The announcer's soprano voice sounded over the chatter of the waiting crowd.
"Welcome, to the weekly Robo-Melee Battle Royal in the baby division, Gentleladys and Gentlemen! My name is Tamara OneUpU, and I will be your host today.
Let me tell you; we are expecting some action! The personal shields won't work again, and my boss told me to say to you, KEEP IT CLEAN." Tamara laughed. It was wild and free belly laughter. "I say *Bleep* it! Everything is fair in love and Robo-Melee!"
The crowd cheered and hooted while Flora and a few others groaned.
With just these few sentences, the atmosphere shifted from some nerds admiring robots to a mob out for blood.
"I'm not going to introduce you or your bots. Most of you will soon be waiting in the loser's corner, and your bot will be scrap metal. I'm not wasting my time with duds."
Flora joined the crowd and whistled in the way German's do when the referee in a football game messed up.
"Let's get the massacre started! Three! Two! One! Destroy!"
The lights in the room went wild. Then the spotlights focused on the arena.
Simultaneously, the cages around the drones vanished. The noises of the up powering machines competed with the cheering people. Hundreds of LEDs adorning the robots started blinking in all the colors of the rainbow.
Overwhelmed by the attacks on her sensory systems, Flora closed her eyes and took deep breaths.
Aidan pinged her for Human-Machine Connection, and she complied.
After a few moments, Flora opened her eyes slowly.
The situation escalated. Not only the machines emitted sounds and lights, but the audience had also joined.
Like trigger-happy wild west residents, they shot their guns in the air or at other contestants.
A big brawl overtook the flank of the ring to Flora's left. The drones idled while their owners slugged it out. Opportunists rolled over and shredded the helpless machines.
Directly under Flora's nose, the Blade-Roller Extreme fought with Grabber Driver, a drone with two robot arms with spinning hands.
Just now, it had caught a spinner drone and hurled it at Aidan. The Blade-Roller span away, slicing the projectile in the process.
On the back of the Grabber, two more spinners chipped away its durability. While it grabbed one of them, Eduardo joint the fight. His drone launched its spear at the Grabber.
Out of nowhere, the koala head fell from the sky. Its lower parts had transformed into what Flora only could describe as a giant butt.
WHAM!
The butt smashed into the Grabber and the surrounding spinners. Side thrusters in the form of stubby koala arms ensured the Grabber had a hard time freeing itself from the bottom.
Eduardo's spear was stuck, as well. The creaking cranks of the drone tried to haul it in, but the higher mass of the butt-pile won out.
Aidan jumped between the opponents and severed the rope connecting the spear to Eduardo's drone. Disarmed, it fell victim to the incoming vultures.
Meanwhile, Aidan had joined the pile. Sitting on the top of the koala head, he sawed on its thrusters.
"Incoming spider drone from the right, Milady. Probably originating from InsertMeme Here."
"Aito, kill it as soon as it breaches my area." A plasma slug grazed Flora's shoulder. "Retaliate to everybody who attacks me, ignore stray shots."
YOU ARE READING
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