The concrete tunnels almost became a blur as Lightforge and Sunbird moved through them. There were plenty of turrets, cameras, and hidden doors which presumably held more robots. It was hard to say because as soon as anything flinched in the tunnel it was either smashed with a hammer or blasted with golden energy.

A panel in the ceiling opened at lightning speed, which allowed long metal tentacles to come streaking out to grab at the pair. This new obstacle was too quick for the hammer and too tough for the energy blasts. The pair took a couple of steps back as they tried to avoid the things, but they weren't fast enough. Lightforge was caught around the waist while Sunbird was held by an ankle.

The robotic limbs flung them around, smashing them into walls and ceiling as they flailed about and tried to free themselves. There was a quick whistling noise that cut through the air, and then their flailing changed due to the massive jolt of electricity that was now coursing through them.

The tentacles dropped them as they also convulsed, letting the pair hit the ground with an awkward crunch. It was the tentacles' turn to flail madly as they tried to swat at the swarm of small stone birds flying past. A second grenade slipped through the maelstrom of stone and metal, hitting where the robotic limbs emerged from the ceiling.

To Lightforge and Sunbird, who were lying directly beneath the explosion, it was deafening. And just to add insult to injury, they were soon pelted with the remains of the shattered tentacles as they crashed to the ground all around them.

After a few moments the smoke cleared and Cannoneer, Circe, and Gray Guardian walked over to help up their teammates. The trio was protected from the shrapnel by a glowing white sphere of energy that deflected everything that got close to them. Lightforge groaned at the sight.

"No fair," he said, "Why do you get a shield?"

"Because," Gray said, "they were smart enough to stay close to the healer. I'm glad to help, but I don't chase people down. Stay close or deal with the injuries yourself."

"That," Sunbird said, "Is seriously complete bleep."

The group stopped and stared at her. That one hadn't been the system, she actually said the bleep all by herself.

"What?" she said, "I got tired of hearing it all the time, so I figured I'd just cut out the middleman and do it myself."

"Or you could just not swear at all." Gray said, "That is an option."

"Not for me, it's bleeping not. My opinions are way too strong to watch my [BLEEPING] language."

“Wow,” Cannoneer said, “I don’t even know where to start with that, so I’m going to skip right past it.”

“Coward.”

“What did you think you were doing, running off without the group?”

“I gave fair warning. I act in the sacred name of Leeroy.”

“Right… and what is that supposed to mean?”

Sunbird’s face fell in utter shock and horror. She openly stared at the man in front of her as if she were seeing him for the first time. She even edged slowly away from him to stand closer to Lightforge. She gestured to the gadgeteer and said, “Seriously? This guy got it.”

“And I didn’t. Please explain.”

“It shouldn’t need an explanation! Leeroy Jenkins? Classic internet video? Do you know nothing about gaming history?”

“I don’t go out of my way to learn about it, if that’s what you’re asking. So that’s it? You referenced some ancient meme and that was supposed to be enough?”

“You clearly don’t get it. You know, I’m not so sure that we can still be friends after this.”

“We’re friends? We literally met today.”

“And we’ve faced killer robots together. That should have been enough, but now you’ve ruined it.”

They continued to bicker as Sunbird started down the passageway, Cannoneer right behind her. Lightforge let them take the lead; their high damage at a distance was better suited to dispatching threats before they could approach. And, if he were honest, he just wasn’t willing to stand right next to the argument.

Circe walked up to him and said, “So, what do you think’s the over/under on that?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You know, before those two hook up. I’m giving it a month.”

“Too long,” Gray Guardian chimed in, “Three weeks at most.”

“You’re both nuts,” Lightforge said, “It’s not going to happen.”

“That’s odd,” Gray said, “I didn’t take you to be the long shot type.”

“You do have eyes under that mask, right? They can’t say two words to each other without getting into an argument.”

“Yes, I have eyes. And you’re right that it’s a bit juvenile, but the spark is there.”

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“Even if you’re right, a spark’s not always enough.”

“Perhaps. But you’re overlooking something. When we were dropped into this world, we were all placed in bodies on the high end of physical attractiveness. Higher than most of us are used to.”

Circe snickered and said, “Aww, does Lightforge need to sit down and have the talk? Are you actually ten under all that muscle?”

“No, I’m not. But I do think that you’re overestimating how much that matters.”

“Oh, really? Then put your money where your mouth is. I’ll even be generous: six weeks. If they haven’t hooked up by then, I’ll concede.”

“What do I get when that happens?”

“I’ll hand over 100 Bux and clear your debt to me. But if I win, that debt gets doubled.”

“Easy win. Deal.”

They shook hands on the bet while Gray Guardian stood beside them and slowly shook their head. Regardless of the outcome, it felt good to spend some time having a friendly conversation. It almost made the concrete labyrinth around them feel hospitable.

Lightforge could feel himself relax with each step that he took. They’d been overthinking things before, and Sunbird was right. This mission had been scaled for a party of their level, so all of the challenges would be things that they could handle. His little sprint ahead alongside her had confirmed that much.

The two in the lead rounded a curve a little way down the passage, but there weren’t any signs of further traps so the group continued at their sedate pace. There was no reason to rush through the mission, so they may as well enjoy the time and let their resources regenerate in between combat encounters.

The trio in the back came around the curve and were met by the sight of Cannoneer and Sunbird pressed up against the wall, furiously making out. The bazooka was abandoned on the ground beside them, forgotten. The pair didn’t give any sign of noticing the rest of the team, and from the way they were going at it, this wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

Circe let out a cackle and started to speak, but Gray Guardian pulled her and Lightforge close and threw up a barrier around them. The translucent white sphere instantly began to crackle and spark all across the surface, as if it were being pelted on all sides by attacks. They studied the area, masked face impassive as always.

At last they said, “It’s some kind of gas attack. It would appear that it rapidly increases libido. It’s actually pretty clever.”

Lightforge scowled and said, “Really? Just seems like something a horny teenager would do to me.”

“You’re not necessarily wrong, but there is a purpose. A lot of skills meant to protect from attacks wouldn’t register the gas because it isn’t meant to do any harm. It’s just distracting.”

“Very distracting, apparently,” Circe said, pointing to their companions. It was both amusing and disturbing to watch them pawing at each others’ skintight outfits, completely unable to find any purchase. Lightforge found himself hoping that neither would remember this incident; he would die of embarrassment if he knew he’d done something like that in public.

“Correct,” Gray continued, “I only noticed it because Energy Barrier gave me a skill that highlights anything that it can block. This whole area looks full of smoke to me.”

“Cool as that is, what do we do about it? A distraction only works if there’s other measures to take us out after it takes hold.”

“I’m thinking. My skills are focused on support, so there should be a way to snap those two out of it.”

“Any chance we can wait until I’ve won the bet?”

“No way it counts if they’re under mind control.”

“Good thing they’re not. Their minds are their own, they’re just super horny.”

“Still mind-altering, so it doesn’t count. Besides, we need to stop this before they do something they’ll really regret.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. I was only messing with you. Split them up for a moment and I’ll bring them over with an illusion.”

“Good idea,” Gray said, “Just make sure you two hold your breath when they get here. I’ll have to drop the barrier for a few seconds to get them inside.” Let's do it."

Lightforge casually flipped a dagger towards the pair, only for it to bounce off the inside of the barrier. His face warmed and he pointedly didn't look at the others. He dismissed the dagger and stuck his hand against the inside surface of the barrier. He wasn't sure that this would work, but it was worth a shot.

He closed his eyes and focused on his Light Dagger skill. The weapons had always formed in his hand, but was that a rule or simply a default? It should be the latter; when he used Upgrade or Repair the tools he needed usually appeared all at once on his workbench. This shouldn't be much different. He needed a new knife, it just needed to be on the outside of the barrier.

It took a few seconds longer than normal, but light slowly coalesced on the outside of the barrier. It took shape into one of his daggers and began to slide down the side of the translucent bubble. With a focused exertion of will, Lightforge mentally "threw" the weapon towards his target. It snapped to align with his mental aim and shot across the passage.

The dagger struck the wall a few inches from Cannoneer's head, causing the couple to startle and jump away from one another. As soon as they parted, the air in front of them shimmered and their eyes lost focus. For a moment they just stood there, staring around in confusion. But then their eyes locked onto the energy barrier and gleefully started towards it.

Lightforge took a deep breath and held it as they came within a few feet. The barrier dropped and Gray Guardian leaned forward, placing a hand on each of their affected teammates. A pulse of white light shot down the healer's arms and into them, pushing them back a few inches.

The barrier went back up and Lightforge looked anxiously at his team. Sunbird and Cannoneer were in a daze, like they'd been woken up while sleepwalking. They were unsteady on their feet and stumbled a few times as they got their bearings.

"What the [BLEEP] happened?" Sunbird asked, "We were just walking and then everything turned hazy. And horny, I remember that much."

"Agreed," Cannoneer said, "It felt like I'd stepped out of this dungeon and into a particularly intense sex dream."

"Really?" Circe asked, "Nothing else? Not even some sensations or feelings? Surely you remember something?"

Lightforge jumped to interrupt her before that line of questioning could start causing problems. He said, "Let's come back to that later. How do we get past this gas?"

"I think I have a solution," Gray Guardian said, "Everyone stay still for a moment."

They closed their eyes and focused, effort obvious on their face. Sparks of energy crackled across their hands, trying to form into something but breaking apart before anything could come of it. They sank to the floor, cloak spreading out beneath them as they pressed their hands into the barrier.

Energy poured out of them, surging into the barrier and changing how it looked. Swirls of light blue and green joined the white, and a tingling sensation settled onto Lightforge's skin. His senses deadened, and everything around him became muted.

The barrier fell as Gray Guardian slipped in and out of consciousness. Lightforge and Cannoneer picked up their slim teammate between them and they all hurried away down the passage. The effects were still there, Lightforge could feel them. But they were far away, as if it were someone else coming under the effect. He could ignore it long enough to get them away from this area.

He wasn't sure, but he suspected that Gray Guardian had just unlocked a Synergy Skill. He would have to ask about it once they found a safe place in the maze.