The steel figure placed a hand over the thrashing reclaimer's mouth, allowing a sedative-laced needle to slid from her wrist, piercing the enemy's armored gorget, biting him in the soft neck, and putting him to sleep. Another reclaimer, with his arms and legs broken, lay on the ground a few steps behind her.
She sneaked to the window, allowing her advanced cameras to discern the enemies’ figures on the street below. An officer in full power armor and two bodyguards. Six soldiers were preparing a defense position dangerously close to her allies and the water processing facility. Her ally reported that he took down two more soldiers in a nearby building. Thirteen soldiers. Her steel lips twisted in a leer. The reclaimers underestimated them, it seemed. If all goes well, she will be able to get people out safe and sound in no time. Sending a signal to her ally, she glanced at the street one last time, noticing how the officer raised a hand to the head. No doubt awaiting a report from the soldiers.
Chochmingwu leaped from the building, appearing between the reclaimers. Her steel body allowed her to twist and bend each part of her body at the most impossible angles, even turning her torso full circle around her body. And now she was busy pushing each part of her body to work. The officer in charge of this group never stood a chance, with two kicks, she broke the knees of the officer, landing a chop with her arm at the shoulder of the nearby soldier, shattering the clavicle. The man started to turn toward her, the pain in his shoulder not yet fully blinding him, his good arm trembled, trying to point a rifle at her.
Chochmingwu jumped from the enemy officer, leaving the officer to fall facedown, the woman’s knee bent backward during the fall. She leaped away from the aim of the soldier, moving faster than his eyes could follow. Reaching for the enemy weapon, she broke the rifle, throwing the man on the ground and turning to the last soldier.
The reclaimers equipped their soldiers with quality gear, this much Chochmingwu was willing to admit. But beneath her steel fists, the man’s armor crumbled and broke like paper. She made sure to avoid the vital areas of his body, leaving the soldier alive.
Chochmingwu Bento was a figure made of steel. Wohali really tried his best while working on her body, for the outsider's eye, it was hard to even notice the small lines, places where her limbs connected to her torso, or places where her joints were. There was no heart in her chest, no air circulated inside her body. Her brain floated in the armored jar, keeping itself alive with nutrient fluids. Her eyes were the countless sensors around her body, the lenses in her head were merely a decoy for the enemies. Wohali ran simulation after simulation using his terminal, trying to deduce the original facial features of Chochmingwu, and then he put them on the steel body that served her as both prison and home now. The elder did so much for her, even though she was never one of his people…
Now comes the time to pay some of that debt back. Wohali was against her joining the army, viewing it as a waste of time. But could one truly stand aside when one’s home is at risk? No. Chochmingwu decided. Against his wishes, she enlisted in the force, ready to lay down her life for her new family.
She and her people were assigned to guard Belaz city. Most of the Bentos who came here were still in training, and when the reclaimers came, the Bentos crumbled like paper. Not Chochmingwu, however. Unlike others, she was granted the full body of steel, and she put it to use. Skulking around the streets, she was busy breaking and tearing apart soldiers of the Reclaimers, leaving behind her just dead bodies. She didn't have a heart, but she felt pain when she saw families torn apart by artillery shells, dead animals, people suffocating beneath the rubble, and the sheer desperation on the faces of her new allies...
The reclaimers did this. They brought death to this place. It made her job all the more painful because right now she had to ensure that her foes would remain alive.
She turned away from the three broken bodies and faced the six soldiers on the road before her. Her sensors scanned them, from their breathing all the way to their posture. The prediction engine told her that the foes were in panic. Chochmingwu could guess this much herself. She charged at them in a straight line. The moment the first soldier lifted his weapon, Chochmingwu dodged to the left, allowing the prediction engine to guide her. She weaved around the incoming bullets, not thanks to her skill, but thanks to the warning of her system. Chochmingwu remembered Wohali’s lessons well. Many members of the Bento tribe looked down on the enemy, believing all too much in the superiority of their steel bodies. However, where new breeds and normies had ways to heal on their own, each cut, each slash, each blunt hit that a Bento would take would slowly wear him or her down, unless they had an opportunity to use the proper maintenance. Therefore, Chochmingwu tried to make the art of dodging the attacks into her own style of combat, and the body that Wohali gifted her suited the best for such choice.
She reached the first foe and saw how Itu jumped from the second floor of the building, landing behind the reclaimers. She and this soultaker met each other after their units got decimated. Unlike her, Itu was a born killer, when she met him, he was standing over the corpses of five enemies, cleaning his machete. Itu warned the bento that he was only staying with her for a short while, but right now she was thankful for any help.
And she was thankful that he was keeping himself in check. He spun around, his long black hair swirling around him like a cloak, he used the hilt of his weapon to break the bones of the reclaimers, instead of killing them outright. Chochmingwu herself grabbed the man’s arm before her, twisting it until it snapped and crashing the fingers on the other hand for good measure. They had no need for prisoners, the reclaimers could care for their wounded themselves. All that they needed to do was to ensure that the enemy soldiers were left alive long enough for their allies to pick them up.
Her elbow found the jaw of the next foe, shattering the bones within and causing the woman to give a loud scream of pain. Chochmingwu hit the soldier with a low kick across her leg, dropping her on the floor and shattering the enemy's palm beneath the steel feet. The bento danced away, evading the bullet of the machine gun and allowing Itu to take care of the foe by shattering both shoulders. She leaped past him, crashing into the last soldier, grabbing him by the wrists. She clenched her hands, sensing how soft flesh and bones were crushing beneath her.
"All done?" Itu asked her, nodding at the nine bodies laying on the ground. Several of the soldiers lost their conscience from pain, but most of them were either whining or screaming from pain. The bento was deaf, her ears were long gone, along with her eyes. Only her brain remained. But just like with eyesight, the sensors of her body were catching the vibrations in the air, "decoding" them and transmitting the information into her brain, allowing her to understand the words and tone of others. Itu looked calm, not a single drop of sweat was on his body. Instead of armor, he was wearing a simple black suit that left his legs and arms bare. Not a single scar marked his slightly reddish skin, giving him a slight resemblance to a member of the Bento tribe. His eyes were green, an unusual sight for a soultaker. A single pistol was in the holster on his leg, the man put the machete in the sheath behind his back.
"THIS SHOULD OPEN THE WAY." Chochmingwu replied to him in a monotonic mechanical voice. Her lean body produced no sound when she was walking or running. All the internal workings of her mechanical body were carefully crafted to bring her as close to perfection as possible. But she had a flaw. Her brain was connected to the dynamics and, technically, she should have been able to speak freely… Only something was always stopping Chochmingwu. Wohali explained to her that this was caused by the trauma she suffered as a child. There was a reason why the Bento tribe was slowly upgrading their bodies instead of jumping into divinity right off the bat. The brain could be seriously shocked by such rapid change, and Chochmingwu’s brain endured not one, but two such shocks. Instead of speaking, she was using another device in her body, essentially typing the words for her dynamics to speak the words.
Itu raised a hand to his ear, listening to something over the communication, before nodding: "Katriana just told me that someone attacked the Deliverance. She and the boy made a temporary truce with the reclaimers of all people and are now trying to save whoever they can. Apparently, the numbers used the confusion to get a drop on us as well. The orders came for the rest of us to meet with Yasen and Chort at the palace and prepare a final line of defense. Is Wohali still silent?"
Chochmingwu gestured to him that the answer was yes and walked toward the screaming officer, lifting her up and placing her on her back to give the enemy some relief from the pain in her shattered knees.
Her teacher was silent. The last time Wohali sent an update to her was several minutes ago, when he said that he had found something incredible in the skies and was now sending drones to collect the "curiosity". After this, all she got was silence over the network. She was not overly worried, Wohali was not a fool, and other acolytes would lay down their lives to protect the flesh carver. There had to be a reason why he refused to answer her calls.
"I am leaving. Keep the people safe." Itu said, reaching for the machete. Chochmingwu turned to him, feeling an actual shock and surprise when he plunged the weapon into his own chest, piercing through his heart and twisting the weapon in the wound. His lips trembled from the pain, and blood poured from the wound. She made a step towards him when the soultaker disappeared, leaving a blood smear on the street.
Chochmingwu cocked her head in confusion. When Itu and her found the enlistees near the facility, Yasen sent them here to guard the maintenance team. The people were under-geared, scared and afraid. Chochmingwu had no idea what was so important the maintenance team was doing in the facility, but she was not going to let her allies die. The work can wait, she took command and ordered everyone to prepare to run for their lives. Together with Itu, she cleared one of the potential retreat routes. If they had killed any reclaimers here, no doubt the enemy would have wanted to enact the revenge. Hopefully, with enemy troops alive, there was a chance that reclaimers would leave them alone.
"ENSIGN," Chochmingwu sent a message over the network to the leader of enlistees. The maintenance team stubbornly refused to leave the facility, claiming that Yasen was relying on them, "PREPARE YOUR…"
"The dogs are here!" The man shouted in panic, and Chochmingwu heard the sound of gunfire from the facility. She turned toward the facility, confused and scared for the second time.
Doggies. The mutant freaks of the reclaimers. The elite frontline forces of the enemy. According to the reports, they were mostly staying away from the battlefield… And now they are here, coming to hunt down her allies.
By the Sun Mother, I will not let you die. Chochmingwu swore and charged toward the battlefield.
****
She heard the sound of gunfire during the entire run back toward the plaza. The angry barking of the shotguns, joined by loud bursts from the rifles. The enlistees were given subpar gear by the Regulators. While the people here were undoubtedly better equipped than, say, the few remaining raiders in the Ravaged Lands, these weapons lacked the armor-piercing potential that actual weapons of the military could provide. Safe for a lucky shot at the enemy’s weak point or several bullets hitting a lens on an enemy helmet, the foes were safe from harm if they used power armor.
And doggies were using some of the latest models! Chochmingwu charged from a narrow street straight to the wide plaza before the water processing facility, uncared if the enemy would see her or not. She saw at least a dozen bodies lying on a sidewalk and panicked. The bento quickly calmed herself, noticing that the enlistees were breathing. Some of their faces were marked with blood, a few clearly had a broken bone or two, but all of them were alive. The doggie who had been guarding them turned toward her, reaching for his crude, but deadly effective weapon. A shardgun. A kind of weapon that killed one of Wohali’s students before the war broke out in full.
The prediction engine read the enemy's movement, reporting to Chochmingwu that the foe was too slow for her. That was all that she needed to know.
Her first blow landed upon the enemy’s ankle, bending the metal and twisting the bone out of place way before the doggy could even reach for the weapon. The doggy cursed and the terminals within the bento’s body confirmed that the foe was most likely male. A gentler approach was needed, lest she wanted to anger the doggies. The soldier snapped at her, intending to bite Chochmingwu on her neck, not knowing who he was up against. Still standing on his leg, she ducked, twisting her foot and causing the doggie to whine from pain when she dislocated the bones in his ankle.
Wohali spend some time studying the doggie’s anatomy. Like with all abnormals who could form actual tribes, it was a worthwhile effort, allowing the Bento tribe to learn about the weak points of their foes. Prior to the war, the Bento tribe had no beef with the reclaimers, and thus getting doggies’ bodies was somewhat of a problem… Right until Chort brought in a whole group of them, six doggies. Wohali asked not where the mercenary got his hands on them. Instead, he and Chochmingwu performed autopsies on their bodies, learning all they could from the dead, before stitching back the remains and sending them to the Wolf Tribe for the last burial rites.
The knowledge from this autopsy was uploaded into the databanks of the Bento tribe, allowing Chochmingwu to know where exactly to strike and with what power to knock out her enemy. Her steel palm hit the lower jaw of the doggie, shattering the armor and reaching through the fur all the way to the skin. Locating the target, she punched, denting the helmet and sending the doggies brain into a spin, knocking him out.
Like a steel snake, she slid across the falling body, reaching for the shardgun and grabbing the weapon into her arms. The body was still falling behind her, Chochmingwu was already near the prisoners, slicing through the restraints on the enlistees. She threw one glance at the square and finally understood what had bothered her.
There was no sound of the shardguns. These weapons had a distinct loud sound, dwarfing even the sound of a shotgun blast. And right now, amidst the panicked screams and amidst the firing on the square, she understood that only one side was firing.
The doggies showed restraint. Their armor forms charged into enlistees, tackling them down and knocking out their foes. While the civilians had no formal training, the square before the facility had little place for the enemy to use for cover. The doggies used smoke grenades, forcing the enlistees to fall back to the closed gates of the facility in silence while they themselves charged in under the cover of the smoke. Chochmingwu had little fear of the doggies, but for a normal human to see two crimson orbs, lights produced by the lenses on the enemy’s armor, must be a terrifying sight. The bento looked around to see how many of her allies had killed themselves because of panic but found that only a few of the enlistees had gun wounds on their bodies. Even here, in the group that Chochmingwu was trying to save, two people were wounded in the shoulders and legs, but their wounds were bandaged. The doggies, although slower than the bullets, used their own bodies as a living shield when needed, dragging away the unconscious enemy from the line of fire.
While she was slapping the enlistee across his head to wake him up, her eyes caught something else. A group of soldiers had a sniper position in the ruined building to the north. These were the actual soldiers of the Regulators, a sniper armed with an armor-piercing weapon and two spotters, who acted as bodyguards at the moment. The sniper was preparing to take the toll against the overeager enemies when a grenade was thrown at them, causing the sniper team to drop to the floor in fear. One of the doggies threw up her sniper rifle, shooting the grenade way above the sniper team. While the people were pressing themselves against the floor to weather the shockwave, another doggie appeared behind them. Four mechanical limbs came from his back, and he leaped on the sniper team.
Shit. Chochmingwu thought, finally awakening the enlistee and gesturing to the man to free the rest and flee to the street from which she came. The bento had no idea why the enemies were busy capturing people alive. Maybe they plan to sacrifice them to their god or eat them?
Her thoughts were cut short when a figure landed on the sidewalk, armed with a pair of pistols instead of a shardgun. This doggie landed near the knocked-out soldier, taking him into the arms. Chochmingwu turned to face the enemy. The scanners read the marks on the enemy’s armor and the databanks within her body, identifying the foe as a scout. Tougher than most doggies, but nothing to fret about.
"Still alive and none the worse for wear," The doggie said and Chochmingwu leaped at her. The scout raised her head, "Boys."
Chochmingwu ducked, narrowly evading the kick against the back of her head. She heard the sound of metal-on-metal friction, and the scanners on her back saw the armored form. The soldier jumped from the building behind her, timing his attack perfectly with her charge. Another form charged from the smoke to her left, aiming for a low kick across her legs. The bento had to grab the ground before herself with her arms, using the stone as a springboard to jump back, evading the attack that could potentially bend the metal of her legs. The first soldier landed before her, launching a full roundhouse kick at Chochmingwu’s head. The bento made a backflip backward, evading the kick against her jaw and feeling how the second soldier grabbed the shardgun off her, before both of them jumped to stand before the scout.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Sorry, ma’am." One of the soldiers said, and the scout straightened herself, standing before the fallen soldier.
"Don’t feel bad, boys, you are doing just great." She snapped her fingers and Chochmingwu turned her head, half to bait the enemy into attack and half to see how a group of doggies charged from the street that was supposed to be safe, cutting off the last safe retreat route.
She had to lean back to evade a kick across her turned head. This time, Chochmingwu did not lose herself to panic, despite the desperation that was growing in her. Do what you can, when you can. The words of the elder Tlaltzin Bento rang something in her soul. If there is no open path for her to take, she will simply cut one or die trying.
One of the doggies landed behind her, while another was before her. The markings on their armor indicated they were males, yet their combat abilities and intricate knowledge of when to attack easily put them at the warrior level. Strange, the databanks told her that the males of the Wolf Tribe were nothing to worry about. A flaw in the reports? Chochmingwu turned her head to look at the soldier before her while standing up. Doesn’t really matter now, does it?
She kicked the stone on the sidewalk, forcing the enemy before her to smash the stone away with his arms because of instinct rather than out of a sense of danger. The bento jumped, allowing the punch of the soldier behind her to miss her spine. Her kick across the back of his head sent the doggie face down into the ground near the legs of the scout. Chochmingwu barely had time to land when the second foe attacked. She allowed the enemy to try and punch her three times, giving the prediction engine just enough time to learn the patterns behind the enemy attack. The bento charged forward, not allowing the doggie to try the fourth punch. Her left hand beat aside the attack of the enemy, and her right arm struck forward, aiming to shatter the collarbone of her enemy.
The scout moved, forcing Chochmingwu to jump away from the soldier or risk enduring a hit against her midsection.
"Quite enough for now, boys. Guard the wounded, I will take the dance myself." The scout said, her palm on the chest plate of the soldier before the bento.
"Yes, ma’am!" The soldiers jumped to stand guard over their fallen comrade. Behind the bento, her allies were being recaptured by the enemy.
"Hi, cutey. My name is Carty, a scout of the warlord Dragena, the most illustrious fighter among…" The scout started talking, but Chochmingwu cut her off.
She punched with her right arm, only for her attack to be taken on the vambrace of the enemy’s right arm. Carty smiled, showing her fangs. The scout matched Chochmingwu's strength with ease, making them both stop in place, foolishly struggling to overpower each other. I need to find a way to take her out quickly.
"A silent type, huh?" Carty asked, her lips moving to say something when iron ran above her mouth, completely sealing off the helmet.
Chochmingwu felt a tingle of panic, seeing a missile coming from the smoke clouds that covered the square. I am dead. The bento thought, before the prediction engine sent a warning. Up until now, the enemies aimed to take foes away. The missile was coming from the ranks of the enemy, while several of their allies were in the danger zone. A dud? Chochmingwu thought, landing a low kick against the scout’s leg and dropping the woman on her back. Instead of trying to dodge, she dropped after the woman, aiming her right elbow at the belly of her enemy.
Carty used her own right leg to push the incoming attack back. Then, Carty rolled to the side, reaching for a place above her knee, the steel fingers of the bento’s left arm shattered the armor on the enemy’s leg, failing to slice the artery and leaving a deep cut on the enemy’s flesh.
Not willing to allow the enemy any time to recover, the bento charged after her. Chochmingwu's arm was twisted to the side as Carty caught the first punch in her palm. The scout had no time to break the arm, however, for the bento tried to kick her across the injured leg, forcing the scout to push the bento back. Chochmingwu landed back on one knee, intending to take the incoming blows on her arms, weather the assault and slash at the enemy’s gorget, reaching for the neck and taking the foe hostage. The prediction engine sent a whole alarm into her brain, making the bento jump back. Two punches from the enemy left head-sized craters in the stone road. Whoever she was, the mere punches of this scout were dangerously close to armor-piercing shards in terms of lethality, and her armor enhanced this strength even further. Change of plans, no trading blows. Chochmingwu decided, when the scout straightened herself, pressing a finger to the left side of her helmet. She stood still for a while, making the bento frantically check her surroundings for any signs of danger, before the steel around Carty’s mouth slid to the side.
"I can take her on, Tiny!" The scout said in annoyance, before turning toward the water processing facility, standing with her back to Chochmingwu and putting the right hand on her belly, "Fine, wolf hag, feel free to…"
Wolf hag?! Here?! Chochmingwu charged at the enemy. She needs to take this one down and fast, before…
The warning of the prediction engine came too late. The machine within her could not see the front of the enemy, could not read the movement of the enemy’s right arm. At the last moment, Carty spun to the left, evading the piercing attack against her spine, and landed a punch into the right side of Chochmingwu’s body, sending the bento crashing into the stone of the road. Her brain jar jumped within her body, a few systems of her body had to reboot themselves to ensure that she could operate. A fist-zed bent mark was on her body, just below the place where humans had their ribs. Still lying on her left side, Chochmingwu made a sudden low kick, nearly dropping Carty on her back. While her foe was still stumbling, the bento jumped onto her feet, making a thrust with her right arm, aiming for the enemy’s throat once more.
A spider leg limb came from under Carty’s left arm, creating a small forcefield in front of her head and neck. Chochmingwu, noticing the limb a second too late, smashed her entire arm against the field, her fingers crumbled, her index finger fell off, the impact of the hit could be felt as far as the elbow area. The simple, yet effective web of machine work in her arm suffered irrevocable damage, forcing her to rely on one less limb.
She tried to retreat when two soldiers from before grabbed her from behind, sneaking on her once, timing their advance perfectly with the dying sounds of battle. The bento tried to struggle when the wolfkin who had the mechanical limbs came from behind Carty’s back. Following his gesture, the soldiers forcibly bent Chochmingwu’s arms and legs backward, nearly to the point of breaking them, and he glued her limbs together with a strange black substance that came from one of his limbs.
"Thanks for the advice, Sly," The scout said, stretching herself, standing unbothered about a wound on her leg, "She is indeed can’t predict the things that her eyes can’t see. Now, then, back to the task that captain Ivar gave to us…"
She stopped talking the moment an explosion came from the water processing facility.
****
"Shit, they started way ahead of us," Carty cursed out loud, reaching for her helmet, "Ultis! Did your team managed to… Great." She nodded, waving away one of the soldiers who tried to treat her wound.
Chochmingwu strained in her bindings, trying her best to break them. The servo motors within her body gave a whining sound, one of the cogwheels in the damaged area of her body gave a screeching sound after each turn when the metal of the cogwheel was hitting the inner side of the metal skin of her corpus. The bento cursed slightly, feeling how the elastic "glue" substance expanded slightly before tightening once more. The Bento tribe called such substance a "restrainer". From time to time, her people had to deal with abnormals who had more than four limbs or with criminals from their own tribe. Even in the open air of the Ravaged Lands, the restrainer never fully solidified and could usually only be removed with the use of a special chemical solution. Of course, it was not the only way…
Chochmingwu gave a mechanical groan of despair while trying to sit upright, looking as defeated as possible. The mechanical insides within her body started shifting, allowing new devices to rise within her legs and arms. She just needs a little more time.
The water processing facility was a dull-looking building. In the days of the Old World, this facility merely supplied a single sector of the sprawling metropolis that served as home to countless people. Nowadays, this structure ensured the city's water supply, the pipes were rerouted, bringing water across the entire Belaz city, thanks to the hard and back-breaking work of the locals. The facility itself was a two-story tall building. The mighty machines that produced the water were stored within the stone grounds. Enormous, street-sized pipes, barely eaten with rust, ran from the sides of the facility, coming deep into the underground, where they spread into many more pipes that ran across the city, delivering water to the citizens.
In the days of peace, this was the most well protected place in the city. Dozens of abnormals stood guard at this place, some of the best engineers from the Ravaged Lands, including even some from the Bento tribe, were toiling away to keep the place working. This was a good deal for the Bento tribe, they received cheap access to water and had a place to train their young workers. There were many hazards below the city, a nest of mutants, an occasional infestation of insectoids, smugglers, and even some raiders from time-to-time. The engineers who worked here were just as adept at using weapons as they were at using their tools of trade.
Even now, the only path leading to the facility was blocked by mighty gates, capable of withstanding even plasma weaponry. The stone walls were built with the intention to protect this facility from all possible harm, a single metal walkway led to the facility, while it itself stood on a large island of calmness, nested within the pipes that were coming from its walls.
And now the reclaimers have dared to attack this place. I should have gone for the kill! Chochmingwu cursed silently.
"What is going on!" A new voice shouted, and from the clouds of smoke appeared a lean figure of another doggie. Like all others, she was clad in power armor, the markings on her armor indicated her to be a scout. On her shoulder she carried an oversized missile launcher, looking comically too big for such a frail body as hers.
"Greetings, commander," Carty saluted the newcomer, standing at attention while the doggie with extra artificial limbs let his helmet slip off his head and was busy pointing something at the facility. The device in his palms had a screen, and the bento could see how the doggie was frowning from time to time. The main gates of the facility were shut tight, but an explosion cracked the western wall, and a tingle of flames were bursting through the cracks. As Carty continued talking, her melodic voice changed to a professional tone, "All enlistees are captured alive, we even got ourselves a cyborg, although she is a shy one, it seems." Carty nodded at the prisoner.
I will gore her. Chochmingwu decided, thrashing in her restraints and imitating rage. Just a few more moments and she can get free.
"One of our soldiers is injured, but nothing a few days in the med bay won’t solve…"
"Enough with this, what is the meaning of that!" Tiny pointed at the flame coming from the facility, and the bento froze in place, unsure if she misheard the opponent. The wolfkin gave the missile launcher to one of the soldiers and pointed at the facility, "I made it clear that we were not to attack this place!"
"It wasn’t us," Carty reported, putting both arms behind her back, a stream of blood running down her wounded leg, "Captain Ivar obtained information that the enemies planned to use W-venom here…"
"What?!"
Chochmingwu felt horror. W-venom was one of the most dangerous chemical poisons. Upon coming into contact with water, the liquid substance of W-venom turns gaseous. The gaseous substance then dissolves everything in its path, stone, metal, flesh. The W-venom had a short "life span", in mere minutes after becoming airborne, it evaporated in the thin air. Pearl used to supply it to their neighbors, resulting in the rise of the cartel and the destruction of several countries. The stream of refugees coming to the city state was now partially because of the reckless usage of the W-venom. For, while fleeting, the liquid form of this venom possessed a truly dangerous effect. It spreads like wildfire across the surface of water, covering many kilometers if left unchecked. If it is revealed in this facility…
"We must evacuate the city now!" Tiny shrieked, clearly getting the same idea as Chochmingwu, "If they will…"
"Commander, everything is fine," Carty said quickly, and Tiny came to a halt, confusedly looking at the other scout, "Captain Ivar was well aware of this situation. His people had already stopped the flow of water that was going into the city. Ultis and her pack made sure to check and disengage the pipes even further before we started the operation. The captain tasked us with observing the situation from afar and collecting evidence from the cameras inside the facility. This is why I asked Sly to hack into the systems. No civilian is at risk of suffering the effects of the W-venom."
"But why would he…" Tiny asked, still confused, before Sly cut her off.
"Scout Tiny, an update," The soldier said, his voice tense, "Based on the video feed from the inside, the enemies weren’t planning to unleash the W-venom. The moment they became aware of it, they tried to disengage the device from the water production system."
"Figures, none of them wants to die," Carty said. She caught the look from Tiny, "And they also probably do not want to become mass murderers either."
"What caused the explosion?" Tiny demanded to know.
"They briefly contacted Yasen, he told them to activate the device, they refused, then the explosion happened. According to the data available, explosives were pre-planted by the regulators," Sly reported, still looking at the device in his hands, "It’s hell out there. The device is about to fall into…"
Chochmingwu broke her restraints. While everyone was busy with the new development, four sonic emitters slid into her limbs, coming from within her chest. By creating strong vibrations around her bindings, the bento expanded them big enough to slide her metal limbs free, slithering away like a snake. When Chochmingwu turned away from the doggies, running toward the water processing facility, Carty noticed her and started reaching for the pistols on her belt. She heard curses behind her and allowed the prediction engine to guide her safe away from two shots of Carty, who intended to break her knees.
The bento jumped at the gate, helping herself with her free arm, and jumped toward the cracked wall, ducking into the burning flames. She poured all her energy reserves into her motor functions, overheating her mechanic muscles to the point of breaking, causing the very flames around her to become like long extinct leaves in the wind, moving slowly like cloth against the wind produced by an air conditioner.
Pain speared her brain. Chochmingwu wasn’t a new breed, her ability to operate at such speed was granted to her by terminals within her brain. Wohali tried his best to perfect the technology, but he warned her to never use it for more than two minutes straight. Her own body would break from overheating, from the strain that she was putting on machinery within herself. Her own brain might suffer a brain hemorrhage, unable to handle the stress of the world of superspeed.
But this time, Chochmingwu did not care about any of this. The people here, there were bentos among them. They took her in and, by the Sun Mother, damn her if she lets any of them die, not when she could help him.
She charged across the ruined corridors, evading the rubble that was falling from above, as if it were feathers in the air. The bento smashed aside one stone that was threatening to smash a running away engineer, the woman’s face resembled an image on a painting. Chochmingwu heard how the systems of her body screamed in warning, how teeny cracks appeared on her limbs, threatening to expand into caverns that would tear her asunder.
Hold still! Hold fast, do what you can do with the hand that fate has given to you! Chochmingwu thought, charging into one of the main halls. Here, the ancient machines, as big as a house, were producing the water through a technology that the regulators did not fully understand. Not even the Bento tribe fully knew the inside workings of these ancient marvels and the thought that one of people on her own side planned to ruin them for the sake of turning this place into a city of death… Angered Chochmingwu beyond all measure, pushing her to endure the red mist of pain that threatened to cloud her thoughts.
She saw wounded and dead people but ignored them all, focusing instead on six metal cylinders tied together and meant to be lowered into one of the pipes. The markings on them indicated that these cylinders were the latest anti-bacterial solutions meant to cleanse tunnel number eight, but her lenses noticed a wicked crimson liquid on one of the cracked cylinders. The databanks within her confirm that this was the dreaded W-venom. The pressure that the overcharged caused to her body caused her left lens to crack.
The bento grabbed the cylinder, hating herself for leaving injured and dying people under the rubble. If the doggies were right, the city was safe. However, if this poison spills here, it will eat away the machines that produced the water, the structure, and the people themselves. Chochmingwu pushed the cylinders away from the water in the pipe. She ran back toward the exploded wall, feeling one of her arms fall off. The bento ignored that, jumping away from the facility and throwing the cylinders at the solid ground away from the doggies. Without coming into contact with water, W-venom was almost harmless, unless someone drinks it, everyone should be safe. The doggies should be able to keep it away from the water, she prayed for it.
Chochmingwu’s throw cost her. Her remaining hand fell off, the metal body twisting in agony, despite the fact that the bento frantically tried to turn off the overcharge. Her remaining lens exploded, along with the majority of sensors in her body, her legs twisted themselves at an impossible angle, and a large crack ran in the middle of her steel head.
Chochmingwu was falling into a wide cavern that separated the water processing facility from the square. Her brain jar was about to fall from her head, not even the armor glass would endure a fall from this height without cracking. And with cracking, her nutrient solution will leak away, leaving only one possible outcome for her.
Flesh carver Wohali. I am sorry. She tried to send a signal to her master and found that she couldn’t, her communicator burned away along with many other systems in her body. Safe for a small camera in her brain jar, she was blind and deaf. Her brain jar was equipped with dynamics, but even now, Chochmingwu could not force herself to use her natural voice and her mechanical typewriter was disabled for good.
She panicked when something grabbed her, carrying her body to the walls of the water procession facility. Chochmingwu first noticed drops of blood and then saw the doggie’s figure that used the stone wall of the facility as a springboard to jump back across the cavern, carrying the bento’s broken body under her armpit.
"Hold on!" One of the doggies shouted, seeing that Carty was about to miss the jump and fall into the cavern. The male leaped forward, causing the second scout, Tiny, to curse and grab him by the leg, while the male grabbed the outstretched arm of Carty.
"Saved by a male," Carty said, hanging over the cavern, and Chochmingwu could only swear that the scout shuddered in disgust, forcing the next words out of herself, "Thank you for the help, Gin."
"I will murder both of you!" Tiny shouted.
"Sure thing, honey, feel free, just pull us out here, please." Gin said.
"You sleep alone for a week, you stupid, careless bastard!" Tiny shouted back, straining to pull out the trio. Sly hurried to help her.
"Oh, so the things between you two are serious after all. My congratulations, name the gir…" Carty said, and Tiny nearly let go of Gin before jerking him to safety with one mighty pull, roaring from embracement and anger.