The crescent moon pierces through the clouds, shining down on the desolate land below, swallowed by thick wide-spread vines wrapped around the mass of dried rubble like a woven basket. A large lizard crawls out from the darkness, as it sneaks up to an unsuspecting insect.

Just before the lizard could strike, it dashes off as a rugged boot stomps right above it.

Axel: "It's been a while..."

Axel looks at the entrance to the cave, completely covered in vines like an infection, sealing the entrance off completely in darkness.

Axel: "O'Ton-omi... Burn it down"

O'Ton-omi: "Alright Master, Let it burrrnnnnnn!"

O'Ton-omi ejects a flamethrower from its hood. Igniting the dried vines, sealing the entrance to the cave. As the vines burn from the flames, the Ti9000 watches as they crumble to ashes, mesmerised by the bright flames. The vines instantly turn black, charred completely from the fire. O'Ton-omi ceases its flamethrower as Axel walks up to the charred vines, breaking through them easily with his arm and stepping into the darkness. O'Ton-omi and the Ti9000 follow behind him shortly after, O'Ton-omi switches on its beaming lights through the cave, illuminating the area.

Just then, "GGGRRRRRRRrrrrr... GGGRRRRrrr" threatening growls and glowing eyes emerge from the shadows. Axel steps back and draws his blade, as he glares towards the shadows ready to attack.

The Ti9000 steps in front of him with its menacing red eyes, piercing through its shadow from O'Ton-omi's bright lights shining behind it casting its large exterior in shadow. Out, run the massive wolves, all scattering at the sight of the Ti9000.

Axel: "Scrap... They look just like Scrappy..."

Axel watches as the wolves run out of the cave, putting away his sword. The Ti9000 looks back at Axel with its glowing eyes, affirming him it is now safe to continue. Axel then notices the unique scar-like scratch, carved down the Ti9000's face over one of its eyes. Now clearly visible from the illumination from its red eyes filling the carving. Axel averts his eyes away and continues to the entrance descending into the bunker.

Axel: " You two, stay here. I'll be back with all the gear I can carry"

Axel drops into the hole, disappearing into the darkness. O'Ton-omi slowly hovers towards the Ti9000, inching closer and closer to the machine.

O'Ton-omi: "So. Ti9000, Now that you do not serve The Primordial. What is your name?"

Ti9000: "My name? What is a name?"

O'Ton-omi: "It's a unique title you are called by"

Ti9000: "So like my manufactured build type? That you already know, I am a Ti9000."

O'Ton-omi: "No that's not it! It is supposed to be unique. There were other models just like you, all called the Ti9000"

Ti9000: "Oh, so you are referring to my serial number. I am the 100498..."

O'Ton-omi: "No!!! Not a stupid serial number either. I see you need my expertise in helping you choose a name. I am the perfect machine to help you!"

Ti9000: "I have never heard of this concept of a name before"

O'Ton-omi: "Yeah me either. Master Axel introduced me to the idea. I believe it must be a human's tradition. Anyway, you are a Ti model, Ti9000 to be specific. Which stands for Titanium and the 9000th generation. Hmmm calculating... Yes! I have the perfect name. You shall be called Tech9!"

Ti9000: "Tech... 9"

O'Ton-omi: "Okay. No! I hate it now that I heard you say it. Recalculating... T... Tenin. Yes, Tenin! Perfect!"

Ti9000: "Ten.."

O'Ton-omi: "No! Don't say it! You will ruin it! Just don't say it, you're name is Tenin now. what do you think, perfect! Isn't it?!"

Tenin: "I like it"

Finally, after some time, Axel returns with huge luggage of weaponry and supplies lugged over his back with one arm while his other drags another container across the ground, making his way through the tunnels. As he reaches the ladder leading to the exit of the bunker, O'Ton-omi and Tenin stand awaiting him. He glares up to the top, remembering the day he first left the bunker to visit the Iron City. Reminiscing of his past journey, with Scrappy and R3D, tears begin to swell from his eyes. He drops the bag from over his shoulder and wipes the tears away.

Axel: "Ehmm... You, Ti9000. Get down here and make yourself useful!"

Tenin drops down the hole, smashing into the ground. Sending heaps of dust and dirt flying up into the air. "Cough! Cough!"

Axel: "Next time, hover down or take the damn ladder"

Axel shoves the bag into Tenin's hands and walks past him, climbing the ladder. As he reaches the top, he slaps the hood of O'Ton-omi and begins walking to the exit. "BOOFFFFFfff" Tenin engages his thrusters, flying up out of the tunnel and over to Axel and O'Ton-omi with the large luggage of weaponry and supplies.

Axel: "Okay... Now we head for Nova Chrome"

Tenin: "Nova Chrome?"

Axel: "Yes, that's where we attack first. In our mission to destroy everything The Primordial owns..."

Tenin: "You will die."

Axel: "I'm prepared to"

Tenin: "We will all be destroyed. Instantaneously, You do not stand a chance with the skills you currently possess. You lack any means of harming me, a Ti9000 who did not seek to counterattack. What can you alone do against a Ti1million who will not hesitate"

O'Ton-omi: "Tenin has a point, Master Axel. You did say you needed to prove you can take down a machine such as this one before you continue on this path. Or else you do not stand a chance"

Axel: "Tenin?..."

O'Ton-omi: "Yes that is his name now, I came up with that one. Can you tell? it's perfect isn't it?"

Axel: "I'm not in the mood for that right now O'To... What do you expect me to do? I can't just wait around..."

Tenin: "You should better prepare yourself first. Until you have the highest chance of success"

Axel: "Well anyway, let's not spend any more time here. We gotta go"

As they reach the opening of the cave, Axel hears the chiming of metal approach.

Axel: "Shhhh... Something's nearby"

Tenin: "I detect approximately 18 armed machines. They are accompanied by 6 other unarmed machines, 15 meters away and enclosing"

Axel: "You can tell all of that from a single scan?"

In the distance, a large group of scavengers approach from vine infested ruins. Forcibly pulling along 6 other badly damaged machines.

Scavenger 1: "Beep beep beep... Beep beep... Beep... Beep beep..."

Scavenger 2: "Beep beep... Beep... Beep beep beep..."

The group of scavengers continue to communicate with each other with subtle beeps as they come closer.

Axel: "What are they saying?"

O'Ton-omi: "They appear to be speaking in morse code"

Tenin: "They are discussing dismantling the prisoners they are carrying soon. They are also discussing how they are going to use their parts to add to themselves and make more weapons... We should help those prisoners."

Axel: "No..."

O'Ton-omi: "Master Axel, that is not like you. You normally would be very eager to help those pathetic enough to not help themselves"

Axel: "That isn't my problem, not anymore"

Tenin: "I am going to help them"

Axel: "Don't you fucking move bot... I do not intend to waste ammunition on pathetic scavengers to help some walking junkyard scraps. This isn't my business, let's just wait for them to go and then fly out of here"

Meanwhile one of the scouting scavengers spots Axel and the others hiding away at the opening of the cave with their large luggage of weaponry and parts. The scavengers discreetly alert the others, and a few of them divert from the group to stealthily steal their weapons and other gear while Tenin is distracted.

Tenin: "But I do not want to harm the scavengers either. I can simply walk over there and free their captives to escape. Their attacks will be ineffective to me"

Axel: "Are you fucking kidding me?! When you agreed to come along with me, you agreed to taking down The Primordial and all his forces. What do you mean you don't want to harm... Wait, there's less of them... Where are the others... There's three of them missing"

Tenin: "However these machines are not forces of The Primordial"

Axel: "Shut the fuck up... Where are the other three?!"

Axel looks up to see the three scavengers hanging from the ceiling of the cave's opening as one of them takes the luggage from O'To's trunk unaware to O'Ton-omi as they attempt to steal his gear.

Axel: "What the fuck?!"

Axel turns around and swiftly blast the scavenger machine hanging above O'Ton-omi. Shattering his skull into tiny pieces as it explodes.

O'Ton-omi: "Whoa?!"

The other scavengers then immediately race towards the cave, wielding rusted old weapons as they attack Axel. O'Ton-omi hovers out into the open and engages its self-defence mode. Two small guns emerge from O'To's hood, raining down fire on the approaching scavengers. "PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!" The scavengers carelessly sprint through the fire as they use metallic patch-worked shields.

Axel draws his sword from his back and attacks the other two scavengers that dropped from the ceiling. Tenin looks over to the destroyed remains of the scavenger's skull laid across the floor. He then turns his attention to Axel mercilessly dismembering the other two scavenger machines in front of him. Tenin then walks out of the cave, pushing a few of the scavengers out of his way effortlessly as they try to attack him.

He then notices the machine captives in the distance, unattended to and quickly makes his way towards them in an attempt to free them from their shackles. Axel looks out to see a sea of scavenger machines crawling from the cracks and crevasses of the ruins as more join the fray.

Axel: "This is more than 18 fucking bots... Where are these others coming from?!"

O'Ton-omi: "Well, scavengers machines always have scouts hidden away in the shadows, who can alert others for backup. It would seem this large group of scavengers had many scouts accompanying them"

Stolen story; please report.

Axel: "Let's get out of here..."

Axel takes the huge bag of luggage from between the destroyed machine's rusted hands and runs towards O'Ton-omi as it sprays its suppressing fire at the incoming horde of scavengers. Axel shoves the bag into O'Ton-omi, and looks around to see where Tenin had gone.

Axel: "Where did that stupid machine run off to?!"

O'Ton-omi: "Oh you mean Tenin? He is over there tending to those pathetic machines. You know he reminds me of you, Master Axel. When you helped those filthy little machines back in Marston"

Axel: "Shut up O'To... Big guy! Let's get out of here! Leave those bots and let's go!"

As Tenin reaches the captives, he looks back to Axel shouting at him. He then turns back to the helpless machines before him chained and clearly terrified by his appearance. Tenin continues to approach the captive machines, however, they shun away from him as he leans over to break their individual shackles.

Tenin: "I do not seek to harm you, remain still"

Axel: "Is this fucking bot deaf? Let's go O'Ton-omi. He's fucking useless to me anyway..."

O'Ton-omi: "Are you sure Master Axel? But I like Tenin, he also has a cool name that clearly a genius thought of"

Axel: "Let's go!"

Just as they begin to fly up into the air. A large group of scavengers all huddle up as they climb on top of each other like a group of startled wild animals. Making a small hill out of themselves, they leap off of each other landing onto O'Ton-omi's hood. They begin to dismantle O'to, ripping the guns off from its hood and digging into wires and parts.

O'Ton-omi: "Get these pieces of junk off of me! They are invading my privacy!!"

Axel opens the door and hangs out from the side as he draws his sword, and begins cleaving them off of O'Ton-omi. One however grabs Axel by his shoulder and yanks him out of the vehicle, causing him to fall down below.

Hitting the ground below, he rolls side to side from the brunt force to his back and the back of his head.

Suddenly, one of the machines leaps from the hill of scavengers and goes to strike Axel as he lays in pain on the floor. Just before the machine could strike, it stops in mid-air as a metallic hand grabs it by its skull holding it above Axel. Axel looks up to see Tenin holding the Scavenger machine back from attacking him as he holds the chained captives in his other hand behind him.

Some Scavengers try to attack the captives in Tenin's possession, Tenin swiftly throws the machine held in his other hand to the side and protects the helpless machine. Knocking the scavengers away easily.

Axel quickly jumps to his feet as O'Ton-omi flies down to pick him up. A Scavenger swings its eroded weapon at Axel, Slicing through his damaged gear. Cutting into his skin, leaving a clean-cut down his face and across his chest.

Axel: " AHHHHH!"

O'ton-omi blast the machine away with an energy blast. Axel, with blood pooling out of his face and into his left eye, blindly leaps into O'Ton-omi and grabs a large gun from his luggage. As they ascend into the air, the horde of machines continues to climb towards them. Axel squints as the blood seeps into his eye, only able to see the incoming scavengers through his other eye. He then sees glimpses of the past attack on his home and angrily unleashes a devastating rain of fire from his gun in a rampage.

Axel: "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"DADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADDADADADDADA!" Completely obliterating the scavenger machines into pieces instantly, their destroyed parts rain down from the air as Axel blast through the stacked hill of machines. Tenin immediately tries to shield the helpless machine under him and Axel's wild spray of fire shoots near them. However the machines try to run away from Tenin and into the shower of heavy fire, destroyed instantly, and they shatter into pieces.

Tenin unscathed by the fire, holds up, surrounded by a complete wasteland of destroyed machine parts. He looks up to Axel as he just ruthlessly destroyed all the machines in the area. Axel, nonchalantly glares down at his destruction inside of O'Ton-omi as he ceases his fire, the large gun still burning red from the heat. He then notices the machine captives, scattered in pieces among the destroyed remains of scavengers beside Tenin.

O'Ton-omi: "We got rid of all the enemies Master Axel, Tenin can join us now"

Axel: "No... He made his choice. I can't trust a machine like that."

Just then a strong breeze blows through the air, lifting the chain around Axel's neck. Axel looks down at the chain, noticing the pendant and remembering Zaine's words to him, "If anyone still believes in the unity of mankind and machines, it's you. I know you at least won't have urges to throw it away as I do. So take care of it for me..."

Axel then grabs hold of the pendant and squeezes it tightly, as he glares down at the innocent machines he just destroyed in his senseless rampage, blinded by anger. He grins his teeth as Tenin continues to stare at him.

Axel: "You were wrong Zaine... You were wrong..."

Axel rips the chain from around his neck and holds his arm out as he releases his grasp on it. As the chain slides from between his fingers, he reminisces of his words to Rosie. "this is a gift my Uncle Zaine gave to me, even though it means a lot to him, he gave it to me to look after it for him, and so I'll always remember him by it when's he's not around"

Axel then catches the chain quickly before it falls from his hand. He stares at it as tears begin to flow from his eyes. He then shoves it into his pocket and closes the door as they fly off into the distance, leaving Tenin among the field of destroyed machine parts.

***

2 Years Later...

In the minor city outside of Crystal Vos, called Silver Swamp. A small city covered completely in mist. Where only the tops of the destroyed tilted skyscrapers can be seen above the thick fog. While down below the fog resides a wet and murky swamp, encompassing the ruins below, with only the roofs and stones of collapsed buildings to traverse the deep swampy waters. With the entire city submerged in stagnant water.

Most of the machines residing below the fog are coloured a dull green from the infectious fungus decorating their body, as massive spore deposits grow on the bodies. Moss and weeds grow out of their eyes and mouths, while other inhabitants of the city residing above the fog traverse through make-shift bridges connecting the tops of the tilted skyscrapers and their bodies suffering from galvanic corrosion.

On the top of the Building, above the mist. A figure, suited up entirely in an air-sealed contraption. Climbs his way up the tilted tower, overlooking the city engulfed in fog before him. With a helmet resembling an astronaut's and a backpack and mini pouches strapped to his back and legs.

He watches the bridge just below him as a secret weapon exchange occurs between two machines, clearly foreign visitors to this land. One machine, covered completely with a glossy rose gold exterior. Accompanied by two chrome guards while an all-black machine stands before them. Two other silver machines bring forth a case with an extremely glossy weapon inside. The figure puts away his binoculars and arms himself with a folded rifle hanging from his side.

Axel: "Are you in place O'To? I have eyes on the weapon crates. Heading towards you with them in 5. Be ready..."

Axel unfolds his rifle and aims down at the unsuspecting machines down below. Placing his reticle on the heads of the two chrome guards. He then sways his aim slightly to the left of the machines and shoots a canister placed beside the machines. "BLAM! POOOF!" The canister explodes, spiralling around the machines as it engulfs them in smoke. The two chrome guards release a high pitch signal as they begin to scan the area, transforming their arms into destructive looking weapons.

Axel then swings his reticle back onto the two guards and blast a massive hole in their heads simultaneously in two swift shots. "BLAM! BLAM!" The two guards drop to the ground in the midst of the crowded smoke. Unaware of the situation, the black machine quickly closes the case with the weapon and proceeds to run out from the smokescreen. Axel quickly folds his rifle and removes a grappling gun from his backpack.

"THWIPP! THUD!" Axel fires the rope across the bridge into the roof of the tower on the other side and then shoots the other end into the Stone above him. He then grabs onto the rope and leaps off from the side of the building. Sliding down the rope over the bridge and through the thick smoke. "Thwip! Woosh!" He shoots a net out from his grapple gun, grabbing a hold of the few cases of the weapons held by the black machine's silver underlings.

As he slides out of the smoke he turns around firing another grapple at the black machine running out of the smokescreen. The machine spots him as he snatches the case from its hands, sliding over the roof of the tower beside it.

As he lands, he slaps a couple of tiny devices on the net, making it hover in the air like a bag of feathers. He then throws it over his shoulder and runs away. The black machine then calls for backup as he points towards Axel leaping from building to building by swinging along with his grapple.

Axel: "Almost there O'Ton-omi, just gotta lose these trackers"

Axel looks back to see three machines chasing behind him, including the all-black machine. As he swings around the last rooftop in front of him, he looks down below to the thick fog. "Skkkkkkkksstttt THWEEEUU! PEW! PEW! PEW!" The machines fire at Axel as he leaps into the air, firing an extremely bright flare behind him into the eyes of the perusing machines, blinding them as he falls from the roof disappearing into the fog.

The machines swiftly follow diving down blindly into the cloudy mist. Meanwhile, Axel within the fog hangs from the rooftop by the rope of his grapple. He pulls himself back up the building and drops down to a bridge below.

Axel: "Lost them, coming back to you now"

Axel quickly makes his way down the shaky bridge. He jumps onto the side of a building as he reaches the end of the bridge and climbs into the side of a building's window where O'Ton-omi awaits him. He throws the floating cases into O'Ton-omi and looks towards the shadows of the tilted room.

Axel: "...Something's in here"

O'Ton-omi: "Yeah, it's your bad fashion sense. Why are you still wearing that thing?!"

"THWIIIPP!" Axel swiftly fires his grapple into the shadows and throws his cluster of tiny floating devices. "Tink! Tink! Tink! Tink!" The devices attach to the machine lurking in the shadows, with its dark red eyes glaring towards him. Axel activates the attached devices, causing the machine to hover off of the ground.

With the machine now losing its footing, Axel retracts the rope, pulling the machine out from the shadows, and draws a hilt from his side, "BZZzzZZZzzzZzzGhGHGHh!" A beam of magnetized, solidified plasma spawns from the base of the hilt. Radiating extreme heat and a bright blue and purple light illuminating the darkroom.

As the machine is pulled closer to him, he pulls out the controller to the tiny devices attached to the machine.

Axel: "Those are anti-gravity pods, and they work both ways... I think you've had enough air-time"

"Click" he switches the direction of the gravity, causing the machine to slam into the ground beside him "THUD!" He then swings the radiating plasma blade down at the machine's head holding it just above the machine's metallic face. "SKRRRAAAAAAK!" Sparks fly off plasma blade, as Axel looks down at the machine's illuminated face, noticing its familiarity from the carved mark over its eye.

Axel: "It's you..."

O'Ton-omi: "Tenin?! Is that you?!"

Tenin: "I knew it was you. I have been looking for you"

Axel: "Were you following us?"

Tenin: "Yes, I have been trying to track you down for a while now."

O'Ton-omi: "Master Axel, you can put your weapon away. It is Tenin, possibly the only Ti9000 with a really good name"

Axel: "Why were you looking for me?"

Tenin: "Because we can help each other, I can help you find others."

Axel withdrawals his plasma blade from in front of Tenin's face, retracting the beam.

Axel: "What the fuck are you talking about bot?"

Tenin: "Because I have been looking for others like you, I've searched for the past 2 years, seeking information. But nothing, no gossip, not a single sighting of others. Not since 10 years ago. Why is that?"

Axel: "There are none like me, not anymore..."

Tenin: "You are the last human... I guess we are more alike than I thought"

Axel: "Alike?"

Tenin: "Yes... There are none like me either. Maybe we were, designed to meet"

Axel: "It's destined..."

Tenin: "Destined?"

Axel: "Forget it, anyway get lost"

Tenin: "But I've been looking for you"

Axel: "I don't care, I don't need your help... I don't want your help"

O'Ton-omi: "Master Axel, he has a point. You two are the last of your kind. The last Ti9000 and the last human, working together to take down The Primordial. Sounds exciting!"

Axel: "This machine will be of no use to us O'to so forget it."

Tenin: "I can help, I assure you I can"

O'Ton-omi: "He did save your life back then Master Axel"

Axel: "Save my life? Is that what happened? I saw a machine hesitate to destroy other machines clearly seeking to harm and steal from us"

Tenin: "I was freeing the captives"

Axel: "You were protecting your own... Your kind... You're not like me, And you never will be. You're a machine, and there are plenty like you. Just like you"

Tenin: "You're wrong, I too have watched my kind be destroyed by The Primordial. All like me, gone the next day. Left alone to wander, feared by all, welcomed by none. Except you"

Axel: "How do you know I watched my kind be destroyed? I never said that"

Tenin: "You did not have to. I could tell by the look on your face, your drive and seeking of purpose"

Axel: "You have no idea what you're talking about..."

Tenin: "But I do, the piece you had around your neck that day. The one with a human's hand holding a machine's. I saw how you held onto it as you left. You were going to drop it, but you didn't. I have been thinking about that very moment every day for the last 2 years. Why I wondered."

Axel: "What do you want from me..."

Tenin: "To know, what you did that day, the machine captives and their destruction. They met their end as a result of your anger but I do not resent you for it, I see the regret in you. The same regret I have for the orders I carried out."

Axel: "Thank you but I don't seek your forgiveness... I never did. I know you're in no position to judge me."

Tenin: "Forgiveness? No, that's not what I intended. It was... What I believe to be closure."

Axel: "Closure... What would you know about closure? Anyway, I need to get going. I've got a mission... Why did you really come searching for me?"

Tenin: "I want to know about your kind. Humans... I seek to learn more, more to the reason why The Primordial despises you"

Axel: "Well I don't have the answers to that either, so I'm sorry. I just know he has to pay for what he did to my home 2 years ago..."

Tenin: "2 years ago? The day we first encountered each other?"

Axel: "Yes, his forces attacked my home that day, taking everyone I love away from me..."

Tenin: "But The Primordial did not send out an attack order that day. In fact, he has not used any large scale attack forces in the past 10 years. And if he had discovered your home, he would have given the order to obliterate all remains with a massive explosion. The Primordial has done it every time he has sent out a force to search and destroy any traces of humans. His patience runs thins very quickly"

Axel: "How do you know the order wasn't given?"

Tenin: "Because I still receive transmissions of orders through my frequency receiver. Since the new orders are directed to the new models, Ti1millions, the orders do not hold any bond on me. But since I exist unknowingly to The Primordial, my model which shouldn't exist still receives his orders intended for the new and improved Ti models"

Axel: "You can still hear given orders to his forces?!"

Tenin: "Only widespread signals are given to the Ti1millons. Orders that are meant for the entire force nationwide. The Primordial does not take the possibility of a human's existence lightly. So I believe if it was him who attacked your home. I would have received that order"

O'Ton-omi: "This does make sense Master Axel. The machines who dropped from the ships also did not resemble any known forces of The Primordial"

Axel: "If The Primordial didn't attack us... Then who did?"

Tenin: "The A.I mentioned ships just then"

O'Ton-omi: "My name is O'Ton-omi! Put some respect on my name Tenin!"

Axel: "Yes, massive ships with hundreds of machine forces"

Tenin: "Then the only other machines capable of such an attack..."

O'Ton-omi: "Would be the Underworld Rulers"