Previously on Protector’s of Worlds:

While our heroes were enjoying their time with the Rovernites, an automaton by the name of “Molidio” crashed landed in the city, and started a rampage. Calem fought it first but was quickly defeated. It was then Marcel’s turn as he was able to defeat the automaton with a combination of strength, durability, and wrestling moves.

Impressed and proud of how his apprentice and his friend handled the situation, Starman decided to reward them with a feast. Unknown to them, a drone was watching the whole thing….

What will be in store for our heroes? Let us witness what goes down…….

X Dark Humanoid’s Castle X

In the monitor screen room, the monitor robot was watching over the final moments of Molidio right before exploding. It sighs with displeasement, witnessing another automaton destroyed. The door slid open as the humanoid walked in with his armor covered in purple blood and carrying the severed head of a one-eyed alien-like creature in his left hand.

“My Lord,” The monitor robot said as it quickly got on its knee, bowing before the humanoid. “How was your trip?”

“Not bad. Just took care of some business.” The humanoid said as he raised the alien’s head to show to the robot. “So, how’d Molidio do?”

“See for yourself,” The monitor robot was hesitant to answer until the humanoid got his answer by looking at the screen and witnessing the burning remains of Molidio.

“Another one gone…….” The humanoid said with disappointment. “Looks like we underestimated Calem again.”

“My lord………Calem wasn’t the one who defeated Molidio.” The monitor robot said, which got the humanoid wondering.

“Then who?” The humanoid demanded.

“He did.” The monitor robot replied as it pointed to the screen, which was now showing Marcel in his armor, banging his fists in victory.

“Oh, no………..” The humanoid said, realizing that the 2nd one had not only been found, but he was capable of using his armor. The humanoid then tightens his grip on the alien head before crushing it, splattering brains and blood all over.

“One was bad enough, but now that there are two…..” The humanoid stopped as he looked at Marcel and Calem cheered with the crowd. “It’ll be a disaster!”

X Cybenetex: Tower X

Back at the tower, in the kitchen is where Starman, Calem, and Marcel are enjoying a big feast as a reward for a job well done by the two. While they were eating, Marcel got up from his seat and started demonstrating the moves he used on Molidio and made some jokes about it, causing Calem and Starman to erupt in laughter.

30 minutes after they had their fill, Calem was lying down on his back on one of the couches, groaning in pain.

“Ow….Ow…..Ow………I think I ate too much.” Calem said

The sight of Calem and the noises he made were enough to make Marcel chuckle a bit as he sat on the other couch.

“Marcel, can I speak to you for a bit?” Starman said as he exited the kitchen and headed towards the elevator door.

“Sure, boss,” Marcel said as he sat up and walked to where Starman is. “What is it?”

The giant got on his knee and placed his hand on Marcel’s shoulder. “Listen, starting tomorrow, I’ll be venturing outside for some time.”

“Oh, you’ll be doing those inspections on the Scavenger's hive, right?” Marcel said

“That’s right,” Starman said in response to his apprentice’s question. “Now, while I’m gone, I want you and your friend to help the Rovernites out whenever they need it.”

“You got it,” Marcel said as he patted the giant hand on his shoulder. “Leave everything to us.”

With that, Starman got up with some cheerful eyes, knowing that the Rovernites would be in good hands with the humans. He enters the elevator before the door closes and starts taking him down. The look on his eyes started appearing more saddened as he reached the bottom…..

X 2 days later X

Only a few days have passed since Starman ventured outside. With the big man gone, it’s up to Marcel and Calem to take care of the Rovernites themselves. They are helping a few Rovernites bring heavy materials for some construction.

“So, where’d you say the big guy was going?” Calem asked, curious about why Starman went outside the barrier.

“Just doing his usual inspection of the Scavenger’s hive,” Marcel said as he and a Rovernite placed a steel beam down.

“For what purpose?” Calem asked.

“To see what progress they are making or if they gained new land…..Something like that.” Marcel said before passing a steel beam over to three Rovernites. “He’ll be gone for only a couple of days.”

With the questions answered Marcel went over to some Rovernites to help them move some things along with Calem, who felt a little relieved.

X

After long and hard hours of helping the Rovernites with their stuff, Calem and Marcel decided to call it a day and returned to the tower. Inside, both were in the kitchen, eating their dinner.

As Calem took a bite of a bread-like substance, he couldn’t help but stare at the two red tear tattoos on his face, curious about them.

“Say, Marcel……” Calem said to him, which caused Marcel to stop and look at his friend, still chewing his food. “I don’t mean to bother, but what’s the deal with the things on your face?”

“Oh, these?” Marcel said as he swallowed his food before pointing to the red tear tattoos, causing Calem to nod. “Something to remember my uncle by,”

“Really?” Calem said, even more curious now.

“He was a pro wrestler, went by the name “Red-Teared Comico,” Marcel said.

“Why…….was he called that?” Calem asked.

“Because when he went up on stage, he would tell a lot of bad jokes that wouldn’t cause people, maybe a few, to laugh but for him, he would laugh hysterically so hard that “he would cry blood”, hence the tattoos,” Marcel said. “He wasn’t the most famous wrestler of all, but he loved doing what he did: performing and making people laugh,”

“Wow, he must’ve been one hell of a person, huh?” Calem said.

Y-Yeah………..” Suddenly, tears ran down Marcel’s face with Calem quickly noticing this. “When I was about 10, I got the news from my mother that my uncle died……..heart failure,”

“I-I’m so sorry,” Calem said, feeling sympathy for him.

“He had such an impact on my life and when I heard about that…………..” Marcel stopped as he wiped the tears away from his face. “So, when I reached 17, I told my parents I wanted tattoos, the same ones my uncle had, which is how I got these,” Marcel stopped again as he pointed to his tear tattoos. “I did this not only to honor him but to do what he did, make the people laugh even……….in the most desperate of times,”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Now that that was out of the way, the two continued eating, remaining silent throughout the whole meal…………

X 5 days later X

In the park, Calem was being assaulted by the children who were repeatedly poking at him while some grabbed him by the ears and started stretching them, causing him unspeakable pain while they laughed.

While this was going on, in the distance was Marcel who was sitting on a bench in a very concerned position. He knew his boss would be gone long, but………..he’s never gone for this long. He thought something must be up or Starman might be in some trouble…..

X 10 days later X

Still nothing……..Starman hasn’t returned yet.

In the tower’s main room, Calem was lying down on the couch with his hands behind his head. On the other hand, Marcel was pacing back and forth, worried about the safety and well-being of his mentor/friend.

“This is……..This is just nerve-wracking.” Marcel said with a few stutters in his voice. “He usually just takes a few days to look over the hive, but this……..He’s been gone nearly a week!”

“Maybe he’s just taking a bit longer than usual,” Calem said, trying to help his friend calm down.

“If that’s true, he would’ve told me that,” Marcel said with a lot of stress in his voice. “I hope he’s okay………”

“Well, if that’s the way you feel…….” Calem stopped as he leaped up from the couch. “What’s say you and I go look for him?”

“You……You would do that?” Marcel asked.

“Hey, if it’s to make you feel better and to see if the big guy’s safe, I’m down for it,” Calem said with pride and a smile. Marcel smiled as well as the two grasped each other’s hand, forming a handshake

X

At the entrance of the barrier, Marcel and Calem with their gauntlets stood at the front as a crowd of Rovernites were behind, murmuring and chatting with each other about the actions the two humans were about to take. Feeling this uneasiness, both turned to the crowd and waved to them.

“Don’t worry, everyone!” Marcel shouted.

“We’ll be back with Starman!” Calem shouted as well.

This caused the crowd to shout with joy and cheer for them, saying things like:

“Come back safe!”

“Please bring back Starman!”

“We know you can do it!”

Encouraged by the crowd's cheers, the two felt more confident that they’d find Starman. A hole opens in the barrier as the two walk out before it closes on them. They looked straightforward, knowing they’ll have to fend for themselves when entering the hive, without the help of Starman or the Rovernites. The two looked at each other before nodding as they ventured forward, taking the long journey to the nest of the amorphous invaders…….

X

Miles for miles they traveled until day became night. Suddenly, their eyes came upon massive dark monolith-like figures. They got closer and closer until they came across the vast and immense forest of junk that was the Scavenger’s hive. The monolith-like figures turned out to be giant distorted towers melded together with metal.

The forest of junk probably stretched for miles and miles, having no end to them. Nothing but heaps of bone, metal, and parts.

“You ready for this?” Marcel asked his friend.

“You bet,” Calem replied as the two fistbumped each other.

Calem touches his gauntlet, causing electricity to appear before raising it and being struck by lightning, causing his entire armor to appear. It was Marcel’s turn as he slammed his fists together before magma shot up beneath him, encrusting him in cooled molten rock before crumpling, revealing his armor.

“Let’s go,” Calem said as the two fully armored friends made their way to the hive.

They entered through a crevice, which was big enough for them both as they walked along the metal floor. While they walked, Calem looked in every direction around him, cautiously worried about the possibility of an ambush.

“No need to fear. The Scavengers don’t move around at night.” Marcel said, reassuring his friend. “But let’s be quick. The sooner we find Starman, the better.”

Knowing that they have until the sun rises, the two quickened their pace until they came across a forked path, one path going right and the other going left.

“Well, shit,” Marcel said with irritation.

“So, which way do we go?” Calem asked whether to go left or right.

“Ummm….” Marcel continued umming as he continually pointed to the two different paths before them. “Let’s go with………left.”

“Any reason?” Calem asked.

“Yeah, it’s a shortcut for Dorbin’s Burgers,” Marcel said in a sarcastic tone before shouting. “No, I don’t have a reason!”

“Alright, alright. How about we go in different directions?” Calem suggested, giving Marcel some time to think.

“Seems very dangerous……but could make things quicker,” Marcel said.

With that, the two went their separate directions: Calem going right and Marcel going left.

X Calem X

After going their own ways, Calem walked and carefully checked his surroundings, making sure there weren’t any threats. The sudden loud crunching of bones and metal caused him to halt, making him slowly turn towards the direction the sounds are coming from. Whatever was there then fired something toward Calem, hitting the piles of junk as metal and bone were scattered everywhere.

Calem was able to evade the object which crashed into even more junk. The thing then returns to its original place as the dark figure walks out, crushing bones as it approaches Calem. He then got a good look at the creature which is an automaton that stands around 14ft tall, has a humanoid-like look to it, a jade/emerald color scheme, a disproportionate body, triangular shoulders and waist, yellow orbs on its arms and legs, and a triangular-like head with a look of anger. This automaton goes by the name of “Gorbado”.

This couldn’t get any worse. Not only did Calem have until sunrise to find Starman, but now he had to deal with an automaton that wants to kill him. Hoping to end this thing quickly, Calem raises his left hand in the air as lightning bolts strike it before forming his sword. Now with his weapon in his hand, Calem charged and jumped, ready to face the automaton……..

X Marcel X

In the distance, Marcel heard all the commotion going on. He heard the sounds of a roar, junk being scattered, and lightning strikes. He worried that his friend may be under attack from Scavengers or something else. While thinking, a wrecking ball with a chain attached to it was fired from the junk pile, hitting him and throwing him into a pile of junk. As Marcel got the junk off of him and got up, the wrecking ball returned to its owner. The owner then rummaged through the junk as it showed itself to Marcel.

It was another automaton that was about 15ft tall and 22ft long with a humanoid-like body on its upper half, a Prussian blue color with Lilac lines, a spiked ball for a head, wrecking balls for hands, spiked shoulder pads, and it's lower half being slug-like with a massive spiked ball at the end of it. This one was called “Wreckall”.

Marcel sighed as he cracked his knuckles and his neck before gesturing his hand, telling Wreckall to “Bring it.” The automaton pounds its wrecking balls together before letting out a roar, accepting Marcel’s challenge. It extends both wrecking balls and spins them around before throwing them at the human. While he was much slower than Calem, he was able to evade the wrecking balls in time, causing them to hit junk instead. With quick movement, he was able to get close to Wreckall, jump up, and deliver some powerful punches to its face, causing it to back off.

Realizing this isn’t working, Wreckall decided to use its spiked ball tail. It then curved up its tail like a scorpion before firing it with a chain attached to it at Marcel. He was able to roll out of the way as the spiked ball hits a pile of junk, scattering large amounts everywhere. After seeing that, Marcel would have to be wary of the spiked ball as it seems to do more damage than the wrecking balls. Wreckall then retracts the spike ball and fires it multiple times and each time Marcel was able to escape unharmed.

It wasn’t until it fired the spike ball one last time that changed the fight. With great agility, Marcel was able to grab the chain and started pulling. It then became a tug of war as both used their strength, trying to gain an advantage. It was Marcel who was the strongest of the two as he pulled in Wreckall and started spinning it around while avoiding the junk piles. With enough force, Marcel slams the automaton to the metal ground, creating a big crater.

Still holding onto the chain, Marcel then raises his right hand and forms it into a knife hand before engulfing it in flames. With enough force, he strikes the chain, severing the spiked ball from Wreckall. Now that he’s taken away the automaton’s best weapon, Marcel takes this advantage to use it as his own. He grabs it by the chain and starts spinning it around before hitting Wreckall hard with it, knocking it into junk as more fall onto it. As it crawled out of the junk, Marcel ran towards it, spinning the ball around before throwing it towards the automaton………..

X Calem X

Heading back to Calem's battle with Gorbado, he moved fast to avoid being stomped and smashed by it. With one quick swing of his sword, he was able to chop off the ring and pinky finger off of Gorbado’s left arm, allowing small amounts of oil to splurt out. Gorbado let out a roar of agony and pain as it backs away, holding its hand over the wounds as more oil spilled out. Angered, the triangular automaton got on all fours and revealed a rather strange ability.

With rocket propulsion, it was able to fire its own head! Calem rolled out of the way. As he got up, the body came beside him and kicked him, knocking him into a junk pile. The head flew back and knocked Calem down while he was trying to get up. The head of Gorbado and its main body coordinating their attacks was enough to confuse and keep down Calem. After making a turn, a long and sharp spike emerged from the head and locked the armored human on target.

With the main body behind him and the head about to skewer his guts, Calem made a very irrational decision to run towards the head. With the spike near inches from him, he bent his back backward, having the spike miss him. Now that it missed the original target, the head was able to impale a new one: its own body!

Now knowing it’s heading towards its own body, the head of Gorbado tried to change directions but it was too late as the spike pierced right through the chest. The body squirmed around as the head roared in agony while oil streamed down from the body, dripping into the metal ground. Now that the automaton is injured, Calem took this chance to run and jump onto Gorbado, landing on its main body. He raises his sword to the air as lightning strikes down upon it. Fully powered, he grabbed his weapon with both hands and plunged it deep into the hole where Gorbado’s head used to be.

The electricity from the sword surged throughout the entire body of Gorbado, causing parts of the body to burst out tiny bits of smoke. Eventually, the entire frame of the automaton erupted into a massive explosion, sending Calem flying before safely crashing into some junk and pieces of Gorbado scattered everywhere.

Claiming victory over Gorbado, Calem ran off, hoping to see if his friend is okay…..

X Marcel X

Heading back to Marcel’s battle, he grabbed ahold of Wreckall’s right arm before throwing it over his shoulder, landing on its chest. He then grabbed the right shoulder before pulling with all his strength can give him. After much grunting and heaving, he was able to rip the shoulder off from the joint, exposing the endoskeleton and wires before tearing the whole thing off and throwing the limb aside.

The wrecking ball automaton screamed in pain as huge amounts of oil sprayed out. It tried to get up but with one arm missing and its body dented horribly, it was on borrowed time now.

Marcel backed away from Wreckall as both arms are engulfed in flames. The flames then united, forming a ball of fire. Marcel held it in his hand before launching it with his fist straight at Wreckall. The fireball made contact, hitting its body and causing a small explosion. After being hit, Wreckall stood still for a bit before falling onto its back. With it down, Marcel let out an exhausted sigh, knowing that he finally defeated the automaton after a long battle.

Tired and with his body aching and armor damaged, he slowly walked towards a big piece of bone before sitting on it. He took off his damaged helmet and revealed that his face has bruises on it and blood dripping from his nose. While sighing and recovering from the pain, he heard noises from his left before looking and see’s Calem approach him, who was exhausted as well.

“Hey…..” Marcel said, not saying much.

“Hey….” Calem said back to him.

“Robot trouble?” Marcel asked, seeing the damaged state of his friend's armor.

“Yeah. You too, huh?” Calem asked, noticing the dead body of Wreckall in the distance.

“Yep…….” Marcel said, tired and exhausted

He then scooched over, making some room for Calem as he sat down next to him right before taking his helmet off as well, revealing that his face was bruised as well. After minutes of putting joints back into place, groans of pain, and explaining what went down with their fights, the two got a big surprise when Wreckall’s head started to twitch. The two got up as they witnessed that the wrecking ball automaton was moving, aching after being hit by the fireball.

“Shit, it's still alive?” Marcel said, shocked to see that Wreckall withstood his attack.

“Guess this one is more durable than the one I fought,” Calem said. “You have enough strength left?”

“Enough to make sure that thing is dead,” Marcel replied before cracking his knuckles.

As the two marched to put an end to Wreckall, they saw materials falling off from the junk pile behind Wreckall. Suddenly, more materials fell off as something was moving from within the pile.

“Is that……?” Calem said with a frightened look and voice.

“Yes……it is,” Marcel said, knowing full well what was in the pile………..

Out of nowhere, a large cluster of Scavengers that were awakened from all the commotion sprang up from the pile and made their way to Wreckall. They split into two groups as they started to merge with the automaton. One group slithered their way into the shoulder joint while the other into the hole where the spiked ball used to be. Wreckall couldn’t do anything but scream as its insides were being torn apart by the slimy creatures.

After being fully merged, the Scavenger's new puppet rises, looming its shadow over Calem and Marcel as both backed away in fear.

“Oh, boy…….” Calem and Marcel both said, scared of the figure that was in front of them………..

What new form have the Scavengers given to Wreckall? How will our heroes be able to deal with it?! Will they be able to survive another fight?!?! Find out next time!!