage began playing throughout the chambers, showcasing the multiple brutal annihilations completed by the popular warrior, as Xylophos bluntly paused their summations to observe the recordings as well.

P.L.T., had transformed their deadly predator, into an even more ruthless killing machine than the Xinos had originally anticipated. The intelligence reassigned the identifier P.L.T., had chosen to enhance their creature’s poison gland production, perfecting the lethality of an injection. Preferring to utilize its hind, webbed claws, the ornithorhynchus anatinus skillfully injected its toxin into the circuits of its fellow contenders, near instantly coagulating the vulnerable Xytrolyte fluids within, resulting in almost immediate death.

Other eliminations from the warrior, in an effort to keep things “interesting” for the audience back home, appeared to be from more classical assassinations, with P.L.T. severing the neck of its prey, before crushing their core in its powerful bill.

Fear, gripped the Xinos currently in attendance. Their circuits flickering in dread, as the predator that had easily enthralled them, continued to ruthlessly slaughter any warriors that happened across its path for survival. This was only round α, giving the Xinos in attendance cause for concerns, one P.L.T.’s antimatter cannons could officially become serviceable.

“Next, dominating the seabound regions of the globe, is a somewhat unexpected contender, S.H.R. who discovered a creative use of creature mechanics to assist in their eliminations.”

Additional monitors came to life inside the chambers, showcasing the deadliest seabound Xinos in the tournament, as small crustation known broadly under the Alpheidae family, as the pistol shrimp.

While the creature was generally rather small, it held an impressive evolutionary advantage, which the Xinos warrior had happily exploited to its fullest with its bulked-up size. Utilizing the unique claw, S.H.R. had reinforced and enhanced the snapping mechanism of the predator to unprecedent degrees of brutality. Through a unique plunger and socket combo, the pistol shrimp first stores tremendous kinetic energy within the claw, cocking into position the plunger into position above the empty socket. Then, once the energy is released, the plunger expels the water trapped within the socket, producing an incredibly dense shockwave, vacuum, and heat bubble. For the traditional predator, this normally resulted in a small pressured waved of water which would stun its foes, allowing the shrimp to easily eliminate its target from there. However, when this mechanism was enhanced by the Xinos, it created an absurd level of destruction.

S.H.R., had enhanced the kinetic energy to such an extent, they could consistently produce a powerful vacuum, reducing any opponents within a 10-metre radius to a misty paste from the shockwave and subsequent heat generation, which easily surpassed the surface temperature of the battleground planets nearest star. All of this, happened within fractions of a Xinos Cesium-133 observations.

The footage highlight showcased to the eager Xinos council, was the visual feed of S.H.R. getting sucked into the mouth of another Xinos warrior named B.L.U., who had chosen the Balaenoptera musculus as their visage. While the situation initially seemed dire, as B.L.U.’s species was known to prey upon S.H.R.’s family type, all sympathies for the tiny shrimped abruptly ended there as they readied their chosen weapon.

Patiently waiting until they had been swallowed, with the whale’s stomach acids eagerly sloshing about in anticipation for their upcoming meal, S.H.R. swiftly activated their claw, vaporizing B.L.U. from within. The Xinos body, ripped and teared, as a perfect spherical wound emerged from the robotic beast, severing its motors and cables. With their core erased from literal existence, B.L.U.’s body quietly sank towards the bottom of the ocean, as S.H.R. continued their hunt, for more Xinos.

“Concluding the highlights, we will now validate the agreed upon weapon systems progressions. Round β will upgrade weapon systems to firearms roughly matching those observed during the planets commonly agreed upon “WW2 era”. However, as we do not wish to destroy the planet’s diverse and unique ecosystem, the usage of any and all nuclear weapons by participating Xinos warriors, will be banned for all future rounds. While I understand this comes as a disappointment, our goal is not to destroy the battleground world, least we repeat the lessons learned during cycle 420’s tournament. Finally, our simulations put round Ω’s weapons restrictions at basic hard light technology and antimatter cannons.”

Many Xinos members nodded in agreeance at the former emperor’s words and obvious declarations. While nuclear weapons were a commonly developed weapon of mass destruction for primitive species, the lingering impacts from their detonation took too many years to resolve for most organic lifeforms. Earth, was their battleground, and just because the beings had happened to be chosen by the Xinos for their tournament, it was unfair to setback their planet billions of years of evolutionary progress. The Xinos are a proud and wise species, not some mindless mongrels obsessed with conquest and entertainment.

After confirming all of their results and upcoming rules, most of the council members teleported out of the chambers, with their circuits oozing a complex aura of annoyance and respect towards the former emperor’s arrogant display of authority. Aware, yet unconcerned about their personal quarrels with them, Xylophos quietly tapped the inputs on their personal terminal, bring into the upsetting battle between the tiny Xyfokit and the towering Xygornot. To Xylophos, even they were not expecting this outcome based on the calculated odds presented, as their own analysis returned similar predictions. Was this really the result of luck? Or, was there some other, unaccounted for variable they had somehow managed to miss? Could the Xinos miss anything? After all, they were the most powerful, sentient species in the universe.

As the footage scrolled by at a rapid pace, none of the Xyfokit’s actions seemed abnormal, or spectacular. They were clumsy, child-like in their maturity, and suffered from a severe lack of personal confidence, all unimpressive qualities for a Xinos warrior. This data, taken in isolation, prompted Xylophos to dig further into the unit’s selection for the battle royal tournament. The Xinos held an expansive army, spanning countless galaxies and systems, with over 1 quintillion warriors to chose from. Yet somehow, this inferior unit, had managed to make the 100,000 cut off as one of their strongest warriors amongst their race. “Just how deeply does the council’s corruption run? For how long, have the Xinos strayed from our path towards perfection, instead choosing to prioritize our own, selfish arrogance?”

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For all of the extensive data Xylophos contained, even they were unable to answer their recent questions. It was clear to them, being a former warrior themselves, that this Xyfokit should have never been selected to compete in the current battle royal. Their assessment surrounding the machine, came not from a position of arrogance, but from compassion, that a fellow warrior lacking critical skills for the succession games, had been chosen. The mere fact they were chosen and conferred amongst the council, spoke volumes to Xylophos about just how deeply the corruption ran within the Xinos empire.

Scrolling back throughout the footage again, their attention landed this time on the human the warrior had chosen to bond with. This predator, was not particularly impressive, only returning a 0.3% compatibility score, yet somehow, their bonded impact with the Xyfokit warrior, clearly exceeded their calculated thresholds. Perhaps, maybe luck did manage to work its way into the selection games, as the intelligence continued to become absorbed in the data surrounding this “John Sherwood”. His extensive knowledge of battle royals, and ability to work remarkably well with a Xinos warrior on the fly, make him an interesting data point. Without a doubt, other Xinos members would be critically examining him during the downtime between rounds α and β. There was a high probability, that members of the council would pass this information along to their fellow favoured contenders. “After all, an unprecedented event had just occurred.” Xylophos hummed to themselves, as they continued to examine John’s face plastered across their personal terminal. It was clear to the intelligence, that this battle royal, was going to get just that more Interesting.

---

John tumbles through the air with incredible force, as he’s violently thrown off of F.O.X.’s back as part of their plan to defeat the giant robotic ape currently hunting them down with ruthless persistence. After landing on the rough, grassy planes, he quickly brings his gaze to match the lumbering metallic beast, as it seemingly took the “bait”, shifting its weight towards him for a quick elimination.

Watching in awe, with a confident smile across his face, he witnesses F.O.X.’s blades shoot from its claws, severing several of the high voltage powerlines above the lured assailant. The being notices the incoming wires, but is unfortunately unable to react in time, as powerful arcs of electricity short circuit its body. John continues observing the lightshow ahead, as sparks and explosions ring out across the air, popping and cracking from shattering its circuits.

F.O.X. completes their landing, then begins dashing towards the disabled warrior, pretending to charge a shot from its cannon, when in actuality preparing its claws for the final coup de grâce. The robotic ape, is already disabled according to John, and F.O.X.’s future actions are just a formality to end their hectic and stressful duel.

*Schh!*

The vulpine’s claws part the Xygornots armor like butter, as their steel blades vibrate with just enough speed to increase their penetrating power. G.O.R.’s central core split and torn, as the circuits are maimed and shattered. From his conversation with the alien, a Xinos central core was an equivalent of the human’s heart, powering their complex bodies by pumping Xytrolyte fluids, the blue, viscous liquid, through their cables and circuits.

“Goodbye, G.O.R.”

*Sigh*

John releases a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, as the towering giant made of metal before him, crumples onto itself, drowning in a puddle of its own conductive fluids. Wanting to reunite with his spontaneous battle royal partner, he quickly scrambles to his feet, blissfully ignoring the pain coursing throughout his arm and ribs, and begins jogging towards the still Xyfokit warrior. However, he is not at all prepared for what his eyes unfortunately process once he arrives.

“John... We... We did it! I... I can’t believe your plan actually worked!” chirped F.O.X. in excitement, as lights and whistles continued to blare in celebration from the relived Xinos. But, the machine suddenly feels a surge of anger flowing into its body, as the human it had bonded with is overcome with powerful anger towards them. The Xinos looks into John’s eyes, but immediately regretted the decision to do so, as sadness washes over the machine.

Tightly clenching his fists, the furious human walks closer towards the corpse of the Xinos named G.O.R., where they confirm themselves, the tragedy firsthand.

A skeletal arm, pitch black, and still attached to a thin cable along the robot’s neck completes the revolting nearby pile of charred flesh, meat, and organs, as John falls to his knees, slamming the ground in anger. He notices additional skeletal fragments scattered in the vicinity, as tears begin to form within his eyes at his new vantage point.

“John...?” beeped the Xyfokit in a somber tone. “What’s the—” “You killed them!!” the human’s words left his mouth with an air of pain and disgust, with his voice cracking from the intensity produced. “I... Killed... Another human...”

Bringing his hands to cover his face, John lightly wipes the tears blanketing his eyes with their shimmering embrace, before yelling towards the Xyfokit in frustration. “You knew G.O.R. had bonded with a human! You KNEW about the bond breaking penalty, and you used me to help murder another living person!” He looks towards the robot he had once seen as a helpless, cordial ally, but they’re covered in blue fluid dripping from their claws, undeniable proof of its savage nature.

“But... They were trying to—”

“I know they were trying to kill me! I was scared, and I started thinking this was like a game, completely ignoring the fact that another human could have already been involved with G.O.R.” John slams his hand into the dirt below him, disappointed at himself more than anything. “I... I never failed to consider other possibilities. I only saw that monster as the enemy, a target to be eliminated... But now... I’ve killed...”

More tears continue to leave the gamer’s eyes, as F.O.X.’s gaze drifts towards their claws, currently adorned in the conductive fluids of their enemy, a grim reminder that death is real, and they were responsible for ending another warrior’s life. The machine’s circuits and networks twitch in confusion. Were the actions it had done wrong? It was only trying to survive, and the only way they could survive, was to kill their opponent first. What was so difficult to understand about this? Unaware why their own actions had caused the human before them to express such confusion emotions, the intelligence slowly begins walking towards John, before being startled by his response.

“Stay away from me! You... You monster!”

F.O.X.’s ears folded back, and their tail limb ceased its usual wagging after processing the human’s cruel words. The sentence uttered by the human hurt its core, but it didn’t know why. It wasn’t a monster. They were a machine, a proud member of the Xyfokit race, whose current objective was to survive the battle royal they were selected for, and emerge victorious for the empire. If anything, G.O.R. was the monster, and not them. What did this human know about its struggles, and the countless dangers it had already experienced! But still, some part of the machine agreed with John’s words. It felt hurt, because it themselves, had betrayed the trust of the human it had bonded with. Scouring through its extensive database, the machine calculated its best course of action, was to apologise towards the human.

“I... I only did what I had to survive. I’m... I’m sorry I didn’—”

“I don’t care!!! There... There had to be another way! Some other option, that didn’t involve killing them!

...

Silence separates the still living beings in the empty field around them, as both of them stare at the deceased bodies of their enemies from moments ago. Then, after an agonizingly long bout of silence, emphasized by the howling wind and bitter autumn’s chill, John stands on his feet, before turning to face the monster behind him.

“I don’t want to be a part of your battle royal!! I... I never wanted to kill other humans! I... It was only supposed to be aliens! Giant, robotic aliens!! Yet I’ve...

...

Leave... Just leave me Fox... I never want to see you again!!”

“John...” The machine beeped in low droning tones. It had only done what it needed to for survival, yet apparently killing another human, was enough to make their partner hate them, when they had easily gotten along before. F.O.X.’s core felt tight, as it struggled to grapple the emotions its circuits were forced to experience. Its processors had predicted it should feel nothing but happiness, having survived a deadly encounter against the strongest Xinos contender, yet it only felt sadness in this moment, as its circuits pulsed in contemplation over the recent series of events. Thus, wanting to respect the humans wishes to the best of their ability, F.O.X. turned away, and began walking towards the location of its landing pod.

“Fine... I’ll respect your wishes... You... Don’t have to participate in our battle royal... You... Only did so anyways for your own survival... Not mine...

...

“But... Be... Be careful... I’m sure other Xinos, will undoubtably seek you out. The weakest unit in the tournament, somehow eliminated the strongest, with the only unaccounted for variable, being you. They will want to investigate, dragging you into our succession games, with or without your consent.

Goodbye... John...”

Breaking into a light sprint, the intelligence felt some extra drops pf fluid leaking from its visual monitors onto its metal frame. It didn’t look back behind them, wanting instead to focus on their upcoming survival. It had only bonded with a human whose compatibility was 0.3%. And, just because they had helped them overcome one instance of incalculable odds, they shouldn’t distort their own perceptions due to such a small sample distorting the true distribution of data. There were over 8.2 billion other humans after... Surely another would be just as great, if not better.

...

But even so, the machines thoughts trying to rationalize their decision, failed to calm their sobbing processors. For whatever reason, it felt like it had lost something important to them, and that maybe... It had made the wrong decision. Perhaps it would have been better if they died earlier, then they wouldn’t know the current pain gripping their central core. Its sting, hurt far more than the cusp of death it had lived through moments before.

---

John stares into the distance, watching as the towering metal monstrosity he had just partnered with, agreed to leave him as per his wishes. His emotions are still running hot, but he still doesn’t fully regret the things he said to the alien. John never wanted to kill another human, and he’s angry at himself for failing to realize the simple fact, that if he could bond with a Xinos, then other undoubtably could have done so as well.

He continues looking over the bodies in front of him. He is still struggling to believe the events that have happened to him, with a portion of him screaming inside that this can’t be real. He has not only survived a deadly encounter, but seen another human’s body brutally destroyed by one of his own battleplans from his Fork Knife toolkit. Nauseousness overtakes John’s body, as he empties the contents of his stomach onto the dirt below him, violently coughing to bring some sense of relief to acid diligently burning his esophagus.

Eventually, after coughing and vomiting again from the revolting scene in front of him, John finds the energy to stand on his feet, and slowly begin making his way back towards his apartment. He reaches into his pocket to remove his phone, but is disappointed that the screen is cracked, failing to comply with his simple request to “unlock”. He doesn’t know what time it is, but it’s clearly well into the early morning. The moon is still a bright orb in the sky, and the unsettling chill from the fall’s air is beginning to seep into his bones. His arm is sore, and covered in blood, his faced covered in snot and vomit, and he just wants to go home.

Looking at the horizon, he can just barely make out the skyline of the nearby condominiums. There are some plumes of smoke rising into the nights sky, with search lights blanketing the city from above. If anything, the field is increasingly seeming like the safer option, but he doesn’t care. He wants some sense of normalcy to distract himself from the horrible things he’s done today.

Several hour pass, as John continues walking towards the city. He has finally made it to the initial entrance of the forest by the coffee shop, meaning he is somewhat close to home. There are still several cars lined along the curbs, crushed and clearly beyond repair, but many of the chaotic traffic has already cleared out. It’s much quieter than earlier, and the streets are eerily empty, probably because it’s so early in the morning. He continues walking down the sidewalk, making sure to avoid the broken pieces of buildings and concrete littering the vicinity.

Eventually, he makes it to just outside his apartment building. There is a bus still embedded in the nearby wall, with a couple of limbs hanging out the windows celebrating his triumphant return home. John waves to the deceased passengers, even giving one of them a “high five” as he passes by, before entering through the shattered glass doorways. The lobby is completely empty, save for the sparking and cracking noises of the nearby damaged reception computers.

John looks towards the elevator, and figures, perhaps he’ll take the stairs this time. After all, he has only been walking for several hours in the bitter cold, the extra exercise inside the building would go miles towards warming up his chilled and numb body. Climbing the stairs towards the 8th floor, he’s surprised to see he doesn’t need to open the door for the hallway, as the metal slab has already kindly removed itself from its hinges for him.

His legs feel like anvils as he drags them across the carpets littered with specs of gravel and blood. Some of the rocks unintentionally catch his feet as he stumbles, but he manages to keep his balance as he continues his journey forward. The only task fueling his mind, is the alluring mattress happily waiting for him inside his room.

John finally reaches the door to his apartment where he laughs lightly after feeling his rear pocket. Somehow, during this entire chaotic charade he has survived today, his apartment keys had still managed to stay within his pocket. “Heh, well, I guess sometimes I can be lucky it seems.” He quietly mumbles to himself, as the keys happily turn the pins to the lock, releasing the cam from barricading his residence from uninvited guests.

The kitchen is dark, an expected observation considering the current time, but he doesn’t need the light to know where his keys go, as he carefully places them on the counter nearby. Then, walking towards his bedroom, John opens the door to the happiest sight he has seen all day; his king-sized mattress. He struggles to undress himself, but manages to throw his pajamas on anyways after more effort than he would like to admit.

Finally, breathing a heavy sigh of relief, John collapses onto his bed, face down into his army of pillows. Sirens are continuing to blare outside his window on the streets below, but he just wants to sleep. He fumbles with his nightstand nearby, grabbing his earbud case, before calmly putting it back, having remembered he lost them in the forest earlier tonight.

A calm, tingling feel fills John’s body as he continues sinking into the soft bed beneath him. He finally feels he can relax, as he places his cracked phone on his nightstand before plugging it in for the night. Tonight, has been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, and he just wants it all to be over. Sleep is the best answer, because tomorrow means a new day with limitless possibilities. Once of which, might even be waking up from this realistic fever dream he’s currently experiencing with alien robots invading Earth for their own battle royal tournament. “That’s what I get for playing Fork Knife so late” he mumbles to himself, as his conscious slowly begins to fade into the world of dreams.

Tomorrow, will be a new day for John, and he’s hopeful, it will be one filled with him streaming Fork Knife to his viewers across the internet, and not spent running from giant alien robots trying to murder him.